thing beseech God that he will inflame thy heart with this heavenly fire of devotiâ—n and when thou hast obtained it beware that thou neither quench it by any wilful sin nor let it go out again for want of stirring it up and imploying it 23. Fifthly we must Pray with purity I mean we must purge our hearts from all affections to sin This is surely the meaning of the Apostle 1 Tim. 2. 8. When he commands men to lift up holy hands in Prayer and he there instances in one special sort of sin wrath and doubting whereby doubting is meant those unkind disputes and contentions which are so common amongst men And surely he that cherishes that or any other sin in hiâ— heart can never lift up those holy hands which are required in this duty And then sure his prayers be they never so many or earnest will little avail him The Psalmist will tell him he shall not be heard Psal. 66. 18. If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me Nay Solomon will tell him yet worse that his prayers are not onely vain but abominable Pro. 15. 8. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. And thus to have our prayers turned into sin is one of the heaviest things can befal any man we see it is set down in that sad Catalogue of curses Psal. 109. 7. Therefore let us not be so cruel to our selves as to pull it upon our own heads which we certainly do if we offer up prayers from an impure heart 24. In the last place we must direct our prayers to right ends And that either in the respect of the prayer it self or the things we pray for First we must pray not to gain the praise of devotion amongst men like those hypocrites Mat. 6. 5. Nor yet onely for company or fashion sake to do as other do But we must do it first as an act of worship to God Secondly as an acknowledgment that he is that great spring from whence alone we expect all good things And thirdly to gain a supply of our own or others needs Then in respect of the things prayed for we must be sure to have no ill aimes upon them we must not ask that we may consume it upon our lusts Ia. 4. 3. as those do who pray for wealth that they may live in riot and excess and for power that they may be able to mischief their enemies and the like But our end in all must be Gods glory first and next that our own and others Salvation and all other things must be taken in onely as they tend to those which they can never do if we abuse them to sin I have now done with that first part of worship that of the Soul 25. The other is that of the body and that is nothing else but such humble and reverent gestures in our approaches to God as may both express the inward reverence of our Souls and may also pay him some tribute from our very bodies with which the Apostle commands us to glorify God as well as with our Souls and good reason since he hath created and redeemed the one as well as the other whensoever therefore thou offerest thy prayers unto God let it be with all lowliness as well of body as of mind according to that of the Psalmist Psal. 95. 6. O come let us worship let us fall down and kneel before the Lord our maker 26. The ninth duty to God is REPENTANCE That this is a duty to God we are taught by the Apostle Acts 20. 21. where speaking of repentance he stiles it repentance towards God And there is good reason this should be a duty to him since there is no sin we commit but is either mediatly or immediatly against him For though there be sins both against our selves and our neighbours yet they being forbidden by God they are also breaches of his Commandements and so sins against him This repentance is in short nothing but a turning frâ—m sin to God the casting off all our former evils and in stead thereof constantly practising all those Christian duties which God requireth of us And this is so necessary a duty that without it we certainly perish we have Christs word for it Luke 13. 5. Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish 27. The directions for performing the several parts of this duty have been already given in the preparation to the Lords Supper and thither I refer the reader Onely I shall here mind him that it is to be lookt upon as a duty to be practised onely at the time of receiving the Sacrament For this being the onely remedy against the poyson of sin we must renew it as often as we repeat our sins that is daily I mean we must every day repent of the sins of that day for what Christ saith of other evils is true also of this sufficient to the day is the evil thereof we have sins enough of each day to exercise a daily repentance and therefore every man must thus daily call himself to account 28. But as it is in accounts they who constantly set down their daily expences have yet some set time of casting up the whole summe as at the end of the week or moneth so should it also be here we should set aside some time to humble our selves solemnly before God for the sins not of that day onely but of our whole lives And the frequenter these times are the better For the oftner we thus cast up our accounts with God and see vast debts we are run in to him the more humbly shall we think of our selves and the more shall thirst after his mercy which two are the special things that must qualify us for his pardon He therefore that can assign himself one day in the week for this purpose will take a thriving course for his Soul Or if any mans state of life be so busie as not to afford him to do it so often let him yet come as neer to that frequency as is possible for him remembring alwayes that none of his worldly imployments can bring him in neer so gainful a return as this spiritual one will do and therefore it is very ill husbandry to pursue them to the neglect of this 29. Besides these constant times there are likewise occasion all times for the performance of this duty such especially are the times of calamity and affliction for when any such befals us we are to look on it as a message sent from Heaven to call us to this duty and therefore must never neglect it when we are thus summoned to it lest we be of the number of them who despise the chastisements of the Lord Heb. 12. 5. 30. There is yet another time of repentance which in the practice of men hath gotten away the custome from all those and that is the time of death which it is true is
me Blessed be the Lord God even the God of Israel which onely doth wondrous things And blessed be the Name of his Majesty for ever and all the earth shall be filled with his Majesty Amen Amen For DELIVERANCE from TROUBLE BE merciful unto me O Lord be merciful unto me for my Soul trusteth in thee and under the shadow of thy wings shall be my refuge until these calamities be overpast Deliver me O Lord from mine enemies for I flye unto thee to hide me O keep my Soul and deliver me let me not be confounded for I have put my trust in thee Mine eyes are ever looking unto the Lord for he shall pluck my feet out of the net Turn thee unto me and have mercy upon me for I am desolate and in misery The sorrowes of my heart are enlarged O bring thou me out of my troubles For the CHURCH O Be favourable and gracious unto Sion build thou the walls of Jerusalem O God wherefore art thou absent from us so long Why is thy wrath so hot against the sheep of thy pasture O think upon thy Congregation whom thou hast purchased and Redeemed of old Look upon the Tribe of thine Inheritance and Mount Sion where thou hast dwelt It is time for thee Lord to lay to thy hand for they have destroyed thy Law Arise O God and maintain thine own cause Deliver Israel O God out of all his troubles Brief heads of SELF-EXAMINATION Especially before the SACRAMENT Collected out of the foregoing Treatise concerning the breaches of our DUTY To GOD. NOt believing there is a God Not believing his Word Not believing it Practically so as to live according to our belief Despairing of Gods mercy so as to neglect duty Presuming groundlesly on it whilest we go on in wilful sin Not loving God for his own excellencies Not loving him for his goodness to us Not labouring to please him Not desiring to draw neer to him in his Ordinances Not longing to enjoy him in Heaven Not fearing God so as to keep from offending him Fearing man above him by committing sin to shun some outward suffering Not trusting on God in dangers and distresses Using unlawful means to bring us out of them Not depending on God for supply of our wants Immoderate care for outward things Neglecting to labour and expecting God should support us in our idleness Not looking up to God for a blessing on our honest endeavours Not having a high esteem of God Not submitting obediently to act his will Not patiently suffering it but murmuring at his corrections Not amending by them Not being thankful to him Not acknowledging his wisdom in choosing for us but having eager and impatient desires of our own Not honouring God by a reverend usage of the things that relate to him Behaving our selvs irreverently in his House Robbing God by taking things that are consecrated to him Profaning Holy times the Lords Day and the Feasts and Fasts of the Church Neglecting to read the Holy Scriptures not marking when we do read Being careless to get knowledg of our duty Chusing rather to continue ignorant then put our selves to the pains or shame of learning Placing Religion in hearing of Sermons without practising them Breaking our vow made at Baptism By resorting to witches and conjurers i. e. to the Devil By loving the pomps and vanities of the world and following its sinful customes By fulfilling the lusts of the flesh Profaning the Lords Supper By coming to it ignorantly without examination contrition and purposes of new life By behaving our selves irreverently at it without devotion and spiritual affection By neglecting to keep the promises made at it Profaning Gods Name by blasphemous thoughts or discourse Giving others occasion to blaspheme him by our vile and wicked lives Taking unlawful oaths Perjury Swearing in ordinary communication Not worshipping God Omitting prayers publick or private and being glad of a pretence to do so Asking unlawful things or to unlawful ends Not purifying our hearts from sin before we pray Not praying with Faith and Humility Coldness and deadness in prayer Wandring thoughts in it Irreverent gestures of body in prayer Neglecting the duty of Repentance Not calling our selves to daily account for our sins Not assigning any set or solemn times for humiliation and confession or too seldom Not deeply considering our sins to beget contrition for them Not acting revenges on our selves by fasting and other acts of Mortification Outward Idolatry in worshipping of creatures Inward Idolatry in placing our love joy and other affections more on creatures then the Creator To our SELVES Being pufft up with high conceits of our selves In respect of natural parts as beauty wit c Of worldly riches and honours Of Grace Greedily seeking the praise of men Directing Christian Actions as prayer almes c. to that end Committing sins to avoid reproach from wicked men Disturbing our minds with anger and peevishness Not carefully examining what our estate towards God is Not trying our selves by the true rule i. e. our obedience to Gods Commands Not weighing the lawfulness of our actions before we venture on them Not examining our past actions to repent of the ill to give God the glory of the good Uncontentedness in our estates Greedy desires after honour and riches Seeking to gain them by sinful means Envying the condition of other men Being negligent in observing and resisting temptations Not improving Gods gifts outward or inward to his honour Abusing our natural parts as wit memory strength c. to sin Neglecting or resisting the motions of Gods Spirit Uncleanness adultery fornication unnatural lusts c. Uncleanness of the eye and hand Filthy and obscene talking Impure fancies and desires Heightning of lust by pampering the body Not labouring to subdue it by fasting or other severities Eating too much Making pleasure not health the enâ— of eating Being too curious or costly in meats Drunkenness Drinking more then is useful to our bodies though not to drunkenness Wasting the time or estate in good fellowship Abusing our strength of brain to the makeing others drunk Immoderate sleeping Idleness and negligence in our callings Using unlawful recreations Being too vehement upon lawful ones Spending too much time at them Being drawn by them to anger or covetousness Being proud of apparel Striving to go beyond our rank Bestowing too much time care or cost about it Abstaining from such excesses not out of conscience but covetousness Pinching our bodies to fill our purses To our NEIGHBOUR Being injurious to our Neighbour Delighting causlesly to grieve his mind Ensnaring his Soul in sin by command counsel enticement or example Affrighting him from Godliness by our scoffing at it Not seeking to bring those to Repentance whom we have led into sin Murder open or secret Drawing men to intemperance or other vices which may bring diseases or death Stirring men up to quarrelling and fighting Maiming or hurting the body of our Neighbour Fierceness and rage against him Coveting our
