divine Spirit refresh it with the streams of thy grace that I may bring forth fruit in due season and not cumber the ground nor be cut off in thy anger And to this end I do here resigne my body and my soul with all the faculties thou hast bestowed upon both into thy Almighty hands Guide thou them in the works of thy Law turne my eyes from all transitory objects to the things which are eternal and from the Cares and Pride of this world to the fowles of the aire and the Lillies of the field And now O my God seeing I am but Dust and Ashes and my Righteousnesse a filthy Rag having no deserts in my self but what should draw Everlasting vengeance and the Vials of thy bitter wrath upon my body and soul behold I have brought with me thy first-born and onely begotten the propitiation for my sins the Incense I offer up with my prayers Rev. 8.3 my Redeemer and Mediatour in whom thou art well-pleased hear thou him O look not upon my Leprosie but on his beauty and perfection and for the righteousnesse of thy Son forgive the sins of thy Servant Grant this for his sake to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all glory and majesty Dominion and power now and for ever Amen Admonitions when we prepare for any farre Iourney WHen thou art to go from home remember that thou art to come forth into the World and to Converse with an Enemy And what else is the World but a Wildernesse A darksome intricate wood full of Ambushes and dangers A Forrest where spiritual hunters principalities and powers spread their nets and compasse it about wouldst thou then escape these ghostly snares this wickednes in high places and return home if not better and holier yet not worse then at thy setting out Wouldst thou with Iacob passe over these Waters with thy staffe onely and in thy return become two bands Gen. 32.10 Why then do as he did begin thy Journey with prayer and say If God will be with me and keep me in this way that I go and will give me bread to eate and raiment to put on so that I come again to my fathers house in peace then shall the Lord be my God Gen. 28.20 21. This was his practise and the practise of his fathers The Lord God of heaven saith Abraham who took me from my fathers house and from the land of my kindred c. he shall send his Angel before thee Nor must thou pray only at thy setting forth but all the way and at all times Thus Eliezer prayed at the Well Isaac in the field and Elias in his journey to Mount Horeb under a Iuniper tree in the Wildernesse This also if thou wilt imitate these holy men thou may'st do and for that pious purpose thou hast here these following Prayers When we go from home ALmighty and everlasting God who art the Way the Life and the Truth look down from heaven and behold me now betwixt the Assaults of the Devil the allurements of the World and my own inclinations I cannot look abroad but these flock about me But O thou that leadest Ioseph like a sheep thou most faithful and Almighty guide lend me thy hand open mine Eyes direct my steps and cause me to walk in thy fear Thou that didst go out with Iacob from Beershe-ba unto Padan-aran guiding him in the waste plaines and watching over him on his Pillow of stones be not now farre from me Leade me O Lord in thy righteousnesse make my paths straight and strengthen my goings that having finished my Course here I may sit down in thy Kingdome an Inheritance undefiled purchased for me with the blood of my Saviour and thy beloved Son Iesus Christ Amen II. O Thou that art every where Thou that sittest upon the Circle of the Earth and all the Inhabitants thereof are as Grashoppers before thee Whose Eyes discover the deep things of the night before whom Hell is naked and all the Devices of my spirituall Enemies Thou that didst leade Abraham thy chosen from Vr of the Chaldees into a land flowing with milk and honey favour I beseech thee the present harmlesse Enterprise and innocent purpose of thy servant be unto me in my Journey a Comfort in the heate a shadow in stormes a shelter and in adversity my protection That having finished my intended course I may return in peace full of thy praises who art near to all those that call upon thee Grant this for Christ Iesus his sake Amen Meditate in the way upon the sojournings and travels of the Patriarchs and Prophets the many weary journeys of Iesus Christ in the flesh the travels of his Apostles by sea and land with the pilgrimage and peregrinations of many other precious Saints that wandred in Deserts and Mountains of whom the world was not worthy Admonitions how to carry thy self in the Church HOlinesse saith the Royall Prophet becometh thy house for ever When thou art going thither then carry not the world with thee Let vain or busie thoughts have there no part Bring not thy Plough thy Plots thy Pleasures thither Christ purg'd his Temple so must thou thy heart All worldly thoughts are but Theeves met together To Cousin thee Look to thy actions well For Churches are either our Heav'n or Hell These reverend and sacred buildings however now vilified and shut up have ever been and amongst true Christians still are the solemne and publike places of meeting for Divine Worship There the flocks feed at noon-day there the great Shepherd and Bishop of their souls is in the midst of them and where he is that Ground is holy Put off thy shoes then thy worldly and carnall affections and when thou beginnest to enter in say with Iacob How dreadful is this place sure this is none other then the house of God and this is the gate of heaven Such reverence and religious affection hath in all ages been shew'd towards these places that the holy men of God detain'd either by Captivity or other necessary occasions when