676 A Difcourfe to his Servants, &c. Vo1.II. good. Hear likewife my Prayers and Supplications for thy bleffing upon the So- lemn A&ion of the day following, and upon thine unworthy Servant who is to be dedicated to thy Service ; and for them whom thou haft fet over us; and for thefe finful Nations ; and all for the fakeof tbydearly beloved Son, in whom thou art well pleated, 7efus Chrill the Righteous ; In whofe Name and Words 1 concludedmy Prayers, Our Father, Ow A Difcourfe to his Servants, concerning receiving the Sacrament. OW that I have mentioned the Sacrament, I have a great defire, that as manyofyou as can fhould receive it atEafter, and that you fhould care- fully prepare your felves for it againft that time. Ìt is the moll folemn Inflitu- tion ofour Religion, and as we are Chriftians , we are obliged to the frequent re- ceivingof it , and we cannot negle& it without a great contempt of our bleffed Saviour and his Religion. He hath appointed it for a folemn remembrance of his great love to us, in laying down his life for us, and therefore he commands us to do it in remembrance of him; and St. Paul tellsus, that as often aswe eat this bread, anddrink this cup, we doPeroforth the Lord's death till he come. Both the comfort and the benefit of it are great. The comfort of it ; becaufe it does not only reprefent to us the exceeding love of our Saviour, in giving his Bo- dy to be broken, and his Blood to be fhed for us; but it likewife Seals to us all thofe bleflings and benefits which are purchafed and procured for us by his death and paffìon; the pardon of fins; and power againft fin. The benefit of it is alfo great; becaufe hereby we are confirmed in Goodnefs, and our Refolutions of better Obedience are Strengthned; aad the Grace ofGod's Holy Spirit to enable us to do his Will is hereby conveyed to us. And thebell preparation for it is by a fincere Repentance-for all our fins and mifcar- riages, which we remember our felves to be at any time guilty of : by daily prayer to God that he would give us a fincere Repentance for all our fins, and mercifully forgive them to us : and by a fincere and firm refolution to forfake our fins, and to do better for the future; to be more careful of all our A&ions, and more conftant in Prayer to God for his Grace to enable us to keep his Commandments : by being in Charity with all Men ; and by forgiving thofe who have injured us by word or deed, as we hope for forgivenefs fromGod. And let none of us fay, that we are not fitted and prepared for it. It is our Duty to be fo : and if we be not prepared to receive the Sacrament, we are not qualified for the Mercy of God, and for his forgivenefs; we are not prepared for the happinefs of Heaven, and can have no hopes to come thither : but if we prepare our felves as well as we can by Repentance, and refolutions ofbeing better, and by prayingheartily and earnefily to God for his Grace, he will accept of this preparation, and will give us the comfort of this holy Sacrament. A Form
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