agreed to abolish that Custom To conclude the famous Huniades is as great in Story for his Humility as for his Victories and as much celebrated that he would not tho on his Death-bed receive the blessed Sacrament but on his knees as for the many Overthrows that he gave the Mahometans Since therefore these and the like Excuses are but Engines to entrap and betray me And since the same Authority that forbids me to kill or to steal bids me do this in remembrance of my Saviour I do from henceforth resolve to communicate upon every Occasion as I love my life and my salvation The Collect. GRacious God the instructor of the ignorant and the guide of them who are out of the way convince me of my folly remove my prejudices and arm me with thy Grace against the assaults of Satan that I may not consult with Flesh and Blood but with thy lively Oracles that I may long for all occasions to communicate with thee and may stifle all Excuses that would hinder that holy Converse that above all things I may love thee here and live with thee for ever hereafter through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen CHAP. III. Of the danger of unworthy Receiving BUT do not thou imagine O my deceitful heart that there is nothing required of thee but only to approach this holy place and taste of the Dainties it affords They never relish well but to the Palat that is seasoned This Bread turns to a Stone and the Wine into Gall and Wormwood to the sinner whose soul is vitiated Our Saviour does not vouchsafe to eat this Christian Passeover but with his Disciples with the penitent and the devout He is the Carkass and here the Eagles are expected but Dogs are prohibited * Revel 22.15 without are dogs and all that work iniquity And whatever wretch should dare break through these Fences and commit a Rape on this blessed Sacrament he will be deceived of the benefit expected for this spiritual food to him hath no extraordinary relish nor does it differ from that which ministers to his Lust and his Wantonness and he runs the greatest hazard of eternal damnation He had better have swallowed the deadliest Poison I dare not therefore magnifie constant Communion so as to depretiate the Vertues that must qualifie the Communicant and make him worthy It is an insufferable affront to Religion and an intrusion not to be pardoned when the crafty Usurer shall come from his yesterdays grinding the face of the poor to eat to day the Body of his Saviour the Shop-keeper from his little arts and methods of fraud the Glutton from his cramm'd dishes the Intemperate from his last nights debauch and the lustful from the arms and embraces of his Mistrisses to force themselves a way to Gods House and Table that man unavoidably * 1 Cor. 11.27 29. eats and drinks damnation to himself and is guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. And tho perhaps the word in the Original which our Translators render Damnation be sometimes taken in a softer sense and only signifies Temporal Judgments And it be a Quaere whether he who thinks himself unworthy be for that Reason unfit because the most humble is the best prepared or whether every actual unworthiness makes a man liable to so severe a sentence Yet doubtless every prophane and impenitent Wretch is in the high-road to Ruin And hardly can salvation it self save such a man * Heb. 6.6 c. who after he hath been inlightned from above and tasted of the good gift of God falls away For he hath anew crucified to himself the Lord of life I therefore as a private person charge thee O my soul look to thy self and examine severely thy state Thy happiness and eternal welfare depend on thy due preparation And as God's servant in the Function of the Priesthood I charge the Drunkard and Adulterer and I do it in the Name of our adorable Saviour I charge the Covetous and the Extortioner the Proud and the Revengeful the Prophane Man and the Hypâ—crite the practical Infidel and Debauchee not to presume to tread this holy ground Fire will break from this Altar and consume them Here is an angry Cherub with his Flaming Sword turning every way to secure the Tree of Life that it may not be tasted of by the wicked and profligate but I also charge the same Atheistical and vicious liver to alter his evil habits to wash his soul clean in the waters of true penitence and then let him visit the Temple It is equally damnable not to come at all and to come unprepared The Collect. In imitation of St. Chrysostome HOly Saviour who hast been in all places who didst not disdain to visit the Grave with thy Body and Hell with thy Soul while thy Divinity was with the penitent Thief in Paradise and with thy Father on his Throne Thou Spirit of Truth thou Heavenly King and Comforter who art present every where and fillest all things Thou Treasure of Goodness and Guide unto Eternal Life where wilt thou that I shall provide the Passeover O! come and pitch thy Tents in my Soul and purge me from all pollution cleath me with thy Righteousness give me Faith and Knowledg Love and Obedience that I may always be fit to enjoy thy company and to share in thy Merits Pardon my sins and save my soul O thou Author of all Goodness Amen CHAP. IV. Of Examination in general THere is an indispensible necessity of Examination preparative to worthy receiving For tho Charity inclines me to judg Favourably of others yet I dare not flatter my self And if severity be at any time lawful it is in the Offices of Repentance I ought to suspect my best actions and censure my very devotions I ought to fly the very appearances of evil as I dread the shadows of the Grave and to tremble at a temptation when first in View For nothing can be so terrible as the state of a * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Reprobate For if the Sacrifice must be without blemish if it must not only not want any Essential or Integral part not an Ear or an Eye but also must not so much as have a Scab or an Ulcer the blood must not be tainted nor the Lungs scirrous how much more ought the Priest to be perfect throughly furnisht unto every good work It is the Apostle's advice 1 Cor. 11.28 Let every man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is a word of a very large and comprehensive signification I ought to examine my self as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 h. e. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vid. S. Chrysost Hom. 20. in Ep. ad Rom. to 3. p. 174. the Ancient Priests did their Sacrifices For both the Jews and Gentiles when an Oblation was brought to the Temple did not only inspect its Out-side but cut it down by the back
to pray as heartily for my most malicious enemies as for my own salvation And I cannot but remark the folly of the Romanists who tho they say all the rest of their prayers on Good-Friday kneeling do alter that posture when they pray for the Jews as they also omit saying the Amen and that for these poor Reasons * Durand Ration lib. 6 cap. 77. 1. because the Jews mock'd our Saviour with bowing the Knee and saying Hail King 2. Pecause all their prayers cannot alter the Divine Decrees nor shorten the time their conversion not being to commence till the fulness of the Gentiles be brought in But the Arguments are vain and frivolous and the usage savours of a narrow and a contracted soul For to ingross salvation to my self or party is Christian Judaism it is impropriating the Messiah and depriving all others of the capacity of being happy So that if I consider my Relation to the rest of the world either as a Man or a Christian I cannot but account my Adversaries whether they be so to my person or principles in the number of my Friends and such as do me good For by envious exclaiming against my Irregularities they engage me to more circumspection and greater care in performing my duty to my God the world and my self And they give me occasion to manifest my Patience my Humility and Self-denial with many other Vertues And were the Malice of my Enemies never so causeless and inveterate and the Injuries done me never so great yet they have not crucified me But so did my Saviour's Enemies deal with him while he forgave them and interceded for them And hath not that my Saviour * Matth. 5.24 injoin'd me rather to leave his service undone than that my duty to my Neighbour rather to leave my Gift at the Altar unoffer'd than to make the Oblation without being in perfect charity for * Tert. de Orat. c. 10. Optat. lib. 6. Chrysost in loc c. the Fathers generally understand that passage of the Holy Sacrament ‖ Chrysost To. 6. p. 622. If I cannot forgive ten days fasting will not fit me for this Altar For where Envy and Malice dwell neither the Fast nor the Festival do any good Where Envy abides thence the Spirit of God is banisht And what hopes can that man have of salvation who is destitute of the Holy Ghost There is nothing therefore that can excuse me from the practice of this so amiable a Vertue which intitles me to a conquest of my Passions and makes me Master of my self Revenge is not my Province God will repay And tho it may make me for a while uneasie not to pursue it yet I am sure it is much more uneasie to be damn'd and to be confin'd to eternal torments The Collect. BLessed Jesu who when thy Sacred Body suffer'd its acutest pains and when thy Innocent Soul felt its most afflicting Agonies wert ready to implore thy Father's Forgiveness on thy most imbitter'd Adversaries be thou pleas'd to forgive my Enemies Persecutors and Slanderers and to turn their hearts and so enable me by thy Holy Spirit to walk in thy steps that I may bless them who curse me and do good to them who hate me and pray for them who despightfully use me whether they are my Enemies justly or without a cause willfully or unwillingly by what means or way soever they have done me Injury Father forgive them as I desire thou wouldest forgive me For no man can use me worse than I have deserved at thy hands and when they curse then do then bless And be thou pleas'd to remove from me and all Mankind all Bitterness Wrath Anger Clamor Evil speaking and Malice and whatever grieves thy Holy Spirit that we may be kind one to another tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God for thy sake hath forgiven us that the Spirit of Love may subdue all desires of Revenge that we may be Followers of those Rules which be first pure then peaceable and at last may be admitted into the Habitations of Eternal Concord and Unity through thy Merits and Mediation who art the great Reconciler the Angel of the Covenant Jesus Christ the Righteous Amen CHAP. XVI Of Love to the Holy Sacrament WHen I love any man sincerely every thing that hath a Relation to my Friend is dear to me and of a particular value I look upon a Ring given me by a living Friend as a Remembrancer of the Donor and his Affection but if it be given to me at his death and that death a Martyrdom and the Ring be dipt in the sacred blood * Act. Passion ss Perpet Faelic p. 34. which was sometimes practis'd by the Martyrs it upon that very account becomes venerable in my eyes and I reflect on it with a deep respect intermixt with love and such is the blessed Sacrament to me When Jesus was crucified his Passion for the time was very terrible the Earth shook the Rocks rent and the Sun was Eclips'd but such things easily die in our memories unless reqresented by something visible by some outward sign The sight of Calvary must needs engage a modern Traveller to remember a bleeding Saviour who died there sixteen hundred years agon And as the marks of our Redeemer's Foot steps when he ascended which made their impression in the ground and continued visible * Paulin. Ep 11. ad Severum till the Fifth Century could not but presently recall into the thoughts of but a transient considerer the History of the Triumphs of Jesus which were the Reward of his sufferings and such sights without doubt wrought wonderfully in the primitive Martyrs when the Blood of a dying Redeemer was yet warm and those Memorials not defac'd who lookt upon the places with Respect and there built Churches to perpetuate the Memory of the Mercy It is true afterwards those places administred to superstition and I am sorry to say so did the Sacrament too and to Idolatry also tho it owes its Original to divine Institution When therefore I contemplate these symbols I not only remember my Master as he hath obliged me till his second coming but I also put an Estimate on his Institution I account it an Honour to be admitted to his Table and I long for frequent opportunities of going thither and nothing can satisfie me but such an Entertainment For the highest degree of Holiness is most acceptable And I am no Christian if I love not my God with all my heart And nothing less than a vigorous passion and the desires of a necessitous person deserve to be called love to the Eucharist Nor dare I desire it to gratifie any by-end but to save my soul For if I long for it only out of wantonness the Bread may feed my body but it will never supply the wants of my soul the Wine may cheer my spirits but never refresh my mind Nothing less than transports can express the sense of the
