The worthy communicant, or, A discourse of the nature, effects, and blessings consequent to the worthy receiving of the Lords Supper and of all the duties required in order to a worthy preparation : together with the cases of conscience occurring in the duty of him that ministers, and of him that communicates : to which are added, devotions fitted to every part of the ministration / by Jeremy Taylor ...

SECT. IV. Of Examination of our selves in the matter of our Prayers in order to a Holy Communion.

THe Holy Sacrament is in its nature and design a solemn prayer, and the imitation of the intercession which our glorious High Priest conti∣nually makes for us in heaven; and as it is our mi∣nistery,* 1.1 and contains our duty, it is nothing else but the solemnity and great oeconomy of prayer, for the whole, and for every member, and for all and every particular necessity of the Church; and all the whole conjugation of Offices, and union of hearts, and conjunction of Ministers, is nothing but the advantages, and solemnity, and sanctification of Prayer; and therefore in order to do this work in solemnity as we ought, it were fit that we exa∣mine our selves how we do it in ordinary and daily offices.

For since there are so many excellent promises made to Prayer, and that nothing more disposes us

to receive the grace of the Sacraments, and the blessings of Communion, than holy Prayer; since Prayer can obtain every thing, it can open the windows of heaven, and shut the gates of hell; it can put a holy constraint upon God, and detain an Angel till he leave a blessing; it can open the trea∣sures of rain, and soften the iron ribs of rocks, till they melt into tears and a flowing river: Prayer can unclasp the girdles of the North, saying to a Mountain of Ice, Be thou removed hence, and cast into the bottom of the Sea; it can arrest the Sun in the midst of his course, and send the swift winged winds upon our errand; and all those strange things, and secret decrees, and unrevealed transactions which are above the clouds, and far beyond the re∣gions of the stars, shall combine in ministery and advantages for the praying man: It cannot be but we should feel less evil, and much more good than we do, if our Prayers were right. But the state of things is thus: It is an easie duty, and there are many promises, and we do it often, and yet we prevail but little. Is it not a strange thing, that our friends die round about us, and in every family some great evil often happens, and a Church shall suffer persecution for many years together without remedy, and a poor man groans under his oppres∣sor, who is still prosperous, and we cannot rescue the life of a servant from his fatal grave; and still we pray, and do not change the course of provi∣dence in a single instance many times, whether the instance be of little or of great concernment: what is the matter? we patiently suffer our prayers to be rejected, and comfort our selves by saying, that it may be the thing is not fit for us, it is against the decree of God, or against our good, or to be de∣nied is better; and there is a secret order of thing••

and events, to which a denial does better minister than a concession. This is very true, but not al∣ways when we are denied; for it is not always in mercy, but in anger very often we are denied, be∣cause our duty is ill performed: For if our Pray∣ers were right, the Providence of God would often find out ways to reconcile his great ends with our great desires; and we might be saved hereafter, and yet delivered here besides; and sometimes we should have heaven and prosperity too, and the crosse should be sweetned, and the days of afflicti∣on should for our sakes be shortned, and death would not come so hastily, and yet we should be preserved innocent in the midst of an evil generati∣on, though it waited for the periods and usual de∣terminations of nature: Let us rectifie our Pray∣ers, and try what the event will be; it is worth so much at least; but however, as to the present case, if we perform this duty pitifully and culpably, it is not to be expected we should communicate holily. The gradation and correspondencies of this holy ministry will demonstrate this truth.

For what Christ did once upon the Crosse in re∣al Sacrifice, that he always does in heaven by per∣petual representment and intercession; what Christ does by his supream Priest-hood, that the Church doth by her ministerial; what he does in heaven, we do upon earth; what is performed at the right hand of God, is also represented and in one man∣ner exhibited upon the holy Table of the Lord: and what is done on Altars upon solemn days, is done in our Closets in our daily offices; that is, God is invocated, and God is appeas'd, and God is reconciled, and God gives us blessings and the fruits of Christs passion in the vertue of the sacri∣ficed

Lamb; that is, we believing and praying, are blessed and sanctified and saved through Jesus Christ. So that as we pray so we communicate: if we pray well, we may communicate well, else at no hand. Now in this, besides that we are to take account of our Prayers by all those measures of the Spirit which we have learned in the holy Scriptures, there are two great lines of duty by which we can well examine our selves in this particular.

