IMPRIMATUR. Ex Edib. Lambeth. 14 Sept. 24. 1685. Jo. Battely, R. Rmo. P. Dno. Willielmo Archiep. Cantuar. à Sacris Domesticis. THE Devout Communicant, Assisted with RULES FOR The Worthy Receiving OF THE BLESSED EUCHARIST. TOGETHER With Meditations, Prayers and Anthems, for every day of the Holy Week. In Two Parts. By AB. SELLER Rector of Combentynhead, Devon. LONDON: Printed for R. Chiswell at the Rose and Crown in St. Paul's Churchyard. MDCLXXXVI. THE PREFACE. HAVING sadly observed, how much Injury the Doctrines of Faith have received by multiplied Disputes; and that the best Methods which the wisest men have used to stifle such unmanly Controversies, have unexpectedly begot more of the kind; I resolved to try, whether diverting the humour might not tend to the cure of the Malady; and the employing of our time in Devotional Offices, might not dull the Edge of a quarrelsome Inclination; the Peace of Jerusalem being never promoted so readily as by constant Prayers, frequent Communion, and a holy Life. This consideration gave being to these Papers, which for the most part were penned when I was at a great distance from Books; but happy in leisure, which gave me many opportunities of Meditating on my Duty, and of endeavouring to fit my own Soul, and others, for the worthy receiving of the Holy Eucharist. And though it may seem a bold attempt to presume to write a Treatise on this Subject, after so many excellent Discourses published by others to this purpose; yet, if the Book answer the design of the Author, and become useful to inflame the desires of Men, and make them in Love with the Blessed Sacrament, and the other Offices of Holy Religion, that Objection will vanish of course; for the Author hath attained his end, if the Name of God be glorified, the Laws of Christianity obeyed, and the Mysteries of Christianity reverenced. And perhaps Books of Devotion should be multiplied, that every Person of whatever Temper, Genius or Disposition he may be, may, if it be possible, be invited to the Love and Practice of our blessed Saviour's Precepts, that if one Book do not please, another may; and that Treatise is happily penned, that Rescues, though but one Soul from the Dominion of Satan, and the Snares of Vice. I am conscious to myself, that I have prescribed such Rules, which God knows I have not so carefully observed, as I ought; and have expressed myself in Language, to which my Performances bear no Proportion; but withal, I am assured, that both myself, and every one of God's Priests, and in truth every Christian, aught to live according to these Injuctions, and aught to mourn over our imperfect Obedience, and our neglect of our Duties; nor is a good Book the less useful, because its Author is not an Illustrious Example of every Virtue recommended in it. It hath been anciently, and is to this day a just complaint, That we are all so eager after the Tree of Knowledge, that we lose the Tree of Life; that by pursuing the aims of an unbecoming Ambition, like Adam, we first forfeit the true Image of God, and then expose our own Nakedness, being robbed of the Ornaments of Truth and Virtue, while we are in Love with the imaginary Embellishments of Fantastic Learning; upon which account it too often happens, that few men have less Sense of, and regard for Piety, than many who have spent their days in Books and Studies; but this is so far from being a just discouragement to the well-inclined Proselytes of Holiness, that it should rather incite their Affection toward Heaven, since our blessed Master hath assured us, that Immortality and Eternal Glory are not gotten by the understanding of Mysteries, but by an humble conformity to his Laws and Example; and that the illiterate, but pious part of Adam's Sons, shall take Heaven by a holy Violence, when the notions of the unconverted Scholar shall but increase his Damnation. It is said, That Greece was never more debauched, than when the Seven wise Men lived in it; and perhaps never was any Age of the World more Learned, nor ever more Wicked than this; a great part of which Lewdness is owing to the neglect of the Blessed Sacrament. For did men but seriously consider, that our Holy Redeemer hath enjoined the frequent use of this Mystery, they durst not be so bold as to trample on the Injunction; did they remember, that the Apostles prayed, Audaciam existimo de bono divini praecepti disputare— quid revolvis, Deus praecepit. Tertul. de poenit. c. 4. and broke this Sacramental Bread every day; that the custom continued in most Churches for Four hundred years after their time; that the disuse of this daily Sacrifice brought in private Masses into the Church, with many other Inconveniences; Did they but solemnly reflect on the great and wonderful Blessings that are conveyed in this Sacrament, it would be impossible that the House and Table of God could be so slighted, as we see they are; and there would be no need of Canons and secular Laws to enjoin us to make ourselves happy; but men will not be persuaded, that the Severities of Christianity are Necessary to make their Lives comfortable, and their Death's safe; they indulge to present Enjoyments, and forget the Impartial Account of the last Day; when, if the Righteous shall hardly be saved, where shall the Sinners and the Ungodly appear? If the Holy To. 2. p. 353. chrysostom was so affected with the account which the Holy Writ gives of that Judgement, that he tells the World, he trembled as often as he heard those Words (God shall render to every man according to his Works) affirming, that every other wise man shares in the same Fear, and is under the same Agonies; if so few shall be saved (as the same Father passionately goes on) that not a hundred of so many Myriad as live at Constantinople, where that Eloquent Prelate Preached, should escape the dreadful Sentence of Eternal Condemnation; what will become of us, and with what confidence can we go on, without thinking, in those Paths that lead to the Chambers of Death and Destruction? I have pitched upon the Holy Week, as the season of Devotion; not that the Offices will not serve for any other time of the year; but, because Easter was the time when all men, even the most indevout and ungovernable Persons, thought themselves bound to receive the Eucharist; as also, because it is one of the times when our Church enjoins all her Children upon the peril of her Censures, to come to the Table of God; for which end it prescribes Fasting, and requires their Attendance at the Church every day of this Week, to prepare themselves for the receipt of the Solemn Blessings which that Festival brings. And in truth, the whole Lent is but, as it were, an Eve to Easter; but more especially, the last Week of Lent, which Represents in their proper Seasons, The Triumphant entry of Christ into Jerusalem; The Conspiracy of Judas and the Jews to betray him; The Institution of the Blessed Sacrament; The Crucifixion, And the Descent into Hell. On this Week, the Church abstained from all Sensualities and Worldly Pleasures, lived upon a dry Diet; their Sorrow was deep, their Prayers intense, their Fast strict, and their Watch frequent; and for this Reason I have after the pattern of V To. 5. p. 524. etc. St. chrysostom in his Homilies, prefaced every days Devotion with an account of the time, and the Primitive practices on that day; that the Ignorant and Unlearned might know the reason, why such days are set apart by the Church of God; as being well assured, that the Lents and Festivals of the Greek Church, are one of the most successful means, next the Blessing of God, of maintaining the Christian Religion among them, in despite of all the Mahometan Artifices, and cruelty to ruin it. I have also (besides an account of the Ancient Usages relating to the Holy Sacrament) subjoined an Epistle and Gospel, Meditation, Prayer, and Anthem, suited to the time (though not so fitted to every particular day of the Great Week, but that they may be more or less made use of according to the Capacities and Discretion of the Devout Christian, on any day of that Week, or on any other Week of the Year) and for Friday, I have annexed a method of Self-Examination, together with a Litany, and other Collects (which also may be used on Wednesday, or on any other, or every day of the Week) because that day is a fasting-day through the whole Church of God, and the time when our Holy Redeemer was Crucified, upon whose Death depends all the Honour and Happiness of the Christian World. Nor have I inserted a Litany of my own, as if I were so vain to prefer it to that incomparable Litany which our Church enjoins; but, because there seems to be a need of a more particular Deprecation of Sins in the Closet, than in the public Congregation. And here I solemnly protest, That none of these private Offices can atone for the neglect of the Public Service (which the Church enjoins every day of this Week) but that every good man ought to frequent the House of God, and to be present at all the Hours of Prayer; which if he neglects, I cannot see how he can expect the Divine Blessing on his private Devotion. In the Circumstantials of which private Worship, I have instanced in those particulars which many good Christians, to whom this Book may be serviceable, cannot enjoy; but every man's prudence must be his guide in such Cases; and he who hath not a Closet so furnished, as is advised, aught to take care that he do not altogether want a place to pray in; and God will accept of him, not according to what he hath not, but according to what he hath. Here also I cannot but remark, and censure a most unbecoming practice of our Dissenting Brethren, who in despite of our Saviour's command, that we should pray in secret, choose their Closets commonly next the Street; and when they are in it, Pray aloud, though alone, that all who pass by, at least that are in the house, may hear them; which what it can mean, but a design to be heard of men, I cannot understand; for if they hearty confess their sins, and as I think, it ought to be in private Prayers, by name, and with all the Aggravating Circumstances that have attended their Transgressions; What Temptations are such People under, either to hid their sins from God, that the World may not know them; or else so to acknowledge them, as not to be ashamed to continue in them, because those whose Vices are notoriously known, generally take shelter in impudence. But how unhappily such men do disserve the interests of Religion, is not the Subject of this Preface; only I cannot forbear remembering some few things that relate to this Sacrament: such as their total neglect of the Eucharist in so palpable a manner, that one of their most Eminent Preachers confesses that he never gave it in 18 Years; their admitting none to the Participation of the Mysteries, but those who were in Church-covenant with themselves, as if there were any other Church-covenant besides that of Baptism; or any other Church-membership, but that of the Holy Catholic Church, which is the Communion of Saints; their undecent, and rude distribution of it, not by the hands of the Priest, but from one to another, as if they were at a merry meeting, rather than at God's Table; their slovenly Receiving of it sitting, to the scandal of their Brethren, and to the Encouragement of the Socinian, and other Heretics; with many other such Usages, which I shall not mention. I have nothing more to account for in this Preface, but that I have freely made use of several passages (Prayers especially) of the Ancients, and of some few Modern Writers, without any scruple (and I here profess so much by way of acknowledgement to all those good men, by whom I have profited) for if God have the Glory, and the World the Benefit, it matters not who is the Instrument. And now may the God of Peace and Truth, enlighten the Understandings of all Mankind, that they may know and love, and practise their Duty, that every one that is called by the Name of Christ, may departed from Iniquity, and may delight to Communicate with his Saviour; that we all in God's time may pass from the Festivals of the Church on Earth, to the Everlasting Feast that is held in Heaven. Amen. The CONTENTS. PART. I. THE Introduction. Of the Circumstances of Religious Worship in private. Chap. 1. Of the Obligations of the Sacraments to Holiness. Chap. 2. Of the common excuses for not coming to the Blessed Sacrament. Chap. 3. Of the danger of unworthy Receiving. Chap. 4. Of Examination in General. Chap. 5. Examination of past sins. Chap. 6. Examination of present Virtues. Chap. 7. Examination of the Communicants Knowledge. Chap. 8. Of the Study of the Holy Scriptures. Chap. 9 Of Christian Love. Chap. 10. Of the Love of God. Chap. 11. Of the Remembrance of our Blessed Saviour. Chap. 12. Of the Love of our Neighbour. Chap. 13. Of the Duties of Unity. Chap. 14. Of the Duties of Charity. Chap. 15. Of the Love of Enemies. Chap. 16. Of Love to the Holy Sacrament: Chap. 17. Of Resignation, and Self-denial. Chap. 18. Of Humiliation before the Reception. Chap. 19 Of joy, and resolution after the Reception. Chap. 20. Of the Qualities of the Priest who Consecrates. Chap. 21. The Methods of the Ancients at the Reception. Chap. 22. The Honour done to the Sacrament by the Ancients. Chap. 23. The abuse of the Sacrament to evil ends. PART. II. The Introduction. The Office for Palmsunday. For Monday before Easter. For Tuesday before Easter. For Wednesday before Easter. For Maundy Thursday. For Good-Friday. The Examen. The Litany. For Easter-Eve. For Easter-day. Rules of Conduct for Easter-day, and the Sacrament. THe Reader is desired to pardon the Faults of the Press, in Mispointing the English, and putting Words in a wrong Letter, in making some unnecessary Repetitions, and mis-accenting the Greek, and other obvious Mistakes, and to Correct the following ERRATA. Part I. P. 9 l. 20. ad. the Bible, the Liturgy, etc. p. 16. l. 2. r. Prescriptions. p. 21. l. 10. f. such r. many. p. 30. l. 9 f. for r. because. p. 47. l. 18. f. anger r. malice. p. 80. l. 15. f. Rhetoric r. reason. p. 82. l. 1. r who. l. 23. r. celebrating. l. 26. r. adapted. p. 115. l. 4. del. and. l. 23. r. say it. p. 158. l. 19 r. brighter. p. 196. l. 3. f. so r. to be. p. 199. l. 6. r. Legate. p. 75. del. but left to discretion. Part II. p. 2. l. 10. r. emblem. p. 4. l. 11. del. for ever. p. 35. l. 18. r. but are. p. 42. l. 8 r. cram p 69 l. 14. r. conquer hearts. p. 103. l. 6. del. only. p. 107. l. 15. r. is in. p. 136 l. 22. r. not my p. 179 l. 18. f. some r. also the. p. 193. del. without all doubt. p. 198. l. 3. r. the prayers were p. 242. Marg. Lib. 8. c. 14, 15. PART I. Containing GENERAL RULES FOR THE Worthy Receiving OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT OF THE LORDS SUPPER. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. p. 77. The more any man Loves God, the more is he inwardly made partaker of the Divine Nature. PART I. THE INTRODUCTION. Of the Circumstances of Religious Worship in private. IT is fit that every man who intends to live well, should set himself Rules how to spend every portion of his time as usefully, and as much to Gods, and his own honour, as he can: And because the Reputation of Religion is secured, and its Interests fenced by Ceremonies and Circumstances; and holy Offices require a fit place, and select opportunities, wherein they may be performed, it will be necessary, first, to speak of those Circumstantials which are so conducive to the advantageous discharge of this duty. And First, That it is requisite that the considerate Christian should have a place of Retirement, is, I suppose, disputed by none but the rash, the vicious, and ungovernable. If therefore a man's worldly concerns will afford it him, the devoutly inclined should allow himself a Closet; which Room, though not by a solemn consecration, yet by designation and use, should be deputed to the private discharge of the duties of Piety. Now a Closet is an Oratory; and therefore whensoever I go thither, I ought to be free from worldly considerations, and wholly intent upon the business of eternity: for who ever turned a Chapel into a Countinghouse, or a Shop? And this also brings a new advantage with it: For whenever I go there again, the view of the place brings to my mind the good thoughts, devotions and resolves, that when I was last there, took up my time; and consequently with ease, puts me afresh upon the same performances: And therefore whenever I go, though but occasionally, into my Closet, I am bound to say a short Collect before I leave it; as he who by chance only goes through a Church, looks on himself obliged to make an halt, and to say his prayers. For let the apartment seem what it will to others, it is to me the house of God: it is no place for sport or society; for lose thoughts, or vain words: it is a place of retirement, and not of company: and therefore should be most remote from noise, and the disturbances of the house; and because it is the place I first go to after I am out of my bed, and the last that I take my leave of before I go to sleep; this course not only secures God's blessing on my undertake, since I begin nothing without begging his help, nor end any thing without giving him thanks; but withal it makes me careful and devout, since I must do nothing upon which I dare not desire God's blessing. The situation of the Closet should be properly, if conveniently, toward the East; and that way the Window should look, not only because it is the pleasantest situation, and introduces the early light, one of the best of Gods temporal Largesses; but because in that part of Heaven probably my Mediator and Advocate sits at the Right Hand of his Father (for in his Humane Nature he must be confined to some certain place) and toward that part the ancient Christians (and to them I must always pay a deep veneration) used to direct their prayers. This place should be furnished either for Necessity or Ornament. Some things are necessary for the discharge of the duties of reading, praying, and meditating, which every good man's prudence will dictate to him. And here for myself I profess, That I think myself always bound to pray on my knees, or in the more humble posture of prostration; and to read standing, if my health will give leave, because than I hear the Commands of my dearest Master and Saviour; but I would meditate sitting, if walking be not more acceptable to me, because the man who would meditate to advantage, should be no way discomposed by any thing of uneasiness that may disturb the mind or body. The ornamental furniture should be plain, but so ordered, that it may appear like an Oratory, and be a representation in little, of the house of God. For that some Ornament is necessary, I am convinced, because our blessed Saviour in the time of his lowest humiliation, would not celebrate the Passeover, but * Mar. 14.15. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. in a room that was furnished and adorned and fit for such a Sacred Office. To the Window there should be fixed a little Table and that should be my Altar, whereon I may offer my God a broken and a contrite heart, pierced through with the Darts of Divine Love, and the Ardours of Zeal for the honour of my Saviour. A little remote from it should be a Desk, whereon the Book of God should be always placed, and always open (which very sight is an intimation of my duty). Nearer the door (and that in the Church was the place of Penitents) should be a space where I may prostrate myself in the time of my sorrow, and my humiliations; and there also should be a little Treasury, like the Treasury of the Temple, or the Poor Man's Box in our Churches, where, on every day in which I fast, and on other occasions, as God shall enable me (especially when I have received some signal deliverance from danger, or other testimony of God's love and favour) I may lay up something for the poor; by which means I shall have a stock of Charity always by me, whenever I see a fit Object for it: And no necessity shall make me alienate what hath been so devoted (for it is Corban, consecrated to God and his service), though perhaps I meet not the same day with some indigent person to bestow it on: For how poor and naked are my Humiliations, or Thanksgivings, without Alms? On the days of my humiliation, I would have no other Pictures in the Closet (while at other times any draught that represents a grave and honest Subject, may well enough become the place), except a Mary Magdalen, or Peter in his penitent posture after the denial of his Master, or a lively Representation of my dying Saviour, with this Motto, I desire to know nothing but Jesus Christ, and him crucified: For I would willingly have my bleeding Master always present to my eye, when I am well inclined, to encourage me; when bend to do evil, to reclaim me. He prayed often, and meditated frequently, and was continually a man of sorrows and mortification: But his Passion is an indispensible Obligation to Piety: For what can endear holiness so persuasively, as the remembrance that Christ died to purify to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works? Can I look upon that sad spectacle, and not be touched with remorse and compassion, and with a due consideration, that my sins brought my Saviour to so much shame and torture; and nothing but my Repentance can answer the ends of his sufferings? A Lute, or some such grave instrument (if the devout person hath any skill in Music), were very proper to join with the Voice in the praises of God. The room also should be hung, so as the Windows may be darkened, to make the Closet gloomy and awful, upon any time when it may be convenient, but more especially during the Lent, the weekly Stations (or half fasts) of Wednesday and Friday, but above all on Good-Friday, and the Holy-Saturday, the days when our blessed Master suffered on the Cross, and lay in the grave. I know nothing more necessary, but that the place should be furnished with Books according to every man's capacity, as he is able to buy, and to understand; but nothing should be there but what is devotional, such as Sacred History, Divine Poems, devout Meditations, and the Rules of Holy Life: Nor should these be intermixed with any Books of other sorts (for though Secular History and Poems, Romances and Plays, be an allowable diversion, yet because the Closet is a Chapel, I think them not allowable in that place: For the men who are lovers of those Writings, never carry them to Church with them: And therefore any other room in the house is better fitted for such Books). Those who can only read English (for the Masters of Languages are best able to advise themselves), I counsel, That, whatever else may be either admitted, or wanting, the devotional Works of the Reverend Dean of Peterborough, Dr. Patrick, with his excellent Paraphrases, may always find a shelf there; and with them the Writings of that good person the Author of the Whole Duty of Man, who hath given so liberally to the Treasury of the Church, and so humbly denied himself his due praises, by a studious concealing of his Name; together with the Primitive Christianity of Dr. Cave, that they who cannot read the Works of the Ancients, may in that Learned Author, admire, and imitate their transcendent Virtues. And I mention these Books only, not that I undervalue any other Authors who have writ on Pious Subjects (for I know that there are now extant many very valuable Treatises, set out by the Divines of our Church, and perhaps more and better than all the rest of the Christian World can boast of), but because in so great a multitude there ought to be some choice; and I think these the most convenient, and best adapted to the necessities of the persons to whom I undertake to prescribe; though at last I must acknowledge, that all this discourse hath its relation only to people of condition, of estate and leisure: For to the poor, every room in the house that is private, is a Closet, and the Liturgy of our Church, with the Whole Duty of Man, a Library. When the Closet is so furnished, the next thing considerable is, what time must be spent in it? And here it is impossible to prescribe the same Rules to all persons; only it is to be remembered, that the rich and prosperous are freed from the drudgeries of Life, and so have much time to dispose of; as also have Scholars, and all that are studiously inclined. And that whereas twice or three times a day may be enough for a man of business to retire, and serve his Maker, I much question whether people of leisure can be dispensed with, unless they observe all the Canonical hours, at lest those which happen between six in the morning and nine at night inclusively, as long as health will permit. I am enjoined in the Name of our Holy Saviour, and St. Paul * Luke 21.36. 1 Thes. 5.17. to pray always, and without ceasing; that is as often as I can conveniently, for the other duties of my Calling, as a Man, and a Christian; but I must never omit doing it every day, at some set seasons and returns of time: For so the good Widow is said * Luke 2.37. to have served God day and night at the Temple; i. e. at the accustomed hours of the Jewish devotion: And so this Example binds me also to the public service of the Church, if I am where I can enjoy that honour and privilege, as well as to the private performances of my Closet. And to encourage this, it is well worth the remembering * Act 2.1.15. V Basil. regul. fusior. inter. 37. , that the Holy Ghost, the most glorious and useful donative that ever the Christian Church did enjoy, was bestowed on the Apostles when they were celebrating the Festival of the Pentecost with prayers and praises, and that upon one of the solemn set-hours of prayer, the third hour of the day. My first employment in my closet is Prayer, and that either supplication or praises, as I am sensible of what either sins I have lately committed, or blessings received. And if the Egyptians, acted only by the light of Nature in the beginning of all their ceremonies, made three solemn acclamations to the Unknown Darkness; i. e. to that God whom humane faculties cannot comprehend; ought not I to preface my service with as many acts of solemn adoration to the blessed Trinity? After I have prayed, I am under obligation to read some part of Holy Writ (and after it some Paraphrase, or other suitable discourse), with awe and attention: And when I have so done, I meditate; which when I do, I fly the society of the World, to converse with God and good Angels; I put myself into the true way to that peace of mind which a sinner wants; and I walk directly toward Heaven; I follow my Saviour, who left the multitude, and went into a mountain apart, to enjoy the society of his Father: I am taken from the occasions of censuring others, or judging my Neighbours; and have nothing to do, but to contemplate the state of my own foul, and the Mercies of my God. In this place also do I choose to fast, that I may do it in secret: and by avoiding being seen of men, may earn an open Reward from my Father that seethe in secret. And though on every day I give my God my earliest attendance, yet on the days of my solemn Vows, I bind myself to prevent the morning, that in the beginning of the watches I may pour out my heart like water before the Lord. Thus every day will be a day of business and traffic, and every night I shall be some steps nearer to my Father's Palace. The Collect. GRant, Lord, that when I serve thee in secret, I may do it with a true and upright heart; and that all my public performances may be encouragements to others to love, and praise, and adore thee; that I may pray fervently, and thank thee hearty, and read carefully, and meditate seriously, and fast humbly, and live conscientiously all the days of my life, in hopes at my death to be admitted into thy presence, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. CHAP. I. Of the Obligations of Religion, especially the Sacraments, to Holiness. WEre the Christian Religion to be judged of by the excellency of its Author, and the purity of its Precepts, by the wisdom of its contrivance, and the usefulness of its designs, it would need no other Credentials that it came down from Heaven, and that its Original was from God: But if we judge of it by the practices of its professors, who under the mask of Piety, allow themselves in all sorts of sensuality, who scruple not to break all their Vows made to their Maker, though confirmed and renewed in the presence of Men and Angels, and sealed by the most precious Body and Blood of the Son of God; who call themselves Saints, and yet live more irregularly than Brutes: This very consideration is enough to incline a man to applaud the Morals of the Heathen World, and to believe, that either that body of holy Precepts is not the Gospel of the blessed Jesus, or such men are not professors of it: so strongly are the generality of Mankind in a lose and ungovernable Age, bend towards Vice and Ruin: Nor can it otherwise be expected, when men put on the form of godliness, in defiance to the power of it; and think, that the Redemption wrought out for them by Christ, is only a deliverance to do all sort of abominations. Nor can I give a better Reason, why the Christian World are so degenerate from truth and holiness, than that so few of us reflect on the Obligations of the Covenant that we have entered into with God, though so often and so solemnly acknowledged by us, that we confidently lay claim to the Privileges, but never mind the Duties of Religion. May our gracious God so mercifully forgive me, and the rest of sinners, our former neglect, as we may resolve for the time to come, to alter our course, and put on more becoming Resolutions, and faithfully make good what we have so solemnly promised our Redeemer. For when I seriously, and as becomes a Christian, consider with myself the Relation which every baptised person hath to the Son of God; and that that initiatory Sacrament was designed, as to free him from his share in Adam's sin, so to engage to a life of Obedience to the Laws of our blessed Saviour; and that therefore we are buried with him in baptism, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead, by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life, reckoning ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God, through Jesus Christ our Lord; I cannot but remember, that among all those holy and beneficial Precepts which he hath blest the World with, that is none of the least in advantage and usefulness, that injoins me to do as he did in remembrance of his Passion, the great cause of our redemption and happiness, and encourages me to frequent communicating, because as often as I do eat that bread, and drink that cup, so often do I show forth the Lords death till he come; so often do I call to mind my old promises of obedience and conformity to the divine prescription, and enter into new engagements to love and adore my Saviour. How eagerly therefore ought my soul to pursue after, and to embrace all Opportunities of coming to that holy Table where God exhibits himself? Happy are those Servants of his, who stand continually before him, and keep themselves always in that frame of mind that fits and encourages them to communicate every day. Happy are those men who only want Occasions, but are never defective in intention or preparation; who are never without the Wedding Garment, nor without Oil in their Lamps. How did our dear Saviour long to institute the Sacrament * Luke 22.15. ; with desire did he desire to eat the , at the close of which the Eucharist was celebrated, before he suffered? And shouldst not thou, my soul, as earnestly long to receive it? Were this Sacrament like that of Baptism, not to be reiterated, or but once only in my life to be received, and that just before my death, with what ardours of mind should I wish to be dissolved, that I might thus also be with my Saviour? And must the Blessing, because it is common, be for that Reason cheap? Is the bread of Heaven become contemptible, because it may be my daily food? But remember, O my soul, it is not enough to approach this Venerable Altar, unless thy Repentance be sincere, thy Sorrow hearty, thy Resolutions unalterable, thy Piety flaming, and thine Alms generous. My preparations should be the same with those of dying persons, not of those who have lived loosely all their days, in hopes to make their faint desires of Heaven, when the pleasures of the Earth have deserted them, to pass for true love to those joys; but of those who all their lives long have been crucified to the world. My care ought to be so to approach God's Table on Earth, as if I were the next moment to be carried by Angels to eat bread with him in his Kingdom. It is true, I am too sensible that this is more easily talked of than done; that when the good Man is acting the Priest, and sacrificing himself to God, than Satan is at his right hand, perplexing him. And I have sadly experimented, how difficult it is to deny myself, to put off the Old Man, and to crucify my transgressions: But is it not, O my soul, much more sad and difficult, more uneasy and distracting, to be confined to utter darkness, and to endure the tortures of Hell in a remediless Eternity? To argue from a present state of ease, is a shortness of discourse that is not to be allowed. Were I never so passionately bend to gratify an unreasonable Lust, I doubt not but I should be afraid to proceed, did any man but threaten me with immediate death, if I should pursue my unlawful design: And ought I not with greater Reason to forbear, when that God who can neither lie nor deceive, threatens me with everlasting damnation? Am I afraid of the crackling of Thorns, and will not Thunder scare me? Do I run away from an ignis fatuus, and wilfully throw myself into insufferable flames? In the Name of God therefore I do now resolve to fit myself for the approaching Festival of Easter: and whatever I have heretofore done, I will no longer put off my dear Saviour, but will from this instant give myself entirely to his service. The Collect. GRant Lord, That all the words of my mouth, the meditations of my heart, and the actions of my whole life, may be now, and ever acceptable in thy sight, O God, my Saviour, and my Redeemer. Amen. CHAP. II. Of the common Excuses for not communicating. BEcause through our natural averseness to all that is good, my own evil heart is inclinable to supersede this so beneficial a commerce with my God, I will first show how vain my pretences are for absenting, and then how dangerous it is to come unprepared. And first, the common Excuses are very vain and unbecoming: For the command to receive this Sacrament, is so plain and obligatory, that I am convinced nothing should excuse me from frequent communicating; And yet so perverse is my will, so ungovernable are my passions, that the good which I would do, Heave undone, and the evil which I should not do, that I do; so that sometimes when I have a desire to communicate, I presently find that Ardour easily cool, and end in an unbecoming lukewarmness, and unconcernedness for the Offices of Religion. Thus I grow old before I am good: And to learn an act of Virtue is a business of time: while on the contrary, my sins grow to maturity in their Cradle, and are like a spot of Oil, which being at first hardly perceivable, suddenly spreads its self, till it fully the whole Garment. Satan, the Adversary of Mankind, musters many little Arguments to affright me, and my own heart is strongly inclinable to comply with him; as if when God had made so noble a provision, and sent out his servants, his Ministers, to call them who are bidden to the Wedding, he would contentedly be put off with slight answers, and poor excuses. Oh, how apt is my Vicious Nature, either wholly to neglect the Offices of Religion, or to look on them as burdensome and tedious, that the Prayers are too long, and the Reproofs of the Sermon too sharp! But if to the Prayers and Sermon the Eucharist be added, I am too prone not only to be weary, but angry with God; and think it is well done to be so, not considering what an happiness it is to have Communion with my Saviour, and how much more uneasy my state would be, should my God require from me, as he did from the Jews, such expensive sacrifices, and personal attendances on the solemn Feasts at his Temple: as also how unreasonable it is to imagine, that God hath adorned this inferior world with such Variety of good things, only to swell my Pride, and pamper my Lusts; and in the mean time hath reserved nothing for himself, but what is cheap, contemptible, and of no value? One solemn excuse is, I have no leisure: and 'tis the plea of the men in the * Luke 14.18; etc. Parable. This, says a good man, sounds like confession and humility, but is in truth denial and defiance: it is called want of leisure, but is in reality sloth, idleness, and irreligion. Can I judge it equitable, to give all my time to my secular Business and Recreation, and none to my God, to whom I own a liberal portion of my enjoyments; nay, all my enjoyments, and myself too? Have I so many days to trifle away, and none for the concerns of Eternity? My whole life should be one continued Sabbath, and every act of my Calling, either as a Man, or a Christian, a preparative to the Communion, and to my Death. And would a man spend his hours so vainly, that when he hath most need of comfort, he should most want it; and when he comes to die, be bereft of all consolation? And is not the same care to be taken, to fit myself for the Sacrament, as for my last Account? What God now invites me to, is a matter of great weight; the business is, whether I intent to be saved, or not? If I think Heaven not worth the looking after, it is no wonder if I am to every good work a Reprobate, and insensible of my need of the means of Grace: But if I resolve to be a Candidate for Glory (as it were better for me that I had never been born, than to live voluptuously here a while, and be damned for ever), I must apply myself to that method that will give me a title to it; and the only method is an holy life; and that state is not attainable without means, among which, frequent communicating is an excellent instrument of conveying Grace into the mind, of renewing my Resolutions, and applying to my soul the Merits of my Saviour: So that if I put any estimate on my salvation, there is a necessity of my coming often to God's Table; and when I say, I want time to prepare myself, I mean, I want leisure to be a Christian; and I am not willing to take pains to be saved. 2. Another plausible pretence for absenting myself, is, I am unworthy; and he who eats and drinks * 1 Cor. 11.29. unworthily, eats and drinks damnation to himself. And whose fault is it, that I have not made myself worthy? God hath been wanting in nothing that is required on his part; my unworthiness therefore is both my sin, and also my punishment. Besides, humility is a necessary preparation to this Sacrament, and an absolute Renunciation of ourselves, and our own Righteousness, that we may depend solely on Christ, is one of the indispensible qualifications requisite to fit us for the Paschal Feast: For the Centurion, who said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof, did, notwithstanding, accept of our Saviour's Offer, and reaped the benefit of his miraculous Assistances, and was honoured with his Testimony, that in all Israel the Son of God found not so great faith as his: And St. * Epist. 118. Austin tells me, That if my sins be such as do not deserve Excommunication from the Church (i. e. if they be only sins of ignorance and infirmity), I ought not to excommunicate myself, but I ought to receive, if I may, every day. Nor is it inconsiderable, that though my Graces be weak when I approach this Altar, there God gives me his holy Spirit, if my sins hinder it not, to enable me with greater power and vigour to do his will. And as it is very dangerous to communicate unworthily, so to refuse to come, is equally dangerous: For not * Hom. 24. in 1 Cor. 10. to communicate in this holy Supper, is as dangerous as the Pestilence, or death itself, says St. chrysostom; to despise it is Sacrilege, and a scorn of the Bread and Waters of Life, and a depriving myself of the means to make me a true and perfect Christian: For it is an excellent Maxim in Religion, He who is not fit to receive to day, will be less fit to morrow; and he who is not fit to communicate every day, will be fit to communicate no day, and in a small time will throw off all fear of God. For if the end of the institution be to renew our Covenant made with our Saviour, of taking him for our Master (which is the true Notion of Religion) than the withdrawing ourselves from this Sacrament can be accounted nothing else but a Virtual slighting of Christianity, and renouncing our Obedience to our Saviour. For do I not put an Affront upon God, when I say, the Table of the Lord is contemptible? For not communicating (says a devout person) is the next sin to apostatising: for it is an actual disowning our communion with our Head and his Members, and a cutting off of ourselves from the body of Christ. And if unworthiness may hinder me from receiving the Eucharist; am I not as unworthy to pray, or to hear, as to communicate? And does not this plea tend to supersede all duty? May I not hear to my prejudice, and pray to my ruin? May not the word that I have heard, rise in Judgement against me, and my prayer be turned into sin? And is it not as expressly required of me, to do as my * Luke 22.19. 1 Cor. 11.24. Redeemer did, in remembrance of his Passion, as it is to frequent any other of his Ordinances? But what if God should make that my fate which is now my choice, and deprive me by his Judgements of the liberty of enjoying those Ordinances which I now contemn? Wouldst not thou, O my soul, look on it as an astonishing Judgement, and such a Decree, as thou wouldst give part of thy blood to reverse? And must I be my own Executioner? And have I not enemies enough in the World, and Hell, that I must be my own most imbittered Adversary? 3. Another hindrance is, that the preparation required is very difficult, and that it is no easy thing to be a Christian. But this also is an unreasonable suggestion: For though the severities of Mortification and Self-denial, appear in a formidable dress; yet in themselves they are true satisfactions: For nothing can equal the Joy of that soul that is rescued from eternal horrors. And I should rejoice to be pulled out of a Dungeon, where else I must inevitably perish, though it were by the hair; and to be saved, though so as by fire. Men are possessed beforehand with needless fears, and take characters of the ways of godliness from the sensual and debauched; as if we should put a deaf man to give an account of harmony. But to those who have entered seriously upon the profession of holiness, and made themselves proselytes to Wisdom, her ways appear to be ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. Besides, the sinner draws himself a Scheme of Virtue that is not correspondent to the dictates of Reason, or Holy Scriptures: For Virtue is a Borderer upon our Natural Habits; and our evil inclinations may be made subservient to piety; either, 1. by correcting the Excesses of Nature, and altering the degree of our Passions; So Grace turns Choler into a well-regulated Zeal, Melancholy into inclinations to Devotion, Abstinence and Mortification: it makes the Phlegmatic cautious and fearful to offend his God, and ready to be a penitent whenever he hath offended: and it makes the Sanguine apt to rejoice in God, and in the light of his countenance; to be easy to forgive, and willing to be reconciled; it warms the cold and careless into a religious and devout temper; it abates the eagerness of Covetousness, till it become frugality; and easily changes the prodigal into a man of a liberal and generous mind. 2. Our evil Passions are without difficulty devoted to God, by altering the Object of our pursuits. For would the Voluptuous person pursue after Eternity, as he hath done after the gratifications of his sensual Appetites; would the Miser transfer his love from his unrighteous Mammon, to the living and true God; and were the revengeful thoughts of the angry man no longer fixed upon his offending brother, but employed against his own Vices, how smooth would the path of Virtue appear, and how free from Thorns and Encumbrances? 4. Another Excuse is, I am deterred from approaching to this Feast of fat things, because I am not in Charity. But what should hinder, why I should not love all Mankind? Did not my blessed Saviour pray for his enemies at his Death? And is not the Sacrament a commemoration of that his Death? Now as I cannot call that man a Mariner that never learned his Compass, nor that man a Soldier that never fought; how much less can I call myself a Christian, who never conform to my Master's pattern? What man, but one of an impudent forehead, and most obdurate heart, can dare to pray his heavenly Lord to forgive him ten thousand Talents, who will not forgive his fellow-servant an hundred pence? And perhaps at last, I think many actions uncharitable which are not so * Vid. Injunct. 21. of Qu. Eliz. . For I do not believe, that if my Neighbour causelessly quarrels with me the day before I am to communicate, or I am without design engaged in the heat of talk, which is not sinful, or a man forces me to go to Law with him, to recover my just right; that these things shall deprive me of the benefits of the Sacrament: For these things are my Afflictions, and I suffer them patiently, and still am in Charity. As I do not think, that if I am bidden to a Feast sometime before, or have allowed myself any innocent Recreation, that this shall unfit me for the Christian Passeover. But withal I must say, that were it put to my choice, I would rather omit those Civilities, and deny myself those Pleasures at that time, than lose my spiritual Advantages: And I would avoid all occasions of being angry, or doing any thing that might but give suspicion that I were not thoroughly reconciled to all the world, rather than at such a critical time to make myself an Offender: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. And when I pray, as I always do when I communicate, I am enjoined to lift up pure hands without wrath or doubting. No worldly care therefore, nor the entertainment of friends, nor a small fit of sickness, that does not confine me to my bed, or chamber, shall ever hinder my approaches to God's Altar, nor every little quarrel, which against my will I am engaged in, when I am ready to make satisfaction, if I have given Offence, and to forgive, if I have taken any. For shall I rob myself of Gods be ssing, because another man is froward, stubborn, and untractable? The case therefore of * Pallad. vit. Chrysost. p. 126, 127, 128. St. chrysostom did deserve pity, who being just ready to celebrate these Venerable Mysteries, was so unnessarily, and unseasonably, and uncharitably angered by Eusebius, Bishop of Valentinople, that he was forced to desist from the Office, and to desire Pansophius, Bishop of Pisida, to consecrate for him; being persuaded, that that occasional anger was an invalidating of his preparation. And in truth, the * Conc. Carth. 4. Can. 93. Church was so much an enemy to all quarrels, that it forbade the admittance of the Oblations of those who were not in perfect Charity, either at the Altar, or into the Church-Treasury. 5. But if I sin after so solemn a Renewal of my Vows in this Sacrament, will it not increase my guilt? So among the Ancients some deferred their Baptism till the time of their death, that they might not be impeached of defiling the White Robes which they then put on. And does not this Argument equally hinder the performance of all other Offices of Christianity? May I not as well defer to repent, since a relapse into evil habits, after such an ab-renunciation of them, is an heavy aggravation of my Crime? And is not this to do as it is reported of the Circassians, who follow their Thievery till they are Sixty, and then spend the remainder of their days in Prayers, devoting their Youth and Strength to the Devil, and their Vices; their Old Age, Impotence, and Diseases to God and Repentance? But what if death should seize me while I thus defer making up my accounts with my Master? What if a dull Lethargy (which perhaps is but the effect and punishment of my irregularities) should seize my brain, and stifle the spirits, and disable me from thinking? So that by reason thereof I am dead while I live. What if a Fever should captivate my Reason, and put me into a Frenzy, so as I can only name God in my Oaths and Curses; will not this hinder all commerce with God, or my own Soul? And how deplorable must my estate then be? For Heaven was never designed a Bedlam, a Receptacle for the Distracted and Vicious. How can I promise myself to repent, or communicate to morrow, who put off harkening to my Saviour to day, since all his injunctions relate to the present time? And if that that must save me, be a work of Grace, of time, and perseverance, what folly is it to neglect it? And will not the slighting these passionate and earnest invitations of my God, be a great increase of my guilt? 6. But does not Satan sometimes tempt me to think it unlawful to communicate with sinners, or, as it is worded, with a mixed company? And am not I myself the greatest sinner? And who can come there who is not so? And does not our Church, as well as all other the Reformed, debar all gross and notorious transgressors from the Sacrament? Can I call this any thing but Cunning in my ghostly Enemy, who first tempts me to mean thoughts of myself, and would keep me from God's Table, because myself am unworthy; and now tempts me to pride, and contempt of my Christian brother? I am sure Charity thinks no evil, and obliges us in honour to prefer others to ourselves. Besides, why do I pray, or hear with sinners, if I must not communicate with them? And how do I know but he who offended deeply yesterday, is as deep a penitent to day? And how dare I to judge another's servant? It is not in the diseases of the soul as of those of the body? Nothing makes the spiritual Plague infectious but my consent: A man may, if he will, live chaste in a school of debauchery, and keep himself temperate in the house of an Epicure. If my brother comes unworthily, he eats and drinks damnation to himself, and not to me. And I am sure I have employment enough to examine myself, to keep me from being busied about other men's matters. last: But is not the posture of receiving, apt to give scandal, and to be mistaken for an act of worship performed not to God, but to the Elements? I am sure Humility is a necessary Attendant on the worthy Communicant; a Virtue which is peculiarly Christian, which the Philosophers do not so much as name in their Catalogues. I know also, that when I communicate, the Priest prays, that the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ may preserve my body and soul unto eternal life; and with him I pray when I say Amen: and the posture of prayer is kneeling; and therefore I fall down, and worship before the Lord our Maker. Perhaps our Saviour gave the blessed Eucharist to his Apostles in another posture (for we are not sure, because the Scripture is silent); and so also did he give it only to men (when there were many Female Disciples), and in an upper room, and after a Feast (as it was also in St. Paul's time celebrated after the Love-Feast, or Agape). But hath not the Church as much power as the Synagogue? And did not the Jewish Church alter the posture of the Passeover, which was at first to be eaten standing with the shoes on, to a Table posture, which also our Saviour seems to have observed? For can we think, that our Saviour's practice binds more than God's express command? Or does it bind more in one circumstance than in others? Besides, I am convinced, that the practice of the Ancients, and the commands of my superiors, should much sway me in doubtful cases. But they tell me, * Aug. in Ps. 98. Chrys. To. 3. p. 778. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Id. to 5. p. 518. etc. That it is a sin not to adore when I receive. And when I so adore, I no more worship the Altar, or the Elements, that I bow before, than when I kneel in the Pew, I worship the Desk, or the Book that lies on it. Nor hath the one been more abused to Idolatry than the other: For the Heathen do worship Wood and stone, as much as the Papists the Host. And is not this adoration a part of that honour which is fixed on Christ, the Institutor of this Sacrament; who also is the thing signified under those Visible Figures? for he hath sworn by himself, that every knee shall bow to him, which honour he purchased by his blood: For because he humbled himself to the death of the Cross, therefore God hath given him a Name above all Names; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. And is not this Sacrament a Representation of that Passion? Nor was it ever heard, that Superstition could abolish the duty of a Text. And if when I kneel, I give countenance to the Papists, who in this case err by attributing such honour to the Son of God, which he allows not of; I am sure in sitting at this Table I countenance the Socinians, and other Anti-Trinitarians, who debase our Saviour, and degrade him from his Godhead: for which Reason * Altar Damascen. p. 752. in Four several Synods in Poland, the Protestants, both Lutherans and Calvinists, 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, though on his Deathbed, 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 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 Carcase, 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 magnify constant Communion, so as to depretiate the Virtues that must qualify 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 yesterday grinding the face of the poor, to eat to day the Body of his Saviour; the Shopkeeper from his little arts and methods of fraud, the Glutton from his crammed dishes, the Intemperate from his last night's debauch, and the lustful from the arms and embraces of his Mistresses, to force themselves a way to God's 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 though perhaps the word in the Original, which our Translators render Damnation, be sometimes taken in a softer sense, and only signifies Temporal Judgements: 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 profane and impenitent Wretch is in the high-road to Ruin: And hardly can salvation itself save such a man, * Heb. 6.6, etc. who after he hath been enlightened 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 thyself, 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 Profane Man and the Hypocrite, 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. chrysostom. 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 Knowledge, 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. IU. Of Examination in general. THere is an indispensible necessity of Examination preparative to worthy receiving. For though Charity inclines me to judge Favourably of others, yet I dare not flatter myself. 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 furnished 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 myself, 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 Outside, but cut it down by the back, and searched and examined the Entrails, according to the Rules of Art (for every man was not thought fit for this Employment: It was the Priest's Province). For in truth, when I approach this Table, I offer myself to God a reasonable, lively, and holy Sacrifice: And therefore aught to inspect my thoughts and actions. For if I do not, God sees me; since * Heb. 4.13. Vid. Theophil. in Loc. p. 909. all things are naked, and open, and exposed as a Sacrifice, when 'tis cut down by the back, to the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Or rather, I ought to examine myself, as Goldsmiths and Bankers do their Metals, by the Touchstone, or the fire: in allusion to which Custom, * Clem. Alex. Strom. 1. Orig. to. 19 in Johan Epiphan. Haer. 44. Pallad. Vit. Chrysost. p. 37. Hieron. Cassian. Cyril. Alexandr. etc. the Fathers frequently quote an excellent Saying of our blessed Saviour's; which is not in our Bibles; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉; advising his Disciples to be expert Bankers, to discern between good Metal, and that which only makes a show. The word also implies an Examen, or Trial, like that which * Harpocration. Lexic. v. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Suid. in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Aristotel. in Politic. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Officers, both Military and Civil, past through at Sparta, by the order of Lycurgus, and in other Governments in Greece, who in the public place of Judicature, were either approved, or exploded: After which pattern the Primitive Sages made all their Ordinations in public: In the face of the Church were the Catechumen examined: Their penances were public, and so were their Confessions, that whatever was done there, might have the Approbation of the whole Community. A like scrutiny to which I should make into my own Conscience, whether I am worthy of this eminent dignity of eating at my Master's Table. This scrutiny I am to make as a Priest, as an Officer in the Church of God; and I am also to make it as a private Christian, whether I am fit for this Communion of Saints, because * Harpocrat. Lex. v. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. private persons also, who had no share in the Government, were subject to this Examen; their Lives also being inspected, whether they in their lower Stations, demeaned themselves as they ought. But the word hath still a further significancy; For at Athens, when a young man took upon him the management of his own Estate, and was set free from the government of his Guardians, he was called, * Id. ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Vid. Valesii not. p. 22. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: for than he wrote Man, and took the charge of himself. And am I not obliged also in this sense of the word. Did not my Sponsors promise for me in my Baptism? And am I not arrived now to that Age that frees me from their Tuition? And can I give a better instance, that I have attained to years of discretion, than my wise and serious choice of God for my Lord, and of the ways of holiness for my delight? For true examination and discretion, consists * Theophyl. in Rom. 2.18. p. 28. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. in knowing what to do, and what to leave undone; which I can never do as I ought, unless I examine my past sins, my present virtues, and my resolutions for the future. For if when I address to a Prince for his Pardon, I deprecate my former Offences, profess my Loyalty, and promise, that nothing shall ever alter my affections, and my duty; much more am I obliged to do so, when I appear before my God The Collect. O God of all Power and Goodness, give me a right Judgement of myself in all things, that I may prove my own work, and have rejoicing in myself alone, and not in another, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. CHAP. V Of the Examen of my sins past. WHen the Apostle bids me examine the state of my soul, with respect to the transgressions which I have committed; he means two things: 1. That as to my gross and more notorious Offences, I should call them to remembrance. For there is no man who needs to dispute with himself, whether Adultery and Murder, Theft and Covetousness, Anger and Self-love, Disobedience and Rebellion, Sacrilege and Blasphemy, are sins. Every man is naturally convinced, that such actions are breaches of the Laws of God; And therefore in such cases there is no need of Trial, as to the fact, whether it be a fault or not. In this case the penitent is only to reflect on his enormities, and to remember them with all their aggravating circumstances, in order to Reformation and Amendment. 2. As to my lesser transgressions, my Negligences, the forgetfulness of my Vows, and the defects of holy Performances, I am to experiment, whether I might not have been more diligent, and more devout, and whether my sins of infirmity be not rather owing to my sloth, than the frailty of my Nature, or the weakness of my Graces? I am also to examine, whether many of my Reputed Virtues be not Vices; whether I have not consulted my own interest, or secular applause, more than the honour of God? how dull and cold I have been in my devotion, how remiss in the Offices of Charity, and how slightly I have set about the duties of Repentance? Is not my Religion rather the Creature of my Fancy than my Reason? And am I not a Christian only, because I was born within the Pale of the Church? Have I only avoided the greater transgression, and hugged some secret darling lust, as Samson did the Philistine Damsel, in my bosom? Am I not proud of my Performances, and swollen with un unbecoming Tympany of Vainglory? Have I not, to prevent a smaller sin, committed a greater? As some men avoid an unconcernedness for Religion, by falling into fits of a furious Zeal, imitating that Physician, who to cure a Patient of the Hiccup, affrighted him into Fits of Convulsion. These, and many other such Inquiries, are to be made, if I intent to be a true Penitent. The Collect. GRant, Lord, that I may call all my ways to remembrance, and seriously reflect on my past life, that I may weep bitterly over my Enormities, and censure severely whatever is but suspicious; and for the future may sin no more, lest I lose the benefits of thy Sacrament, and forfeit the hopes of Heaven. Amen. CHAP. VI Of the Examination of my Virtues. MY Virtues also, and Resolves, are to be brought to the Touchstone; and I must experiment, whether my Repentance be real and sincere; whether my Sorrow hath been deep and true, my Confession hearty, my Resolutions strong, and my Amendment practical; and whether I intent to continue in these holy purposes. How often have I already relapsed? And are not my present Engagements and Vows, rather the product of custom and of shame, than hatred of my Vices? And am I this day as fearful of offending, and as tender of my duty, as the first day that I vowed, or as I was when I last communicated? Do I remember how dear my former Offences cost me, and how difficult my Repentance was? How many sighs how many disturbances of a distracted Conscience it gave occasion to? And have I courage enough to resist a temptation for the future; to put a knife to my throat when I am at a Feast, and to wear Sackcloth in the Palace of Princes? Can I be grave in light company, and reserved among the vain, and virtuous in a debauched Society, and chaste among the effeminate? Are these my Resolutions constant? do they dwell in my mind? Or am I holy only by occasion, and outward accidents, and extraordinary events? Am I as humble and devout in my prosperity, as in the day of affliction? Do I pray as often on the days of my pleasure, as on a fasting-day? And am I as just, as charitable, and temperate, when I follow my worldly business, as when I communicate? Have I remembered * 2 Cor. 13.5. the Apostle of the Gentiles, to examine myself, whether I am in the Faith; or else I am a Reprobate? Is my Faith such as works by Love, and publicly declares itself by an entire Obedience to the Laws of Christ, and is fit to give me a right to communicate? For the Catechumen, who were not baptised, had Faith; and so had those who were in a state of Penance; and yet their Faith was not thought sufficient to entitle them to the Privileges of God's Table: For Faith is not so much an affiance in God, as a giving credit to his Revealed Will, as it is a body of Laws adapted to the promoting of God's Honour, and our Salvation: Therefore when I say, I believe, I mean, I resolve to live according to those injunctions; that I take Jesus for my Saviour, and expect to share in the benefits of his Death and Resurrection, no further than I obey his will. I must also further examine; Am I in perfect Charity? Is my hope firm, and my love to Jesus unalterable? Do I as earnestly long for this spiritual food, as I do for my daily sustenance? And could I be content rather to want the Necessaries of life, than to be deprived of the Bread of God? And do I bear in mind the doom of those who slighted the divine Invitations, and would not come; and of him who intruded, not having the Wedding-garment? These, and many other such Questions, are necessary to make this duty of Self-examination advantageous: For nothing less than the strictest scrutiny, can make a worthy Communicant. It was therefore an excellent Observation of the Ancients, That the preparation for the Holy Eucharist, should be as strict and complete, as our preparation for our dissolution; and that I should no more dare to appear before God's Table with any known sin unmortified, than I should dare to appear before his Tribunal with it. For when I approach this tremendous place. I am not concerned about matters of curiosity, and of light value; but about the most momentous affairs of Religion, about my Soul's health, and eternity. I do not therefore puzzle myself with little questions; nor do I dispute, what are the exact dimensions of the Kingdom of darkness, where it is, and what different Climates are in it; but the question is, whether Heaven and Hell be real, or imaginary places? Whether the Judicature of Conscience signify any thing in this world, or the Tribunal of Christ in that which is to come? Can I dwell with everlasting burn, and a consuming fire, where the torments are infinite in their height, and infinite in their duration? Is not depending on a death-bed-Repentance, a deceiving of ourselves? And if so, what shall I do now, that when I go hence I may die in God's favour? What shall I do to be saved? This is a terrible Interrogatory, a question of weight and moment: For as no man is fit to die, but he who loves God above all things, and is in perfect charity with all Mankind; who is unconcerned with the affairs of the world, and hath learned, and practised an entire Resignation of himself into the hands of his Creator; whose accounts are adjusted, whose life hath been one act of intercourse with Heaven, and whose interests in eternity are secured; so neither is any man fit to approach the holy Table without the like preparation. The Collect. LET thy holy Spirit so assist me, O most gracious Father, that my preparation for the Sacrament may be as exact, as if I were to fit myself to stand before the Throne of my eternal Judge, that nothing may a lienate my affections from thee, nor alter my Resolutions Heavenward; but that I may so worthily eat the Flesh, and drink the Blood of the Son of man, that when I go hence, I may be admitted to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. CHAP. VII. Of the Examination of my Knowledge. 'TIS not to be denied, that some knowledge is requisite to fit me for this Heavenly Communion, that I may be able * 1 Cor. 11.29. to discern the Lords Body. But this knowledge rather consists in the understanding of the Offices of Holiness, than in the comprehension of the depth of this, and other sacred Mysteries. I am very sure, that at the first Institution the Apostles were very meanly furnished with such Learning: The very Foundation of the Sacrament (the Death and Resurrection of our Saviour) was a Riddle to them. Nor did they then understand either the method of working out our Redemption, or of the establishing of the Kingdom of the Messiah in the world: And yet because they were humble and devout, sincere and obedient, our great Master gave them admission to his Table. And so was it also in the Primitive Church: For the Bishops of old allowed every one, as soon as he was baptised, to come to the Holy Eucharist, although they carefully avoided any discourses about this Sacrament, before those who had never been partakers of it: And when their Subject led them that way, they spoke in Figures and Metaphorical Expressions, and appealed to the understanding of those who had communicated: For they were well persuaded, that it was a Mystery. Now Mysteries are not to be pried into, but admired; not to be commonly talked of, nor curiously disputed about, but to be looked on with Veneration and Respect, to be studied and reverenced. They knew it was no slight and perfunctory employment to communicate with the Holy Jesus; but they withal knew, that a little measure of Knowledge, and a great degree of Humility, Piety and Charity, would entitle to the Privileges of God's Altar. Now all that they instructed the Candidates of these Mysteries in, was only the duties of Morality, Justice and Honesty, Peaceableness and Compassion, Chastity and Temperance, together with an ardent love to God (only now and then they could not forbear reprehending an Heretic): And these were the Subjects of all the Sermons of those days. And there was nothing expressly required from the person who came to the Font, but a solemn profession of the Articles of the Creed. And upon this profession the Catechumen was baptised; and after his Baptism, immediately admitted to the Lord's Supper. When therefore I know and understand, that our blessed Saviour, by his precious Death, sealed a Covenant with God in the behalf of Mankind; and that I have solemnly in my Baptism, ratified my part of that agreement, resolving no further to depend on his Merits, than I obey his Laws: When I understand, that I must be truly penitent for my former Offences, and aught to live better for the future: when I believe all God's promises of Mercy and Salvation made to me in Christ Jesus, and am convinced, that I ought to be thankful for that Mercy to God, and charitable to all Mankind; then, I suppose, I have knowledge enough to entitle me to this Ordinance: For if my search after knowledge, should engage me in the Labyrinths of the Schools, and I must not receive till I am able to demonstrate, how Christ were present there, and to comprehend all the Arguments that are brought for, and against Transubstantiation; I might perhaps be always seeking, but I should never come to the knowledge of the truth; And if I happened to understand what I enquired after, should probably be never the better. For what advance hath that man made in Christianity, that hath spent his days in the little questions of the School men; how one body can be hid under the accidents of another body * Suarez. to. 3. disp. 51. ? how the whole body can be so present, as that what was cut off in his circumcision, should not be wanting. Or whether a Rat, when he nibbles a Consecrated Host, doth communicate, and truly eat the substantial Body and Blood of Christ? with many other such Impertinencies, to give them the softest Name. Whereas one day spent in the due consideration, how I shall receive worthily, and how I shall live more piously, gives me more useful knowledge than an Age of controversal studies. That God is present in the Sacrament, I have infallible Authority to assure me. Thy Word, O my Saviour, is sufficient to command my belief; but the mystery is enough to stifle my curiosity: And to seek to know more than thou art willing to reveal, were to derogate from the Reverence due to thy Oracles and Authority. For how can I pretend to describe so transcendent an Institution, which the Angels themselves stoop to look into? This Sacrament was ordained for better purposes, than to puzzle and confound: It was designed to strengthen and confirm; to bind us to remember God and ourselves; to remember his love, and our Returns of gratitude: For the deepest speculations seldom make a man more wise, or more holy; but the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and him crucified, I am sure, is the true method to endear me to God. The business of a good man is not to amuse, but to prepare himself to communicate with his Saviour. The understanding of a Religious soul is vastly different from that of a great Scholar; and the Wisdom that comes down from above, consists not in Word, but in Power. I am resolved therefore, not to meddle with the quarrels of the different parties of Christendom: While they dispute, I will pray; while they sacrifice their Charity to the maintenance of their Faith, I will pursue after peace and holiness: And by that means, I doubt not but I shall be fit to communicate here, and to see God in Heaven. The Collect. TO thee, the only wise God, from whom comes every good and perfect gift, does my soul in her Necessities address herself, beseeching thee, who givest liberally, and without grudging, to enlighten my understanding with the beams of truth, and to lead me to the Palace of Wisdom: Give me less of that Knowledge that swells and makes vain, and more of that Charity that edifies: Enable me in all my Engagements to contend for Truth, and not for Victory; in all my Reading to be more in love with the Piety of the discourse, than the Eloquence; that all my Reasonings may be subdued, and every thought brought in captivity to the obedience of Christ. And since my proficiency in thy School, O my best of Masters, is not to be judged of by my being honoured with Visions, or enabled to unriddle Mysteries; not by the Eminency of Learning, or Station, but by a transcendent Piety, an Angelical Conversation, and a profound Humility; give me to this end thy Grace, and let thy Holy Spirit govern me, because without those Assistances all Learning is but Neise, all Wisdom Craft, and all my Natural Powers Impotence, my Virtues but Formality, and my Devotions but Pretence: so shall my Knowledge no longer consist in empty Notion, but shall exert itself into practice: And I shall so follow thee, my dearest Saviour here, as I may live with thee for ever. Amen. CHAP. VIII. Of the Study of the Holy Scriptures. IF the most useful wisdom be that which is practical, instead of busying myself with Books of Controversy, I will be a diligent Reader of the Holy Scriptures; For they are the Oracles of God, able to make me wise to salvation, and perfect unto every good work. In those Oracles there is nothing trifling and impertinent, nothing doubtful or obscure of the things which belong to my eternal welfare: * Dionys. Areop. Eccl. hierar. c. 3. " For the whole Book of Holy Scriptures (saith the Eloquent Father) doth set before us either the creation and disposal of all things by the divine Power, or the Polity and Government both of Church and State, under the Law, or the distribution and possession of the inheritance which God had given to his peculiar people; or an account of the wisdom of their sacred Judges, their holy Kings, and devout Priests; or the undaunted courage and bravery of their Patriarches, under all sorts of Affliction; or excellent holy Precepts, how to govern our Actions; or the Songs of heavenly Love, and the Ideas of Divinity imprinted on the Mind; or the prophecies of future things, or the Achievements of the Son of God in our Humane Nature; or the Acts and holy Discourses of the Apostles, delivered to them from God, and done in imitation of him; or the mystical and abstruse Visions of his beloved and inspired Disciple. In these shall be my delight, and in these will I spend my time: These Oracles alone can charm my Passions, and allay my Griefs. And what a dishonour is it to us, * Olearii I●iner. that the Turks in their Schools, should teach their children nothing but to read and write, and remember the sentences of the Alcoran (which is their Scripture); and that the poor * Abudac. c. 22. p. 29. Coptite Christians, though under severe and cruel bondage to their Mahometan enemies, should take care to instruct their Youth in the Doctrine of the Book of God, obliging them to learn the Psalter, and the Epistles of St. Paul, without book, while we think that study unworthy of ourselves, or our posterity? " We plead, it's true, as St. Caesarius of Arles, says, the difficulty of learning the Rules of Faith and Holy Life without book, especially if we cannot read: But if the most ignorant and unlearned, can find out a way to remember a profane or lewd Song or Story, will their ignorance excuse them, if they have not learned the Precepts of the Gospel? Men have wit and memory enough, to attain, without reading, to that which the Devil teaches them for their destruction: But when they are to receive from the mouth of their blessed Saviour, the Laws that will make them eternally happy, than they plead ignorance. But whatever others do, or myself have heretofore practised, I profess for the future, that I will love thy Law: And do thou think upon me, O Lord, according to thy word, wherein thou hast caused me to put my trust. Thou hast given me thy Holy Scriptures, that through them I might have hope in all capacities, and in all distresses of mind, body, or estate: For though I read there, that Lucifer sinned himself beyond the hopes of Redemption, and that there is a sin against the Holy Ghost, that cannot be pardoned, and a sin unto death that is not to be prayed for; yet the state of sinful men is declared to be different from that of the fallen Angels: And what these particular Transgressions are, and wherein they consist, is not plainly revealed in those Oracles, that no man might despair of mercy; but withal, that every man might beware of the smallest sin, as if it were of the greatest magnitude, the deepest dye, and most dismal consequences. From this Book also I learn, That at what time soever a sinner reputes, and doth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive: For who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect, since it is God who justifies? and who is he that condemns, since Christ hath died, and is risen again, and sitteth at the right hand of God, to make intercession for us? Lord, be merciful to my former sin; for my neglect hath been great; and keep me steadfast to my duty for the remainder of my life, that though I cannot see my God, yet I may every day hear him, and converse with him in his word; and being enlightened thereby, may learn to departed from evil. The Collect. For the 2d Sunday in Advent. BLessed Lord, who hast caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning, grant that I may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy Holy Word, I may embrace, and ever hold fast the blessed Hope of Everlasting Life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. CHAP. IX. Of Christian Love. WHen I have thus adorned my soul with saving knowledge; my next employment is strictly to examine my practice, and what degrees of divine love I have attained to: now I better feel what that love is in my heart, than I can describe it with my tongue: For when I am in the Palace of divine Love, I am in Saint Paul's Third Heaven, where, though the Apostle, without doubt, saw ravishing sights, and such as were worth dying for; and heard admirable discourses, such as the King of Glory entertains his favourite Angels with; yet he assures us, he heard and saw * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. 2 Cor. 12.4. what could not be uttered or described: But as it is said of Heaven, though it does not appear what we shall be, yet we have a glorious character of that City given us in Holy Writ; so it may be said of Christian Love; Great things are spoken of it, and such as render it venerable in the eyes of all wise and discerning persons: For, 1. It is a complication * Aug. de C. D. l. 15. c. 22. Nihil aliud virtus est, quàm or do amoris. Id. de C. D. l. 14. c. 7. Amor inhians habere, quod amatur, cupiditas est, idem habens, eóque fruens, laetitia est, etc. of all Virtues: " When it longs for what it affects, it is desire; and when it enjoys it, it is gladness; when it flies what it abominates, it is fear; and when it falls into the hands of its enemies, it is sadness, says St. Austin; and * 1 Cor. 13. a greater than St. Austin hath told me, That Love is the most comprehensive Virtue: For Charity suffers long, and then it is meekness; it is kind, and then it is courtesy; it envies not, and so it is peaceableness; it vaunteth not itself, and so it is modesty; it is not puffed up, and so it is humility; it doth not behave itself unseemly, and then it is called decency; seeketh not her own, and then it is public-spiritedness; is not easily provoked, and then it is patience; thinketh no evil, and so it is simplicity and innocence; rejoiceth in the truth, and so it is verity and spiritual gladness; beareth all things, and so it is Christian fortitude; believeth all things, and so it is faith; hopeth all things, and so it is assurance; endureth all things, and then it is magnanimity; and it never fails, and so it is perseverance; it purifies more than the flames of Martyrdom, and is a better Alms than the world, disposed of to charitable uses, it enlightens more than all reading, and all contemplation; and it makes a man a Christian, while Knowledge and Miracles only make him a Prodigy. In a word, it is all Philosophy, and all Religion; and he alone truly knows how to live, who knows how to love: Nay, it is Heaven upon Earth, says the devout Poet: For, We know not what they do above, But that they sing, and that they love. Nay, it is God himself: * 1 John 4.8. For he that loves not, knows not God, for God is Love. ‛ Who is able to describe the beauties of Holy Love, says St. Clement * Ep ad Corinth. p. 63, 64. ? The height to which it carries us is unsearchable: it unites us to God, and it covers a multitude of sins; it is the bond of Union, and the bane of Schism and Divisions; and without it nothing can please God: It was nothing but Love that brought down Jesus from Heaven, to shed his Blood for us; and nothing but Love that can carry us thither, whence he came down on Earth. 2. Love is the only Original of all our satisfactions in this Life; it sweetens all sufferings, and makes difficulties easy; for it subdues whatever opposes it. True Love is a flame enkindled in the mind by our holy Saviour, which preys upon, and destroys all secular and carnal affections: its eye is fixed on Heaven, and its wings spread toward that bright Palace; and thither it endeavours with unwearied speed to fly, because that is the only Region of Rest: For I may be secure in the love of the world, but I can never be safe but in the love of Jesus. This divine Virtue is always content; when it is in trouble it is not distressed; when under the greatest perplexities, it is far from despair; when it is persecuted, it is never forsaken of its God, or its hopes; and when it is wounded, it cannot be slain; for it always carries about with it the marks of a dying Redeemer, and desires to know nothing but Christ, and him crucified, that it may die to the world. 3. According to what a man loves, so is his denomination in this world, and so shall his judgement be in another. We call a man Covetous from his love of money, and Voluptuous from his love of Pleasure, and Envious from his love of Revenge; and so also we call a man a Christian from his love to God and his Neighbour; For on those two hang all the law and the prophets. And in the proceed of the last day, a man shall be examined, not what he hath known, nor what he hath believed; not what he hath hoped, nor what he hath talked of, but what he hath loved; and accordingly the love of the World shall damn the sinner, while the love of Heaven makes the Saint happy. Now this love can never be complete, unless it reflect upon God, my Neighbours and mine Enemies, and be particularly conversant with the Offices of Religion. The Collect. For the 14th Sund. after Trin. ALmighty and Everlasting God give unto me, and to all thy people, the increase of Faith, Hope and Charity; and that we may obtain that which thou dost promise, make us to love that which thou dost command, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. CHAP. X. Of the Love of God. I Tremble when I read that sentence, * 1 Cor. 16.22 If any man love not the Lord Jesus, let him be Anathema Maranatha. And yet it is but just, that the Punishment should be proportioned to the Offence; and that that man should be hated by his Maker, who hath no affection for his Saviour, in whom there is nothing wanting that may endear him to our Respects and our Love. 1. There is in him the greatest Perfection, and the most admirable Excellencies. Can I with patience behold the Miser condemn himself to the Mines for the sake of his Mammon, and a bigoted Devoto use wonderful Abstinences, and submit to great austerities only to serve his desires of Applause? Can I every day see how the lovers of Pleasure and Revenge, wilfully make themselves dismal spectacles of Ruin and Desolation, and be all the while unconcerned, and take no delight to please my adorable Redeemer, and save my own soul? * Wis. 13.3, etc. If men being delighted with the beauties of the Heavenly Host, took them to be Gods; let them know how much better the Lord of them is: For the first Author of Beauty hath created them; and by the beauty and greatness of the Creatures, proportionably is the Maker of them seen. But it is too sadly found true, that the love of the world grows to a prodigious stature of a sudden, while the love of God and Holiness is pinched in its Infancy, and starved in its Swath-bands: It is a Plant which seldom meets with a fit Soil; and when it grows up, can never be brought to maturity, without the constant beams of the Sun of Righteousness, a plentiful portion of the dew of Heaven, and a great care to preserve and cherish it. 2. I ought to love my Saviour, because I have the greatest Obligations to him: For his love to me brought him from Heaven to Earth, from a Throne to a Cross, and thence into Hell, for my Redemption. Greater love than this hath no man shown, than that he should lay down his life for his friend, said the compassionate Jesus. And is there no higher degree, no nobler instance of love, O my infallible Master? Yes, certainly, thine was, when thou wert content to die for thine Enemies: Many waters could not quench it, and it was stronger than death. Now if the love of an undone world conquered God's Anger, made him suspend his Justice, and degrade his Son; should not the love of God much rather engage me to conquer my Lusts? Can I die, O my best Friend, a thousand times over for thee, yet should I not love thee according to thy deservings. But this is our great folly, and the cause of all our miseries; we are set on fire under the Pole, and we freeze under the Aequinoctial; the world makes us passionate Lovers, while the Son of God cannot. 3. To love God is the most natural and easy of all Recompenses. Shouldest thou, Lord, now require from me the burdensome Attendances, and the expensive Sacrifices that were enjoined under the Old Law, I could have no Reason to complain; but to love thee sincerely is the cheapest of Returns: For when my bodily weakness or infirmities, will not suffer me to fast, or watch, or wear sackcloth, and my poverty hinders my giving Alms, yet I am never so poor, never so weak, but I can love; and though perhaps I cannot hear every day, nor pray every hour, nor communicate every week, yet nothing hinders but that I may love my God every moment; and that will bring me to Eternity. 4. The Love of God is the Fountain of acceptable Obedience; and proportionable to my Love to God is my Zeal and my Devotion, my Resolution and my Piety; and when once these Ardours cool, every thing that is good languishes and decays. To be affrighted, threatened and compelled to serve my Master, is a dishonour to my Christian performances, and fullies all their Beauties: but it is a Sacrifice that God is well-pleased with, when the Offering is brought freely, and offered cheerfully, and sent up in flames to Heaven, being offered on the Altar of Love: For Jesus is the Author of salvation to those only who so love him; and the Grace of God is only with them who love his Son in sincerity. 5. A due Reflection upon this Sacrament, is a great encouragement to love him who instituted it; for by it we are made one Body, of which our blessed Saviour is the Head: And therefore among other Rites that intimated this Union, it was the ancient use (nor is it yet prohibited in our Church, but left to discretion) to mingle Water with the Wine in the holy Chalice, to testify the Mystical Union that is betwixt Christ and his Church: For as Water and Wine mix and incorporate, so are the faithful Communicants made the same body with the Son of God: For in the Opinion of * Cypr. Epist. 63. Euseb. Emis. Hom. 5. de Pasch. etc. the Ancients, the Wine is the Figure of our Redeemer's Blood, and the Water of the many Nations purchased by it. Besides all which, it is further considerable, that of worldly things a man may love what he shall never enjoy; or if he happen to enjoy it, he may afterward lose it; or the very fruition may cloy and nauseate, which was expected to please and satisfy: But no man ever yet fell in love with Jesus, and lost his aim; no man ever yet conversed with him, but he experimented the pleasure of such amiable society, and could be content to dwell with him for ever: And so shall the good man: For what shall separate him from the love of Christ? Tribulations, Afflictions, and Death itself cannot; and what then can? When therefore I say, I love God, I vow and endeavour to keep his Commandments. Dare I call myself the Disciple of an humble Jesus, and be a slave to my Pride? the servant of a chaste and temperate Saviour, and wallow in the puddles of Lust and Luxury? Dare I give the Reins to my Anger, and profess myself a follower of the pattern of Meekness? How can I call myself a Christian, who deserve not the title of a Man? that am as gluttonous as a Wolf, as intemperate as a Swine, and as lustful as a Goat? The death of my Saviour was designed to redeem me from the power and practice, as well as from the punishments of Vice: For the Son of God was manifested to destroy the works of the Devil. And how can I say, I love him, if my heart be not with him? The Collect. For the 6th Sund after Trin. O God, who hast prepared for them that love thee, such good things as pass man's understanding, pour into my heart such love towards thee, that I loving thee above all things, may obtain thy promises, which exceed all that I can desire, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. CHAP. XI. Of the Remembrance of my Blessed Saviour. NOW one solemn act of my love to God, and one great duty of the Gospel, is to remember my best friend, my Saviour. And it is a particular advantage of the Christian Religion, that as all holy signs in general, are given for the confirmation of the divine promises, so the most sacred Offices of the Gospel, are proper and genuine Representations of the Death and Resurrection of that Saviour, who is the Author and Finisher of our Faith, and Institutor of our Religion. Thus in the Sacrament of Baptism, the Ancients in those warm Countries, dipped all who came to that Ordinance (except those who were baptised on their deathbeds) * Rom. 6.4. burying the Proselyte with his Saviour in Baptism. They used also to dip them three several times under water, to exhibit a Memorial of our Saviour's being three days buried; and the Mystery, unless in case of Necessity, was at first celebrated but once in the year, the Catechumen being baptised * Tertul. de Bapt. cap. 19 at Easter only, which was the day of our Saviour's Resurrection. But more especially was the Eucharist designed evidently to set before our eyes Jesus Christ crucified among us, by bringing to our remembrance the shame and sufferings of a dying Saviour, our merciful God applying himself to the most ductile and easy of all our Faculties: For our Understandings require much teaching; and we must proceed from lower methods, till we come to be capable of demonstration. And what man is there among the wisest of Adam's sons, that can expound the Riddles of Providence, or the Mysteries of the written Law of God? The Will follows the guidance of the Understanding; and yet when it is so directed, it is a blind, bold, and daring faculty, and for the most part stubbornly neglects to do its duty: But the Memory needs nothing but sensible Objects to inform it, and is the strongest and most retentive of all our Faculties, and such as few men want. And in truth, every act of Obedience is but a remembrance of my duty, and every Transgression an act of forgetfulness: For as often as I sin, I cease to mind a dying Saviour; * Psal. 9.17. and the wicked, who shall be turned into Hell, are the same with the people that forget God. The Sacrament therefore of the Eucharist is a Commemoration of Jesus, and his Passion, without which all his other performances could not save us: For all the Rhetoric, Eloquence, and demonstration of his Sermons, all his divine and beneficial Miracles, together with the unblamable and unspotted Holiness of his Life and Conversation, could never have been sufficient to have redeemed us without his Crucifixion: 'Twas his death only that was the Original of our life and salvation. What need then hath my dull and unaffected soul of such encouragements to give my Saviour a place in my thoughts? The very performance of the duty is its own Recompense, and properly agrees to those Notions of Virtue, that all Mankind bring with them into the world, it being natural to every one to be thankful, and to remember his Benefactors. * Athen. Deipnos. l. 5. c. 1. The Heathens had their Annual Festivals, to commemorate their wise men and Philosophers, to call to mind their wise say, and their prudent, just and virtuous carriage: The Jews also had their set-times wherein they honoured the Memories of their Prophets, and good men; as the Christian Church appointed Anniverssaries, which they called the Birth-days of their Martyrs, it being a solemn act of Justice to have the Righteous in everlasting Remembrance. And if the Church were so careful to commemorate the Achievements of her Members, is it credible, that she should forget the miraculous performances of her Head? In nothing was her care so conspicuous, as in constituting a Memorial of the Prince of the Martyrs, and giving the day of our Saviour's Passion, a place in the Church-Kalendar in the times of the Apostles, if we may believe Antiquity: For the Remembrance of Jesus ought at all times to be sweet as honey in all mouths, and as music at a banquet of wine. For what can be so rude and disingenuous, as to slight so obliging a friend, so great and so good a person, especially when he hath left me such illustrious testimonies of his love, which put me in mind of his humiliation for my sins? For if the Picture, or the Garment of an absent Friend puts me in mind of the person whose they were, and inclines me to grateful Reflections on my Benefactor; how much more should I be obliged, when such lively Representations of a Saviour executed, bleeding and dying for me, are exhibited to me, as the Sacrament affords me? A Sermon may give me a passionate character of my crucified Redeemer, but nothing can represent his Passion so to the life as the Holy Eucharist: that is the most affecting preaching: For in that ministration his sufferings are acted over again in the View of his Disciples. Hence the Primitive Christians celebrated the Holy Communion at first every day, and afterwards every Sunday and Holy day throughout the year, adapting all their additional Circumstances and Ceremonies to this end and purpose, that they might represent the Passion. Hence was it that they built their Churches commonly in the form of a Cross; and for this cause they covered the * Bed in 16. S. Matth. Damas'. P. Epist. Altar with a white linen cloth, not so much to denote the purity of the Mysteries, or the innocence of the Communicants, as our Saviour's being wrapped in fine linen at his Funeral. On the * Chrys. To. 6. p. 360. Altar also they placed the Cross, and that without superstition, that they might direct their eyes and minds toward Heaven; where the crucified Jesus sits on his Father's Right Hand. They enjoined their Communicants when they prayed, * Tertul. de Orat. cap. 11. to stretch out their hands in the form of a Cross; and when they received the consecrated Elements * Concil. Trull. Can. 101. , they put themselves into the same posture: The elevation of the Elements, when taken into the hands of the Priest, emblems the lifting up of Christ upon his Cross; the breaking of the Bread implies not only that he died, but that he was slain, that he died a violent death; and when the Wine is poured out, nothing can more pertinently and plainly represent the shedding of his sacred Blood. In the Liturgy of * p. 984, 985. Edit. Savil. St. chrysostom, which is now used in the Greek Church, the Priest is expressly enjoined to make upon the Bread which is to be consecrated, the sign of the Cross, with the Holy Lance (for so they call the Knife which is then used, alluding to the weapon with which our Saviour's side was pierced), and to say three times, In remembrance of our Lord, our God and Saviour Jesus Christ; after which he is to strike the Lance four times into the extremities of the Cross, and to say, when he strikes it into the right side, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; when into the left side, As a lamb without blemish is dumb before the shearer, so he opened not his mouth. Then he is to strike it into the top of the Cross, saying, In his humiliation his judgement was taken from him; then into the bottom, saying, And who shall declare his Generation? After which the Priest elevates the Bread, saying, For his life was taken away from the Earth now and for evermore. Amen. And then lays it in the Patin, saying, The lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, is sacrificed for the sins and salvation of the world: During every one of which several actions, the Deacon says, We beseech thee to hear us, O Lord. And when the Wine and Water is poured into the Chalice, the Deacon says, And one of the soldiers pienced his side with a lance, and there issued out water and blood, which mixture they always make, the better to represent that part of the Passion. And the whole Church hath thought fit to consecrate Red Wine, that the colour might mind us of our Saviour's Blood; as the Jews in the Passeover used the same coloured Wine in remembrance of the Blood of their predecessors, which was spilt in Egypt. The Greeks consecrate no Bread but what is marked as abovesaid, and stamped with these Letters, IC XC NK. i e. Jesus Christ overcomes, which was the Motto of the Cross shown to Constantine the Great. And in the Gethick Church in Spain, as the Mosarabick Missal mentions, they divided the Holy Bread into Nine parts, to which they affixed the Names of Incarnation, Nativity, Circumcision, Transfiguration, Passion, Death, Resurrection, Glory, and Kingdom; under which Names they comprehended our Saviour's whole History; intimating unto all who were spectators of their proceed, that the design and intention of the Sacrament was only to imprint on their minds the Memorial of our Saviour, and his performances for our salvation. Thus the whole Church thought themselves obliged to do in remembrance of their dearest Master and Patron, who, had he been corporeally present under the Accidents, had had no need to have bidden us to remember him: for we only remember things and persons that are absent. And is there any Reason that I should be so often put in mind of that which alone can make me happy? Thou hast bid me, O my God, that as often as this Sacrament is celebrated (and what a Reproof is this of my seldom coming to that Ordinance?) that I should call to mind thy Death. Lord, how can I forget thee? I should sooner forget to eat, or to sleep. How violent and acute were thy pains, and yet how courageously endured? Did not my iniquities cause thy sufferings? and are not all the benefits purchased thereby, transferred and made over to me? And can I forget such a Friend? What therefore shall I do to fit myself to receive the advantages of thy Passion sealed and conveyed to me in this Sacrament? I will deface all the Records of Vanity and Folly, of sin and iniquity, that have found a place in my memory, and there will I treasure up the History of my dearest Jesus his Undertake, of his Sufferings and his Victories, and thence will I transcribe the Copies of Obedience into my life and conversation, till I am perfectly conformed to his Image. The Collect. GRant, I beseech thee, O my crucified Saviour, that I may this day, and every day remember thy shame and thy sufferings, that I may magnify thy goodness, and imitate thy patience, and be conformed to the pattern of thy Virtues, that I may love thy Laws, and depend upon thy Merits; that after frequent acts of remembering thee, and communicating with thee, I may be remembered by thee in the Agonies of death, and after my death may have a place in my Master's Kingdom; Amen. CHAP. XII. Of Love to my Neighbour. NExt to my love to my Maker, ought my love to my Neighbur to take place, whose welfare is to be as dear to me as my own, and to whom I must do good, as much as lies in me, as I hope to see the Face of God: for I must love my Neighbour as myself; and every one is my Neighbour who wants my assistance. This love therefore engages me to submit to my superiors, to walk in peace, to prefer others before myself, to instruct the ignorant, to soften the passionate, to reprehend the vicious, to reclaim the profligate, to counsel the unadvised, to speak peace to distressed Consciences, to visit the Prisons, and to administer to them who are appointed to die; to relieve the oppressed, to cloth the naked, and to feed the hungry. For these were the employments of our charitable Master, who was our great Almoner, and who hath commanded us, if need be, * 1 John 3.16 that we also should lay down our lives for the brethren. And this Doctrine was so well understood by Johannes Elecmosynarius, that when he met with a modest necessitous person, to whom he had been formerly charitable, but at last found him inclinable to refuse his Alms, he plainly told him, That he had not yet arrived to that height of Christian Love to which he was obliged: 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 soon; 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 though 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 piece 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 myself, 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 thy 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 Unity. 