A preparation for the Lord's Supper to which are added Maxims of true Christianity / written originally in French, by P. Allix ; Englished by P. Lorrain.

A PREPARATION FOR THE LORD'S SUPPER. To which are Added, MAXIMS OF TRUE CHRISTIANITY.

Written Originally in French, by P. Allix.

Engliſhed by P. Lorrain.

LONDON: Printed for Brab. Aylmer, at the Three Pigeons over againſt the Royal Exchange in Cornhil, 1688.

IMPRIMATUR,

Jun. 13. 1687. Guil. Needham.

TO THE Right Honourable The LADY MARGARET RUSSELL. May it pleaſe Your Honour,

BEING to expoſe this Tranſlation to a World, who generally have a great indifference (not to ſay averſion) for the Myſteries of OUR RELIGION, eſpecially That of the HOLY EUCHARIST, and have eſpouſed Maxims quite oppoſite to Thoſe here laid down, I had reaſon to believe it would ſtand in need of a Powerful Authority to ſupport and vindicate it againſt the Cavils and Prejudices, that in the minds of many may riſe againſt the Subjects it treats of. And as I was looking about for ſuch a PATRONAGE, which (at once) might as well by its GREATNESS authorize and commend, as by its GOODNESS exemplifie and atteſt them, it was my happineſs to fix upon YOUR HONOUR, who is ſo ſignally and inconteſtably poſſeſt of both theſe Advantages. This, MADAM, was the Conſideration made me aſpire to the boldneſs of craving YOUR ILLUSTRIOUS NAME, to countenance theſe Papers; in condeſcending to which, as your HONOUR will do manifeſt Juſtice to PIETY, ſo will it be interpreted a tranſcendent Favour to, and ever acknowledged as ſuch by,

May it pleaſe Your Honour, YOUR HONOUR'S moſt humbly devoted & obedient Servant, Paul Lorrain.

THE PREFACE.

THERE are three Things abſolutely requiſite for the making of any one a Worthy and Happy Communicant.

1. HE muſt throughly underſtand thoſe Truths, the Memory whereof Our LORD deſign'd to preſerve in the Inſtitution of the Holy Euchariſt. For no Man can, with any benefit, receive this Sacrament, unleſs his Spirit be filled with the ſame Thoughts, which Our Saviour did thereby ſuggeſt to his Apoſtles.

2. HE ought to have a lively Senſe of thoſe Comforts, ariſing from a Conſideration of the Important Truths, which CHRIST ſo clearly repreſents to us in the Celebration of this Sacred Myſtery; for as much as our Communicating in the LORD'S SUPPER ought not only to conſiſt in the having our Spirits poſſeſſed with the Image of Him, who was crucifi'd for us; but in our gathering the precious Fruits, which accrew to us by his Death.

3, and Laſtly. As it would be an extreme Injuſtice for us to be found wanting in our Faithfulneſs, Acknowledgement, Love and Obedience to GOD, who ſo graciouſly acquaints us with, and makes us ſenſible of theſe Wonders of his Mercy and Compaſſion towords us; ſo we may eaſily conceive the Neceſſity, Reaſonableneſs, and Extent of the Duties our Participation of the Holy Sacrament engages us to; which we ought, with a Religious Care, to diſcharge, through the whole Courſe of our Lives.

NOTHING can therefore be of greater Uſe to Chriſtians, with reſpect to the Holy Communion, than to have the great Truths, imply'd in the Euchariſt, diſtinctly propounded to them, and be made apprehenſive of thoſe delightful Comforts treaſur'd up therein, to the end they may thereby be diſpoſed to a ready performance of the Duties it layes upon them.

THIS is my Deſign in this ſmall Treatiſe, wherein I ſhall follow no other Method, than that juſt now hinted at; that is, I ſhall,

Firſt of all, endeavour to make out, that the Euchariſt exhibits the moſt weighty and Fundamental Points of Chriſtianity to our View.

In the next place, demonſtrate, that the Meditating upon theſe important Verities (which are frequently called to mind by this Sacrament, kept up in the Church) is to true Believers a Well-Spring of inexhauſtible Comfort, and indefectible Joy.

And finally conclude, with pointing at thoſe ſeveral Duties, which this Holy Inſtitution does ſo neceſſarily charge us with, that we cannot neglect the ſame, but at the peril of our Everlaſting Ruin.

To which three things I intend to ſpeak, without entring upon any of thoſe Controverſies, which divide Chriſtians in this Matter; my Deſign here being not (chiefly) to oppoſe Error, but to excite and fortifie their Devotion and Piety, who are already acquainted with the Truth, though they do not always duly conſider and reflect upon it.

GOD grant we may ſo plainly diſcover to them, the Connexion there is between the Truths, Conſolations and Duties of OUR RELIGION, that while they are ſeeking for Comfort in the Meditation of DIVINE TRUTHS, they may at the ſame time, meet with ſtrong and urgent Motives to apply themſelves, with all Diligence and Perſeverance, to the Practice of True Holineſs.

A PREPARATION FOR THE Lord's Supper.

CHAP. I. THE Hiſtory of the Inſtitution of the LORD'S SƲPPER.

THE Meaning of Our LORD in his inſtituting of the Fuchariſt, can no way be better underſtood, than by a careful Examination of the Terms He us'd, and the Circumſtances of his Diſcourſe.

HIS Words expreſs the Thoughts He would ſuggeſt to the Minds of his Apoſtles, and all other Chriſtians after them; and to the end we ſhould the better apprehend the Senſe of them, the Evangeliſts have not only given us a plain Relation of his Inſtitution, but been very careful in deſcribing all the Circumſtances thereof to us.

THEY therefore acquaint us, that JESUS CHRIST inſtituted this Holy Sacrament that ſame Night He was Betrayed, and delivered up to the Jews by one of his Diſciples, after he had celebrated with them the Anniverſary of their Fore-fathers Deliverance out of Egypt, in eating the Paſchal Lamb, according to the Law of God. Exod. 12.

AS to the Form or Manner which CHRIST obſerv'd in his Celebrating the Euchariſt, the Evangeliſts agree, that after the Paſchal Supper, He took Bread, and having given Thanks, brake it, and diſtributed it to his Diſciples, ſaying; Take, eat, this is my Body, which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of me.

THEN they tell us further, that Our Lord having likewiſe taken the Cup, and given Thanks, He deliver'd it to his Diſciples, ſaying, Drink ye all of this; for this is my Bloud, the Bloud of the New Teſtament, which is ſhed for you; do this as often as you drink of it in remembrance of me.

IN a word, they intimate to us, that the Diſciples did all drink of it, and that having ſung an Hymn, they accompany'd JESUS to the Garden of Gethſemane on the Mount of Olives, where after his having endur'd a moſt Bitter Agony, He was laid hold of, in order to be expoſed to all the Reproaches He ſoon after ſuffered, both from the Jews and Romans, and ſinally to be crucify'd. Thus ending his Life by a Puniſhment, that was equally painful and accurſed.

MOREOVER it appears, that the Deſign of our Lord JESUS CHRIST was, That this Ceremony ſhould be in all Afterages exactly obſerv'd in his Church. This may plainly be ſeen, Firſt, From his Subſtituting it to that of the Paſſover, which was to continue as long as the Jewiſh Religion laſted, as being that which took its Beginning from the Riſe, or at leaſt the Grand Deliverance of that People. Secondly, Becauſe this Ceremony was to be the Sacrament of a New Covenant, that ſhould not be abrogated by any other whatſoever. Thirdly and Laſtly, Foraſmuch as the Apoſtle St. Paul, who had been rapt up into the Third Heaven, there to be further acquainted with the great Myſtery of Faith, informs the Believers, that they ought to declare, that is (according to the Jewiſh way of ſpeaking) to celebrate the Memory of CHRIST's Death, untill his Coming again, that is, to the End of the World, when he ſhall return from Heaven to judge both the Quick and the Dead, in order to the Completion of his Promiſes, and our Hopes.

CHAP. II. That JESƲS CHRIST borrow'd the Actions and Expreſſions HE made uſe of in the Inſtitution of the Euchariſt, from the Jews.

THERE are two ſorts of Reflections may be made upon the Inſtitution of the Lord's Supper. Some do ſerve to explain the Letter, and out-ſide of this Sacrament; and others, again inform us of the great Aim and Deſign of it. I begin with the Firſt.

AS it is well known, that in the Inſtitution of Baptiſm, CHRIST borrowed the Rite of Waſhing, practiſed by the Jews on thoſe Gentiles they admitted to the Publick Profeſſion of Judaiſm; ſo it is as plain, that our Saviour in the Inſtitution of his Holy Supper, did ſo far comply with the Jewiſh Cuſtoms, after the Celebration of their Paſſover (yet raiſing ſome of them to a much more excellent Senſe, than they had before) that He follow'd cloſely the Notions and Expreſſions of the Jews.

TO clear this, we muſt know that the Evening of the Paſſover, the Maſter of the Houſe began this Solemnity with Praiſes to God, holding in his Hand a Cup of Wine, whereof himſelf having firſt drunk, he gave it to all the Company.

AFTER this, inſtead of the uſual Bleſſing of the Bread, he was wont to take an unleavened Cake in his Hand, ſaying, This is the Bread of Affliction, which our Fathers did Eat in Egypt. Words that had a Natural Relation to the Hiſtory of their Bondage and Deliverance of old.

I omit the whole Ceremony of the Paſchal Lamb, which is deſcribed in the 12th. Chapter of Exodus, and ſhall only remark, that after this Feaſt the Maſter of the Houſe was us'd to take the Cup again, which at firſt he had conſecrated, and having given thanks, to preſent it to the Participants, ſaying to them, that That was the Fruit of the Vine, and the Bloud of Grapes. An Expreſſion borrow'd from Geneſis, Chap. 49.11. and Deut. Ch. 32.14.

FINALLY, after this Ceremony, their Cuſtom was to Sing the 113th. & 114th. Pſalms, as an Hymn that concluded the Devotion of this Solemnity: Which Song of Praiſe they ſtill at this day call the Hallel.

'TIS evident our Lord did imitate this Uſage, which is ſtill obſerv'd by the Jews, ſave only that they don't eat a Lamb. When therefore He had eaten the Paſchal Lamb, He took the Bread, which was deſigned to commemorate the Miſery the Children of Iſrael underwent in Egypt; and made uſe of the ſame Bleſſing and Giving of Thanks, which was received among the Jews; Brake the Bread He had taken; and intending this Ceremony ſhould preſerve the Remembrance of his Death, He ſtill proſecuted the ſame Notions and Expreſſions of the Jews; ſaying, that it was his Body which was now to be broken for the Remiſſion of the Sins of Mankind.

AFTER this, He (according to the Practice of the Jews) took the Cup, gave thanks a ſecond time, and having ended his Bleſſing or Prayer, (for theſe ſignifie the ſame thing among the Jews) He declared that this Cup was the New Teſtament in his Bloud, or the Bloud of the New Teſtament by which God granted penitent Sinners the Pardon of their Sins.

WHICH Expreſſions clearly ſhew, that He would have this Cup to be conſider'd as a Memorial of the New Teſtament, of which he was the Mediator.

IN ſhort, is it not manifeſt, that He, together with his Diſciples ſang the ſame Hymns, which were ſolemn and cuſtomary with the Jews on this occaſion?

THERE is no man who does not eaſily perceive that JESUS CHRIST found in this conſtant Cuſtom of the Jews, a juſt ground for expreſſing himſelf as He did, when he deſign'd to inſtitute, and perpetuate in his Church a Publick Memorial of his Death and Sufferings.

THE Jews themſelves, the Mortal Enemies of our Religion, do agree with this. They highly maintain, that according to CHRIST's Senſe, theſe Words, This is my Body, &c. which He pronounced in ſhewing the Bread, cannot import the notion of Reality, but only of Signification; that his Meaning was very apparent, both becauſe He ſaid in the 6th. of St. John concerning the Eating here mentioned, The Words that I ſpeak to you are Spirit and Life, that is, they are to be underſtood in a Spiritual Senſe; and becauſe it was an uſual Expreſſion with them to ſay, This is the Bread, which our Fathers did Eat, though indeed it was but the Memorial of it. Fortalit. Fid. L. 3. § 11. p. 172.

Thus the Expreſſions of our Lord being (as appears) made up of thoſe common Idea's ſo current among the Jews, it is evident that his Deſign in inſtituting of the Euchariſt, was to repreſent his Death to us, as a thing, which for time to come was to be commemorated by the Church, He ſubſtituting it in the room of the Memorial of the Deliverance out of Egypt, and the ancient Covenant God had made with the Jews, after his having ſet them at Liberty from their hard Bondage.

BUT theſe Remarks, which only reſpect the out-ſide of the Euchariſt, are of much leſs importance than thoſe of the Second Order, which refer to our Lord's Deſign in his Inſtitution of this Holy Sacrament.

CHAP. III. That JESƲS CHRIST in his Inſtitution of the Euchariſt has followed Idea's or Notions, quite oppoſite to thoſe of the Paſchal Lamb; And what thoſe Idea's of the Paſchal Lamb are.

OUR Saviour's Words are not to be compar'd only with thoſe the Jews made uſe of at the Eating of their Unleavened Bread, which they call'd the Bread of Affliction, becauſe it was a Repreſentative of it; but (that they may be throughly illuſtrated) they are to be conſidered with oppoſition to the Idea's of the Paſchal Lamb, to which our Lord was willing to make the Celebration of this Sacrament to ſucced. And indeed not only St. Paul leads us naturally to look upon the Sacrifice of the Paſſover as a he ſays 1 Cor. 5.7. that CHRIST our Paſſover is Sacrificed for us; nor only did JESUS CHRIST for this chooſe the time of the Paſſover to ordain the Memorial of his Death; but the Jews themſelves ſeem fully to agree with it, when they propound this, as one of their moſt ancient Traditions, That the Meſſias is to procure their Salvation the ſelf ſame Day, in which they were deliver'd from their Egyptian Bondage. Fagius ad Exod. 12.13.