till that be done 3. The second part of prayer is petition That is the begging of God whatsoever we want either for our Souls or bodies For our Souls we must first beg pardon of sins and that for the sake of Jesus Christ who shed his blood to obtain it Then we must also beg the grace and assistance of Gods Spirit to enable us to forsake our sins and to walk in obedience to him And herein it will be needful particularly to beg all the several vertues as faith love zeal purity repentance and the like but especially those which thou most wantest And therefore observe what thy wants are and if thou beest proud be most instant in praying for humility if lustful for chastity and so for all other graces according as thou findest thy needs And in all these things that concern thy Soul be very earnest and importunate take no denial from God nor give over though thou do not presently obtain what thou suest for But if thou hast never so long prayed for a grace and yet findest it not do not grow weary of praying but rather search what the cause may be which makes thy prayer so ineffectual see if thou do not thy self hinder them perhaps thou prayest to God to enable thee to conquer some sin and yet never goest about to fight against it never makest any resistance but yeâ—ldest to it as oft as it comes nay puttest thy self in its way in the road of all temptations If it be thus no wonder though thy prayers avail not for thou wilt not let them Therefore amend this and set to the doing of thy part sincerely and then thou needest not fear but God will do his 4. Secondly We are to petition also for our bodies That is we are to ask of God such necessaries of life as are needful to us while we live here But these onely in such a degree and measure as his wisdom sees best for us we must not presume to be our own câ—rvers and pray for all that wealth or greatness which our own vain hearts may perhaps desire but onely â—or such a condition in respect of outward things as he sees may most tend to those great ends of our living here the glorifying him and the saving of our own Souls 5. A third part of prayer is Deprecation that is when we pray to God to turn away some evil from us Now this evil may be either the evil of sin or the evil of punishment The evil of sin is that we are especially to pray against most earnestly begging of God that he will by the power of his grace preserve us from falling into sin And whatever sins they are to which thou knowest thy self most inclined there be particularly earnest with God to preserve thee from them This is to be done daily but then more especially when we are under any present temptation in danger of falling into any sin In which case we have reason to cry out as St. Peter did when he found himself sinking save Lord or I perish humbly beseeching him either to withdraw the temptation or strengthen us to withstand it neither of which we can do for our selves 6. Secondly We are likewise to pray against the evil of punishment but principally against spiritual punishments as the anger of God the withdrawing of his grace and eternal damnation Against these we can never pray with too much earnestness but we may also pray against temporal punishments that is any outward affliction but this with submission to Gods will according to the example of Christ Mat. 26. 39. Not as I will but as thou wilt 7. A fourth part of prayer is intercession that is praying for others This in general we are to do for all mankind as well strangers as acquaintance but more particularly those to whom we have any especial relation either publick as our Governours both in Church and State or private as Parents Husband Wife Children Friends c. We are also to pray for all that are in affliction and such particular persons as we discern especially to be so Yea we are to pray for those that have done injury those that despightfully use us and persecute us for it is expresly the command of Christ Mat. 5. 44. and that whereof he hath likewise given us the highest example in praying even for his very crucifiers Luc. 23. 34. Father forgive them For all these sorts of persons we are to pray and that for the very same good things we beg of God for our selves that God would give them in their several places and callings all spiritual and temporal blessings which he sees wanting to them and turn away from them all evil whether of sin or punishment 8. The fifth part of prayer is thanksgiving That is the praising and blessing God for all his mercies whether to our own persons and those that immediatly relate to us or to the Church and Nation whereof we are members or yet more general to all mankind And this for all his mercies both spiritual and temporal In the spiritual first for those wherein we are all in common concerned as the giving of his Son the sending of his Spirit and all those means he hath used to bring sinful men unto himself Then secondly for those mercies we have in our own particulars received such are the having been born within the pale of the Church and so brought up in Christian Religion by which we have been partakers of those precious advantages of the word and Sacraments and so have had without any care or pains of ours the means of eternal life put into our hands But besides these there is none of us but have received other spiritual means from God 9. As first Gods patience and long-suffering waiting for our repentance and not cutting us off in our sins Secondly his calls and invitations of us to that repentance not only outward in the ministry of the word but also inward by the motions of his Spirit But then if thou be one that hath by the help of Gods grace been wrought upon by these calls and brought from a prophane or worldly to a Christian course of life thou art surely in the highest degree tyed to magnifie and praise his goodness as having received from him the greatest of mercies 10. We are likewise to give thanks for temporal blessings whether such as concern the publick as the prosperity of the Church or Nation and all remarkable deliverances offered to either or else such as concern our particulars such are all the good things of this life which we enjoy as health friends food rayment and the like also for those minuitly preservations whereby we are by Gods gracious providence kept from danger and the especial deliverances which God hath given us in time of greatest perils It will be impossible to set down the several mercies which everyman receives from God because they
intreaty no perswasion can prevail with them to make this so reasonable so necessary a change not but that they acknowledge it needful to be done but they are unwilling to do it yet they would enjoy all the pleasures of sin as long as they live and then they hope at their death or some little time before it to do all the business of their Souls But alas Heaven is too high to be thus jumped into the way to it is a long and leasurely ascent which requires time to walk The hazards of such deferring are more largely spoken of in the discourse of Repentance I shall not here repeat them but desire the Reader seriously to lay them to heart and then surely he will think it seasonable counsel that is given by the wise man Ecclus 5. 7. Make no tarrying to turn to the Lord and put not off from day to day PRIVATE DEVOTIONS For Several OCCASIONS London Printed for T. Garthwait at the little North Door of St. Pauls CHRISTIAN READER I Have for the help of thy devotions set down some FORMS of PRIVATE-PRAYER upon several occasions If it be thought an omission that there are none for Families I must answer for my self that it was not from any opinion that God is not as well to be worship'd in the Family as in the Closet but because the providence of God and the Church hath already furnish'd thee for that purpose infinitely beyond what my utmost care could do I mean the PUBLICK LITURGY or COMMON-PRAYER which for all publick addresses to God and such are family-Prayers are so excellent and useful that we may say of it as David did of Goliah's sword 1 Sam. 21. 9. There is none like it DIRECTIONS for the MORNING As soon as ever thou awakest in the morning lift up thy heart to God in this or the like short Prayer LORD As thou hast awaked my body from sleep so by thy grace awaken my soul from sin and make me so to walk before thee this day and all the rest of my life that when the last trumpet shall awake me out of my grave I may rise to the life immortal through Jesus Christ. WHEN thou hast thus begun suffer not without some urgent necessity any worldly thoughts to fill thy mind till thou have also payd thy more solemn devotions to Almighty God and therefore during the time thou art dressing thy self which should be no longer then common decency requires exercise thy mind in some spiritual thoughts As for example Consider to what temptations thy business or company that day are most like to lay thee open and arm thy self with resolutions against them or again consider what occasions of doing service to God or good to thy neighbour are that day most likely to present themselves and resolve to embrace them and also contrive hoâ— thou maist improve them to the uttermost But especially it will be fit for thee to examine whether there have any sin escaped thee since thy last nights examination If after these considerations any farther leisure remain thou maist profitably imploy it in meditating on the general resurrection whereof our rising from our beds is a representation and of that dreadful judgment which shall follow it and then think with thy self in what preparation thou art for it and resolve to husband carefully every minute of thy time towards the fitting thee for that great account As soon as thou art ready retire to some private place and there offer up to God thy Morning Sacrifice of Praise and Prayer PRAYERS for the MORNING At thy first kneeling down say O Holy Blessed and Glorious Trinity three Persons and one God have mercy upon me a miserable sinner Lord I know not what to pray for as I ought O let thy spirit help my infirmities and enable me to offer up a spiritual sacrifice acceptable to thee by Jesus Christ. A THANKSGIVING O Gracious Lord whose mercies endure for ever I thy unworthy servant who have so deeply tasted of them desire to render thee the tribute of my humblest prayses for them In thee O Lord I live and move and have my being thou first madest me to be and then that I might not be miserable but happy thou sentest thy Son out of thy bosome to redeem me from the power of my sins by his grace and from the punishment of them by his blood and by both to bring me to his glory Thou hast by thy mercy caused me to be born within thy peculiar fold the Christian Church where I was early consecrated to thee in Baptism and have been partaker of all those spiritual helps which might aid me to perform that Vow I there made to thee and when by my own willfulnesse or negligence I have failed to do it yet thou in thy manifold mercies hast not forsaken me but hast graciously invited me to repentance afforded me all means both outward and inward for it and with much patience hast attended and not cut me off in the acts of those many damning sins I have committed as I have most justly deserved It is O Lord thy restraining grace alone by which I have been kept back from any the greatest sins and it is thy inciting and assisting grace alone by which I have been enabled to do any the least good therefore not unto me not unto me but unto thy name be the praises For these all other thy spiritual blessings my Soul doth magnify the Lord all that is within me praise his Holy Name I likewise praise thee for those many outward blessings I enjoy as Health Friends Food and Raiment the comforts as well as the necessaries of this life for those continual protections of thy hand by which I and mine are kept from dangers and those gracious deliverances thou hast often afforded out of such as have befallen me and for that mercy of thine whereby thou hast sweetned and alayed those troubles thou hast not seen fit wholy to remove For thy particular preservation of me this night and all other thy goodness towards me Lord grant that I may render thee not onely the fruit of my lips but the obedience of my life that so these blessings here may be an earnest of those richer blessings thou hast prepared for those that love thee and that for his sake whom thou hast made the Authour of eternal Salvation to all that obey him even Jesus Christ. A CONFESSION O Righteous Lord who hatest iniquity I thy sinful creature cast my self at thy feet acknowledging that I most justly deserve to be utterly abhorred and forsaken by thee for I have drunk iniquity like water gone on in a continued course of sin and rebellion against thee daily committing those things thou forbiddest and leaving undone those things thou commandest mine heart which should be an habitation for thy Spirit is become a cage of unclean birds of foul and disordered affections and out of this abundance of the heart my mouth speaketh my
of danger thou hast not the less but the greater cause to magnify God who hath by his protection so guarded thee that not so much as the fear of evil hatâ— assaulted thee And therefore omit not to pay him the tribute of humble thankfulness as well for his usual and daily preservations as his more extraordinary deliverances And above all endeavour still by the considerations of his mercies to have thy heart the more closely knit to him remembring that every favour received from him is a new engagement upon thee to love and obey him PRAYERS for NIGHT. O Holy blessed and glorious Trinity three persons and one God have mercy upon me a miserable sinner Lord I know not what to pray for as I ought O let thy Spirit help my infirmities and enable me to offer up a spiritual Sacrifice acceptable unto thee by Jesus Christ. A CONFESSION O MOST Holy Lord God who are of purer eyes then to behold iniquity now shall I abominable wretch dare to appear before thee who am nothing but pollution I am defiled in my very nature having a backwardness to all good and a readiness to all evil but I have defiled my self yet much worse by my own actual sins and wicked customes I have transgrest my duty to thee my neighbour and my self and that both in thought in word in deed by doing those things which thou hast expresly forbidden and by neglecting to do those things thou hast commanded me And this not onely through ignorance and frailty but knowingly and wilfully against the motions of thy Spirit and the checks of my own conscience to the contrary And to make all these out of measure sinful I have gone on in a daily course of repeating these provocations against thee notwithstanding all thy calls to and my own purposes and â—owes of amendmeut yea this very day I have not ceased to add new sins to all my former guilts Here name the Particulars And now O Lord what shall I say or how shall I open my mouth seeing I have done these things I know that the wages of these sins is death but O thou who willest not the death of a sinner have mercy upon me work in me I beseech thee a sincere contrition and a perfect hatred of my sins and let me not daily confess and yet as daily renew them but grant O Lord that from this instant I may give a bill of divorce to all my most beloved â—lusts and then be thou pleased to marry me to thy self in truth in righteousness and holiness And for all my past sins O Lord receive a reconciliation accept of that ransom thy blessed Son hath paid for me and for his sake whom thou hast set forth as a propitiation pardon all my offences and receive me to thy favour And when thou hast thus spoken peace to my soul Lord keep me that I turn not any more to folly but so establish me with thy grace that no temptation of the world the Divel or my own flesh may ever draw me to offend thee that being made free from sin and becoming a servant unto God I may have my fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord. A THANKSGIVING O Thou Father of mercies who art kind even to the unthankful I acknowledg my self to have abundantly experimented that gracious property of thine for notwithstanding my daily provocations against thee thou still heapest mercies and loving kindness upon me All my contempts and despisings of thy spiritual favours have not yet made thee withdraw them but in the riches of thy goodness and long-suffering thou still continuest to me the offers of grace and life in thy Son And all my abuses of thy temporal blessings thou hast not punished with an utter deprivation of them but art still pleased to afford me a liberal portion of them The sins of this day thou hast not repayed as justly thou might'st by sweeping me away with a swift destruction but hast spared and preserved me according to the greatness of thy mercy Here mention the particular mercies of that day What shall I render unto the Lord for all these benefits he hath done unto me Lord let this goodness of thine lead me to repentance and grant that I may not only offer thee thanks and praise but may also order my conversation aright that so I may at the last see the salvation of God through Jesus Christ. Here use the Prayer for Grace and that of Intercession appointed for the Morning For PRESERVATION O Blessed Lord the Keeper of Israel that neither slumbrest nor sleepest be pleased in thy mercy to watch over me this night keep me by thy grace from all works of darkness and defend me by thy power from all dangers grant me moderate and refreshing sleep such as may fit me for the duties of the day following And Lord make me ever mindful of that time when I shall lye down in the dust and because I know neither the day nor the hour of my Masters coming grant me grace that I may be always ready that I may never live in such a state as I shall fear to dye in but that whether I live I may live unto the Lord or whether I dye I may dye unto the Lord so that living and dying I may be thine through Jesus Christ. Vse the same concluding prayer as in the Morning As thou art putting off thy clothes thiâ—k with thy self that the time approaches that thou must put off thy body also and then thy soul must appear naked before Gods judgment feat and therefore thou hadst need be careful to make it so clean and pure by repentance and holiness that he who will not look on iniquity may graciously behold and accept it Let thy bed put thee in mind of thy grave and when thou lyest down say O Blessed Saviour who by thy precious death and burial didst take away the sting of death and power of the grave grant me the joyful fruits of that thy victory and be thou to me in life and death advantage I will lay me down in peace and take my rest for it is thou Lord only that makest me dwell in safety Into thy hands I commend my spirit for thou hast redeemed it O Lord thou God of truth IN the ANCIENT CHURCH there were besides morning and night Four other times every day which were called HOURS OF PRAYER and the zeal of thosâ— first Christians was such as made them constantly observed It would be thought too great a strictness now in this lukewarm age to enjâ—yn the like frequency yet I cannot but mention the example and say that for those who are not by very necessary business prevented it will be but reasonable to imitate it and make up in publick and private those FOUR TIMES of PRAYER besides the OFFICES already set down for MORNING and NIGHT and that none may be to seek how to exer I se their devotions at these