Blessing with joyful Acknowledgments ⸪ Jul. Firmic p. 38. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they never saw a Candle brought into the Room but they saluted the Light and bid it welcome but at Gods Altar I am blest with the light that lightens every man that comes into the world And when the men of o Id. p. 6 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aegypt found their Mock-Deities they excliamed We have found him let us rejoice together And am not I much more obliged to do so when I have found the Messiah to whom Moses and the prophets bear witness when I have found the way of Salvation the means to attain to the favour of God To this end the Book of Psalms should be alway in my hands and the Jubilees of it in my mouth for nothing like that Book fits a man for the giving or receiving these Mysteries * Dion Areop Eccl. Hier. c. 3. p. 288. ' In the Psalms we praise God for all his Works and we praise all good men for their holy Speeches and excellent Actions they quiet our Affections and subdue our unruly minds as Davids Harp did drive the evil Spirit out of Saul And they call to our Remembrance that Saviour of ours who is almost in every one of them described to the World With these Songs of Praise did those devout men deceive the tediousness of a Journey and of worldly Business the Husbandman sung the Hallelujahs while he followed his Plough and the Shopkeeper while he managed his Trade and with them they begun and ender their Meals they were the Companions of their Employments the entertainment of their leisure Hours and the solace of their Cares And are not these things written for Examples Nothing therefore shall hinder but that I will treat my Saviour with Cheerfulness and a glad Heart who treats me with a Feast above the desert of Angels Angels cannot make him more happy than he is they can only sing his Praises and to their Hallelujahs will I joyn mine nor shall my joy make it self visible only in my Anthems but it shall be more illustrious in my Conversation for this Blessing which I receive is a Sacrament 't is an Oath that obliges me as it did my Forefathers in the Faith * Vid. Plin. lib. 10. Ep. 97. the Primitive Christians to a Holy Life to Justice and Temperance and the practice of every other Virtue it binds me to avoid Theft and Adultery and every other Crime as I am willing to avoid Damnation I do resolve therefore as I live by the Mercies of God so I will live to his Glory and nothing shall make me weary of loving and serving him but I will as far as I can imitate the Adorations and Obedience of the Seraphim till they carry me to Heaven where I shall bow down to and exult in my Saviour for ever The Collect. IT deserves my best Praises O most merciful Lord the Benefactor of my Soul that thou hast thought me worthy to be a partaker of thy holy and immortal Mysteries guide me uprightly in my ways and confirm me in thy fear and because all that I have is derived from thee O Lord I devote all unto thee I give thee my Body my Soul my Fame my Friends my Liberty and my self dispose of me and all that is mine as it seemeth hest to thee and may most advance the glory of thy blessed Name who livest and reignest with the Father and the holy Spirit world without end Amen CHAP. XX. Of the Priest who consecrates BUT above all men I hope my Brethren of the Clergy will not take it amiss that I have inserted this Chapter I did not design it to instruct them they are the Angels of God but to direct and guide my self in the discharge of the Priestly Office Gods Minister who consecrates ought to be careful that he be duly qualified in the purity of his intention and the Holiness of his conversation in self-examination and self-denial in Humility and true joy for Jesus who instituted the Mysteries was a holy and innocent High-priest and separate from sinners And tho it be no wonder that Judas may communicate yet it is monster when Judas consecrates to see dogs and swine and other unclean beasts wallow and delight in filth and pollution is common and ordinary but to see Ermins defiled is prodigy To behold one of the Sons of Belial making haste to be damned is an usual tho deplorable sight but to see an Angel fall into the condemnation of Satan to behold one of the Sons of God turn Apostate and to make a League with the Powers of Darkness is a reversing of the methods of Nature and Providence and a defiance to the constitutions of Holy Religion Shall I take the immaculate Body of my Saviour into a polluted Mouth and think to consecrate his Blood with profane Lips Ought I not to wash my hands in innocency before I compass the Altar of God before I receive Jesus for my self and give him in to the hands of others It was given in charge to the Priests of the Old Law Be ye holy for I the Lord your God am holy Nor can that Commandment be antiquated under the Gospel Nay the Mosaical Constitutions required that the Priest should not only be free from any inward Pollution but also that he should have no * Levit. 21.18 c. outward Blemish not so much as a flat Nose nor a broken Hand or Foot not a crook back or the Scurf no nor so much as a Blemish in his Eye nay so careful were they of the Priest who sacrificed that they not only surveyed the shape and make of his limbs but as †De sacrific Init. Philo observes they also curiously made inspection into his Skill whether he were able to discern a Sacrifice and every part of it from the Head to the Foot Tert. Apol. c. 30. p. 223. cur praecordia victimarum potius quam ipsorum sacrificantium examinantur that nothing tainted or defective might be offer'd for an Oblation to God and is there not the same skill and diligence required from an Evangelical Priest who must advise others and above all things should not neglect his own soul For if a Physician of the body gives no encouragement to his Patient to depend on his skill unless himself be of a vigorous constitution and a healthy look since all his Discourse of keeping others alive for ever will appear but empty talk and vain boast if his own livid Countenance and decayed Limbs are a contradiction to his confidence how much more ought those who take on them the Cure of Souls to mind the conforming of their Conversations to the Preceps which they give to others lest while they make their boast of the Law through breach of the Law they dishonour God For how necessarily sad and affrighting must be the reflections of that man who reads the threatnings of Heaven
my Will and Thoughts forgive me all of them as thou art Good and Gracious and preserve me from condemnation that the Oblations of thy People may be acceptably offered unto thee by me thy unworthy and sinful servant and that I my self may receive thy Precious Body and Blood to the curing of my soul and Body and may distribute thy Mysteries to others to their benefit and salvation For thine is the Kingdom Power and Glory Thine O Father Son and Holy Spirit now and for ever Amen CHAP. XXI The Methods of the ancient Church at the Celebration of the Holy Communion THe Writings of the Fathers together with the Old Rituals and Liturgies do at large give an Account both of the deep Respect that was paid to the Sacrament and of the Zeal Reverence and Devotion of those who received it together with the several Rites and Ceremonies that beautified and compleated the performance It cannot be denied but that in several Churches there were circumstantial differences in the Performance of this Duty but withal it cannot be denied that in the main there was an exact agreement As soon as the Bishop or Priest who Preacht had ended his Sermon all persons * Dionys Areop Eccl. Hier. c. 3. who were not Baptized or were possest by Evil Spirits or were in the state of Pennance were dismist the Deacons or Sub-Deacons keeping the Doors that no unqualified person might presume to stay any longer in the Church or to see the solemnity of the Celebration who was not worthy to Communicate After which the Deacons brought the materials of the Holy Sacrament which they had before received from the Hands of the Faithful * Vid. Mendoz. in Can. 22. Concil Illiberit and had layed up in the Church Treasury a place like our Vestry and delivered them to the Bishop if present if not to the Priest who laying them on the Table tendred them to God with this short Prayer Lord we offer thy own out of what thou hast bountifully given us Then the Deacon or as in some Churches the Sub-Deacon brought Water to the * Cyril Catech. Mystag 5. Liturg. Bishop and his Presbyters in which they were obliged to wash because the Psalmist says I will wash my hands in innocency and so will I compass thine Altar O Lord for washing was an Emblem of the Purifying both of the Body and Mind the * Enseb l. 10 c. 4. Chrys to 6. p. 619. c. people having washt at the Church-door before they begun their prayers it being accounted very indecent to appear before God unless they could lift up clean hands without wrath or doubting The Bishop and his Clergy had their seats round the Altar which stood in the middle of the Quire nor was any person permitted to be there besides the Clergy except the Graecian Emperor in the Churches of the East for even the Monks themseves in those days had no place among the Clergy but stood just without the Cancelli or Rails the Episcopal Throne for so it was stiled was placed just above the Holy Table his Presbyters seats being on each side of it the Deacons standing by * Chrys to 4. p. 271. passim all cloathed in white Garments some being concern'd in the Ministration of the Sacrament which they were injoined to do * Const Ap. li. 2. c. 57. with fear and reverence others to quiet the people and * Ap. Const l. 8. c. 12. one to keep the Children in due order for they also were admitted to this Sacrament and in some Churches two of the Deacons shaded the Chalice with a Skreen that no flyes or other such insects might fall into the Consecrated Wine Now the Churches among the Ancients were so ordered that as there was a partition between the Body of the Church and the Quire so there was also a Veil or Curtain which shaded the Altar and kept it from the sight of those who had no right to the Mysteries which Curtain when it was drawn the People in a solemn manner looking upon the Holy Table as a Type of Heaven and the Priests attending as the Angels of God descending to Minister to Men did give God hearty thanks * Liturg. S. Jacobi that there was an entrance given them into the Holy of Holies * Cyril Cat. myst 4. Ambr. de his qui initiantur c. 8. and that he had prepared a Table in their sight before the face of them for they believed * Chris to 5. p. 565. that this was tipified by the rending of the Veil at our blessed Saviour's passion that the people might look into the Holy of Holies and see their Crucified Redeemer now upon the Altar besides the Linnen and the Vessels necessary for the Consecration of which * Tet. de pudirit c. 7. and c. 10. the Chalices had the Impress of the good Shepherd bringing back the lost Sheep on his Shoulders there was nothing set besides a * Tert. apol 1.39 and Chrys to 6. p. 631. Cross and Lights and both of them very anciently to express that whatever was there done was a representation of that Sacrifice which our Blessed Saviour made of himself on the Cross for our sins and of that first Supper which he instituted and that it was a Feast of Joy to the Christian World After these preparative Actions the people were * Dion Areop ubi sup Const Ap. 2.57 Basil Liturg. c. bid 'To rise up together and to stand decently and with trembling and turning toward the East to pray to that God who ascended into the Heaven of Heavens and fitteth in the Eastern part of it toward which place stood Paradise whence the first man by the cunning of Satan was banisht And when the Congregation had put themselves into this posture the Deacon who attended the Bishop said aloud * Const ap l. 8. c. 11. Let not any man who is at enmity with his brother let not any man who is only hypocritically reconciled approach this table To which also he subjoined Let us attend after which the Bishop saluted his people with the peace of God be with you to which they answered and with thy Spirit tho o To. 3. p. 647. St. Chrysostome places the double salutation as it was called after the Kiss of Peace and immediately the * Dion Areop ub sup Cyril Cat. mystag 5. Const Ap. 2.57 Deacon aloud bad the people give each other the Holy Kiss or the Kiss of Charity which Action was managed with the greatest care and modesty imaginable for * Conc. Laodic Can. 19. first the Bishop gave the Kiss to his Presbyters and the Presbyters to the inferior Clergy and afterward among the Laâ—ty the men kist the men but the women their own Sex only for they had their different apartments and particular Officers appointed to each apartment the * Ostiarii Door-keepers at the entrance of that which belong'd to
