John Boys (1571-1625) on Sursum Corda (“Lift up your hearts”)

 

John Boys (1571-1625) was Dean of Canterbury for the final 6 years of his life, during the reign of James I. Boys was particularly known for his exposition or commentary on the various parts of the liturgy of the Church of England, or the Book of Common Prayer.

In the Book of Common Prayer’s Holy Communion service, directly after the confession and absolution, the eucharistic liturgy begins with the minister exclaiming, “Lift up your hearts!” (Latin: Sursum corda), with the people responding, “We lift them up unto the Lord!”

Boys comments on the Sursum corda in his An Exposition of al the principal Scriptures vsed in our English Liturgie (1610), p. 118-119 (spelling modernized in places):

Sursum corda seems to be taken out of the Lamentations of Jeremy (3:41): Levemus corda nostra cum manibus ad dominum in coelos: used in the Church at least 300 years before Popery was known in the world. For Augustine who lived within 400 years after Christ, and the blessed Martyr Cyprian, who died an. 259, make mention of it in their writings often (Cyprian in Serm. de Orat. Dominic.; Augustine De Vera Religione, cap. 3. and Epist. 156. and [as Cassander observes] Epist. ad Dardan. & Lib. de Bono Perseverantiae. Sursum corda then is no rag of Rome, no piece of Popery, but used in all liturgies of the ancient Church (Perkins, Reformed Catholike); and that which may content the Novelist most, it was borrowed (as Master Fox thinks) not from the Latin, but from the Greek Churches. Howsoever, it is exceeding fit: for Almighty God in his holy service requires our heart principally: Son, give me thine heart (Prov. 23:26): so that when we come to his Temple, specially to his table, every one must say with David, I lift up my soul to thee (Ps. 25:1). For (as the Church of Scotland says truly, in the minister’s exhortation before the communion) the only way to receive worthily the Lord’s Supper, is to lift up our minds by faith above all things worldly and sensible, and thereby to enter into heaven, that we may find and receive Christ, where he dwelleth: a point well urged also by our Church in her Homily concerning the worthy receiving of the Sacrament: part the first.

The Papists entertain this clause still in the Roman Missal; but it makes against their real presence. For if Christ’s body (Io. Combis, Compen. Theolog. Lib. 6. Cap. 14) so large in quantity, as it was on the cross, be present in the Sacrament; what need any man lift up his heart, when as he holds it in his hand? Totum hoc (saith Augustine, Serm. de temp. 174) fide tenemus, oculis cordis intuemur; dominus ascendit in coelum, ascendat cum illo cor nostrum: His body (Acts 3:21) must be contained in heaven until the time that all things are restored: it cannot descend down to us, we must ascend up to it. So Nicolaus Cabasila writes in his exposition of the Liturgy (Cap. 26 apud Bibliothec. Pat. Tom. 4); the Priest after some speech to the people doth erect their minds, and lift up their thoughts, and saith, Sursum corda; let us think on things above, not on things below. They consent and say, that they lift up their hearts thither where their treasure is, even to heaven, where Christ sits at the right hand of his Father.

John Pearson (1613-1686): Christ was most unmerciful to himself, that he might be most merciful unto us

 

John Pearson (1613-1686) was widely regarded in his own day and long afterwards as the premier theologian within the later seventeenth-century Church of England. Pearson was the Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity and Master of Trinity College in Cambridge before becoming Bishop of Chester. He was widely esteemed for the depth of his expertise in patristics and the oriental languages, and his renown was particularly due to his Exposition of the Creed (first edition 1659), which was the dominant theological textbook in the Church of England during the later Stuart period.

In his discussion of the fourth article of the Apostle’s Creed (“He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried”), Pearson first discusses the suffering which Christ experienced bodily during his passion, before focusing on the suffering which he underwent in his soul, making it clear that “as our Saviour took upon him both parts of the nature of man [viz., body and soul], so he suffered in them both, that he might be a Saviour of the whole.” The following extract, in which he discusses the depths of Christ’s suffering in the soul, is from the 4^th edition (1676), p. 190-193:

We ought… to endeavour to reach, if it were possible, the knowledge how far and in what degree [Christ] suffered; how bitter that grief, how great that sorrow and that anguish was. Which though we can never fully and exactly measure, yet we may infallibly know thus much, both from the expression of the Spirit of God, and from the occasion of his sufferings, that the griefs and sorrows which he felt, and the anguish which he underwent, were most incomparably far beyond all sorrows of which any person here was sensible or capable.

The Evangelists have in such language expressed his agony, as cannot but raise in us the highest admiration at the bitterness of that passion. He began to be sorrowful, saith S. Matthew (26:37); He began to be sore amazed, saith S. Mark (14:33); and to be very heavy, saith both: and yet these words in our translation come far short of the original expression, which render him suddenly, upon a present and immediate apprehension, possessed with fear, horror and amazement, encompassed with grief, and overwhelmed with sorrow, pressed down with consternation and dejection of mind, tormented with anxiety and disquietude of spirit.

This he first expressed to his disciples, saying, My soul is exceeding sorrowful; and, lest they should not fully apprehend the excess, adding, even unto death; as if the pangs of death had already encompassed him, and, as the Psalmist speaks, the pain of hell had got hold upon him. He went but a little farther before he expressed the same to his Father, falling on his face and praying, even with strong crying and tears, unto him that was able to save him from death (Heb. 5:7). Nor were his cries or tears sufficient evidences of his inward sufferings, nor could the sorrows of his breast be poured forth either at his lips or eyes; the innumerable pores of all his body must give a passage to more lively representations of the bitter anguish of his soul: and therefore while he prayed more earnestly, in that agony his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. As the Psalmist had before declared, I am poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint my heart is like wax it is melted in the midst of my bowels (Ps. 22:14). The heart of our Saviour was as it were melted with fear and astonishment, and all the parts of his body at the same time inflamed with anguish and agony: well then might that melting produce a sweat and that inflamed and rarified blood force a passage through the numerous pores.