Firſt then, I ſay, that it is evident our Lord's Deſign was to ſubſtitute the Memorial of the Deliverance of Mankind by his Death, in the room of the Remembrance of the Jews Deliverance by the Bloud of the Paſchal Lamb. He does not now command the Eating of a Lamb as formerly; and his Words, Do this, are not at all ſpoken to that purpoſe; but his Intent was to aboliſh the Memory of the Curſe GOD had pronounced againſt the Race of Cham, which was executed in the Death of the Firſt-born in Egypt, and had been a Principle of Diviſion among thoſe Nations he now unites again. It is with reſpect to his Death (which under the Appearance of a Curſe, has made him the Bleſſing of the World) that he ordain'd this Ceremony of breaking and eating Bread. Which latter Ceremony CHRIST prefers before the Eating of the Paſchal Lamb, it being his Will, that it ſhould thenceforwards be conſidered as the Chief Ceremony of his Religion, as being a ſolemn Token of his having aboliſh'd the Curſe due to Sinners; whereof indeed the Paſchal Lamb was a publick Monument with reſpect to the Egyptians, though it was a Signal of God's Bleſſing to the Iſraelites.

IN the ſecond place I ſay, that Chriſt expreſſes himſelf ſo as to give us Idea's very much differing from thoſe of the Jews. For Firſt, He ſpeaks of a New Teſtament, in oppoſition to the Old he was about to aboliſh. Secondly, He oppoſes his Bloud, Which was ſhed for many, for the remiſſion of their Sins, to the Bloud of the Paſchal Lamb, that was poured forth only for a few, and the Ceremony of it celebrated but in one Nation, viz. that of the Jews, to which alone the Benefit of the Egyptian Deliverance was appropriate. Thirdly, He oppoſes the Eating of his Fleſh, which he repreſents as a Sacrifice He was about to offer up for the Sins of the World, to the Eating of thoſe Lambs, that were ſlain in purſuance of God's Law.

This being laid down (which I hope cannot be contradicted) it is plain that foraſmuch as JESUS CHRIST did partly make uſe of the Idea's or Notions of the Paſchal Lamb, and partly expreſs'd himſelf with oppoſition to that Ceremony, We muſt neceſſarily, in order to our apprehending the true Meaning of our Lord in the Inſtitution of his Supper, and having a perfect Knowledg of it, make out a due Parallel between the Paſchal Lamb, that kept up the Remembrance of the Egyptian Deliverance, and the Sacrament of the Euchariſt, which preſerves that of the Death of our Lord and Saviour.

In order whereto theſe following Reflections may be made upon the Inſtitution and Celebration of the Paſchal Lamb.

The Firſt is, That is was God's Pleaſure in inſtituting this Ceremony, to tranſmit the Memory of ſo great and prodigious an Event as that of his People's Deliverance out of Egypt, was to all Poſterity. This He Himſelf expreſſes in the 12th. Chapter of Exodus, in this manner: This day ſhall be unto you for a Memorial; and you ſhall keep it a Feaſt to the Lord throughout your Generations: And when your Children ſhall anſwer, It is the Sacrifice of the Lord's Paſſover, who paſſed over the Houſes of the Children of Iſrael in Egypt, when He ſmote the Egyptians, and delivered our Houſes. It was with regard to this, that to excite the Curioſity of all the People, yea, even of the very Children, He ordain'd that they, who were to celebrate the Paſſover, ſhould take a Journey to the Temple, in that Equipage of Travellers, in which their Fore-fathers departed out of Egypt. He would have them alſo eat Unleavened Bread for the ſpace of ſevendays, and bitter, or wild Herbs with the Paſchal Lamb; and He (in like manner) ordain'd, that they ſhould every year renew this Ceremony, wherein their Children had a ſhare as ſoon as they were capable of asking their Fathers the reaſon of all this change from their uſual way of Eating. And indeed ſuch a Ceremony thus ſolemnly obſerved every year, and to which every one, from one Generation to another, does by a publick Law ſubmit himſelf, is an infallible means to eſtabliſh the Belief of a Matter of Fact, and preſerve the Memory of great Events.

The Second is, That GOD would have his People conſider with what exact Faithfulneſs, He had acquitted Himſelf of all his Promiſes, by delivering them with a ſtrong Hand, and ſtretched-out Arm from the cruel Power of the Egyptians, at the ſame time when He made an Example of this Barbarous Poſterity of Cham, who had afflicted them in a long & painful Servitude. For as on one hand GOD had ſubjected all the Progeny of Cham to his Curſe (as you may ſee, Gen. 9.25.) which began to take Effect in thoſe Plagues wherewith He ſmote Egypt, though it was afterwards more exactly fulfilled by the Deſtruction of the Canaanites; So on the other He ſaid to Abraham, Gen. 15. v. 13, 14, & 16. where he explains the promiſed Bleſſing; Know of a Surety, that thy Seed ſhall be a Stranger in a Land that is not theirs, and ſhall ſerve them, and they ſhall afflict them four hundred years. And alſo that Nation whom they ſhall ſerve, will I judge; and afterwards ſhall they come out with great Subſtance. But in the Fourth Generation they ſhall come hither again. Behold here the Oracle that contains an Excellent Promiſe; which being made good to the Jews, He commands them to celebrate the Memory of the Exact Accompliſhment thereof by obſerving the Anniverſary Feſtival of the Paſchal Lamb.

THE third Reflection we may make upon the Inſtitution of the Paſchal Lamb, in this, That God would have the Jews look on their Deliverance out of Egypt, as the greateſt Bleſſing He had ever vouchſafed to them. And certainly as He had expreſs'd an exceeding great Favour in with-holding Abraham's Knife from ſlaying Iſaac, and ſubſtituting a Ram in the Room of him; ſo there was none of the Firſt-born of the Iſraelites, but could ſay, that GOD had been as favourable to them, as He was to Iſaac, by cauſing the Sword of the Deſtroying Angel to fall upon a Lamb, at a time when he was commiſſioned to ſlay all the Firſt-born in Egypt both of Man and Beaſt.

The Fourth Reflection was hinted at juſt now, which is, That GOD would have his People underſtand, that the Expiation of the Sins of their Anceſtors had been typify'd and prefigur'd by his accepting of the Bloud of their Lambs, inſtead of the Lives and Bloud of their Firſt-born. And indeed in agreement to this Obſervation we may ſay, that the whole Law in all its ſeveral Expiations, wherein Sin was transferr'd upon the Sacrifice, did nothing elſe but further illuſtrate and extend the Figure of Abraham's Offering, as likewiſe that of the Sacrifice of the Paſchal Lamb, and repreſent the ſame more lively and diſtinctly to the Minds of them that Offer'd; God having joyn'd to this Expiatory Sacrifice, certain circumſtances of Places, Perſons, and Time, to the end the Impreſſion of it might be the deeper, and leave a more lively Senſe in the minds of thoſe that were concern'd therein.

A Fifth Reflection upon the Paſchal Lamb is this, that it was to be conſider'd as a Publick Pledge and Token of the Covenant GOD had made with the People of Iſrael, by preferring them before the Iſmaelites and Edomites, who were deſcended, the former from Abraham, and the latter from Iſaac. The Sign of Circumciſion did ſufficiently acquaint the Jews, that by this diſtinguiſhing Character GOD had choſen them from among all other Nations of the Earth, to accompliſh in the midſt of them the Promiſe He had made to Abraham, namely, that of his Seed the Meſſias was to be born, in whom all Nations ſhould be bleſſed: But this ſign of Circumciſion being common to the Jews, with the Iſmaelites and Edomites, the pretences of both theſe to the Priviledges of the Covenant (which GOD had firſt made with Abraham, and afterwards renew'd with Iſaac) was ſtill kept up. It was therefore requiſite there ſhould be a Religious Ceremony, that might demonſtrate that this Covenant was particularly confin'd within the Family of Jacob. Which was done by the Paſchal Lamb. For this repreſented to them, that (according to what was foretold Gen. 15.) Affliction, and that in this State they had receiv'd a particular Relief and Deliverance from GOD; which, foraſmuch as it could not be ſaid of the Iſmaelites or Edomites, did moſt ſtrongly refute all their Pretenſions to a Right in God's Covenant with Abraham. This likewiſe moſt clearly ſet forth to them, that God by virtue of his Covenant, had, out of his Mercy, preſerved them at a time when the Egyptians felt the Effects of his Curſe and Vengeance, and that accordingly He would not fail of fulfilling that Great Promiſe, in order to the accompliſhment of which He had ſo miraculouſly preſerved Iſaac, and after him, their Fathers alſo, from the Sword of the Deſtroying Angel.

LASTLY, It is to be obſerved, that as this Ceremony reminded them of GOD'S Love for their Nation, of his Faithfulneſs in making good his Promiſes, of the Expiation of their Iniquities, and of his Covenant with them (A Covenant by which He had engaged to be their God, that is, their Benefactor and Protector, and one day to give them the Meſſias, who was to be born of their Nation,) ſo it naturally led them alſo to look upon themſelves as the People of GOD, and to obey Him faithfully; In a word, to anſwer by a Holy Life, and all the marks of true Gratitude, the Honour GOD had conferr'd upon them, by his making (out of his meer Good Will) a Covenant with them, and calling them to ſo great Hopes, as thoſe were, which He had ſet before them.

CHAP. IV. Of the Truths which the Holy Communion repreſents to us.

THESE are the Principal Truths, great Comforts and juſt Obligations to ſerve GOD religiouſly, which ſo manifeſtly were imply'd in the Celebration of the Paſchal Lamb. But how much more important is the thing our Saviour has made to ſupply the place of it in his Inſtitution of the Euchariſt! That which he exhibits to us in this Sacred Myſtery (whether with reſpect to the Truths, Comforts, or our Obligations to Piety it contains) is infinitely more Sublime, great and real. To be aſſured of this, we need only to reſume and attentively conſider the forementioned three Points. I begin with the Truths the Euchariſt repreſents to us.

THE firſt of theſe Truths reſpects the Purpoſe and Deſign of our Lord, when He inſtituted the Sacrament of his Supper. Certainly it was (as all Chriſtians agree) to eſtabliſh a publick Monument of his Death, as being the greateſt Event that could ever be commemorated. Firſt, He brake the Bread; and then, to expreſs what He meant by this breaking of the Bread, He ſaid, that it was his Body broken, i. e. torn by the cruelty of his Tormenters. He preſented afterwards the Cup to his Diſciples; and to unfold the Myſtery thereof, added that it was the New Teſtament in his Blood; which had a natural reference to his Death. This He explains more clearly in his command, Do this in remembrance of me, that is, in commemoration of my Sufferings. Which made St. Paul ſay, As often as you ſhall Eat of this Bread and Drink of this Cup, you ſhew (or according to our way of ſpeaking, you muſt ſhew or declare) the Lord's Death, i. e. you are to call to mind, and ſolemnly commemorate this wonderful effect of the Love of God. Indeed we ſee the Evangeliſts have ſo exactly deſcribed the Death of Chriſt, with all the Circumſtances thereof to us, that we may aver, they have (as it were) preſented us with the very Picture and Lively Image of it. So that had we been Eyewitneſſes of the ſame our ſelves, and in company with them upon Mount Calvary, we ſhould hardly have been ſo well acquainted therewith, as now we are. But beſides this, it was our Saviour's will, that by a Religious Ceremony, which ſhould be ſolemnized to the World's End, his Death might continually be placed before our Eyes. And notwithſtanding this ignomious Death was to prove a Stumbling-block to the Jews, and at firſt be look'd upon as meer Fooliſhneſs by the Gentiles; yet would He have the Remembrance thereof to be dearly preſerv'd in his Church, by his inſtituting of the Euchariſt much after the ſame manner as God the Father had inſtituted the Ceremony of the Paſchal Lamb, which did yearly refreſh the Memory of the Jews about their Deliverance out of Egypt, as the moſt remarkable Event, that had ever happened to their Nation.

THE ſecond Truth which the Euchariſt offers to us, is, That JESƲS CHRIST is the true MESSIAS promiſed by God, and that we have in Him the Accompliſhment of the ancient Prophecies; which (among the diverſe Characters that the MESSIAS was to be known by, and are exactly found in Our Lord) expreſly foretold that He was to ſuffer Death. Pſal. 22. Iſ. 53. Dan. 9.26. And here it is well worth our while to conſider: Firſt, That GOD had ſtampt the mark of his Curſe upon the Puniſhment of the Croſs. Curſed is every one that hangs on a Tree, Deut. 21.23. Gal. 3.13. Secondly, That though GOD had deſcribed the MESSIAS, as One who was to be the Fountain of Bleſſings to all Nations, Tribes and Families of the Earth; yet at the ſame time He had given forth many Oracles concerning his Death upon the Croſs, and the ſeveral Circumſtances of it. Thirdly, That GOD was pleaſed to dictate a greater Number of Oracles relating to this matter, than to any other of thoſe Glorious and wonderful Events, whereby the MESSIAS was to be diſtinguiſh'd during his Life here. The Prophecies mentioning his Birth, and the place of his Nativity, are but few; whereas GOD preſignifi'd by the Prophets, and repreſented by manifold Lively Types and Figures 1. That both Jews and Gentiles were to joyn together in the Deſtroying of the MESSIAS, Pſal. 2.1. 2. That his own Diſciple, and one that ate Bread with him ſhould betray him. Pſal. 41.9. 3. That He ſhould be ſold for thirty Pieces of Silver, Zach. 11.12. 4. That his Diſciples would forſake Him, Zach. 13.7. 5. That He was to be the ſcorn and deriſion of his Adverſaries, Pſal. 22.7. 6. That He ſhould hold his Peace as a Sheep dumb before his Tormenters, Iſa. 53.7. 7. That the Great Men of the World were to take Council together for putting Him to Death. Pſal. 2.2. 8. That He was to be expoſed as an Object of Horror and Deteſtation, Iſa. 53.3. 9. That He was to be reckoned among Tranſgreſſors, Iſa. 53.12. 10. That they ſhould pierce his Hands and Feet, Pſal. 22.16. 11. That Lots ſhould be caſt upon his Veſture, Pſal. 22.18. 12. That He ſhould be inſulted over, and derided on the account of his truſting in God, Pſal. 22.8. 13. That he was to complain of his being abandoned by GOD to the fury of his Enemies, Pſal. 22.1. 14. That they would give Him Gall and Vinegar to drink, Pſal. 69.22. 15. That He was to commit his Soul into the Hands of GOD, Pſal. 31.5. 16. That his Side was to be pierced with a Spear, Zach. 12.10. 17. That none of his Bones ſhould be broken, Exod. 12.49. Pſal. 34.20. 18. That He ſhould be laid in a Rich Man's Tomb, Iſa. 53.9. And beſides theſe, there a great many other Circumſtances to the ſame purpoſe, exactly ſpecify'd by the Prophets. But I wave them; my Deſign being only to hint at the moſt remarkable.

