The Handmaid to Private Devotion, Feast 14
THE Feast of our Lord's Circumcision: OR, New-yeares dayes Deuotion.
The ground of this Feast are
The type thereof in the old
The accōplishmēt in the new Testament.
PARALELL.
The Type.
And Abraham circumcised Isaak when he was eight daies old, as God commanded him Gen. 21. 4.
The accomplishment.
And when the eight dayes were accomplished that they shuld circumcise the child; his name was then called IESVS Luk. 2. 21.
Meditate ô deuout Christian,
1 For thine instruction vponupon the circumcision of thy Sauiour.
2 For thy comfort, applie to thy selfe the
3 For thy correctiō examine the circumcision of thy heart, and quicken thine
1 Obedience by the exhortation.
2 Thankfulnes by the hymne.
3 Zeale & deuotiō by the praier.
THE ADMONITION for New-yeeres day.
THE ANALYSIS.
wee ought to desire, striue, and pray for the circumcision of the heart
1 In respect of GOD who
Desireth it.a
Commandeth it.b
Loueth it.c
Obserueth it.d
Praiseth it.e
Rewardeth it.f
Brandeth the contrarie.g
2 In respect of man's heart which needeth it,
1 Because it is most corrupt and impure.
2 Because it is most deceitfull.
THE TEXTS.
a MY son giuegive me thy heart. God desireth the circumcisiō of the heart Commandeth it.Prou. 23. 16. vid. Ier. 4. 4.
b Circumcise the fore-skinne of your hearts. Deut. 10. 16.
O Ierusalem clense thy heart. Ier. 4. 4.
c Clense your hearts yee sinners.Loueth. Iames 4. 8.
Behold thou louest truth in the inward parts. Psal. 51. 6.
d God seeth not as man seeth, Obserueth.for man looketh vponupon the outward appearance; but God seeth the heart. 1 Sam. 16. 7.
e The circumcision is of the heart in the spirit,Praiseth. not in the letter, whose praise is not of man, but of God. Rom. 2. 29.
In whom yee are circumcised with circumcision made without hands, by putting off the sinfull body of the flesh through the circumcision of the flesh. Col. 2. 11.
Beware of the concision: For wee are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit, and reioyce in Christ Iesus and hauehave no confidence in the flesh. Philippians 3. 3.
f The good Lord be mercifull to him that prepareth his whole heart to seeke the Lord his God. Rewardeth.1 Chron. 30. 19.
He will doe good to such as be good and true of heart. Psal. 125. 4.
There is sprung vp a light for the righteous, and ioyfull gladnesse to such as bee true hearted. Psal. 99. 12.
g The eyes of the Lord behold the earth to shew himselfe strong with them that are of perfect heart towards him.Brandeth the contrary. 1 Chron. 16. 9.
Yee of vncircumcised eares and hearts, hauehave alwaies resisted &c. Acts. 7.
The peruerse in heart are an abomination to the Lord. Pro. 11. 20.
All the imaginations of mans heart are onelyonly euill continually. Gen. 6.
The heart of man is deceitfull aboue all things. Ier. 17. 9.
The Psalme for New-yeeres day.
OSing vntounto the Lord a new song; sing vntounto the Lord all the whole earth. Psal. 96. 1.
Sing vntounto the Lord and praise his name; be telling of his saluation from day to day. verse 2.
The heauent declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handy worke. Psal. 19. 1.
One day telleth another, and one night certifieth another. v. 2.
There is neither speech nor language, but their voice is heard among them. verse 3.
Their sound is gone out into all lands, and their words vntounto the end of the world. verse 4.
In them hath he set a Tabernacle for the sunne which commeth forth as a bridegroome out of his chamber, and reioyceth as a gyant to runne his course. verse 5.
He appointeth the Moone for certaine seasons; and the Sunne knoweth his going downe. Psal. 104. 19.
O Lord how manifold are thy workes? In wisedome hast thou made them all; the earth is full of thy riches. verse 24.
So is the great and wide, &c. verse 25. vsque ad ….
When thou lettest thy breath goe forth they are made; and thou shalt renew the face of the earth. verse 30.
The glorious Maiesty of the Lord shall endure for euer; the Lord shall reioyce in his workes. verse 31.
Thou crownest the earth with thy goodnesse; and thy cloudes drop fatnesse. Psal. 65. 12.
They shall drop vponupon the dwellings of the wildernesse; and the little hills shall reioyce of eueryevery side. verse 13.
The flocks also shall bee full of sheepe; the valleys also shall stand so thick with corne that they shall laugh and sing. verse 14.
The day is thine, and the night is thine: thou hast prepared the light of the sunne. Psal. 74. 17.
Thou hast set all the borders of the earth; thou hast made summer and winter. verse 18.
The Prayer for New-yeeres day.