And as the evangelists’ expressions, so the occasion of the grief will manifest the height and bitterness thereof. For God laid on his own Son the iniquities of us all; and as we are obliged to be sorry for our particular sins, so was he grieved for the sins of us all. If then we consider the perfection and latitude of his knowledge, he understood all the sins of men for which he suffered, all the evil and the guilt, all the offence against the Majesty, and ingratitude against the goodness of God, which was contained in all those sins. If we look upon his absolute conformity to the will of God, he was inflamed with most ardent love, he was most zealous of his glory, and most studious to preserve that right which was so highly violated by those sins. If we look upon his relation to the sons of men, he loved them all far more than any did themselves, he knew those sins were of themselves sufficient to bring eternal destruction on their souls and bodies, he considered them whom he so much loved as lying under the wrath of God whom he so truly worshipped. If we reflect upon those graces which were without measure diffused through his soul, and caused him with the greatest habitual detestation to abhor all sin: If we consider all these circumstances, we cannot wonder at that grief and sorrow. For if the true contrition of one single sinner, bleeding under the sting of the law only for his own iniquities, all which notwithstanding he knoweth not, cannot be performed without great bitterness of sorrow and remorse, what bounds can we set unto that grief, what measures to that anguish, which proceedeth from a full apprehension of all the transgressions of so many millions of sinners?

Add unto all these present apprehensions the immediate hand of God pressing upon him all this load, laying on his shoulders at once an heap of the sorrows which can happen unto any of the saints of God; that he, being touched with the feeling of our infirmities, might become a merciful high priest, able and willing to succour them that are tempted (Heb. 2:17-18; 4:15). Thus may we behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto that sorrow which was done unto him, wherewith the Lord afflicted him in the day of his fierce anger (Lam. 1:12). And from hence we may and must conclude, that the Saviour of man, as he took the whole nature of man, so he suffered in whatsoever he took, in his body by infirmities and external injuries, in his soul by fears and sorrows, by unknown and inexpressible anguishes…

That our Saviour did thus suffer is most necessary to believe. First, that thereby we may be assured of the verity of his human nature. For if he were not man, then could not man be redeemed by him; and if that nature in which he appeared were not truly human then could he not be truly man. But we may be well assured that he took on him our nature, when we see him subject unto our infirmities. We know the Godhead is of infinite perfection, and therefore is exalted far above all possibility of molestation. When therefore we see our Saviour truly suffer, we know his divine essence suffered not, and thence acknowledge the addition of his human nature as the proper subject of his passion. And from hence we may infallibly conclude: surely that Mediator between God and man was truly man, as we are men, who when he fasted was hungry, when he travelled was thirsty and weary as we are, who being grieved wept, being in an agony sweat[ed], being scourged bled, and being crucified died.

Secondly, it was necessary Christ should suffer for the redemption of lapsed men, and their reconciliation unto God; which was not otherwise to be performed than by a plenary satisfaction to his will. He therefore was by all his sufferings made an expiation, atonement and propitiation for all our sins. For salvation is impossible unto sinners without remission of sin, and remission in the decree of God impossible without effusion of blood. Our redemption therefore could not be wrought but by the blood of the redeemer, but by a Lamb slain, but by a suffering Saviour.

Thirdly, it behoved Christ to suffer that he might purchase thereby eternal happiness in the heavens both for himself the head, and for the members of his body. He drunk of the brook in the way, therefore hath he lift up his head (Ps. 110:7). Ought not Christ to suffer, and so to enter into his own glory? (Luk. 24:26) And doth he not by the same right by which he entered into it, confer that glory upon us? The recompense of the reward was set before him, and through an intuition of it he cheerfully underwent whatsoever was laid upon him. He must therefore necessarily suffer to obtain that happiness, who is therefore happy because he suffered.

Fourthly, it was necessary Christ should suffer, that we might be assured that he is truly affected with a most tender compassion of our afflictions. For this end was he subjected to misery, that he might become prone unto mercy: for this purpose was he made a sacrifice, that he might be a compassionate high priest: and therefore was he most unmerciful to himself, that he might be most merciful unto us.

Fifthly, it was necessary the Son of man should suffer, thereby to shew us that we are to suffer, and to teach us how we are to suffer. For if these things were done to the green tree, what shall be done to the dry? Nay, if God spared not his natural, his eternal, his only-begotten Son, how shall he spare his adopted sons, who are best known to be children because they are chastised, and appear to be in his paternal affection because they lie under his fatherly correction? We are therefore heirs only because coheirs with Christ, and we shall be kings only because we shall reign together with him. It is a certain and infallible consequence, If Christ be risen, then shall we also rise; and we must look for as strong a coherence in this other, If Christ hath suffered then must we expect to suffer. And as he taught the necessity of, so he left us the direction in, our sufferings. Great was the example of Job, but far short of absolute perfection: the pattern beyond all exception is alone our Saviour, who hath taught us in all our afflictions the exercise of admirable humility, perfect patience, and absolute submission unto the will of God.

