LORD's: the earth hath He given to the children of men, The dead praise not Thee, O LORD: neither all they that go down into filence, But we will praise the LORD: from this. time forth for evermore. Praise the LORD. Glory be to the Father ———. As it was ———

§. 3. XXXII Scruple at drawing near to the holy Table. I Hear, or fear others, better than my self, who come but now and then, or, at least, miss sometimes, are offended at my attending fo conftantly, as if I pretended to be better than they are; which they can't see, nor have any reason to imagine: Or that they think I understand not, or reverence not enough that dreadful Mystery. Answer, PERCHANCE, nay, most probably it is groundiefs, and only your too low thoughts of your felf that make you uneafy by fuch a jealousy; and, if you do not certainly know it, it is a fault in you to Cenfure them with fuch Uncharitableness; for if they be fo good as you fuppofe'em, they'll judge themselves, and not you, and abhor the Pharisee's Bad, I thank Thee that 1 am not as other Men, or even as this publican, [or perfon.] S. Luke 18 11. But admitting it be matter of fict, their Absenting, themselves fometimes, and condemning your continuance, and cenfuring you, are very great Failings, as appears by Part I. throughout, and this Part ch. 3. §. 8, and ch. 5. §. 4. and your Conftancy, and judging your felf, fhow that you have a righter Notion, and greater Eteem of this Mystery,and are, in them two Respecfat least, better than they are. ́And if they be offended at your clofe purfuit of eternal Happiness, 't wou'd be infinitely more foolish in you, therefore to desist and lofe it, than to quit any lawful temporal Advantages be cause some reflect on, orenvy'em you. Right and true Humility produces Zeal and Perfeverance; therefore you must not have such a mean opinion of your felf as (Contrary to the Gospel) to despair of God's accepting your beft Indeavors, or at all to neglect the Means of Grace. And if you come with a Sincere and honeft heart, in the best manner you can, and to a right End, even as your bounden Duty, and trueft Interelt, for the Glory of God, your foul's Welfare, and a gooi Eximple, let not another's thoughts. words, or actions difcourage you, but fay with S. Paul 1 Cor. 4. 3. Wuh me it is a very fmall thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment. And with holy Job Ch. 27. 5. God forbid that I should juftiff you: vill I dy I will not remove my integrity from me..

S. 4.

$.4. XXXIII Doubt of Fitness to come to that holy Sacrament. I Have no Parts, nor Invention to Meditate; or to Methodize the Confeffion of my particular fins; or to Pray without a Book; nor Memory to retain what I Read or Hear; and look upon my felf to be Ufelefs in the World; and unfit to Converse with God or Man; and, do what I can, many horrid Evil thoughts come into my mind, and I cannot, after all my Devotions and Indeavors, quite leave those things which I think to be fins, but often fall into'em and am fo perplex'd with Distempers and Uneafiness of Body and Mind; and with Doubts of my being fit, and Fears of breaking my Vows;and of being Miferable hereafter, as well as here; that I think I had better wholly Refrain from this Sacrament at leaft, if not from all Publick Worship, and Private too. Answ. SOME Perfons are of a Timerous Confcience, and apt to have irreg. ular and unreafonabie Fears, and nothing but a fingle Ray from heaven can give'em any portions of Comfort, and these neither Truft to any thing they do, nor to any thing that is done for'em; and fear by no other measures than by the confideration of th' intollerable Mifery which they fhould fuffer if they fhou'd Mifcarry; And because these can Speak nothing, and Think nothing Comfortable of themselves in that Agony, or in that Meditation, therefore they must look out of themselves. and Confider in what Cafes, and in whatDis pofitions they wou'd Conclude others to be worthy, and by the proportions of that Judgment of Charity which they make of them, apply the fame Rule to themselves: Which, being your Cafe, must be your Maxim too. The Publican S, Luke. 18. 13. fhewed no Parts, nor Invention, nor Memory,nor Method of Confeffing his Sins, but ftanding afar off, perhaps in the Court of the Gentiles, looking upon himfelfunworthy to draw nigh to God, or stand in the holy Place, would not lift up fo much as his Eyes to heaven, from the fenfe of the same unworthiness, but fmote upon his breaft, punishing himfelf out of a deep Sence of his Guilt, (this being the fign of a Mind vehemently afflicted, as ch. 23-48) faying, God be merciful to me a finner, and thereupon our Savior faid, v. 14. I tell you this man went down to his house justified, (i.e, approved of God, and pardoned,) rather than the other, who was one of the Pharifees, Men of great Parts and Learning, and conceited of their own Goodness. Not many wife men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called, but God hath chosen the