they could not remedy the distance yet to testifie their desire and longing for the Courts of the Lord Psal. 84. they would always worship towards them Thus Daniel upon the Idolatrous Decree signed by Darius goes into his house and his windows being open in his Chamber towards Ierusalem he kneeled upon his knees and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he did afore-time Dan. 6.10 which fully proves it to have been his Constant manner of Devotion And of Iudith we read that about the time that the Incense of that Evening was offered up in Hierusalem she cried unto the Lord Iud. 9.1 But above all most pathetical and earnest is that crie of King David in the 85. Psalm How amiable are thy Tabernables O Lord of Hosts My soul longeth yea even fainteth for the Lord my heart and my flesh cryeth out for the living God Yea the Sparrow hath found an house and
Prayers and Meditations before receiving the Lords Supper p. 36 A Prayer for the Grace of Repentance with a Confession of sins p. 47 A particular Meditation before receiving the holy Communion p. 51 A Prayer when thou art upon going to the Lords Table p. 59 An Ejaculation immediately before the receiving p. 60 Admonitions after receiving the holy Communion p. 61 A Prayer after you have received p. 63 In time of Persecution and Heresie p. 66 In Troubles occasioned by our Enemies p. 68 MAN in DARKNESSE or a Discourse of Death p. 71 A Prayer in time of sicknesse p. 127 A Prayer in the hour of Death p. 130 MAN in GLORY or a Discourse of the blessed estate of the Saints in Heaven p. 133 FINIS ADMONITIONS FOR Morning-Prayer THe night saith Chrysostome was not therefore made that either we should sleep it out or passe it away idly and Chiefly because we see many worldly persons to watch out whole nights for the Commodities of this life In the Primitive Church also the Saints of God used to rise at midnight to praise the Rock of their salvation with Hymns and Spiritual Songs In the same manner shouldst thou do now and Contemplate the Order of the Stars and how they all in their several stations praise their Creator When all the world is asleep thou shouldst watch weep and pray and propose unto thy self that Practise of the Psalmist I am weary of my groaning every night wash I my bed and water my Couch with my tears for as the Dew which falls by night is most fructifying and tempers the heat of the Sun so the tears we shed in the night make the soul fruitful quench all Concupiscence and supple the hardnesse we got in the day Christ himself in the day-time taught and preach'd but continued all night in prayer sometimes in a Mountain apart sometimes amongst the wild beasts and sometimes in solitary places They whose Age or Infirmity will not give them way to do thus should use all Convenient means to be up before the Sun-rising for we must prevent the Sunne to give God thanks and at the day-spring pray unto him Wisd. 16. It was in the morning that the Children of Israel gathered the Manna and of the Just man it is said That He will give his heart to resort early to the Lord that made him and will pray before the most high Eccl. 39. So soon therefore as thou dost awake shut thy door against all prophane and worldly thoughts and before all things let thy God be first admitted offer unto him thy first fruits for that day and commune with him after this manner When thou dost awake O God the Father who saidst in the beginning Let there be light and it was so Inlighten my Eyes that I never sleepe in death lest at any time my Enemy should say I have prevailed against him O God the Sonne light of light the most true and perfect light from whom this light of the Sun and the day had their beginning thou that art the light shining in darknesse Inlightning every one that cometh into this world expell from me all Clouds of Ignorance and give me true understanding that in thee and by thee I may know the Father whom to know is to live and to serve is to reigne O God the Holy Ghost the fire that inlightens and warms our hearts shed into me thy most sacred light that I may know the true Joyes of Heaven and see to escape the illusions of this world Ray thy selfe into my soul that I may see what an Exceeding weight of glory my Enemy would bereave me of for the meer shadowes and painting of this world Grant that I may know those things which belong unto thee and nothing else Inflame me with thy divine love that with a true Christian Contempt I may tread upon all transitory Pleasures and seek only those things which are eternal Most blessed Trinity and one eternal God! as thou hast this day awaked me from this bodily sleep so awake my soule from the sleep of sin and as thou hast given me strength after sleep now again to watch so after death give me life for what is death to me is but sleep with thee to whom be ascribed all glory wisdome majesty dominion and praise now and for Ever Amen When thou dost arise ARise O my soul that sleepest arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light Arise O daughter of Sion O my soul redeemed with the blood of Christ sit no more in the dust of thy sins but arise and rest in that peace which is purchas'd by thy Saviours merits Christ Iesus my most merciful and dear Redeemer as it is thy meer goodness that lifts up this mortal and burthensome body so let thy grace lift up my soul to the true knowledge and love of thee grant also that my body may this day be a helper and servant to my soul in all good works that both body and soul may be partakers of those Endlesse Joyes where thou livest and reignest with the Faher and the Holy Ghost one true God world without End Amen As soone as thou art drest before thou comest forth from