I come before with an importunity and earnestness answerable to those pressing wants I have to be supplied and with such a fixedness and attention of mind as no wandring thoughts may interrupt that I may no more incur the guilt of drawing neer to thee with my lips when my heart is far from thee or have my prayers turned into sin but may so ask that I may receive seek that I may find knock that it may be opened unto me that from praying to thee here I may be translated to the praising thee eternally in thy glory through the merits and intercession of Jesus Christ. For HUMILITY O Thou High and Lofty one that inhabitest Eternity yet art pleased to dwell with the humble spirit pour into my heart I beseech thee that excellent grace of Humility which may utterly work out all those vain conceits I have of my self Lord convince me powerfully of my own wretchedness make me to see that I am miserable and poor and blind and naked and not onely dust but sin that so in all thy dispensations towards me I may lay my hand upon my mouth and heartily acknowledge that I am less then the least of thy mercies and greater then the greatest of thy Judgements And O Lord grant me not onely to walk humbly with my God but even with men also that I may not onely submit my self to thy rebukes but even to those of my fellow Christians and with meekness receive and obey their admonitions And make me so to behave my self towards all that I never do any thing through strife or vain-glory and to that end grant that in lowliness of mind I may esteem every other man better then my self and be willing that others should esteem them so also that I neither nourish any high opinion of my self nor covet one among others but that despising the vain praise of men I may seek that praise which cometh from thee onely That so in stead of those mean servile Arts I have used to recommend me to the esteem of men I may now imploy all my industry and care to approve my self to thee who resistest the proud and giveth grace to the humble grant this O Lord for his sake who humbled himself unto the death of the Corss Jesus Christ. For the FEAR of GOD. O Glorious Majesty who onely art high and to be feared possess my Soul with a Holy awe and reverence of thee that I may give thee the honour due unto thy Name and may bear such a respect to all things which relate to thee that I may never prophane any Holy thing or sacrilegiously invade what thou hast set apart to thy self And O Lord since thou art a God that wilt not clear the guilty let the dread of thy justice make me tremble to provoke thee in any thing O let me not so misplace my fear as to be afraid of a man that shall die and of the Son of mâ—n who shall be made as grass and forget the Lord my Maker But replenish my Soul with that fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom which may be as a bridle to all my brutish appetites and keep me in a constant conformity to thy Holy will Hear me O Lord I beseech thee and put this fear in my heart that I may not depart from thee but may with fear and trembling work out my own Salvation through Jesus Christ. For TRUST on GOD. O Almighty Lord who never failest them that trust on thee give me grace I beseech thee in all my difficulties and distresses to have recourse to thee to rest and depend on thee thou shalt keep him O Lord in perfect peace whose mind is staid on thee O let me alwayes rest on this firm Pillar and never exchange it for the broken reeds of worldly succours suffer not my heart to be overcharged with cares of this life taking thought what I shall eat or drink or wherewithall I shall be clothed but grant that having by honest labour and industry done my part I may cheerfully commit my self to thy providence casting all my care upon thee and being careful for nothing but to be of the number of those whom thou ownest and carest for even such as keep thy Testimonies and think upon thy Commandments to do them That seeking first thy Kingdom and the righteousness thereof all these outward things may be added unto me in such a measure as thy wisdom knowest best for me grant this O Lord for Jesus Christ his sake For THANKFULNES O Most Gracious and Bountiful Lord who fillest all things living with good and expectest no other return but praise and thanksgiving let me O Lord never defraud thee of that so easy tribute but let my heart be ever filled with the sense and my mouth with the acknowledgment of thy mercies It is a joyful and a pleasant thing to be thankful O suffer me not I beseech thee to loose my part in that Divine pleasure but grant that as I daily receive blessings from thee so I may daily from an affectionate and devout heart offer up thanks to thee and grant that not onely my lips but my life may shew forth thy praise by consecrating my self to thy service and walking in Holiness and Righteousness before thee all the dayes of my life through Jesus Christ my Lord and blessed Saviour For CONTRITION O Holy Lord who art a merciful embracer of true penitents but yet a consuming fire towards obstinate sinners how shall I approach thee who have so many provoking sins to inflame thy wrath and â—o little sincere repentance to incline thy mercy O be thou pleased to soften and melt this hard obdurate heart of mine that I may heartily bewail the iniquities of my life strike this rock O Lord that the waters may flow out even flouds of tears of wash my polluted conscience My drowzy Soul hath too long slept securely in sin Lord awake it though it be with thunder and let me rather feel thy terrours then not feel my sin Thou sentest thy blessed Son to heal the broken hearted but Lord what will that avail me if my heart be whole O break it that it may be capable of his healing vertue and grant I beseech thee that having once tasted the bitterness of sin I may flye from it as from the face of a serpent and bring forth fruits of repentance in amendment of life to the praise and glory of thy grace in Jesus Christ our blessed Redeemer For MEEKNES O Blessed Jesu who wert led as a sheep to the slaughter Let I beseech thee that admirable example of Meekness quench in me all sparks of anger and revenge and work in me such a gentleness and calmness of spirit as no provocations may ever be able to disturb Lord grant I may be so far from offering the least injury that I may never return the greatest any otherwise then with prayers and kindness that I who have so many talents to be
Neighbours wife Actually defiling her Spoiling the goods of others upon spight and malâ—ce Coveting to gain them to our selves Oppressing by violence and force or colour of Law Not paying what we borrow Not paying what we have voluntarily promised Keeping back the wages of the servant and hireling Unfaithfulness in trusts whether to the living or dead Using Arts of deceit in buying and selling Exacting upon the necessities of our Neighbours Blasting the credit of our Neighbour By False Witness By Railng By whispering Incouraging others in their slanders Being forward to beleeve ill reports of our Neighbour Causeless suspicions Rash judging of him Despising him for his infirmities Inviting others to do so by scoffing and deriding him Bearing any malice in the heart Secret wishing of death or any kind of hurt to our Neighbour Rejoicing when any evil befalls him Neglecting to make what satisfaction we can for any sort of injury done to our Neighbour Lying Churlish and proud behaviour to others Froward and peevish conversation Bitter and reproachful language Cursing Not paying the respect due to the qualities or gifts of others Proudly overlooking them Seeking to lessen others esteem of them Not imploying our abilities whether of mind or estate in administring to those whose wants require it Unthankfulness to our Benefactours Especially those that admonish us Not amending upon their reproof Being angry at them for it Not reverencing our Civil Parent the lawful Magistrate Judging and speaking evil of him Grudging his just tributes Sowing sedition among the people Refusing to obey his lawful commands Rising up against him or taking part with them that do Despising our Spiritual Fathers Not loving them for their works sake Not obeying those Commands of God they deliver to us Seeking to withold from them their just maintenance Forsaking our lawful Pastors to follow factious teachers Stubborn and irreverent behaviour to our natural Parents Despising and publishing their infirmities Not loving them nor endeavouring to bring them joy and comfort Contemning their counsels Murmuring at their Government Coveting their estates though by their death Not ministring to them in their wants of all sorts Neglecting to pray for Gods blessing on these several sorts of Parents Want of natural affection to children Mothers refusing to nurse them without a just impediment Not bringing them timely to Baptism Not early instructing them in the wayes of God Suffering them for want of timely correction to get customes of sin Setting them evil examples Discouraging them by harsh cruel usage Not providing for their subsistence according to our ability Consuming their portions in our own riot Reserving all till our death and letting them want in the mean time Not seeking to entail a blessing on them by our Christian lives Nor heartily praying for them Want of affection to our natural brethren Envyings heart-burnings towards them Not loving our spiritual brethren i. e. our fellow Christians Having no fellow-feeling of their sufferings Causelesly forsaking their commnnion in Holy Duties Not taking deeply to heart the desolations of the Church Marrying within the degrees forbidden Marrying for undue ends as covetousness lust c. Unkind froward and unquiet behaviour towards the husband or wife Unfaithfulness to the bed Not bearing with the infirmities of each other Not endeavouring to advance one anothers good spiritual or temporal The wife resisting the lawful command of her husband Her striving for rule and dominion over him Not praying for each other Unfaithfulness to a friend Betraying his secrets Denying him assistance in his needs Neglecting lovingly to admonish him Flattering him in his faults Forsaking his friendship upon flight or no cause Making leagues in sin in stead of vertuous friendships Servants disobeying the lawful commands of their Masters Purloining their goods Carelesly wasting them Murmuring at their rebukes Idleness Eye service Masters using servants tyrannically and cruelly Being too remiss and suffering them to neglect their duty Having no care of their Souls Not providing them means of instruction in Religion Not admonishing them when they commit sins Not allowing them time and opportunity for prayer and the worship of God Want of bowels and Charity to our Neighbours Not heartily desiring their good spiritual or temporal Not loving and forgiving enemies Taking actual revenges upon them Falsenâ—ss professing kindness and acting none Not labouring to do all good we can to the Soul of our Neighbour Not assisting him to our power in his bodily distresses Not defending his good name when we know or beleeve him slandered Denying him any neighbourly office to preserve or advance his estate Not defending him from oppression when we have power Not relieving him in his poverty Not giving liberally or cheerfully Not loving peace Going to Law upon slight occasions Bearing inward enmity to those we sue Not labouring to make peace among others The use of this Catalogue of sins is this Upon dayes of Humiliation especially before the Sacrament read them consideringly over and at every particular ask thine own heart Am I guilty of this And whatsoever by such examination thou findest thy self faulty in confess particularly and humbly to God with all the heightning circumstances which may any way increase their guilt and make serious resolutions against every such sin for the future After which thou mayest use this fâ—rm fâ—llâ—wing O LORD I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee for my iniquities are increased over my head and my trespass is growen up even unto Heaven I have wrought all these great provocations and that in the most provoking manner they have not been onely single but repeated acts of sin for O Lord of all this black Catalogue which I have now brought forth before thee how few are there which I have not often committed nay which are not become even habitual and customary to me And to this frequency I have added both a greediness and obstinacy in sinning turning into my course as the horse rusheth into the battel doing evil with both hands earnestly yea hating to be reformed and casting thy words behind me quenching thy Spirit within me which testified against me to turn me from my evil wayes and frustrating all those outward means whether of judgment or mercy which thou hast used to draw me to thy self Nay O Lord even my repentances may be numbred amongst my greatest sins they have sometimes been feigned and hypocritical alwayes so slight and ineffectual that they have brought forth no fruit in amendment of life but I have still returned with the dog to his vomit and the sow to the mire again and have added the breach of resolutions and vowes to all my former guilts Thus O Lord. I am become out of measure sinful and since I have thus chosen death I am most worthy to take part in it even in the second death the lake of fire and brimstone This this O Lord is in justice to be the portion of my cup to me belongs nothing but shame and
