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 receivedst the prodigal Child when he had spent all the stock of grace into favour upon his repentance pardon all my sins likewise O Lord and suffer me not to perish for my transgressions O spare me for thy mercy sake and receive me unto favour again Wilt thou O Lord reject me who hast received all Publicans and sinners that upon repentance sued unto 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 compassion never fails wherefore O Lord deal not with me after my merits but according to thy great mercy execute not thy severe justice against me a sinner but execute 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 up unto thee for all my sins wherewith thou art displeased he my Mediator the request of whose blood speaking better things than that of Abel thy mercy can never gainsay 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 or at any other time hath been taught unto me out of thy holy Word that I may remember them thy Commandments to keep them thy Judgments to avoid them and 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 Implantation as by Calling and Creation and give me grace so to keep holy thy Sabbath in this life as that when this life is ended I may with all thy Saints and Angels celebrate an eternal rest of joy and praise to the honour of thy most holy Name in thy heavenly Kingdom for ever more Amen Devotions for several Occasions In the Name of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Our Father which art in Heaven c. A Morning Prayer O Eternal Son of Righteousness who camest from the bosom of the Father to enlighten the darkness of the world I praise thy Name that thou hast preserved me from the danger of this night and hast continued to me still the opportunities of serving thee and advancing my hopes of a blessed eternity let thy mercies shine brightly upon me and dissipate the clouds and darknesses of my spirit and understanding rectifie my affections and purifie my will and all my actions that whatsoever I shall do or suffer this day or in my whole life my words and purposes my thoughts and all my intentions may be sanctified and be acceptable to thy Divine Majesty Amen Grant that my understanding may know thee my heart may love thee and all my faculties and powers may give thee due obedience and serve thee preserve me this day from all sin and danger from all violences and snares of mine enemies visible or invisible let thy holy fear be as a bridle to my distemperatures and thy love so enkindle and actuate all my endeavours that no pleasures or allurements of the world may draw me from thy service nor any difficulty or temptation may be my hinderance let the profound humility and innocence of my blessed Saviour keep from me all pride and haughtiness of mind all self-love and vain-glory all obstinacy and disobedience all fraudulency and hurtful dissimulation and let the graces of the Holy Ghost take such absolute possession and seisure of my soul and all his faculties that I may bring down and east out the spirit of uncleanness and intemperance of malice and envy idleness and disdain that I may never despise any of thy creatures but my self that so being little in my own fight I may be great in thine Amen An Evening Prayer In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Our Father which art in Heaven c. O Lord God who art the light and splendor of souls in the brightness of thy countenance is eternal day that knows no night in thy arms and in thy protection is all quietness tranquility and everlasting repose while the darkness covers the face of the earth receive my body and soul into thy custody let not the spirits of darkness come near my dwelling neither suffer my fancy to be abused with the illusions of the night Lord I am thy servant and the sheep of thy pasture let not the Devil who goeth up and down seeking whom he may devour abuse my body or make a prey of my soul but defend me from all those calamities which I have deserved and protect my soul that it consent not to any work of darkness lest mine enemy say he hath prevailed over me or do mischief to a soul redeemed with thy most precious blood Amen Pardon and forgive me all the sins and offences of my youth and age the errours of mine understanding the inordination of mine affections the irregularity of all my actions and particularly of whatsoever I have transgressed this day in thought word or deed Lord let not thy wrath arise for although I have deserved the extremest pressure of thine indignation yet remember my infirmity and how thou hast sent thy Son to reveal thy infinite mercy to us and convey pardon and salvation to the penitent I beseech thee also to accept the heartiest devotion and humble acknowledgment of a thankful heart for all thy blessings and preservation of me this day for unless thy providence and grace had been my defence and guide I had committed more and more grievous sins against thee and had been swallowed up by thy just wrath and severest judgments mercy sweet Jesus Amen Grant unto thy servant true humility great contrition a tender conscience and obedient heart an understanding alwaies busied in honest and pious thoughts a wiling tractable heart and ever prone to do good affections even and moderate a watchful custody over my senses that by those windows sin may never enter in nor death by sin make me to watch over my tongue and keep the door of my lips that no corrupt or unseemly communication proceed out of my mouth that I may never slander calumniate or detract from the reputation of my neighbour that I be not busie in the faults of others but careful to correct my own being gentle and merciful to others severe towards my self that I may speak much of thy praises and what I can for the edification of my Brethren Amen Give me a soul watchful in the service of Religion constant in holy purposes
of the Mighty he judgeth among the Gods Defend the Poor and Fatherless do Justice to the Afflicted and Needy Deliver the Poor and Needy out of the hand of the Wicked 82.1 3 4. Thou hast forgiven the Iniquity of thy People thou hast covered all their Sins Thou hast taken away all thy Wrath thou hast turned thy self from thy fierce anger Turn us O God of our Salvation and cause thine anger to cease from us 85.2 3 4. Yea the Lord shall give that which is good and our Land shall give her increase vers 12. For thou O Lord art good and ready to forgive and plentious in Mercy unto all them that call upon thee In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee for thou wilt answer me For great is thy mercy towards me for thou hast delivered my Soul from the lowest Hell For thou O Lord art a God full of compassion and gracious long suffering and plentious in mercy and truth 86.5 7 13 15. Thy Wrath lyeth hard upon me and thou hast afflicted me with all thy Waves and Stormes But unto thee have I cryed O Lord in the morning shall my Prayer prevent thee 88.7 13. Thou rulest the raging of the Sea when the Waves thereof arise thou stillest them The Heavens are thine the Earth also is thine as for the World and the fullness thereof thou hast founded them For the Lord is our defence and the holy One of Israel is our King His Seed also will he make to endure for ever and his Throne as the days of Heaven If his Children forsake my Law and walk in my Judgments If they will break my Statutes and keep not my Commandments Then will I visit their Transgressions with the Rod and their Iniquities with stripes Nevertheless my loving kindness will I not utterly take from him nor suffer my faithfulness to fail My Covenant will I not break nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not fail David His Seed shall endure for ever and his Throne as the Sun before me How long Lord wilt thou hide thy self for ever shall thy Wrath burn like fire 89.9 11 18 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 46. O satisfie us early with thy mercy that we may rejoyce and be glad all our days Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us and the year wherein we have seen evil 90 14 15. Only with thine Eyes thou shalt behold and see the reward of the Wicked There shall no evil befal thee neither any Plague come neer thy dwelling He shall give his Angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways They shall bear thee up in their hands lest thou dash thy Foot against a Stone He shall call upon me and I will answer him I will be with him in trouble I will deliver him and honour him With long Life will I satisfie him and shew him my Salvation 91.8 10 11 12 15 16. Lord how long how long shall the Wicked triumph The Lord knoweth the thoughts of Man they are but vain Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest O Lord and teachest him out of thy Law For the Lord will not cast off his People neither will he cast off his Inheritance When I said my Foot slipped thy mercy O Lord held me up In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my Soul My Lord is my defence and my God is the Rock of my refuge 94.3 11 12 14 18 19 22. Come let us worship and bow down let us kneel before the Lord our Maker 95.6 Rejoyce in the Lord O ye Righteous and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness 97.12 Let them praise thy great and terrible Name for it is holy 99.3 I will behave my self wisely with a perfect heart O when wilt thou come unto me I will walk within my House with a perfect heart A froward heart shall depart from me I will not know a wicked person Whoso privily slandreth his Neighbour him will I destroy him that hath a high look and a proud heart I will not suffer my Eyes shall be upon the faithful in the Land they shall dwell with me He that walketh in a perfect way he shall be my Servant He that worketh deceit shall not dwell in my House He that telleth Lies shall not tarry in my sight I will early destroy all the wicked of the Land that may cut off all the wicked doers from the City of the Lord 101.2 4 5 6 7 8. For he hath looked down from the height of his Sanctuary from Heaven did the Lord behold the Earth To hear the groaning of the Prisoners to loose those that are appointed to death 102.19 20. Bless the Lord O my Soul and all that is with me bless his holy Name Bless the Lord O my Soul and forget not all his benefits Who forgiveth all their iniquity who healeth all thy Diseases For as the Heaven is above all the Earth so great is his mercy towards them that fear him The Lord is gracious and merciful slow to anger and plenteous in mercy He will not alway chide neither will he keep his anger for ever He hath not dealt with us after our Sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquity As far as the East is from the West so far hath he set our Sins from us Like as the Father pitieth his Children so the Lord pitieth them that fear him For he knoweth our frame he remembreth we are dust 103.1 2 3 8 9 10 11 12 13 14. As to the Seas thou hast set bounds that they pass not over that they turn not again to cover the Earth O Lord how manifold are thy Works in wisdom hast thou made them all the Earth is full of thy riches So is this great and wide Sea wherein are things creeping innumerable both small and great Beasts 104.9 24 25. Glory ye in his holy Name Let the Heart of them rejoyce that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord and his strength seek his face evermore Remember his marvellous works that he hath done his wonders and the judgments of his mouth He is the Lord our God his judgments are in all the world And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a Law and unto Israel for an everlasting Covenant Saying unto thee will I give the Land of Canaan the lot of your inheritance He suffered no man to do them wrong yea he reproved Kings for their sakes Saying touch not my Anointed and do my Prophets no harm Moreover he called for a Famine upon the Land he brake the whole Staff of Bread He sent a man before them even Joseph who was sold for a Servant Whose feet they hurt with fetters he was laid in Iron Until that time the Word came the Word of the Lord tryed him The King came and loosed him even the Ruler of the People and let him go free Israel also came