thy Chamber kneel down in some convenient place and in this or the like Prayer commend thy self for that day unto thy Creator's Protection ALmighty eternal God the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ I blesse and praise thy holy name and with my whole heart give thee all possible thanks that out of thine infinite goodness thou wert pleased to watch over me this night to resist my adversary and to keep me from all perils of body and soul O thou that never slumbrest nor sleepest how careful hast thou been of me how hast thou protected me and with thy holy angels thy ministring spirits sent forth to minister for the heirs of salvation incompast me about yea with what unmeasurable love hast thou restored unto me the light of the day and rais'd me from sleep and the shadow of death to look up to thy holy hill Justly mighst thou O God have shut the gates of death upon me and laid me for ever under the barres of the Earth but thou hast redeemed me from Corruption and with thy Everlasting armes enlarged my time of Repentance And now O Father of mercies and God of all Consolation hear the voyce of thy Supplicant and let my cry be heard in thy highest heavens As I do sincerely love thee and beg for thy Protection so receive thou me under the shadow of thy wings watch over me with the Eyes of thy mercy direct me in the wayes of thy Law and enrich me with the gifts of thy Spirit that I may passe through this day to the glory of thy great name the good of others and the comfort of my own soul. Keep me O my God from the great offence quench in me all vain Imaginations and sensual desires sanctifie and supple my heart with the dew of thy
the Swallow a nest for her selfe where she may lay her young even thine Altars O Lord of Hosts my God and my King Blessed are they that dwell in thy house they will be still praising thee For one day in thy Courts is better than a thousand I had rather be a doore-keeper in the House of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickednesse Let it be thy Care then when thou art there present to carry thy self like a true worshipper Give none offence neither outwardly to thy Brethren nor the Angels 1 Cor. 11.10 Nor inwardly to thy God whose Eyes shine within thee and discern thy reins and thy heart Look seriously about thee and Consider with thy self how many beauteous wittie and hopeful personages in their time lie now under thy feet thou canst not tell but thy turn may be next Humble thy self in this dust and all vain Imaginations will flie from thee Consider that thou art now in the Cave of Macpelah in a sacred Repositorie where the Bodies of Saints are asleep expecting that hour when those that are in the grave shall hear his voyce Do not then stop thy eares against the Charmer but give diligent attention and hear him while it is yet to day that in the day of thy death thou mayst rest there in the same hope When thy vessel is fill'd with this Manna and thy soul satisfied go not off without Thanksgiving Be not like those nine Leapers who never returned to give glory to God but come back with the thankfull Samaritane and receive another blessing Go in peace Saint Luke in the Acts of the Apostles making mention of the Ethiopian Eunuch who came up to Ierusalem for to worship tells us that in his returne he was reading in Isaiah the Prophet This blessed Convert I would have thee to imitate When thou hast fill'd thy Hin with this living water leave it not behinde thee at the Fountain spill not thy Milk and thy Wine because thou hast it without money and without price but carry it home and use it Thou mayest have need of it in six dayes and perhaps shalt not come to draw again untill thou drinkest it anew with thy Saviour in his Fathers Kingdom A Prayer before thou goest to Church LOrd Iesus Christ who out of thy Fathers bosome wert sent into this world to reveal his will unto sinners and to instruct them in the way of salvation behold I am now going to hear thy blessed word and these many yeers have so done expecting still thy good pleasure and the Consummation of thy sacred will in me I have come unto the bread of life and yet am hungry into the light and yet am blind unto the great Physician and yet my Issue runs The former and the later rain of thy heavenly Doctrine falls still without intermission upon my heart but this bad ground yeelds nothing but Thornes and Briers Many dayes many moneths and many yeers hast thou expected fruit and found nothing but leaves It is thy Infinite mercy O Lord that thou hast left unto us the seed of thy word and sendest into thy harvest such upright and faithful labourers but in vain O Lord shall they cry in our Ears unlesse thou openest and renewest our hearts Open then I beseech thee O blessed Jesu the eares of my heart that not onely the outward hearing but the inward also may be stirr'd up in me and what I hear with the eare I may understand with the spirit O thou most mild and merciful Lamb of God! the onely and the Almighty sower grant I beseech thee that the seed which falls this day upon my heart may never be choak'd with the Cares of this world nor be devoured by the fowles of the aire nor wither away in these times of persecution and triall but so Cherish it with the Dew of thy divine spirit that as in a good and faithful ground it may bring forth fruit unto eternal life to the glory of thy great name and the Comfort of my poor soul which thou hast bought with thy most precious and saving blood Amen Another when thou art come home or in the way if thou beest alone LOrd Iesus Christ my ever mercifull and most loving Redeemer I give unto thee most hearty thanks for this thy heavenly spiritual provision wherewith thou