not be given up to idleness gaming nor the excessive love of any sports or pleasures nor may venture amongst such wicked companions as would entice me to ungodly courses neither let their jeers and scorns ever make me ashamed of a strict and holy life Make me ever careful to hearken to the reproofs and instructions of godly friends and to keep my self employed in honest and lawful labours or in the duties of religion And whilst I shall continue in this dangerous world be thou oh God my upholder and my guide I desire heartily to give up my self to thee to be disposed of as seems good in thy sight begging only that in every condition through my whole life I may be kept faithful to thee and diligent in thy service that so at length I may be brought safe through all difficulties and dangers into that everlasting rest which remains for thy people Be merciful to the whole world fill the same with the knowledge of thy Gospel and let the coming of Christ in glory be hastned Be gracious to these nations to our King with all his royal Relations and all Magistrates under him Bless the Ministers of thy holy word with all thy people and my kindred and friends Shew mercy to all them that are in affliction and let thy blessing be upon this Family to which I belong I praise thy name for the mercies of this last night and beg thy presence with me this day that I may not do any thing which is displeasing to thee but may ever so live in thy fear that I may be sure of thy favour both here and to all eternity And all I humbly beg for thy dear Son Jesus sake who hath taught us to pray saying Our Father which art in heaven Hallowed c. EVENING PRAYER MOst great and glorious Lord God Thou dwellest in the highest heavens and yet thou regardest the meanest of thy creatures here on this earth and art ever ready to shew mercy to such as do humbly and earnestly seek to thee for the same Wherefore I do now most humbly beseech thee to take pity on me a weak and worthless creature and to deal with me not after my deserts but according to the multitude of thy tender compassions I cannot alas plead any deserts of my own for though I am thy creature yet am I a vile sinner one that deserves not the least of all thy mercies I was born into this world with a sinful and corrupt nature which is prone to wickedness and very backward and listless to any thing that is good And I have already shewn forth the sinfulness of my nature in those sins which I have committed against thee Though my years have been but few yet my sins have been many and very grievous Of that little time which I have lived in the world I have wasted much in folly and idleness in sports and pleasures seldom thinking what I was sent into the world for or how I might do to make my self happy for ever I have indeed been often taught that I was made on purpose to serve thee oh God in obeying thy commandments that so I might live with thee for ever in heaven yet have I grievously neglected thy service and have not made it my business to get acquainted with thy holy laws and those plain commands which I have known I have often wilfully broken Little delight have I had in praying to thee in reading or hearing thy holy word but have greatly neglected these duties and have oft spent the Lords day in idleness and playing Yea with shame I must confess I have taken pleasure in reading any foolish book rather than in the holy Bible And though I could well enough remember idle stories vain and wanton songs yet have I soon forgotten thy blessed word after I have read or heard the same Many times have I been disobedient to my Parents and to those who have had rule over me and when I have committed faults I have been presently ready to tell lies for the excusing my self though I knew I did ill therein Very easily have I been drawn into ill company and to joyn with them in doing evil and though I have seen many of my companions as young as I die before me yet have I seldome thought with my self how I should do to get fitted for death or what would become of me after death in another world Now oh Lord I beseech thee to open my eyes and soften my heart and work in me a true sorrow and repentance for these and all other the sins which I have at any time committed against thee that so I may find mercy and forgiveness from thee Have mercy upon me oh thou God of mercy and for the Lord Jesus sake be at peace with me Let his precious blood wash me from all my sins and procure thy favour that I may escape those eternal torments which I have most justly deserved Through the Lord Jesus do thou become my gracious loving Father owning me as thy dutiful child And help me to shew that I am so by living in a careful obedience to all thy holy laws Oh that the time past of my life may suffice to have spent so vainly and carelesly Lord make me for the time to come diligent and careful in serving thee and in working out my own salvation Make me so wise for my own good that I may put off the amending of my ways and leading a godly life till hereafter Let me not think it too soon to set about that work for which all my life was given me and is all little enough Justly then maist thou shorten my days if I should wilfully defer my repentance and reformation Yea justly maist thou refuse to accept of me in old age if now I spend my youth and the best of my days in serving the Devil and satisfying my own lusts Wherefore oh Lord I beseech thee now betimes to encline my heart to thy fear and service that when I am old I may never depart from thee Make me always sensible of the shortness and uncertainty of my life that numbring my days I may apply my heart to wisdome and through my whole life may make this my great study and care to get an everlasting happiness in the world to come Oh never suffer me good God to become so foolish as for any pleasures of sin to part with the hopes of eternal glory and to sell my soul into the hands of Satan to be tormented with him for ever But do thou oh Lord strengthen me by thy grace against all his temptations and against the allurements of the world and the flesh that they may not prevail over me Help me to flee all youthful lusts and to follow after sobriety chastity and all manner of purity virtue and godliness When-ever I am ready to run into sin oh then fill my mind with the thoughts of that Hell to which sin leads and let the hopes of
