my vain cogitations and head-strong desires and order thou I beseech thee my words and rectifie all my actions O Lord as thou hast of thy bounty raised up my Body from sleep so stir up my drowzy Soul from the sleep of sin and carnal security Let my Body be ever assistant to my Soul in all good actions in this life that they may both be partakers of life everlasting Thou O Lord hast promised to those which shall faithfully ask all things necessary for this life give me I beseech thee if it seem good unto thee such a competent estate as shall be expedient to support my life in a civil modest and religious manner Give unto me that which shall be convenient but especially O Lord a heart and mind contented with whatsoever thou shalt be pleased to allot unto me Grant O Lord that in thy Name I may cast forth my Net into the Sea of this World and diligently carefully and with an upright Conscience follow that vocation in which thou hast placed me that by thine aid and assistance I may prosper and have good success in all my affairs Bless O Lord the Kings Majesty govern his heart in thy fear and guide his understanding to do those things which shall be acceptable to thee and profitable to his Kingdomes Give him loving and loyal Subjects and suppress his open and secret Enemies And together with him bless his Queen and Royal Issue make her as the fruitful Vine on the House-top Bless all the State Ecclesiastical and Civil from the highest to the lowest Comfort the comfortless and helpless Bring all Travellers to their own beings in safety and direct all upon the Seas to their safe Ports Shew the light of thy Truth to those which wander out of the right way Give to all sinnen true and hearty repentance strengthen those which have begun well and give thy assisting grace that they may persevere in goodness To all my Friends Kindred and Enemies and to those which pray for me give all thy good blessings Keep us all from all evil and make us to continue in thy Service to our lives end and after the course of this miserable life ended bring us to thine everlasting Kingdom through Iesus Christ our Lord. Or thus ALmighty and everlasting GOD I praise and bless thee from the bottom of my heart that of thy infinite goodness thou hast preserved me this night past and hast with the impregnable defence of thy Providence defended me from the power and malice of the Devil and kept me both in Soul and Body from all his devices and snares and raised me from sleep the image of death and not left me to be stifled in the darkness of my sins but hast given me a longer space to repent me of them I humbly intreat thee that thou wouldst not withdraw thy hand of Protection from me but take me into thy Tuition Watch over me with the eyes of thy mercy and direct me in the way of thy Commandements Endue me with those graces of thy Holy Spirit whereby I may pass this day and the rest of my life to the praise and glory of thy Name the benefit of my Neighbour and the salvation of my sinful Soul Keep me O Lord from all sin bridle and mortifie my flesh that I offend not nor fall into any transgressions which may provoke thy wrath against me Direct my Soul and Body my words and actions according to the rule of thy Will. Divert my heart from fastning too much upon transitory pleasures and convert it to the delight of eternal joyes And because I am not worthy O Lord that thou shouldst hear me poor wretched sinner for any worth in me behold I set before the merits of thy only Son who is the propitiation for our sins look upon him and for his Righteousness pardon the offences of me thy servant and grant to me those things by thy mercy which by the strict Rule of thy justice are not due to me Defend me O Lord from all mine Enemies Arm me with thy Spiritual Weapons put on me the Cloathing of Wisdom and Strength the Brestplate of Righteousness the Helmet of Salvation the Shield of Faith and the Sword of the Spirit that in this earthly Pilgrimage I may manfully oppose the Enemies of my Soul the Concupiscence of the Flesh the Tentations of the World and Malice of the Devil that so having finished valiently the course of this Terrestial Warfare I may hereafter praise thee in thy Celestial Kingdom And thou O Lord who givest food to every living Creature and feedest the young Ravens which call upon thee be merciful unto me in the supply of those necessaries which I daily want Preserve me in health give me food and raiment and sufficient to maintain me in that course of life to which it hath pleased thee to call me that having sufficient in all things I may abound in good work And grant that I may lead a quiet life in all godly conversation That having and using thy blessings worthily I may pass this life with joy and comfort till it please thee to call me to a better Give thy blessings to the Kings Majesty the Queen the Royal Issue and the whole Estate of this Kingdom and grant that we may all bend our thoughts and studies to please thee that at the last by the merits and intercession of Iesus Christ we may be received to thy Heavenly Kingdom Amen Or thus O Almighty Lord God which day after day dost minister to sinful man infinite occasions whereby we may be stirred up to praise thy holy Name and art most plentiful in pitty and favourable to those which with pure hearts and unfeigned faith call upon thee behold me thy poor unworthy servant with the eyes of compassion that at this time am bold to offer up unto thee a Morning Sacrifice of praise and thanks for all thy blessings and amongst the rest for that thou hast vouchsafed after a sufficient and quiet sleep to raise me safe from my bed again which favour thou hast not afforded to many others who in far greater measure have deserved it than my self for which mercy of thine I am not able through my insufficiency and weakness to give unto thee due praise and thanksgiving I pray thee therefore in thy dear Sons Name in whom thou art well pleased to accept these poor and weak thanks and for his sake also to be further aiding and assisting unto me this day following in whatsoever I shall take in hand For thou knowest O Lord how feeble mans nature is insomuch that if he trust to his own strength of necessity he must fall into many miseries errors and dangers Have mercy therefore upon mine infirmities and be propitions and helping to me that by thy illumination I may discern and perceive good from evil and by thy leading and direction may follow the one and avoid the other Lord
chearful heart And because O Lord that this life hath not one certain hour I beseech thee to Enlighten mine eyes that I sleep not in death and grant that after I have rested quietly I may by thy grace and mercy arise to serve thee in singleness of heart Lighten O Saviour my darkness and mercifully keep me from all dangers of this night Save me waking and keep me sleeping that I may watch in thee and rest in peace There is nothing that more resembleth our Life than the Day nor the Grave than our Beds O Lord therefore when I am laid down and by sleep made unable to help my self being like unto a dead man defend me then by thy power from the crafts and assaults of the Enemy that he do me no harm so that though my Body sleep my Soul may watch unto thee and contemplate of the life to come And grant that having passed the night quietly I may arise as well from the sleep of sin as from my natural sleep and with all alacrity pass the day following in thy service and in the end of my pilgrimage by thy merits receive the Crown which thou hast promised to those that love thee in that day which no night shall follow and in that Heavenly Kingdom where thou reignest together with the Father and the blessed Spirit world without end Evening Prayer LEt my prayer O Lord be set forth in thy sight as the Incense and let the lifting up of my hands be an Evening Sacrifice In the Evening Morning and at Noon-day will I pray and that instantly and thou Lord shalt hear my prayer Blessed be thou O Lord Who hast preserved me from the Arrow that flyeth by day and from the Sickness that destroyeth in the noon-day Who hast not cut off my life like a Weaver nor made an end of me O Lord I confess that as my dayes have increased so hath my sin multiplied The just man falleth seven times a day But I miserable sinner seventy times seven times But I return to thee O Lord and repent Let not the Sun go down in thy wrath O Lord whatsoever good I have done this day I acknowledge that thou hast wrought it in me and desire thee graciously to accept of me for it as thy Instrument only O Lord whatsoever evil I have committed this day I confess it to be the work of mine own hands and heartily pray thee to pardon it O Lord which givest the sleep of health to them that love and causest those that fear thee to sleep confidently Lighten mine eyes that I sleep not in death Keep me from the terrours of the night aud from the works of darkness Lord though I sleep yet let my heart watch to thee and when I wake let me be present before thee let my thoughts ascend to thee Grant that I may alwayes remember that the night is no night with thee and that darkness and light are to thee alike Grant that I may alwayes meditate upon the long and last sleep the sleep of Death the Bed of my Grave and the Covering of Worms and Dust. Let my sleep be a cessation from sin and let me not in my sleep do or think any thing that may offend thee or defile my self And grant that after the sleep shall depart from mine eyes I may remember thee search my reines and try my heart O Lord I commend my self and all that of thy bounty is mine to thee In thee I put all my trust and confidence Thou seest in what dangers we are what snares the Devil layeth for us I humbly therefore pray thee to defend me from him And grant me so to order and end my life that I may sleep in peace and take my rest with thee for the merits of Iesus Christ c. I will lay me down in peace and take my rest for it is thou Lord only that makest me dwell in safety Evening Prayer for a Family O Almighty and everlasting God who hast appointed all times and seasons to succeed in their due course and hast ordained the day for the works of the day and bodily labour and the night to take our quiet rest refreshing by whose providence and mercy we have been preserved this day from all dangers have been furnished with all things necessary for this life we humbly pray and beseech thee that now in this time of night and darkness wherein we poor and miserable sinners stand in most need of thy help and aid thou wouldst be pleased to keep us from all dangers spiritual and temporal O Lord we confess that we have not deserved the least of thy favours nay if thou shouldst with strict eye examine our actions how we have spent this day and the rest of our dayes past we should not be able to stand in thy sight much less beg any further blessings of thee For notwithstanding thy manifold and daily favours we have in all things been rebellious and repugnant to thy blessed Will and obedient and conformable to the command of our Enemies the Flesh the World and the Devil Insomuch as we have lost our liberties and are become servants and slaves unto them For we have wholly given ourselves to serve the pleasures of the Flesh in Concupiscences and other carnal Acts We have hearkned too much to the delights of the World in covetous desiring that which is not our own in abusing the Creatures thereof which were created for our necessary use and not for our wanton and insatiable desires And we are become the servants of Satan in not opposing and resisting his unclean and wicked Tentations Our sins are infinite and our iniquities are numberless so that we cannot nor are any way able to recount them unto thee We have fled from thee seeking us neglected thee loving us stopped our ears to thee speaking to us turned our backs to thee reaching thy hand to us forgotten thee doing good to us and despised thee correcting us Yet O Lord we humbly intreat thee to shew thy accustomed mercy to us poor and miserable sinners who in grief and anguish of soul confess these our offences and earnestly and bitterly bewail them Look upon us with the eyes of compassion not for any thing in us but for the love and respect which thou bearest to thy Son CHRIST JESUS in whom we verily believe that thou art fully reconciled unto us Take away our sins and the punishment due unto us for them Let thy wrath be turned from us and destroy us not together with our manifold transgressions Lord thou seest our wickedness and withall how and in whose name we crave thy mercy Turn thee O Lord from thine anger which thou mightest justly pour upon us and be gracious unto us according to thy wonted goodness who abhorrest nothing which thou hast made Create also we beseech thee in us new hearts hearts fit to serve thee and write
