7. O my adored Redeemer, behold to thee I bow, and humbly poftrate myself in honour of thy death: behold thus low I bow to implore thy bleffing, and the affiftance of thy fpecial grace, that I may wean my affections from all vain defires, and cleanfe my thoughts from all impertinent fancies: that my life may be entirely dedicated to thee, and all the faculties of my foul to thy holy fervice: that my mind may continually ftudy the knowledge of thee, and my will grow every day ftronger in thy love, and my memory faithfully recount thy mercies, and both tongue and heart be continually difpofed and habitually employed to praise thee; to praife thy incomparable love, which has done and fuffered fo much for loft mankind. Here also observe the Directions given on page 8; and more particularly endeavour to improve your soul by reading a lesson out of the NEW WHOLE DUTY OF MAN, Sunday 4, Section 1, &c. A prayer on Friday evening for faith and repentance, and a due preparation to the holy sacrament. Repent and believe the gospel. Mark i. 5. Gracious God, and moft kind and merciful Father, who, of thy tender love to mankind, didft give thine only Son Jefus Chrift to fuffer death upon the crofs for our redemption; who made there, by his own oblation of himself once offered, " offered, a full, perfect, and fufficient facrifice, oblation, and fatisfaction for the fins of the whole world; grant that the effects of this redemption may be as univerfal as the defign of it, that it may be to the falvation of all: O let no perfon by impenitence and wilful fin forfeit his part in it, but by the power of thy grace bring all, even the most obftinate finners, to repentance. More especially, I beseech thee, to give me, thy finful creature, a right underftanding of the urgent need I have of a Saviour, and of all thofe things which thy Son hath done and fuffered, and is ftill doing at thy right-hand, in order to the cleanfing of my guilty and polluted nature, and the reftoring me to thy grace and favour and let not all this be in vain, and useless to me, left I become eternally miferable, and loft to all hopes and poffibilities of comfort; give me grace to accept of, and embrace the tenders of thy love, and to comply with thofe gracious terms of falvation, which thy Son hath procured for, and propofed to me in the gofpel. Lacknowledge, O Lord, that I have too much neglected this great falvation, but thou with infinite patience doft ftill wait to fee if I will accept of mercy! O that thy forbearance and long-fuffering may foften foften my heart, and melt me into shame and tears of penitential forrow, for having fo long abufed the tender mercy of fo good a God. I defire now to refign and give up myself to the conduct of thy holy spirit Lead me in the truth, and teach me, for thou art the God of my favation. Let thy word be my rule, thy grace my guide and affiftance, thy goodness my. pattern and example, thy promises my encouragement, and thy joys my everlafting recompenfe and reward, thro' the merits and interceffion of thy bleffed Son, my Saviour and Redeemer. Amen. See the concluding prayer and blessing on pages 38 & 39. The Meditation: Saturday Morning*. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat therefore, and not die. John vi. 50. 1. NOME unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, fays the bleffed Jefus, and I will refresh you; take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye fhall find reft unto your fouls; for my yoke is eafy, and my burden is light. 2. Does my Saviour invite me, and fhall I go? fhall a finner dare to fit down at his table? does he invite, and fhall I not go? *Here you may observe the directions given on page 3. go fhall a wretch prefume to refufe his call? rife then, my foul, and take thy fwifteft wings, and fly to the participation of this great mystery. A feast of holy bread and holy wine, in reprefentation of Chrift's moft facred body broken, and blood fhed for us, where thou, deareft Jefu, doft freely give thyfelf to the meaneft gueft; a feaft of peace and love, and incomparable fweetnefs, to which thou haft thus kindly invited us. 3. Come to me, ye that labour for holinefs, and are oppreffed under the weight of your fins; ye that hunger after heaven, and thirst to drink of the fountain of blifs, come to me, and I will refresh you with the wine of gladnefs, and bread of life. 4. But ftay, am I arrayed like a friend of the bridegroom, that I may fafely come to this marriage fupper? have I confidered how chafte thofe eyes fhould be, which go to behold the God of purity? have I confidered how clean that mouth fhould be, which prefumes to eat the bread of heaven? but, most of all, have I confidered how all-celeftial that foul fhould be, which afpires to an union with the body of Chrift? 5. Look, my heart, look well into thyfelt, and strictly fearch every corner of thy breaft: Alas! how poor, and dull, and I empty empty are we! how infinitely unworthy of fo divine a facrament! yet are we called by him that can command, by him that fees and pities our infirmities; he bids us come, he furely will receive us, and with his bounteous fulness fupply our defects. 6. Go then, my foul, to that facred table, and take thy part of that delicious banquet; go all inflamed with divine love, and joy, and hope, and quench thy facred thirft with that fpring of life. And when thou haft tafted the everlasting sweetness of that holy facrament, thou fhalt feel the heavenly ftreams of Chrift's blood flowing into thy truly repenting heart. 7. Let them fink deep to the root of thy heart, and turn thy barren foil into a fruitful land; fruitful in holy thoughts and pious words; fruitful in good, and juft, and charitable deeds; fruitful to thyfelf in thine own improvement; fruitful to others in thy good examples. Praife the Lord, O my foul, and all that is within me praise his holy name, who faveth thy life from deftruction, and feedeth thee with the bread of heaven, which is adminiftered to the worthy receiver in the holy facrament, A Prayer |