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 public Love-Feasts joined as an Appendix to the Holy Sacrament, in which persons of all Sexes, Characters and Degrees, did promiscuously partake of God's 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 testify the sincerity of their Love, they gave the Holy Kiss each to other, before they approached 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 Church; and then they called it, * Tert. de Orat. cap. 14. the seal, or close of their Devotion, though ‡ Legat. pro. Christ. p 41. Athenagoras expressly 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 fortnight 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 Trau. l. 1. p. 62. Greek Church now, though 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 Virtue of which we are impowered to acknowledge 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 distinguished from the persons under catechising 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, Catholic 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, forbade it, the Prelates afterwards, instead of the consecrated bread, sending some parcels of the bread destined 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 Catholic 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 complete Christians, and in entire Communion with the Church in all Ordinances, to recite out of the Diptyches (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, Martyrs, Confessors, and others, that they might give a public 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 eat 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 in constant peace and godliness, that all thy faithful people may do unto thee true and laudable service, and through thy protection may be free from all adversities, and devoutly given to serve thee in all good works; that all who are baptised into the Death of thee, O Holy Jesus, may die unto sin, and rise again unto newness of life. Peace and Love hast thou made the sum of the Old Law, and enjoined as a new Commandment in the Gospel. Thy first Message to the World was peace on Earth, and thy last Legacy was peace to thy Disciples. Be thou pleased therefore to convince all Heretics, to reclaim all Schismatics, and to correct the profane and irreligious; cement our breaches, alloy our passions, pacify our minds, grant that we may all speak the same things, and that there be no Divisions among us; convince us, that though different Modes of Worship shall not disinherit a man of thy favour, yet disobedience to Government is a great sin. Let the Holy Dove hover over those waters, and allay the tempest; and let it teach the world to follow after the things that make for peace, that Jerusalem may be as a City at unity with herself, and all her children may love and praise thee, who with the Father and the Holy Ghost, livest and reignest ever one God world without end. Amen. CHAP. XIV. Of Alms. IT is also another end of this Sacrament, to engage all who receive it, to pity the poor, the Alms of the Communicants being usually called * Vid. Hebr. 13.15. the Sacrifice, because rendered by way of Oblation to God, and given to the poor, as his Bedesmen. And canst thou, O my soul, imagine, that thou dost duly observe the Lord's day, and reverence his Sacrament, when thou comest to Church without thy Oblation? Nay, such an honour was it in the Primitive Church to give Alms, that all men were not thought worthy the honour of being admitted to the Offertory, though permitted to enjoy the other privileges of Religion: * Constit. Apost. l. 4. c. 5, etc. For neither the unjust Publican, nor the Usurer, nor the Executioner, nor any promoter of debauchery and looseness, were allowed this liberty: For they seriously discountenanced all Fraud and Vice, and accounted that man a Reprobate who endowed a Church with the spoils of the poor: They would not admit of that Shopkeeper to the Communion, who put upon the ignorance of a Customer, and made him pay more for what he bought than the thing was really worth; nor would they allow that man to give his Estate to pious uses, who had gotten it by Extortion, and robbing the Fatherless. And how should this present Age blush, when we consider this; especially when we remember, that where no Law bound but that of Natural Conscience, some Heathens were ashamed to commit such Iniquity? Thus * Vit. Isidor. apud Phot. cod. 242. p. 555. Hermeas of Alexandria, when an ignorant person offered to sell him a book for less than the value, corrected the illiterate man's mistake, told him the book was more worth, and gave him the full price for it. And thus * Knolles Turk. Hist. S. Selim. p. 561. the great Selim, the first of that Name, when in the Agonies of death his beloved Bassa Pyrrhus advised him to erect an Hospital with the money which had by his Order been unjustly taken from the Persian Merchants; smartly replied, ‛ Wouldst thou, O my Pyrrhus, that I should bestow the Goods of other men, wrongfully taken from them, upon works of Charity and Devotion, for my own Praise and Vainglory? No, see they be again restored to the right Owners, and then I may die in peace. Where are the Christians who think themselves thus obliged? And how few are there of us, who do not fall short of these Examples of Heathens and Mahometans? And in truth, Justice is a duty so sacred, that my Alms are Robbery without it, the best actions which are founded in injuries, being such sacrifices as were offered in Tophet, where Murder was the Oblation. And to this day it is a * Bava Metz. 59.1. Maxim among the Jews (though the greatest Usurers in the world), that when the Sanctuary was destroyed, all the gates of prayer were shut up, except the gate of fraudulent usages; that is, that though God may be deaf to all other prayers, yet his ears are always open to the cry of those who have been injured, defrauded and robbed. My Alms therefore ought to be of Goods justly gotten, and of them must I make my distribution with all cheerfulness, and as often as God gives me any opportunity: Nay, it is my duty to seek for occasions of beneficence, and to * Rom. 12.13. be given to Hospitality; that is, to be earnest and unwearied in the pursuit of all opportunities of being charitable: Which command was so entirely complied with in the Apostles time, that * Acts 4.34. every believer sold his Estate, and made one common stock for themselves and their poorer brethren, the Apostles being the distributers of that stock to every man as he had need. And though some men affirm, that this custom lasted but a little while, because in St. Paul's time * 1 Cor. 16.2. the men of Corinth were obliged to lay aside, every Lord's-day, what they devoted to charitable uses; yet this Argument does not prove what it is intended to demonstrate: For probably they gave their praedial visible Estate to the Church, and yet might reserve something out of what they got by their Trades, their Profession, or Labour, to be given weekly to the indigent. And when at last that method was antiquated, * Tert. Apol. cap. 39 every Christian was obliged once a month, or oftener, as he was willing, to give somewhat to the Church-Treasury: And this money was employed to feed the poor, to bury the dead, to maintain Orphans, and to put them into a capacity to get their own living; to make provision for the decrepit by Age or Sickness, to cherish the Shipwrecked, and to relieve those who were condemned to the Mines, or banished, or cast into prison for the sake of God and Religion. So universal was their Charity, and so liberal their Inclinations in those good days. How then can any man satisfy himself that he is prepared to come to this Sacrament, who is negligent of this duty? Do not the Mysteries exhibit to me the greatest Instances of my Saviour's Charity and Compassion? And can I be his Disciple, unless I imitate his Virtues? St. Gregory the Great was so scrupulous, that when News was brought him, that a man was found dead within his Territory, he suspecting that he died of want, and that the not timely relieving every indigent person, did cast an Aspersion on his Government, he for that Reason abstained for some time from the Holy Communion. And though I am not willing to cherish such unnecessary scruples, yet that man does very rashly thrust himself upon God, who neglects 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 Sacrilege 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 distressed Widow. There is no way but this to make Friends of the Mammon of Unrighteousness; nor is there any likelier method to restore us to God's Love and Favour. Mercy and Truth are the Image of God: And * Chrysost. To. 4. Hom. 13. in 1 Tim. p. 302. though the Heathens define a man to be a Rational Creature, and capable of Knowledge, 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 do without Charity, are nothing worth; pour into my heart that most excellent Gift of Charity, the very Bond of Peace, and of all Virtues, 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 Household of Faith; I must also love my Enemies, and do good to them who intent my Ruin: For if ye only love them who love you, what reward have ye? Matth. 5.44, etc. 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 Virtue; 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. etc. Nor could either Jew or Gentile approach to so sublime a degree of compassion, which is truly Evangelical, and a Lesson only learned 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 asked 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 concerned 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 offered his Merits to those who crucified him, as well as to those who obliged 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, banished Adam, and undid his posterity; the transcribing the copy of the divine goodness and compassion, will reinstate 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 privilege than to be crowned 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 cancelled; 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 Church's 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 administered, 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 ourselves toward our Enemies. I therefore think myself bound to pray as hearty for my most malicious enemies, as for my own salvation And I cannot but remark the folly of the Romanists, who, though 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 mocked 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 fullness 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 engross salvation to myself or party, is Christian Judaisme; 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 myself. And they give me occasion to manifest my Patience, my Humility, and Self-denial, with many other Virtues. 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. enjoined me, rather to leave his service undone, than that my duty to my Neighbour; rather to leave my Gift at the Altar unoffered, than to make the Oblation without being in perfect charity (for * Tert. de Orat. c. 10. Optat. lib. 6. Chrysost. in loc etc. 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 banished: 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 Virtue, which entitles me to a conquest of my Passions, and makes me Master of myself. Revenge is not my Province; God will repay. And though it may make me for a while uneasy not to pursue it, yet I am sure it is much more uneasy to be damned, and to be confined to eternal torments. The Collect. BLessed Jesus, who when thy Sacred Body suffered its acutest pains, and when thy Innocent Soul felt its most afflicting Agonies, wert ready to implore thy Father's Forgiveness on thy most imbittered Adversaries; be thou pleased 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 despitefully use me; whether they are my Enemies justly, or without a cause; wilfully, or unwillingly, by what means or way soever they have done me Injury; Father, forgive them, as I desire thou wouldst 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 pleased to remove from me, and all Mankind, all Bitterness, Wrath, Anger, Clamour, Evil speaking and Malice, and whatever grieves thy Holy Spirit; that we may be kind one to another, tenderhearted, 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 dipped in the sacred blood ( * Act. Passion. ss. Perpet. & Faelic. p. 34. which was sometimes practised by the Martyrs), it upon that very account becomes venerable in my eyes; and I reflect on it with a deep respect intermixed 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 rend, and the Sun was Eclipsed; 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 agone. 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 defaced, who looked upon the places with Respect, and there built Churches to perpetuate the Memory of the Mercy.) It is true, afterwards those places administered to superstition; and I am sorry to say, so did the Sacrament too; and to Idolatry also, though 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 satisfy 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 gratify 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 devout person on such an occasion: ‛ Lord, how sad was I when I came last from thy Holy Temple? And had I not great Reason to be so, considering, that I left thy service to be involved again in the world? How tedious hath been the time since I last communicated with my Jesus? And when shall I come again, and appear before him, that I may meet my Saviour in his Mysteries, and converse with him with delight, and true satisfactions? * Psal. 42.12. Like as the hart pants after the water-brooks, so longs my soul for thee, O God: My soul is athirst for God; yea, even for the living God: When shall I come and appear before the presence of God? My Saviour, when he first ordained this Sacrament, expressed himself with Earnestness and Vehemence: * Luke 22.15. With desire have I desired to eat this ; that is, according to the expressions of the Synagogue Greek; I have hearty desired, I have passionately longed to do it: and yet he had no need of Sacraments to strengthen or confirm him. And should there not be in me the same mind, and the same measure of Love that was in my Redeemer? Wise men tell us, that three things incite the will, and create love; Excellency, Difficulty and Absence: and all these meet here: 1. This is the most sublime Mystery of our Religion, and the most excellent; And therefore the Fathers give it the most Honourable Titles, and call it the Mystery, and the Sacrament of Sacraments, etc. Nor can any enjoyment make me more happy, but being admitted to the Marriage-supper of the Lamb in Heaven: For neither eye hath seen, nor ear heard, nor can the heart of man conceive the present Favours which God in this life bestows on them that love him. 2. It is no easy slight thing to be a Worthy Communicant. The deepest Sorrow, the heartiest Resolutions, the most unalterable Vows, and the strictest Obedience, are qualifications indispensibly necessary to worthy communicating. The Table of God is not lightly to be talked of, much less presumptuously to be addressed to: And therefore the Fathers, when they mentioned the Holy Eucharist, because their Congregation was mixed, only hinted at things, and subjoined, * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrys. Passim. Those who have been partakers of that Table, know what we mean. And others are not fit for such sublime Notions. And for this Reason * Sec. 46. de Verb. Dom. St. Austin preaching on that Text, My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed, purposely avoids a plain Explanation of the words: And that he might tempt that part of his Auditory which had never received, to a love to that Sacrament, he uses this way of Reasoning, ‛ If thou, who art a Catechumen, art willing to be instructed in this Mystery, now is the Feast of Easter, enter thy name among those who are to be baptised at the Festival, and then thou shalt be informed. If the time do not invite thee, let curiosity incline thee. And for this Reason the Table whereon the consecrated Mysteries were placed, was concealed * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. with Curtains from the view of the people, during the first Service and Sermon, till the Communion-Office began. 3. The day that I long for, is to come, and the substance represented under these symbols, is in Hnaven: For they shall contain the Son of Man till the time of the consummation of all things. But till I see him in his Glory, this is the most proper and most advantageous way of enjoying him. I know not how long it shall be ere I die, and go to the lover of my soul; and therefore I will converse with him in his Ordinances: nor know I but I may die to morrow; and therefore I will, if I can, communicate to day. For how can I live without him either in Person or Representation, who is the light of my eyes, the joy of my heart, and should be dearer to me than my Life and Being. It is a strange whimsy, I acknowledge, in * De Hierarchia. p. 611. Ed. Rotomag. Father Celot, the Jesuit, " That the multitude of Masses bring so much glory to God, and so much profit to souls, that there could not be too many, if not only according to Moses' wish, all the Lord's people were Priests; but also if all men and women, if it were possible, and all inanimate bodies, and even brute beasts, were turned Priests, to celebrate the Mass. (And yet every Priest in the Romish Church is bound to say Mass every day). Nevertheless I must say, it were well to be wished, that both by Priest and People this Sacrament were addressed to with greater frequency and more Reverence; and that all the parts of the Creation were employed in praising their Creator. For can I be happy too often, or too much? I will therefore love every thing that bears the divine Image stamped upon it, and nothing shall occasion my thinking the Table of the Lord contemptible. The Collect. MY soul, O Lord, is delighted with thee, and with whatscever hath a relation unto thee: Thy Name is Holy and Reverend in my thoughts, thy Word Powerful and sacred in my ears, thy Body and Blood sweeter than Honey to my mouth, and beyond all Delicacies to my taste: Give me therefore, gracious Lord, frequent occasions of calling upon thy Name, of hearing thy Word, and receiving thy Mysteries, that my Saviour may dwell in my heart by Faith here, and hereafter I may dwell with him in the Vision of his Glory to all eternity. Amen. CHAP. XVII. Of Resignation and Self-denial. NOR must this love which I profess to my God and his Ordinances be faint and weak, but it ought to be strong enough to conquer all that opposes it: For can I say, I love God, if I deny him preference in my esteem to all things else? For if I love Father or Mother, or any other Relation, or my own Ease, or Life itself beyond my Saviour, I am not worthy to be called his Disciple, and am unfit for the Kingdom of Heaven. 'Tis a Maxim in the School of Jesus, * Mat. 16.24. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Theophil. in loc. If any man will come after him, let him deny himself; and that not by way of Ceremony or Compliment, with the Elder Brother in the Gospel, who said, I go, sir, but went not; but with the greatest sincerity, and the most intense zeal. For to be a Christian is to be a Follower of the Son of God, who paid so exact a deference to his Father, that though his own and his Father's will were the same, yet he protests, that he came into the world * John 6.38. not to do his own will, but the will of him who sent him; and that when nothing else could do it, when Sacrifices and Offerings were insignificant, then was it Recorded of him, that he came to do the will of God. And what greater Instance could be given of this his Piety, than that act of entire Resignation in the Garden? ‛ For, as * Chillingw. Serm. 5. p. 71. an acute man observes, he, in the manner of expressing this act of his Humility in the Three Evangelists, supersedes all scruple, and clears all evasion: for in St. Luke 22.42. it is, Not my will, but thine be done: In which words he resigns the faculty of his will, the whole power of it into his Father's hands. In St. Mark 14.36. it is not what I will, but what thou wilt; wherein he resigns the act and exercise of his will. But in St. Matth. 26.39. it is, Not as I will, but as thou wilt; wherein he submits his will not only as to the act and power of it, to do what God shall command him, but is willing to do it God's way, and after what manner God shall please. Nor can any man conceive a degree of Obedience beyond this. This was his Glory. Nor did it lessen his Excellencies or his Happiness: For notwithstanding this his Humiliation, he was always glorious, and always blest; as the Angels, when they leave the Throne of God, and come down on Earth, carry their Heaven with them, or rather find a new one in their Obedience. And ought not I to learn of this our great High Priest, not to remove mountains, or to curb the winds; not to feed five thousand by Miracle, or to raise the dead, but to be humble and meek, to deny myself, and to depend on God? How should this Love of Christ constrain me? For can there be any room for pride or covetousness, for lust or ambition, for wantonness or intemperance, when I have given myself entirely to my Saviour? Since * Gal. 5.24. they who are Christ's, have crucified the flesh, with the lusts thereof, and must resolve to love nothing but their Saviour, to hate nothing but disobedience, to dread his power only, and to grieve at nothing but his displeasure. To such persons all things else are insignificant, and cannot cheer the heart, unless he vouchsafe his Favours, and the light of his countenance. And though perhaps my portion may be severe, and my province difficult, yet I cannot expect to be better treated, when my Master's Cup was so imbittered. It could not be expected, that our Redeemer should love his Disciples better than his Father loved him, who was his only begotten and beloved Son. But when God loved thee most ardently, O my Saviour, he enured thee to labours and sufferings, to great conflicts and struggle. And thus he * Heb. 2.10. consecrated thee to be our High Priest, and gave thee perfection by thy adversities. For such a sacrifice became us; and his sufferings were a great testimony of his Innocence: For not only the Blood of the Oblation was first let out at the foot of the Altar, to emblem the mortification of our passions before we approach our Maker; but it was also observable, that every beast was not thought fit to make a Sacrifice: Sheep and Doves, Creatures famous for their harmlesness and their purity, for their innocence and their tenderness, were destined to the Altar, while Dogs and Swine, and other creatures that delight in Rapine or Pollution, were banished from God's House. And can I expect to communicate with my Jesus in his Kingdom, who refuse to share with him in his sufferings? How unreasonable is it to expect, how impossible to be conformed to his Ascension and Triumphs, without a conformity to his Indignities and Passion, to his Agonies and Crucifixion? For that Text, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, is a Prophecy as well as a Precept; and so must be fulfilled in the Church as long as it hath a being; and every good man must do what St. Francis and others are only feigned to do; he must bear about in his body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Nay, it is one of the conditions on our part of the Covenant which we make with God in the Sacrament, To be ready, if need be, to die with, and for that Saviour of ours, who hath given us his own most precious Body and Blood, to represent his dying for our sins. For if the love of St. Thomas was so great to Lazarus, that he was content * John 11.16. to die with him, how much more should I be ready to lay all my concerns at the feet of my Redeemer? For of him * Ap. Theophyl. in loc. p 721. Origen understands St. Thomas to speak. How acceptable therefore would Martyrdom be to me for such a friend? And how prescrable to the Ease and Honours, the Pomp's and Voluptuousness of this sensual and giddy world? Poor St. Romanus, when he was Reprieved from Execution, expressed himself with much grief * Theodorit. Eccl. Hist. l. 3. c. 17. , Romanus is not worthy the Honour of Martyrdom. And when the holy ‡ Basil. Orat. in S. Gord. Gordius was to be beheaded, he was troubled at nothing but that he had but one life to lose for his dearest Redeemer, and would have been contented to have shed his blood for his Saviour, as often as he had shed his tears for his sins, had God given him Powers adequate to his Will and Resolutions: For what can check the Sallies of a Seraphic Passion, or daunt that man who lives above the world? And what should hinder, but that I also should exert as great Courage, and as much Resolution, and love my blessed Master as much and as hearty as they? I am sure my Obligations are a great; and therefore my Gratitude should be as eminent and illustrious. The Collect. SEnd down, O Lord, the Spirit of Power into my heart, to triumph over the degenerate and fearful Spirit that resides there: Enable me to subdue all my Passions to the Laws of Reason and Religion; to mortify my Lusts, and to deny myself, that what thou determinest may be my choice, and I may devoutly and humbly resolve to make thy will the Rule of all my actions, through the merits and mediation of the great High Priest, and Bishop of Souls, Jesus Christ the Righteous. Amen. CHAP. XVIII. Of Humiliation before the Reception. AMong the many duties preparative to Worthy Receiving, Fasting, humiliation, and intense devotion, are not of the least use and advantage, though the world is so much a slave to sloth and ease, and hates any thing that is laborious and painful, most men being like * Cicer Tuscul 2. Dionysius of Heraclea, who finding the pains of the Gout too strong for his principle of Apathy, deserted the Stoics, and turned Epicurean; an undeniable evidence, how much more we are guided by our Senses than our Reason. But notwithstanding all our prejudices, these methods of severity are very requisite to complete our preparations for the Lord's Table. The Fathers generally observe, that Adam undid himself, and was the cause of our Ruin, by transgressing the Rules of Abstinence, which his Maker had prescribed him in Paradise: That when the Old World indulged to the gratifying their extravagant Appetites, than their destruction was at the door (they were drowned first in their full Bowls, and then in the Deluge): And that Job's children, while they were in the height of their mirth and feasting, were upon the brink of their graves; with many other such Instances. And therefore the Christian Church, in imitation of the Jews, who fasted twice in the week, kept also their solemn Meetings on every Wednesday and Friday, on which they prayed hearty, and heard the Word of God gladly, and at Three in the Afternoon, first received the holy Sacrament, and then went to their ordinary meals. On these days they humbled their souls, and sent up strong cries to God for the pardon of their sins, and the diverting of the divine Judgements from themselves, and all the world. But as if those days of Mortification would not be sufficient, they appointed the Lent-Fast, to be in an especial manner a time of preparation to the blessed Eucharist: At that time they enured themselves to all sorts of hardship; they abstained * Constit. Apost l. 5. c 17 Chrys. To. 5 p. 581, etc. from their Baths; they drunk nothing but water, and did eat no thing but Bread and Herbs (not changing dull and heavy Flesh for Fish and Wine, the Dainties of the Old Epicures, as the Romanists do * Nay, the present Greeks, during Lent, will not so much as mention the word Butter Cheese, Flesh, Fish, without the following Parenthesis, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: that is, with reverence to the holy Lent be it spoken Grelot 's Voyage. p. 143. ): they frequently watched all night, and when they slept, lay on the bare ground: And lest people, thorough the weakness that cannot but succeed such severities, might fall asleep in the Church, they had among the Eastern Christians * Typic. Sabae. cap. 5. p. 9 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. an Officer to awaken all drowsy persons, and to bid them be intent on the duties of the season. Then also they made their frequent Confessions, heard Sermons every day, and practised all the Rules of Self-denial, and took care, not only that their Diet should be mean, but their * Tertul. de Penit. c. 9 & de Jejun. Habit coarse: Their Penitents were covered with rough sackcloth, and sprinkled with ashes, till their faces were lean and disfigured with their abstinences: For he who pampered himself while the Church fasted, was looked on as an Atheist, or an Epicure (says Tertullian); ‛ That his Belly was his God, his Lungs his Church, his Paunch his Altar, and the Cook his Priest; That the steams of his crammed Dishes passed with him for the blessed Spirit, and his poignant Sauces were looked on by him as the influences of the Holy Ghost, and his Belching as Prophecy; that all his Charity was warmed in the pot wherein his Dinner was boiled, his Faith kept alive in the Kitchen, and his Hope preserved from starving by his divers Dishes. They were not to be persuaded that a small degree of penitence would atone for a great Crime, and take off the Ecclesiastical Censures. Those who were reconciled were not admitted to the Holy Communion, till they had addressed to the i● spiritual Guide, and had his benediction and the Prayers of the Church. But many Criminals were never admitted to the privileges of the Altar till the day of their death: and some were left wholly to the mercy of God (especially if the man had relapsed * Ambrose de Paenit. l. 2. c. 10. : For as they never baptised any man twice, so they never admitted any man twice to public Penance: For should they have done so, the Compassion of the Church would have brought her Laws into contempt. And though the Church hath since thought fit to give Transgressor's better hopes, by an easier Remission of her Censures, to let the Novatians know, (who thought the ancient Discipline indispensible, and for that Reason denied the first Paragraph of the Eighth Chapter of St. John's Gospel to be Canonical, because it afforded an Example of such Lenity in the Remission of gross sins) that she had such a power; yet it were to be wished, that the ancient Discipline could be retrieved to curb the Extravagancies of a lose, sensual, and Atheistical Age, whereby notorious, vile, and profligate sinners were bound to Ten, Twenty, or Thirty years' Penance, and sometimes longer, proportionate to their Crimes, and the heinous Circumstances that attended them. This would repair the Ruins of Religion, and restore the lost Reputation of despised Christianity. In those best days their holiest men enured themselves to the greatest strictnesses. And what extraordinary performances must we think were then required to fit a gross Offender for the Holy Communion? For they had learned, that such severities are the proper method to subdue the body, and deliver the soul from the drudgeries and impositions of its sensual Appetites; That to fatten the body is but to make the Prison of the soul the stronger; that the mind is then best enlightened, when it is free from the burden of meat, and the cares of the world; and that the longer a man fasts while he prays, the fatter and more acceptable will be the sacrifice of his Devotion; and that when * Acts 10. Cornelius did so, then came the Vision that brought salvation to his house: But above all, they remembered our Holy Redeemer's * Mark 2.19, 20. Injunction; and that this was the time in which the Bridegroom was taken away from the earth; and that therefore the children of the bride-chamber ought to fast. Nor will every slight degree of sorrow serve to express the Resentments of such a loss, and the sins that caused it: For when I look on him whom my Transgressions have pierced, I ought to mourn as one mourns for his only son; and be in bitterness, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. And is it not a shame to the Christians of this Age, not to follow such an excellent pattern? But why do I call myself and others to the imitation of the Virtues of the Disciples of Christ? * Simon Coriar. Ep. 12. inter Epist. Socrat. & Socratic. p. 28. The very Heathens will make us blush at the Day of Judgement, who advise their Friends to inure themselves to Hunger and Thirst, because those things do wonderfully advance a man in the study and practice of the Laws of Wisdom. But here I must observe, That every Abstinence is not a Fast: For I may be kept from meat either by poverty or business, by the Rigour of my Enemies, by the Violence of a Disease, or the injunction of my Physician: But that which makes a Fast in the Ecclesiastical sense of the word is, when it answers the ends of Religion, and the performance is directed to the good of my soul. Nor does every Fast which is voluntarily undertaken for the ends aforesaid, presently commence an acceptable Sacrifice to God, unless it be attended with all other virtuous performances. The Patriarch of Constantinople, called John the Faster, lost the Reward of his abstaining from all sorts of Delicacies, while he could not abstain from Pride and Vainglory, but disturbed the world with his pretences to the Title of Universal Bishop. Nor did the men * Socrat. Eccle. Hist. l. 7 c. 15. of Alexanandria fast to any purpose, but to smite with the fist of wickedness, when during this solemnity, they murdered the most excellent Philosopher Hypatia. This is truly Superstition, to seek to bribe God with little Observances, and to trample on his more obliging Precepts. So the Pharisees dreaded being defiled, should they but enter into a Court of Judicature during the Paschal Solemnity, but were nothing affrighted at the contriving and compassing the Death of the Innocent Jesus. When therefore I oblige myself to fast, I propose to myself the pattern of one of those venerable Sages who had gotten an absolute conquest over their Lusts, and had so kept under their bodies, and brought them into subjection, that they were no longer apt to rebel against the Precepts of Reason and Religion And to my Abstinences I join my Tears, remembering that excellent advice of * Apud Leon. Allat. de simeon. p. 23. simeon Stylita, Never to communicate but with the deepest compunction and heartiest sorrow for my sins, till I have moistened the holy bread with my tears. And when I weep, I will pray with the greatest ardours of love, and the strongest bent of my mind, but with the least outward motion imaginable, lest that should seem to savour of the Theatre, and not of the House of God. It was the mistake of the Old * Philostrat vit. Apollonii Tyan. Gymnosophists, That the higher they leapt in their sacred dances, wherein they praised their Deities, they came so much the nearer to Heaven, and rendered themselves and their actions thereby the more acceptable to their Gods. Nor do I think, that Ignatius Loyola, and other of the Romish Saints, were ever the more in God's favour, because they are said to be lifted up above the ground in their prayers, as if Angels carried them so much the nearer to the Throne of Grace. This also is a privilege the Heathens have pretended to, and perhaps with as much Right as our Modern Votaries: For * Eunap. vit. Jamblich. Init. Jamblichus is reported, when he prayed, to have been raised up Ten Cubits above the ground, and his Face and Garments to have been changed into a bright Gold-colour; but when the Devotions were done, he returned to his former colour and station. Nay, greater things than these may be done, and yet a man be no Favourite to the Almighty. But if I pray fervently and devoutly; if my heart breathe out its complaints, and longs to be delivered from the burden of its sins; if my soul hunger after Righteousness, and be athirst for the living God, longing to come into his presence and to partake of his gracious dispensations; then, though my tongue be silent, and my lips stand still, I may safely presume, that I shall have profit when I pray unto him. And by this means shall my soul mount upward, when to my fasting and tears I join my supplications and my alms: For they are the wings of the mind. Nor will I doubt, when I am so prepared, but my God will hear me, and accept of me, and send me away with a blessing. The Collect. O Lord Jesus Christ, who in the days of thy Humiliation, didst offer up Prayers and Supplications, with strong crying and tears, unto him that was able to save thee from death, and wert heard for that thy Piety; melt, I beseech thee, my obdurate heart, till it become soft, and fit to receive thy impressions: Represent to me my sins, and thy sufferings, to make me sorrowful; and set before my eyes the vanity of the world, to wean me from depending on it: Enable me to beg earnestly, and never to desist, till I receive thy benediction; that I may trample upon all the pomps and pleasures of this life, and settle my Affections upon that which is to come; that I may love and desire all opportunities of Communion with thee on Earth, till thy Merits procure for me a place at thy Table in Heaven. Amen. CHAP. XIX. Of Joy and Resolution after the Reception. IF it be just and reasonable, that our Thanksgivings should be proportioned to the Excellency of our Enjoyments, and our gratitude be adequate to the beneficence of our Patron; how eminent and exceeding should my joy be, when I have been honoured with the society of my God, endowed with the purchase of my Saviour's Blood, and admitted to the Communion of Angels, and the Privileges of the Saints? If * Luke 1.41. the Baptist, when the unborn Infant, Jesus, came to his Father's House, leapt in his Mother's womb, and gave such early Testimonies of his Veneration to the Messiah (as the Legend tells us, That * Vid. Card. Bona de Divin. Psalmod. cap. 18. Sect. 3. p. 893. St. Benedict, before he was born, sung distinctly with his Sister Scholastica, to the praise and glory of God), how much more solemn should my Exultations be, who have been admitted to entertain an adult Saviour, and to be a sharer in his Triumphs? So true, and so hearty should my joy be, as that which a new Convert experiments, who hath been lately rescued from a state of folly and fear, and admitted into the number of the Sons of God. Or rather it should match the mirth of Nuptials: For in this Sacrament is my Soul married to my Holy Redeemer: Nay, my inward satisfactions should express themselves, as a victorious Army glories in its Conquests; every noise should be a shout, and every sentence a part of a triumphant song: For my dearest Saviour, by his Death, conquered his Enemies, and by the Symbols of that Death, enables me, his meanest and weakest Servant, to rout the scattered Forces of the Kingdom of Darkness. Such a demeanour agrees to the practice of the Jews, who enjoyed but a shadow of this blessed Sacrament: It agrees to our blessed Master's actions at the Celebration, to the Nature of the Ordinance, and to the Customs of the Primitive Christians. The Jews (whose Passeover was only a commemoration of their deliverance out of Egypt, while our Paschal Lamb hath set us free from spiritual and eternal Thraldom) never did eat the Lamb but they sung the great Hallel, which begun with the 113th, and ended with the 118th Psalm. And because to have but such ablessing in view is an happiness, they begun and ended the Ceremony with the expressions of their thankfulness: * Buxtorf. Hist. Sacr. Caenae. for they sung the 113th and 114th Psalms, before they did eat the Passeover, and the other four Psalms after they had fed upon that Sacrifice. And accordingly did our Saviour: For we have the strongest probability, that he, who did in other Ceremonies comply with the injunctions of the Synagogue, would not in this particular be singular; and therefore are apt to believe, * Mat. 14 26. that the Hymn which he sung before he went out to the Mount of Olives, was the great Hallel: But if it were not the same, it was, doubtless, some Laud to the Almighty, as for all his Benefits, so particularly for his Sacraments. And this is highly worth consideration, that when Jesus sung this Hymn, it was the Eve to his cruel and unparallelled Tragedy, that the Man of Sorrows, who all his life long did eat the bread of affliction, and quench his thirst with his tears, having the Cross in view, sung an Hymn. 'Twas a dismal and affrighting Evening; But God gives the good man songs in the night, while the sinner is astonished with the Terrors of a disturbed Conscience. And as this Joy agrees to the Custom of the Synagogue, and our Master's practice, so it properly corresponds with the intention of the Institution: For though Thanksgiving be but a part of the Office, yet because the denomination is given from that which is most eminent, the whole Service is called, the Eucharist by the ‡ 1 Cor. 10.16. Apostle, because, ‖ Cabasil. Expos. Liturg. cap. 52. " when we communicate, we have greater cause to rejoice than to supplicate: For when we are made partakers of these Mysteries, we have received many more favours than we want: For of the things that we want, some we cannot yet attain unto, as the incorruptibility of our bodies, and our translation to Heaven: Some we have forfeited by our frequent Relapses, as the Gifts of the Holy Ghost, our Health and our Riches. So that were we as pious as we ought, there would be even in this world no need of supplications: all our Offerings would be Eucharists and Praises. But our sloth and our negligence are the causes of our needs. Do we beg Remission of our sins? Was not that given us in Baptism? And how came we, but by our own fault, to need it again? Do we want Heaven? Does not the Scripture tell us, the Kingdom of Heaven is within us? And were we not made Sons of God in the Laver of Regeneration? And if Sons, than Heirs; Why then do we so pray? Because we have forfeited that Estate, and deserve to be disinherited, and to be made of Sons; Servants: And do we want Temporal Blessings? We should first seek the Kingdom of God, and all these Things would be added. When we are fit to communicate with God, our Wants are inconsiderable, and our greatest Employment in the duties of Religion, is to celebrate his Condescension, to admire his Goodness and Patience, and to adore his Majesty; and therefore the Hymn, which the Ancients sung at the Celebration of these Mysteries, was by some called ‖ Dionys. Ar. Eccl. Hier. c. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. the holy Eucharist, because it comprehended in itself the commemoration of those holy Gifts that descend from God, and seemed to include all the particulars of that Office; nor did the Primitive * Constit. Ap. li. 5. c. 13. Just. M. apol. 2. etc. Church ever receive this Blessed Sacrament, but they had their Psalms, and Forms of Thanksgiving; for if every worldly Blessing deserved its Remembrance and an acknowledgement; how much more were they bound to praise God for spiritual Blessings in heavenly places? and to this day the ‡ Olear. Itiner. li. 5. p. 279. Armenian Church think they cannot communicate aright, unless they have not only vocal, but Instrumental Music; and they plead for the usage, that while our Blessed Saviour prayed in the Mountain, the Angels came down, and entertained him with such sort of Music; and though this be an ungrounded Tradition, yet Antiquity was agreed, that the Angels were present at the Celebration of this Sacrifice; and that when the o Gr. Nyss. To. 1. p. 957. Church sung, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth, the Seraphim sung with them, and that they attended on these Representations of our Saviour, as they did upon his Person. For it was also an ‖ Hippolyt. in Ps. 42. apud Theodorit. dialog, 2. Euseb. Epist. ad Constant. Imp. in act. Conc. Nic. 2. act. 6. Col. 493. Jul. Firmic. p. 48. Ambros. de his. qui initiant. c. 7. etc. undisputed tradition among them, That when the great Conqueror of Death and Hell was ascending to His Father's Right Hand, the Holy Angels which attended him on Earth, followed him with Songs of Praise and Triumph, and spoke to their Brethren the Angels in Heaven, in the Words of the inspired Psalmist, (Ps. 24.7. etc. according to the Translation of the Septuagint then in use) Lift up your gates, O ye Princes, and be ye life up ye everlasting Doors, and the King of Glory shall come in: To which the Heavenly Angels, solicitous to inquire who it was that came with so much Authority to demand the opening of the Gates of that Palace, because no man to that day had ever entered into the Holy of Holies; answered, Who is this King of Glory? To whom the return was presently made, It is the Lord strong and mighty, even the Lord mighty in Battle; and after that, all the Heavenly Host joined Consort, and did sing with one Voice, Lift up your heads, O ye Princes, and be ye lift up ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in: And if those bright Spirits were so transported at the sight of the victorious Jesus, should not my Soul be much more engaged to break out into Exclamations and Rejoices, and to imitate the Harmony of the admiring Angels? And for this Reason when the Church at Easter had remembered the Resurrection of Christ, and strengthened themselves with the Sacrament, that they might be able to walk in his steps, every day between that Festival and Whitsuntide was a day of rejoicing, every day of the fifty was a Sunday, say ‖ Tert. de coron. c. 3. Ambr. in Luc. li. 8. c. 17. Marx. Taurin. Homil. 61. the Fathers; nor did they on any of those days so much as stoop to kneel at their Prayers; nor do we in our Church ever fast the Eves of the Feasts that then happen * Except before. Ascention day. ; only in this interval we humble ourselves in the Rogation Week, which was introduced upon extraordinary occasion and necessity; or rather, as I think, was transferred to this season from some other time of the Year: And so sensible was the Church of the infinite Beneficence of God, that in the fourth and fifth Centuries several Monasteries were erected, societies of devout Persons, whom they called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, men who never slept, because some or other of the Fraternity was always in the House of God singing his Praises, and celebrating his Bounty. But why should I want the Encouragements to adore my Redeemer, which Angels and Saints afford me? The Heathens guided only by the Dictates of Nature, entertained every little secular Blessing with joyful Acknowledgements; ⸪ Jul. Firmic. p. 38. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. they never saw a Candle brought into the Room, but they saluted the Light, and bid it welcome; but at God's 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. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Egypt 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 always 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 David's 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 join mine: nor shall my joy make itself visible only in my Anthems, but it shall be more illustrious in my Conversation; for this Blessing which I receive is a Sacrament, 'tis 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 myself; 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 myself in the discharge of the Priestly Office. God's Minister, who consecrates, aught 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 Highpriest, and separate from sinners: And though 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 Ermines defiled, is prodigy. To behold one of the Sons of Belial making haste to be damned, is an usual, though 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 myself, 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, etc. 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 offered 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 Precepts, 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 threaten of Heaven to others against those sins which his own Conscience testifies himself hath been guilty of? 'Tis an exemplary story, if it be true, that Epiphanius relates of Origen, * Haeres. 64. p. 228. that after his fall returning to Jerusalem, he was desired to preach, which Office he addressing himself to, occasionally lights upon that passage of the * Ps. 50.16, 17. Psalmist, Unto the ungodly saith God, why dost thou preach my Law, and take my covenant into thy mouth, whereas thou hatest to be reform, and hast cast my words behind thee? Which passage as soon as he had read, he could not but call to mind his former Apostasy, whereupon he sat down, and wept, and the whole Congregation wept with him, and that was all the Sermon they had for that day. Who, O my Soul, dares speak evil of that Priest, who spends all his Time and Strength in the service of that God whom he acknowledges? and who will not reverence that Clergyman, who busies himself in visiting the sick, in instructing the ignorant, in reclaiming the profligate, in comforting the disconsolate, in diligent Preaching and Catechising, and in a reverend Administration of the Sacraments? There is a natural Veneration and Respect that all men pay to that which is truly Religious; but when he who instructs others, never preaches to himself, this casts an odium on Christianity, that is not easily defaced; for a wicked Priest at the Altar is worse than Judas; for when Judas kissed, and then betrayed our Blessed Saviour, though the action was as he intended it, abominable, yet as God applied it, it became the Instrument of the World's Happiness; but when the vicious Priest approaches God's Table, and puts the Body of Jesus into his own Lips, and the hands of his people, he profanes the tremendous Sacrament, he affronts the Majesty of God, he does no good to himself or others, but much harm; he eats and drinks Damnation to himself, and gives a very evil Example to his Neighbours; and what Power can bring any good out of so much Wickedness? And yet to sin like Judas, is to be a vile and notorious Transgressor; and the case of that Traitor is an affrighting Example; our Holy Redeemer had given him his Body and Blood, though he knew he would betray him, that he might attempt all methods to reclaim him, to soften his hard Heart by Kindness and Condescension, and to secure him from the Temptations of Satan by arming him with the power of God, and the Grace that is conveyed with those Mysteries; but Judas was the first Instance, that the Holy Sacrament, which the Son of God instituted for the Consolation and Welfare of his Servants, may become the occasion of Condemnation to those who receive it unworthily, and that the Devil may enter into that Man's mind, whose Body hath received the Lord Jesus: and how impudently wicked doth such a Wretch grow of a sudden? for when our Master had declared, that one of his Family would be that Traitor, who should deliver him into the Hand of the Highpriest * Luk. 22.21. : When the rest of the Innocent Apostles were struck dumb with Astonishment, Judas took the hardiness to ask him the Question: Thus he who is not bettered by the means of Grace, insensibly grows worse, and hardly can a Miracle save such a resolute sinner: And what dismal Lamentations, what complication of Woes are sufficient to mourn the state of such a Priest? for * Vid Hieron. Ep. ad Heliodor. to. 1. p. 4. m. who shall make atonement for him, whose Office it is to intercede for others? ‛ The Soul of a Priest, says * Lib. 6. de Sacerdot. p. 44, 46, etc. St. chrysostom, should be bright, and more untainted than the Rays of the Sun, lest the Spirit of God be forced to desert him, and that he may be able to say, Now it is no longer I that live, but Christ who lives in me; for like that great Light, that rules the day, he should enlighten the World, and warm it with the Ardours of Divine Love; for when the Priest stands at the Altar, the Angels attend him, and all the Heavenly Powers mix their Voices with his, and all the Space round the Altar, is filled with the Blessed Spirits who honour him that is there represented, and encircle his Body, as Guards do a Prince. Nay, so great is the Honour that is done to a good Priest, when he administers in Holy Things, that he stands in God's stead; for as God offered up his only Begotten Son for the Redemption of the World: So doth the Priest at the Altar make a Commemoration of that one perfect and entire Sacrifice and Oblation of our Holy Saviour for the sins of Mankind; and was it ever known, that any man durst play the Devil in the likeness of God? To meet Satan in the Habit of an Angel is not unusual, but to see an Angel of God (as Priests are called, and truly are) to be a real Fiend, is abominable. When therefore thou considerest this, dost not thou tremble, O my Soul, when thou consecratest this Tremendous Sacrament? And oughtest thou not to practise the deepest Reverence, and to demean thyself humbly and decently, because of the Angels who attend thee, and because of God whom thou representest? Great is the Honour which God gives his Priests, and great is their Charge; and who is sufficient for these Things? A prayer for the Priest before he goes to consecrate; out of St. Chrys. Liturgy. minister to Thee, O thou King of Glory, in Holy Offices, is a great and terrible undertaking, and such as is dreadful to the powers of Heaven; but thou acted by thine unspeakable and Infinite Love, becamest our Highpriest, and being Lord of all things, deputed'st mwn to the Ministry of this Sacrifice; Look down upon me a sinful and unfruitful servant of thine, cleanse me from an evil Conscience, and prepare me by the Powers of thy Holy Spirit to stand before thy Holy Table, and to minister thy sacred and uncorrupted body, and thy precious Blood; turn not thy Face away from me, nor reprobate me from the number of thy Children; Lord remember me when thou art in thy Kingdom; Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under the polluted roof of my Soul; but as thou wert pleased to lie down in the Manger among the Beasts, and to sit at Meat in the House of Simon the Leper, and to receive the Harlot, a like sinner to myself, when she came unto thee, so vouchsafe to make thy entrance into my unreasonable Mind and into my defiled Body, which is dead as well as Leprous; and as thou didst not abominate the mouth of the Harlot when she kissed thy unpolluted Feet, so O Lord my God, do not despise and abominate me a sinner, Pardon, blot out, and forgive all my sins, which I have committed, either willingly or unwillingly, whether they are sins of Knowledge or Ignorance, whether in Deed or in Word, or in 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 myself 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 completed 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 Preached, had ended his Sermon, all persons * Dionys. Areop. Eccl. Hier. c. 3. who were not Baptised, or were possessed by Evil Spirits, or were in the state of Penance, were dismissed; the Deacons or Subdeacons 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 laid 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, tendered 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. etc. people having washed 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 Choir; nor was any person permitted to be there besides the Clergy, (except the Grecian Emperor in the Churches of the East) for even the Monks themselves in those days had no place among the Clergy, but stood just without the Cancelli, or Rails, the Episcopal Throne (for so it was styled) 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 clothed in white Garments, some being concerned in the Ministration of the Sacrament (which they were enjoined 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 Screen, that no flies or other such infects 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 Choir, 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. mist. 