Principles of our Religion necessary to be known and Believed by all Persons in Order to their Everlasting Salvation are these four I. Concerning God II. Concerning Man III. Concerning Jesus Christ the Mediator between God and Man IV. Concerning the way and means to obtain Salvation by Christ the only Mediatour I. Concerning GOD. It is necessary to Know and Believe the following Severals Namely That God is an Infinite Invisible and Immortal Spirit without Bodily Parts or Passions Almighty All-knowing every where present most Wise and Holy most Just and Righteous most Good and Gracious The following Scriptures will Confirm your Belief of the Truth of this viz. St. John 4.24 God is a Spirit St. Luke 24 39. A Spirit hath not flesh and bones Exod 34. v. 6 7. The Lord passed by and proclaimed his Name the Lord God gracious and merciful long-suffering abundant in Goodness and Truth 2. That there is but one true and ever-living God who being Oone in Nature is yet Three in Person namely the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost each Person having his proper Part and Office in the Salvation of lost Sinners namely the Father as the Original and Fountain the Son as the Manager and Transacter of it and the Holy Ghost as the Applier and Sealer of it See the following Scriptures Deut. 6.4 The Lord thy God is one Lord 1 John 5.7 There are three that bear Record in Heaven the Father the Word and the Holy Ghost and these Three are One St. John 15.26 But when the Comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the Father even the Spirit of truth which preceedeth from the Father he shall Testifie of me Eph. 4.30 Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby you are sealed unto the Day of Redemption 3. That this ever-living and only living Lord God by his Almighty Power and Infinite Wisdom Created the World and all things therein out of nothing and by his effectual Providence doth sustain and preserve them in being and doth likewise govern and dispose of all things to his own glory Nehem. 9. v. 6. Thou art Lord alone who hast made the Heavens and the Heaven of Heavens with all their host the Earth and all things that are therein and thou preservest them all II. Concerning Man We are to Know and Believe 1. That Almighty God Created Man Adam after his own Image which consisted in Knowledge Righteousness and true Holiness giving him an holy Law for the Rule of his Obedience with Power to keep it and a Promise of Life upon Condition of keeping it see Gen. 1.27 So God created Man in his own Image in the Image of God created he him Eccles 7.29 This only have I found that God made man Upright 2. That Man Adam being Created in an Holy State yet in a mutable Condition and under a possibility of falling being tempted by Satan and left to the freedom of his own Will did actuall fall from his Estate of Innocency and Integrity into a State of Sin and Misery Gen. 3.6 And when the Woman saw that the Tree was good for Food and pleasant to the Eye she took thereof and did Eat and gave also unto her Husband and he did eat Eccles 7.29 God hath made Man upright but he hath found out many Inventions 3. That by reason of Man's Fall his Nature is wholly Corrupted with Original Sin which is the Seed and Root of all other Sins derived upon us by Natural Generation whereby we are disabled to that which is spiritually Good and inclined to that which is Evil and sinful Gen. 5.3 And Adam begat a Son in his own likeness after his Image Psal 51.5 Behold I was shapen in-iniquity and in sin did my Mother conceive me Rom. 8. v. 8. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God 4. That every Man doth further fall into manifold Actual Sins in the daily Course of his Life transgressing every one of God's holy Commandments either in Thought Word or Deed see Eccles 7. v. 20. There is not a just Man upon Earth that doeth good and sinneth not Rom. 3. v. 10 23. There is not one righteous man no not one for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God 5. That the Punishment due to every sin is Death and Hell all Miserie 's Temporal Spiritual and Eternal Rom. 6.23 The Wages of Sin is Death 2 Thes 1.9 They shall be punished with everlasting Destruction from the Presence of the Lord and from the glory of his Power 6. That Almighty God pitying the deplorable Misery of our fallen Estate has found out a Way and appointed a Means for our Deliverance from the Power and Punishment of Sin by a Mediator and Redeemer Titus 3. v. 4 5 6. After that the Kindness and Love of God our Saviour towards Man appeared according to his Mercy he saved us by the washing of Regeneration and Renewing of the Holy Ghost III. Concerning Christ the Mediator between God and Man We ought to Know and Believe 1. That Jesus Christ the Eternal Son of God the second Person in the Trinity is the only Redeemer of lost Man and the only Mediator betwixt God and Man from whom alone we are to expect Life and Salvation 1 Tim. 2.5 There is one God and one Mediator betwixt God and Man the Man Christ Jesus Acts 4.12 Neither is there Salvation in any other for there is no other Name given under Heaven by whom we must be saved 2. That Jesus Christ our Redeemer was both God and Man having two Natures in one Person a Divine Nature as he was God and an Humane Nature as Man in which Humane Nature he suffered for Sinners and in his Divine Nature satisfied the Justice of God for sin Acts 20.28 Feed the Church of God which he hath purchased with his own Blood Heb. 10. v. 10. By the which Will we are sanctified thro' the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all 3. That Christ our Redeemer having taken upon him our Nature lived here upon Earth about three and thirty Years and did in our stead and for our sin give full Satisfaction to the Justice of his Father by enduring most grievous Torments in his Soul and by undergoing most painful Sufferings in Body was Crucified Dyed and was Buryed and by his Death did Conquer Sin and Satan Death and Hell Read the 26th and 27th Chapters of St Matthew which give a large Account of our Saviour's Sufferings 4. That Jesus Christ on the third Day Arose again from the Dead with the same Body in which he suffered with which Body also he Ascended into Heaven and sitteth there at the right hand of his Father to intercede for us and by his Intercession in Heaven making Application of that Redemption which he wrought on Earth from whence at the End of the World he shall come again to Judg both Men and Devils and to determine their Final and Eternal State see Rom.
