The Christian Sacrifice, Part 4 · New Year's Day
On Newyears-day, if there be a Communion, may be added this ſhort Meditation.
LEt us conſider, my Soul, before we go to the Holy Table; for what ends we go thither; and with what hearts we ought to go. Is it not to admire the greatneſs of Gods love in giving his Son to us; and the greatneſs of Chriſts love in giving himſelf for us? Is it not to render our higheſt thanks and praiſe to the Father and the Son, for this ineſtimable love, in giving his bloud a ranſom for us; and then to offer up our ſelves wholly to his love? Is it not to renew our Baptiſmal Covenant, wherein we promiſed to forſake all his enemies, and to lead a mortified life in all obedience to his will? To repreſent to God what his Son hath done for us, and humbly to hope in him, for all the benefits of his paſſion? To receive encreaſe of power to overcome the world, and further teſtimonies of his love, and ſtronger deſires after the conſummation of it in Heavenly bliſs? To unite our heart in Brotherly affection to all the faithful ſervants of Jeſus; and to rejoyce in the holy Communion of Chriſt and his Saints? O bleſſed Jeſus, who can have hearts diſpoſed to do all this without thee? I come to thee therefore, that thou wilt repreſent thy ſelf moſt lively to me. If I could have ſeen thee hanging on the Croſs; or if thou wouldeſt appear to me as thou didſt to Saul; if the Heavens were opened, and I could behold thee, as did St. Steven; what ſtrange paſſions, what holy affections would it raiſe up in my heart! Open thine eyes, my Soul, heartily and ſtrongly believe; and thy joy ſhall be full. He will be in the midſt of us, when we are aſſembled together in his Name; according as he promiſed. He preſents himſelf before us in theſe Signs of his Body and Bloud. Behold, how the Word was made fleſh: how he was Circumciſed, and fulfilled the Law under which he was born; that he might be a pure and unſpotted offering to God. See how he was whipt and ſcourged for thy ſake. See how he ſuffered upon the Croſs; how his Body was broken, and his heart-Bloud poured out to reconcile us unto God. And then thou canſt not but come with a thankful heart; and with an humble, reverent, and devout affection preſent thy ſelf unto him: bitterly bewailing thy offences, chearfully reſigning thy ſelf to his will, and joyfully hoping for his mercy. When he ſaith by his Miniſter, Take, eat, drink this; what is the meaning, but as if he ſhould ſay, I am thy Salvation? And when thou ſtretcheſt out thy hand and doſt this; what is it, but to ſay, My Lord, and my God? Joh. 20.28.And happy are they, who not only call him Lord, but do the things that he ſaith. Bleſſed are they, that do his Commandments; that they may have right to the Tree of Life; Rev. 22.14.12.20.and enter into the City of God. Behold, he cometh, and his reward is with him: and he will give to every man according as his work ſhall be. Rev. 21 7.And he that overcometh (ſaith he) ſhall inherit all things: I will be his God, and he ſhall be my Son. Amen. Even ſo, come Lord Jeſus.
And this ſhort Prayer.
O Lord of heaven and earth; who knoweſt my down-ſitting, and my up-riſing, Pſal. 139.2, 3. &c.and underſtandeſt my thoughts a far off. Who compaſſeſt my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my wayes, ever ſince I was born. There is not a word in my tongue, Pſa. 19.12.but lo, O Lord, thou knoweſt it altogether. Such knowledg is too wonderful for me: it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Who can underſtand the errors of his whole life? And with what trembling ought I to approach thee, though I knew nothing by my ſelf? But alas my own heart condemns me; and thou art greater than my heart, and knoweſt all things. I am aſhamed to think, that I lived ſo many years, before I ſeriouſly thought of all my duty to thee. And that ſince I have known thy will and devoted my ſelf to thy ſervice, I have made ſuch ſmall improvement in wiſdom and virtue. Many years are paſſed, and innumerable bleſſings in them have been received; but alas! the God in whoſe hand my breath is, Dan. 5.23.and whoſe are all my wayes, how little have I glorified? I have reaſon to bluſh that now I have brought an heart before thee, with ſo little ſenſe of that love, which I have ſo often remembered, and praiſed and acknowledged, with the largeſt expreſſions of devotion to thee. But it is ſome comfort, O Lord, that thy all-ſearching eye, which pierces to the bottom of my ſoul, ſees a ſincere deſire there to become better; and a ſtedfaſt reſolution to endeavour to grow in grace, and in the knowledg of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt. It is in my heart to renew my covenant with thee; to ingage my fidelity once more to thee: truſting that I have a good conſcience, in all things willing to live honeſtly. Heb. 13.18.I hope thou wilt graciouſly accept, and encourage whatſoever thou beholdeſt of thy ſelf in me; and when I go to offer my ſelf again moſt ſolemnly to thee at thy Altar, make me feel thy divine preſence with me: enlightning my mind with a clear ſenſe of thee; raiſing in me worthy thoughts and affections towards my dear Saviour; ingaging my will more firmly to thine; confirming all my pious reſolutions, exciting my Faith, love, hope and joy; that this holy Communion may be to the continuance of a holy life in greater care, diligence, zeal and fervency in all well doing. Aſſiſt me, I beſeech thee, in every part of this duty; that I may remember the ſufferings of the Lord Jeſus, ſo as to be crucified with him, and his great love, ſo as to love him with all my ſoul, and my neighbour as my ſelf; and the new covenant he hath made in his blood, ſo as to have his laws written on my heart; and all the the pretious promiſes he hath thereby ſealed to us, ſo as to place my entire contentment and ſatisfaction in them; till I come to poſſeſs that perfect happineſs which I wait for, through thy mercies in Chriſt Jeſus, Amen.
Our Father, &c.
A ſhort Meditation after.
