Evening Prayer for a single Person O Being of Beings the great Creator of the World and preserver of Mankind by whose gracious goodness I am now alive and brought safe through the many dangers and inconveniencies of this mortal Life to the close of this day I humbly acknowledge thy Providence and merciful Protection Thou hast fed me with thy Creatures defended me by thy Power instructed me in thy Truth admitted me into thy Church for these and all other Mercies received from thy Bountiful hand I return thee my homage and Thanks and confess my self unworthy of the meanest of thy Favours by reason of the many Provocations that I am guilty of O Lord I have sinned against Heaven and against thee and am no more worthy to be called thy Son my Transgressions are multiplyed every day and mine Iniquities are without number How easily have I yielded to the Power of Temptations how often have I broken thy sacred Laws Gracious God be merciful be merciful to me a Sinner blot out all mine Iniquities and forgive me for the sake of my dear and only Saviour who is dead and intercedes for me Accept his Sacrifice and Mediation for my poor Soul grieved with the sense of Sin Give me true Repentance and that Frame of Spirit and Holy Resolution unto which thou hast promised in thy Holy Word mercy and forgiveness As thou hast begun the Work of Reformation in me perfect it I beseech thee by the continual influences of thy Holy Spirit forsake me not good God nor leave me to my wretched self but let thy Truth and Wisdom direct my Understanding and thy grace govern my Will in the practice of Piety Suffer me not to be overcome by the mistakes and inticements of Sin and Satan defend my Soul from all wicked impressions and infections of the World As thou hast redeemed me for thy self let not Vice nor Error draw me from thee nor the dangerous Allurements of Earthly Vanities but as my dependency is upon thy Power let my expectation of Happiness be from thy Bounty and my delight be in fulfilling thy holy Will Strengthen and increase in me all goodness Let every day bring me nearer to thee and to that Purity and Holiness without which no Man shall see thy Face Time that carries me apace to my cold Tomb minds me of an Eternity of a Resurrection and the last Judgment Prepare me I beseech thee for this last Account and that terrible Day wherein every Man shall give up an account of his Actions before a Righteous and Impartial Judge Grant that I may find Mercy and Favour at the hands of my great Redeemer and be admitted into the Joys of his Paradise And as I am now going to lye me down to refresh my weary Body with rest blessed God be merciful to me this Night protect me from all dangers and Evils Suffer not the Malice of the Devils nor of Wicked Men to hurt this outward Tabernacle nor the precious Soul that is within keep from me all troublesom Dreams and Thoughts and whether sleeping or waking let my Soul be armed with a reliance upon thy Goodness and Power grant me a moderate Rest that I may be better enabled to serve thee in my Generation and proceed on in the Employment unto which thy Providence hath called me In which let my chief aim be to advance thy glory rather than my own fordid Interest and to mind the careful management of all the Talents which thou hast put into my hands that I may as a good Servant and Steward improve and increase them Look in mercy upon all my Relations wheresoever they be let thy Grace thy Truth and Goodness accompany and protect them during their abode here below Crown with the choicest of thy Blessings our Religious King and Queen shield them from the wicked attempts of all their Enemies and give them long Life Health and Prosperity now and at last receive them into everlasting happiness Bless all their Royal Relations give them all Grace to be instrumental in promoting the Interest of thy Truth Godliness and Virtue that they may answer the good ends for which thou hast put much into their Hands Bless all Governours and Magistrates give them Grace to prefer thine Honour and Glory to all other Corrupt purposes whatsoever Defend this Nation from all Plots and Conspiracies defeat the Designs of all our Enemies and disappoint all Combinations against it If thou wilt afflict us good God let it be for a time take not thy Truth and Gospel from us and our Posterity and sanctifie all thy Judgments and Mercies to us that they may effect and produce in us that Reformation and those Graces for which they are intended Spread thy Gospel and Truth all over the World pull down Antichrist let all Nations understand thy Will and readily submit unto it Be merciful unto all Sons and Daughters of Affliction comfort and succour all sick Persons and such as are grieved with the loss of Goods Friends or Relations Be thou their good God and Saviour in thy due time giving them grace to submit to thee to trust upon thee and to expect from thy mercy alone a seasonable and proper Remedy to all their pressures and troubles And now blessed Lord I recommend my self again into thy merciful hands and conclude these my imperfect Prayers with that most perfect Form recommended to us by my good Saviour in whose Name I beg aâ—â— for whose sake I intreat thee O merciful Father grant me these my Requests and all other Mercies which thou knowest needful for my Soul and Body OUR Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our Tespasses as we forgive them that Trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from Evil For thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen An Evening Prayer for young Persons and Children O God who hast received me amongst thy Children instructed me in thy Truth and called me to be a Professor of thy Holy Religion Great and merciful Creator who hast been my Proteor and Defender from all dangers look down in mercy upon me and continue thy Favours to me the remaining part of my Life I see and experience every day the manifold expressions of thy goodness Thy Holy Name be praised for them all Give me more and more a Sense of thy mercifulness and a grateful heart that in these tender Years I may learn my great Duty to serve and glorifie thee on Earth and prepare my self for an Eternity for this purpose increase my knowledge and the graces thou hast been pleased to bestow upon me through a good Education of my Religious Parents Bless all my endeavours and theirs imprint thy holy Fear in my tender Soul preserve me from ill Company from the Vices and Errors of
called thy Son make me as one of thy hired Servants A greater Humility in such a Case ought to prepare our Persons and Prayers for God's acceptance The more unworthy sin hath made us the more lowly ought our approaâ—hes to be to him The alteration in our behaviours should cause an alteration in our Souls before we present our selves before God Instead of alienating our minds from him the consideration of our weakness should incourage us to fly to him by prayer and seek from his all-sufficiency strength against future Temptations In such a case I would have a repenting Christian understand that God our merciful Creator is not so soon estranged from us as we are from him The Sin that disorders our Souls and causeth us to shun his presence may cause him to correct us for our good but it will never oblige him to cast us away if there be any sense of our Guiltiness in us accompanied with the hopes of his Mercy Therefore this ought not to be long an impediment to our Prayers or the cause to interrupt our daily correspondency with God Morning and Evening for we see it often happen by woful experience that by such an omission of our Duty many are insensibly brought into dangerous Snares And God withdraws his protection from such as were not mindful to take it along with them To avoid such miscarriages and dangers Prayer is as needful to a Christian in the beginning and close of the day as Armour and Weapons to a Souldier and Shoos and Cloathing to a Traveller to defend him from the injuries of the Way and Weather It emboldens the Soul against all accidents it gives Life and Heart to a Christian and makes him walk every where and lye down with David's Confidence Tho' I walk through the Valley of the shadow of Death I will fear no ill for thou art with me thy Rod and thy Staff they comfort me Psal 23. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my Life Psal 4.6 Likewise in the midst of a danger at the Tidings of Losses or Successes at the beginning of any Business of weight or moment and at several other times and occasions it concerns us to address our selves in Prayer to God the chief and only Author of all Temporal and Spiritual happiness for as this Devotion will disappoint the mischievous intent of Evils and Crosses it will infallibly draw a Blessing upon all our undertakings I have therefore endeavoured in this Book to furnish you my Christian Brethren with all the Prayers that are suitable for many Occasions and Casualities and Accidents needful in these wicked and dangerous times in which we now live If you offer them up in the manner as you ought you need not doubt of the Success The Prayer of a devout Soul hath an invincible Power The whole Creation is not able to resist or render ineffectual the religious Prayers of a Child of God Joshua's Prayers arrested the Sun in the middle of its Course Moses's Prayer dryed up the Waters of the Red Sea The Israelites Prayers undermined the Walls of Jericho Hezekiahs's prayer obtained fifteen years to his Life already condemned by the furiousness of a Disease naturally irrecoverable and caused an alteration in the common Course of Nature David by his Prayers marched safe through many dangers and was secure in the midst of all the Risings and Tumults of his Enemies Ahab's humility and prayers suspended and put a stop to God's Judgments that were going to fall upon his Idolatrous House Manasses's Prayer freed him from the Chains of Babylon and restor'd him against all probability to his Kingdom and Throne Daniel's Prayer shut up the Lyons mouths and disarm'd those furious Beasts Esther's Prayers changed the Sentence of death established against against the Jews and caused the mischief to fall upon their Enemiâ—s Heads The Churches Prayers unfettered St. Peter in the midst of his Guards opâ—ned for him the Iron Gâ—te and set him at liberty Elijah's Prayers shut and opeâ—'d thâ— Windows of Hâ—aven The thuâ—dering Roman Lâ—gion by Prayer reliev'd their fellow Souldiers with fresh showers of Rain and discomfiâ—ed their Enemies with strange Lightning and Thunder So many and such strange Events above all expectation and humane Power have been brought to pass by zealous Prayers that we have good cause in the greatest difficulties to be full of hopes whilst we have liberty to pray The Heavens the Seas the Earth the Elements and all the Creatures animate and inanimate seem to be at the Devotion of a devout Soul For the great Author and preserver of all Created Beings causeth them to yield help to the assistance of the humble and contrite Petitioner As they are alway in his hand and at his disposal he employs them in their Relief and for the accomplishment of such desires as tend to the Universal good of his Creatures and his own Glory What is not Prayer able to bring to pass when it intâ—râ—sseth an Almighty Power and an infinite Goodness in our Affairs and fetches to its assistance that same Omnipotency that created the World out of nothing Nihil fortius saith a Father homine legitime Orante There is nothing more powerful than a Man praying as he ought For the efficacy of Prayer depends not upon the holiness of the Petitioner but upon God's promises that are unchangeable Christ's Merits that are truly meritorious and his intercession that is unresistable At the right hand of God where he sits above this unconstant World he is employed in offering up the requests of his Members and Sâ—rvants on Earth and there before the Mercy Seat to perfume them with the Frankineense of his Passion that they might be acceptable to our Heavenly Father Whilst we have such a prevailing Mediator never doubt of the success of a Prayer procceeding from an humble Soul sit for the acceptance and encouragement of our merciful Saviour And if at any time thou feelest thy self indisposed or not able to offer up thy Prayers with that Devotion that is requisite be not therefore discouraged despair not of the success know for certain that it is not so much thy weakness as thy negligence not so much thy inability as thy sloth and indisposition that clogs thy Prayers and stops them in their ascent to Heaven Know for certain that God regards more humility truth and sincerity than the flourishes of Wit and the excellency of the language or the vehemency of the expression in all thy Requests That the Sighs and Groans of a broken heart or of a devout Soul are more powerful with God than the strongest Arguments or the longest Prayers God is not wont to proportion his mercies only to our deservings or reasons but rather out of his inexhaustible Treasuries to take and bestow upon us Men beyond all merits and expectation Therefore slack not thine Endeavours to pray well God's greatness and thine estate in relation to him calls for the greatest Respect the profoundest
Humility the exactest care the most fervent Zeal and earnestness that thou art capable of God is not to be courted with ordinary Devotion His Blessings are not to be obtained by a slothful hand and a negligent Soul The distance betwixt God and us vile Men should be expressed by the humility of our Souls and Bodies and our Prayers offered to so excellent a Majesty must have an excellency to recommend them to the Throne of his Grace For that purpose we must take notice of and observe these following directions in all our Addresses to God First let a short Meditation upon God his Power Glory Sufficiency infinite Presence Goodness Knowledge and Riches precede your Prayers with some Reflections upon your selves your sinfulness vileness and the former experience of God's goodness that such Considerations as these may cause you to shake off all negligence and sloathfulness and help to banish from your Souls all undecency carelesness and misapprehensions usually found in the devoutest persons We are naturally too much unmindful of the respect that we owe to our God too careless in the performance of our Duties too fond of the World and its Vanities Therefore this Meditation must stir us up and pre-dispose us for this holy Conference with our Maker It must withdraw all our minds from all other intangling thoughts that we may with more liberty set our selves entirely apart for this important Duty We must rid our selves of those things that commonly entangle us when we present our selves before our God and draw near to him with such thoughts as these I poor wretched and weak Man Dust and Ashes am going to speak to and petition a God the Creator of the World a Holy and Divine Majesty an incomprehensible Spirit which sills Heaven and Earth with his infinite presence He is at my Elbows and takes notice of my behaviour in my Soul and observes all the wandrings of the Mind in every corner of this wide World and sees and hears our wants and necessities How careful must I be to appear with respect before him He is Holy and abhors all filthiness I must therefore banish all silthy polluted and idle imaginations at this moment He is as just as he is good ready to punish irreverence but much more inclinable to reward Humility and Devotion how devout therefore should my Soul be in his presence How circumspect and humble before him who is an all-seeing Majesty and a consuming Fire The indiscreet Devotions of the Sons of Aaron caused the Fire from the Lord to fall upon and consume them Vzzah's unseasonable officiousness and the impudence of the men of Bethshemesh in drawing near to God without respect were severely punished and shall I presume to draw near to my God with carelesness and indiscretion Shall I escape if I venture before him without due consideration Shall I expect any gracious returns of those prayers that are offered up with so little grace and dread of God's Power with so little sense of his glory and Majesty O let my Soul be silled with the fear and reverence of so fearful and holy a Being Let my mind be seasoned with such a dread of him that may not fright me from him but rather oblige me to draw nearer to him with more Devotion and Humility If we entertain such thoughts as these they will cleanse our Souls from all that sapersluity which will otherwise disgrace and spoil all our holy performances A little pause therefore before Prayer is needful for this purpose however it is an Act of Wisdom in so weighty a business to proceed on with caution and wariness and this little recollection of our selves which I recommend to every devout Soul before Prayer chiefly before the solemn and publick Prayers offered up to God in the publick Congregation cannot but be of a great use and very instrumental to prepare us for that Duty for thereby we may see what there is in us able to impede us in our addresses to God and what is likely to hinder a favourable return of our Petitions besides it savours much of that respect that God's greatness requires from us together with our Relation to him Keep thy foot saith the Wise man when thou goest to the House of God and be more ready to hear than to give the Sacrifice of Fools Ecclesiast 5.1 That is when thou goest to appear before God's Majesty keep thy self with watchfulness and circumspection and understand thy self thy disposition and what thou art and what thou dost that this sacred Frankincense of Prayer may be presented to God with the Ingredients necessary and from a. Soul rightly qualified Secondly For that purpose you must never come to God with any known sin unrepented of that is with any sin near and dear unto our Souls which we entertain with a Resolution never or not yet to part with For not only the sacred Word of God assures us that God heareth not Sinners John 9.31 but Reason also teacheth us that it consists not with his Wisdom to listen to the Prayers of such as will not hearken to his Commands to bestow his Blessings and Mercies upon such unworthy Souls as will not leave a sin for his sake or as prefer the filthy Pleasures of