weak

weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. 1 Cor. 1, 26, 27. It is not with Notions, and fublime Revelations, but with holy Inclinations and pure Affections that you must defire to be infpired. If you can't find Prayers that will in all respects reach your particular cafes by turning.the plural into the Singular number in our most excellent and Useful Liturgy, (of which I may fay as David of Goliah's fword, i Sam 21. 9. There is none like that) and in this and other Books: be often cafting up fhort Ejaculations, and beg th' Affittance of the Holy Spirit. and Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask Him S. Mat. 6 8. Your heavenly Father wil give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him. S. Luke 11. 13. The Spirit als obelpheth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit it felf maketh interceffion for us with gronings which cannot be uttered. And He that fearcheth the hearts, knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh Interceffion for the faints according to the will of God, Rom. 8. 26, 27. As to the fhortness of your Memory, and your Uielefsnefs in the world &c; Suppofing it to be as you think, If there be first a willing Mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath and not according to that he hath net. 2 Cor, 8. 12. If God gives you but oue Talent, He will not require an Account of five. You must not have fuch unworthy thoughts of God, as to imagine Him fuch a hard Task-Master as to expect Bricks without Straw; and fo auftere and hard a Lord as to take up that He laid not down to reap whero He has not fown, and to gather where He has not ftrawed. Exod. 5. 18, S. Luke 19. 21. S. Mat. 25. 24. Wherefore if Fools did defire to partake of the holy Communion, and cou'd be kept innocent, and were capable of Love and Obedience in fome degree, and could learn fo much that it is good for their fouls, and could difcern what is fpiritually good, and cou'd defire to go to God, and cou'd in any degree believe in Christ, and Cou'd difcern between Good and Evil, and were not vicious; The Church did never deny it them. As for your hated Evil thoughts, and other unavoidable Failings, you must never ceafe to pray fervently, and frive heartily againft'em, and then if, to keep you humble, God does not fee fit however to remove those thorns in the flesh, thofe meffengers offatan, yet He will give you Sufficient Grace to do what is more for his Glory, and your Good; and not lay thofe fins of Weakness to your Charge, Chrift having ftatisfied for all that you have

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Part III. no Power to do. If you refolve against all fin, delight in none, deliberately chufe none, repent affoon as you are furprix'd, arm your felf better, and watch more carefully against all; whatever Imperfection is ftill adherent to you unwilling. ly, does indeed allay your Condition, and is fit to humble and caft you down, but it does not make you unworthy to Communicate, becaufe you are in a state of Grace, you are in the Chriftian Warfare, and are on God's fide. As for your Bodily distempers and Uneafineffes (if not occafion'd by Intemperance, Debauchery, or some other your own Defauli,) you must bear'em fubmissively, and contentedly, and fay with holy Job, Ch. 2. 10. Shall we receive good at the hands of God, and shall we not receive evil? that being, as appears by him, the fureft and quickest way to get out of 'em. See Part, I. ch. 8. §.4. And most probably they are in a great measure th’ Occafion of rhofe in your Mind, and of all the former part of your Objection; iffo, you are the lefs accountable for'em, as being only Failings infeparable from your Nature. If you love God Sincerely, that is accounted perfectly. However thole Imperfections, and fins of daily incurfion, and of Infirmity must be protefted againft, they must not joyn with your Confent, your Will must be againft'em, and they must be confeff'd, aud deplored, aud pray'd against; and where there is a hearty Indeavor God does make many Abatements, and accept the Will for the Deed, and will not condem you if you condemn your felf. And as for your Doubts of being Unworthy, and fears of Breaking your Vow, Do as inch. 5. §. 5. and Ch. 6. §. 4. of this Part, and then you'll have no grounds to fear eternal Mifery. If God fees it is your unfeigned Defire to be purified, his Omnipotence fhall be imploy'd not to ruine You,but to destroy your Lufts,and his Omniscience not to find them out to your Shame, but to your Amendment. D. Mat. 9. 12, 13. They that be whole need not aPhyfitian but they that are fick.Iam not come to call the righteous, but finners to repentance. Th. 12. 18. Come unto me all ye that labor, and heavy laden, and I will give you reft. 1 Tim. 1. 15. This is a faithful faying, and worthy of all acceptarion, that Crist Jefus came into the world to fave finners; of whom I am chief. The holy Sacrament, if it have any effect at all, is certainly an Inftrument, or a fign in the hands of God to help his fervants. t'inlarge his Grace, to give more frength, and to promot te them to perfection: but all in his own goodtime. You must conftantly and patiently wait..

as th' Impotent man at the pool of Bethesda, Which had an Infir mity thirty and eight years, S. John 5, 5. who lay there with very little likelyhood of being made whole, having no man when the water was troubled, to put him into the pool v. 7. nor had he, in all probability, ever been cured, had he quitted attendance the day before, or been abfent but that very time when Jefus paffed that way. Which ought to incite you,and all men to a frequent and conftant Communion, and make you fenfible of the Prepofterousnefs of your Conclufion, to neg lect all, or at least the Chief Means of your Salvation, because you have not as yet that fatisfaction which you defired and expected; and fo inevitably bring upon your felf that Mifery which otherwife you do but cauflefly fear, and Damn your felfcertainly, to avoid the fuppofed danger of Damnation Ezek. 18. 24. When the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, all his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he bath trespaffed, and in his fin that he hath finned, in them shall be dy. Do not believe you are Religious, because you are Scrupulous; but rather fuspect your felf not to be fo, because you neglect the great Duty of Religion. Let not the thoughts of your Imperfections hinder you now, for then they will always hinder; for Staying from the holy Communion is not the way to be more perfect, but Coming to it. Heb 2. 13. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life S. Mat, 24. 13, He that shall induve to the end, the fame shall be faved. And can you be fo foolish as wilfully to lofe the Prize in fight of the Goal, for want of running a little farther. Or to Suffer your felf to be drown'd near the Shoar, when a few moments longer ftriving wou'd fave you? See§. I.

S. S. HAVING given our Common Prayer fuch an Encomium near the beginning of the preceding Paragraph, I think my self obliged to make it out. First then. It is fo Judiciously contriv'd, that the wifeft may exercise at once their Knowledge and Devotion, and yet fo plain that the most ignorant may pray with Understan ding: So full, that nothing is omitted that is fit to be asked in pub-: lick; fo particular, that it comprifes most things which we would pray for in private; and yet so fhort, as not to tire any that have true Devotion. Its Doctrin is pure and Primitive; its Ceremo nies fo few and innocent, that most of the Christian World agree in 'em; its Method is exact and natural ; its Language is fignificant and perfpicuous, most of the Words and Phrafes being taken out of

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