but make me know withal, in what manner thou must be approached, to render that, which is defirable in it felf, fafe and profitable to me in particular. Give me, I beseech thee, a due Sense of the Greatness of the Mystery, and the Excellence of thy Mercy in it; and, confequent to that, fill my Soul with pure and holy Affections, with earneft Longings, with Godly Sorrow, with fincere and ftedfast Resolutions, with profound Reverence and ardant Devotion; that my Heart may be a clean, though homely Receptacle for my Saviour, fuch as he will not disdain; and I fo well-difposed a Guest at this Divine Feaft, this Spiritual Sacrifice, that thou may'st bid me welcome to thy Table, and the Food I receive there may nourish me up to Health and Life Eternal. Amen. 2 Cbrift.] A CHA P. VII. Of Self-Examination. Bove all keepings, keep thy Heart; and, whether Prieft or Private Chriftian, take good heed, that, at thy coming to my holy Table, thy Devotion confift not in outward Gesture, and Pomp and Shew only. I am not to be impofed upon with 'fuch empty Formalities, but require an upright, humble, and devout Mind'; a Mind low and proftrate as thy Body, a stedfaft Faith and pure Intention, and unfeigned Zeal for God's Honour. Therefore, before thou prefume to approach, examine well, how thou art qualified. Search every Corner of thy Confcience, and do thy utmost to purge and caft out all Remains of the old Leaven. Let no Sin unrepented of reproach thee; no Luft unmortified divide thy Affections, and hinder thy free and entire Refignation to my Will. Con Conceive a juft Hatred and Indignation against all thy Sins in general; and for thofe, which are either too grofs to be overlooked, or too habitual to be forgotten, express a particular and proportionable Refent ment of Sorrow and Shame. And, if thou have time and leifure, look well into the Irregularities of all thy Paffions, and, in thy private Retirements, make a full Confeffion of them, between God and thy own Soul. Recollect and bewail the unhappy Prevalence of worldly and carnal Affections; every exorbitant Defire, every ungoverned Paffion. Obferve, how the Motions of evil Concupifcence abound and domineer ; how unguarded thou art in thy outward Behaviour, and the general Courfe of thy Converfation; how eafily thou art feduced by Vanity; how vehemently difpofed to the Gratifications of Appetite and Senfe; how careless and ftupid in the weightier Concerns of thy Soul; how apt to let thyfelf loofe to Laughter and extravagant Mirth, and how exceeding loth to mourn for thy Sins with a true, faving, and neceffary Contrition; how eagerly thou purfueft the Pleasures and Advantages of the Body, and how heavy and flothful thou art in the Exercises of Mortification and godly Zeal; how mighty curious and inquifitive after News and Trifles, and greedy to be entertained with every Pomp and Beauty that can please thy fight; bur how negligent and backward, how full of Difregard and Difdain, to things of lefs gay Appearance, but of true inward Worth, and mighty Confequence to thy better State; how greedy of Gain; how fparing in thy Alms; how tenacious of this World's Goods 3 How inconfiderate in thy Difcourfe, how childish and trifling, how wicked or obfcene; how lavish and fuse; and what a Torment it is to fet a Guard before thy Mouth, and keep the Door of thy Lips; how affected or extravagant in thy Behavi our, how eager in thy Actions, how inordinate in pro Pfal. cxli thy Book IV thy Appetites; but how flow and deaf to the Word of God; how negligent in hearing, and how inflexible to be perfuaded by what thou haft heard; how prone to Reft and Eafe, and how averfe to Labour and neceffary Care; how wakeful and attentive at Plays, or Balls, and how drowsy and lifeless in Prayer and holy Duties; how impatient till they are done; and how full of wandering and impertinent Thoughts, while they are in doing; how eafily diverted from thy stated Hours of Devotion; how lukewarm in receiving the bleffed Sacrament, how unfixed in thy Mind at the very time of Communicating, and how barren and unprofitable afterwards; how foon provoked to Anger upon every flight Mifcarriage, and yet how apt to give Offence to others; How prone to judge, and feverely cenfure thy Brethren: How ftiff and pofitive in those Judgments and hard Conftructions: How infolent and immoderately exalted with good Fortune, and how feeble and dejected under