World a little before I was by thy Judgments forced to leave it altogether I praise thee for all the Ministry of Angels For my Guardian Angel For all the faithful departed For thy great Graces given to them Their good example given to me For the Suffrages and Prayers of all Saints For my Communion with them and with all those who are at Prayers with me now in this holy hour For the large capacity and extent of my Soul that can be in union with all Ages past present and to come worshipping praising and adoring thee For enabling me so to rejoyce in thy Glories to dilate upon thy Excellencies to delight in thy Service so as if all our affections were united in one holy individual oblation of our Souls and Bodies unto thee As if all Souls were in one and one so in all that we could never more be divided from thee nor cease from the love and service we bear unto thee nor be separated from each other in thee I praise thee for preserving me from all perils and dangers either by day or night For that portion of Health I now enjoy For the contentedness and thankfulness thou givest me in all estates For all the necessaries of this life Healthful dwelling quiet safety plenty of food and raiment For all the retirements and happy opportunities thou givest me of Reading Praying and enjoying thee For assisting me to overcome in any measure any of those great Infirmities I am subject to by nature For all thy gifts of Grace and nature infused or acquired attain'd by study or experience in the world For any good use I make of them For all thy wonderful Mercies to me and mine blessing us in all good things For thy great preservation of us in many dangerous Journeys and deliverances out of very many great troubles which my Soul recounteth unto thee For all these and for all other thy Mercies known or not known manifest or secret willingly or unwillingly received I praise thee I bless thee I give thee thanks and I desire to praise bless and give thee thanks all the days of my life What am I that thou shouldst look upon such a dead dog as I am What reward shall I give unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me especially in that he hath spared and forborn me until now Holy holy holy thou art worthy to receive Honour Worship and Praise now and for evermore Amen A Prayer for Christmas-Day HOly Jesus who being infinitely higher than the Heavens didst condescend to look on the Earth to come down and visit us with the saving Presence of thine Eternal Godhead clothed with our Manhood in the Virgins Womb let this miraculous grace of thine effect another miracle in me Let it raise me by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost and change me by a new Birth and exalt me to a Divine and Heavenly life that I may forsake the world and live unto thee O thou who didst assume thy Body and Soul for me that we might be members of thy Body and of thy flesh and of thy bones unite me unto thee make me sensible of thee my head fill me with the joy of thy Nativity and give thy self unto me who wast born for me that I may be thine and my beloved mine for evermore O Eternal Glory of the Father vail'd over with mortal flesh remove the vail from off my heart clarifie my understanding and draw me near unto thee that I may know the mystery which was hid from Ages and Generations but is now revealed for our Glory Receive me to thy self make me one with thee and be thou more dear unto me than all the world O thou who didst vouchsafe to dwell in the dark Cloysters of a Virgins womb thou who didst vouchsafe to close thine infinity within the confines of Humane shape and advance our Humanity to the Throne of God Prepare the Temple of my Soul make it bright with knowledg and wisdom come and dwell in my understanding take possession of my will reign within my heart let thy Scepter of Righteousness be exalted over me and become the rule of my thoughts and actions O reign over all the World and let the Righteousness and true Holiness wherein thou delightest prevail and prosper in the Earth let the Souls be saved which thou hast redeemed Amen Amen A Prayer for Easter-Day ETernal Son of the eternal Father who wast a man of sorrows and art now the Lord of Joys look down from Heaven thy dwelling place upon me thy Servant who rejoyce in thy glorious and blessed Resurrection Thou hast broken the Bars of Death and Hell for it was impossible that he that was innocent should be holden of them Thou hast broken down the gates of the prison of the Grave because thou hast satisfied thy Fathers Justice He knew thy ability and therefore he trusted thee with so great a debt He knew thy Power and therefore did commit so weighty an employment to thy sacred Hands O cause me to know thee my Saviour to be the Son of God by this glorious Resurrection Let it quicken me and raise me up who am dead in sins and trespasses Our Surety has paid the debt and is come abroad let all the Earth rejoyce and be glad in him Sing O Mountains and break forth into singing all the valleys in the World for our Redeemer and our Saviour hath conquered Death Hell and the Grave Let the light of his Resurrection transform the World into Heaven and turn the Wilderness into Eden let it restore a better Paradise than the old one unto us Let the power of his Resurrection quicken all the dead in sins and convert all the Kingdoms upon Earth and make them the Kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ wherein Truth and Peace and Righteousness may reign for evermore O my Soul thy lover and thy friend that was killed dead and buried is alive and he is able to save unto the utmost all them that come to God through him seeing he ever liveth to make Intercession for us He by and for whom the Worlds were made loved thee to the death O let his Love enflame thee and turn thee all into Love and let the love of God which passeth all understanding possess thy Soul and Body for ever Let the Love of Christ constrain thee to forsake iniquity and to esteem nothing easie honourable or delightful but that which is so to him Love all that he loveth hate all that he hateth O Jesus the love and life of my Soul be thou my sovereign Lord and Friend my only treasure and possession be thou my Wisdom and my Glory my Kingdom and my Crown my Life and Blessedness be thou all in all to me Let thy will be my will and thy pleasure mine As thou camest to do the Will of thy Father let it be my meat and drink to do thy Will to glorifie thy Name and finish the work which thou hast given me