for the time to come so direct sanctifie and govern both my Heart and Life in the Ways of thy Laws and in the Works of thy Commandments that in all my Thoughts Words and Works I may ever seek thy Honour and Glory and may so Order my Conversation aright that at Death I may see the Salvation of God Prepare me for a sick-bed and fit me for a dying hour let not God be a Stranger nor my Conscience a Terrour to me when I come to die but do thou mercifully assist and succour me in my last Moments In the hour of Death and in the Day of Judement Good Lord deliver me and conduct me safely to thine Everlasting Kingdom I Bless thy Name Oh Lord for that good Providence of thine which has brought me to the Light of another day do thou so prevent me with thy Grace so direct and assist me by thy Holy and Good Spirit that I may not run this day into any Sin or Temptation that I may not follow nor be led by any Worldly and Carnal Lusts but be enabled in my place and station to perform my Duty to thy Self and my Neibour with such Care Fidelity and Chearfulness as may be acceptable both to God and Man I humbly commend this Church and Nation to thy merciful Care and Protection Let our Gracious King and Queen live in thy sight and rule in thy fear and let all their Subjects fear God Honour their Majesties and Love one another Assist all thy Ministers in their hard and difficult work and follow their endeavours with thy Blessing particularly his who labours amongst us in the Word and Doctrine Pity all in an afflicted Condition Pardon their Sins and supply their wants Remember all my Relations for good requite the kindness of my Friends pardon and forgive my Enemies and Enable me to forgive them also These Mercies with whatever else thou knowest to be needful for me and all Mankind I humbly beg in the Name and Words of my Blessed Redeemer saying as he has Taught me Our Father c. An Evening Prayer for a Private Person MOst Holy and ever Blessed Lord God! the Father of Mercies the Fountain of Goodness and the Author of all Grace I desire again this Evening to bow before thy Mercy-Seat to adore and praise thy Glorious Majesty for thy Gracious Care and Providence over me the day past Pardon unto me most Merciful Father I most humby Beseech whatever I have committed or omitted this day contrary to my Resolutions and Obligations Pity my weaknesses and accept my sincere endeavours to serve and glorifie Thee Wherein I have been wont to slip Lord help me to be more Watchful where I have been careless and negligent let me use greater Diligence and Circumspection help me more sensibly to groan under this Body of Sin which I carry about with me and which so interrupts me in thy Service that when I would do Good evil is present with me And oh that the Sense of that Corruption which I find stirring in my Soul may cause me more earnestly to implore the help of thy Blessed Spirit which alone can enable me to Mortifie all Evil and Corrupt Affections to deny all Vngodliness and Worldly Lusts and to live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present World Raise up my Heart and my Affections above this World and the things below and place them upon thy Self and the things that are above oh help me to Realize the Things of Eternity and another World to my Mind and to believe them as certainly as if I saw them with my Bodily Eyes Hear Oh Lord and Answer the Supplications and Prayers which have been put up unto Thee by any of thine this day on the behalf of this Church and Nation Oh that Peace and Happiness Truth and Justice Religion and Piety may be established amongst us for all Generations Secure the Persons of thy Servants King William and Queen Mary from all attempts of Violence and let that hand be for ever withered which shall be once stretched forth to hurt the Lords anointed and let all that are in Authority under them execute Judgment and Justice impartially to the Punishment of Wickedness and Vice and to the maintainance of thy True Religion and Godliness Let all that Minister unto Thee in Holy things endeavour both by the Purity of their Doctrine and the Piety of their Lives to win many to a Love of Holiness and Religion that they may shine as Stars for ever and ever Pity all those that are in a worse Condition than my self supply their wants out of thy abundance and work in me a readiness of Disposition to administer to their necessities according to my Ability Accept my Thankful returns to thy Majesty for all thy Mercies for the Fountain of them all the Holy Jesus for all the invaluable Benefits of his Incarnation Death and Passion Resurrection Ascension and Intercession for the Gift of thy Holy Spirit for the Light of thy Glorious Gospel for all the Comforts and Conveniences of Life afforded to me which many Better than my self are deprived of for thy watchful care and good Hand of Providence over me this day Receive me into thy Protection this Night sanctifie my Rest and keep me from sinning against Thee upon my Bed and let the natural repose of my Body put me in Mind that e're long I must sleep in the Bosom of the Grave and awake no more 'till the Morning of the Resurrection for which solemn hour good Lord prepare and sit me and all Mankind by a renewed frame of Heart and a Religious course of Life for thy Mercies sake in Christ Jesus who has both directed and commanded me when I pray to say Our Father c. A short Hymn for the Evening NOw from the Altar of my Heart Let Incense Flames arise Assist me Lord to offer up My Evening Sacrifice Lord Watch and Ward when I shall sleep I humbly Thee implore Thine Angels let my Guardians be Both now and evermore Into thy hands do I commit My Spirit which is thy due For why Thou hast created it Yea didst Redeem it too Lord if I live let me be thine Thine also if I die Come Life come Death let Heaven be mine Amen Amen say I. CHAP. XI Of Reading the Holy Scriptures THE Holy Bible being a Letter wrote unto us by the Finger of God himself what is our Reading of it and daily Conversing with it but a Communing with the Almighty and making an inquiry after that Revelation of his Will which his Wisdom has been pleased to make unto us How stupendious then is the Folly and Impiety of those who either lay the Bible aside as a neglected Book or else read it carelesly irreverently unattentively without an honest simplicity of Mind to be guided instructed and directed by it To prevent the Sin and danger of both which neglects it will be our Wisdom to resolve with our selves to redeem some time every
Ammunition to fight against us Rom. 13. ult Make no provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof 2. We make our Table a Snare when by our Importunities we urge others to eat and drink more than they desire or their Natures will well bear It is unquestionably lawful for a man sometimes to exceed in his Provision for his Friends but lawful at no time to exceed the bounds of Sobriety and Moderation himself or to solicit others so to do The Royal Example of Ahasuerus an Heathen King the Spirit of God has Recorded to the shame of many that call themselves Christians Esth 1. v. 7 8. When he made a magnificent Feast for his Princes and Nobles he commands that every man eat and drink according to his own pleasure and that none be compell'd 6. Let every one labour to understand what is most conducible to his own Health and let that be the ordinary measure of his Diet both for Quantity Quality and Time It is every Mans Duty to observe the Temper of his own Body and to understand his particular Constitution in order to the preservation of Life and Health that a healthfull Body may be Assistant to a holy Soul in the Service of God 7. Often consider with thy self what a sinning Sin what a Beastly sin and what a Destroying sin the sin of Intemperance is 'T is an In-let to all Sin and for that Reason perhaps is not particularly forbidden in any one of the Commandments because it is contrary to them All Drunkenness may be called a breach of every one of the Commandments because it disposes men to break them All What sin is it that a Drunken man stands not ready to commit Fornication Murther Adultery Inâ—est what not and how doth this Sin transform a man into a Beast â—nd make him the shame and Reproach of Humane Nature Of the two it is much worse to be like a Beast than to be a Beast The Beast is what God has made it but the Drunkard is what Sin and the Devil has made him Add to this that the Intemperate man is his own Tormentor yea his own Destroyer as appears by the many Diseases and untimely Deaths which Surfeiting and Drunkenness daily bring upon men For as Temperance and Sobriety is the Nurse and Preserver of Life and Health so excess in either is the occasion of Self-murther 't is like a lingring Poyson which tho' it works slowly yet it destroys surely Consider lastly That Intemperance is a sin which a man cannot presently Repent of as soon as he has committed it A Drunken man is no more fit to repent than a dead man and what Assurance has any man that when Drunkenness closes his Eyes over night that he shall not open them in Hell-flames next Morning How many thousands have closed their Eyes in a Drunken fit and opened them in another World 8. Think it neither unlawful nor indecent to intermingle innocent and harmless mirth with your Eating and Drinking but always remember to keep within the Bounds of Modesty Decency and Sobriety It is certainly