beseech God to bestow upon us And therefore with a sincere hatred of all sin and a spirit armed with hearty resolution against it invoke the Divine Grace for your assistance If you be true Christian Souldiers that manfully fight under the banner of our Lord call to him for aid with your weapons in your hand With a mind bent to consider desire God to enlighten you And with an heart stored with the treasures of Divine Truth beseech him to quicken and enliven you And with close and urgent applications of them to your heart entreat him to enable you to form and shape your whole man spirit soul and body according to them For God is not hard to be entreated since he entreats us to come to him yea gives a great deal of his grace without asking but it is the faintness or inconstancy of our endeavours to comply with his grace and our own petitions that makes them no more prevalent They that had no other Director but the light of their own minds saw this well enough and were so sensible of this truth that they were wont publickly to declaim as we find in Aristides his Oration to the Rhodians concerning Concord against the absurd folly of those who were perpetually importuning the Gods with their Prayers but would do nothing for themselves 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. no not those things which they knew the Gods had put in their power And in the same manner Demosthenes in one of his Philippicks chides the Greeks comparing them to men who seeing great Hail-stones fall upon their heads prayed that they might be preserved in safety but would not run away to secure themselves from harm And therefore Clemens Alexandrinus Lib. 7. Strom. justly commends the wisdom of those who made the Laws of the famous Olympick Combats By which he that entred the lists having for a long time before exercised his body to feats of activity was ordered before he began to contend for the Prize to stand right over against the Statue of Jupiter and to say this Prayer O God if I am in all regards duly fitted and prepared as I ought for this Combate vouchsafe in thy righteous judgement to grant the victory to me Even so saith he may a man chearfully approach to God who faithfully and with a good conscience doth all that he can both to learn his will and to exercise himself in good works that are pleasing to him for he shall have all that can be wisht for the perfecting of his Salvation Just as a Physician as he goes on restores health to those who cooperate with his medicines so will God give his eternal salvation to them who work together with him both unto knowledge and unto well doing As for those who do not live well it is plain saith he in another place Lib. 6. Strom. that they do not so much as know what things are most profitable for themselves And if so then it is manifest likewise that they cannot tell how to pray to God to receive good things from him being ignorant of what is good Or if they should receive them they would have no sense at all of the gift nor use it according to its worth and dignity and that for the very same reason because they understand not its value Inspire therefore O God of all Grace I most humbly beseech thee both my heart and the hearts of all others who shall read this Book with such a godly will to endeavour zealously in all things to do what is well pleasing in thy sight that we may comfortably expect the constant and powerful presence of thy holy Spirit with us to help us in the performance of our duty till we have perfected holiness in thy fear And the sincerity of that love to thee which we profess in our Prayers being testified by an unwearied observance of all thy commands we may be able also to wait with an humble confidence for thy salvation who hast graciously promised to reward our weak and short obedience in this life with inconceiveable and endless joys in a better World Amen Imprimatur Sam. Parker R mo in Christo Patri ac Domino D no. Gilberto Archiep. Cantuar. à sac Dom. Ex Aedib Lambeth Octob. 21. 1672. ERRATA PAge 41. line 8. read abundant p. 50. l. 3. for thou r. the. p. 51. l. 11. r. consecrate p. 84. l. 9. r. devote p. 92. l. 24. r. children p. 135. penult dele to p. 258. l. 7. for who r. thou p. 265. l. 8. for bountiful r. beautiful p. 495. l. 5. r. every one PRAYERS FOR FAMILIES On the LORDS DAY In the MORNING ALmighty and Eternal God the Lord of heaven and earth we thy creatures are here prostrate before thee to express our humble and grateful sense of our dependence on thee to honour thee with our Praises and Thanksgivings and an hearty oblation of our selves our souls and bodies to thy service We are unworthy we confess to be admitted to speak unto thy Majesty nor can our thoughts or words add any thing to thy greatness happiness and glory but since thou art pleased in thy infinite goodness to do us the honour not only to admit but to invite our addresses unto thee that our spirits may be bettered by lifting up themselves to thee from whom we come by meditating thy praises by exciting our love and praying our acknowledgements to thee we most humbly and thankfully receive this thy great grace and favour towards us Remembring withal that it is but just and reasonable we should pay thee our vows which we made the last night being so graciously raised up in soundness of body and mind to see the light of this day which our Saviour hath made that we may be glad and rejoyce therein We laud and magnifie therefore thy most holy Name thy infinite Power Wisdom and Bounty which all the world proclaims with the highest praises We bless thee in behalf of all thy creatures as well as of our selves to whom thou hast given dominion over the works of thy hands for Psal 145.15,16 the eyes of all look unto thee and thou givest them their meat in due season Thou openest thy hand and satisfiest the desire of every living thing But above all we acknowledge thy inestimable benefits bestowed upon mankind in Christ Jesus the Son of thy Love whom thou wast pleased in thy infinite mercy to send among us in our own likeness to assure us of thy good will towards us and to instruct us in our duty towards thee and to give us hope of no less than immortal life by patient continuance in well doing We remember with all thankfulness his miraculous Birth at which the Angels rejoyced his most holy Life his bitter Agony and bloudy Death his glorious Resurrection upon this day from the grave his Ascension into the heavens to fit on the right hand of the Majesty on high his Triumph over all the powers of
thee Give us thy grace continually for our seasonable relief and succour that we persevering in well doing may have a solid and lively hope in our death of coming to see thee in that high and holy place where thou livest and reignest for evermore As for all the things of this life we most heartily refer our selves to thy Fatherly Wisdom and Goodness O Lord God Almighty trusting thou wilt order for us that which is most convenient and bless our honest diligence with such a competent portion of them that we may have the more leisure to give continual praise honour blessing and thanksgiving to thee whose mercies endure for ever Accept we pray thee of our thankful acknowledgements at this time for those which this day hath added to the rest of thy benefits which thou hast been continually heaping upon us ever since we were born And let all the people of the earth praise the name of the Lord which is highly exalted above all blessing and praise O that all the Kingdoms of the World would become the Kingdoms of our Saviour Christ and that all they who acknowledge his authority would religiously obey his holy Laws that all wars oppression and cruelty may cease among Christian people and they may live together in brotherly love and unity Make our Soveraign and all his Realms happy by a great increase of true knowledge godliness and vertue every where Bless all our friends forgive our enemies requite all the kindness of our benefactors comfort every one of thy desolate and afflicted servants and turn their mourning and heaviness into joy and gladness at the last And now that we are going to repose our selves keep us we beseech thee