flames begun to rage in the Recollects Convent And yet many of the practises of some men of that Communion are no way reconcilable to the notion of the Divinity of the Eucharist for not to mention ‡ Alan de Sacrific c. 32. that if but a Hen be sick in the Neighborhoud you may have a Mass said for its recovery it was usually buried with the Corpses of Bishops whom they Inter'd in their Episcopal Robes with a Patin and Chalice by them and the Consecrated Bread on their breast and this says the old ‡ Bals in Can. 83. Trullan Canonist was done to affright the Devil from Hannting their Tombs and it was also given as an ‡ Bals in Can. 61. Trull Conc. Wormat. c. 10. c. Ordeal to discern whether a person were guilty of a crime that could not be proved especially to Clergy-men to purge themselves from notorious crimes It was also sometimes left as a pawn or pledg and so St. Lewis of France pawn'd an Host for the pledg of his Ransome to the Sultan of Aegypt as did also Uladislaus King of Hungary to the Turkish Emperor Amurath when they made an Agreement But beyond all this men were not only contented to receive this Sacrament as an Oath of secrecy to conceal Treason Parricide Murther and such like crimes but some were so hardy as to attempt the damnable villany of poysoning their God to murther the Lords Anointed so the * Naucler Gener 42. p. 991. Emperor Henry the 7th was dispatcht and so also Pope ‖ Malmesb. l. 3. c. 39. Victor 3d was sent to his Grave and we are told * Lambard's Peramb of Kent p. 66. that William Arch-Bishop of York being discontent that he could not get the Preeminence of the See of Canterbury mingled Poyson with the Wine of the Chalice and so murther'd himself But I should tire my self and others should I multiply quotations for either these are proofs enough or a greater number of witnesses will not serve turn And May the Blessed Jesus the Governor of his Church purge it from all dross from all unwarrantable opinions and superstitious practises that all his Family may Worship Serve Honour and Humbly Obey him as we ought to do till the number of the Elect be Consummated when the Sons of God shall be admitted to sing Eternal Praises to his Majesty in Heaven Amen Amen The End of the First Part. PART II. Containing an Account of the Festivals of the Holy Week Lessons Meditations Prayers and Anthems 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Athenag legat pro Christ p. 5. No Christian can be wicked unless he be-ly his profession PART II. The INTRODVCTION THE devout Christian being thus fitted to commucate with his Saviour being instructed how to discern the Lord's Body and being acquainted with the advantages which the worthy receiving of it does bring with it and with the Duties preparative to such a receiving what remains but that every occasion of coming before God and partaking of the Dainties of his Table be with all eagerness pursued after and embrac'd Consider therefore O my Soul how shouldest thou long to dwell in the Courts of God and to serve him in the Beauties of Holiness His Name is wonderful and he is fairer than the Children of Men full of Grace are his Lips for God hath blessed him for ever and in him also hath God blessed the rest of the Sons of Men him hath God anointed with the Oyl of Gladness above his Fellows consecrating him to be our high Priest to make Attonement for the Sins of the World All his Garments smell of Myrrh Aloes and Cassia of bitter Scents that embalm his Crucifixion for when he was nailed to the accursed Tree then was the Wine mingled with Myrrh given him and when he was to be buried he was laid in a mixture of Myrrh and Aloes to fit his Body for its Sepulcher And what wilt thou do O my Soul to express thy gratitude to this thy Redeemer who is become thy Lord and thy God But worship him and Adore him and give Thanks unto him World without end Every day of his Life was to him a day of Affliction and Suffering from his first appearance at Bethlehem to his being Crucified on Mount Calvary his whole Age was one continued Good-Friday and should not every day of my Life be an Easterday He dyed daily and should I not daily remember that Passion and celebrate the Praises of that Condescenton and live to the Glory of that Mercy Should I not every day if I may be actually concern'd in the showing forth the Lord's Death till he come or at least intentionally and in Preparations Representing to my mind my bleeding Saviour and mourning over those Sins of mine which brought him to so much shame and so much torture and rejoycing in the Salvation which he hath wrought out for me By this means the subsequent Directions will serve as well for any other Week as for the Holy Week and I shall always be in a readiness to communicate with my Master Jesus and blessed are those Servants whom our Lord when he comes shall find so doing The Collect. HOly and immortal Saviour who didst both Dye and Rise again that thou mightest be Lord both of the Quick and Dead and didst Institute and in thy Holy Gospel command thy Church to continue a perpetual memory of that thy precions Death and glorious Resurrection until thy coming again Send thy Grace unto me and to all People that we may Worship thee Serve thee and Obey thee as we ought to do and be thou pleased to give us all things that be needful both for our Souls and Bodies give us this day and every day that heavenly Bread the Spiritual Manna that comes down from above and send thy Holy Spirit into our Hearts that we may be always in a fit Posture to receive it forgive us all our Sins and preserve us from all Temptations that we may live for ever to ascribe unto thee with the Father and the Holy Ghost the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and for ever Amen PALM-SVNDAY PAlm-Sunday is the day on which our blessed Saviour being determined to fulfil all that was spoken of him in the Law and the Prophets took his last journey from Galilee to Jerusalem to compleat our Redemption by his Sufferings and his Resurrection the People meeting him at Mount Olivet with Branches of Palms Olives and other Trees in their Hands Emblems of his Meekness and his Triumphs crying Hosannah to the Son of David blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord Hosannah in the highest 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 among the Greeks Dominica Palmarum Florum atque ramorum among the Latins and from this Original the day hath its Name in all Churches and the Transactions of this day were so observable that the Latin Church of the later Ages turn'd this as well as the other Festivals into
much devotion and an audible voice he heartily says Amen as a testimony of his strongest desires that it may be so and of his firm belief that God will make it so The Advice in these words Take and eat or drink this in remembrance c. And this puts him in mind 〈◊〉 duty what faith and thankfulness he ought to exercise at the reception of this blessed Sacrament And therefore he says Lord thou hast said it behold the Son of thine handmaid let it be unto me according to thy word I desire to know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified and to learn nothing but a conformity to his death and resurrection The word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory the glory as of the only begotten Son of God full of Grace and Truth § 17. Tho the devout Communicant brings with him unsatisfied ardors yet he takes care to receive decently and reverently not to snatch at the Bread nor to drink greedily for it is a Feast of temperance and therefore the Bread is given in a little piece and the Wine was anciently mixed with Water as for other reasons so for this that it might not offend the Head He therefore eats not as one whose antecedent fastings have made him hungry but as one who is little concern'd how his Body be provided for so the longings of his Soul be satisfied with spiritual food and he drinks not with the men of Corinth to be drunk at this Feast of Charity nor so much to allay his natural thirst as to satisfie the intense desires of his mind inflamed with love to his Saviour and the Holy Sacrament For at God's Table we are to eat and drink not to the satisfaction of our sensual appetites but to the sanctification of our Souls § 18. While the mysteries are distributeing to those who receive after him the good man examines his obligations to God's bounty in giving him one opportunity more of serving him in the beauties of holiness He remembers that Jesus being made a little lower than the Angels for the suffering of death was crowned with glory and honour and considers that now he is crucified with Christ that he might live to God and that the life that he now leads in the flesh he lives by the faith of the Son of God who loved him and gave himself for him He offers himself a sacrifice to God and for the future looks on himself as something consecrated and that can no longer without most prodigious Sacriledg be put to any profane use For how shall he dare to defile that which God hath sanctified For if Belshazzar were punish'd for quaffing in the Vessels of the Temple how much more shall that man be plagued that pollutes the residence of the Son of God And how shall that man presume to appear again before God that sins against him after the receipt of such blessings § 19. After this considering that this Sacrament is called the Cup of blessing and a holy Eucharist he expresses his gratitude in solemn Thanksgivings saying either * Constit Ap. l. 8. c. 13. Psal 34. which the Ancient Church used at this solemnity or Psal 111. rendring verse 6. thus He hath showed his people the power of his works and given us the bread of Angels Or this that follows Give thanks O my Soul unto God the Lord in the Congregation from the ground of the heart Say unto God how wonderful art thou in thy works How glorious are the things which thou in thy goodness hast prepared for the poor Thou hast prepared a Table for me my Cup did overflow and I have tasted and seen how good the Lord is I have eaten the Bread of God with joy and drunk his Wine with a merry heart for God hath accepted me My Soul is filled as it were with marrow and fatness and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips Blessed is he whom thou chusest and receivest unto thy self he shall dwell in thy Courts and shall be satisfied with the pleasures of thy House even of thy holy Temple As long as I live will I magnify thee in this manner and lift up my hands in thy name for thy loving kindness is better than life it self An offering of a free heart will I give thee and praise thy name because it is so comfortable I will love the Lord as do all his Saints I will bless him and magnify him for ever For this God is our God for ever and ever He shall be our guide unto death Glory be to the Father c. § 20. To this he subjoins an act of love and resignation I will love thee O Lord my God for the Lord is my defence and my refuge I will devote unto thee my body soul and spirit which are thine for thou hast redeemed them thou God of Truth Jesus hath loved me and laid down his life for me therefore will I adore him He is the Priest the Sacrifice and the Altar on him will I depend for salvation He hath given me the Sacrament as a confirmation of his former love and as a pledge of future favours therefore will I reverence and worship him world without end Lord I give my self to thee and I know whom I have believed and am perswaded that he is able to keep what I have committed to him against that day Write in my heart the laws of love and thankfulness that I may no longer dare to sin against thee For how shall I now escape if I neglect so great salvation § 21. To which may be added this prayer out of the Liturgy of St. Clemens GRant Blessed God that we and all thy Servants who have been admitted to communicate with Jesus by Faith and the participation of the Sacramental mysteries may obtain remission of our sins and be so confirm'd in the ways of godliness and rescued from the dominion and impositions of Satan that being filled with thy Holy Spirit we may here be made worthy Members of Christ's Body and at last become heirs of everlasting life through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Saviour Amen § 22. Just before his leaving the Church the good man thus prays Lord now lettest thou thy Servant depart in peace according to thy word for mine eyes have seen thy Salvation Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people To be a light to lighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of thy people Israel After which he speaks courteously and friendly to all his fellow-communicants for they are his brethren and the Eucharist is the bond of that unity and this serves him instead of the Kiss of Charity which was anciently given at this Sacrament tho now the custom be antiquated And because the Love-feasts succeeded the Eucharist which are also now disused that he may do something that is equivalent thereunto he invites one or more of his poorer Neighbours for the rich are in no need