soul thirsteth for thee my flesh longeth for thee in a barren and dry ground I remember thy loving kindness of old time I can but wish at least to see thy power and thy glory as I have known thee in thy Sanctuary There is none in Heaven that I desire but thee nor on Earth besides thee My soul followeth hard after thee O when wilt thou come unto me O hide not thy face from thy servant lest I come to misery Hear me speedily for I am poor and needy Make haste unto me O my God thou art my helper and deliverer O Lord make no long tarrying I am come a great way from my friends and kindred and here is none to pity me O my God be not thou far from me Draw nigh unto my soul and redeem it I am poor and sorrowful let thy salvation set me up on high for thou who searchest the heart knowest that I set my heart only to seek thee I desire to leave all the world that I may find my happiness only in thee O heavenly Father with my whole heart I desire to do thy blessed will in all things yea thus far I acknowledge thou hast most gratefully conducted me Hitherto I have been highly favoured and wonderfully helped and preserved by thee and wilt thou now at last abandon me who desire at last to have abandoned all things else for thy sake Hast thou called me from mine own Country and from my Fathers house and now to be forsaken by thee O my God give me leave to plead for a soul that I thought was once dear unto thee Pity O pity an heart which thou hast made too great for all the world and cannot be satisfied with less than thee Canst thou see it die for want of one smile from thee yea canst thou let it die of love to thee for that hath brought me thus far to seek thee and wilt thou suffer it to die at thy feet canst thou endure to behold it in thine arms into which it now throws it self with all the force it hath shall it miscarry full of prayers and longings after thee shall it expire in cries and tears when it calls for mercy O where are thy bowels what is become of thine ancient loving kindness are they all forfeited by one offence against thee O my God I cannot think so hardly of thee I begin to live methinks because thou permittest these addresses to thee it inspires me with some hopes to find these holy breathings in me it rejoyces me much that I feel thee drawing my very heart after thee O take it I beseech thee take it quite away from me unto thy self shape it after thine own heart make it such as thou canst embrace it create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy holy Spirit from me Restore to me the joy of thy salvation and uphold me with thy free spirit and all this for Jesus Christ his sake Amen Ejaculations to be used at the Lord's Supper LOrd I am not worthy 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 shouldest be extream to mark what is done amiss O Lord who may abide it but with the Lord there is mercy and with him there is plentious redemption Behold O Lord thy Beloved Son in whom thou art well pleased Hearken to the cry of his blood which speaketh better things than that of Abel by his Agony and bloody Sweat by his Cross and Passion good Lord deliver us O Lamb of God which takest away the sins of the world grant us thy peace O Lamb of God which takest away the sins of the world have mercy upon me O Lord for thy mercy sake Amen Devotions for the Help and assistance of all Christian People in all occasions and necessities A Prayer against wandring Thoughts to be said at the beginning of our Devotions ALmighty God who hast commanded us to pray unto thee without ceasing and hast added many glorious promises for our encouragement let thy holy Spirit teach me how to pray Give me just apprehension of my want zeal of thy glory great resentments of thy mercies love of all spiritual employments that are pleasing unto thee and do thou help mine infirmities that the Devil may not abuse my fancy with illusions nor distract my mind with cares nor alienate my thoughts with impertinencies but give me a perfect mind great devotion a heart fixed upon thy Divine Beauties and an actual intention and perseverance in prayer that I may glorifie thy Name do unto thee true and laudable service and obtain relief for all my necessities hear me O King of Heaven when I call upon thee for thou hast promised mercy to them that pray in the Name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen A Penitential Prayer a Form of Confession of sins to God to be said upon daies of publick or private Humiliation O Lord God of mercy and pardon give me a just remembrance and sad apprehension of my many and great sins Teach me to bewail them with as great indignation and bitterness as I have committed them with complacency and delight Let my prayers and my confession come unto thy presence and obtain a mercy for me and a pardon Let not thy Justice and thy severity so remember my sins as to forget thine own mercy and though I have committed that for which I have deserved to be condemned yet thou canst not lose that glorious Attribute whence flows comfort to us and hopes to be saved Spare me therefore O merciful God for to give pardon to a sinner that confesseth his sins and begs Remission it is not impossible to thy Power nor disproportionate to thy Justice nor unusual to thy Mercy and sweetest Clemency Blessed Jesu acknowledge in me whatsoever is thine and cleanse me from whatsoever is amiss Have pity on me now in the time of mercy and condemn me not when thou comest to judgment For what profit is there in my blood Thou delightest not in the death of a sinner but in his conversion there is joy in Heaven And when thou hast delivered me from my sins and saved my soul I shall praise and magnifie thy Name to all eternity mercy sweet Jesus mercy Lord have mercy upon us Christ have mercy upon us Lord have mercy upon us Our Father which art in Heaven c. I Am not worthy O Lord to look up to Heaven which is the Throne of thy Purity for my sins are more in number than the hairs of my head and my heart hath failed me Lord be merciful unto me a sinner I have not lived according to thy will but in the vanity of my own thoughts in idle sinful and impertinent language in foolish actions in blindness of heart in contempt of thy holy Word and Commandments I
Nation do cry for In mercy O Lord prevent the ruine thereof lest the Heathen should say where is now their God O Lord bless with the choicest of thy blessings our most gracious Soveraign Lord King Charles endue his Royal heart with grace wisdom and understanding cloathe his enemies with shame but upon his head let his Crown flourish and grant that his daies may be long prosperous vertuous and happy Bless our gracious Queen Katherine James Duke of York and all the rest of the Royal Family endue them with thy grace and defend them from all evil Bless all our Magistrates and Ministers with all those graces necessary for their places govern thou them that they may govern us in peace and godliness and true Religion O Lord in much mercy bless all my friends and my relations with all those blessings and benefits needful both for their souls and for their bodies O Lord be merciful to all those poor souls that are under any kind of want need or necessity or under any kind of affliction in much mercy be unto them a present help in trouble support them sustain and lay no more upon them than they shall be able to bear and send them a happy issue out of all their troubles O Lord God for thy mercies sake bestow a double portion of thy blessing upon those whom thou hast made nearest or dearest unto me O Lord pardon all their sins supply all their wants relieve all their necessities and reform whatsoever is amiss in them and give them grace to lead a new life and make them thy true and faithful servants preserve them and me this day from doing or receiving any hurt or harm preserve us from all evil especially from the evil of sin and the evil of punishment and from all sad accidents O Lord bless us this day in our going out and in our coming in bless and prosper us in whatsoever we go about to do let us have all our direction from thy will and the happy success from thy merciful hand and when this mortal life is ended O Lord for Christ Jesus his sake grant that we may enjoy Heaven and the Righteousness thereof and in the mean time grant unto every one of us thy loving countenance thy favour and thy grace and here I will praise and magnifie thy great and glorious Name for electing us in thy love for creating us after thine own Image and for redeeming us by thy dear Son and for sanctifying us by the grace of thy holy Spirit and for thy gracious preservation of us this night past Likewise I praise thee O Lord for our life health strength liberty food and rayment humbly beseeching thee O Lord to continue thy loving kindness towards us from time to time so long as it may be a blessing unto every one of us and our thankfulness towards thee for all thy goodness bestowed upon our souls and our bodies which exceeds our memories and our thanks and all for the sake of thy dear Son and our blessed Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen In whose Name I further call upon thee as he hath taught us saying Our Father which art in Heaven c. O Lord Jesus Christ Son of the Eternal God interpose thy holy Death thy Cross and Passion between thy Judgements and my soul now and in the hour of death granting unto me grace and mercy and unto all the faithful pardon and peace to the Church unity and amity and to all sinners repentance and amendment to all life and glory everlastingly who liveth and reigneth ever one God world without end Amen A Form of Thanksgiving with a particular enumeration of God's Blessing O Most glorious Lord God infinite in mercy full of compassion long suffering and of great goodness I adore and praise and glorifie thy holy Name worshipping thee with the lowliest devotions of my soul and body and give thee thanks for all the benefits thou hast done unto me for whatsoever I am or have or know or desire as I ought it is all from thee thou art the fountain of being and blessing of sanctity and pardon of life and glory Praise the Lord O my soul and all that that is within me praise his holy Name THou O God of thine infinite goodness hast created me out of nothing and hast given me a degree of essence next to Angels imprinting thine Image on me enduing me with reasonable faculties of will and understanding to know and chuse good and to refuse