and all belonging to us in safety Refresh our wearied spirits with comfortable rest and sleep and when we awaken again in the morning direct our thoughts immediately to thee our merciful preserver and help us to imploy all our renewed strength to thy honour and glory according to thy will declared by Christ Jesus in whose blessed Name and Words we commend our selves to thy infinite Mercies Our Father c. PRAYERS FOR FAMILIES WEDNESDAY MORNING O Most great and mighty Lord the Possessor of heaven and earth All the Angels worship and adore thy incomprehensible Majesty with the humblest reverence and rejoyce in rendring praise blessing and thanksgiving to thee the Father of spirits For thou hast created all things and in wisdom hast thou made them all and spread thy tender mercies over all thy works It is no less our happiness than our duty to joyn our hearts and voices with that heavenly host most gratefully to acknowledge thy bounty to us among the rest of thy creatures and thy particular grace and favour in our Lord Jesus Christ our most merciful Saviour and Redeemer We can never sufficiently admire that love which gave him to dye for us and hath made him the Lord of life and glory that he may be the Author of eternal Salvation to all those that obey him All the love we have is too little to give thee to whom all our services are due by a former title Our highest praises fall infinitely short of thy most excellent Majesty and we are ashamed of the most affectionate thanks we can render to thee for those inestimable benefits which thou hast conferred on us and so long continued to us How much greater reason then have we to be abashed at our shameful ingratitude and disobedience to thy divine Majesty for which we are heartily sorry and do now most earnestly repent our selves of it unfeignedly resolving and protesting to be more faithful to thee for the time to come Pardon us therefore Good Lord and receive us unto thy mercy Accept of our renewed vows to study and do our duties conscientiously towards thee and towards all men And as thou hast excited these holy desires and purposes in our hearts so inable us to perform them constantly in the whole course of our life Our blessed Saviour hath told us thou wilt as readily give thy holy Spirit to them that ask it as a Parent will give bread to his hungry children O Father of mercies let it be unto us according to his Word Cherish these little beginnings of goodness which thou seest in our souls and prosper all our endeavours to attain a greater measure of it And since at the best we are but unprofitable servants and can do no more than was our duty to do inable us to do every thing which thou hast commanded us heartily with good will and true love to thy service We know this is all that can in the least commend us to thy free grace and favour and therefore we most humbly again dovote our selves to do thy Will with a cordial affection to it We would ever approach unto thee with delight and pleasure and feel it the joy of our hearts to think of thee to praise thee to give thee thanks and to offer our selves with absolute resignation to thee O that Mercy may always please us as it pleaseth thee that we may be strictly just and righteous may chearfully pass by injuries freely deny all desires of sinful pleasures willingly submit to thy fatherly corrections and perform the duties of our several relations with singleness of heart Render us so mindful of the great love of our Lord and Master Christ that we may be zealously concerned for his glory and use our utmost diligence to do Him and his Religion some honour in the world delighting to commemorate his Death and Passion making a joyful sacrifice of our souls and bodies to him and desiring most earnestly that his kingdom may come and all mankind submit themselves to his Government Fulfil most merciful Lord all our petitions and as thou hast mightily protected us and our dwellings this last night from fire and thieves and whatsoever might disturb our repose blessed be thy goodness so accompany us all this day with thy blessing that we may please thee in body and soul and be safe under thy defence who art nigh to all those that call upon thee that call upon thee in truth And O that all those who are forgetful of their duty to thee may be awakened to a lively sense of all thy benefits and fill the whole world with thy praises Stir up especially the minds of all Christian people to inquire after and follow the Truth as it is in Jesus abandoning all vice and wickedness and exercising themselves to have consciences void of offence towards thee and towards all men And dispose the hearts of all their Kings and Princes to make themselves the greatest examples of Christian Piety to all others Bless these Kingdoms and indue our Soveraign with such excellent Wisdom and holy Zeal for thy honour and glory that we may see many good days under his Government O that true Religion Justice Mercy Brotherly kindness and all things else that are praise-worthy may so flourish among us that we
us especially those in the Lord Jesus in whom thy Grace hath so exceedingly abounded as to surpass not only our deserts but the largest of our desires Blessed blessed for ever blessed be thy fatherly goodness who hast sent him from heaven so unexpectedly to visit us vile wretches who dwell in houses of clay whose foundation is in the dust Lord what is man that thou art mindful of him or the son of man that thou didst thus visit him We thank thee according to our poor ability from the very bottom of our hearts for his manifestation in our flesh for the charitable testimonies he gave of his love to mankind in the course of his life for that astonishing grace in submitting himself to dye for us for his glorious Resurrection and Ascension to heaven for the Soveraign Power and Authority which thou hast given him at thy right hand for his compassionate intercession for us and the assurances we have received of his being the King of glory and of his continued kindness to us by the coming of the Holy Ghost We will never cease to bless thee for that great salvation Heb. 2.3,4 which was first preached by the Lord was confirmed by them that heard him and for the witness which thou barest to them both with signs and wonders and with divers miracles and gifts of the holy Ghost according to thy own will We rejoyce in the Light of thy holy Gospel that we see the way to be happy both by the Doctrine and example of thy Son Jesus that we have the incouragement of his precious promises and such good hope of remission of sin and eternal life in the day when he shall judge the world in righteousness O how much are we bound unto thee for that comfortable hope which thou hast given us of seeing our dear Saviour in all his glory and being there where he is and reigning with him for ever We again render thee our most hearty thanks for that everlasting consolation and good hope through grace which thou hast given us and for all those benefits likewise which thou art pleased to bestow upon us to make our stay here on earth the more convenient and delightful to us We are every way obliged to thee beyond all that we are able to express or conceive Thou feedest us and clothest us thou preservest our health and our strength thou hast delivered us from innumerable dangers and when thou hast chastised us it hath been in great mercy and clemency and not according to our deserving O that all the world would shew forth thy praise and devote themselves to the service of our Lord. Let all Kings of the earth submit themselves unto him and glory in the name of his obedient subjects High and low rich and poor let them praise the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore Accept most gracious God of these unfeigned desires of us thy servants who for our parts intirely dedicate our selves both souls and bodies unto thee Resolving in all things to walk worthy of thee who hast called us to thy Kingdom and Glory and blessed us also with many other good things which make this life to be a more easie passage to a better We will never forget how much we are indebted to thee but study to express our grateful