of it to dine with him treating them with all affability and humble carriage relieving their bodily wants and instructing their minds and by this means earning their Prayers And this he does over and above what he hath given at the Offertory where he hath liberally according to his ability offered unto God and the Poor remembring that a thinking Heathen never came in sight of an Altar tho but occasionally but he tendred something thereon if it were but a little Salt or a handful of Flower and thought himself also obliged to provide for the indigent as for his brethren § 23. At his return he does not think fit to go immediately to his own dinner but retires to his Closet * Scalig. de Emendat temp l. 6. the Jews were obliged that night on which they did eat the Passover to taste nothing after it for the whole night that the relish of the Paschal Lamb might continue in their mouths a long time and the reason holds good in the Christian Church for our Blessed Saviour after he had eaten of this Supper resolved never to eat more till he had accomplish'd our redemption for says he I will drink no more of the fruit of the Vine till I drink it new in my Father's kingdom In the Closet the good man recollects the proceedings of the day and in his thoughts acts over again the solemnities of that glorious triumph for he dares not spend any part of this day but in holy Offices in Meditations and Prayers in acts of Faith and Love of Piety and Charity in Reading and Conference and in all other exercises that may serve to increase his virtues both in number and degree especially in holy praises and solemn thansgivings to God for all his benefits § 24. And after this manner he expresses himself I am thine and nothing shall separate thee from my love on the Cross every member of thy body every faculty of thy soul had its sufferings and its agonies for my sins and should I reserve any thing from thee No my most obliging Saviour I make an intire oblation of my self to thee a whole burnt-offering sacrificed in the flames of holy love and this I do with all my might and power nothing could atone for my sins but thy sufferings nor can any thing testify my gratitude but the devoting of my self to thy service Thou hast redeemed me thou God of Truth and I will be thy servant for ever My soul doth magnify the Lord and my spirit rejoiceth in God my Saviour For I have found him whom my soul loveth Jesus the Messiah of whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets did write What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits I will receive the Cup of Salvation and will praise the name of the Lord. I will go into thy House with my offerings and will pay my Vows which I promis'd with my lips when I was in trouble § 25. To which he subjoins Lord my single praises make but an insignificant and low sound they are the poorest of recompences and the most disproportioned to thy Majesty and thy Merits I therefore call in the assistances of Angels and of the whole host of Heaven of Sun Moon and Stars of the Earth and Sea and all that is therein to joyn with me in the magnifying of my Redeemer Let all the World worship thee sing of thee and bless thy name let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord for great is the Glory of the Lord and let all the Earth be filled with the knowledg of his Glory for his Name alone is excellent and his Glory above Heaven and Earth Amen Amen Glory be to the Father c. Then follows the Trisagios Holy God Holy and Powerful Holy and Immortal have mercy upon us § 26. After which he thus expresses himself How unwillingly have I left the place where my blest Saviour dwells and how well pleased should I be could I live and communicate with him always How amiable is that Palace where my dear Friend fixes his residence And how do I long to be treated continually at the Supper of the Lamb Oh that I could dye this very moment if it were but pleasing in the sight of my Heavenly Father and pass immediately from this antepast of joys to the intire entertainment of that Glorious Feast And would my Redeemer affist me how readily would I be this moment his Martyr How acceptable would a Prison or the Rack the Flames or a Sword be to me so I could by any means embrace an opportunity to let my beloved Jesus know how dear he is to me how much I value him and how ready I am to offer him my Blood who hath shed his own Blood for me upon the Cross and sed me with it at his Table And if that be an Honour that I am not worthy of and perhaps not capable of yet O Lord let me always be thy Martyr in resolution and since there is so much happiness in communicating with thee let me never leave the World so suddenly but that I may have the assistance of a good Priest to give me in thy name Absolution and to strengthen me in the agonies of death with the blessed Sacrament § 27. After which Meditation the worthy Communicant uses this Prayer taken out of the * Ps 8. c. 14.15 Constitutions commonly called the Apostles How ready and willing is my soul which hath been cherish'd and fed with the most Precious Body and Blood of my Saviour to offer him the thanks which I can pay tho neither what he deserves nor what I ought since he hath vouchsaf'd me the honour to partake of his holy Mysteries Grant holy Jesu that it may be for my Health not for my Ruin for my Happiness not for my Condemnation for the Security of my Soul and Body for the increase of Piety for the remission of Sins and for the introducing me into thy Palace for thy Name is called upon me and into thy Family I am adopted among thy faithful Servants Strengthen me and them by thy Holy Spirit inlighten our ignorance and supply all our defects and confirm us in the resolutions of a holy Life rescue and defend us from Satan and all our enemies ghostly and bodily sanctifie and protect help and keep us in our going out and in our coming in and at last assemble us in thy Kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all Glory Honour and Worship now and for ever Amen To which he adds this other Collect. ALmighty God who hast united the Christian World in one common Brotherhood by the Holy Sacrament that we being many might be one body because we are all partakers of that one Bread let me be partaker this day of the Prayers of all that this day have communicated whereover thy Church be dispers'd over the face of the whole earth and let my Petitions be available in
for the Laws of our Religion oblige me to die for thee And by so doing I make a noble change I barter a few transitory trifles for eternity I give a small pittance of my wealth and with it I purchase the prayers of the poor and indigent who generally pray heartiest and are heard soonest and I gain Heaven by it For it * Acts 20.35 is much more blessed to give than to receive Nor will a narrow and necessitous Fortune make an excuse For tho a man cannot build an Hospital or redeem a number of Captives yet he may deal his bread to the hungry and cover the naked with a Garment Or if this be above his Circumstances and Estate yet he can give good advice and a good example and he can pray for all mankind to that God who gives liberally and without grudging and this is a noble peice of Charity The Collect. O God whose Nature and Property is ever to have Mercy and to do good send down thy Holy Spirit into my Heart that I may love my Neighbour as my self and do unto all men as I would they should do unto me endeavouring as much as lies in me to promote the welfare and salvation of all the world and by earnest Prayers pious Advices and a good Example to advance thi Kingdom of our Holy Saviour till the Number of his Elect be accomplished through the Merits and Mediation of our only Mediator and Advocate Amen CHAP. XIII Of Vnity MY Love to my Neighbour is discovered 1. by my union and peaceableness 2. By my Alms. 1. By my Union for this is one great end of the Sacrament to unite all Christians in the bond of peace For * 1 Cor. 10.17 we are one body says St. Paul because we are partakers of one bread and therefore the primitive Christians had their publick Love-Feasts joyn'd as an Appendix to the Holy Sacrament in which persons of all Sexes Characters and Degrees did promiscuously partake of Gods blessings and made the meeting properly an Eucharist and some old * Glos MS. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Glossaries say that the Lord's Supper in S. Paul is this Love-Feast and to testifie the sincerity of their Love they gave the Holy Kiss each to other before they approacht the Holy Table which they called the sign of Reconciliation * Cyril Catech. Mystag 5. and the ‡ Act. Pass Perpet Faelicit p. 35. solemnities of peace and some learned men affirm that they gave it also a second time just before their departure out of Churh and then they called it * Tert. de Orat. cap. 14. the seal or close of their Devotion tho ‡ Legat. pro. Christ p 41. Athenagoras expresly affirms that it was forbidden by the Canons of the Church that any person should give this Kiss a second time as the * Act. Mart. ubi supr Martyrs also saluted one another before their deaths as a token that they went out of the world in perfect Charity and in the Communion of the Church of God And to this time on Easter-day and a fort-night after the * Olear Itin. l. 2. p. 53. Moscovites wherever they meet use this custom Nor may any person of what condition sex or quality soever dare to refuse this Kiss And in the * Sandy 's Trav. l. 1. p. 62. Greek Church now tho it be an insufferable wrong to kiss a Greek woman at any other time yet between the Feasts of the Resurrection and Ascension it is allowed when they greet one another with these words Christ is risen For it is this Sacrament that does unite us in our holy brotherhood by Vertue of which we are impowered to acknowledg one Father which is God to be made partakers of one and the same spirit of Holiness and to be set free from the powers of darkness and admitted into the only true light For every man who is a believer is a brother and no one else for * Vid. Chrys Hom. 25. in Ep. ad Hebr. the terms are reciprocally used by the Apostle it being also anciently given to those who were called The Faithful * Just M. Apol. 2. as they were distinguisht from the persons under catechizing or penance And therefore in those best days as no man durst travel to any Foreign Church in expectation of admission into their Communion or receiving their Assistance and Relief without Letters Testimonial from the Church which he left so they who were so recommended were acknowledged as Good Catholick and Orthodox Christians by their admission to the participation of the Lords Supper And among the Clergy it was an ancient custom to send pieces of the consecrated bread of the Eucharist * Iren. apud Euseb l. 5. cap. 24. from one Bishop to another as a Symbol and Mark of Communion till the Council of * Can. 14. Laodicea out of reverence to the Sacrament forbad it the Prelates afterwards instead of the consecrated bread sending some parcels of the bread destin'd to and prepared for the Holy Sacrament Now this mutual participation of Sacraments and other Offices of Religion is not unfitly thought by some men to be meant by that Article of the Apostle's Creed The Communion of Saints the Holy Catholick Church being so denominate from those sacred Rites which are in common to all Christians whereby they are not only united to God their Saviour but have fellowship one with another And to this purpose the ancient Church thought fit in the beginning of the Communion-service when none were present but those who were compleat Christians and in intire Communion with the Church in all Ordinances to recite out of the Diptychs which were never read but at the Altar not only the Names of the famous Princes and Bishops who were alive as a testimony that they held communion with them but also of all the Saints departed of the Mother of God the Apostles Martys Confessors and others that they might give a publick testimony to the world that they lived in the profession of the same Orthodoxy for which some of those Saints were martyred and in which they all died magnifying the Name of Christ for his goodness to his Church in calling it out of darkness into marvellous light and making them children of God And whosoever was left out of those Tables was by that Omission excommunicate as is famously known in the case of St. Chrysostom Since therefore all these holy usages are so many lessons of Peace and Union I will avoid all Schism as carefully as I shun the paths of death and I will conscientiously keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace I will honour my superiors and obey their Laws I will reverence my Holy Mother the Church and value her Communion and will study to be quiet and to do my own business The Collect. KEep O Lord thy Universal Church with thy perpetual Mercy in thy true Religion and