the Flesh to the sincere Joys of God's savour and the real advantage which slow from thence in abundance Therefore by the Mouth of the Prophet Isaiah he speaks thus to the Jews and to all impenitent Sinners When you spread forth your hands I will hide mine Eyes from you when you make many Prayers I will not hear The cause of this severity is discovered in the next words because your Hands are full of Blood All other sins as well as blood guiltiness are wont to divert God's Mercies from us and withdraw those good things which otherwise we might enjoy Our Prayers in such a case without this due Preparation savours of the greatest impudency and Atheistical boldness because we attempt the obtaining of God's Riches and Favours to our unworthy Beings and present before his all-seeing Eye Bodies distempered with Vice Hands full of Sin Eyes swelling with Pride or bearing the marks of Contempt of his Divine Majesty and a Soul that would never regard him were it not for our Wants and God's Riches The Prayers of such a Person will prevail no more upon God than the Sacrifice of Corah and his Confederates for he accepts not the Offerings presented by foul hands Purity and Innocency are required in such as come before God And tho' none of us can pretend to an absolute freedom from sin and from those wicked propensities to vice which render our Prayers ineffectual yet every one of us may cleanse our selves from all actual Transgressions by Repentance and make some amends by a repeated resolution against our beloved Sins and by an inward and hearty sorrow before we appear in God's presence for our past miscarriages for unless we appear in that temper our most just and
the Times make me truly constant and faithful in the Professionof that Holy Religion unto which I am called Give me a right Understanding of its divine Precepts and grace to practise them in my Life Let thy Word be my Rule thy Truth my guide thy Spirit my Comforter and thy Glory my Reward Preserve me I beseech thee my good God from the Evils unto which I am subject and let my Soul and Body be precious in thy Sight especially this Night into which I am entring let the Merciful Eye of thy Providence preserve me during its mournful shadows from all Spiritual and Temporal Enemies Let thy Holy Angels guard and protect me and bring me safe to the next day to behold and admire the Wonders of thy Creation and Providence in the World Make me useful in my Generation bless all my undertakings and endeavours in my Calling that I may by it advance thy Glory and do good both to my self and others And because our natural Poverty is such that without thee and a continual supply from thy Bounty we cannot possibly subsist gracious God send me all things needful for my Soul and Body let me not depend too much upon the plentiful Provision of these earthly things already made for me but as thou art the Life and Soul of all thy Creatures and without thy Blessing our greatest plenty of good things is altogether unprofitable let the expectation of this Blessing incourage me to depend wholly upon thy favour and stir up my industry in the duties of my Calling and in the service of my Country Bless all my Relations and Parents more especially here name such as are in Affliction grant them long life health and happiness preserve the King's Majesty all my Governours and Teachers inable them all in their places to glorifie thee their God and do good to this Nation and People Defend us all from our Enemies at home and abroad and suffer them not to triumph over us but continue in our days Peace Truth Justice Plenty and Prosperity These and all other Mercies I humbly Beg for Christ Jesus his sake my only Saviour and Mediator who taught us thus to pray OUR Father which art in Heaven hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdome come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that Trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from all Evil For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen LEt thy grace thy Truth and Goodness be with me preserve and keep me now and for evermore Amen Prayers before Meal SEnd down thy Blessing good God upon these thy Creatures that we are now to be partakers of inable them to feed our Bodies and recruit our weakness and strengthen us to serve and glorifie thee on Earth that we may receive from thee the Rewards of thy Servants in Heaven This we beg for Jesus Christ his sake Amen Another Prayer before meat GRacious God we see by these fresh Expressions of thy Bounty that thou art never weary to load us with thy good things Sanctifie them unto us at this present time and us to thy Service through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Profitable Meditation at the sight of a Table spread or covered with Food for our Bodies HOw often have I tasted and felt the goodness of my God! He is that full Ocean of Mercy and Sweetness from whence these Streams proceed by various dispensations and Methods He is that bottomless Fountain that never will be exhausted Here here are tokens of his Love to us and care of our preservation before our Eyes These Creatures are sent to mend the daily breaches of this outward Tabernacle to recruit our Mortal Weaknesses with a fresh supply to corroborate the decaying strength of Nature with new Spirits We see by experience that these Bodies that God hath made he is careful to maintain and by the Influence of the Heavens and the Fruitfulness of the Earth to furnish with all their Wants O wonderful Providence How full and plentiful are thy Stores that so great a share is appointed for me How rich is that Bounty that when all my Fellow Creatures so many Millions in Number are provided vouchsafes me so great a Lot and large Portion He can never want that entertains a good Correspondency with the great Purveyor of Mankind whilst the Avenues and Conveyances are open O shut not up thy mercy from us for let my Estate be never so great and the Provision for my Body be never so large alas these poor senseless Creatures cannot benefit me without thy Blessing accompanies them these morsels may as soon choak as feed me without that invisible Vertue which thou alone canst send along with them I humbly crave it at thy good hands my good God let not my Sins sower or poison these thy Mercies let me not trust too much upon these outward assistances of Life and Health but as by thy daily proceedings thou hast taught me to depend chiefly upon thy Liberality let me look up to and expect from thee daily food and nourishment grant me a thankful Heart never to forget so great a goodness But the sweetness that I am going to relish minds me of the sweetness of that Bounty from whence it proceeds and of the greatness of thy Divine Wisdom that hath baited all necessary actions of our Life with a natural delight and pleasure How ravishing must the Fountain of Goodness be seeing these drops conveyed unto us at such a distance are so pleasing to our Palats God that now entertains my Being so far from his immediate presence intends one day to draw me nearer to himself to live with him for ever then the Divine Goodness shall refresh and comfort me without the cold assistance of inferior things then the smiles of God's Countenance shall be conveyed to us not by Reflections and at second hands but more immediately we shall then see as we are seen and solace our selves during the numberless Ages of an Eternity in the presence of this good God where we shall want neither Food nor Raiment but these corrupt Bodies shall be freed from all the slavery of the Elements and dependency upon them for we shall depend upon our God alone and him only shall we serve For this Corruption must put on Incorruption and this Mortal must put on Immortality O that I might have always in mind that final end of Mankind and use these thy Comforts but not abuse them by excess and gluttony These Bodies which thou hast so wonderfully made and preserves with such care are of that Excellency and designed for those Noble and Divine purposes that they must not be disgrac'd nor polluted with Vice These Creatures thou hast appointed for our Refreshment not for the dishonour or ruine of our Bodies If our Tables overflow how many of our poor