at it he goes up and down seeking whom he may devour 1 Pet 5. 8. He watches all opportunities of advantage against us with such diligence that he will be sure never to let any slip him Thirdly an enemy neer us is more to be feared then one at a distance for if he be far off we may have time to arm and prepare our selves against him but if he be neer he may steal on us unawars And of this sort is the flesh it is an enemy at our doors shall I say nay in our bosoms it is always neer us to take occasion of doing us mischiefs Fourthly the baser and falser an enemy is the more dangerous he that hides his malice under the shew of friendship will be able to do a great deal the more hurt And this again is the flesh which like Job to Abner 2 Sam. 3. 27 Pretends to speak peaceably to us but wounds us to death 't is forward to purvey for pleasures and delights for us and so seeâ—â—s very kind but it has a hook under that baite and if we 〈◊〉 at it we are lost Fifthly the number of enemies make them more terrible and the world is a vast army against us There is no state or condition in it nay scarce a creature which dâ—th not at sometime or other fight against the Soul The honours of the world seek to wound us by pride the wealth by covetousness the prosperity of it tempt us to forget God the adversities to murmure at him Our very Table becomes a snare to us our meat draws us to Gluttony our drink to Drunkeness our company nay our neerest friends often bear a part in this war against us whilest either by their example or perswasions they intice us to sin 9. Consider all this and then tell me whether a Soul thus beset hath leisure to sleep even Dalilah could tell Samson it was time to awake when the Philistims were upon him And Christ tells us if the good man of the house had known in what hour the thief would come he would have watched and not have suffered his house to be broken up Mat. 24 43. But we live in the midst of thieves and therefore must look for them every hour and yet who is there among us that hath that common providence for this precious part of him his Soul which he hath for his house or indeed the meanest thing that belongs to him I fear our Souls may say to us as Christ to his disciples Mat 26. 40. What could ye not watch with me one hour for I doubt it would pose many of us to tell when we bestowed one hour on them thougâ— we know them to be continually beset with most dangerous enemies And then alas what is like to be the case of these poor Souls when their adversaries bestow so much care and diligence to destroy them and we will afford none to preserve them surely the same as of a besieged town where no watch or guard is kept which is ceâ—tain to fall a prey to the enemy Consider this ye that forget God nay ye that forget your selves lest he pluck you away and there be none to deliver you Psal. 50. 22. 10. But I told you there was a second way whereby a thing may be in danger and that is from some disorder or distemper within it self This is often the case of our bodies they are not only lyable to outward violence but they are within themselves sick and diseased And then we can be sensible enough that they are in danger and need not to be taught to seek out for means to recover them But this is also the case of the Soul we reckon those parts of the body diseased that do not rightly perform their office we account it a sick palate that tastes not aright a sick stomack that digests not And thus it is with the Soul its parts do not rightly perform their offices 11. The parts of the Soul are especially these three The Understanding the Will and the Affections And that these are disordered there needs little proof Let any man look seriously into his own heart and consider how little it is he knows of spiritual things and then tell me whether his understanding be not dark How much apter is he to will evil then good and then â—ell me whether his will be not Crooked And how strong desires he hath after the pleasures of sin and what cold and faint ones towards God and goodness and then tell me whether his affections be not disordered and rebellious even against the vice of his own reason within him Now as in bodily diseases the first step to the cure is to know the cause of the sickness so likewise here it is very necessary for us to know how the Soul first fell into this diseased condition and that I shall now briefly tell you 12. God created the first man Adam without sin and endued his Soul with the full knowledg of his duty and with such a strength that he might if he would perform all that was required of him Having thus created him he maks a covenant or agreement with him to this purpose that if he continued in obedience to God without committing sin then first that strength of Soul which he then had should still be continued to him and first that he should never dye but be taken up into heaven there to be happy for ever But on the other side if he committed sin and disobeyed God then both he and all his children after him should lose that knowledg and that perfect strength which enabled him to do all that God required of him and secondly should be subject to death and not only so but to eternal damnation in Hell 13. This was the agreement made with Adam and all mankind in him which we usually call the first covenant upon which God gave Adam a particular commandment which was no more but this that he should not 〈◊〉 of one only tree of that garden wherein he had placed him But he by the perswasion of the Divel 〈◊〉 of that tree disobeys God and so brings that cuâ—se upon himself and all his posterity And so by that one sin of his â—e lost both the full knowledg of his duty and the power of performing it And we being born after his image did so likewise and so are become both ignorant in discerning what we ought to do and weak and unable to the doing of it having a backwardnesse to all good and an aptnesse and readiness to all evil like a sick stomack which loaths all wholsome food and longs after such trash as may nourish the disease 14. And now you see where we got this sicknesse of soul and likewise that it is like to prove a deadly one and therefore I presume I need say no more to assure you our souls are in danger It is more likely you will from this description think them hoplesse But that you may
fruit of it nay indeed this is thâ— way of tryal which Christ himself hath giveâ— us Jo. 14. 15. If ye love me keep my comandments and S. John tell us 1 Ep. 5. 3. That this is the love of God that we walk after his commandments and where this one proof is wanting it will be impossible to testifieâ— our love to God 34. But it must yet be farther considered that this love of God must not be in a low or weak degree for besides that the Motives to it his excellency and his kindness are in the highest the same Commandment which bids us love God bids us love him with all our heart and with all our strength that is as much as is possible for us and above any tâ—ing else And therefore to the fulfilling of this Commandment it is necessary we love him in that degree and if we do so then certainly we shall have not only some slight and faint endeavours of pleasing but such as are most diligent and earnest such as will put us upon the most painful and costly duties make us willing to forsake our own ease goods friends yea life it self when we cannot keep them without disobeying God 35. Now examine thy self by this hast thou this fruit of love to shew dost thou make it thy constant and greatest care to keep Gods Commandments to obey him in all things earnestly labouring to please him to the utmost of thy power even to the forsaking of what is dearest to thee in this world if thou dost thou maist then truly say thou lovest God But on the contrary if thou willfully continuest in the breach of many nay but of any one Command of his never deceive thy self for the love of God abides not in thee This will be made plain to you if you consider what the Scripture saith of such as that they are enemies to God by their wicked works Col. 1. 21. That the carnal minde and such is every one that continues wilfully in sin is enmity to God Rom. 8. 7. That he that sins wilfully tramples under foot the Son of God and doth despite unto the Spirit of grace Heb. 10 29. and many the like And therefore unless you can think enmity and trampling and despite to be fruits of love you must not believe you love God whilest you go on in any wilful disobedience to him 36. A Second fruit of love I told you was desire of injoying This is constantly to be seen in our love to another If you have a friend whom you intirely love you desire his conversation wish to be alwayes in his company and thus will it also be in our love to God if that was as great and hearty as this 37. There is a twofold enjoying of God the one imperfect in this life the other more perfect and complete in the life to come that in this life is that conversation as I may call it which we have with God in his ordinances in praying and meditating in hearing his word in receiving the Sacrament which are all intended for this purpose to bring us into an intimacy and familiarity with God by speaking to him and hearing him speak to us 38. Now if we do indeed love God we shall certainly hugely value and desire these wayes of conversing with him it being all that we can have in this life it will make us with David esteem one day in Gods courts better then a thousand Psal. 84. 10. We shall be glad to have these opportunities of approaching to him as often as is possible and be careful to use them diligently to that end of uniting us still more to him yea we shall come to these spiritual exercises with the same cheerfulness we would go to our dearest friend And if indeed we doe thus it is a good proofe of our love 39. But I fear there are not many have this to shew for it as appears by the common backwardness and unwillingness of men to come to these and their negligence and heartlesness when they are at them and can we think that God will ever own us for lovers of him whilst we have such dislikes to his company that we will never come into it but when we are drag'd by fear or shame of men or some such worldly Motive It is sure you would not think that man loved you whom you perceived to shun your company and to be loath to come in your sight And therefore be not so unreasonable as to say you love God when yet you desire to keep as far from him as you can 40. But besides this there is another injoyment of God which is more perfect and complete and that is our perpetual injoying of him in heaven where we shall be for ever united to him and injoy him not now and then only for short spaces of time as we do here but continually without interruption or breaking off And certainly if we have that degree of love to God we ought this cannot but â—e most earnestly desired by us so much that we shall think no labour too great to compass it The seven years that Jacob served for Rachel Gen. 29. 20. Seemed to him but a few dayes for the love that he had to her and surely if we have love to God we shall not think the service of our whole lives too dear a price for this full injoyment of him nor esteem all the injoyments of the world worth the looking on in comparison thereof 41. If we can truly tell our selves we do thus long for this injoyment of God we may believe we love him But I fear again there are but few that can thus approve their love For if we look into mens lives we shall see they are not generally so fond of this injoyment as to be at any pains to purchase it And not only so but it is to be doubted there are many who if it were put to their choice whether they would live here alwayes to enjoy the profit and pleasure of the world or go to heaven to enjoy God would like the Children of Gâ—d and Reuben set up their rest on this side Jordan Num. 32. and never desire that heavenly Canaan so close do their affections cleave to things below which shews cleerly they have not made God their treasure foâ— then according to our Saviours Rule Mat. 6. 21. Their heart would be with him Nay further yet it is too plain that many of us set so little value on this injoying of God that we prefer the vilest and basest sins before him and chuse to injoy them though by it we utterly lose our parts in him which is the case of every man that continues willfully in those sins 42. And now I fear according to these rules of trial many that profess to love God will be found not to do so I conclude al with the words of S. John 1 Ep. 3. 18. Which though spoken of the love of our brethren is very fitly
differ in kind and degree between one man and another But it is sure that he which receives least hath yet enough to imploy his whole life in praises to God And it will be very fit for every man to consider the several passages of this life and the mercies he hath in each received and so to gather a kind of list or Catalogue of them at least the principal of them which he may alwayes have in his memory and after with a thankful heart repeat before God 11. These are the several parts of prayer and all of them to be used both publickly and privately The publick use of them is first that in the Church where all meet to joyn in those prayers wherein they are in common concerned And this where the prayers are such as they ought to be we should be very constant at there being an especial blessing promised to the joynt requests of the faithful and he that without a necessary cause absents himself from such publick prayers cuts himself off from the Church which hath alwayes been thought so unhappy a thing that it is the greatest punishment the Governours of the Church can lay upon the worst offender and therefore it is a strange madness for men to inflict it upon themselves 12. A second sort of publick prayer is that in a family where all that are members of it joyn in their common supplications and this also ought to be very careful attended to first by the Master of the Family who is to look that there be such prayers it being as much his part thus to provide for the souls of his children and servants as to provide food for their bodies Therefore there is none even the meanest housholder but ought to take this care If either himself or any of his Family can read he may use some prayers out of some good book if it be the service book of the Church he makes a good choice if they cannot read it will then be necessary they should be taught without book some form of prayer which they may use in the Family for which purpose again some of the prayers of the Church will be very fit as being most easie for their memories by reason of their shortness and yet containing a great deal of matter But what choice soever they make of Prayers let them be sure to have some and let no man that professes himself a Christian keep so heathenish a Family as not to see God be daily worshipped in it But when the Master of a Family hath done his duty in this providing it is the duty of every member of it to make use of that provision by being constant and diligent at those Family-Prayers 13. Private or secret Prayer is that which is used by a man alone a part from all others wherein we are to be more particular according to our