WHAT I have mentioned here is ſufficient: Firſt, to demonſtrate, that CHRIST'S Death (with all the notable paſſages of it) was a convincing Proof of his being the promiſed MESSIAS. But in the ſecond place, it is yet more evident, that as our Saviour would have a lively Senſe of his Bloody Death and Paſſion, to be preſerv'd by a publick Monument, that might perpetuate the memory of it in his Church, ſo was He willing thereby to inculcate the more forcibly this Proof of his being the Meſſias. A Proof taken from the kind of Death, which He ſuffer'd, and the Circumſtances attending it. For as much as this Death (which had ſo much Scandal in it) being the Object of the Chriſtian Religion would inevitably expoſe it to many Reflections and the Oppoſition of great difficulties.

THE third Truth, which the Euchariſt repreſents to us, is, That the Paſſion of CHRIST, which the Jews look upon, as an Evident Sign of the Curſe of God, is moſt truly a plentiful conveyance of the greateſt Bleſſings to Sinners. This we are made ſenſible of, as ſoon as we reflect upon theſe two Things. 1. That GOD denounced his Curſe againſt Sinners, not only when He ſaid, Gen. 3.17. Curſed ſhall be the Ground for thy ſake, or when in Deut. 27.26. He pronounced him accurſed, who did not continue in all the Words of the Law to do them; But alſo by annexing this Curſe in particular to that kind of Death which our Lord ſuffer'd; it being ſaid, Deut. 21.23. He that is hang'd is accurſed of GOD. 2. That though GOD by his Oracles given to Abraham had promiſed, that all Nations ſhould be bleſſed by means of the Meſſias, yet He does no leſs expreſly declare, that the Meſſias was to ſuffer the Puniſhment of the Croſs, and conſequently be under the Curſe of GOD, Pſal. 22. Zach. 12.10. A man muſt either make no uſe of his own Reaſon, or preſently infer from theſe Truths, that the MESSIAS was to be a Bleſſing to the World, no other way than by his being expoſed to the Curſe for a time, viz. by undergoing an accurſed Death before he could ſhower down all the Bleſſings of his Grace and Glory upon us. The Euchariſt preſerving the Memory of our Saviour's Paſſion, naturally leads us to this Reflection. Which will be much more ſenſibly impreſs'd upon us, if with it we joyn a view of JESƲS CHRIST; who preſents Himſelf on the Croſs, as a Victim offer'd for Sinners, and his Death as a Real Sacrifice.

THE fourth Truth, is that which is moſt diſtinctly laid open to us in the Manner and Circumſtances of the Euchariſt. For,

Firſt of all, CHRIST did not only inſtitute this Ceremony after He had eaten the Paſchal Lamb with his Diſciples, which ſet before their Eyes. 1. The Sacrifice of the Ram, that was offer'd up in the Room of Iſaac. 2. That of the Lambs in Egypt, for the redemption of the Firſt-born of the Iſraelites. 3. The Teſtimony of John the Baptiſt expreſs'd in theſe Terms; This is the Lamb of God, who takes away the Sins of the World. Which ſaying of his explains all the ancient Types, and with one word does illuſtrate whatever we read concerning the Death of the Meſſias in the 53d. of Iſaiah. And,

Secondly, CHRIST in the Inſtitution of his Sacrament expreſſes Himſelf alſo by way of oppoſition to the Paſchal Lamb, and other Sacrifices of the Law; thereby to intimate that the ancient Deliverance the Jews had obtained by their offering of Lambs for their Firſt-born, was but a Figure of that which was to be procur'd by his Death, and that this Death was to be conſider'd as a true Sacrifice, by means of which GOD was certainly and fully reconcil'd to Sinners. And this Truth it is evident CHRIST was willing to declare moſt ſenſibly to us; 1. When He repreſents his Body as broken, and his Blood as ſhed. 2. When he wills us to eat the Bread of the Euchariſt, and drink of the Cup, as Eating his Body and drinking his Blood. Indeed when Our Saviour commanded his Diſciples, (and in their Perſons all the Faithful) to eat his Fleſh and drink his Blood, it is manifeſt, that He would, 1. Take off the reſtraint of the Old Law, which forbad Sinners to eat of the Sacrifice that was offer'd for their Sins. 2. Aboliſh that Precept of the ſame Law, which abſolutely injoyned Men to abſtain from Blood. And as this intimates that thoſe Victims of old had never made any through Expiation; ſo it plainly ſhews, that CHRIST offer'd up Himſelf as the true Sacrifice from which this Bleſſed Effect was to be look'd for. Moreover after his having ſuggeſted theſe Ideas of Himſelf as a Victim ſlain, He now repreſents Himſelf to us under the Notion of an High Prieſt, when he ſays, Mat. 26.29. I will not drink henceforth of this Fruit of the Vine, until that Day when I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom; In which words He alludes to the Cuſtom of of the High Prieſt, who after he had happily concluded his Solemn Sacrifice on the Day of Atonement, and was come home ſafe from the Sanctuary (where GOD had killed ſome) he was wont to make a Feaſt to his Friends, in token of joy, for the good ſucceſs of his Function.

'TIS this important Truth the Apoſtle St. Paul ſo ſtrongly aſſerts in his Epiſtle to the Hebrews; And it is for the ſame reaſon, that when he was deſirous to take off the Corinthians from the Communion they had with Heathens in their Sacrifices, he repreſents to them the Celebration of the Euchariſt, as a participating of the Sacrifice offer'd up by our Lord.

INDEED if this Sacrament had been inſtituted by CHRIST, after his Reſurrection (which wholly effaced the Pourtraiture of his Shame and Sufferings) it would have been much more difficult to have thence inculcated to us this important Truth of the Chriſtian Religion. But Our Lord did expreſly chooſe the time immediately before his Death, that ſo the Ceremony, which was to preſerve the Memory of it, might ſo fill us with the ſenſe of the Shame and Puniſhment he endured, that it might lead us to make a continual Reflection upon theſe Truths, viz. That when JESUS CHRIST dy'd; He dy'd for Sinners; That when He was nail'd to the Croſs, He bore their Sins in his Body on the Tree; That when He was wounded, it was for our Tranſgreſſions; and that by his Stripes we are healed.

THE fifth Truth, which our Saviour was willing continually to ſet before our Eyes by the Celebration of the Euchariſt, is, That this Bloody Death of his was the Bleſſed Means, by which GOD entred into Covenant with Mankind. Moſes had ſaid of the Blood he ſprinkled upon the People, Behold the Blood of the Covenant which the Lord has made with you, concerning all theſe words, Exod. 24.8. And Our Saviour plainly oppoſing his Blood to that, ſays concerning the Cup, This Cup is the New Covenant (or Teſtament) in my Blood, which is ſhed for the remiſſion of your Sins. This Covenant is the greateſt and moſt important Truth of our Religion. By it GOD delivers Men from Hell, and reſtores them to his Favour and Protection. It is this alſo diſplays before us the whole Myſtery of our Redemption; as 1. That Man being created Innocent fell into Rebellion againſt GOD, by liſt'ning to the inſinuations of the Devil. 2. That though Man deſerved to be not only reduc'd to nothing, from whence the Hand of GOD had raiſed him at the firſt, but to be caſt into Hell, there to undergo the puniſhment due to his Diſobedience; yet GOD being mov'd with pity, reſolv'd to forgive all, and make a New Covenant with him. 3. That it was the Will of GOD that his Own Son taking in due time Human Nature upon Him, ſhould be the Perſon in whoſe Blood this Covenant was to be Eſtabliſhed. 4. That JESUS CHRIST having really ſhed his Blood, this Covenant was fully ratify'd and confirmed, and Remiſſion of Sins offer'd to all that would repent. For that is the thing which is meant by the New Covenant, according as GOD expreſſes it in Jeremy 31.34. ſaying, I will forgive their Iniquity and remember their Sin no more.

THE ſixth conſiderable Truth is, That our Saviour would have us always to bear in mind his Laſt Coming to judge the World, and conſummate the Work of Our Redemption. Accordingly this Sacrament contains ſolemn Marks and Inſtances of the fulfilling of the Promiſes God had made to ſend the Meſſias into the World. It ſets forth in what manner He began to act and ſuffer for Mankind. But He being to continue but a little while here upon Earth, and to be taken up to Heaven, there to remain to the End of the World, this Ceremony acquaints us, that He is then to come again from thence, in order to fulfil our Hopes, by cauſing us to reap the laſt Fruits of his Expiation of Our Sins, that is, in deſtroying Death, by a glorious Reſurrection, and making us to live for ever with GOD, a Life that neither Sin, nor Death (which Sin has brought into the World) can ever diſturb. And it may be ſaid, that as the firſt Coming of the Meſſias was the great Object of the Religion, Deſires and Hopes of the Jews, Art thou (ſay they) He that ſhould come, or do we look for another? Mat. 11.3. as likewiſe of the Promiſes of Bleſſings which GOD had made to the Gentiles themſelves, He being called the Expectation and deſire of all Nations; Hag. 2.7. ſo is his ſecond Coming the great Object of the Chriſtian Religion. This ſame JESƲS (ſaid the Angels to his Diſciples, gazing up to Heaven) who is taken up from you into Heaven, ſhall ſo come in like manner as you have ſeen Him go into Heaven, Act. 1.11. On this account alſo the Church is repreſented to us (Rev. 22.17.) calling for her Bridegroom. And the Spirit and the Bride ſay, Come. And let him that hears, ſay, Come. And indeed as the Prophets deſcribe theſe two Comings of the Meſſias under the notion of one ſingle Object; ſo we ſee, that according to the mind of St. Paul (who aſſigns for the continuance of this Holy Ordinance the whole Interval of time to the end of the World and Chriſt's Return.) Our Saviour has in this Sacrament united this his two Comings, as being the greateſt Objects of our Religion.

CHAP. V. Of the Comforts the Holy Euchariſt adminiſters to us.

THUS having explain'd the important Truths which the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper engages us to meditate upon, it is very Evident that Our Participation of this Sacrament furniſhes us with moſt lively and refreſhing Comforts, which I now come to propoſe in order, with reference to the foregoing Truths.

FIRST then, What joy muſt we needs feel when we reflect upon this great Event, viz. the Death of Our Saviour? Let us but compare our Happineſs with the Condition of the Patriarchs, and we ſhall eaſily perceive how high a pitch our Joy ought to be raiſed to. St. Peter tells us, that the Prophets have enquired and ſearched diligently what, or what manner of time the Spirit of CHRIST, which was in them did ſignifie when it teſtifi'd beforehand the Sufferings of CHRIST and the Glory that ſhould follow, 1 Pet 1.10, 11. The Promiſes of GOD did fill their Hearts with gladneſs, even before they came to paſs, yea, tho' it was revealed to them, that it was not to themſelves, but to us that they miniſtred thoſe things, which have been declar'd to us by the Preachers of the Goſpel, 1 Pet. 1.12. They rejoyced to ſee the Faithfulneſs of GOD in the future accompliſhment of his Promiſes. And to this purpoſe St. Paul informs us, that the Patriarchs and Holy Men of old dy'd in the Faith, not having receiv'd the Promiſes, but having ſeen them afar off, and were perſwaded of them and embraced them. Heb. 11.13. Yet all this at a diſtance. Thus Balaam, Numb. 24.17. I ſee Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not nigh. But 'tis our happineſs that we are come to that Bleſſed State, which Our Saviour appropriates to his Diſciples. We ſee thoſe things which ſo many Kings and Righteous Perſons deſired to ſee, and did not ſee them. John the Baptiſt who Baptized Him, bore Witneſs of Him, and foretold his Death; yet never ſaw it. This was an Advantage reſerved for us. His Death is now in moſt lively Colours preſented to our View. It is Matter of Fact, certain and indubitably atteſted. He is come down from Heaven; He has taken our Fleſh upon Him; diſcharged the Functions of his Miniſtery here upon Earth, Sanctify'd Himſelf for our ſakes; ſuffer'd Death, and ordained a Memorial of it, as of a thing paſt and done. They of old had no diſtinct knowledge of the Death of the MESSIAS, nor of the kind and manner of it. All which is clearly manifeſted to us, at this Day. And though the Jew meets with Matter of Scandal, and the Gentile and occaſion of Reproach, yet the Chriſtian finds ſubject of the moſt exalted Joy and Comfort, in the Celebration of theſe Holy Myſteries.

