Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

worthy I am, the more confpicuous is thy goodness, the more amazing thy mercy and condefcenfion.

my

4. Since therefore thou art pleased to stoop fo low, be it unto me according to thy word. Since thou haft thought fit to command approach, I will moft gladly testify my ready obedience; and only beg, that my own finfulness may not render me odious in thy fight, nor fruftrate thefe ineftimable mercies to me. I will fupply my want of ability by the earneftness of my zeal; and most humbly befeech thee to accept thofe hearty defires of the ineftimable benefit, by which my foul and all its faculties thirft and pant moft impatiently after thee and thy righteoufnefs. I will turn my eyes into my own heart, and entertain myself with the mortifying profpect of my own unworthinefs, laying my foul low before thee; and from the fenfe of my fin I will flee to thy mercy, that I may be made whole by the body and blood of my redeemer.

5. How wife, how faving, was thy defign, in the first inftitution of this holy fupper! how rich, how delightful a banquet haft thou prepared for thy guefts, by ordering thy own body and blood for the mystical entertainE 5

ment

ment of the faithful! how aftonishing are the operations of thy grace and power! how incomprehenfible the methods of fulfilling thy most true promife! Thou spakest the word in the beginning, and all things were created! and by the fame almighty word, thou commandeft bread and wine, and they nourish fouls to life eternal.

6. And thou, my foul, rejoice and be exceeding glad for fo noble a favour, fo heavenly a refreshment, fo rich a confolation to fupport and sweeten thy paffage thro' this vale of tears and mifery. For, every time thou attendeft these holy myfteries, thou doft fpiritually eat the flesh of Chrift, and drink his blood; thou doft act, as it were, over again the work of thy redemption, and effectually partake of thy Saviour's merits and fufferings. For, his love continues always the fame, and the excellence and worth of his propitiation is an inexhauftible spring of mercy. Come therefore hither with new exalted zeal, enlarge thy heart and its defires, and doubt not, but thou fhalt at every approach, return with fresh and plentiful acceffions of grace.

7. Let not the frequency abate thy devotion: for this favour fhould always feem great,

this feaft always honourable, and the delights of it always new. And by the force of pious meditation, the mystery will affect thy wondering mind at every repetition, as if the fon of God were juft that moment born from the womb of his mother; as if thy fuffering redeemer were in that inftant labouring under all his agonies; and thine own eyes beheld him hanging and bleeding, and dying on the cross.

A prayer on Sunday morning, before the communion. Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. John vi. 53.

Almighty God, and merciful father, who haft given thy only fon Jefus Chrift to die for us, who did inftitute a holy feaft in commemoration of that his most precious death, thereby to preferve in our minds a conftant remembrance of his great love, in laying down his life for our fakes: I thy unworthy fervant, who am now invited to thy holy table, do humbly adore thy divine majefty, acknowledging that I am not worthy of my daily bread, much lefs of that which came down from heaven, and which thou haft given to be the food and nourishment of our fouls.

I confefs, O Lord, my fins may juftly caufe me to tremble, when I appear before thee; but.

but, O most merciful father, encouraged by thy wonderful goodness and love, in giving thy fon to die for all penitent and returning finners, I prefent myself before thee at this time befeeching thee, in great humility to continue to me that love, and admit me to thy holy table, that I may taste and fee how gracious thou art, and how wonderful in thy doings towards the fons of men.

O make my longings and defires after this divine food, fome way anfwerable to my great need of it; that my foul being fenfible of all its wants, it may no longer feek for relief from the unfatisfying objects of this world; but coming to thy holy table with a true fpiritual hunger and thirft, may there find a full fupply of all thofe graces and bleffings that it ftands in fo much need of.

And to this end, O Lord, fit and prepare my heart to partake of fo great a mercy, by giving me a just abhorrence of my own unworthinefs, and an unfeigned repentance of all my fin. Root out of my heart all finful and corrupt affections, all prejudice, hatred, and ill-will; and plant all those devout and pious, charitable and humble difpofitions, that become the worshippers of the holy Jefus; that when I prefume to appear before thee,

I

1

thee, I may bring with me a heart raised above the corruptions that are in the world, and full of the strongest defires and refolutions of loving and ferving thee.

Deliver me, O my God, from all coldnefs and formality, when I attend upon thee in holy and religious duties; and grant that by going to this holy feaft, I may have my pardon fealed, my weaknesses repaired, all my evil inclinations fubdued, my faith ftrengthened, my hopes enlarged, my charity encreafed, and my foul fo entirely and infeparably united unto thee, that nothing may be ever able to diffolve the union; but that being begun here in grace, it may hereafter be confummated in glory, through the merits of him that died for me, even the son of thy eternal love, Jefus Christ the righteous; to whom with thee, O father, and the holy spirit, be afcribed, as is moft due, all honour, glory, power, thanksgiving, and praise, both now and for evermore. Amen.

This laft prayer may be added to our other devotions the morning we receive, and may be frequently used in the week preceding the facrament. See also the directions on page 57.

Ejaculations when you first come into church.

WOW amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lordof hofts!

[ocr errors]

Bleffed

« AnteriorContinuar »