Who wouldest have all to be saved none so perish I am thine O save me Despise not the work of thy hands Who hatest nothing which thou hast made I am thy Servant and Son of thy Handmaid Thy Name is called on by us Thou art not ashamed to be called our Lord. I am the price of thy Sons blood O spare thy Workmanship Thy Child Thy Name The price of thy Sons blood But I am a sinner and God heareth not sinners Yet I pray thee remember of what I am made That I am but flesh and a wind that passeth away and cometh not again Take notice of the matter of which I am made Remember that I am but dust Frail flesh Light wind Loose dust And wilt thou O Lord break a leaf driven with the wind too and fro and wilt thou pursue dry stubble Behold O Lord though I have sinned yet I humble my self under thy mighty hand Spare the humble and contrite David spared Shimei that railed on him And David was a man according to thine own heart Therefore do thou spare me Ahab King of Israel forgave the King of Syria his offence upon his humiliation Was there ever King of Israel more merciful than thou Thou forgavest the same Ahab who had sold himself to sin when he humbled himself Spare me also I beseech thee O Lord how long wilt thou be angry with thy Servant which prayeth Surely Lord I hide not my sins like Adam but confess them Behold I judge my self Accept O Lord the Sacrifice of a troubled Spirit A contrite heart A grieved Soul A wounded Conscience Though I have sinned against thee It hath ever been thy Practice to be merciful Our Fathers trusted in thee they trusted and were not confounded Thy mercies have been ever of old Lord where are thy former loving kindnesses Look at the Generations of old and see did ever any trust in the Lord and was confounded Or whom did he ever despise that called upon him It is due by thy Promise Remember thy word unto thy servant upon which thou hast caused me to hope Let thy mercy come unto me O Lord even thy salvation according to thy word God hath promised which cannot lie He is a God of truth And confirmed it with an Oath Which promise the unbelief of men cannot make void If we believe not yet he abideth faithful he cannot deny himself There will arise no benefit by my destruction For what profit is there in my blood if I go down into the pit For in death is no remembrance of thee and in the grave who shall give thee thanks Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead Or shall the dead arise and praise thee Shall thy loving kindness be declared in the grave Or thy faithfulness in destruction The grave cannot praise thee death cannot celebrate thee the living the living he shall praise thee I will not dye but live and declare the works of the Lord. O taste and see how gracious the Lord is blessed is the man that trusteth in him Thy mercies O Lord are Sweet Comfortable Better than life Many A multitude of them Plentiful Tender Superabundant Wonderful Infinite Great Broad From the East to the West Long. Deep High To the Heavens High Above the Heavens Past knowledge Eternal of old For ever Preventing Following Compassing Pardoning Crowning Over all thy works Our sins Thy justice Thou art the Father of mercies Thou art patient and slow to anger Thou winkest at the sins of men because they should repent Sparing thy people forty years Many times thou didst turn thy wrath away and wouldest not suffer thy whole displeasure to arise It is of thy mercy that we are not consumed Gentle in correcting insomuch as thy justice is not without mercy I will visit their offences with the rod and their sin with scourges Nevertheless my loving kindness will I not utterly take from him He hath not dealt with us after our sins How shall I smile thee O Ephraim Placable and easie to be pacified He will not alway be chiding neither keepeth he his anger for ever His wrath endureth but the twinkling of an eye For a small moment have I forsaken thee but with great mercies will I gather thee In anger he remembreth mercy David said I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David The Lord hath also put away thy sin thou shalt not dye The Lord waiteth to be gracious unto us Compassionate Thy Compassions are called bowels of mercy When thou didst see the misery of thy people thou hadst compassion on them Then the Lord of the servant moved with compassion loosed him and forgave him the debt Not only ready to forgive but profuse in mercy With thee is plentious redemption The Father of the Prodigal not only pardoned him but put on him the best Robe and a Ring and killed the fat Calf for him He will have joy in Heaven for a sinner repenting Thy pardon extendeth not only to small but great sins and sinners Such as Pet. who forsware thee Paul who blasphemed thee The Thief on the Cross. The Adulteress Mary Magdalen They say If a man put away his Wife and she go from him and become another mans shall he return unto her again shall not the Land be greatly polluted But thou hast played the Harlot with many Lovers yet return again to me saith the Lord. He is kind to the unthankful and evil But all these are recapitulated and summed up in Christ Iesus In whom he hath given us great and precious promises And in whom all the promises of God are Yea and Amen In naming of whom it will be sufficient Iesus thou Son of David have mercy on me Which Name Jesus was given unto him because he saveth us from our sins Lord Do not so earnestly mark our sins as that thereby thou forget thine own Name Thou Son of David who forgave Shimei his sworn Enemy reviling him Forgive me O Christ hear me Intercede for me Make thy Father propitious to me Say unto my Soul I am thy Salvation Let not thy Apostle comfort me in vain when he saith This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Iesus Christ came into the world to save sinners Where sin hath abounded there grace hath super-abounded God hath concluded all under sin that he might have mercy upon all When we were Gods Enemies we were reconciled to him by the death of his Son Let not another of thy Apostles say in vain Christ
daily sinned and not repented considering that from the Infernal pit there is no redemption Be thou merciful to me O Lord and save me for thy Names sake and in thy strength deliver and comfort me I know O Lord that thy judgements are just and that thou of very faithfulness hast caused me to be troubled Oh let this light affliction which will quickly be gone cause unto me afterward a more excellent and eternal weight of glory In the midst of the sorrows that are in my heart let thy comforts O Lord refresh my soul. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me round about yet thou dost destroy me Remember I beseech thee that thou hast made me as the clay and wilt thou bring me into the dust again Hast thou not powred me out like milk and curdled me like a cheese Thou hast cloathed me with skin and flesh and fenced me with bones and sinews Thou hast granted me life and favour and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit O Lord thou numberest my steps and dost set a watch over my sin My breath is corrupt my dayes are extinct the grave is ready for me I have said to Corruption Thou art my Father and to the Worm Thou art my Mother and Sister Is there not an appointed time to man upon Earth and are not his dayes as the dayes of an hireling My dayes are swifter than a Post they flee away and see no good I know thou wilt bring me to death and to the house appointed for all the living Woe is me therefore O Lord that I have sinned What shall I do Whither shall I flee but to thee O Lord my God Be merciful to me in the last day My Soul is very much disquieted within me But Lord I require thy aid and comfort Be mindful O Lord of thy Word wherein thou hast caused me to put my trust and let thy mercy come unto me according to thy Promise For thou art my Maker and I am the work of thy hands Deliver me O Lord from eternal death in that day wherein Heaven and Earth shall be dissolved when thou comest to judge the Earth I am affrighted when I consider that day the day of thy wrath the day of misery that great and exceeding bitter day O Lord in that day where shall I hide my self from the face of thine anger O Lord when thou comest to Iudgement condemn me not I beseech thee but deliver from the Gates of Hell my poor Soul which I commend unto thee Acknowledge then O Lord thy Creature not made by any strange Gods but by thee the true and living God Make my Soul joyful with thy presence and remember not my sins but according to thy great mercy think upon me in that day for the merits of my blessed Saviour Iesus Christ Amen A Prayer for the Sick ALmighty and most merciful Lord God who by the infirmities of this life dost put us in mind of our mortality and by these outward afflictions dost call us to inward Repentance I cry unto thee with my whole heart Rebuke me not in thine anger neither chasten me in thy displeasure Have mercy upon me O Lord for I am weak O Lord heal me for my bones are vexed Thou art He O Lord That woundest and healest again that killest and revivest that leadest to the Gates of Hell and bringest back again If this my sickness O Lord be not unto death help me on this my bed of infirmity and strengthen me If thou thinkest expedient rather that I should dye than live do with me according to thy good pleasure and receive my spirit to thy peace which I commend into thy hands who livest and reignest God of all mercy world without end AMEN Or thus O Merciful Lord God who of thy great mercy dost forgive the offences of those who truly repent mercifully look upon me thy poor servant and hearken unto me who humbly crave of thee remission of my sins Renew O Lord in me whatsoever is corrupt and decayed by the Devils