Worthy Communicating, Part 1 – Prayer 1
The Particulars of Duty towards God and Men, as they are briefly summ'd up in the Church-Catechism.
MY Duty toward God is, to Believe in him, i. e. to believe the Scriptures, which are his Word, taking all the Laws of Humility, Charity, &c. there recited, for his Laws; and the Promises of Pardon and Happiness to the Penitent, &c. and the Threatnings of Eternal Death to all impenitent Sinners, &c. for his Promises and Threatnings, which he will see fulfilled upon us: To Fear him, as every Man doth, who dare not do any Evil thing which he sees is offensive to him: To Love him with all my heart, &c. as those Persons do, who for his sake do every thing which he bids them: To Worship him, to give him Thanks, to put my whole Trust in him, i. e. both in his Providence, for outward Supplies, as I need them; in his Mercy, for Pardon of Sins, when I repent of them; and in his Spirit, for Grace and inward Aid, when I endeavour together with him: To Call upon him, to Honour his Holy Name and his Word, and to Serve him truly all the days of my Life.
My Duty towards my Neighbour is, to Love him as my self, or to do to all Men as I would have them do to me: To Love, Honour, and, when need is, Succour my Father and Mother: To Honour and Obey the King, and all that are put in Authority under him: To submit my self to all my Spiritual Pastors, and all my Governours: To shew Reverence to all my Betters: To bear no Malice or Hatred in my Heart: To hurt no body by Word or Deed: To be True and Just in all my Dealings: To keep my Hands from Picking and Stealing, and my Tongue from Evil-speaking, Lying, and Slandering: To keep my Body in Temperance, Soberness, and Chastity: Not to covet other Mens Goods: To be Diligent in my own Calling, and do my Duty in that Relation, State, or way of Life, unto which it has pleas'd God to call me.
A Particular Enumeration of Sins, whether against God, our Neighbour, or our selves; taken out of the Measures of Christian Obedience, which are all there explained in the Second Book.
SIns against our selves are Pride, i. e. too high a Conceit of our selves, and Contempt of others: Arrogance, i. e. Assuming too much to our selves, in setting off our own Praise: Vain-glory, i. e. Intemperate Affectation of the Praise of others: Ambition, i. e. A restless Pursuit of Honour and Great Places: Haughtiness, in contemptuous, scornful Carriage: Imperiousness, i. e. A Lordly way of Behaviour, in commanding Men no way subject to us: Worldliness, i. e. An over eager Care of Worldly things: Gluttony, Voluptuousness, Drunkenness, Revelling, Inconvinence, Lasciviousness, Filthy or Obscene Jestings, Vncleanness, Sodomy, Effeminateness, Adultery, Fornication, Inoest, Rape, Covetousness, i. e. Unsatisfiedness with our own, and an impatient Desire of more, or of what belongs to others: Refusing the Cross, i. e. Deserting a Duty to avoid it: Idleness, Sensuality, i. e. An industrious Care to gratifie our Bodily Senses: Carnality, i. e. Subjection to our Fleshly Lusts and Appetites.
Sins against God are, Atheism, Denying Providence, Blasphemy, Superstition, Idolatry, Witchcraft, Foolishness, or gross Ignorance of our Duty, Vnbelief, Hating God, Want of Zeal, Distrusting him, Not praying to him, Vnthankfulness, Discontent in our present Condition, or Repining at his Ordering, Fearlesness, or Venturing on any thing, tho' we know it will offend him; Common Swearing, Perjury, Prophaneness, Disobedience.
Sins against our Brethren at large, where are Sins of
Injustice; as, Murder, False-witness, Slander, i. e. Defaming them with False things: Lying, Vnfaithfulness, or Breach of Promise; Theft, Oppression, i. e. Wronging one who cannot cope with us in Contention: Extortion, or Depressing in Bargaining: Circumvention, or going beyond our Brethren.