And now we may perceive the full importance of this part of the Article, and every Christian may thereby understand what he is to believe, and what he is conceived to profess, when he makes this confession of his faith: He suffered. For hereby everyone is obliged to intend thus much: I am really persuaded within myself, and do make a sincere profession of this as a most necessary, certain, and infallible truth, that the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father, and of the same essence with the Father, did for the redemption of mankind really and truly suffer, not in his divinity, which was impassible, but in his humanity, which in the days of his humiliation was subject unto our infirmities. That as he is a perfect redeemer of the whole man, so he was a complete sufferer in the whole: in his body, by such dolorous infirmities as arise internally from human frailties, and by such pains as are inflicted by external injuries; in his soul, by fearful apprehensions, by unknown sorrows, by anguish inexpressible. And in this latitude and propriety I believe our Saviour suffered.

Richard Sibbes (1577-1635): Christ himself is the very heaven of heaven

 

I desire to depart, and to bee with Christ (Phil. 1:23).

To be with Christ that came from heaven to be here on earth with us, and descended that we should ascend, to be with him that hath done and suffered so much for us, to be with Christ that delighted to be with us, to be with Christ that emptyed himselfe, and became of no reputation, that became poore to make us rich, to be with Christ our husband now contracted here, that all may bee made up in heaven, this was the thing Paul desired.

Why doth he not say, I desire to be in heaven?

Because heaven is not heaven without Christ, it is better to be in any place with Christ than to be in heaven it selfe without him, all delicacies without Christ are but as a funerall banquet, where the master of the feast is away, there is nothing but solemnnesse: what is all, without Christ? I say the joyes of heaven are not the joyes of heaven without Christ; he is the very heaven of heaven.

True love is carryed to the person; It is adulterous love, to love the thing, or the gift more than the person, S. Paul loved the person of Christ, because hee felt sweet experience that Christ loved him; his love was but a reflection of Christ’s love first, he loved to see Christ, to embrace him, and enjoy him, that had done so much and suffered so much for his soule, that had forgiven him so many sins, &c.

The reason is, because it is best of all; To be with Christ is to be at the spring-head of all happines, it is to be in our proper element, every creature thinkes it selfe best in its owne element, that is the place it thrives in, and enjoyes its happinesse in; now Christ is the element of a Christian.

– Richard Sibbes (1577-1635), ‘Christ is Best’, The Saint’s Safetie in Evill Times (1633), 186-189.

George Abbot (1562-1633): This is the Christian’s surest anchor

 

George Abbot (1562-1633) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1611 to 1633. He had previously been master of University College, Oxford, bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, and bishop of London. He was furthermore part of the translation committee which translated the Gospels, Acts, and the Book of Revelation for the Authorized Version of the Bible (a.k.a. the King James Version).

In 1600, Abbot published his Exposition upon the Prophet Jonah, which consisted of sermons/lectures preached to the University of Oxford in the University Church (St Mary’s). In Lecture XII Abbot preached on Jonah 2:5-6, culminating with Jonah’s calling upon the LORD as “LORD my God”:

20 The only thing now remaining, is the confident appellation, which he useth to the Lord, Jehovah o my God. This sheweth a faith beyond faith, and a hope beyond hope: when he knew that the Lord was angry, and extremely wrathful at him, yet to cling in so to his mercy, as to appropriate to himself a portion in his maker. For what greater insinuation of confidence can there be, than by particular application to apprehend God’s mercy: to lay hold upon him as on a father; and that not as we say, with a reference to the communion of saints, Our father which art in heaven (Matt. 6:9), but my father and my God. This hath been the perfect trust of the faithful in all ages, which hath encouraged them to approach with boldness, unto the throne of grace. My God, my Godsaith David (Ps. 22:1). And, thou that art the God of my salvation(Ps. 51:14). And Job, I am sure that my Redeemer liveth(Job 19:25). My spiritsaith the Virgin Mary, doth rejoice in God my Saviour(Luk. 1:47). My Lord and my God, saith Thomas (Joh. 20:28). Paul saith of himself, I live by faith in the Son of God, who hath loved me and given himself for me(Gal. 2:20). This true faith doth close with God, and incorporateth itself into the body of the Redeemer.

21 And this is it, which bringeth comfort unto the wounded soul, and afflicted conscience, not that Christ is a Saviour, for what am I the better for that? but a Saviour unto me. That I am one of the adoption, reconciled and brought into favour, sealed up against that day, when the quick and dead shall be judged: my portion is with the Highest, mine inheritance with the Saints. How could flesh and blood ever bear the heat of strong temptation, without this firm persuasion? What is it to my belly, that bread is prepared for [an]other, unless I be assured that my part is therein? What is it to my soul, that Christ hath died for [an]other, unless I know that my sins are washed away in his blood? It may be good for Moses, it may be good for Paul, or Peter, or James, or Stephen, but what is it unto me? It is Meusthen and Tuus, as Luther did well teach, it is my God and thy Saviourwhich doth satisfy thirsty consciences (Luther in Epist. ad Galatas). There is the joy of the Spirit, when men come to that measure. Then it is a blessed doctrine which instilleth that faith into us; and in that, if in anything, doth appear the fruit of the Gospel, which is preached in our days: that people sick and dying, being taught before in their health, can give [the] most divine words, and right admirable speeches, in this behalf whereof I speak, sayings full of holy trust and assurance; which as it is a thing most comfortable to themselves (beyond all gold and treasure, which are but as dung and dross to a man yielding up the ghost), so it bringeth good meditations unto the standers by, in causing them to acknowledge very evident and plain arguments of election in the other, whom they see to be so possessed with joy in the holy Ghost, and so rapt up, as if they had already one foot within the heaven.