any opportunity of doing good when it is offered to him For who can expect that his Saviour should give him the dainties of his Table who denies his crumbs to his necessitous brother Nay the Ancients rather than suffer the poor to want thought it no Sacriledg to sell the Church plate for their Relief And St. Caesarius when he died made no other Will but this I bequeath all that I am worth to the use of the poor and St. Paulinus Bishop of Nola sold himself into captivity to redeem the son of a distrest Widow There is no way but this to make Freinds of the Mammon of Unrighteousness nor is there any likelier method to restore us to God's Love and Favour Mercy ard Truth are the Image of God And * Chrysost To. 4. Hom. 13. in 1 Tim. p. 302. tho the Heathens define a man to be a Rational Creature and capable of Knowledg the Scripture defines him otherwise when it tells us that the merciful person is only a man and that there is nothing so venerable in Nature as the Almoner The Collect. For Quinquages Sunday O Lord who hast taught us that all our doings without Charity are nothing worth pour into my heart that most excellent Gift of Charity the very Bond of Peace and of all Vertues without which whosoever lives is counted dead before thee Grant this for thine only Son Jesus Christ his sake Amen CHAP. XV. Of Love to my Enemies BUT it is not enough for me to love the brethren and to do good to the Houshold of Faith I must also love my Enemies and do good to them who intend my Ruin For if ye only love them who love you what reward have ye Matth. 5.44 c. do not even the Publicans the same And if you salute the brethren only what do you more than others do not even the Publicans so Be ye therefore perfect be ye merciful as your Father in heaven is merciful for be makes his Sun to rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust Our blessed Saviour therefore says to me and to all his Disciples Love your enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you that you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven This is the perfection of Vertue this the glory of our Christian profession and herein do the Laws of our blessed Master out do all other Schemes of Morality * Vid. Tert. ad Scapul Athenag Legat. c. Nor could either Jew or Gentile approach to so sublime a degree of compassion which is truly Evangelical and a Lesson only learnt in the School of Christ And therefore the Confessor at Alexandria whom Cassianus mentions answered like himself when his Heathen Adversaries pursued him with all sort of Contumely and Reproaches and at last disdainfully ask'd him What Miracle did your Master Christ ever do When he made this Return It is no mean Miracle that he hath wrought in me that I can tamely hear your Reproaches and not be concern'd at the Injury that I can suffer you to revile me and can at the same time bless and speak well of you At this Sacrament I commemorate the Death of my Redeemer who died for his Enemies and offer'd his Merits to those who crucified him as well as to those who oblig'd him And this is that particular Accomplishment of the Divinity that is proposed to our imitation For whereas an attempt to be like God in Power and Majesty degraded Lucifer and his confederate Angels and Resolves to attain to the degree of wisdom which the Creator possesses banish'd Adam and undid his posterity the transcribing the copy of the divine goodness and compassion will re-instate the world into a better Paradise and give men the place which the Fallen Spirits deserted Nay many times an act of mercy proves successful beyond expectation and delivers an Adversary not only from temporal wants but from eternal horrors And I may make a Convert of that Enemy whom I pity and relieve And if to know the art of true Charity be a greater priviledg than to be crown'd with the Majesty of Kings then to convert a soul is a nobler Alms than to give a Million of money to the stock of the poor And it is very remarkable that our Saviour hath not only made this duty of forgiving Injuries * Mat. 6.12 14 15. a necessary and indispensible qualification to fit me for the receiving of God's pardon but seems to imply that upon one act of Obstinacy one Refusal to obey this Injunction my former sins that have already been forgiven me shall be brought again to remembrance and be the cause of my condemnation For when in the * Mat. 18.27 34. Parable ten thousand Talents were remitted to the disabled Servant by his Lord and the Obligation cancell'd yet when the same Servant dealt unmercifully with his Fellow servant his Lord delivered him to the Tormentors till he should pay all that was due to him And so shall our Heavenly Father do to us if we from our hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses And for this Reason I cannot but think it a commendable custom in the Greek Church in which during the celebration of this Office not only the Deacon who assists begs pardon of the consecrating Priest as St. Chrysostome's Liturgy injoins * Smyth 's Acc. of the Greek Church p. 143. but the Priest who consecrates takes care to reconcile himself before he approaches the Altar and the assisting Priests also bow toward the people as an instance of their begging forgiveness if they have offended any one there present After which every Lay Communicant immediately before he receives says aloud Christians forgive to which the Congregation answers God shall forgive you And in the Primitive Church the Deacon was bound to say aloud Let no man who is not in perfect Charity dare to approach this Table And the better to demonstrate the Churches Resolutions in this case as Easter was the most solemn time of giving the Eucharist so in the foregoing week on Maundy Thursday the Penitents were solemnly admitted to Communion For whereas on that day the blessed Sacrament was always administred because that was the day on which it was instituted * Innocent Ep. 1. ad Decent cap. 7. Ambr. li. 5. Ep. 33. so on that day also were the Church-censures remitted because on that day our Holy Saviour delivered himself into the hands of the Jews for our Redemption the * Conc. Carthag 4. Can. 80 82. Penitents being brought up to the Altar before which they kneeled and being reconciled by the Imposition of the Priests hands were afterward communicated All which were Instances of the Church's Charity and an excellent Rule how we ought also to demean our selves toward our Enemies I therefore think my self bound
the men and the Deaconesses to that belonging to the Women and this they were advised to do with this sober caution * Const Ap. ub supr that no one should salute his brother deceitfully and treacherously as Judas kist our Lord when he betrayed him In the Liturgy of St. Basil the people are bid to salute one another that they might unitedly confess the Father Son and Holy Spirit the consubstantial and inseparable Trinity and then they repeated the Creed and in that of St. Mark there is a prayer to be said at the performance of this Ceremony wherein ' They desire God to look down on his Church and to bestow on them his Love and his Assistances and the Gifts of the Holy Ghost that with a pure Heart and a good Conscience they may salute one another with the Holy Kiss not in Hypocrisie but in purity and innocence in one Spirit in the bond of peace and of Love that they might become one Body and one Spirit in one Faith and one hope of their calling that at last they might all be partakers of the Divine and infinite Love o-Christ Jesus Then in ⸫ Cyril ub supr the Church of Jerusalem the Priest did bid the people lift up their hearts and they answered We lift them up unto the Lord the Priest rejoined Let us give thanks unto the Lord The people answered It is meet and right so to do after which the Church calling upon the whole Creation to praise God did sing the Angelical Hymn Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Sabbath Which Hymn was usher'd in with this Preface o Liturg. S. Jacobi ' Let all Flesh keep silence and stand with fear and trembling and put off all worldly and sensual Thoughts for the King of Kings the Lord of Lords Christ our God is coming forth to be slain and given for Meat to all his Faithful Servants the Quires of Angels go before him and with them Principalities and Powers the Cherubim with many Eyes and the Seraphim with six Wings shading their Faces and singing the Hymn Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Then followed the Prayer of Consecration and with that the Prayer for all states of Men and for the peace of the World together with the recital of the Diptychs which was always closed with the Lord's Prayer But in other Churches it was otherwise * Constit li. 2. c. 57. li. 8. c. 11 12. First the general Prayer for the whole state of mankind for Peace and Prosperity and all other Blessings was said at the end of which the Names of all the Eminent Persons who either had dyed in the Communion of the Church or yet lived in it were recited out of the Ecclesiastical Tables or Dyptichs and then the people were bid to lift up their hearts unto God c. Whereupon the Bishop making the sign of the Cross blest the People saying Preserve O Lord thy people and bless thine inheritance which thou hast purchas'd by the blood of thy Christ and hast called to be a royal priesthood and an holy nation And then the Bishop standing at the Altar proceeded to the Prayer of Consecration which was agreeable to our Saviour's Form at the Institution at * Dion areop ub supr Basil de spir S. cap. 27. which time the Elements which were before cover'd with a fine Linnen Cloath in Imitation of Christ's being so wrapt when he was lay'd in his Sepulchre were uncover'd that the people might see the Bread broken and the Wine poured out After the Prayer of Consecration the ⸪ Cyril ub supr Priest first heartily said Amen And after him ‡ Just in Apol. 2. Dion Alex. apud Euseb li. 7. c. 9. c. the people praying that so it might be and protesting that they believed that that Sacrament was the true Body and Blood of Christ but in the Liturgy of St. James when the Words of the Institution were recited the Deacon first said Amen and then acknowledged That they did believe and confess that as often as they did eat that flesh and drink that blood they did show forth the Lords Death To which the people answered We do show forth thy death O Lord and we do acknowledg thy Resurrection This being done the Deacon bid the people attend to the holy oblation in peace and quietness and to bow their heads to their Saviour Jesus in honour to his name and institution Then it was said Holy things to holy persons To which the people answered There is one holy one Lord one Jesus Christ blessed for ever in the glory of God the Father Then the people were exhorted to the reception of the holy Mysteries the Priest singing with heavenly Melody the words of the Psalmist ‡ Cyril ubi sup Psal 34.8 O taste and see that the Lord is gracious to which the Congregation in some ‡ Liturg. S. Jacobi Churches answered Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. When the Consecratlon was done which probably if there were many Bishops or Priests present they all joined in the person consecrating said ‖ Liturg. S. Marc. As the Hart desireth the water-brooks so longeth my soul after thee O God And then himself received in which Action it is observable by St. Chrysostome's Liturgy he was obliged to drink three times of the Chalice bowing all the while in honour of the Father Son and Holy Ghost and afterward he gave it to the Clergy if any were present the Bishop giving it to the Priests the Priests to the Deacons and the Deacons to the people after the ⸪ Const Apost ji 8. c. 13. Clergy the Monks received for they gave them the preference because they look't on them as a sort of Ecclesiastical persons not purely Laymen tho not in Orders and after the Monks the Deaconesses Virgins and Widows then the Children then the rest of the Laity in their several Orders that is as I conjecture first the Men afterward the Women * Conc. Tolet. 4. c. 17. the Priests and Deacons communicating at the Altar the Inferior Clergy in the Quire and the people at the Rails without tho I am well perswaded that in the first Ages the Laity also came up to the Altar to which they were invited to draw near in the Fear of God and with Faith and Charity and when they approacht they were commanded by the Deacon to stand decently and reverently in the fear of God and with contrition of heart and to receive modestly and piously behaving themselves as those who approacht the presence of a King And accordingly they received in a posture of deep Reverence and Adoration for no man durst to receive but he adored and while the Mysteries were distributing the Congregation * Const Apost ubi sup Liturg. S. Jacobi S. Chrysost c. sung the 33d Psalm or as we reckon it the 34th I will bless the Lord at all times his praise shall be continually