THE Second Comfort the Euchariſt adminiſters to the Faithful, is exceeding ſweet, and raviſhing. We can no ſooner in our Meditations, reflect upon the fulfilling of the ancient Types of the Paſchal Lamb, and the Oracles of old, concerning the Coming of the MESSIAS, but we find the ſupport of our Faith, and a ſolid ground for our Hope to reſt on. Who can conceive the leaſt doubt of GOD'S performing thoſe Promiſes, the Execution of which ſeems as yet very difficult, and at a great diſtance, ſince He has already fulfilled that of ſending the MESSIAS, who had been ſo long looked for, during the Courſe of ſo many Ages? He ſills us with good hopes for things to come (ſays an ancient Father) For He who has given Himſelf to us here, will much rather do ſo hereafter, Chryſ. H. 6. ad. Pop. And indeed, who ſees not that this Diſpenſation of his being manifeſted in our Fleſh, and his Death in particular, muſt fill us with ſtrong and lively Hopes, when we addreſs our Prayers to Him? Chriſtian, 'Tis true, thou muſt appear before GOD, but GOD has left all Judgment to the Son; and He by partaking of Fleſh and Blood, is become thy Brother. He ſhed his Blood, and laid down his Life to redeem thee; He dy'd to deliver thee from that Miſery and Curſe to which thou hadſt doom'd thy ſelf to all Eternity. Wouldſt thou be as fully convinc'd of his tender Love and Compaſſion, as thou art of his Power? Conſider He feeds thee with his own Blood, and is ſet forth in the Holy Supper, as the Lamb of God. is it poſſible that this Conſideration ſhould not remind us of that Exceſs of Love, which prompted Him to die for us? We ſee here not a Sheep, but the Shepheard, giving his Life for the Salvation of his Sheep. Where will you meet with a Shepheard that feeds his Sheep with his own Blood? Yet JESUS CHRIST, the Great Shepheard feeds us with his. What may not we expect from ſo punctual a Faithfulneſs, ſupported by a Goodneſs and Compaſſion that is beyond all Example?

THE third Comfort, which we may reap hence, is this, That being deliver'd from the Curſe we lay under, every one of us may now ſay to his Soul, Return unto thy Reſt, O my Soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with thee; And with St. Paul triumphantly cry out, There is now no condemnation to them who are in CHRIST JESƲS. 'Tis He has deliver'd us from the fear of Death; by means of which we were all our Life's time ſubjects to Bondage. Before we are convinc'd of this Truth we are in a State of Miſery, Terrour and Deſpair. But ſince CHRIST has alter'd our Condition, by removing the Curſe that was againſt us, What Peace, Joy and Comfort ought not to poſſeſs our Conſciences? If we conſider David's Condition before Nathan had aſſur'd him of GOD'S Pardon, we have a lively Emblem of the lamentable Circumſtances in which the Sinner is, whoſe Ears always ring with the Sound of this dreadful Sentence, Curſed is he, that continues not in all the Words of this Law to do them. Deut. 27.26. He ſees the Sword of the Deſtroying Angel ready to ſtrike him. But now this Sacrament tells him, that God has put away his Iniquities, and removed the Curſe he had ſo juſtly drawn down upon himſelf. This Religious Ceremony which CHRIST has annexed to the Declaration of his Goſpel, is a Publick Monument, that GOD henceforth is not only become placable, but throughly appeaſed and reconciled to Man. He cryes to us, that our Iniquities are pardon'd, but ſays the Sinner, what ſhall I offer to GOD to make atonement for my offences? Shall I offer him, (as Abraham did Iſaac) my Firſt-born for my Tranſgreſſions? And the Euchariſt points him (as the Angel did Abraham) at the Victim prepar'd by GOD, or rather beſpeaks him in the Words of St. John the Baptiſt, Behold the Lamb of GOD that takes away the Sin of the World. And then the Sinner with Joy and Exultation breaks forth, He is, He is indeed come into the World; He has ſuffer'd Death to ſave Sinners, whereof I am chief.

NOW, if theſe Reflections on the Euchariſt afford ſuch Comforts to Chriſtians in general, they will more ſenſibly affect us, when we come to conſider theſe Comforts more diſtinctly. The Holy Sacrament by preſerving the Remembrance of CHRIST'S Death, obliges us more particularly to meditate upon this wonder of the Wiſdom and Love of GOD, whereby He has deliver'd us from our Sins, by charging them upon our Lord; who, like a Sacrifice, was ſlain in the room of Sinners, as the Ram was in the ſtead of Iſaac, and as the Lambs, which were killed, to redeem the Firſt-born of the Iſraelites, from the Sword of the Deſtroyer. Now as there is nothing more ſtupendous than this Subſtitution, ſo nothing yields Conſolation like it. For here we ſee, 1. The Love of the Father, who withheld the ſtroke of his Vengeance from Mankind, whereas He deſtroy'd the Apoſtate Angels, without remedy. 2. The Charity of the Son, who is become our Surety. Herein is the Love of GOD, not that we loved Him firſt, but that He loved us. No man has greater love than this, that he lays down his Life not for his Friend, but his Enemy. And yet thus far did our Saviour's Love carry Him. He preſented Himſelf a Sacrifice to GOD the Father. He received the ſtroke that was to wound us; neither the horror of thoſe Crimes we had committed, nor the dreadful Puniſhments that were due to us for them, being able to deter Him from taking upon him our Nature and Sufferings. GOD gave him to us, that He might be the High Prieſt of his Church. But He was not inveſted in this Dignity, nor is repreſented as making Interceſſion in Heaven for us, neither ſet forth as Bleſſing of us, but becauſe He has expiated our Sins, by offering up Himſelf a Sacrifice to free us from Death. Moſes's Wife ſeeing her Husband threat'ned with Death by the Angel for her Son's not being circumcis'd, thought it expedient to hazard the Child's Life by an haſty and venturous Circumciſion, that ſhe might ſecure her Husband from the danger that hung over him. GOD in this Caſe, does ſomething far more great and wonderful for us. He gives the Life of his own Son to redeem his Enemies; and behold, the Son readily conſents, and yields himſelf, as Iſaac did. Lo, I come (ſays He) in the Volume of thy Book, it is wriiten of me, I delight to do thy Will, O my God. O Ineffable and amazing Love to Mankind, who deſerved nothing, but an Eternal Curſe!

AS it was in the Blood of Lambs, that GOD made a Covenant with the People of Iſrael, ſo the Euchariſt repreſenting to us in the fifth Place, that the Blood of CHRIST is the Ground and Foundation of the New Covenant, which GOD has made with Chriſtians, we cannot look upon the Sacrament as the Pledge and Seal of this Covenant, without being filled with an Exceſs of Joy and Conſolation. For indeed, what greater Glory can be imagined, than for Man to be admitted to a Treaty with GOD? And what an inconceivable Advantage is this, that GOD ſhould vouchſafe to enter into Covenant with us? There are none but are ſenſible of the Happineſs of the Iſraelites, in this regard. To be convinc'd of which, we need only hear them, even at this day, ſpeaking with the greateſt Comfort, of the Honour GOD therein has done them, notwithſtanding their total diſperſion, and groaning under the Burthen of that Curſe, which purſues and overtakes them every where. Now, that ancient Covenant GOD has aboliſhed, as being imperfect; but this which we commemorate, is to endure for ever. The Deſign of the former was only to give the Jews a lively Senſe of Sin, or at the beſt to adminiſter a Typical Expiation; whereas the latter, viz. the New (according to the Prophet Jeremy) makes a true Atonement for Sin, and affords a Remiſſion rightly and properly ſo call'd. That had no promiſes, but what concern'd a Happineſs here on Earth; whereas This does promiſe a Reſurrection and Eternal Glory.

THE greateſt Honour the Old Covenant did confer upon the Jews, was this, That the MESSIAS ſhould be born of their Blood; but the Advantage of the New, is, That the MESSIAS partaking of Fleſh and Blood with the reſt of Mankind, has given his own Blood to raiſe them to the Glory of Adoption, who ſhall believe in Him. O how happy is the People, whoſe God is the Lord! And what does this Expreſſion, to be the God of any one, import, but this, viz. To be his Great and Soveraign Benefactor? Of old He was the GOD of Abraham, but not of Loth, and his Poſterity; Of Iſaac, but not of Iſmael and his Off-ſpring; Of Jacob, but not of Eſau and the Edomites. Now, He is the GOD of all the Earth. But he has not made this Covenant with all the Nations of the World, ſave only by virtue and on the Sole Account of the Blood of CHRIST. And can we with any attention, reflect on this Truth, repreſented to us in the Holy Euchariſt, without feeling a Joy unſpreakable and full of Glory? GOD had promiſed to enter into ſuch a Covenant, as this; and Jeremy deſcribes it in the 31. Chap. of his Prophecies; Yet the Old laſted till John the Baptiſt, and ſo long the Ceremonies of it were in uſe. But then comes CHRIST, and inſtead of continuing the Celebration of the Old Covenant, which was made in the Blood of the Paſchal Lamb, He abrogates it, and in its room ſubſtitutes the New Covenant, made in his own Blood. Do this (ſays He) in remembrance of me. Not That which was done before, but This: For this Cup is the New Teſtament in my Blood, which is ſhed for the Remiſſion of your Sins.

TO conclude, 'tis to be conſidered (and this is the laſt Vein of Comfort hid in the Euchariſt) that this Holy Sacrament inviting us to take a View of CHRIST'S ſecond Coming, as well as of his Diſpenſation in the Fleſh, 'tis impoſſible but it muſt fill our Souls with ſurpaſſing Joy and Comfort. The full Salvation of Believers does, as yet, only conſiſt in Hope. GOD indeed pardons their Sins; but they are ſtill ſubject to all the Miſeries Sin has brought into the World. They hope for Eternal Life; and yet dye like other Men. Their Bodies are laid in the Grave, and become the food of Worms. So that their Expectation ſeems to be quite fruſtrated. And as the Jews and Gentiles find Matter of Scandal and Deriſion in the Death of the Son of GOD, ſo according to all outward appearance, they have the ſame reaſon to inſult over the Faith and Hope of his Followers, when they compare theſe with their preſent Condition, which to the Eye, differs not from that of other Men. But all theſe dark Clouds ſhall at laſt be ſcatter'd; theſe Shadows vaniſh, and the Glory of our Lord and his Faithful be revealed. He ſhall appear from Heaven in the Glory of his Father, and every Eye ſhall ſee Him, even they who have pierced Him. And as He will thus diſplay his Majeſty in the Sight of all the World, ſo will He at the ſame time unvail the Life and Glory of his Children, who at preſent are ready to ſink under the burthen of Sin, the Violence of CHRIST's Adverſaries, the deceits of the World, and the Devil, and the Power of Death, which is the laſt Enemy of CHRIST and his Church. He that eats my Fleſh and drinks my Blood has Eternal Life, and I will raiſe him up at the laſt day. Whoſoever eats of this Bread ſhall live for ever. Theſe are our Saviour's Promiſes, wherein as He terms the Embracing of Him by Faith, an Eating of his Fleſh, in oppoſition to the Type of Manna; So this Eating may be as truly aſcribed to them, who by Faith conſider Him, as the Sacrifice that has taken away the Puniſhment due to Sin. O what comforts do ariſe to the Faithful from the Expectation of this his Return! What exulting Joys will they be filled with at his Coming! What Delights flow in upon them as they mediate hereon! What raviſhing Pleaſures does it afford us amidſt the greateſt Evils of this Life! What quiet in the ſharpeſt Trials! And what Confidence even at the time when Death ſtares us in the Face!

CHAP. VI. Of the Duties preſcribed to us in the Holy Euchariſt.

I SUPPOSE I have very clearly made out, that it is impoſſible attentively to conſider the Truths, which the Lord's Supper diſcovers to us, without reaping the unſpreakable Comforts which ſo naturally ſpring from it. And it may (with as much Eaſe) be demonſtrated, that theſe Truths indiſpenſably engage us to the moſt Eſſential Duties of our Religion; and that GOD having comprehended what is moſt capable to adminiſter the ſweeteſt Conſolations to our Souls, in this Myſtery, it cannot but at the ſame time be very influential towards Sanctification and a Godly Life. To the making out of which I deſign the Concluſion of this Treatiſe, where I intend to repreſent theſe Duties, as the neceſſary and natural Conſequents of what I have before laid down. It behooves every Communicant ſeriouſly to conſider of theſe Engagements; And the rather, becauſe this is a ſure way for them to know whether they have worthily receiv'd the Sacrament, or to amend the faults by them committed in any preceding Communion, for want of diſcharging theſe Religious performances as they ought.

FIRST then, Is it poſſible that a Chriſtian, who knows that JESUS CHRIST deſigned the Celebration of the Euchariſt for a publick Monument of his Death, as of a moſt Signal Event, worthy of all Commemoration, ſhould expreſs any neglect of, or indifference for this Sacred Feaſt? The Primitive Church called the Faithful to it every Lord's Day, looking upon the partaking of this Holy Sacrament, as a Publick Profeſſion of our Faith, and the very Badge of Chriſtianity. And ſhall our remiſſneſs and coldneſs in Religion be a lawful Excuſe for our abſenting our ſelves from the Lord's Table, when He himſelf invites us to it, and affords us opportunities for it? Some perhaps will fancy that they have a juſt pretence to abſtain from Receiving, becauſe of differences or Law-ſuits they are engaged in. But if CHRIST debars them his Table, who are ſo unkindly diſpoſed towards their Neighbours, does not He teach us withal, and point us at the Remedy that is to be found for the Cure of ſuch Uncharitableneſs? He tells us, in this Caſe, that he who is about to offer, muſt leave his Gift before the Altar, and go and firſt be reconciled to his Brother, and then come and offer his Gift, Mat. 5.24. And why this? But to teach us, that we muſt either wholly renounce our Religion, or elſe put our ſelves upon faithful Endeavours to obey the Laws of it; That a Profeſſion of Chriſtianity is both Erroneous and impious, which is not accompanied with a Practice of the Duties it preſcribes; and that it is impoſſible for a Man, with any fruit or benefit, to perform the publick Requirings of it, while its moſt important Precepts and Rules are neglected.