22 But it is otherwise with the ignorant; they lie grovelling upon the ground, and cannot mount up with the eagle. So is it in that doctrine which the Church of Rome doth maintain, when their people are taught, that they must believe in general, that some shall go to heaven, that some belong to God: but to say or think, that [they] themselves shall be certainly of that number, or constantly to hope it, that is boldness overmuch, that is over-weening presumption. They are to wish and pray, that it may be so with them, but yet it appertaineth to them evermore to doubt because they know not the worthiness of their merits: a most uncomfortable opinion, which cannot choose but distract the heart of a dying man, that he must not dare to believe with confidence, that he shall go to God: that Jesus is his Saviour, & the pardoner of his faults. No marvel if the life and death of such who hearken unto them, be full of sighs and sobs, & groans, and fears, and doubts, since quietness and settled rest cannot be in their hearts. They have a way to walk, but what is the end they know not. They are sure of their departure, but whither they cannot tell. A lamentable taking, and wherein of necessity must be small joy. How contrary hereunto doth Saint Paul speak, being justified by faith we have peace toward God, through our Lord Jesus Christ(Rom. 5:1). How contrary to this doth Saint John speak in the name of the faithful, we know that we are of God(1 Joh. 5:19). How doth dejected Jonah yet keep him fast to this tackling, when he crieth o Lord my God?

23 And this is the surest anchor, whereunto a Christian man may possibly know how to trust. This is it which in the blasts of adversity, will keep him fast at the root; which in the waves of temptation, will hold him fast by the chin, which in the greatest discomforts, and very pangs of death, will bring him to life again: To ground himself upon this, as on a rock assured, that his God is his father, that Jesus is his redeemer, that the holy Ghost doth sanctify him, that although he sin oft-times, yet evermore he is forgiven; and albeit he do transgress daily, yet it is still forgotten; that whether he live or die, yet ever he is the Lord’s. Good father lead us so by thy most blessed Spirit, that we never do fall from this. But although sin hang upon us, as it did upon the Prophet, yet raise us so by thy love, that laying hold on thy promises, and the sweetness of thy favour, we may reap eternal life, to the which o blessed Lord bring us for thine own Son Christ his sake, to whom with thee and thy Spirit, be laud for evermore.

John Hall (1633-1710): A prayer in time of prosperity

 

A prayer in time of prosperity by the bishop of Bristol and master of Pembroke College, Oxford, John Hall (1633-1710), to be found at the beginning of his Jacob’s Ladder: Or, The Devout Soul’s Ascension to Heaven (1676), p. 154-157:

Heavenly Father, Lord of plenty, thou who hast created the world by thy power, and continuest thy love in thy providence and protection; to thee do I render thanks for my plenty, and to thee do I offer the service of my store. What I have, is thine; for the earth is thine, and all that therein is; the compass of the world, and they that dwell therein; it is thou only that commandest thy blessing in the store-houses, and in all that thy servants do set their hands unto. Lord make me one of thy faithful servants, that what thou hast sent me, may be a testimony of thy love, and not of thy hatred. Make me always to magnify thee in the time of plenty, and not to be high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in thee the living God, who givest me all things richly to enjoy. O suffer me not to treasure up the deceitful riches of this sinful world as thereby forgetting to be rich toward thee, but as from thy bounty I receive these temporal blessings, so in thy mercy make me abound in grace, that always having sufficiency in all things, I may abound to every good work.

In this my prosperity, prepare me for adversity, if it shall please thee at any time to send it unto me, give me a sense of the afflictions of many of thy saints and distressed servants, and enlarge my heart that I may be ready and forward to contribute to their necessities. Make me to shew mercy with cheerfulness, and to possess with thankfulness what thou sendest unto me, that I may neither forget thee in thy poor members, nor deny thee to be the giver. Let me never stop mine ears at the cries of the distressed who beg for relief in the name of thyself. Thou, Christ, who wert rich didst for my sake become poor, that so through thy poverty thou mightiest make me rich; Lord make me as willing to the poor for thy sake, always considering that the vanities of the earth are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed. Make me labour for heavenly riches, and for the ornament of the hidden man in the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in thy sight of great price.

Make me, O heavenly Father, rich in thyself, rich unto liberality, rich in good works and in faith: make me to buy of thee gold tried in the fire that I may be rich, and white raiment that I may be clothed, that the shame of my nakedness may not appear. Let me always remember that great account which one day I must render to thee, the Lord of heaven and earth, that so I may serve thee here with my substance in my body, and in my soul with zeal and devotion; and hereafter be received to thine everlasting glory, through the merits of thy Son in thy bosom Jesus Christ, my only Lord and Saviour. Amen.

Anthony Horneck (1641-1697): A prayer for humility

 

Anthony Horneck (1641-1697) was a German-born Reformed divine of the Church of England. He studied under Friedrich Spanheim Jr in Heidelberg before furthering his studies at The Queen’s College, Oxford, under the Reformed professor Thomas Barlow, and served at Queen’s for a time as chaplain. Horneck would go on to become a popular preacher in London and a major role player in the early development of the Society for the Reformation of Manners.

Horneck published a number of works, among which is his The Exercise of Prayer (1685), in which the following prayer for humility is found (p. 16-20):

O thou lofty and holy One, who inhabitest eternity, and dwellest in the high and holy place, with him also that is of an humble spirit! Whither shall I go, but to thee who hast the words of eternal life! How shall I get this humble spirit, but by thy power and influence! Ah! How proud is my heart! How loth am I to submit to thy will! How loth to think ill of myself! How loth to bear injuries! How loth to converse with thy poor members! How loth to be sensible of my errors! How loth to acknowledge a fault! And yet all this while, I believe that thou beholdest the proud afar off, and that nothing is more abominable in thy sight! How apt am I to admire myself! How apt to harbour high conceits of my endowments! How apt to hunt after the praise of men! And what is all this but wind? What is it but smoke, and air, and vanity? How suddenly do these things grow, and how suddenly do they die again! How sensual, how carnal must that soul be, that minds such things! How void of a sense of greater beauties! How little affected, how little touched with the honour that comes from God! How weak in grace! How feeble in religion, that hath not learned yet to leap over such straws!