a melancholly Reflexion that the thing we call Society and Conversation the Gentleman and the Christian Mirth and Religion should be thought inconsistent that men to fly Preciseness must run into Debauchery and Prophaneness Cannot sourness and moroseness be banisht Converâ—ation but must Modesty and Sobriety be banisht too Must our Entertainments of one another at our Tables administer either to Sin or to Sullenness Surely it is possible to observe the Rules of Conversation better without running into either Extream A vertuous and wise man at his Table may let his Tongue loose in a harmless Urbanity but at the same time he scorns to come within the Verge of a base Scrurility Eph. 4.29 Let no filthy Communication proceed out of your mouth but that which is good to the use of Edifying As touching Intemperance and Excess in Sleep Necessity Cures most of you that are Poor of this Evil and it may be happy for you that it doth so for how many thousand Hours have some that are Rich to account for which were spent in a sinful Excess of Sleep and Oh how earnestly will such Persons shortly wish for those Hours to spend over again which were thus Consumed 1. Let Prudence direct you about the Measure of your Sleep and Piety instruct you to mind the Ends of it which are the repairing of Nature the refreshing of the Spirits the supporting of our frail Bodies which continual Labour and Toil would soon weary and wear out but now a moderate Degree of Sleep best serves these Ends namely to fit us for Business and enable us to Serve God by an Active Obedience 2. Often Consider what a great Time-waster Sleep is and that there is no part of your Time so totally lost as that which is Consumed in Sleep for all that Time a Man's Reason lyes idle and buried all his Wisdom and Knowledge is of no Use or Advantage to himself or his Neighbour 3. Remember how very injurious Immoderate Sleep is both to thy Body and Soul To thy Body in filling that full of Diseases and making it a very Sink of Pernicious Humours To thy Soul by bringing a Stupifying Dullness on its Faculties and thereby rendring it unfit for Holy Services 4. Remember also the grand Importance of the Business of your Souls which lyes continually upon your Hands and let the Consideration of the greatness of your Work rouse and raise you from a Bed of Sloth If you have a Journey to go or some extraordinary business to do you can rise Early at a particular time why not then every Day when you have much greater Business to do for God and your Souls 5. Remember that your Morning-hours are the Flower of your Time and that early rising makes at once both the Body healthful and the Soul holy The Morning is the best time for enjoying God and our seves then are our Spirits fresh and our Hearts free from Worldly Cares 6. Believe your self certainly Accountable to God for the Time you spend in Sleep this will make you with Holy Hooper sparing of your Sleep more sparing of your Dyet and most sparing of your Time CHAP. V. Of Glorifying God in our Civil Imployments and Labours of our particular Callings ALmighty God has sent no Man into the World to be idle but to serve him in the way of an honest and industrious Diligence He that says Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy says also Six days shalt thou labour either with the Labour of the Mind or of the Body or with both Riches and a great Estate will excuse none from labouring in some kind or other in the Service of our Maker for he that receives most Wages surely ought to do some Work 1. Labour to Understand and be thoroughly sensible how much you are beholden to God for the Benefit of a Calling Thousands are now Blessing God in Heaven for the
is the Churches Quire the joynt Prayers of a multitude of good Men in Consort together A Father is glad to see any one of his Children at his House and makes him Welcom when he Visits him but when they meet all together there then is the Feast and splendid Entertainment Verily the Publick Prayers and Praises of God's Children are the Emblems of Heaven and a Devout Soul when joining in the Publick Assemblies looks upon himself as in the very Suburbs of Heaven it being the nearest Approach that he can make to that glorified Society on this side Glory In Order to your Profitable Attendance upon God in his Publick Worship let the following Directions be Observed by you 1. Come always at the Beginning of Publick Worship and tarry constantly 'till all is ended neither coming late nor running away early before the Blessing be giving which many careless People rudely do as if they were as glad to get out of God's House as out of a Prison Those two Pious and Useful Men whose Memories you of this place have such a deserved Veneration for Mr. Rogers sometimes your Minister and Mr. Hildersham the one in his Exposition of St. Peter and the other in his Lectures on St. John do give frequent Advice to their People not only to come at the Beginning but before the Beginning of Publick Worship It becoming the People say they to wait for the Minister rather than the Minister to stay for the People Think not then that you are time enough at Church if you get to the Sermon tho' you miss the Prayers for they Prepare you for the Word and Sanctifie the Word unto you It is not the way to profit by one Ordinance to Neglect another 2. Enter the publick Assemblies awfully and Reverently presume not to come into the House of God as you do into a Play-house or Dancing-School laughing and toying nor to go out of it as such but labour for a lively and vigorous sense of God impress'd upon your Minds and to get your Hearts possest with the Consideration of the infinite Majesty and glorious Excellency of that God whom you are Addressing your selves unto 3. When present in the publick Assemblies joyn uniformly with the Congregation in all the parts of Gods Worship It makes much for the Comeliness and Reverence of Gods Worship that all things be done in order when the Congregation prays hears kneels and sings together as if the whole Congregation were but one man 4. Look that the Intention of your mind and the Reverence of your Body do always accompany each other in the Publick Worship of God particularly in Prayer look that your Soul ascend with every Petition that is put up at the Throne of Grace and let the Posture of thy Body declare the Veneration of thy Soul To that end Always kneel at Prayer if with any conveniency you can This posture of Kneeling and sometimes of lying prostrate upon the Face in Prayer was constantly used in the Jewish Church and the Christian Church was never acquainted with any other posture except only betwixt Easter and Whitsontide when in Memory of Christs Resurection they were wont to stand As for such amongst us who Rudely sit at Prayer it shews that their Minds are not possest with an awful sense of that vast and infinite distance and disproportion that is betwixt God and them Sitting no where appears in Scripture to have been used as a Praying posture As for that one Text 2 Sam. 7. v. 18. that David sat before the Lord and said c. it may as well be read David abode or stayed before the Lord and so is rendered 1 Sam. 1.22 Nor is it with me supposeable that David would present his Supplications to Almighty God in such a saucy manner as he would not suffer one of his own Subjects to present a Petition to himself A Prince would not like an irreverent Behaviour from his Servant in his Bed-Chamber where none besides himself is Witness to it much less would he bear it in his Presence-Chamber where he sits upon his Throne before a multitude of his Subjects 5. Therefore to compose the Frame of your Mind and to regulate the Behaviour of your Body whilest you are attending upon Almighty God in his publick Ordinaces often remember the several Eyes that are upon you and taking notice of you Namely the All-seeing Eye of God the Observing Eye of Conscience the Vigilant Eye of the World and the Malignant Eye of Sathan 6. Never Attend upon Almighty God in publick Duties before you have waited upon him in your private Devotions Enter your Closet before you enter into Gods House and there first consider and then pray Consider with thy self the weight and importance of those Duties which thou art about to engage in Consider the worth and value of an Opportunity for thy Soul which thou art that day intrusted with but especially reflect often upon the strictness of that Account which is to be given for the long enjoyment of the plentiful means of Grace afforded to thee Next bow thy Knees to Almighty God in Prayer humbly implore his gracious Presence with thee and Assistance of thee in thy private Preparations and in thy publick Administrations also Remember that as thou canst do nothing of thy self at the Ordinance without Gods Assistance so God will do nothing for thee by the Ordinance without thy Endeavours The remembrance of the former will stir thee up to a more fervent Supplication for and a more importunate Expectation of Help from Heaven And the consideration of the latter will excite our dilligence and care both in our Preparation for and Attendance upon all the Sacred and solemn Institution of Almighty God Take therefore the Throne of Grace in thy way to hear the Word of Grace and never go forth out of thine own House without Preparation and Prayer to the House of God And let such of you as plead to me want of Ability to express your desires to God make use of the following Prayer or some other composed to your hand both in your Closet alone and also in your Family changing only the Person according as you pray by your self alone or together with your Houshold A Prayer to be used on the Lords-day Morning or at any other time before we go forth to Publick Worship OH Almighty and most Glorious Lord God! who are greatly to be feared in the Assemblies of thy Saints and to be had in Reverence of all them that are round about Thee Althô thou art infinitely exalted above all the Prayers and Praises above all the Adorations and Acknowledgments of thy Creatures yet such is thy astonishing Kindness and Condescension as not only to indulge us a liberty of Access unto Thee but also to account thy self highly honoured by us when we come into thy presence to celebrate thy Praises and to renew our Acquaintance and Communion with Thee in the publick Duties and Exercises of thy Worship