seest thy Table covered with God's good Creatures appointed to strengthen thy Body and tastest the sweetness of his Mercies at a distance thou can'st do no less than lift up thy hands and thine Eyes in prayer to this bountiful Creator as well to praise him for such a fresh expression of his liberality at that time before thee as to implore his Blessing needful to accompany the means used to recruit thy strength and preserve thy weak Body In the Evening when the Curtains of the Night are spreading about thee when thou art lying down to refresh thy wearied Body with rest when thou knowest not the dangers that hang over thine head and hast no other means to avoid them but God's gracious protection should'st thou not for thine own safety desire his favourable providence and all-seeing eye to watch over thee shelter and defend thee from all spiritual and corporal Enemies Were we but sensible of the mischievous temper of some of those airy Spirts that fly about us those many and subtle Devils that plot our destruction did we but understand their Power Malice and their unavoidable Assaults and propinquity we should need no other Arguments to perswade us to arm our Selves with God's merciful protection when we lay our Heads down upon our Pillows How soon should we perish if God and his Holy Angels were not as watchful to keep us as those Enemies of Mankind are watchful to destroy us They wait continually for an opportunity to vent their Natural displeasure against us and by the Evil Thoughts filthy Dreams unusual and unnatural disturbances of the Mind they discover themselves in our sleep and their hatred against us Who knows but that God who holds them fast in Chains as so many furious Beasts will let them loose to punish thy contempt of his Power and Providence and neglect of this Duty if thou forgettest to call upon thy God Remember therefore O Man thy weak thy frail and perillous Condition Thy Life is but a Breath thy Riches uncertain thy Glory but a shadow thy Power but for a time thy Prosperity but like a Dream thy Beauty but a fancy and thy Health always besieged with many Diseases thy Body and Soul surrounded with Enemies and thy present Estate let it be ne-never so flourishing is in a continual want of God's favour protection and Blessings whether thou risest or layest thy self down lift up therefore thine Eyes and Hands in Prayer to this good God to supply thee with those things that thou standest in need of but chiefly in the Morning and in the Evening Let these be the Solemn and constant times of thine Addresses to God Offer up unto him the Morning Sacrifice of Prayer and the Evening of Praise In the Church of the Jews these were the appointed times to call upon God 1 Chron. 16.40 2 Kings 16.15 And Christ our Saviour whose Example the Name and Profession of Christianity call upon us to follow was wont to consecrate these hours to Prayer and Devotion Mat. 14.23 Luke 6.12 Mark 6.46 Seeing therefore that Reason and Religion binds us to this Duty of Prayer in the beginning and close of the Day and oblige us then to renew our Correspondency with God too often interrupted by our daily miscarriages let not the multiplicity of Business the Cares and Troubles of the World the frightful apprehensions of Sin discourage or hinder thee from this constant and necessary Familiarity with thy God When a sudden occasion calls thee away so that thou art not able to offer up thy desires in such a solemn manner as is required at these usual times make use at least of the shorter Prayers of the compendious Ejaculations of the mind Let thy Soul be with God tho' the World hurry away thy Body Spare a thought unto that merciful God who hath spared thee to attend upon thy necessary Occasions and who can render thine undertakings either prosperous or unhappy as he sees convenient Venture not out into the wide and troublesom World without the safeguard of God's Protection And enter not into the shadows of the Night this Cousin and remembrancer of Death without his merciful allowance who hath the Keys of Death and of Hell The third Interpretation of the Apostles Advice To Pray without ceasing Is to be always in a disposition sit for Prayer to shake off all Impediments all incumbrances of Sin which hinder us that the Soul may still be in a readiness with the Wings of Faith and Love stretched towards Heaven always ready to take its Flight The troubles and vexations of the World should rather animate thee and inflame thy Devotion with an expectation and certain assurance to find more favour in him than in all inferior enjoyments His Holy Spirit can convey comfort into thy Soul when the World fills thee with Sorrow He can send thee delights and sweetness to qualify all other bitterness for by the means of Prayer a Christian can keep himself in such an excellent Temper that will not suffer him to be sensible of many misfortunes and Crosses and so secure his Soul that all outward Accidents shall do him no harm I know that the sense and conscience of Guilt is wont to estrange us from God and interrupt all correspondency between his mercy and our Souls And Reason seems to forbid us together with the respect we owe to so holy a Being when our hands are reeking with Blood or our Body comes from the commission of any other grievous Offence wilfully acted to presume to present our selves before the Throne of God's Grace immediately without any delay I confess that such unhappy Criminals ought to pause a while upon their woful Condition and the sense of their Guilt ought to move them to Repentance and Sorrow before they offer up their Prayers to God for otherwise this Sacrifice will meet with no better acceptance than that of Cain or that of Hophni and Phineas or that of Corah and his Rebellious Company whose Offerings were so much the more distasteful because they were encouraged by disobedience to God and to his Servant Moses But yet I would advise a Christian to spend and delay no more time but only to prepare himself the better for this sacred Duty Suffer not thy Sin to grow old nor this Burden to lye too long upon thy Soul for fear it should leave an Impression that thou wilt not be able to remove in haste In such a case tho' Guilt ought and will interrupt and break off our continued Prayers to God yet it ought not to drive us further from him but rather cast us into the Publicans Disposition in the Gospel He would not lift up so much as his Eyes to Heaven but smote upon his Breast saying God be merciful to me a Sinner Or into the Blessed temper of the Prodigal Son I will arise and go to my Father and say unto him Father I have sinned against Heaven and before thee and am no more worthy to be
grace teacheth us to check The first ought to encourage our perseverance in Prayer as the consideration of the last Attribute of God should teach us to quiet the irreverent dissatisfactions of our discontented minds One thing more I would have a devout Christian observe in publick and private Prayers to God's divine Majesty to offer them with the humility of the Body as well as the devotion of the Mind I have observed that our Nation chiefly and every Congregation is full of irreverent and disrespectful Clowns when we make our Addresses to God either in Prayer or praising of his holy Name They observe not that decency and respect which is due to the Excellency of our heavenly Father in his Worship but appear most scandalous and prophane in the Eyes of Men whatever may be their inward disposition which I conceive is to be gathered from the outward gesture of their Bodies They come into God's presence in such a familiar manner as if there were no difference between them and their great Creator as if their Bodies were not as much obliged to worship him as their Souls as if their outward behaviour were not to be concerned in their Devotions to God and at the times of Prayer they shew forth so much contempt of God and of the Religion they profess that none would take them to be Christians that understands not their Names and knows not their Persons and further I have observed that some of the more religious sort both in private and in publick when they address themselves to God omit sometimes out of a prophane and irreligious Custom the outward humility which the Body is obliged to render to its Creator and Benefactor in his Worship For the redress of this open Prophaneness and for the prevention of the dishonour that may reflect from hence upon God and our Religion in the Eyes of the World Let me intreat every devout Soul never to offer to speak to God in Prayer without observing and expressing that humility with his Body which God's incomprehensible Majesty and our vile condition requires indispensibly from us all from the highest to the lowest Reason as well as Holy Scripture enjoyns this observance for if the whole man is bound to render Hommage to God as he seems to intimate by those Sacrifices under the Law which were to be offered intire without any diminution it concerns us to express the inward qualification and disposition of the Soul with the outward action of the Body and make the World sensible of the sincerity and piety of our intentions justice and equity require this from us for seeing we have received our Bodies as well as our Souls from the Almighty hand of God it is but just that they should acknowledge his Soveraignty by some significant posture when the Soul appears before him to do him reverence or to crave his merciful assistance It is but just that this outward part of our selves as well as the inward should make some returns for all the divine favours that relate immediately to its subsistance it is but just that this Body of ours which is one day to be glorified in God's heavenly Sanctuary should now glorifie God by the humblest and most devout postures and actions I confess 't is the usual manner of Superstition to enjoin the cringings of the Body more than the devout qualification of the Soul but I am sure that it is a clownish and unmannerly Religion indeed that suffers Men to approach in holy Duties to God without expressing any reverence with the Body If you please to enquire into the behaviour of the holy Men of the Old and New Testament you shall never find them praying in an irreverent posture neither sitting nor leaning Old Abraham worshipped before God Gen. 22.5 This worshipping is an outward action of the Body as well as the inward of the Mind as may appear by Gen. 24.52 where Abraham's Servant is said to have worshipped the Lord bowing himself to the ground when God had prospered his journey When the Israelâ—tes heard Moses's Message to them and God's purpose to redeem them out of Egypt they bowed their Heads and Worshipped Exod. 4.31 King Hezekiah bowed himself before God in his publick Addresses 2 Chron. 