What then did Christ intend in becoming the Redeemer of mankind A. To deliver men from under the guilt and power of sin and to save them from misery and restore them to the love and favour of God Q. How did he bring to pass this great work A. Becoming man he lived a most holy and afflicted life by his doctrine and example shewing to men their duty and died a shameful painful death upon the Cross that he might purchase for us pardon of sin with grace to heal our natures and sit us for glory Q. By whom was Christ put to death A. Through the malice and procurement of the Iews he was condemned to be crucified by Pontius Pilate a Roman Governour the Iews being then in subjection to the Romans Q. But why did God spare man who had sinned and lay such sufferings on his innocent and beloved Son A. Because by this means he discovered his infinite mercy to mankind and yet in a way that gave great honour to his justice an atonement being made for sin and a ransome paid that the sinner might be redeemed Q. How is it for the honour of God not to pardon sin without an Atonement A. When God had made a law and threatned misery to the transgressours if he had given no testimony of his displeasure upon the transgression of it the world would have been apt to call his wisdome and holiness in question to slight his authority and be more bold to sin against him Q. How then do the sufferings of Christ vindicate the holiness and justice of God A. In that they do fully discover the horrid evil of sin and the holiness and justice of God in his hatred of it who would grant no pardon without the death of so glorious a person Q. What is the proper effect of this Consideration A. To make men sensible of their danger and humbled for their sins and thereupon to hate and forsake them Q. How doth the death of Christ engage us to Repentance and Obedience A. The infinite love of God and the Redeemer herein revealed is apt to make men love so good a God and to be careful to please him Q. What farther motive doth it afford hereto A. The consideration of what Christ himself suffered for our sakes only may assure us that dreadful vengeance will fall upon all those who reject this Saviour and must in their own persons suffer for their sins which consideration may well work upon all that love themselves to forsake their sins Q. For whom did Christ die A. Christ died for all men that they might be saved upon condition of their believing in him and so he is Lord of all as having bought them with his blood and hath full power of ruling judging and disposing of them Q. But who shall be actually saved by Christ A. Only they who upon hearing the Gospel perform the condition therein required of Believing in him Q. What plainly is meant by this Believing in Christ which is of so great necessity to our salvation A. Hereby is meant that we must so effectually believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and Saviour of the world as to become heartily willing to be saved by him in the way appointed in his Gospel Q. What way hath he appointed in the Gospel for our obtaining of salvation A. That we should unfeignedly repent us of all our sins obey his commands imitate his example and for his sake alone hope for mercy and salvation from the free grace of God Q. Is it not enough then for our salvation to believe that our sins shall be pardoned and to rely upon Christ for this pardon A. No for unless we forsake our sins all our confidence and reliance upon Christ is but sond presumption since he is the Author of eternal salvation onely to those that obey him Q. What then are Obedience and Holiness as necessary as Faith A. Yes they are absolutely necessary since without holiness we shall never see God nor can we be put into a state of justification but by that faith which if life be continued will certainly produce obedience Q. When may a man be said to be in a state of justification A. When he is so far brought into the favour of God that according to the rule and tenour of the Gospel if he should die in that estate he should not be condemn'd for his sins Q. And is there any thing beside a reliance on Christs merits necessary to put us at first into this state of justification A. Yes there is also required of us Repentance for sin with a sincere resolution to lead an holy life which is as necessarily included in a right reliance on Christ as a resolution to follow the directions of a Physician is included in our relying on him for our recovery Q. Are we then to account obedience the meritorious cause of our justification A. No by no means nor Faith neither for that is to be ascrib'd purely to the sufferings of Christ only our dependance upon him and resolution to obey him both which do ever follow upon a true faith are required as the condition of this our justification Q. What more is required of us to continue us in this state and that we may be justified and saved at the day of judgment A. Even the actual performance of these resolutions in living an holy life and persevering therein to the end is the necessary condition of our continuance in Gods favour and of our compleat justification and salvation at the last day Q. What mean you by that Phrase that Christ descended into Hell A. I thereby understand his remaining under the power of death his soul being all this while in an invisible state as the souls of dead men are Q. How long did he thus remain under the power of death A. Till the third day on which he rose again from the dead Q. How long did he remain on earth after his Resurrection A. Fourty days only to give assurance of his Resurrection and to instruct his Disciples after which he ascended into the highest heavens Q. What mean you by his sitting at the right hand of God A. His being exal ed as Mediatour to divine dominion and glory all things being delivered into his hands by the Father Q. When will he fully manifest and declare his power A. When at the last day he shall come in power and glory to judge the world Q. Who are the quick and the dead A. All that shall then be found alive and all that had been dead before Q. For what are they to be judg'd A. For all actions done in the body whether good or bad open or secret Q. For what end must there be this future judgment A. That God the righteous governour of the world may be glorified in his condemning and punishing the wicked in his