peculiar needs then in publick it is fit to be And this of private prayer is a duty which will not be excused by the performance of the other of publick They are both required and one must not be taken in exchange for the other And whoever is diligent in publick prayers and yet negligent in private it is much to be feared he rather seeks to approve himself to men then to God contrary to the command of our Saviour Mat. 6. Who enjoyns this private prayer this praying to our Father in secret from whom alone we are to expect our reward and not from the vain praises of men 14. Now this duty of Prayer is to be often performed by none seldomer then evening and morning it being most necessary that we should thus begin and end all our works with God and that not only in respect of the duty we owe him but also in respect of our selves who can never be either prosperous or safe but by committing our selves to him and therefore should tremble to venture on the perils either of day or night without his safeguard How much oftner this duty is to be performed must be judged according to the business or leisure men have where by business I mean not such business as men unprofitably make to themselves but the necessary business of a mans calling which with some will not afford them much time for set and solemn Prayer But even these men may often in a day lift up their hearts to God in some short Prayers even whilst they are at their work As for those that have more leisure they are in all reason to bestow more time upon this duty And let no man that can find time to bestow upon his vanities nay perhaps his sins say be wants leisure for prayer but let him now endeavour to redeem what he hath so mispent by imploying more of that leisure in this duty for the future And surely if we did but rightly weigh how much it is our own advantage to perform this duty we should think it wisdom to be as frequent as we are ordinarily solemn in it 15. For first it is a great honour for us poor woâ—mes of the earth to be allowed to speak so freely to the great Majesty of heaven if a King should but vouchsafe to let one of his meanest subjects talk familiarly and freely with him it would be looked on as a huge honour that man how despiseable soever he were before would then be the envy of all his neighbours and there is little question he would be willing to take all opportunities of receiving so great a grace But alas this is nothing to the honour is offered us who are allowed nay invited to speak to and converse with the King of Kings and therefore how forward should we in all reason be to it 16. Secondly it is a great benefit even the greatest that can be imagined for prayer is the instrument of fetching down all good things to us whether spiritual or temporal no prayer that is qualified as it ought to be but is sure to bring down a blessing according to that of the wise man Eccl. 35. 17. The Prayer of the humble pierceth the clouds and will not turn away till the highest regard it You would think him a happy man that had one certain means of helping him to what ever he wanted though it were to cost him much pains and labour now this happy man thou mayst be if thou wilt Prayer is the never-failing means of bringing thee if not all that thou thinkest thou wantest yet all that indeed thou dost that is all that God sees fit for thee And therefore be there never so much weariness to thy flesh in the duty yet considering in what continual want thou standest for something or other from God it is madness to let that uneasiness dishearten thee and keep thee from this so sure meanes of supplying thy wants 17. But in the third place this duty is in it self so far from being uneasie that it is very pleasant God is
the fountain of happiness and at his right hand there are pleasures for evermore Psal. 16. 11. And therefore the nearer we draw to him the happier we must needs be the very joys of heaven arising from our neerness to God Now in this life we have no way of drawing so neer to him as by this of Prayer and therefore surely it is that which in it self is apt to afford abundance of delight and pleasure if it seem otherwise to us it is from some distemper of our own hearts which like a sick palate cannot relish the most pleasant meat Prayer is a pleasant duty but it is withal a spiritual one and therefore if thy heart be carnal if that be set either on the contrary pleasures of the flesh or dross of the world no marvail then if thou taste no pleasantness in it if like the Israelites thou despise Manna whilst thou longest after the flesh pots of Egypt Therefore if thou find a weariness in this duty suspect thy self purge and refine thy heart from the love of all sin and endeavour to put it into a heavenly and spiritual trance and then thou wilt find this no unpleasant exercise but full of delight and satisfaction In the mean time complain not of the hardness of the duty but of the untowardness of thy own heart 18. But there may also be another reason of its seeming unpleasant to us and that iâ— want of use You know there are many things which seem uneasie at the first tryal which yet after we are accustomed to them seem very delightful and if this by thy case then thou knowest a ready cure viz to use it oftner and so this consideration naturally inforces the exhortation of being frequent in this duty 19. But we are not only to consider how often but how well we perform it Now to do it well we are to respect first the matter of our Prayers to look that we ask nothing that is unlawful as revenge upon our enemies or the like secondly the manner and that must be first in faith we must believe that if we ask as we ought God will either give us the thing we ask for or else something which he sees better for us And then secondly in humility we must acknowledg our selves utterly unworthy of any of those good things we beg for and therefore sue for them only for Christs sake thirdly with attention we must mind what we are about and not suffer our selves to be carried away to the thought of other things I told you at the first that Prayer was the business of the soul but if our minds be wandering it is the work only of the tongue and lips which makes it in Gods account no better then vain babbling and so will never bring a blessing on us Nay as Jacob said to his mother Gen. 27. 12. It will be more likely to bring a curse on us then a blessing for it is a profaning one of the most solemn parts of Gods service it is a piece of Hypocrisie the drawing neer to him with our lip when our hearts are far from him and a great slighting and despising that dreadful Majesty we come before And as to our selves it is a most ridiculous folly that we who come to God upon such weighty errands as are all the concernments of our souls and bodies should in the midst forget our business and pursue every the lightest thing that either our own vain fancies or the Divel whose business it is here to hinder us can offer to us It is just as if a malefactor that comes to sue for his life to the King should in the midst of his supplication happen to espie a butterflie and then should leave his suit run a chace after that butterflie Would you not think it pitty a pardon should be cast away upon so wretchless a creature And sure it will be as unreasonable to expect that God should attend grant those suits of ours which we do not at all consider our selves 20. This wandring in Prayer is a thing we are much concerned to arm our selves against it being that to which we are naturally wonderful prone To that end it will be necessary first to possess our hearts at our coming to Prayers with the greatness of that Majesty we are to approach that so we may dread to be vain and trifling in his presence Secondly We are to consider the great concernment of the things we are to ask some whereof are such that if we should not be heard we were of all creatures the most miserable yet this wandring is the way to keep us from being heard Thirdly We are to beg Gods aid in this particular And therefore when thou settest to Prayer let thy first petition be for this grace of attention 21. Lastly Be as watchful as is possible over thy heart in time of prayer to keep out all wandering thoughts or if any have gotten in let them not find entertainment but as soon as ever thou discernest them suffer them not to abide one moment but cast them out with indignation and beg Gods pardon for them And if thou dost thus sincerely and diligently strive against them either God will enable thee in some measure to overcome them or he will in his mercy pardon thee what thou canst not prevent But if it be through thy own negligence thou art to expect neither so long as that negligence continues 22. In the fourth place we must look our Prayers be with zeal and earnestness it is not enough that we so far attend them as barely to know what it is we say but we must put forth all the affection and devotion of our souls and that according to the several parts of Prayer before mentioned It is not the cold faint request that will ever obtain from God We see it will not from our selves for if a beggar should ask relief from us and do it in such a scornful manner that he seemed indifferent whether he had it or no we should think he had either little want or great pride and so have no heart to give him Now surely the things we ask from God are so much above the rule of an ordinary almes that we can never expect they should be given to slight and heartless petitions No more in like manner will our Sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving ever be accepted by him if it be not offered from a heart truly affected with the sence of his mercies it 's but a kind of formal complementing which wil never be approved by him who requires the heart and not the lips only And the like may be said of all the other parts of Prayer Therefore be careful when thou drawest nigh to God in Prayer to raise up thy soul to the highest pitch of zeal and earnestness thou art able And because of thy self alone thou art not able to do any
directs him to he must take care to do what wil bring him in commendations and so enslaves himself to every one that hath but a tongue to commend him Nay there is yet a further uneasiness in it and that is when such a man fails of his aime when he misses the praise and perhaps meets with the contrary reproach which is no mans lot more often then the vain glorious nothing making a man more despised then what disturbances and disquiets and even tortures of mind is he under A lively instance of this you have in Achitophel 2 Sam. 17. 23. who had so much of this upon Absoloms despising his counsel that he chose to rid himself of it by hanging himself And sure this painfulness that thus attends this sin is sufficient proof of the folly of it Yet this is not all it is yet further very hurtful For if this vain glory be concerning any good or Christian action it destroyes all the fruit of it he that prayes or gives almes to be seen of men Mat. 6. 2. must take that as his reward Verily I say unto you they have their reward they must expect none from God but the portion of those hypocrites that love the the praise of men more then the praise of God And this is a miserable folly to make such an exchange It is like the dog in the fable who seeing in the water the shadow of that meat he held in his mouth catcht at the shadow so let go meat Such dogs such unreasonable creatures are we when we thus let go the eternal rewards of Heaven to catch at a few good words of men And yet we do not onely loose those eternal joyes but procure to our selves the contrary eternal mercies which is sure the highest pitch of folly and madness But if the vain glory be not concerning any vertuous action but only some indifferent thing yet even there also it is very hurtful for vain glory is a sin that wheresoever it is placed endangers our eternal estate which is the greatest of all mischiefs And even for the present it is observable that of all other sins it stands the most in its own light hinders it self of that very thing it pursues For there are very few that thus hunt after praise but they are discerned to do so and that is sure to eclipse whatever praise worthy thing they do and brings scorn upon them in stead of reputation And then certainly we may justly condemn this sin of folly which is so ill a manager even of its own dedesigns 15. You have seen how wretched a thing this vain glory is in these several respects the serious consideration whereof may be one good means to subdue it to which it will be necessary to add first a great watchfulness over thy self Observe narrowly whether in any Christian duty thou at all considerest the praise of men or even in the most indifferent action look whether thou have not too eager a desire of it And if thou findest thy self inclined that way have a very strict eye upon it and where ever thou findest it stirring check and resist it suffer it not to be the end of thy actions But in all matters of Religion let the duty be thy motive In all indifferent things of common life let reason direct thee and though thou mayest so far consider in those things the opinion of men as to observe the rules of common decency yet never think any praise that come in to thee from any thing of that kind worth the contriving for Secondly Set up to thy self another aime viz that of pleasing God let that be thy inquiry when thou goest about any thing whether it be approved by him and then thou wilt not be at leisure to consider what praise it will bring thee from men And surely he that weighs of how much more moment it is to please God who is able eternally to reward us then men whose applause can never do us any good will surely think it reasonable to make the former his onely care Thirdly If at any time thou art praised do not be much overjoyed with it nor think a jot the better of thy self but if it be vertue thou art praised for remember it was God that wrought it in thee and give him the glory never thinking any part of it belongs to thee If it be some indifferent action then remember that it cannot deserve praise as having no goodness in it But if it be a bad one as amongst men such are sometimes likeliest to be commended then it ought to set thee a trembling in stead of rejoycing for then that woe of our Saviours belongs to thee Luk. 6 26. Wo unto you when men speak well of you for so did their Fathers to the false Prophets and there is not a greater sign of a hardned heart then when men can make their sins the matter of their glory In the last place let thy prayers assist in the fight with this corruption 16. A second vertue is meekness That is a calmness and quietness of spirit contrary to the rages and impatiences of anger This vertue may be exercised either in respect of God or our neighbour That towards God I have already spoken of under the head of humility and that towards our neighbour I shall hereafter All I have here to say of it is how it becomes a duty to our selves that it does in respect of the great advantage we reap by it which in meer kindness to our selves we are to look after And to prove that it brings us this great advantage I need say no more but that this meekness is that to which Christ hath pronounced a blessing Mat. 5. 5. Blessed are the meek and not onely in the next world but even in this too they shall inherit the earth Indeed none but thâ— meek person hath the true enjoyment of any thing in the world for the angry and impatient are like such people who we use to say cannot enjoy the greatest prosperities For let things be never so fair without they will raise storms within their own breasts And surely whoever â—ath either in himself or others observed the greatest uneasiness of this passion of anger cannot chuse but think meekness a a most pleasant thing 17. Besides it is also a most honourable thing for it is that whereby we resemble Christ learn of me saith he for I am meek and lowly in heart Mat. 11. 28. It is also that whereby we conquer our selves overcome our own unruly passions which of all victories is the greatest and most noble Lastly it is that which makes us behave our selves like men whereas anger gives us the fierceness and wildness of savage beasts And accordingly the one is by all esteemed and loved whereas the other is hated and abhorred every man shunning a man in rage as they would a furious beast 18. Farther yet meekness is the sobriety of the mind whereas