Vncharitableness; as, Wickedness, i. e. A Delight in doing Mischief, and making others Work: Despising and hating them that are Good, Giving Scandal to Weak Brethren, i. e. Laying in their way an Occasion of Sin: Envy, Rejoycing in Evil, Vncharitableness in Alms, Suffering false Stains to stick upon them, when 'tis in our power to vindicate them: Evil-speaking, or Divulging any Ill we hear or know by them: Censoriousness, i. e. A proneness to Blame or Condemn them: Back-biting, Whispering, Railing, Vpbraiding them with our Kindnesses, Reproaching them with their own Faults, Mocking them for their Infirmities, Difficulty of Access, Affronting them, Vncourteousness, Vncondescention, Vnhospitableness towards Strangers, Surliness, Malignity, or putting the worst Sense on what is said or done by others: Vnquietness, Vnthankfulness, Anger, Variance, Bitterness, Clamour, Hatred and Malice; Implacableness, or Difficulty in being appeased after any Offences: Revenge, or Returning Ill for Ill: Cursing Enemies, Hastiness and Rigour in exacting Punishments.
Discord; as, Vnpeaceableness, Emulation, or Provoking one another: Pragmaticalness, or being Busie-Bodies: Talebearing, Not satisfying for Injuries, Contentiousness, Division and Faction, Heresie, Schism, Tumult.
Sins against our Brethren in Particular Relations.
Sins against Sovereign Princes; as Dishonour, Irreverence, Speaking Evil of Dignities, Refusing Tribute and Taxes, Traitorousness, Neglecting to pray for Kings, Disobedience to them, Resistance and Rebellion.
Sins against Bishops and Ministers; as, Dishonour of them, especially for their Works sake: Irreverence, Not providing for them, Sacrilege, or taking away either by Force or Fraud those Just Dues which are given to God for their Support: Not Praying for them, Disobedience.
Sins of Married Persons; as, Vnconcernedness in each others Condition, Not bearing each others Infirmities, Provoking each other, Estrangedness, Publishing each others Faults, Not praying for each other, Jealousie. Of the Husband against the Wife; as, Not maintaining her with convenient Supplies, Not protecting her from outward Annoyances, Imperiousness, or a harsh and magisterial exercise of Commands: Vncompliance with her Reasonable Desires, and Vncondescention to her Pitiable Weaknesses. Of the Wife against the Husband; as, Dishonour in inward Esteem and Opinions, Irreverence in outward Carriage, Vnobservance in not forecasting to do what may please him, Disobedience to his just Commands, Casting off his Yoke, or Unsubjection.
Sins of Parents and Children; as, Want of Natural Affection, Not praying for each other, Imprecation. Of the Parents against the Children; as, Not providing for them, Irreligious and Evil Education, Provoking them to Anger by Imperious Harshness, and needless Severity in Governing. Of the Children against the Parents; as, Dishonour in their Minds, Irreverence in their Behaviour, Being ashamed of them, Mocking them, Speaking Evil of them, Stealing from them, Disobedience to their Lawful Commands, Contumacy, or Casting off Subjection to them.
Sins of Brothers and Sisters; as, Want of Natural Affection, Not providing for our Brethren, Not praying for them, Praying against them.
Sins of Masters against their Servants; as, Not maintaining them, Not Catechising or Instructing them, Vnequal Government, or Injustice shewn in requiring Unlawful, Wantonness in requiring Superfluous, and Rigour in requiring Unmerciful things of them: Immoderate Threatning, Imperiousness, or Contemptuous, haughty treating of them: Defrauding, or keeping back the Wages of the Hireling. Of Servants against their Masters; as, Dishonour, Irreverence, Publishing or aggravating their Master's Faults, Not clearing, when they can, his injured Reputation, Vnfaithfulness in what he intrusts with them, shewn either by their Wastefulness, i. e. Spending it for their Pleasure; or Purloyning, i. e. Diverting it to their own Profit and secret Enrichment: Disobedience, Non-observance, Answering again, Slothfulness, Eye-service, Resistance, Not praying for him, Praying against him.