SECONDLY, let it be obſerv'd, That ſince Chriſtians look upon the Celebration of the Euchariſt, as a convincing Proof of the Truth of their Religion (it being a publick Memorial of Our Saviour's Death, which was a moſt ſignal fulfilling of GOD's Promiſes, and an Evident Character, whereby CHRIST was to be known for the true Meſſias) they cannot but find a Natural Obligation incumbent on them to become Chriſtians indeed. The Sacrament of Baptiſm is conferr'd upon us at a time when we know not the Nature of the Engagements we enter into, nor the Juſtice and Extent of the Promiſes made in our behalves therein. But he who receives the Lord's Supper, ratifies before GOD and Man, the Promiſes made in his Name at his Baptiſm. And this he does in his own perſon, as ſuppoſing he has now ſufficiently examined the Truth of the Religion on he profeſſes. He is ſatisfy'd that his Parents have done him the greateſt kindneſs imaginable, by engaging him in GOD's Service from his moſt tender Infancy; and that they did well to conſecrate him to it for ever, ſince it is in this Profeſſion his whole Happineſs conſiſts; and he now ſolemnly renews the Oath of his inviolable Obedience and Faithfulneſs to GOD, which before he had done by his Sureties. Can we thus reflect upon the Participation of the Euchariſt, and not conceive a moſt ſenſible ſorrow for having acted contrary to the Laws of CHRIST and Our own Hopes? Can we entertain this Notion of it, and not reſolve for the time to come; more diligently to purſue Our Heavenly Calling, and more exactly anſwer the Holy Deſign of the Religion we profeſs? Certainly it is againſt Common Senſe to pretend to be a Chriſtian, and yet to live like a Jew, or Heathen. It is ridiculous, outwardly to acknowledge Laws more Holy and Divine, than thoſe the World is governed by, and at the ſame time to follow the Cuſtoms and Manners of Worldly Men. All the Vices of the Age ought to find their Death in this Reflection, as they do their Condemnation in the ſacred Laws and Religion of Our Lord and Saviour.

WE come now to a third Reflection upon the Holy Communion, which is no leſs plain and natural than the foregoing, viz. That in this Sacrament we conſider the Death of CHRIST, as the Source of that Bleſſing GOD had promiſed, and the Principle of all thoſe He will hereafter impart to us. This Notion ſets before our Eyes the Curſe we ſhould inevitably have fallen under, had not GOD reverſed it. Can any one ſeriouſly think of this Truth, without praiſing God with all the Power of his Soul, and returning the Fruits of a juſt acknowledgement to Him for the ſame? O how dreadful a thing it is, to be accurſed of GOD! Go ye Curſed into Eternal Fire, prepared for the Devil and his Angels. And on the contrary, how tranſporting and full of Comfort it is, to be bleſſed by Him. JESUS CHRIST, the Bleſſed of GOD, has bleſſed us with all manner of Bleſſings. He became a Curſe for us, that we might be made a Bleſſing of God in Him. Come (ſayes He) Ye Bleſſed of my Father. And by what other means can we be raiſed to this Bliſs, but by the Study and Practice of Holineſs? It was the Unhappineſs of the Jews to fancy, that all ſhould partake of GOD'S Promiſes to Abraham, who were deſcended from him after the Fleſh. But the Goſpel acquaints us with theſe three Things. 1. That Faith in CHRIST is the means GOD has appointed to make the Heathens partakers of this Advantage. 2. That the Profeſſion of believing in CHRIST is vain, and deceitful, where it is unaccompanied with an Holy Life. Faith without Works is Dead. It is but a pretended and falſe Profeſſion. 3. And Laſtly, That JESUS CHRIST will never own any for the Bleſſed of his Father, but ſuch as by their Works of Charity and Perſeverance in Godlineſs, ſhall have made good the Sincerity of their adherence to his Religion.

TO this we are further engaged by a fourth Reflection, which we make upon the Father's giving his own Son for a Sacrifice to expiate our Crimes. Here we ſee on one hand, the Extream Averſion GOD has for Sin, while on the other, we diſcover the infinite Love He expreſſes to Sinners. We have ſet before us the lively Image of that Abyſs of Miſery into which we had been plung'd, had not GOD prepar'd this his Lamb, who gave his own Blood and Life to redeem us. Now our Hearts muſt be utterly obdurate and inſenſible, not to make a moſt ſerious reflection upon on this Hatred, GOD bears to Sin. We behold it puniſhed in a moſt dreadful and affrighting Manner, when GOD deſtroy'd the Old World by the Deluge, and rain'd down Fire from Heaven on Sodom, and the Cities that ſnar'd in her unnatural Luſts. Theſe Puniſhments were Marks of his Juſtice, taking Vengeance of Sinners. But how infinitely more terrible is GOD'S Deteſtation of Sin, pourtrai'd in the Death of his Dear and Only Begotten Son, whom we ſee ſmitten for our Iniquities, and in all outward apparance forſaken of his Father. St. Peter had not yet ſeen Him extended on the Croſs, nor heard Him uttering theſe doleful Words, My God, my God, Why haſt thou forſaken me? Yet could not he, when he ſaw Him only expoſed to his firſt Reproaches, forbear ſhedding Tears of a true Repentance. And what may then be expected from a Sinner, who in the Sacrament of the Euchariſt, has all the Ideas of his Agony, Sufferings and Death, moſt lively delineated to Him? What an irreconcilable Averſion ought not he to conceive for his Sins? What Reſolutions ought not he to take of leaving and forſaking them for ever?

AND to this we find our ſelves ſtill more indiſpenſably oblig'd, by the Nature of this Sacrament. For, in the fifth Place, it is (as I have ſaid before) the Memorial of CHRIST'S Blood, by virtue whereof GOD has made a New Covenant with Sinners; In which He has aſſured us, that He will forgive us our Sins, and beſtow the Glory of his Kingdom upon us. But the Condition without which we cannot be made Partakers either of the Remiſſion of Sins, or of the Glory of Heaven, is, the Repenting of our Iniquities, and applying our ſelves to the Study of Sanctification, to our Life's End. The Beneſit of this New Covenant is, That God remembers our Tranſgreſſions no more; but the Condition He requires of us, is, That whereas the Jews laid up his Laws in the Ark, without having them in their Hearts, we muſt always have them written in ours, in order to a continual Religious Obſervance of them. Now, as it is his Will, that we ſhould daily beg of Him the Pardon of Our Sins (which plainly ſhews He is ready to grant it us;) ſo the Only Command He lays upon us, is, That for the time to come we ſin no more, leſt a worſe thing befall us. And indeed is it not exceedingly unaccountable, that Men, who would paſs for Children of GOD, ſhould live the life of Devils? That they, who look upon themſelves as Confederates with CHRIST, ſhould continually violate the Conditions of this Covenant? GOD reminded the Jews of their Obligation to Holineſs, upon the account of his being their GOD. Moſes implies thus much in the 24. Chap. of Exodus, where the People having accepted of the Laws which he had propounded to them from GOD, after he had wrote them in a Book, and read the ſame in the Audience of the Congregation, they anſwer'd, All that the Lord has ſaid will we do, and be obedient. Whereupon Moſes ſprinkled the Blood on the People, and ſaid, Behold the Blood of the Covenant, which the Lord has made with you concerning all theſe Words. And ſhall Chriſtians believe, that GOD will own them for his People, while they remain in their Bondage to Sin? The Meaning of the Covenant we have made with GOD, has been clearly expreſſed by a Pagan, viz. Pliny, who in his Epiſtle to the Emperour Trajan (Lib. 10. Ep. 97.) thus explains the Notion Chriſtians had of this Glorious Covenant, they were enter'd into with GOD, They bind themſelves (ſays he) by a Sacrament or Oath, not to commit any ſuch Crimes, as are falſly reported of them, but to abſtain from Robbery, Theft and Adultery, to be as good as their Word, and Faithful to their Truſt, &c. He plainly ſhews, that Believers looking upon themſelves as Confederates and Parties in the ſame Covenant with GOD, baniſhed all manner of Diviſions from the midſt of them; And further intimates, that as they did all eat of the ſame Bread, ſo they were of one Heart and Mind, and united to GOD by their reſemblance of Him, and imitation of his Holineſs. Now ſince that time the Goſpel is not alter'd; for its Maxims are unchangable. Neither is it only with reſpect to the Prophecies or Promiſes therein contained, that it abides to Eternity, without any poſſibility, that ſo much as one tittle of it ſhould ever fall to the Ground; but the ſame muſt be underſtood of it, as it is the Rule of our Life and Manners, preſcribed to us by our Lord and Maſter.

LAST of all, Since JESUS CHRIST has in this Sacrament, united the Memorial of his Coming in Glory to the Remembrance of his Humiliation even unto Death, will not this Conſideration moſt naturally inſpire us with powerful Encouragements to Piety, and an indefatigable Perſeverance in that Fidelity we owe to Him? In commemorating our Saviour's Paſſion, we are oblig'd to deny our ſelves, and to be ready to lay down our Lives, whenſoever it ſhall pleaſe God to require it, in order to the advancement of his Glory. JESUS CHRIST tells us, that he is unworthy of Him, who is not willing to leave all to follow Him. He has given his own Life for us, and calls us to a like Abnegation of our ſelves. They who ſeek their own Pleaſures, deſire to be Rich: But CHRIST choſe a Voluntary Poverty. They are Ambitious of Honours, whereas He refuſed to be made a King. They fear Death; but He freely ſubmitted Himſelf to it. They abhor the Croſs, that ignominious and painful way of Dying; whereas He declined not to be Crucified. We can commit no Sin, but ſo far as we deſire the things which He deſpiſed, or endeavour to avoid thoſe He ſo willingly underwent. Certainly the ſight of this Example ought powerfully to oblige us to an imitation of it. It was a Saying of St. Cyprian's (Epiſt. 30.) That Men are not fitted for Martyrdom, when they are not furniſhed for the, Fight out of the Church's Magazine, and that the Soul is apt to faint, when it is not ſtrength'ned by a frequent Communion. This Father was in the right, and his Reaſon for it, is the more Solid, becauſe the Euchariſt, immediately after it has exhibited to us the Repreſentation of our Lord's Death (which arms us with conſtancy,) ſhews us the Reward of Believers, by ſetting before our Eyes his Coming again from Heaven to glorify them. 'Tis this Return of our Lord, that will prove the great Comfort of the Righteous, and at the ſame time, a dread and trouble to the Wicked. JESUS CHRIST, by thus reminding us of his Glory, while we are meditating upon his Sufferings, does much the ſame thing He did upon the Croſs; where he accepted of the Repentance of the Converted Thief, approved of the Acts of his Faith, the Marks of his Love and Tokens of his Zeal for the Innocence and Glory of this JESUS, whom he now look'd upon, as his Saviour. CHRIST kindly received and rewarded the evident Expreſſions of his Hopes. But on the other hand, puniſhed the Unbelief and Impenitence of his Companion; He aſſured the former, that he would admit Him into his Kingdom, becauſe He ſaw in his Heart the Character of a ſincere Believer, and all the generous Inclinations of a Martyr; but left the latter to the juſt deſerts of his Iniquities. A true Penitent meets with the greateſt Comforts imaginable in the Euchariſt, where the Impenitent (who treads under foot the Blood of the Covenant, and diſcerns not the Lord's Body) receives his own Damnation. 'Tis abſolutely impoſſible this Sacrament ſhould not have ſuch different Effects upon theſe two ſorts of Communicants. For from it proceeds a Voice, that proclaims Pardon to penitent Sinners; and in it we plainly ſee the Solid Foundation of that Mercy, which GOD will in his due time, fully diſplay; But withal we ought to take notice it cries aloud, that we muſt enter upon the Way of Holineſs, and perſevere therein to the End, even to Death, as JESUS CHRIST did, if we deſire to appear with full aſſurance before his Throne, who is to judge all Men at the laſt Day, and render to every one according to his Works.

THE END.

EPICTETUS CHRISTIANUS; OR, Maxims OF TRUE CHRISTIANITY.

LONDON, Printed for Brab. Aylmer, at the three Pigeons in Cornhil. 1688.

Advertiſement TO THE READER.

THERE is nothing in theſe MAXIMS, but what is univerſally acknowledg'd and receiv'd by the CHRISTIAN World; And though they are all ſo very plain and evident, as not to be lyable to the leaſt Diſpute; yet it was ſuppos'd, that a Collection of them, would not be altogether unprofitable. 'Tis true, no Body will argue againſt them, when propos'd; Yet it muſt be granted, there are very few that mind, and fewer that practiſe them.

THERE be many, who fancy they are good CHRISTIANS, becauſe they apply themſelves to the Outward Duties of Religion; Others think they go much further, becauſe they ſtudy thoſe Diſputable Points, which divide CHRISTIANS among themſelves. This Cuſtomary Devotion, or Controverſial Divinity is not chiefly That, which GOD requires of us. There is ſomething more ſublime and ſatisfactory in the Sincere Profeſſion of Religion.

IN theſe Maxims an Eſſay is made to give an Idea of Chriſtian Duties to ſuch, as never have made it their buſineſs to inform themſelves about them. If there be any, who object that they contain nothing but ſome very common Reflections, which are frequently heard from the Pulpit, they ought to conſider, that they are the leſs excuſable for their ignorance of, or not practiſing (Maxims) which would not be ſo often inculcated, were they not the moſt Eſſential Part of Goſpel-Precepts.