MOst tender and compassionate Lord, now first knowne by thy name Iesu, who being the true vine which yeeldest the wine that gladdeth the heart, wast pruned this day with the sharpe knife of circumcision, and bleddest for me; hauehave pitty and compassion on mee, who with weeping eyes and a bleeding heart come vntounto thee, beseeching thee that those drops of blood which fell from thee this day may satisfie for the sinne of my birth, and the whole streame that ranne from all the parts of thy body in the Garden, and on the Crosse may expiate all my numberlesse actuall sinnes; whether they be sinnes of lighter tincture, or of a Scarlet dye: Sinnes like beames or sinnes like moates: Sinnes conceiued in the heart onelyonly, or sinnes brought forth into act: Sinnes in my beliefe, or sinnes in my life: Sinnes once committed, or often repeated: Sinnes before, or after my calling: Sinnes of impiety against thee, or sinnes of iniquity against my neighbour, or sins of impurity against mine owne flesh: for of all these I hauehave a great loade. They are more in number then the haires of my head, they are a burden too heauy for me to beare. They lie vponupon my conscience like so many Talents of lead, and would presse mee downe to hell, did not thy mercy take hold of the hand of my faith to support me in hope euen aboue hope. How should I hope if I thinke vponupon thy greatnesse? How should I not hope if I think vponupon thy goodnesse? How should I hope if I weigh my sinnes? How should I not hope, if I weigh thy merits? How should I hope, if I consider my actions? How should I not hope, if I consider thy passions? How should I hope if I number my transgressions? How should I not hope, if I number thy blessings and fauours towards mee? How should I hope if I remember how oft I hauehave refused grace after it hath bin offered to mee? How can I but hope if I remember how oft grace hath bin offered mee after I refused it? And still hope I wil, as long as thou reteinest thy name Iesu, which this day thou receiuedst when thou offeredst the first fruits of thy blood for my sin, without which thou couldest not hauehave bin my Iesus. For so fowle and festered were my soares, that nothing could heale them but a bloody knife. But why should this bloody instrument be applyed to thy purest, tenderest, immaculate flesh made all of Virgins blood? There was no superfluity to be pared off in thee; no ranke▪ blood to bee let out. The superfluous skinne was on me, yet the knife is on thee: The festered sores were in my body, yet the Launce is in thy flesh. Thou hast the paine, I the ease; thou the smart, I the cure. O wonderfull cure! O more wonderfull louelove! Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings as thou hast ordained, so maist thou iustly chalenge praise, who in thy infancy madest such an assay of my redemption, and tendered the earnest of thy blood for me. Not nine dayes old thou sheddest dropps of blood for me, farre more precious then so many drops of the richest balsamom to cure my wounds. Let all flesh praise thee who healedst it by thy wounds. Eternall thankes be giuen to thee for thy circumcision, whereby thou hast abolished circumcision it selfe, and prouided mee an easier remedy of originall sinne the sacred lauer of regeneration. Water now serueth insteede of blood, and a gentle rubbing of the flesh for cutting and wounding it. By the circumcision of thy flesh thou hast also merited for me the fulfilling of thy fathers promise and condition of his couenant to circumcise the foreskinne of our hearts. By this thy razor thou hast fitted the tables of my heart: now write thy lawes & louelove in them: By receiuing this seale of the couenant in thy flesh thou hast sealed to me thy care of mee in thy nonage. First ô Lord I am euerlastingly to praise thee for taking my flesh vp on thee; and next for leauing part of it with mee as a pledg of thy louelove, thou bearedst for me from thy mothers wombe. In thy infancy thou bleddest for me; in thy twelfth yere, thou arguedst for me, in thy youth thou obeyedst for me, and in thy ripe & perfect age thou sufferedst and dyedst for me. To thee therefore as it is my bounden duty I offer the budds of my childe-hood, the blossoms of my youth, and the fruits of my age. As thou betimes didst set to the worke of my redemption, and and on those termes acceptedst the name Iesus: so let me betimes giuegive my name to thee, and enter into thy seruice: Let mee beare thy yoke euen from my youth. Lord, who this day wert circumcised in the flesh, circumcise me in the heart, that I may in purity, sincerity, and vprightnesse of heart walke before thee all the dayes of my life. Neither circumcise my heart onelyonly but my eares, eyes, hands, heart, and feete, that no superfluity of maliciousnesse nor impurity remaine in me.
Now thou hast renewed the face of the earth, renew this day and repaire thy decaied Image in me. Thou hast begunne a new yeere, beginne in me a new reformation. Make me I beseech thee a cleane heart, and renew a right spirit within me. The yeere like the serpent hath cast off his old skinne, and put on a new; let mee also cast off my old man, and put on the new man; and from this day to my old age and death walke in newnesse of life, that I may be a fit guest to be admitted into the new heauen, where dwelleth righteousnesse, and to be entertained at thy table, and drinke new wine with thee in thy heauenly Kingdome for euermore Amen.