them for whom thou wert pleased to shed thy Blood and we supplicate for those for whose welfare thou didst sacrifice thy Body They also believed that as long as they did Communicate they did enjoy the company of those blessed Spirits and that when they were kept from the Lord's Table they were under the power of Satan for Excommunication was a terrible sentence to them and the worst of punishments so great an affliction did they account that which is now our choice being fully perswaded that he who was shut out of the Church here without a deep Repentance and Absolution must necessarily be kept out of the Kingdom of Heaven And May God of his great Mercy and Goodness give his Holy Spirit to all that are called Christians that they may put a just value on the Priviledges of the Church of God that they may Honour Reverence and Frequent the Holy Sacrament which is the Communion of Saints and may dread the being justy deprived of those advantages that we may neither excommunicate our selves from thy Table nor deserve the censures of the Church to drive us from it but that thy fear may be upon us all the days of our Life through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen CHAP. XXIII Of the abuse of the Sacrament to evil ends IT is an Observation confirm'd by sad Experience That the best of things or persons when they degenerate prove the worst of their kind and it is also as sadly confirm'd That the best of enjoyments when employed to bad ends and purposes prove the causes of the greatest mischiefs and this is demonstrated as by many other instances so by the abuse of the Divine Institution of the Holy and most Advantageous Sacrament of the Eucharist to serve the designs of sensual ambitious and covetous men very great alterations having been made both in the Doctrine and Rites of that Sacrament from the Primitive Institution and Original Practise Of this Nature I must confess there are some things that seem to me not so fairly defensible in the Centuries that preceded the Establishment of Popery such as * Aug. op imperf adv Julian l. 3. c. 164. the making Plaisters of the Eucharist to Cure Blindness or other Diseases ‡ Id. de C. D. l. 22. c. 8. the Celebrating of this Sacrament in a private house to expel the Evil Spirits that haunted it * Nicet Paphl Vit. Ignat. Theop. an 20. Heracl the dipping Pens in the Consecrated Wine when they either Sealed Covenants or condemn'd a notorious Heretick †Ambr. in ob Satyr Fratr the tying it about the neck as an Amulet in the time of Imminent danger ‡ Hesyc in Levit. l. 2. c. 8. the burning or burying the remainders of the Consecrated Elements or ‡ Evagr. l. 4. c. 35. giving them to School-boys and such like persons who were not present at the Consecration with other such usages but I remember that those were the days of Miracles and Extraordinary men might make use of uncommon methods and that it becomes not me to uncover the Nakedness of the Fathers especially because at this distance of time few men are capable of understanding the reasons why they did many things at which we now wonder And it were to be wisht the same Apology were so made for the succeeding Ages wherein strange Opinions and as Novel Customs had their Original for then the reverence due to the mysteries degenerated into Superstition and Idolatry and the Mysteries themselves were many times applyed to unbecoming usages and on trifling occasions For men would not be content to believe that God was really present in the Sacrament but they were resolved to study a way how to make him so by a Method that baffles sense and contradicts reason and to this purpose men begun not to be satisfied with the common Bread in which the Eucharist was Anciently Celebrated the bread that was usually eaten at ordinary meals was thought unfit for this sacred use and therefore unleavened bread and wasers were introduc'd and this perhaps was the practise of the eighth Century and in two or three Hundered Years after the notion of Transubstantiation began to be owned but in such an Age which Baronius and other Historians say was the shame of the Papacy when there was neither Learning nor Vertue at Rome but the greatest ignorance and the greatest debauchery imaginable and with this Doctrine the half communion was introduc'd the people being Sacrilegiously rob'd of the Cup for sear they should in Receiving spill the Blood of Christ after which the Schoolmen first amus'd themselves and then their neighbors with impertinent inquiries relating to these Mysteries which made neither themselves nor others wiser or better and what number of Miracles were then coyned to uphold the new Doctrines that when reason would not perswade men to believe they might be convinc'd by wonder and extraordinary apparitions People being told that the Bread by the Prayers ‖ Jo. Diac. vit Greg. l. 2. c. 41. of St. Gregory the Great was turn'd into a piece of Flesh in view of all the people that our ‡ Paschas c. 14. de Corp. Dom. Saviour frequently appear'd on the Altar in the shape of a beautiful Boy ‡ Vid. Pinelli meditat 4. p. 126. ad p. 146. That St. Antony of Padua's Mule worshipt the Host and that Bees in their Hive built a Chappel to an Host which was by the owner put there to increase his stock And thus by degrees it grew to be a God till at last it had a Festival appointed called Corpus Christi day on which it is solemnly prayed to as at other times it is bow'd down to and Adored And as the Ark of the Govenant was carried before the Camp of the Israelites so the ‡ Hey l. Hist of Reform p. 70. Cornish Rebels in Edw. 6 time carried the Consecrated Host under a Canopy with Crosses Banners and other such solemn appendages before them in hopes thereby to get a certain Victory and as the Kings of Persia had their Immortal Fire carried before them to is this Sacrament carried before the Pope on solemn days and as Anciently men swore by the Name of God so they now swear by the Sacrament and did not Pope Hildebrand confult this Sacrament as as an Oracle to know what success he should have against the Emperor of Germany and when it did not answer expectation threw it into the Fire if we may believe Cardinal Benno and if he be doubted there are other ‡ Vid Orland in Hist Soc. Jes l 12. ss 48. p. 394. li. 16 ss 22. p 544. Instances out of more Authentiek and uncontroverted Authors to prove the usage and how often hath the Pix been brought out to quench Fires As was lately done at ‡ V. Daille de obj Cult Relig. li. 1. c 10 p. 138 Con Saligunst c 6. Avenion by the Popes own Legal Governor of that City when the
Ground without Accomplishment Did the Truth ever entertain the world with a Lye 'T was a denunciation of the greatest Veracity as well as of the deepest Horror That the present Generation should not pass away till all should be fulfilled and that even in similar circumstances At the Passover they murdered the Messiah and at the same time of the Year when all the people of Judea were come up to Jerusalem to worship did the Roman Armies beleaguer the City From the Mount of Olives did the compassionate Jesus exhort them to know and consider in the day of their visitation the things belonging to their peace And on the same Mountain the first Tents of the Roman Army were pitcht the miseries of the siege when Famine and the Sword raged in every street were very terrible the Sack of the Town more affrighting when the Flames spread themselves over all the beautiful Palaces the publick Buildings and the Glorious Temple of God and blended their ruins with the common rubbish but the most astonishing Judgment is That to this day that infatuated people have lost the priviledges of going up to the House of God have never since had the face or show of a Kingdom among them and are scattered over all the world and this probably was a wise Providence that the Gentiles might dread the like Ingratitude towards God which hath made the Jews a visible spectacle of the Divine Vengeance to all Nations and to all ages Israel of old was Gods First-born and his Darling they were a Holy Nation a Kingdom of Priests separated from the rest of the world the seed of Abraham the Children of the Promise and by natural Birth the kindred of the Messiah but now they are the off-scowring of the Earth and a proverb and by-word to all Nations For who can contemn the Son of God and be innocent VVho can disobey his word neglect to be better'd by his Sacraments grieve his Spirit and refuse to be convinc'd by his Miracles and hope to escape the Anger of God With what greater reason then shouldst thou tremble O my soul and be in a great Agony when my conscience is examined My fears are not of the loss of temporal priviledges of being disfranchis'd of losing my Liberty my Estate or my Life but of being cast into Hell and ruin'd for ever The loss of a worldly Kingdom is no way comparable to the loss of the Kingdom of God Crowns and Scepters are but Trifles when put into the Ballance with the Favour of the Almighty and how much more dreadful are the inflictions reserved for those who have been blest with greater priviledges and yet have requited their Saviour with more gross Offences and more notorious Ingratitude How shall they escape who have neglected so great Salvation And is it not a greater Crime to affront despise and reject a Saviour now he is glorified than it was when he was a man of sorrow and acquainted with Grief And is it not an addition to the offence to continue in the ways of disobedience when so many examples of God's indignation are visible to the world how sharply he resents the contempt of his long suffering And am I not convinc'd that the same Anger hath already seized many Churches of the Gentiles that fell so heavy upon Jerusalem In what a sad and deplorable condition are the once famous Churches of Carthage and the rest of Africa How is the once religious Aegypt overrun with Mahometanism And where are the anciently venerable Seven Churches of Asia If Antichrist hath fixt his Seat in the Temple of God who can hear and does not tremble And what should hinder O my stubborn heart but that thou shouldst at last relent Do not these Examples unriddle thy Doom and can there be more mercy reserv'd in store for thee than hath been shown to those others who were as much in Covenant with their Maker and more justly intituled to his Tuition If no Church dare presume on its priviledges no single person ought to think himself secure of thy Favour O my God any longer than he obeys thy Commandments Teach me therefore O my Saviour not to be high minded but to fear lest if God spared not the natural Branches he may be much less inclined to spare me whose Title is worse and whose Enormities have been more notorious The Collect. O Most Gracious Lord God who hast caused all the Divine Oracles to be written for thy Churches Learning and hast recorded thy former punishments to affright the sinners of the present Age from committing the like Offences bring to my remembrance all the sins of my Youth and enable me to mourn over them with a sorrow never to be repented of let thy Mercies and long-suffering lead me to amendment of Life and thy denunciations and judgments affright me from continuing a proselyte to vice and folly that I may live in awe of thy Power and Justice and secure my spiritual Interests with fear and trembling that nothing may separate me from the Love and Compassion of my God through Jesus Christ our only Lord and Saviour Amen Another ALmighty and incomprehensible Being who tho the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain the Glory of thy Majesty art pleased to stoop thy self to the meanest of condescentions to bespeak the contrite and humble Spirit for thy Habitation soften my obdurate heart and give me that broken and penitent frame of mind which thou wilt not despise Nothing is impossible to my Almighty Saviour for he can raise up children to Abraham of the stones give me therefore a thorough sight of my sins a true fear of thy Judgments and a repentance unto life Teach me to comply with the great exemplar for if he who knew no sin was yet a man of Sorrows how much more should such a wretch as I who am nothing but Pollution refuse to be comforted till I have sorrowed to repentance and then let me partake of the merits of his Tears and Agonies of his Shame and Sufferings Let thy Love and Condescentions prevail upon me to make me penitent but if they prevail not awaken me by thy Thunders wound and affright me rather than let me continue in this spiritual Lethargy that tho my present state be afflicted my soul may be saved in the day of the Lord that I may serve thee with Humility and a true Grief and offer up my supplications with strong Crys and wash thy Altar with my Tears Every where do I meet with Encouragements to this Compunction within me a deplorable Frame of mind cover'd with shame and the Fears of thy Judgments without me a giddy world making haste to Hell before me an angry Judg and behind me a dismal Prison Sanctifie these Considerations unto me that they may deter me from being vicious that I may no longer dare to continue in my Rebellions against my Maker that my present confusions may end in eternal Confidence and I may see that day with comfort when