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 Linen, 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. etc. bid 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 banished. 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. chrysostom 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 La●ty the men kissed the men, but the women their own Sex only, (for they had their different apartments, and particular Officers appointed to each apartment, the * Ostiarii. Doorkeepers at the entrance of that which belonged to 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 kissed 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 Hypocrisy, 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 ushered 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 Cherubin 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 Diptyches, 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 died in the Communion of the Church, or yet lived in it, were recited out of the Ecclesiastical Tables, or Dyptiches, and then the people were bid to lift up their hearts unto God, etc. 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 purchased 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 covered with a fine Linen Cloth in Imitation of Christ's being so wrapped, when he was laid in his Sepulchre, were uncovered, that the people might see the Bread broken, and the Wine poured out. After the Prayer of Consecration, the ⸪ Cyril. ub supr. Priest first hearty said Amen: And after him ‡ Just. in Apol. 2. Dion. Alex. apud Euseb. li. 7. c. 9 etc. 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 acknowledge 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 looked on them as a sort of Ecclesiastical persons, not purely Laymen, though not in Orders) and after the Monks, the Deaconesses. Virgins and Widows, than the Children, than 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 Choir, and the people at the Rails without; though I am well persuaded, 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 approached, 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 approached 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, etc. sung the 33d Psalms, or as we reckon it, the 34th, I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall be continually in my mouth; but in St. Augustine's time at * August. Retractat. lib, 2. cap. 11. Carthage they used to sing the Psalms of David, not only during the distribution of the Sacrament, but also before the Oblation; I suppose, he means only those which were suitable to the occasion and mystery. In † Just. M. Apo. log. 2. Palestine, and in many other places, the Bishop, or Priest, broke the bread, and gave it into the hands of the Deacons, and they gave it to the People, as they also distributed the Cup. At ‡ Tertul. de Coron. cap. 3. Carthage, and else where, especially in Africa, the people received both the Elements from the hands of the Bishop, while at ‡ Clem. Alex. Strom. 1. Alexandria the people were allowed themselves to take the consecrated Bread from the Patin (though I think, this was a peculiar custom of that Church, and lasted but a little while; but generally he who consecrated, gave the Bread, and the Deacon the Cup. ‛ In the ‖ Cyril. Cat. mist 5. Church of Jerusalem, when the Communicants received the bread, they took care not to spread their hands abroad, or to widen their fingers, but placing their hands in the form of a Cross, they supported the Right Hand with the Left, and in the hollow of the Hand received the Body of Christ. This o Vid. Chrys. to. 5. p. 519. holy bread they first put to their Eyes, and then did eat it, being extremely careful, that no part of it should fall to the ground; thus they received the bread; and when the cup was to be received, the * Cyr. ubi supr. Const. Ap. li. 8. c. 3. Prosper. in Sentent. Communicant was forbid to stretch out his Hand, and only advised to bow himself, and being in the posture of Worship and Adoration, the Wine was poured into his Mouth, and before he swallowed it, he was obliged to moisten his Fingers in it, and then to touch his Eyes, his forehead, and the rest of the Organs of his senses, thereby sanctifying them, and securing them from the assaults of Satan. He who Ministered the blessed Sacrament ‖ Chrys. l. 3 de Sacerd. Aug. Ep. 259. , carried it in his right hand, and when he gave the Bread, he said * Ap. Const. l. 8. c. 13. , The Body of Christ, or ⸫ Liturg. S. Marc. the Holy Body; and the Communicant said, Amen. And when he gave the Cup, he said, The Blood of Christ, the Cup of Life, or the precious Blood of our Lord God, and Saviour, and then also the Communicant answered, o Vid. Aug. contr. Faust. Manich. lib. 12. cap 10. Amen. But afterward the form ‖ Liturg. Greg. Dialog. was enlarged (as I conjecture by Gregory the Great) The Priest saying; The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve thee unto Eeernal Life, Amen; To which the Communicant replied, I will receive the heavenly Bread, and will call upon the Name of the Lord; and when the Priest delivered the Cup, he used this Form, The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve thee unto Eternal Life, Amen; and the Communicant rejoined, I will receive the Cup of Salvation. After the Distribution was ended * Const. Ap. ub. Supr. , the Deacon spoke to the Congregation in these words, Let us who have received the precious Body and Blood of Christ, give him our Thanks and Praises; to which end, he did bid them put themselves into an erect posture, and to stand upright, that both Soul and Body might be intent on the Office, that in the Prayer, which completed the Sacrifice, they might praise God hearty, and with a good courage for the Honour and Privilege of partaking of those Mysteries, and then they were dismissed. The remainder of the Consecrated Elements was ⸫ Just. M. Apolog. 2. , some of it, sent to those who were absent, especially to the Confessors in Prison; who were every day in expectation of Death; the rest, the faithful, who had communicated, carried home with them, and o Naz. Or. 11. & Or. 19 that in both kinds, and ‖ Tert. ad Vxor. l. 2. they commonly did eat of this Bread before their ordinary meals; especially, at their entertainments of Friends; and Bishops usually sent pieces of it, one to another, as a token of mutual Communion. In after times, in some Churches, the Communicants did eat what was left, in some they buried, in others they burned the remainders; and in other places they gave them to the Schoolboys, and other Children, who had not communicated. What was left of the Oblations unconsecrated, found the Ancients the materials of their Love-seasts (though the Apostolical * L. 8. c. 31. Constitutions give it to the Clergy) afterward the Bread was given to the Catechumen, or Penitents, who were speedily to be reconciled; or it was sent instead of the Sacramental Present abovementioned, by one Bishop to another. These were the Ancient Methods; and may our good God give this present Age his Grace, and fill our Hearts with a holy Fear of his Majesty, and a due Reverence and respect to all his Ordinances, that the Examples of the devout Christians of the Primitive Ages may incline us to an Imitation of their Piety, Humility, and other Virtues, till we come to the general Assembly of the firstborn in Heaven, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. CHAP. XXII. Of the honour done to the Sacrament, by the Ancients. THE Holy Eucharist being the highest Office of Religion, and the greatest Privilege of Christians on Earth; the Church hath thought fit on all occasions to testify, what a Reverence ought to be paid it, and what honour is justly due to it. And therefore took all care to sense, and secure it from any attempts that might lessen its esteem, or profane its usages; of which I shall mention the most materal. For 1. None was permitted to be present at the Celebration, but those who had right to receive the Mysteries; for though the Governors of the Church prohibited no Persons to be present at the Sermon ‖ Conc. Carth. 4. c. 84. , were they Infidels, Jews, or Heretics; yet as soon as the Sermon was done * Const: Ap. lib. 1. cap. 5, 6. , the Deacon made a Proclamation, Let no Infidel tarry here; and lest that warning should not secure the Mysteries from being prostituted, the faithful People were bid to ⸫ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Chrys. adv. Jud. examine, and take Cognisance one of another, and to look distinctly, that there were no Stranger among them; the Church having prayed for them already, That God would convert them to the Truth. When they were dismissed, and Silence made o Id. hom. 2. in 2 Ep. ad Corinth. , the People were bid to stand decently, and to pray for the Catechumen, (who were all the while Kneeling, or Prostrate) that God would bring them to Baptism ‖ Const. App. ub. Sup. ; the People in the mean while praying silently to themselves, and saying, Lord have mercy; after which the Deacon bade the Catechumen arise, and pray for themselves, That God would give them an Angel of peace, and that they might be made perfect Christians; upon which they were dismissed, and went out; then the Persons, who were under the power of Satan, were dismissed with the Prayer for the Daemoniac's; and after all * Conc. Laodic. c. 18. , the Penitents, with Imposition of Hands; after which time no one durst stay in the Church, upon pain of Excommunication, but he who intended to Communicate (only they permitted ⸫ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Albasp. li. 2. Obs. 25. Allat. de Narthece vet. Eccles. ss. 24. etc. one sort of Penitents, whose time of Penance was just expired, to be present at the Prayers, and to join in the Hymns, though they forbidden them to receive the Sacrament.) And that no instance of their care might be wanting, there was a public cry made, See that there be no Catechumen among you, lock to the Doors; and to this end ‖ Const. Ap h 8. c. 11. , the Subdeacons' were engaged to stand at the Doors, to let out those who had no right to the Altar, and then to keep them shut, that no one might come in, or go out, till all the Solemnity was over; and lest this also might not be sufficient, the Deacons were obliged * Dion. Ar. Eccl. Hier. c. 5. Chrys. to. 1. p. 688, etc. to take a view of those who approached toward the Altar, that no unworthy person might partake of the Mysteries; that is, no notorious offender, whose crime deserved Excommunication. They also never discoursed of this Sacrament before those who had never received it; or if they did, it was only in a Mystical manner; the sacred Elements were also kept covered, that no profane Person might look on them, and that they might by that method enhance the desires of the unbaptiz'd to fit themselves! by Baptism, to taste and see how good the Lord is to his servants; and if it happened, ‡ Albasp. l. 2. obs. 2. that any Catechumen came but occasionally to a sight of the Mysteries, they presently baptised him, and then gave him the Mysteries which he had seen; and because they understood the fourth Petition of our Lord's Prayer of this holy and supersubstantial bread, they therefore never used that Prayer in their Liturgies, till the Communion-service, nor did they ever teach it the Catechumen, till the Week in which they were to be baptised. 2. So venerable was this Sacrament in the eyes of the Ancients, * Conc. Eliberit. c. 28. Const. Ap. li. 4. c. 8. Conc. Carth. 4. c. 39 that every man was not allowed to bring his gift to God's Altar, the Church looking on the debarring men from this Privilege, as a great punishment, and accounting the Oblation of a profane person, as * Deut. 23.18. the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, which were not to be brought into the house of God, for any vow. Now that this might be regularly done, it was the custom for all persons before the beginning of the Service, to bring their offerings into the Church-Treasury, together with their Names, as I conjecture, and according to their Virtues or Demerits, their Sacrifices were either accepted or rejected; and so courageous were the Clergy in this case, that they sometimes refused the Oblations of the Emperor himself; for when ‡ Greg. Naz. Orat. 20. in land. Basil. Valens the great Patron of the Arians made his Offering at Caesarea, on the solemn Festival of Christmas at the Holy Table, as the custom was, no one of St. Basils' Clergy would receive it at his hands; though we are told, o Nieet. Com. in Naz. that the Present was no less than Vessels of Silver. 3. That part of the Church where this Sacrament was celebrated, was had in great veneration; for * Conc. Laod. c. 19 Trullan. c. 69. no man was allowed a place in the Chancel, but the Clergy; who in the greater Churches of those days were very numerous, so that it was requisite they should have room allowed them, the better to discharge their ministry without-disturbance; only in the Churches of the East, the Emperor had the privilege of a Seat in the Choir, because he was an Ecclesiastical person, or as Constantine the Great called himself a Bishop in Temporals, by reason of his Jurisdiction over those who attend at God's Altar. The surniture also of this part of the Church, after the persecutions were over, was very rich and august, for the zeal of new converts is generally very fervent; o Choice. to. 2. p. 22⅔ & to. 3. p. 778. Conc. Chalced. act. 10. many Silver and Gold Vessels, and some set with precious Stones were given for the use of this Sacrament (and when so given, were always kept neat and clean) and it was common with the devout ‡ Pallad. histor. Lausiac. c. 119. women, to give their silk Garments to make Altar-cloaths; and sometimes the Table itself was of Silver, nay, the very floor was beautified, and the Walls and Pillars, and the Lights hung by silver chains; and to alienate or prostitute any such things as had been given to God, was looked on as a great sin; nay, o Can Ap. 73. Chrys. hom. 11. oper. imperf. in Matth. to put them to any common use, was sacrilege. They also not only gave the most honourable Names to the Sacrament itself (as the Greeks now call the pieces of consecrated bread 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Pearls) but they spoke awfully of all that belonged to it. Hence we read, not only of a holy Lance, or Knife, of the holy Patin, and Chalice, but o Synes in Catastas. p. 303. of the most holy Basins, out of which the Priests washed before they begun the Office; and of the most honourable pavement of the House of God; but the Table or Altar was called the Holy of Holies, the royal and divine table, the tremendous Altar, the Sepulchre of Christ, and the Tabernacle of his glory, etc. For these and many the like passages frequently occur in the Writings of the Ancients; and if a Malefactor fled to this Table it generally proved a Sanctuary to him, and rescued him from punishment. At this Table were all the Prayers of the Church offered up to God, to signify to the world, that they did not expect to be either heard or forgiven, but upon the account of the sufferings and merits of Christ, who was sacrificed for the Offences of the World, and is on that Table represented as slain, to redeem mankind; for if the Merits of Christ are conveyed in this Sacrament, what are all our prayers available without his Merits? And because the Priest is God's substitute in this Sacrifice, and gives the Seal of Christ's Merits to the worthy Communicant, the devout Laity, though of the greatest Quality, when they met a Bishop or Priest, * Vit. Fulgent. c. 29. bowed their Heads to him for his Blessing, * Nyss. to. 2. p. 1022. Chrys. to. 5. p. 539. Cabasil. c. 53. and kissed his hand that used to hold and distribute the Body and Blood of Christ: Every person also who approached this Table, washed, and put on their best Apparel, on purpose to testify the purity of their minds, the joy of their hear●s, and their respect to the holy Sacrament. 4. The Ancients looked on the celebration of this Sacrament, as what did complete all other sacred Offices; and therefore in those best of times they received every day, because they thought they could not serve God as they ought, without performing that necessary duty; for they believed, that because our Blessed Saviour having bid his Church do so in remembrance of him, had yet fixed no time when it should do so, that therefore he intended it for that reason, as a part of the Religion's Worship which ought to be performed as often as Christians meet to serve God; for the remembrance of a dying Saviour and his last desires made a strong impression upon their minds: And therefore this Office was added to all the other Offices of Religion; for they never Baptised any person, but they immediately gave him this other Sacrament also; and when any were Married, this Ordinance consummated the Union; when they ordained a Clerk, they carried him up to God's Table, and caused him to eat of his Master's Bread; they gave it to dying persons, when they visited the sick; and they gave it to them who were alive, when a Funeral happened. 5. They approached this Table with the deepest Reverence, and an awful Dread; they came to Church fasting, thinking it a Presumption to eat any thing before they had tasted of the Dainties their Saviour had provided for them; they received the Sacred Elements in their right hands, and with a Solemn care, looking on them as a pledge of God's Love, and an assurance of Salvation ‖ Cyril. Catech. mystag. 5. , and they would as willingly have lost a Limb, as let a crumb of it fall to the ground. But above all, they took care to receive in a posture of Adoration, of Reverence and Humility; it is true, we do not read that they received Kneeling; for on Sunday, and all the time between Easter and Whitsuntide (and probably on other Festivals, for the same reason) the Laws of the Church prohibited Kneeling, so much as at their Prayers, because they were times of rejoicing; they stood then, as those who were risen with Christ, and who were in expectance of the joys of Heaven; and they remembered, that this was a Eucharist, a solemn Thanksgiving (and for that reason they always ended their Fasts before they Communicated) and an erect posture best fits these ends. And yet notwithstanding a Aug. in Ps. 98. Choice. To. 3. p. 778. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. To. 5. p. 518. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. He also mentions the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Communicants. Theodorit. dial. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. all this they adored, when ever they received they stooped, and bowed with Reverence and Godly fear, and sometimes fell down and then received; and this is plain, not only from the passages in the Fathers, cited in the Margin, but also from the known Story of the Female Macedonian Heretic, who receiving the Body of our Saviour from the hands of St. Chrysostom, is ‖ Sozom. l. 8. c. 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. said to stoop down, as if she would pray. 6. They anciently carried home some of the Consecrated Elements with them, * Tert. ad Ux. l. 2. which they did eat before their common Meals, Sanctifying their Meat and Drink thereby; nay, every common meal was to them a sort of Communion; ⸪ Vid. Jo. Frontonis Familia Christiana. p. 8, 9, 10. for they never durst eat till they had prayed to God for a Blessing; and at their Tables they refused to admit any excommunicate person, or any Heretic, much more the profane and profligate, nay, not so much as a Catechumen, unless upon extraordinary occasion. The Bread and Wine, when so blest, was looked on as holy; and they were troubled, if casually either of them fell to the ground; and as they began their meals with the Sacramental Elements, so they mutually reconciled themselves to each other before they sat down, and said the Lord's Prayer (in which the Petitions, Give us this Day our daily Bread, and forgive us our Trespasses, were very proper to the usage) after which they gave the kiss of Charity, and signed themselves with the sign of the Cross, and then begun their meal: and in most Families some one was deputed to read the holy Scriptures, the hard places of which the Master of the House interpreted: and when they had done, they thanked God for all his Blessings in some holy Hymn, and the Master of the Family gave the remainders to the poor: for he acted the part of a Priest in his own House; and thus they turned the House into a Church, the Table into an Altar, and the Feast into a Sacrifice; and if at any time a Stranger came among them (as they durst not shut their doors against any such) they gave him the preference (especially if a Priest) to begin and end the prayers. 7. And so much respect did the devouter Christians pay to this Sacrament, * Naz. orat. 10. & or. 19 that they would not spit on the pavement of the holy place, while they were at Church, nor turn their backs on the Altar when they lest it. As now among the Aethiopians, no Man spits the whole day after he hath received this Sacrament. And in the Church of Constantinople, by the advice, and example ‖ Phot. Cod. 59 of St. Chrysostom, they swallowed a little Cake, or Wafer, to prevent spitting, or vomiting after the reception. But that which made them tremble when they approached the Holy place, was an opinion * S. Maxim. mystag. Eccles. c. 24. which they entertained, That the Angels being present, did Write down the names of all the worthy Communicants, whose behaviour they inspected, and whose names they brought into remembrance before God; for they were fully convinced, ‖ Ambr. de Sacram. li. 1. c. 2. Aug. Ser. 3. in Ps. 33 etc. that the Angels stood round the Altar, and assisted at the Sacrifice. " For at that time, says St. * To. 7. p. 892. Chrysostom, the Angels fall down before the Lord, and the Archangels pray, they lay hold on the occasion, and the Sacrifice that is on God's Altar gives them assistance; for as men pluck the branches of Olives, and tender them to Princes, thereby putting them in mind of that mercifulness and compassion that becomes them: So do the Angels, instead of Branches of Olives, holding up the Lord's Body, befeech God for all mankind, as if they said, We implore thee for those whom thou didst love so dearly, as to give thy Lise for them; and we pour out our Prayers for 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 persuaded, 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 Privileges 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 ourselves 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 confirmed 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 confirmed, 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 Practice. 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 Plasters 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 condemned a notorious Heretic, † Ambr. in ob. satire. 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 Schoolboys, 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 wished, 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 applied 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 introduced, and this perhaps was the practice of the eighth Century, and in two or three Hundred 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 Virtue at Rome, but the greatest ignorance, and the greatest debauchery imaginable; and with this Doctrine the half communion was introduced, the people being Sacrilegiously robbed of the Cup for sear they should in Receiving, spill the Blood of Christ; after which the Schoolmen first amused themselves, and then their neighbours, with impertinent inquiries relating to these Mysteries, which made neither themselves, nor others wiser, or better; and what number of Miracles were then coined to uphold the new Doctrines, that when reason would not persuade men to believe, they might be convinced 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 turned into a piece of Flesh, in view of all the people; that our ‡ Paschas. c. 14. de Corp. Dom. Saviour frequently appeared 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 worshipped the Host; and that Bees in their Hive built a Chapel 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 bowed down to, and Adored. And as the Ark of the Covenant was carried before the Camp of the Israelites, so the ‡ hay. 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 Pope's own Legal Governor of that City, when the flames begun to rage in the Recollects Convent. And yet many of the practices 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 Interred in their Episcopal Robes with a Patin, and Chalice by them, and the Consecrated Bread on their breast; and this, says the old ‡ Balls in Can. 83. Trullan. Canonist was done to affright the Devil from Hannting their Tombs: and it was also given as an ‡ Balls. in Can. 61. Trull Conc. Wormat. c. 10. etc. Ordeal to discern, whether a person were guilty of a crime that could not be proved, especially to Clergymen, to purge themselves from notorious crimes. It was also sometimes left as a pawn, or pledge, and so St. Lewis of France pawned an Host for the pledge of his Ransom to the Sultan of Egypt, 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, Murder, and such like crimes; but some were so hardy as to attempt the damnable villainy of poisoning their God to murder the Lords Anointed; so the * Naucler. Gener. 42. p. 991. Emperor Henry the 7th was dispatched; 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 Archbishop of York being discontent that he could not get the Preeminence of the See of Canterbury, mingled Poison with the Wine of the Chalice, and so murdered himself. But I should tyre myself, 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 practices, 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. legate. pro Christ. p. 5. No Christian can be wicked, unless he belie his profession. PART II. The INTRODUCTION. 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 embraced. 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 Oil of Gladness above his Fellows, consecrating him to be our high Priest, to make Atonement 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, than 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 Sepulchre: 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 died 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 concerned 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 rejoicing 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 precious 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-SUNDAY. 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 complete 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 turned this, as well as the other Festivals, into Pageantry, dressing up a representative Saviour, and carrying Palms before him, as if they welcomed him into Jerusalem; and in the Greek Church they make up Branches of Olives, and Palms into divers forms, by which they keep up the memory of the Feast: the Emperor, and the Patriarch (when that Empire was in its Glory) using to give at this time great Largesses to the common People, which from the day were called Palms; and now in Muscovy, the Patriarch rides in state, like our Saviour, and is met by the Grand Duke, and all the People, who represent the Jews, entertaining him; but in a To. 5. p. 541. St. Chrisostome's time, ‛ the Greeks were better taught, for then the whole Christian Church had their Processions, and went out to meet their Saviour, not decked with Palms, but adorned with Alms, and Mercifulness, and other Virtues, with Fast and Tears, and Prayers, and Watch, and all sort of holy deference to their Redeemer. ‖ Aug. Ser. 46. de Verb. Dom. Ambr. Epist. 33. etc. On this day anciently did the Persons who were to be baptised at Easter, give in their Names to the Bishop, from which time, till their Baptism, they were distinguished from the other Catechumen, and called Competentes; and to them the Bishop (himself, if present, as he was seldom absent from his See at all this Solemnity; but if absent, the Presbyters) in the Baptistery, expounded the Creed ( * Aug. Scr. 115. Id. de fide, & Symb. c. p. 1. for the Creed was not in those Ages, read in the first Service, at which the Catechumen were present) which Creed they were to learn the Week following, and to give an account of it solemnly on ‖ Conc. Laod. Can. 46. Easter-Eve in the Latin-Church; but in the Greek-Church, on Maundy-Thursday; and now probably were they also taught the Lord's prayer, which not unbaptised Person was allowed to repeat; for how, says St. Austin, can he call God Father, who was never regenerate? And lest the Persons to be baptised, should come to the Laver of Regeneration, filthy, sordid, and sullied with their fastings, and Lentpenances (at which time they used to cast Ashes on their Heads, and lie on the bare Ground); on this day they washed the Heads of the Competentes, and from hence the day was called ⸫ Isidor. Etymol. li. 6. c. 18. etc. Capito-Lavium. So careful were the Ancients, that at the time of our blessed Saviour's Resurrection, all things should be gay, and all Persons joyful. The Epistle. Isa. 62.10, 11, 12. GO thro', go thro' the Gates, prepare ye the way of the People; cast up, cast up the Highway, gather out the Stones, lift up a Standard for the People. Behold the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the World, say ye to the Daughter of Zion, Behold thy Salvation cometh; behold, his Reward is with him, and his work before him, and they shall call them the Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord; and thou shalt be called, Sought out, a City not forsaken. The Gospel. Matth. 21.5. etc. TELL ye the Daughter of Zion, behold thy King cometh unto thee, meek and sitting upon an Ass, and a Colt, the foal of an Ass; and the Disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, and brought the Ass, and the Colt, and put on them their , and they set him thereon, and a very great multitude spread their Garments in the way; others cut down Branches from the Trees, and strawed them in the way; and the Multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosannah to the Son of David, blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord; Hosannah in the highest. And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the City was moved, saying, Who is this? And the Multitude said, This is Jesus the Prophet of Nazareth of Galilee; and Jesus went into the Temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the Temple, and overthrew the Tables of the Money changers, and the seats of them that sold Doves; and said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the House of Prayer, but ye have made it a Den of Theives. The MEDITATION. WHen our blessed Saviour made his public appearance in the World, every thing in him was excellent, and extraordinary; the Lineaments of his Face so beautiful, that he was justly styled the fairest of ten thousand; but the Qualifications of his Soul were so miraculous, that whatever of great or good could be observed either in Men or Angels, was but a faint Representation of his more stupendious Accomplishments; the charms of his Countenance were most taking, the Eloquence and Reason of his Discourses most persuasive; but the Holiness of his Conversation was transcendent; insomuch that his Friends loved, and his very Enemies, though they hated him, could not but admire him; his converse was freeand obliging, his pity generous and noble; he accounted that day lost, wherein he had not done some kindness; and was grieved to send any man away from him sorrowful. He often neglected to mind himself, but he never omitted his care of the Poor; and he, who had no house to reside in, no maintenance but the Alms of well-inclined People, had yet a Bag, and a Treasury for the indigent; he frequently forgot to eat, but he never forgot to Pray: so wonderful was his Devotion, so universal his Charity, and so incomparable his Obedience. His Soul was the Temple of Chastity and Temperance, the seat of Prudence, the fortress of Courage, the Throne of Justice, the storehouse of Humanity, the Sanctuary of Meekness; in a word, it was the residence of all Virtues; and who could converse with such a Saviour, and refuse to Love, and Adore him? But never were his Accomplishments so Illustrious, as when he took his last journey to Jerusalem, when all the Scenes of Treachery and Cruelty were to end in the unparallelled Murder of the Son of God: then he exerted all his Vigour, for then the Son of God was to be glorified, and to be manifested to be the only begotten of the Father, with Power, according to the Spirit of Holiness by the Resurrection from the Dead; for his sufferings were his own crown, and the cause of the world's Salvation Perilous was the attempt, but the combatant was invincible. His first Essay towards the completing of our redemption, was on Palm-Sunday, on this day of the week he made his entry into Jerusalem like a Conqueror or rather like the King of the World; from hence I date the Epocha of his Crucifixion, because on this day among the Jews the Paschal Lamb was separated from the rest of the Flock, and with much solemnity brought up to Jerusalem in order to its being Sacrificed; and on this day of the week also he made a more pompous entry into the Holy City, when attended by many Saints returning from their Graves to accompany his Resurrection; he made it appear, that he had spoiled Hell, and saved mankind; both which entries were made in despite of all the Opposition of the Scribes and Pharisees, his implacable Enemies. And where, O my Soul, shouldst thou wish thyself a place, but among the Train of this Omnipotent Victor? Thou hast been by him raised from a sad estate, from being dead in sins and trespasses, and whom shouldst thou Love, and accompany, but thy best Friend? I will follow him therefore into the High-priest's Palace, and to the Judgment-seat of Pilate; I will go with him to Mount Calvary, and there I will die with him; but first I will view his Triumphs, and admire his Grandeur; I will first accompany him to the Jewish Temple, and then to the Christian Altar, that is, to the Cross, on which he was Offered as a Lamb without spot and blemish. From the East came the Sun of Righteousness to Jerusalem, (for on that side of the City lay Bethany) and rejoiced like a Giant to run his course, though he foresaw he should suffer a dismal Eclipse; and in this also he might be likened to the Sun, that he appeared greater, and shone brighter than ordinary, just before his setting. 'Twas required by the Mosaical Law, that every Male should appear at Jerusalem three times a Year; nor would Jesus be (though he was) exempted from those attendances; for thus it behoved him to fulfil all righteousness; and in this he was so punctual, that the best account which the Christian World hath, how long our Saviour lived, appears from the Evangelists recording how many Passovers he kept: The past years of his Life he went up to the House of God in a State of Privacy, but now he resolves to approach the City like a Prince, that is, like himself: But where is the Ceremony of this Royal Parade? Where is the Gilt Chariot? Where the Purple Robes? Where are the Armed Lifeguards, and where the Retinue of Nobles? Is the King of Israel no better equiped than with an Ass, and that Ass borrowed? Are his most Eminent Courtiers but Twelve poor Galileans, most of which were Fishermen, and one a Publican? And hath he no other Followers but the Multitude, the Dregs of the People? 'Tis no Wonder, that at this sight all the People were moved: Never was Prince in Exile worse attended? And can this be the King of the Jews? Is this the Messiah? But remember, O my soul, that all this was Prophecy, and no word of God is ever unfulfilled; his Poverty was a sign to the Shepherds to know him by at his Birth; and the same sign is given to the Holy City at his Death; Zech. 9.9 and she is called upon to rejoice, and to shout for joy, because her King comes to her, a just Prince, and one that brings Salvation; but he comes in a state of Humility, riding upon an Ass, and a Colt the Foal of an Ass; and must God falsify his Word to comply with our impertinent notions of Greatness? And is not the Condescension an Emblem of his Meekness? He came into the world to conquer, not by the Sword, but by the Cross; not by fight, but by dying; and does not this Ass denote his Contempt of the World, and the lowliness of his Mind? How mild and good, and how benign he should be, even to his worst Adversaries? Besides, it was necessary his first coming into the World should be distinguished from his second coming to Judgement: Nor was this but an addition to his Honour, that the first Confessors of the Christian Religion, were not many mighty, not many wise, not the Kings, or the Generals, or the Philosophers of the World, but a few abject and contemptible men, rude and unassisted, ill-clad and unlearned; and yet they converted the World: But this is not all: see something that completes the Wonder; for could there be a greater instance of my Blessed Saviour's Divinity than this, That notwithstanding the wariness of the Roman Garrison, who to secure the Imperial Title to Judea were ready to take Fire upon the notice of a new King's Arrival as a Competitor of the Government; notwithstanding all the Spite, Malice, and Cunning of the Pharisees, Jesus makes this Triumphant Entry, preaches in the Temple, casts out the Buyers and Sellers, and works many Miracles without any disturbance; this was certainly the Finger of God, and a Specimen of the Divine Power. Be not therefore scandalised, O my soul; this poor Saviour is the Son of God, and the Redeemer of the World, and his Poverty is his Church's Patrimony; and this is the Day which many Kings and Prophets have longed for, but never could see; join thyself therefore to the Company; and sing thy hosannah's also to the Lord of Life and Glory? 'Tis shameful to slight thy Saviour when the Multitude admires him. Of the People, some followed Jesus from Bethany, while others met him from Jerusalem, both joining together in one Company, of which, some went before him, others followod the Messiah, who road in the midst of them, under whom they spread their Garments in they way (as was the Custom of many Nations, when they entertained their Princes) and strewed Flowers and Leaves (for so were Monarches also treated at their Entrance into any City, the People meeting them, and carrying Laurel and Roses in their Hands, and covering the streets with them, by which they testified their acknowledgement and submission to their Sovereign's Authority) and probably the Jews coming immediately from Mount Olivet, carried Olive-Branches in their hands (as other Nations used to do on such solemnities) Emblems of Peace and Union between a Prince and his Subjects, and signs how ready great Persons should be to forgive Injuries; after which manner they also carried Palms, as a good Omen of Victory: And all this was done at this time, to denote that the true Messiah, the King of the Jews, was now come to his own City of Jerusalem; a Meek and a Compassionate Saviour, and ready to triumph over the powers of darkness, and all the other Enemies of Mankind. To him therefore the people sung their hosannah's, wishing him all happiness, and themselves all happy in him: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: ‛ Most acceptable is his Person, most welcome is his Reign and Kingdom; Hosannah in the highest: Let our Shouts reach Heaven: 'Tis the God who dwells there, whom we praise; and may that God, whose Throne is there, make us eternally happy in this Son of his Love; Peace in Heaven, Glory in the highest, the Messiah is come, and our Fears are at an end: And who would not join in Consort to this Heavenly Song? 'Tis one of the Anthems of the Angels, and some of the Entertainment which God's Palace will afford us: The joy ought to dilate my soul, though it did not swell my Saviour; and this also was another argument, that he was the Son of God, and the Lord of Glory; that this extraordinary reception did not transport him, but with the same evenness of temper he enjoys all the various dispensations of Providence, his poverty never depressed him, his disgraces never ruffled his quiet, nor can honours and pomp make him proud and insolent. But that which made no impression on the Son of God, made a very deep one upon the Pharisees; for envy is a busy and restless Vice; they, when they saw they could not curb the multitude, would have put our Saviour upon checking and repressing them: for as the covetous man cannot endure: a discourse of voluntary poverty, nor the lascivious person a lecture of Chastity; as you raise the passion of the Oppressor, when you preach to him the Laws of Justice, and inflame the froward and the cruel, when you urge him to forgive Injuries, and to love his Enemies; so to the proud and ambitious nothing is so killing a sight as another man's Honour: But Jesus tells them, the meeting was not procured by craft, nor were the people flattered (much less affrighted) into the combination; the Oblation of Thanksgiving was voluntary, and an accomplishment of a prophecy, God now intending out of the mouths of babes and sucklings to perfect praise (for Virtue makes itself admirers where ever it goes) and should these people hold their peace, the very stones would cry out, and who dares check the Holy Spirit, and fight against God? But what need of all this complaint? have patience, O ye Rulers of the Jews, and the people will answer your desires, such is the vanity of all worldly fruitions, they, who to day cry Hosannah, shall in a few days cry louder, Crucify him, Crucify him. Now they sing, Blessed is the King that cometh in the Name of the Lord; and anon, We have no other King but Caesar. Now they spread their Garments in the way, but then they shall strip him of his own raiment: Now they bless, and cry, Master, but then they shall curse and despise him; such is all Secular Pomp and Humane Applause, it depends upon popular Breatu, which, when it turns like the Wind, it blows back again, and carries away all that before it brought. Upon foresight of this sad sinful Change, see the Marks of a deep Sorrow on the Face of Christ amidst all the Acclamations and other Testimonies of Public Joy; Jesus (the Prince of Peace) was now at the foot of the Mount of Olives. (the Emblem of peace) in view of Jerusalem, (whose name implies the Vision of Peace) and yet he knowing their sins, and foreknowing God's Judgements, could not forbear Tears, and the terrible denunciation of the Divine Vengeance upon that City, that was now become the sink of all wickedness; and yet this weeping was but the Prologue to the mightier grief of his upon the Cross, to which no sorrow could be compared, when he offered up Prayers and Supplications to his and our Father, with strong Cries and Tears, and was heard for that his Piety. Now he mourns only the fate of one City, of one People, but then he wept over and died for the sins of the whole World of Disobedient and desperate Wretches, who doted upon ruin; all the Honour that could be given him, all the Grandeur that could surround him, gave him no Pleasure in this Triumphant Entry, while he saw the end of his designed death frustrated, and a whole Nation obstinate to be undone, when the Son of God was most willing and most busy to save them: Every Drop was of more Value than a Pearl, and the Streams that ran down his Sacred cheeks, more precious than those Waters which bring down Gold from the neighbouring Mountains. And does my Saviour weep, and can I dare to indulge to immoderate Laughter? Can I rejoice when he is covered with Sorrows? Or live in sensuality, when the chastisement of my peace is upon him? God forbidden. Now therefore, O my Soul, contemplate thy Saviour in all his Offices; in his Triumphs he shows himself a Prince; in his Mourning over Jerusalem he acts the part of a Priest, whose Office it is to weep over and atone for the sins of the People; and how does he declare himself to be a Prophet, when he foretells the precise time of the ruin of the Jewish Nation, before the present Generation should pass away? In this disconsolate plight does our endearing Redeemer draw nigh to Jerusalem; and to let the world know that his Kingdom is not of this world, he balks the direct way over the Brook Kedron, to the fortress of Zion, and diverting, passes through the Sheepgate which led to the House of God; he goes not up to the Palace of the Highpriest, nor to the Court of the Roman Governor, but immediately hastens to the Temple, to teach us to begin every Action with God, and to love the place where his Honour dwells, more than all the Tents of ungodliness; to love the Gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob; and to assure us, that he who would meet God comfortably, must inquire for him in his Temple: For where should I seek for thee, O my dear Saviour; where should I find thee, but in thy Father's House? The Temple is thy Palace, and the Chair of Moses thy Throne, thence thou didst baffle the Doctors, and from thence didst thou dispense the Oracles of Heaven to the world, rescuing the Doctrines of Religion from the Traditions, and the Duties of it from the evil practices of the Pharisees; and to demonstrate, that thy complaint of them was not without cause, thence didst thou drive the buyers and sellers, such was thy Zeal for the Habitation of God, when the Lord came to his Holy Temple; and who could stand before thee, when thou didst thus appear like a Refiner's Fire, and like Fuller's Soap? Thus when Reformation is begun at the house of God, there is great hope that the rest of the City will easily be reformed. At this Visitation, Jesus beheld all Things, not for Curiosity, but to see what was amiss, and needed amendment; he looked into all the Corners of the Temple, and diligently attended to all the performances of the Priests in their several stations, how they kept up the Reputation of Religion, how exactly they performed all their Service, a fit Employment for the great High Priest, and Bishop of Souls. But why all this Severity? Why the Buyers and Sellers banished? Why the Money-changers Banks overthrown? Were not the Jews obliged to come Three times a Year to Jerusalem? And when they came, were they to come empty? Now to bring with them from the remotest parts of Judea, Sheep and Oxen, and the first fruits of their , Wine and Oil, with orther Offerings, was very troublesome; and to dispose of those things in kind in the Country, and turning them into Money to buy the like at Jerusalem, was not only reasonable, but agreeable to the Divine Command; and for this purpose had the Jews their Markets and Banks, Deut. 14.24, 25. in or near their Temples, as the Gentiles also had. Now the Practice having the countenance of a Law, and tending so much to the ease of the People, and to the Honour of God also, inviting all occasional Comers to buy, and offer liberal Sacrifices (as an Exchange tempts Customers); it also making provision for Proselytes and strangers, of such Money as was current at Jerusalem, which only was to be offered to the Lord, and for the poor, that they might borrow, though not on Usury, yet on Pawn, so as they might not comeempty handed before the Lord; the place of this Traffic being only the outer Court of the Temple, into which were admitted even the Gentiles and Uncircumcised? why was our Master's Zeal so Fervent? With great Reason doubtless was this done, for all that Jesus did, was by the guidance of the Infallible Spirit; nor was it without reason that this Action was called the greatest of our Saviour's Miracles, and one of the most solemn Declarations, that he was the Son of God. Was it not a great Affront to the Divine Majesty, to make a Butcher's stall, or a Bankers shop, of his House? To alienate it from its right use; and instead of a house of Prayer, to make it a den of Thiefs, of Publicans and Extortioners, and of the Practisers of the Arts of Fraud, and the Methods of Cheating? Was it not Irreligious to serve the Ends of Covetousness, more than the designs of Piety? For these Markets were at first held only near the Temple; but at last, through the greediness of the Priests were brought into the first Court of it, to their no little gain, while they managed the Markets, either by their own servants, or by exacting a Tribute of all those who there erected stalls, and perhaps selling one and the same sacrifice over and again, to several Persons: Now what could create in men's minds mean thoughts of Religion, and depreciate the service of the Almighty, if such Actions did not? And how could men choose but abhor the Offerings of the Lord? This therefore incited the Zeal of our dearest Lord; and it was a sad Omen, that the Priests themselves should in a little time be banished from the House of God, and turned out of his service, because they had corrupted and huxtered the Word of God, and handled it deceitfully. And now, O my soul and my body, are not you the Temple of God? And ought not the same measure of Zeal to be in me, that was in my Redeemer? Ought I not to cleanse this Temple, and to expel thence all brutish Affections, all covetous thoughts, all self love, and love of the World, all pride and vain glory, and to keep myself undefiled in the World, fit for the residence of God, and the indwelling of his Holy Spirit; for if a man defile the Temple of God, shall not God destroy that sinner? I will therefore devote myself entirely to my Maker: what he loves shall be my delight, and I will honour him here in his Person, in his Will, in his Ordinances, in his Habitation, in his Revenue, and in every thing else that appertains to him, that I may hereafter enjoy him, and live with him for ever, Amen. The Collect. ALmighty and most Merciful Saviour, who in the height of thy Glories, wast mindful of thy Humiliation, and thy sufferings, as thou wert contented to be made the Son of man, though by an ineffable generation thou wert the Son of God; so new make me thy most unworthy because thy most disobedient Servant; create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me, that my soul, whom thou hast redeemed, may always sing thy Praises; and celebrate thy bounty; that all my faculties, and all my members being consecrated to thee and thy service, my Zeal may be flaming and unquenchable, my love to thee victorious over all self love, or love of the world; my love to my neighbours generous and disinterested, and my constancy and resolutions to be thine unalterable, that I may preserve thy living Temple free from all Pollation, till I come to the New Jerusalem, where the Lord God Almighty, and the Lamb, are the Temple of it, through, the Merits und Mediation of thee my only Saviour and Redeemer, Amen. The Anthem for Palm-Sunday. ETERNITY. I. MY Eager Soul's upon the wing, To view th' Court of th' Heavenly King. So passionate 'tis those Joys to taste and know; That it disdains all pleasures here below: For what can this sad world impart, To ease the long of my Heart, Which Heavenly Love hath wounded with its Dart? II. The Palace Glorious was, where God Made his perpetual abode, his Omnipotent Word bade all Things be; The Mighty Undivided Trinity Resided in Eternal Light Before the Sun appeared in sight, Or Time was imped to make his earliest flight. III. With Joy the Father then looked on The Beauties of his only Son (Miraculous Child, whose great Sire cannot be Above his Son in Age or Dignity.) From both these did proceed the Dove, Which gently up and down did move, And filled the place with Harmony and Love. iv In this vast space, the Equal THREE, With mutual Sentiments did agree, That God the Father should the World create, The Son redeem, the Spirit regenerate; Transcendent Fountain, whence did flow, What infinite Pity could bestow, To make men Gods, and bring down Heaven below. V No longer can my Soul forbear; It Sighs, and Wishes to be there; That it may celebrate the Father's power, Love Jesus, and the Holy Spirit adore; For though my Saviour's Presence here, My Soul to Sceptres does prefer, On Earth she dreads to lose him, there's no fear. Monday before EASTER. THE Monday before Easter, was called the Holy and Great Monday, or the second day of the Paschal-week; and the whole week was called the Great week ‖ Chrys. To. 5. p 541, etc. , not because the days were longer than ordinary, but the blessings were greater, because of the great and stupendious Blessings not to be comprehended, or uttered, which God this Week conferred upon the World, in the Death and Resurrection of our blessed Saviour; and because it immediately preceded the great Festival, as Easter is called, Joh. 19.31. or * Bern. Ser. 3. in domin. Palmar. because of the four great Days in it, viz. The Procession of Talm-Sunday, the Institution of the blessed Sacrament on Maundy-Thursday, the Passion on Good-Friday, and the continuance in the Grave on Saturday, which was the Eve to our blessed Master's Resurrection. The Week also was styled the Passion-week, the Week of Fast, dry Diet, and Penances (in which the Devouter sort did eat nothing but Bread and Salt, and drank nothing but Water) from which strictness, no day was exempt except the Lord's Day, on which it was a great Crime to Fast ‡ Constit. App. l. 5. c. 17. alii. . Every day of this Week, was a day of business; the whole time from the days of the Apostles, being spent in Prayers, Watch, and Mortifications ⸫ Chrys. ub Sup. & p. 586. : Tribunals, and Courts of Justice were now shut up; no Plead, no Suits of Law, no public Business, no Execution allowed; nothing but Preparation for the approaching Solemnity of Easter. Nay, such Veneration was paid to that Festival, that on this Week all Prisoners, except a few notorious Criminals, were released, and in the Regions of Darkness (as their Dungeons were) Lights were set up; the ‖ Ambr. Ep. 33. Cod. Theodos. li. 9 Tit. 9 l. 3, 4, etc. Emperors forgave those who had forfeited their Lives to the Crown; and private Persons released their Debtors; so that this Week was like the Jubilee, or the seventh years release among the Jews; for this was the time when God forgave the World their Sins, and released them from the Prison of Hell; now the War was ended, that had been so long maintained between God and Man; now was Death laid in Grave, and Buried; the Curse of the Law taken away, the Empire of the Devil destroyed, and the hindrances of Reconciliation removed; and therefore all devout People looked on themselves as bound to do something equivalent in pardoning those who had offended them in Testimony of their gratitude * Orig. l. 1. in Job. Ambr. ub. Supr. . On this Week, the Church ordered the reading of the Book of Job, in which History they had a plain example, in the Afflictions of Job, of our Saviour's Sufferings; and in his Restoration, of our Saviour's Resurrection; and ‡ Chrys. To. 5. pag. 542. the subject of the Sermons at this time was the duties of Compassion, of remitting Injuries, and forgiving Enemies, of which the time afforded them a signal Example. And now also they used to sing the 146 Psalms, Praise the Lord, O my Soul; while I live will I praise the Lord, etc. The men, the Women, the aged Persons, and the Youth, all joining in this excellent Hymnody. And in * Smyth. of the Gr. Ch. p. 221. the Greek Church to this day, as they read over the Psalter twice every Week in Lent, so they read it over but once in this Week, ending it on Wednesday; from which time to the Saturday, according to the Ancient Custom, it is wholly omitted; for, from the day of our Master's apprehension, to the day of his Resurrection, the mystical Body of Christ sympathized with its Head, was full of sadness, and covered with the marks of a deep and solemn Sorrow; and therefore intermitted the Psalms, which for the most part consist of Thanksgivings and Exultations. The Epistle. Isa. 42.1. BEhold my Servant, whom I uphold; mine Elect, in whom my Soul delights. I have put my Spirit upon him, he shall bring forth Judgement to the Gentiles: he shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his Voice to be heard in the Street. A bruised Reed shall he not break, and the smoking Flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth Judgement unto Truth; he shall not fail, nor be discouraged, till be have set Judgement in the Earth, and the Isles shall wait for his Law. The Gospel. Matth. 