differ in kind and degree between one man and another But it is sure that he which receives least hath yet enough to imploy his whole life in praises to God And it will be very fit for every man to consider the several passages of this life and the mercies he hath in each received and so to gather a kind of list or Catalogue of them at least the principal of them which he may alwayes have in his memory and after with a thankful heart repeat before God 11. These are the several parts of prayer and all of them to be used both publickly and privately The publick use of them is first that in the Church where all meet to joyn in those prayers wherein they are in common concerned And this where the prayers are such as they ought to be we should be very constant at there being an especial blessing promised to the joynt requests of the faithful and he that without a necessary cause absents himself from such publick prayers cuts himself off from the Church which hath alwayes been thought so unhappy a thing that it is the greatest punishment the Governours of the Church can lay upon the worst offender and therefore it is a strange madness for men to inflict it upon themselves 12. A second sort of publick prayer is that in a family where all that are members of it joyn in their common supplications and this also ought to be very careful attended to first by the Master of the Family who is to look that there be such prayers it being as much his part thus to provide for the souls of his children and servants as to provide food for their bodies Therefore there is none even the meanest housholder but ought to take this care If either himself or any of his Family can read he may use some prayers out of some good book if it be the service book of the Church he makes a good choice if they cannot read it will then be necessary they should be taught without book some form of prayer which they may use in the Family for which purpose again some of the prayers of the Church will be very fit as being most easie for their memories by reason of their shortness and yet containing a great deal of matter But what choice soever they make of Prayers let them be sure to have some and let no man that professes himself a Christian keep so heathenish a Family as not to see God be daily worshipped in it But when the Master of a Family hath done his duty in this providing it is the duty of every member of it to make use of that provision by being constant and diligent at those Family-Prayers 13. Private or secret Prayer is that which is used by a man alone a part from all others wherein we are to be more particular according to our peculiar needs then in publick it is fit to be And this of private prayer is a duty which will not be excused by the performance of the other of publick They are both required and one must not be taken in exchange for the other And whoever is diligent in publick prayers and yet negligent in private it is much to be feared he rather seeks to approve himself to men then to God contrary to the command of our Saviour Mat. 6. Who enjoyns this private prayer this praying to our Father in secret from whom alone we are to expect our reward and not from the vain praises of men 14. Now this duty of Prayer is to be often performed by none seldomer then evening and morning it being most necessary that we should thus begin and end all our works with God and that not only in respect of the duty we owe him but also in respect of our selves who can never be either prosperous or safe but by committing our selves to him and therefore should tremble to venture on the perils either of day or night without his safeguard How much oftner this duty is to be performed must be judged according to the business or leisure men have where by business I mean not such business as men unprofitably make to themselves but the necessary business of a mans calling which with some will not afford them much time for set and solemn Prayer But even these men may often in a day lift up their hearts to God in some short Prayers even whilst they are at their work As for those that have more leisure they are in all reason to bestow more time upon this duty And let no man that can find time to bestow upon his vanities nay perhaps his sins say be wants leisure for prayer but let him now endeavour to redeem what he hath so mispent by imploying more of that leisure in this duty for the future And surely if we did but rightly weigh how much it is our own advantage to perform this duty we should think it wisdom to be as frequent as we are ordinarily solemn in it 15. For first it is a great honour for us poor woâ—mes of the earth to be allowed to speak so freely to the great Majesty of heaven if a King should but vouchsafe to let one of his meanest subjects talk familiarly and freely with him it would be looked on as a huge honour that man how despiseable soever he were before would then be the envy of all his neighbours and there is little question he would be willing to take all opportunities of receiving so great a grace But alas this is nothing to the honour is offered us who are allowed nay invited to speak to and converse with the King of Kings and therefore how forward should we in all reason be to it 16. Secondly it is a great benefit even the greatest that can be imagined for prayer is the instrument of fetching down all good things to us whether spiritual or temporal no prayer that is qualified as it ought to be but is sure to bring down a blessing according to that of the wise man Eccl. 35. 