An Act of Spiritual Communion', to be used after the Prayer above written 2, when the person is destitute of an opportunity of external Communion.

My soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the courts of the LORD...

I rely upon the Sacrifice offered by CHRIST JESUS.... LORD, Thou knowest the desire of my heart to be to this bread and this cup; and that whenever Thou, in Thy good Providence, shalt remove this obstacle under which I at present lie, my heart is ready to join with any true Christian Priest and people, in offering this Sacrifice and partaking of this spiritual feast....

Accept, O LORD, of my will and desire, while I cannot actually communicate... LORD, reject not my prayer, nor turn Thy mercy from me; while, though absent from all true Christian congregations in body, but present with them all in spirit and desire, I join with them in pleading the merits of the all-sufficient Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Thy Son, for the pardon of my own sins and of all sincere penitents; for the obtaining of all necessary graces, and of a happy resurrection to eternal life.-pp. 262, 3.

ID.-Primitive Communicant.

A recognition of the Priesthood of Christ.

O Infinite and Almighty God the FATHER, who hadst from the beginning Thy WORD and SoN dwelling with Thee and in Thee, who was the light of men, by shedding on the ancient Patriarchs and Prophets, and all holy people before and under the Law, whatever knowledge they had of Thee, and of spiritual things..... I desire to acknowledge and glorify Thee, and Thy Divine SoN, for these early dawnings of Thy grace and good will toward mankind; especially I confess and adore Thy immense goodness and mercy, for that Thou didst, in the fulness of time, send this Thy WORD, and SON, to take upon Him our nature, and, as a priest according to the order of Melchisedek, to fulfil and abolish all the types of the Aaronical Priesthood and Sacrifices, and to bless

1

1 [Compare Bp. Taylor's Worthy Communicant, p. 386, as quoted by Johnson.] 2 [Vid. sup. p. 355.]

men.....

the spiritual posterity of Abraham, in and by the Sacrifice of His Body and Blood, represented in bread and wine. Praise the LORD, O my soul, all the days of Thy life, for such a Priest and Sacrifice, by which the Gospel ministry and Church have been once for ever consecrated and perfected, and their services established, and a perpetual availment given to them, and all the defects and blemishes of them that attend Thine altars supplied by the abundant merits of this great High Priest, and His most efficacious oblation. Praise the LORD, O my soul, all the days of thy life, for such a Priest, and for the oblation of His Body and Blood, which He commanded for ever to be continued in remembrance of Him; for the mysterious Bread given for the life of the world, for the cup poured out for the remission of the sins of Praise the LORD, O my soul, all the days of thy life, for this High Priest according to the order of Melchisedek, and for this pure oblation of bread and wine, by which we serve all the ends, and obtain all, and more than all the benefits procured by the manifold Sacrifices under, and before the law: of that bread and wine in the offering whereof CHRIST consigned Himself to the Cross, there to suffer death and make a full satisfaction for the sins of all, who should with true penitent hearts apply themselves to Thee through His all-sufficient death and Sacrifice. Praise the LORD, O my soul, all the days of thy life, for this High-Priest of our oblation; who, after He had finished the works and sufferings which Thou hadst assigned Him here on earth, did visibly ascend into Heaven, and sit down on Thy right hand; and now with His crucified and glorified Body appears in Thy presence, to give force and effect to the devotions of His Church, and especially to the ordinances of His own institution. May all Christian Priests and people for evermore rejoice in this most prevailing Mediator, and never seek for any other. May they with diligence and constancy employ themselves in those duties of religion, in which they may most safely depend on the intercession of this High Priest; especially in the commemorative oblation of His Body and Blood. May we make it our chief care and study to imitate His example in all the virtues of a holy life; that so we may at last receive the

reward of faithful servants, and follow Him into the Holy of Holies, for His merits, and for Thy mercies' sake. Amen.pp. 188-190.

An Exercise of Communion with God and His Church, in the Holy Eucharist.