thee Who givest us joy in our reproaches and in all our labours of serving thee peace of Conscience and joy in the Holy Ghost intire love of our enemies and zeal of Souls yet alienated from thee O thou that hast given us such a sense of them hear our prayers for them that they also may see the felicity of thy chosen and rejoyce in thy Salvation That all the Sons of God may shout for joy in the Gates of Jerusalem O thou who hast shewed a miracle of Mercy in converting us who do call upon thee shew the same upon them who do not yet call effectually upon thee O Lord God of Mercy convert all Infidels all dead insensible Souls into a true sense of thee make them and us to yield all obedience to thee And to thy Name be rendered all Honour Praise and Glory for all these and for all other thy abundant mercies shewed unto us from everlasting until now and from this time forth for evermore Amen An Hymn to Jesus wherein the the Soul may expatiate it self with delight in Him JEsus the only thought of thee Fills with delight my memory But when thou dost thy presence shew Heaven into my brest doth flow No Theme for voice so sweet can be Nor to the ear such Melody No Heart can Thought so charming frame As Jesus his most precious Name Our hope when we for sins do grieve Thy mercies all our wants relieve If good to those that seek thy Grace What art thou when they see thy face Jesus in whom we comfort find Life of our Souls light of our Mind Thou dost our Hearts with true joys feed Thy gifts our utmost wish exceed No eloquence of tongue can teach Nor art of Pen this secret reach Only the experienced Soul doth prove What sweets they taste who Jesus love Him then I 'le seek retired apart Shutting the world out of my heart Amidst my business him I 'le strive With fresh pursuits still to retrive Early with Magdalen I 'le come A Pilgrim to my Saviours Tomb Wailing my sins with mournful cries I 'le seek him with my Mind not Eyes My Tears shall on his Grave distill My faithful Sighs the Garden fill Prostrate before him on my face His sacred feet I 'le fast embrace Striving to follow where they lead Jesus in thy blest steps I 'le tread Nor shall my Soul give o're to mourn Till to thy favour it return O Jesus most admired King Who didst triumph ore deaths sharp sting Thy Mystick sweetness first excites Then satisfies all appetites Thy quickening visits life bestow Thy light true good doth clearly shew That they who once have relisht thee Know all the world 's meer vanity Come then dear Lord possess our Hearts Enflame our Love with thy chaste darts All clouds of error drive away And change our night to thy bright day To thee our Hearts and Voices sing To thee our Vows and Prayers we bring That when we end this life 's short race In Heaven with thee we may have place A Prayer upon the third Hour O Blessed Jesus being the third hour was devoted to thee by the ancient Christians in memory of thy Prayer in the Garden thine Agony there suffered before thy Passion and of thy sending the Holy Ghost to thy Disciples accept of me in Communion with them doing honour to thy Name therein Enable me now seriously to consider that in that Garden of sorrow to thee thou didst repair our sin first committed in a Garden Thine Agony there was so great thy Conflict so strong thy Love so forcible thy Fathers wrath so weighty our Sins so hearty that thou didst sweat drops of blood prest out by thine intollerable anguish for our sins I humbly beseech thee to make me in utter abhorrence of all sin to forsake iniquity Give me a deep sense and sorrow for my sins and a thorough conversion to thee from them all Let this suffering of thine make me contented with all sufferings for thy sake And let thine infinite love therein melt my heart into love of thee and fill me with love to all Mankind for thee Great O Lord was this anguish of thine when it urged thee to pray that this Cup might pass from thee But greater was thy Love which did drink it up for me Great was thy dolor in thy prayer but greater was thy obedience Great was thy human suffering but greater was thy divine perfection that therein could make so perfect a Resignation Great was thy love to our Souls that suffered such inexplicable torments in thine own Most deeply fervent were thy prayers when thou didst shed thy very blood for tears O let me ne're refuse to bleed for thee Who shedst this strange prodigious blood for me O thou who didst pray prostrate on the earth and didst repeat the same prayer thrice Grant I beseech thee that by the outward gesture of our bodies we may encrease the inward devotion of our minds and in often repeating the same prayer may still advance to new degrees of pious affections make me in all things resigned unto thee O thou who wert falsly apprehended and betrayed deliver me from the false apprehension and treacheries of Men and grant that neither for reward nor danger I ever withdraw my fidelity from the but learn by thy example to do good with cheerfulness and to suffer evil with patience O blessed Lord thou didst deliver thy self to the violence of thine enemies suffering them to bind scourge deride and abuse thee in most barbarous manner Grant I beseech thee that the sins of our hands may be loosed by the binding of thine that the scourges due for our sins may be acquitted by thine let all our vain affections be confounded by the indecencies cast upon thee Grant that when ever thou callest us thereunto we may not only be bound but be ready to die for the Lord Jesus O by these bindings of thine deliver us from the chains of eternal darkness and bind our Souls and Hearts unto thee in the Chains of a strong obedience and everlasting love and dissolve now all the bonds of my sins O blessed Jesus being bound thus by Annas thou wast sent to Caiphas the high Priest where thou wert yet worse abused buffeted and blindfolded Have mercy upon me and make me to remember that no darkness can hide me from thy sight that so I may ever behave my self as in thy presence and be able to suffer all things rather than offend thee willingly any more Grant also that for thy sake who wert stript mockt spit upon wounded and derided for me I may patiently bear the devesture of all things and the derision of all men for thee hoping that if I be afflicted for thee here I shall by thy mercy and merit be glorified with thee hereafter I furthermore approach thee to commemorate the sending of thine holy Spirit upon thine Apostles humbly beseeching thee not to take it from me but to renew me