29.29 St. Paul likewise was upon his knees in prayer with the Elders of the Church of Ephesus Acts. 20.36 And Christ our Saviour whose Example should prevail upon our negligence was never seen in Prayer to God the Father but either prostrate or kneeling upon the ground This Humility of the Body is so essential a part of the publick worship of God that its observance alone hath caused the Holy Scriptures to give the Name of Worshippers of God to the Vilest of Men who were never acquainted with the internal and hearty Worship as may be observed by what is recorded of Saul and of others 1 Sam. 15.31 And it is said of the Israelites 2 Chron. 29.29 And when they had made an end of Offering the King and all that were present with him bowed themselves and worshipped And in the next Verse Moreover Hezekiah the King and the Princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the Seer and they sang Praises with gladness and they bowed their Heads and worshipped Likewise in the 8th of Nehemiah and the sixth Verse It is said that Ezra blessed the Lord the great God and all the People answered Amen Amen with lifting up their Hands and they bowed their Heads and worshipped the Lord with their Faces to the ground The publick Worship of our God was never yet performed by any Primitive Church without the outward humility of the Body and the outward expressions of respect as well as with the inward devotion of the mind Reason and Religion require it and the constant practice of the People of God in all Ages both in the Jewish and the Christian Church is an undeniable Evidence to prove the necessity of it What means therefore the negligence the prophaneness the irreverence and unmannerly behaviour of some that are stiled Christians Is not the practice of Naaman the Syrian who could bow himself in the House of Rimmon his false God a reproach to us Doth not the humility and the respect which the Heathens constantly pay to their Divinities upbraid the Clownishness of some of our Country-men There are three Postures of Humility very decent in Prayer and other parts of God's Worship Standing Kneeling or Prostration to the ground When ever therefore we appear before God either to pray to him or to praise his holy Name our Body must be in one of these postures unless any natural or accidental weakness or impediment may justly deserve a dispensation Likewise the lifting up of the Hands and Eyes unto Heaven are expressions of Devotion as ancient as the first People of God Think not that the honour of your Blood the excellency of your Persons or your eminent promotions ought to
have any regard to God our merciful Creator I think there is no person so simple as to imagine that the Eloquency of the Tongue or unusual expressions can have a greater influence upon him than the Common Prayers of the Church It is not the Tongue but the Heart that God Eyes in all our Services The whisperings and private Complaints of the one are heard when the loud Cries of the other are rejected The Door of Mercy flies open at the beatings of a devout Heart when it remains bolted at the furious assaults of the most eloquent Tongue Therefore as it should be our chief regard in Prayer to examine that which is most pleasing to God not that which gratifies our own Humour We should chuse those Prayers to offer up to him wherein our Hearts may be as well concerned as our Tongues In order thereunto as the Set Forms of Prayer are the greatest helps that we can procure both to the learned and the unlearned to the wise and the ignorant I see no reason wherefore Men should be deprived of them and extemporary Prayers set up Those Forms I mean where things are spoken and not only words where the Conceptions are plainly expressed and the Prayers fitted for the use of the weakest Capacities They can never be too plain nor too easie and the Wise and the Learned ought not to think it a trouble to condescend in their Publick Worship to requests worded in a manner answerable to the meanest abilities for Christianity requires from them an Union with the weakest of their Brethren who is in as great a likelihood of God's mercy and obtaining God's Glory as persons of the greatest Reach and Judgment I know that it is the common use of our Dissenting Brethren to upbraid us in our Devotions with too much Formality in regard of our being so fond of Set Forms with an exclusion of all new composed Prayers I heartily wish that we our selves the Clergy and the People did not give cause for this aspersion but that it may not deceive the ignorant with its first plausible appearance let me tell them that we are not guilty of Formality nor to be condemned for it because that we use set and prescribed Forms but because we use them not right with that Devotion Respect Humility and inward Affection as becomes Christians and Petitioners of the God of Heaven Because in our Publick Service we repeat only the Words and mind not the uttering them with the affections of the Soul because some make it only a trade to go to Prayer others run them over as a Task and too many mind the Form but few mind the Substance of Prayer that is to express and offer them up to God with those inward qualifications and outward humility that I have now recommended to the practice of our Christian Brethren This causeth me to pass to the second particular that I have promised to examine The causes of the Peoples Contempt of our Liturgy and their neglect of the Forms of Prayer enjoined in our Church of England I could name a great many Causes that we our selves give but I shall reduce them all for brevity sake to these six following First I must accuse the Clergy both high and low great and small for having given the greatest cause of the contempt of our Liturgy and Rubrick by their indifferent Practices By their over hasty reading of them and by their omission of that respect which they should outwardly express and that devotion which is due to God they give occasion to many to slight the very Prayers themselves As they are the Peoples mouths to God they should be the Peoples Examples and Patterns to shew them how to beg God's Mercies as well as to endeavour to obtain them for their relief And the greater care they should take to observe all the motions of reverence because their practice hath so great an influence upon the Congregation and is of so great a consequence that they oblige Men to esteem those Prayers that are offered up to God For this reason a person that officiates in the audience of a Congregation should read over the Prayers not as we peruse a Story in a Book but with his Hands and Eyes lifted up to Heaven and upon his knees he ought to pronounce the Prayers as if he were speaking to God's Divine Majesty visibly present and to deliver them with the most apparent signs of sincerity of reverence and earnestness imaginable Endeavour to grace the godly Prayers of the Church with thy graceful and comely delivery with thy decent and respectful postures and gestures and let the Eyes of the Assembly learn from thee my reverend Brother the manner how to pray as well as the words and expressions of Prayer O! let not the negligence and sloathfulness of so many be laid to thy charge but strive to be zealously affected thy self that this disposition may be communicated to thy hearers I speak to you chiefly whose office and happiness it is to sing daily praises to God in Cathedral Churches Think not that you have sufficiently discharged your Duty if you have observed your distances your tunes and pleased the Auditors with your melodious Voices O! Remember my Christian Brother that thou must likewise please thy God with the harmony of the Soul and tune as well his praises with the inward affections as well as with the outward concerts of Musick Take heed lest thy behaviour or thy negligent discharge of thy Duty give scandal to our dissenting Brethren who are too apt to be offended at the least sign of weakness which thou mayest discover at such a time Secondly Another cause of the contempt of our Liturgy given by the Clergy is the negligence of the Superior and wealthiest Clergy who seldom read the Prayers of the Church themselves unless it be some small portion but commonly employ their Deacons or the meanest persons of the Church to offer up those Prayers that are of the greatest concernment to us and the chiefest of the Rubrick As if that Office were too mean for their Promotions and Dignity whereas it is the most glorious Employment that we Men can pretend to It makes us like our divine and great Saviour who intercedes for us in the presence of God and offers up our Requests Is there any that nameth himself a Christian that scorns to imitate the Author of our Salvation and to offer up the Prayers of their Congregations to God No person can be too worthy for so excellent an Employment and because the usual method observed in Cathedrals cannot well be changed I could wish that the Superior Clergy the Bishop the Dean and the Canons would sometimes perform those parts of Devotion which they have totally appropriated to the meanest of their Foundation and Society that thereby they might remove from the minds of Men the disesteem of our Prayers which they are apt to conceive and entertain thereby For as in the Days of Jeroboam