This is my case, O Lord; I am that weak, that empty soul, and yet unwilling to confess that I am proud, and vain, and lifted up: Pity me, O my God; make me sensible how far I am from the kingdom of God, till humility brings me nearer. Crush whatever proud thoughts and desires thou spyest in me. O put me in mind of my duty, whenever any vain thoughts rise in my soul. Pull down in me all imaginations that exalt themselves against Christ Jesus. O let not my heart be haughty, nor mine eyes lofty; neither let me exercise myself in things too high for me. Give me a sight of mine own vileness. Let me not be cheated with false colours. Let thy greatness overawe my soul. Let the example of my Saviour work upon me. How shall I be his disciple, and think of myself above what I ought to think? Let god arise, and let all my vain conceits of mine own worth be scattered. What am I but a handful of dust! What am I but a beggar, and thy pensioner, and who lives upon thy charity! O let these thoughts subdue my soul. Make me as ambitious of an humble spirit, and lowly mind, as others are of the greatness and admiration of the world.

Humility will make me great and honourable in thy sight. Let that honour content me, let that privilege satisfy my soul. O let a deep sense of my guilt humble me; then shall I with the penitent prodigal be welcome in my Father’s house, and my soul shall live, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Marius d’Assigny (1643-1717): A meditation and prayer for hearing the preached Word in public worship

 

Marius d’Assigny (1643-1717) was a Reformed divine of the Church of England. Of French Huguenot heritage, his career included spells as vicar of Cutcombe in Somerset, vicar of Tidmarsh in Berkshire, and rector of St Lawrence Newland in Essex. D’Assigny wrote several works, including The Divine Art of Prayer (1691), of which a sample is given below (p. 237-240):

O eternal Wisdom, what a mercy is this! To instruct and teach us at our doors, to enable, enlighten, inspire and send messengers so near our dwellings, to direct us in the right way of eternal happiness. What a condescension is this, to speak to us in our own language, according to our capacities; by men, whose presence express nothing but meekness and love! Was it not sufficient, O blessed God, that thou shouldest open to us the large book of nature, to inform us of thy will and sacred laws, by so many characters imprinted in every thing that is made? Was it not sufficient for our learning, to shew us thy pleasure in the several leaves of another book of providence, opened to us wide every day of our life! But must thy tender compassion of our natural ignorance, unmindfulness, and wilful corruption, teach us by such plain easie and excellent methods, so full of kindness and love! Must the repetition be so frequent? Must thou so often visit and call upon us to study and meditate upon the divine matters! Certainly our minds are too much wedded to the world, and too much enclined to irregular actions, seeing thou hast judged needful to repeat so often to us our duties, and we want every weeks instruction to withdraw our contemplation from evil and vanity. Should not our diligence answer in some respect thy continual care, O merciful Wisdom, and as frequently meet thee, as we are called upon by these publick summons!

Doubtless the business that we are to mind is of importance, seeing my Creator thinks necessary to interpose his divine authority, and to speak to us himself, though by the tongue of a mortal man. With what reverence and dread ought I to approach the gracious presence of my God, who vouchsafes to speak and instruct me in such a loving manner. His Word and laws should not in reason have the less power and impression upon me, because of his condescension to my weakness and capacity: Should I despise the mercies of my God, that are so great and wonderful, delivered to me in earthen vessels?

O blessed and heavenly Wisdom, I am called away from my temporal affairs to wait upon thee, and hearken to the divine matters that shall be proposed, which relate to my eternal interest. Their excellency requires my attention and diligent enquiry for this supernatural knowledge, which is able to save my soul. Here thou dost reveal unto me what I am, and what I should be, and what I shall be: Here are discovered the admirable mysteries of the holy Trinity and unity of the incarnation and redemption. Here thou dost unbosome thy self to mortal creatures, and shewest the tenderness of thine affection to us: Here I may have a prospect of the unspeakable riches of heaven, and see the glories that are laid up for me in thine eternal sanctuary. These are matters worthy of the angels prying into; these are meditations fit for the heavenly spirits; and shall I neglect or despise them, shall I idle away this precious moment designed for the benefit of mine immortal soul?

My gracious God, cause me to increase in grace, and in the divine knowledge of my redemption, enlighten mine understanding with a clear apprehension of the heavenly truths, sanctifie the outward preaching of thy word, that it may be effectual, and able to work upon my will. Give me an attentive ear, and an obedient heart, willing to submit to, and practise whatsoever thou shalt command. Deliver me from the ill consequences of errors, partiality and prejudice, and make me truly thankful to thee for this great blessing. Remove not thy Gospel from us, but save us from the pernicious plots of the Antichristian heresie. Unite all of us in our worship and Church, that we may study to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. And being all together united now in the church militant, we may be all the more ready and prepared to enter in due time into the church triumphant, into that glorious kingdom of love and peace, where our sanctification shall be compleated, our knowledge perfected, and our employment for ever shall be to celebrate and sing forth thy praises with the chorus of heavenly spirits. Amen.