To all which, add two other Sins, which are peculiarly so among Christians, viz. The Neglect of Baptism, and Absenting from the Lord's Supper.
When we are desirous to discover all our Sins, that we may truly repent of them, we may examine our own Hearts in all these Particulars, trying our selves either by the former Catalogue when we have less, or by this latter when we have more Time, according to our own Discretion. We may ask our selves at every one, Whether we ever wittingly yielded to it? and if we have, Whether since that we have amended it? And noting all those whereof we stand guilty before God, affect our own Hearts with a sorrowful sense of what we have done, from such Considerations as are before laid down; and then renew our Vows, and make God our humble Confession, and Engagements that we will never have more to do with them. For which end, they who are not otherwise supplied, may make use of the Devotion p. 448, which may serve as a Penitential Prayer and Confession.
A PRAYER Before the SACRAMENT.
O Father of Mercies, who hast once given thy Son to die for me, and art now ready in the Holy Sacrament to offer him to me again; I humbly adore, but am utterly at a loss when I would duely prize so invaluable a Mercy. What am I, poor wretched Creature, that I should sit down to eat with my Blessed Lord, when the Glorious Angels at a distance adore and pay him Homage? Why should I be call'd to feed upon his Sacred Body and Blood, when my Sins had a hand in all he suffered, so that I deserve to be ranked among his Murderers, who were guilty of that horrid Fact, which nothing but the Blood they shed could ever expiate? But since it is thy Glorious Excellency, O Blessed Jesu! to love those that hate thee, and to save their Lives who barbarously took away thine, and accordingly to call to this Heavenly Feast so unworthy a Wretch as I am; I am ready to come at thy Command, but would fain come Worthily, and leave all my Sins behind me, seeing it is no Feast for them. Oh! I loath them, and would never yield to commit them, were they to do again; and humbly intreat my Heavenly Father, that for thy sake he would freely forgive me what is past, and rid me of them for the time to come. Slay them, Good Lord, for they have slain thee, and will slay mee too in time, if they are suffer'd to reign in me. Meet me in this Heavenly Banquet with a full Pardon of all mine Offences, and a perfect Cure of all mine Infirmities, that I may be cleansed by thy Blood, and quickned by thy Spirit, and assured of that Eternal Life which for thy sake God has promised to all his Elect ones.
All this thou art ready to do for me, if I come worthily; and therefore my humble Request is, That thou wouldst assist me acceptably to perform the Duties of this Feast, that so I may enjoy all the Blessings of it, and feel it a Communion of thy very Body and Blood. I would gladly remember thy Dying Love with the most Devout Affections, with a Heart that is full of Thanks, and intirely devoted to thy Service, and quite weary of my Sins, and most desirous of thy Grace, and throughly prepared to seal a lasting Covenant of Repentance and Reconciliation with thee and all my Neighbours. All this I desire to do, and to do it fervently: But, alas! I cannot do it as I ought, unless thou wilt graciously come and help me. My Apprehnsions of this amazing Love are very low; O do thou exalt them. My Heart is still insensible of what thou hast done for me, and my Affections dull and heavy; O do thou quicken and inflame them. Make me love thee as much as thou deservest, and desire thy Grace as highly as I need it, and be set against every Sin as irreconcileably as there is cause for it, and love all my Brethren as I am beloved, that I may be fit to receive the abundant Communications of thy Grace in the approaching Sacrament. I earnestly ask, and humbly hope for all this, O Good God, only because I infinitely need it; and thy Grace is Infinite, which will not suffer thee to see the Necessities of thy poor Servant unsupplied; and unworthy as I am, I am still the Purchase of thy Sons Blood: O then do not despise me for thine own Mercies, and thy Sons sake; in whose Holy Name and Words I further pray as he hath taught me.
Our Father which art in Heaven, &c.