THE only aim in the Method obſerv'd, and Brevity affected here, is to make the Reader more eaſily ſenſible of the neceſſity of theſe Reflections, and the Importance of the Truths contained in them. GOD grant, that as the Deſign in Writing of them, was to be ſubſervient to the Salvation of Sinners; ſo they may ſtir up in ſome a Deſire of employing themſelves, with more care and fervency, about the Duties they point at.

EPICTETUS CHRISTIANUS; OR, Maxims OF TRUE CHRISTIANITY.

MAXIM I. That it behooves us to have Maxims of Piety.

THE moſt important Duty of Man, is Piety. It is no very great matter whether we are ſucceſsful, or not, in all other Employments of this Life, provided we diſcharge well the Duties of CHRISTIANITY; and approve our ſelves juſt and honeſt. In ſuch Caſe we cannot miſs of being happy.

HOW great an Error is it to frame Maxims to our ſelves, whereby to attain Skill in Arts and Sciences, while at the ſame time we neglect to uſe the like Method in the concerns of Godlineſs? No wonder therefore that ſo little Progreſs is made in it. Is it poſſible for him to advance in his way, who keeps no certain path?

WE muſt cure our ſelves of that raſhneſs and inadvertency, which commonly attend our actions. Certainly the Thing upon which our Eternal Happineſs, or Everlaſting Miſery depends, is well worth our moſt ſerious Conſideration. We muſt furniſh our Hearts with Maxims of Piety, and purſue them with the utmoſt earneſtneſs.

MAXIM II. That it imports us in, the firſt place, to examine what our Chief and Laſt End is.

THE firſt Act of Wiſdom is, to examine how we came into the World; whether by an Effect of Chance, or that we owe our Being to the Almighty Hand of GOD, who created us.

THE Second; Whether we ought to govern our ſelves by Rules; or, without any the leaſt reflection or reſtraint, may give way to all the thoughts of our Hearts, the words of our Mouths, and the works of our Hands.

AND laſtly, the Chief Act of Wiſdom is, to conſider what we ought to be, and how to behave our ſelves with reſpect to our Laſt End. GOD having of his Goodneſs, created us, we muſt be entirely ſubject to Him. Let us therefore look upon our ſelves as made for Him, and conſequently ſo direct the whole Courſe of our Life, that it may contribute to his Glory.

MAXIM. III. That in all our actions, we ought to have a due regard to our Laſt End.

IT is moſt ſtrange and deplorable, to ſee the greateſt part of Mankind depart this Life, without a juſt conſideration and knowledge of the End, for which they were brought into it. This ariſes either from their never entertaining any thoughts of the Matter, or neglecting to acquaint themſelves with it throughly.

AND yet a more ſad thing it is, when after this Examination and Knowledge had of our Laſt End, we do not act conformable to our Informations and Reflections thereupon. This cannot but render our Diſorders the more inexcuſable, and make our Sins to cry the louder for Vengeance.

WE muſt have a continual regard to our Laſt End, that ſo it may regulate all the actions of our Life, and make us truly wiſe. But how can we think of it, as we ought, without telling our ſelves, that our not minding this, muſt needs be our ruin?

MAXIM IV. That we ought to conſider we are God's Creatures.

SOME few years ſince, I had no Exiſtence, and now I find I have a Being, Life, Motion, a Rational Soul, Inlightned Mind, and a Body more perfect, than that of any other Animal.

ALL Creatures adminiſter continual Supplies to my VVants; the Heavens afford me their Lights and Influence; the Earth yields me her Fruits, Waters and Remedies; the Creatures ſhe abounds with, ſerve for my Food, Neceſſity and Delight.

SHALL I be excuſable then, if I forget HIM, who made me? No, I muſt love Him with all my Soul, obey Him with all Faithfulneſs, and in conſideration of theſe his Benefits heap'd upon me, bleſs and magnify his Great Name. Theſe are Duties we ſhall find to be abſolutely indiſpenſable, if we do but ſeriouſly conſider we are his Creatures.

MAXIM V. That we ought to be moſt ſenſible of God's Favour in our Preſervation.

WE muſt leave it to Atheiſts to attribute their Subſiſtence, as they do their Being, to Chance; As for our part, we ought to look upon our Preſervation, as a continual Creation; ſince GOD, by his Power, Goodneſs and Wiſdom, communicates Life to us every moment.

THERE is not one inſtant of our Life, but GOD delivers us from infinite Evils, which, but for his Preventing Han, dwould moſt certainly deſtroy us; who to this is pleas'd to ſuperadd ſuch plenty of Bleſſings, as to make our Life. moſt ſweet and comfortable.

HOW thankful therefore ought we to be? How great acknowledgments ought we to return to GOD, for theſe ſignal Favours to us? Shall not we therefore, as often as we reſpire, meditate on Him, who ſo conſtantly thinks of us?

MAXIM VI. That we ſhould continually reflect upon the Great Work of our Redemption.

HE who made, and does ſtill preſerve me, is the ſame, who has redeemed me. It is neither Man, nor Angel, but the Only Son of GOD, JESUS CHRIST Himſelf, who was willing to become my Surety, and appeaſe the Wrath of his Almighty Father, in dying for me.

WHAT Outrages, what Torments, did not he ſuffer! He was crucified like a Slave, and underwent a Puniſhment, that GOD Himſelf had call'd a Curſe. Not only the World and Hell inſulted over Him, but He complain'd of his being forſaken even of his Father.

O WHAT a ſtrange and horrible thing is Sin, that JESUS CHRIST muſt ſhed his Blood to deliver me from it! What Profaneneſs! What Sacriledge is it, to trample under Foot that Precious Blood, with which we are redeem'd! How helliſhly wicked muſt we be, not to love a SAVIOUR, who ſo dearly lov'd us!

MAXIM VII. That we muſt follow the Divine Call.

'TIS GOD draws us, that we may come to Him; without which we could not have the leaſt thought or deſire thitherward. We muſt obey his Voice, while He is pleas'd to direct it to us; For elſe, Life and Redemption procur'd by Him, will be unprofitable to us.

HOW many Heathens have been without the Advantages we injoy! How many Infidels and Idolaters have been depriv'd of this Grace of Vocation, without which a Man can never be converted! Shall we make them riſe up in Judgment againſt us?

O THE wonderful Patience and Forbearance of GOD! who after a thouſand Contempts of his Grace, receives us to Repentance; After many obſtinate reſiſtings of the Heavenly Inſpirations of his Spirit; is yet pleas'd to continue his Gracious Call to us! Follow we then his Voice, which invites us to the Supremeſt Good.

MAXIM VIII. That we muſt Study God's Conduct towards us.

WE loſe the Benefit of the Mercies and Chaſtiſements, GOD diſpenſes to us, while we are unacquainted with the Conduct He obſerves towards his Children. Through our ignorance of this, we afflict our ſelves with that which is Matter of Comfort, and make merry in the midſt of Temptations.

HAD Joſeph underſtood GOD'S Leading, he would have wept, when he found himſelf his Maſter's Favourite, and rejoyced, when the accuſation of his luſtful Miſtreſs caſt him into that Priſon, which advanc'd him to little leſs, than Pharaoh's Throne.

THE Devil prompts us to judge of GOD'S Conduct according to outward appearance. This is one of his moſt dangerous Deluſions. It is therefore our Duty to meditate upon thoſe Maxims, GOD has revealed to us, and upon the Examples of his Providence towards the Saints, who have been before us.

MAXIM IX. That we ought daily to examine our Conſcience.

NOT to reflect upon our Behaviour, is to live without Reaſon; and not to remind our ſelves, every day, of the State of our Hearts, is to live without Grace. We ought to take daily notice what good we have omitted, and what evil we have done.

WE cannot be ſaved without the ſorrows of Repentance, without a through reſolution to amend what's amiſs, and an anxious ſeeking after thoſe Remedies that can heal us. VVhich is not attainable but by a conſtant Review of our Thoughts, Words and Actions.

WE daily behold our ſelves in our Glaſs, and yet are careleſs of conſulting the Law of GOD. 'Tis to undervalue the Study of Perfection, thus to neglect our own Hearts, and bring our ſelves to that paſs; as not to pray any more out of a ſenſe of our needs, but out of meer Cuſtom.

MAXIM X. That we ought to avoid too much Buſineſs.

A SOUL taken up with the Cares of Salvation, does not cumber her ſelf with the things of this preſent Life. The retirement (which ſhe conſecrates to to God, by devoting it to Pious Reflections) is much dearer to her, than all the Employments in the World.

LET us remember the Parable of Our Lord, which aſſures us, that the Word falling into the Heart of a Man, diſtracted with worldly Cares, is like Seed that falls among Thorns, which growing up, choak it at laſt.

MY GOD! How much more advantageous is it, by means of a calm and compoſed temper of Mind, to reſemble that good Ground, which brings forth Thirty, Sixty, yea, even an Hundred Fold; than to have our Hearts crouded with a thouſand vain Solicitudes, how innocent ſoever they may appear to us!

MAXIM XI. That we muſt often recollect our ſelves, to think of our Salvation.

THE greateſt part of our Life is ſpent in a guilty kind of Slumber. Time flies away, and the Glaſs of Life haſtens to wards Death. We come, we go, we talk and act; and this almoſt continually, without having the leaſt regard to what concerns Salvation.

IF we judge aright, we ſhall find, that either we do that which is altogether evil, or at leaſt, very remote from the Principal End of Life; or elſe we Squander our time in idleneſs, and do nothing at all. Which neglect, though it be leaſt criminal, yet is not quite faultleſs.

WE can make no better uſe of our Life, than when by frequent retirement, we renew the Pious Reſolutions we have formerly taken. We muſt examine very narrowly, whether our Life and Actions are anſwerable to that Model we have ſet before us.

MAXIM XII. That we ought carefully to conſider the Vanity of this Life.

THERE is nothing more miſerable, than Life's inconſtancy. Its longeſt Date is but a Span. It is obnoxious to many thouſand accidents, that ſnatch it away, when we leaſt think on't. It is more brittle, than Glaſs; and at beſt but our way to Death,

AND can we thus reflect upon the Vanity of this Life, and not be diſguſted? Can we help deſpiſing the pleaſures of it, and lifting our Hearts above Time, fix them on the Life Eternal?

THE World paſſes away, and we in it: Its Deluſions, that have ſo often ſurprized us, ſcatter and vaniſh, proportionably to the growth of our Experience. They only have attain'd a ſix'd and ſetled State, who have reſign'd themſelves to GOD, and the Contemplation of Eternity.

MAXIM XIII. That we ought frequently to think of Death.

WE cannot avoid Death; But the time, place, manner, and circumſtances of it, we know not. How great would be our Unhappineſs, ſhould it ſurprize us in Sin and Impenitence, and come to execute the dreadful Decree of our Everlaſting Damnation!

THE very image of Death affrights us, though we ſuppoſe it afar off. What will it do, when it ſhall ſtare us in the Face, and ſet before our Eyes our great and innumerable Sins, in oppoſition to GOD'S Favours, and ſill our Souls with Remorſe and Terrour?

GOD makes uſe of this Proſpect of the Grave to affright us to him. It awakens our Conſciences, fortifies our Faith, and animates our Hopes. But Good GOD! VVhat would become of us, ſhould we deſcend to Death without having once thought of, or conſider'd it, and without being made wiſer by the Inſtructions it affords?

MAXIM XIV. That we ought to conſider every Day, as if it were our laſt.

JESUS CHRIST has commanded us, to watch conſtantly for his Coming to judge the World. GOD has left us uncertain of the Hour of our Death. What would not we wiſh we had done, if this very Day CHRIST ſhould come to Judgment, or Death ſnatch us away, and ſet us before GOD'S Tribunal?

WE loſe opportunities of doing good, and embrace thoſe of doing ill; becauſe we think we are ſure to live long, and repent before Death ſurprizes us. Strange blind Security!

I AM aſſur'd GOD will pardon me, if I truly repent before the Day of my Death; but ſhould be ſtark mad to think of delaying the Duty of Repentance, a Moment, ſince 'tis not impoſſible but that even that very Moment may be my laſt.

MAXIM XV. That we ought continually to ſet the Judgment of God before our Eyes.

HOW terrible will the Judgment of GOD be to the Wicked! CHRIST, whom they have outrageouſly abus'd, is to give Sentence; their own Conſciences to be Witneſs againſt them, and the Devil waits for the word of Command to put it in Execution. No Grace now to be hoped for; no room left for Repentance.

SECRET Thoughts, idle VVords, wavering Actions; All ſhall be brought forth to Judgment. GOD'S Aſſiſtance, Patience and Benefits will be our reproach. Sins committed, good Deeds omitted, Time loſt, and the like, will be puniſhed. Excuſes, Prayers, Tears; All theſe will avail nothing againſt the Juſtice of this Tribunal.

OH! How much ought the dread of this Judgment to come, to poſſeſs our Minds! How can we ſleep in Sin quietly? Our Souls may each moment be cited before the Throne of GOD, there to be judg'd and ſentenc'd to Eternal Pains.

MAXIM XVI. That the Conſideration of the Torments of Hell ought to affright us to Heaven.

IF the Divine Favours prove too weak, to overcome our Obſtinacy; yet (at leaſt) let the pains of Hell, terrify us into Endeavours to prevent them.

LET our minds viſit this Abyſs of Miſery, where the Sinner ſuffers, in every Senſe, Torments proportioned to his Crimes. He has loſt GOD for ever, and is given up to Eternal Remorſe of Conſcience.

Priſons, Dungeons, Racks have their Terrours. But what are theſe to Hell? Eternal Darkneſs, unquenchable Fire, the preſence of Devils, and the Damned; Lamentations, Howlings, Blaſphemies, Deſpair. Theſe are but a rude Draught of that Region of Anguiſh.

MAXIM XVII. That the Glory of Heaven ought powerfully to incite our Piety.