the way of doing that is double first by their prayer they are by daily and earnest prayers to commend them to Gods protection and blessing both for their spiritual and temporal estate and secondly by their piety they are to be such persons themselves as that a blessing may descend from them upon their posterity This is often promised in Scipture to godly men that their seed shall be blessed Thus in the second commandment God promises to shew mercy to the thousand generation of them that love him and keep his commandments And it is very observable in the Jews that though they were a stiffe necked generation and had very grievously provoked God yet the godliness of their forefathers Abraham Isaac and Jacob did many times move God to save them from destruction on the other side we see that even good men have fared the worse for the iniquities of their fathers Thus when Josiah had destroyed idolatry restored Gods service and done good beyond all the Kings that were before him yet there was an old arreare of Manasseh his grandfather which all this piety of his would not blot out but he resolves to cast Judah also out of his sight as you may read at large 2 Kings 23. If therefore parents have any bowels any kindness towards their children any real desire of their prosperity let them take care by their own godly life to entaile a blessing upon them 25 Sixthly parents must take heed that they use their power over their children with equity and moderation not to oppress them with unreasonable commands only to exercise their own authorâ—ty but in all things of weight to consider the real good of their children and to presse them to nothing which may not consist with that This is a rule whereof parents may often have use but in none greater then in the business of marrying their children wherein many that otherwise are good parents have been to blame when out of an eagerness of bestowing them wealthily they force them to marry utterly against their own inclinations which is a great tyranny and that which frequently betrayes them to a multitude of mischiefs such as all the wealth in the world cannot repaire There are two things which parents ought especially to consider in the matching of their children the first how they may live Christianly and to that purpose to chuse a vertuous and pious person to link them with the second is how they may live cheerfully and comfortably in this world and to that end though a competency of estate may be necessary to be regarded yet surely abundance is no way requisite and therefore that should not be too vehemently sought after that which much more tends to the happiness of that state is the mutual kindness and liking of the parties without which marriage is of all other the most uncomfortable condition and therefore no parent ought to thrust a child into it I have now done with the first sort of relation that of a parent PARTITION XV. Of DUTY to our BRETHREN and Relations Husband Wife Friends Masters Servants § 1 THE second sort of relation is that of a brother now brotherhood may be two fold either natural or spiritual the natural may in the largest extent contain under it all mankind all that partake of the same nature but I shall not consider it so in this place having already mentioned those gegeneral duties which belong to all as such I now speak of that natural brother-hood that is between those that are the children of the same immediate parent and the duty of these is to have united hearts and affections This nature points out to them they partaking in a more especial manner of each others substance and therefore ought to have the greatest tenderness and kindness each to other thus we see Abraham make it an argument why there should be no contention between him and Let because they were brethren Gen. 13. 8. And though by brethren there is meant only cousins yet that helps the more strongly to conclude that this neerer relation is in reason to be a greater barr to strife as also that this kindness is in some degree to be extended to all that have any neerness of blood to us 2. This kindness and love between brethren and sisters ought to be very firmly grounded in their hearts if it be not they will be of all others in most danger of disagreeing for the continual conversation that is among them whilst they are at home in the fathers house will be apt to minister some occasion of jar Besides the equality that is among them in respect of birth often makes them inclinable to envy each other when one is in any respect advanced above the other Thus we see Josephs brethren envyed him because he had most of his fathers love and Rachel envyed her sister Leah because she was fruitful therefore for the preventing of such temptations let all who have brethren and sisters possesse their mind with a great and real kindness to them look on them as parts of themselves and then they wil never think fit either to quarrel with them or to envy them any advantage any more then one part of the body does another of the same body but will strive to advance and help forward the good of each other 3. The second kind of brotherhood is spiritual that contains all those who profess the same faith with us the Church in our baptism becomes a mother to each baptized person and then surely they that have the relation of children to her must have also the relation of brethren to each other and to this sort of brethren also we owe a great deal of tenderness and affection the spiritual bond of Religion should of all others the most closely unite our hearts This is the brotherhood which St. Peter exhorts us to love 1 Pet. 2. 17. And to it we are in an especial manner bound to do all good offices Do good saith the Apostle to all but especially to them that are of the houshold of faith Gal. 6. 10. Our compassions are to be most melting towards them of all others in all their needs Christ tels us that whosoever gives but a cup of cold water to any in the name of a disciple shall not lose his reward Mat. 10. 42. From whence we may assure our selves that this peculiar love to Christians as Christians is very acceptable in his sight 4. Several duties there are required of us to these brethren one principal is the holding communion with them and that first in doctrine we are constantly to continue in the belief and profession of all those necessary truths by which we may be markt out as followers and disciples of Christ this is that faith which St. Jude speaks of which was once delivered to the Saints Iude 3. by keeping whereof we continue still united to this spiritual brotherhood in respect of profession
times I have added divers COLLECTS for several Graces whereof every man may use at each such time of Prayer so many as his zeal and leisure shall point out to him adding if he please one of the Confessions appointed for morning or night and never omitting the LORDS PRAYER But if any mans state of life be really so busy as will not allow him time for so long and solemn devotions yet certainly there is no man so overlayed with business but that he may find leisure oftentimes in a day to say the LORDS PRAYER alone and therefore let him use that if he cannot more But because it is the Charracter of a Christian Phil. 3. 20. That he hath his conversation in Heaven it is very fit that besides these set times of Prayer he should divers times in a day by short and sudden Eâ—â—Câ—LATIONS dart up his soul thither And for this sort of devotion no man can want leisure for it may be performed in the midst of business the Artificer at his work the husband man at his plough may practice it Now as he cannot want time so that he may not want matter for it I have thought it not unuseful out of that rich store house the BOOK of PSALMS to furnish him with some texts which may very fitly be used for this purpose which being learned by heart will alwayes be ready at hand to imploy his devotion and the matter of them being various some for pardon of sin some for grace some for the light of Gods countenance some for the church some for thanksgiving c. every man may fit himself a cordâ—nâ— to the tresent need and temper of his soul. I have given these not as a full collection but only as a taste by which the Readers appetiâ—e may be raised to search after more in that Book and other parts of holy Scripture COLLECTS for several GRACES For FAITH O Blessed Lord whom without Faith it is impossible to please let thy Spirit I beseech thee work in me such a Faith as may be acceptable in thy sight even such as worketh by love O let me not rest in a dead ineffectual Faith but grant that it may be such as may shew it self by my works that it may be that victorious Faith which may enable me to overcome the world and conform me to the Jmage of that Christ on whom I beleeve that so at the last I may receive the end of my Faith even the salvation of my soul by the same Jesus Christ. For HOPE O Lord who art the hope of all the ends of the earth let me never be destitute of a well grounded hope nor yet possest with a vain presumption suffer me not to think thou wilt either be reconciled to my sins or reject my repentance but give me I beseech thee such a hope as may be answerable to the onely ground of hope thy promises and such as may both incourage and enable me to purifie my self from all filthiness both of flesh and Spirit that so it may indeed become to me an anchor of the soul both sure and stedfast entering even within the vail whither the forerunner is for me entered even Jesus Christ my high Priest and blessed Redeemer For the LOVE of GOD. O Holy and gracious Lord who art infinitely excellent in thy self and infinitely bountiful and compassionate towards me I beseech thee suffer not my heart to be so hardned through the deceitfulness of sin as to resist such charmes of love but let them make deep and lasting impressions on my soul. Lord thou art pleased to require my heart and thou onely hast right to it O let me not be so sacrilegiously unjust as to alienate any part of it but enable me to render it up whole and entire to thee But O my God thou seest it is already usurped the world with its vanities hath seized it and like a strong man armed keeps possession O thou who art stronger come upon him and take this unworthy heart of mine as thine own spoil refine it with that purifying fire of thy love that it may be a fit habitation for thy Spirit Lord if thou see it fit be pleased to let me taste of those joyes those ravishments of thy love wherewith thy Saints have bin so transported But if in this I know not what I ask if I may not chuse my place in thy Kingdome yet O Lord deny me not to drink of thy cup let me have such a sincerity and degree of love as may make me endure any thing for thy sake such a perfect love as may cast out all fear and all sloth too that nothing may seem to me too grievous to suffer or too difficult to do in obedience to thee that so expressing my love by keeping thy Commandments I may by thy mercy at last obtain that Crown of life which thou hast promised to those that love thee through Jesus Christ our Lord. For SINCERITY O Holy Lord who requirest truth in the inward parts I humbly beseech thee to purge me from all hypocrisy and unsincerity The heart O Lord is deceitful above all things and my heart is deceitful above all hearts O thou who searchest the heart and reins try me and seek the ground of my heart and suffer not any accursed thing to lurk within me but purify me even with fire so thou consume my dross O Lord I cannot deceive thee but I may most easily deceive my self I beseech thee let me not rest in any such deceit but bring me to a sight and hatred of my most hidden corruptions that I may not cherish any one darling lust but make an utter destruction of every Amalekite O suffer me not to speak peace to my self when there is no peace but grant I may judge of my self as thou judgest of me that I may never be at peace with my self till I am at perfect peace with thee and by purity of heart be qualified to see thee in thy Kingdom through Jesus Christ. For DEVOTION in PRAYER O Gracious Lord God who not onely permittest but invitest us miserable and needy creatures to present our petition to thee grant I beseech thee that the frequency of my prayer may be somewhat proportionable to those continual needs I have of thy mercy Lord I confess it is the greatest honour and the greatest advantage thus to be allowed access to thee yet so sottish and stupid is my profane heart that it shuns or frustrates the opportunities of it My Soul O Lord is possest with a spirit of infirmity it is bowed together and can in no wise lift up it self to thee O be thou pleased to cure this sad this miserable disease to inspirit and inliven this earthy drossy heart that it may freely mount towards thee that I may set a true value on this most valuable priviledge and take delight in approaching to thee and that my approaches may be with a reverence some way answerable to that awful Majesty
forgiven by thee may never exact pence of my brethren but that putting on bowels of mercy meekness long-suffering thy peace may rule in my heart and make it an acceptable habitation to thee who art the Prince of peace to whom with the Father and Holy Spirit be all honour and glory for ever For CHASTITY O Holy and immaculate Jesus whose first descent was into the Virgins womb and who doest still love to inhabite only in pure virgin hearts I beseech thee send thy Spirit of purity to cleanse me from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit my body O Lord is the Temple of the Holy Ghost O let me never pollute that Temple with any uncleanness And because out of the heart proceed the things that defile the man Lord grant me to keep my heart with all diligence that no impure or foul thoughts be harboured there but enable me I beseech thee to keep both body and Soul pure and undefiled that so I may glorify thee here both in my body and spirit and be glorified in both with thee hereafter For TEMPERANCE O Gracious Lord who hast in thy bounty to mankind afforded us the use of thy good creatures for our corporal refreshment grant I may alwayes use this liberty with thankfulness and moderation O let me never be so enslaved to that brutish pleasure of the taste that my Table become a snare to me but give me I beseech thee a perfect abhorrence of all degrees of excess and let me eat and drink onely for those ends and according to those measures which thou hast assigned me for health and not for luxury And Lord grant that my pursuits may be not after the meat that perisheth but after that which endureth to everlasting life that hungring and thirsting after righteousness I may be filled with thy grace here and thy glory hereafter through Jesus Christ. For CONTENTEDNES O Merciful God thy wisdom is infinite to choose and thy love forward to dispence good things to us O let me alwayes fully and intirely resign my self to thy disposals have no desires of my own but a perfect satisfaction in thy choices for me that so in whatsoever estate I am I may be therein content Lord grant I may never look with murmuring on my own condition nor with envy on other mens And to that end I beseech thee purge my heart of all covetous affections O let me never yield up any corner of my Soul to Mammon but give me such a contempt of these fading riches that whether they increase oâ— decrease I may never set my heart upon them But that all my care may be to be rich towards God to lay up my treasure in Heaven that I may so set my affections on things above that when Christ who is my life shall appear I may also appear with him in glory Grant this O Lord for the merits of the same Jesus Christ. For DILIGENGE O Lord who hast in thy wisdom ordained that man should be born to labour suffer me not to resist that design of thine by giving my self up to sloth and idleness But grant I may so imploy my time and all other talents thou hast intrusted me with that I may not fall under the sentence of the slothful and wicked servant Lord if it be thy will make me some way useful to others that I may not live an unprofitable part of mankind but however O Lord let me not be useless to my self but grant I may give all diligence to make my calling and election sure My Soul is beset with many and vigilant adversaries O let me not fold my hands to sleep in the midst of so great dangers but watch and pray that I enter not into temptation enduring hardness as a good souldier of Jesus Christ till at last from this state of warfare thou translate me to the state of triumph and bliss in thy Kingdom through Jesus Christ. For JUSTICE O Thou King of righteousness who hast Commanded us to keep judgement and do Justice be pleased by thy grace to cleanse my heart and hands from all fraud and injustice and give me a perfect integrity and uprightness in all my dealings O make me ever abhor to use my power to oppress or my skill to deceive my brother and grant I most strictly observe that sacred rule of doing as I would be done to that I may not dishonour my Christian profession by an unjust or fraudulent life but in simplicity and godly sincerity have my conversation in this life never seeking to heap up treasures of wickedness but preferring a little with righteousness before great revenues without right Lord make me exactly careful to render to every man what by any sort of obligation becomes his due that I may never break the bond of any of those relations thou hast placed me in but may so behave my self towards all that none may have any evil thing to say of me That so if it be possible I may have peace with all men or however I may by keeping innocency and taking heed to the thing that is right have peace at the last even peace with thee through Jesus Christ our Lord. For CHARITY O Merciful Lord who hast made of one blood and redeemed by one ransome all Nations of men let me never harden my bowels against any that partake of the same nature and redemption with me but grant me an Universal Charity towards all men Give me O thou Father of compassions such a tenderness and meltingness of heart that I may be deeply affected with all the miseries and calamities outward or inward of my brethren and diligently imploy all my abilities for their succour and relief O let not an unchristian self-love possess my heart but drive out that accursed spirit and let thy Spirit of love enter and dwell there and make me seek not to please my self but my Neighbour for his good to edification even as Christ pleased not himself Lord make me a faithful steward of all those talents thou hast committed to me for the benefit of others that so when thou shalt call me to give an account of my stewardship I may do it with joy and not with grief grant this merciful Lord I beseech thee for Jesus Christ his sake For PERSEVERANCE O Eternal and unchangeable Lord God who art the same yesterday and to day and for ever Be thou pleased to communicate some small ray of that excellence some degree of that stability to me thy wretched creature who am light and unconstant turned about with every blast my understanding is very deceivable O establish it in thy truth keep it from the snares of seducing spirits that I may not be led away with the errour of the wicked and fall from my own stedfastness my will also O Lord is irresolute and wavering and doth not cleave stedfastly unto God my goodness is but as the morning cloud as the early dew it passeth away O strengthen and confirm
impenitence and unworthiness frustrate these so inestimable mercies to me but qualifie me by thy grace to receive the full benefit of them O Lord I have abundant need of thee but am so clog'd with guilt so holden with the cords of my sins that I am not able to move towards thee O lose me from this band wherewith Satan and my own lusts have bound me and draw me that I may run after thee Lord thou seest daily how eagerly I pursue the paths that lead to death but when thou invitest me to life and glory I turn my back and forsake my own mercy How often hath this feast been prepared and I have with frivilous excuses absented my self or if I have come it hath been rather to defie then to adore thee I have brought such troops of thy professed enemies unrepented sins along with me as if I â—ame not to commemorate but renew thy passion crucifying thee afresh and putting thee to open shame and now of what punishment shall I be thought worthy who have thus trampled under foot the Son of God and counted the blood of the Covenant an unholy thing yet O merciful Jesu this blood is my onely râ—â—â—ge O let this make my atonement or I perish eternally wherefore didst thou shed it but to save sinners neither can the merit of it be overwhelmed either by the greatness or number of sins I am a sinner a great one O let me find its saving efficacy Be merciful unto me O God be merciful to me for my soul trusteth in thee and in the clefts of thy wound shall be my refuge until thy fathers indignation be overpast O thou who hast as my high Priest sacrificed for me intercede for me also and plead thy meritorious sufferings on my behalfe and suffer not O my Redeemer the price of thy blood to be utterly lost And grant O Lord that as the sins I have to be forgiven are many so I may love much Lord thou seest what faint what cold affections I have towards thee O warm and enliven them and as in this Sacrament that transcendent love of thine in dying for me is shewed forth so I beseech thee let it convey such grace into me as may enable me to make some returns of love O let this divine fire descend from heaven into my soul and let my sins be the burnt offering for it to consume that there may not any corrupt affection any accursed thing be shelterd in my heart that I may never again defile that place which thou hast chosen for thy temple Thou dyedst O dear Jesu to redeem me from all iniquity O let me not again sell my self to work wickedness but grant that I may approach thee at this time with most sincere and fixed resolutions of an entire reformation and let me receive such grace and strength from thee as may enable me faithfully to perform them Lord there are many old habituated diseases my soul groanes under Her mention thy most prevailing corruptions And though I lye never so long at the pool of Bethesda come never so often to thy table yet unless thou be pleased to put forth thy healing vertue they will still remain uncured O thou blessed Physician of souls heal me and grant I may now so touch thee that every one of these loath some issues may immediately stanch that these sicknesses may not be unto death but unto the glory of thy mercy in pardoning to the glory of thy grace in purifying so polluted a wretch O Christ hear me and grant I may now approach thee with such humility and contrition love and devotion that thou maist vouchsafe to come unto me and abide with me communicating to me thy self and all the merits of thy passion And then O Lord let no accusations of Satan oâ— my own conscience amaze or distract me buâ— having peace with thee let me also have peace in my self that this wine may make glad this bread of life may strengthen my heart and enable me cheerfully to run the way of thy Commandments Grant this merciful Saviour I beseech thee for thine own bowels and compassions sake EjACULATIONS to be used at the LORDS TABLE LOrd I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof I have sinned what shall I do unto thee O thou preserver of men Here recollect some of thy greatest sins If thou Lord shouldst be extreme to mark what is done amiss O Lord who may abide it But with the Lord there is mercy and with him is plenteous Redemption Behold O Lord thy beloved Son in whom thou art well pleased Hearken to the cry of his blood which speaketh better things then that of Abel By his Agony and bloody Sweat by his Cross and Passion good Lord deliver me O Lamb of God which takest away the sins of the world grant me thy Peace O Lamb of God which takest away the sins of the world have mercy upon me Immediately before Receiving THou hast said that he that eateth thy flesh and drinketh thy blood hath eternal life Behold the servant of the Lord be it unto me according to thy word At the Receiving of the Bread BY thy Crucified Body deliver me from this body of death At the Receiving of the Cup. O let this blood of thine purge my conscience from dead works to serve the living God Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me clean O touch me and say I will be thou clean After Receiving WHat shall I render unto the Lord for all the benefits he hath done unto me I will take the Cup of Salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing Therefore blessing honour glory and power be to him that sitteth upon the Throne and to the Lamb for ever and ever Amen I have sworn and am stedfastly purposed to keep thy righteous judgments O hold thou up my goings in thy paths that my footsteps slip not A Thanksgiving after the Receiving of the Sacrament OThou Fountain of all goodness from whom every good and perfect gift cometh and to whom all honour and glory should be returned I desire with all the most fervent and inflamed affections of a grateful heart to blesse and praise thee for those inestimable mercies thou hast vouchsafed me Lord what is man that thou shouldst so regard him as to send thy beloved Son to suffer such bitter things for him But Lord what am I the worst of men that I should have any part in this atonement who have so oft despised him and his sufferings O the height and depth of this mercy of thine that art pleased to admit me to the renewing of that Covenant with thee which I have so often so perversly broken that I who am not worthy of that daily bread which sustains the body should be made partaker of this bread of life which nourishes the Soul and
that the God of all purity should vouchsafe to unite himself to so polluted a wretch O my God suffer me no more I beseech thee to turn thy grace into wantonness to make thy mercy an occasion of security but let this unspeakable love of thine constrain me to obedience that since my blessed Lord hath died for me I may no longer live unto my self but to him O Lord I know there is no concord between Christ and Belial therefore since he hath now been pleased to enter my heart O let me never permit any lust to chace him thence but let him that hath so dearly bought me still keep possession of me and let nothing ever take me out of his hand To this end be thou graciously pleased to watch over me and defend me from all assaults of my spiritual enemies but especially deliver me from my self from the treachery of my own heart which is too willing to yield it self a prey And where thou seest I am either by nature or custome most weak there do thou I beseech thee magnify thy power in my preservation Here name thy most dangerous temptations And Lord let my Saviours sufferings for my sins and the vowes I have now made against them never depart from my mind but let the remembrance of the one enable me to perform the other that I may never make truce with those lusts which nailed his hands pierced his side and made his Soul heavy to the death But that having now a new listed my self under his banner I may fight manfully and follow the Captain of my Salvation even through a Sea of blood Lord lift up my hands that hang down and my feeble knees that I faint not in this warfare O be thou my strength who am not able of my self to struggle with the slightest temptations How often have I turned my back in the day of battel How many of these sacramental vowes have I violated And Lord I have still the saâ—e unconstant deceitful heart to betray me to the breach of this O thou who art Yea and Amen in whom there is no shadow of change communicate to me I beseech thee such a stability of mind that I may no more thus start aside like a broken bow but that having my heart whole with thee I may continue stedfast in thy Covenant That not one good purpose which thy Spirit hath raised in me this day may vanish as so many have formerly done but that they may bring fâ—rth fruit unto life eternal Grant this O merciful Father through the merits and Mediation of my Crucified Saviour A Prayer of Intercession to be used either before or after the receiving of the Sacrament O MOST Gracious Lord who so tenderly lovedst mankind as to give thy dear Son out of thy bosom to become a propitiation for the sins of the whole world grant that the effect of this Redemption may be as Universal as the design of it that it may be to the Salvation of all O let no person by impenitence and wilful sin forfeit his part in it but by the power of thy grace bring all even the most obstinate sinners to Repentance Inlighten all that sit in darkness all Jewes Turks Infidels and Hereticks take from them all blindness hardness of heart and contempt of thy Word and so fetch them home blessed Lord unto thy fold that they may be saved among the number of the true Israelites And for all those upon whom the Name of thy Son is called grant O Lord that their conversations may be such as becometh the Gospel of Christ that his Name be no longer Blasphemed among the Heathen through us O blessed Lord how long shall Christendom continue the vilest part of the world a sink of all those abominable pollutions which even Barbarians detest O let not our profession and our practice be alwayes at so wide a distance Let not the Disciples of the Holy and Immaculate Jesus be of all others the most profane and impure Let not the subjects of the Prince of Peace be of all