Imatges de pàgina
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Safety and Defence against all the Attacks of my spiritual Enemies;

Vigour and Strength to all my holy Purposes and Refolutions;

Comfort and Support under all the Afflictions and Calamities of Life ;

Affiftance and Direction under all Difficulties and Doubts;

Courage and Conftancy under all Dangers and Perfecutions, efpecially in Times of Sickness, and at the Hour of Death;

Finally, let it procure for me Pardon and Forgiveness in this Life, Mercy and Favour at the Day of Judgment, and a never-fading Crown of Glory in thy Heavenly Kingdom, where with thy Son Jefus Christ, and the bleffed Spirit, thou livest and reigneft one God, World without End Amen.

Here, or before we receive, if there is Time, and the devout Communicant is difpofed fo to employ himself, may be used the Petitions for the Virtues of a Chriftian Life, or the Prayer for the Whole State of Mankind, or the Thanksgiving for • God's Mercies, fpiritual and temporal, in the Second Part.

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⚫ When all have communicated, and the

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• Priest returns to the remaining Part of the Communion Office, we must leave our private Devotions, and accompany. him with our devouteft Affections.'

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A fhort Prayer when the Communion Service

is ended.

PARDON, O God, all thofe Imperfections that have accompanied me at this Time, in my Attendance at thy Altar; forgive the Deadness and Dulnefs of my Affections, the Wanderings of my Thoughts, and the Diftractions of my Mind.

Let the Sincerity of my holy Purposes and Refolutions be accepted, notwithstanding my Weakness and Frailty.

Oh! let this Commemoration of my crucified Saviour, influence all my Thoughts, Words, and Actions, that my Converfation may be as becometh the Gospel of Christ.

Reward me not according to my Deferts, but according to my great Neceffities, and thy own rich Mercy in Jefus Chrift; to whom with thee, O God the Father, and God the Holy Ghoft, be all Honour and Glory, World without End. Amen.

• Where Communions are large, we may

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want fome Exercifes for the employing our devout Affections; and the Office for the Adminiftration of the Holy Communion 'contains fuch a Variety of excellent. • Mater for Meditation, that it may not be improper to entertain our Minds, while others are receiving, with the Confidera⚫tion of fome particluar Parts of it. This ¿ may poffibly be fometimes more useful than either thefe or any other Prayers; more especially to fuch as complain of • Coldnefs and Dulnefs in their Devotions; for Meditation naturally tends to warm our Affections, and raife in our Minds a Spirit of Devotion.

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For Example: Suppofe I had deter• mined to meditate on fome Part or Parts " of the Confeffion, which begins thus: Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, Maker of all Things, fudge of all Men: Here I would ftop, and confider • well the Import of these Words: They • contain four of God's most comprehenfive Titles. Firft, he is here faid to be Almighty: Secondly, The Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift: Thirdly, The Maker and Creator of all Things: Fourthly, The Judge of all Men. The Confideration of he first and laft will provoke us to godly • Sorrow,

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Sorrow, and the fecond and third will excite our Hope in his Mercy. So that from hence we may take Occafion to exercise Acts of Sorrow and Humiliation, of Hope and Love, &c. thus: I confider, Ơ my God, that I have offended thee, who art Almighty, and therefore able to punish; but I confider too, that thou art the Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and therefore I cannot doubt of thy Love to me, and of thy Readiness to forgive me, who repent and turn to thee. Such Ejaculations might be formed from each of thefe Particulars, or from any other Parts of the • Communion-Office; or we may meditate on fuch of the following Texts of Scripture, or others, as may most excite our Devotion, or further us in the Way • of Piety.

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• If ye therefore be rifen with Chrift, feek thofe Things which are above, where Chrift fitteth at the Right Hand of God. Set your Affections on Things above, not on Things on the Earth, Col. iii. 1, 2. • Love not the World, nor the Things that are in the World. If any Man love the World, the Love of the Father is not • in him. For all that is in the World, the

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Luft of the Flesh, and the Luft of the 'Eyes, and the Pride of Life, is not of the Father, but is of the World, 1 John ii. 15, 16.

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Mortify therefore therefore your Members, which are on the Earth; Fornication, Uncleanness, inordinate Affection, evil Concupifcence, and Covetoufnefs, which is Idolatry. For which things Sake, the 'Wrath of God cometh on the Children ' of Difobedience, Col. iii. 5, 6.

'He that committeth Sin is of the De'vil; for the Devil finneth from the Beginning. For this Purpose the Son of God was manifefted, that he might destroy "the Works of the Devil, 1 John iii. 8. • If ye live after the Flesh, ye shall die; but if ye, through the Spirit, do mortify the Deeds of the Body, ye shall live, Rom. i. 12.

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They that are Chrift's, have crucified the Flefh, with its Affections and Lufts, Gal. v. 24.

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Knowing this, that our old Man is 'crucified with him, that the Body of Sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we 'fhould not ferve Sin, Rom. vi. 6.

Take Heed and beware of Covetoufnefs; for a Man's Life confifteth not in

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