Examination according to the rule of Repentance HAve I embrac'd all the Opportunities of Repentance that God hath given me Have I fasted often and subdued my flesh by frequent acts of Mortification Have I repented sincerely and intirely and do I intend to continue in a state of unwearied obedience to Gods Laws Have I renounc'd the Devil the World and the Flesh so as never more to be reconciled to them Have I been troubled as heartily for my Transgressions as I have been for worldly Crosses Have I not oftner sorrowed for the Punishment of my sins than for my sins and have I not been more concern'd that God hath been just with me than that I have offended him How often have I broken my vows and relaps'd into my old sins Have I ever seriously considered the danger of such a return to my former vicious habits Do I not tremble when I reflect that perhaps this present moment may be the last which God will allow me either to live or to repent To every of which Enquiries if I find my self guily I subjoin Lord be merciful to me a sinner accept of my imperfect and weak repentance and enable me for the future to perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord. An Examination according to the Creed I Thank thee And here I mention not any acts of speculative infidelity because very few are guilty in that kind but those who are may without particular directions call themselves to account according to this method O my God for thy assistances that I can say with satisfaction that I have hitherto continued in the Profession of this most holy Faith in opposition to all Heresies Ancient and Modern I believe the Trinity in Unity and the Unity in Trinity that the Three Persons are Coessential Coequal and Coeternal that they made the World and are willing it should be saved that the Laws of Providence are just and that there is a state of futurity reserved for all mankind in this Faith I have hitherto lived and hope if there be need I shall have the Grace and the Will to be a Martyr for it But have I not the greatest reason to condemn my self and to be heartily troubled that I have not made this belief of mine subservient to practice that I have lived as if these Articles had never been written Have I adored that God as I ought whom I have profest to own Have I not neglected to reverence his Majesty and to dread his Power whom I have acknowledged to be Almighty Have I not called God Father when I have refused to obey him When I have profest that God made all things have I seriously reflected upon what I owe him for my own Being and well-being Have I not called Jesus Master while I have blasphemed his name and confest his Dominion while I have trampled on his Laws Have I not acknowledged his holy and immaculate Incarnation and Nativity while my Soul hath defiled her self with all sort of impurities When I have profest my belief of his Death Resurrection and Ascension have I dyed to my Sins and risen again to newness of Life and dwelt in Heaven in resolution and affection Have I lived as if I were perswaded that Jesus would come again to judge both the quick and dead Have I given up my self to the guidance of the Holy-Ghost in whom I believe Have I heartily joyn'd in the Services of the holy Catholiek Church which is the Communion of Saints and have I not neglected the opportunities of frequent Praying and frequent Communicating Have I not lived still and resolved to continue to live in those Sins of which I profess my hope of forgiveness And when with my lips I have said I look for the Resurrection of the Dead and the Life of the World to come have I not in my heart and actions put far from me the thoughts of that day and demean'd my self as if there were no account to be given of my Stewardship Have I not also been guilty of delighting too much in curious and unnecessary speculations of making inquiry into the consubstantiality of the Trinity the filiation of the Son and the procession of the holy Spirit and other such admirable but unintelligible Mysteries while I have slighted the methods of true Wisdom neglecting the study how to unite my self to the Trinity by Faith and a holy Conversation how to be conform'd to Jesus in newness of Life and how to walk according to the dictates of the Spirit of Peace and Truth that would lead me into the paths of obedience To each of these I subjoyn Wretched Sinner that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death Lord have mercy upon me pardon all these enormities cure this vanity of mind and give me Grace for the future that with the heart I may believe unto Righteousness and with the mouth make confession unto Salvation An Examination according to the Commandments 1. Com. HAve I not broken the first Commandment in thought word or deed by neglecting to believe in God to fear him to love him and to trust in him as I ought Have I had that high esteem of the Deity which I am bound to have Have I given him the obedience of my Soul and the Reverence of my Body Have I patiently and thankfully submitted to all his inflictions Have I ever prefer'd any passion of my own or any other thing to my God and his Service 2. Com. Have I not broken the second Commandment in thought word or deed by not worshipping my Maker according to his own prescriptions Have I been guilty of Superstition or Idolatry Have I followed the imaginations of my own heart or Sacrilegiously rob'd God of any thing dedicated to his Honour 3. Com. Have I not broken the third Commandment in thought word or deed by not making the Divine Honour the end of all my actions or by not esteeming places things or persons dedicated to Religion Have I profan'd God's holy Name by Oaths Cursings Perjuries Blasphemies or any such crime Have I spoken slightly of God or scoffed at Religion or by loose and Atheistical talk prostituted the mysteries of Christianity or used the name of God vainly and to evil ends 4. Com. Have I not broken the fourth Commandment in thought word or deed by not abstaining every day from my sins and every seventh day from my labours Have I duly observ'd the Festivals and Fasts of the Church and have I set apart and strictly kept the solemn times of my private humiliation and mortifying my Lusts Have I behav'd my self reverently in God's House have I pray'd fervently and with humility and read the Scriptures awfully and heard the Word of God conscientiously and communicated devoutly Have I ever made Religion a pretence for Vice or neglected to know or do my duty Have I not offended my Neighbour whether stranger or relative by encouraging him to be vicious either by my example or authority by
for Confirmation or have I slighted the Prayers and Benediction of God's Priest Have I wholly forsaken Satan or rather am I not still under his power by being a slave to the habits of folly and disobedience Have I ever at any time used Charms or Amulets or consulted Witches or Conjurers Am I not yet in love with the pomps and vanities of the World a great frequenter of sports to the hindrance of Religious Duties and do I delight in profane and lascivious representations and are not my Lusts yet unmortified and have I not derogated from the honour of the Captain of our Salvation by cowardise and negligence Eucharist Have I not profan'd the holy Supper of the Lord by not acquainting my self with the nature of the Mystery and the necessity of preparation or by coming to it without Faith and Repentance without an universal charity and a thorow reconciliation to God and my enemies without examination without a due sorrow and amendment of Life Have I not often received that Sacrament without those ardors of devotion which I am obliged to or without that bodily reverence which the most Sacred and Heavenly Mysteries require Have I not made rash promises when I have received and never minded them afterwards Have I not suffered the House to lye idle when it hath been so swept and garnish'd to encourage Satan to take with him seven other Spirits worse than himself and to come and dwell in my Soul till its later estate be more deplorable than its first To which I subjoyn Lord be merciful to me a sinner and so strengthen me by thy Grace that I may perform my Vows and keep the robes of my Baptism unspotted and tho I have approach'd thy Table without the Wedding Garment yet cast me not into outer darkness whence there is no deliverance Now these and all other Transgressions are either heightned or lessened by their circumstances the Examinant therefore ought to consider 1. The Time when he offended Was it on the Lord's day Here additions and alterations may be made by the devout penitent according to his own state or any other publick Festival on a publick Fasting day or the days of my own private humiliation during the hours of Prayer either at the Temple or in my Closet either at or immediately before or after the receipt of the holy Sacrament and have I often committed one and the same sin for these circumstances argue a perverse frame of mind and that it is not infirmity but wilfulness that makes the offender 2. The place where the sin was committed Was it in the Church at the holy Table or in my Closet or in any publick place where the offence became scandalous incouraging the vicious and offending my weaker brethren 3. The state and condition of the Offender Am I not in Holy Orders one of God's Priests that Minister at his Altar have I not more knowledge and a better acquaintance with my duty hath not God afforded me more convictions greater light and frequenter opportunities of doing good was the sin committed when I was under some affliction of mind body or estate or after some sudden deliverance out of some severe judgement on me for my former failings hath not God by his holy Spirit laid many hinderances in my way to ruine and have I not overcome all difficulties and often been my own tempter have I not continued to be wicked after many checks of Conscience and many solemn Vows to the contrary after the experience of much mercy many deliverances and great tenderness compassion and long-suffering in my Saviour towards me 4. The persons injured Are not my sins committed against my God my Master my Saviour my best and only Friend have I rob'd the House of God of its ho nour or revenue have I ground the face of the Poor or rob'd the Fatherless and Widows have I given evil counsel to the ignorant or those that cannot discern the fallacy have I been unjust to my Children or Relatives who are nearest to me and as it were parts of my self Among all which sins I must particularly mourn over and detest those to which I have been most inclined by natural temper or custome and resolve to avoid all provocations and temptations and whatever hath or may promote such evil habits and to practice the contrary virtues To which I subjoyn Lord I have caused thy Name to be blasphemed among the enemies of Religion and Piety but be thou pleased to pity and pardon me the greatest of sinners and give me thy Grace that I may do so no more Besides all which I am bound to reflect on my many secret sins and forgotten offences and to subjoin Lord who can understand how oft he offendeth O cleanse thou me from my secret faults and keep back thy Servant from presumptuous sins lest they get the dominion over my Soul so shall I be innocent from the great offence The Collect. ALmighty Lord and everlasting God Grant I most humbly beseech thee to thy distressed Servant Pardon and Peace and vouchsafe to direct sanctify and govern both my heart and body in the ways of thy Laws and in the works of thy Commandments that through thy most mighty protection both here and ever I may be preserv'd in body and soul through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Amen To this I add the 38 Psalm or the 51. or some other penitential and after that the 22 Psalm Then follows the Litany much agreeable to the former method LORD let thy Ear be attentive to the Prayer of thy Servant who desires to fear thy name O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and in him the Father of Mercies have mercy upon me the most miserable of sinners O God the Son the Redeemer of the World and the lover of Souls have mercy upon me the most miserable of sinners O God the Holy Spirit of Peace and Love the giver of every Grace and every good Gift have mercy upon me the most miserable of sinners O Holy Powerful and Compassionate Trinity three persons and one God have mercy upon me the most miserable of sinners O Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the world have mercy upon me O Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the world grant me thy Peace Lord hear Lord forgive hearken O Lord and do and defer not for thine own sake O Lord our God From polluting the robes of my Baptisme and making new leagues with Satan from a feigned sorrow and an outside repentance Good Lord deliver me From sin and shame from the paths of folly and destruction from great boasting and little performance and from a vain and empty frame of mind from stoath and idleness and the neglect of my best concerns Good Lord deliver me From Self-Love and love of the World from being busy about nothing and slighting the thoughts of Eternity from deferring my repentance and putting off my accounts to the day of