HEAVEN is the Lot of the Righteous; where the abſence of all Evil, an unſpeakable fulneſs of Bleſſings, both for Body and Soul, and a perfect fruition of GOD, ſhall make up our Happineſs. JESUS CHRIST, the Bridegroom, will there give Conſummation to our Joys.

NO more Temptations, no more Sins, no more Sufferings, no more Fears; But Light in the Mind, Comforts in the Heart, Peace in the Conſcience, a perfect Union of the Faithful in giving Eternal Thanks to God, in the enjoyment of Felicity that ſhall have no end.

VVhat ought not we to do; what Miſeries ſhould not we be content to ſuffer, to ſecure the hope of this Glory God has promis'd to us? What Terrour ought to ſeize us, when we reflect upon our Sins, which (if not repented of) will deprive us of it for ever?

MAXIM XVIII. That we are always to ſtand in a Religious Fear.

CHRIST having told his Diſciples, that one of them would betray him, they all trembled at the horror of this Crime, though there was but one, that was to commit it.

Let us always be watchful againſt the inconſtancy of our Nature. Who knows whether the Eye of GOD does not diſcover that in our Hearts, which is yet unknown to us? The Example of the Saints, ought to inſpire us with a Religious Fear.

THE Fall of St. Peter was expiated by Tears of Repentance. But how can he who conſiders on his failing, truſt to his own Strength? The Looks of his Maſter infus'd the Motives to his Remorſe. But CHRIST does not always afford his Gracious Countenance to thoſe, who deſert and deny him.

MAXIM XIX. That Sin is more to be fear'd than Death.

SIN is Treaſon againſt the King of Heaven: 'Tis copying from the fallen Angels. It is the only Object of GOD'S Averſion. He puniſh'd it without remedy, in thoſe Curſed Spirits. And who can caſt up the Accounts of them, Sin ſends to Eternal Deſtruction?

IF Death could be ſeparated from the Curſe of GOD; If it did conſiſt in a total Annihilation; Wicked Men ought to wiſh for it, as a Cure of the Reproaches and Diſquiets of their own Conſciences. But alas! it is quite another thing.

LET us therefore fear Sin more than Death it ſelf; Or rather; Let the Waters of the Deluge, the Flames of Sodom, and all other Exemplary Judgments upon harden'd Sinners, diſplay to us the horrors of Sin, and the Everlaſting Puniſhment reſerv'd for it.

MAXIM XX. That we ought to fear GOD more than Men.

WHAT blindneſs is it to fear Men, more than GOD! We bear with patience, the wrongs done us by our Superiours, leaſt our Complaints ſhould encreaſe our Oppreſſion. But we too often offend the Weak, notwithſtanding CHRIST'S Command to the contrary.

IT's eaſier to reſtrain our Anger againſt our Inferiours (as CHRIST requires) than to endure injuries from Great Men. Why ſhould we then kindle a Fire, which CHRIST would have extinguiſhed, when the only fear of Men, makes us careful to extinguiſh the Fire they kindle in us?

LET us therefore judge righteouſly; be aſham'd of our imperfections, and bluſh at our doing leſs for the fear of the LORD (that LORD we are ſo much bound to love) than for the fear of Men, who have to Title like his, either to our fear or love.

MAXIM XXI That the whole Courſe of our Life ought to be a continual Study of Mortification.

SO horribly has Sin corrupted our Nature, that unleſs we take great care continually to reſtrain our inclinations to Evil, we ſhall unavoidably fall into all manner of Vices.

UNLESS the Fleſh be mortify'd, it will rebel againſt the Spirit. Unleſs we reſiſt our Paſſions, they will prevail againſt the Light of our Reaſon, and our Reaſon, unleſs enlight'ned, will oppoſe GOD'S Law and our Duty.

LET us beware of thoſe things that flatter our Senſes, and feed our Paſſions. Let us not ſuffer our Thoughts to wander, but govern our Hearts and Minds, by bringing them into a due Subjection to Reaſon and the Will of GOD.

MAXIM XXII That we ought continually to ſtrive againſt the Ʋnrulineſs of Self-Love.

THE Prevalence of Self-love is the Source of Sin. We all naturally aſpire to Happineſs; this is innocent; But we place Felicity either in Riches, Honours or Pleaſures; which is our miſtake.

GOD does not forbid us to love our ſelves; for Self-love is neceſſary to our Preſervation; But he charges us, not to love our ſelves with a blind and unaccountable Love; that is, to love our Body better than our Soul; this Temporal, more than Eternal Life.

LET'S labour to rectify our Paſſions, by propoſing to them due Objects, things truly Good, Solid Honours, and Riches that take not to themſelves Wings. Let us believe GOD'S Deciſions concerning theſe, rather than the Suggeſtions of Senſuality.

MAXIM XXIII That we ought to reſiſt our Paſſions.

THIS Life is a Scene of Combate, where though we are not always fighting with our Enemies, or wild Beaſts, yet muſt ever be contending againſt our Paſſions, that endeavour to uſurp the Dominion of our Hearts.

IF we ſuffer any one of theſe to be the Miſtreſs of our Soul, then Farewell Reaſon and Tranquillity. Then will both our Soul and Body be expos'd to inevitable Dangers: An Eternal Death to both, muſt be the portion of ſuch, as ſhall be ſubjected to this Tyranny.

BUT while we courageouſly oppoſe their aſſaults, we ſecure our quiet, and are in the ſure way to Glory, whereof we have foretaſts even in this Life, at leaſt a certain Hope ſhall crown the Conflict.

MAXIM XXIV. That we ought to bridle that Pride, which is apt to reign in us.

THERE is nothing more difficult, than the freeing our ſelves from Pride. Men are naturally in love with their own Worth, and proud of what they poſſeſs. They love to be eſteem'd of others, delight to make a ſhew of their Perfections. In a word, their ambition is to be thought and conſider'd as wiſe, skilful and honeſt Men.

BUT nothing is more neceſſary, than to oppoſe a Paſſion, which is the Mother of Boaſting, Vain-Glory, Obſtinacy, Preſumption and Hypocriſy. What ſafety can theſe hope for, when GOD has declar'd, he reſiſts the Proud, and gives Grace to the humble?

LET us conſider the Cauſe of this Paſſion. The Devil, who is King of the Children of Pride, has infuſed it into us. Its Effects here below, fill Human Societies with Troubles and Debate; and its Eternal Effects hereafter, are the uniting us to him, and ſeparating us from our LORD, who is Humility it ſelf.

MAXIM XXV. That we ought to ſuppreſs all deſires of becoming great.

EVERY Condition has its Comforts and Diſtaſts. The reaſon why we deſire to riſe in the World, is, becauſe we have no mind to know this Truth, viz. That no State is happy, but that of the Virtuous, be their Condition what it will.

LET us not think ſo much of riſing and becoming great, as of collecting Comfort from a troubleſome Life, and extracting Pleaſure from Calamity. Let us free our ſelves from diſquiets; the Place we may aim at, is no better than that we are in.

GOD has appointed every one of us his Place and Bounds. Theſe he has determin'd for us by our Birth, Wealth and Capacity: Let us not preſume to quit or go beyond them; ſince we cannot do it, without violating the Decrees of his Providence, and expoſing our ſelves to manifold Temptations.

MAXIM XXVI. That Humility ought to be the Badge of our Profeſſion.

THERE is no true Chriſtianity without Humility; It was this CHRIST taught us, by his Life and Doctrine. How dare we aſſume the Name of Chriſtians, while we neglect to practiſe his Precepts?

WE ought therefore ingenuouſly to acknowledge our weakneſs, and inſtead of making a ſhew of our Parts, or other Advantages, and ſeeking the praiſe of Men, embrace all occaſions, which may abate and mortify our Pride.

TO do this, we need no more, than reflect on what we are. We come from nothing, and are Sinners into the bargain; The Advantages we poſſeſs, are the fruit of the Divine Bounty, and we muſt one day give an account for them.

MAXIM XXVII That we ought to beware of Covetouſneſs.

HOW properly is Covetouſneſs call'd by St. Paul, the Root of all Evil? Love of Riches makes us deal unjuſtly with our Neighbour; It ſtifles all ſenſe of natural Affection, and changes an Apoſtle of CHRIST into a Miniſter of the Devil.

A SOUL that is eagerly inclin'd to the love of Riches, expoſes it ſelf to a certain danger for an uncertain gain; it fears not Eternal Deſtruction, ſo it may but ſatisfy its greedineſs. Behold here the Quinteſſence of Blindneſs and Folly.

LET us dread to be poſſeſs'd of ſo vile a Paſſion, which will not ſtick to prompt us to betray our LORD himſelf. Judas did not betray Him, for fear of Perſecution, but through love of Mony; and the ſame will make CHRIST to deſtroy us, without remedy, for having ſo ſottiſhly ſought for Happineſs, in heaping up a little ſhining Duſt.

MAXIM XXVIII. That we ought to reſtrain the motions of Anger.

ANGER disfigures a Man, by dethroning his Reaſon. It is the riſe of Quarrels, Curſings and Blaſphemies. It begets Hatred and Revenge, without conſidering Reaſon, Juſtice or the Divine Laws.

HOW dangerous is it to give up our ſelves to this Paſſion, and follow the motions of it! VVhat an horrible thing to be tranſported upon every ſlight occaſion, or charge GOD with our diſaſters, and murmur againſt him, or brandiſh our fury againſt our Neighbour?

LET us betimes reſiſt the Motions of Anger. Let us learn to look upon our Miſeries as Chaſtiſements; and upon Injuries, as Trials GOD lays upon us. If our Heart at any time, riſes in ſpight of us, let us preſently recall our ſelves, and not ſuffer the Sun (according to the Law of CHRIST) to go down upon our Wrath.

MAXIM XXIX. That we muſt root Envy out of our Hearts.

WHAT greater Madneſs, than to be griev'd at our Neighbour's Welfare, as if his Happineſs muſt needs make us Miſerable! VVhat Injuſtice to rejoyce at his Misfortunes, and inſult over him, or take delight in his being caſt down! This Paſſion cannot poſſeſs a Heart, that is not given up to the Devil.

IF we will not abhor Envy, becauſe it conſumes the Envious, and tears him inwardly; or for its delighting in, and feeding it ſelf with Filth and Ordure; Let us at leaſt hate it, as being the Source of that deteſtable Crime the Jews commited in delivering up Our LORD to Death.

O LET us ſtrangle this Monſter, and acquieſce in GOD'S VVay of diſpenſing his Favours. Let us freely impart the Proſperity he has given us, or beg of Him to ſupply our want of power, by granting our deſires for the good of our Neighbour.

MAXIM XXX. That we ought to bear Injuries with Patience.

SOCRATES being ſtruck, would not revenge himſelf. This Example of Patience, ſeveral Heathens have imitated; Yea, they have made it their Endeavour to conquer the malice of their Enemies with kindneſs.

ALAS! How many Chriſtians may juſtly fear, that the Benignity of a Heathen will aggravate their Condemnation? VVe are Chriſtians, and as ſuch ſhould own this for a Maxim, That he who does the injury, is the Wretch, not he who ſuffers by it. VVe are the Diſciples of GOD, who forbids us all Self-revenge; and yet we are ready every minute to thunder out our reſentments againſt others.

LET us in a word wiſely conſider, that we are Criminals, who ſue for Pardon; that we are at the foot of the Throne, and under the Eyes of a GOD, who has proclaimed to us, that Vengeance is his. Let us not ſet light by his Preſence, his Voice and Dreadful Judgments.

MAXIM XXXI. That we muſt abhor all Impurity.

VVE cannot juſtly pretend to the Glory of Angels, unleſs we imitate their Purity. To follow the pleaſures of the Fleſh, hunt after its Allurements, and cheriſh its filthy Deluſions, is to walk in the Path of Damnation.

CAN we be convinc'd of theſe Truths, without being in love with Chaſtity; without avoiding all dangerous occaſions, as inticing Company and guilty Sloth, and without arming our ſelves againſt the Fleſh, by Faſting and Mortification?

LET us make a Covenant with our Eyes, that they never open a Door to any unclean Thoughts; and if at any time they break this Covenant, let our Heart, being animated by the Croſs of JESUS, ſtifle all thoſe Thoughts in their Birth, which might lead us to Sin.

MAXIM XXXII. That we ought to beware of Detraction.

DETRACTION is the Character of Malignity. VVe cannot revile another, without hurting our ſelves, and them that take delight to hear us. VVe make them Complices in our Sin; and by inſpiring them with the ſame Hatred we have for our Neighbour, rob them of their Reſt.

VVE juſtly hold it ſinful to ſtain our Hands in our Brother's Blood; and can we think it innocent to dip our Tongue in it by Calumny, by publiſhing his faults, by rendring his Principles doubtful, or decrying his Virtues?

DAVID declares he could not abide Slanderers in hi • Court. Can we imagine CHRIST will admit them into Heaven, who blaſt their Brothers Reputation, and take delight in this kind of Cruelty?

MAXIM XXXIII. That we ought never to believe Calumny, to the prejudice of Truth.

PILATE perceiving the malice of the Jews, and the Innocence of CHRIST, would fain have cleared Him; but was vanquiſhed by a Motive of Carnal Policy. He no ſooner heard them cry out [If thou releaſe this Man, thou art not Caeſar's Friend] but his purpoſe of ſaving Him vaniſh'd.

O INJUSTICE! VVas CHRIST ever a Head of Rebels? Did He at any time, provide Arms and Ammunition, or levy Souldiers? Did not He ſubmit himſelf to the Roman Laws, pay Tribute and openly aſſert Caeſar's Right?

TO accuſe CHRIST of Sedition, was to call depth of Poverty, Pride and Ambition; Obedience, Rebellion, and Humility, Vain-Glory. But Pretences are never wanting, and depraved Nature lends a more willing Ear to Calumny, than Truth.

MAXIM XXXIV. That we ought to weigh the Conſequences both of Vice and Virtue.