WHat haſt thou now received from our Lord? Are they not the moſt ſacred pledges of his love? And what doth the Lord require of thee? but only love. But how great a thing is love? Love brought him down hither to us: and love will carry us up to God. Love made him like to man: and love is able to make thee like to God. O the power of heavenly love! How ſhall we get it planted in our heart? How? But by love? The frequent meditation of this admirable love of God in his Son Jeſus, will not ſuffer us not to love him with all our heart and ſoul and ſtrength. Let us reſolve then that the remembrance of his love ſhall lie perpetually in our heart. As we have begun the year with the thoughts of his love: ſo let us continue it. What more welcome thought can there be to thee every morning when thou awakeſt than this, I am the beloved of the King of Glory? With what canſt thou open thy ſoul more chearfully? What will brighten it, and chaſe away the darkneſs of melancholly, ſorrow, ſadneſs, cares and fears, like to this? If thou haſt not loſt an hour, and waſted this pretious time which thou haſt ſpent at the Table of the Lord, thou canſt not but feel the mighty force of his infinite love. Let us try, my ſoul, what it will be able to do in a whole years thoughts upon it. Let the morning light bring Jeſus ever along with it to thy mind: and enkindle in thee a new devotion to him. And let us take all occaſions to celebrate his memory; that ſo our holy reſolutions may be more quickned and ſtrengthned; and when the flame begins to burn dimm, we may blow it up again, and add more fewel to it. If a friend had left thee a token of his love, whereby to keep him in mind, wouldſt thou throw it into ſome blind corner, and never look upon it? But ſuppoſe he was a dying friend, nay a friend that dyed for thee, to ſave thee from death; could he ever go out of thy mind, or wouldſt thou let the thing he left to remember him by, be long out of thine eye? Let us not deal more unkindly with our Saviour. Did he think when he went to heaven, that thoſe whom he hath ſo obliged, would remember his love ſo ſeldom and ſo coldly? That they need be ſo much entreated to come and have communion with him? Is it not a grief to him now (if he be capable of any) to ſee that he hath ſo few lovers? And that they who profeſs love to him, teſtifie it ſo rarely and in ſo poor a manner? Let us vow, my ſoul, again that we will henceforth ſhew our ſelves his hearty friends, by keeping his holy Commands: and never forget that this is one, Do this in remembrance of me. I will remember thee, O Lord, and in this manner lift up my hands in thy name; till I have finiſhed my dayes and come to ſee thee as thou art, in all thy Majeſty and Glory.
And this Thanksgiving and Prayer may be added afterward.
O Lord, I thine unworthy ſervant, whom thou art pleaſed to call thy child, moſt devoutly humble my ſelf before thee, in new adorations of that love which I can never fully underſtand. The higheſt of our praiſes, is moſt heartily to acknowledge, that thou art exalted above all bleſſing and praiſe: And our moſt grateful acknowledgments, to be very ſenſible of the weakneſs of our love, when it is advanced to its greateſt and ſtrongeſt pitch. Thy love is like to thy ſelf, and we cannot ſearch it out to perfection. It is higher than the Heavens, Job 11.what can we do? It is broader than the Sea, what can we know? I have enjoyed many years of mercies; and thou haſt been loading me with a multitude of ineſtimable benefits both for Soul and Body, ever ſince I came into this world. Every day brings me freſh tokens of thy goodneſs; and this day, the deareſt of all, the tokens of thine everlaſting love.Pſal. 139. O how precious are thy thoughts towards us, how great is the ſumme of them! I hope to give thee eternal praiſes, O Father of mercies, and God of all comfort; who haſt made us after thy own image; and in the fulneſs of time ſent thy Son born of a woman, made under the Law, to redeem us from the curſe; and haſt adopted us to be thy children; promiſed to make us heirs with thy only begotten; and for that end to give us a new birth from the Grave, into an immortal Life. Have patience with me, O Lord, till that time, when I ſhall more fully comprehend, and better acknowledge the greatneſs of thy love: for which I will endeavour to prepare my ſelf, by an innocent, harmleſs and unblamable life, as becomes the Goſpel of Chriſt. To him I have now dedicated my ſelf again in all holy obedience. I have profeſſed my ſelf his ſervant, that admires him and loves him, and glories in being his faithful Diſciple. O that the good thoughts and pious inclinations, which I have now felt in my heart, may remain and abide there for ever: that as I grow in years, ſo I may grow (as my Saviour did) in grace and favour with thee my God, and with all good men. Endue me with a more ſolid knowledge of thy will, with a ſtronger love and affection to it, and with power to do my duty towards thee and towards all men. That I may behave my ſelf in an humble and godly fear before thee; in all juſtice, mercy and charity to my Neighbours; and poſſeſs my Body and Soul in ſobriety, chaſtity and patience. Make me loving to my inferiours, reſpectful to my betters, friendly to my equals, kind to all mine enemies; thankful for thy mercies, contented with my own ſtate and condition of life; fearful of my ſelf in proſperity, and confident in thee in adverſity; that all temptations may only preſent me with ſomething to overcome, and give me new occaſions of victory over the world, and produce for me at laſt a greater crown of glory.
For thou art my hope, O Lord God: thou art my truſt from my youth. Pſal. 7… 5, 6, 8, 9.By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mothers bowels; my praiſe ſhall be continually of thee. Caſt me not off in the time of old age, 73.24▪forſake me not when my ſtrength faileth. But let my mouth be filled with thy praiſe, and with thy h…nour all the day. Guide me with thy counſel, and afterward receive me to glory, through Chriſt Jeſus; to whom with thy ſelf, in the unity of the Holy Ghoſt, be all honour, thankſgiving, love and obedience rendred, by me and all Angels and Men, both now and eternally. Amen.