17. The Prayer of the humble pierceth the clouds and will not turn away till the highest regard it You would think him a happy man that had one certain means of helping him to what ever he wanted though it were to cost him much pains and labour now this happy man thou mayst be if thou wilt Prayer is the never-failing means of bringing thee if not all that thou thinkest thou wantest yet all that indeed thou dost that is all that God sees fit for thee And therefore be there never so much weariness to thy flesh in the duty yet considering in what continual want thou standest for something or other from God it is madness to let that uneasiness dishearten thee and keep thee from this so sure meanes of supplying thy wants 17. But in the third place this duty is in it self so far from being uneasie that it is very pleasant God is
self-love set by the Apostle in the head of a whole troop of sins 2 Tim. 3. 2. as if it were some principal officer in Satans camp and certainly not without reason for it never goes without an accursed train of many other sins which like the Dragons tail Rev. 12. 4. sweeps away all care of duty to others We are by it made so vehement and intent upon the pleasing our selves that we have no regard to any body else contrary to the direction of St. Paul Rom. 15. 2. Which is not to please our selves but every man to please his neighbour for his good to edification which he backs with the example of Christ ver 3. For even Christ pleased not himself If therefore we have any sincere desire to have this vertue of charity rooted in our hearts we must be careful to weed out this sin of self-love for 't is impossible they can prosper together 19. But when we have removed this hindrance we must remember that this as all other graces proceeds not from our selves it is the gift of God and therefore we must earnestly pray to him to work it in us to send his holy Spirit which once appeared in the form of a dove a meek and a gâ—ll-lesse creature to frame our hearts to the same temper and enable us rightly to perform this duty 20. I have now past through those several branches I at first proposed and shewed you what is our duty to God our selves and our neighbour Of which I may say as it is Luk. 10 28. This do and thou shalt live And surely it is no impossible task to perform this in such a measure as God will graciously accept that is in sincerity though not in perfection for God is not that austere Master Lu. 19. 21. That reapâ— where he has not sowed he requires nothing of us which he is not ready by his grace to enable us to perform if we be not wanting to our selves either in asking it by prayer or in using it by diligence And as it is not an impossible so neither is it such a sad melancholly task as men are apt to think it 'T is a special policy of Satans to do as the spies did Num 23. 28. bring up an ill report upon this good land this state of Christian life thereby to discourage us from entering into it to fright us with I know not what â—yants we shall meet with but let us not thus be cheated let us but take the courage to trye and we shall indeed find it a Canaan a land flâ—wing with milk and honey God is not in this respect to his people a wilderâ—ess a land of darkness Ier. 2. 31. His service does not bereave men of any true joy but helps them to a great deal Christs yoke is an easy nay a pleasant yoke his burden a light yea a gracious burde There is in the practice of Christian duties a great deal of present pleasure and if we feel it not it is because of the resistance our vicious and sinful customes make which by the contention raises an uneasinesse But then first that is to be charged only on our selves for having got those ill customes and thereby made that hard to us which in it self is most pleasant the duties are not to be accused for it And then secondly even there the pleasure of subduing those ill habits overcoming those corrupt customes is such as hugely outweigheth all the trouble of the combate 21. But it will perhaps be said that some parts of piety are of such a nature as will be very apt to expose us to persecutions and sufferings in the world and that those are not joyous but grievous I answer that even in those there is matter of joy we see the Apostles thought it so they rejoyced that they were counted worthy to suffer for Christs name Acts 4. 41. and St. Peter tels us that if any suffer as a Christian he is to glorifie God for it 1 Pet. 4. 