hast fed and refreshed my soul. Grant I beseech thee that this Celestial seed may take root in me and be effectual to my salvation Watch over my heart O Lord and hedge it in with thy grace that the fowles which descend in the shadows of the Evening may not pick it out But so prepare and fit me for thy love that I may never forget thy gracious words thy blessed and saving advice but may know in this my day what belongs unto my peace It is thy promise by thy holy Prophet That as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven and returneth not thither but watereth the earth and maketh it bring forth and bud that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater So thy word that goeth forth out of thy mouth shall not return unto thee void but shall accomplish that which thou pleasest and prosper in the thing whereto thou sendest it Isai. 55. 10 11. Even so Lord Iesus let it be as thou hast promised Let the words I have heard this day out of the mouth of thy servant the Dispenser and Steward of thy Mysteries prosper in me and make my life answerable to his Doctrine that I may not onely know what thy blessed will is but performe also and fulfill it so that at last by thy mediation and mercies I may attain to thy eternal and most glorious Kingdom Amen Admonitions for Evening-Prayer REmember that in the Levitical Law there is a frequent Commemoration and Charge given of the two daily Sacrifices the one to be offer'd up in the morning and the other in the Evening Exod. 30.7 8. These offerings by Incense our holie harmlesse and undefiled High-Priest hath taken away and instead of them every devout Christian is at the appointed times to offer up a Spiritual Sacrifice namely that of Prayer for God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth John 4.24 At these prescribed times if thou wilt have thy Prayers to ascend up before God thou must with-draw from all outward occupations to prepare for the inward and divine To which end thou hast here this following Meditation that thou maiest therewith season and invite thy soul from thy worldlie imployments to her proper vocation and so come not altogether undrest into the presence of the King of glory A Meditation at the setting of the Sun or the Souls Elevation to the true light THe path of the Just O my God is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto a perfect day of eternity Prov. 4. But the wicked neither know nor understand they walk in darknesse
shall I attempt thy passion thy bloody sweat thy deep and bitter agony thy lingring peece-mealed death with all the lively anguishments and afflictions of thy martyr'd Spirit O my most loving and merciful Saviour It is onely thy own Spirit that can fully character thy own sufferings These miracles of love and most comfortable circumstances encourage me O my God to draw neer unto thee for it is not probable that thou wouldst have subjected thy self to such bitter reproaches blasphemies and torments had not thy love to man for whose redemption thou didst suffer them been as infinite as thy self And greater love then this hath no man that a man lay down his life for his friends And lay it down thou didst for no man could take it from thee Thou couldst have commanded twelve legions of Angels from thy Father and when thou wentest forth to meet thy murtherers they went backwards and fell to the ground and without thy permission in whose hand their breath was they could have done nothing These merciful passages together with thy own voice and frequent invitation much encourage me to draw neer unto thee Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest Matth. 11.28 If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink John 7.37 These with many more are thy loving Invitations This is the voyce of the great Shepherd and thy sheep hear thy voyce Thus thou didst cry and these were the words thou didst speak while thou wert here upon earth and shall I then turn away from thee that speakest now from heaven Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedech and thy preaching and Intercession shall last untill the heavens be no more and woe unto them that refuse to hear thee Wherefore most holy Iesus seeing thou dost invite sinners to thee and didst die to redeem them and art able to save them to the uttermost that come to God by thee and dost live for ever to make intercession for them Heb. 7.25 26. I the most wretched and the worst of sinners in full assurance of thy mercies and that thou art touched with the feeling of mine infirmities Heb. 4.15 and wilt have compassion upon my penitent soul draw neer to thy throne of grace that I may obtaine mercy and finde grace to help in time of need O Lord be merciful unto me forgive all my sins and heal all mine infirmities Cleanse my heart sanctifie my affections renew my spirit and strengthen my faith that I may at this great Feast discerne thy blessed body and eate and drink salvation to my self to the glory of thy great name and the comfort of my poor and sorrowful soul Amen Now unto him that hath loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood and hath made us Kings and Priests unto God and his Father to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever Amen A Prayer when thou art upon going to the Lords Table IN the name of the Father and of the Son and the holy Ghost Amen! Iesus Christ the Lamb the Branch the bright and morning-Starre the bread of life that came down from heaven have mercy upon me It is thy promise that whosoever eateth thy flesh and drinketh thy blood he shall have eternal life in him and thou wilt raise him up at the last day Behold O God I am now coming to thee O thou fountain of purgation thou