VIRTUE is laid aſide, when the difficulties of it only are conſider'd, and Vice embrac'd when the Pleaſures it yields are ſet before us. But a Chriſtian ought to make very different Reflections.

VIRTUE bears an Impreſſion of GOD, and Vice is the Fruit of the Devil's Suggeſtions. The former fills the Soul with Tranquillity, by begetting in it the Love of GOD and Men; And the latter Galls the Conſcience with a thouſand Checks, and brings the Offender into contempt both with GOD and Men.

BUT above all, a good Man expects with joy, the Glory of Heaven, which he is to poſſeſs; whereas the Wicked are continually rack'd with the fears of future Torments, which GOD has appointed to be their portion for ever. Who after theſe Reflections, can remain doubtful where to chooſe?

MAXIM XXXV. That we ought to make a careful Scrutiny into our Defects, in order to our Amendment.

RELIGION invites us to the Study of Perfection; It ſets before us GOD and CHRIST for our Pattern; It furniſhes us with infinite Motives to ingage us to it, and gives us to underſtand, that our Happineſs conſiſts in this Perfection. How is it then that we labour not after it?

WE read, ſpeak, write, diſcourſe it morally, and talk of our Paſſions and their Remedies; And yet continue in the ſame State, ſtill have the ſame Vices and Inclinations; And all is, becauſe we do not apply our ſelves to a through-ſearch of our Hearts.

OUR Faults can never be amended, unleſs they be known; nor known, without enquiry. The Heart, which is ſo induſtrious in ſearch after the Frailties of others, to upbraid them therewith, would be better employ'd, in examining and applying Remedies to its own. This is a chief Ingredient towards the attainment of Perfection.

MAXIM XXXVI. That we ought not to make Cuſtom, or Example, a Plea for our Faults.

THOUGH Chriſtianity does not oblige us to ſhun Human Society, yet its chief aim is, to inculcate to us, that the World is plung'd in Sin and Licentiouſneſs; and therefore that we ought not to imitate its corrupt Manners.

WORLDLY Men find delight in thoſe actions that offend GOD. They provoke one another, by their Examples, to violate the Divine Laws, without regret or reſtraint. But we muſt reject their impious Maxims, that we may follow the Law of GOD.

WHAT folly then is it to make theſe our Patterns? Do we think that the preſcription of their Examples and Cuſtoms, can over-rule the Divine Right and Authority over us?

MAXIM XXXVII. That we muſt avoid Relapſes into Sin.

WHAT miſerable Wretches are we, to condemn our Repentance, and return to the Way of Perdition, whence GOD by his Grace has recalled us! What elſe is this, but to precipitate our ſelves into remedileſs Woes, by a preſumptuous contempt of GOD'S Favours, and our own Salvation?

LET us therefore retain in our Hearts a true ſorrow for having offended the DIVINE MAJESTY, be afraid of the Actions that firſt prompted us to ſin, and careful to make uſe of thoſe Remedies GOD has provided for us, to forward and perfect our Cure.

IS the Health of the Soul of leſs concern to us, than that of the Body? Or are the Eternal pains, which GOD will inflict upon them, who ſuffer themſelves to be carry'd away with the Violence of their Paſſions, incapable to affright us to Him?

MAXIM XXXVIII. That we muſt not abuſe the Long-Suffering of God.

STRANGE and ſurprizing is the Corruption of our Nature! GOD'S Patience, which ſo meekly invites us to Repentance, ſerves but to harden us in our wicked Ways; The greater his Clemency is towards us, the more we multiply our Tranſgreſſions againſt Him.

WHILE we cannot be ignorant, that his Patience admits of Bounds, and that the End of his Mercy is the Beginning of an inexorable Severity. We heap up to our ſelves a Treaſure of Wrath, in refuſing to comply with the Gracious Invitations of DIVINE LOVE.

WHEN therefore we reflect upon his Forbearance towards us, while we were diſobedient, let us, by no means, thence infer, that we may ſtill continue to abuſe it; but remember, that Patience provok'd turns into Fury.

MAXIM XXXIX. That we muſt not be aſhamed of Godlineſs.

THE moſt terrible Temptation we are lyable to, is to ſee the Modiſh Men of the Age, call the Fear of GOD Superſtition, and Devotion Hypocriſy. They endeavour to perſwade us, that none but baſe and abject Minds are capable of being beſotted with ſuch Chymaera's.

HAD Worldly Men a Heaven to reward our complying with their Opinions, and a Hell to avenge the Contempt of their Maxims, it were worth our Attention.

BUT alas! What Fools are we? The reſpect we have for them, proves fatal to us. It is madneſs, not to be aſham'd of imitating their Crimes, and to bluſh when we tranſgreſs their Rules, in purſuance of our Duty.

MAXIM XL. That a faint and languiſhing Piety is a miſerable State.

WHAT do we pretend by our remiſneſs, and fainting in the Way of Godlineſs? Is not GOD Worthy to be belov'd, and ſerv'd with our beſt Zeal? Or what Comforts can we hope to reap from cold Devotion?

TO eat at CHRIST'S Table, be in his Service, and at the ſame time hide the Talent he has intruſted us with, and give up our ſelves to ſloath and negligence; What is this, but a Contempt of his Grace, and a Provocation for his with drawing it?

THOUGH GOD may ſeem to bear with thoſe, who are without any impreſſion at all of his Grace; yet certain it is, that He cannot endure the Lukewarm. The unconcern'dneſs theſe have for Him, forcibly provokes his Averſion. He that loves truly, looks upon Indifference and Lukewarmneſs, as High Treaſon againſt Love.

MAXIM XLI. That we muſt continue in the Exerciſe of Piety.

JƲDAS had been ſaved, if nothing were requir'd to Godlineſs, but noble and daring Beginnings. We muſt continue in well-doing. He that holds out to the End, ſhall be Sav'd. Without this Perſeverance, no Grace, no Glory, no Salvation is to be hop'd for.

LET us not perſiſt in GOD'S Service in the time of Proſperity only, or while we have no occaſion to follow our Paſſions, or ſo long as our Heart does not find ought in our Duty, that thwarts its Inclinations.

LET us with faithfulneſs and conſtancy, apply our ſelves to the Practiſe of Godlineſs. It had been much better for the Damned, never to have entred into the VVay of Righteouſneſs, than being once entred, to depart from it.

MAXIM XLII. That we muſt make the Holy Scripture the Subject of our continual Meditation.

IN Prayer we ſpeak to GOD; and in the Scripture GOD ſpeaks to us. Do we think GOD will hear us when we ſpeak to Him, if we neglect to hear, and carefully meditate upon what he tells us concerning his Authority over us, and our Duty towards Him?

THE Scripture contains the moſt important Truths we can know, the wiſeſt Maxims we can follow in our Converſation, the greateſt Promiſes we can conceive; And yet miſerable VVretches that we are, we neglect to apply our ſelves to the reading of it.

WHAT? If this Priviledge were forbidden us, ſhould not we look upon ſuch Prohibition, as the greateſt of our Miſfortunes? And while we enjoy that Liberty of making it the Subject of our Contemplation day and night, ſhall we be ſo unjuſt, as to read it perfunctorily, and be ignorant of its moſt important Precepts?

MAXIM XLIII. That we ought carefully to apply our ſelves to Prayer.

WE can't live well, unleſs we know how to pray well; And there is no Happineſs, but in Conjunction with a Good Life. Holineſs is that which pleaſes GOD; and fervent Prayer obtains us the Fruits of his Love.

PRAYER is the moſt eaſie part of our Duty; Our Needs teach it us; It is the moſt Auguſt and Honourable, in that it procures us a familiar Converſe with GOD Himſelf. It is alſo the moſt bliſsful; for it opens us the Treaſures of Heaven, and Communicates to us every Divine Bleſſing.

SHOULD we be debarr'd the Practice of it, we ſhould hold it for Tyranny, as it would be an impediment to our Felicity and Glory. How then can we undervalue the Duty of Prayer, as an unprofitable thing?

MAXIM XLIV. That we muſt always have our Holy Baptiſm before our Eyes.

BAPTISM is the Token of our Entrance into Covenant with GOD. In it GOD has offer'd us the Pardon of our Sins, the Guidance of his Grace, and the Hope of his Glory; And we on our part, have promis'd to forſake our Iniquities, ſubmit our ſelves to his Laws, and be faithful to Him unto Death.

DO we think it juſt, GOD ſhould remember his Promiſes, when we forget thoſe we have made Him in that Holy Sacrament? Does not this Forgetfulneſs favour of Contempt, Unbelief; nay, and Rebellion it ſelf?

LET us therefore always ſet before our Eyes our own Engagements, as well as our Hopes; our Duty, as well as the Grace GOD freely offers; our Obligations to live according to the Rules of Chriſtianity, as well as the Glory GOD has annex'd to it.

MAXIM XLV. That we ought to remember the Promiſes we make to GOD at our Receiving the Lord's Supper.

WE are from our Infancy, entertain'd in God's Service, wherein we were ingag'd before we knew the Reward. But we do make a ſolemn Choice of it, in our own Perſons, when we preſent our ſelves at the HOLY TABLE.

COMMON Senſe alone would not ſuffer us to do a Thing of ſuch importance, without a ſerious conſideration of the Duties it lays upon us. It were better never to participate of this Holy Sacrament, than to do it unprepared and unprofitably.

THE Sacred Euchariſt repreſents to us the Expiation of our Crimes, and the Horror of them, the ineffable Love of GOD, and the infinite Obligations and Ties we have to CHRIST. To approach his Table, without bewailing and forſaking our Sins, without loving and devoting our ſelves to Him, is to receive our own Damnation.

MAXIM XLVI. That Charity is to be preferr'd before all things.

THERE is nothing more valuable with GOD, than Charity. He became Man, that He might the more effectually preſcribe this Duty to us, and ſuffer'd Death, to give us the moſt engaging Example of this Divine Virtue.

HE began the Choice of his Diſciples with calling two Brothers. And why ſo? But to intimate, that Brotherly Love muſt unite all his Diſciples, and Concord be the Badge of Chriſtianity?

WHAT can we with Juſtice prefer before Love? Yea, what ought not we to do and ſuffer, what Care ſhould not we take, rather than violate the Laws of Charity?

MAXIM XLVII. That we ought to prevent the Petitions of thoſe, who are in Miſery.

THIS poor Wretch is our own Fleſh and Blood, our Brother; GOD having made, and JESƲS CHRIST redeemed him. How careful therefore ought we to be, to relieve his Neceſſities? GOD Himſelf is pleas'd to become accountable to us for our Liberality, and CHRIST will make it an everlaſting Reward.

OUR Brethren's Miſery ſhould the more recommend them to us. But if that be too weak to move our Pity, at leaſt let the Bleſſed Fruits of Charity, and the Example of JESUS CHRIST, engage us to the Practice of a Duty ſo reaſonable and full of Bliſs.

MUST the Money we ſo unjuſtly hoard up, prove our own Accuſer? JESUS CHRIST has told us he will take the good we do to thoſe who ſtand in need of it, as done to Himſelf; And yet we don't run to prevent their asking. Is this our Love to Life and Salvation?

MAXIM. XLVIII. That we muſt be meek in reproving our Neighbour.

GOD aſſures us, that one of the moſt conſiderable Effects of Love is to reprove our Neighbour, when he ſins. And indeed, we have no true Love for him, if we don't endeavour to divert him from the way that leads to Death. Beſides, this good Office alſo engages us the more forcibly to our own Duty.

THOUGH it be lawful to uſe either mild or ſevere Expreſſions, according as it may beſt ſuit with the good of our Neighbour; yet Sweetneſs and Sincerity muſt always be predominant in our Hearts towards him; remembring that GOD's Cauſe is the Diſpute: And He is Love it ſelf.

LET us reprove our Neighbour with all tenderneſs; and if we do it more earneſtly, at leaſt let nothing of bitterneſs or paſſion appear in our Words. As Charity puts us upon this Duty; ſo let us by our manner of doing it, perſwade him, it is our Love for him, and not a deſign of inſulting over him, that is the Motive.

MAXIM XLIX. That Practice is to be preferr'd before Knowledge or Words.

WE ought, with all earneſtneſs, to meditate upon, and labour to make our ſelves throughly acquainted with the Law of GOD. We muſt apply our ſelves to the Study of Heavenly Myſteries; and to that End, be frequent in the reading and Meditation of the Holy Scripture.

IT is our Duty to edify our Neighbour, with our good Diſcourſe, and inſtruct him in Piety. What greater joy, than to be able to impart our Knowledge to him! Which ſtill encreaſes as it is Communicated: And we, at the ſame time, have the honour of being employ'd by GOD, to advance the Salvation of his Children.

AFTER all, What Fruit can we pretend to reap from all our Learning and Rhetorick, if the Acts of a Spiritual Life be not exerted by us? What an horrible thing is it to be enlight'ned, and ſpeak like Angels, and yet live like Devils! Knowledge ſeparate from a good Conſcience, does but ſerve to aggravate our Crimes.

MAXIM L. That we ought to impute all that is good in us, to the Grace of God.

THERE is nothing but the Devil can make us attribute ought to our ſelves in the Work of our Salvation. We are born in Sin, live in Sin, and ſhould die in Sin, did not GOD'S Grace prevent us.

OUR Call to Faith, is the Work of his Grace; Our Converſion, the Work of his Spirit, which overcomes our Averſion; Our Perſeverance is the Effect of the ſame Holy Spirit. The Beginning, Progreſs and End of our Salvation, are deriv'd from Him.

LET us Confeſs the Truth; If we cannot aſſume ought to our ſelves, but Miſery, Corruption, Love to Sin, and Enmity to GOD'S Law, we muſt look upon GOD, as the Sole Author of our Regeneration, and accordingly aſcribe all the Glory of it to Him.

THE END.