16. There is such a force and vertue in the testimony of a good conscience as is able to change the greatest suffering into the joyfullest triumph and that testimony we can never have more clear and lively then when we suffer for righteousnesse sake so that you see Christianity is very amiable even in its saddest dresse the inward comforts of it do fat surpasse all the outward tribulations that attend it and that even in the instant while we are in the state of warfare upon earth But then if we look forward to the crown of our victories those eternal rewards in heaven we can never think those tasks sad though we had nothing at present to sweeten them that have such recompences await them at the end were our labours never so heavy we could have no cause to faint under them Let us therefore whenever we meet with any discouragements in our course fix our eye on this rich prize and then run with patience the race which is set before us Heb. 12. 2 Follow the Captain of our salvation through the greatest sufferings yea even through the same red Sea of blood which he hath waded whenever our obedience to him shall require it for though our fidelity to him should bring us to death it self we are sure to be no losers by it for to such he hath promised a Crown of life the very expectation whereof is able to keep a Christian more cheerful in his fetters and dungeon then a worldling can be in the midst of his greatest prosperities 22. All that remains for me farther to add is earnestly to intreat and beseech the Reader that without delay he puts himself into this so pleasant so gainful a course by setting sincerely to the practice of all those things which either by this book or by any other means he discerns to be his and the further he hath formerly gone out of his way the more haste it concerns him to make to get into it and to use the more diligence in walking in it He that hath a long journey to go and finds he hath lost a great part of his day in a wrong way will not need much intreaty either to turn into the right or to quicken his pace in it And this is the case of all those that have lived in any course of sin they are in a wrong road which will never bring them to the place they aim at Nay which will certainly bring them to the place they most fear and abhor much of their day is spent how much will be left to finish their journey in none knowes perhaps the next hour the next minute the night of death may overtake them what a madness is it then for them to defer one moment to turn out of that path which leads to certain destruction and to put themselves in that which will bring them to bliss and glory Yet so are men bewitched and enchanted with the deceitfulness of sin that no
not from that conceit excuse your neglect of them I shall hasten to shew you the contrary by proceeding to the fourth motive of care 15. That fourth motive is the liklyhood that our care will not be in vain but that it wilâ— be a means to preserve the thing cared for where this is wanting it disheartens our care A Physician leaves his patient when he sees him past hope as knowing it is then in vain to give him any thing but on the contrary when he sees hopes of recovery he plies him with medicines Nâ—â— in this very respect we have a great deal of reason to take care of our souls for they are not so far gone but they may be recovered nay it is certain they will if we do our parts towards it 16. For though by that sin of Adam alâ— mankind were under the sentence of eternal condemnation yet it 〈◊〉 God so far to pity oâ—r misery as to give us his son and in him to make a new Covenant with us after we had broken the first 17. This SECOND COVENANT was made with Adam us in him presently after his fall is briefly contained in those words Gen. 3. 15. Where God declares that the SEED OF THE WOMAN SHALL BREAK THE SERPENTS HEAD and this was made up as the first was of some mercies to be afforded by God and some duties to be performed by us 18. God therein promises to send his only Son who is God equal with himself to earth to become man like unto us in all things sin only excepted and he to do for us these several things 19. First to make known to us the whole will of his Father in the performance whereof we shall be sure to be accepted and rewarded by him And this was one great part of his business which he performed in those many Sermons and precepts we find set down in the Gospel And herein he is our prophet it being the work of a prophet of old not only to foretel but to teach Our duty in this particular is to hearken diligently to him to be most ready and desirous to learn that will of God which he came from heaven to reveal to us This 2d thing he was to do for us was to satisfie God for our sins not only that one of Adam but all the sins of all mankind that truly repent and amend by this means to obtain for us forgiveness of sins the favour of God and so to redeem us from hell and eternal damnation which was the punishment due to our sin All this he did for us by his death he offered up himself a sacrifice for the sins of all those who heartily bewail and forsake them And in this he is our Priest it being the Priests office to offer sacrifice for the sins of the people Our duty in this particular is first truly and heartily to repent us of and forsake our sins without which they will never be forgiven us though Christ have died Secondly Stedfastly to believe that if we do that we shall have the benefits of that sacrifice of his all our sins how many and great soever shall be forgiven us and we saved from those eternal punishments which were due unto us for them Another part of the Priests office was blessing and praying for the people and this also Christ performs to us It was his especial commission from his Father to bless us as St. Peter tels us Acts 3. 