malice or mine own frailty Pity my sighs pity my tears pity my groans vouchsafe to be reconciled to me that have confidence in nothing but thy meer mercy O Lord it grieveth me that I have offended thy Majesty and it grieveth me much that I can grieve no more than I do And I humbly pray thee by the Death Passion and Intercession of thy Son Christ Iesus to pardon my offences promising that if I recover my former health thy grace assisting me to abstain from displeasing thy Majesty hereafter I willingly O Lord and freely from my heart for thy sake forgive all offenders and offences against me and I heartily desire all those whom I have any way offended to forgive me O Lord though my natural man trembleth at the thought of death yet I profess that I am willing to dye if it be thy good pleasure I. have received life and all the blessings of this life from thee What shall I render back to thee for them I will willingly receive this Cup of Death and praise thy Name I commend into thy hands my Spirit And whether thou disposest of me to live or dye I resign it to thy good will and disposition and humbly pray thee that if thou seest it good for me to prolong my dayes on Earth that thou wouldest renew my conversation by the direction of thy Holy Spirit that I may pass those dayes in thy fear If thou be otherwise pleased to dispose of me take me I beseech thee into the armes of thy mercy for Iesus Christs sake my only Saviour and Redeemer Or Thus. O God of all Consolation who hast promised to hear all those that faithfully call upon thee and not to reject any that with a contrite heart and penitent soul shall humble himself before thee I humbly intreat thee in the Name and Mediation of thy Son Iesus Christ that thou wouldest be pleased to be merciful to me thy poor servant at this time afflicted with sickness O Lord pardon forget and blot out of thy remembrance whatsoever I have committed against thee in the whole course of my life Seal and confirm unto me by thy Spirit a pardon unto me for all my offences that I may thereby receive such comfort in my soul that I may with all joy and willingness depart out of this life unto thee Let me be certified That there is no condemnation to those which are united and ingrafted into Iesus Christ by Faith That I may be confident That neither my Sins Death the Devil nor ought else can draw me away or separate me from thee And that I may be assured that thy Throne will not be to me a Barr of Severity but a Haven of Safety and a sure Sanctuary and Refuge for me to flee unto Strengthen this Faith in me which may serve as a Buckler to defend me from all tentations and that
thy Law in them with the finger of thy Holy Spirit that all our desires and actions may be conformable to thy blessed Will And now again O Lord we desire thy Majesty to take our Souls and Bodies into thy protection this night following Suffer us not to sleep in sin but watch over us and defend us under the shaddow of thy wings Let not our sleep be excessive or immoderate but raise us again in due time that after a quiet and moderate sleep we may arise to serve and praise thee joyfully begin and perfect our works justly labour in our vocations truly and seek thy Kingdom earnestly that at the last by thee with thee and in thee we may come unto the same Kingdom by the merits of our Saviour JESUS CHRIST in whose Name and Prayer we are bold to call further upon thee saying Our Father c. Prayers upon the Life and Death of our Saviour Iesus Christ. O Sweet SAVIOUR Who for the love of Mankind didst vouchsafe to descend from thy Royal Throne from the bosom of thy Father into this vale of misery and to take on thee the form of a sinner even humane flesh in the sanctified womb of the most chast and pure Virgin and be born without impeachment to her Virginity Be pleased of thy great clemency to make my heart thy habitation adorn it to that end with all Spiritual Graces and be daily born in me by renewing in my Soul a fervent love to thee and Be merciful to me O Blessed Lord Who being God Almighty didst not disdain at thy Birth to be wrapped in swadling clouts and to be laid in a Manger Grant that I may be ever in thy fight a little Infant in Humility and Lowliness of Spirit take from me all ambitious Thoughts and Be merciful to me O Gracious Lord Who at thy Birth wouldst be received into this World with the joyful Hymns of blessed Angels and be found to the great delight and admiration of poor Shepheards Give thy Grace unto me thy poor unworthy servant continually to persevere in thy praises to seek thee with the Shepheards affection by seeking to find thee and finding thee alwayes to retain and enjoy thee and Be merciful to me O Sweet Jesu Who wert pleased upon the eight day to be circumcised and in that most tender age of thine didst begin to shed thy blood meerly for the love of me and mankind Cut off I intreat thee all superfluities from my Soul and take from me all evil thoughts words and works and Be merciful to me O Blessed Christ Who to the unspeakable comfort of me and all thine Elect wouldst be called by the saving Name of Iesus Grant that the memory of this Name may ever cause a reverend respect in me toward thee and that by it I may be preserved all my life and at the hour of death and Be merciful to me O Loving Lord God Who wouldst be found in the Wise men which sought thee with Faith and Devotion and who having found thee fell before thee with Oblations of Gold Frankincense and Myrrhe Be pleased I beseech thee that I may find thee in Spirit and worship thee in Spirit and Truth Offering unto thee the Gold of bright shining Charity the Incense of pure Devotion and the Myrrhe of perfect Mortification and Be merciful to me O Blessed Saviour Who to leave Mankind an example of Obedience and Humility wouldst become subject to the Law and be brought to the Temple and there have offered for thee the Oblations of the Poor and not the rich Give me the Grace of Obedience to subject my self willingly to my Governours Suffer not the least thought of pride to reign in me but quench in me all haughtiness of Spirit with inordinate love and conceit of my self and Be merciful to me O Gracious Lord Who whilst thou wert yet young and tender wert contentted to suffer persecution and flee with thy blessed Mother into AEgypt Grant me such ability by thy grace whereby I may not only suffer persecution and affliction when it shall please thee but also persecute and punish all wickedness within my self before it grow too strong for me and Be merciful to me O Blessed Jesu Who being sought for by thy blessed Mother three dayes wouldst be found of her in the Temple Suffer me never to be severed from thee give me such a devotion toward thee that I may never be weary in serving thee nor satisfied with praising thee either in Church or private Closet and Be merciful to me O Loving Lord Who wouldst enter the River Jordan and there be Baptized by thy Fore-runner John the Baptist Be pleased that I may be purified in this life by thy merits and thereby washed from all my sins and Be merciful to me O Gracious Saviour who didst continue fasting and praying forty dayes and nights together in the Desert and after divers Tentations didst overcome Satan Grant that I may chastise my flesh and exercise my self in Fasting Watching Prayer and other Spiritual Excercises and subdue all evil Affections which rebel against the Spirit and Be merciful to me O Blessed Redeemer Who for my sake didst subject thy self to many Sorrows and Necessities to Heat Cold Hunger Thirst Weariness Sweat Iourneys Persecutions and Tribulations Strengthen me with the aid of thy Holy Spirit that I may willingly bear all Adversities as coming from thy hand and Be merciful to me O Blessed Lord Who while thou wert upon Earth didst vouchsafe to comfort the Sons of Men and heal their Infirmities Replenish my heart with all pious Affection that I may account the miseries of others as mine own and supply their necessities in whatsoever I may according to my ability and Be merciful to me O Gracious Lord Who for thy love to Mankind didst eudure infinite Miseries Injuries Calumnies Blasphemies and Revilings even of those to whom thou hast done much good Create in me a heart pure and innocent which may forgive mine Enemies and love them rendring good for evil whereby I may shew my self a true follower of thy perfect Charity and Patience and Be merciful to me O Merciful Saviour Who to abrogate the Ceremonial Law didst eat the Paschal Lamb with thy Disciples and giving them an example of Humility upon thy knees didst wash their feet Grant that this example may take deep impression in me give me perfect Humility true Obedience and fervent Love whereby I may love thee sincerely and all others unseignedly and Be merciful to me O Blessed Lord Who of thy great love didst institute the blessed Sacrament of thy Body and Blood whereby thou mightest continue with us to the end of the World Stir up in me an earnest desire and longing after this holy Sacrament and grant that I may ever receive it with a chast love deep affection and a pure heart and Be merciful to me O Loving Lord Who when thou wert to leave this World didst comfort thy Disciples and with
ardent and affectionate prayer didst commend them to the Father thereby shewing what love thou didst bear to them and all others who should believe in thee Make my heart sensible of this love and raise in me an earnest affection to thee that I may be wholly transformed into the love of thee and Be merciful to me O Merciful Saviour Who praying in the Garden didst wholly resign thy self to thy Fathers good pleasure desiring that not thy will but his should be wholly done Give me grace that in all adversity and tribulation I may flee to thee by prayer and ever commit my self to thy providence and good pleasure and Be merciful to me O Sweet Jesu Who didst suffer thy self to be taken and bound as a Malefactor neither didst lamont nor murmur whilst thou wert shamefully entreated by thy Enemies Give me strength after thine example willingly and patiently to endure all adversity and tribulation which shall at any time befall me and Be merciful unto me O Blessed Saviour Who wouldst be forsaken of thine own Disciples in the midst of thy troubles and afflictions Pardon me thy fugitive servant and receive me into thy favour Suffer me not to wander from thee any more But give me such constancy and perseverance that I may continue in thy service to the end of my dayes and Be merciful to me O Merciful Jesu Who standing in the presence of the High Priest didst patiently endure a cruel blow Mortifie in me all angry affections that I be not disquieted when I am injured nor think of revenge but for thy sake may bear all things patiently rendring good for evil and Be merciful to me O Gracious Redeemer Who in the night of thy Passion wouldst be mocked derided and many wayes be despightfully handled Help mine infirmities lend me aid that I faint not under Tentations or Tribulations but give me grace to be thankful to thee for them and Be merciful to me O Blessed Lord Who wouldst not reply to the unjust Accusations of thine Enemies but mildly with a deaf ear wouldst let them pass Grant that no Slanders may move me to impatience but that by thine example I may patiently overcome all that any way defame or injure me and Be merciful to me O Loving Saviour Who being denied by thy Apostle St. Peter didst look on him with the eye of compassion and cause him to bewail his offence with bitter tears Look also on me miserable sinner with the same gracious and moving aspect that I may wash away my sins with the tears of repentance and never deny thee my Lord and Saviour by word or deed and Be merciful to me O Sweet Jesu Who being stripped wouldst be bound to a Pillar and scourged whereby thy blessed body was torn and wounded Heal my wounds by thy stripes take all evil thoughts from me and grant me patience to endure the stroakes of thy Fatherly Visitation and Be merciful to me O Gracious Lord Who after so many wounds received and so much precious blood shed wert mooked and crowned with a Crown of thorns Grant that the remembrance thereof may be imprinted in my heart and that I may love thee for thy exceeding Charity and wholly think of thee wholly contemplate on thy bitter pains and Be merciful to me O Bountiful Jesu Who wert pleased with great pain labour and weariness to carry thine own Cross to Mount Calvary and there to comfort the lamenting Women exhorting them to weep not for thee but themselves and Children Give me grace with a chearful mind to bear any cross thou shalt lay upon me and to bewail with tears my sinful life past and Be merciful to me O Merciful Redeemer Who didst suffer thy sacred hands and feet to be pierced with nails and fastned to the Cross and there didst with great effusion of blood suffer unexpressable torments Grant that I may alwayes with a saithful and thankful heart bear in mind thy exceeding great love who wouldst endure so great and grievous things for me Purge and wash my Soul with those streams of thy most precious blood from all uncleanness and offer them to the Father for a full and plenary satisfaction of all my transgressions and Be merciful to me O Blessed Lord Who in thy bitter pains didst intercede with the Father for thine Enemies which crucified thee saying Father forgive them for they know not what they do Give me grace that according to thy Precept and Practice I may love mine Ememies pray for them and do good to those which do evil unto me and Be merciful to me O Gracious Lord Who being crucified between two Thieves didst promise to the one of them confessing thee the fruition of Paradise Look upon me with the eyes of pitty wherewith thou beheldest that good Thief and grant I may live so that at the end of my dayes I may be found worthy to hear that joyful speech This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise and Be merciful to me O Sweet Jesu Who for the grievousness of torments and exceeding loss of blood didst faint and cry I thirst and wert pleased to drink Gall and Vinegar Let the remembrance of this CuP extinguish in me all inordinate riot and excess Give me the Vertue of Sobriety that all inordinate passions being quenched in me I may wholly thirst after thee and Be merciful to me O Loving Lord Who when thou wert so pleased didst call for death and bending thy head didst commend thy Spirit into the hands of thy Father Grant that the uncertainty of my death may be ever in my thoughts and that I may be ever willing and ready to leave this transitory life when it shall seem good to thee to whose blessed protection I commend my Soul praying thee to Be merciful to me O Blessed Saviour Who with great sorrow of thy friends wert taken down from the Cross laid in the Sepulcher Bury with thee all my evil desires that I may seem dead to those things which displease thee and be wholly delighted in thee my Redeemer and Be merciful to me O Glorious Lord Who after three dayes having overcome and triumphed over Death and Satan didst rise again out of the Grave and visit thy Disciples and Friends Revive me from the death of sin cause me to walk in newness of life and to seek after Heavenly things that when thou comest again I may appear with thee in Glory and Be merciful to me O Merciful Saviour Who forty dayes after thy Resurrectiou didst gloriously and triumphantly ascend into Heaven in the sight of thy Disciples Let it please thy goodness to infuse a longing desire and love of thee into my Soul that it may be elevated in affection to thee and seek those things which are above and Be merciful to me O Gracious Lord Who according to thy Promise before thy Ascension didst send thy Spirit upon thy Disciples and other thy Elect Servants Purifie I beseech thee my heart that the same Spirit finding
my Soul pure and clean may make his abode in it and adorn it with his manifold graces and Be merciful to me O Blessed Saviour Who when thou shalt at the last day come to judge the quick and dead wilt render to every one according to his works either reward or punishment Give me grace so to pass this Earthly Pilgrimage according to thy Holy Will that at that Day I may be through thy merits thought worthy to be received into thy Heavenly Mansion there to praise and bless thee with the Holy Company of blessed Saints and Angels for evermore and Be merciful to me Amen Prayers for several Persons For a Married Man O Gracious Father Maker and Preserver of Heaven and Earth who in the beginning didst institute Matrimony foretelling the mystical union of the Church with our Saviour Christ Who also in the time of his being upon Earth did honour Marriage with his first Miracle And hast appointed it also for a means whereby Mankind is propagated for a remedy to avoid unlawful Lust and for the mutual Comfort and Consolation of thy Children I humbly intreat thee to give me the assistance of thy Divine Grace that I may live according to thy Commandements with my Wife whom thou hast given for my help and comfort in this World Mortifie in me all unclean dishonest and fleshly Lusts let not the heat of unlawful Concupiscence take hold of me but make me to be fully pleased and satisfied with her love and to love her as Christ loved his Church to cherish and comfort her as mine own body and to have as great a care of her health as of mine own Grant that we may live in peace without debate in unity without discord like the members of one body equally desirous to praise thy holy Name And as thou hast O Lord bestowed many Children upon us give us discreet hearts and understanding minds to bring them up in thy Faith and Fear in a religious honest and civil manner Give them obedient hearts to thee and to thy Commandements and to all that thou requirest of them to be performed in duty towards us their Parents Keep them from those which are ready to seduce them and so lead them in thy Faith Fear and Knowledge that they prove not a curse but a blessing unto us and thereby attain to that blessing which thou hast promised to those which honour and obey their Parents Grant likewise O Lord that I may guide and instruct the Family which is under me in thy fear and in honest and careful manner provide as well for their bodies as their souls And give them the like Grace O Lord to perform their duties in fear and obedience not as eye-servers but in simplicity of heart as in thy sight And give us O Lord a competency of Estate to maintain our Selves Children and Family according to that Rank or Calling wherein thou of thy goodness hast placed us without excess riot or vain-glory and in singleness and pureness of heart with all humility relying upon thy blessed will who knowest better than we our selves what is needful for us To thee be all Honour and Glory now and for ever For a Married Woman O Merciful and Loving Lord God who in the beginning for the propagation of Mankind didst take Eve out of the side of Adam and gave her to him as an helper I give thee humble thanks that thou hast vouchsafed to call me to the honourable estate of Matrimony Give me grace O Lord that I may lead a life worthy thereof that I may love my Husband with a pure and chast love acknowledge him for my Head and truly reverence and obey him in all good things that thereby I may please him and live quietly with him Grant that I be not carried away with the vain fashions of this World but may put on such habits as shall be agreeable and suitable with the estate of my Husband and may become a modest Woman to wear Help me O Lord that I may under him prudently and discreetly guide and govern his Houshold and Family and carefully look that nothing be either carelesly lost or wickedly committed in my House Fit me with those good Graces which the Wise Man described in a Good Woman and Saint Peter in Holy and Sanctified Matrons Give me such care concerning the Education of my Children as belongeth to my part that I may live to see them prosper in this life and afterwards we may all be received to thy Eternal Kingdom through Iesus Christ c. For a Child O Almighty Lord God to whom the Obedience of Children to their Parents is most acceptable and all Disobedience most displeasing who hast promised a Blessing to the Dutiful and threatned a Curse to the Disobedient Children I beseech thee to put away from me the detestable Sin of Disobedience and Rebellion against my Parents and give me grace to observe them with all kind of Duty to obey them in all their just Commands and to be ayding and helpful to them at all time of their need Give me grace to bear all their reproofs and errours patiently and not to grieve them by stubborn and evil courses Let me not be so far deprived of thy Grace that I scoff or deride them though by age or infirmity they shall fail in their Iudgement or Reason but cause me to supply their wants lest that I having plenty and they being in any need or distress I not supplying it or not succouring them their lives to whom I owe mine may be in danger to be shortned Lord forgive all the Offences which I have heretofore committed against them Increase the number of their dayes keep them safe in body and mind let them see their Childrens Children to their Comfort and thy Glory Let them govern us and the rest of their Family with wholesome Discipline and good Example that at the last they may in their due time depart this life in peace and come to thy Kingdom unspotted through Iesus Christ. For a Woman with Child O Blessed Lord God who for the Offence of the first Woman didst denounce and impose an inevitable Curse upon all her posterity namely that they should conceive in sin and be subject to many grievous pains and should bring forth their Children with great danger Asswage I beseech thee of thy goodness the sharpness of that Decree and preserve me that I may overcome and escape this great danger and be delivered of the fruit of my body without peril of death and that it may safely be brought to the Sacred Font of Baptism and be regenerated and ingrafted into the mystical Body of Christ and made partaker of his Death and Passion And as thou hast of thy bounty given bodily life to it and me so grant us both life spiritual and so sanctifie our Bodies and Souls here that hereafter we may live among thy blessed Saints for ever in the