evil and hast put me into a capacity of a blessed immortality O praise the Lord with me and let us magnifie his Name together THou O God of thine infinite goodness hast created me out of nothing and hast given me grace to know thy will and hast fed and cloathed me hast raised me friends and blessest them hast preserved me in all dangers hast rescued me from the peril of the sword from the rage of pestilence from dangers of Lyers and Robbers from perishing in publick distemperatures and diseases epidemical from terrours and affrightments of the mighty from the delusions of the Devil and sad separation and from many imminent dangers thou hast been my guide in my journeys my refreshment in sadness my hope and my confidence in all my grief and desolations and a present help in trouble I will give thanks unto the Lord of Lords for his mercy endureth for ever BUT above all mercies it was not less than infinite love whereby thou lovedst me and all mankind when we were lost and dead and Rebels against thy Divine Majesty Thou gavest thine own begotten Son to seek us when we went astray to restore us to life when we were dead in trespasses and sin and to reconcile us to thy self by the merits and the atonement of an everlasting Covenant He is our God even the God of whom cometh our salvation God is the Lord by whom we scape death O Most glorious Spirit I will praise and magnifie thee for the inspiration of the Apostles and Prophets for thy providence and mercies in causing holy Scriptures to be written and preserving them from the corruptions of Hereticks from the violences of Pagans and enemies of the Cross of Christ. I will alwaies give thanks unto the Lord his praise shall ever be in my mouth I Bless thy Name for those holy Promises and Threatnings those Judgements and Mercies those holy Precepts and Admonitions which thou hast registred in Scripture and in Records and Monuments of the Church for all those graces and helps and comforts whereby thou promotest me in piety and in the waies of true Religion for baptismal and penitential grace for the opportunities and sweet refreshings of the Sacrament of the Eucharist for all the advantages thou hast given me of good society Tutors and Governours for the fears thou hast produced in me as deliveries and impediments of sins for all my hopes of pardon and expectation of the promises made by our Lord Jesus Christ to encourage me
ingenious and free from sordid ends or servile flattery a modest gravity in my deportment affability a fair courteous demeanour towards all men austerity in condemning my own sins sweetness in fraternal correction and reprehending others mature judgment a chast body and a clean soul patience in suffering deliberation in my words and actions good counsels in all my purposes make me just in performing promises and in all my duties sedulous in my calling profitable to the Commonwealth a true Son of the Church and of a disposition meek and charitable towards all men Amen O Lord let thy grace be so present with me that though my body sleep yet my soul may for ever be watchful that I sleep not in sin or pretermit any opportunity of doing thee service Let the remembrance of thy goodness and glory be first and last with me and so unite my heart unto thee with habitual charity that all my actions and sayings may be directed to thy glory and every motion and inclination either of soul or body may in some capacity or other receive a blessing from thee and do thee service that whether I sleep or wake travel or rest eat or drink live or die I may alwaies feel the light of thy countenance shining so upon me that my labours may be easie my rest blessed my food sanctified and my whole life spent with so much sanctity and peace that scaping from the darkness of this world I may at last come to the land of everlasting rest in thy light to behold light and glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Blessed be the holy and undivided Trinity now and ever more Another Prayer for the Evening VIsit we beseech thee O Lord this habitation with thy mercy and us thy servants with thy salvation and repel far from us all the snares of the enemy Let thy holy Angels dwell here to keep us in peace and safety and thy blessing be upon us for ever through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O Lord Jesus Christ the lively Image of thy Fathers mercy and glory the Saviour of all them that put their trust in thee we offer and present to thee all our strength and powers of our souls and body and whatsoever we are or have to be preserved governed and possest by thee preserve us from all vitious vain and proud cogitations unchast affections from all those things which thou hatest grant us thy holy charity that we may love thee above all the world that we may with all sincerity of intention and zealous affections seek thee alone and in thee alone take our rest inseparably joyning our selves unto thee who art worthy to be beloved and adored of all thy creatures with lowest prostration and highest affection now and for ever more Amen O Father of mercies and God of all comfort let thy blessing be upon us and upon all the members of thy holy Church all health and safety both of body and soul assist us against all our enemies visible and invisible now and for ever more send us a quiet night and a holy death in the actual communion of the Catholick Church and in thy charity through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Our Father which art in Heaven c. Now and in all dangers and afflictions of soul and body in the hour of death and in the day of Judgment save and deliver us O sweet Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Amen Short Prayers for several Occasions for the King O Lord our heavenly Father high and mighty King of Kings who in thy hands hast the heart of Kings and canst turn them as the Rivers of water send the light of thy countenance and abundance of blessings upon thy servant our Soveraign Lord King Charles make him as holy valiant and prosperous as King David wise and rich like Solomon zealous for the honour of thy Law and Temple as Josiah and give him all sorts of great assistances to enable him to serve thee to glorifie thy holy Name to protect thy Church to promote true Religion to overcome all his enemies to make glad all his people that he serving thee with all diligence and utmost of his endeavours his people may serve him with honour and obedience in thee and for thee according to thy blessed Word and Ordinance through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen For the Queen O God of Heaven Father of all mercies have mercy upon our most gracious Queen unite her unto thee with the hands of faith and love preserve her to her lives end in thy favour and make her instrumental of glory to thy Name of refreshment to the Church of Joy to the all faithful people of this Kingdom and crown her with an eternal weight of glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen For our Children O Father of Heaven God of all the creatures by whose providence mankind is increased I bless thy Name for bestowing on me that blessing of the righteous man the blessing of children Lord bless them with health with life and good understanding with fair opportunities and advantages of education society tutors and governours and above all with the graces of thy holy Spirit that they may live and be blessed under thy protection grow in grace and be in favour with God and man and at last make up the number of thine elect Children through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Prayer of a Wife for her Husband O My God who hast graciously been pleased to call me to the holy state of Matrimony bless me in it with the grace of chastity with loyalty obedience and complacency to my husband and bless him with long life with healthful body with an understanding soul with abundance of thy graces which may make him to be and continue thy servant a true Son of the Church and a supporter and guide to his Wife a blessing and a comfort to his Children through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Of a Husband for his Wife O Merciful God who art a Father to us thy Children espouse to thy holy Church a Saviour and a Redeemer to all mankind have mercy upon thy Handmaid my Wife endow her with all the ornaments of thy heavenly grace make her to be holy and devout as Hester loving and amiable as Rachel fruitful as Leah that being filled with grace and benediction here she may be partaker of thy glory hereafter through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen For safety in Childbirth O Blessed Jesu Son of the Eternal God who according to thy humility wert born of a holy Maid who conceived thee without sin and brought thee forth without pain have mercy upon me thy humble servant and as by thy blessing I have conceived so grant that by thy favourable assistance I may be safely delivered Lord grant me patience and strength and confidence in thee and send thy holy Angel to be my Guardian in the hour of my travel O shut not up my soul with sinners nor my life with them that go down to the
Scala Sancta OR THE EXALTATION OF THE Soul Being a Train of Pious Thoughts Compleating the whole duty of Man or DEVOTIONS COMPILED by R.A. Gent. in his solitudes London Printed by T. Snawden for Gabr Kunholt and are to be sold at his shop at the post-office over against the Muse at the sign of the King's-head 1678. Scala Sancta OR THE EXALTATION OF THE SOUL Being a Train of Pious Thoughts Compleating The whole Duty of Man OR DEVOTIONS compiled By R. A. Gent. in his Solitudes Non bove mactatô coelestia numina gaudent Sed quae praestanda est sine teste fide LONDON Printed by T. Snowden for Gabr. Kunholt and are to be sold at his shop at the Post-Office over against the Muse at the Sign of the King's-Head 1678. Licensed William Jane Nov. 19. 