great in the Kingdom of Heaven Deliver me from the Seven deadly sins Pride Covetousness Luxury Envy Gluttony Anger Sloth Grant me the Seven contrary Virtues Humility Liberality Chastity Gentleness Temperance Patience and Devotion for thy mercy sake Amen A PARAPHRASE upon the Objective Hymn of Praise O My God do all thy works praise thee and shall not I shall not I who am the work of thy hands praise thee whose care over me hath been such as if thou hadst nothing else to care for Yet thy providence is so great over all that it becomes our wonder and joy to see thee so particularly careful over every one and so amiable in thy goodness unto all that the more thou takest care for all thy care is so much the greater over every one All the benefit of thy wisdom goodness and providence being guided to the benefit of every person I praise thee therefore O Lord For the Glory of Angels For the Faith of the Patriarchs For the Inspiration of the Prophets For the labours of the Apostles For the truth of the Evangelists For the Zeal of Confessors For the Blood of Martyrs For the Learning of the Fathers For the Study of Doctors For the Industry of all pious Ministers For the Hope Virtue Faith and Zeal of all thy Saints and Servants For all whom I praise and magnifie thy Name O Lord. I also praise thee for the Heavens and all the Glory of them For the glory of the Sun which comes forth as a Bridegroom out of his Chamber rejoycing as a Giant to run his course I praise thee for its Beams whose light and splendor revives mine eye beautifies and quickens all the Earth digesteth Minerals animates the Air enlivens Trees perfects Flowers excites the influences of the Heavens raiseth exhalations dissolveth Ice causeth the Rivers to flow begetting propagating and cherishing all the Creatures which are the life and beauty of this habitable World By it I am warm'd and refresh'd By it I see all thy works in this glorious World By it I am exhilerated and excited to praise thee O thou eternal Sun of Righteousness who didst rise upon us with healing in thy Wings purchasing this glorious light and restoring it to me when by my sins I had forfeited the same O let not this Sun ever behold me doing any work of darkness O thou Eternal Sun who art the Light of this make me to remember that thine Eye which is ten thousand times brighter than the Sun is ever upon me that I may always walk as a child of the light before thee I praise thee O most blessed Lord for the shady glittering and Majestick Light of the Moon For its weaker and milder Beams For all its Revolutions and wonderful effects By which our Days are refreshed and our Nights enlightened By which we know Times and Seasons By which our Air is tempered our Droughts are moistened and all Productions hastened O blessed be thy Name for the precious things put forth by the Sun and for the precious things put forth by the Moon For the blessed Interchanges of our Days to travel and our Nights to rest in for the comfort of our lives continued by their constant Motions and Returns I praise thee for the illustrious Stars in all their order which govern things below by thine appointment while thou governest them in all their ways I praise thee for their powerful and precious influences I praise thee for the Waters above the Firmament and for thy Clouds that drop down fatness For the Coelestial Waters of Repentance which I beseech thee evermore to drop down upon me I praise thee for the winds thou sendest out of thy Treasuries to purifie the Air qualifie the heat and refresh our Spirits by which all living Creatures breathe and live I praise thee for the comfort light and warmth with all other benefits we receive from fire For the blessings of Winter in its healthful Airs wholsome Winds candid Frosts warmer Snows curling Floods and abounding Waters For the verdure life and beauty of the Spring for all the lovely Blossoms knitting Fruits Grain and Grass sweetly growing and springing in the same For the might and beauty of the Summers glory in the fuller growth and increase of all For the blessing of time and happy length of days to contemplate thy Glory and enjoy thy rich blessing in these in all our pleasant Fruits joyful harvests and various delicates of soft Wool Milk Butter Honey Balm and Spices and for all the Refreshments thou givest us in these thy good Creatures I revere thy Majesty which with such terror thou dost manifest to us in the Lightenings I adore thy greatness appearing in the Thunderings Thine Omnipotency in all Thy wonderful Providence over all Thy Goodness to all I praise thee for our Temperate Seasons Autumnal fruits rich and wholsome Wines Oyls and Siders For all the precious things of the Earth For the chief things of the ancient Mountains for the precious things of the lasting Hills For our Stately Woods and lovely Trees which afford us Wine Oyl and Spices fruits both for profit and pleasure yielding Timber also fuel shade and medicine I praise thee for the beauty fragrancy benefit variety and delight of all the curious Flowers the least of them shewing us a God Creator and Preserver For our fruitful Valleys wherein our Corn stands so thick that they laugh and sing thy Praises For the excellent Bread and daily food