once suffered for sin the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God Let not the third Mercy rejoyceth above judgement Let not the fourth If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Christ Iesus the righteous And he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but for the sins of the whole world Let not thine own words be spoken in vain Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance I came not to judge the world but to save it These things are not cannot be spoken in vain Wherefore in the multitude of the sorrowes that are in my Heart thy comforts O Lord have refreshed my Soul Let us therefore come boldly to the Throne of Grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need Which be pleased to grant For thy great and many Mercies Thy Names sake The Glory of thy Name Thy Promise sake Thy Practice sake My Misery My Infirmity Even for thy Son Iesus Christ's sake The Seven Penitential Psalms Paraphrased Psalm 6. O Lord my God rebuke me not I beseech thee in thy fierce indignation against my sins either in this life or at the day of judgement neither chasten or correct me in thy hot displeasure by condemning me to eternal death 2 Have mercy and compassion upon me according to thy accustomed goodness O Lord for I am weak and frail by nature strengthen me therefore by thy grace O Lord and heal me by curing the infirmities of my Soul for they are multiplied so greatly upon me that my bones and all my inward parts are vexed and disquieted with the remembrance of them 3 My sinful Soul considering my manifold offences and trembling at the thought of thy just anger against them is also like as is my flesh sore troubled and almost at the point of desparation but thou O Lord that desirest not the death of a sinner how long will it be ere thou look upon me and bring me out of this misery 4 Return from the rigour of thy justice O Lord to the sweetness of thy mercy and deliver my Soul from the bondage of sin O Lord save me from the assaults of the Devil not for any merits of mine but for thy mercies sake in Christ Jesus my Saviour 5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee to praise and glorifie thy Name and who surely none there is that shall give thee thanks or celebrate thy goodness in the grave of Hell where nothing is to be heard but weeping gnashing of teeth and blasphemies 6 I am weary and faint with my groaning and sighing for my transgressions every night when I should take my rest I wash my bed weeping for them and I water my couch the place of my rest with my tears of unfeigned repentance 7 Mine eye of reason and understanding is consumed and groweth weak because of the grief I take fearing thy judgements yea it waxeth old and I continue in sin because of the united Forces of all mine Enemies the World the Flesh and the Devil 8 Depart therefore far form me al ye mine Enemies which are and have been the workers and causers of mine iniquity by your tentations and evil examples for henceforth I will have no more to do with you for my Conscience assureth me that the Lord of his infinite goodness hath heard and pitied the voice of my weeping and therefore I should be unthankful to him to return to those sins which he in his mercy hath forgiven 9 The Lord I cannot repeat it too often hath graciously heard my earnest supplication for the pardon of my sins and he the Lord plentiful in pity hath not only now but will also hereafter receive my prayer whensoever I call faithfully upon him 10 Let all mine Enemies therefore who have sought my destruction be ashamed at my Conversion and before vexed and troubled at the consideration os Gods judgements Let them no longer delay but repent and return to the Lord and be ashamed that they have so long deferred their conversion and suddenly without any longer delay make their peace with him by unfeigned repentance Glory be to the Father c. Psalm 32. BLessed is he in this life in assured hope and thrice blessed in full and perfect fruition in the life to come whose transgression by Gods mercy is forgiven in respect of the offence and whose sin by the imputation of Christs righteousness is so covered in this world that it be not laid open at the day of judgement in respect of the punishment 2 Blessed and happy is the man unto whom in regard either of offence or punishment the Lord accepting the merits of Christ imputeth no sin but giveth so ample a remission of them that he taketh no notice of any sin in him and in whose Spirit as well as in outward shew is no guile but penitently without hypocrisie bewaileth his offences 3 When I my self I speak by experience kept silence dissembling and covering my sins wherewith my Conscience was oppressed my bones and inward parts waxed old and feeble through my roaring which God regarded not though I cryed all the day long and that because I confessed not my sins aright unto him 4 For day and night continually thy hard hand of affliction was heavy upon me to punish my obstinacy and to reduce me to repentance and by reason thereof my moisture and vigour which I formerly had is turned like to the drought of Summer and is almost withered and dryed up 5 My sin therefore at the last I being thus handled by thee did I resolve to acknowledge unto thee in contrition of soul and mine iniquity which I formerly concealed I have but any longer hid but humbly confessed unto thee 6 I further said within my self when thy grace began to work in me that I will no longer continue in my rebellion but penitently confess all my transgressions and iniquity unto the Lord gracious and merciful and I had no sooner done it but thou of thy wonted compassion forgavest the iniquity and punishment of my sin committed against thee 7 For this remission of sin as it was necessary for me to pray for it so shall every one of what condition soever that is godly for the just also fall pray unto thee O Lord in a time when thou mayest be found in a fit season But in the greatest danger of floods and swelling of the great waters of afflictions God will so preserve serve the just man that they shall not have power to come nigh unto him to oppose or overwhelm him 8 Thou O God art my hiding place and refuge in all tribulations thou for in none other will I trust shalt preserve me by thy power from trouble and adversity Thou shalt compass me about with thy mercy and I will sing unto thee
songs of praise for my deliverance 9 I will instruct thee saith God O Man if thou wilt be ruled by me and teach thee in the way of righteousness which thou shalt wal in without erring I will guide thee in the right way with mine eye of providence that no evil shall happen unto thee 10 Be ye not therefore O foolish men since I am so careful over you without reason as the unruly Horse and dull Mule which have no understanding to bridle their head-strong desires whose hard mouth must be held in with strong hand and with bit and bridle and you with tribulations and afflictions if you be rebellious then as they must be held in lest they come near thee and fall upon their Rider or kick at them so shall you be forced by adversity to know your selves for opposing God your Creator 11 Many sorrows either in this world or torments in the world to come shall be to the obstinate and unrepentant wicked but he that with his whole heart dependeth on and trusteth in the Lord his God the Mercy of the same God shall compass and defend him on every side from all dangers 12 Be glad then O ye Servants of the most High in the salvation of the Lord and not in your own strength and rejoyce in fervency of spirit ye that are just and righteous shout for joy in the comfort of a good Conscience all ye that are upright in heart Because the Lord is gracious to those that love him and hath delight in the prosperity of his Servants Glory be to the Father c. Psalm 38. O Lord I do not altogether decline and refuse thy corrections only this I require of thee that thou rebuke me not in thy fierce wrath by condemning me with the reprobate neither chasten me poor sinner too severely by the extraordinary afflictions of this life or in thy hot displeasure 2 For it is not without cause that I should thus deprecate thine anger for thine arrows of grief and anguish stick fast in me and are sore upon me already and thy hand of present affliction presseth and troubleth me sore 3 There is no soundness nor health in my flesh because of the vehemency of thine anger against me Neither is there any rest or quiet in my bones and inward parts when I consider that thy displeasure ariseth towards me because of the grievousness of my sinne 4. For having recollected my thoughts I find that mine iniquities which hitherto I regarded not are so many that they are gone over my head they are past my understanding for quantity and quality and as a heavy burthen for the weight of them they are become to heavy for me to bear any longer they press me down so much that I cannot look up to Heaven or heavenly things 5 My wounds which sin hath made in my Conscience stink in thy nostrils O God and they are so abominable that now they corrupt and putrifie in mine own sight and all this is come upon me because of my foolishness that have let them go so long unsearched un-repented of that they are almost past cure or remedy 6 I am troubled therefore that I have so long put off my conversion I am bowed and pressed down with the weight of my transgressions and an humbled in soul for them greatly and crave pardon for them I go mourning and grieving all the day long be wailing the former time of my life mis-spend 7 For my loyns are filled and infected with a loathsome disease or carnal concupiscence and there is no soundness nor goodness at all in my flesh for that it rebelleth against the Spirit 8 I am feeble in body and sore broken in mind in so much that considering with my self how grievously I have offended thee I have roared and cryed bitterly by reason of the disquietness of my sinful heart O Lord therefore forgive my offences 9 Lord who knowest all things and dost search into the hearts of all men all my desire to be reconciled to thee and to lead a new life is before thee thou knowest it and my groaning and earnest prayer mingled with sighs and tears is not hid from thee but I hope is ascended into thy presence 10 My heart which hath lost the peace of Conscience panteth for fear of thy Judgements my wonted strength faileth me and I am grown weak as for the light of mine inward eyes wherewith I was wont to discern good from evil it is also dim and gone from me and I am become like to them that walk in darknesse 11 My lovers and those which I took for friends because they see me go about to forsake my evil courses stand aloof off from my sore and instead of giving me comfort become mine adversaries and my kinsmen who in my prosperity fawned on me now stand afar off and leave me comfortless 12 They also of mine Enemies that seek after the ruine of my life and eternal happiness lay snares and tentations for me and they that seek my hurt in bereaving me of my good name speak mischievous and false things to my reproach and imagine deceit how to divert me from the right way all the day long 13 But I being resolved to persist in the way of repentance and to trust wholly in the mercy of God behaved my self to them as a deaf man giving no ear to their allurements and made as though I heard them not and I was in my behaviour to them as a dumb man that knew not how to speak or that opened not his mouth 14 Thus careful was I lest mine Enemies should entrap me and I continued still as a man that heareth not nor is moved with their tentations and in whose mouth notwithstanding their evil deeds to me are no reproofs 15 For in thee O Lord let them do what they can do I hope and put my confidence that thou wilt keep thy promise and hear me when I call upon thee O Lord my God and Saviour 16 For I said in my prayer to thee hear me O Lord lest if thou forsake me they should rejoyce and triumph over me for when and as soon as my foot of Faith slippeth never so little by infirmity they presently imagine that thou hast forsaken me and magnifie themselves as though they had obtained victory against me 17 For I cannot marvel that they should so do considering that when I feel the weight of my sins I my self am ready to halt and despair and the reason of my sorrow is because thy judgements are before me and in my thoughts 18 For remedy whereof I will declare and confess to thee O Lord in the biterness of my Soul my iniquity and take revenge of my self for it yea I will be as long as I live heartily sorry and much grieved for my sin past though it be forgiven 19 But mine Enemies think not of forsaking their wayes they are lively and merry and cry peace peace to their Souls and they