remembrance of thy mercies by living Tit. 2.12,13 soberly righteously and godly in this present world looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ Favour we pray thee these holy purposes with the constant assistance of thy good spirit that we may be able to accomplish what we have begun and to perfect holiness in thy fear Help us to 2 Pet. 1.5,6,7,8 add to our faith vertue and to vertue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience and to patience godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness charity That these things being in us and abounding they may make us to be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ Preserve us this day especially that we swerve not presently from these pious resolutions But may give such a proof of their sincerity by our being steadfast and immoveable in all well doing notwithstanding any temptation to the contrary that we may have the better hope we shall persevere to the very end through thy continued grace in Christ Jesus in whose words we desire all that thou seest needful either for our souls or bodies saying Our Father c. At Night WE are here again prostrate before thee O Lord of heaven and earth to joyn our selves with all that holy company Revel 4.8,11 who rest not day and night saying Holy holy holy Lord God Almighty which was and is and is to come Thou art worthy O Lord to receive glory honour and power for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created Blessed be thy divine goodness which hath made the children of men but little lower than the Angels and crowned us with such glory and honour that we are capable to accompany that heavenly host in giving continual thanks and praise unto thee Praised be thy name that we are now alive and that we have the use of our reason and understanding and enjoy so many of the comforts and conveniences of this present life and have attained a good hope through Christ Jesus of being immortally happy O how great was thy love which sent him into the world to direct us in the way to that happiness by his holy doctrine and life and to be a propitiation for our sins by his death and to Act. 26.23 be the first that should rise from the dead and should shew light unto the world We rejoyce in that light of life We most chearfully devote our selves to be the faithful Disciples of him the Prince of peace the Lord of life and glory It is our happiness as well as our duty to be governed by him and obey his commands We are sensible that they are all equal just and good and that thou hast done us an infinite kindness in teaching us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this present world And therefore we here again most heartily surrender our wills to thine desiring that we may unchangeably cleave unto it with the greatest and most intire love and affection to all its commands O that there may abide for ever in us such a strong and powerful sense of thy mighty love towards us in Christ Jesus as may constrain us freely and willingly to please thee in the constant exercise of piety and devotion righteousness and mercy temperance and chastity meekness and patience truth and fidelity together with such an humble contented and peaceable spirit as may adorn the Religion of our Lord and Master O God that these holy desires and inclinations may
most high and most willingly joyn our hearts and voices this Morning together with all the host of heaven and earth to laud and praise thy glorious Name and give thanks unto thee whose mercy endureth for ever We think our selves happy that we know thee and that we live under the care and providence of thine Almighty and most wise goodness and that we have a good hope not only of thy blessing and favour here but of life for evermore Blessed be thy Name for sending thy Son Jesus to give us these hopes by his Death and Resurrection and Ascension to heaven and the coming of the holy Ghost Blessed be thy Name who hast trained us up in his Religion and given us the means and opportunities to know that love of thine which passes knowledge We thank thee for all the blessed operations and motions of thy holy Spirit in our hearts and that thou hast so early inclined us to fear thee and love thee and place our contentment and satisfaction in thy love and favour which is better than life it self And that thou hast also added a number of other mercies for our comfortable subsistence in this world having granted us so long health peace and plenty a great many friends loving relations and acquaintance and continued the enjoyment of them to this day though we be so unworthy of the least of thy favours We thank thee O God that now thou hast graciously renewed thy kindness unto us in protecting us the last night from all the powers of darkness and every evil accident and raising us up this morning in health and safety to praise thy goodness More especially we praise thee for any sense we have of these thy mercies humbly waiting on thee for the increase of it and for thy gracious pardon of all our unthankfulness and undutiful behaviour towards thee which we most heartily bewail and desire and will endeavour to amend And for that end we implore the help of thy holy Spirit which our Lord hath incouraged us to ask of thee and told us thou wilt not deny to those that earnestly seek it and continue to knock importunately at the gate of Mercy for it We believe all his promises to be faithful and true and therefore humbly depend on thy mighty Power to strengthen and inable us to do our duty towards thee and towards all men with care and diligence and zeal and perseverance to the end Indue us good Lord with a spirit of true and servent devotion to thee our Creator and Redeemer with upright just and charitable hearts to all our Neighbours and with temperate contented and humble minds in every condition and state of life unto which thou shalt please to call us Help us to be meek and gentle in our conversation prudent and discreet in ordering all our affairs good and useful in every relation observant of thy fatherly providence in every thing that befals us grateful for thy benefits patient under thy chastisements and readily disposed to every good word and work Preserve in us a constant remembrance of thine all-seeing eye of the many promises and vows we have made of fidelity to thee of thine inestimable love in Christ Jesus whereof thou hast given us so many pledges and of the great account we must give to him the Judge of all at the day of his appearing That so we may continue steadfast and unmoveable and be abundant in the work of the Lord knowing that our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. Deliver us we beseech thee from all inordinate cares and desires from vain hopes and causeless fears and so dispose our hearts that death it self may not be dreadful to us but we may welcome it with a chearful countenance when and howsoever it shall approach O that our hearts may be so firmly settled and established in the true Religion and our minds kept so free from all delusions that nothing may afright us or shake our constancie But we may rather chuse to dye than dishonour our Saviour who dyed for us We resign our selves to thy wisdom and goodness who knowest what is best for us hoping thou wilt 1 Corinth 10.13 never suffer us to be tempted above what we are able and wilt with the temptation also make a way to escape that we may be able to bear it We commend unto thee likewise all mankind especially thy Church and chosen people these Kingdoms more particularly of which we are members that we may be all faithful to our Lord Christ and zealous of good works Bless our Soveraign his Councellors his Ministers and all imployed in publick business whether Spiritual or Civil that they may be conscientiously industrious and whatsoever they do may prosper for the good of all those who are committed to their charge Be gracious to all our friends and those who are dear unto us Keep us all in thy fear and love and obedience while we live and make us willing to dye and to be with Christ which is best of all Guide us good Lord and govern us by the same spirit of wisdom and goodness that we may be