thou givest us therewith For thy blessings on all our several labours in raising and preparing it For thy continual blessing upon us in our daily use thereof For all the wonders of thy goodness and wisdom comprised in it For all our rich and beautiful Gardens stately Walks fruitful Fields pleasant Pastures rich Meadows Roots and Plants all sorts of Grain for Food Health Pleasure and Medicine I praise thee for all our Mines of Gold Silver Brass Iron Tin Copper Lead and Coal For all the Riches Lustre Virtue Use and Benefit of precious Stones For all our soveraign and wholsome Wells Springs and Fountains marvellous and healing Waters deep Seas and Treasures that lie in the Deep For bounding the Sea by thy Laws which though written in sand stand fast for ever For the magnitude of the Whale and all the wonderful Fishes of the Deep For subduing all things to the service of Man I magnifie thy name for ever For all the Fowls of the Air in all their warbling Melody delightful food pleasure variety and beauty For all the Insects and creeping things that are subject to thy care and providence the provident Ant the industrious and curious Bee in its marvellous working and delicious Honey For all the Beasts and Cattel upon a thousand Hills in all their strength use service food and pleasure But most of all do I praise thee for the Children of Men for the Israel of God for the Priests that serve at thine Altar for all the Spirits and Souls
daily by it Grant me by the same spirit therefore to have a right Judgment in all things that I may both perceive and know what I have to do and have grace and power to fulfill the same Give me I beseech thee all the gifts and graces of thy holy Spirit Give me the spirit of wisdom to be sober wise and considerate in all things Give me the spirit of understanding to be quick clear and distinctive in my Apprehensions to distinguish between truth and falshood good and evil Give me the spirit of counsel to consult thy holy will and pleasure before I act any thing Make me meekly to receive all good counsel and prudently to give it Give me the spirit of ghostly strength that I may be modestly confident and impregnably couragious in thy service Give me the spirit of knowledg to know all thy revealed will to me and all my bounden duty to thee that so neither thy Law nor my duty thy mercy nor my sin may ever lie undiscerned in my Soul Give me I beseech thee the spirit of piety that I may ever be devoted unto thee And O my Saviour give me above all things thy holy filial fear that I may never more dare to offend thee Deliver me therefore I humbly beseech thee from all rashness inadvertency and inconsideration From a perverse confused unstable Understanding From refusing Counsel or neglecting to give it From ignorance of thy Will and my duty From all confidence of my self or diffidence in thee From all impiety and profaneness From casting off thy holy fear thereby growing bold or careless in offending And now dearest Lord having implored the gifts of thy holy Spirit and deprecated those evils that oppose it I humbly beg of thy divine Majesty the fruits of thy holy Spirit also that by finding those within me I may know thy holy Spirit rules and governs me Give me dear Lord I beseech thee an universal love make me to love thee for thy self my friend in thee and mine enemy for thee Give me joy in thee in thy works in thy ways in thy Laws in thy Saints and Servants in all the friends and blessings which I enjoy Give me O Prince of peace peace with thee my self my friends and enemies Give me patience in all my sufferings mercy to all who offend me or need my mercy Give me meekness in my heart words and behaviour in all to all Give me a true and irreprovable faith Give me modesty in all disputations shamefac'dness amidst all commendations sobriety in the midst of plenty that I never abuse thy bounty And with these give me I beseech thee the four Cardinal Virtues Prudence to govern me Justice to direct me Fortitude to discharge my duty Temperance to be moderate in all things Make me ever mindful Of Death to be prepared for it Of Heaven to desire it Of Judgment to dread it Of Hell to be deliver'd from it O keep me in with bit and bridle when I stick not close unto thee Make me to delight in the Assembly of the faithful to be among them that the holy Spirit which thou didst send upon thine Apostles may descend upon me even me also O my Lord compell I beseech thee my dearest N.N. to come in unto thee Make him to see the felicity of thy chosen Give him a taste and relish of all these Gifts and Graces of thy holy Spirit that he also may be filled with those unspeakable joys which they feel and find who spend their days and hours spirits souls and forces in knowing loving and obeying thee Give me the whole armor of God that I may resist all evil and persist in doing all good O give me the spirit of Grace and Supplication that these and all my other prayers may be acceptable to thee blessed to me and graciously answered for thy mercy sake Amen A Prayer to the Holy Ghost out of St. Augustine O Love of the Divine Power the holy Communication of the Omnipotent Lord and Father and of the most blessed Son come down even now I beseech thee by thy powerful Virtue into my Soul and get into all the corners of my heart and by thy splendor clearly illuminate all the darkness thereof Let thy gracious Visitation and abundant dew make my Soul fruitful in all good works pierce the most retired parts of mine inward man with the keen piercing darts of thy love enflame me with thy holy fires feed me with delicious Viands replenish me with thy Coelestial Graces Give me so to drink of the torrents of thy delights that I may have no taste of vain or sinful pleasures Come O thou comforter of all sorrowful Souls come thou comforter of the weak and strength of the strong come thou supporter of the falling and thou lifter up of the faln come thou cleanser of our sins and curer of our wounds Come thou teacher of the Meek and destroyer of the Proud Come O thou hope of the Poor and reviver of those that faint