before I fully understood how God useth to deal with his Servants I was so confident of my self that in my prosperity when I felt the grace of God abundantly in me I said and presumed that I was so fully setled in Gods favour that I shall never fall or be removed from it 7 Lord by thy favour and goodness thou hadst fixed and made my mountain of grace to stand so strong that I conceived my self so secure that I could not slide back or fall away Yet after a while I found by experience that I was in an errour for thou didst but hide thy face and a little while obscured thy grace from me and being left to my self I found such an alteration and defect in me to do good that I was therewith sore troubled and disquieted 8 I thereupon presently recalled my self and cryed earnestly by prayer to thee O Lord and betook my self unto the Lord who never utterly forsaketh his Servants and to him I made my earnest supplication never ceasing till I obtained his return and thus I said in my prayer 9 What profit O Lord is there can there be in my blood or death when I go down into the pit or if I dye in my sins surely none to thee for thou delighten not in blood or in the death of a sinner Shall the dust or they which are dissolved thereinto before repentance praise thee or shall it declare thy truth and shew thy glory Nay verily they shall rather in the horror of punishment blaspheme thy Name Suffer me not therefore O Lord to be of that reprobate number of which I must needs be one if thou absent thy self or with-draw thy grace any longer from me 10 Hear me therefore O Lord and that right soon for my spirit waxeth faint for want of thy gracious assistance and have mercy upon me in this distress O Lord I renounce all further confidence in mine own strength be thou my only stay and helper Upon this petition the Lord heard my request and thereupon I turned my prayer into a song of praise and said 11 Thou O Lord art worthy of all honour and praise for thou hast turned for me and for my good my mourning for thy absence into dancing and joy for thy gracious presence thou hast made me to put off my sad habit of sackcloath and sorrow and instead thereof hast girded and apparelled me with a vesture of gladness even the peace of conscience And all these things hast thou done for me 12 To the end that all my sorrow being removed and I being delivered from all fear my glory tongue and heart together may sing praise and thanks to thee who hast done so great things for me and that I should not be silent in extolling thy mercy And therefore O Lord my God as thy goodness deserveth and my duty requireth I will with all the affections and faculties of soul and body give thanks unto thee and praise thy Majesty for ever as the only Author and finisher of my salvation Glory be to the Father c. Psalm 34. I Will bless and praise the Lord for all that he hath done unto me at all times as well in adversity as prosperity and his praise as it shall ever be in my mind and heart so shall it be continually without intermission in my mouth by declaring it to others 2 My Soul especially shall make her boast and glory in the Lord and not in any thing that is in me so the humble and they which are any way dejected when they shall hear thereof how gracious God hath been to me shall in hope of the like mercy to them rejoyce and be glad also 3 O ye whosoever hath felt Gods favour as I have magnifie and extoll the mercies of the Lord with me for his goodness and let us joyfully with one accord exalt and praise his Name together 4 I my self when I was in trouble sought the Lord by prayer and humiliation and he rejected not my petition but graciously heard me and granted it and he not only delivered me from the danger I was in but from all my fears also which I conceived at it 5 They also that lived in former ages our fore-Fathers whensoever they were distressed looked up and cryed unto him and were relieved by his mercy and lightned by his grace their faces were not any whit ashamed because they did put their trust in him 6 This poor man even my self cryed by their example in my distress and the Lord plentiful in compassion graciously heard him and saved and delivered him immediately out of all his troubles and calamity 7 The good Angel of the Lord deputed by him for each mans protection encampeth and fortifieth round about them that with an unfeigned heart fear and serve him which Angel preserveth them in all their wayes and delivereth them from all the machinations of the Devil and his Angels 8 O taste ye therefore and see make experience aud you shall soon find that the Lord is good and loving to those that faithfully call upon him and you will also confess with me and say Blessed and happy is the man that layeth aside all confidence in himself and that in all his necessities trusteth in him and his protection 9 O fear reverence and love the Lord all ye that by truly believing in him become his Saints and observe his Commandements for take this as an infallible truth that there is no want to them they shall lack nothing that is needful for them that with an upright heart fear and serve him 10 The young Lyons mighty and worldly minded men although they think themselve 〈◊〉 do they lack true peace of Conscience and suffer hunger and want that which is truly good but they which with a pure heart and humble spirit seek the Lord and desire to please him shall not want any good thing when the Lord in his wisdom shall think it needful for them 11 Come therefore O ye Children that desire to be informed and with attentive minds hearken and give good ear unto me that am experienced in the mercies of the Lord and I will teach and instruct you in the fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom 12 What man is he among the Sons of men that desireth to live a good life and loveth to spend many daye so in this life that he may see and enjoy good and happy dayes hereafter 13 Keep first of all thy tongue from speaking evil let that member do no man wrong and preserve thy lips from speaking guile or that which is false though to be to thine own prejudice for the Lord abhoreth lying lips 14 Depart from evil avoid all things which thou knowest displeasing to God and yet think not that sufficient except thou also apply thy self to do that which is good and acceptable to him Seek peace between God and thy self thy self and thy Conscience thy self and thy Neighbour and if thou shalt find that
lives end Give me O Lord true compunction of heart and so water it with the dew of thy Heavenly Grace that I may in the bitterness of my Soul with abundance of tears sighs and groans bewail and lament all my hainous and grievous transgressions against thee Give me grace O Lord that I may not boast in any merits or works of mine own or have any confidence in them but let me glory in this alone that I am a Member of that Body of thine which was crucified for me and did sufficiently satisfie for all the Sins of the World If thou O Lord look or expect any merits from me behold I tender unto thee thine own merits the merits of thy Death and Passion which thou hast vouchsafed to make me partaker of by vertue whereof alone I dare boldly appear before thy Tribunal These merits I set between my sins and thy Iustice and otherwise or in any other manner I dare not I will not contend with thee O sweet Iesu I desire thee to offer them to the Father as a propitiatory Sacrifice for all my great and grievous Offences that when my Soul shall depart from this Body it may by the same be freed and delivered from all the judgements and punishments which are due unto it for sin and be carried to that blessed place where there is no sorrow but endless felicity where thou together with the Father and the blessed Spirit livest and reignest for ever Before Prayer O Almighty and everliving GOD Heavenly Father to whom it is manifestly known how inconstant and wandring the minds of men are in any good actions and how easily we suffer our selves to be carried away from the contemplation of thee by diversity of distractions and unseasonable thoughts which take hold of us in the time of our Devotions and Prayers unto thee who also by thine only begotten Son Christ Iesus didst prescribe unto his Disciples a Form of Prayer to be offered up to thee and hast derived the same from them to us Behold me most wretched sinner wholly depraved and corrupt intreating thee by the same Son that for his sake thou wouldst infuse thy Holy Spirit into me which may adopt me into the number of thine Elect that it may teach me how I ought to pray according to thy Holy Will that it may allay all troublesome and wandring thoughts in me while I offer up my prayers and praises unto thee Suffer me not to serve thee with my lips and be absent in heart from thee but create a right Spirit within me that I being sensible of all thy graces and comforts may with joyful and holy zeal perform my duty to thee that so my prayers and desires may appear before thee and in thy Sons Name I may effectually be heard and my petitions may be granted to the glory and honour of thy most holy Name and the endless comfort of mine own Soul through the same our only Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ. Before a Sermon O Most loving SAVIOUR I most humbly intreat thee that thou wouldst be pleased at this time to enlighten my understanding and to open my inward ears with the grace of thy Holy Spirit that I may hear that sacred Word with an humble heart and rejoyce in it in the obedience of the Spirit That I may be fully instructed thereby how to do good and avoid evil and bring forth the fruit thereof in my life and conversation That thy Honour and Glory may be thereby increased the Devil and all other the Enemies of my Soul may be vanquished my Soul may be saved and at the last I may appear with boldness before thy Tribunal and receive the reward of a good and faithful servant even his Masters joy everlasting blessedness and that by thy merits only O blessed Saviour Petitions for Temporal Blessings