26. God sent his Son Jesus to bless you and the following words shew wherein that blessing consists in turning away every one of you from his iniquity those means which he has used for the turning us from our sins are to be reckoned of all other the greatest blessings and for the other part shat of praying that he not only performed on earth but continues still to do it in Heaven He sits on the right hand of God and makes Request for us Rom. 8 34. Our duty herein is not to resist this unspeakable blessing of his but to be willing to be thus blest in the being turned from our sins and not to make void and fruitless all his prayers and intercessions for us which will never prevail for us whilst we continue in them 21. The third thing that Christ was to do for us was to enable us or give us strength to do what God requires of us This he doth first by taking off from the hardness of the Law given to Adam which was never to commit the least sin upon pain of damnation and requiring of us onely an honest and hearty endeavour to do what we are able and where we fail accepting of sincere repentance Secondly By sending his Holy Spirit into our hearts to govern and rule us to give us strength to overcome temptations to sin and to do all that he now under the Gospel requires of us And in this he is our King it being the office of a King to govern and rule to subdue enemies Our duty in this particular is to give up our selves obedient subjects of his to be governed and ruled by him to obey all his Lawes not to take part with any Rebel that is not to cherish any one sin But diligently to pray for his grace to enable us to subdue all and then carefully to make use of it to that purpose 22. Lastly He has purchased for all that faithfully obey him an eternal glorious inheritance the Kingdom of Heaven whether he is gone before to take possession for us Our duty herein is to be exceeding careful that we forfeit not our parts in it which we shall certainly do if we continue impenitent in any sin Secondly Not to fasten our affections on this world but to raise them up according to the precept of the Apostle Col. 2. 2. Set your affections on things above not on things on the earth continually longing to come to the possession of that blessed inheritance of ours in comparison whereof all things here below should seem vile and mean to us 23. This is the summe of that second Covenant we are now under wherein you see what Christ has done how he executes those three great offices of King Priest and Prophet as also what is required of us without our Faithful performance whereof all that he hath done shall never stand us in any stead For he will never be a Priest to save any who take him not as well for their Prophet to teach and their King to rule them nay if we neglect our part of this Covenant our condition will be yet worse then if it had never been made for we shall then be to answer not for the breach of Law onely as in the first but for the abuse of mercy which is of all sins the most provoking On the other side if 〈◊〉 faithfully perform it That is set our selves heartily to the obeying of every precept of Christ not going on wilfully in any one sin but
his needs require and our abilities will permit They want much of this charity who clap up poor debtors in prison when they know they have nothing to answer the debt which is a great cruelty to make another miserable when nothing is gained to our selves by it 10. Fourthly We should give liberally we must not be strait handed in our alms and give by such pitiful scantlings as will bring almost no relief to the receiver for that is a kind of mockery 't is as if one should pretend to feed one that is almost famisht by giving him a crumb of bread such doles as that would be most ridiculous yet I fear 't is too neer the proportion of some mens almes such men are below those Disciples we read of who knew only the Baptism of John for 't is to be observed that John Baptist who was but the fore-runner of Christ makes it a special part of his Doctrine that he that hath two coats should impart to him that hath none Luk. 3. 11. He sayes not he that hath some great Wardrobe but even he that hath but two coats must part with one of them from whence we may gather that whatsoever is above not our vanity but our need should thus be disposed of when our brethrens necessity requires it But if we look into the first time of the Gospel we shall find Christianity far exceeded this proportion of Johns the converts assigned not a part only but frankly gave all to the use of the brethren Acts 4. and though that being upon an extraordinary occasion will be no measure for our constant practice yet it may shew us how prime and fundamental part of Christâ—anity this of charity is that at the very first founding of the Church such vast degrees of it were practised and if we farther coâ—sider what precepts of love are given us in the Gospel even to the laying down our lives for the brethren 1 Io. 3. 