The Christian Sacrifice, Part 4 · September
September.
The Meditation before the Sacrament.
SHall we not be too bold in going ſo oft to the Table of the Lord? May we not offend him by our forwardneſs to approach into his preſence? No ſure, not if love carry us thither, and accompany us there. And who can want that, who knows and conſiders how forward he was to do that, which we remember? When he came to offer himſelf a Sacrifice for us, he ſaith, Lo, I come: Pſal. 40.7, 8.in the volume of the book it is written of me: I delight to do thy will, O God. And when he eat the laſt meal with his Diſciples, he ſaid again,Luk. 22.15. with deſire I have deſired to eat this paſſover with you before I ſuffer. Behold what a hearty vehemence there was in his love! what an ardor in his deſire; to be made an offering for us, and to be remembred by us! With what love ſhould we commemorate his dying love? with what deſire ſhould our ſouls approach to his holy Table in remembrance of him; who took ſuch content in dying for us, and was ſo deſirous to inſtitute this holy feaſt, for a perpetual remembrance of his death? With the ſame joy that children uſe to welcome a Feſtival; with ſuch an hunger and thirſt, as a labouring man goes to his ſupper; ought we to go to the Supper of the Lord: that we may chear and refreſh our ſouls with the memory of our Maſter and only Saviour; with praiſes and joyful thankſgivings; with the love of God and of our Brethren; with the hopes of his Mercy here and eternally. Awake, awake then thy Faith; call up thy love: quicken thy deſires: excite all that is within thee to bleſs the Lord and ſpeak good of his name. Say with a great joy, Lo, I come, according to thy command: and delight to do thy will, O God. With deſire I have deſired to do this in remembrance of my Lord: to declare thy mighty acts, and ſhew forth the greatneſs of thy love; to profeſs my ſelf thy ſervant, and to glory in the holy name of my Maſter Jeſus; to offer up my ſelf unto thee, an oblation of love; to renew my covenant with thee, and with all my Brethren; to give thee thanks that I am one of thy family, and for all the benefits I received, and thou haſt ſtill in ſtore for thy faithful ſervants. But who is able to tell how much he hath done already for us? Or find out all that he deſigns unto us? Who can praiſe him according to his excellent kindneſs, and his wonderful works for the children of men? The thoughts of Angels are not wide enough to comprehend them. And if we had their ſpirits, and could love him and acknowledg him, with their inlarged affection, it would be too little a preſent to make unto him. O give thanks therefore unto the Lord, for he is gracious, for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks unto him, who is ſo deſirous of us, ſuch narrow ſouls, ſuch little hearts, that can hold ſo little love unto him. Let us go to him, and deſire that he would inlarge them; or that he would fill them to the heighth with his love. Since he is content, if he may but lodg and dwell in our breaſts, and have the government of us in his hands: let us go and vow, that he ſhall poſſeſs us ſolely to himſelf; that no affection, no deſire ſhall dwell in us, without his leave; and all be ordered by him juſt as he pleaſes. And let us ſhew him now, that we have prepared no leſs gift than our whole ſelves to be beſtowed on him: that we are very deſirous of the honour to be commanded by him, and to do him ſervice; and that if he will make us more deſirous, more reſolved and ſtedfaſt in theſe holy purpoſes, we will never ceaſe to thank him in this manner as long as we live.
And approaching thus, with all humility to him, may we not hope that he will accept us, and receive us as his friends, and embrace us with real love, and incloſe us, as we deſire, unto himſelf? Nay, he will hold us faſt tied in the bonds and cords of his love: not to fetter and impriſon us; but to unlock and open our narrow hearts by the power of it, that they be inlarged into the true liberty of love to him and to all the world. We may hope at laſt, that it will become as unnatural to offend him, as it is to kill our ſelves, or kick againſt the bowels of a moſt indulgent parent: that obedience ſhall be our delight: that all good things on earth, which have been our hindrance, ſhall prove our incouragement and provocation to an holy life: and that our watchfulneſs over our ſelves ſhall be ſo ſtrict and ſevere, that we ſhall not be eaſily ſurpriſed; but continually worſhip him, by preſenting him with a ſpirit like his own, innocent, harmleſs, and delighting to do all good.
The Prayer before.
