For the Communion

THat fauour, LORD, which of thy grace
We doe receiue to day,
Is greater then our merit was,
And more then praise we may:
For, of all things that can be told,
That which least comfort hath
Is more, then e're deserue we could,
Except it were thy wrath:

Yet we, not onely haue obtain'd
This worlds best gifts of thee;
But thou thy flesh hast also daign'd,
Our Food of Life to be:
For which, since we no mends can make,
(And thou requir'st no more)
The Cup of sauing health we take,
And praise thy Name therefore.

Oh teach vs rightly to receiue,
What thou dost here bestow;
And learne vs truely to conceiue,
What we are bound to know,
That such as cannot wade the deepe
Of thy vnfathom'd Word,
May by thy grace safe courses keepe
Along the shallow Ford.

This Mysterie, we must confesse,
Our reach doth farre exceede,
And some of our weake Faiths are lesse
Then graines of Mustard-seed:
Oh therefore, LORD, encrease it so,
We fruite may beare to Thee,
And that implicite faith may grow,
Explicite faith to be.

With hands we see not, as with Eyes:
Eyes thinke not as the Heart;
But each retaines what doth suffize,
To act his proper part:
And in the Bodie while it bides,
The meanest Member shares
That blisse, which to the best betides,
And as the same it fares:

So, if in vnion vnto thee
United we remaine,
The Faith of those that stronger be,
The weaker shall sustaine:
Our Christian Loue shall that supply,
Which we in knowledge misse,
And humble thoughts shall mount vs hie,
Eu'n to eternall blisse.

Oh pardon all those hainous crimes,
Whereof we guilty are;
To serue thee more in future times,
Our hearts doe thou prepare;
And make thou gracious in thy sight,
Both vs, and this we do,
That thou therein mayst take delight,
And we haue loue thereto.

No new Oblation we deuise,
For sinnes prefer'd to be;
Propitiatory sacrifice
Was made at full by Thee:
The Sacrifice of Thankes is that,
And all that thou dost craue,
And we our selues are part of what
We sacrificed haue.

We doe no grosse Realities
Of Flesh in this conceaue;
Or, that their proper qualities
The bread or Wine doe leaue:
Yet, in this holy Eucharist,
We (by a meanes diuine)
Know we are fed with thee, oh Christ,
Receiuing Bread and Wine.

And though the outward Elements
For signes acknowledg'd be,
We cannot say thy Sacraments,
Things onely signall be:
Because, who e're thereof partakes,
In those this powre it hath;
It either them thy Members makes,
Or slaues of Sinne and Death.

Nor vnto those doe we encline,
(But from them are estrang'd)
Who yeeld the forme of Bread and Wine,
Yet thinke the Substance chang'd:
For we beleeue each Element
Is what it seemes indeed,
Although that in thy Sacrament,
Therewith on thee we feed.

Thy Real-presence we auowe,
And know it so diuine,
That carnall Reason knowes not how,
That presence to define:
For, when thy Flesh we feed on thus,
(Though strange it doe appeare)
Both we in thee and thou in vs,
Eu'n at one instant are.

No maruaile many troubled were,
This Secret to vnfold;
For Mysteries Faiths obects are,
Not things at pleasure told.
And he that would by Reason sound,
What Faiths deepe reach conceaues.
May both himselfe and them confound,
To whom his Rules he leaues.

Let vs therefore our Faith erect,
On what thy Word doth say,
And hold their knowledge in suspect,
That new Foundations lay:
For, such full many a grieuous Rend
Within thy Church haue left;
And by thy peacefull Sacrament,
The world of Peace bereft:

Yea, what thy pledge and seale of Loue,
Was first ordain'd to be
Doth great and hateful Quarrels moue,
Where wrangling spirits be:
And many men haue lost their blood,
(Who did thy Name professe)
Because they hardly vnderstood
What others would expresse.

Oh, let vs not hereafter so,
About meere words contend,
The while our crafty common Foe,
Procures on vs his end:
But if in Essence we agree,
Let all with Loue assay,
A helpe vnto: he weake to bee,
And for each other pray.

Loue is that blessed Cymment, LORD,
Which must vs re-vnite;
In bitter speeches, fire and sword,
It neuer tooke delight:
The Weapons those of Malice are,
And they themselues beguile,
Who dreame, that such ordained were
Thy Church to reconcile.

Loue brought vs hither and that Loue
Perswades vs to implore,
That thou all Christians hearts would'st moue,
To seeke it more and more;
And that Selfe will no more bewitch
Our minds with foule debate;
Nor fill vs with that malice, which
Disturbes a quiet state:

But this especially we craue,
That perfect Peace may be
Mong those that disagreed haue,
In show of loue to thee;
That they with vs, and we with them,
May Christian Peace retaine,
And both in new Ierusalem
With thee for euer raigne.

No longer let ambitious Ends,
Blinde Zeale, or cankred Spight,
Those Churches keep from being friends,
Whom Loue should fast vnite:
But let thy glory shine among
Those Candlestickes, we pray,
We may behold what hath so long
Exil'd thy Peace away:

That those, who (heeding not thy word)
Expect an earthly Powre,
And vainly thinke, some temp'rall Sword
Shall Antichrist deuoure;
That those may know, thy weapons are
No such, as they doe faigne,
And that it is no carnall warre,
Which we must entertaine.

Confessors, Martyrs, Preachers strike
The Blowes, that gaine this Field:
Thanks, Prayre, Instructions, and the like,
Those weapons are they weild:
Long-suffering, Patience, Prudent-care,
Must be the Court-of-Guard;
And Faith and Innocencie are
Instead of Walles prepard.

For these (no question) may as well
Great Babel ouerthrow,
As Ierichoes large Bulwarkes fell,
When men did Rams-hornes blowe:
Which could wee credit, wee should cease
All bloody plots to lay,
And to suppose, Gods holy peace
Should come the Deuils way.

LORD, let that flesh, and bloud of thine,
Which fed vs hath to day,
Our hearts to thy True-loue encline,
And driue ill thoughts away:
Let vs remember what thou hast
For our meere loue endur'de.
Eu'n, when of vs despis'de thou wast,
And we thy death procur'de:

And with each other, for thy sake,
So truely let vs beare,
Our patience may vs dearer make,
When reconcil'd we are:
So, when our courses finisht be,
We shall ascend aboue
Sunne, Moone, and Starres, to liue with Thee,
That art the God of Loue.