16. We cannot imagine our goods are in Gods account so much more precious then our lâ—ves that he would command us to be prodigal of the one and yet allow us to be sparing of the other 11. A multitude of Arguments might be brought to recommend this bounty to all that profess Christ I shall mention onely two which I find used by St. Paul to the Corinthians on this occasion The first is the example of Christ 2 Cor. 7. 9. For ye know the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ who though he was rich yet for your sakes he became poor that ye through his poverty might be rich Christ emptyed himself of all that glory and greatness he injoied in Heaven with his Father and submitted himself to a life of much meanness and poverty onely to enrich us And therefore for shame let us not grudge to empty our Coffers to lessen somewhat of our heaps to relieve his poor members The second is the expectation of reward which will be more or less according to the degrees of our Almes 2 Cor. 9. 6. He that soweth sparingly shall reap sparingly and he that soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully We think him a very improvident husband-man that to save a little seed at present sowes so thin as to spoil his crop and the same folly 't will be in us if by the sparingness of our Almes we make our selves a lank harvest hereafter lose either all or a great part of those rewards which God hath provided for the liberal Alms-Giver What is the proportion which may be called a liberal giving I shall not undertake to set down there being degrees even in liberality one may give liberally and yet another give more liberally then he besides liberality is to be measured not so much by what is given as by the ability of the giver A man of a mean estate may give less then one of a great and yet be the more liberal person because that little may be more out of his then the greater is out of the others Thus we see Christ pronounces the poor widow to have given more to the Treasury then all the rich men Luk. 21. 3. not that her two mites were more then their rich gifts but that it was more for her she having left nothing behind whereas they gave out of their abundance what they might easily spare Every man must herein judge for himself we see the Apostle though he earnestly press the Corinthians to bounty yet prescribes not to them how much they shall give but leaves that to their own brests 2 Cor. 9. 7. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart so let him give But let us still remember that the more we give provided we do not thereby fail in the support of those that most immediately depend on us the more acceptable it will be to God and the more rewardable by him And to secure the performance of the duty of Almes-giving whatever the proportion be we may do very well to follow the advice St. Paul gives the Corinthians in this matter 1 Cor. 16. 2. Vpon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him If men would do thus lay by somewhat weekly in store for this works of Charity it were the surest way not to be unprovided of somewhat to give when an occasion offered it self and by giving so by little and little the expence would become less sensible and so be a means to prevent those grudgings and repinings which are apt to attend men in greater disbursments And sure this were in other respect also a very proper course for when a trades-man casts up his weekly account and sees what his gains have been 't is of all others the most seasonable time to offer this tribute to God out of what he hath by his blessing gained If any will say they cannot so well weekly reckon their gains as by longer spaces of time I shall not contend with them for that precise time let it be done monthly or quarterly so it be done But that somewhat should still be laid by in bank for these uses rather then left loose to our sudden Charities is sure very expedient and I doubt not whoever will make trial of it will upon experience acknowledge it to be so 12. The fourth exercise of our Charity is towards the credit of our Neighbour and of this we may have many occasions sometimes towards the innocent and sometimes also towards the guilty If one whom we know to be an innocent person be slandered and traduced Charity binds us to do what we may for the declaring his innocency and delivering him from that false imputation and that not onely by witnessing when we are called to it but by a voluntary offering our testimony on his behalf or if the accusation be not before a Court of Justice and so there be no place for that our more solemn testimony but that it be onely a slander tost from one