1. That our Prayers must be the work of our hearts, not of our lips; that is, that we heartily desire what we so carefully pray for: and God knows this is not very ordinary. For besides that we are not in love with the things of God, and have no worthy value for Religion, there are many things in our Prayer which we ask for, and do not know what to do with if we had them, and we do not feel any want of them, and we care not whe∣ther we have them or no. We ask for the Spirit of God, for Wisdom, and for a right Judgment in all things; and yet there are not many in our Chri∣stian Assemblies who use to trouble themselves at all with judging concerning the Mysteries of God∣linesse. Men pray for humility, and yet at the same time think that all that which is indeed humi∣lity, is a pitiful poornesse of spirit, pusilanimity, and want of good breeding. We pray for contri∣tion and a broken heart; and yet if we chance to be melancholy we long to be comforted, and think that the Lectures of the Crosse bring Death, and therefore are not the way of Eternal Life. We pray sometimes that God may be first and last in all our thoughts; and yet we conceive it no great matter whether he be or no; but we are sure that he is not, but the things of the world do take up the place of

God; and yet we hope to be saved for all that, and consequently are very indifferent concerning the return of that Prayer. We frequently call upon God for his grace, that we may never fall into sin; now in this, besides that we have no hopes to be heard, and think it impossible to arrive to a state of life in which we shall not commit sins, yet if we do sin, we know there is a remedy so ready, that we believe we are not much the worse if we do. Here are prayers enough, but where are the de∣sires all this while? We pray against covetousnesse, and pride, and gluttony; but nothing that we do but is either covetousnesse or pride; so that our Pray∣ers are terminated upon a word, not upon a thing. We do covetous actions, and speak proud words, and have high thoughts, and do not passionately desire to have affections contrary to them, but on∣ly to such notions of the sin as we have entertain∣ed, which are such as will do no real prejudice or mortification to the sin: and whatever our Pray∣ers are, yet it is certain our desires are so little, and so content with any thing of this nature, that for very many spiritual petitions we are indifferent whether they be granted or not.

But if we are poor or persecuted, if we be in fear or danger, if we be heart-sick or afflicted with an uncertain soul, then we are true desirers of re∣lief and mercy; we long for health, and desire earnestly to be safe; our hearts are pinch'd with the desire, and the sharpnesse of the appetite is a pain; then we pray, and mind what we do. * He that is in fear of death, does not when he prays for life think upon his money and his sheep; the entring of a fair woman into the room does not bend his neck, and make him look off from the

Princes face of whom he sues for pardon. And if we had desires as strong as our needs, and appre∣hensions answerable to our duty, it were not pos∣sible that a man should say his prayers and never think of what he speaks: but as our attention is, so is our desire, trifling and impertinent; it is frighted away like a bird, which fears as much when you come to give it meat, as if you came with a design of death.

When therefore you are to give sentence con∣cerning your Prayers, your ••rayer-book is the least thing that is to be examined; your Desires are the principal, for they are fountains both of action and passion. Desire what you pray for; for certain it is, you will pray passionately if you de∣sire ferven••ly. Prayers are but the body of the bird; Desires are its Angels wings.