and miscarriages of our Lives and to bewail the linfulness of our Natures Our Iniquities are many and our Transgressions are multiplyed every day We feel within us a forward inclination to that which is unlawful we carry about us a Body of Sin and the least Temptation draws us aside from thy holy Ways How negligent have we been of thy Commands How vitious in our Lives How careless in our Duties How unthankful for all thy Mercies We can give no account of the number of our mistakes for they are numberless Therefore we humble our selves before thee in a deep sense of our own sinfulness and unworthiness we cast away all confidence and reliance upon our own Merits But we come to thee with a Confidence upon Christ's Merits trusting upon his promises and gracious invitations For his sake O merciful Father forgive us all our Trespasses magnifie thy Divine goodness by the pardon of our great and hainous Offences Look upon the Atonement made for us and in consideration of the precious Blood of our great Saviour spilt for our Redemption accept of our Persons and Prayers at this time Take not away from us only the guilt but also the Corruption of Sin that we may not continue in our Provocations against thy Divine Majesty As thou hast given us a sense of our Ignorance and Weakness give us the proper Remedies to these two Evils enlighten our Understandings more and more with thy Blessed Truth purifie our Wills from all unregenerate affections sanctifie and change the whole frame of our Souls according to thy revealed Will. For that purpose grant us we beseech thee good God an increase of all our Graces give life and growth to these Seeds of Holiness and Immortality strengthen the Interest of Piety in every one of us with a holy dread of thy Power and Justice and a blessed Love for thee our God who only art lovely Open our Eyes that we may perceive the Beauty and Excellency of Vertue and the filthiness and danger of those sins we have been most inclinable to practise Let the woful circumstances of our Bosom Lusts visible by our own experience and others Examples reclaim us betimes to an Obedience to thy Sacred Laws make us truly sensible both of the shame that attends upon Sin and of the misery that consequently follows it that we may begin the great Work of Repentance betimes and vigorously prosecute it till we have brought under all our irregular inclinations which are so imperious in the Children of disobedience Make us clean Hearts O God and renew a right Spirit within us Purifie our sins from all Infection from all Evil Thoughts wicked Affections and sinful designs above all keep us from the reigning sin of Hypocrisie that we may be sincere in our Profession and that we may not deceive our selves by thinking to deceive others As our great business on this side the Grave is to serve thee our great Creator and prepare our selves for Eternity assist us mercifully in our endeavours relating thereunto direct comfort and succour us against all Temptations give us Hearts and Lives that we may adorn the Gospel of our Saviour Christ Let neither the inticements of Sin nor the suggestions of the Devil nor the allurements and Vanities of the World draw us away from thee our good God nor from the Profession of thy sacred Truth Keep us from evil Examples and wicked Company and Perswasions and from the Corruptions of the time As thou hast been gracious to our Forefathers in this Land in preserving them and their Religion from all bloody designs and attempts continue thy protection to us their Children Preserve thy Gospel in this Nation defend us from Heresie Idolatry and Schism Unite us all in love and affection one towards another and in conformity to thy Will in all things Remove the differences and prejudices that are amongst us that we may embrace one another as Bretheren designed for the same Happiness sanctified by the same Spirit and redeemed by the same Christ O gracious God watch over us we beseech thee let not the Craft and Power of our Bloody Adversaries prevail or overcome the Professors of thy Gospel Defeat all their wicked endeavours against our Prince and his People and discover and disappoint all their Plots Let Religion and Truth flourish in our days and keep us all from Prophaneness and Error Send thy Blessings to this Family here humbled before thee and to every member of it As thou hast received us into thy Protection grant us a continuance of it this Night especially Let the Eye of thy Providence be awake over us to shelter and preserve us when we shall be asleep Keep us all from fearful Dreams and Apprehensions and sinful Fancies Let nothing injure either our Souls or our Bodies bring us safe through the shadows of the Night to behold the Glory of another day and feel again the manifold expressions of thy great goodness to us O Lord we depend upon and trust only in thee Thou alone hast been the Saviour of our Persons that belong to thee defend them we beseech thee from the malice of the Devils and the attempts of Bloody-minded Men and from all accidents and dangers whatsoever that we may yet live to praise and glorifie thee here on Earth and do service to our Generation Send thy Blessing to all Princes and Magistrates especially to our King and Queen and all Governours under them in Church or State preserve them from all Rebellious Designs and Attempts of our Enemies and give them grace to employ their Credit Power and Authority in the maintenance of thy Truth and Honour and in the suppression of Atheism Vice Prophaneness and whatsoever agrees not with sound Doctrine Give success to their pious endeavours Victory to our Fleets and Armies Life and safety to all the Noble Souls that watch over us or fight for us Disappoint all the Wicked designs of Antichrist scatter and subdue all his Bloody Agents and let thy Gospel and will be known to all the Nations under the Sun These and all other Mercies convenient for our Souls and Bodies we humbly beg for the sake and Merits of that immaculate Lamb who is dead for us and now makes intercession at thy right hand and we conclude these our imperfect Prayers with this most perfect Form OUR Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this Day our daily Bread And forgive us our Tespasses as we forgive them that Trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from Evil For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen THE Peace of God which passeth all Understanding preserve our Hearts and Minds in the Knowledge and Love of God and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. The Blessing of God Almighty Father Son and Holy Ghost be with us all evermore Amen An
Neighbours are in want Hast thou sent this plenty for me alone Is it not that I should praise thee in the use of so much as is needful for my self and Attendants and that I should distribute the rest to such as are in need I will imitate this thy Liberality my good God and be a faithful Steward of these inferior Mercies But this Food of my Body minds me of that of my Soul I have another more Spiritual and Divine Being that I must feed and cloath Gracious God forget not that Immortal and better part of my self but nourish it with Wisdom and Truth that I may grow in Grace and in the knowledge of thee my God Remove not the Candlestick of thy Gospel from us suffer not Schism and Idolatry to prevail and smother thy true Religion in their horrid Abominations but let Truth and Innocency overcome at last maugre the furious attempts of Men and Devils feed this precious Soul with that Bread which comes down from Heaven increase in me all Virtue and Goodness and preserve both my Soul and Body to thine Eternal Kingdom Amen Another Prayer before meat for a Child GOOD God bless me and these Creatures that we are to receive that in a moderate use of them we may be enabled to serve and glorifie thee on Earth through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Useful Meditations AND PRAYERS Upon GOD and his DIVINE ATTRIBUTES A Meditation and Prayer upon the Incomprehensible Being and Presence of God O Adorable Majesty Being of Beings Creator and Supporter of this Great World How wonderful must be the source of all these visible Wonders How glorious the chief Lord of so large an Empire and of so many differing sorts of Creatures that fill all the Elements and every