Advice to a Friend, Part 12
XII.
AND, as a means to all this which hath been ſaid in the foregoing Advices, I cannot but deſire you, in the next place, to Receive as often as you can the Holy Sacrament of Chriſt's Body and Blood. For there you have an ample teſtimony of Gods tender love to you, and care over you. There a number of Chriſtian Brethren and good Friends meet, to rejoyce together. There your Soul is excited to the nobleſt thoughts and ſublimeſt Meditations of your Saviour's love, and of the purchaſe he hath made for you: The ſight of which will not let you ſtand in need of being chidden, by your ſelf, into the devouteſt affections, and the moſt chearful reſignation to him; who having given ſo great a gift as his Son to you, will not deny, you may be confident, to beſtow leſſer benefits, when he ſees them expedient for you. In brief; This is an holy Feaſt, where our Lord not only makes you good chear for the preſent; but renews your decayed ſtrength, and begets in you a greater livelineſs for the future.
One great end of the inſtitution of publique Feaſts, among all Nations in the World, was for the maintaining of unity, love and friendſhip among the People that lived under the ſame Laws; and for the recreating of thoſe who were tired with their conſtant labours. And it is the deſign, we likewiſe ſee, of our private Feaſts; which are times of eaſe and refreſhment for our neighbours, and preſerve alſo good will among them: according to that of Ben Syra, a famous Perſon among the Jews, Spread the Table and contention ceaſes. We are all good Friends at a Feaſt; Upon which account Plato was of Opinion that their Gods themſelves, in much pitty to Man-kind, whoſe life is full of labour,foreign, &c. Lib. 2. de Leg. did appoint thoſe Feſtival times for them; that they might have a little relaxation, and be incouraged by thoſe publique joyes, to proceed without any murmuring, in their ſeveral imployments.
We are very ſure that God hath inſtituted, by his particular command, this Holy Feaſt (like to which none ever was, and which we may celebrate as oft as we pleaſe) upon the Body and Blood of his dear Son. Whereby a great love, ſure, will be begot in our hearts to him and his ſervice, whoſe gueſts we are; and at whoſe coſt the entertainment is made, meerly out of his extraordinary grace and royal favour towards us. This ſure will be a ſingular refreſhment and reſtorative to our ſpirits; when we grow weary, and almoſt ſpent in the work of our Lord. The ſweetneſs of this will be like Wine to the Heart, or like Marrow and Fatneſs to the Bones. It will ſtir us up, when we are liſtleſs; and comfort us, when we are ſad; and put life into us, when we are dead; and make us not only able but willing to be Religious, being both our pleaſure and our food.
Seneca, ſpeaking of times of relaxation and reſt from labours, ſaith, he knew ſome great Men,L. de tranq. animi. who once a MonethMonth would give themſelves a Day of play; and others that every Day would allow ſome Hours, wherein they would not ſo much as write a Letter, or meddle with any thing that had the ſhow of buſineſs. If we in like manner did, though not every Day, yet every MonethMonth take this ſweet repaſt; if out of love to Chriſt, and conſideration of our own neceſſities, we did lay aſide all other thoughts, and give up our ſelves to thoſe delightful Meditations, which here preſent themſelves unto us; it would eaſe us of many cares and troubles, and make us more chearfully do the will of God at other times, and diſpoſe us to attend the whole buſineſs of Religion as the pleaſure rather than the labour of our life.
But if you be caſt into a place, where you have not the opportunity ſo frequently to celebrate the remembrance of Chriſt's death, by receiving the outward and viſible ſigns and pledges of his Divine Grace; then you may the oftner communicate with him ſpiritually in your own heart, and repreſent his dying love as lively as you can to it, in your retired thoughts: Beſeeching him to accept of your unfeigned deſires, to make him your publick acknowledgments, and to joyn with all thoſe pious Souls, which are then met together throughout the Chriſtian World to ſhow forth his praiſe, and to offer up themſelves in holy love to him, and to our bleſſed Redeemer Chriſt Jeſus. For which purpoſe I would adviſe you to make uſe of all ſuch Meditations, Prayers, and Thankſgivings, as are wont to attend thoſe Solemnities: altering only thoſe words which relate to your actual receiving at the Table of the Lord.
The profit of ſuch a frequent remembrance of our Lord one way or other, will be exceeding great; for the ſecuring your duty, and the making all thoſe Counſels, which I have given you, the more effectual. It will put you in mind of the worth and dignity of your Soul; for which Chriſt hath done and ſuffered ſo much, and on whom he beſtows ſuch precious tokens of his love. It will quicken your love to him, which is the life of Religion. You ſhall taſte how ſweet it is, beyond all compariſon, to be Religious; whereby we have ſuch hope in God. There you ſhall be remembred how gainful it is to be good, beyond all the purchaſes of this World; for Chriſt imparts himſelf to you and all his benefits. There you pray with the greateſt devotion, and offer up Spiritual Sacrifices; and you repreſent alſo the Sacrifice of Chriſt, to prevail for bleſſings for you. And there you are moſt likely to have the moſt plentiful communications of God's Holy Spirit to you; and to feel your Heart dilated in the largeſt affection unto Him. There you confirm your promiſes to God; and he ſeales his to you. You cannot there be of another judgment, if you would, than this; that ſince Chriſt dyed to give you life, you ought not henceforth to live to your ſelf, but unto him which dyed for you, and roſe again.
This, I make no doubt, is one reaſon, why thoſe promiſes wherein Men ſtand engaged to God, are no better performed; becauſe they do not frequently repeat this holy action, in the exerciſe of which, they find their hearts, at preſent, fully reſolved for God and goodneſs. This is the cauſe that they waver again; and all their Promiſes and Vows wherein they bind themſelves, fall off like cords of vanity. Whereas, did they upon all occaſions communicate with our Saviour, they would find their reſolutions grow ſo ſtrong and ſtedfaſt, that no temptation would be able to break them. They would be like Bands of Iron, or Chains, rather, of Gold; that would hold them for ever to their duty. You have heard, I believe, the ſtory of Mithridates; who by often uſe of the Antidote which he invented, ſo fortified his Spirits; that they reſiſted the force of all Poyſon. Inſomuch that when, to avoid the Roman ſlavery, he would have diſpatched himſelf by a ſtrong venemous draught, he was not able to effect it. Such a ſoveraign vertue you will find, in the frequent devout receiving of the Sacrament of Chriſts Body and Blood. It will ſecure the life of your Soul; confirm your ſtrength; arm you againſt the bitings of the old Serpent; and make it, in a manner, impoſſible for you to be impoiſoned, by any naughty affections.
But I have writ ſo much, on this Subject, in other Books already, that I need not ſay any more of it here. You find, I hope, thoſe Treatiſes uſeful to the ſtirring up Devotion, and to the making a Soul more forward and unwearied in Gods ſervice. And there likewiſe you may meet with a particular Prayer, for Love to the Holy Communion: wherefore let me proceed, without any ſtop, to the next Advice.