so united to thee here as not to be eternally separated when thou art pleased to order our departure hence But that we all at last may have an happy meeting in the other and better world to dwell with thee in love and joy that shall never dye through Christ Jesus our blessed Lord and Saviour in whose words we still beseech thee to hear us Our Father c. At Night ALL honour and glory thanks and praise love and service be rendred by us and all other reasonable creatures to thy great and glorious Majesty O Lord who hast brought us into the world and preserved our life most tenderly to this moment and made it easie and comfortable to us by more mercies than we can number And to all the former hast added those of this day which we have passed in peace and health and safety blessed be thy never-ceasing goodness Above all we acknowledge thy unconceiveable love in Christ Jesus by whom thou hast made a gracious provision for our souls and their everlasting happiness in the other world Having sent him to us with the promises of eternal life and to be the Way and Director to it and given him to dye that he might seal his promises with his bloud and raised him again from the dead that our faith and hope might be in thee O God 1 Cor. 2.9 Eye had not seen nor ear heard neither did enter into the heart of man the things which thou hast prepared for them that love thee We love thee O Lord and give our selves both souls and bodies to thee most earnestly desiring to be inspired with such a sense of thy infinite goodness that we may love thee more and serve thee better with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our strength We confess we have not walked worthy of the great
deliver us from evil c. PRAYERS For particular PERSONS A Prayer for the Morning to be said by any Person alone O Most holy blessed and glorious Majesty of heaven and earth Who art before all things because they all received their being from thee and who art of thy self infinite in all perfections Before thee who art so great and incomprehensible I most humbly prostrate my self this Morning rejoycing in this happy liberty which thou vouchsafest me of retiring my thoughts a little from this world to look up unto thee the Father of my being I adore and praise thy eternal Power Wisdom and Goodness I heartily acknowledge the duty which I owe thee both as I am thy creature and as I am a Christian I bewail all my neglects of it my backwardness unto it or coldness in it I intreat thy gracious pardon and ingage my self for the time to come more heartily and firmly to thy obedience beseeching the grace of thy holy Spirit to inable me to perform all those ingagements which are upon me And blessed be thy Fatherly goodness which hath so often prevented me with that grace I owe to it all the good thoughts and inclinations that are in my heart all those motions that I feel in my soul towards thee as my chiefest good with all the effects and fruits of them in my life and actions which incourage me to hope in thee for the constant help of it to further me in well doing unto the end O thou who hast sent thy Son from heaven to dwell among us who hast not spared his life but given him up for us all who hast raised him from the dead and made him heir of all things who hast given him all power in heaven and earth that he may bless us and do us good deny not the desires of a soul that offers up it self intirely in sincere affection to thy service But assist me so mightily from above that I may make thee my constant acknowledgements likewise for the sensible fruits of his Life Death Resurrection and Exaltation produced in my heart growing more and more in all Wisdom Righteousness Purity Humility Goodness and every other divine Vertue For which end preserve me alway in such a serious temper of mind that the sense of my duty to thee may make me always ready and forward to it and the sense of my weakness may make me watchful and diligent and the sense of my former negligence make me fervent in spirit and the goodness of thy commands may render me more fruitful and abundant in the work of our Lord and the great danger I have escaped and the blessedness before me may make me persevere most patiently in all well doing with joy and thankfulness So that I may be like to Christ Jesus my gracious Lord and Master and do him honour here in this world and walk worthy of the great priviledges he hath bestowed on me and make grateful returns for all the vast receipts I have had from thy most bounteous mercy O that all my acknowledgements and pious affections may be turned into actions of holiness and piety and all my actions may be spirited with zeal and all my zeal be regulated with prudence and my prudence be void of all guile and joyned with perfect integrity of heart that adorning my most holy faith and profession by a religious upright charitable and discreet conversation whilst I am here I may receive approbation and praise at the day of the Lord Jesus and be numbered among thy Saints in glory everlasting This O Lord is the sum of all my desires Dispose me by every thing that befals me for eternal life and it sufficeth I wholly leave my concerns in this life to the wisdom of thy goodness that thou mayst order what thou judgest to be fittest for me I trust thee with my self and all I have hoping thou wilt preserve me from all things hurtful and lead me to all things profitable for my salvation The like I wish to all the world that unbelievers may be translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of thy dear Son and they who are called by the name of Christ may depart from all iniquity Inspire all Kings and Princes of the earth with great wisdom and charity and make them like to thee the Lord of all who art good unto all and pleased in mercy Indue all our Pastors and Guides with true knowledge piety and zeal and give me and all Christian people grace to receive their instructions with a meek humble and obedient heart Thou knowest the sorrows troubles and perplexities of all afflicted persons for whom I implore thy compassionate relief Support them with a lively faith and hope in thy precious promises dispose them thereby to a more strict observance of thy holy Commands and convert their present sufferings into endless joys when they have brought forth the peaceable fruit of righteousness And whilst thou art pleased to continue to me that ease plenty and prosperity which I enjoy fill me with such a sense of thy undeserved goodness that I may be the more ready to do good to those who are in misery and by a sober and moderate use of thy blessings be prepared to endure patiently whatsoever change thou shalt be pleased to order for me into a worse condition Preserve me all this day in innocence and in love to thee and to all men And since in all my ways I acknowledge thee do thou direct my paths and teach me to guide my affairs with discretion Prov. 3.6 Psal 112.5 Thou art my hope and my confidence my satisfaction and my peace my glory and my joy therefore never leave me not forsake me but conduct me safely by thy counsel through all the businesses and enjoyments through all the temptations and troubles of this life to that blessed place where our Lord Jesus liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the same spirit world without end Amen Our Father c. A Prayer for the Evening O Lord the Creator of the world and the Redeemer of mankind Who knowest all things and canst do what thou pleasest and wilt do that which is best for thy children and hast done us a world of good already and promised to do more for us if we be obedient than we can ask or think and hast given us the greatest assurance of the truth of those promises by thy Son Jesus who dyed for us and whom thou hast raised from the dead and given him the promise of the holy Ghost which he hath poured forth abundantly to shed abroad thy love in our hearts I fall down before thee in the lowliest manner to express my fear and reverence of thy Almighty Power my admiration of and submission to thy unsearchable wisdom my hearty love and thankful acknowledgement of thy wondrous goodness my trust and confidence in thy faithful Promises with my readiness and sincere purposes to perform all obedience