every Cross or Difappointment: How full of good Intentions, and how few of those Intentions have any good Effect. come. Thefe, and many other 'Defects, of which each Man's own Confcience can beft inform him, it is thy Duty to enquire into very nicely; to bewail ferioufly, to confefs with the profoundest Humility, and with firm Purpose of Amendment for the time to When this is done, then, without any fecret Referve to thy own Inclinations, refign thy felf up entirely to God, to be governed by him, and offer to the Glory of his Name, thy Soul and Body, a boly, living and reafonable Sacrifice. Thus fhalt thou come to me worthily, and receive my mystical Body to thy infinite Advantage. For there is no other Satisfaction in Man's Power to make for his great Affronts, and manifold ProvoGations against the Majefty on High; no Oblation more acceptable than that of a broken and contrite, a pure pure and upright Heart, offered to God in this Sacrament. He defires nothing but thy felf, and he defires this, not for his own, but for thy fake. He who brings it, let him not doubt Acceptance; for God never defpifes or rejects a true Penitent, but embraces returning Prodigals, with the Tenderness of a Father; and grants them Pardon for the paft, and Grace for the future. His Word, his Oath is paffed. And he who cannot lie may fecurely be depended upon. As I live faith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the Death of a Sinner, but rather that he should be converted and live; And at what time foever the wicked Man turneth away from his Wickedness which he bath committed, and doth that which is lawful and right, be fball fave his Soul alive; Repent therefore, and turn your felves from all your Tranfgreffions, and fo Iniquity fall not be your ruin. For I will be merciful Heb. viii. to your Unrighteousness, and your Sins and Iniquities will I remember no more. CHA P. VIII. Ezek.xviii. Chrift died for Us, that we should live to Him. Chrift.] Bupon Ehold and take Example by me. I hung upon the Cross with a naked Body, and ftretch'd-out Arms, and thus offered myself to my Father for thy Sin. No part of me remained, which was not given in Atonement, to appease the Wrath of thy justly incenfed Judge. And thou in like manner muft think it thy Duty, freely and wholly to give up thy felf, a clean and holy Sacrifice. Every Power, every Affection, of Soul must be confecrated to me, in the bleffed Sacrament. What doth the Lord require of thee, but to confult thy own Intereft, and fave ·thy thyfelf, by conveying over thyfelf to Me? Whatever elfe thou dedicateft to my Service, is of no Value, no Confideration with Me; for I feek not Thine, but Thee. As all the World befides would fail of procuring thy Happiness and Satisfaction, if deprived of Me; so all thy Wealths and Gifts fet apart for my Ufe, can never be well-pleafing in my fight, unless with them thou giveft thy own felf. My whole Perfon was facrificed for thy Redemption; Either of my Natures fingle had been infufficient to propitiate for thy Sins ; My whole Body and Blood is fet upon my Table for thy Entertainment; And what can be the Meaning of all this, but that I should be entirely Thine, and Thou entirely Mine? But if thou art not fincere in this Ob lation, if it be made with any Provifo's and Exceptions; the Offering is not perfect, the Sacrifice is maimed, defective in its Parts ; and the Union, which fhould follow upon it, must be proportionably lame and imperfect. The first thing therefore to be taken care of, is the liberal and full Refignation of thy Perfon. This must recommend and fanctify all thy other Acts of Religion; and, till thou art releafed from the Bondage of divided Affections, thou canst not attain Grace and true Liberty. Hence it is, and upon no other Account, that, of so many Profeffors, and feemingly good Chriftians, fo very few ftand faft in the Liberty with which Chrift hath made them free. The Condition is fixed Luke viv. and irreversible, If a Man forfake not all that be bath, he cannot be my Difciple. therefore, if thou defire to be found in this happy Number, enter my Courts with a Free-will Offering, and confecrate every Inclination, every Faculty of thy Soul. Have no Love, no Defires, but Mine. Submit thyfelf wholly to my Holy Will and Pleasure, and study to Serve me truly in Holiness and Righteousness all the Days, in all the Actions, of thy Life. And СНАР |