William Burkitt (1650-1703) on glorifying God in our everyday employments

 

William Burkitt (1650-1703) was a Reformed divine of the Church of England. After studying at Pembroke Hall, Cambridge, Burkitt ministered successively at Milden, Suffolk, and Dedham, Essex. His name is primarily associated with his biblical expositions and his devotional book titled The Poor Man’s Help, and Young Man’s Guide. To add to a previous post from Wilhelmus a’ Brakel (1635–1711) on this same topic, Burkitt writes in this latter book about glorifying God in our everyday employments, labour, and callings. The excerpt is taken from the 2^nd edition (1694), ch. 5:

Almighty God has sent no man into the world to be idle, but to serve him in the way of an honest and industrious diligence: He that says, Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy, says also, Six days shalt thou labour, either with the labour of the mind, or of the body, or with both. Riches and a great estate will excuse none from labouring in some kind or other, in the service of our Maker; for he that receives most wages, surely ought to do some work.

1. Labour to understand and be thoroughly sensible how much you are beholden to God for the benefit of a calling: Thousands are now blessing God in heaven for the blessing of a calling here on earth, by which multitudes of temptations were prevented; how many sins doth a life of idleness expose unto?

2. Be diligent and Industrious in the way of thy calling, and that from a principle of obedience to the divine command: He that says, Be fervent in prayer, says also, Be not slothful in business. An idle man has no pattern or precedent either in hell or heaven: Not in hell, for the devils are diligent about their deeds of darkness: Not in heaven, for the angels are continually employed, either in beholding God’s beauty, or in executing God’s commands.

3. If thou art called to the meanest and most laborious calling, that of an husband-man, murmur not at it, because it is wearisome to the flesh; but eye the command of God, and in obedience thereunto be diligent in thy place, and then thou glorifiest God as truly when digging in thy field, as the minister in his pulpit, or the prince upon his throne.

4. Be strictly just and exactly righteous in the way of thy calling, and with a generous disdain and resolute contempt abhor the getting of riches by unrighteousness: Cursed gain is no gain. How sad is it to be rich on earth, and to roar in hell for unrighteous riches. He that cheats and over-reaches, he that tricks and defrauds his neighbours, is as sure to go to hell without repentance and restitution, as the profanest swearer or drunkard in a town. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God? (1 Cor. 6:9).

5. Be very careful that thy particular calling as a private person, do not encroach upon thy general calling as a Christian: The world is a great devourer of precious time, it robs the soul of many an hour which should be spent in communion with God, and in communing with our own hearts. How many are so taken up with their trade on earth, that they forget to converse with heaven: Verily there is a holy part in every man’s time, which the daily exercises of religion call for, and which it is our daily duty to keep inviolable from the sacrilegious hands of an encroaching world.

6. Labour after an heavenly frame of spirit in the management of thy earthly business; and take heed that thy worldly employments do not blunt the edge of thy spiritual affections, but endeavour to keep thy heart close with God when thy hand is employed in the labours of thy calling. A faithful and loving husband, when he has been abroad all day in varieties of company, yet when he comes home at night he brings his affections with him as entire to his wife, as when he went forth in the morning from her; yea he is inwardly pleased, that he is got from all other company, to enjoy hers: Thus doth a heavenly-minded Christian, after he has spent some time amidst his worldly business in the labours of his calling; he desires and endeavours to bring his whole heart to God with him, when at night he returns into his presence to wait upon him; yea he strives to keep his heart with God all the day long, by often lifting it up to God, in holy thoughts and pious ejaculations [i.e. utterances], which are an help rather than an hindrance to worldly business.

7. Eye God in every providence thou meetest with in thy calling. Dost thou meet with any disappointment, see and be sensible of God’s hand in it. All that are diligent are not thriving in this world: There are mysteries of providence as well as mysteries of faith, which we can never fathom. Dost thou meet with a blessing? Own God in all that good success thou findest in thy employment; with holy Jacob, The Lord hath dealt graciously with me, and I have enough (Gen. 33:11). When God at any time sends thee in profit, let it be thy care to send him back praise: For nothing is so acceptable to God as a grateful mind.

8. Watch daily against the sin of thy calling, as also against the sin of thy constitution; and whatever temptations thou meetest with from either, cry mightily to heaven for power to resist them; knowing that thou never yieldest to a temptation, but the Spirit withdraws in tears, and the devil goes away in triumph.

9. Having used faithful diligence in thy lawful calling, perplex not thy thoughts about the issue and success of thy endeavours; but labour to compose thy mind in all conditions of life to a quiet and steady dependence on God’s providence, being anxiously careful for nothing. There is a threefold care which the Scripture takes notice of: Namely, a care of the head, a care of the hand, and a care of the heart. A care of the head, and that is a care of providence and prudential forecast, this is commendable. A care of the hand, that is a care of diligence and industry, this is profitable. But then there is the care of the heart, which is a care of diffidence and distrust, a care of anxiety and perturbation of mind, this is culpable, and exceeding sinful (See Matt. 6:31-34).

10. Resolve it in thy mind to be cheerful and contented with thy portion (little or much) which God as a blessing upon thy endeavours, allots unto thee: Not content because thou canst not have it otherwise, but from an approbation of divine appointment. Necessity was the heathen school-master to teach contentment, but faith must be the Christian’s. I have learnt, says the holy Apostle, (not at the feet of Gamaliel, but in the School of Christ,) both how to be abased and how to abound; how to be full, and how to be empty; yea I know in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content (Phil. 4:11). How are some Christians minds like musical instruments, quite out of tune, with every change of weather. But it is an even composedness of mind in all conditions of life, that glorifies God, and is advantageous to ourselves. Godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Tim. 6:16). Not godliness with an estate, but godliness with contentment.

Henry Valentine (d. 1643): A Litany of Thanksgiving

 

Henry Valentine (d. 1643) studied at Christ’s College, Cambridge, before becoming a lecturer at St Dunstan-in-the-West in Fleet Street (pictured), London, under its vicar John Donne, the famous poet and dean of St Paul’s. Valentine published a devotional book titled Private Devotions, which consists of six litanies, one of which is a beautiful litany of thanksgiving. The first part of the litany is structured according to a Reformed ordo salutis, and later on there is thanksgiving for deliverance from the Spanish Armada and the “Popish (gun)powder treason”:

THE LITANY OF THANKSGIVING

For the grace of Election, by which I was chosen according to the good pleasure of thy will

My soule doth magnifie thee O Lord.

