Week's Preparation For a Worthy receiving of the Lod's Supper, As Appointed and Practifed by the CHURCH of ENGLAND; Part the Second: Confifting of MEDITATIONS, PRAYERS, and HYMNS Suitable for the Sunday Evening on Sacrament Day, and for the Morning and Evening of every Day in that Week. WITH A FORM of Daily SELF-EXAMINATION. AND In the Course of these MEDITATIONS, thofe Doubts and Scruples which are apt to difturb and render the Minds of devout Communicants Unealy, are clearly ftated and finally removed. LONDON: Printed only for W. BENT, at the King's Arms, Pater nofter: Row. The Preface. For TUESDAY. Advice to thofe who pretend they are kept from the Lord's Supper An explanation of that part of the The Author to the Reader, Reasons for publishing this book, and of the dangerous tendency of the ufe of the OLD Week's Preparation. HAving for many years experienced, in the course of my office, that, in no one inftance of chriftian duty, there was more need of affiftance than in this of the Lord's fupper; and that many devout communicants have laboured under the fame doubts and fcruples concerning a worthy preparation and partaking of this duty; I am of opinion, that many others would be very glad to find fuch doubts cleared up, and the cause of fuch fcruples removed for the fu ture, which too commonly disturb and perplex them with fuch fears and terrors, as indeed make their defire of being truly religious the burthen and mifery, instead of the delight of their lives. For, notwithstanding the compiler of the second part of the OLD Week's Preparation, † (a treatife very improper to come into the hands of many proteftant reader's) has obferved a quite contrary method: I do not think my time can be better employed, than when I am endeavouring to render the preparation to that holy ordinance orthodox, rational, and fatisfactory to every one. And, It is certainly a very great fault with the generality of those who have written upon this subject, that they have made it their whole business only to raise and inflame the devotion of communicants, without taking any thought about informing and fettling their understandings. A 2 The + The popish book of Devotions, from whence all the meditations and bymns are taken, which conftitute above one half of the Second Part of the Old Week's Preparation, was condemned by Authority of Parliament to e publicly burnt by the bands of the common bangman; and this circumtance I think myself in duty bound to take notice of, to prevent any farher ill confequences among the common people from the ufe of that book; hotwithstanding it is now pretended to be published by a Clergyman of London. The most confiderable doubts and fcruples, which are apt to diftract and render the minds of communicants uneáfy, are fuch as, I think, fall under fome or other of the heads of the following meditations, which I have framed as full and fatisfactory, as I believe can reasonably be expected, in so small a volume. Of the meditations, hymns, and prayers. The meditation for each day is placed first; because I efteem meditation to be a noble exercife of a rational and devout foul. To revolve and confider over and over, and to reflect upon thofe divine fubjects, to which each meditation relates, will greatly contribute to the improvement of our lives, and to the rendering them more conformable to the will of almighty God. ings Meditation bath an univerfal influence upon the whole life of a Chriftian, and is an admirable inftrument to quicken our progress in all the graces of God's holy Spirit. It illuminates our understand with the knowledge of our duty, and flores our memories with all fuch arguments as are proper to excite us to the performance of it. It wings our prayers with reverence and devotion; and increafes our importunity by impreffing a lively fenfe of the necessity and importance of those things we beg of God. It habituates our minds to fpiritual objects, and raises them above the perishing things of this life. It ftrengthens our holy purposes, arms us against temp. tations, and inflames all the faculties of our fouls with earnest defires of attaining and enjoying our chiefeft good. In the ufe of the meditations, we should not read them over in a hafty and curfory manner; but muft proceed very deliberately, and try whether we cannot find out fomething of greater importance in each fentence than may be apprehended at the first reading; and after we have thus gone through the meditation, which we should always do at one reading, begging God to affect our minds with a conftant fenfe of our duty in all the particulars of it; chiefly that he avould enable us to perform thofe refolutions we have made of ad-vancing in piety and virtue; that he would not leave us to ourselves = but fo affift us with his grace, that what we perceive and know to be our duty, we may faithfully fulfil all the days of our life: I say when the meditation is thus ended, I have immediately fubjoine the hymns to be fung or faid, according to the difpofition of ever devout reader. And the reason of this method, I doubt not, wi readil readily appear to every one who confiders that the defign of hymns is to raife the foul to a nearer conference with God in prayer, when perchance fatigued in some other part of a chriftian's duty. To the hymns you have a prayer added, which will furnish you with fuitable petitions, fupplications, and thanksgivings to be offered up to our heavenly father through Jefus Chrift, his dearly beloved fon, our Lord. Not that I prefume to dictate any thing that may fifle the fervency of any one's private devotion, who may rather chufe to conclude his devotions with a hymn: And it is with a view to fatisfy fuch different tempers, that in fome cafes I have added more hymns than one to fome of the subjects. But as God has given us no direct command in this particular, let it be far from me to act with that prefumption, as to endeavour to enforce my own intentions inftead thereof. Of the time to be spent in preparation. As to the time requifite to be spent, in our preparation for a worthy receiving the Lord's fupper, I could wish it had been more particularly directed and commanded by the Church: yet, I doubt not but that her having not done it has proceeded from her knowledge that the best rules might hurt fome or other, if too closely followed. But I am clear in my opinion, that it is always her intention, that her memb.rs fhould be as well and tho roughly prepared as they can, before they approach the Lord's Ta ble: and, for my part, I think myfelf bound to thank the great and good God, that I am not of the number of those self-sufficient chriftians, who can lay fo great stress upon habitual preparation as to fave themfelves the trouble of any preparation at all. † Of our duty after receiving. But what will all the preparation in the world avail us, if, as foon as we have turned our backs on the Lord's table, we forget that ever we ere there, and remember no more our folemn A 3 en + See the Preface to the firft Part of the NEW WEEK's Preparation, page vii, concerning the usefulness of actual Preparation before the receiving ou the LORD's SUPPER. |