O Moſt mighty Lord, the high and holy one who poſſeſſeſt eternity: who dwelleſt in the pureſt light, and whoſe Majeſty is enthroned in the midſt of all the heavenly hoſt, who are continually celebrating the praiſes of thy name, which is moſt excellent throughout the world. The light of thy countenance, I believe, is better than life: and one day in thy courts better than a thouſand. If thou wilt graciouſly ſhine upon me, when I enter into thy gates to go unto thy Table; if thou wilt fill me with the joys of Faith and love and holy hope; I ſhall account that day the beginning of the eternal life, and remember as long as I live how gracious thou art. But I have little reaſon to expect to be ſo highly favoured by thee, who have forgotten ofttimes that reverence and fear that I owe to thee my Creator; and that love and dutiful affection which I owe to my Redeemer; and been too diſobedient to many good motions of the holy Spirit of grace. I have thought ſo much how to pleaſe my ſelf, and ſo little of pleaſing thee; ſpent ſo much time in the affairs of my body, and ſo little in thoſe of my immortal ſoul, that I may rather ſink into dejection of ſpirit toward the place of darkneſs, than hope to be lifted up toward heaven, to behold the light of life. I am apt to think that if I knew thee as the Angels do, I ſhould be filled with their love, and readily diſpoſed to thy obedience, and ſpend my ſelf in thy endleſs praiſes: whereas now that thou haſt revealed thoſe things to us which the thoughts of Angels entred not into, and haſt ſent thy dear Son in our nature and not i… the nature of Angels, and given him to die for us, and to open the kingdom of heaven to us, I have not loved thee with the love of men. I have felt ſometime ſo little love to thee, that I have been apt to doubt whether I love thee. It hath been but a little ſpark in my heart, ſcarce to be diſcerned; and hath not ſhone, as it ought to do, in my life before men —
But thy gracious pardon, O Lord of love, I hope will make me admire thee; and love thee exceedingly. Some ſmall taſt and ſavour of thine extraordinary kindneſs, will inkindle in me the moſt ardent affection towards thee. And it is already the hearty deſire and ſtudy of my ſoul, thou knoweſt, that I may love thee above all things; and that all my love may run into ingenuous, free and chearful obedience to every one of thy Commands. They are all holy, juſt and good: they are moſt lovely and gracious in mine eyes. I eſteem thy precepts about all things to be moſt equal, beneficial, and highly conducing to the perfection and happineſs of our natures: and chuſe moſt joyfully to ſubmit my ſelf to the Soveraign Authority of ſuch tender love and good-will towards us. O pitty and pardon an humble ſuitor to thee, that his heart may ever be under the power of thy holy Commands; and being captivated from all things here below, may become a ſubject of thy love. I wait on thee for the power of thy holy Spirit now to come upon me, to fill me with thoughts, deſires and affections ſutable to the duty which I am about to render to thee. That when I think of thoſe ſins, which killed the Lord of life, I may vehemently abhor and utterly renounce them. And when I think of thy love, it may wonderfully raiſe and exalt my heart to love thee, delight in thee, and gratefully acknowledg thee. And when I think of thy holy Commands, my heart may humbly bow, and gladly reſign it ſelf to be governed by them. And the dying of the Lord Jeſus ſet before my eyes, may make me an offering holy and acceptable to thee for ever.
I am ſenſible how oft I fall ſhort of my own deſires and reſolutions: and therefore again look up unto thee, with a humble Faith, for thy powerful preſence with me. To inlighten my mind more clearly; to ſettle my wandring and unſtable thoughts: to awaken the conſcience of my duty toward thee, and toward all men; to compoſe and quiet all my turbulent paſſions and affections; and to confirm and ſtrengthen all the holy purpoſes which thou workeſt in me. Vouchſafe, moſt gracious Lord, to accept and aſſiſt the fainteſt, but honeſt, indeavours of my ſoul to pleaſe thee; to incourage and further every good inclination; to poſſeſs and fortifie me againſt the moſt importunate temptations; and to enable me to quell and bring under the ſtrongeſt oppoſitions to thy divine will. I deliver up my ſelf abſolutely with all my heart unto it: deſiring and purpoſing to live inſtedfaſt union and conformity with it; to maintain an humble and reverend ſenſe of thy greatneſs and goodneſs; ſoberly to uſe all the good things thou indulgeſt to me; to exerciſe righteouſneſs, charity, meekneſs and gentleneſs to all men; to poſſeſs my ſoul in patience; to be contented with my portion; to pray without ceaſing; and in every thing to give thanks, which is thy will in Chriſt Jeſus concerning me. Sanctifie, I beſeech thee, the greateſt worldly bleſſings to me; ſupport me under the heavieſt afflictions; fit me for the moſt ſudden or lingring departure out of this life, and for whatſoever thy wiſe providence ſhall order for me while I ſtay in it; and by all theſe means prepare me for everlaſting glory. And, O, that the nearer I approach unto it, the brighter ſenſe of it may ſhine in my heart; chaſing away the fears of death, and the cares of life. And that I may now begin it, by praiſing thee in the company of thy Saints with joyful lips: and every day praiſe thee better; and long more for that happy ſtate, where we ſhall have nothing elſe to do but love and praiſe thee for ever.