Well of living waters wash me cleane be unto me the bread of life to strengthen me in my pilgrimage towards heaven grant that I may suck salvation from thy heart that spring of the blood of God which flowes into all believers Thy flesh is meat indeed and thy blood is drink Indeed O give me grace to receive both worthily that I may never incurre thy anger and eternal condemnation Lord Iesus Christ I beleeve all that thou hast said and all that thou hast promised helpe thou mine unbelief thou art the Author be thou the finisher of my faith And for thy glories sake for thine own names sake leade me in the right way to this great mercy and mystery Amen! Immediately before the receiving say O Lord I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which thou hast shewed unto thy servant all my life long unto this very day much lesse am I worthy thou shouldst come now under my roof but seeing it is thy institution and free mercy that will have it so be jealous O God of the place of thine honour cause me to remember whose Temple I am and suffer not my last state to be worse then the first Even so Lord Iesus come quickly Amen! ¶ Admonitions after receiving the holy Communion WHen you have received the Sacred Elements you should not presently after spit nor eate and drink but refraine untill they are perfectly digested and resolved You must lay aside all worldly communication and humane discourses though never so serious for judge of your self what an uncivil part it will be in you when you have received so great a guest as Iesus Christ with all his merits to turne your back upon him presently and neither to meditate of him nor to discourse with him and keep him company Wherefore you should all that day be instant in prayer meditations thanksgiving and good works you should consider and think upon the love of God who so loved the world that he gave his onely begotten Son to redeeme it You should meditate upon his birth life doctrine and passion his death and buriall resurrection and ascension and his second coming to judgement You should pray that you may be found blamelesse and without spot of him and so much the more because you see the day approaching Tread not under foot the Son of God and his precious blood wherewith you are sanctified and saved by returning again to your former sins like the dog to his vomit but be sure that you walk warily and fall not willfully into the myre Be not regular and holy for a day or two but all the dayes of thy life and number thy dayes that thou mayst apply thy heart unto wisdome Cast thy bread upon the waters be merciful to the poor and remember thy Creator for the dayes of darknesse are many but the outward darknesse is eternal and from it there is no redemption Instead of printed Meditations which are usually prescribed after communicating I would advise the pious receiver to read over all these following parcels of Scripture Iohn 6.22 to the end Iohn 17. Rom. 8.2 Cor. 5. Ephes. 1. 4. Heb. 10.1 Pet. 1. Rev. 5. A Prayer after you have received LOrd Jesus Christ very God and very man made in all things like unto us sin onely excepted I blesse and praise thy holy name and with all my heart with all my strength and with all my soul give thee all possible thanks for thy infinite love and pity towards
lost man Blessed be the hour in which thou wert born and the hour in which thou didst die Blessed and for ever hallowed be thy most comfortable and glorious name the name JESUS CHRIST at which every knee shall bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth for thy name is above every name and there is no other name by which we can be saved O most holy most humble and harmlesse Lamb how didst thou make thy self of no reputation and becamest obedient to the death of the Crosse for my sake And when thou wert to drink the cup of thy Fathers anger due to my sins didst instead of it ordain and bequeath to me the cup of life and everlasting salvation O Lord give me a heart to understand and eyes to see what thou hast done for me O never suffer me to crucifie thee again by returning to my former iniquities and pollutions but write thy sufferings and the price of my redemption in the tables of my heart set them for a signet upon mine hand and for a bracelet upon mine arme that by a continual and careful remembrance of them I may in the strength of this bread received to day at thy table travel to thy holy mountain and that this drink which I drank out of the spiritual rock may become a Well of living waters springing up in me to eternal life Grant this G God for thy glories sake and for that love and mercies sake which brought thee hither out of thy Fathers bosome to suffer so many things for his Elects sake Amen! Worthy is the Lamb that was slaine to receive power and riches and wisdome and strength and honour and glory and blessing for he hath redeemed us to God by his blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation and hath made us unto our God Kings and Priests and we shall reigne on the earth Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead my Lord Iesus that great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting Covenant Make me perfect in every good work to do his will working in me that which is well-pleasing in his sight through Iesus Christ to whom be glory for ever and ever Amen! A Prayer in time of persecution and Heresie MOst glorious and Immortall God the Prince of peace unity and order which makest men to be of one mind in a house heale I beseech thee these present sad breaches and distractions Consider O Lord the teares of thy Spouse which are daily upon her cheeks whose adversaries are grown mighty and her enemies prosper The