Come propitious Star of such as sail and haven against Shipwrack Come thou stay and comfort of those that live and thou only hope of all those that die Have mercy upon me have mercy upon me and make me fit for thy self and abide in me for ever And that thou mayst abide with me I do again beg of thee the fear of the Lord because this fear is Beautified by Wisdom Informed by Understanding Directed by Counsel Strengthened by courage Filled with Knowledg And crowned with Piety As this fear advanceth our knowledg so our knowledg brings us to this fear Therefore O thou only spirit of Wisdom give me this knowledg that I may always have this fear Such a fear as may make me wise unto Salvation Give me wisdom to understand thy Word Open mine eyes to see the wondrous things of thy Law Enlighten my Understanding to find out the hidden and glorious treasures thereof Fill me with the love of it With all delight in it Inspire me to meditate humbly of it Make me in every reading or hearing of it to profit by it and in all things to be obedient to it Amen Dearest Lord and most blessed Saviour give me I beseech thee such grace in meditating such divine light in understanding thy sacred sufferings in thy passion for me That by faith I may believe in thee and depend upon thy Merits therein By love feel thy sufferings be crucified to the world and be transformed into thee Make me willing to suffer any thing for thee Enable me to imitate thee in all thy imitable perfections and virtues which thou hast exemplified to me in this thy sacred Passion Give me the vast extensive love which thou didst shew to Almighty God in thy obedience to his Will and satisfaction of his Justice Give me that great Zeal of Souls which thou hadst even to die for their good especially their Coversion as thou didst for their Salvation Give me O Lord I beseech thee thy
in tears of blood to ransome me Open the grave of my dull and earthly Soul with thy Almighty power and enliven the dead therein even all my powers and affections that abundance of holy thoughts may rise out of it in thankfulness for thy Passion with multitudes of praises for my Redemption Shake the earth of my Heart with terror at the approach of every sin that I may die rather than commit one known wilful sin against thee more Blessed Lord enclose my Soul now in that Heart of thine which was opened with the Spear for me There I delight to dwell for I have desired it There will I live and suck life and draw Salvation from thee Thy wounded Heart is my Sanctuary my comfort in sorrow my refuge in trouble here let me live and die and be secure for ever I desire nothing but thee I languish after none but thee all satisfaction lies in thee I desire to creep into this hole of the Rock and there to lie close with intimate individual adhaesion to thee with fulness of love and obedience O nourish me in it fill me with that love which made it and I will return it all in thanksgiving and love unto thee Additional Devotions for the Evening O Blessed Jesus by the eye of faith I now behold thee dead upon the Cross for me and see good Joseph of Arimathea thy holy Mother and Saint John coming to take thee down from the same Among whom I also by faith desire to come upon the Ladder of holy Thoughts with the shroud of my Heart to receive thee O give me the myrrh of Mortification The bitter Aloes of sorrow for my sin And the odour of divine Virtues to present and embalm thee with O that I had tears to wash thy sacred body all begored with blood and spittle for me O that I were but gratefully sensible of thine unspeakable love in all thy sufferings As these good men did draw out the Nails all begored with blood be pleased to draw out all the nails of Sin which lie in my body corrupting my poor Soul Fetch out all my corruptions though thou rent and tear me in the cure Thy wounded shoulders and rented hands were ript from the Cross so fast did the bloody nails and thy love above all fix thee thereunto O dear Lord loosen me quite from the World and from every vain affection that would withdraw my Heart from thee O fix the memory of thy Sufferings in my Heart and my Heart fast unto thee As thy Servants took thee down in their Arms vouchsafe to receive me into thine Methinks I see thee laid in thy Mothers lap while they shroud thee Dear Lord I lay down all my affairs in the lap of thy divine Providence desiring to rest sweetly thankfully and most contentedly in all thy dispensations towards me I resign my self my Soul my Estate my Friends and all that I am or have unto thee Thou hast bought and redeemed me to be thine and thine only will I be for ever Make me to spend hours and days in contemplating thee and thy miraculous sweetness to vapor away in acts of Love Adoration and Thankfulness to thee for this thy redeeming love unto me And now dear Lord I see thee taken away to thy burial also and laid in a new Sepulchre O make me a new Heart and take thy repose in the same I see thee buried for me O bury all my sins in the Grave with thee And thou who wert in that night of sorrow before thy death in thine Agony at Prayer for me in the morning condemned the Third hour crucified the Sixth dead and pierced the Ninth hour and taken down from the Cross at Even-song who wast now buried for me have mercy upon me give me grace daily and duly to apply the same unto my Soul as being my only Help Health and Remedy for in thy Merits Death and Passion is my only hope of Salvation Therefore let my life be hid with Christ in God Let me count all things but dung to gain thee For whom have I in Heaven but thee O Lord and there is none upon Earth that I desire in comparison of thee Compline HAving now dearest Lord passed this day in health and safety by thy divine Providence I give thanks unto thee Blessed by thy holy Name for any good I have done or for any evil I have left undone since it was by thy Grace only that I performed any good or did forbear any evil Blessed be thy Name for thy Mercies received for thy Judgments escaped and thy goodness enjoyed this day O let not my days consume in vanity nor my years in trouble but let every day add some knowledg some practice and some virtue to yesterday Holy Father I beseech thee by the Merits of thine only Son to pardon me the sins of this day and take me now and ever into thine Almighty protection O that thou wouldst visit me with the visitation of thy Saints O that thou wouldst shew me the felicity of thy chosen O that thou wouldst open mine eyes in the Visitations of the night O that thou wouldst give me Songs in the night that I might never cease day nor night from praising thee O that while mine Eyes sleep my Heart might always wake unto thee O fill me with love fill me O Lord with the most enflamed love that ever any of thine had unto thee O that I had all the love of all thy Saints and Angels comprised in my Soul to pour it out unto thee Lord thou hast not denied thy blood to redeem my Soul do not O do not deny me thy love to replenish it I desire to empty it of every thing else fill it with thy self for ever That as of thy fulness we have all received of the fulness of my love thou mayst receive such a full obedience and duty that I may be thine and only thine for ever O make me to think upon thee in my Bed and to remember thee when I am waking Let my first and last thoughts yea let all my thoughts be of thee and let thy blessing most blessed God be now and evermore upon me O make me to be early up at my Prayers and Praises unto thee Amen A Prayer for Lent MOst Holy and ever Blessed Lord Jesus who didst fast forty days and fortynights for me and all thine to teach us that Prayer and Fasting were necessary fortifications against the assaults of the Devil and all his Temptations as also to satisfie for all our excesses by Intemperance and for all deficiencies in our Retirements and Prayers I adore thy goodness and humbly implore thy grace and acceptance of my Humiliation before thee these forty days which I now enter into and continue in in memory of and conformity to thee I offer up this holy time in honour and love of thee in imitation of thy Saints in obedience to thy Church in sorrow for my sins as an act of
For the Musick of our Songs and Praises For the Harmony and unity of our Versicles and Responsals For our strong loud powerful Cries to importune thy mercy For our soft silent dropping Tears to move thy pity For our Regeneration in Baptism Our Renovation in the Eucharist Our daily growth and comfort in the means of Grace For our comforts and increase of grace in the Seals of Salvation For the Infallibility of thy Holy Word For thy Judgments denounced therein to keep us from sinning For thy saving promises to keep us from despairing For thy Righteous Laws Glorious Attributes wonderful works and all the ways of thy divine Providence making our faith and dependance strong in thee I praise thee for the great delight of the Mosaical part of thy Word shewing us thy Wonders Laws and Ordinances enrich'd with thy second Covenant which was believ'd and depended on by all the Holy Patriarchs I praise thee for the Historical part of thy Word declaring to us thy Wisdom Power and Providence in the Oecumenical Government of thy Church and People both under Judges and Kings making Monarchy to succeed Aristocracy because far exceeding it I praise thee for the History and Patience of Job For the Poetical part of thy Word In the Melody of the Psalms The Instructions of the Proverbs The mirrour of Vanity The transporting Raptures of the Canticles The melting Lamentations for our Sins and thy Judgments I praise thee for the stupendious Prophetical part of thy Word whereby we are filled with wonder at the mysteriousness of thy Prophecies and raised to exultation in seeing their Accomplishments And for all those heights and depths not yet revealed but still obscure is thy Wisdom Power and Majesty to be reverenc'd By which springs of Glory thou hast made all our fresh springs to arise in thee But if in thy Law and Prophets thy Gospel lay concealed how glorious in thy Gospel that brings us a Saviour by whom thy Law is fulfilled and thy Prophecies revealed I praise thee therefore with intense and fervent praises for thy glorious Gospel above all which brings us the tydings of a Saviour sent from Heaven to redeem and restore lost undone and faln man I praise thee exaltedly most holy Father for my dear and blessed Saviour For his Miraculous Incarnation Joyful Birth sharp Circumcision Glorious Epiphany painful and concealed life till his Baptism I praise thee for his Prophetical Office then taken and executed in his Sermons of Salvation excellent precepts gracious Promises Miracles Prophesies and works of mercy For all his hard Labours Travels on foot Watchings Tears Fastings Prayers and humble life of pain and poverty for our example and encouragement therein For his Priestly Office in his Life-giving and all-saving death wherein he sacrificed himself for the Sins of the whole World and even for me as if there had been no other I praise thee for his Kingly Office manifested in his Almighty Resurrection Triumphant Ascension Regal Session at the right hand of God and his Intercession for us For the glorious descent of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost For the blessed presence residence and assistance of the same spirit upon thy holy Church throughout all Ages For the knowledg of an Incomprehensible Trinity in an undivided Unity thy Name be blessed and praised for evermore I praise thee also for the Glorious Acts of the Holy Apostles For the propagation of thy Church by them For the riches of Wisdom and the sacred Mysteries that lie hid in their Epistles The Humility of their Lives Their courage and patience in suffering Their Charity in forgiving Their powerful declamation against Vice Their practice of Virtue Thy spirit of truth in all And for that Map of the Coelestial Canaan in the all-bright and glorious Revelation thy name be blessed and praised both now and for evermore Amen I praise thee also for the successful Ministry of thy Word in all Ages since For the Learning of the Fathers The Holiness of their Lives Their