1677. TO THE READER WEre Man self-sufficient and independent thoughts of this nature would be impertinent and unseasonable but seeing there are hopes and fears blessings and curses scattered in this vail of misery and laid up in heaps against the time of the revelation of the Righteous Judgment of God how stupid and forlorn must that soul be which lives without God in the would though a spacious curtain be drawn over the globe of this Earth though we cannot perceive the regular motions of the several wheels of Providence yet in all Estates flourishing or decaying we ought to confide in and depend upon his goodness and power and wisdom who is the fountain of all Beings and the Great Governour of the World under whose conduct the good man is safe and to the Throne of whose Grace there may be a fair access if our prayers are managed aright in which way I leave thee and if these following papers can assist thee bless God for the occasion which is the End of the Author's Hope in this undertaking Farewell To the Honourable Mary Mountague Wife to the Right Honourable Lord cheif Baron Madam SEeing it is the heart which God alone accepts as a Sacrifice of retribution I humbly crave you would be pleased to take a view of the counterpart of my Soul wherein is set down the joyful correspondency it has had with Heaven and the rather because joy and immortality our entrance into the Blessed Mansions above is the common interest and design of all who appeal to Heaven in the name of Christ I know your Closet is plentifully stor'd with holy Ejaculations that Sacred perfume which sweetens the very breath of the Soul and is more acceptable to God than costly odours the scent of Myrrh and Frankincense yet these Papers possibly may find entertainment because they are pen'd by one whose Soul has been many years travelling that way and therefore chiefly endeavours to speak the dialect Language of that Kingdom no friendship is so strong as that which is contracted by Travellers in this journey and though I have the honour to have the same blood of R. A's running in my veins yet I esteem my self more happy in the beginnings of our Christian allyance and eternal duration of it when we shall pass from this state of grace to that of glory How glorious must your entrance be into the Holy Land for Persons placed in so high a station by holy example command their attendants when you enter into the land of promise your numerous train must follow in which retinue to be admitted is the humble and hearty Prayer of Madam Your Ladyships most humble Servant and Relation R. A. THE PREFACE I Chose the Psalms of David for the Platform of my Devotions because nothing can be supposed more acceptable to God in duties of this nature than to follow his steps who was a man after God's own heart The Original is so well penned so full and lofty in its expressions that Cowley when he gave his censure of the Translators says that Shimei hardly reviled David more than some of them have done However I reckon not my self concerned in that charge seeing I follow the best Translation our Language bears Were this Book of Psalms duly weighed and considered men might find materials for their addresses to Heaven fitted for all states and conditions as if it were a mirrour of the Passages of Humane Life and comprehended all the desires and offices of a good man Though David's Composures were elegant and harmonious in their native dress yet 't was not the Instrument but the strings of his heart made the sweetest melody Nothing is more charming than a soul so well tuned so well skill'd in all the parts of Divine musick Thus we joyn consort with the harmony of the sphears we may be assured that the Eccho is rebounded with the exultation and Hallelujahs of Heaven it self CHOICE MEDITATIONS Out of the PSALMIST SErve the Lord with fear and rejoyce unto him with reverence 2.11 But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself the Lord will hear me when I call upon him 4.3 Offer the sacrifices of Righteousness and put your trust in the Lord v. 5. For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness neither shall evil dwell with thee 5.4 For thou Lord wilt bless the Righteous with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield 12. God judgeth the Righteous and God is angry with the Wicked every day If he turn not he will whet his Sword he hath bent his Bow and made it ready 7.11 12. The Wicked shall be turned into Hell and all the Nations that forget God For the Needy shall not alway be forgotten the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever 9.17 18. The Lord tryeth the Righteous but the Wicked and him that loveth violence his Soul hateth For the Righteous Lord loveth Righteousness his countenance doth behold the upright 11.56.7 For the oppression of the poor for the sighing of the needy now will I arise saith the Lord I will set him in safety from him that pusseth at him The words of the Lord are pure words as silver tryed in a furnace of Earth purified seven times in the fire 12.5 6. The Lord looked down from Heaven upon the children of Men to see if there were any that would understand and seek after God 14.2 Lord who shall abide in thy Tabernacle who shall dwell in thy holy Hill He that walketh uprightly and worketh Righteousness and speaketh the Truth in his Heart 15.1 2. In whose eyes a vise person is contemned but he honoureth them that fear the Lord he that sweareth to his neighbour and disappointeth him not Thou wilt shew me the path of Life in thy presence is the fulness of joy at thy right hand there is pleasure for evermore 16.11 I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised so shall I be safe from mine enemies 18.3 I was upright before him and I kept my self from mine iniquity therefore the Lord hath recompenced me according to my Righteousness and according to the cleanness
call O God of my Salvation for thou hast set me at liberty when I was in trouble have mercy upon me and hearken to my Prayers Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me ponder my Words O Lord O Lord consider my Meditations O hearken thou unto the words of my calling my King and my God for unto thee will I make my Prayer my Voice shalt thou hear betimes in the Morning O Lord early in the morning will I direct my Prayer unto thee and will look up for thou art the God that hast no pleasure in Wickedness neither shall any evil dwell with thee Lead me O Lord in thy Righteousness because of my Enemies make my way plain before my face Let all them that put their trust in thee rejoyce they shall ever be giving of thanks because thou defendest them they that love thy Name shall be joyful in thee O Lord rebuke me not in thine Indignation neither chasten me in thy heavy displeasure Have mercy upon me O Lord for I am weak O Lord heal me for my bones are vexed my soul also is sore troubled how long wilt thou punish me turn thee O Lord and deliver my Soul and save me for thy mercies sake my Beauty is gone for very trouble and worn away because of all mine Enemies The Lord hath heard my Petition the Lord will receive my Prayer O let the wickedness of the Ungodly come to an end but guide thou the Just my help cometh of God which preserveth them that are true of heart I will give thanks unto the Lord according to his Righteousness and will pray in the Name of the Lord the most High have mercy upon me O Lord consider the trouble which I suffer of them that hate me thou that liftest me up from the gates of death Why standest thou so far off O Lord and hidest thy face in the needful time of trouble Arise O Lord God lift up thine head forget not the poor How long wilt thou forget me O Lord for ever How long wilt thou hide thy face from me Hearken unto my voice O Lord when I cry unto thee have mercy upon me and hear me O hide not thou thy face from me nor cast thy Servant away in displeasure thou hast been my succour leave me nor neither forsake me O God of my Salvation O Son of Righteousness who comest from the bosom of thy Father the Fountain of Glory and Light to enlighten the darkness of the World I praise thy Name for that thou hast preserved me from the dangers of this Night and continued still the opportunities of serving thee and advanceing my hopes of a blessed Eternity Let thy mercy shine brightly and dissipate the Clouds and Darkness of my Spirit and Understanding rectifie my Affections and purifie my Will and all my Actions that whatsoever I shall do or suffer this day or in my whole Life my Word and purposes and thoughts may be Sanctified and acceptable to thy Divine Majesty And all this I beg for thy mercies sake Amen A Collect. ALmighty and everlasting God who dost govern all things both in Heaven and in Earth mercifully hear the Supplications of thy Servant and grant me thy Grace all the days of my Life and Peace through Jesus Christ my only Lord and Saviour Amen The Second Collect. ALmighty and Everlasting God mercifully look upon mine Infirmities and in all my dangers and necessities stretch forth thy right hand to help and defend me through Jesus Christ my Lord Amen A Prayer for a penitent Person for Remission of his sins HOw long shall I seek Counsel in my Soul and be so vexed in my heart how long shall my Enemies triumph over me consider and hear me O Lord my God lighten my eyes that I sleep not in Death least mine Enemies say we have prevailed against him If I be cast down they that trouble me will rejoyce at me but my trust is in thy Mercy and my Heart is joyful in thy Salvation I will sing of the Lord because he hath dealt so lovingly with me yea I will praise the Lord most high Preserve me O God for in thee have I put my trust O hold up my going in thy path that my footstep slides not I have called upon thee O God for thou shalt hear me incline thine Ears unto me and hearken unto my words shew thy marvellous loving kindness unto me thou that art the Saviour of them that put their trust in thee from such that resist thy right hand keep me as the Apple of thy Eye hide me under the shadow of thy wing from the ungodly that trouble me mine enemies compass me round about to take away my Soul disappoint him and cast him down deliver my Soul from the ungodly which is a Sword of thine I will call upon the Lord which is worthy to be praised so shall I be safe from mine enemies in my trouble I will call upon the Lord and complain unto my God so shall he hear my voice out of his holy Temple my complaint shall come before him it shall enter even into his Ear the Lord shall reward me after my Righteous dealing and according to the cleanness of my hand shall he recompence me but Lord deal not with me according to my sins neither reward me after mine Iniquities who can tell how oft he offendeth O cleanse thou me from my secret sins keep thy Servant also from presumptuous sins lest they get the Dominion over me so shall I be undefiled and innocent from the great offence save Lord and hear me O King of Heaven when I call upon thee the Lord is my Shepherd therefore shall I lack nothing but be not thou far from me O Lord thou art my succour haste thee to help me unto thee O Lord will I lift up my Soul my God I have put my trust in thee let me not be confounded neither let mine enemies triumph over me shew me thy ways O Lord and teach me thy paths lead me forth in thy Truth and learn me for thou art the God of my Salvation in thee hath been my hope all the day long call to remembrance O Lord thy tender mercy and thy loving kindness which hath been ever of old O remember not the sins and offences of my youth but according to thy mercy think upon me O Lord for thy goodness for thy Name sake O Lord be merciful to my sin for it is great turn thee unto me and have mercy upon me for I am desolate and in misery the sorrows of my heart is enlarged O bring thou me out of my trouble look upon my adversity and misery and forgive me all my sins consider mine enemies how many they are that bear a tyrannous heart against me O keep my Soul and deliver me let me not be surrounded for I have put my trust in thee let perfect and righteous dealing wait upon me for my hope hath been in thee deliver