wayes of Zion do mourne our beautiful gates are shut up and the Comforter that should relieve our souls is gone far from us Thy Service and thy Sabbaths thy own sacred Institutions and the pledges of thy love are denied unto us Thy Ministers are trodden down and the basest of the people are set up in thy holy place O Lord holy and just behold and consider and have mercy upon us for thy own names sake for thy promise sake suffer not the gates of hell to prevaile against us but return and restore us that joy and gladnesse may be heard in our dwellings and the voyce of the Turtle in all our land Arise O God and let thine enemies be scattered and let those that hate thee flee before thee Behold the robbers are come into thy Sanctuary and the persecuters are within thy walls We drink our own waters for money and our wood is sold unto us Our necks are under persecution we labour and have no rest Yea thine own Inheritance is given to strangers and thine own portion unto aliens Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever and forsake us for so long a time Turne thou us unto thee O Lord and we shall be turned renew our dayes as of old O Lord hear and have mercy and be jealous for the beloved of thine own bosome for thy truth and for the words of thine own mouth Help us O God of our salvation and for thine own honours sake deal Comfortably with us Amen Amen A Prayer in adversity and troubles occasioned by our Enemies O Holy and almighty God full of goodness and compassion look I beseech thee with thine Eye of mercy upon my present sad sufferings and most bitter afflctions Behold O God I put my mouth in the dust and confess I have deserv'd them I despise not thy Chastenings but begge grace of thee that I may not faint and that they may yeild the fruits of righteousnesse unto me who am now exercised by them Thou seest O God how furious and Implacable mine Enemies are they have not only rob'd me of that portion and provision which thou hadst graciously given me but they have also washed their hands in the blood of my friends my dearest and nearest relatives I know O my God and I am daily taught by that disciple whom thou did'st love that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him Keep me therefore O my God from the guilt of blood and suffer me not to stain my soul with the thoughts of recompense and vengeance which is a branch of thy great prerogative and belongs wholly unto thee Though they persecute me unto death and pant after the very dust upon the heads of thy poore though they have taken the bread out of the childrens mouth and have made me a desolation yet Lord give me thy grace and such a measure of charity as may fully forgive them Suffer me not to open my mouth in Curses but give me the spirit of my Saviour who reviled not again but was dumb like a Lamb before his shearers O Lord sanctifie all these afflictions unto thy servant and let no man take away my crown Remember those that are in troubles for thy truth and put their tears into thy bottle Grant this O merciful Father for my dear Saviours sake and bring me quickly into thy Kingdom where I shall have all these tears wiped away from mine eyes Amen Amen! MAN IN Darkness OR A DISCOURSE OF DEATH Eccles. 11.7 8 9 10. TRuly the light is sweet and a pleasant thing it is to behold the Sun But if a man live many dayes and rejoyce in them all yet let him remember the dayes of darknesse for they are many Rejoyce O young man in thy youth and let thy heart cheere thee in the dayes of thy youth and walk in the wayes of thy heart and in the sight of thine eyes but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into judgement Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart and put away evil from thy flesh for childhood and youth are vanity Draw neer fond man and dresse thee by this glasse Mark how thy bravery and big looks must passe Into corruption rottennesse and dust The fraile Supporters which betray'd thy trust O weigh in time thy last and loathsome state To purchase heav'n for tears is no hard
with a loud voice saying Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb. 3. And one of the Elders answered saying unto me Who are these which are arayed in white robes and whence came they 4. And I said unto him Sir thou knowest And he said unto me These are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 5. Therefore are they before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his Temple and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them 6. They shall hunger no more neither thirst any more neither shall the Sun light on them nor any heate 7. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and shall leade them unto living fountains of waters and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes MAny men when a holy conversation and good works are proposed unto them and when they are advised to exercise themselves therein and not to follow after the vanities of this world are wont to question for what end reward or retribution shall they do so The answer to these men must be this Because it is written that Eye hath not seen not eare heard neither have entred into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him 1 Cor. 2. Which words because they cannot plainly understand what is meant by them must be expounded to them by other circumstances and it must be told them that the reward which in the life to come shall be given unto those that serve God in this life is everlasting life eternal happinesse never-ending pleasures and a fulnesse and sufficiency of all accommodations to their own desires without any scarcity or want at all When these things are thus told them they seeme to be as they