the fruits of righteousness Ephes 2.10 to which thou hast created me again by Christ Jesus that I should walk in them Blessed be thy Name who hast sent him to give me a new and better life I thank thee for all the helps and comforts of his Religion O that my heart may be possessed with such a strong belief of it and such a sincere love to it that I may feel indeed that I am born again and made a new creature meditating daily of thy mercies breathing forth my soul to thee in prayers and praises and thanksgivings walking in the Spirit of goodness righteousness and truth Ephes 5.9 and proving what is acceptable to our Lord. All the thanks and services I acknowledge that I am able to render to thee are nothing worth but the longer I live I most earnestly desire the more hearty and the purer they may be and the more I may be inabled to do for thy honour and glory If thou sufferest me to continue in this life another year O that in the conclusion of it I may present my self unto thee again more improved in all that is praise worthy The time past is too much to have mis-spent O that I may suffer no more of my precious hours to run waste but that they may all be taken up and carefully laid out in well doing Help me diligently to husband so great a treasure which thou intrustest me withal and to imploy it in order to a blessed Eternity Let not the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches Mark 4.19 and the lusts of other things entring in choke those good seeds which thou hast sown in my heart so that they become unfruitful but inable me as I grow in years to increase also in love joy peace long-suffering Gal. 5.21 gentleness goodness faith meekness temperance and all other fruits of thy holy Spirit And since I have been thy care so long I will still hope in thee continually Psal 71.14 that I shall yet praise thee more and more 9.17 Cast me not off if I live to the time of old age forsake me not when my strength faileth O God thou hast taught me from my youth and hitherto I have declared thy wondrous works Hold me up still Psal 119.117,133 and I shall be safe Order my steps in thy word and let not any iniquity have dominion over me That so if the evil days come and the years draw nigh Eccles 12.1 when I shall say I have no pleasure in them 7.1 I may rejoyce in the remembrance of a well-spent life and having a good hope in thee the day of my death may be better than the day of my birth O that death may never surprize me nor find me unprepared Help me to walk alway so circumspectly and to be so mindful of my latter end that when death comes it may be no stranger to me but I may entertain it as an acquaintance and a friend and with the same chearfulness put off my body and lay it down in the grave that I put off my clothes and lay my self down in my bed I commit my self intirely to thee both now and ever waiting for thy mercy in Christ Jesus at that great Day when thou shalt awake us out of the dust O that I may then be numbered among the Just and stand at the right hand of my Saviour and hear that joyful voice Come ye blessed of my Father Matth. 25.34 inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world Amen THat we may be stedfast unmoveable always abounding in the work of the Lord here follow particular Prayers for that grace and in case of any failing in our duty for repentance and pardon and an heart sensible of the divine goodness and more considerate and careful for the time to come A PRAYER FOR RESOLVTION IN WELL DOING O Most blessed God the fountain of wisdom power strength and all other perfections from whose bounty I have formerly received and at present enjoy innumerable blessings and have no hope for the future but what arises from the same everlasting spring of all good which is never weary of deriving its benefits unto us I ought in a sense of my intire dependance upon thee to be very humble very thankful exceeding solicitous for thy favour and desirous of thy good will sorrowful for my neglects of thee ashamed of the pitiful returns I have made to thee and most peremptorily resolved and zealously bent to approve my self hereafter to thy Divine Majesty in all well doing Accordingly I am now prostrate before thee to implore the continued powerful presence of that infinite grace to which I owe these holy thoughts that are in my mind and by which alone I can hope to perform and accomplish them Possess me O God with such a full and lively sense of thy undeserved and unwearied love and kindness to me in passing by so much ingratitude and so many transgressions in laying on me such strong and manifold obligations to be happy by obeying thee and in affording me such powerful assistances to attain that happiness that I may love thee proportinably with a more constant and steadfast affection and feel an unalterable will settled in me to do the duty thou requirest of me into whatsoever state and condition of life thou shalt be pleased to dispose me When we have loved thee all that we can I am sensible we have loved thee but a little because we and all that we can do are so inconsiderable How small a thing then is it how poor and contemptible that we return unto thee when we love thee not so much as we are able O blessed God cause such a delightful sense of thy goodness to fall upon my heart and to abide with me that all the powers of my soul may strain themselves to love thee and unite themselves unto thee in an unalterable choice of thy Will to be the sole governour of all my designs and desires and actions throughout the whole course of my life I love my self most I see when I love thee intirely and serve my self by doing thee all faithful service In union with thee I am at rest and peace and in constant adherence to thee consists my eternal safety and security To thee therefore with the deliberate and full consent of my will I devote my self resolving to love and serve thee with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my strength I vow unto thee as I have done often all sincere obedience and protest against every thing that is contrary to thy holy commands as contrary also to my own sense and judgement to my most sober and serious thoughts and to my most advised counsels and resolutions They all acknowledge how just and reasonable how good and pleasant how profitable and beneficial how honourable and glorious it is to be a doer of thy Will which besides the
angels charge over me to keep me in all my ways 91.11 When he walks abroad and beholds all things round about him he may say as it is Psal 104.24 O Lord how manifold are thy works in wisdom hast thou made them all the earth is full of thy riches c. At Meals O taste and see that the Lord is good He filleth our hearts with food and gladness Psal 24.8 Act. 14.17 Blessed be the Lord who daily loadeth us with his benefits Psal 68.19 At Candle-light Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us Psal 4.6 Or God be merciful unto us and bless us and cause his face to shine upon us 67.1 When he goes to bed I will both lay me down in peace and sleep for thou Lord only makest me dwell in safety Psal 4.8 He that keepeth me doth not slumber The Lord is my keeper the Lord is my defence who neither slumbers nor sleeps Psal 121.4,5 In the Night season O happy souls that rest not day nor night saying Holy holy holy Lord God Almighty which was which is and is to come Rev. 4.8 O great God! the darkness hideth not from thee but the night shineth as the day the darkness and the light are both alike to thee Psal 139.12 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips when I remember thee upon my bed and meditate on thee in the night watches Because thou hast been my help therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoyce Psal 63.5,6,7 On a sick-bed or in other affliction It is the Lord let him do what seemeth him good 1 Sam. 3.18 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord Lam. 3.26 Blessed be the Lord for my long continued health and all his other benefits Let the remembrance of thy former mercies refresh my soul and incourage my hope and strengthen my patience with quiet resignation of my self to thy good pleasure At the point of Death I have waited for thy salvation O Lord Gen. 49.18 Into thy hand O Father I commend my self who breathedst into me the breath of Life Lord Jesus receive my spirit which thou hast redeemed by thy precious bloud and sanctified by the holy Ghost When he hears a Passing-bell Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity Psal 39.5 O teach me so to number my days that I may apply my heart unto wisdom 90.12 In a time of Plague O Lord correct us but with judgement not in thine anger lest thou bring us to nothing Jer. 10.24 In a time of War O Lord arise help us and deliver us for thy names sake From our enemies defend us O Christ Graciously look upon our affliction King Asa cryed unto God in this manner when he was going to give battle to a million of enemies Lord it is nothing with thee to help whether with many or with them that have no power Help us O Lord our God for we rest on thee and in thy name go against this multitude 2 Chron. 