have not loved thee with my whole heart nor feared thee with all my soul nor served thee with all my might according to thy holy precepts nor loved my neighbour as my self Lord be merciful unto me a sinner I Have been an unprovident Steward of the good things thou hast given me I have loved them inordinately and sought after them greedily and unjustly dispenced them idly and parted with them unwillingly I have not been so charitable to the poor or so pitiful to the afflicted or so compassionate to the sick or so apt to succour and give supplies to the miseries of my neighbours as I ought but have too much minded things below not seting my affections upon Heaven and heavenly things but have been unlike thee in many things I have been unmerciful and unjust Lord be merciful unto me a sinner MIne Eyes O Lord have wandred after vanity beholding and looking after things unseemly without displeasure despising my neighbours prying into their faults but have been blind not seeing mine own sins and infinite irregularities Lord be merciful unto me a sinner I Have employed all my members and faculties both of soul and body in the waies of unrighteousness I have transgressed in all my relations and in all my actions and traverses of my whole life even when I might have had most confidence I find nothing but weakness and imperfection Lord be merciful unto me a sinner I Have broken my vows and purposes of obedience and holy life I have been inconstant to all good refractory to counsels disobedient to commands stubborn against admonition churlish and ungentle in my behaviour mindful and revengful of injuries forgetful of benefits seeking my own ends deceiving my own soul. Lord be merciful unto me a sinner MY secret sins O Lord are innumerable sins secret to my self through inadvertency forgetfulness wilful ignorance or stupid negligence secret to the world committed before thee only under the witness of mine own conscience I am confounded with the multitude of them and the horrour of their remembrance Lord be merciful unto me a sinner O Son of David blessed Redeemer Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the world have mercy upon me O Jesu be a Jesus unto me thou that savedst thy servant Peter that denied thee thrice thou that didst cast seven Devils out of Mary Magdalen and forgavest the woman taken in adultery and didst bear the converted Thief from the Cross to the joyes of Paradice have mercy upon me also for although I have massed together more sins than all these in conjunction yet not their sins nor mine nor the sins of all the world can equal thy glorious mercy which is as infinite and eternal as thy self I acknowledge O Lord that I am vile but yet redeemed with thy precious blood I am blind but thou art the Light of the world I am weak but thou art a strong Rock I have been dead in trespasses and sins but thou art my Resurrection and my Life thou O Lord lovest to shew mercy and the expressions of thy mercy the nearer they come to infinite the more proportionable they are to thy essence and like thy self Behold then O Lord a fit object for thy pity my sins are so great and many that to forgive all will be but an act of glorious mercy and all the praises which did accrew to thy Name by the forgiveness of David and Manesseh and St. Paul and the Adulteress and the Thief and the Publican will be multiplied to thy honour in the forgiveness of me so vile so unworthy a wretch that I have nothing to say for my self but that the greatness of my misery is a fit object for thy miraculous and infinite mercy Despise me not O Lord for I am thy Creature Despise me not for thou didst die for me Cast me not away in thine anger for thou comest to seek me and to save me Say unto my soul Thou art my salvation Let thy Holy Spirit lead me from the errours of my waies into the paths of Righteousness to great degrees of Repentance through all the parts of a holy life to a godly and a holy death grant this O blessed Jesus for thy mercy for thy pity sake Amen A penitential Prayer for the Morning with particular Confession of sins desiring God earnestly to free him from the guilt and punishment that is due unto him for his many and great sins and to give him grace to lead a new life O Eternal God most gracious and merciful Father look not upon me as I am in my self but look upon me in the face of Jesus Christ in him and through him be merciful unto me according to thy Word for I have done amiss and dealt wickedly I have sinned against Heaven and before thee and am not worthy to be called thy Son or numbred amongst the meanest of thy servants yet my sins are but the sins of a mortal man but thy mercy is the mercy of an Infinite God therefore have mercy on my sinful soul pardon and forgive me all my known and secret sins which in thought word and deed I have done and committed against thy Divine Majesty for it repenteth me of my evil deeds therefore O Lord have mercy upon me pardon and forgive the sins of my youth and age which are many and great namely the wicked sins of my pride anger dissimulation lying lust unjust dealing too much love of the world and the vanity thereof too little love of thee and thy Kingdom but empty and void of all spiritual grace be merciful unto me O Lord for these are the sins wherewith I have grieved thy Holy Spirit O Lord the remembrance of them is grievous unto me and the burthen of them is intollerable too heavy for me to bear therefore O Lord God be merciful to me according to thy tender compassion bury them all in the burial of Christ set the weight of thy mercy upon them so that they may never rise up in this world to shame me nor in the world to come to condemn me O Lord give me an assurance of the free pardon and forgiveness for these many sins that I may rejoyce in the greatness of thy mercy and magnify thy holy Name to all Eternity for the future give me greater measure of grace to serve honour and humbly obey thee with all the strength of my heart soul and body Mortifie and kill all vice in me that my life may express all faith in thee Mercifully hear the humble supplications of thy poor servant and grant me thy peace all my daies graciously pardon all mine infirmities and defend me from all dangers of soul and body this day and for ever more O Lord guide me in this world with thy counsel and after this bring me to thy glory O Lord bless all thine all the world over all mankind especially this sinful Land and Nation wherein we live turning from us those plagues which the sins of this
that we may derive from thee by this mystery grace to expel our sins to mortifie all our lusts to exterminate all concupiscence to crucifie all inordinate irregularities to produce in us humility and chastity and obedience and meekness of spirit and charity and let us not be harmed by the violence invasions of all our ghostly enemies and temporal disadvantages and give us grace and favour that we may not die in the commission of a sin without repentance nor without receiving the blessed Sacrament but that we may so live and die that we may at last rest in thy bosom and be embraced with the comprehensions of thy eternal Charity who livest and reignest ever one God world without end Amen Prayers preparatory to Death A Prayer for a Blessed Ending to be said in time of Health or Sickness O Blessed Jesu fountain of eternal Mercy the life of the soul and glorious Conquerour over Death and Sin I humbly beseech thee to give me grace so to spend this transitory life in vertue and holy exercises that when the day of my death shall come in the midst of all my pains I may feel the sweet refreshings of thy holy Spirit comforting my soul sustaining my infirmities and relieving all my spiritual necessities and grant that in the unity of the holy Catholick Church and in the integrity of Christian Faith with confidence and hope of thy mercy in great love towards thee in peace towards my neighbours and in charity with all the world I may through thy grace depart hence out of this vail of misery and go into that glorious Country where thou hast purchased an inheritance for us with the price of thy most precious blood and reignest in it gloriously in the unity of thy Father and ours of thy Holy Spirit and our ghostly Comforter ever one God world without end Amen All blessing and praise and honour be unto thee O blessed Redeemer and to thee I the banished and miserable Son of Adam do call for mercy and defence in this needful time of trouble to thee I sigh and cry in the valley of tears O dearest Advocate turn those thy merciful eyes towards me and shew me thy glorious face in thy heavenly Kingdom where no tears or sighing or fears or sadness can approach Amen sweetest Jesu Amen A Prayer to be said in the beginning of Sickness O Lord my God who chastisest every one whom thou receivest and with thy fatherly correction smitest those whom thou consignest to the inheritance of Sons write my soul in the book of life and number me amongst thy chosen children whom thou hast smitten with the Rod of Sickness and by thy chastisements hast brought me into the lot of the Righteous Thou O blessed Jesus who art a helper in the needful time of trouble lay no more upon me than thou shalt enable me to bear and let thy gentle corrections in this life prevent the unsupportable stripes of thy vengeance in the life to come Smite me now that thou mayest spare me to all eternity and yet O blessed High Priest who art touched with a sense of our infirmities smite me friendly and reprove me with such a tenderness as thou bearest unto thy children to whom thou conveyest supplicatory comforts greaten not the pains of thy chastisements and in due time restore me to health and to thy solemn Assemblies again and to the joy of thy countenance Give me patience and humility and the grace of Repentance and an absolute dereliction of my self and resignation to thy pleasure and providence with a power to do thy Will in all things and then do what thou pleasest with me in health or sickness in life or death let me feel thy comforts refreshing my soul and let thy grace pardon all my sins grant this O heavenly Father for thy dear Sons sake my blessed Saviour and Redeemer Amen A Prayer for a sick person in danger of Death O Lord Jesus Christ our health and our salvation our life our hope and our resurrection from the dead I resign my self up to thy holy will and pleasure either to life that I may live longer to thy service and my amendment or to death to the perpetual enjoyment of thy presence and of thy glory into thy hands I commend my spirit for I know O Lord that nothing can perish which is commited to thy mercy I believe help thou my unbelief I believe O Lord that I shall receive my body again at the resurrection of the Just I relinquish all care of that only I beg of thee mercy for my soul strengthen it with thy grace against all temptation let thy loving kindness defend it as with a shield against all violence and hostile assaults of Satan let the same mercy be my guard and defence which protected thy Martyrs crowning them with victory in the midst of flames horrid torments and most cruel deaths There is no help in me O Lord I cannot by my own strength or power give a minutes rest to my wearied body but my trust is in thy mercies and I call to mind to my unspeakable comfort that thou wert hungry and thirsty and wearied and whipt and crowned with thorns and mocked and crucified for me O let that mercy of thine which made thee suffer so much pardon me and save me let thy merits answer for my impieties let thy Righteousness cover my sins thy blood wash away my stains and thy comforts refresh my soul as my body grows weaker let thy grace be stronger let not my faith doubt nor my hope tremble nor my charity grow cold nor my soul be afrighted with the terrours of death but let the light of thy countenance enlighten mine eyes that I sleep not in death eternal and when my tongue fails let thy Spirit teach my heart with strong crying and groans that are unutterable O let not the enemy do me any violence but let thy holy mercies and thy Angels repel and defeat his malice and find that my soul may by thy strength triumph in the joys of eternity in the fruition of thee my life my joy my hope my exceeding great reward my Lord and and my Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen A Prayer for a dying person in or near the Agonies of Death MOst merciful and blessed Saviour have mercy upon the soul of this servant remember not his ignorance nor the sins of his youth nor age but according to thy great mercies remember him in the mercies and glories of thy Kingdom Thou O Lord hast opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all Believers O let the everlasting gates be opened and receive his soul let the Angels who rejoyce at the conversion of a sinner triumph and be exalted in his deliverance and salvation Make him partaker of the benefits of thy holy Incarnation Life and Sanctity Passion and Death Resurrection and Ascension and all the Prayers of the Church that the Joy of the Elect and the Fruits of the blessed Communion of the