are indeed very great and very good But because that neither by this expression they do perfectly apprehend what those things are which they shall receive in the life to come nor can they of a sudden rightly perceive what is meant by a sufficiency of all accommodations without any want at all they continue still in a doubtful minde and are not effectually drawn to take any relish or delight in the things so told them What course then shall we take to render these eternal rewards more relishing and delightful to them I hold that the best way is to feed them as Nurses feed their little children who if at any time they give them a large faire apple which for the tendernesse of their teeth and the narrownesse of their mouths they cannot feed upon cut it according to the capacity of the child into several bits or parts and so give it them to eate by peece-meales We shall therefore divide this great sufficiencie of all accommodations in the life to come into several parts or portions that by so doing they may with those things we shall deliver be fed to eternal life And because they may appear more plainly to them we shall consider what those things are which the minde of man most affects in this life and by those as farre as we may we shall make it evident that they shall enjoy them after a more excellent manner in the life to come if being placed here in the midst of dangers and worldly temptations they stick fast to the precepts of Christ and when they have kept them they will of themselves quickly perceive that by no meanes they shall lose nor be deceived of the utmost of their desires This Course we shall take in the Explication of this Doctrine and beginning with the least passe on to our desired end That we may then in the first place briefly summe up all those things which have reference to the body I suppose them to be such things as are indeed desirable of themselves and for whose service or use all other things are desired of men and those are Beauty Activity Strength Liberty Health Pleasure Long Life But if amongst these we have reckoned there are some things which the servants of God have no respect to but take special care to neglect and avoid them as for instance sake beauty and pleasure are yet do they not therefore despise them because that naturally they affect them not but because they would not offend God in them for if they certainly knew that by caring for such things they could not offend God nor have their affections with-drawn from heavenly things without doubt they would take more delight in the fruition of them then in a contrary state These things being now thus premised I shall as briefly as I may treat of every one of them distinctly or by it self and labour to demonstrate unto you as God shall enable me after what manner they shall be enjoyed by us after the resurrection of the body To begin then Beauty is a certaine good which all men naturally desire to have But in the life to come the beauty of the righteous shall shine equally with the Sunne this the sacred Scripture testifies Matth. 13. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the Sun in the Kingdome of their Father Adde to this that the body of our Lord Jesus Christ which none I hope will deny shall out-shine the brightnesse of the Sun But by the testimony of the Apostle we shall be made like unto him for he saith He shall change our vile bodies that they may be fashioned like unto his glorious body and this is the confession of that authority which to contradict is blasphemy Now if any man would have this proved to him by reason I beleeve it ought not to seeme incredible to any that the righteous in that life which is to come when this mortality shall be swallowed up of life shall shine as bright as the Sun seeing they are truly called and truly are the temple and the seat of God himself which as I remember is no where in sacred Scripture spoken of this visible Sun As for Activity which is every way as desirable as Beauty we shall be indued with such a measure of it as shall render us equall for swiftnesse to the very Angels of God which in a moment passe from the highest heaven unto the earth and from the earth again into heaven which swiftnesse if it were necessary to prove it so in the Angels we might for instance produce that place of Scripture where it is written that the Angel of the Lord took Habakkuk the Prophet by the haire of the head and carried him through the vehemency of his spirit when he was yet in the flesh from Iury into Babylon and having delivered the dinner unto Daniel brought him again immediately to his own place Therefore I say again that a swiftnesse every way equal to that which is in them shall be given to those who labour in their lives here to be like unto them The Apostle also who affirms
soul as the former did to the body We shall reduce them all into seven principal heads and here they follow 1. Wisdome 2. Friendship 3. Peace 4. Power 5. Honour 6. Security and 7. Ioy. Our wisdome then which in this life all men desire and worthily too shall be so great in the life to come that nothing shall be hidden from us that we have a minde to know for we shall know all things which God ordained to be known of man as well those things which are past as those which in this world are yet to come There all men shall be known by every man and every man shall be known by all men Neither shall any one there be ignorant of what Countrey Nation stock or linage every one is descended nay he shall know all that ever we did in our life-time Here some body perhaps may say how is this shall all men know the secret sins that I have committed Is my confession of them come to this Is it thus that they