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thee; I come to thee, wounded, and bruised, and bleeding; for thou art my physician: arise then with healing in thy wings. I am thirsty and faint; as the hart longeth after the water-brooks, so longeth my soul after thee, O God; thou art the eternal fountain, from whence spring the waters of comfort and salvation; I am hungry, and empty, and weak, and I come running after thee, because thou hast the words of eternal life; O send me not away empty, for I shall faint and die; I cannot live without thee. O let virtue go forth from thee and heal all my sickness; do thou appear to my soul in these mysteries; heal my sores, purify my stains, enlighten my darkness, turn me from all vain imaginations and illusions of the enemy, all perverseness of will, all violence and inordination of passions, sensual desires, and devilish angers, lust and malice, gluttony and pride, the spirit of envy, and the spirit of detraction; let not sin reign in my members, nor the devil lead my will captive, nor the world abuse my understanding, and debauch my conversation.

6. O Jesus, be a Jesus unto me: and let this sacrament be a savour of life,—and thy holy body, the bread of life,-and thy precious blood, the purifier of my sinful life. Grant I may receive these divine mysteries for the amendment of my life and the defensative against my sins; for the increase of virtue, and the perfection of my spirit; grant that I may from thee, thus sacramentally communicated, derive prevailing grace for the amendment of my life; spiritual wisdom, for the discerning the ways of peace; the spirit of love, and the spirit of purity, that in all my life I may walk worthy of thy gracious favours, which thou givest to me unworthy; that I may do all my works in holiness and right intention, that I may resist every temptation, with a never-fainting courage, and a caution never surprised, and a prudence never deceived.

7. Sweetest Saviour, I come to thee upon thy invitation, and thy commandment; I could not come to thee but by thee; O let me never go from thee any more, but enter into my heart; feed me with thy word; sustain me with thy Spirit; refresh me with thy comforts, and let me in this divine mystery receive thee, my dearest Saviour: and be thou my wisdom and my righteousness, my sanctification and redemption. Let me receive this holy nutriment, as the earnest of an eternal inheritance, as a defensative against all spiritual

danger, for the eviction of all the powers of the enemy: as an incentive of holy love, and a strengthening of my faith for the increasing of a holy hope, and the consummation of a heavenly love; that, thou being one with me, and I with thee, I may, by thee, be gracious in the eyes of thy heavenly Father, and may receive my portion among the inheritance of sons, O eternal and most gracious Saviour and Redeemer Jesus. Amen, Amen.

CHAPTER VII.

OF OUR COMPORTMENT IN AND AFTER OUR RECEIVING THE BLESSED SACRAMENT.

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Of the Circumstances and Manner of Reception of the Divine

Mysteries.

It is the custom of the church of great antiquity, and proportionable regard, that every Christian, that is in health, should receive the blessed sacrament fasting. The apostles and primitive bishops at first gave it after supper, or together with it; but that soon passed into inconvenience; and some were drunken, and some were empty and despised, and the holy sacrament was dishonoured, and the Lord's body was not discerned; and God was provoked to anger, and the sinners were smitten and died in their sin; as appears in the sad narrative which St. Paul makes of the misdemeanors and the misfortunes in the Corinthian churches. Something like to which, is that, which Socrates tells of Christians in Egypt; they celebrated the holy communion at evening, but never till they had filled themselves with varieties of choice meat"." Of some also in Africa that communicated at evening, St. Austin speaks; and of others who communicated both morning and evening; at evening, because St. Paul called it devov Kupiaxov, The Lord's Supper;' and in the

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a 1 Cor. xi. 21, 30.

b Harroíwv ideomárov šμpogndívtes. → Socrat, lib. v. epist. 118. ad Januar.

morning, from the universal custom of the church, which, in most places, from the very days of the apostles, prevailed, that the holy eucharist should be given to none, but to them that were fastings. Which thing was also decreed in the third council of Carthage, and hath been observed ever since. And in this the church hath, not without good reason, taken up the custom.

For besides that the intemperance of them, that feasted before they communicated, did not only give scandal to the religion, but did infinitely indispose them that came, and dishonour the divine mysteries; and such feastings would for ever be a temptation and a snare, and therefore could not be cured so well, as by taking the occasion away;— besides these things, the church observed, that, in the time of the synagogue, the servants of God did religiously abstain from meat and drink upon all their solemn feast-days, till their great offices of religion were finished: and, that upon this account, the Jews were scandalized at the disciples for eating the ears of corn early on the sabbath; and Christ excused them only upon the reason of their hunger, that is, upon necessity or charity. And after all, even by natural reason and experience we find, that they pray and worship best, who are not loaden with meat and drink; and that, therefore, this solemnity, being the greatest worship of God in the whole religion, consequently ought to be done with all advantages. It was, therefore, very reasonable, that the church took up this custom; and, therefore, they who causelessly do prevaricate it, shall bear their own burden, and are best reproved by St. Paul's words, "We have no such custom, nor the churches of God." But sick people and the weak, are as readily to be excused in this thing, as the apostles were, by Christ, in the case before mentioned for necessity and charity are to be preferred before such ceremonies and circumstances of address.