For the grace of Creation, by which I was made after thine image in righteousnesse and holiness,

My soule doth magnifie thee O Lord.

For the grace of Redemption, by which I was recovered from the guilt & dominion of sin, from the power of Satan, and the second death,

My soul doth magnifie thee O Lord.

For the grace of Vocation, wrought in me by the inward working of thy Spirit, & the outward ministry of thy holy Word and Sacraments,

My soul doth magnifie thee O Lord.

For the grace of Justification, whereby I am clothed with the righteousness of Christ Jesus

My soul doth magnifie thee O Lord.

For my measure of Sanctification, by which I am made a new Creature

My soul doth magnifie thee O Lord.

For my formation in the womb, my birth, my baptisme, the illumination of my understanding, the correction of my will, and all the spiritual graces received from thee

My soul doth magnifie thee O Lord.

For the liberty of thy Word and Sacraments, for thy sanctuary and solemne assemblies, and for thy gracious presence with us in them

My soul doth magnifie thee O Lord.

For thy constant providence in supplying my necessities, and defending me from dangers

My soul doth magnifie thee O Lord.

For my good parents, my education, my health liberty, and peace, for the comfort of my friends, for my daily bread, and for all thy temporall blessings

My soul doth magnifie thee O Lord.

For thy prevention of evils, subvention in evils, & deliverance from evil

My soul doth magnifie thee O Lord.

For thy patience in forbearing, for thy mercy in forgiving, for thy bounty in giving, even when I sinned against thee with a high hand

My soul doth magnifie thee O Lord.

For my life, and the season given me for repentance & good works, and for thy holy means of grace and salvation

My soul doth magnifie thee O Lord.

For the checks of mine own conscience, for the instruction of thy word, for the motions of thy good Spirit which have either restrained me from sin, or caused me to repent of it

My soul doth magnifie thee O Lord.

For thy fatherly corrections by some spirituall conflicts with Satan, by diseases, or hurts in my body, by griefs of mind, losse of goods, molestation of injuries, discomforts for, or from those to whom naturall, civil, or Christian acquaintance had indeared me

My soul doth magnifie thee O Lord.

For all the holy Patriarchs and Prophets, for the ever blessed Mother of our Lord, for all the holy Apostles and Evangelists, for all the godly Bishops and Pastors of the Church, for all the noble Army of Martyrs, and Confessors, and for all the faithfull that have lived and died in the Lord

My soul doth magnifie thee O Lord.

For the happy translation of all Saints departed in peace, from this vale of tears to the inheritance of the just

My soul doth magnifie thee O Lord.

For thine holy Angels; and the charge which thou hast given them to minister unto us, to pitch their tents about us, to keep us in all our ways, and to convey our souls into Abrahams bosome,

My soul doth magnifie thee O Lord.

For Jesus Christ the author and finisher of our faith, and the fountain and foundation of all these favours; For his conception & birth; For his circumcision and baptism; For his fasting and temptation; For his doctrine and miracles;  For his agony and bloody sweat; For his cross & passion; For his death & burial; For his victorious descension into hell;  For his glorious resurrection and ascension into heaven;  For his sitting at the right hand of God to make intercession always for us; For his sending the holy Ghost to abide with his Church for ever, and for his being with us to the end of the world

My soul doth magnifie thee O Lord.

For thy blessed Spirit the enlightner of my understanding, the sanctifier of my will, the helper of my infirmities, the comforter of my conscience, the pledge and witness of my adoption, and the seal of my salvation

My soul doth magnifie thee O Lord.

For all my personall & particular deliverances; for the religion, peace, plenty, strength, and honour of the State wherein I live; for saving it all times, especially from the Spanish invasion, and the Popish powder treason

My soul doth magnifie thee O Lord.

For all the secret favours which thou hast done for us, for all the mercies which we have received from thee, and are slipt out of our remembrance, and for all the goodness which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee, and love thy coming

My soul doth magnifie thee O Lord.

What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits towards me?

I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord (Ps. 116:12).

I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulnesse to all generations (Ps. 89:1).

Let them that fear the Lord, say alwayes, The Lord be praised.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the holy Ghost.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.

Amen. Amen.

And that for Jesus Christ his sake, in whose most blessed name and words we conclude these our imperfect prayers, saying as he himself hath taught us:

Our Father which art in heaven, &c.

– Henry Valentine (d. 1643), Private Devotions, Digested into Six Letanies (sic), (13^th edition, 1654), p. 56-70.

William Beveridge (1637-1708): Feeding on Christ in a heavenly and spiritual manner in the Lord’s Supper

 

William Beveridge (1637-1708), the bishop of St Asaph and formerly archdeacon of Colchester, wrote about the nature of the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper in his posthumously-published Exposition of the XXXIX Articles of the Church of England (1710). After a lengthy refutation of the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, Beveridge arrives at the clause in the Church of England’s Article 28 (Of the Lord’s Supper) which states that:

The body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten in the Supper only after an heavenly and spiritual manner. And the means whereby the Body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper is faith.