14.11 In any other publick Calamity Spare thy people O Lord and give not thy heritage to reproach Joel 2.17 A great Offender may often say with the Prodigal Father I have sinned against thee and am no more worthy to be called thy son And with the Publican God be merciful to me a sinner After any mercy received What shall I render unto the Lord for all the benefits that he hath done unto me Psal 116.12 Every day will I give thanks unto thee and praise thy name for ever and ever 145.1 I shall mention no more because I would not invite the Reader to make this sort of Prayer too common For by that means it will be in danger to grow cold and lose its force and efficacie by growing fashionable To that purpose I remember a devout Prelate of our own Bishop Hall somewhere delivers his judgement about this matter But if any one find that he can with profit turn his thoughts this way upon all occasions he may easily invent more Ejaculations The measure of them is as that forenamed person speaks to preserve our hearts in a constant tender and godly disposition which shall be further actuated upon all opportunites by the exercise of our more inlarged and fixed devotions A Prayer for Submission to God in case of any great loss in a mans Estate Relations or Friends O Most Holy holy holy the Supreme Lord and Governour of the world who are unsearchable in thy Wisdom unspotâ—ed in thy Justice and irresistable in â—hy Power whose goodness hath no â—ounds but what thy wise and holy Will gives unto it and art immuâ—able in these and all other perfections the great God most blessed for ever It is most reasonable and agreeable to our nature most profitable and convenient to our interest most satisfactory and suitable to our wisest choice by an absolute and â—uiet submission in all things to thy â—overaign Wisdom Justice and Goodness to declare our fear and reverence of thee our unfeigned love to thee and desires to please thee our trust and confidence in thee and ready disposition to obey thee Thou art too great I know to delight in grieving us thy poor creatures and hast other ways of procuring thy own pleasure than by our misery pain and torment And therefore in a full perswasion of thy unerring providence over us and infinite Charity towards us I here most humbly and freely resign all my thoughts and desires unto thee submitting my self intirely to thy Orders and resolving by thy gracious assistance to rest contented with whatsoever thou appointest The Lord gave Job 1.21 and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the Name of the Lord. Blessed bâ— thy name who hast continued to me so long the enjoyment of so many good things Blessed be thy nameâ— that I had any thing to part withal whereby I may testifie my faith in thee and affection to thee Blessed be thy name that I have any of the comforts of this life still remaining and that they are not all taken away from me I have nothing too great or too dear to be resigned to thee from whose bounty I received all I have and who art my best and my eternal friend O that no repining thoughts may arise in my heart to disorder and discompose my duty towards thee or towards my neighbour But help me rather to think wherein I have offended thee and carefully to amend it to place my affections more stedfastly on those unmoveable things which are above to lay up my treasure and hope in heaven and to prepare my self by perfecting my purity and thankfulness and paâ—ience and all other vertues to be translated thither where our life is â—id in thee with Christ Jesus I â—hank thee O Father of Mercies that thou hast given us such everlasting consolation through thy Grace in him Every day will I bless thee
pains I may endure Lay no more upon me O Father of mercies than I shall be able to bear and lay upon me what thou pleasest Free me for the present from all murmuring and repining thoughts and for the future make the sickness and anguish of my body a blessed instrument to purge my spirit more perfectly from all pride and vanity from all covetousness and worldly-mindedness and from all inordinate love of any of the pleasures of this life I believe O blessed Jesus that thou livest for ever who sufferedst and dyedst for us and that thou hast a great compassion towards those who would gladly follow thee though it be through sufferings Behold Lord I commend my self to thy mighty Love desiring above all things to be made conformable to thee in meekness in humility in patience in intire resignation to Gods holy will and pleasure and in perfect satisfaction in his Fatherly love and kindness whatsoever my condition be I am sensible O God that I have not employed my time to the utmost advantage of my soul and to thy honour glory but have wasted many precious hours and several ways neglected my duty towards thee * Here reckon up the sins you may have committed and been but an unprofitable part of this world so that I am not worthy to continue any longer in it But I hope thou wilt vouchsafe me thy gracious pardon and receive me to mercy if thou callest me hence for into thy hands O Father I commend my spirit who hast redeemed me by the precious bloud of Jesus Christ And that if thou prolongest my days on earth I shall serve thee with greater diligence and strictness and zeal and chearfulness to the end of my life I desire not to live but that I may perfect holiness in thy fear and secure to my self by doing more good an happy entertainment into the society of the blessed in the other world I see already the emptiness and insufficiency of all enjoyments upon earth All flesh is grass and all the goodliness of it as the flower of the field The grass withereth Isa 40.7 the flower fadeth Psal 119.50,81 But thy word standeth fast for ever In thy word therefore O Lord and gracious promises is my hope This is my comfort in my affliction And my perfect contentment I see lyes always in thy love and favour alone which is better than life it self O settle me in a certain and unmoveable possession of it by what means thou pleasest Do but love me and preserve me in a lively sense of thy good will towards me and dispose of me as thou thinkest good In the multitude of my thoughts within me Psal 94.19 thy comforts shall delight my soul Rom. 5.2 8.28 I will rejoyce even in the midst of tribulations Psal 23.3 30.10 and glory in thy holy name who makest all things work together for good to them that love thee Though I walk through the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me thy power and tender care they shall comfort me Accept Good Lord of these my desires and resolutions Hear me O God and have mercy upon me Lord be thou my helper for Christ Jesus his sake my ever blessed Redeemer Amen IT will be seasonable here to put the Devout Reader in mind that when he is in distress and desires Mercy of God it ought to excite his charity to others that are in misery and dispose him to shew mercy to them For though that be not Canonical Scripture which we read Tob. 12.9 Alms doth deliver from death yet this is With the merciful God will shew himself merciful Psal 18.25 Blessed is he that considereth the poor