Saints may be fulfilled and the Glory of thee of our Lord Jesu and daily add to the number of thy beautified servants such as shall be saved that thy coming may be hastened and the expectation of the Saints may be fulfilled and advanced and all the whole Church singing praise to the honour of thy Name who liveth and reigneth ever one God world without end Amen The 51. O Most merciful Jesu who didst die to redeem us from death and damnation have mercy upon this thy servant whom thy hand has visited with sickness of thy goodness be pleased to forgive him all his sins and seal his hopes of glory with the refreshments of thy Holy Spirit Lord give him strength confidence in thee asswage his pain repel the assaults of his ghostly enemies and give him a guard of holy Angels preserve him in the unity of the Church keep his senses entire his understanding right give him great measure of contrition true faith a well grounded hope and abundant charity give him a quiet and a joyful departure let thy ministring spirits convey his soul to the mansions of peace and rest there with certainty to expect a joyful Resurrection to the fulness of Joy at thy right hand where there is pleasure for ever more Amen A Prayer for the Joyes of Heaven O Most glorious Jesu who art the portion and the exceeding great reward of all faithful people thou hast beautified humane nature with glorious Immortality and hast carried the same above all Heavens above the seat of Angels beyond the Cherubims and Seraphims placing it on the right hand of thy heavenly Father grant to us all the issues of thy abundant charity that we may live in thy fear and die in thy favour prepare our souls with heavenly Joyes making us righteous here that we may be blessed hereafter through thy great mercy Amen A Prayer for the Morning at the first kneeling down saying Holy blessed and glorious Trinity Three Persons and One God have mercy up-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. O Most gracious Lord whose mercies endureth for ever I thy unworthy servant who have so largely tasted of them desire to render thee the tribute of my humblest praises for them In thee O Lord I live move and have my being thou hast made me to be and then that I might not be miserable but happy thou sendest thy Son out of thy bosom to redeem me from the power of my sins by his grace and from the punishment of them by his blood and by both of them to bring me to his glory Thou hast by thy mercy caused me to be born within thy particular 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 wilfulness or negligence I have fallen to do ill yet thou in thy manifold mercies hast not forsaken me but hast graciously invited me to Repentance aforded me all means both outwardly and inwardly for it and with patience hast attended and not cut me off for the acts of those many damning sins I have committed as I have most justly deserved thou art glorious in thy manifold mercies O Lord in thy restraining grace by which I have been kept back from any of the greatest sins and in thy inciting grace by which I have been enabled to do the least good therefore not unto me but unto thy Name be praises for these and all other spiritual blessings My soul doth magnifie the Lord and 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 rayment 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 aforded out of such as have befallen me and for that mercy of thine whereby thou hast sweetened and allayed those troubles thou seest not fit wholly to remove for thy particular care of me this night and all other thy goodness towards me Lord grant that I may render unto thee not only 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 Author of eternal salvation to all that obey him even Jesus Christ. Amen 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 in iniquity like water gone on in a continued course of sin and rebellion against thee daily committing those sins thou forbidest 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 hands act so that in thought word and deed I continually transgress against thee O Lord I have done amiss I have dealt wickedly the good I would do I do it not but the evil I should not that do I. O my God be merciful unto me for my luxury pride covetousness and all wandring thoughts and worldly imaginations Nay O Lord I have despised that goodness of thine which should have lead me to repentance hardning my heart against all those means thou hast used for my amendment and now Lord what can I expect from thee but judgment and fiery indignation that is indeed the due reward of my sins But O Lord there is mercy with thee that thou mayest be feared O fit me for that mercy by giving me a deep and a hearty Repentance and then according to thy goodness let thine anger and thy wrath be turned away Look upon me in thy Son my blessed Saviour and for the merits of his sufferings pardon all my sins and Lord I beseech thee by the power of thy grace so to renew and purifie my heart that I may become a new creature utterly forsaking every evil way living in constant sincere universal obedience to thee all the rest of my daies behaving my self as a good and faithful servant I may at the last be received into the Joy of my Lord grant this for Jesus Christ his sake Amen A Prayer for Grace O Most gracious God from whom every good and perfect gift cometh I a wretched sinner that am not able of my self so much as to think a good thought beseech thee to work in me both to will and to do of thy good pleasure what thou requirest of me enlighten
may be capable of his refreshings and being encompast with my own tears and truly sorry for my many sins I may be the fitter to be washed in his blood Raise up my dull and earthly mind from groveling here below and inspire it with a holy zeal that I may with a spiritual affection approach this spiritual Feast And let O Lord that infinite Love of Christ in dying for so wretched a sinner inflame my frozen benummed soul and kindle in me that sacrifice of love to him and that so vehement that no water may quench no floods drown it such as may burn up all my dross not leave one unmortified lust in my soul such as may also extend it self to all whom thou hast given me command and example to love even mine enemies as well as friends Finally O Lord I beseech thee to cloath me in the Wedding-garment and make me though my self a most unworthy sinner yet by thy mercy an acceptable guest at this holy Table that I may not eat and drink my own damnation but may have my pardon sealed my weakness repaired my corruptions subdued and my soul unseparably united to thee that no temptation be ever able to dissolve the union but that being begun here in grace it may be consummated in glory grant this O Lord for thy dear Son sake Jesus Christ. Amen Another Prayer for the Receiving of the Holy Communion O Blessed Jesus who once offeredst up thy self upon the Cross for me and now offerest thy self to me in the Sacrament let not I beseech thee my 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 clogg'd with guilt so holden with the cords of my sins that I am not able to move towards the. O loose me from these bands 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 and when thou invitest me to life and glory I turn my back and forsake the hopes of mercy How often hath this Feast been prepared and I have with frivolous excuses absented my self or if I have come it hath been rather to defile than to adore thee I have brought such Troops of thy professed enemies and unrepented sins along with me as if I came not to commemorate but to renew thy passion crucifying thee afresh and put 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 is my onely Refuge O let this make my attonement 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 my sins I am a sinner a great one O let me find this saving efficacy Be merciful unto me O God be merciful for my soul trusteth in thee and in the clefts of thy wounds shall be my Refuge until thy Fathers indignation be over past O thou who hast as my High Priest sacrificed for me intercede for me also and plead thy meritorious sufferings on my behalf and suffer not O my Redeemer the price of 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 and 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 shed 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 cursed thing be sheltered 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 unto thee at this time with most sincere and fixed resolutions of an inward 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 groans under here 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 that I may now so touch thee that every one of these loathsome Issues may immediately stench that my sickness 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 unto thee with such humility and contrition love and devotion that thou mayest vouchsafe to come unto me and abide with me communicating to me thy self and all the merit of thy passion and then O Lord let no occasions of Satan or mine own conscience amaze or distract me but 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 for thine own bowels and compassions sake Amen Immediately before Receiving Thou hast said that he that eateth thy flesh and drinketh thy blood hath eternal life behold thy servant O Lord be it unto me according to thy Word At the Receiving of the Bread By thy crucified Body deliver me from the body of this death At the Receiving of the Cup. O Lord let this blood of thine purge my conscience from dead works to serve the ever 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 receive 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 a blessing therefore blessing honour glory and power be to him that sitteth on the Throne and the Lamb for ever and ever Amen I have sworn and am stedfastly bent to keep thy Righteous Judgments O Lord hold thou up my goings in thy paths that my footsteps slip not A Thanksgiving for the Receiving the Communion O Thou fountain of all goodness from whom every good and perfect gift cometh and to whom all honour and glory shall be