and Service In a humble sense of our unworthiness in a chearful compliance with our Duty and in a thankful Acknowledgment of our Priviledge we desire to go forth this day to worship at they Footstool and to pay our Vows in the great Congregation God Almighty pardon to us all the Errours of our Life past and suffer them not to stand this day as a partition-wall betwixt thy Majesty and our Souls to hinder either the Ascent of our Prayers up to God or the descent of thy Grace and Mercy upon Us. Help us seriously to consider now our faces are towards thy House whose Word it is we are going forth to hear whose work it is we are about and unto whom we must all render a strict and for ought we know a very suddain Account for all Opportunities and seasons of Grace we are entrusted with Let us hear that Word of thine which shall be either read or preached this 〈…〉 deemer not worth rememembring by us Or if we have not wholly neglected that Sacred Ordinance we have not so grown in the Graces and Comforts of thy Holy Spirit by it as we might have done Forgive unto us the Sins of this Day more especially Pardon to us the Iniquities of our Holy Things our unpreparedness for our backwardness to our deadness and dullness in the Performance of those high and Holy Duties we have this Day been Engaging in let our Persons and Performances find a gracious Acceptance with thee in and through our worthy Mediator for his sake receive us and ours into thy Protection this Night may we lie down in thy fear arise in thy favour and our Rest be made refreshing to us and we thereby the better enabled to serve thee in our several Vocations and Callings the Day that is approaching Extend thy Compassions to the whole World pity the deplorable Ruines of Mankind send forth the Light of thy Gospel into the dark Corners of the Earth that perish for want of Vision Especially remember thy Church wheresoever dispersed or however distressed be a perpetual Protection and Defence to â—hat part of thy Church which thine own right hand has planted and hitherto so miraculously preserved in these Nations to which we belong We thank Thee for all the wonderful Appearances of thy Power and Goodness towards us and we beg of God to establish us upon such Foundations of Righteousness and Peace that it may never more be in the Power of our restless Adversaries to disturb us God Almighty guide and guard Bless and Protect thine Anointed Servants our Sovereign Lord and Lady King William and Queen Mary let their Days on Earth be like the Days of Heaven many and happy and after a long and a religious Reign upon a peaceable and unmolested Throne may God Crown them with the Rewards of a Glorious and Blessed Immortality Bless them and us in all their Royal Relations with all the Nobility the Judges Magistrates Gentry and Commonalty of this Land and Grant them all Wisdom and Grace to Fear God to Honour the King and Love one another But for the sake of all Bless all those that Administer unto thee in Holy Things and let all the Governours and Pastors of thy Church further the Edification of it by Soundness of Doctrine and Holiness of Life but especially Bless the Ministry of thy Servant in this Town and make it successful for the Conversion Edification and Salvation of all that sit under it Remember all the Sons and Daughters of Sorrow and Affliction and dispence thy Mercies suitably to their various Necessities Do good to all our friends Relations and Acquaintance Pardon and Forgive our Enemies and do more abundantly for us ours and all thine above what we are able to ask or worthy to receive for Christs sake in whose Name and Words we farther call upon thee Our Father c. An HYMN or Psalm of Praise for the Lords-day THis is the Day the Lords own Day A Day of Holy Rest Oh Teach our Souls to Rest from Sin That Rest will please thee best This is the Day thy Day Oh Lord On which thou didst Arise For Sinners having made thy self A Sinless Sacrifice Thou Thou alone Redeemed hast Our Souls from deadly Thrall With no less Price than precious Blood The Purchase of us all Hadst thou not dy'd we had not liv'd But dy'd Eternally We 'll live to him that dy'd for us And Paise his Name on high Thou Dy'dst indeed but Rose again And didst Ascend on high That we poor Sinners lost and dead Might live Eternally Thy Blood was shed instead of ours Thy Soul our Guilt did bear Thou took'st our sins gave us thy self Thy Love 's beyond compare Welcome and Dear unto my Soul Is thy most Holy Day But what a Sabbath shall I keep With thee my God for aye I Come I Wait I Hear I Pray Thy Footsteps Lord I trace I joy to think this is the way To see my Saviour's Face These are my Preparation-Days And when my Soul is Drest These Sabbaths shall deliver me To mine Eternal Rest CHAP. IX Of Glorifying God in Family Worship MAn's cheif Prerogative and Dignity which he hath to Glory of is this that he is the only Creature in the Visible World made to Worship and Enjoy his great Creator All the Creatures are Servants but Man is only a Priest to God they obey their Maker he only Worships him This Worship under the Law was Limitted to a particular place to wit The Tabernacle and the Temple the Tabernacle was an Ambulatory Temple and the Temple was a standing Tabernacle Into which they were of old required to repair and where Almighty God Promised to accept them But under the Gospel Almighty God has declared that it is his Will that Men pray every where lifting up pure hands without Wrath and Doubting So then a Christians private House is his Chappel of Ease in which Almighty God allows him the liberty and enjoyns him the Duty of Worshipping with his Houshold And accordingly we find that Religious Housholders have in all Ages Constantly and Conscientiously performed this Duty Devout Cornelius his Family Religion stands upon Record Acts 10.2 He feared God with all his House that is he Revere'd and Worshipt him It is added that he gave much Alms to the People and prayed to God always Surely he that was so Charitable at his door to refresh the pinched Bowels of his poor Neighbours could not be so cruel to his Relations Souls within his House as to Lock up his Religion in a Closet from them To Convince you of the Equity and Reasonableness of this Duty of Worshipping God daily in and with your Families Consider 1. The Right which Almighty God has to your Family-worship by vertue of that Relation which he stands in to your Families He is the Founder of your Families the continual Preserver of them and a daily Benefactor to them the very Being of your Families as such is from the
in Compassion to our Infirmities has commanded us to say Our Father c. An HYMN Or Song of Praise for the Morning LORD for the Mercies of this Night My humble Thanks I Pay And unto Thee I Dedicate The First-Fruits of the Day My God was with me all this Night And gave me sweet Repose My God did Watch even whilst I Slept Or I had never Rose How many groan'd and wisht for Sleep Untill they wisht for Day Weary both of their Bed and Life whilst I securly lay Whilst I did Sleep all Dangers Slept No Thieves did Me affright Those Evening Wolves those Beasts of Prey Disturbers of the Night No Raging Flames Nor Storms did Rend The house that I was in I heard no Dreadful Cries without Nor Doleful Groans within What Terrors have I ' scap'd this Night Which have on others fell My Body might have Slept its last My Soul have wak'd in Hell Let this Day Praise Thee oh my God And so let all my Days And oh let my Eternal Day Be thy Eternal Praise An HYMN or Song of Praise for the Evening MY God my only Help and Hope My strong and sure Defence For all the Mercies of this Day I Bless thy Providence Lord in the day thou wert about The Paths wherein I tread Now in the Night when I lye down Be thou about my Bed This Day God was my Son and sheild My keeper and my Guide His Care was on my Frailty shewn His Mercies multiplied Minutes and Mercies multiplied Have made up all this Day Minutes came quick but Mercies were More swift and free than they New Time new Favours and new Joyes Do a New Song require 'Till I shall Praise the as I would Accept my Hearts Desire Now for a Close of this Advice to Family-Governours concerning their Performance of Family Worship I shall only subjoin this one Cautionary Direction Take heed of resting in thy Family-Duties and by no means think it sufficient to prove thee a Saint and evidence thee a sincere Christian because thou art frequent in Family-Duties Alas a Man