in which we are to desire of God THat he would be pleased to continue unto us The blessing of a good King just and religious To give unto us Magistrates and Iustices upright and careful to see good Laws duly executed Teachers to direct us in the Truth That he would bless us with Length and Goodness of Dayes Health of Body Contentedness of Mind Competency of Estate Food and Rayment Conveniency of Dwelling Wholesomeness of Air. Fruitfulness of Cartel Fruitfulness of Soyl. That he would make us happy In Wedlock In Children In Faithful Friends In Peaceable loving Neighbours In Honest Servants In Skilful Physicians That he would preserve our Goods Good Name Our Senses and Understanding That he would protect us From Trouble From Enemies From Dangers From Losses From Sicknesses That he would give Peace To all Nations Peace To our Land Peace In our private Dwellings Rules to be observed in the Morning WHen thou awakest in the Morning shut and close up the entrance to thy heart from all unclean prophane and evil thoughts and let the consideration of God and goodness enter in When thou art risen and art ready retire thy self to thy Closet or other private place and offer to God the first fruits of the Day and in praying to him and praising him remember 1. To give him Thanks for thy quiet rest received for delivering thee from all dangers ghostly and bodily and for all other his benefits to thee 2. Offer unto him thy self and all things that thou dost possess and desire him to dispose of thee and them according to his good pleasure 3. Crave his Grace to guide thee and to strengthen thee from and against all Tentations that so thou mayest do nothing the day following contrary to his will 4. And Lastly Beg of him according to the Rules before prescribed all things needful for the Soul and Body To which purpose pray as followeth Morning Prayer I Thank thee O Heavenly Father Lord of Heaven and Earth for all thy Blessings which I underservedly have received from thee that thou gavest a being from honest Parents and in that part of the World where thy Son Christ Iesus is purely professed that thou didst endue me with Reason and Understanding and didst also give me perfect Members and Senses that thou hast preserved me ever since my birth vouchsafed me health and liberty and a competency of means to maintain me and those whom thou hast placed under me That thou hast Elected me in thy Love Redeemed me by thy Son Sanctified me by thy Spirit and kept me this night past from all perils of Body and Soul and given me a sweet and comfortable rest O Lord I commend into thy hands my Soul and Body thoughts words and actions and humbly beseech thee that thou wouldst guide and order them all to thy honour and glory and my endless and eternal happiness Enlighten my mind that the darkness and cloudy mists of mine offences being dispelled I may walk before thee in my vocation without offence as in the day clean unspotted and unblameable Give unto me thy Holy Spirit which may bridle
so guide me with thy holy Spirit that I may neither do speak nor think any thing this day contrary to thy holy Will Behold O Lord I offer my self a living Sacrifice to thee and humbly pray thee to accept it Good God direct my Soul in the way of thy Commandements increase my Faith strengthen my Hope enlarge my Charity and infuse all the good Graces of thy Holy Spirit into me Give me grace so to remember my sins as that thou mayest forget them and so to forsake them as that thou mayest forgive them Instruct me in all goodness and give me the grace of Perseverance that I fly not back from any good courses in this life but that I may go forward and continue in them to the end of my dayes O Lord who hast promised the necessaries of this life to those which shall first seek thy Kingdom I humbly intreat thee to give unto me this day all things necessary for my sustentation as Food Rayment Health of Body Ioy of Heart Peace of Conscience and a blessing to all my endeavours give me a mind contented with that which shall be sufficient and not desirous of that which is superfluous that I may pass the rest of my dayes on earth religiously honestly and soberly as becommeth thy servant to thy honour and my endless comfort Be gracious to the Kings most Excellent Majesty his Royal Queen the Royal Issue the whole Estate Clergy Nobility Gentry Mastistrates and Commons give us all grace in our several places to do our Duties as in thy sight that at the last by the merits of Iesus Christ our Saviour we may receive the reward thereof in thy eternal Kingdom where thou reignest together with the same our Lord Iesus Christ and the Holy Spirit World without End Morning Prayer for a Family O Almighty Lord God Heavenly Father we give thee most humble and hearty thanks in that thou hast not only of nothing created us after thine own Image but also hast from time to time most graciously preserved us even to this present Morning from all dangers and terrours and hast given us this night past sweet sleep and comfortable rest whereby we are refreshed and fitted to our bodily labour We thank thee O Lord for all thy Spiritual Blessings for our Regeneration Iustification Sanctification in some measure and our Redemption by Iesus Christ. We praise thy Name for thy bountiful supply of all things necessary for this life as also for thy patient and long expectance of us in our Conversion O Lord we confess that we have been so far from the serious consideration of thy favours to us and from rendering due thanks unto thee for them that in stead thereof we have grievously offended thy Majesty with most abominable and vile sins notwithstanding thou hast sought to reduce us to thy obedience by the good motions of thy Holy Spirit As often O Lord as we look about us either with the eyes of our bodies or minds so often do thy fatherly and innumerable benefits appear unto us For all which we tender again and again from the bottom of our hearts infinite thanks unto thee and humbly desire thee for thy mercies sake in Christ Iesus to pardon all our ingratitude and rebellions Enlighten us we pray thee with thy holy Spirit that we may see our imperfections kindle our zeal towards thee rule and govern our minds wills affections and actions that we may not offend thee any more And give us Grace that we may alwayes think speak and do whatsoever shall be pleasing unto thee and abstain from all things which shall displease or ofsend thee It is more than enough O Lord that we have been hitherto so rebellious against thee It is too much that we have been so negligent to serve thee and it is worst of all that we have been so ingrateful to thee for all thy blessings Let all evil and wickedness now depart from us and let new manners new affections and new hearts be renewed in us We commit our selves O Lord wholly into thy protection this day and the rest of our lives and most humbly desire thee of thy infinite goodness that as now thou hast put good thoughts into us thou wilt be pleased to perfect them in us so that being led by thy Holy Spirit we may do that which is acceptable to thee and love serve honour and praise thy holy Name all the dayes of our lives And for a much O Lord as thou hast promised to those that love thee all things necessary for this life we call and cry to thee O our Father which art in Heaven to Give us this day our daily bread even whatsoever is needful and expedient for our sustentation Give us O Lord sufficient for our maintenance lest we take evil and indirect courses or blaspheme or murmur against thee and not too much lest we forget from whose hands we receive it Give not only that which shall be necessary but contented minds also with it Bless O Lord the labour and work of our hands bless us at home and abroad and grant that every one of us may truly as in thy sight walk in our several vocations and diligently and carefully intend the same making a Conscience of all our wayes that by thy gracious favour and our own endeavours we may have prosperous success in all things that we shall undertake Continue O Lord thy Gospel among us Bless our gracious King with the Queen the Royal Issue the Lady Elizabeth with her Princely Off-spring the whole Land and all sorts and conditions of people in it Bless all that travel by Sea or Land and take into thy protection all Orphans Widows and all that suffer wrong Give health and strength to the sick and weak and joy and comfort to the sorrowful and afflicted Bless us O Lord with healthful and sound Bodies keep our good Names unspotted and unblemished Bless the fruits of the Earth and give us wholesome peaceable and seasonable times These and all other thy blessings which thou knowest better to give than we to ask vouchsafe if it seem good to thy Majesty to give us for the worthiness of thy Son Iesus Christ our Lord in whose blessed Name and absolute Prayer we close up our imperfect Prayers aud say as he hath taught us Our Father c. Rules for Evening and Night AS we usually twice a day at the least take our bodily sustenance so should we be no less careful for the refreshing our Souls but twice a day likewise Morning and Evening if not oftner dispose our selves to Devotion and Prayer When thou therefore retirest thy self as in the Morning remember 1. To give God thanks that he hath delivered thee from the dangers of the day past prospered thee in thy affairs and given thee necessaries for thy sustentation 2. Examine thy Conscience narrowly and consider wherein thou hast the day past offended God either in thought word or deed
them in glory hereafter and enjoy everlasting happiness before thee in thy blessed presence Glory be to the Father c. Psalm 130. OUt of the depth of tentations dangers and sorrow for my sins wherein my Spirit is almost overwhelmed have I by fervent prayer cryed and called unto thee O Lord who only art able to give me relief 2 Lord of thy mercy haste thee and hear my voice and petition and deliver me from my misery O my God let thine ears of pity and compassion be attentive to consider and well weigh the lamentable voice of my humble supplications and let not my prayer return unpitied or unheard of thee 3 If thou Lord contrary to thy disposition shouldest be so exact and extreme as in the rigour of thy justice to mark the iniquities which we by our natural corruption daily fall into and punish us accordingly O good Lord who none not the most upright shall be able to answer one for a thousand or stand before thee without much horrour at the Judgement Seat 4 But for the comfort of poor wretched sinners and to keep us from utter desperation we find it recorded by the holy Spirit that there is forgiveness of sins and mercy toward sinners repenting with thee by Jesus Christ who came to save them and yet this mercy of thine is tyed with such conditions that thou who also art just mayest be also feared lest thy lenity be abused 5 I for my part wait and confidently expect for the Lord to receive mercy from him My sinful but repentant Soul waits to receive consolation and in his Word whereby he promiseth mercy to repentant sinners do I hope and place my whole confidence because I know that he which hath promised is just 6 My sinful Soul in this expectation waiteth for the Lord and tarryeth his good pleasure to comfort it more earnestly than they that in a disconsolate long night watch for the morning Yea I say it again more zealously than they that are weary of the night and watch for the light of the morning 7 Let Israel and all Gods faithful people hope still and put their trust in the goodness of the Lord and not without cause for with the Lord though he justly take vengeance on us for our sins yet there is ever was and will be found mercy towards penitent sinners and with him by Jesus Christ is not only forgiveness for a few sins but plenteous redemption from the captivity of the Devil and Sinne. 