the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble 41.1,2,3 If he do not preserve him and keep him alive yet the Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing he will make all his bed in his sickness Therefore as thou recommendest thy self to God and desirest others to pray with thee so remember that Prayer is good with fasting and alms and righteousness Tob. 12.8 A Prayer to be said by the Family with the Sick person O Lord the Father of our spirits who givest to us and all creatures life and breath and all things We sinful dust and ashes blush to lift up our eyes unto heaven when we consider our vast distance from thee and reflect upon thy unspotted holiness and our impurity thy infinite wisdom and our wretched folly thy power and our weakness thy Eternity of life and our short continuance We are but of yesterday and know nothing Job 8.9 because our days upon earth are a shadow Psal 39.11 When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity Job 25.6 thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth Surely every man is vanity But so great is thy condescending grace that thou hast assured us thou wilt not despise such worms as we are Nay thou hast incouraged us blessed be thy goodness to approach unto thee with some confidence that thou wilt mercifully receive us though we have highly offended thy Divine Majesty Having sent thy dear Son into the world to save sinners to purifie our natures to indue us with a divine understanding to strengthen our weakness and to comfort us with the hope of an immortal life Behold O Lord the oblation which we make to thee of most thankful hearts devoted to thy service whose love and tender mercies have so exceedingly abounded towards us We will praise thee and glorifie thee as long as we have any being for this great salvation which Christ Jesus hath brought to light by his resurrection from the dead to an eternal Kingdom in the heavens We are humbly bold to hope in thee that thou who hast not spared thy own Son Rom. 8.32 but delivered him up for us all wilt with him also freely give us all things O thou Father of mercies and God of all comfort who hast not thought a Crown of everlasting life and glory too much to promise us we believe that thou wilt not deny us what is needful and fit for us both for our souls and our bodies in our passage through this world to that honour glory and immortality In this confidence we more particularly recommend this thy sick servant to thy infinite and most compassionate mercy Settle in his * Or her soul a stedfast faith that thou dost not willingly grieve the children of men but intendest good to him by this affliction And now that other pleasures and enjoyments fail him represent thy self effectually unto him as his true happiness and satisfaction Wherein soever he hath neglected thee or committed any offence against thee make him deeply sensible of and heartily sorrwful for his folly And as he earnestly desires pardon and forgiveness of thee so work in him a serious resolution to live more circumspectly and exactly in time to come Assist him graciously
unto her and her relations further favour Tob. 8.16 and finish their life in health with joy and mercy Renew her strength daily and as that increaseth so make her thankfulness and pious affections towards thee and serious resolutions to obey thee faithfully grow up together therewith Refresh her spirit while she lyeth on this bed of weakness with many heavenly thoughts and delightful meditations of all thy mercies towards her and towards mankind especially with a sense of thy wonderful love in Christ Jesus who was pleased to be born of a woman and to become like one of us that we might be assured of thy care over us in every condition and be made thy children and at last be heirs of everlasting life And when she hath recovered her former strength make her to feel this love still more powerful in her heart exciting her to serve thee carefully in all righteousness sobriety modesty devotion and readiness to assist others especially the poor and needy in the same distress wherein she hath been her self We commend likewise this little one which thou hast blessed her withal unto thy tender care and fatherly love beseeching thee that it may live to be dedicated unto thee and to be instructed in the knowledge of thee and to praise thee as we now do for bringing it into the world and for making it partakeâ—… likewise of thy grace in Christ Jesus Or if it shall seem good to thee to let either of them fall into any further danger enable her to endure iâ— with patient submission to thee trusting even in death it self in thy good providence and in thy precious promises who never failest those that faithfully seek thee Hear us O Father of mercies and pardon our offences pitty our infirmities make us more thankful for what we have received and more fit for thy future mercies either in this life or in the next through thy infinite love declared to us in Christ Jesus in whose holy words we conclude our prayers saying as he hath taught us Our Father c. A Thanksgiving to be used by the person her self when she is able UNto thee O God do I give thanks unto thee do I give thanks for that thou art near thy wondrous works declare Psal 75.1 In my distress I called upon thee and my cry came unto thee 18.6 34.4 I sought thee O Lord 138.3 and thou heardest me 30.3 and deliveredst me from all my fears 66.20 56.12 In the day when I cryed 104.33,34 thou answeredst me and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul Thou hast brought up my soul from the grave thou hast kept me alive that I should not go down to the pit Blessed be God which hath not turned away my prayer nor his mercy from me Blessed be God who hath preserved the fruit of my womb and made me the joyful mother of a child Thy vows are upon me O God I will render praise unto thee I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live I will sing praises unto my God while I have my being My meditation of him shall be sweet I will be glad in the Lord. Accept O most merciful Father of these thankful acknowledgements Psal 17.2 57.2 which go not forth out of fained lips And be pleased graciously to preserve such a lasting and fresh remembrance of thy great mercies in my heart that I may always be joyful in thee and speak good of thy name and trust in thee at all times and still cry unto thee O God most high who performest all things for me Make me studious likewise and forward to bring forth all the fruits of righteousness throughout the whole course oâ— my life which may witness the truth and sincerity of my thankfulness to thee O that I may never be less earnest and fervent in the return of obedience than I have been in desires and prayers to receive thy blessings Dispose me to have a kind and tender care of this infant which thou hast committed to my charge Make me willing to undergo to the utmost of my power the pains that accompany its education Let not the love of ease and pleasure breed in me an aversness to any duty to which both Nature and Religion incline me or give me grace by sober thoughts and a thankful remembrance of the late pain from which thou hast delivered me to overcome it Especially indue me with the greatest love to its precious and immortal soul And help me so to grow and encrease in Christian wisdom and goodness that I may be able to instruct it when it is capable in the fear of our Lord and by meek and gentle admonitions together with a good example in all things to win it to the love of true godliness Or if thou art pleased to take it from me who deserve not the least of thy mercies Lord so moderate my affections and bring them in subjection to thee that I may not undutifully repine at thy providence but in an humble adoration of thy unsearchable wisdom and a stedfast confidence of thy good will towards me resign it unto thee from whom I received it And I also beseech thy Divine goodness when thou shalt restore me to the publick assemblies of thy people again to give me grace to receive that mercy with exceeding joy Prepare my heart with enlarged affection to offer unto thee not only the sacrifice of praise giving thanks unto