The Lord Jeſus Chriſt be with my Spirit: 2 Tim. 4. ult.in whoſe holy words I further recommend my ſelf to thy wonted Mercies.
Our Father, &c.
The Meditation afterward.
IS there any need after all that thou haſt heard, and thought, and ſaid of thy bleſſed Saviour, that I ſhould call upon thee, and bid thee love him? Need I entreat and earneſtly beſeech thee, my Soul, to preſerve the memory of his moſt obliging kindneſs; and exhort thee to go again and again, to praiſe him in this manner? Methinks, we may turn our thoughts and our ſpeech to him; thanking and admiring the exceſs of his love, that he will let us approach thus near unto him. It is his love that he will at all regard us, and receive the love we offer to him. But it is a great marvel of his love, that he hath entreated us ſo often, and uſed ſo many arguments to us, and laid ſo many obligations on us to love him. What are we, that he ſhould ſeek after us on this faſhion, who had a mind to loſe him? It is ſtrange that he will accommodate and addreſs himſelf to our very ſenſes, that our dull fleſh may not hinder us from loving him. Good Lord! that thy delight ſhould be with the Sons of men. Couldſt thou not live unleſs we lived alſo? Canſt thou be at all the better for us? Have we been kind unto thee, ſince thou haſt done all this for us? Or do we uſe half ſo many entreaties to thee, to do us good; as thou haſt done to us, to be good to our ſelves? O be aſtoniſhed at the greatneſs of his mercy. Do but throughly affect thy heart with the heighth and depth of his love; and love will make more pathetical and moving exhortations to thee, than any thought can invent. I will leave thee under the power and conſtraint of thy love. Ceaſe to love him if thou canſt; if thou doſt but think of his love. But think withal, what an hopeleſs condition that Soul is in, which the love of God in Chriſt Jeſus cannot move and prevail withal to love him. And what may all thy Brethren expect from thee, who are partakers of the common Salvation together with thy ſelf? Canſt thou find in thy heart to offend him, for whom Chriſt died? Wilt thou not open thy bowels of compaſſion towards others, when thou ſtandeſt in ſo great need even of infinite mercies thy ſelf? Shall ſome ſmall differences between you, four thy heart; or blunt the edge of that affection, which is ſharpned by the Divine love to us, when we were ſtrangers and enemies to him by evil works? How canſt thou chuſe but be ready to do good, and to forgive, even thoſe that have done evil to thee? To bleſs them that curſe thee, Luke 6.28.35, 36.and pray for them that deſpitefully uſe thee? Remembring that thy reward then ſhall be great, and thou ſhalt be the child of the Higheſt: for he is kind unto the unthankful, and to the evil. Be thou therefore merciful, as thy Heavenly Father alſo is merciful.
Here reſolve to meditate all this Month, very often, upon that part of our Lords example, which he left us when he died, in PRAYING FOR HIS ENEMIES; his bitter enemies; his malitious and ungrateful enemies; his enemies, that with implacable wrath moſt Deviliſhly contrived the deſtruction of the moſt innocent, loving, obliging and bountiful perſon, that ever walked upon the face of the Earth. Remember alſo how ſweetly and mildly he treated, even that villanous Traitor, his own Servant, who betrayed him with a baſe hypocriſie; ſaying no worſe words than theſe to him,Matt. 26.50. Luke 22.48. Friend, wherefore art thou come? betrayeſt thou the Son of man with a kiſs? And let not either the greatneſs of mens malice; or their barbarous requital of the benefits they have received from thee; or their treacherous hypocriſie; or their vile diſſimulation; or any other aggravation of their crime, hinder thee from following thy Saviour, and ſtifle thy love to thy enemies. And particularly expreſs thy love by praying moſt earneſtly for them, bewailing their folly and madneſs; pitying the ungodly helliſh ſtate wherein they are; and imitating the charity of Heaven to which thou recommendeſt them. Open thy mouth with meekneſs of wiſdom,Prov. 31.26. and let the law of kindneſs be in thy tongue. Speak to them graciouſly, who have diſobliged thee: And if thine enemy hunger, feed him; Rom. 12.20, 21.if he thirſt, give him drink: heap coals of fire on his head; that if it be poſſible he may be melted into better nature, and his evil may be overcome with good.
The Thanksgiving and Prayer afterward.