21.33. THere was a certain Housholder, which planted a Vineyard, and Hedged it round about, and digged a Winepress in it, and built a Tower, and let it out to Husbandmen, and went into a far Country; and when the time of the Fruit drew near, he sent his Servants to the Husbandmen, that they might receive the Fruits of it; and the Husbandmen took his Servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other Servants, more than the first, and they did unto them likewise. But last of all, he sent unto them his Son, saying, They will reverence my Son; but when the Husbandmen saw the Son, they said among themselves, This is the Heir, come let us Kill him, and let us seize on his Inheritance; and they caught him, and cast him out of the Vineyard, and slew him. When the Lord therefore of the Vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those Husbandmen? He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his Vineyard unto other Husbandmen, who will render him the Fruits in their seasons. The MEDITATION. GReat was the Wisdom of the Son of God, in adapting his Discourses to the several Genius's, Capacities, and Needs of his Auditory; and though he were sometimes upbraided with his Birth, Education, and want of Learning; yet truth at other times extorted this Confession from his Enemies, Whence hath this man this Wisdom, and these mighty Works? Nor could thesharpest Philosopher, or the most subtle Rabbi express himself with that Acumen and strength of Reason, that the blessed Jesus often uses. What Stoic could entertain the World with such Discourses of Self-denial, and Mortifying the Passions, as the Sermon on the Mount affords us? What Platonist could Treat of Divine Love, as our dying Saviour does in his last Oration before his Passion? What Sophist argue with that readiness and quick address, as Christ does, when he puzzles the Pharisees with his Dilemmas about St. John's Baptism, and the Father of the Messiah? What Scribe ever explained Moses, or interpreted the Prophets so clearly, as the Son of God did? Nor was the matter only of his Discourses severe and profound (as his Knowledge was Infinite and Unlimited) but his very manner of expressing himself had its peculiar Graces: sometimes his talk was mystical, and his words a Prophetic Riddle (when there being no present need, the Interpretation was left to the Spirit, who was to succeed him:) but for the most part he expresses himself with a becoming plainess, using Similitudes and Parables, than which there is no more speedy and effectual method to instruct the Ignorant, who are desirous of Knowledge, but hardly drawn to pursue after that Wisdom which is not without much Study acquired: for there cannot be a plainner, because there cannot be a more familiar way of Instruction than this: a Parable being commonly taken from things that are seen, and so is both a Precept, and example at once: and by that means not only makes easy impressions on the understanding, but as easily sways the Affections: and by a certain secret kind of delight wins a man, before he is ware: but above all, it insinuates a reproof without disgust, and causes a man insensibly to be the accuser of his own Vices, while he condemns the like practices in another: and in this manner are the Jews treated in this Parable: our Saviour choosing this method to induce them to a belief of his Doctrine, and an acknowledgement of their own Enormties. Wretched and Infatuated People! whom salvation itself cannot rescue from ruin! Did God ever deal so graciously with any Nation as with the Jews? From a mean and small Original (when they were the fewest of all People) they insensibly multiplied into vast numbers under the hardships of slavery and tyrannical usage; and when Israel was to be no longer a stranger in Egypt, by what stupendious wonders did God deliver them? With what a strong Hand, and a stretched-out Arm did he take them out of the House of Bondage; notwithstanding the Anger of Pharaoh, and the Opposition of his Subjects? And when in the Wilderness they went from one Nation to another people, how did he preserve them, that no man could do them wrong? And how did he reprove, even Kings for their sake? One Miracle brought them Bread; a second, Flesh from Heaven; a third, Water out of the Flinty Rock, and their were kept from wearing out, by the same extraordinary Power; an Angel was their Guide, and the Lord of Hosts their King; with what terrible and affrighting sounds was the Law given on the top of Mount Sinai? With what Wisdom, Eloquence, and Authority was it explained by the Prophets? Who confirmed it by innumerable signs and wonders, and foretold the Incarnation of the Son of God, who should fulfil the Law, and all the Righteousness of it; and yet how obstinate and disobedient, how untractable and sullen, how stubborn and rebellious is this People? Despising the Divine Mercies, and denying the Lord who bought them, when he had condescended to himself with humane Nature, to be born in their Country, of an Israelitish Stock, and of the Seed of King David, whose Name was by them had in Everlasting Remembrance. What could God have done more to his Vineyard, that he ever left undone? He planted it in a fruitful soil, in a Land flowing with Milk and Honey; he watered it with the Dew of Heaven, and cheered and warmed it with the Beams of the Sun of Righteousness, he fenced and secured it by an extraordinary Providence, and the Guardianship of Angels (Michael the Prince of those Blessed Spirits being deputed to the Tuition) he manured it by the Ministry of Kings and inspired Men, and by the peculiar Husbandry of his own Darling, and with infinite Patience waited, till it would answer his Expectations, and pay him with a Vintage that might recompense his Cost and his Labour; but instead of Grapes it brought forth Briars and Thistles, it rewarded the pains of those who cultivated it, with nothing but fruitless labour, which not only filled them with melancholy Reflections on their unsuccessful Attempts, but cost many of them their Lives; so cruel and barbarous is ingratitude, that it never is at rest, till it imbrues its Hands in the Blood of its best Friends and Benefactors; so inhuman were the Jewish Nation, so bend to the Destruction of those whose sole business it was to save them from Destruction. It was the Jewish Synagogue that was Gods Pleasant Plant; the Hedge was the Divine Protection; the Winepress digged in it, was the Law which he gave them, written with his own Finger, and which continually urged them with the necessity of Obedience; the Tower which he erected was the Temple, the Beauty, and Honour, as well as the safety of Jerusalem, (for nothing but Religion, and the true Worship of God can make a people safe or happy, and when that is secured, all other things are bestowed of course); the Husbandmen were the Governors of the Nation, Spiritual and Civil, who upon a just return of God's Portion to him, were to have a liberal share of the Fruits for themselves; and who could make a wiser Provision? Upon this the Lord seems to take a Journey into another Country, intrusting them with the managery; but lest they should forget, that they were not Proprietors but only Usetructuaries, he frequently takes occasion to send to them his Servants the Prophets, to mind them of their Trust and their Obligations; but Michaiah and Jeremy they beat and imprisoned; Zechary this Son of Jehciada they stoned, Isaiah they sawed asunder, another Zechary they slew between the Temple and the Altar, Ezekiel was murdered at Babylon for reproving the Idolatry of the Governor of the People, Amos was slain with a Sword, and John the Baptist beheaded; nay, who among the men of God escaped their Malice? And what Prince is there, but resents the ill usage of his Ambassadors, as heinously as if himself were in Person affronted? But O the depth of the Riches of the Divine Mercy! He is not easily provoked, nor does he delight in the Death of a sinner, but tries all methods to reclaim and amend him; after so many messages that failed of success, he resolves to try the last Experiment; he had one only Son, the Darling of his Bosom, and him he deputes to this Embassy, believing that if their malice were not desperate and incurable, they would reverence him who was the Heir to the Vineyard; but when Jesus came into the World, a Preacher of the glad Tidings of Peace, all their malice that before vented itself in parcels upon the Prophets, concentered and fixed in him, though they knew him to be the Messiah, and the only begotten of the Father; now they join all their Forces, summon their Councils, unite their different Factions, and determine to murder him, and then the Inheritance would be their own; their Dignity, their Reven es, their Authority secured to themselves and their Descendants for ever: But how empty and insignificant are the Councils of men, when they oppose themselves to the Wisdom of God? How easily does the Lord confound the Craft of the Wise, and bring to nought the Understanding of the Prudent? Their very hopes are baffled, and they are punished in kind according to the nature of their sin; for did ever any man fight against Heaven and prosper? instead of securing their Title, they ruined ●t; and instead of an imaginary greatness, which they expected to last for ever, the fatal period of their Jurisdiction was fixed; their power dwindled into the pageantry of Dominion, their supposed indefesable right to the Divine Favour was swallowed up of Vengeance, and made a prey to an Indignation that will not be easily atoned; their Patrimony was alienated, the Title transferred to the Gentile World, in expectation that they would amend when they saw the Example, and avoid the sins that brought down the Judgements. It would melt a Tyrant into compassion, and soften the most obdutate Temper, to view, or but hear of the miseries of that distracted City, whom their own Iniquities and Gods Vengeance had devoted to ruin: To hear of the destruction of the Temple; made the Apostles pity the dissolution of that insensible Fabric, but to view the beautiful Pile all in a flame, the Holy of Holies polluted, and the Blood of the Priests mingled with the Blood of their Sacrifices, this would force Tears from a Heart of Flint, as it raised a strong compassion in the mind of their very Conqueror; and at the same time to see Mothers cram their ravenous Stomaches with the Flesh of their own Children, to see Brethren sheathe their Swords in one another's Bosoms; nothing but Rapine and Sacrilege, Civil Dissensions and Murders among men of the same Faith and Country, till the common Enemy broke in upon them, and involved the several parties of a great and populous Nation in the same common desolation: These are Reflections that puzzle Belief, and create Astonishment. Did ever any of thy words, O my Redeemer, fall to the Ground without Accomplishment? Did the Truth ever entertain the world with a Lie? 'Twas 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 pitched; 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 public Buildings, and the Glorious Temple of God, and blended their ruins with the common rubbish; but the most astonishing Judgement is, That to this day that infatuated people have lost the privileges 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 Firstborn 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 byword to all Nations: For who can contemn the Son of God, and be innocent? Who can disobey his word, neglect to be bettered by his Sacraments, grieve his Spirit, and refuse to be convinced by his Miracles, and hope to escape the Anger of God? With what greater reason than 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 privileges, of being disfranchised, of losing my Liberty, my Estate or my Life, but of being cast into Hell, and ruined for ever: The loss of a worldly Kingdom is no way comparable to the loss of the Kingdom of God; Crowns and Sceptres are but Trifles when put into the Balance with the Favour of the Almighty; and how much more dreadful are the inflictions reserved for those who have been blest with greater privileges, 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 convinced, 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 Egypt overrun with Mahometanism? And where are the anciently venerable Seven Churches of Asia? If Antichrist hath fixed 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 reserved in store for thee, than hath been shown to those others, who were as much in Covenant with their Maker, and more justly entitled to his Tuition? If no Church dare presume on its privileges, 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 Church's 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 repent of; let thy Mercies and long-suffering lead me to amendment of Life; and thy denunciations and judgements 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, though the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain the Glory of thy Majesty, art pleased to stoop thyself to the meanest of condescensions, 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 Judgements, 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 Condescensions 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 though 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 Cries, and wash thy Altar with my Tears. Every where do I meet with Encouragements to this Compunction; within me a deplorable Frame of mind, covered with shame and the Fears of thy Judgements; without me a giddy world, making haste to Hell; before me an angry Judge, and behind me a dismal Prison. Sanctify 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 they who sow in tears shall reap in joy, and be made partakers of the Anthems of Angels, and glorified Spirits, through Jesus Christ our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen. The Anthem for Monday. The CREATION. I. THE Mighty God, long in his Palace dwelled, Blest without want of other Things, Time had plumed his Silver Wings, Or Heaven and Earth the powerful Voice had felt. For ever happy in themselves alone, Were th' undivided Three and One, sensual Transports or voluptuous Arts were known. II. But when the great Prolific Word went forth, Then every Thing began to be; The Light broke from Obscurity: Light which we use, but do not know its worth: The spacious Tent of Heaven was smoothly spread, Like Curtains to the Earth's Green Bed. With most Illustrious Torches richly furnished. III. The Waters which before made one great Deep, And like a deluge did appear, Floating confusedly every where; Awed by th' Almighty Word, their distance keep, Part into th' Earth's vast hollows did retreat, While the rest in Heaven fix their seat, But when the Showers fall, these distant Brethren meet. iv In Heaven was placed the Prince of Day, the Sun, Adorned with Beams of strongest Light, While over the dull shades of Night, The Stars bear rule, and over them the Moon, Who does not only o'er the night preside, But guards the motion of the Tide, In which the turbulent Whale and all the lesser Fry do glide. V The Earth was in her loveliest Verdure clad, Her Fruits and Blossoms kindly grew Vvatered with soft and balmy dew, The Forests smiled, and every Field was glad: Anumerous Herd covered this Fertile Space, The Beasts of a more generous race, And those that were for burdens made, here found a place. VI In the expanded Air upon the Wing, The Fowls did range, of which some flew For shelter, others did pursue, Some hoarsly sereecht, others did sweetly sing: In that vast Region, Lightnings first take Fire, There Winds and Thunders do conspire, And Comets do forebode when Princes shall expire. VII. When all things thus were ordered, God made man, Whose Ornaments of Soul and mien, To Heaven declared him to be kin; At first view all the Creatures round him ran; Lord of the World was Adam at his birth, His Territory the whole Earth, And nought was in his Kingdom heard, but innocent mirth. VIII. In Eden did this mighty Prince keep house, Eden, where every thing was gay, And all the Year did look like May. There did he fall in love with Eve his spouse: But Heavens first blessing strait became a curse, Of all his Evils, she the source, Enticing him to fall, who could not fall by Force. IX. Thus shorter was deluded Adam's Reign, Than Persian Kings their Slaves allow, Whose three days Royalty's a show, Which ended, the mock Monarch must be slain; The difference lies in this, the Persian slave, Unwillingly goes to his Grave, But man refused to live, when Mercy would him save. Tuesday before EASTER. THis Day was called the Holy and great Tuesday, or the third Day of the great Week; for the more solemn Festivals of the Christian Church, never wanted their Appendages; they had their Antecedent Fasts; as Advent was to Christmas, and the Lent to Easter (and perhaps this was the Reason why the Rogation week preceded Whitsuntide, whereas else the whole fifty Days ought to have been days of Exultation and rejoicing); as also after the great Festivals, succeeded the Octaves, which were eight days of Gladness, attendant on the extraordinary Solemnity, when by the Laws of the * Constit. Ap. li. 8. c. 33. Church, and by the Authority of the ‖ V Scalig de Emend. Temp. p. 730. & Epiph. Haer. 70. Empire, servants were exempted from Work, and all People kept Holiday, according to a very Ancient Practice. Now as the whole forty days of Lent were a preparation to the Paschal Festival, so the Offices suited to that time of self-denial were doubled on this last week, that put a period to that Fast; and that all such devout, and mortified Penitents might not want the ghostly comfort which was requisite on such an occasion; on this week * Cypr. Ep. 56. the absent Bishops returned to their Churches (whatever had caused their absence) that they might give the blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist to their People, and that now * Conc. Nic. c. 5. also they might hold their yearly Synods at the time appointed, that all disputes might be quieted, all quarrels reconciled, all abuses rectified, and all hindrances removed that might obstruct a general receipt of the Holy Communion. And because this Week was called the Passion Week, therefore in the Ancient Church, as in ours, the History of our Blessed Redeemers sufferings, as it is recorded by the Four Evangelists, was read to the People, that nothing relating to that performance on our behalf, might be omitted, and that the Congregation might be continually put in mind of their obligations to their Saviour. The Epistle. Rom. 8.1. THere is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit; for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death; for what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the Flesh, but after the Spirit. The Gospel. John 14, 15. IF ye love me, keep my Commandments; and I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him not, neither knows him; but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless, I will come unto you? yet a little while, and the world sees me no more, but ye see me; because I live, ye shall live also. The MEDITATION. IT is the great Honour, as well as the Happiness of the Christian World, that the good things which our Religion promises its Proselytes, stoop not to our senses, but gratify our Reasons, for were Pleasure all the Felicity of a pious Man, how much better were it to be a Bruit, since the greatest Epicure never lived so voluptuously as the Beasts that perish; they eat, they sleep, with an freedom, and whenever their inclinations lead them to it; they live above the restraint of Laws, and whatever they desire they pursue without the fear of being countermanded in the Attempt by reason, or scourged afterwards by the lashes of Conscience; they are under no necessity of Building, Planting, or Sowing; the liberal Provisions which Nature makes them, are both their Palace and their Feast; they do not foresee dangers, nor make their lives uneasy by studying to prevent them; nor do they destroy themselves first with their Fears, before they actually fall into a Mischief that cannot be avoided: and what man can pretend to such a state of ease and indolency? When therefore the Son of God makes a Disciple, he calls him to the practice of self-denial, to the contempt of the World, and all its vanities, to the mortifying of his Passions, and the abjuration of Pleasures; that is, he bids him live no longer like a Beast, but like a man, and a Christian; and in lieu of these impertinencies, he promises him all that is great and good in a better life; and this was the method he made use of, when he comforted the firstborn of his Family, his Apostles, upon his departure; And what could be more eloquent, rational, or persuasive, than such a discourse about patience from him, who had his sufferings in inmediate prospect? For the thoughts of such persons being fixed on Heaven, they talk of the place, as if they were there already; their stile is more brisk and vigorous than ordinary, and their words make a deeper impression; such was our Saviour's last Sermon, and such the Epistles of the Apostles, which they wrote in their bonds. Jesus having discovered Judas, forewarned Peter, and bound the rest of his Disciples to mutual Love and Charity; at length tells them, that it was the greatest Argument of the height of passion, and shortness of reasoning, to be troubled at the adversities of this present life; that he who is strong in Faith, is above the assault of secular dangers; and whoever is called to embrace the Gospel, is out of the reach, and beyond the Fears of temporal afflictions; that when you imprison him, you do not rob him of his Liberty; and when you kill him, you cannot hurt him; for he that depends on the Crucified Jesus for Salvation, is secure, that if he suffer with his Master, he shall reign with him: Such a man is assured, that there is so large a provision made for him in Heaven, that it baffles all carnal objections, and stifles the very sense or remembrance of pain; for his Master is ascended to his Father's Right Hand; not so much to glorify his own Body, as to intercede for us, that we may be glorified; there he is now our Advocate, and from thence he shall come again at the last day to be our guide, that where he is, we may be forever with him; nor can any thing hinder our Union with him to Eternity, who have been united to him here in the Offices of Piety; our natural corruptions cannot obstruct the Union, our Saviour is the way, nor can our ignorance do us injuries, he is the Truth; and the Attempts of death itself are vain and of no force, he is the Life: For as long as the Father and he are one (and so they shall be to Eternity) all the Power and Wisdom of the Godhead must dwell in him bodily, and who can resist Omnipotence, or outwit the only Wise God? Especially when it is considered that his Goodness is commensurate to his Power and his Wisdom, so that the meanest of his Servants, when he strengthens them, shall be able to do all things; and the greatest of the Miracles that Christ himself did, shall be less than what his Followers shall be able to do; nor is it to be doubted how this can be; Since the Prayers of a good man, recommended in the Name, and upon the account of the Merits of his Saviour, answer all devout ends and purposes (and for this end probably the afflictions of this life were made the Portion of Christianity, that if our Duty did not, our needs might bring us often on our Knees) for God denies nothing, where the love of the Supplicant is bright and ardent, and makes itself illustrious in a life of Obedience; for upon such a man the Holy Dove descends, and becomes his Comforter, his Companion and his Friend; it instructs him when ignorant, it relieves him if oppressed, it encourages and defends him when timorous, it bestows all that is good, and protects from all that is evil; this Spirit is the Vicar unto the Bishop of Souls, it was primarily designed to lead the Church into all Truth, and to secure it from perishing under the persecutions of its Enemies, and to supply the want of the bodily Presence of the Redeemer of Mankind; this Spirit was to unriddle all the Mysteries of Religion, and to reveal what was hid from the cognizance of Ages, to make those on whom it should descend, the darlings of God, and to give them Heaven upon Earth in the Enjoyment of Holy Thoughts and a quiet Mind, which none of the disturbances of this Life shall be able to ruffle or discompose. When the Soul is fixed on this Foundation, being put out of the Synagogue signifies nothing, nor can Death dressed in its most formidable shape, create any terrors; for our Master hath told us, that as in the deepest of his sufferings, the blessed Angels ministered unto him; so they shall to his obedient followers; and that their resurrection shall succeed his; for the greatest instances of mutual love are beneath the endearments that are berween Jesus and a good man: the Branches are not so firmly joined to the Vine, as the devout Soul is to its Saviour; it is a Member of his Body, and as dear to him as his own Honour: This Union, neither distance of Place, nor alteration of Circumstances can dissolve: 'tis a Union cemented by the Blood of God, and is built on a Foundation that stands most sure, it is built upon God's Knowledge who are his, and upon his Servants departing from all iniquity: but it is a Union that is better felt than described; and no one knows the happiness of it, but he who hath experimented it: As long as this Friendship lasts, the Christian is impowered to do every thing that may glorify his Master, and benefit himself; and what himself cannot do by his own Abilities, shall be supplied by the Interests of his Saviour, and procured by his own intense Supplications; but if any man wilfully dissolve this Concord, like a Branch cut off from the stock, he withers and dies, and becomes fit for nothing, but to be cast into Eternal Flames: Now nothing can break this Union, but Vice and Iniquity; for that which makes the Holy Jesus the only Beloved of his Father, is his Obedience to the Divine Laws, and his Passionate love to the world, that engaged him to die for it; and whoever loves God and his Neighbour shall be made Partaker of all his Favour, and his Heart shall be filled with Joy; and can there be a more cogent Argument than this to endear Religion to a well inclined mind? To be made the Friends of God, the Elect and Beloved of the Saviour of the World, the Pupils of the Spirit of Truth and Peace; to have one Comforter to redeem them, and another to sanctify them; and to have the Honour of being God's Ambassadors, and the Witnesses of Religion to an Infidel, Debauched, and Superstitious World; for let Men and Devils combine against such Persons, and exert all their Strength and Cunning to ruin them; they suffer no more than what their Master hath done already; nor can they perish, because they are under the Shadow and Protection of the Almighty. Not but that Christianity, like the Author of it, is and always will be attended with Opposition, and the contrivances of the Kingdom of Darkness to ruin it; but that man does not deserve the Privileges of the Kingdom of God, that cannot be a Martyr for it, that cannot patiently suffer an unjust Excommunication from the Synagogue, and from Life itself, that he may follow his Saviour. It is true, the Doctrine of the Cross is uncouth and uneasy, and Men naturally are unwilling to court Ignominy and Tortures, especially when their Enemies shall by their uncharitable Censures, as much as lies in them, destroy their Souls, as well as their Reputations and their Lives, by pretending the Advancement of Religion, and God's Service, when they murder the Professors of the best Religion that ever was or shall be in the World: But these are the Terms of the Gospel Covenant, and this is owning our Master; (for though a Man may formally call Christ Lord, and yet be shut out of his Kingdom, yet no man can say so effectually, but by the Holy Ghost); and he who will not embrace the Hardships, must renounce the Advantages of this Religion: Nor is this so disconsolate an Estate as Men imagine; for besides that it is better to be afflicted here, than to be damned for ever, that man cannot be miserable whom the Holy Ghost comforts; and though in the World he shall unavoidably meet with Tribulation, yet he ought to be of good Cheer, because he hath Peace in his Saviour, who hath by his Death and Resurrection overcome the World, and emancipated the Sons of God from a state of Slavery, to enstate them into the Glorious Liberty of the Gospel. There was no need that the Son of God should have promised these Consolations to his Apostles, while himself was with them; his own Presence was a sufficient Blessing, great enough to supply all their wants; but this was a Felicity that they were not always to enjoy, it being requisite that he should departed to make way for the descent of the Comforter; who when he should come into the World, should direct the Apostles in the discharge of their duty, giving them an entire Account of the Nature, Excellency, and Extent of their Master's Kingdom, and instruct them in all other things, which during their Master's Life time their shallow Understandings were capable of comprehending; and who also should solidly convince all their Enemies, that notwithstanding their Pride and Confidence, they were in a state of sin, particularly guilty of Unbelief, and that nothing but Faith in a Saviour could render them acceptable to God; that all their Righteousness, whether by the guidance of the Law, or by the strength of Nature, was insignificant and of no value; and that nothing could reconcile the World but the Death of Christ: but if this Holy Spirit could not persuade men, it should at last assure them that they shall be judged for their perverseness: for Satan is already condemned, and so shall all his Followers be. This Spirit our Compassionate Saviour engaged to bestow on his Apostles; and as his Performances always outdo even his own Promises; so he filled them with Wisdom and Power, and the other Gifts of the Holy Ghost, till they by the incredible method of suffering and dying, overcame all Prejudices, and triumphed in the Conquest of the World: And so shall all the other Servants of God, who sincerely take Jesus for their Master, though they may not be enabled by the Holy Ghost to cure the desperately diseased, or to raise the dead; though they cannot allay Tempests, or cast out Devils, yet their Triumphs shall be as great, though of another Nature; the Blessed Spirit shall empower them to mortify their Lusts, to resist Temptations, and to raise a Soul, dead in Trespasses and Sins, to a state of new Life, and holy Performances; and this in Truth is a nobler Honour, and a more beneficial enjoyment, than Ability to work Wonders; for many that have called others from their Grave, have themselves dropped into Hell: But he that hath renounced himself, and despised sensualities, shall infallibly enter into unspeakable Joys: And now what hinders, but that I also should be my Redeemer's Disciple, and partake of his Grace? Why should any of thy Creatures, O my God, love thee better than I? Why should any of thy Servants, though Prophets, Apostles, or Martyrs, be more conformable to thy Laws than I? Hast thou done more for them than me? Didst thou not die for me also? And hast thou not given me thy Gospel, thy Blood, thy Sacraments, and the Assistance of thy Spirit? Nay, hast thou not done more for me in forgiving me more and greater sins, than ever they committed? And where there is much forgiven, should there not also be a proportionable Degree of Love? I will therefore hearken diligently to these passionate Words of my dying Saviour, and I will remember they are his last Will and Testament; and as I hope to enjoy the Legacies that he hath left me of inward Peace and Heavenly Bliss, so I will comply with his Desires, and perform all that he enjoins me; and so, though I here come behind the Apostles in Age, in Knowledge, in Zeal, and Holiness, yet I shall overtake them at the Day of the Retribution of all Things, when I shall be enabled to understand all Mysteries, and to fulfil all Righteousness, and shall share in the Crowns and Sceptres that shall be the largesses of that happy time, which shall end in Eternity. The Collect. HOly Saviour, who didst despise secular Pomp, and wert the greatest Pattern of Self-denial, I most humbly beg thee, give 〈◊〉 thy holy Spirit to be my Guide, my Instructor, and my Comforter, that I may pray by its Assistances, and be heard for thy Merits; and because nothing on Earth can make me truly and perfectly happy, I beg nothing more, but that Blessed Donative; I beg nothing that may gratify my senses, that may please or profit me, but what may most honour thee, and advance thy Glory, that I may love and serve thee, and obey thy Commandments now and for evermore. Amen. The Anthem for Tuesday. The NATIVITY. I. FRom the loved Mansions of the Blessed, Where true Pleasures are possessed; Where bright Angels always sing Hallelujahs to their King, The lovely Gabriel, who does Heaven adorn The happy Tidings brought, Jesus was Born. II. Glorious were the Beams that shone, Brighter than the Summer Sun; Midnight had its Curtains drawn, And the Morn was far from dawn, When Beams of wondrous Lustre did display Beauties that baffle all the shine of day. III. The humble Shepherds stood amazed, Awful Tremble had them seized, While they thought what they had seen, Only had a Vision been. Till the Seraphic Herald silence broke, And in these taking words his message spoke. iv ‛ From you Palace am I sent, ‛ Built beyond the Firmament, ‛ Where th' Almighty keeps his Court, ‛ And the indigent resort; ‛ Thence the obliging Jesus full of Loves, ‛ Full of Attractives, down to th' dull Earth moves. V ‛ Cease your Tremble and your Fears, ‛ Ill news Gabriel never bears; ‛ Haste to Bethlehem, there behold, ‛ Him the Prophets have foretold; ‛ What greater Instance can than this be given, ‛ How dear the ruin'd world hath been to Heaven? VI To the Sacred Stable go, ‛ And before the Manger bow, ‛ The Infant-God adore and praise, ‛ Wrapped in Swath-bands there he lies, ‛ These are the marks to know your Savionrby, ‛ He came from Heaven t' illustrate Poverty. VII. Lovely Gabriel scarce had done Charming their attention, When the humble shepherds viewed The Seraphic multitude, Who did themselves round the Archangel post, Th' Archangel Captain of that Heavenly Host. VIII. Eyes they had that shot loves Darts, Mien and Garb to captive Hearts, Faces smooth as infant Light, Ere the blustering winds durst fight, Or Clouds durst interpose their obscure Screen To keep the useful Rays from being seen. IX. Their wings imped with Plumes so gay, Gold such Lustre can't display, Nothing could with them compare, But the bright Curls of their Hair, Which when the sportive blasts of Air did move, Nothing could view but what must be in love. X. In the Air they gently hung, There they danced, and there they sung, ‛ Glory be to God on High, ‛ Let Peace this sad Earth beautify, ‛ That men of the Divine Good Will may taste, ‛ And relish here below, Heaven's Antepast. XI. Thus they danced, and thus they sung, And the Sky with th' Music rung, Till the Daystar did appear, Till the morning beams drew near; The watchful Cock preclaimed the Prince of Light, Then they soared upward, and flew out of sight. XII. Happy Angels! your employ, Brings you Honour, brings you joy; While on Earth I sigh and grean, Vastly distant from that Throne. Grant Jesus, though my voice be not so sweet, My Notes in consort mixed with theirs may meet. Wednesday before EASTER. THE Ancients called this day the holy and great Wednesday, or the fourth day of the Passion Week; and among our Forefathers it was called Tenable Wednesday, on which Day the Consultation was held for our Blessed Saviour's Apprehension * Constit. Ap. li. 5. c. 10. , which being begun on Monday, was continued on Tuesday, but completed on Wednesday, when they agreed with Judas to betray him (from which Treason of the Son of Perdition it hath its Name in the Latin Church, feria quarta in proditione Judae): Now because on this Day the Sanhedrim were consulting how to take the Messiah, the Ancients on the same Day were more than ordinarily employed how to receive him; the Jews how to treat him unworthily; but the Church how to give him due Entertainment: And for this cause, by the order of the Apostles, the † Clem. Alex. Strom. 7. Tertul. de jejun. c. 2. Epiph. compend. c. 21. etc. Catholic Bishops bound all Christians to a weekly observation of We dnesday & Friday (on the first of which days our Saviour was sold, as he was on the last Grucified) as Days of Fasting, which they called their Station days; because as a Centinel dares not leave his Post till he be relieved, which is seldom done, till after a Watch of Twelve or Twenty four Hours; so the Primitive Christians would never at such times move from Church, till all the Service were over, which was not finished till about Three a Clock in the Afternoon; which Service was completed with the Reception of the Blessed Eucharist in all Churches (except at ‡ Socrat. l. 5. c. 22. p. 287. Alexandria, where they had Prayers, and a Sermon, but no Sacrament) and probably in this Week of extraordinary Mortifications the Fast ended not till Night. In the present Greek Church on this day, as on all the other days of Lent, except the Saturdays, Sundays, and the Feast of the Annunciation, which are Festivals) they do still receive the Sacrament about Three Afternoon, but they receive it of those Elements that had been * V Balls. & Zon. in Can. 52. Trullan. consecrated before on the precedent Holiday, and which are reserved for that purpose; they at the same time observing our Blessed Saviour's Institution of imploring the Divine Blessing every day by the Oblation and Merit of this Christian Sacrifice, and yet preserving the Severity and Solemnity of this Christian Fast. The Epistle. 