despairing a sight of thy mercies and do thou O Lord for every one abundantly above what they can ask or or think Forgive my enemies persecutors and slanderers and turn their hearts Pour down thy blessings upon all my friends and benefactors all who have commended themselves to my prayers here thou mayest name particular persons and grant O most merciful Father that through this blood of the Cross we may 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 all eternal praises to Father Son and Holy Ghost forever Amen A Prayer in time of Affliction O Just and holy Lord who with rebukes dost chasten man for sin I desire unfeignedly to humble my self under thy mighty hand which now lies heavy upon me I heartily acknowledge O Lord that all I do all I can suffer is but the due reward of my deeds therefore in thy severest inflictions I must still say Righteous art thou O Lord righteous are thy Judgments but O Lord I beseech thee in Judgment remember mercy although my sins have enforced thee to strike yet consider my weakness and let not my stripes be more heavy or more lasting than thou seest proportionable 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 and cast not away thy servant in displeasure but pardon my sins I beseech thee and if yet in thy fatherly wisdom thou seest 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 try my as silver is tryed so that thou bring me out purified And Lord make me even my flesh also to subscribe to this Resignation that there be nothing in me that may rebel against thy hand but that I may suppress all repining thoughts and may cheerfully drink of this Cup how bitter soever thou art pleased to make it Lord let it prove 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. Amen A Thanksgiving for Deliverance O Blessed Lord who art gracious and merciful slow to anger and of great kindness and repentest of the evil I thankfully acknowledge before thee that thou hast not dealt with me after my sins nor rewarded me according to my iniquities my Rebellions O Lord deserve to be scourged with Scorpions and thou hast corrected them only with a fatherly Rod neither hast thou suffered me to lye long under that but hast given me a timely and gracious issue out of my late distresses 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 have their proper effects upon my soul that I who have felt the smart of thy chastisements may stand in awe and sin not and that I who have likewise tasted 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 daies through Jesus Christ. Amen A Prayer for a Sick Person O Merciful and righteous Lord the God of health and of sickness of life and of death I most unfeignedly acknowledge that my great abuse of those many daies of strength and welfare that thou hast afforded me hath most justly deserved thy present visitation I desire O Lord humbly to accept of the punishment of the Lord for my iniquity and to bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him And O thou merciful Father who designest not the ruine but the amendment of those whom thou scourgest I beseech thee by thy grace so to sanctifie this correction of thine to me that this sickness of my body may be a means of health to my soul. Make me diligent to search my heart and do thou O Lord discover every cursed thing how close soever concealed there that by the removal thereof I may make way for the removal of this punishment Heal my soul O Lord which hath sinned against thee and then if it be thy blessed will heal my body also Restore the voice of joy and health into my dwelling that I may live to praise thee and to bring forth fruit of Repentance but if in thy wisdom thou hast otherwise disposed if thou hast determined that this sickness shall be unto death I beseech thee to fit and prepare me for it Give me that sincere and earnest Repentance to which thou hast promised mercy and pardon Wean my heart from the world and its fading vanities and make me to gasp and pant after those more excellent and durable Joyes which are at thy right hand forever Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me and in all the pains of my body in all the agonies of my spirit let thy comforts refresh my soul and enable me patiently to wait till my change come and grant O Lord that when my earthly Tabernacle is dissolved I may have a building not made with hands eternal in the Heavens and that for his sake who by his precious blood hath purchased it for me even Jesus Christ. Amen A Thanksgiving for Recovery O Most gracious Lord the God of the spirits of all flesh in whose hand my time is I praise and magnifie thee that thou hast in love to my soul delivered me from the pit of destruction and restored me to health again It is of thy mercy alone O Lord that thou hast preserved my life from destruction thou hast chastened and corrected me but thou hast not given me over unto death O let this life which thou hast thus graciously spared be wholly consecrated unto thee Behold O Lord I am by thy mercy made whole O make me strictly careful to sin no more lest a worse thing come unto me Let not this reprieve thou hast now given me make me secure as thinking my Lord delayeth his coming but grant me I beseech thee to make a right use of this long-suffering of thine and so to imploy every minute of that time thou hast allowed me that when thou shalt appear I may have confidence and not be ashamed before thee at thy coming Lord I have found by this approach towards death how dreadful a thing it is to be taken unprepared O let it be a perpetual admonition to me to watch for my Masters coming and when the pleasures of sin shall present themselves to entice me O make me to remember how bitter they
of thy blood to perish O Spirit of grace I have by my horrid impieties done despight unto thee yet O blessed Comforter though I have offended thee and often grieved thy Holy Spirit be thou pleased to succour and relieve me and say unto my soul I am thy salvation Mine eyes look unto thee O Lord in thee is my trust O cast not out my soul. O Lord in thee have I trusted let me never be confounded O blessed Lord who scourgest every Son whom thou receivest let me not be weary of thy correction but give me such a perfect submission to thee the Father of spirits that this chastisement may be for my profit that I may thereby be partaker of thy holiness O thou Captain of my salvation who wert made perfect by sufferings sanctifie to me all the pains of body all the terrours of mind which thou shalt permit to fall upon me Lord my sins have deserved eternal torments make me cheerfully and thankfully to bear my present pains chasten me as thou pleasest here that I may not be condemned with the world Lord the waters are come in even unto my soul O let thy Spirit move upon the waters and make them like the Pool of Bethesda that they may cure whatsoever spiritual disease thou discernest in me O Christ who first sufferedst many and grievous things and then enteredst into thy grave make me so to suffer with thee that I may also be glorified with thee O dear Jesus who humblest thy self to the death of the Cross for me let that death of thine sweeten the bitterness of mine When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all Believers I believe that thou shalt come to be my Judge I pray thee therefore help thy servant whom thou hast redeemed with thy most precious blood make me to be numbred with Saints in glory everlasting Thou art the Resurrection and the Life he that believeth in thee though he were dead yet shall he live Lord I believe help thou my unbelief My flesh and my heart faileth but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ which is far better Lord I groan earnestly desiring to be cloathed upon with that house from Heaven I desire to put off this Tabernacle O be pleased to receive me into everlasting habitations bring my soul out of prison that I may give thanks unto thy Name Lord I am here to wrestle not only with flesh and blood but with principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness O take me from these tents of Kedar into the heavenly Jerusalem where Satan shall be utterly trodden under foot I cannot here attend one minute to thy service without distractions O take me up to stand before thy Throne where I shall serve thee day and night I am in heaviness through many tribulations O receive me into that place of rest where all tears shall be wiped away from my eyes where there shall be no more death nor sorrow nor crying nor pain I am here in the state of banishment and absence from the Lord. O take me where I shall for ever behold thy face and follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of glory O blessed Jesu who hast loved me and washed me from my sins in thine own blood receive my soul. Into thine hands I commend my Spirit for thou hast redeemed me O Lord thou God of Truth come Lord Jesus come quickly Amen A Prayer for the Morning O Most mighty and gracious 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 thy unworthy servant who here prostrate my self at the footstool of thy Throne of grace not as I am in my self but look upon me O Father through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ thy beloved Son in whom thou art well pleased for of my self I am not able to stand in thy presence or to speak with my unclean lips to so holy a God as thou art for thou knowest 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 Laws and 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 mayest confess to God thy secret sins which most burden thy conscience with the circumstances of the time place person and the manner how it is committed saying but more especially I do here with grief of heart confess unto thee for these my sins O Lord I stand guilty of thy curse with all the miseries of this life and the life to come namely everlasting torment in Hell fire when this wretched life is ended If thou shouldest deal with me according to my deserts yea Lord I confess thy goodness which endureth for ever is the cause I have not been long ago consumed and confounded but with thee O Lord there is mercy and plenteous redemption in the multitude therefore of thy mercies and confidence in Christs merits I intreat thy Divine Majesty that thou wouldest not enter into judgment with thy servant neither be extream to mark what I have hitherto done amiss for if thou dost then no flesh can 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 sins in the merits of that precious blood which Jesus Christ hath shed for me and seeing that he hath born the burden of that curse which was due for my transgression 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 rise up in this world to shame me nor in the world to come to condemn me And I beseech thee O Lord not only to wash away my sins with the blood of thy Immaculate Lamb but also to purge my heart by thy Holy Spirit from the dross of my natural corruptions that I may feel thy Spirit more and more killing my sins in the power and practice thereof so that I may with more freedom of mind and liberty of will serve thee the ever living God in Righteousness and true Holiness this day and give me grace that by the direction and assistance of thy Holy Spirit I may persevere to be thy faithful and unfeigned servant unto my lifes end and when this mortal life is ended I may