others the most contentious and bloody but make us Christians indeed as well as in name that we may walk worthy of that Holy Vocation wherewith we are called and may all with one mind and one mouth glorify thee the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Have mercy on this languishing Church look down from Heaven the Habitation of thy Holiness and of thy glory where is thy Zeal and thy strength the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies towards us Are they restrained Be not wroth very sore O Lord neither remember iniquity for ever but though our backslidings are many and we have grievously rebelled yet according to all thy goodness let thy anger thy sury be turned away cause thy face to shine upon thy Sanctuary which is desolate for the Lords sake and so separate between us and our sins that they may no longer separate between us our God Save and defend all Christian Kings Princes Governours especially those to whom we owe subjection plead thou their cause O Lord against those that strive with them and fight thou against those that fight against them and so guide and assist them in the discharge of that office whereunto thou hast appointed them that under them we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty Bless them that wait at thine Altar open thou their lips that their mouth may shew forth thy praise O let not the lights of the world be put under bushels but place them in their candlesticks that they may give light to all that are in the house Let not Jeroboams Priests profane thy service but let the seed of Aaron still minister before thee And O thou Father of mercies and God of all comfort succour and relieve all that are in affliction deliver the out-cast and poor help them to right that suffer wrong let the sorrowful sighing of the prisoners come before thee and according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to dye grant ease to those that are in pain supplies to those that suffer want give to all presumptuous sinners a sense of their sins and to all dispaâ—ring a sight of thy mercies and do thou O Lord for every one abundantly above what they can ask or think Forgive my enemies persecutors and slanderers and turn their hearts Powre down thy blessings on all my friends and benefactors all who have commended themselves to my Prayer Here thou maist name particular persons And grant O merciful father that through this blood of the crosse we may all be presented pure and unblameable and unreprovable in thy sight That so we may be admitted into that place of purity where no unclean thing can enter there to sing eternal praises to Father Son and holy Ghost for ever A Prayer in times of common Persecution O BLESSED Saviour who hast made the crosse the badg of thy Disciples
enable me I beseech thee willingly and cheerfully to embrace it thou seest O Lord I am fallen into dayes wherein he that departeth from evil maketh himself a Prey O make me so readily to expose all my outward concernments when my obedience to thee requireth it that what falls as a prey to men may by thee be accepted as a sacrifice to God Lord preserve me so by thy grace that I never suffer as an evil doer and then O Lord if it be my lot to suffer as a Christian let me not be ashamed but rejoyce that I am counted worthy to suffer for thy name O thou who for my sake enduredst the cross and despisedst the shame let the example of that love and patience prevail against all the tremblings of my corrupt heart that no terrors may ever be able to shake my constancy but that how long soever thou shalt permit the rod of the wicked to lye on my back I may never put my hand unto wickedness Lord thou knowest whereof I am made thou remembrest that I am but flesh and flesh O Lord shrinks at the approach of any thing grievous It is thy Spirit thy Spirit alone that can uphold me O stablish me with thy free Spirit that I be not weary faint in my mind And by how much the greater thou discernest my weakness so much the more do thou shew forth thy power in me and make me O Lord in all temptations stedfastly to look to thee the author and finisher of my faith that so I may run the race which is set before me and resist even unto blood striving against sin O dear Jesus hear me and though Satan desire to have me that he may winnow me as wheat yet do thou O blessed Mediator pray for me that my faith fail not but that though it be tryed with fire it may be found unto praise and glory and honour at thy appearing And O Lord I beseech thee grant that I may preserve not only constancy towards God but charity also towards men even those whom thou shalt permit to be the instruments of my sufferings Lord let me not fail to imitate that admirable meekness of thine in loving and praying for my greatest persecutors and do thou O Lord overcome all their evil with thy infinite goodness turn their hearts and draw them powerfully to thy self and at last receive both me and mine enemies into those mansions of peace and rest where thou reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost one God for ever A Prayer in time of Affliction O JUST and holy Lord who with rebukes doest chasten man for sin I desire unfeignedly to humble my self under thy mighty hand which now lyes heavy upon me I heartily acknowledg O Lord that all I do all I can suffer is but the due reward of my deeds and therefore in thy severest inflâ—ctions I must still say Righteous art thou O Lord and upright are thy judgments But O Lord I beseech thee in judgment remember mercy though my sins have enforced thee to strike yet consider my weakness and let not thy stripes be more heavy or more lasting then thou seest profitable for my soul correct me but with the Chastisement of a father not with the wounds of an enemy and though thou take not off thy rod yet take away thine anger Lord do not abhor my soul nor cast thy servant away in displeasure but pardon my sins I beseech thee and if yet in thy fatherly wisdome thou see fit to prolong thy corrections thy blessed will be done I cast my self O Lord at thy feet do with me what thou pleasest Trye me as silver is tryed so thou bring me out purified And Lord make even my flesh also to subscribe to this resignation that there may be nothing in me that may rebel against thy hand but that having perfectly supprest all repining thoughts I may cheerfully drink of this cup. And how little soever thou shalt please to make it Lord let it pâ—ove medicinal and cure all the diseases of my soul that it may bring forth in me the peaceable fruit of righteousness That so these light afflictions which are but for a moment may work for me a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory through Jesus Christ. A Thanksgiving for Deliverance O BLESSED Lord who art gracious and merciful slow to anger and of great kindness and repentest thee of the evil I thankfully acknowledg before thee that thou hast not dealt with me after my sins nor rewarded me according to my iniquities My rebellions O Lord deserved to be scourged with scorpions and thou hast corrected them only with a gentle and fatherly rod neither hast thou suffered me to lâ—e long under that but hast given me a timely and a gracious issue out of my late distress O Lord I will be glad and rejoyce in thy mercy for thou hast considered my trouble and hast known my soul in adversity Thou hast smitten and thou hast healed me O let these various methods of thine have their proper effects upon my soul That I who have felt the smart of thy chastisements may stand in awe and not sin and that I who have likewise felt the sweet refreshings of thy mercy may have my heart ravished with it and knit to thee in the firmest bands of love and that by both I may be preserved in a constant entire obedience to Thee all my dayes through Jesus Christ. Directions for the time of Sickness WHEN thou findest thy self visited with sickness thou art immediately to remember that it is God which with rebukes doth chasten man for sin And therefore let thy first care be to find out what it is that provokes him to smite thee and to that purpose examine thine own heart search diligently what guilts lie there confess them humbly and penitently to God and for the greater sâ—â—urity renew thy repentance for all the old sins of thy former life beg most earnestly and importunately his mercy and pâ—rdâ—n in Christ Iesus and put on sincere and zealous resolutions of forsaking every evil way for the rest of that time which God shall spare thee And that thy 〈◊〉 heart deceive thee not in this so weighty a business it will be wisdom to send for some godly Divine not onely to assist thee with his Prayers but with his counsel also And to that purpose open thy heart so freely to him that he may be able to judg whether thy repentance be such as may give thee confidence to appear before Gods dreadful Tribunal and that if it be not he may help thee what he can towards the making it sâ— And when thou hast thus provided for thy better part thy soul then consider thy body also and as the Wise man saith Eccl. 38. 12. Give pâ—aâ—e to the Physician for the Lord hath created him Vse such means as may be most likely to recover thy health but alwayes remember that the successe of them must come from
to despise that by this I may be made capable of that atonement which thy dear Son hath by the more excellent oblation of himself made for all repenting sinners He is the propitiation for our sins he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was on him O heal me by his stripes and let the cry of his blood drown the clamour of my sins I am indeed a child of wrath but he is the Son of thy love for his sake spare me O Lord spare thy creature whom he hath redeemed with his most precious blood and be not angry with me for ever In his wounds O Lord I take Sanctuary O let not thy vengeance pursue me to this city of refuge my Soul hangeth upon him O let me not perish with a Jesus with a Saviour in my armes But by his Agony and bloody Sweat by his Cross and Passion by all that he did and suffered for sinners good Lord deliver me deliver me I beseech thee from the wages of my sins thy wrath and everlasting damnation in thâ—s time of my tribulation in the hour of death and in the day of Judgment Heaâ— me O Lord hear me and do not now repay my former neglects of thy calls by refusing to answer me in this time of my grâ—atest need Lord there is but a step between me and death O let not my sun go down upon thy wrath but seaâ— my pardon before I go hence and be no more seen Thy loving kindness is better then the life it self O let me have that in exchange and I shall most gladly lay down this mortal life Lord thou knowest all my desire and my groaning is not hid from thee Deal thou with me O Lord according to thy Name for sweet is thy mercy take away the sting of death the guilt of my sins and then though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil I will lay me down in peace and Lord when I awake up let me be satisfied with thy presence in thy glory Grant this merciful God for his sake who is both the Redeemer and Mediator of sinners even Jesus Christ. PSALMES PVT me not to rebuke O Lord in thiâ—â— anger neither chasten me in thy heavy displeasure There is no health in my flesh because of thy displeasure neither is there any rest in my bones by reason of my sins For my wickednesses are gone over my head and are a sore burden too heavy for me to bear My wounds stink and are corrupt through my foolishness Therefore is my spirit vexed within me and my heart within me is desolate My sins have taken such hold upon me that I am not able to look up yea they are more in number then the hairs of my head and my heart hath failed me But thou O Lord God art full of compassion and mercy long suffering plenteous in goodness and truth Turn thee unto me and have mercy upon me for I am desolate and in misery If thou Lord shouldst be extreme to mark what is done amiss O Lord who may abide it O remember not the sins and offences of my youth but according to thy mercy think thou upon me for thy goodness Look upon my adversity and misery and forgive me all my sin Hide not thy face from thy servant for I am in trouble O haste thee and hear me Out of the deep do I call unto thee Lord hear my voice Turn thee O Lord and deliver my Soul O save me for thy mercies sake O go not from me for trouble is hard at hand and there is none to help I stretch forth my hands unto thee my Soul gaspeth unto thee as a thirsty land Draw nigh unto my Soul and save it O deliver me because of my enemies For my Soul is full of trouble and my life draweth nigh unto hell Save me from the Lyons mouth hear me from among the horns of the Vnicorns O set me up upon the rock that is higher then I for thou art my hope and a strong Tower for me against the enemy Why art thou so heavy O my Soul and why art thou so disquieted within me Put thy trust in God for I will yet give him thanks for the help of his countenance The Lord shall make good his loving kindness towards me yea thy Mercy O Lord endureth for ever despise not then the work of of thine own hands O GOD thou art my God early will I seek thee My Soul thirsteth for thee my flesh also longeth after thee in a barren and dry land where no water is Like as the hart desireth the water brooks so longeth my Soul after thee O God My Soul is a thirst for God even for the living God when shall I come to appear before the presence of God How amiable are thy dwellings O Lord of Hosts My Soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the Courts of the Lord my flesh and my heart rejoice in the living God O that I had wings like a Dove for then would I flye away and be at rest O send out thy light and thy truth that they may lead me and bring me unto thy Holy Hill and to thy dwelling For one day in thy Courts is better then a thousand I had rather be a door keeper in the house of my God then to dwell in the tents of wickedness I should utterly have fainted but that I believed verily to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living Thou art my Helper and my Redeemer O Lord make no long tarrying EjACULATIONS O LORD of whom may I seek for succour but of thee who for my sins art justly displeased yet O Lord God most Holy O Lord most mighty O Holy and most Merciful Saviour deliver me not into the bitter pains of eternal death Thou knowest Lord the secrets of my heart shut not up thy merciful eyes to my prayer but hear me O Lord most Holy O God most Mighty O Holy and Merciful Saviour thou most worthy Judg eternal suffer me not at my last hour for any pains of death to fall from thee Father I have sinned against Heaven and before thee and am no worthy to be called thy child yet O Lord do not thou cast off the bowels and compassions of a Father but even as a Father pittieth his own children so bâ— thou merciful unto me Lord the prince of this world cometh Oâ— let â—im have nothing in me but as he accuseth do thou absolve he layes many and grievous things to my charge which he can too well prove I have nothing to say for my self do thou answer for me O Lord my God O Lord I am clothed with filthy garments and Satan stands at my right hand to resist me O be thou pleased to rebuke him and pluck me as a brand out of the fire cause mine iniquities to pass from me and cloth me with the righteousness