are blotted out forgotten and never more discovered Well this is thy objection But when thou in that state of glory shalt stand in the presence of God purged from all thy sins canst thou be unthankful to him for that great mercy shewed thee in the remission of all thy offences And how canst thou be thankful if none of those sins for whose forgivenesse thou doest owe those thanks unto him will be left in thy memory That therefore thou mayest for ever take delight in the singing of his prayses thou wilt I beleeve have alwayes in thy mind those great transgressions and eternal miseries from which he delivered thee Seeing then that the consciences of all men shall in that state remaine entire to them I dare affirme that those sinnes for whose remission thou doest then give thanks shall likewise be openly known not to thy confusion but to the glory of God and the mutual rejoycing of the Saints for thou shalt be no more troubled then with the remembrance of thy sins nor be any more ashamed of thy most secret transgressions then any one is in this life with the memory of some dangerous wounds or loathsome disease that he is perfectly cured of or then we are in the state of men of those inconveniences we were subject to when we were little infants in our cradles and swadling-bands for in that life when we shall be blessed with inviolable health perfect purity a full remission and most certain impunity of all our sins why should the memory or publike knowledge of them be any more grievous to us then his denying of Iesus Christ is now to Peter or his persecution of him to Paul or her sins which were many to that blessed Convert Mary Magdalen with diverse others whose sins and infirmities are already in this world publikely known of all men And besides all this by this publike manifestation of sins as of thy enormous and loathsome infirmities the power and wisdome of the great Physician will by all the Elect be so much the more admired praised and magnified and the praise and magnificence of the divine glory if rightly considered by thee is thy glory But thou wilt say I consent indeed that the praise of God is my glory but when from all parts of the earth such an exceeding number of innocent and righteous persons if compared to me shall appeare there who considering the odious obscenity of my life will as it is most fit abhorre me as a most abominable creature what shall I say then seeing there is a reward as well for unrighteousnesse as for righteousnesse Thy feare in these circumstances is needlesse for it will be otherwise there with thee then thou dost suppose for thou shalt finde that those Elects which in comparison of thee thou dost hold righteous and innocent will have no such thoughts of thee as thou at present dost suspect For they upon the first sight of thee will presently know and consider that by committing those obscenities thou didst not sin against them but against God And when they see that God hath freely and fully forgiven thee they will not so much as have a thought of abhorring or judging thee in the smallest matter for they know that if they should any way contemne or censure thee in that state wherein thou shalt be perfectly reconciled to the Father and all thy transgressions blotted out they would thereby sin grievously against the Lord. They will therefore be the more thankful and have in greater admiration the infinite mercy of God both towards thee and towards themselves Towards thee because he brought thee up out of hell and saved thee from thy greivous and crying sins Towards themselves because it was his free grace that saved and held them up from falling into the like enormities By praysing God thus they will magnifie and admire in thee after Gods goodnesse his power and sure mercies by relying on which thou didst escape and get out of the pit of perdition into which pit had they been left to themselves they would have fallen as well as thou didst and here they will consider that had they been in that dangerous state they should perhaps have been utterly cast away and not break the snare as thou didst Thou seest now that a publike manifestation of thy sins will in the state of glory be no disgrace nor prejudice at all to thee and how great a furtherance of divine praise and thanksgiving the knowne remission of them will prove Yea if the very Angels should reprove and censure thee for the heynousnesse of thy sins to be altogether unworthy of their society yet hast thou left thee very just reasons wherewith to vindicate and defend thy self And here perhaps thou wilt aske me how this may be done do but give attention and I will tell thee Suppose that any one of the Angels should rebuke or upbraid thee in these words dost thou a fraile and mortal creature made of the dust of the earth and whose doome was to returne into dust again after thou hast rebelled against thy Maker and wallowed in all manner of sins and pollutions seek now to be like one of us who never in any thing resisted the divine will To this Charge thou mayst answer thus If I as you say have been formed out of the dust it is no wonder then that being driven up and down by every wind of temptation I fell at last into the mire of sin but afterwards having first acknowledged and then believed in the mercies of Iesus Christ I did renounce and cast off all those courses which I knew to be contrary to his will and exercised my self in all those wayes which I understood to be well-pleasing unto him I fainted not nor refused to under-go and suffer for his glory diverse tribulations and distresses in hunger in thirst in watchings persecutions reproaches and manifold afflictions And having utterly cast off and contemned all the