Corner We are sensible of thine infinite Presence yet can conceive no shape nor being like thy Divine Majesty The Pictures of all thy Perfections are scattered and represented in every thing that is made and thou hast left an impression of thy Wisdom and Power in every part of this large World yet none can represent thee O great God as thou art We see fell and are perfectly sensible of thy Divine Footsteps left upon every Creature yet our weak apprehensions cannot entertain any Idea that may answer thy Greatness O Spirit of Spirits how is it possible that so weak a Creature as I am who can understand nothing but by the Ministry of these weak Senses should be able to comprehend the infinite and incomprehensible God whose glorious Presence dazles the Eyes and surpasses the Understandings of the perfectest and noblest Creatures that are above O my God fill my Soul with an holy dread of thy greatness and Power Suffer me not to receive any base impression or filly Imagination of thy Divine Being and as thou art Incomprehensible let me not presume to form in my mind any Image nor to have before mine Eyes any Picture with a design to represent thee Let thine Universal Presence be always present with me but in such a manner as I may not be guilty of Spiritual Idolatry or of harbouring any mean thought of thy Glory O merciful God thou requirest these Services from us poor Creatures and hast promised thine assistance to us in time of need put therefore my Soul into an Holy Temper fit for thine acceptance and let these Ejaculations and Emissions of my Heart and Mind proceed from an Humility and Fear of thy presence that they may not be unworthy of thy Grace and Favour And the nearer I approach unto thy Mercy-Seat vouchsafe to look upon the necessities of my Soul and Body and grant me those Requests that thou O my God in thine infinite Wisdom knowest most needful for me for the sake and by the mediation of my Great Saviour whose intercession for me I humbly implore Amen A Meditation and Prayer upon the Immutability of our Great God O Unchangeable Being the Author of all these changeable things that appear before our Eyes Thou art that immutable God upon whom we may safely depend Every thing that thou hast made directs our Eyes and Contemplations to thee as the surest foundation of all our hopes and expectations and the nearer the Creatures have the Honour to approach thy glorious Throne the more they are fixed and secured by their Rights of Creation from all Unconstancy and Mutability This wide World and all Sublunary things are unsetled and rowling from one State to another tumbled and tossed changed by many Accidents so that we cannot rest nor settle our expectations upon them But the Heavenly Globes continue since their first make unchangeable through so many Revolutions of Ages tho' they also for the sin of Man shall suffer an alteration by thine overruling Power But those Spiritual Beings that inhabit beyond and above our Prospect are yet less subject to mutation all their Perfections proceed from thine overflowing abundance Thou only O my God art the Creator and Benefactor of their Immortal Natures They are all subject to some weakness and are circumscribed and limited but thou alone art the unlimited and unchangeable God always enjoying an happiness never to be obscured or lessened by the most violent endeavours of all thine Enemies Thou art always continuing in that Glorious state that nothing can possibly Eclipse Thou art immutable in thy self immutable in thy Designs and Resolutions immutable in thy Promises and Truth and immutable in all thy Divine Perfections O my God give me grace that I may settle upon thee my Faith and hope and rest upon thee alone for all my present and future advantages I have no other Rock to build upon but thy Power and Mercy no other Truth to trust to but thy revealed Word O that I may embrace it with that immutable Resolution that may admit of nothing contrary to the same that my Soul may be fixed only upon thee my good God and look with contempt upon all other Objects Amen A Meditation and Prayer upon the Eternity of God O Eternal and Everlasting God before the Heavens and the Earth before the Sun and all the rest of the Luminaries that are above had a Being thou didst subsist of thy self in a full enjoyment of an unchangeable Felicity From all Eternity to all Eternity thou art the same glorious and Incomprehensible Being who never fails them that seek thee in Spirit and in Truth Let the World change and alter and the Generations of Creatures succeed one another in their appointed times Let all inferior things rowle and pass away Let them have their beginnings their growth perfections and decay thou art the same and Eternal God who never had any beginning nor never can have any end Thou alone art that independent Majesty upon whom all other things lean and from whom they expect the Supplies and Recruits to their decaying and failing Natures Thou art the first Source and Spring of all Motion and Power O my God thou hast granted to my Soul and Spirit
an immortal Nature to continue for ever as thy self and I am going apace to this boundless Eternity and as I am thine Image and Creature O that I may live with thee for ever cast me not away into endless Torments make me an Eternal Monument of thy Mercy and goodness receive me into thine everlasting Rest for Jesus Christ his sake Amen A Meditation and Prayer upon God's Almighty Power O Dreadful Majesty of Heaven where-ever I cast my Eyes thy Power shines before me clearer than the Sun at Noon-day In the make of this great Fabrick of the World and in the disposal and continuance of all the several Parts how visibly doth thine extraordinary Power appear the Heavens and all the Elements are Witnesses and Trumpeters of thy glorious Power which nothing can oppose or stop The Devils that are revolted from thee do yet own and are subject to thine Omnipotency they are held fast in Chains and are so restrained by thine Almighty Hand that they cannot possibly move without thy permission When I cast mine Eyes upon the Seas and consider the vastness and fury of the Waves When I look up to Heaven and see the many glorious and large Globes of Light some settleed and fixed others rowling in their several Spheres O my God how wonderfully doth thy Power appear to me in all these things And as thou art the only Original of all Virtue and Power I have reason to conclude that all Creatures together cannot stop thine hand and that there is nothing impossible with thee as thou hast been able to Create all things thou art able to govern and rule their unruliness and greatest Fury to the setting forth of thy Glory and whatsoever thou hast promised thou wilt surely perform and art fully able to accomplish O Almighty Creator give me a real sense of thy Power that I may stand in awe of it that I may trust upon it in time of need that I may believe in thy Word and Promises that my Soul may rest and rely upon thee alone and never doubt of thy Protection and of thy Power to save me Amen A Meditation and Prayer upon the Wisdom of God and his infinite Knowledge O Infinite Being thy Wisdom is answerable to thine Almighty Power and hath the same Creatures to manifest and set it forth Wherever I see the one I must needs take notice of the other that is obvious to every Eye in the disposition of all things that are made in their fashion and composition in their Inclinations and tendencies in the design and purpose of their Creation in their mutual Correspondencies and Government and in the Laws and Rules that they observe Is there any of so dull an apprehension that cannot observe a more than ordinary Wisdom in all these particulars Can we see the Sun Moon and Stars observe their appointed and annual Motions and Stations without variation and not think upon thy Wisdom O Almighty God who hast stretched forth the Heavens like a Curtain and rulest over all Well may I cry out with the Blessed David in admiration of all these Blessed Wonders In Wisdom hast thou made them all But what need have I to look at such a distance for the Foot-steps and Evidences of Divine Wisdom In my Body and Soul and in every Member wherein the Great World is Epitomized and the Incomprehensible Attributes of the Unity and Trinity shadowed out here are wonderful and surprising expressions of thy Wisdom that I carry about me Wherefore O my God hast thou opened mine Eyes and bestowed upon me an understanding Nature to observe all these things but that I should meditate and admire thy great Wisdom that shines before me brighter than the Sun O Eternal Wisdom of Heaven as I am thine Image grant me a share of this Wisdom imprint in my Soul such Habits of Wisdom and Knowledge that I may fear and admire thy Divine Majesty and the rather because thine all-seeing Eye is every where to take notice of my behaviour and actions There is no darkness nor shadow of Death where Iniquity may hide or retreat from thy Knowledge All things are naked and open before thee thou hast a perfect insight into all the Inclinations of my Heart and Soul and fore-seest what shall happen in this great World with the several