thy name but all other oblations which ought to accompany such addresses to thy glorious Majesty That they may be but an earnest of my future diligence and zeal in thy Divine Service and oâ— my readiness to do good and communicate unto others whereby I may lay up in store for my self a good foundation against the time to come 1 Tim. 6.19 that I may lay hold on eternal life through Christ Jesus Amen A Prayer for good success in some extraordinary business ALmighty and most merciful father the supreme Governour of the whole world who disposest and orderest all things in heaven and earth with admirable judgement and canst not possibly err in what thou doest nor fail of what thou designest I adore in the humblest reverence of my soul thy most glorious Majesty thy eternal Power Holiness Goodness and Truth which are all beyond my comprehension And more particularly I adore thy unspotted Justice and all-seeing Wisdom which penetrates into the deepest secrets and spies out all the ways of the sons of men and renders to every one of them according to their doings Jer. 10.23 I know O Lord that the way of man is not in himself Prov. 16.9 19.21 it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps Tob. 4.19 The success of all our counsels and actions depends on thy pleasure and when we have devised the way we intend to go thou givest it what issue seems good in thine eyes There are many devices in a mans heart
to us Though we are not worthy we confess of the least regard from thee whom we have so much neglected and whose love and clemency we have too often abused yet we hope thou wilt accept of this small oblation which we make of our selves our souls and bodies with unfeigned devotion to thee Pardon and forgive us we most humbly beseech thee all our past offences the remembrance of which is grievous and bitter to us and vouchsafe us the grace of thy holy Spirit to enable us to do thy will with greater care and diligence for the time to come Let it ever accompany and assist us according as thou seest us sincerely desirous and studious to please thee in all the actions of an holy life in chastity and temperance justice and fidelity mercy and charity meekness and humility patience and contentedness â—nnocency and peace and in contiâ—ual prayers praises and thanksgiâ—ings to thee the Father of mercies in Christ Jesus our Lord. We see how frail and weak our bodies and all their enjoyments are and therefore we the more earnestly desire to have our souls inriched with those immortal treasures of thy Divine Grace O that we may never cease most zealously to seek and pursue them and that we may think our selves happy enough in the possession of them and may rejoyce in nothing so much as in Rom. 6.22 having our fruit unto holiness that in the end we may attain eternal life Suffer not our spirits to sink too deep into the love of any the dearest good that we have in this world But rather by all these earthly things which thy goodness affords to us for our support ease and delight raise our minds and hearts to those Celestial enjoyments which will yield us eternal pleasure and satisfaction Set our affections principally on things above Make us so wise as to provide our selves friends that never dye and to be still preparing our selves by all divine qualities for their company and society that so they may Luk. 16.9 receivs us when we remove hence into their everlasting habitations Thus now we commend our selves this day to thy most gracious protection guidance and blessing hoping that the same good providence which preserved us and our habitations the last night from fire and innumerable other dangers for which we thank thee will guard us this day from all evil and mischief and bring us in safety of soul and body to praise thee in the Evening Help us thankfully to receive and soberly to use all thy mercies quietly to do our own business and bear our several burdens to be just in our dealings innocent and harmless â—n our conversation well pleased â—ith the prosperity of our neighâ—ours desirous of the good of all â—he world especially that they may all love and honour and joyn â—ogether in magnifying and praising â—hee our Lord and Governour whose name is excellent in all the earth More particularly we implore thy mercies towards these Kingdoms wherein we live Remember not against us our high provocations Spare us good Lord and have patience with us if perhaps we may bring forth better fruit becoming thy holy Gospel and all the care thou hast taken about us Indue our Soveraign with much Wisdom from above that he may always discern what is most profitable for us and earnestly pursue it to the utmost of his power Bless him in his Relations in his Councellors in his Judges and all other Officers in all the Nobility Clergy Gentry and Commonal y of the Realm that every one of them may uprightly and zealously do their duty to the maintenance of thy true Religion and the increase of Piety Honesty and Brotherly love among us Comfort and relieve all those that are in any distress trouble or anguish either of body or of mind And give us tender and pitiful hearts towards them ready to help and ease them according to our abilities That we following the example of our merciful and compassionate High-Priest Christ Jesus may have now the benefit of his intercession for us and at last be admitted into the high and holy place where he is In whose blessed Name and words we conclude our Prayers Our Father c. At Night WE fall down before thee O Lord of heaven and earth and worship thee in the deepest humility of our souls acknowledging â—hat we are thy creatures who stand infinitely bound unto thee by innumerable blessings and favours which thou hast conferred upon us out of thy mere bounty and goodness We owe our lives to that alone and all the comforts of them together with all the hopes we have hereafter either in this world or the other And blessed for ever blessed be thy merciful kindness for giving such glorious hopes by the Lord Jesus By his Death and Resurrection by his Ascension and being inthroned at thy right hand and by the coming of the Holy Ghost to be a witness of his Majesty and Glory We rejoyce O Lord in that great salvation which thou hast sent unto us and cannot but be still praising thee whose love hath so abounded towards us beyond all our thoughts and desires Pardon we most humbly beseech thee out of the same grace and mercy all our past neglects of thee our insensibleness of thy benefits our carelesness or inconstancy in our obedience and particularly whatsoever we have done or omitted this day contrary to those holy purposes and resolutions wherein we stand ingaged to thee And vouchsafe us the assistance of thy holy Spirit to inable us to perform those vows better which here we renew of greater gratitude and more chearful and steadfast obedience to thy divine Majesty for the time to come Awaken our minds to frequent and serious reflections upon thy undeserved and most bountiful mercies towards us Touch our hearts with such an ingenuous and dutiful sense of them that our wills may be overcome to yield themselves wholly and absolutely to thee And that we may feel them constantly provoked to love and good works help us ever to set our Lord and Master by whose name we are called before our eyes and to admire his unspotted purity his condescending humility his tender-hearted charity his meekness of wisdom his hearty trust in thee and resignation to thee his forgiveness of injuries his patience under reproaches and cruel torments his peaceable and contented spirit his acknowledging thee in all things and ever seeking thy Honour and Glory That being in love with all these and valuing them more than life it self we may never cease our indeavours till this Image of our dear Lord and Master be formed in our hearts O Lord Jesus favourably behold these holy desires wherewith our souls aspire towards thee Preserve and maintain them incourage and increase them make them restless and unwearied till they be accomplished in the injoyment of this great blessedness Thou who hast begun a good work in us finish and compleat it we most humbly and earnestly beseech