2 Pet. 1.16. WE have not followed cunningly devised Fables, when we made known unto you the Power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of his Majesty; for he received from God the Father, Honour and Glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent Glory, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; and this Voice which came from Heaven, we heard when we were with him in the Holy Mount; we have also a more sure Word of Prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed. The Gospel. Luke 9.28. JESUS took Peter, and James and John, and went up into a Mountain to pray; and as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his Raiment was white and glistering, and behold there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias, who appeared in Glory, and spoke of his Decease, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem; and there came a voice out of a Cloud, saying, This is my Beloved Son, hear him. The MEDITATION. IT was a lovely sight, and to be longed for, with Transports, to see the Blessed Jesus in his meanest and most contemptible dress; for even then, when he was covered with out sins and his own sorrows, he was the fairest among men; but how Glorious, O my Soul, was his Appearance, when he was clothed with the Robes of Immortality in the Holy Mount? How transcendent were those lively Representations of the Joys of Heaven, and that foretaste of the Pleasures of Eternity? Tabor was of itself a delightful place, on the Top of the Mountain there was a spacious plain, whose fruits were breathed upon and cherished by a most wholesome Air, and moistened with a perpetual Dew; the Vines and Olives, and other Herbs and Trees clothed it with a perpetual Verdure, affording a Prospect that at once gratified both the sight and the smell, and by them affected the mind; but never was the Hill so fertile as when the Son of God watered it with his Tears, and warmed it with his Rays. To the Mountain our Blessed Master retired when he offered his Sacrifices of Supplications and Praise; from a Mountain did he preach the glad Tidings of the Gospel, and on a Mountain was he Transsigured: there he prayed, not that the highest Hill is nearer to Heaven than the deepest Valley, not that God hears a Suppliant sooner from a place of Eminence, but because there he was most sequestered from the World, free from noise and disturbances, and in the fittest place to converse with God: From a Mountain he preached, not that he coveted the highest seat in that spacious synagogue, but that he might be the more easily heard by his Auditory, and that the New Law might be preached from as eminent a Pulpit as the Old: and to the Mountain he retires to manifest his Glory, not so much to tell his Disciples, that he who will be made Partaker of Celestial Honour, must leave this lower world, as to conceal the Miracle to avoid the imputation of vain glory, and the desires of secular applause: On Mount Calvary was Jesus Crucified in the View of all the world, but he was Transfigured on Mount Tabor, in the view of only Three of his Disciples: Thus every Action of our Masters is beautiful in its season, he had just before sadded his Disciples with an Account of his own sufferings, and the necessity that they also must drink of the same bitter Potion; and that he who does not take up his Cross and follow his Saviour, is not worthy to enter into the Kingdom of God: but lest this Discourse might dishearten them, a few days after he carries the most eminent of his Domestics with him to the Holy Mountain, there to confirm their Faith, and strengthen their Resolutions, by assuring them that he who hath once had a view of the Recompense of Reward, can never be affrighted at the sight of the Cross; to see his afflicted Condition; and to hear from his own Mouth, whose every Word was Oracle, that his state for the Future should be more uneasy and deplorable, was a sad suggeston: For how can this be? That he should save others who could not save himself? That he should protect his Followers, who could not rescue himself from the shame and the torture of his scourging, and his Crucifixion: But to see his Face shine like the Sun in its Glory, and his Garments made whiter than Alabaster, and more glittering than Gold, this was an Conviction, that the light Afflictions that are but for a Moment, are not worthy to be compared with the Glory that shall be revealed in us. It was fit that this extraordinary Appearance should be kept secret for a while, and therefore a place of retirement was the most proper Scene for this Act; but it was requisite that some Persons should be present to attest the Miracle, and those no less than Three, that according to the Law, in the Mouth of Two or Three Witnesses the Truth might be established, when in due time the World should be acquainted with it: As therefore Moses left the Elders and the People at the bottom of Sinai, and took Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu with him, when he went up to speak with God; so did Christ leave the Multitude, and the Nine behind him, and took Peter, James and John with him to see and hear the Wonders of his Transfiguration. And why (if I may presume to ask my unerring Redeemer why) these Three before the rest of the Apostles? Was not Andrew the first Convert, and the Elder Brother to Simon? And was not James the Son of Alphaeus as much an Apostle as James the Son of Zebedee? And was not Simon the Zealot as earnest an Asserter of his Master's Honour as the Beloved Disciple? I must confess it does not become humane ignorance to pretend to dive into the secrets of the Divine Wisdom; and yet perhaps we are allowed to conjecture where we cannot be certain: These Three Disciples were our Saviour's Darlings and his Companions in all extraordinary Occurrences; when Jairus' Daughter was raised from the Dead, they only were admitted as Spectators; and when Jesus underwent his bitter Agony in the Garden, they attended him to the Theatre of Sorrows and Sufferings; and to them he gave peculiar additional Names, which Honour he did not vouchsafe to the rest of the Twelve: Simon he surnamed Peter, and the two Sons of Zebedee he called Boanerges, i. e. Sons of Thunder: It was fit to be revealed to Peter, who was chosen to a Primacy of Order in the College of the Apostles; to James, because he was the first of all that immediate Family of our Lord, who was to be Crowned with Martyrdom; and to John, not only because he was the Beloved Disciple, and died a Virgin, but also because he was designed to live longest of all the Twelve, that he might own and attest the Miracle after the other Apostles were laid in their Graves, when the early Heretics should deny the Divinity of our Lord. In the view of these Persons was Jesus Transfigured; not that the Nature and Substance of his Body was changed, but his Appearance, his Head was surrounded with Rays, and his whole Body enlightened with the Beams of his Divinity; for doubtless his Glory was greater and more conspicuous than that either of Moses or Elias: But it is to be remembered, that these bright tokens did not signalise him as soon as he ascended the Hill; but after he had retired himself and prayed; for every happiness of another Life is a Recompense of Holiness in this; and could it have been imagined that the Apostles should be drowsy, while their Master watched unto Prayer? That they should fall asleep while they were about to enjoy that sight that only was worth seeing on this side Heaven? but so easily are we inclined to grow lazy and idle, to indulge to sloth and sensuality, when the best example and the best encouragements incite us to Devotion; for thus the same men did, when their Master was in his Agony, though they had just before received the venerable Sacrament, and knew their Master was that Night to be betrayed; such is our humane Frailty, and so violent are our Inclinations to forget our Duty; though perhaps this sleep was rather an Ecstasy, the brightness of the Apparition dazzling the Senses, and surprising the Soul, which in all Prophetic Visions being unable to sustain the Revelation, is astonished at the fight, and sinks under the Weight of it, as the Eyes are too weak to gaze on the Sun; and this my Charity for those Reverend men would incline me to believe: But whatever the sleep was, as soon as ever the Apostles did awake, (as if it had been a just Punishment for their sloth and negligence) the blessed Society broke up, and the Holy Men retired; whom the Apostles knew to be what they were, not so much by their Discourse (for during that Intercourse they were a sleep) as by their Master's Condescension, who communicated the Notice to them by a Method best known to himself. Moses and Elias doubtless came in their own bodies, they were not represented by Phantasms, or the intervention of Angels; for it was requisite, that as our Blessed Saviour took upon him our humane Nature in Truth and Reality, and not in Appearance, so his Humiliation should be attended, not by imaginary, but by real Witnesses: Moses came from his unknown Grave, and Elias from the place whither his fiery Chariot had driven him, to accompany Jesus on the Holy Mount, whence probably they went into Paradise together. Moses the great Lawgiver, and Elias the representative of the Prophets; the one a Man of the meekest Temper, the other a Man of the warmest Zeal; to assure the World, that this Jesus was he of whom Moses and the Prophets spoke, the Lamb of God, and the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. That neither Elias nor Moses, nor any other of the Ancient Wondrous Men were deputed to be the Messiah, but only the Lord of Glory, the Prince of the World, and that he came not to destroy the Law which Moses gave, and Elias vindicated, but to fulfil it. Moses and Elias were present with Jesus, two of his most immediate Representatives, with the great Redeemer, both wrought stupendious Miracles, both fasted forty days and nights, and both conversed with God in the Mount in the days of their Flesh. Nor canst thou, O my Soul, imagine that these great Persons had this interview without some Conversation; and it is very remarkable, that they discoursed, not of the ineffable Union of the Holy Trinity, nor of the Orders of the Holy Angels; they discoursed not of the Songs of the Saints, nor of the Employment of the Seraphim, of the hidden Decrees, or the Laws of Providence; but of the Sufferings of Jesus at Jerusalem, of that very Article of the Christian Faith, at which the Apostles were so startled: The Holy Redeemer of the World had resolved to carry the Marks of his sufferings with him, his Scars and his Wounds, when he ascended into Heaven, and therefore it could not be absurd for those who dwelled there to discourse of them, for they also were Partakers of the Benefits of his Crucifixion. Peter as soon as he did awake, being all heat, had presently forgot the place of his Nativity and of his Residence; no longer did he think upon his Wife and Family, his Trade and Interests, the Mountain with such Company was preserable to all the World in his Opinion; and he thought it better to be there than in the Palace of Princes; and because he imagined that that Holy Society could not subsist without some accommodations, he was for having Three Tabernacles built there, as if glorified bodies needed earthly Conveniences: But his Devotion made Compensation for his Ignorance, and his Master construed it as it was, a well-meant mistake; though what the Apostle wished, the Piety of succeeding Ages performed: The devout Mother of the Great Constantine, St. Helena, built on that Mountain a beautiful Temple, to which were added Two Monasteries, and so the Tabernacles were erected, though not for the use of the Persons that were concerned in the Transfiguration, for they needed them not, but for the benefit of those who were to imitate the meekness and humility of Moses, the mortifications and zeal of Elias, and the Patience and Obedience of the Holy Jesus: And this Piety was a greater Honour to the Church, than all that the Apostle could project could have been to himself, or that Triumvirate of blessed Persons; for irregular and misguided zeal commonly loses its reward, as it happened to the Apostle, for immediately upon this Proposal, Moses and Elias retired to their proper stations, and left our Holy Saviour alone: And this also had its just reason; for presently thereupon came a Voice from Heaven to confirm the Apostles in the belief of their Master, telling them that he was the beloved of God, and that they ought to hear and to obey him. Now had not the Prophets retired, there might have been some ground for mistake; but when Jesus was alone, the voice out of the Cloud could never deceive them: This was the most sensible and public demonstration that a Company of men were capable of; and thus begun our Redeemers Glorification on Earth. This Transaction was for a while concealed even from our Master's blessed Mother and his brethren; (to assure us, that it would have been of no advantage to the Holy Virgin to have born him, had she not believed in him; nor to his Kindred to be allied to him, had they not been his Disciples; because it is Grace, not Nature that makes a Christian): but now that Privilege is conferred on all mankind, on us of the Gentile World, that were without God, and without hope, that we might be no longer strangers & foreigners, but fellow-Citizens with the Saints, and of the Household of God. God forbidden therefore, that I should desire to know any thing but Jesus Christ, and him Crucified; it is the Theme of Angels and Glorified Saints; and how can I distrust such a Saviour, who in his deepest Humiliation was crowned with so much Honour? This Consideration strengthens my Faith, and secures my hope of Everlasting Life: For why should I despair, while my Saviour is my Friend, and hath promised to be so, till I renounce and forsake him? and what should incline me to be so brutish, since without him every thing is miserable, and in his Company under his Influences, a Wilderness is as the Garden of God? And how should I long for his Company in Heaven; for if while he was here on Earth, the Place where he resided was from his occasional residence called Holy, as Tabor is called the Holy Mount; what preference ought I to give in my Opinion, my Esteem, my Love, to the place of his fixed residence? To see him at his Father's Right Hand, is a sight would engage a man to be a Martyr to enjoy it; there are Moses and Elias, and all the goodly Fellowship of the Prophets; there are Peter, James and John, and all the Glorious Company of the Apostles; there is the Noble Army of Martyrs and Confessors; and what should hinder, but that I a poor Sinner may make one of that blessed Society, and sing the Praises of my Saviour with them to Eternity? The Collect. HOly Jesus, who by thy Humiliation didst not so much debase thy Divinity, as magnify our humane Nature, and who in thy lowest State and Condition wert always glorious: Grant me thy Grace, that I may sequester myself from the World, may pray often and fervently, and be made partaker of thy influences; reveal thyself unto me, O my holy Saviour, and incline my heart to accept of thee, as my Priest, my Prophet, and my King, that I may here enjoy in Hope and Expectation, in imitation, and wish the society of Saints, and of the King of Glory: and hereafter may be happy in the Vision of what I now long for, and may for ever remain with thee my Blessed Saviour and Redeemer. Amen. Another. O Most Glorious Saviour, incomprehensible in thine Essence, incomparable in thine Attributes, and wonderfully Gracious in thy Dispensations to sinners, how great is thy goodness, and how great is thy beauty? All my services are a due Tribute to the most perfect of Being's, and yet thou rewardest them with infinite happiness: Teach me therefore to love thee for thy Excellencies, to worship and obey thee for thy Bounty, and to consecrate my powers and faculties, my strength and time to my Saviour's honour; give me that true love that casts out fear, that tramples upon dangers, and rescues from despair, that is the fulfilling of the Law, and stronger than death itself, that I may taste and see how good the Lord is, and that there is no unrighteousness in him: that the greatest difficulties may not lessen my affection, nor fear nor flattery separate me from thy favour, but that I may maintain a Holy Communion with thee, till I come to dwell with thee in the habitations of Love and Peace. Amen. The Anthem. The Life of Jesus. I. WHen Jesus first appeared abroad, The Divine Man, th' Incarnate God: In whom both Natures were entwined; Say, my Soul, was he not designed, T'eclipse th' accomplishments of all mankind? II. A Virgin Mother could lie in Of nothing but what was Divine, Destined a Miracle from the Womb, From his warm Cradle to's cold Tomb, From his first smiles, unto his sorrowful Doom. III. The beauteous Youth had not yet seen, The day that bade him write Thirteen, When all the Scribes and Doctors gazed, And the Pharisees stood amazed, 〈◊〉 his worst Enemies his acuteness praised. iv Such Wisdom shone in his Discourse, In all his Arguments such force; Such the charms of's sprightly face, So smart his Words, so smooth his Grace: Moses himself ne'er so became the place. V This Essay past, he humbly stayed, Labouring heard at's Father's Trade, Where mindful in whose stead he stood, With sweat he earned his daily Food, And learned th' obliging art of doing good. VI Till he unto the age attained, When Priests before the Altar stand: Then at his Baptism th' holy Dove, In State descended from above, To crown him with the marks of is Father's love. VII. Jordan, thy streams that smoothly flow, Till now were never hallowed so; Not when Joshua travelled through, The fertile Canaan to subdue: Jordan, thy streams are sacramental now. VIII. Jesus next to the desert goes, To combat there the worst of is Foes, There Satan used his utmost skill, To stoop our Saviour to his will, But the loved Jesus is victorious still. IX. He to th' Infernal Powers gives law, Nature of him too stands in awe: At his command water turns wine, Wild Tempests do their rage resign, And winds and seas to peaceful calm incline. X. He cures the blind, recalls the dead, Feeds thousands with celestial Bread; What can oppose his word or will, Who multplies by Miracle Five Loaves, till th' Fragments do twelve Baskets fill? XI. How useful was he, and how good? Yet never was well understood, Not when his sacred Lips dispense, Strong Reason urged with Eloquence, And every word does Oracle commence. XII. Not when his time and strength were spent, To rescue man from punishment; Nor when his beauteous Eyes and mien Powerful incentives should have been, T' endear him unto all that had him seen. XIII. Despised, but useful Virtue, how Durst profligate man treat thee so? Must scorn and torture be thy meed? My soul, 'tis often thus decreed, The innocent do for the guilty bleed. XIV. Jesus by Judas is betrayed, Whom Jesus an Apostle made; Seized by the rabble of the Jews, Who this great Prince with scorn do use, While perjured Witnesses the truth abuse. XV. Pilate, tho much inur'd to blood, Rapine, and fraud, the Jews withstood, Till tired with noise, and awed with fear, Lest his ill menage should appear, Condemns the Saint, and quits the Murderer. XVI. Thus this illustrious Sun did rise With Beams that dazzled weaker eyes; Did sometimes shine, and sometimes shroud His bright Rays in a gloomy cloud, Setting long ere his course was done, in blood. Thursday before EASTER. THe Day on which our Blessed Master was apprehended, was justly styled the great and holy fifth day of the Passion-Week, on which the Saviour of the World having his Crucifixion in view, preached his last most Passionate and Heavenly Sermon to his Disciples, in which he earnestly recommends them to God's Love, Protection, and Favour, and as earnestly recommends to them the Love of God, and of one another: And because this was the Day when the Son of God was seized on in order to his paying a Ransom for our Offences, * P. Innoc. Ep 1. add Decent. c. 7. Ambr. li. 5. Ep. 33. Hier. Epit. Fabiol. and completing our Redemption, therefore did hte Church on this day solemnly reconcile Penitents (not all that were under censures; for some were never admitted to entire Communion, till after Twelve, Fourteen, or Twenty Years Penance; and some not till they lay on their Deathbeds: But such who having passed through those methods of Repentance which the Church prescribed, were thought fit to be admitted to the Sacrament of God's Table; whereas now on the contrary, in the Church of Rome on this day they anathematise and ourse all the Enemies either of their Faith or Grandeur; and among them not only the Protestant Heretics, as they call them, but even the King of Spain himself: And whereas the Holy Eucharist was on the Evening of this Day instituted to be a lasting Rite in the Christian Church, therefore the Day was styled by way of Excellency, * Aag. Ep. 118. Caena Domini, the Lord's Supper, the day of mysteries, and the birthday of the holy Chalice; to denoto, besides the Original Appointment of the Sacrament, the Mystical Sacrifice that is made on the Altar of our Blessed Saviour, who was the Prince of the Martyrs, the days of whofe sufferings were called their Birth-days; for the sufferings of our Lord began the Evening of the Thursday, though they were not completed till the Evening of the Friday; and for this reason this day is called the day before the Preparation, and the Evening is called the Vigil of the Passion, which among ‖ Dr. Smyth of the Gr. Ch. p. 42. the Greeks is wholly spent in reading the History of Christ's sufferings, and meditating thereon, in severe Fast, intense Devotion, watching all night in the Church, and other acts of mortification; no one, unless in case of absolute necessity, eating or drinking any thing till after Sunset on Friday, others not till Easter Eve after midnight, ‖ Euseb. hist. li. 2. c. 17. and this according to the Primitive Practice. It was of old time observed, ‖ Chrys. to. 5. p. 547. that those indevout and careless Persons who slighted the Holy Eucharist all the rest of the Year, would in great numbers on this day, when that Holy Ordinance was first instituted, come to the Holy Table: And then the Church contrary to her usual Custom of receiving these Mysteries in the Morning, did every ‖ Chrys. Aug. ub. supra, etc. where communicate in the Evening, because our great Master at that season first gave Being to the Sacrament, dispensing with People's eating before they received, which at other times was not allowed: And ⸪ Aug. Ep. 118. in some of the African Churches they celebrated the Eucharist twice on this day, in the morning for the sake of those who intended to dine, and in the evening for the sake of those who fasted; and in the * Ludolph. li. 3. c. 6. alii. Churches to comply the more exactly with the practice at the Institution, they use unleavened Bread, whereas all the rest of the Year they celebrate in Leaven: And the ‖ Prateol de Haer. p. 202 Guid. Car. Alph. a Castro, etc. Greeks are persuaded that the Sacrament consecrated on Maundy-Thursday, is of more Virtue and Efficacy than when it is consecrated at any other time; and therefore they (and the Moscovites in imitation of them) reserve some of the Sacramental Bread consecrated on this day, to be administered to the sick the whole Year following; and it is not a little remarkable, that among the roman-catholics in Holland (and as ‖ Ep. Vossio init. Ep. Ecclesiast: & Theolog. Ep. 557. p. 807. Grotius thinks elsewhere time out of mind, until now on this day after Supper, the Father or Master of the Family (in imitation, I suppose, of the Jewish Custom, after the eating of the Passover) having read the History of the Sacrament out of the Gospel, gives to every one of his Family a piece of bread dipped in Wine. This day is also called among the High-Germans, Green Thursday; among the Low-Germans, White Thursaday; and among our Forefathers, Sheer Thursday, as it was generally, and among all the Western Christians Lavipedium, and Maundy-Thursday, either because of the Maundy or Alms that were given this day to the Poor, by Princes, Bishops, and religious Persons; or rather because of the Mandate or Command, John 13.34. A new Commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; (which Passage is the Antiphona for this day in the Western Churches); an Instance of which Love and Condescension our Blessed Saviour then gave, whenhe washed his Disciples Feet, (which in the East was the Office of Servants toward their Masters); and this Custom also is not only continued in the ‡ Smith. p. 40, 41. Greek Church, and among the other Oriental Christians, but in the Latin Church also, the Bishop performing this Office to his inferior Clergy, and the Governor of every Religious House to those of his Fraternity; the custom being Ancient and Apostolical, ‡ V Conc. Aquisgr. c. 20. Aug. Ep. 119. c. 18. though the practice as to circumstances were not uniform in all Churches; and on this day the King of England (anciently in his own Person, now by Proxy, the Grand Almoner supplying the place) does wash the feet of as many poor men as he is Years old; to whom also he gives an Alms (as the Bishops do on the same occasion) which was wont to be called the * Anastas. in Adrian. P.P. p. 112. Paschal Alms, or the Easter Charity. The Lessons on this day (if I mistake not the Fathers) were the Book of ‡ Ambr. ub. supr. Ionas; a very proper Portion of Scripture to set forth the Divine Pity, and inclinations to forgive; and the ‡ Chrys. ub supr. History of Judas' Treason, together with the Account of the Institution of the Blessed Sacrament. The Epistle. 1 Cor. 10.16. THE Cup of Blessing, which we bless, is it not the Communion of the Blood of Christ? The Bread which we break, is it not the Communion of the Body of Christ? for we being many, are one Bread, and one Body, for we are all Partakers of that one Bread. The Gospel, out of the Evangelists, and St. Paul. THE Lord Jesus the same Night in which he was betrayed, after his Disciples had eaten (the Paschal Lamb) took Bread and when he had given Thanks, and Blessed it, be broke it, and gave it to them, and said, Take, Eat, This is my Body which is broken and given for you, This do in remembrance of me; after the same manner also, when he had supped, he took the Cup, and when he had given Thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it, for this is my Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you, and for many for the remission of sins; This do, as oft as ye drink it in remembrance of me: Verily, verily, I will no more drink of the Fruit of the Vine, until I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom; and they all drank of it: And having sung an Hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. The MEDITATION. THE Condition of Mankind in this Life is relative, and made up of dependencies upon Heaven; nor could Adam in his best Estate subsist without the Benediction of his Maker; Communion with God is the End of Religion, and was the Employment of Paradise: nor can any thing else make the World happy: But because God who is a pure Spirit, cannot converse with men without condescending to treat us according to our Capacities, therefore Truth, when it visits us, is content to be dressed in our Habits; when God speaks to us, he entertains us not with his own Losty and Majestic Expressions, but with modes of Speech, and Representations of Things, that we are acquainted with. It is true, had we been made without Flesh and Blood, our Graces had come to us like themselves, not wrapped up in Emblems and Figures; but because we cannot live without our senses, and are most affected with what we hear and see, theresore God speaks to our outward man in visible ministrations, the Almighty Wisdom treating the World with sensible Objects, the better to lead them to the Contemplation of those things that are invisible; and this was the cause why Rites and Ceremonies were instituted in the Church, as marks of Communion, and incentives of Devotion. Angels, we know, who are not clogged with a load of Flesh and Blood, and whose dwelling is above, have no need of Sacraments: they who have the Honour of a clear Vision of the Almighty, and the freedom of a more immediate Converse with him, need not these remoter Encouragements to Piety (and such also shall be the Happiness of God's Servants after they die) but man in his best and most innocent Estate wanted them; and therefore God planted, and by a particular sanction constituted the two Trees in Eden to be two Sacraments, outward and visible sings of the Favour which Adam should partake of, if he performed the conditions of obedience which God required from him, they representing to him the state of Wisdom and Felicity, which was reserved for him in Heaven, and serving to inform him, that to attempt the knowledge of the highest Mysteries to the prejudice of the Divine Commands, is not the way to Life and Immortality. To maintain this Union with God, Adam was endued with Original Righteousness, he had no Appetites to mortify, no Lusts to conquer, no Doubts to be resolved: his Understanding was clear, and his Will regular; and there was need of nothing but an external Law to guide him, and the two Trees to be his instructors: And when Paradise was lost, Adam and his followers still retained their peculiar Ceremonies; they had their set places, and times of Divine Worship, and the eldest of the Family was deputed to the Priesthood; till the generality of Mankind corrupting themselves, the Divine Vengeance swept them away, drowning the Old World, and sealing a Covenant of Mercy with the New, ratified by the Sacramental Sign of the Rainbow, that God would no more bring a Deluge on the Earth. Out of this new Race of Men did God select the Jews; among whom he was resolved more solemnly, and in an extraordinary manner to fix his dwelling, the Divine Majesty refiding over the Mercy-Seat. This Seed of Jacob he singled out to be a Holy Nation, and marked them as his own People by Circumcision, which was a Character of Genealogical Sanctity; and having united them into one numerous brotherhood, instituted the Passover, which was a public Foederal Rite of their Union with their Maker: And to this purpose he required them to furnish him continually with a Table, whereon should be Bread, and Salt, and the Flesh of the Morning and Evening Sacrifices, with the Drink-Offerings, which they were obliged to tender him: Not that God did either need, or actually devour these Oblations, or lived on the steam of the Blood, or the souls of slain beasts, as the Gentiles imagined; nor that hereby a contrivance might be made for the easier maintenance of his Priests (this was the custom of the Temple of Baal) but because eating and drinking together, was looked on as a Confirmation of Friendship, and one of the strongest engagements to love and kindness, as to trespass the Laws of Hospitality, to eat of a Man's bread, and then to lift up his Heel against him, was accounted the Character of a most profligate and vile person. But this was only a temporary institution, and to last no longer than till the true Passover came, till the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the World, should be offered on the Cross; for the Sacraments of the Jews were only Emblems of the Christian Sacraments, which were ancienter than that Polity: for the Fathers speak a great truth, when they assert, that the Evangelical Sacraments began under Melchisedech, who brought out Bread and Wine to Abraham the Father of the Faithful, in whose Seed all the Nations of the Earth were to be blest, to inform us that the Christian institutions as they were to last longer, so they began sooner than those of the Jews. And it is very observable, that though our great Master came into the world to institute a new Religion, and in pursuance of that design, to abolish all the typical ceremonies, yet he was pleased to adopt almost all the other Rites of the Jews, and to make them free of the Christian Church; thus he chose to complete his most excellent prayer out of the usual forms of the Synagogue: and as he established the government and jurisdiction which he left behind him, according to the different Orders of the Priesthood: So especially he ordained, that as they Baptised their proselytes, so all that were admitted into the Society that he purchased with his Blood, should be washed in the Laver of Regeneration; and as after the Paschal Lamb was eaten, the Master of the Family took Bread into his hands, and lifting it up from the Table, that all who were in the House, might see it, blessed it by calling upon the name of the Lord; and when that was distributed, took the Cup in like manner: so did our blessed Saviour. And whereas the Jewish Masters did not only allow the people when they did eat the Passover, to mix, and dilute their rich and generous Wines, thereby to correct the strength and heat of them, ‡ Misch. Beracoth, c. 7. but would not permit them to bless the Wine, till they had put Water to it; our Master probably did so in the Eucharist, as all the Ancients believed, and according to that example practised; and when the Office was over, he sang the great Thanksgiving, as their Rubrics required; condescending in all things to the Jewish customs; that by these methods, he might the more easily induce them to become Christians, and to correct the scrupulous squeemishness of some of his followers, who, he knew, would take unjust offence at the conforming the Ecclesiastical ceremonies to foreign observances. This was the institution of this tremendous mystery; nor was it only a temporary institution; for our Saviour being willing that his Disciples should always carry about with them the marks of his love, and always have in remembrance the benefits of his crucifixion, not only gave this Sacrament to his Apostles, but enjoined them himself to take Bread, to bless it, break it, and distribute it, as their Master did, to the world's end; and obliged also the Laity by the mouth of St. Paul to take, eat and drink the Body and Blood of their Saviour until his second coming; for as often as they did it, the whole action was a remembrance of the dying Jesus, a commemoration of his sufferings for an undone world, and of his sacrificing himself to the Divine justice. The first Sacrifice that our blessed Master made, was the Eucharist, but that was but a type of what was to be done the next day, when himself was offered on the Cross on a new and unheard of Altar. And there ought to have been an Altar erected, such as the world never knew of, because the Sacrifice was such as was never before heard of; for himself was the Sacrifice and the Priest too. He was not therefore to be offered at the Temple, but without the Gates, because to be numbered among the Transgressor's; and the Altar was erected on high, that he might purge the Air, and drive the Prince of it thence; and that his Blood streaming from him to the Ground, might wash and cleanse the Earth also, polluted with the sins of its inhabitants: Had this Sacrifice been offered at the Temple in Jerusalem, the Jews might have pretended a sole claim to it: but it was offered without the City, that all the world might partake of its benefits. This was the primary sacrifice to which we own our Peace, and our hopes of Salvation: and this Sacrifice is again slain and offered, when the Holy Man stands at the Lords Table; for the Eucharist is not only an Emblem of spiritual refreshments (how much the soul is nourished by Grace and good resolves) nor is it only a representation of the joys of Heaven (when we shall feast on the everlasting Supper of the Lamb), but it is truly a Feast, in which we make a Covenant with God by Sacrifice: it is a Feast upon that Sacrifice, and that a Sacrifice for sin, a Sacrifice which our Redeemer once offered to cleanse the world from their sins, and we offer as often as we communicate, setting that Immaculate Lamb before the Eyes of God, and by that entreating him to have Mercy upon us: For our Saviour commanded us to do, as he did at the Institution, in remembrance of him; not only to ourselves and our Neighbours, but to God also, as the Ancients, and the most judicious of the Modern Writers affirm: For though my Saviour was many Hundred Years since Crucified yet he is the Sacrament represented, as if his Passion commenced at the same time in which the Holy Office is performed; and what should hinder my receiving the benefits of his sufferings, though so long since undergone? For if by reason of my share in the first Adam's Transgression, notwithstanding the vast distance of Time and Place, I and every one that is born is infected with Original Sin; what should hinder, but that the Crucifixion of my Saviour, though transacted so many Ages past, and in a Country so remote as Judea, should be available to my Salvation? For as by one man's sin, many were made Offenders, so by the Obedience of one, many are made Righteous. The Priest therefore offers a Sacrifice at God's Altar, a commemoration of that one, full, perfect and entire Sacrifice, which was once offered on the Cross: And at the same time Jesus our High Priest offers in Heaven, pleads his Wounds, and the merits of his Death, and implores the Divine Pardon, and the assistances of Grace for all his Servants. And this is as much as the Church can pretend to, while it is Militant: so under the Old Law, the Priests who had admittance into the Temple, were denied entrance into the Holy of Holies, thither only the High Priest went once a Year: but they were not denied the Liberty to direct the smoke of their incense toward that sacred Place: and their Prayers and their Incense had access where themselves could not come: And so is it in the Christian Congregration; for when the Oblation is made, we that are concerned in the Offertory, cannot reach Heaven, while we are in this state of Imperfection, but our High Priest is there already, and gives his People liberty thither to address their supplications, and the sweet Odours of their Devotion: this is the Honour, and these the Privileges that are purchased for the Church by that Sacrifice, and secured to it in this Sacrament. Blessed Eucharist! Glorious things are spoken of it in the Writings of the good men of old; It is called the Supernatural Bread, the Divine Mysteries, the Sacrifice of Sacrifices, the Honourable, the Holy, the Heavenly, the unspeakable Gifts, the Sacrament of Sacraments, the Holy of Holies, the food which gives Life and Salvation, the nourishment which endears a man to his God, which recovers those that languish, which recals those who are in error, which raises them that are fallen, and secures to the dying penitent the rights of Immortality; and by way of eminency it is called the Sacrament; the blessed and holy Sacrament; when we eat of it, we feed on the fatness of the Lord's Body; and when we drink of it, we taste the immortal Blood of our dying Saviour. If Manna were Angel's food, this is the Bread of God; and what an honour is it to receive my Saviour? If Joseph's Tomb, though but a little and narrow place, when it entertained the Body of our crucified Lord, was by that means made more venerable and august than the Palace of Kings; and became more glorious by containing the Son of God, than by being the residence of the Angels, who there took up their station; how much more excellent is my enjoyment, when I give my dear Saviour a lodging in my heart, and my bosom becomes an habitation for the Lord of Life? With trembling therefore will I approach the Altar of God, I will admire the Mystery, and contemplate the circumstances of his Passion (in which every word that he spoke was a Sermon, for his Cross was his Pulpit, and Mount Calvary the House of Prayer; for there he prayed for his enemies, and from thence he preached patience and submission to his Friends) and I will remember his last actions; for though in all his discourses he spoke so as never Man spoke like him; yet he never entertained the world with so eloquent and convincing a Sermon, as when he went dumb before his persecutors, and opened not his mouth; when he carried his Cross silently, and bore the marks of his adversaries cruelty without murmuring: I will remember this my greatest and best Friend; I will remember his last words and dying injunctions, and I will communicate with him in the benefits of his Passion till his second appearance to judgement, when the just shall eat of the Tree of Life in a better Paradise; at that time all Signs shall cease, all distant methods of conversation shall expire; for in Heaven there are no Sacraments; so that at the dawning of the day, which the Lord himself shall enlighten, when no other beams shall be needful but those of the Sun of Righteousness to make it glorious for ever, than all Types and symbolical emblems shall be accomplished, than I shall be united to my Jesus, and personally enjoy that immediate communion, of which these Mysteries are but shadows and remote representations. The Collect. BLessed Lord, who baste so graciously invited me to partake of the merits of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ conveyed to me in the blessed Sacrament; grant that I may receive it to the remission of my past sins, and to the preservation of my Soul against future temptations, to the correcting of the deformities of my mind, and the rooting out all evil customs out of my heart; to the enlightening of my understanding, to the strengthening of my faith, and that I may be able to give a good account at the dreadful seat of thy judicature; help me to spend this day, and every day in thy fear, and in the offices of holy Religion; let thy Mercy pardon me, thy Angels guard me, and thy Goodness lead me to repentance, that I may live and die thine for Jesus Christ's sake our only Mediator and Advocate, Amen. The Anthem. PETER Mourning. IN a cold, dark, and melancholy night, To gloomy shades, which did augment the sright; Where dismal horrors and confusion dwell, And ghastly sights, that made the place like Hell; The trembling Peter tends, and with swollen eyes Deeply laments his fear and cowardice. Wretch that I am! thus to deny my Lord! Fit to be scorned by men, by God abhorred; Disconsolate and sad, where shall I fly T'escapte the lightnings of my Master's eye? That glance, that passionate and kill look, When Jesus turned his head, me thunder struck. Sufficient was the warning which was given By the infallible Oracle of Heaven. Peter, said my wise Master, boast no more; The rich in brags are in performance poor. In vain thou promisest with me to die, Thou, the morning break will't me deny With execrations, and with perjury. Weak was th' attempt, and impotent the hand, That did my resolution's countermand, While an impertinent Girl me kept in awe, Who singly durst before the rabble draw; How easily, when the criminal does begin, Does time engage him to grow bold in Sin? Till what at first is but a single lie, At the next act commences blasphemy. Of all my Master's sufferings, though accursed, Ill treated, and contemned, this was the worst. Of only twelve Disciples one betrayed him; Ten more deserted him, and I denied him, Leaving the Innocent to die alone, While we deserved the crucifixion. Thus down the stream I went, and on had swom, Forgetting Jesus and his Martyrdom, Had not my dearest Saviour looked about When the shrill voice advised me to go out; The Cock that calls the early Lark to sing Matins to th' praise of the eternal King, All cheerfulness does from my Soul expel, As if his voice had been my Passing-bell. Had I a full swollen River in each eye, I'd mourn till I had wept the Fountains dry; Can man be unconcerned, when God must die? Ingratitude is here a Prodigy. But to assist thee, were but to affront, The Martyr Jesus does no seconds want. Conquer by suffering, and when thou art gone, Carried by brightest Angels to thy Throne, Poor Peter armed with courage will defy The next temptation, and thy Martyr die, Inverted on his Cross, that there may be An humble difference betwixt him and thee. GOOD-FRYDAY. ON this day was the greatest act of Villainy and injustice committed, that ever the Sun beheld; for on this day was the Son of God Crucified (and therefore it is called, the Paschal Solemnity of the Crucifixion, the great and holy Preparation, the day of the most holy Passion, and the day on which our blessed Saviour suffered); but this day also was the happiest time that ever mankind could enjoy or long for, because our Redeemers sufferings were the cause of our freedom from Sin, and Death, and Hell, and therefore we call it Good-Friday (of old, the Great Friday) because it was the day on which the World received all that was good, all that God could bestow, or the World want, in a dying Saviour, who by his once offering of himself, put an end to the numerous, divers and ineffectual Sacrifices required by the old Law. On this day of the Week Adam was created, clothed with the Image of God, and constituted the Lord of the World, and on this day too sadly he fell, and was driven out of Paradise; but on this day also the same Adam and all his Children were redeemed, and the sorrow for the Fall was out done by the joy of the Restoration; and yet because the Sins of men were the only cause of our blessed Master's sufferings, who knew no sin himself, therefore ‡ Chrys. to. 5. p. 907. this day was indispensably made a day of Fasting through the whole Christian Church ( * Aug. count. Epist. Fund. c. 8. the Manichees being for this, among many other their wicked practices, condemned, that they observed the day of the Martyrdom (as they called it) of their Master Manes, but neglected the observation of Good-Friday) and though all the Lent was properly a Fast before Easter, yet this day, and the Saturday that followed it, were called the ‖ Tert. ●d Vx. l. 2. Cypr. Ep. 53. v. Chrys. to. 5. p. 940. solemn days before Easter, i.e. the more eminent times of Fasting; upon which days as our Saviour was Crucified, and Buried, so his Apostles (who were then his Church) were covered with sorrow, and hid themselves for fear of Persecution (and for this Reason it is called by the Germans Still-Friday, and by the Saxons Long-Friday, because the Fast was extended beyond the usual hour) And as our Master lay three days in the Grave, so did the Church think fit to Fast three days till the time of his Resurrection; for if the Sun then lost its light, and the Rocks were rend, was there not greater reason, that the Church of Christ, his Spouse, and his mystical Body should be concerned at his Crucifixion? And though the blessed Eucharist were usually given on every day through the rest of the year, yet on Good-Friday, and the Great Saturday it was probably omitted. From ⸫ De brat. c. 14. Tertullian it is plain, that they omitted the Kiss of Peace and Charity, which was always given at the Sacrament; and * Capit. Lothar. l. 4. tit. 46. l. 7. tit. 371. in after Ages the celebration of the Eucharist was expressly forbidden. And now in the Romish ‡ Durand. Rat. l. 6. c. 72, 77. Church they ring no Bells, but knock with a Wooden Mallet on a Table-board, to give notice of the hours of Prayer; they omit several parts of the office, particularly the Doxology and the Salutation, The Lord be with you; they read the Lesson of the New-Testament in a faint, low voice; and the Priest, who reads the History of the Passion, does it barefoot; their Altars are hid, for then there is no Sacrament celebrated; and the Lights are put out, to represent the obscurity of the night in which our blessed Saviour was apprehended, and the wondrous darkness that attended his Crucifixion (from whence the time is called Tenebrae, or the days of darkness;) and in the Greek Church, they by an Image represent our blessed Saviour's sufferings, and his taking down from the Cross; on this day also did the ‖ Constit. Apost. l. 5. c. 12, 14. Primitive Church (as does the Church of England) pray for all Jews, and Infidels, etc. in imitation of our dear Redeemer who wept over Jerusalem, (because they knew not the day of their Visitation) and on the Cross prayed for his enemies. The observation of the day was very * Orig. Cont. Cells. l. 4. Ancient, and I believe Apostolical. By ‡ Eas. Vit. Const. l. 4. c. 18. p. 534. Constantine the Great it was commanded to be observed with as much respect as the Lord's-day: The ⸫ Aug. Ep. 118. Fathers call this day, the Saturday following, and Easter day, the Most holy three days of our Saviour's Crucifixion, continuance in the Grave, and Resurrection, and sometimes the ‖ Chrys. to. 5. p. 940. Passover. And in the † Conc. Tolet. 4. c. 6, 7. Western Church on Good-Friday the Holy Priests were obliged to Preach to the people the Mysteries of Christ's sufferings, all people (except Children, old, and sick persons) being bound under the penalty of being kept from the Lord's Table at Easter, to tarry at Church, and to Fast, till the Priest toward evening with a loud voice did pronounce the public Absolution, that by such a testimony of their true repentance for their sins, and by the assistance of the Priestly Absolution, the people might be the better fitted to keep the Feast of Easter, and to eat the Christian Passover. * Theod. Lect. lib. 2. Collect. On this day the Bishop in person, if present, was obliged to Catechise those who were Candidates for Baptism; and on this day was the Nicene Creed solemnly recited in defiance to all Heretics; which Creed, till the time of Timotheus Patriarch of Constantinople, was never used as a part of the Eastern Liturgy, but on this one day only in the year. In which Church also, according to an Ancient Constitution, ‡ Chrys. to. 5. p. 563 Pallad. vid. Chrys. p. 82. they were wont on Good-Friday to celebrate all the holy Offices in some particular Church, and that commonly in some Oratory erected over the Grave of some eminent Martyr without the Walls of the City, because our blessed Saviour suffered without the Gates. In some of the Churches ⸫ Sozom. l. 7. c. 19 p. 100 of Palestine they used to read the Apocryphal Book called the Revelation of St. Peter; but in other Churches of the East they read out of the Old-Testament the History of Job, the liveliest Type of Christ's Sufferings and Triumphs; and out of the New, in the * Rupert. de Divin. offic. l. 6. c. 6. Western Churches, the Gospel of St. John. because St. John was an eye-witness of our blessed Master's Sufferings: but in the African ‡ Aug. Ser. 141. the temp. Church they read St. Matthew's Gospel. Thus did the good men of old spend this day, calling themselves to an account for their offences, and humbling themselves in the sight of God; and is it not, even in this Age, very requisite, that every Christian should call himself to an account for those sins which brought the Son of God to so much shame and torture? and should mourn, and fast, and pray earnestly for that forgiveness which was purchased thereby? I take it therefore for granted, that on this day it is requisite to use more than ordinary severity, because on this day our Plessed Saviour was murdered, and to this purpose, besides the usual Prayers, reading, and Meditations (which are parts of the preparation for other days) on Good-Friday it will be necessary to subjoin some acts of the deepest Humiliation and Sorrow for sin: To which purpose every good man ought strictly to examine himself (of which sort of Examen I have subjoined a Specimen) after which the use of the Penitential Psalms is very proper, particularly Ps. 38. or 51. with this Caution; That I understand by my Enemies, not my worldly adversaries (for they are my Brethren, and them I must bless and pray for) but the Devil, and my own Lusts; and by bloodguiltiness, etc. my new crucifying my Saviour, my murdering of my own Soul, and being accessary to the destruction of what ever good and virtuous thoughts the Spirit of God hath put in my mind: To which Penitentials the 22d Ps. will very fitly be added, because it is an entire Prophecy of the sufferings of the Son of God, and cannot but raise in me a deep sense of his Sorrows, and the cause of them, when I remember they are some of the last words which our Blessed Saviour spoke before his Death: when we are infallibly assured that he begun, and probably convinced that he went through the whole Psalm. The most proper posture to repeat these Psalms in, is Kneeling, or prostration, because they are solemn and humble acknowledgements of my heinous Offences, which have undone myself, and Crucified my Redeemer. The Examen. I Am this day to examine myself, and to adjust the Accounts between God and my own Soul: it is easy to be another man's flatterer, but it is natural to be my own; and therefore I am resolved impartially to state my affairs, and to rejoice or mourn proportionable to the condition in which I find myself: And though the enquiry be terrible and affrighting, yet I had rather pass this private scrutiny, than have my Offences exposed to the view of Men and Angels: It is the greatest of happiness to be innocent, and never to offend; but the next instance of Felicity is to be penitent; I am conscious to myself, that I have been a Criminal, but I am resolved not to continue in my Crimes; I will call my Transgressions to remembrance, that God may blot them out of his Memory; and I will judge myself in this World, that I may escape in the day of the Lord: To this End therefore, that I may put myself into a capacity to obtain God's Pardon for my sins, whose number is unaccountable, whose burden is intolerable, and whose remembrance is very grievous to me; and that I may not approach the tremendous Feast without the Wedding Garment, I thus interrogate myself with all severity and exactness. ‛ Say, O my Soul, art thou in God's Favour, or hast thou merited thy Saviour's Frowns? What Proficiency hast thou made in thy Christian Calling since thy last accounting with thy Master? What Temptations hast thou conquered? What Passions mortified? What holy Opportunities improved? What Virtues gotten or increased? How conformable hast thou been to Jesus? and what progress hast thou made in the way to Heaven? If I find any of these beautiful Lineaments in my mind, I will rejoice with joy unspeakable, and be exceeding glad, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil: But if I have been an Apostate from my vows, and broken the Covenant of my Youth: If I have prostituted my Soul to Satan, defacing the Image of God, and defiling his Holy Temple, let my heart within me mourn, and refuse to be comforted; let it make lamentation, as one that is grieved for his only Son, and is in bitterness for his Firstborn; let my head be waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I may weep day and night over my sin and my shame, that I may wash my bed, and water my Couch with my tears, because it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the Living God: For who can dwell with everlasting burn, and a consuming Fire? Now to help forward, and make easy this work, that I may diligently inspect all my offences (with all their aggravating circumstances) since my last renewal of my vows on the day of my last solemn Humiliation, a memorial of all my actions in Writing is very useful, that what is there recorded may be a help to my Memory, which is most apt to forget my offences: Upon the inspection of which the most regular Examination will be made according to the method of our Church Catechism, wherein are included the Principles and fundamentals of Faith and Manners, which I have engaged to observe, and from which if I have swerved, I cannot without a true Repentance expect God's Pardon and Mercy. Now the Catechism being an Explanation of the Doctrine of Repentance, Faith, Obedience, Prayer, and of the due receiving of the Holy Sacraments, the Examination must be proportionate, and the inquiries strict: What wander from the rule of Repentance? What sins against the Creed, Commandments, Lords Prayer, or the Sacraments, have I been guilty of, since my last Account? An Examination according to the rule of Repentance. HAve I embraced 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 repent sincerely and entirely, and do I intent to continue in a state of unwearied obedience to God's Laws? Have I renounced the Devil, the World, and the Flesh, so as never more to be reconciled to them? Have I been troubled as hearty for my Transgressions, as I have been for worldly Crosses? Have I not oftener sorrowed for the Punishment of my sins, than for my sins; and have I not been more concerned that God hath been just with me, than that I have offended him? How often have I broken my vows, and relapsed 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 Inquiries, if I find myself guilty, 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 myself, and to be hearty 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 professed 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 professed that God made all things, have I seriously reflected upon what I own him for my own Being, and well-being? Have I not called Jesus Master, while I have blasphemed his name? and confessed 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 herself with all sort of impurities? When I have professed my belief of his Death, Resurrection and Ascension, have I died to my Sins, and risen again to newness of Life, and dwelled in Heaven in resolution and affection? Have I lived as if I were persuaded that Jesus would come again to judge both the quick and dead? Have I given up myself to the guidance of the Holy-Ghost, in whom I believe? Have I hearty joined 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 demeaned myself, 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 myself to the Trinity by Faith and a holy Conversation; how to be conformed 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 subjoin, 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 preferred 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 robbed 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 profaned God's holy Name by Oaths, Curse, Perjuries, Blasphemies, or any such crime? Have I spoken slightly of God, or scoffed at Religion? or by lose 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 observed 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 behaved myself reverently in God's House? have I prayed 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 my advice or allurements; or by neglect of reproof and correction? 5. Com. Have I not broken the fifth Commandment in thought, word, or deed, by refusing to give due honour, maintenance, and other rights to my superiors in Church or State? have I murmured against their authority, scrupled their just commands, or exposed their jurisdiction? Have I contemned the person, age, or injunctions of my natural Parents, not praying for them, not relieving their wants, not valuing their blessing, not harkening to their counsels? Have I embraced any Heresy or Schism in the Church, or been of any party or faction in the State? Have I been unthankful to my Benefactors, or of a morose and rugged demeanour towards those amongst whom I converse? 