O GOD of peace and love, who didst send Thy Son into the world to gather a holy nation, a peculiar people, an universal Church, from among all kingdoms, tongues, and countries, and to unite them together in the same faith and worship, and to bring them all at last to the same blessed place of eternal rest and joy. . . . . Thou didst purchase this Church to Thyself, by the precious Body and Blood of Thine own Sox offered in Sacrifice to Thee; and madest the commemoration of that Sacrifice the centre and ligament of that worship we owe Thee, and of that communion, which Thou didst intend to continue between Thee and Thy Church. The many loaves offered to Thee in all the congregations of Christians throughout the world, are but one and the same Sacrifice to the same GOD and FATHER of all, and are sanctified by the same Holy Spirit, and are made the one mysterious flesh of our one Mediator. . . . . And do Thou, LORD GOD, send out Thy lively and powerful Spirit, to unite all Christians in the sincere belief and practice of these sacred truths, that they, with one heart and one voice, may offer this one Sacrifice, that Thy Church and the services of it may be perfectly one. pp.

198-200.

An Eucharistic Prayer to be said just before the receiving of the Sacramental Body and Blood.

The highest praises, honours, and thanksgivings be to GoD the FATHER, who sent His Son into the world to make an atonement for the sins of men; and to His Son, for willingly offering Himself as a ransom for our souls; and to the eternal Spirit, with whose concurrence this inestimable offering was made, and this glorious work of our redemption was accomplished. The whole Church was first founded, and raised to be a holy nation and

ner.

peculiar people, for the setting forth the praises of God, and offering spiritual Sacrifices for the salvation purchased by the Blood of CHRIST. At the same time that the Holy JESUs declared His Body to be given, His Blood to be shed for us, He did command that this remembrance should be continued, till His coming again. And this is that Sacrifice of thanksgiving in which we see the salvation of God; and in and by which we receive and enjoy all the benefits of CHRIST's death and passion, if we come with hearts prepared for such great blessings . . . . May I never want a heart to value, and rejoice over them; or an opportunity of joining with the priests and people of Thy Church, in presenting this Sacrifice of praise to Thee, the God of all our mercies ... The favourable acceptance of the Sacrifices offered to Thee of old, did much depend on the eating them in a due and just manAnd it was declared that he who eat of them without observing the rules prescribed by the Law, should bear his iniquity and be cut off from Thy people: and Thou hast declared by Thy Apostle, that he who eateth and drinketh the Body and Blood of the LORD unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself. LORD GOD, do Thou be pleased so to dispose my heart, while I am approaching Thy mysteries with joy and praise, at the same time to be assisted with such awe and reverence, such a judicious fear and trembling, as befits those who are employed in so solemn and concerning an ordinance . . . . . . As no Christian ought to doubt but that the Christian Sacrifice is accepted on the heavenly Altar, and that the sacramental Body and Blood of CHRIST are replenished with His merits, and enriched with the special presence of the Holy Spirit; so it is the sincere desire of my heart, that I myself, and all who communicate in this holy Sacrament, may perceive, and lay hold, and possess themselves of these rich treasures . . . . . and that, looking to CHRIST JESUS as the Author and Finisher of our faith and good services, and on His all-sufficient Sacrifice as the foundation of all our hopes and devotions, we may at last obtain the reward of faithful servants, for the sake of the same JESUS CHRIST Our LORD. Amen.-pp. 201-204.

......

WILSON, BISHOP, CONFESSOR, AND DOCTOR.-Short Introduction to the Lord's Supper. Sect. ii.

The holy Apostles of CHRIST, who were present when He first administered this Sacrament, give us the following account of its end and institution.

They signify to us, in the first place, that this Sacrament was ordained by CHRIST the same night in which He was betrayed, and after they had observed the Passover.....

Now, after the Paschal Supper, as the Apostles relate it, "JESUS CHRIST took bread," &c.

In obedience, therefore, to this command of JESUS CHRIST, who has delivered us from a greater bondage than that of Egypt, the Christian Church keeps up the memory of His love, His Sacrifice, and His sufferings and death, after this solemn manner.

First, as an acknowledgment that our lives, and all that we eat or drink to preserve them, are owing to the bounty of GOD, we present upon His table, by the hands of His own minister, a portion of His creatures, the best we have for the support and comfort of our natural life, namely, bread and wine. After this, the bread and wine are consecrated, the bread is broken, and the wine poured out, to represent the death of CHRIST, whose Body was broken, and whose Blood was shed for us.

Then the Minister of God, as the Steward of CHRIST'S household, applies these blessings to every person who receives the Sacrament, in this devout prayer:-" The Body and Blood of CHRIST, which were given and shed for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life."-Works (8vo. edit.), vol. ii. pp. 21-23.

The Order for Administration of the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion,

With suitable Directions, Observations, and Devotions.

[Note.] The following prayer was used by the pious author, before receiving and administering the Sacrament: