Camp against their Enemies they should dig a hole with a paddle and cover their excrements his reason is For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst oâ— thy Camp to deliver thâ—e and to give thee thine Enemies before thee therefore thy host shall be holy that he see no filthy thing in thee and turn away from thee If he will have Men to be so holy in time of war in the Field how much more holiness expecteth he at our hands in time of peace in our houses therefore saith Zophar in Job If thou prepare thine heart and stretch out thine hand towards God to pray if iniquity be in thy hand put it far away and let no wickedness dwell in thy Tabernacle For as Esay saith If there be any uncleanness in our hands that is any sin whereof we have not repented tho' we stretch not our hands unto him and make many prayers the Lord will hide his eyes from us and will not hear our prayers Therefore before thou prayest let God see that thy heart is sorrowful for thy sin and that thy mind is resolved through the assistance of his grace to amend thy faults And then having washed thy self and adorned thy body with apparâ—l which beseemeth thy calling and the Image of God which thou bearest shut thy chamber-door and kneel down at thy bed-side or some other convenient place and in reverent manner lifting up thy heart together with thy hands and eyes as in the presence of God who seeth the inward intention of thy soul offer up unto God from the Altar of a contrite heart thy prayer as a morning-sacrifice through the mediation of Christ in these or the like words A Prayer for the Morning O Most mighty and glorious God full of incomprehensible Power and Majesty whose glory the very heaven of heavens is not able to contain look down from heaven upon me thine unworthy servant who here prostrate my self at the footstool of thy Throne of Grace But look upon me O Father through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ thy beloved Son in whom only thou art well pleased For of my self I am not worthy to stand in thy presence or to speak with mine unclean lips to so holy a God as thou art For thou know'st that in sin I was conceived and born and that I have lived ever since in iniquity so that I have broken all thy holy Commandments by sinful motions unclean thoughts evil words and wicked works omitting many of those duties of Piety which thou requirest for thy service and committing many of those vices which thou under the penalty of thy displeasure hast forbidden Here thou maist confess unto God thy secret sins which do most burthen thy conscience with the circumstances of the time place person and manner how it was committed saying But more especially O Lord I do here with grief of heart confess unto thee c. And for these my sins O Lord I stand here guilty of thy curse with all the miseries of this life and everlasting torments in hell fire when this wretched life is ended if thou shouldest deal with me according to my deserts Yea Lord I confess that it is thy mercy which endureth for ever and thy compassion which never fails that is the cause that I have not been long ago consumed But with thee O Lord there is mercy and plenteous redemption In the mutitude therefore of thy Mercy and confidence in Christ's Merits I intreat thy divine Majesty that thou wouldst not enter into judgment with thy servant neither be extreme to mark what I have hitherto done amiss for if thou dost then then can no flesh be justified in thy sight nor any living stand in thy presence But be thou merciful unto me and wash away all the uncleanness of my sin with the merits of that precious blood which Jesus Christ hath shed for me And seeing that he hath born the burthen of that curse which was due to my transgressions O Lord deliver me from my sins and from all those judgments which hang over my head as due unto me for them and separate them as far from thy presence as the East is from the West bury them in the burial of Christ that they may never have power to rise up against me to shame me in this life or to condemn me in the world which is to come And I beseech thee O Lord not only to wash away my sins with the blood of thine immaculate Lamb but also to purge my heart by thy holy Spirit from the dross of my natural corruption that I may feel thy Spirit more and more killing my sin in the power and practice thereof so that I may with more freedom of mind and liberty of will serve thee the everlasting God in righteousness and holiness this day And give me grace that by the direction and assistance of the same thy holy Spirit I may presevere to be thy faithful and unfeigned servant unto my life's end that when this mortal life is ended I may be made a partaker of immortality and everlasting happiness in thy heavenly kingdom In the mean time O Lord whilst it is thy blessed will and pleasure that I may continue to spend and end that small number and remnant of days which thou hast appointed for me to live in this vale of misery Teach me so to number my days that I may apply my heart unto wisdom and as thou dost add days unto my life so good Lord I beseech thee add repentance and amendment to my days that as I grow in years so may I increase in grace and favour with thee and all thy people And to this end give unto me a supply of all those graces which thou knowest to be wanting in me and necessary for me with an increase of all those good gifts wherewith thou hast already endowed me that so I may be the better enabled to lead such a godly life and honest conversation as that thy Name may thereby be glorified others may take good example by me and my soul may more chearfully feed on the peace of a good conscience and be more replenished with the joy of the Holy Ghost And hear O Lord according to my bounded duty I give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all those Bessings which of thy goodness thou hast bestowed upon me And namely for that thou hast of thy free love according to thine eternal purpose elected me before the foundation of the world was laid unto salvation in Jesus Christ for that thou hast created me after thine own Image and hast begun to restore that in me which was lost in our first Parents for that thou hast effectually called me by the working of thy Spirit in the preaching of the Gospel
and receiving of the Sacrament to the knowledge of thy saving grace and obedience of thy blessed will for that thou hast bought and redeemed me with the blood of thine only begotten Son from the torments of Hell amd thrall of Satan for that thou hast by faith in Christ freely justified me who am by nature the Child of wrath for that thou hast in good measure sanctified me by thy holy Spirit and given me so large a time to repent together with the means of repentance I thank thee likewise good Lord for my life health wealth food raiment peace prosperity and plenty and for that thou hast preserved me this night from all perils and dangers of body and soul and hast brought me lafe to the beginning of this day And as thou hast now wakned my body from sleep so I beseech thee waken my soul from sin and carnal security and as thou hast caused the light of the day to shine in my bodily eyes so good Lord cause the light of thy Word and holy Spirit to illuminate my heart and give me grace as one of thy children of light to walk in all holy obedience before thy face this day and that I may endeavour to keep faith and a clear conscience towards thee and towards all men in all my thoughts words and dealings And so good Lord bless all my studies and actions which I shall take in hand this day as that they may tend to thy glory the good of others and the comfort of mine own Soul and Conscience in that day when I shall make my final accounts unto thee for them Oh my God keep thy servant that I do no evil unto any man this day and let it be thy blessed will not to suffer the Devil nor his wicked Angels nor any of his evil Members or any malicious enemies to have any power to do me any hurt or violence But let the eye of thy holy providence watch over me for good and not for evil and command thy holy Angels to pitch their Tents round about me for my defence and safety in me going out and coming in as thou hast promised they should do about them that fear thy Name For into thy hands O Father I do here commend my soul and body my actions and all that ever I have to be guided defended and protected by thee being assured that whatsoever thou takest into thy custody cannot perish nor suffer any hurt or harm And if I at any time this day shall through frailty forget thee yet Lord I beseech thee do thou in mercy remember me And I pray not unto thee O Father for my self alone but I beseech thee also be merciful unto thy whole Church and chosen people wheresoever they live upon the face of the earth Defend them from the Rage and Tyranny of the Devil the World and Antichrist Give thy Gospel a free and a joyful passage through the world for the conversion of those who belong to thine Election and Kingdom Bless the Churches and Kingdoms wherein we live with the continuance of Peace Justice and true Religion Defend the King's Majesty from all his Enemies and grant him a long life in health and all happiness to reign over us Bless our gracious Queen Mary Prince Charles the Lady Mary the Lady Elizabeth and her Princely Issue Increase in them all heroical gifts and spiritual graces which may make them fit for those places for which thou hast ordained them Direct all the Nobility Bishops Ministers and Magistrates of this Church and Common-wealth to govern the Commons in true religion justice obedience and tranquility Be merciful unto all the Brethren which fear thee and call upon thy name and comfort as many among them as are sick and comfortless in body or mind especially be favourable to all such as suffer any trouble or persecution for the testimony of thy truth and holy Gospel And give them a gracious deliverance out of all their troubles which way it shall seem best to thy Wisdom for the glory of thy Name the further enlarging of the truth and the more ample increase of their own Comfort and Consolation Hasten thy coming O blessed Saviour and end these sinful days And give me grace that like a wife Virgin I may be prepared with oil in my Lamp to meet thee the sweet Bridegroom of my Soul at thy coming whether it be by the day of Death or of Judgment and then Lord Jesus come when thou wilt even Lord Jesus come quickly These and all other graces which thou knowest needful and necessary for me this day and evermore I humbly beg and crave at thy hands O Father giving thee thy glory in that form of Prayer which Christ himself hath taught me to say unto thee Our Father which art in heaven hallowed be thy Name c. Meditations to stir us up to Morning Prayer IF when thou art about to pray Satan shall suggest that thy Prayers are too long and that therefore it were better either to omit Prayers or else to cut them shorter meditate that Prayer is thy spiritual sacrifice wherewith God is well pleased and therefore it is so displeasing to the Devil and so irksome to thy Flesh. Bend therefore thy Affections will they nill thy to so holy an exercise assuring thy self that it doth by so much the more please God by how much the more it is unpleasing to thy flesh 2. Forget not how the Holy Ghost puts at down as a special note of reprobates they call not upon the Lord they call not upon God And when Eliphaz supposed that Job had cast off the fear of God and tha◠God had cast Job out of his favour he chargeth him that he restrained prayer 〈◊〉 God making that a sure none of the 〈◊〉 and a sufficient cause of the other On the other side that God hath promised that whosoever shall call on his name shall be saved It is certain that he who maketh no conscience of the duty of Prayer hath no grace of the holy Spirit in him For the spirit of grace and of prayer are one And therefore Grace and Prayer go together But he that can from a penitent heart morning and evening pray unto God it is sure that he hath his measure of grace in this world and he shall have his portion of glory in the life which is to come 3. Remember that as loathing of meat and painfulness of speaking are two symptoms of a sick body So irkesomness of praying when thou talkest with God and carelesness in hearing when God by his Word speaks unto thee are two sure signs of a sick Soul 4. Call to mind the zealous devotions of the Christians in the Primitive Church who spent many whole nights and vigils in watching and praying for the forgiveness of
their sins and that they might be found ready at the coming of Christ. And how that David was not concent to pray at Morning at Evening and at Noon but he would also rise up at midnight to pray unto God And if Christ did chide his Disciples because they would not watch with him one hour in praying what chiding dost thou deserve who thinkest it too long to continue in prayer but one quarter of an hour If thou hast spent divers hours in seeing a vain Mask or Play yea whole days and nights in carding and dicing to please thy flesh be ashamed to think a Prayer of a quarter of an hour long to be too long an exercise for the service of God 5. Consider that if the Papists in their blind superstition do in an unknown and therefore unedifying Tongue fit only for the Children of mystical Babylon mutter over upon their Beads every morning and evening so many scores of Ave-Maries Pater-Nosters and idolatrous prayers how shall they in their superstitious devotion rise up in judgment against thee professing thy self to be a true worshipper of Christ If that thou thinkest these Prayers to be too long a task being shorter for quantity than theirs but far more profitable for quality tending only to God's glory and thy good and so compiled of Scripture phrase as that thou may'st speak to God as well in his own holy words as in thine own native language Be ashamed that Papists in their superstitious worshipping of creatures should shew themselves more devout than thou in the sincere worshipping of the true and only God And indeed a prayer in private devotion should be one continued speech rather than many broken fragments 6. Lastly When such thoughts come into thy head either to keep thee from prayer or to distract thee in praying remember that those are the Fowls which the evil one sends to devour the good seed and the carcases of thy spiritual Sacrifices but endeavour with Abraham to drive them away Yet notwithstanding if thou perceivest at some times that thy spirits are dull and thy mind not apt for Prayer and holy devotion strive not too much for that time but humbling thy self at the sense of thine infirmity and dulness knowing that God accepteth the willing mind tho' it be oppressed with the heaviness of the flesh endeavour the next time to recompence this dulness by redoubling the zeal and for the time present commend thy soul to God in this or the like short Prayer Another shorter Morning Prayer O Most gracious God and merciful Father I thine unworthy Servant do here acknowledge that as I have been born in sin so I have lived in iniquity and broken every one of thy Commandments in thought word and deed following the desires of mine own will and lusts of my flesh not caring to be governed by thy holy Word and Spirit and therefore I have justly deserved all shame and misery in this life and everlasting condemnation in hell-fire if thou shouldest but deal with me according to thy Justice and my desert Wherefore O heavenly Father I beseech thee for thy Son Jesus Christ his sake and for the Merits of that bitter Death and bloody Passion which I believe that he hath suffered for me that thou wouldest pardon and forgive unto me all my sins and deliver me from the shame and vengeance which is due to me for them And send thy Holy Spirit into my heart which may assure me that thou art my Father and that I am thy Child and that thou lovest me with an unchangeable love and let the same thy good Spirit lead me in thy truth and crucifie in me more and more all worldly and carnal lusts that my sins may more and more die in me and that I may serve thee in unfeigned righteousness and holiness this day and all the days of my life That when this mortal life is ended I may through thy mercy in CHRIST be made partaker of everlasting glory in thy heavenly Kingdom And here O Lord from the bottom of my heart I thank thee for all thy blessings which thou hast bestowed upon my soul and body for electing me in thy love redeeming me by thy Son sanctifying me by thy Spirit and preserving me from my youth up until this present day and hour by thy most gracious providence I thaâ—k thee more especially for that thou hast defended me this night from all perils and dangers and hast brought me safe to the beginning of this day And now good Lord I beseech thee keep me this day from all evil that may hurt me and from falliâ—g into any gross sin that should offend thee Set thy fear before mine eyes and let thy spirit so rule my heart that all that I shall think do or speak this day may tend to thy glory the good of others and the peace of mine own conscience And to this end I commend my self and all my ways and actions together with all that do belong unto me unto thy gracious direction and protection praying thee to keep both them and me from all evil and to give a blessing to all our honest labours and endeavours Defend thy whole Church from the tyranny of the world and of Antichrist Preserve our gracious King from all conspiracies and treasons grant him a long and prosperous reign over us Bless our gracious Queen Mary Prince Charles the Lady Maâ—â— the Lady Elizabeth and her Princely â—â—sue endue them with thy grace and defend them from all evil Bless all our Ministers and Magistrates with those graces and gifts which thou knowest necessary for their places Be favourable to all that fear thee and tremble at thy judgments comfort all those that are sick and comfortless Lord keep me in a continual readiness by faith and repentance â—or my last end that whether I live or die I may be found thine own to thine eternal glory and mine everlasting salvation through Jesus Christ my only Saviour In whose blessed name I beg these mercies at thy hands and give unto thee thy praise and glory in that praâ—er which he hath sanctifyed with his own lips saving Our Father which art in Heaven hallâ—â—â—d be thy Name c. Further Meditations to stir us up to Prayer in the Morning THink not any business or haste though never so great a sufficient excuse to omit prayer in the Morning but meditate 1. That the greater thy business is by so much the more need thou hast to pray for God's good speed and blessing thereon seeing it is certain that nothing can prosper without his blessing 2. That many a Man when he thought himself surest hath been soonest crossed so maist thou 3. That many a Man hath gone out of his door and never come in again Many a Man who rose well and lively in the morning hath been seen a dead Man ere night So may it befal thee and if thou
day 5. Praying for rest and protection that night 6. Remembering the state of the Church the King and the Royal Posterity our Ministers and Magistrates and all our Brethren visited or persecuted 7. Lastly commending thy self and all thine to his gracious custody All which thou maist do in these or the like words A Prayer for the Evening O Most gracious God and loving Father who art about my bed and knowest my down-lying and mine up-rising and art near unto all that call upon thee in truth and sincerity I wretched sinner do beseech thee to look upon me with the eyes of thy mercy and not to behold me as I am in my self For then thou shalt see but an unclean and defiled creature conceived in sin and living in iniquity so that I am ashamed to lift up mine eyes to heaven knowing how grievously I have sinned against heaven and before thee For O Lord I have transgressed all thy Commandments and righteous Laws not only through negligence and infirmity but oftentimes through willful presumption contrary to my knowledge yea contrary to the motions of thy Holy spirit reclaiming me from them so that I have wounded my conscience and grieved thy Holy Spirit by whom thou hast sealed me to the day of redemption Thou hast consecrated my soul and body to be the temples of the Holy Ghost I wretched sinner have defiled both with all manner of pollution and uncleanness My eyes in taking pleasure to behold vanity mine ears in hearing impure and unchaste speeches my tongue in leasing and evil speaking my hands are so full of impurity that I am ashamed to lift them up unto thee and my feet have carried me after mine own ways my understanding and reasoning which are so quick in all earthly matters are only blind and stupid when I come to meditate or discourse of spiritual and heavenly things my memory which should be the treasury of all goodness is not so apt to remember any thing as those things which are vile and vain Yea Lord by woful experience I find that naturally all the imaginations of the thoughts of mine heart are only evil continually And these my sins are more in number than the hairs upon mine head and they have grown over me like a loathsom leprosie that from the Crown of my head to the sole of my feet there remains no part which they have not infected They make me seem vile in mine own eyes how much more abominable must I then appear in thy sight And the custom of sinning hath almost taken away the conscience of sin and pulled upon me such dullness of sense and hardness of heart that thy judgments denounced against my sins by the faithful Preachers of thy Word do not terrifie me to return unto thee by unfeigned repentance for them And if thou Lord shouldest but deal with me according to thy justice and my desert I should utterly be confounded and condemned But seeing that of thine infinite mercy thou hast spared me so long and still waitest for my repentance I humbly beseech thee for the bitter death and bloody passion sake which Jesus Christ hath suffered for me that thou wouldest pardon and forgive unto me all my sins and offences and open unto me that ever streaming fountain of the blood of Christ which thou hast promised to open under the New Testament to the penitent of the house of David that all my sins and uncleanness may be so bathed in his blood buried in his death and hid in his wounds that they may never be more seen to shame me in this life or to condemn me before thy Judgment-seat in the World which is to come And for as much O Lord as thou know'st that it is not in man to turn his own heart unless thou dost first give him grace to convert and seeing that it is as easie with thee to make me righteous and holy as to bid me to be such O my God give me grace to do what thou commandest and then command what thou wilt and thou shalt find me willing to do thy blessed will And to this end give unto me thine Holy Spirit which thou hast promised to give to the world's end unto all thine Elect people And let the same thy holy Spirit purge my heart heal my corruption sanctifie my nature and consecrate my soul and body that they may become the temples of the Holy Ghost to serve thee in righteousness and holiness all the days of my life that when by the direction and assistance of thy holy Spirit I shall finish my course in this short and transitory life I may chearfully leave this world and resign my soul into thy Fatherly hands in the assured confidence of enjoying everlasting life with thee in thine heavenly Kingdom which thou hast prepared for thine elect Saints who love the Lord Jesus and expect his appearing In the mean while O Father I beseech thee let thy holy Spirit work in me such a serious repentance as that I may with tears lament my sins past with grief of heart be humble for my sins present and with all mine endeavour resist the like filthy sins in time to come And let the same thy holy Spirit likewise keep me in the Vnity of thy Church lead me in the truth of thy Word and preserve me that I never swerve from the same to Popery nor any other errour or false worship And let thy Spirit open mine eyes more and more to see the wondrous things of thy Law and open my lips that my mouth may daily defend thy truth and set forth thy praise Increase in me those good gifts which of thy mercy thou hast already bestowed upon me and give unto me a patient spirit a chast heart a contented mind pure affections wise behaviour and all other graces which thou feest to be necessary for me to govern my heart in thy fear and to guide all my life in thy favour that whether I live or die I may live and die unto thee who art my God and my Redeemer And here O Lord according as I am bound I render unto thee from the Altar of my humblest heart all possible thanks for all those blessings and benefits which so graciously and plentuously thou hast bestowed upon my soul and body for this life and for that which is to come namely for mine Election Creation Redemption Vocation Justification Sanctification and Preservation from my child-hood until this present day and hour and for the firm hope which thou hast given me of my Glorification Likewise for my health wealth food raiment and prosperity and more especially for that thou hast defended me this day now past from all perils and dangers both of body and soul furnishing me with all necessary good things that I stand in need of And as thou hast ordained the day for
in the state of Corruption no man living can sanctifie a Sabbath in that spiritual manner that he should but that he commits many breaches thereof in his Thoughts Words and Deeds humbly crave pardon for thy defects and reconcile thy self unto God with this or the like Evening Sacrifice A Private Evening Prayer for the Lord's-day O Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Sabbath suffer me who am but dust and ashes to speak unto thy most glorious Majâ—sty I know that thou art a consuming â—ire I acknowledge that I am but withered stubble My sins are in thy sight and Satan stands at my right-hand to accuse me for them I come not to excuse but to judg my self worthy of all those judgments which thy Justice might most justly inflict upon me a wretched Creature for my sins and transgressions The Number of them is so great the Nature of them is so grievous that they make me seem vile in mine own eyes how much more loathsome in thy sight I confess they make me so far from being worthy to be called thy Son that I am altogether unworthy to have the Name of thy meanest Servant And if thou shouldest but recompence me according to my desert the Earth as weary of such a sinful burthen should open her mouth and swallow me up like one of Dathan's Family into the bettomless pit of Hell For if thou didst not spare the natural branches those Angels of glorious Excellency but hurldst them down from the heavenly Habitations into the pains of hellish darkness to be kept unto damnation when they sinned but once against thy Majesty and didst expel our first Parents out of Paradise when they did but transgress one of thy Laws alas what vengeance may I expect who have not offended in one sin only heaping daily un upon sin without any true repentance drinking iniquity as it were water ever pouring in but never pouring out any filthyness and have transgressed not one but all thy holy laws and commandments Yea this present day which thou hast straitly commanded me to keep holy to thy praise and worship I have not so religiously kept and observed nor prepared my soul in that holiness and chastity of heart as was fit to meeâ— thy blessed Majesty in the holy assembly of the Saints I have not attended to the preaching of thy Word nor to the administration of thy Sacraments with that humility reverence and devotion that I should For tho' I was present at those holy exercises in my body yet Lord I was overtaken with much drowsiness And when I was awake my mind was so distracted and carried away with vain and worldly thoughts that my â—oul seemed to be absent and oâ—â— of the Church I have not so duly as I should meditated with my self nor conferred with my Family upon those good instruâ—ctions which we have heard and received out of thy holy Word by the publick Ministry For default whereof Satan hath stoln the most part of those instructions out of my heart and I wretched creature have forgotten them as though they had never been heard And my family doth not thrive in knowledge and sanctification under my government as they should Though I know where many of my poor brethren live in want and necessity and some in pain and comfortless yet I have not remembred to relieve the one with my Alms nor the other with Consolations but I have feasted my self and satisfied mine own Lusts. I have spent the most part of the day in idle talk vain sports and exercises Yea Lord I have c. And for all these my sins my Conscience cries guilty thy Law condemns me and I am in thy hand to receive the sentence and curse that is due to the wilful breach of so holy a Commandment But what if I am by thy Law condemned Yet Lord thy Gospel assures me that thy mercy is above all thy works that thy grace transcends thy Law and thy goodness delighteth there to reign where sins do most abound In the multitude therefore of thy Mercies and for the Merits of Jesus Christ my Saviour I beseech thee O Lord who despiseth not the sighings of a contrite heart nor desirest the death of a penitent sinner to pardon and forgive me all those my sins and all the errors of this day and of my whole life and free my soul from that curse and Judgment which is due unto me for them Thou that didst justifie the contrite Publican for Four Words of confession and received'st the Prodigal Child when he had spent all the stock of thy grace into favour upon his repentance pardon my sins likewise O Lord and suffer me not to perish for my transgressions O spare me and receive me into thy favour again Wilâ— thou O Lord reject me who hast received all Publicans Harlots and Sinners that upon repentance sued to thee for grace Shall I alone be excluded from thy mercy Far be it from me to think so for thou art the same God of mercy unto me that thou wast unto them and thy compassions never fail Wherefore O Lord deal not with me after my merits but according to thy great mercy Execute â—ot thy severe Justice against me a sinner but exercise thy long-sufferance in forbearing thine own creature I have nothing to present unto thee for a satisfaction but only those Bloody Wounds bitter Death and Passion which thy blessed Son my only Saviour hath suffered for me Him in whom only thou art well pleased I offer unto thee for all my sins wherewith thou art displeased Him my Mediator the Request of whose Blood speaking better things than that of Abel thy mercy can never gain-say Illuminate my understanding and sanctifie my heart with thy holy Spirit that it may bring to my remembrance all those good and profitable lessons which this day and at other times have been taught me out of thy holy Word that I may remember thy Commandments to keep them thy Judgments to avoid them aâ—d thy sweet Promises to rely upon them in time of misery and distress And now O Lord I resign my self to thy most holy Will O receive me into thy favour and so draw me by thy grace unto thy self that I may as well be thine by love and imitation as by calling and creation and give me grace so to keep holy thy Sabbaths in this life as that when this life is ended I may with all thy Saints and Angels celebrate an eternal Sabbath of joys and praise to the honour of thy most glorious Name in thy heavenly Kingdom for evermore Amen And then calling thy Family together shut up the Sabbath with the Meditations and Prayers before prescribed for thy Family And the Lord will give thee 〈◊〉 Night a more sweet and quiet rest than ordinary and prosper thee the better in all the labours of the week following Thus far of the ordinary
without reproof Hereupon Christ commends to his Disciples the care of his keeping of his Commandments as the truest testimony of our love unto him So far therefore doth a Man love Christ as he makes conscience to walk in his Commandmenâ—s and the more unto Christ is our love the less will our pains seem in keeping his Law The Laws curse which under the Old Testament was so terrible is under the New by the Death of Christ abolished to the regenerate the rigour which made it so impossible to our Nature before is now to the new born so mollified by the spirit that it seems facil and easie The Apostles indeed pressed on the unconverted Jews and Gentiles the impossibility of keeping the Law by ability of Nature corrupted But when they have to do with regenerate Christians they require to the Law which is the Rule of righteousness true obedience in word and deed the mortifying of their members the crucifying of the flesh with the affections and lusts thereof resurrection to newness of life walking in the spirit overcoming of the world by faith so that tho' no Man can say as Christ Which of you can rebuke me of sin yet every regenerate Christian can say of himself which of you can rebuke me of being an Adulterer Whoremonger Swearer Drunkard Thief Vsurer Oppressor Proud Malicious Covetous Prophaner of the holy Sabbath a Lyar a neglecter of God's Publick service and such like gross sins else he is no true Christian. When a man casts off the conscience of being ruled by God's Law then God gives him over to be led by his own lusts the surest sign of a Reprobate sense Thus the Law which since the fall no man by his own natural ability can fulfil is fulfilled in truth of every true regenerate Christian through the gracious assistance of Christ's Holy Spirit And this Spirit God will give to every Christian that will pray for it and incline his heart to keep his Laws V. When the unregenerate man hears that God delights more in the inward mind than in the outward man then he feigneth with himself that all outward reverence and profession is but either superstitious or superfluous Hence it is that he seldom kneeleth in the Church that he puts on his Hat at singing of Psalms and the publick Prayers which the prophane Varlet would not offer to do in the presence of a Prince or Noble man And so that he keep his mind unto God he thinks he may fashion himself in other things to the world He divides his thoughts and gives so much to God and so much to his own lusts yea he will divide with God the Sabbath and will give him almost the one half and spend the other wholly in his own pleasures But know O carnal Man that Almighty God will not be served by halfs because he hath created and redeemed the whole Man And as God detests the service of the outward man without the inward heart as hypocrisie so he counts the inward service without all external reverence to be meer prophaneness he requireth both in his worship In prayer therefore bow thy knees in witness of thy humiliation lift up thine eyes and thy hand in testimony of thy confidence hang dowâ— thy head and smite thy brest in token of thy contrition but especially call upon God with a sincere heart serve him holily serve him wholly serve him only for God and the Prince of this world are two contrary masters and therefore no man can possibly serve both VI. The unregenerate Christian holds the hearing of the Gospel preached to be but an indifferent matter which he may use or not use at his pleasure but whosoever thou art that will be assured in thy heart that thou art one of Christ's Elect Sheep thou must have a special care and conscience if possibly thou canst to hear God's Word Preached For first the preaching of the Gospel is the chief ordinary means which God hath appointed to convert the souls of all that he hath predestinated to be saved therefore it is called the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth And where this Divine Ordinance is not the people perish and whosoever shall refuse it it shall be more tolerable for the Land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of Judgment than for those people Secondly the preaching of the Gospel is the Standard or Ensign of Christ to which all Soldiers and Elect People must assemble themselves when this Ensign is displayed as upon the Lord's Day he is none of Christ's People that flocks not unto it neither shall any drop of the rain of his Grace light on their souls Thirdly it is the ordinary means by which the Holy Ghost begetteth faith in our hearts without which we cannot please God If the hearing of Christ's voice be the chief Mark of Christ's Elect sheep and of the Bridegrooms friends then must it be a fearful mark of a reprobate goat either to neglect or contemn to hear the preaching of the Gospel Let no man think this position foolish for by this foolishness of preaching it pleaseth God to save them which believe Their state is therefore fearful who live in peace without caring for the preaching of the Gospel Can men look for God's mercy and despâ—â—s his means He saith Christ of the Preachers of his Gospel that despiseth you despiseth me He that is of God heareth God's Word ye therefore hear them not because ye are not of God Had not the Israelites heard Phineas's message they had never wept Had not the Baptist preached the Jews had never mourned Had not they who crucified Christ heard Peter's Sermon their hearts had never been pricked Had not the Ninevites heard Jonas preaching they had never repented and if thou wilt not hear and repent thou shalt never be saved VII The opinion that the Sacraments are but bare signs and seals of God's promise and grace unto us doth not a little hinder Piety whereas indeed they are seals as well of our service and obedience unto God which service if we perform not unto him the Sacraments seal no Grace unto us But if we receive them upon the resolution to be his faithful and penitent servants then the Sacraments do not only signifie and offer but also seal and exhibit indeed the inward spiritual grace which they outwardly promise and represent and to this end Baptism is called the washing of Regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost and the Lord's Supper The Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ. Were this truth believed the holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper would be oftener and with greater revereâ—ce received VIII The last and not the least block whereat Piety stumbleth in the course of Religion is by adorning Vices with the names of
be so careful before thou goest abroad to drink to fence thy body from ill airs how much more careful shouldest thou be to pray to preserve thy soul from evil temptations 4. That the time spent in prayer never hindreth but furthereth and prospereth a Man's journey and business 5. That in going abroad into the world thou goest into a Forest full of unknown dangers where thou shalt meet many briars to tear thy good name many snares to crap thy life and my hunters to devour thy Soul It is a Field of pleasant Grass but full of poisonous Serpents Adventure not therefore to go naked amongst these briars till thou hast prayed Christ to clothe thee with his righteousness nor to pass thorow these snares and ambushments till thou hast prayed for God's providence to be thy guide nor to walk barefoot through this snaky field till having thy feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace thou hast prayed to have still the brazen Serpent in the eyes of thy faith that so if thou comest not home holier thou maist be sure not to return worser than when thou wentest out of door Therefore tho' thy haste be never so much or thy business never so great yet go not about it nor out of thy doors till thou hast at least used this or the like short Prayer A brief Prayer for the Morning O Merciful Father for Jesus Christ his sake I beseech thee forgive me all my known and secret sins which in thought word or deed I have committed against thy Divine Majesty and deliver me from all those judgments which are due unto me for them and sanctifie my heart with thy holy Spirit that I may henceforth lead a more godly and religious life And hear O Lord I praise thy holy name for that thou hast refreshed me this night with moderate sleep and rest I beseech thee likewise defend mâ— this day from all perils and dangers of body and soul. And to this end I commend my self and all my actions unâ—o thy blessed protection and government beseeching thee that whether I live or die I may live and die to thy glory and the salvation of my poor soul which thou hast bought with thy precious Blood Bless me therefore O Lord in my going out and coming in and grant that whatsoever I shall think speak or take in hand this day may tend to the glory of thy name the good of others and the comfort of mine own conscience when I shall come to make before thee my last accounts Grant this O heavenly Father for Jesus Christ thy Son's sake In whose blessed Name I give thee thy glory and beg at thy hands all other graces which thou seest to be needful for me this day and ever in that prayer which Christ himself hath taught me saying Our Father c. Meditations directing a Christian how he may walk all the day with God like Enoch HAving thus begun keep all the day after as diligent a watch as thou canst over all thy thoughts words and actions which thou maiest easily do by craving the assistance of God's holy Spirit and observing these few rules First for thy thoughts 1. BE careful to suppress every sin in the first motion Dash Babylon's children whilst they are young against the stones Tread Betimes the Cockatrice's egg lest it break out into a Serpent Let sin be to thy heart a stranger not a home-dweller Take heed of falling oft into the same sin lest the custom of sinning take away the conscience of sin and then shalt thou was so impudently wicked that thou wilt neither fear God nor reverence Man 2. Suffer not thy mind to feed it self upon any imagination which is either impossible for thee to do or unprofitable if it be done but rather think of the world's vanity to contemn it of death to expect it of judgment to avoid it of Hell to escape it and of Heaven to desire it 3. Desire not to fulfil thy mind in all things but learn to deny thy self those desires tho' never so pleasing to thy nature which being attained will draw either scandal on thy Religion or hatred to thy Person Consider in every thing the end before thou attempt the Action 4. Labour daily more and more to see thine own miseri through unbelief self-love and wilful Breaches of God's Law and the necessity of God's mercy through the merits of Christ's Passion to be such that if thou wert demanded What is the vilest creature upon earth Thy Conscience may answer Mine own self by reason of my great sins and that if on the other side thou wert asked What thou esteemest to be the mâ—st precious thing in the world thy heart might answer One drop of Christ's blood to wash away my sins And as thou tenderest the salvation of thy soul live not in any wilful filthiness For true faith and the purpose of sinning can never stand together 5. Approve thy self to be a true servant of Christ not only in thy general Calling as in the frequent use of the Word and Sacraments but also in thy particular in making conscience to eschew every known sin and to obey God in every one of his Commandments like Josias who turned to God with all his heart according to all the law of Moses and Zachary and Elizabeth who walked in all the Commandments of God without reproof But if at any time through frailty thou slippest into any sin lie not in it but speedily rise out of it by unfeigned repentance praying for pardoâ— till thy conscience be pacified thy hatred of sin encreased and thy purpose of amendment confirmed 6. Beware of affecting Popularity by adulation the end never proves good and though attained by due deserts yet manage it wisely lest it prove more dangerous than contempt For States desire but to keep down whom they contemn for their unworthiness but to cut off whom they envy for their greatness He therefore is truly prudent who considering the premises neither affecteth nor neglecteth popularity But in any wise take heed of harbouring a discontented mind for it may work thee more woe than thou art aware of It is a special mercy in the multitude of so many blessings as thou dost enjoy to have some crosses God gives thee many blessings lest through want being his child thou shouldst despair and he sends thee some crosses lest by too much prosperity playing the fool thou shouldst presume Many who have mounted to great dignities would have contented themselves with meaner had they known their great dangers affect therefore competency rather than eminency And in all thy will have ever an eye to God's will lest thy self-action turn to thine own destruction Happy the Man who in this short life is least known of the World so that he doth truly know God and himself whatsoever cross therefore thou hast to discontent thee remember that it is less than
man to travel in and the night for him to take his rest so I beseech thee sanctifie unto me this night's rest and sleep that I may enjoy the same as thy sweet blessing and benefit That so this dull and wearied body of mine being refreshed with moderate sleep and rest I may be the better enabled to walk before thee doing all such good works as thou hast appointed when it shall please thee by thy divine Power to waken me the next morning And whilst I sleep do thou O Lord who art the keeper of Israel that neither slamberest nor sleepest watch over me in thy holy providence to protect me from all dangers so that neither the evil Angels of Satan nor any wicked enemy may have any power to do me any harm or evil And to this end give a charge unto thy holy Angels that they at thine appointment may pitch their tents round about me for my defence and safety as thou hast promised that they should do about them that fear thy name And knowing that thy name is a strong Tower of defence unto all those that trust therein I here recommend my self and all that do belong unto me unto thy holy protection and custody If it be thy blessed will to call for me in my sleep O Lord for Christ his sake have mercy upon me and receive my soul into thy heavenly kingdom And if it be thy blessed pleasure to add more days unto my Life O Lord add more amendment unto my days and wean my mind from the love of the world and worldly vanities and cause me more and more to settle my conversation on heaven and heavenly things And perfect daily in me that good work which thou hast begun to the glory of thy Name and the salvation of my sinful soul. O Lord I beseech thee likewise save and defend from all evil and danger thy whole Church our King Charles Queen Mary the noble and hopeful Prince Charles with the rest of the Royal Progeny the religious Lady Elizabeth the King 's only Sister and her Princely Issue keep them all in the sincerity of thy Truth and prosper them in all grace and happiness Bless the Nobility Ministers and Magistrates of these Churches and Kingdoms each of them with those graces which are expedient for their place and calling And be thou O Lord a comfort and consolation to all thy people whom thou hast thought meet to visit with any kind of sickness cross or calamity Hasten O Father the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Make me ever mindful of my last end and of the reckoning that I am to make unto thee therein and in the mean while careful so to foâ—â—ow Christ in the regeneration during this life as that with Christ I may have a portion in the resurrection of the just when this mortal life is ended These graces and all other blessings which thou O Father knowest to be requisite and necessary for me I humbly beg and crave at thy hands in the name and meditation of Jesus Christ thy Son and in that form of Prayer which he himself hath taught me to say unto thee Our Father which art in Heaven c. Another short Evening Prayer O Eternal God and heavenly Father if I were not taught and assured by the promises of thy Gospel and the examples of Peter Mary Magdalen the Publican the Prodigal child and many other penitent sinners that thou art so full of Compassion and so ready to forgive the greatest sinners who are heaviest laden with sin at what time soever they return unto thee with penitent hearts lamenting their sins and imploring thy grace I should despair for mine own sins and be utterly discouraged from presuming to come into thy presence considering the hardness of my heart the unruliness of my affections and the uncleanness of my conversation by means whereof I have trangressed all thy laws and deserved thy curse which might cause my body to be smitten with some fearful disease my soul to languish with the death of sin my good name to be traduced with scandalous reproaches and make mine estate liable to all manner of crosses and casualties And I confess O Lord that thy mercy is the cause that I have not been long ago confounded But O my God as thy mercy only staied thy judgment from falling upon me hitherto so I humbly beseech thee in the bowels of the mercy of Jesus Christ in whom only thou art well pleased that thou wilt not deal with me according to my deserts but that thou wouldst freely and fully remit unto me all my sins and transgressions and that thou wouldst wash them clean from me with the vertue of that most precious blood which thy Son Jesus Christ hath shed for me For he alone is the Phâ—sician and his blood only is the medicine that ean heal my sickness And he is the true brazen Serpent that can cure that poison wherewith the fiery Serpent of my sins have stung and poisoned my sick and wounded soul. And give me I beseech thee thine holy Spirit which may assure me of mine adoption and that may confirm my faith encrease my repentance enlighten my understanding purifie my heart rectifie my will and affections and so sanctifie me â—hroughout that my whole body soul and spiâ—it may be kept unblameable until the glorious â—oming of my Lord Jesus Christ. And now O Lord I give thee most hearty thanks â—nd praise for that thou hast this day preserved me from all harms and perils notwithstanding all my sins and ill deserts And I beseech thee likewise defend me â—his night from the roaring Lyon which â—ight and day seeketh to devour me Watch â—hou O Lord over me this night to keep â—e from his temptations and tyranny and â—et thy mercy shield me from his unappeaâ—ble rage and malice And to this end I â—ommend my self into thy hands and proâ—ection beseeching thee O my Lord and God not to suffer Satan nor any of his eâ—il members to have power to do unto me â—ny hurt or violence this night And grant â—ood Lord that whether I sleep or wake â—ve or die I may sleep wake live and die â—nto thee and to the glory of thy name â—nd the salvation of my soul. Lord bless â—nd defend all thy chosen People every â—here Grant our King a long and happy â—eign over us Bless our gracious Queen Mary with their Princely Progeny the â—ady Elizabeth the King 's only Sister and â—er Princely Issue together with all our â—agistrates and Ministers comfort them â—ho are in misery need or sickness good â—ord give me grace to be one of those â—ise Virgins which may have my heart â—repared like a Lamp furnished with the 〈◊〉 of faith and light of good works to meet the Lord Jesus the sweet Bridegroom of my soul
which is to come And for as much as thou hast created us to serve thee as all other Creatures to serve us so we beseech thee inspire thy holy Spirit into our hearts that by his illumination and effectual working we may have the inward sight and feeling of our sins and natural corruptions and that we may not be blinded in them through custom as the Reprobates are but that we may more and more loath them and be heartily grieved for them endeavouring by the use of all good means to overcome and get out of them O let us feel the Power of Christ's Death killing sin in our mortal Bodies and the vertue of his Resurrection raising up our Souls to newness of life Convert our hearts subdue our affections regenerate our minds and purifie our nature and suffer us not to be drowned in the stream of those filthy vices and sinful pleasures of thâ—s time where with thousands are carried headlong to eternal destruction but daily frame us more and more to the likeness of thy Son Jesus Christ that in righteousness and true holiness we may so serve and glorifie thee that living in thy fear and dying in thy favour we may in thine appointed time attain to the blessed resurrection of the just unto eternal life In the mean while O Lord increase our faith in the sweet promises of the Gospel and our repentance from dead works the assurance of our hope in thy promises our fear of thy name the hatred of all our sins and our love unto thy children especially those whom we shall see to stand in need of our help and comfort that so by the fruits of Piety and a righteous life we may be assured that thy Holy Spirit doth dwell in us and that we are thy Children by Grace and Adoption And grant us good Father the continuance of health peace maintenance and all other outward things so far forth as thy Divine Wisdom shall think meet and necessary for every one of us And here O Lord according to our bounden duty we confess that thou hast been exceeding merciful unto us all in things of this life but infinitely more merciful in the things of a better life and therefore we do here from our very souls render unto thee all humble and hearty thanks for all thy blessings and benefits bestowed upon our souls and bodies acknowledging thee to be that Father of lights from whom we have received all those good and perfect gifts and unto thee alone for them we ascribe to be due all glory honour and praise both now and evermore But more especially we praise thy divine Majesty for that thou hast defended us this day from all perils and dangersâ— so that none of those judgments which our sins have deserved have fall'n upon any one of us Good Lord forgive us the sins which this day we have committed against thy Divine Majesty and our brethren for Christ his sake be reconciled unto us for them And we beseech thee likewise of the same thine infinite goodness and mercy to defend and protect us and all that belong unto us this night from all dangers of fire robberry terrours of evil angels or any other fear or peril which for our sins might justly fall upon us And that we may be safe under the shadow of thy wings we here commend our Bodies and Souls and all that we have unto thine Almighty protection Lord bless and defend both us and them from all evil And whilst we sleep do thou O Father who never slumberest nor sleepest watch over thy Children and give a charge to thy Holy Angels to pitch their tents round about our House and Dwelling to gâ—ard us from all dangers that sleeping wiâ—h thee we may in the next morning be awakened by thee and so being reâ—reshed with moderate sleep we may be the fitter to set forth thy glory in the conscionable duties of our callings And we beseech thee O Lord to be merciful likewise to thy whole Church and to continue the tranquility of these Kingdoms wherein we live turning from us those plagues which the crying sins of this Nation do cry for Preserve our Religious King Charles Queen Mary the Noble and Hopeful Prince Charles with the rest of the Royal Progeny the religious Lady Elizabeth the King 's only Sister and her Princely Issue all our Magistrates and Ministers all that fear thee and call upon thy Name all our Christian Brethren and Sisters that suffer sickness or any other affliction or misery especially those who any where do suffer persecution for the testimony of thy holy Gospel grant them patience to bear thy cross and deliverance when and which way it shall seem best to thy Divine Wisdom And Lord suffer us never to forget our last end and those reckonings which then we must render unto thee In health and prosperity mâ—ke us mindful of sickness and of the evil day that is behind that these things may not overtake us as a 〈◊〉 but that we may in good measure like wise Virgins be found prepared for the coming of Christ the sweet Bridegroom of our Souls And now O Lord most holy and just we coâ—fess that there is no cause why thou who art so much displeased with sin shouldest hear the prayer of sinners but for his sake only who suffered for sin and sinned not In the only mediation therefore of thine eternal Son Jesus our Lord and Saviour we humbly beg these and all other graces which thou knowest to be needful for us shutting up these our imperfect requests in that most holy Prayer which Christ himself hath taught us to say unto thee Our Father c. Thy grace O Lord Jesus Christ thy love O heavenly Father thy comfort and consolation O holy and blessed Spirit be with us and remain with us this night and for evermore Amen Then saluting one another as becometh Christians who are the Vessels of grace and Temples of the holy Ghost let them in the fear of God depart every one to his rest using some of the former private Meditations for Evening Thus far of the Housholder's publick Practice of Piety with his Family every day Now followeth his Practice of Piety with the Church on the Sabbath-day Meditations of the true manner of practising Piety on the Sabbath-day ALmighty God will have himself worshipped not only in a private manner by private Persons and Families but also in a more publick sort of all the godly joyned together in a visible Church that by this means he may be known not only to be the God and Lord of every singular Person but also of the Creatures of the whole universal World Quest. But why do not we Christians under the New keep the Sabbath on the same seventh day whereon it was kept under the Old Testament I answer because that our Lord Jesus who is the Lord of the Sabbath and whom the Law
is to be baptized as other Christians did in the like case for thee that God would give him the inward effects of Baptism by his Blood and Spirit Fourthly that thou maist assist the Church in praising God for grafting another Member into his mystical Body Fifthly That thou maist prove whether the effects of Christ's death killeth sin in thee and whether thou be raised to newness of life by the virtue of his Resurrection and so to be humbled for thy wants and to be thankful for his graces Sixthly to shew thy self to be a freeman of Christ's Corporation having a voice or consent in the admission of others into that Holy Society 3. If there be any Collection for the poor freely without grudging bestow thine Alms as God hath blessed thee with ability And thus far of the duties to be performed in the Holy Assembly Now of the third sort of Duties after the Holy Assembly AS thou returnest home or when thou art entred into thy house meditate a little while upon those things which thou hast heard And as the clean Beasts which chew the Cud so must thou bring again to thy remembrance that which thou hast heard in the Church And then kneeling down turn all to a prayer beseeching God to give such a blessing to those things which thou hast heard that they may be a direction to thy life and a consolation unto thy Soul For till the Word be made thus our own and as it were close hidden in our hearts we are in danger lest Satan steal it away and we shall receive no profit thereby And when thou goest to dinner in that reverend and thankful manner before prescribed remember according to thine ability to have one or more poor Christians whose hungry bowels may be refreshed with thy meat imitating holy Job who protested that he did never eat his morsels alone without the good company of the poor and fatherless That is the Commandment of Christ our Master Luke 14. 13. Or at leastwise send some part of thy Dinner to the poor who lie sick in the back-lane without any food For this will bring a blessing upon all thy works and labours and it will one day more rejoyce thy Soul than it doth now refresh his Body when Christ shall say unto thee O blessed child of God I was an hungered and thou gavest me meat c And for as much as thou hast done it for my sake to the least of these my brethren I take it in as good part as if thou hadst done it to mine own self When dinner is ended and the Lord praised call thy Family together examine what they have learned in the Sermon commend them that do well yet discourage not them whose memories or capacities are weaker but rather help them for their will and minds may be as good Turn to the proofs which the Preacher alledged and rub those good things over their memories again Then sing a Psalm or more If time permit thou maist teach and examine them in some part of the Catechism conferring every point with the proofs of the Holy Scripture This will both increase our knowledge and sharpen our memory seeing by experience we find that in every Trade they who are most exercised are ever best expert But in any wise remember so to dispose all these private exercises as that thou maist be with the first in the holy Congregation at the Evening Exercise where behave thy self in the like devoâ—â—â—n and reverence as was prescribed for the holy Exercise of the Morning After Evening Prayer and at thy Supper behave thy self in the like religious and holy manner as was formerly prescribed And either before or after Supper if the season of the year and weather do serve 1. Walk into the fields and meditate upon the Works of God for in every Creature thou maist read as in an open Book the Wisdom Power Providence and Goodness of Almighty God And how that none is able to make all these things in the variety of their forms virtues beauties life motions and qualities but our most glorious God 2. Consider how gracious he is that made all these things to serve us 3. Take occasion hereby to stir up both thy self and others to admire and adore his Power Wisdom and Goodness and to think what ungrateful wretches we are if we will not in all obedience serve and honour him 4. If any neighbour be sick or in any heaviness go to visit him If any be faln at variance help to reconcile them To conclude three sorts of works may lawfully be done on the Sabbath-day â— Works of Piety which either directly concern the service of God tho' they be performed by bodily labour as under the Law the Priests did labâ—ur in killing and dressing of Sacrifices and burning them on the Altar And Christians under the Gospel when they travel far to the places of God's worship it is but a Sabbath-day's journey like to that of the Shunamite who travelled from home to hear the Prophet on the Sabbath day because she had no teaching near her own dwelling And the Preacher tho' he laboureth in the sweat of his brows to the wearying of his body yet he doth but a Sabbath-day's work For the holy end sanctifieth the work as the Temple did the Gold or the Altar the Gift thereon Or else such bodily labour whereby the People of God are assembled to his worship as the sounding of Trumpets under the Law or the ringing of Bells under the Gospel 2. Works of Charity as to save the life of a man or of a beast to fodder water and dress Cattle to make honest provision of meat and drink to refresh our selves and to relieve the poor to visit the sick to make collections for the poor and such like 3. Works of necessity not feigned but present and imminent and such as could not be prevented before nor can be deferred unto another day As to resist the invasion of enemies or the robberies of thieves to quench the rage of fire and for Physicians to stanch or let blood or to cure any other desperate disease and for Midwives to help Women in labour Mariners may do their labour Soldiers being assailed may fight and Pâ—st may ride for the publick good and such like On these or the like occasions a man may lawfully work Yea and when they are called they may upon any of these occasions go out of the Church and from the holy exercises of the Word and Sacraments provided always that they be humbled that such occasions fall out upon that day 〈…〉 and that they take no Money for their pains on that day but only for their stuff as in the fear of God and conscience of his Commandment When the time of Rest approacheth retire thy self to some private place and knowing that
not the throat only be punished and therefore we must endeavour to make our eyes as at all times so especially on that day to fast from beholding vanities our ears from hearing Mirth or Musick but such as may move to mourâ— our nâ—strils from pleasant smell our tongues from lying dissembling and slandering yea the use of the Marriage bâ—d must be omitted in a religious reverence of the Divine Majesty that so nothing may hinder our true Humiliation but that all may be signs that we are unfeignedly humble Thus much of the outward manner The inward manner of fasting consists in Two things 1. Repentance 2. Prayer Repentance hath Two Parts 1. Peniteâ—cy for sins past 2. Amendment of life in time to come This Penitency consists in Three things First an inward insight of sin and sense of misery Secondly a bewailing of thy vile estate Thirdly an humble and particular confession of all thy known sins 1. Of the inward insight of sin and sâ—â—se of misery This sense and insight will be effected in thee First by considering thy sins especially thy gross sins according to the circumstances of the time when place where manner how and persons with whom it was committed Secondly the Majesty of God against whom it was done and the rather because thou didst such things against him since he became a Father unto thee and bestowed so many sweet blessings in bountiful manner upon thee Thirdly in considering the curses which God hath threatned for thy sin how grievously God hath plagued others for the same fault and how that no means in Heaven or Earth could deliver thee from being eternally damned for them had not the son of God so lovingly died for thee Lastly That if God loves thee he must chasten thee ere it be long with some grievous affliction unless thou dost prevent him by speedy and unfeigned repentance Let these and the like considerations so prick thy heart with sorrow that melting for remorse within thee it may be dissolved into a fountain of tears trickling down thy mournful Cheeks This mourning is the beginning of true fasting and therefore oft-times put for fasting the first and principal part for the whole action 2. Of the bewailing of thine own estate Bewailing or lamentation is the pouring out of the inward mourning of the heart by the outward means of the voice and tears of the eyes With such filial earnestness and importunity in prayer is our heavenly Father well pleased Nay when it is the fruit of his Spirit and the effect of our faith he cannot be displeased with it For if he heard the moans which extremity wrong from Ismael and Hagar and heareth the cry of the young ravens and roaring of Lyons how much rather will he hear the mournful lamentations which his own Children make unto him in their misery 3. Of the humble confession of sins In this action thou must deal plainly with God and acknowledge all the sins thou knowest not only in general but also in particular This hath been the manner of all God's Children in their Fasts first because that without Confession thou hast no promise of mercy or forgiveness of sins Secondly That so thou maist acknowledge God to be just and thy self unrighteous Thirdly That by the numbring of thy sins thy heart may be the more humbled and pulled down Fourthly That it may appear that thou art truly penitent for till God hath given thee grace to repent thou wilt be more ashamed to confess thy fault than to commit thy sin The plainer thou dealeâ—â— in this respect with God the more graciously will God deal with thee for if thou dost acknowledge thy sins God is faithful and just to forgive thee thy sins and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son shall clearse thee from all thy sins To help thee the better to perform these three parts of Penitency thou must diligently read such Chapters and Portions of the holy Scriptures as do chiefly concern thy particular sins that thou maist see God's curse and judgments on others for the like sins and be the more humbled thy self Thus far of the first part of Repentance which is penitency The other part which is Amendment of life consists First in devout Prayer Secondly in devout Actions This devout Prayer which we make in time of Fasting in either deprecation of evil or craving needful good things Deprecation of evil is when thou beseechâ—st GOD for Christ the Mediator's sake to pardon unto thee those sins which thou hast confessed and to turn from thee those judgments which are due unto there for thy sins And as Benhadad because the heard That the King of Israel was merciful prostrated himself unto him with a râ—pe about his neck so because thou knowest that the King of Heaven is merciful cast down thy self in his presence in all true signs of humiliation especially seeing hâ— calleth upon thee to come unto him in thy troubles and doubtless thou shalt find him most merciful The craving of needful good things is First a fervent and faithful begging of God to seal by his Spirit in thy heart the assurance of the forgiveness of all thy sins Secondly to renew thy heart by the Holy Ghost so that sin may daily decay and righteousness more and more increase in thee Lastly in desiring a supply of faith patience chastity and all other graces which thou wantest and an increase of those which God of his mercy hath bestowed upon thee already Thus far of Prayer in Fasting The devout actions in Fasting are two First Avoiding evil Secondly Doing good 1. Of avoiding Evil. This Abstinence from evil is that which is chiefly signified by thy Abstinence from food c. and is the chief end of fasting as the Ninevites very well knew A day of fast and not fasting from sin the Lord abhorreth It is not the vacuity of the stomach but the purity of the heart that God respecteth If therefore thou wouldest have God to turn from thee the evil of Affliction thou must first turn away from thy self the evil of transgression And without this fasting from evil thy Fast favours more noisom to God than thy breath doth to Man This made God so often to reject the Fast of the Jews And as thou must endeavour to avoid all sin so especially that sin wherewith thou hast provoked God either to shake his rod at thee or already to lay his chastening hand upon thee And do this with a resolution by the assistance of God's grace never to commit those sins again For what shall it profit a man by abstinence to humble his body if his mind swell with pride Or to forbear Wine and strong drink and to be drunk with wrath and malice Or to let no flesh go into the Belly when lyes slanders and ribauldry which are worse than any meat come out of the mouth To abstain
How might I in respect of mine own unworthiness cry out for fear at the sight of thy holy Sacrament as the Philistines did when they saw the Ark of God come into the Assembly Wo now unto me a sinner but that thy Angel doth comfort me as he did the woman Fear thou not for I know that thou seekest Jesus which was crucified It is thou indeed that my soul seeketh after And here thou offerest thy self unto me in thy blessed Sacrament If therefore Elizabeth thought her self so much honoured at thy presence in the Womb of thy blessed Mother that the babe sprang in her belly for joy how should my soul leap within me for joy now that thou comest by the holy Sacrament to dwell in my heart for ever Oh what an honour is this not that the Mother of my Lord but my Lord himself should come thus to visit me Indeed Lord I confess with the faithful Centurion that I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof and that if thou didst but speak the word only my soul should be saved yet seeing it hath pleased the riches of thy grace for the better strengthning of my weakness to seal thy mercy unto me by thy visible sign as well as by thy visible word in all thankful humility my soul speaks unto thee with the blessed Virgin Behold the handmaid of the Lord be it unto me according to thy Word Knock thou Lord by thy Word and Sacraments at the door of my heart and I will like the Publican with both my fists knock at my breast as fast as I can that thou mayest enter in and if the door will not open fast enough break it open O Lord by thine Almighty Power and then enter in and dwell there for ever that I may have cause with Zaccheus to acknowledge that this day salvation is come into mine house And cast out of me whatsoever shall be offensive unto thee for I resign the whole Possession of my heart unto thy sacred Majesty intreating that I may not live henceforth but that thou mayst live in me speak 〈◊〉 me walk in me and so govern me by thy Spirit that nothing may be pleasing unto me but that which is acceptable unto thee That finishing my course in the life of grace I may afterwards live with thee for ever in the Kingdom of Glory Grant this O Lord Jesus for the merits of thy death and blood shedding Amen When the Minister bringeth towards thee the bread thus blessed and broken and offering it unto thee bids thee Take eat c. then meditate that Christ himself cometh unto thee and both offereth and giveth indeed unto thy faith his very Body and Blood with all the merits of his death and passion to feed thy Soul unto eternal life as surely as the Minister offereth and giveth the outward signs that feed thy Body unto this temporal life The Bread of the Lord is given by the Minister but the Bread which is the Lord is given by Christ himself When thou takest the Bread at the Ministers hand to eat it then rouze up thy Soul to apprehend Christ by faith and to apply his merits to heal thy miseries Embrace him as sweetly with thy faith in the Sacrament as ever Simeon hugged him with his arms in his swadling clouts As thou eatest the Bread imagine that thou seest Christ hanging upon tâ—â— Cross and by his unspeakable tormenâ—â— fully satisfying God's Justice for thy sins and strive to be as verily partaker of the spiritual grace as of the Elemental signs For the truth is not absent from the sign neither doth Christ deceive when he saith This is my Body but he giveth himself indeed to every Soul that spiritually receives him by Faith For as ours is the same Supper which Christ administâ—red so is the same Christ verily present at his own Supper not by any Papal Transubstantiation but by a Sacramental Participiation whereby he doth truly feed the faithful unto eternal life not by coming down out of Heaven unto thee but by lifting thee up from the Earth unto him According to that old saying Sursum corda lift up your hearts And where the carcase is thither will the Eagles resort Matth. 24. When thou seest the Wine brought unto thee apart from the Bread then remember that the Blood of Jesus Christ was as verily separated from his Body upon the Cross for the remission of thy sins And that this is the seal of the new Covenant which God hath made to forgive all the sins of all penitent sinners that believe in the merits of his blood shedding For the Wine is not a Sacrament of Christ's Blood contained in his Veins but as it was shed out of his Body upon the cross for the remission of the sins of all that believe in him As thou drinkest the Wine and pourest it out of the Cup into thy Stomach meditate and believe that by the merits of that Blood which Christ shed upon the Cross all thy sins are as verily forgiven as thou hast now drunk this Sacramental Wine and hast it in thy stomach And in the instant of drinking settle thy meditation upon Christ as he hanged upon the Cross as if like Mary and John thou didst see him nailed and his Blood running down his blessed side out of that gastly wound which the Spear made in his innocent heart wishing thy mouth closed to his side that thou mightest receive that precious Blood before it fell to the dusty Earth And yet the actual drinking of that real Blood with thy mouth would be nothing so effectual as this Sacramental drinking of that blood spiritually by Faith For one of the Souldiers might have drunk that and been still a reprobate but whosoever drinketh it spiritually by Faith in the Sacrament shall surely have the Remission of his sins and life everlasting As thou feelest the Sacramental Wine which thou hast drunk warming thy cold stomach so endeavour to feel the Holy Ghost cherishing thy Soul in the joyful assurance of the forgiveness of all thy sins by the merit of the blood of Christ. And to this end God giveth every faithful Soul together with the Sacramental Blood the Holy Ghost to drink We are all made to drink into one Spirit And so lift up thy mind from the contemplation of Christ as he was crucified upon the Cross to consider how he now sits in glory at the right hand of his Father making intercession for thee by presenting to his Father the unvaluable merits of his death which he once suffered for thee to appease his Justice for the sins which thou dost daily commit against him After thou hast eaten and drunk both the Bread and Wine labour that as those Sacramental Signs do turn to the nourishment of thy body and by the digestion of heat become one with thy substance so by the operation of Faith and the Holy
fruit thou didst hang on the cursed tree I plaid the glutton and thou didst fast evil concupiscence drew me to eat the pleasaâ—â— apple and perfect charity led thee to drink of the bitter cup I assayed the sweetness of the fruit and thou didst taste the bitterness of the gall Foolish Eve smiled when I laughed but blessed Mary wept when thy heart bled died O my God here I see thy goodness and my badness thy justice and my injustice the impiety of my flesh and the piety of thy nature And now O blessed Lord thou hast endured all this for my sake what shall I render unto thee for all thy benefits bestowed upon me a sinful soul Indeed Lord I acknowledge that I owe thee already for my creation more than I am able to pay for I am in that respect bound with all my powers and affections to love and adore thee If I owed my self unto thee for giving me my self in my creation what shall I now render to thee for giving thy self for me to so cruel a death to procure my Redemption Great was the benefit that thou wouldest create me of nothing but what tongue can express the greatness of this grace that thou didst redeem me with so dear a price when I was worse than nothing Surely Lord if I cannot pay the thanks I owe thee and who can pay thee who bestowest thy graces without respect of merit or regard of measure it is the abundance of thy blessings that makes me such a bankrupt that I am so far unable to pay the principal that I cannot possibly pay so much as the interest of thy love But O my Lord thou knowest that since the loss of thine Image by the fall of my first unhappy Parents I cannot love thee with all my might and mind as I should therefore as thou didst first cast thy love upon me when I was a child of wrath and a lump of the lost and condemned world so now I beseech thee shed abroad thy love by thy Spirit through all my faculties and affections that though I can never pay thee in that measure of love which thou hast deserved yet I may endeavour to repay thee in such a manner as thou vouchsafest to accept in mercy that I may in truth of heart love my neighbour for thy sake and love thee above all for thine own sake Let nothing be pleasant unto me but that which is pleasing unto thee And sweet Saviour suffer me never to be lost or cast away whom thou hast bought so dearly with thine own most precious blood O Lord let me never forget thine infinite love and this unspeakable benefit of my Redemption without which it had been better for me never to have been than to have any being And seeing that thou hast vouchsafed me the assistance of thy holy Spirit suffer me O heavenly Father who art the Father of Spirits in the meditation of thy Son to speak a few words in the ears of my Lord. If thou O Father despisest me for mine iniquities as I have deserved yet be merciful unto me for the merits of thy Son who so much for me hath suffered What if thou seest nothing in me but misery which might move anger and passion Yet behold the merits of thy Son and thou shalt see enough to move thee to mercy and compassion Behold the mystery of his incarnation and remit the misery of my transgression And as oft as the wounds of thy Son appear in thy sight O let the woes of my sins be hid from thy presence As oft as the redness of his blood glisters in thine eyes O let the guiltiness of my sins be blotted out of thy Book The wantonness of my flesh provoked thee unto wrath O let the chastity of his flesh perswade thee to mercy that as my flesh seduced me to sin so his flesh may reduce me unto thy favour My disobedience hath deserved a great revenge but his obedience merits a greater weight of mercy for what can man deserve to suffer which God made man cannot merit to have forgiven When I consider the greatness of thy passion then do I see the trueness of that saying That Christ came into the world to save the chiefest sinners Dâ—rest thou O Cain say that thy sins are greater than may be forgiven Thou lâ—est like a murtherer the mercies of one Christ are able to forgive a world of Cains if they 'll believe repent The sins of all sinners are finite the mercies of God are infinite Therefore O Father for the death and passions sake which thy Son Jesu Christ hath suffer'd for me I have now remembred to thee pardon and forgive thou unto me all my sins deliver me from the curse vengeance which they have justly deserved through his merits make me O Lord a partaker of thy mercy It is thy mercy that I so earnestly knock for neither shall mine importunity cease to call and knock with the man that would borrow the loaves until thou arise and open unto me thy gates of grace And if thou wilt not bestow on me thy loaves yet O Lord deny me not the crums of thy mercy and those shall suffice thy hungry hand-mind And seeing thou reqâ—i est nothing for thy benefits but that I love thee in the truth of my inward heart whereof a new creature is the truest outward testimony and that it is as easie for thee to make me a new creature as to bid me to be such create in me O Christ a new heart and renew in me a right spirit and then thou shalt see how mortifying old Adam and his corrupt lust I will serve thee as thy new creature in a new life after a new way with a new tongue and new manners with new words and new works to the glory of thy Name and the winning other sinful souls unto thy Faith by my devout example Keep me for ever O my Saviour from the torments of hell and tyranny of the Devil And when I am to depart this life send thy holy Angels to carry me as they did the soul of Lazarus into thy Kingdom Receive me into that joyful Paradise which thou didst promise to thâ— penitent thief which at his last gasp upon the Cross so devoutly begg'd thy mercy and admission into thy Kingdom Grant this O Christ for thy own Name 's sake to whom as is most due I ascribe all glory and honour praise and dominion both now and for ever Amen FINIS * 1 Tim. 6. 15. Rev. 12. 13. †1 Sam. 20. 20. * 2 Chron. 34. 3. * Qui monet ut facias quod jam facis ipse moneâ— do Laudat hortatu comprobat acta suo 2 Cor. 8. 7. Matth. 15. 1. 2. Tim. 2. 4. * Exemplum accidit mulieris Domino teste quae Theatrum adiit inde cum daemonio â—â—diit Itaque in exorcismo cùm oneraretur immundus spiritus quod ausus est fidelem aggredi