8 And he even Jesus Christ by his merits and intercession shall redeem and save Israel and each of his faithful servants from all his iniquities and the punishment due for them Glory be to the Father c. Psalm 143. HEar my earnest and humble prayer O Lord which in my misery I make unto thee Give ear and be not deaf to my supplicatious in the time of my distress but in thy faithfulness and truth which endureth for ever answer me and grant my petition which I make not trusting in any merits of mine own but in thy righteousness 2 And my further petition to thee is that thou enter not into the Throne of thy Iudgement by strictly examining my mis-deeds and dealing rigorously with me thy poor servant who hath mis-spent his talent for in thy all-seeing sight shall no man living in this vale of misery be justified or found innocent 3 For the Old Enemy of mankind the Devil hath by his malice persecuted and sought to entrap my Soul to separate it from the love of thee he hath smitten and cast my life and Soul down to the ground and filled me full of earthly desires he hath made and caused me to dwell and take pleasure in the darkness of of my sins as those that are without sense and have been long dead 4 Therefore O Lord considering my desperate estate is my spirit overwhelmed with grief within me and my heart is disquieted within me and is also desolate and sore troubled 5 I yet in the midst of the sorrows that are in my heart do remember what I have read and heard what thou hast done in the dayes of old how that thou hast been gracious to the penitent and severe against the unrepentant sinner I meditate also on all thy works but especially on that of thy mercy and I muse and exercise my self in contemplating on the works of thy hands admiring thy Power and Wisdom in the Creation of all things 6 I stretch forth and lift up my hands in my prayers unto thee O Lord my Soul which is dry for want of the dew of thy grace thirsteth after thee for the water of life as a thirsty land in a time of drought 7 Hear me and answer me speedily delay not O Lord for my spirit waxeth faint and faileth me in my devotion Oh hide not thy face and loving countenance from me miserable sinner lest it come to pass that I be like in condition unto them that go down headlong after their own inventions into the pit of destruction and perdition 8 Cause me by thy Spirit to hear and feel thy loving kindness and mercy in the morning speedily lest I perish for in thee only and not in the help of Men or Angels do I place my whole trust and confidence Cause me by thy grace to know and learn the way of thy testimonies wherein I should and ought to walk without declining to the right hand or the left For I lift up my soul by prayer and repentance unto thee who only canst direct me aright 9 Desiver me O Lord by thy power from all mine Enemies visible and invisible for I flee and make haste for succour unto thee as to my Protector to hide and defend me from their violence 10 Teach and instruct me that am ignorant to do thy Will and those things which thou commandest for thou art thy God and Director Thy Spirit is good and all-sufficient for me Lead me therefore by it into the right way which bringeth into the Land of Righteousness and Truth 11 Quicken me again O Lord and revive me from the death of sin for thy Names sake which is Jesus and for thy Righteousness sake and love to goodness bring my Soul by thy grace out of the trouble and anguish whereinto my sins have brought me 12 And of thy tender mercy and compassion cut off and kill in me mine Enemies the concupiscences of the flesh and destroy and confound all them that with injuries and tentations afflict and disquiet my Soul which is wholy devoted to thee for I am thy servant and Son of thy Handmaid and desire to serve thee in holiness and righteousness all the dayes of my life Glory be to the Father c. Directions before Receiving the Holy Communion AS many as desire to be partakers of the holy Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ as of necessity every one must be that intendeth to receive benefit by him ought before the
Chiding Hatred And all other things of this nature which may be as provocations to slaughter And on the contrary he enjoyneth us To love our Neighbours as our selves To live peaceably and quietly with them To do good for evil And all this because Man is the Image of God Flesh of our Flesh. The thing that Christ paid so dear for The Seventh Commandement Thou shalt not commit Adultery THe chief aim and scope of this Commandement is to preserve the marriage bed inviolate And with great reason it is placed next to the prohibiting of homicide because that next and dearest to a man after his own life is the preservation and honour of his Wife for they two are but one flesh And by this Commandement is also implicitely and secretly forbidden Whoredom Incest Sodomy Sins against Nature Unlawful Desires and Affections Uncleanness Evil Talk Obscene Songs And Impudent Behaviour Uncivil Sight Lascivious Pictures Intemperance of Diet. Delicacy and Excess in Apparrel And the like Being provocations to the Sin here forbidden And as we are prohibited these things so are we commanded hereby To live Chastly Temperately Modestly And purely in Heart For by these Vertues as our Saviour telleth us we shall come to the Beatifical Vision of God and enjoy that Blessedness which he hath promised to those that in pureness of heart love and serve him The Eighth Commandement Thou shalt not Steal THat is thou shalt not take from another any thing which is not thine own And against this Commandement we may offend divers wayes By committing Sacrilege taking any thing from the Church By with-holding that which is due to King or Prince By robbing on the high way or out of houses By deceiving any man In bargaining In false weights and measures In being bankrupt without cause By oppressing the Poor or keeping his pledge By encroaching upon the possessions of any other either by violence openly or by fraud in removing Land-marks c. By keeping that which is found from the true Owner By denying or concealing a trust By detaining the Labourers hire By living idlely and eating out of another mans labour By neglecting a Masters service and mis-spending his goods The Ninth Commandement Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy Neighbour THou shalt not give false evidence before a Iudge against any man Whosoever doth so is not only guilty of the breach of this Commandement but of the Third also in committing Perjury Neither is false Testimony with an Oath forbidden only but also without an Oath 1. Thou shalt not accuse thy Brother unjustly Slander him Revile him Backbite him Abuse him by uncivil jests 2. Thou shalt not lye or equivocate Either for sport Or to avoid danger or loss For though some seem to approve Of Iacob in lying to his Father that he was Esau. The Midwives to save the Children Rahab the Harlot to save the Spies Michol to save David her Husband Iudith to deceive Holofernes Yet it is safer with Saint Augustine to hold that all lyes being directly opposite to truth must needs be sin The Tenth Commandement Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours House THis Commandement is directly against Coveteousness or evil Concupiscence the issue of Original Sin which was derived to all Mankind after the fall of Adam No man ought to covet or desire no not so much as in his heart any thing which belongeth to another man and whereby he may receive any damage or detriment Neither his House which is his inheritance and his defence against the heat of the Sun and the sharpness of the cold Nor his Wife which is bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh His Partner as well in sorrow as pleasure Nor his Servants without whose help and labour he cannot dispatch his affairs Nor his Cattel which do his work In conclusion nothing which may any way prejudice him Now seeing that He which is guilty in breaking one part of the Law offendeth in all And that to the keeping of it the whole inward and outward man is required And that the Flesh while we are in this world is wholly opposite to the Spirit It is impossible for us to fullfil the same by our own endeavours For it is with us as it was with Saint Paul In our flesh dwelleth no good thing and the good that we would we do not but the evil which we would not that we do And seeing also That by the deeds of the Law no man can be justified Not that the Law is in fault being good of it self but our own Flesh The carnal mind being enmity with God And they which are in the flesh not being able to please him For the comfort therefore of all when as neither the works of the Law could justifie us nor we were able to fullfil the same God of his infinite mercy sent his Son Christ Iesus into the World That he suffering death for us might redeem us from the curse of the Law that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through Faith For in him all the Promises Ceremonies and the Law it self were fulfilled and ended 1. The Promises As The Seed of the Woman shall break the Serpents head In thee shall all the Nations of the Earth be blessed 2. The Ceremonies The Priesthood by his Eternal Priesthood The Sacrifices by his own Oblation Circumcision by his Circumcisiou and Baptism Passover by the Eucharist 2. The Law By his Satisfaction and absolute fulfilling of it in whom was no sin nor spot but an absolute and perfect Righteousness which Righteousness he hath of his free will and mercy imputed to us and made ours if with a lively Faith we apprehend him and believe on him And in this respect it may be said that he observeth and fulfilleth the Law of God who not trusting to himself or his own works commendeth himself wholly to the Grace of God and seeketh all his Righteousness by Faith in Christ Iesus So that we are to rely on those words which Saint Paul spake in his Sermon at Antioch Be it known unto you therefore Men and Brethren that through this man Christ Iesus is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins And by him all that believe are justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the Law of Moses But yet we must take this along with us That this Faith whereby we believe that Christ satisfied the Law and is become our Righteousness and Perfection is meerly by Gods grace and favour infused into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which stirreth up in us a love and desire to keep the Law of God which though the same desire never attaineth to perfection while we live in these Earthly Tabernacles for the frailty and indisposition of the Flesh yet God in his mercy accepteth the same for Christs sake For