Causes O wonderful Knowledge that comprehends the Sparrows in the Market and the Lillies of the Field and the meanest Beings that owe all to thee a subsistence O wonderful Wisdom and Knowledge that extends it self over all the parts of this great Fabrick and nothing is exempted from the benefits that are procured thereby Give me O my God such an understanding of this infinite Knowledge and of thine All seeing Eye that I may stand in awe of thy Divine Presence that I may fear to displease thee that my Soul may be always in such a disposition as becomes a Creature and a Servant of so Holy so Powerful and such an All-seeing Majesty Amen A Meditation and Prayer UPON THE Goodness of God Manifested in Nature and Providence O Universal Goodness that opens thy Hand to all things that have a Being and furnishest so many Sorts of Creatures out of thine overslowing abundance with so much sweetness and variety of Pleasures How full must be the Stores out of which so many Millions are continually supplyed From what overflowing Ocean of Delight and Joy proceed so many Streams that yield a sufficiency to all and yet there is an overplus left for more O wonderful Goodness that knowest how to supply every Creature with that which is most suitable to its Appetite and Nature and givest a contentment to the several species according to their Capacities and Tempers Through how many differing Channels does this inexhaustible Goodness convey to us the necessaries and conveniencies of Life Man of all sublunary subsistencies seems to be the chief Favourite of the Divine Goodness other things and Creatures have their short allowances in comparison of Man It is upon him that thou dost heap the Riches and Satisfactions of the Earth It is to him thou hast granted thy most signal Favours It is in his Bosom that thou dost empty all varieties of sweetness and Earthly Comforts without any regard to his deservings O Impartial and disinterested Goodness that expects no returns but such as may give thee the Glory and us the Benefit and may be a means to sanctifie and increase our Blessings How ready should we be to comply with this inexpressible Goodness and answer the Expressions of thy Favours with such easie cheap and profitable returns Should we be backward to acknowledge that which every moment we may be sensible of and when the bare acknowledgment will produce unto us fresh Recruits and greater tokens of Love from thine unwearied Bounty O let me never forget thy goodness my good God expressed and experienced in my Creation thy Providence in making me a rational Creature and giving me an immortal Soul with
O that I may be true and faithful and not alienate to the service of Sin to the gratifying of my Lusts or the pleasing of the Devil what appertains to thee my God As thou hast increased my stores increase in me thy grace and wisdom that I may mannage these Talents to thy honour and service Humble my Soul under such a load of earthly Blessings am I more deserving than so many thousand others who are not so well supplied and furnished what obligations have I laid upon thee my God to lift me up above so many that I see below me to favour me more than thousands who are in want to fill me with all these good things when others are empty how greatly am I indebted to thy Bounty how shall I discharge my self and make suitable returns with these earthly Comforts bestow upon me thy heavenly blessings sanctifie them to me that they may not be an increase to my guilt but rather a a means of Salvation Bestow upon me a contented mind a poverty of Spirit in the midst of all this plenty that I may enjoy it with moderation and dispose of it with discretion Wean mine affections from the World and all these Vanities that they may be a preparation for greater and more lasting Riches which thou hast laid up in thine Heavenly Sanctuary for them that love and fear thee If these things are so sweet and pleasing to us now conveyed to us at such a distance off and attended with much labour and sorrow how sweet and ravishing will that plenty and those riches be which thou wilt grant at a nearer approach when thou shalt wipe away all tears from our eyes and there shall be no more labour to get and preserve them no fear to lose them nor trouble in the enjoyment What a glorious prospect hast thou given us in thy holy Word of greater and more excellent Possessions of an Inheritance far more worthy of mine acquisition if I now render not my self unworthy of so wonderful a bounty by ill actions or too great a fondness of this present World I am certain my good God what thy Truth hath declared thy Power and Liberality will one day perform in us and for us for thou hast created me for happiness If I will accept of it thou hast designed provided and purchased happiness for me Whilst I live in this World there is but a shaddow in the midst of all these good things that I embrace of true felicity The Cares and Incumbrances the Miseries and Calamities the Pains and the Aches and the Fears and Apprehensions are continually disquieting our minds in the greatest plenty of outward enjoyments and the temptations of Sin and the World will not suffer me to be truly happy Neither can my Soul an Immortal and Heavenly Being Created for the Vision of God be content without thee O my Maker The joy that I now feel is in that relation and interest that I have to and in thee for all these possessions and these enjoyments I look upon my self but as a Stranger and a Pilgrim my Country is Heaven When thou shalt call me thither let not these Honours and Dignities these Riches and this outward Splendour these vain and deceitful Pleasures incumber my Soul or cause it to look back upon these deceitful appearances that I may be ready to shake them off and willing to depart to visit thine Eternal Presence where my blessed Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ will receive and welcome my Soul in the Companies of immortal Spirits and Angels and bestow upon me the Heavenly and everlasting Riches and true Honours Things that eye hath never seen ear hath never heard and can never enter into the heart of man Preserve I beseech thee my good God my Soul and Body to thine Eternal Kingdom where all these wonders of thy Power and Bounty are carefully laid up Amen A Meditation and Prayer upon the Consideration and Sense of Poverty and Want O My Creator and Redeemer my God who hast granted me a Being and placed me in this station of Life destitute of all Worldly Comforts I adore thy Divine Wisdom and am content to undergo all the troubles and inconveniencies that thou shalt think sitting to put upon me I doubt not but as I am thy Creature and Servant as my good Lord and Master thou wilt provide for my subsistence and if the allowance be but small it is more than I deserve at thy hands however it is enough if I can have but a satisfied mind Thou hast promised to supply my wants from day to day and give me meat drink and raiment without which I cannot continue in this Life why shall I doubt of the performance of this thy declaration thy stores are full and thou art rich in bounty able and sufficient by various means to recruit all my wants if the supplies come but sparingly and thou dost allow me but a small pittance if I receive from thee by Retail what others have from thee by Wholesale it is thy will and pleasure that my dependance might be more upon thy Goodness and Providence and that I may be always looking up to thee for the Conveniencies and Necessaries of Life Thy Wisdom O my God knowest what is best for me what is most proper to exercise my patience saith reliance upon thee and my submission to thy holy and heavenly will Who knows but if I were placed in the midst of plenty I should abuse thy temporal mercies and employ them in my own Damnation now I have no such debt to answer for Thou hast recommended unto me contentment in this estate by teaching me to pray only for my daily bread if it be but course it is such as proceed from thy liberal hand and fine enough to maintain this Earthly Tabernacle that must shortly become food to the Worms of the Earth O my God by these troubles of Life it is thy pleasure to wean mine affections from the World and that I may place my chief happiness beyond the Grave that I may live in expectation when thou wilt call me out of this painful and laborious Life to mine Eternal Rest where I shall be no more exercised but in the praising of thy Glorious Majesty in the Quires of Heavenly Spirits I am satisfied O my Heavenly Father in thy Love and Goodness which has never been wanting to me since I was in this World I look upon my mean estate and poverty to be an argument of the reality of thy love and kindness seeing a Lazarus upon a Dunghill was as dear unto thee as the richest and noblest of thy Children seeing so many of thy chosen Servants of the Worthies of former Ages have in this present Life wandered about in Sheep Skins and Goat Skins being Destitute Afflicted Tormented and have suffered greater wants and more pressing necessities than I am reduced to But shall I murmur at thy wise and good Providence when I am reduced to the Condition of