be made 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 my daies that I may apply my heart to wisdom and as thou dost add daies to my life so I beseech thee to add repentance and amendment to my sinful daies that as I grow in years I may grow 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 an honest conversation as that thy Name may thereby be glorified others may take good example by me and my soul may cheerfully feed on the peace of a good conscience and be more replenished with the Joy of the Holy Ghost And here O Lord according to my bounden duty I give the most humble and hearty thanks for all those blessings which of thy goodness thou hast bestowed upon me and namely for that thou hast of thy free grace and 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 in 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 Holy Spirit in the Preaching of the Gospel and the Receiving of thy Sacrament to the knowledge of thy saving grace and obedience to thy blessed Will For that thou hast bought and redeemed me with the blood of thy only begotten Son from the torment of Hell and thraldom 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 justified 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 liberty food rayment peace prosperity and plenty and for that thou hast preserved me this night from all perils and dangers of soul and body and hast brought me safe to the beginning of this day and as thou hast now awakened my body from sleep so I beseech thee to awaken my body from sin and carnal security and as thou hast caused the light of the day to shine in our bodily eyes so good Lord cause the light of thy Word and Holy Spirit to illuminate my understanding and give me grace as one of thy children of light to walk in all holy obedience before thy face this day and all the daies and time of my whole life and that I may endeavour to keep faith and a good conscience towards God and towards all men in all my thoughts words and dealings and so good Lord bless all 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 my own soul and conscience in that day when I shall make my final request unto thee for them O my God keep thy servant that I do not 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 my malicious enemies to have any power to do me any hurt or harm this day but let the eyes 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 my going out and my 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 and protected by thee being assured that whatsoever thou takest into thy custody cannot suffer or take 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 alone for my self unto thee O Father but I beseech thee also be merciful unto thy whole Church and chosen people wheresoever they live upon the face of the whole 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 Church and Kingdoms wherein we live with the continuance of peace and true Religion and Justice Defend our gracious King Charles from all his enemies and grant him a long life in health and all happiness to raign over us Bless our gracious Queen Katherine James Duke of York and all the rest of the Royal Family increase in them all heroical and spiritual graces which may make them fit for those places for which thou ordainedst them direct all the Nobility Bishops and Magistrates of this Kingdom and Commonwealth govern thou them that they may govern the Commons in true Religion Justice Obedience and Tranquility Be merciful unto all the people that fear thee and call upon thy Name and comfort as many among them as lie sick or are comfortless in body or mind especially be favourable to all such as suffer any trouble or persecution for the testimony of the 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 farther inlarging of the Truth and the more ample increase of their comfort and consolation Hasten thy coming O blessed Saviour and end these sinful daies and give me grace that like a wise Virgin I may be prepared with Oil in my Lamp to meet thee the sweetest Bridegroom of my soul at thy coming whether it be by the day of death or the day of judgment and then Lord Jesus come quickly even Lord Jesus come when thou wilt these and all other graces which thou knowest to be needful and necessary both for my soul and my body this day and for ever I humbly beg and crave at thy hands O Father giving thee thy praise and glory in that absolute form of prayer which Christ himself hath taught me to say unto thee Our Father which art in Heaven hallowed be thy Name c. Another Shorter Morning Prayer O Most gracious God and merciful Father I thine unworthy servant do 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 my own will and lusts of my flesh not caring to be governed by thy holy Word and Spirit therefore I have
of my natural corruption and as thou dost add daies to my life so good Lord I beseech thee to add repentance to my daies that when I have past this mortal life I may be partaker of thy heavenly Kingdom through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Prayer and Confession in and for the time of Affliction ALmighty and most merciful Father it is only thy goodness that admits of my imperfect prayers and the knowledge that thy mercies are infinite which can give me any hope of thy acceptance or granting them for it is my bounden and necessary duty to confess my sins freely unto thee and of all men living I have need of and most reason so to do no man living hath been so much obliged by thee for that degree of knowledge which thou hast given me adding likewise the guilt of my transgression for it is through failing and imperfection that I have so many waies provoked thy gracious Majesty to wrath and indignation against me but with shame and grief I confess that I have done amiss and dealt wickedly that therein I followed the perswasion of worldly wisdom forsaking the dictates of a right informed conscience wherefore O Lord I have no excuse to make no hope left but in the multitude of thy mercies for I know my repentance is weak and my prayers are faulty grant therefore O most merciful Father so to strengthen my repentance and amend my prayers that thou mayest clear the way for thine own mercies to which O let thy Justice at last give place putting a speedy end to my deserved afflictions In the mean time give me patience to endure constancy against temptations and a discerning spirit to chuse what is best for thy glory and my comfort and the good of others grant this O most merciful Father for thy Son Jesus Christ his sake our only Saviour Amen A Prayer in time of Captivity O Powerful and Eternal God to whom nothing is so great that it may resist or so small that it is contemned look upon my miseries with the eye of mercy and let thy infinite power vouchsafe to limit out some proportion of deliverance unto me as to thee shall seem most convenient let not injury O Lord triumph over me and let my falls by thy hand be corrected and make not my unjust enemies the Ministers of thy Justice but yet my God if in thy wisdom this be the aptest castisement for my inexcusable transgressions if this ungrateful bondage be fittest for my over high desires if the pride of my not enough humble heart be to be thus broken O Lord I yield to thy Will chearfully embracing what sorrow thou wilt have me suffer only thus much let me crave of thee Let my craving O Lord be acceptable unto thee since it even proceeds from thee that by goodness which is thy self thou will suffer some beam of thy Majesty so to shine in my heart that I who acknowledge it my noblest title to be thy creature may still in my greatest affliction depend confidently on thee let calamity be the exercise but not the overthrow of my vertue O let not their prevailing power be to my destruction and if it be thy will that they more and more vex me with punishment yet O Lord never let their wickedness have such a hand but that I may still carry a pure mind and a stedfast resolution ever to serve thee without fear or presumption yet with that humble confidence which may best please thee so that at the last I may come to thy eternal Kingdom through the merits of thy Son our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen A Prayer to be said for the Sick by them that visit him O Merciful Father who art the Lord and giver of life to whom belongeth the issues of death we thy children here assembled do acknowledge that in respect of our manifold sins we are not worthy to ask any blessing for our selves at thy hands much less to become suiters to thy Divine Majesty in the behalf of others yet because thou hast promised that the prayers of the righteous shall avail much with thee in the obedience therefore of thy commandment and in confidence of thy gracious promise we are bold to become humble suiters to thy Divine Majesty in the behalf of this our dear Brother or Sister whom thou hast visited with the chastisement of thy own fatherly hand we could gladly wish the restauration of his health and a longer continuance of his life and Christian-fellowship amongst us but for as much as it appeareth as far as we can discern that thou hast appointed by this visitation to call for him out of this mortal life we submit our wills to thy blessed will and humbly entreat thee for Jesus Christ his sake and the merits of his bitter death and passion which he hath suffered for him that thou wouldest pardon and forgive unto him all his sins as well that wherein he was conceived and born as also the offences and transgressions which ever since to this day and hour he hath committed in thought word and deed against thy Divine Majesty cast them behind thy back remove them as far from thy presence as the East is from the West blot them out of the book of thy remembrance lay them not to his charge wash them away with the blood of Christ that they may never be more seen and deliver him from all the Judgments which are due unto him for all his sins that they may never trouble his conscience nor rise in judgment against his soul and impute unto him the Righteousness of Jesus Christ whereby he may appear righteous in thy sight and in his extremity at this time we beseech thee look down from Heaven upon him with those eyes of grace and compassion wherewith thou art wont to look upon thy children in their affliction and misery pity thy wounded servant like the good Samaritan for here is a sick soul that needeth the help of such a heavenly Physician O Lord increase his faith that he may believe that Christ died for him and that his blood cleanseth all his sins and either asswage his pain or else increase his patience to endure thy blessed will and pleasure in all things And good Lord lay no more upon him than thou wilt enable him to bear heave him up unto thy self with those sighs and groans that cannot be expressed make him now to see what is the hope of his calling and what is the exceeding greatness of thy mercy and power towards them that believe in thee and in his weakness O Lord shew thou thy strength defend him against the suggestions and temptations of the Devil who as in all his life-time will now in his weakness seek to assail him and to devour him oh save his soul and reprove Satan and command thy holy Angels to be about him and aid him and chase away all evil and malignant spirits far from him make him