my death Good Lord deliver me From sins of Ignorance and sins of Malice from impatience under reproof and the eagerness of an angry Mind from sensual and polluted Fancies from the Spectres of the Night and unbecoming Dreams Good Lord deliver me From being ingaged in the pursuits of a proud and perverse Generation and from the World that lies in wickedness Good Lord deliver me From disbelief of the Mysteries of Religion and walking contrary to my Profession from calling God Father and yet cbeying the Devil and from praying to him with my Lips when my Heart is far from him Good Lord deliver me From a fondness for secular Wisdom and Learning and the neglect of the Word from hearkening to the Suggestions of Satan and slighting the Counsels of the blessed Spirit from vain and inconsiderate Talk and rash Resolutions Good Lord deliver me From Atheism and Impiety from worshipping any thing in my mind or practices in Opposition to my Maker and from all Hypocrisie and Superstition Good Lord deliver me From taking thy Name in Vain by Oaths or Blasphemy by idle and rash Talk and Curses and from slighting thy Temple and Service thy Day and Ordinances Good Lord deliver me From disobedience to my Superiors and neglect of my Parents from Envy Hatred and Malice from evil Speaking and Slandering Clamor and Reviling and from Blood and Murther and all Revenge Good Lord deliver me From unchast and wanton Thoughts from leud and intemperate Discourses from a lustful Eye and all sort of carnal Pollutions Good Lord deliver me From pride and vain Glory from lying and false Witness from Slandering and Perjury from Covetousness and Ambition and from being discontented at my present Condition from all evil Thoughts and a vain Conversation Good Lord deliver me From having my Portion in this Life and an uninterrupted Felicity from Anger and Provocations to Uncharitableness from nauseating the means of Salvation and from a hardned Heart Good Lord deliver me From a polluted mind and a love of Dissention from forsaking thy Interest to maintain my own and from following a multitude to do evil Good Lord deliver me From neglecting thy Holy Table and slighting the invitation of my Saviour from a want of due preparation and from eating and drinking damnation to my self Good Lord deliver me From the snare of a slanderous tongue and the lips that speak lies from the malice of hypocrites from the rage and fury of Zealots and from the cunning and power of Satan Good Lord deliver me From the follies of my youth and the sins of my riper years from the sins which I have committed my self and those which I have encouraged others to commit from the defilements of my Body and the pollutions of my Soul Good Lord deliver me From my secret and open sins from what I have done to please my self and what I have done to please others from the sins which I remember and those which I have forgotten Good Lord deliver me From those sins * Here the penitent may reckon the particular sins he hath committed to which temper and inclination use and custome and evil company have addicted me Good Lord deliver me From the evil both of vice and punishment from the lashes of Conscience and a distracted mind and from a sudden painful and unexpected death from a place on the left hand and a portion among the Goats from the chains of darkness and the bottomless pit Good Lord deliver me By thy unspeakable generation as God and thy wonderful birth as Man by thy circumcision and acceptance of the adorations of the wise men the first fruits of the Gentiles Good Lord deliver me By thy wisdom in baffling the Scribes and Pharisees by thy humility in stooping to a mean condition and by thy obedience to thy Parents Good Lord deliver me By thy Baptisme forty days Fast and victory over the Devil in the Wilderness by thy surprizing but useful Miracles by thy plain but convincing Discourses and by thy winning and exemplary Conversation Good Lord deliver me By the wonderful and mysterious representation of thy bloody passion in the blessed Eucharist and by thy unexpressible love to thy Church by thy bitter Agony thy wondrous Sweat and fervent Prayers in the Garden Good Lord deliver me By the variety of thy sufferings which are recorded and by thy unknown pangs and tortures which we cannot describe and by thy strong crying and tears when thou prayedst for thine enemies Good Lord deliver me By thy mercy to dye for us thy power to rise again and thy compassion to intercede for us and to be our Advocate and by whatever else is dear to thee and of use to the world Good Lord deliver me In the days of my prosperity and in the times of suffering in the troubles of my mind and the weakness of my body in the hour of my death and in the terrible day of thy coming to judgement Good Lord deliver me Jesu Master thou Son of David have mercy on me That it may please thee to illuminate thy Holy Church with the spirit of truth amity and concord that all that are called Christians may be united in one holy Faith and may retain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace and in righteousness of life I beseech thee to hear me good Lord. That it may please thee to bless and defend our gracious Soveraign from all his enemies separately and conjunctly that his days may be many his Reign prosperous and his end everlasting Life I beseech thee to hear me good Lord. That the Royal Family may be happy in thy service the Clergy honoured with thy protection the Nobility guided by thy Holy Spirit the Gentry Firm and Loyal and the Commons of the Realm humble and obedient I beseech thee c. That all men may be saved Hereticks made Converts to Truth Schismaticks to Peace Rebels to Loyalty and Jews Mahometans and Infidels become Disciples to the Son of God I beseech thee c. That Widows may be protected and Orphans provided for the sick healed the opprest defended the naked cloathed the hungry fed the ignorant instructed the refractory reclaimed and that all Prisoners and whoever is appointed to dye may taste of thy Fatherly pity I beseech thee c. That it may please thee to succour and ease all that labour under the weight of an evil and disturbed Conscience and to give the rewards of Martyrdome to those who suffer for a good one I beseech thee c. That it may please thee to pardon and amend all mine enemies and teach me not only to forgive but to forget injuries I beseech thee c. That it may please thee to give me and all thy Servants true quiet and liberty and protection from sin and wickedness all the days of our lives I beseech thee c. That an Angel of Peace a faithful guide may be the Guardian both of my Soul and Body I beseech thee c.
to the Son of David blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord Peace in Heaven and Glory in the Highest § 9. When the devont Christian is invited to draw near to the Holy Table he uses one or more of these Sentencs Lord I have looked for thee in Holiness that I might behold thy Power and Glory How dreadful is this Place this is no other but the House of God and the Gate of Heaven This is the Lords Mercy-Seat which the Cherubim of Glory shadow this is the Altar of Jesus round which the Angels clad in their bright Robes stand This is the Altar where Jesus is crucified let all the Angels of God and all the Sons of Men worship him I will come into thy House upon the multitude of thy Mercies and in thy fear will I hold up my hands and worship towards the Mercy-Seat of thy Holy Temple I will exalt the Lord my God and will worship at his Footstool for he is Holy I will fall down and adore for I know that God is here of a truth § 10. VVhen the good man comes up and kneels before the Altar he says Lord I most thankfully receive this gracious Invitation which thou hast afforded me to come to thy Holy Table and tho the number and weight of my Transgressions might justly deter me yet I am resolved to embrace the opportunity because thou hast bidden all who are weary and heavy laden to come unto thee Will Jesus whom the Heavens must contain till the consummation of all things be content to dwell with his poor servant Oh that I could entertain thee in my Soul with the same joy that the Holy Virgin did at thy incarnation with the same Exultations that the Infant Baptist did when he danc'd before he was Born at the approach of a Saviour with the Hosannah's of the Devout Jews before thy Passion and with the Authems of Angels at thy Ascension For who deserves my praises but my Saviour Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive Power and Riches and Wisdom and Strength and Honour and Glory and Blessing My Soul therefore shall joyn consort with every Creature which is in Heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the Sea when they say Blessing and Honour and Glory and Power be unto him that sits on the Throne and unto the Lamb for evermore § 11. VVhile the Priest himself is receiving the good man prays for him The Lord hear thee the name of the God of Jacob defend thee send thee help from the Sanctuary and strengthen thee out of Zion Remember all thy offerings and accept thy Sacrifice Grant thee thy hearts desire and fulfil all thy mind § 12. After which if the time will permit he Exercises this or the like act of contrition but if he wants time he does it in his Closet at his return Lord I am the greatest of sinners but here is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the World His Blood speaks better things than that of Abel and he is the propititation for our sins My sins dearest Jesu brought thee to all thy shame and all thy sufferings but that satisfaction was necessary for the Redemption of the World I am troubled above measure for thy sorrows and will revenge thy death on my vices which were the cause of it Melt me O God into a soft temper fit to receive thy impressions give me an intire detestation of my sins and an indignation that may engage me to forsake my transgressions and to love the paths of virtue § 13. To which he subjoins this or the like act of Faith Jesus is my God and my Saviour he is the Angel of the Covenant I will not leave him till he bless me This is Jesus whom the Jews slew and hanged on a Tree him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins If God hath given us his Son how shall he not with him give us all things for his flesh is meat indeed and his blood is drink indeed Lord I believe that thou art present in the Sacrament but in a manner spiritual and ineffable to think that thou art here corporeally bids defiance to my senses and my reason and debases thy glorified humanity and to imagine that I receive nothing more than bare signs is to rob my self of the benefit of communicating with thee Let me feel the truth of that mystery which I admire and believe but cannot prove and let me experiment the glorious effects of this Sacrament tho I am unacquainted with the particular manner how they are derived to me Thou hast convinc'd me that the flesh profiteth nothing but thy Words are spirit and life as therefore thou hast made it so I humbly and thankfully receive it Let it be unto thy servant according to thy word and grant that the days may come shortly when Faith shall be swallowed up of Vision Amen § 14. If many others Communicate before him the good man employs that leasure in reflecting upon the Office of Consecration and because he could not without disturbance interpose his ejaculations while the Priest was saying the Prayer of Consecration he takes this occasion to say When the Priest carries the Patin As Moses lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderness for the cure of the wounded Israelites so was our dearest Saviour lifted up on the Cross for the redemption of a world of sinners Lord evermore give me this bread When the Priest breaks the Bread he says So was the Body of Jesus mangled so was his flesh torn till there was no whole place in his body When the Priest pours out the Wine he says So when Jesus was in his Agony so when he was scourged crowned with Thorns and nailed to the accursed Tree did the Blood run down so Jesus loved us and wash'd us from our sins in his own blood When the Priest carries the Chalice he says It is the Blood of Jesus that makes atonement being shed for me and for many for the remission of sins I will cleave to the Cross of my bleeding Saviour and will drink his Blood Inable me O my God to overcome all my ghostly enemies by the blood of the Lamb. § 15. When the Priest takes the Elements in his hands to give them to the devout Christian he remembers that so God offers his Son to be the Author of Eternal Salvation to every believer so hath God fitted Jesus a body and indowed him with the spirit above measure that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life § 16. When the Priest delivers the Elements to the worthy Communicant he considers that there are two parts in the form of distribution a Prayer and an Advice the Prayer in these words The Body the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve thy Body and Soul unto everlasting Life to which with