may set up the Worship of God in his House and yet not Enthrone God in his Heart The Duty it self is good but the bare Performance of it will not demonstrate thee to be so look therefore how thou daily Walkest as well as how thou Prayest If thou meanest to foul thy Hands with Sins black work in the Day it is gross Hypocrisie to pretend to wash them by Prayer in the Morning 'T is sad to pretend to Religion in the House and to practise Deceit and Fraud in the Shop Oh how many begin with God by Prayer in the Morning and keep the Devil Compain Sin all the Day after The Neglect of Family Duties will certainly bespeak thee a Bad Man But the most constant performance of them without a Life suitable to them will never prove thee a good Man CHAP. X. Of Glorifying God in Secret Duties GReat is the Condescention of Almighty God in holding Communion with his Church in their Publick Assemblies when with United Prayers and Supplications they make their Solemnest Adresses to him But Oh how Adorable is his Condescending Love in stooping so low as to maintain a holy Fellowship and sweet Communion with a single Christian in his Closet-Devotions It is not enough that in Heaven when we shall put on our Robes of Glory that he will take us into his Royal Presence and Admit us there to the sight and enjoyment of his Face and Favour but will he now whilest we are clad with Raggs of Mortality and before our Grave Cloaths are thrown off entertain us also as his Friends and indulge us the liberty of giving him a Visit in the remotest Corner of our House Verily such astonishing Love and stupendious Condescention is rather to be admired than expressed by us Now there are several Secret Duties incumbent upon Christians which Almighty God upon our humble Application to him will afford us the sweet Influences the secret Aids and Assistances of his Holy Spirit in the performance of As namely 1. Holy and Devout Meditation when the Soul retires from the World and in a serious and solemn Manner sets it self to think upon God to contemplate his glorious Attributes to ruminate upon his gracious Promises to admire his wonderful Word and Works 2. Serious Self-examination by which we make a daily enquiry into the State of our Souls and thereby arrive at a well-grounded Kowledge of the safety of our State and Condition by comparing the Frame of our Hearts and the Course of our Lives with the Holy Rule of God's Commandements and observing their sincere Conformity thereunto 3. Secret Prayer and Supplication which ought to be performed constantly and seasonably twice a Day As soon as thou arisest out of thy Bed in the Morning begin the Day with God and make a most hearty tender of your self to his Service and Glory before you set about any Worldly-Business and never think of putting off your Cloaths to lye down at Night before you have commended your selves and all yours unto his merciful Protection For your Encouragment hereunto you have the Practise and Example of our Blessed Saviour whom you find early in the Morning Praying alone St. Mark 1.35 and late in the Evening St. Matth. 14.23 and that this was our Saviour's usual Practice may be gathered from St. Luke 22.39 compared with St. Luke 21.27 Thus Christ Sanctified this Duty by his own Example and has by his Promise annexed a Gracious Reward to the faithful doing of it St. Matth. 6.6 All this our Blessed Saviour did when he was here on Earth and now that he is Ascended up into Heaven to what Purpose is he appointed our Intercessor there if we send up no Prayers to him to be presented by him to the Father Besides this the Sense of our daily wants one would think should sufficiently excite us to this Duty we standing in continual need of God or if we could be supposed to want nothing yet the Sense we have that we hold All we call Ours by the meer Mercy of God should move us to acknowledge him and to pay our Homage and Adorations to him Add to this that there is no such way to make Almighty God intirely our Friend as by commending our selves in the Duty of Prayer to him with a Pious Trust in his Mercy and an intire Devoting of our selves to his Service and Glory But oh how inexpressible will be the Comfort of going to God as an Acquaintance when we are going out of this World if we can truly say as that Devout Man Dr. Preston did a little before his Death I shall change my Place but not my Company how joyfully may we hope and comfortably expect to go to God when we dye with whom we held a constant good correspondence and maintained a sweet familiarity whilest we lived Let these Considerations briefly hinted to thy Thoughts work in thee a Pious Resolution
of Interest For by a due Approach to our Lord's Table our Baptismal Vow is renewed our weak Faith strengthened our languishing Love inflam'd our Desires after Christ enlarg'd our Sorrow for Sin heightned fresh Power against and Victory over Sin obtained our present Joy and Comforts multiplied and our future hopes of Heaven advanced Oh how unkind then are they to their Saviour and also cruel to their own Souls who live all their days in the neglect of this engaging uniting quickning confirming Ordinance of the Lord's Supper whom all the melting Entreaties and passionate Importunities of the Ministers of Christ could never prevail upon to the practice of this most Reasonable and most Advantagious Duty 3. But let us hear the several Pleas and Pretences which so many Thousands of Persons tho' professing Christianity do make for this notorious neglect of their dying Lord's Command 1. Plea or Excuse made by some is the extraordinary Dread and Solemnity of the Ordinance these put their Saviour off with a Complement telling him that the Privilege is too great the dignity too high and the Ordinance too solemn for them to approach unto Answer This is a good Reason why you should approach the Ordinance with Preparation and Care but no Argument at all why you should turn your back upon it As if a King should invite and command you to pay Attendance at Court upon his Person and you very gravely tell him That is too high an Honour for Persons of your Rank you will therefore out of Reverence to his Person violate his Precept and at once Affront his Authority and Contemn his Kindness Know then that the Reverence which our Saviour expects to his Holy Institution is a Reverence of Obedience That man has a due sense upon his Mind of the Solemnity of the Sacrament who is careful to approach it with all the Humility and sense of Unworthiness which becomes polluted Dust and Ashes but such a superstitious sort of Reverence as makes men afraid of doing their Duty is dishonouring to God and detrimental to themselves 2. Plea Is that of Unworthiness We are unworthy to come and therefore afraid to come For he that eateth unworthily eats his own Damnation therefore we will be of the safest side and prevent coming Unworthily by keeping away and not coming at all Answer 1. There is a two-fold Worthiness in reference to the Sacrament A Worthiness of Merit and a Worthiness of Meetness if by being worthy you mean the former a worthiness of Merit by which you deserve to be Entertained at Christ's Table in that sense not only the Holiest Saint on Earth but the highest Angel in Heaven is unworthy of this Priviledge But then there is a worthiness of Meetness which imports such a fitness and preparation of Soul as the Gospel requires and Christ will accept A Begger is not worthy of your Alms yet you would not account it Humility but Pride in him to refuse your Alms when entreated to accept them upon pretence of being unworthy of them The Truth is an humble sense of our unworthiness is in God's Account our greatest worthiness 2. Whereas thou pleasest thy self that thou art on the safest side by keeping away from the Ordinance this is a manifest mistake because the guilt and danger of unworthy Refusing is certainly as great or greater than the danger of unworthy Receiving For not to come at all is a bold Affront to the Authority of Christ a mighty contempt of the love of Christ 't is the casting off the Profession of Christianity 't is a Renouncing of the Communion of Saints and a quitting all claim and interest in the Covenant of Grace Did they in the Gospel who made light of Christ's Invitation to the Marriage-Supper escape any better than he that came without the Wedding-Garment Were they not both destroyed they for their Disobedience and he for his Disrespect 3. Plea Is that of Unfitness and Unpreparedness My Conscience tells me says the Sinner that I am unfit to come to this Ordinance and therefore I had better stay away Answer 1. Whose fault is it that thou art unfit It must be either God's fault or thy own Canst thou dare'st thou say 't is God's fault when he is willing both to Assist and Accept thee when he offers thee his Assisting Grace but thou art not willing to accept it But what is it that makes thee unfit Is it not some Sin that you are not willing to part with Does not Conscience tell you that you live a bad Life that there are some sensual Lusts which you indulge and are not willing to part with This is that which makes you unfit to come and afraid to come 2. If you are unfit for this Ordinance you are not fit to die you pretend you must stay all the days of your Life till you are prepared for the Sacrament but will Death stay for you till you are prepared for that When Death calls appear you must at God's Tribunal