Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

making our fincere repentance acceptable to God; and fubdue the violence of our paffions by fpiritualizing our affections, and by placing them upon God and virtue.

The fecond Meditation for Tuesday Evening. Upon the true Repentance of a worthy

Communicant.

Repent ye therefore and be converted, that your fins may be blotted out. Acts iii. 9.

I.

"I

KNOW, my foul! that we ought always to live as we hope to die, às become good chriftians, conftantly endeavouring to lead a new life; but then remember that to guard against all prefumptuous fecurity in matters of eternal welfare, we should never prefume to eat of that bread, and drink of that cup, without a previous preparation, if we mean to escape that judgment or condemnation, which the Corinthians brought upon themfelves for their irreverent, finful, and diforderly behaviour at this facrament; who were accufed of being guilty of the body and blood of Chrift our Savour-of eating and drinking their own damnation, not confidering the Lord's body-of kindling God's wrath against them of provoking him to plague them with divers diseases, and fundry kinds of death, which we shall avoid and efcape by coming. worthily, by faith and repentance, to the

Lord's

Lord's Supper. If we fhould call ourselves to account, and judge and condemn what we find amifs, fo effectually as to forfake it; we should not then be condemned, or punished by God. Let not then thefe terrible expreffions trouble us or detain us from the holy Communion: but let us repent and believe, and we are fecure from falling into any of thofe dangers, which these fentences feem to threaten us with, And when we fee fuch afflictions amongst us, we ought, before it be too late, to confider them as chaftifements from the hand of God, in order to our prefent amendment; and defigned for this good end, that we should not be finally condemned with the wicked part of the world in the day of judgment.

II. There is nothing dreadful in this facrament, but to the wilful, impenitent, and perfe vering finner, whofe condition in itself is dreadful; but to the penitent and humble foul, nothing is or can be difmal or affrighting in this holy feaft. And the fureft way to prevent our damnation, is to receive the facrament more frequently than men ufually do; that by a conftant participation of this fpiritual food of the living bread, which comes down from heaven, our fouls may be nourished in all goodness, and new fupplies of God's grace and Holy Spirit may be continually derived to us, for our purification, and to enable us to run the ways of God's commandments with E

mere

more conftancy, and delight, than we have done before, it being certain, that God will never caft any man into eternal flames, who ftrives to do his duty as well as he can. If there be firft a willing mind, it is acceptable according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not. And confequently, fuch as account themselves most unworthy, are thofe very perfons, who are deeply fenfible of their own unworthiness. They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are fick. III. This being the cafe of all mankind, with refpect to their fpiritual life, there is, my foul, no other way to free ourselves from this death of fin, but speedily to apply to this heavenly phyfician, who came into the world to feek and to fave those who are loft and ready to perish. And let us truft in God, that as often as we come to the holy Communion with fuch an honeft and true heart, as to exercise our repentance towards God, our faith and hope of his mercy through Chrift for the forgiveness of our fins, and our love and charity for all mankind, fuch a temper and refolution of mind will doubtlefs render us worthy partakers of thefe holy myfteries, and prevent our eating and drinking damnation to ourfelves.

IV. But that our preparation may be well performed let us remember the end, and we fhall never do amifs: let us fearch our hearts,

and

and examine our confcience, not only till we fee our fins, but until we hate them; and inftead of those filthy rags of our own righteoufnefs, let us adorn our minds with pure and pious difpofitions, to fear God and keep his commandments: let us endeavour to be accepted of by God, as worthy communicants; that he, who knoweth all the fecrets of the heart, may approve of the fincerity of our repentance; and the King, who comes in to view the guests, may count us worthy of his favour and countenance; which never can be hoped for, except he finds us clothed with the marriage garment of fincere repentance.

[ocr errors]

The Hymn on Tuesday Evening.

The true Penitent's confeffion and petition.

LORD! fhew pity; Lord! forgive;
Let a repenting rebel live.

Are not thy mercies large and free?
May not a finner truft in thee?

My crimes are great, but don't furpafs
The pow'r and mercy of thy grace:
Great God! thy nature hath no bound,
So let thy pard'ning love be found.
Oh! wash my foul from every fin,
And make my guilty confcience clean:
Here on my heart the burthen lies,
And paft offences pain my eyes.

E.2.

My

My lips with fhame my fins confefs
Against thy law, against thy grace:
Lord, fhould thy judgments grow fevere,
I am condemn'd, but thou art clear.
Should fudden vengeance feize my breath,
I must pronounce thee juft in death:
And if my foul were doom'd to hell,
Thy righteous law approv'd it well.
But fave a trembling finner, Lord!
Whofe hope, still hov'ring o'er thy word,
Would fix on fome tweet promise there,,
Some fure fupport against despair.

The Prayer for Tuesday Evening.
For a true and fincere repentance.

THOU

O great and glorious God! Father

of all mercies and comforts, who takest pleasure in those that come unto thee with faith, and willeft not the death of a finner, but rather that he would be converted and live; look down, I beseech thee, with pity and compaffion upon me, who fall low upon my knees before thee, confeffing that I have pro voked thy divine majefty, in divers inftances of my finful life: but now I fly unto the arms of thy mercy for pardon and forgiveness: O let the infinite merits of my dear Redeemer make fatisfaction for me, in the pardon and forgiveness of all my fins.

Lay

A

« AnteriorContinuar »