of our precious souls And this whilst we have taken on us the name of Christians and have profest to believe all that is revealed in the Gospel Whilst we our selves have spoken much against sin and of the mischief and danger of it yet have we securely allowed our selves in it and have neglected those very duties which we have confest to be just and reasonable and for our own greatest good Whilst we have seemed to contemn this world as vanity our chief business hath been to seek after it and whilst we have spoke much of the joys of heaven and with our tongues have extoll'd them yet we have taken little pains to make sure of them by walking in those ways of holiness which can only bring us to the enjoyment of them Yea these and such like confessions as these have we often made before thee and yet still have continued in the very same temper of mind and course of life which we acknowledge to be so exceeding sinful and dangerous as if we thought it enough for us to condemn our ways without reforming them to confess our sins without forsaking them The very sins of our prayers themselves the hypocrisie we have therein been guilty of is enough for our condemnation Often have we prayed that thou wouldst vouchsafe to keep us without sin and yet presently we our selves have carelesly and wilfully run into it and when we have been begging that the rest of our lives might be pure and holy we have strait-way gone and polluted our selves with impure and ungodly actions And after we have gone from the hearing and reading of thy holy word we have quickly forgotten and disobeyed it What then shall we say unto the most righteous God or wherewith shall we excuse our selves For alas our transgressions are multiplied before thee and our sins they do testify against us And if thou shouldst now be extream to mark what we have done amiss and to deal with us accordingly how then shall we appear in thy presence or whether shall we flee from thy wrath But oh thou that art the Preserver of men ever ready to shew mercy to the humble and penitent look on us poor sinners with an eye of pity and tender compassion And do thou now work in our souls that unfeigned sorrow for the sins we stand guilty of that we may be fitted for mercy and pardon that so iniquity may not be our ruine We come to thee oh God in the most blessed and prevailing name of thy Son Jesus through him our Prince and our Saviour begging both repentance and remission of sins For his sake turn from us thy wrath and receive us into thy favour Let his precious blood which he shed for sinners cleanse us from all unrighteousness And oh that this love which he hath shewn in dying for us may prevail with us to trust our souls with him to love him and obey him that so he may become to us the Author of eternal salvation Oh Lord grant we may never be so wickedly disingenuous and perverse as to encourage our selves in sin because Christ died for sinners as if we might therefore hate him because he hath loved us but make us ever so duly sensible of the ends of his death that we may entirely give up our selves to him who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purifie us to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works Do thou graciously enable us by our holy and unblameable walking to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things and let this grace of thine which hath appeared to the world bringing salvation teach us to deny ungodliness and all worldly lusts and to lead righteous sober and godly lives whilst we are in this present evil world To this end we beseech thee oh God through thy Son Jesus to shed abroad thy holy Spirit into our hearts and thereby to cleanse us from all filthiness of flesh and spirit that we may perfect holiness in thy fear Sanctifie us throughout both in body and soul that we may be holy in heart and life even in all manner of conversation Take off our affections from all things here below and six them on thy blessed self and the glory that is above that we may never be so foolish as to expect happiness from riches pleasures friends or any worldly comforts which are daily decaying and dying away but let us ever trust in and depend upon thee the living God who givest us all the good things we enjoy and who alone canst make us perfectly happy in the enjoyment of thy self for ever Whilst we are here in our travail through the world we only beg of thee such a measure of outward comforts as thou seest most convenient for us and ours Let us have thy blessing with whatever we enjoy and give us patient and contented minds under all thy dealings with us Make us faithful in obeying thy Command first to seek the Kingdom of Heaven and the righteousness thereof and then we know thy promise shall be fulfilled that all other things shall be added to us so as thou seest will be best for us To thy will oh God we desire humbly to resign up our selves and all our affairs only do thou keep us continually in thy fear and favour and then deal with us as seems good in thy sight Encrease in us a sincere love to all men that we may carefully perform our duty to them doing good to all to the utmost of our power but never doing any kind of hurt or wrong to any either in thought word or deed Lord preserve us from envying the richest or despising the poorest and keep us ever free from hatred malice uncharitableness and from all desire of revenge Let thy grace so curb our passion and change our corrupt natures that we may not render evil for evil but may always study to overcome evil with good Whenever we receive injury from others do thou enable us from the heart so to forgive them as we for Christs sake hope to be forgiven by thee Let us all in this Family live in peace and love and in the fear of thy great name faithfully performing our duties one to another in our several Relations Help us oh heavenly Father to pass the time of our sojourning here in fear as Pilgrims and strangers abstaining from those fleshly lusts which war against our souls that laying aside every weight and hindrance we may with patience run the holy Race that is set before us Keep us always mindful of that everlasting state toward which we are daily tending that we may spend this short life as beseems those who know that Death is hasting upon us and that after death comes judgment when thou the righteous God wilt call us to an account for all our deeds done in the body and wilt accordingly dispose of us either to happiness or misery for ever Oh Lord make us in good