6. Com. Have I not broken the sixth Commandment in thought, word, or deed, by not loving my enemies, by not living peaceably, by harbouring malice and anger in my heart, by using my tongue to speak evil, or by hurting the body of my neighbour either openly or secretly, either by my own hand or another's; by quarrelling myself, or inciting others to do so? 7. Com. Have I not broken the seventh Commandment in Thought, Word, or Deed, by unclean desires, obscene discourses, or filthy Songs, by lascivious glances, or impure Dreams (the result of my waking Thoughts) or by any act of corporal uncleanness? Have I indulged to Luxury or Excess, that I might pamper my body, or provoke my Lusts? Have I been fond of a lose, and immodest Garb, or wanton Company? 8. Com. Have I not broken the Eighth Commandment in thought, word, or deed, by violence, or fraud, by covetousness, or extortion, by not paying my debts, or spoiling the goods of my neighbour, by not being just in my deal, faithful to my trust, or Charitable to the poor and indigent? 9 Com. Have I not been guilty of the breach of the Ninth Commandment in thought, word, and deed, by lessening, or blasting any Man's reputation, either by myself, or my encouraging others to slander him, by harbouring and countenancing tale-bearers, or spreading false news? Have I not passed rash judgement, and contemned the weak and ignorant, and rejoiced at my Neighbours hurt? Have I ever refused to testify the truth, or ever given false witness? have I neglected my own, and busied myself in other men's affairs? 10. Com. Have I not broken the Tenth Commandment in thought, word, or deed, by being discontent with the station in which God hath placed me, by envying the prosperity of others, by entertaining ambitious thoughts, and being greedy of honour and preferment? Have I sought to be great by unlawful means, to the prejudice of my Neighbour, pursuing either my profit or my pleasure? And have I not been guilty of sinning against my own Soul? have I not been possessed with pride and vainglory, and a high conceit of myself, of the gifts of nature, or the acquisitions of study or industry? Have I not sought myself, and the praise of men, more than the praise of God? Have I not been rash and inconsiderate, or negligent of my best interests? have I not resisted the holy Spirit, and defiled the Temple of God, and spent my time ill? Have I not indulged to too much sleep, or been irregular in my diet, apparel, or recreations, or averse to peace and reconciliation? To which may be subjoined, if the Examinant be in such a state, Have I ever broken the bonds of Matrimony, in point of honour, love, maintenance and advice? Have I neglected my Children in their Education, or making provisions for them? have I ever given them a bad example, or other encouragement to be vicious, or not reproved and punished their faults? Have I been harsh, cruel, or unjust to my Servants, not instructing them, not reclaiming them when irregular? Have I been unjust or false to my Friendship? Have I omitted my duty in any thing to my superiors, equals and inferiors? If I find myself guilty, after every general head I subjoin, Lord have mercy upon me, pardon my violation of these Laws for the time past, and for the future incline my heart to keep them to the end. An Examination according to the Lord's Prayer. HAve I not either wholly omitted my Prayers, or not been so often at Prayers as I should? have I not performed them coldly, being often on my knees, but seldom at my devotion? have I not performed them irreverently, without bodily humility, or the compunction of my Soul, without Faith, and without Purity? Have I not defiled my Mind, which was designed a Temple for the Spirit, and a house of Prayer, by making it a den of Thiefs, and the residence of unclean thoughts and wicked resolutions? Have I been thankful for the liberal provisions of my most Merciful Father? Have I fixed my affections on Heaven, where my Father dwells? Have I glorified the Divine Majesty as I ought, or have I hindered others from so doing? Have I not broken the most holy Laws by which his Kingdom is governed? Have I, with the meekness, sincerity, cheerfulness and constancy of Angels, done his will? Have I not preferred my daily Bread to the food of my Soul, and been more concerned for the things of this life, than for the honour of approaching to God's Table? and have not the necessities (and often my wanton appetites) taken up that time which should have been bestowed on Eternity? Have I not begged God to forgive me those Sins which I have resolved to continue in? and have I been so merciful to others, as I have desired God to be to me? When I have begged God either to preserve me from, or to deliver me out of temptations, have I not been either a tempter to myself, seeking occasions of sinning, or else have entertained the injections of my ghostly adversaries with delight and complacency? Have I diligently used the grace which hath been given me, to the mortifying of my Lusts, and rescuing my Soul from the Divine anger? Have I not made a League with Satan, fallen in love with Death, and hastened towards destruction? Have I not been a rebel in God's Kingdom, an opposer of his Power, a dishonourer of his Name and Glory? and when my lips have said Amen, hath not my heart contradicted my supplications? And have I said this Prayer as hearty for others, as I do for my own Soul? To which I subjoin, Lord have mercy upon me; Teach me to pray, and teach me to practice, that my prayers may ever be acceptable in thy sight here, and my person for ever hereafter. An Examination according to the Sacraments. Baptism. HAve I been truly thankful to God for my being called to a state of Salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord? Have I duly considered what an honour 'tis to be a Christian? How often have I broken my baptismal Vow, and defeated and made void the endeavours of my Godfathers and Godmothers, and other my instructors in the Faith of Christ? Have I not neglected to acquaint myself with the Principles of Christian Religion, or the due preparations 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 Annulets, 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 cowardice and negligence? Eucharist. Have I not profaned the holy Supper of the Lord, by not acquainting myself 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 thorough 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 ardours 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 lie idle, when it hath been so swept and garnished, 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 subjoin, 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 though I have approached 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 heightened or lessened by their circumstances; the Examinant therefore aught 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 public Festival; on a public 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 public place where the offence became scandalous, encouraging 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 hindrances in my way to ruin, 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 robbed the House of God of its ho nour or revenue? have I ground the face of the Poor, or robbed 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 myself? Among all which sins, I must particularly mourn over, and detest those to which I have been most inclined by natural temper or custom, and resolve to avoid all provocations and temptations, and whatever hath or may promote such evil habits, and to practise the contrary virtues. To which I subjoin. 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 preserved in body and soul, through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Amen. To this I add the 38 Psalms, 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, harken, O Lord, and do, and defer not for thine own sake, O Lord our God. From polluting the robes of my Baptism, 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 engaged 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 harkening 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 Hypocrisy 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, Clamour and Reviling, and from Blood and Murder, and all Revenge, Good Lord deliver me. From unchaste and wanton Thoughts, from lewd 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 hardened Heart, Good Lord deliver me. From a polluted mind, and a love of Dissension; 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 myself, 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 myself, 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 myself, 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 custom, 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 Baptism, forty days Fast, and victory over the Devil in the Wilderness; by thy surprising 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 die 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. Jesus 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 Sovereign 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 etc. That all men may be saved, Heretics made Converts to Truth, Schismatics to Peace, Rebels to Loyalty, and Jews, Mahometans and Infidels, become Disciples to the Son of God, I beseech thee etc. That Widows may be protected, and Orphans provided for; the sick healed, the oppressed defended, the naked clothed, the hungry fed, the ignorant instructed, the refractory reclaimed, and that all Prisoners, and whoever is appointed to die, may taste of thy Fatherly pity, I beseech thee etc. That it may please thee to secure and ease all that labour under the weight of an evil and disturbed Conscience, and to give the rewards of Martyrdom to those who suffer for a good one, I beseech thee etc. 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 etc. 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 etc. That an Angel of Peace, a faithful guide, may be the Guardian both of my Soul and Body, I beseech thee etc. That my past sins may be entirely forgiven, and the rest of my life spent in the works of repentance, I beseech thee etc. That the end of my life may be Christian, without pain, and without shame, if thou seest fit; and that I may be able to render a good account, when I shall stand before thy dreadful Tribunal, I beseech thee to hear me good Lord. From mine enemies defend me, O Christ. Graciously look upon my afflictions. Pitifully behold the sorrows of my heart. Favourably with mercy hear my Prayers. Mercifully forgive the sins of thy Servant. O Son of David, have mercy upon me. Both now and ever, vouchsafe to hear me, O Christ. Graciously hear me, O Christ; graciously hear me, O Lord Christ. O Lord, let thy mercy be showed upon me. As I do put my trust in thee. Pardon, O Lord, the guilt of my sins, remove the punishment, and wash out the pollutions; keep me from the shame, and the suffering due to them, and rescue me from the dominion of Satan, the tyranny of my own Lusts, and from everlasting destruction, Amen. Bp. Andrews BLessed Jesus, Interpose between God and my Soul, thy Priesthood and Sacrifice; between myself and Satan, thy Kingdom and Conquest; between my Soul and my Sins, thy Innocency; between my Soul and my Concupiscence, thy Charity; between my Soul and the punishments due to a Sinner, thy Passion, and the satisfaction of thy Blood; between my Soul, and my Conscience, and God's Tribunal, thy Advocateship; between my Soul and its want of Righteousness, thy absolute and complete Obedience; between my Soul and its want of desert, thy alsufficient Merits; between my Soul and its want of fervour in Devotion, thy Intercession; between my Soul and its want of s●rrow and repentance, thy Agony and bloody Sweat; for what thou didst, and what thou suffered'st, O my dearest Saviour, O my best of Masters, was done, and suffered in my stead, and for my benefit, Amen. Id. LET the Soul of Christ sanctify me; the Body of Christ strengthen me; the Blood of Christ redeem me, the Water that came out of his side cleanse me; the Stripes of Christ heal me; the Sweat of Christ refresh me; the Wounds of Christ save me; the Poverty of Christ every me; and the Sufferings of Christ preserve me from eternal damnation, Amen. Bp. Taylor. GIve me the beauties of Wisdom, the brightness of Chastity, the health of Temperance, the peace of Meek persons, and the reputation and joy of the Charitable, Amen. A Collect for the Assistance of the Holy Spirit. O God, who knowest that we are set in the midst of so many and great dangers, that the Temptations of Satan are very prevalent, the vanities of the World very deceitful, and our own corruptions very strong; help and assist me, and all thy servants with the succours of thy holy spirit; Give me the spirit of Truth, of Wisdom and Understanding, to keep me from all error and infidelity; the spirit of Counsel to guide me in all difficulties; the spirit of Might and Power to preserve me from all Apostasy; the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord, to keep me from all sin and wickedness; Let the Holy-Ghost be my comforter in my distresses, the assistant of my devotion, the quieter of my conscience, and let it bear witness with my spirit, that I am one of the Sons of God; that neither the wiles nor frowns of the Devil, the fears of suffering, or the hopes of wealth and honour may sway me to neglect my duty; but that I may continue thine for ever, and that thou mayst be my protector and guide, my friend and advocate now, and in the agonies of death, and at the day of judgement, Amen. OUR Father, which art in Heaven, etc. MAY the Power of God the Father protect me, the Wisdom of God the Son enlighten me; the operations and assistances of the holy Spirit quicken me; and may the holy Trinity keep me under the shadow of their wings till I come to the palace of Glory, Amen. Amen. The Epistle, Heb. 12.1. WHerefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our Faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the Cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the Throne of God; for consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. The Gospel. Luke 22.41. AND being withdrawn from them about a stones cast, he kneeled down, and prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will, but thine be dene. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. The MEDITATION. THOUGH every thing that is good and virtuous hath its attractives, yet when virtue is attended with power, it is in its exaltation, and makes as many Votaries as it hath spectators, and every one looks on it with admiration and surprise, and addresses to it with resolutions, either to become good, or to beg its protection from evil, because Piety so assisted proves a great exemplar, and a puissant shelter. And such was the holy Jesus, who was wonderful in all his achievements; for nothing less than unspotted Innocence and Omnipotence conjoined, could furnish the World with a Saviour. The whole Life of Jesus was a miracle of Love and Compassion, and the attempts of the Patriarches appear mean and inconsiderable, when compared with the transcendent performances of the Son of God; for if to consult the wants of mankind, and to relieve them; if curing their Bodies, and instructing their Souls; if feeding them with temporal food, and giving them the Bread of Heaven be demonstrations of a large and a divine Soul, than that title is peculiarly to be ascribed to the Redeemer of the world, whose actions were one continued series of benefits and mercies. I will therefore love the examples of good men, but I will admire and adore Jesus; I will make reflections on their excellent lives; but I must fix my thoughts on the conversation of my Saviour, who, when he requires my adverting to his Pattern and his Laws, enjoins me to look off from all other objects, and to settle my eyes on him who loved me, and bought me with his own most precious blood; for they are but a cloud of witnesses, but Jesus is the Sun of Righteousness; and as when the Sun arises, the little handful of Clouds, and dusky vapours dwindle and vanish; so when the glorious God appears in competition, he eclipses all humane perfections: For that which sustained the great Apostle when he was ready to be poured out as a drink-offering for the truth of the Gospel, 2 Tim. 4.6. and what excited other Divine Men to such extraordinary undertake, was nothing but the remembrance of the Great Captain of our Salvation, who led the Van of the Noble Army of Martyrs; together with the powers of that Grace which he endowed them with, and the Crown that he held out to them from Heaven. What could discourage or affright those who saw the Son of God engaged by no necessity, but acted only by his disinterested love, so freely to undertake, submit to, and glory in the Cross and the Purple-robe, in the Gall and the Vinegar, in the Scoffs and Crown of Thorns, and at last make a triumphant Stage of his Cross? Who can forbear dying for such a Saviour, who so freely laid down his life for us? The distant prospect of a Messiah to come, inflamed the Patriarches, gave them life, and inspired them with vigour to subdue Kingdoms, to work Righteousness, to stop the mouths of Lions, to quench the violence of the Fire, to escape the edge of the Sword; when tortured, not to accept of deliverance; to be content to be Stoned, to be Sawn asunder, to be slain with the Sword, to wander about in Sheepskins and Goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, that they might obtain a better resurrection in him, who is the first fruits from the dead. And so did their Successors demean themselves, who saw Christ, and acknowledged him come in the flesh; they willingly chose to hunger and thirst, to be naked, and buffeted, and to have no certain dwelling place; to be persecuted, defamed, and accounted the off-scowring of the World; in fine, to be made like their Master, a Spectacle to the World, to Angels, and to Men. Blessed Jesus, these are patterns of courage and love to God that I am amazed at, and am afraid I want courage to imitate; but, Lord, by the help of thy Grace I will endeavour to make my zeal as ardent and as acceptable as theirs; and whereas thou hast hitherto given me my lot in thy Church at such a time, when Peace is an attendant on Religion (and may God of his Mercy long continue it) I will be a Martyr in that way, which thou art better pleased with (because I may give my body to be burnt, and not be a Martyr) I will make an oblation to thee of myself, I will sacrifice my passions, and mortify my members that are on the earth, and will lay aside every weight, and the sin that doth so easily beset me, that I may run with patience the race that is set before me. (For when I crucify the old Man, and abandon the paths of disobedience, then only am I truly to be said to follow Jesus) And if providence think fit so to order it, and my blessed Saviour enable me, I will die for his interests, and seal my vows with my blood; for what should hinder but that I should exert the same resolution that was the glory of the Primitive Ages? Do not I look for the same reward? am I not a member of the same Church, and a Disciple to the same Saviour? Their zeal and patience, their cheerfulness and contempt of the World, their fortitude and constancy made it appear, that they put an estimate on nothing but the Service of God, and the concerns of Eternity; and why should not I, as they did, look steadfastly upon Jesus, for he is the author and finisher of our Faith, the sole institutor of our Religion, who for the joy that should accrue to him in the redemption of a ruined World from Sin, and Death, and Hell, in the glorification of his Body, and the establishment of his Empire over all the Sons of Men, was content to be made vile and of no reputation, to endure the Cross, and to despise the shame, and to submit to all the sufferings and indignities, that either his Father's anger, or Satan's malice, or the witty and inventive cruelty of sinful men could inflict upon him; for what could be greater than the Cross and the shame, but the courage that underwent them, and the Love of Jesus which was stronger than death? Luke 12.20. I have a Baptism, says Jesus, to be baptised with; and I am straightened, and in pain, till it be accomplished: I am under great struggle, death looks formidable to the eyes of nature, and that makes me wish the Cup may pass from me; but my love makes me resolve to drink it, and to wish it were accomplished. There is a warm conflict between my resolutions to redeem the World, and my humane infirmities: between my love to men, and my natural desires of self-prefervation. And why (if a poor despicable sinner may expostulate with his Maker) why these struggle a few days before thy apprehension? Was not thy whole Life one continued act of Martyrdom? Was not the Tragedy begun at Bethlehem, though the last scene was acted on Mount Calvary? Was not this bloody Baptism administered to thee in thy Infancy; and did not thy Crucifixion begin in thy Cradle? was not thy Circumcision the morning-sacrifice? and was not the completory oblation made in that dismal evening in which thou wert Crucified? for though thou goest not into thy Grave till about the Thirty fourth year of thy Age, yet thou didst die daily, and thine agonies were commensurate to thy Life; they begun the first hour thou sawest the light in the Stable, and they lasted to the moment in which thou gavest up the ghost at Golgotha: every day was a Good-Friday, a day of sorrow and sufferings. Only herein lies the difference, under all his antecedent sufferings, the Life of the Son of God was still preserved, but at his apprehension that also was to be sacrificed, and he who was only sprinkled with blood at his Circumcision, was now to be truly baptised and drenched in it on his Cross: but this Cross he endured, and the appendent shame he despised; under which terms are included all his sufferings, the torment and the ignominy of his exinanition. If the torment that he endured be considered, his pains were acute, and to any but Jesus insufferable; the uneasiness of his poor estate, the trouble of having no house or shelter, and the many attempts upon his Life, were but the prologue to the fatal scenes which begun in the Garden; every circumstance of that Agony is productive of wonder; 'Twas in a cold night, when the High-priest's Servants could not be without a fire within doors, while he was abroad in the cold Air, and lay prostrate on the cold Earth; where being alone, no violence, but what proceeded from his love, could be offered him; and yet there he Sweat, till that Sweat was Blood, and that not a faint Sweat of a few thin drops rarified and spirituous, but great drops, congealed lumps and gobbets of blood, and those in so great a quantity, that they went through and all, and ran in a great stream to the ground, till the Garden was the fittest place about Jerusalem to be called the Field of Blood. Immediately after this, he was dragged by the rude and incensed multitude into the City, and there hurried up and down to all the Judicatories in it; he was buffeted and scourged, the Plowers ploughed long furrows on his back; he was Crowned with Thorns, and loaden with his Cross, having been condemned by clamour and importunity, by restless and unsatisfied malice, when Pilate his proper Judge had confessed him Innocent. To his Cross, both his hands and feet, which by reason of their being full of Nerves are the most sensible parts of the Body, were fastened, being pierced through with sharp Nails; the whole weight of his Body, stretched out as on a Rack, resting on his expanded Hands; there he languished under an insufferable thirst, occasioned by his being so violently transported from place to place, by his cruel Agony in the Garden, by his loss of so much Blood in that Sweat, in his scourging, in his being Crowned with Thorns, and nailed to his Cross, to which both his hands and feet were fastened that he could no way relieve himself; he was exposed to the Sun and the Wind, which searched his wounds, and made his pains more grievous; his Mother and his beloved Disciple were standing by his Cross in the posture of persons distracted by their sorrows, and this increased his torment, not only as they were his near Relations, but as they represented his Widowed and disconsolate Church. And when it might have been expected that his Soul should have received comfort, while his body was on this rack, this was so far from being the portion of Jesus, that his Soul felt more fearful convulsions, than his tortured Body when all his bones were out of joint; all the anger of God was upon him at once; now was the Curtain drawn between the rational faculties of his Soul, and God, (whereas before there was only a screen between his sensitive faculties and his Father) now was the beatifical Union suspended, and his God had forsaken him when he stood in most need; and when he cried aloud to his Father for help, the rude Soldiers study to increase his sorrows, they give him Vinegar to drink, which was proper to stop his bleeding, and to lengthen his life and torments; and that Vinegar mingled with the bitter juice of Hyssop, to make the draught more irksome and unpalatable, (unless we may believe a modern ‖ Heins. Arist. in Jo. 19 29. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Critic, That they gave him the Vinegar on a Sponge of the coarsest Wool, to do him the greater dishonour). Almost a whole day and night was he under continued tortures, from his entry into the Garden, to his yielding up the ghost, whereof six whole hours he was hanging on the Cross; and then he died while his Spirit was whole within him; (and while being in the vigour of his youth, his heart within him was like melting wax) for in the height of all his acute pains he cried with a loud voice, and yielded up the ghost: his Body being more sensible of pain than usually malefactors are; for he had a beautiful shape, and was of a fine and pure make, and of a delicate constitution, born of a Virgin, not subject to, and so never harassed with diseases; and the pains of his Soul bore proportion to his bodily sufferings, for he well knew how grievous and insupportable the anger of God is, which we are insensible of; he dreaded the burden of those sins which we delight in, and the severity of those punishments which we deride; his notions of things were clear, his apprehension quick, and the bent of his mind most strongly inclinable to pity and compassion. Thus were his sorrows augmented, and his sufferings made intolerable, while the rigour of his enemies left no sound part in him; for he suffered in his Soul in his bitter Agony; in his whole Body in his Sweat; his Head was crowned with Thorns: his Eyes were a fountain of tears: his Ears enured to mockings: his Palate disgusted with the Vinegar, and the Wine mixed with Myrrh: his Face spit upon: his Neck and Shoulders loaden with the burden of a heavy Cross: his Back and Sides scourged: his Heart pierced with the Spear: his Hands and Feet nailed to the accursed Tree: his Flesh torn, and his Blood spilt: that he might most justly exclaim, I am the man that hath seen affliction by the Rod of God's Wrath: Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold, and see, was there ever sorrow like my sorrow which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger? Nor were these all his sufferings, for the consideration and foresight, that all these mercies should be bestowed on an ingrateful and rebellious World, the greatest part of which would be hypocrites and unbelievers, would trample on his Blood, as an unholy and profane thing, and would frustrate the end of his death, and the designs of his mercy; this doubtless made his sorrows exquisite, and so transcendent, as nothing could parallel but his Love and his Patience. Here the devout Christian may put a stop to his Meditations for a while, and subjoin this COLLECT. O Lord, who wert pleased in the fullness of time to send thine only begotten Son into the World, made of a Woman, made under the Law, that he might become a curse for us, and reconcile the World unto thee our Father, by his bitter Agony and cruel Death; and who hast assured us, that thou scourgest every son whom thou receivest; grant that I may be conformable to the image of thy beloved Son and our dearest Saviour; that his sufferings may be the propitiation for my sins, his Blood may cleanse my Soul, and I may have life through him; and grant, that as Jesus offered up himself to thy justice, so I may offer myself and all my enjoyments a Sacrifice of praise for the Mercies of God the Father, Son and Holy-Ghost, now, and for evermore, Amen. After which, the devout Christian, at what time his strength and occasions will best permit, may continue his Meditation. Proportionate to the torments which Jesus endured, was his shame and ignominy, than which nothing is more insufferable to an ingenuous nature. His birth was mean, his Mother a poor Virgin, he was born in a Stable, and Cradled in a Manger; he was brought up at the mean and laborious Trade of his reputed Father Joseph; his many Journeys were performed on foot; he had no settled habitation, and very few Friends, and those poor, ignorant and contemptible Galilean Fishermen, whose very Country was ominous; and at his last essay was he not apprehended as a vile malefactor, and that not by a party of men of Honour, not by the Guards of the Captain of the Temple, or the Roman Governor, but by the Rabble, the meanest of the people tumultuously gathered together, armed with Clubs and Swords, the hasty weapons their fury could lay hold on. He was treated as a public Nuisance, though as free from sin as truth and innocence could make him; dragged from the Garden to the Palace of Amas, thence to the House of Calaphas, and thence to Pontius Pilate, who sent him to Herod: Herod used him with all sort of scorn, clad him in Mock-purple, and remanded him to the Roman Procurator, where the Soldiers and common people spit on him, blinded him, smote him, and ironically bid him prophesy who did it; he was whipped like a slave, while the multitude in their esteem, prefer to him Barrabas, a Traitor, a Thief, a Murderer, a Captain to those seditious persons with whom he made his insurrection, one publicly and notoriously guilty of the crimes laid to his charge, and looked on as a pernicious wretch, and one of the pests of the Kingdom. And when he was thus covered with blood and sweat, with stripes and the marks of cruelty, with an uneasy Crown, and ridiculous purple, he was brought out and exposed to public view; he was crucified (a death by which none but slaves and the vilest malefactors were punished) and that naked, no regard being had to modesty or the rules of decency; and in the midst of the Thiefs, as the worst of all the malefactors. The High-priests mocked him, the common people shook their heads, his fellow sufferers upbraided him, and all that past by did shoot out their Arrows, even bitter words; which affronts were not the Ephemerous product of sudden fury, but the continuation of former injuries; for all his life long he was censured; his poor parentage thrown in his Teeth, is not this the Carpenter? His Doctrine misrepresented, as if he spoke against Moses and the Temple, and introduced false Doctrine; his Miracles belied, as if he cast out Devils by compact with Satan; his conversation mistook, as if his innocent and necessary freedom were herding with the profligate, and making friendship with publicans and sinners. Nothing could be more temperate, and yet he is impeached of being a Glutton and a Drunkard; nothing more , and yet he is affronted with the title of a companion of Harlots; no man more sedate and grave, and yet his nearest Relations say he is besides himself; nothing was more Loyal, and yet he is accused as an enemy to Caesar; nothing more Pious, and yet he is condemned for Blasphemy: If he be benign and free in his converse, than he is popular and seditious; if retired, he hath a Devil; and let him cry down hypocrisy never so zealously, he is reputed an Impostor: Thus they affronted him in all his capacities. Was he designed our Highpriest, to redeem the world by the sacrifice of himself? They mock him on the Cross with his Office, If thou be the Son of God, save thyself and us. Was he sent to be the great Prophet, to declare the Will of God to mankind? They first blind, then smite him, and afterward bid him prophesy who struck him. And had God designed him to be a King? They cloth him in Purple, put on his Head a Crown of Thorns, and a Reed in his right hand instead of a Sceptre. Such was the ill entertainment the holy Jesus found, such the rudeness of men to their greatest benefactor, that he, that came into the World only to do good, was above all others in it worst treated. All which indignities could not but sit more uneasily upon an innocent person, than they would have done on a hardy criminal, who usually takes shelter in impudence. And to make the shame exquisite, remember, O my Soul, that this Son of Man was at the same time the Son of God. When therefore I represent to myself my bleeding Saviour nailed to the accursed Tree, and view the sadness of his countenance disfigured with his Sweat, his Blood, and his Tears; when I look upon his wounded side, his hands and feet pierced, his head crowned with Thorns, Is not this sight enough to strike me dumb? enough to strike me dead? when I consider that my sins have wounded him, and were more troublesome than his adversaries malice? Shall the Jews be up at midnight to apprehend him, and shall I not break my sleep to serve him? shall the sinner take more pains to be damned, than I to work out my salvation with fear and trembling? What shall I first admire in thee, O my dying Redeemer! for thou art all wonderful. I admire thy willingness to submit, for no compulsion could force thee to bear the weight of thy Father's anger; it is indisputably true, that Jesus could fall by no hand but his own; and that his Love had slain him, before the Spear pierced his side; and if we may believe the Vision in St. Dennis, thou art ready yet to come down again, and to die anew, were it any way conducive to the salvation of mankind? I admire the miraculousness of the contrivance, That he, who grasps the World in his fist, should be confined to a Cradle; and he, who sustains Angels, should suck the Breasts of a Virgin! that Vigour itself should languish, Eternity become mortal, that Life should give up the ghost, and God be crucified, and the same person at the same time in Hell and in Paradise! I admire the entireness of his resignation, who without any articles or capitulation, gave himself up to the managery and conduct of his Father, submitting the habit and the acts of his Will to God, and resolving to obey in whatever manner he should require. Nor can I forbear admiring and celebrating the earnestness of his Love, who was in great distress till he had paid our ransom; but I cannot avoid particular reflections on the advantages of his being crucified publicly, that the matter of fact might be undeniable, and that the Apostles might have no cause to be ashamed of their Doctrine, or the World of their Faith, nor both of their Saviour. What a pattern of resignation and submission, of meekness, and patience, of compassion, and love to the worst of enemies had the Christian world been deprived of, if our bessed Saviour had suffered in a Corner, or been strangled in a Prison? It was out of design to make his virtues as well as his sufferings illustrious, that he chose to suffer at Jerusalem the Metropolis of the Country, and at the Passover, when all the Nation were come up to the holy City. Let therefore the Cross of Christ be to the Jews an offence and scandal (who expect to share with the Messia in the grandeur of a secular Kingdom) and let it be to the Greeks foolishness (who relish no notions, but what comport with their ease and profit, and think it madness to slight present miseries, and stand in awe of future sufferings) I will look upon it as the greatest instance of the Divine Wisdom and Goodness, that God was pleased to teach his Son Obedience, and to make the world happy by the things which he suffered. And am I not indispensibly obliged to follow this pattern, and to imitate this my best Friend? Can I be ashamed of a naked crucified Saviour, who, when he was stripped of his Garments, was covered with a robe of honour purpled in his own blood? And should it not be my greatest honour to be conformed to the Image of his sufferings? Hath Jesus carried with him, not only our humane nature, but the marks of his wounds that were given him on Earth, into that Heaven which he opened unto all believers; and do I not long to go to that my greatest benefactor, into that Heaven which his wounds have purchased? And am I not redeemed from my former vain conversation by the Blood of God? And shall I continue in sin, because Grace hath abounded, or dare to damn that Soul for which Christ died? No, I will endure the contradiction of sinners, and I will resist, if God see fit, unto blood; Jesus shall be my darling, and I will love him as I love my life and Heaven. The Collect. BLessed Saviour, who for our sakes wert clothed with ignominy and dishonour, and didst patiently digest all the injuries and affronts, which thy malicious enemies could put upon thee; enable me also to endure the Cross, and to despise the shame, and to rejoice when thou shalt count me worthy to suffer for thy name. Let my sins no longer dishonour thy Religion, and bring discredit to my dear Master, but enable me to live to thy glory, O my crucified Redeemer; that when I come to die, I may share in thy triumphs world without end, Amen. The Anthem. An ALTAR. GReat and good Saviour, could my frozen heart Melt into tears equal to thy desert, Nature, and all its mournful sons I'd call T'attend and grieve at th'wondrous funeral. So when, dear Jesus, thou didst die. The Earth groaned sadly, Heaven did cry; The Sun retired as one aghast, To see th' Almighty breathe his last; And the famed Temple's basis shook, When God, who dwelled there, it forsook; While men more hardened, and more rude Than those Pillars, senseless stood, As they unconcerned had been At the cruel frightful scene; Astonished at their scorn, I raise This Altar to my Saviour's praise, Cevered with wounded Loves, and bleeding Hearts, For who can live i'th' World, when God departs? Accept the Votary, and th' Inscription hollow, And teach the Priest the great Exemplar still to follow. EASTER-EVE. AS the solemn Festival of Easter drew nearer, the Ancients bound themselves to stricter observances, enlarging their Fasts, increasing their Devotions, and doubling their preparations for the approaching Christian Passover (because nothing but perseverance gives a title to a Crown of Glory; and the end of all labour and industry, Prayers and Fast, Alms and Discipline, is only to enable the devout Christian to bring a pure Conscience, and void of offence, to the participation of the benefits of the Lord's-Table) and for this reason Easter-eve, even in those Churches, where the Saturday was admitted to an equal honour with the Lord's-day, & always celebrated as a Festival; was made a day of the strictest abstinence and mortification. It is called the Great Saturday in the account of * P. 19 V Const. App. l. 8. c. 33. S. Pelycarp's Martyrdom (and it could not but be a great encouragement to that good Bishop to die cheerfully at the same time when his Master did, that he might, from the place of Execution, go to Heaven, to keep the Feast of Easter for ever) it is also called the holy Saturday, the Paschal Vigil, the Holy Night, whose obscurity is illuminated with a glorious light (the devout people watching and praying all night, and singing Hymns unto God, nay, those who seldom else came to Church, * Eus. devit. Const. l. 4. c. 22. p. 536. Chrys. to. 5. p. 541. & to. 7. p. 156. Gr. Naz. Orat. 42 p. 676. now were compelled by shame and interest to Fast and Pray, the House of God being filled with Torches and lights, and sometimes the Streets of the City so adorned, in expectation of the joyful morning of Christ's Resurrection) it was also styled the ‡ Pallad. vit. Chrys. p. 85. Angelical night, in which the Evil Angels tremble, their kingdom being destroyed, and the Good Angels rejoice that the World is redeemed; for now were the holy Choir busy to attend the Sepulchre, and to give the Disciples the blessed news of their Saviour's Resurrection. This day, some Fathers assure us, Christ went down into Hell, dismantled its fortifications, and by his presence made that miserable dungeon Heaven; for wherever Jesus is, there is Heaven. All the day was a strict Fast, and all the night a Vigil, at least till midnight † Hier. in Matt. c. 25. (the Congregation not being dismissed till then) it being the Tradition of the Church, That our Saviour risen a little after midnight, but in the East, till the * Const App. l. 5. c. 14, 17, 18. Dionys. Alex. Ep. Basil. Cock-crowing; the time being spent, say the Apostolical Constitutions, in watching, prayers and supplications, in reading the Law and the Prophets, in expounding the Holy Scriptures, and in Baptising the Catechumen, and therefore it ‡ Euseb. Hist. l. 2. c. 17. & l. 6. c. 9 is called the All-night Vigil of the great Feast, and the great watching before the Christian Passover. In the Latin Church ‖ Rupert. de divin. offic. c. 35. alii. on this day the Water for the Font is blest, and reserved for the use of the persons to be Baptised the year following, which Custom is a shadow of the Ancient usage; for on Easter-Eve were the Catechumen Baptised ⸫ Chrys. to. 5. p. 585. by the Bishop himself, if present, and able to do the Office; for no Presbyter, or Deacon, without his leave durst do it; for the Church had select times for the Baptising of adult Converts (Children being baptised at all times) of which Easter was the chiefest; for which reason the number of the Candidates for that initiatory Sacrament in the greater Churches, was very large, * Pallad. vit. Chrys. p. 86 Three Thousand being made Christians at Constantinople on this day: * Ambros. de Sacramen. li 3. cap. 1. the Bishop in some Churches of the West, (at Millian I conjecture, for at Rome the practice was otherwise) immediately after his conferring the Sacrament of Baptism, using to wash the feet of those whom he had newly made Christians. * Smith of the Gr. Ch. p. 124, 125. In the Greek Church through the Sundays of Lent, they use the Liturgy of St Basil, and on Thursday and Saturday in the Holy Week, which being longer than St Chrysostom's, is esteemed fit for the times of Fasting, but on the other days of Lent, ‡ Conc. Trul. can. 52. except Saturdays, and the Feast of the Annunciation, they use the Liturgy of the Presanctificata; So mindful are they to suit all their Offices to the designs of Religion, and the promoting of Mortification, and true Contrition. The Epistle. Eccles. 7.3. SOrrow is better than laughter, for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better; the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth: it is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools; for as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. The Gospel. Mat. 9.14. THen came to him the Disciples of John, saying, why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but thy Disciples fast not? And Jesus said unto them, can the children of the Bride-chamber mourn, as long as the Bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the Bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast. No man puts a piece of new cloth into an old garment; for that which is put in to fill it up, takes from the garment, and the rent is made worse. Neither do men put new wine into old bottles, else the bottles break, and the wine runs out, and the bottles perish; but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved. The MEDITATION. SAD and disconsolate must needs have been the state of the Infant Church, when its Tutor and Guardian was taken from it; nor could the Disciples but sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, who were deprived of the light and warmth of the Sun of Righteousness; they had lost one Comforter, and had only the remote expectations of another; their Master had established a Kingdom which they knew not what to make of; they could not apprehend how a Prince could make himself Glorious, and yet trample upon the Pomps and Vanities, the Crowns and Purple which this world adorns its Monarches with; nor how he who had not so much as a House which he could call his own, could be Lord of the whole Earth; nor did they understand how this could be the Messiah who should redeem all Israel, who could not rescue himself from the Torture and Ignominy of the Cross; these were amazing Considerations, and such as filled their hearts full of sorrow; these thoughts confined the Apostles, during the time that their Master lay in the Grave, to retirement and privacy, they sighed and bewailed the loss of their hopes, which they imagined were buried in the same Sepulchre with their Lord, past any possibility of a Resurrection. As long as they expected to share in the Grandeur of the Messiah, and under him to govern Principalities, how willingly did they follow him? but when they saw all those satisfactions which they promised themselves, vanish like the Ideas of a dream, sorrow could not but fill their hearts: And is not this, O my soul, the general practice of Mankind? how fond are we of the Glories of Christ's Kingdom, but how weary of his Cross? how ready to follow him to Mount Tabor, but how unwilling to accompany him to Mount Calvary? We run eagerly to the Plain to eat Bread multiplied by Miracle, but we dread the way that leads to the Mountain, where by day he preached his Excellent Sermons, and spent the whole Night in Prayers. But is there not also, O my Soul, much to be said in the behalf of these Apostles, which we can never plead to excuse our own negligence? Their Master was now in the Grave, the work of their Redemption not yet perfected, and the Holy Spirit was not yet given, which alone could fill them with Knowledge and Fortitude; in such a distressed condition who can blame their fears and their cowardice? but as soon as ever they had seen the Lord return from the dead, and the Blessed Spirit had descended on them at Pentecost, their hearts were filled with joy and resolution, they then courted the dangers, which before they studiously shunned; and with assurance accosted the Sanhedrim, from whom before they hide themselves; then they looked upon the Chains which they wore for the sake of the Blessed Jesus, as Ornaments of their Hands and Legs; a Prison was a Palace to them, the Blood that followed their scourge, the Purple which they wore, and the place of Execution a Room of State; the Cross was a Throne, and the Flames a Royal Chariot to convey them to Heaven. Armed with those assistances not only Peter and Paul smiled on Martyrdom, and were in love with dying, but even Women and Children, Persons of strong sears and weak powers, of violent Passions and shallow Reasons, went in such multitudes to the Tribunals to acknowledge themselves Christians, that they tired their Judges with pronouncing Sentences of Death, and their Executioners with inflicting them: and what is it, O my Soul, that hinders thee from exerting the same Gallantry and Resolution? who besides all the assistances which they enjoyed, hast also the advantage of their Examples. Often have I wondered how those Excellent Persons became such admirable Proficients in the school of the Son of God? How their Piety, their Charity, their Justice, and Sobriety, their Love of God, and love to Mankind could be so conspicuous in the eyes of their Heathen Adversaries, while they contended earnestly for the Faith, when nothing but Bonds, Imprisonment, and Death, nothing but Shame and Sufferings were their Portion? Whereas now, when the Christian Religion is countenanced and cherished by Authority, and the good things of this life are its reward as well as the joys of a better, we are more profane and irreligious, more unjust and uncharitable, more lustful and intemperate than the vilest Heathens: And perhaps this is not the worst reason that can be given of it, that in those days the greater part of Christians were converted after they came to years of discretion, when the Church required from them all sorts of testimonies of their virtue and their constancy before they were admitted into it; bringing them up, when Catechumen, under a severe Discipline, acquainting them with the strictness of the Laws of Religion, inuring them to Fast and Abstinencies, to frequent Prayers, and frequent Watch, and other such hardships; to a public and solemn renouncing of their own lusts, and a generous contempt of the world; for by this means Religion was endeared to them, who before their admission to the privileges of it, had conquered all their Passions, and were crucified to the World, and had upon the maturest deliberation chosen Jesus and the Cross, before the Honours, Wealth, and Voluptuousness of this life. Whereas now our admission is in our Infancy, when our sponsors promise of course for us, what we never care to make good: and we are admitted to the privileges before we understand the duties of Christianity; so that we take up our Religion as we do our , or our Customs, because they were the practices of our Forefathers, and are the garb of the present time: And perhaps it is also considerable, that prosperity often cheats us, when we are proof against all the temptations of adversity; worldly ease softens us, while a state of affliction and trouble becomes a great benefit. And so in truth is it, a Christian not deserving his name, till he be a Convert from sensuality to a crucified Saviour: So when the Sons of Zebedee coveted places of Trust and Honour in an imaginary Monarchy, Mat. 20.21. our Blessed Redeemer told them, that the preferments of his Court old not consist in fitting at his Right and left Hand, but in drinking of his Cup, and being baptised with his Baptism. And when St. Paul was called to an Apostleship, Acts 9.16. the Lord told Ananias in a Vision, that his Mission was not designed to Triumph over the Gentile World, nor should his Revelations discover to him, what Kingdoms he should convert (though that he did) but I will show him, says God, what great things he must suffer for my Names sake. And this that Apostle well understood; 2 Cor. 12.12. for when he reckons up the signs of an Apostle, he gins with his Patience under affliction, as if that generosity of mind, that slighted the Tribulations attendant on the Gospel, was a more eminent and surer sign of his Apostleship than all his power of working Signs and Wonders, and mighty deeds: for to be afflicted was to be clad in the best Livery of the great Bishop and Shepherd of Souls. I will therefore resolve to imitate those admirable guides of the Church in their sorrow. I will lament the death of my Saviour, and hate my sins that crucified him. I will as they did, retire from the World and love it no longer, because it despised my dear Redeemer: And I will also imitate them in their Patience and their Courage. I will endure all things for the sake of my friend, who died for me; and nothing shall fright me from following the pattern, and treading in the steps of his first and best servants. The Collect. ALmighty and Immortal Saviour, who wert victorious in thy sufferings, and triumphant upon the Cross, and wert always present with thy Church either in thy Person, or by thy substitute, the Holy Ghost; keep and defend thy flock from all Heresy and Schism, from mistakes in matters of Faith, and all irregularities in practice, from desponding under afflictions, and from carelessness in prosperity. Arm all thy servants with an invincible courage and resolution to live and die thine: let the consideration of thy Passion engage us to bewail our Transgressions: but let the consideration of thy Resurrection defend us, that we may not sorrow as men without hope, but that we may pass the time of our sojourning here on Earth in fear, and finish it with joy, through thy Merits and Intercession, O our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen. The Anthem. The Descent into Hell. A Dialogue between Mary Magdalen, at the Sepulchre, and an Angel. I. Magd. APpear dear Jesus unto me, I love, I long for none but thee. Whither is my Beloved gone, And left me here sad and alone? My soul breathes nothing else but sigh;, Since Jesus fell a Sacrifice. Ang. Down to the Prison of the Fiends The dying Conqueror descends, And o'er those rebel spirits his Victories extends. II. With courage and resistless might Alone he undertakes the fight, Meets whole Legions and defies Hell's Guards, and her Auxiliaries, Scales the Walls, and storms the Gates, Razes the Towers, revers'th men's Fates; And into the Dungeon Lucifer precipitates. III. Magd. But tell me, Angel clothed with light, Did not my Jesus show his might, When upon the Cross he stood, Like a Rock that braved a flood? Did not his Patience and his Cries, His Wounds, his Thirst and Agonies, Complete his glorious Conquest, and our Sacrifice? iv Ang. 