whether fit or not fit Now what is it that prepares you for Death Is it not the exercise of Repentance and a Holy Life This will fit you for the Sacrament and without this you can never be fit for Heaven nor hope to come there 3. Speak sincerely Did you ever go about to make your self fit Didst thou ever spend a day in thy Closet in searching for and finding out thy Sins in Confessing and Bewailing of them in Resolving against them in praying earnestly to God for the Aid of his Grace to enable you to mortifie and subdue them Did ever you repair to your Minister and desire his Assistance in fitting you for the Ordinance If not which is certainly the very case of many Good Good what horrid Hypocrisie is this to offer it as a reasonable excuse that thou art unfit when thou didst never in thy whole life once attempt or endeavour to make thy self fit Unfit thou art not only for the Sacrament but for every holy Duty also unfit to Pray unfit to Hear and unfit thou wilt be for ever without thy own Endeavours to make thy self fit For Almighty God never wrought a Miracle to maintain Sloath. If thou sayest thou canst do nothing without God I Reply That God will do nothing without thee use a Faithful Endeavour to prepare thy self and thy God will both assist thee and accept thee also but it is great folly to think of excusing one fault with another 4. Plea Alas say some we are poor ignorant Creatures we were never Book-learnt and therefore want the Knowledge which is requisite in a Worthy Communicant Answer 1. If thou art wholly and grosly ignorant in the Fundamentals of Religion thy Ignorance is dangerous and damnable such as will shut thee out of Heaven as well as debar thee from the Sacrament But why dost thou rest contented with thy Ignorance Why do you not repair to your Spiritual Guides for private Instruction who would thank you for such an
a borrowed Chamber in an upper Room in the Evening only to Twelve Persons and those Twelve Men yea Twelve Ministers and in a Coat without a Seam To keep thus strictly to Christ's Order in the use of this Ordinance I assure you is so far from being a Duty that it will be your sin But 2ly As to the Garment worn by us in the Administration why should a matter of such indifferency discompose thy Thoughts at such a solemn time Look you to your self that you come cloathed with the Wedding Garment of Repentance Faith Love and Joy and if there be any Evil in Colours in a White Garment more than a Black one he that wears it or the Authority that enjoyns it shall Answer for that and not you 3ly As to our using a Form of Prayer in the Administration know that all the Reformed Churches throughout the World have done the like the Church of Geneva not excepted for the Spirituality of Prayer doth not consist in an extemporary fluency of Words but in the Intention of the Mind and Devotion of the Soul if we pray in Faith with Humility with Holy Fervency with Humble Resignation we certainly pray by the Spirit tho' with a Form of Words before us and on the other hand if we pray without the forementioned Dispositions our Prayers are formal and unacceptable tho' we pray without a Form Lastly As to what is scrupled about Kneeling 1. It doth not clearly appear what Gesture our Saviour used when he celebrated this Ordinance the Scripture is very silent about it from whence I infer that had it been our Saviour's mind we should follow his Example in this Circumstance we should not have been left in the dark concerning it 2. Suppose it were Sitting this being but a Circumstance of the Action we are no more obliged to follow it than the other Circumstances of Time Place Habit c. 3. Let it be considered how far the Church of England has protested against all Adoration of the Elements so that they who suspect us Kneeling to the Bread and Wine do shew themselves to be either grosly ignorant or greatly malicious But because this is the highest Ordinance we attend upon Christ in and we receive the greatest Benefits by the Ordinance we are capable of on this side Glory even a Pardon Sealed from the King of Heaven which we would not receive in any other posture than upon our Knees from an Earthly Prince and forasmuch as the Sacrament is delivered to us with Prayer we judge it the most suitable Gesture for such a solemn Ordinance and both in Obedience to Authority and also from an Act of choice we use this Gesture as a Token of profound Reverence to our most endearing Redeemer These are all the most considerable Pleas and Pretences which I have met with from Persons for the neglect of this Duty If what has been here said tend to the satisfaction of any and they are willing to address themselves to the practice of this long neglected Duty I shall next inform them what Preparation is necessary to fit them for it 5. And here know in General that the best Preparation for the Sacrament is a Holy Life a daily walking before God in the Holy Path of his Commandments in an uniform Compliance with the Duties both of our General and Particular Callings exercising your selves daily in keeping a Conscience void of Offence both towards God and towards all Men. In short the habitual devotedness of the Soul to God accompanied with a steady resolution to continue stedfast in our Obedience to him all our days is such a Divine Temper as gives us an undoubted right to the Ordinance and is the best Qualification for it But more particularly you are to understand that besides our habitual Preparation by Repentance and the constant Endeavours of a Holy Life we ought to set some time apart for Actual Preparation tho' how much every Person ought to allot of his Time for that Work cannot precisely be determined some have more cause for it than others having long neglected themselves and their Duty Others have more Leisure and Freedom for it No man ought to come to the Sacrament without due Care and Preparation but God doth not expect so much time should be set apart for Solemn Preparation by a poor Servant as he does from a Rich Master Now a Christian 's actual Preparation for this Ordinance I take to consist in the practice of these five following Duties Examination Humilation Resolution Meditation Prayer and Supplication 1. Examine thy self according to St. Paul's Advice 1 Cor. 11.28 For we stand too near our selves to see our Failings without great Observation Take therefore the Candle of the Word into thy hand to search thy Heart and examine thy Life by Particularly examine 1. What good there is in thee what Knowledge to discern the Lord's Body and to understand the Nature Use and End of the Lord's Supper What Faith to apply the Merits of his Death to thy own Soul What Love to thy Saviour's Person Precepts Promises People to every one that has the Image of Christ upon him What Repentance and Godly Sorrow dost thou find in thy Soul for Sin What Care every day to mortifie it and to die daily more and more unto it 2. Examine what Evil is in Thee and has been done by Thee See and be sensible of the sinfulness of thy Nature of the Sins of thy Heart and Life of thy Omissions of Good and Commissions of Evil of thy Sins against God and thy Neighbour in Heart Word or Deed And tho' it be impossible upon thy utmost search to find out all it will be a good Evidence of thy Sincerity that thou art not willing to hide any 2. Having by Examination found out thy Sins fall down upon thy Knees in Confession and Humiliation before God bewailing manifold Sins ond Wickedness which thou from time to time hast most grievously committed by Thought Word and Deed against his Divine Majesty Labour earnestly to repent and to be unfeignedly sorry for these thy misdoings beg of God that the remembrance of Sin may be bitter to thy Soul and the burthen of it be intolerable plead with him to forgive Thee all that is past and to give thee his Grace that thou mayst ever hereafter serve and please Him in newness of Life to the Honour and Glory of his Holy Name This done before thou arisest from thy Knees 3. Renew thy Resolutions for a Holy Life Vow to be more watchful more careful and circumspect for the time to come say with holy David Psal 119.106 I have sworn and will perfarm that I will keep thy righteous Judgments And be sure when you resolve against your Sins that you resolve against all Temptations which lead to Sin he that resolves against Drunkenness and Swearing must resolve to avoid wicked Company which draw him to that excess and to pass by the Door where he is wont to