Beveridge’s comments on this clause, quoted below, reflect the clearly Reformed understanding of the Lord’s Supper which the compilers of the Articles intended and articulated. Beveridge was well-known in his day for his wealth of patristic learning, and his discussion is dotted with footnotes extensively citing patristic authorities, which due to their length will not be reproduced below, except where the church father in question is specifically quoted by name in the main text. The excerpt is taken from p. 308-310:

It being so clear a truth, that the bread and wine are not turned into the very body and blood of Christ in the Holy Sacrament, we need not heap up many arguments to prove, that it is only after a spiritual, not after a corporal manner, that the body and blood are received and eaten in the Sacrament. For if the bread be not really changed into the body of Christ, then the body of Christ is not really there present; and if it be not really there present, it is impossible it should be really eaten and received into our bodies as bread is. So that the truth there demonstrated [in the preceding pages, that the elements of bread and wine are not transubstantiated into the actual body and blood of Christ], and the truth here delivered [that the eating and drinking of Christ’s body and blood in the Lord’s Supper is only after a spiritual manner], have so much affinity to one another, that they cannot so well be called two [truths] as one and the same truth. And therefore to the arguments produced in the foregoing discourse, I shall add only these following, and that briefly, to shew that the body and blood of Christ are not eaten after a corporal but a spiritual manner, in the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.

First, therefore it is impossible that the body, which was but of the ordinary bulk with ours, should be sufficient, if eaten after a corporal manner, to feed and satisfy so many millions of millions of souls as have already, and may hereafter eat of it. And secondly, suppose it was not impossible, yet it would be unprofitable for us thus to eat of the body of Christ. For our Saviour himself having preached concerning the eating of his flesh, and drinking of his blood, the Jews and Capernaites taking him (as their followers the Papists do) in a carnal sense, cryed out, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? (John 6:52). And his disciples themselves said, This is an hard saying, who can hear it? (v. 60). Whereupon he explained himself, and told them, It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing: The words that I speak unto you they are Spirit, and they are life (v. 63). As if he should have said, tho’ I do speak of eating my flesh, I would not have you think that my very flesh profiteth anything, or quickeneth; no, It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing; and the words I speak unto you are not to be understood in a carnal, but spiritual sense, for they are Spirit and life: plainly shewing that the corporal eating of this body is unprofitable, and that whatsoever he said concerning eating his flesh, and drinking his blood, was still to be understood in an heavenly and spiritual sense. Thirdly, upon this supposition, that the body of Christ is corporally eaten in the Sacrament, it follows that it was corporally broken too, and so that Christ did really break his own body, before the Jews broke it for him; yea, and that Christ received his own body into his own body: For that he received the Sacrament himself, as well as administered it to his disciples is plain, not only from the testimony of the Fathers, but from the words of himself, With desire have I desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer (Luke 22:15) and I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom (Matt. 26:29). So that I cannot see how it can possibly be denyed, that Christ ate of the bread whereof he said, This is my body; and if he ate it, and ate it corporally, that is, ate his very body as we eat bread, then he ate himself, and made one body two, and then crowded them into one again, putting his body into his body, even his whole body into part of his body, his stomach; and so he must be thought not only to have two bodies, but two bodies so as to be one within another; yea, so as to be one eaten and devoured by another; the absurdity of which, and the like assertions, he that hath but half an eye may easily discover. So that it must needs be granted to be in a spiritual manner that this Sacrament was then instituted, and by consequence that it is in a spiritual manner that this Sacrament ought now to be received.

And this was the judgment of the Fathers. Macarius saith, (Macar. Aegypt. Hom. 27) “In the Church is offered bread and wine, the antitype of his flesh and blood; and they that partake of the visible bread, do spiritually eat the flesh of Christ.” And St. Augustine (Aug. in Psal. 98. V), “Understand spiritually what I say unto you; you must not eat that body which you see, nor drink that blood which they will shed who crucifie me. I have commended to you a certain Sacrament; being spiritually understood, it will quicken you; though it be necessary it should be celebrated visibly, yet it must be understood invisibly.” For as Elfrick Archbishop of Canterbury saith (Aelfric. epist. ad Wulfsein Episcop. Schyrburniensem), “That bread is Christ’s body, not bodily but spiritually”; and if so, it must needs be eaten spiritually only, not bodily. And it being thus only after a spiritual manner that we receive the body and blood of Christ in the Sacrament, there can be no other means whereby we can receive him but faith. And therefore saith Origen (Origen in Mat. 15) “That food which is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer, as to the material part of it, it goes into the belly, and is cast out into the draught; but as to the prayer which is added to it, it is made profitable by the proportion of faith.” And St. Cyprian (Cyprian. de cena Domini) “Drinking and eating belong to the same reason, whereby as the bodily substance is nourished, and liveth, and remaineth safe, so is the life of the Spirit nourished by this proper food: And what eating is to the flesh, that is faith to the soul; what food is to the body, that is the Word to the spirit, working eternally by a more excellent virtue, what the carnal elements do temporally and finally.” And afterwards (Ibid.), “As oft as we do these things, we do not whet our teeth to bite, but by a sincere faith we break the holy bread and divide it, whilst we distinguish and separate what is divine, and what is human, and joining the things separated together again, we acknowledge one God and one man.”

In St. Augustine we meet with many expressions to this purpose. “How”, saith he, “shall I send up my hand to heaven to lay upon him sitting there? Send thy faith, and thou hast laid hold on him.” (Aug. in Evang. Johan. Tract. 50). And again, “For to believe in him, this is to eat the living Bread; he that believeth in him eateth; he is invisibly fatten’d who is invisibly regenerated.” (Ibid., Tract. 26). And again, “This therefore is to eat the food that doth not perish but endureth to eternal life. Why dost thou prepare thy teeth and belly? Believe and thou hast eaten.”  (Ibid., Tract. 25). So that it is faith whereby we feed upon the body and blood of Christ, and therefore it is not carnally but spiritually that we receive it.