2. If you will know how it is with you in the matter of your Prayers, examine whether or no the form of your Prayer be the rule of your life. Every Petition to God is a Precept to man; and when in your Litanies you pray to be delivered from malice and hypocrisie, from pride and envy, from fornication and every deadly sin; all this is but a line of duty, and tells us that we must never consent to an act of pride, or a thought of envy, to a temptation of uncleannesse, or the besmear∣ings and evil paintings of hypocrisie. * But we when we pray against a sin think we have done e∣nough; and if we ask for a grace, suppose there is no more required. Now Prayer is an instrument of help, a procuring auxilliaries of God, that we may do our duty; and why should we ask for help, if we be not our selves bound to do the

thing? Look not therefore upon your prayers as a short method of ease and salvation, but as a per∣petual monition of duty; and by what we require of God, we see what he requires of us; and if you want a system or collective body of holy precepts, you need no more but your prayer book; and if you look upon them first as duties, then as prayers, that is things fit to be desired, and fit to be laboured for, your prayers will be much more usefull; not so often vain, nor so subject to illusion, not so desti∣tute of effect, or so failing of the promises. The prayers of a Christian must be like the devotions of the husbandman. God speed the plough, that is, labour and prayer together; a prayer to bless our labour. Thus then we must examine.

Is desire the measure of our prayer? and is la∣bour the fruit of our desire? if so; then what we ask we shall receive as the gift of God and the re∣ward of our labour; but unless this be the state of o••r prayer, we shall finde that the receiving of the Sacrament will be as ineffective because it will be as imperfect as our prayer. For prayer and Commu∣nion differ but as great and little in the same kinde of duty. Communion is but a great, publick and solemn addresse and prayer to God through Jesus Christ: and if we be not faithful in a little we shall not be intrusted in a greater; he that does not pray holily and prosperously, can never communi∣cate acceptably. This therefore must be severely and prudently examined.

But let us remember this; that there is nothing fit to be presented to God but what is great and ••x∣cellent; for nothing comes from him but what is great and best; and nothing should be returned to

him that is little and contemptible in its kinde. It is a mysterious elegancie that is in the Hebrew of the Old Testament;* 1.2 when the Spirit of God would call any thing very great, or very excellent, he calls it [of the Lord]; so the affrightment of the Lord; that is, a great affrightment fell upon them; and the fearful fire that fell upon the shepherds and sheep of Job is called the fire of God:* 1.3 and when Da∣vid took the speare and water-pot from the head of Saul while he and his guards were sleeping, it is said, that the sleep of the Lord, that is, a very great sleep was fallen upon them. Thus we read of the flames of God, and a land of the darknesse of God, that is, vehement flames,* 1.4 and a land of exceed∣ing darknesse: and the reason is, because when God strikes, he strikes vehemently, so that it is a fear∣ful thing to fall into the hands of the living God: And on the other side, when he blesses he bles∣ses excellently; and therefore when Naomie bles∣sed Boaz, she said, Let him be blessed of the Lord, that is, according to the Hebrew manner of speak∣ing, Let him be exceedingly blessed. In propor∣tion to all this, whatsoever is offered to God should be of the best; it should be a devout Pray∣er, a fervent, humble, passionate supplication. He that prays otherwise, must expect the curses and contempt of his lukewarmness, and will be infi∣nitely unworthy to come to the holy Communion, whether they that come intend to present their Prayers to God in the union of Christs intercession, which is then solemnly imitated and represented. An indevout Prayer can never be joined with Christs Prayers. Fire will easily combine with fire, and flame marries flame; but a cold devotion and the fire of this Altar can never be friendly and unite in one pyramid to ascend together to the

regions of God and the Element of love. If it be a prayer of God, that is, fit to be intitled, fit to be presented unto him, it must be most vehement and holy. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man, only can be confident to prevail; nothing else can ever be sanctified by a conjunction with this sacri∣fice of prayer, which must be consumed by a hea∣venly fire. There is not indeed any greater indica∣tion of our worthiness or unworthiness to receive the holy Communion than to examine and under∣stand the state of our daily prayer.

Notes

• * 1.1

  See Chap. 1. Sect. 4. N. 4.
• * 1.2

  Gen. 35.15.
• * 1.3

  Job 1.16.
• * 1.4

  Cant. 8.6. Jerem.