zealous Devotions For the Tears Watchings and Prayers of all Christians For their patience in suffering and courage manifested in the Primitive Times For thy saving truth shining more or less in all times For the excellent Preaching of thy Word in our times For the co-operation of thy Spirit with it To the awakening of our seared Consciences The melting of our hard Hearts To the dividing between the Soul and Spirit the Heart and Reins For the discovery of our Sins The quickening of our Spirits The fear of thy Judgments The hope of thy Mercies For the Reformation of our Lives I praise thee also for all those who have benefited me by their Writings Sermons Discourses Prayers Books Rebukes and Advices and for all other helps unto Heaven I praise thee for all thy sanctified afflictions to chastise my rebellions For all the unkindness of Friends ingratitude and contempt of enemies Thereby to wean me from the World Scowre me from my rust Refine me from my dregs And unite me closer unto thee For raising me up many comforts and Friends I neither deserved nor thought upon For giving me the grace of Penitence The super-exalted love of a Redeemed and the care and piety of a regenerated person For upholding me from falling For lifting me up when I was down For strengthening me in my weakness For confirming me in goodness For the Conversion of all Sinners For thy patience in waiting for their Conversion For thy pardon of the Penitent For thy Justice on the Obstinate For thy preventing and initiating Grace Thy illuminating and co-operating Grace Thy restraining and restoring Grace Thy renewing assisting and quickning Grace For thy many great strong loud calls by thy Judgments For thy soft melting whispering calls in our Consciences to turn unto thee For alluring us by thy Word read and preached Thy Mercies and thy Judgments Thy Divine Inspirations The stings of our Consciences in sinning The humility and fear of a pardoned person For making Sin bitter unto us The burden intollerable I praise thee for giving us any hunger or thirst after Righteousness For any power thou givest us to do good works and for thy blessing upon those we do For a good and right understanding A ready unloosed Tongue A clear apprehension and a little comprehension of divine things A serviceable Memory An obedient will at any times to thy calls For giving me a great love to thee my friend in thee mine enemy for thee For the comfort and delight thou givest me in my Prayers and Praises For the fidelity of my Friends The love of my Neighbours The good acceptation thou givest me with all kind of persons For the interest thou givest me in the souls of men For any love care or Conscience that is in my servants For giving me a Heart to pardon mine enemies For the gratitude thou dost enable me to pay to my Friends For my compassion of others and theirs on me For giving me grace to leave the
thou hast done me by thy self or others Angels and Men the Ministers of thy providence to me for the good of my soul and body and for all the good thou hast wrought in me and for giving me grace and strength in the discharge of my duty to thee and my neighbour for all and every of thy blessings in every kind which are infinite for number and for worth invaluable and every way unspeakable whatsoever from thy bounteous hand I have received I thankfully return my heart and soul in a most grateful acknowledgment of thy infinite Bounty and my unworthiness with the tribute of all possible love honour and praise beseeching thee to the vast heap of all thy unspeakable blessings to add this one more of a thankful heart that with joyful lips and a glad heart I may praise and bless thee all the days of my life whilest I have any being here and in the land of the living in Heaven hereafter everlastingly Amen III. After Thanksgiving for all Benefits it will do well to make a confession and beg pardon for all our sins and to do it as if it were to be our last LOrd God who didst make me for nothing else but to serve thee and love thee who art most worthy of all love and service and to whom I have infinite obligations so to do With shame and blushing I confess I have not loved nor served thee as I ought nay I have dishonour'd thee and offended thee as I ought not doing what thou hast forbidden and not doing what thou hast commanded In my thoughts in my words in my actions by all the senses of my body and all the powers of my soul and all the Creatures which thou hast given to serve me in thy service transgressing thy Commandments infinite ways by numberless Transgressions O my sins my many sins my grievous sins my ingratitudes my unfaithfulness O that my soul were all sorrow my heart full of Contrition my eyes of Tears and if it might be tears of blood to blot out my offences against a God so glorious so gracious whom having all the reason in the world to love honour and to please I have so little loved so much dishonour'd and offended if all the torments and martyrdoms in the world all the violent and voluntary sufferings that such a wretch could endure were sufficient to expiate my faults sure I would at least I should undergo them to make amends for my Injuries against my God my dear God But alas they cannot repair the least injury nor satisfie for the least of my offences But this is my comfort thy Son my Saviour hath done it for me he hath honoured and pleased thee in all holy obedience in all his thoughts words and actions by all his senses the powers of his soul and members of his body and by all the Creatures of the world he made use of yielding exact obedience to thy holy will for me and by the sorrows and sufferings of his soul and body made full satisfaction for all my sins Him therefore I offer up to thee and all that he hath done and suffer'd for me that as thou hast promised I may be accepted to pardon grace and favour through him in whom thou canst not but be well pleased Holy Father look upon thy Son thy beloved Son and pardon thy ungracious servant Lord set thy sorrows and sufferings between my Sins and thy Fathers wrath that his justice