1. When you awake in the morning of your communionday, give God thanks particularly, that he hath blessed thee with so blessed an opportunity of receiving the symbols of pardon, the ministry of the Spirit, the sacrament of Christ

• Ut sacramenta altaris non nisi a jejunis hominibus celebrentur, excepto uno die anniversario, quo cœna Domini celebratur.- Vide Zonar, in hunc Canon. et Concil. Matiscon. 2. et Petrum Abailardum epist. 8.

himself, the seed of immortality, and the antepast of heaven; and hasten earlier out of your bed. The cock crowing that morning, is like the noise that is made of the coming of the bridegroom, and therefore go out to meet him; but rise that you may trim your lamp. When you are up, presently address yourself to do such things, as you would willingly be found doing, when the bridegroom calls, and you are to appear before him, to hear your final sentence.

2. Make a general confession of your sins, and be very much humbled in the sense and apprehension of them. Compare the state and union of all your evils, with the state and grandeur of that favour, which God intends that day to consign to you; and then think what you are, and what God is; what you have done, and what God intends to do; how ill you have deserved, and yet how graciously you are dealt with. And consider what an infinite distance there is between that state which you have deserved, and that good which you are to have; by considering how intolerable your case would have been, if God had dealt with you as you deserve, and as he hath dealt with very many, who sinned no more than you have done; and yet in what felicities you are placed by the mercies of your good God; that you are in hopes, and in the methods, and in the participations, of pardon and eternal life.

3. The effect of this consideration ought to be, that you make acts of general contrition, for all your sins known and unknown. That you renew your purposes and vows of better obedience that you exercise acts of special graces; and that you give God most hearty and super-exalted thanks, with all the transports and ravishments of spirit, for so unspeakable, so unmeritable, so unrewardable a loving-kindness.

4. Worship Jesus: love him; dedicate thyself to him: recollect what he hath done for thy soul, what glories he laid aside, with what meanness he was invested, what pains he suffered, what shame he endured, what excellencies he preached, what wisdom he taught, what life he lived, what death he died, what mysteries he hath appointed, by what ministries he conveys himself to thee, what rare arts he uses to save thee, and after all, that he intercedes for thee perpetually in heaven, presenting to his heavenly Father that

great sacrifice of himself, which he finished on the cross, and commands thee to imitate in this divine and mysterious sacrament; and in the midst of these thoughts, add proportionable exercises and devotions, address thyself to the solemnities and blessings of the day.

5. Throw away, with great diligence and severity, all unholy and all earthly thoughts; and think the thoughts of heaven for when Christ descends, he comes attended with innumerable companies of angels, who all behold and wonder, who love and worship Jesus; and in this glorious employment and society, let thy thoughts be pure, and thy mind celestial, and thy work angelical, and thy spirit full of love,→→ and thy heart, of wonder; thy mouth all praises, investing and encircling thy prayers, as a bright cloud is adorned with fringes and margins of light.

6. When thou seest the holy man minister, disputé no more, inquire no more, doubt no more, be divided no more; but believe, and behold with the eyes of faith and of the spirit, that thou seest Christ's body broken upon the cross, that thou seest him bleeding for thy sins, that thou feedest upon the food of elect souls, that thou puttest thy mouth to the hole of the rock that was smitten, to the wound of the side of the Lord, which being pierced, streamed forth sacraments, and life, and holiness, and pardon, and purity, and immortality, upon thee.

7. When the words of institution are pronounced, all the Christians used to say ' Amen;' giving their consent, confessing that faith, believing that word, rejoicing in that mystery which is told us, when the minister of the sacrament, in the person of Christ, says, "This is my body, this is my blood; this body was broken for you, and this blood was poured forth for you; and all this for the remission of your sins." And remember, that the guilt of eternal damnation, which we have all incurred, was a great and an intolerable evil,- and unavoidable, if such miracles of mercy had not been wrought to take it quite away: and that it was a very great love, which would work such

d 8. Cyprian. de cœna Dom. sanguinem sugimus,' &c.

• Πᾶς ὁ παρὼν λαὸς ἐπευφημεῖ λέγων, Αμήν. — Justin, Martyr.

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