O Moſt holy and ever bleſſed Lord of Heaven and Earth, who only haſt immortality, and dwelleſt in light unapproachable by mortal eyes: ſhining in the glory of thy own perfections, and not needing any reflections from thy Creatures. Thou art full beyond our thoughts; and ever communicating out of thy fulneſs, abundantly beyond all that we can conceive. We cannot comprehend the vaſt number of Creatures which thou haſt made, who all praiſe thee and declare thy magnificent goodneſs; nor are we able to fathom the leaſt part of that bounty which feeds them, and provides for them, and takes care of them every where. Much leſs can we comprehend thee, in whom they all live, and move, and have their being; and from whom they are continually ſupplied, without diminiſhing thy full goodneſs. We the children of men have received a more liberal ſhare in thy bleſſings, than the reſt of our fellow-Creatures, and had moſt large experience of thy never ceaſing love and kindneſs to us. For after we had ſpent and waſted thoſe great treaſures wherewith thou didſt endow our natures; thou haſt been pleaſed to grant us a new and better portion, and to raiſe us up again with the addition of many Talents. Having ſent thy Son to redeem us, and to be the Author of a ſupernatural birth to us; to declare to us all the will of thee our Heavenly Father, and to give us exceeding great and precious promiſes, the expectation of which might incourage us to do all that thou requireſt of us. Thou haſt ſent him, bleſſed be thy goodneſs, to bring us Life and Spirit; to ſtrengthen us againſt all the powers of Hell and Earth; to break the force of all temptations; to ſanctifie even our afflictions to us, and the infirmities of our crazy bodies; to take out the ſting of death; and to make it an entrance into an immortal life. Thou haſt advanced him to intercede for us at thy right hand; to be our Advocate with thee, when by our weakneſs we ſin againſt thee, or are afraid to approach thee, to pardon us when we repent and return to thee; and to bleſs us by giving us repentance, and turning us from all our iniquities. And to all other benefits thou haſt added the comforts and refreſhments of thy holy Table, where I have now partaked of his moſt bleſſed Body and Bloud. Thou haſt ſhown me the greatneſs of my Saviours love; and tied me in new reſolutions to love and ſerve thee for ever; and given me ſtrong aſſurance of thine everlaſting mercies in Chriſt Jeſus.
Theſe very acknowledgments will witneſs againſt me, if I ſhould careleſly throw away this new portion, which thou haſt given me in thy love. The remembrance of them will be intolerable, if I ſhould not improve this extraordinary grace which I have now commemorated. I flee unto thee therefore again. O moſt merciful Father, for the help of thy Holy Spirit, to continue in me a perpetual memory of that love which thou haſt beſtowed on me; and of the profeſſions I have made of an unmovable love to thee. O thou inſpirer of all holy thoughts and deſires; O thou who delighteſt to incourage all thoſe that ſeek after thee with thankful hearts; ſtop not the currant of thy bounteous love: but as thou haſt drawn me to thee, and moved me to devote my ſelf to thy obedience; ſo preſerve and keep theſe thoughts and purpoſes in my heart for ever. I believe thou heareſt me, and wilt be with me. And filled with thy power and might, and with conſtant hope in thee, I will walk and not be weary, and run the ways of thy Commandments, and not faint. To that Almighty goodneſs I commit my ſelf, of which I have had ſuch long experience. I will never doubt of thy readineſs to aſſiſt and further me: but always look up unto the Heavens from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made Heaven and Earth. The Lord ſhall preſerve me from all evil: Pſal. 122.2, 7, 8.he ſhall preſerve my Soul. The Lord ſhall preſerve my going out, and my coming in, from this time forth and even for evermore.
O that all the ends of the Earth may ſee thy Salvation, and worſhip thy Name; for it is holy. And eſpecially all thoſe to whom is given a Kingdom, Dan. 5.18.Majeſty, Glory and Honour, may evermore praiſe, 4.37.and extol, and honour the King of Heaven; all whoſe works are truth, and his ways judgment, and thoſe that walk in pride he is able to abaſe. Pſal. 68.3.Let all the righteous be glad; let them rejoyce before God, yea, let them exceedingly rejoyce. 35.27.Let them ſay continually, The Lord be magnified, which hath pleaſure in the proſperity of his Servants. O that all mankind would praiſe the Lord for his goodneſs, Pſal. 107.8, 9, 13.and for his wonderful works, to the Children of men. For he ſatisfieth the longing Soul, and filleth the hungry Soul with goodneſs. They cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he ſaveth them out of their diſtreſſes. Bleſſed be the Lord God, Pſal. 41.13.68.19.even the God of our Salvation, from everlaſting to everlaſting. Amen and Amen.