being satisfied I may be received to mercy and as to God so to all Men and Angels and all Creatures whom I have injured do thou satisfie all my injuries and offences that none of them come in against me to accuse me at that day but that I may have a clear and full acquittance through thy blood O my dear Redeemer whereby thou hast fully purchased me that I may be wholly thine Amen IV. A Prayer to die to Sin LOrd Jesus Christ who didst die for me to the end I should no longer live to my self but unto thee who diedst for me and that so I might reckon my self dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God in righteousness and true holiness mortifie in me wholly the life of sin and of the old Adam that all my sins and even the affections and lusts thereof may die before me that I may be perfectly dead to the world and to my self and to all things else but thee Mortifie in such a manner my eyes mine ears my tongue my hands my feet my heart and every member of my body and all the powers of my Soul that I may no more see hear or speak or do or walk or think or wish or make any use of any Member of my body or faculty of my Soul to the service of 〈…〉 service of 〈…〉 may retain 〈…〉 â—…ctions 〈…〉 such 〈…〉 and 〈…〉 course 〈…〉 thy servant in this world to 〈◊〉 when death comes it find me not unprepared but that I may receive and welcome it as my summons to a better life where there is no sin nor temptation nor misery nor want nor pains nor death but bliss and happiness and joy and fulness of pleasure and life for evermore Amen V. A Petition for the Virtues of the Dying Jesus LOrd Jesus teach me when the time of my dissolution shall come to depart this life as thou didst with the like holy affections and dispositions of soul that thou hadst that I may loose hold not only of my sins and all that is sinful but even of all that is in the world the chiefest of the allowed comforts of it my dearest Friends and even my self to be ready at thy call as thou wast at thy Fathers Teach me as thou didst earnestly to commend to thy Father the care of the Catholick Church and especially of this of England my dear Mother to keep her in unity and purity to the end Teach me then and even now and till then to give good spiritual counsels and instructions to those about me as thou didst to thy followers Teach me from my heart to pardon all mine enemies as thou didst thine and to pity and pray for them with all other high and holy lessons of the Cross of submission to the hand of God his heavy hand of patience in pains of body and sorrows and heaviness in soul contempt of the world obedience to the death and all other those virtues which in the last act of thy life thou didst in a most eminent manner practise in thy self leaving the pattern for an example to all and to me in particular that I might practise them in my last Act and leave them as a Legacy to all mine Particularly teach me the art of true love to and of a right care for all mine that I leave behind me that as thou didst commend thy blessed Mother to the care of thy beloved Disciple so may I all my nearest Relations my my Friends to such as St. John was if such be to be had beloved of God and faithful in their trust that they may be so carefully instructed and bred up in piety and virtue as to live in holiness and righteousness all their days that when they come to depart this world as I am now a doing we may meet and enjoy one another in thee in bliss everlasting But if no such there be to whose hands I may leave them or if there be there is none to thee I consign them over unto thee the only friend of the friendless that thou conducting them either by thy self or by the Ministry of such faithful friends of their Souls as thou shalt raise them they may so pass with innocency through the things temporal that finally they lose not the things eternal And that I may not be ingrateful to all other my Benefactors whom thou hast used as thy instruments to convey thy Blessings Spiritual and Temporal to me for what I can make no return to them of I earnestly recommend them to thee to the riches of thy bounty and mercy to reward them sevenfold into their bosom humbly beseeching that they may find mercy in that day and abundant recompence in the day of recompence for all the good they have done to me in thy name and for thy sake Amen And now my God and my all as having nothing in the world left me but my self my sins I have renounced and all my affections to them as none of mine and the dearest pledges of my love which I have past over to thee as no longer mine but thine I cast off from me all the care of my self and cast all the care of me upon thee put off this earthly tabernacle of flesh when and as it pleaseth thee and return it to its ancient dust and commend my Spirit deliver'd from this burden of flesh by the Ministry of thy holy Angels to be presented to thy Father as pure and spotless as thy Divine Blood can make it that among those he hath given thee according as thou hast prayed and thy Father granted it may ever be where thou art And now what have I to do having taken leave of earth and sent my thoughts and desires and hopes and in them my soul to Heaven but to languish and call and cry and not to cease till I breath out my soul into thy hands Come Lord Jesus come quickly Amen and Amen DEus vitae meae quam vane consumpta sunt quam infructuose elapsa sunt tempora mea quae dedisti mihi ut facerem voluntatem tuam in eis non feci quanti Anni quot Dies quot Horae perierunt apud me in quibus sine fructu vixi coram te Quomodo subsistam quomodo levare potero oculos meos in faciem tuam in illo magno examine tuo si omnia peccata mea vel tempora mea fructus requisiveris singulorum Patientissime pater non fiat hoc sed sint in oblivione coram te Et quae perdidi tempora heu multa sunt nimis si quae te juvante utiliter servavi quorum O domine numerus brevis est in memoria aeterna fac permanere Fiat amande Pater saltem hoc residuum temporis mei fructuosum sanctificatum in Gratia tua ut in diebus Aeternitatis inveniat locum computabile sit ante te Amen FINIS