'Twas done when Jesus bowed his head, And told the world 'twas finished, Then Satan was discomfited, And all his baffled forces fled: But he lest men might doubt his love Or Victories, did the scene remove, Pulled Satan from his Throne, and from his Kingdom drove. V Magd. If so, what keeps my Jesus there? What stops th' Almighty Conqueror? Thy Pupils do thy presence want T' instruct the blind and ignorant, To charm the froward, and defend The weak who on thy Strength depend. And guide poor wand'ring me unto my journey's end. Appear, dear Jesus, unto me, I love, I long for none but thee. EASTER- DAY. THOUGH the Christian Church had many Festivals, yet some of them were days of greater Eminency than others, Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide being frequently called in the Writings of the Fathers by way of excellency, * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. the Christian Solemnities; because as the Jews were obliged three times a year on their three great Festivals of the Passover, Pentecost, and of the Tabernacles, to go up to Jerusalem to worship: So anciently, the body of the people of every Diocese met at those times at the Mother Church, where the Bishop Preached to them in person, and gave them the Holy Sacrament: And on those days, if the Church could not hold all the Communicants at once, the Offices were repeated, the Prayers renewed, and the Eucharist ‡ Leo. M. Epist. 71. p. 149. a second time consecrated and given. Now among these great days, Easter-day was the day on which the Son of God returned from Hell, risen from the Grave, and being attended with his holy Angels, and the bodies of many just persons, who left their Tombs to accompany their Saviour, brought Life and Immortality to light. This was the day which the Lord made, in which all wise and devout persons do rejoice; and therefore without all doubt the Ancients, after their long Fasting till near daybreak, * Const. Ap. li. 5. c. 18. retired home, laid aside their Sackcloth and Ashes, and other habits of mortification, and having washed and clothed themselves in their best apparel, came again early to Church, and sang the praises of the Lord. And for this reason this Feast is called ‡ Cypr. Laetitia Paschalis. The Paschal joy, or the Paschal solemnity of the Resurrection, ‖ Chrys. to. 5. p. 587. the bright and glorious day of Christ's rising from the dead, the noblest of the Christian solemnities, o Euseb. vit. Const. l. 4. c. 22. p. 536, etc. the holy and venerable day that brought Life into the World; the holy Convention and Festival, the Queen of Feasts, the Festival of Festivals, the great and holy Sunday, the day in which the hopes of Eternity were confirmed to us; and the Great day, in which Salvation was given to the World. The * Constit. Ap. l. 7. c. 37. Apostles injoining the Observation of it to all Christians; and probably, when we are bid to keep the Feast, 1 Cor. 5.8. it belongs rather to the Annual than to the Weekly Feast of the Resurrection. As some Wise and Learned men think, that the Lordsday, mentioned Rev. 1.10. does not so much mean a Sunday at large, as Easter-day (for * Procop. de bell. Perfic. l. 1. c. 18. this day was honoured by the Christian World above all other days) ‡ Chrys. to. 5. p. 583. this day is a day of rejoicing on Earth, and it is a Holiday in Heaven too: for if the conversion of one Sinner gives the Angel's joy, how much more eminent must the exultations needs be, when the whole World is rescued from the tyranny of the Devil? At this news, doubtless the Angels and the Archangels leapt for joy, the Cherubin and Seraphim kept a Festival, and the Son of God himself was infinitely pleased, that our Redemption was completed. Nay, the dull Earth itself rejoices: for the ‖ Ambr. de mist. Pasch. c. 2. Chrys. to. 5. p. 585. Christian Passover is the beginning of the year to us, when Flowers and Fruits do bud and blossom, when the Clouds and cold of Winter are driven away, and the Spring introduces the warm Sun; to emblem to us, that we also should be merry and joyful, that we should be no longer barren, but bring forth fruits worthy of our Saviour's Resurrection; that only the beams of the Sun of Righteousness gives true life and heat, and that we must not date our happiness from the day of our natural birth, but of our Regeneration. This * Chrys. to. 5. p. 587. is the beloved and saving Festival, the foundation of our Peace, the end of our Differences, the destruction of Death, the ruin of the Devil; this day men were admitted to the Society and Anthems of Angels, for this day was a period put to the tyranny of Satan, the bonds of Death were loosed, and the powers of Hell routed; and now the Church was able to say, O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Now that this day might be duly observed, the o Leo M. Ep. 64. ad Martian. Aug. Holy Fathers of the venerable Nicene Council, in pursuance of an ancient custom, took care that the Patriarch of Alexandria, (which City was famous for its University, especially the Study of Astronomy, the Sky being perpetually clear, and the Country fit for such observations) should in his Circular Letters (commonly called Paschal Epistles) which ‡ Cassian. 10.2. were at first sent about Christmas, afterwards sooner ‖ Conc. Carthag. 4.7. by the one and twentieth of August every year, give an account to all other Christian Churches, on what day Easter fell; upon the receipt of which Letters * Conc. Aurel. 4. 1. Braccar. 2. 9 the Bishop of every Church was obliged to give notice of the Festival to his Clergy, and every Priest in his Parish Church (as the Bishops and Metropolitans were bound to do in their Cathedrals) on Christmas-day after the reading of the Gospel, was to inform the people, that no one might plead ignorance of the holy time; and when the day came, the persons who had been baptised the night before, were clothed in white garments (which for eight days after they were obliged to wear) and with many Torches brought into the Church to take their place among the Fideles, or complete Christians (and hence perhaps Baptism was called Illumination, and hence doubtless the Festival was called ‡ Chrys. to. 5. p. 939. Theophan. orat. 26. p. 187. the Splendour of the Virgin Torchlight, and the day of White Garments) the newly baptised being obliged to be at Church every day of the Paschal Week to learn their duties; for which end, through the Octaves of Easter were read ‖ Chrys. to. 5. p. 586. every day and every day there was a Sermon and a Sacrament. For in truth every day was as it were a Sunday; but of most especial observance were the Monday and Tuesday of the Week (as they are in our Church) from whence the Feast is sometimes called * Nyss. 〈…〉 de Pasc● 〈◊〉. del. D. 22 〈◊〉. the Three days Solemnity; and at this time, at Christmas, the Epiphany, and other greater Festivals, the Clergy, on pain of Excommunication, were bound to be present on their Cures. The newmade Christians ‡ Microlog. c. 56. Honor. 3. 137. alii. were also particularly bound to come that day Twelvemonth on which they had been baptised, to the Church, and to bring with them their Sponsors, and to celebrate the day of their Regeneration, their spiritual birthday, and to offer to God their oblations for that great favour and blessing. And by a ‖ Synod Exon. an. 1287. Canon of one of our old Synods, every person was obliged to make an oblation to his Church four times a year, whereof Easter was one: and to this day it is not only a Collar-day at Court, but an Offeringday, and a Houshold-day too, when the Bezant is given by the Lord Steward, or some other White-staff Officer: and this is done in imitation of an ancient Custom; for the great Constantine, on Easter-day, studying to imitate the Charity and Compassion of our Holy Saviour, distributed many large alms, and gave rich gifts to all the people, and to all the Provinces of the Empire. And as our Princes imitate the ancient Christian Emperors in their Charity, so they imitated them in their Pity. Anciently at this time Malefactors were pardoned, and by the Laws of the Confessor, Easter, and eight days after were exempted from Executions. In * Smyth. ub. sup. p. 44. the Greek Church at three afternoon of the Saturday, devout people go to Church, most of whom continue there all night. Toward break of day they sing the Hymn, Glory in the highest: after which the Patriarch gins, and is followed by the Choir singing this excellent Hymn, Christ is risen from the dead, having by his death trampled on death, and given life to them that were in their graves, which they repeat Twelve times together. And if on Easter morning, or within three days after a ‡ Ryc. Present State of the Gr. Ch. p. 140. Greek meets any of his acquaintance, he salutes him with these comfortable words, Christ is risen; to which the other answers, He is risen indeed; and then they kiss three times, once on the Mouth, and once on each Cheek, and so departed; which custom is also observed among * Olear. l. 2. p. 53. the Muscovites; and no person, of whatever sex, condition, or quality soever he be, dares refuse this Ceremony. At ‖ Sozom. li. 7. c. 19 p. 734. Rome the Hallelujah was anciently never sung but on Easter-day (it being a usual Asseveration among the Romans, So may I live to hear, and sing the Hallelujah at Easter (and on this day at * Id. p. 735. Constantinople the Patriarches read the Gospel: in which Church probably ‡ Chrys. to. 5. p. 587. the Hundred and sixth Psalm (as we reckon it) was a part of the Service, as in our own Church the Paschal Homily of Abbot Aelfrick was by a Synod commanded to be read to the people before the celebration of the Holy Communion. To all which Observations we may subjoin St. Austin's Mystical Remark, That the Fathers ordained that Easter should not be kept till the Lord's day after the Full-moon, because the Moon is then returned to her conjunction with the Sun; to intimate to us, that Man, who was in a state of opposition and enmity to God before Christ's Passion, is by his Resurrection put into a state of favour, and a capacity to return, and to be reconciled to his maker. And God grant that his whole Church may be reconciled to their Saviour, and to each other, that they may duly keep the Feast, and live in love and unity here, till they all triumph together in Heaven, Amen. The Epistle. Philip. 3.8. YEA doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness which is of the Law, but that which is through the Faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by Faith: that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. The Gospel. Luke 24.13. BEhold, two of them went the same day to a Village called Emmaus; and while they communed together, Jesus drew near, and went with them, but their eyes were holden that they should not know him: and he said unto them, What manner of communications are these which ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? They said unto him, concerning Jesus of Nazareth, whom the chief Priests and our Rulers have delivered to be condemned to death, and have crucified. Then said Jesus unto them, Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses, and at the Prophets, he expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. And he was known to them in breaking of bread. The MEDITATION. AMong all our Blessed Saviour's unhappinesses, the incapacities of his Disciples understandings was not the least; by reason of which, though their Master was the Wisdom of the Father, and endowed with the Holy-Ghost without measure, which enabled him to speak, not only with the greatest authority, but with the greatest veracity and plainness; yet they were always unwilling to give entire credit to his say. Some of them they could not understand, and others they would not believe. So, when he discoursed of the great mystery of the Sacrament, and averred, that no Man could have life in him, except he did eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood; many of his followers apprehended that he would oblige them to turn Cannibals, and so went back, and walked no more with him. Among whom St. Mark himself, say the Ancients, was disgusted, and left that holy Society: and had not St. Peter opportunely reclaimed him, the Church had lost that Evangelist. Nor was St. Peter himself free from this crime; for when our blessed Saviour gave the Twelve an account of his sufferings, and that the redemption of the World was to be accomplished by his Crucifixion, he, whose mind was possessed with other notions of the Kingdom of the Messiah, was scandalised at the declaration, and rebuked his Lord, not knowing that our Saviour's Cross was to be his Throne, and by his Agonies only he was to merit Crowns and earn Triumphs. Nor could all that their infallible Guide could say to inform them better, drive out this notion out of the heads of the rest of the Apostles, no not when they see him crucified, dead and buried, and could not but remember that he promised to rise again the Third day. The Women, more officious than wise, had brought Spices to embalm him, as if the Lamb of God had fallen like a common Sacrifice, as if the Lord of Hosts had been captivated by the Grave, his Powers baffled, and his Promises cancelled And though the empty Sepulchre, the sight of the Grave-cloaths orderly laid up, and the testimony of the Angel were undeniable proofs, that Jesus was not there, but was risen; yet their admiration was stronger than their Faith, and the Disciples of both sexes were surprised, they hardly believed their eyes (for as yet, they knew not the Scriptures, that he must rise from the dead) and wondered at all that was come to pass. In the head of those devout female proselytes was Mary Magdalene, who, though once an Angel of darkness, had now the purity and zeal of one of the Seraphim; she was all ardour and resolution, she was the first who went to the Sepulchre on the day of the Resurrection; she was earlier up than the beloved Disciple, who lay in his Master's bosom, and for that reason should have afforded his Master a place in his own heart, in his memory, and in his love; and she had more courage than Peter, though a man of extraordinary fervour; she dreaded not the guards, nor the shadows of the night that had not yet given place to day, but hastens her steps to the venerable Tomb; and when she beheld the empty Sepulchre, how deep is her concern at the loss of her Saviour? She wept bitterly, as if she would have softened the Rock, and made the most insensible and obdurate parts of the Creation mourn with her the death of her best Friend. And though these were sad disappointments, and the sight had affrighted all that followed her, yet there she still continues, she was the last who returned from that awful Garden; nor did she at length miss of her expectations, for they who sow in tears, shall reap in joy. The Angels first confirm her hopes, and immediately after, the Lord of the Angels gave her a view of his sacred Person. Remember, O my Soul, the first appearance of our Saviour after his Resurrection was to the most sinful Magdalene; nor do thou despair, but that thou mayst also be admitted to a share in his favour; but remember also, that this honour was vouchsafed to the penitent Magdalene, to Magdalene transported with the ardours of Divine Love, that had destroyed all the heats of Lust. If thou longest therefore to be blest with such privileges, rise early, and begin betime to serve thy Maker; weep over thy follies that have deprived thee of the company of thy Saviour; and these methods will recall thy departed Redeemer; and thy sins, which are many, shall be forgiven, because thou hast loved much. To Marry Magdalene, among the softer Sex, was the first appearance vouchsafed; and among the men the next was to St. Peter; the first, a Woman of the losest manners, and most profligate conversation; the second, a Man of strong boastings, and a weak faith, who, when he promised to die with his Master, denied him; thus the worst of sinners had the preference in this discovery; and why should I doubt, but that there is mercy also for me, and my Saviour hath the same compassion for my Soul as he had for Mary Magdalen's or St. Peter's. Magdalene was our Saviour's first Apostle after his Resurrection, she had a commission to instruct St. Peter himself, and the beloved Virgin too, and to tell them their Lord had left the shadows of the Grave, and would meet that disconsolate Family of his on one of the Mountains of Galilee: And though she faithfully discharged that Embassy, yet such is the power of prejudice, that they knew not how to believe her. They were amused at what they saw and heard, but they did not understand the mystery; the wonderful transactions of that day took up all their thoughts, and, wherever they went, this part of the sacred History was the subject of their discourses. Two of the followers of Jesus, probably two of the seventy Disciples, of which one was Cleophas (who perhaps was the same with Alpheus) and the other is conjectured to be either Simeon his son, or Nathanael, or St. Luke himself, or some other of our Lord's Disciples, being unhappily defeated of their expectations of worldly pomp, and overwhelmed with sorrow for the ignominious death of their Lord, and full of fears, lest the power of the Sanhedrim, that had crucified their Master, might also extirpate his whole family (for by this time the Soldiers having revealed the miracle, had been bribed by the High-Priests to say, that his Disciples came by night and stole him away while they slept) resolved to divert their griefs, and secure their persons by a short journey to Emmaus, whence, probably having given up all their hopes of ever seeing the Messiah again, they resolved to retire into Galilee (if Emmaus were not the birthplace of Cleophas, as is affirmed) for they trusted, that he had been the Redeemer of Israel, and that under him, they, who were his kindred according to the flesh, should have met with places of honour, trust and profit, and under the shadow of such a Prince grown great and glorious; all which hopes vanishing, they resolved to retire to their old abodes and employment. And yet they had not so put off their respects and affection to their heavenly Instructor, but that they entertain themselves with his History, their resentments of his sufferings being quick and passionate; the death of Jesus was the discourse of Jerusalem; for such a Prophet so mighty in word and deed could not fall silently and in the dark; but his widowed Family talked of it feelingly; and every circumstance of his shame, and of his tortures, pierced the heart of the Relator, and filled it full of grief and astonishment before it reached the ears, and moved the pity of the Auditors. Nor does Piety ever want its reward; he who meditates or discourses of heavenly things, is seldom without an Angel to be his assistant and companion; but here the Prince of the Angels condescends to be a fellow traveller and instructor. And now the good men may cease their dispute, there is no longer any need of arguing whether the Redeemer be risen or not, when himself demonstrates the necessity, both of his sufferings and his triumphs, out of the unerring Oracles; when both Moses, and all the other Prophets testify, that the Son of Man ought to have suffered these things, and then to enter into his glory. And canst thou doubt, O my Soul, of the truth of any of the sublimer mysteries of Religion, when thy Saviour reveals them? How easily may my shallow reason be imposed upon? but the Wisdom of God can neither deceive, nor be deceived. Cheering and Comfortable were those discourses to Cleophas and his companion; and as pleasant and acceptable, as the Perfume that is made by the art of the Apothecary; they were sweet as Honey in the mouth, and as Music at a banquet of Wine. The conversation was so charming and advantageous, that it lessened the way, and brought them easily to the Gates of Emmaus. And when Jesus made show, as if he would have gone farther, they, knowing themselves to be obliged in gratitude to treat him who had so plentifully fed their minds with heavenly dainties, constrain him by their civilities to tarry with them; and as Abraham's hospitality gave him an opportunity of entertaining the Son of God and his Angels, so the friendly invitation of the two Disciples, was the occasion of their being longer blest with their Saviour's company. With them he sat at Table, and when he had taken Bread and blest it, when he had broken and distributed it to them, than their eyes were opened, than they knew the Lord of Life. Perhaps this blessing and breaking of Bread did only relate to the common meal which they were then making; and yet it no way interferes with the Laws of Religion (nor does it indeed maintain the Sacrilege of the half-communion) if it be understood of the blessed Eucharist, which is a lively representation of the Crucifixion; and most likely it is, that, this being one of the great mysteries of Christianity, his Disciples easily distinguished him from other men by the use of this Rite. And where can I expect to meet my Saviour with comfort, but at his Table? That Sacrament gives light and grace, that Sacrament will better my knowledge, and strengthen my faith, and secure my hopes. I will therefore covet all opportunities of conversing with my Saviour at his own Table. 'Twas the highest honour that could be given to St. John on earth, to lie in his Saviour's bosom (the most valued and best beloved person in the company, being allowed a place next to the Master of the Feast) and the privileges of Heaven are described by a place in Abraham's bosom: But is it not a greater honour, when Christ shall descend to lie in my bosom, to enter into my mouth, and to become the food of my soul? This was such ravishing and unexpected news, that (though Jesus presently on this manifestation of himself disappeared out of their sight, miraculously withdrawing himself from the Table) they immediately returned to Jerusalem to communicate this news to their sorrowful brethren; and there they met with new confirmations, for Peter had also seen his Lord; and while they were thus discoursing of this miraculous return from the Grave, lo, their Master conveys himself unseen into the Room, and standing in the midst of them, by his seasonable consolations, scatters the clouds that eclipsed their joys, raised their dejected spirits, invigorates them with new courage, promises them his own presence for forty days, and after his Ascension, the continual presence and assistances of the blessed Spirit: For all these were the Largesses which the Conqueror bestowed on his followers; these were the products of his Resurrection. How ignorant were the Apostles before this time, of the Person and Kingdom of the Messiah, and the other mysteries of Religion? But when Jesus visited them in his return from the gloomy shades, how were they filled with all wisdom, and knowledge, and joy in the Holy-Ghost? Wisdom, not only to understand the state of Christianity but to confront the Philosophers at Rome and Athens, to baffle the Scribes and Pharisees at Jerusalem, and to convert the whole World from sin and wickedness, to be Proselytes to the Laws of Christ. Before their Master's Crucifixion, how dastardly and low-spirited were even the very Apostles, though they lived, and daily conversed with him? their courages were impaired by their sears, they betrayed, deserted, and denied him; but his Resurrection did beget in the mind of the Christian World a true generosity and fortitude, able to subdue and trample on all dangers, in as much as men of no breeding, no natural valour, of no interests, or friends, durst prefer the confession of their Saviour and his Gospel to their Country and Relations, to their quiet and security, and to life itself, and passionately to choose scourges and prisons, and the various methods of death, before all sorts of voluptuous enjoyments. But what is more and more acceptable than all knowledge, and all power; the Resurrection of Christ gave the Holy-Ghost to the World; for the blessed Spirit could not be given till Christ was risen. Thus this one act of the Almighty Redeemer of mankind baffled all the fears of his servants, completed the satisfaction for their sins, & secured unto them the company of the Spirit of Truth & Peace here, till they should be carried into his Kingdom on the wings of Angels. And what greater blessings canst thou wish than these, O my soul? Give the riches and the honours of this life, O my dearest Saviour, to others, I will never envy their fruitions, so thou give me thyself; let me partake of the benefits of thy Resurrection in the pardon of my sins, in the indwelling of the Comforter in my mind, and in the first fruits of obedience, in frequent approaches to thy Table, and other acts of devout converse with thee, and (leaving the manner of my death to thy disposal, for on these terms in what sort, or at what time soever it shall be, I shall not be disturbed) I shall be happy in the remembrance, that when my Master comes, and finds me so doing, he will give me a share in his joys. The Collect. ALmighty God, who through thine only begotten Son Jesus Christ hast overcome Death, and apened unto us the gate of everlasting Life; we humbly beseech thee, that as by thy special grace preventing us, thou dost put into our minds good desires; so by thy continual help, we may bring the same to good effect through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, and the Holy-Ghost, ever one God, world without end, Amen. The Anthem. The Resurrection, and Aseension. I. COme, holy Spirit, from above; Come, warm me with Seraphic love, That I may the triumphant Jesus sing, Whose resurrection heaven to earth did bring, And put thee longed-for peaceful Dove upon the wing. II. Jesus is risen, mount, my mind, And leave this sordid earth behind. God made thy body dust, but Sin a grave; Let thy Soul too its Resurrection have; No longer be thy Lusts, the Worlds, or Satan's slave. III. Attend the Conqueror to his Throne, Who from the lower world is flown; Make, though the meanest, one in that parade; The bleeding Jesus did my heart in vade, And none can heal the wound, but he whose hand it made. iv View yonder Arch inscribed above, Sacred to Celestial Love, There the incomparable Jesus dwells, jesus, who charms thee by the strongest spells, Love him with transports, O my passions, and none else. V See the bright Angels, how they glide Up and down by's Chariot's side; See, where ten thousand hover, and attend, To guard the Conqueror to his journey's end, Whose Chariot does directly to God's right hand bend. VI There Jesus fixes, and from thence Sheds his benignest influence; And, like triumphant Victors, does bestow His donatives on us who dwell below, That we in time our Triumphs may accomplish too. VII. You Angels, you who dwell above, Spend all your time in songs and love, While I who sadly want your light and fire, Detained in sensual fetters, would mount higher, And wish to do what I can only now admire. VIII. You Guardians are by Heaven designed To awe and to protect Mankind; When Jesus risen, you did the news relate; When he ascended, you did on him wait: That I might triumph so, give me my Saviour's Fate. Rules of Conduct for Easter-Day, and the Sacrament. §. 1. It is taken for granted, that the devout Person hath humbled himself in the sight of God for his sins, the Week aforegoing, more particularly on Good-Friday and the Holy Saturday; and it is requisite he should watch a great part of (if not all) the Saturday night, which time should be spent in more intense Supplications, and more ardent Meditations; the Vigils of the Ancient Church were an excellent Institution, and Watching and Prayer are joined by our Saviour; and we are bid to be sober, and to watch unto Prayer by the Apostles; that is, to fast, to watch, and to pray; it is true, the Vigils at last gave offence, and were for that reason almost all prohibited, because such promiscuous meetings of men and women under the covert of the night, did administer to many Exorbitances: But the Vigils of Easter, and the greater Festivals, were always kept up, and are so still in the Churches of the East; and though our Church doth not expressly enjoin the observation, yet it mentions them in her Rubrics, and leaves every man to his own liberty to watch in his Closet, where there can be no such temptation as gave occasion to the disuse of that practice. And whenever the Christian Penitent goes to bed, it is requisite to rise very early on Easter day, because our Blessed Master risen ‖ Joh. 20.1. while it was yet dark. §. 2. After the private devotions are performed, and the necessary duties of the Family (if any) considered and attended, the good man goes to Church; nor will he choose to receive any other where, but at his own Parish Church, if there be a Sacrament there, which on this Festival is expressly enjoined to be celebrated over all Christendom. * Can. 6. The Council of Gangra denounced a solemn Anathema against the Erecters of private Conventicles, that those who disliked the public Assemblies, might communicate at home in private: And by the old † Ludou. 1. tit: 101. Lothar. l. 1. tit. 357, etc. Capitulars every Priest was ordered to be degraded, every Layman to be excommunicate, who lest his own Parish to receive the Blessed Eucharist in another, unless extraordinary business, or a Journey, called them that way, or they had a dispensation so to do from their Superiors. §. 3. But if the devout Person be hindered by sickness, or some other inevitable obstruction, he bears the loss with Patience, but looks on it as a great affliction, and longs to go up to the House of the Lord, and to communicate with his Saints; and that he may not lose all the benefit of the solemnity, his thoughts are present, and go along with the Service; and he begs God earnestly to accept of his willing mind, and to send him his Blessing, and his Holy Spirit, as much as if he actually communicated: Thus the * Buxtorf. Synag. Jud. c. 13. Jew who could not possibly go up to Jerusalem at the Passover, had the allowance to kill a Lamb at Home, and to call upon the Name of the Lord; praising him for the deliverance out of Egypt. §. 4. But if by any means he can go to Church, he chooses to be there some time before the Holy Offices begin, that he may the better compose himself, recollect his Thoughts, and review his Vows; for he who wilfully slips the opportunity of being at the beginning of the Prayers, is in the way to lose all the advantages of his coming thither; for he who does not confess hearty, cannot communicate worthily. Early therefore the good man goes to Church, and he takes care to come fasting, that nothing may enter into his mouth before the Body of God; for for this cause the Ancients transferred their Love-feasts from being eaten before the Sacrament, to be eaten after it, not only to prevent excess, but to do Honour to this Heavenly Food, by preferring it to all our temporal necessaries: And yet the good man is not so scrupulous to believe, that if, while he washes his mouth, a drop of water casually trickle down his Throat, that that breaks his Fast, and disables him to communicate that day. §. 5. The spare time before the service gins, is spent in holy reflections, and renewed vows of obedience, such as these: In the name of Jesus who loved me, and was crucified for me, I renounce myself, and all my own desires, that I may love my Saviour, and do him service: May his Cross and Passiion save me, may his Grace keep and direct me in the paths of Peace, world without end. Be glad and rejoice, O my soul, and give Honour to the Lord God Omnipotent, for the Marriage of the Lamb is come; Blessed are all they who are called to the Marriage-Supper of the Lamb: These are the true say of God. Nothing in this world can be comparable to it, nothing but the vision of God above it. To which is subjoined this Meditation. § 6 I am come into the Temple of God to receive his Injunctions, and to partake of his Blessings; I entertain the tidings with Joy and the Exultations of a glad heart: this is the day which the Lord hath made, I will tejoice and be glad in it: this is the Lords day, and this his Habitation, where it pleaseth him to dwell: O how amiable are thy dwellings, O thou Lord of Hosts? Here the Angels wait and worship, and if they veil their faces, being ravished at the Transporting and Majestic Sight, how cold and negligent am I in my preparations to entertain the lover of Souls, my comforter in this world, and my bliss in that which is to come; the guide of those who travel to Zion, and the reward of whoever attains to the Heavenly country? Had I the Meekness of Moses, and the Patience of Job, the Zeal of Elijah, and the Purities of the Man after Gods own heart, yet were I not meet to approach Gods Holy Table. Can the Seraphim transfer to me their ardours, or the bright Angels cloth me with their innocency, yet it would be infinite Condescension in my God to admit me. Lord! What then shall I do? If I come, I am afraid of presumption; but if I refuse to come, I slight thy invitation, I contemn thy Ordinances, and affront thy Goodness; I break thy Commandments, and throw off my subjection. I will therefore come, though I bring not with me the entire preparation which the Sanctuary requires; for he who despiseth thy Table, is as guilty in thy sight, as he who eats and drinks unworthily. Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof, and yet thou biddest thyself to be my Guest, and intreatest to be admitted into my Bosom: the greatest Prince condescends to visit his meanest subject, and the Holiest God to dwell with the most sinful Wretch. Lord, I have sinned, and done exceeding wickedly: And can my God look savourably on such an abominable Transgressor as I am? Can thy Mercy incline thee to take the children's Bread, and to give it to such a Dog? I acknowledge I am an Intruder, but Marry Magdalene, whom thou lovedst, and to whom thou forgavest much, when she made her first Addresses to thee, O Blessed Jesus, came unbidden to the house of a supercilious Pharisee; when the Meat was on the Table, and without taking notice of any body else, laid hold of thee whom she earnestly sought, at thy feet she throws herself, and washes them with her penitential Tears; she was ashamed of her sins, but not of her approaches to her Saviour; and so am I: Oh! how am I grieved that I am yet so far from the power of Godliness, so entangled with the love of vanity, so fond of the world, and so negligent of Heaven; so prodigal of my time, and such a niggard of my Charity; so vain in my imagination, so inconsiderate in my discourses, so indevotional in the most solemn acts of Religion, but so intent to things of no moment; so concerned about my daily Bread, but so careless of getting the Bread of Angels; so inclinable to be angry with others while I want that indignation that becomes me against my own transgressions. May the good Lord be merciful to me, and to every one who prepareth his heart to seek the Lord God, the God of our Fathers, although he be not cleansed according to the Purification of the Sanctuary. § 7. After this, it is taken for granted, that the good Man who is God's Minister, and the People's Priest, is come to Church, and hath begun the Divine Service, at which the devout Christian earnestly attends, praying with all fervency, o Receiving the Absolution with all Contrition and Humility. praising God with all heartiness; repeating the Creed with his utmost vigour, because it is a confirmation of the truth of his profession; and though he takes all occasions when there is any pause, as frequently there is in the Celebration of the Eucharist, to put up his own private Prayers to God, yet he never dares suffer them to interfere with the public worship; for ¶ 1 Cor. 14.26. when the Apostle reproves the men of Corinth, that at their solemn Meetings, every man had his Psalm, and every one his Doctrine, i.e. one was preaching while another was praying, and a third singing, and tells them that this could not edify; he looks upon that reproof as a lesson of advice and duty to the whole Church, and a general Rule of demeanour in the House of God. §. 8. When the devout Christian observes the Holy Man of God (for such is every Priest, or such he ought to be) standing at the Altar, he looks on him with Reverence, because he ministers in Holy Things, and represents Jesus consecrating at the first Institution. And for him thus he prays. Lord let thy Priests be clothed with righteousness, and let thy Saints sing with joyfulness. Hosannah 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 Cherubin 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. When the good man comes up, and knelt 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 though 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 danced 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 join 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. While 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 Jesus, 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 entire 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 myself 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, though I am unacquainted with the particular manner how they are derived to me. Thou hast convinced 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 leisure 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 washed 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. Enable 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 endowed 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 much devotion, and an audible voice, he hearty 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, etc. 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 dwelled 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 ardours, 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 concerned how his Body be provided for, so the long 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 satisfy 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 Sacrilege, be put to any profane use. For how shall he dare to defile that which God hath sanctified? For if Belshazzar were punished 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. rendering 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 choosest, and receivest unto thyself; 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 itself. 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, etc. §. 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 myself to thee, and I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep what I have committed to him against that day. Writ 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 confirmed 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 departed 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, though 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, remembering that a thinking Heathen never came in sight of an Altar, though but occasionally, but he tendered 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 accomplished 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 proceed 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 thanksgivings 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 entire oblation of myself 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 myself 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 promised 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 recompenses, 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 join 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 knowledge of his Glory, for his Name alone is excellent, and his Glory above Heaven and Earth, Amen. Amen. Glory be to the Father, etc. 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 blessed 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 die 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 entire 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 said 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 cherished and fed with the most Precious Body and Blood of my Saviour, to offer him the thanks which I can pay, though neither what he deserves, nor what I ought, since he hath vouchsafed me the honour to partake of his holy Mysteries. Grant, holy Jesus, 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, enlighten 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; sanctify 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 dispersed over the face of the whole earth; and let my Petitions be available in thy sight for all mankind, especially for the household of faith, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. May the Blessing of God Almighty, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, be with me, and remain with me now and for evermore, Amen. §. 28. And because the blessings of an Easter are very valuable, and deserve extraordinary returns, the good Christian thinks fit, after the Evening Service at Church is over, to return again to his Closet, to converse with his holy Saviour, and to exercise those acts of Love, of Faith, of Contrition, and Hope, and other Graces, which for want of leisure, or other conveniences, could not so well be performed in the House of God; to which he subjoins this or the like Meditation. The MEDITATION. §. 30. I Am now returned from that happy place that is preferable to Paradise, where I have been treated with a Feast of fat Things, and Wine well refined; and what does my Lord require of me in point of Gratitude for these his inestimable benefits, but to do Justice, to love Mercy, and to walk humbly with my God? For every thing in this Sacrament obliges me to holiness of Life, the Institutor of it was the undefiled High Priest of our Profession, who did bear all sins, but committed none; the end of its Celebration is to show forth his Death, which when we receive unworthily, we act over again, we new crucify the Lord of Life, who hath bought us, and bring on ourselves the most horrid and affrighting guilt that we can incur; the preparation is nothing less than a strict examination of our Consciences, than strong Prayers and Cries, ardent resolutions of being better, and a constant course of pious and charitable Actions. This Sacrament actually enters us into Covenant with God, and what agreement can there be between Light and Darkness? It is an Emblem of our holy Profession, which calls us to an exemplary Conversation; it is a bond of Christian Communion, and obliges to Charity; 'tis a representation of our Saviour's Crucifixion, and so calls to the practice of Patience, Forgiveness, and Holy Resolution; and it is a solemn Sacrifice of Praise, and so obliges to practical Gratitude. How wide are thy Wounds, O my dying Saviour, and how sorrowful thy Countenance? Oh thy bitter Agony! Oh thy shameful Cross! And all occasioned by my sins; and shall I continue in the same Transgressions out of despite to my Saviour? Lord, let me never be in any capacity to do so any more; for how shall I dare to eat with thee, and to lift up my heel against thee? In this Sacrament I renew the Vow which I made in my Baptism, and have so often shamefully broken, and thereby forfeited the blessings which were promised me upon the performance of my duty. Now this Covenant, as on Gods part it entitles me to his Protection, and his love, to the Merits of his Son, and the indwelling of his Holy Spirit; so on my part it engages me to accept of that Son of his in all his Offices, obliging me to receive him as my Sovereign, and to obey his Commands, and to depend upon him; to receive him as my High Priest, and to believe that his Sacrifice of himself, if I repent and amend, shall cleanse me from all sin, but if I continue in my disobedience, shall avail me nothing; and to give myself up to his Instruction as a Prophet, learning from him all the particulars of the Divine Will, that are necessary to make me wise to Salvation, and perfect unto every good Work. But how often have I broken that Covenant, rebelled against this my Sovereign, made myself unworthy of the blessing of this my High Priest, and cast all his Laws behind my back? Before my Repentance, my bosom was a Den of Thiefs, and a Cage of unclean Birds; but now it is cleansed, and I am become a new Creature; now know I that I am the Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in me; but if any man defile the Temple of God, him shall God destroy, for the Temple of God is holy, which Temple I am. There is a particular Veneration paid to the places where Princes usually entertain themselves; and every House where any of the Blood-Royal of Persia is born, is afterward converted to a Sanctuary; and wherever any of their Princes lodges in a Journey, the place is reputed for the future, sacred; and ought not the place where my God takes up his Habitation, to be for the same reason separate from profane and common uses? And if some of the School-Doctors who assert Transubstantiation, tell us, that as soon as the consecrated Host grows mouldy, the Body of God retires from it, and it is again changed into its old substance of bread: can I think that God will pitch his Tents in a polluted Soul infected with the Leprosy of Vice? I do therefore resolve, and it shall from henceforward be the employment of my time and my strength so to live in thy fear, and to thy service, that I may die in thy favour, and rest in thy Peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. §. 31. At the end of this Meditation, this Collect is fitly subjoined. BLessed and most bountiful Saviour, as thou hast honoured me, and made me happy this day, so vouchsafe me the same measures of Grace, the same ardours of Mind, and the same holy opportunities all the days of my Life; fix my thoughts upon the things of Heaven; strengthen and inflame my love to my dying Saviour, increase and support my Faith, confirm and secure my Hopes, and give me frequent occasions to exercise all the other Virtues of my Christian Calling; and as thou hast filled my soul with the most ravishing and transporting pleasures, so make me for ever careful that I neither quench thy Blessed Spirit, nor stifle its Motions, but that I may improve all the seasons of Mercy, and all the tendries of Grace to the best ends and purposes, to the advancement of thy Glory and my own Salvation, through thy Merits and Mediation, who with the Father and the Holy Ghost, livest and reignest ever one God, world without end, Amen. §. 32. After this the devout man is all Rapture, and all Joy, and cannot forbear praising God afresh for all his spiritual blessings in Heavenly Places, in this or the like Hymn. O God, my heart is ready, my heart is ready, I will sing, and give praise with the best Member that I have. I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the people, and I will sing praises unto thee among the Nations. For thy mercy is greater than the Heavens, and thy truth reacheth unto the Clouds. Through God shall we do great acts, and it is he that shall tread down our enemies. Truly God is loving unto Israel, even unto such as are of a clean heart. Oh how amiable are thy dwellings, thou Lord of Hosts! my soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the Courts of the Lord, my heart and my flesh rejoice in the Living God. Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee, in whose heart are thy ways. Blessed are they who dwell in thy House, they will always be praising thee. Glory be to the Father, etc. To which he subjoins this Act of Love to ‛ Jesus. I love and admire thee, my dearest Jesus, I honour and adore thee above all things: the most glorious and useful things in nature are contemptible in comparison of thee: to know thee is beyond all notion, and to love thee better than triumphs. I am poor without thee, comfortless and forlorn, but Heaven itself, didst not thou reside there, would lose its amiableness. Oh the dearest name of my adorable Saviour, how sweet is it beyond the taste of delicacies to my , how pleasant beyond the Harmony of Angels to my ears: how doth the sound of those syllables refresh and cheer my drooping soul? And when Satan urges to me the remembrance of my sins, how do I affront and baffle all his attempts by the powerful Name of Jesus? I can tender thee nothing, O my most obliging and benign Saviour, as a recompense of the infinite and miraculous testimonies of thy Compassion, but a few impotent vows, and verbal acknowledgements; my whole stock of services, were my powers as great, and my life as long as that of Angels, would never repay one half of the debt which I own thee: but if love and adoration will make thee satisfaction, I will love and adore thee for ever: I will religiously preserve thee in my memory, where nothing shall efface the characters: From this day I renounce all other loves, and turn Apostate from the world, to be a Convert to Jesus: Oh that I had no necessities of nature to gratify, no distractions of the World to divert me, that I might always celebrate, and always love my Jesus. How much time should I redeem from impertinencies, and consecrate to Religion, and the service of my Redeemer: and what a Heaven upon Earth would this be! I am content to be poor, and a Pilgrim, to be despised and persecuted, so I may enjoy thee, for where thou art, there is Heaven; and where thou art not, there is Hell: and Death and Destruction seize that man whom thou desertest. Lord, keep me firm to these resolutions, that I may live with thee, and love thee for ever. Amen. §. 33. This Act of Love is also accompanied with the following Act of Resignation. So amiable is the fairest of Ten Thousand, and so beneficial are his injunctions, that I should baffle my interests as well as my Reason and my Conscience, should not I devote myself to his service; from this day forward, therefore, I make Jesus my Master, his Majesty will I reverence, and his sanctions obey, and into his hands do I resign my own will, the faculty and powers, the acts and exercise of it. What my dearest Master loves shall be my delight, and I will detest what his soul abhors, and he alone shall be my guide, who is my best friend: my Redeemer came from Heaven to show mankind the way thither, and thither after a short stay on earth he returned, that he might open that Kingdom to all Believers: I can never wander when he conducts me; I can never hunger when I am treated with the Bread of Life, nor thirst while the Fountain of Salvation is near me, nor be naked while his Righteousness clothes me: how shall I doubt, who am instructed by unerring Wisdom, or fear, who am protected by Omnipotency? I will therefore live and die in the service of Jesus, that I may experiment the satisfactions and comfort of a good Conscience here, and of a Crown of Glory in Heaven. Amen. The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God, and the Communion of the Holy Ghost; be with me, and with all the Servants of God, now and for evermore, Amen. Amen. FINIS.