be drawn in And take heed of making any Resolutions in your own strength but earnestly implore the Grace and Assistance of Almighty God Oh be sensible that your own strength is small your Enemy strong your Temptations many your Danger great if ever you desire to bring your Resolutions for a better Life to perfection look up to Heaven for Auxiliary Aid from thence engage God's Strength which will enable Thee to do all things so saith the Apostle Phil. 4.13 I can do all things c. 4. Apply thy self next to the Duty of Meditation particularly Meditate on the Sufferings of thy Saviour And to help and quicken thy Meditations upon them let me advise Thee constantly to read over the History of them before a Sacrament as you find them Recorded in the two last Chapters but one of all the Evangelists Meditate on his wonderful Abasement in his Incarnation that the Creator of the World should become a Creature Meditate on the Meanness and Poverty of his Life and that will work in thee true Contentment of Mind in thy poor and low Condition But above all meditate on his unparallel'd Sufferings at his Death his Patience under them and his readiness to pardon and pray for his Enemies and Murtherers that were the occasion of them This will at once inkindle thy hatred against Sin inflame thy Love to Christ and inspire thee with a Spirit of Meekness towards thy greatest Enemies in imitattion of thy dear Saviour who offer'd up his Blood to God on the behalf of them that shed it 5. Set more than ordinary time apart before the Sacrament for Sccret Prayer earnestly pleading with God to make the Sacrament effectual for the mortifying of thy Sins for the strengâ—hning of thy Grace for the quickning of thy Desires for the confirming of thy Resolutions to make a Soul-nourishing Meal unto Thee and that thou mayst experience the strengthening comforting quickning assisting and accepting Presence of Christ in and at the Ordinance and that so thou mayst be able to sanctifie the Name of Christ in the highest Act of Homage and Adoration to him suitable Petitions for such an occasion you have many in that excellent Cook called The Whole Duty of Man and in Bishop Patrick's Christian Sacrifice with many more in want of which if thou canst not of thy self express thy own Desires make use of the following Form of Words A Prayer before the Sacrament O Eternal and Ever Glorious God! Who dwellest in the highest Heavens yet in the humblest and lowest Hearts In a great sight of thy Infinite Majesty and Adorable Excellencies as also in a deep sense of my own vileness and unworthiness I come unto Thee Beseeching Thee for the Passion of thy dear Son to Accept of me a poor Prodigal now returning to Thee and Prostrating my self at thy Door who am by Nature a Child of Wrath by Practice a Child of Disobedience and therefore liable and obnoxius to thine Everlasting Wrath But thou of thine Infinite Goodness hast promised me thy Favour and Friendship in Christ if at the call and invitation of thy Gospel I will accept the Merit of his Death and submit to the Authority of hie Laws and Proclaim and Prosecute an open and irreconcible War against all known Sins the Enemies of thy Glory and the disturbers of my Peace Oh Lord I heartily lament them and from the bottom of my Soul I Renounce them all whether in thought word or deed committed against thy Divine Majesty faithfully Covenanting with thee for the time to come not to allow my self in any known sin but to use all those means which I find prescribed by thee in thy Word for my Spiritual Advantage and for the Death and Destruction of all my Corruptions Oh thou God and Father of Hcaven whose Thoughts of Mercy towards me have been from Everlasting I Dedicate my self Soul Body and Spirit to thy Service and Glory as a small Return of Duty and Thankfulness for thy matchless Love promising to serve Thee in Righteousness and true Holiness all the dayes of my Life Oh thou Blessed Jesus the Precious Lamb of God whose Soul was made an Offering for Sin and who hast declar'd thy readiness to receive and embrace Repenting and Returning Sinners Receive me Graciously who am weary and heavy laden with the Burthen of my Sins and humbly desire by Faith to Approach unto thee I own my self unworthy to gather up the Crumbs that fall from thy well-spread Table much more unworthy to be entertained at it but seeing such is thy condescending Grace and Love to invite me to the participiation of thy self I do here with all humility Accept thee for my Lord and Saviour for my King Priest and Prophet Oh permit me to come to thy Holy Table to Ratifie this Engagment And oh thou Holy and Good Spirit the Sanctifier and Comforter of thy Church and Children enable me to resign up my self intirely to the Guidance and Dominion of thy Grace that I may evermore hereafter walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the Lusts of the Flesh And now that I am going to the Holy Table in obedience to my Lords Command to Commemorate his Dying Love vouchsafe thy Gracious Presence with me and render thy self powerfully present to my Mind and Thoughts Oh help me that I may attend my Lord without Distraction Enable me to give up my self an holy and acceptable Sacrifice to my Redeemer who has given himself a Meritorious Sacrifice for my Redemption Oh help me to follow my Holy Lords Example in all the steps of an Imitable Vertue Let me Admire and Imitate his Condescending Humility his Fervent Charity his Patience under Sufferings his readiness to forgive Injuries and let the same mind ever be in me which was also in Christ Jesus that having been a Welcome Guest at thy Table here on Earth I may hereafter be Adjudged worthy to be called to the Supper of the Lamb and may Feast with my Blessed Redeemer in his Everlasting Kingdom All which I ask in the Mediation of Jesus Christ saying Our Father c. An Hymn before the Sacrament THis day the Lord of Hosts Invites Unto a Costly Feast I will take care and will prepare To be a Welcome Guest But who and what am I oh Lord Unholy and Unfit To come within thy doors or at Thy Table for to sit Awake Repentance Faith and Love Awake O every Grace To meet your Lord with one Accord In his most Holy Place Worldly Distractions stay behind Below the Mount abide Cause no Disturbance in my mind To make my Saviour chide O come my Lord the time draws nigh That I am to Receive Stand with thy Pardon Sealed by Perswade me to Believe Let not my Jesus now be Strange Nor hide himself from me But cause thy Face to shine upon The Soul that longs for thee Come Blessed Spirit from above My Soul do thou Inspire To come again to My Lords Board With fulness of Desire Oh
let my Entertainment now Be so Exceeding Sweet That I may long to come again And at thy Table meet 6. Having directed you in your Preparation for this Ordinance next understand how you are to behave your selves at and under it First then Come to the Ordinance with high and raised Expectations to receive great Benefit and Advantage by it both as to the Mortifying of thy Sin and Quickning of thy Grace And whatever Lust it is that thou art most Captivated by and enslaved to be it Pride Passion Earthly Mindedness c. let us set our selves against that Lust with all our might and plead with God at his Table thus Lord I come to this Ordinance with a sincere desire and design to get Victory over every Lust but particularly against which doth so often solicite and importune me oh let it receive its Death wound in the Death of my Saviour and never molest or inslave me more Secondly When come to thy Lords Table labour to cast all thy Worldly Thoughts and Concerns out of thy Head and Heart And strive to lift up thy Heart unto the Lord as thou art exhorted by the Minister say unto all unsuitable Thoughts as Abraham did unto his Servants Gen. 22.5 Abide you here below whilst I go and worship the Lord yonder 3ly The better to keep all Impertinent and Improper Thoughts out of thy mind Entertain thy self with a frequent Remembrance of the Death of Christ at the sight of the Bread broken and Wine poured out call to mind at once the Passion of the Son of God and thy Sins which exposed him to such a Painful Shameful and Accursed Death Represent to the Eye of your minds your Dear Redeemer as hanging upon the Cross Bleeding Sighing Groaning Dying under the insupportable burthen of thy sins and his Fathers Wrath. 4ly When thou perceivest the Minister approaching with the Elements towards thee put thy self in the lowliest posture of Reverence and say thus betwixt God and thy Soul How Beautifull are the feet of him that publisheth Salvation and brings the proffer of a Saviour to me I am unworthy of Christ but he is worthy of me and of my Faith I do therefore Oh Lord with all Humility accept Thee for my King Priest and Prophet for my Sanctifier and Saviour 5ly When thou hast received the Bread say to this or the like effect Lord I receive this broken Bread in remembrance of thy broken Body Oh strengthen me with thy Heavenly Grace that I may continue thine for ever and daily encrease in thy Holy Spirit more and more until I come to thine Everlasting Kingdom Amen In like manner after thou hast received the Cup pray to this purpose Oh my God Let my Soul go forth as a Gyant refreshed with this Spiritual Wine and let all the Enemies of my Salvation fall before me may I walk in the Strength of this Spiritual Meal all my days and in the end of my days enjoy the full Manifestation of thy Love which is better than Wine in thine Everlasting Kingdom Amen 6ly Imploy your time whilest others are Receiving in Meditation and Prayer in meditating upon the Love of the Father in sending and upon the Love of the Son in coming upon this great Errand to accomplish the Work of Redemption of us Also in Praying unto God for all Mankind in General for the whole Church of God in special for that part of it planted in these Nations in particular for all Christian Kings Princes and Governours especially our own for all our Friends and Benefactors that God would requite the kindnesses they have shewn us for all our Enemies that God would Pardon the wrongs and injuries done to him to us and to their own Souls This being a Feast of Love in which we commemorate the highest instance of Love that ever the World was acquainted with a greater Expression of our Love we cannot shew to our offending Brother than in a readiness to forgive him and interceeding earnestly for his Soul Lastly As an Expression of thy Thankfulness to Christ for his Mercy and Compassion towards Thee lay hold upon this occasion to shew thy Charity to his Members that thy Prayers and thine Alms may be had in Remembrance of God and as thou refreshest the Bowels of the Poor so mayst thou find Mercy of the Lod in the needful day 7. It only now Remaines to shew how we ought to behave our selves after we have waited upon Christ at his Holy Table 1. Decline if possible all Company immediately after the Action and retire instanly into some Secret Places and there upon your Knees offer up your Thanksgivings to Almighty God for his Rich Mercy and Invaluable goodness vouchsafed to you in that Ordinance entreating him to Pardon all the defects of the whole Service and imploring the Gracious Assistances of his Holy and Good Spirit whereby you may be enabled to walk in the Strength of that Grace as becometh those who have recived such great Pledges of Salvation 2. When you are return'd into Company take heed that the spiritual heat which was inkindled in your Souls by and under the Ordinance be not quenched by a sudden falling into worldly Conferences and fruitless Discourses but labour to cherish and keep alive that Holy Fire upon the Altar of your Hearts and endeavour by Prayer Meditation and Holy Conference to improve it into a Holy Flame 3. Spend the Sacrament-day in Publick Private and Secret Duties of Religious Worship particularly in Prayer and Praises in After-Examination of your selves What Faith what Love what Humility what Sincerity was found with us when waiting upon your Saviour at his Holy Table Take notice also of any deadness of Heart and disposition of Spirit which thou labouredst under bewail it and beg pardon of it for Christs sake who bears the Iniquities of our Holy Things 4. Conclude the Sacrament-day with Prayer and an Hymn of Praise Thus did our Saviour after he had kept this Supper with his Disciples He sung an Hymn St Matth. 26.30 and betakes himself to God in Prayer and the Jews at their Passover did Sing the 113th Psalm with the five following Psalms which they call'd the great Hallelujah A Christian should every day of his Life give Thanks and Pray but especially on a Sacrament-day then should we Bless the Lord with our whole Souls and call upon all that is within us to Bliss his Holy Name such Christians as desire to do this but want suitable Words to express their desires in may make use of what here followeth A Prayer after the Sacrament FOr ever Blessed be thy Great thy Glorius and thy Holy Name Oh Lord For all thy unspeakable Favours and Benefits vouchsafed to me and to all Mankind particularly for thy invaluable Love in giving thy Dear Son to die for me in the Sacrifice and to be my Spiritual Food and sustenance in the Holy Sacrament Lord who am I and what am I that thou hast been pleased to
admit me this day into thy Presence to renew my Covenant with Thee which I have so often and so perversly broken before Thee I have once more lifted up my hand to the most High God and sworn Allegiance to my Soveraign and my Saviour Oh keep it in the purpose of my Heart for ever to continue stedfast in his Covenant and let neither the smiles of a flattering World allure me nor the Frowns Threats and Terrors of an Angry World be ever able to drive me from my Duty or hinder me in the way of well-doing Holy Father accept I Beseech Thee of that renewed Dedication which I have made of my self this day unto Thee even of my whole Man Soul Body and Spirit to thy Service and Honour And now Glory be to Thee Oh God the Father whom I shall from this day forward with an humble Expectation look up unto as my Father and God in Covenant Glory be to Thee Oh God the Son who hast loved me and washed me from my Sins in thine own Blood and art now become my Saviour my Justifier and Redemer Glory be to Thee Oh God the Holy Ghost who hast by the Power of thy Victorious Grace overcome the obstinacy of my Heart and turned it from Sin to God Oh Lord God! Omnipotent Father Son and Holy Spirit Thou art become my Covenant Friend and I through thy Grace am become thy Covenant Servant Truly I am thy Servant I am thy Servant heartily devoted to thy fear Thy Vows are upon me Oh God! Thy Vows are upon me I will render Praises unto Thee Oh let me never more start aside from my Vows like a broken Bow but give me such a stedfastness and stability of Mind such a firmness and fixedness of Resolution that my after-Conversation may be suitable both to my present Profession and future Expectation that so I may in all Companies in all Conditions walk worthy of him that hath called me to his Kingdom and Glory And let the sence of my Redeemers Love this day to me inflame my Heart with a never failing Charity unto all Mankind whom I pray God to do good unto especially to thy Church particularly to these Nations under their Majesties Care and Inspection whom may Almighty God long and mutually Bless in the Happy Enjoyment of each other and work in the Minds of all Christians a dread of thy Name an Honour of their Superiours and un unfeigned Charity one towards another All which Mercies I humbly Beg in the Name of the Holy Jesus saying Our Father c. An Hymn after the Sacrament LOrd any Mercy short of Hell For Me it is too good But have I Eat the Flesh of Christ And also Drunk his Blood Mysterious Depths of Endless Love My Admirations Raise Oh God thy Name exalted is Above the highest Praise My Saviours Flesh is Meat indeed His Blood is Drink Divine His Graces Dropt like Honey-Combs His Comforts Taste like Wine This day Christ has refresht my Soul With his abundant Grace For which I magnifie his Name Longing to see his Face Oh when shall I ascend on high Most Holy Just and True To eat that Bread and Drink that Wine Which is for ever New To Him that sits upon the Throne And Christ the Lamb therefore Be Glory Blessing Strength Renown And Honour evermore CHAP. XIV Containing an Earnest Exhortation to the Love and Practice of Universal Holiness THE Consideration of our Baptismal Vow renewed and ratified by many Sacramental Engagements at the Holy Table is certainly one of the strongest ties that Christianity layes upon us to oblidge us to the Love and practice of universal Holiness for most certain it is if we relapse and fall back into an evil course of Life if we wilfully return again to Folly we kindle Gods Wrath against us we provoke him to plague us with divers Diseases and sundry kinds of Death But if we escape these there are more dismal Plagues than these that will overtake us such are hardness of Heart blindness of Mind and a Seared Conscience These are indeed invisible stroaks which make not a noise and strike not our Senses but verily if we consider the Effects and consequences of them they are more formidable and dismal than the raging Pestilence and the loudest Claps of Thunder Let us then Piously Resolve as we Fear the Wrath of God and Love our own Souls after we have renewed our Covenant with God at his Holy Table to oblige our selves to an Eminent and Exemplary Piety of Conversation Let us live as those that are Redeemed by the Blood of Jesus as those that are Sanctified and Sealed by the Spirit of Jesus as those that do expect an Eternal Fellowship and Communion with Jesus in his Heavenly Kingdom To this end it may be very advisable 1. The next Morning after thou hast been at the Sacrament as soon as thou art up enter into thy Closet And before the Lord piously and positively Resolve and Vow to maintain a strict Watchfulness and Care over thy Heart Words and Ways for the time to come Such a Resolution as this made in the Strength of God will work wonders because God will Assist and Bless it 'T will fortifie thee against Temptations and the strongest Solicitations to return to the Love and Practice of Sin and Wickedness Suppose thy dearest Friends and Familiars suppose thy Indulgent Mother that bare thee nay suppose the Wife of thy Bosom the Delight of thine Eyes should all set upon thee yea Entreat and Importune thee to Omit some known Duty or to Commit some wicked Act such a Resolution as thou hast now made for a Holy Life will Antidote thy Soul against the Poyson of such a Temptation and put the same Reply into thy Mouth as was found in Holy Joseph's Gen. 39.9 How can I do this great Wickedness and sin against God 2. Having made this Solemn Vow betwixt God and thy own Soul for a Holy Life for a Life suitable to a Sacramental Engagement you will find it very advantagious to write it down and keep it by you thus At such a Time and on such a Day having renewed my Covenant with God at his Holy Table I did with all the Devotion of my Heart and Soul entirely surrender up my self and all that is mine to the Service and Glory of Almighty God Vowing all Fidelity and Obedience to him and Resolving that he shall have the full Guiding Governing and Disposing of me and mine And after every Sacrament look upon it and consider seriously of it saying thus to thy self Behold Oh my Soul the Bonds that are upon thee this is thine own Act and Deed it is as certainly Recorded in Heaven as it is here Written on Earth and shall one Day be brought forth against thee to thy Everlasting Condemnation if thou dost not walk answerably to the Obligation of it Keep it by thee as a Memorial of the Solemn Transactions betwixt God and thy Soul and besides the