impenitence and unworthiness frustrate these so inestimable mercies to me but qualifie me by thy grace to receive the full benefit of them O Lord I have abundant need of thee but am so clog'd with guilt so holden with the cords of my sins that I am not able to move towards thee O lose me from this band wherewith Satan and my own lusts have bound me and draw me that I may run after thee Lord thou seest daily how eagerly I pursue the paths that lead to death but when thou invitest me to life and glory I turn my back and forsake my own mercy How often hath this feast been prepared and I have with frivilous excuses absented my self or if I have come it hath been rather to defie then to adore thee I have brought such troops of thy professed enemies unrepented sins along with me as if I â—ame not to commemorate but renew thy passion crucifying thee afresh and putting thee to open shame and now of what punishment shall I be thought worthy who have thus trampled under foot the Son of God and counted the blood of the Covenant an unholy thing yet O merciful Jesu this blood is my onely râ—â—â—ge O let this make my atonement or I perish eternally wherefore didst thou shed it but to save sinners neither can the merit of it be overwhelmed either by the greatness or number of sins I am a sinner a great one O let me find its saving efficacy Be merciful unto me O God be merciful to me for my soul trusteth in thee and in the clefts of thy wound shall be my refuge until thy fathers indignation be overpast O thou who hast as my high Priest sacrificed for me intercede for me also and plead thy meritorious sufferings on my behalfe and suffer not O my Redeemer the price of thy blood to be utterly lost And grant O Lord that as the sins I have to be forgiven are many so I may love much Lord thou seest what faint what cold affections I have towards thee O warm and enliven them and as in this Sacrament that transcendent love of thine in dying for me is shewed forth so I beseech thee let it convey such grace into me as may enable me to make some returns of love O let this divine fire descend from heaven into my soul and let my sins be the burnt offering for it to consume that there may not any corrupt affection any accursed thing be shelterd in my heart that I may never again defile that place which thou hast chosen for thy temple Thou dyedst O dear Jesu to redeem me from all iniquity O let me not again sell my self to work wickedness but grant that I may approach thee at this time with most sincere and fixed resolutions of an entire reformation and let me receive such grace and strength from thee as may enable me faithfully to perform them Lord there are many old habituated diseases my soul groanes under Her mention thy most prevailing corruptions And though I lye never so long at the pool of Bethesda come never so often to thy table yet unless thou be pleased to put forth thy healing vertue they will still remain uncured O thou blessed Physician of souls heal me and grant I may now so touch thee that every one of these loath some issues may immediately stanch that these sicknesses may not be unto death but unto the glory of thy mercy in pardoning to the glory of thy grace in purifying so polluted a wretch O Christ hear me and grant I may now approach thee with such humility and contrition love and devotion that thou maist vouchsafe to come unto me and abide with me communicating to me thy self and all the merits of thy passion And then O Lord let no accusations of Satan oâ— my own conscience amaze or distract me buâ— having peace with thee let me also have peace in my self that this wine may make glad this bread of life may strengthen my heart and enable me cheerfully to run the way of thy Commandments Grant this merciful Saviour I beseech thee for thine own bowels and compassions sake EjACULATIONS to be used at the LORDS TABLE LOrd I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof I have sinned what shall I do unto thee O thou preserver of men Here recollect some of thy greatest sins If thou Lord shouldst be extreme to mark what is done amiss O Lord who may abide it But with the Lord there is mercy and with him is plenteous Redemption Behold O Lord thy beloved Son in whom thou art well pleased Hearken to the cry of his blood which speaketh better things then that of Abel By his Agony and bloody Sweat by his Cross and Passion good Lord deliver me O Lamb of God which takest away the sins of the world grant me thy Peace O Lamb of God which takest away the sins of the world have mercy upon me Immediately before Receiving THou hast said that he that eateth thy flesh and drinketh thy blood hath eternal life Behold the servant of the Lord be it unto me according to thy word At the Receiving of the Bread BY thy Crucified Body deliver me from this body of death At the Receiving of the Cup. O let this blood of thine purge my conscience from dead works to serve the living God Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me clean O touch me and say I will be thou clean After Receiving WHat shall I render unto the Lord for all the benefits he hath done unto me I will take the Cup of Salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing Therefore blessing honour glory and power be to him that sitteth upon the Throne and to the Lamb for ever and ever Amen I have sworn and am stedfastly purposed to keep thy righteous judgments O hold thou up my goings in thy paths that my footsteps slip not A Thanksgiving after the Receiving of the Sacrament OThou Fountain of all goodness from whom every good and perfect gift cometh and to whom all honour and glory should be returned I desire with all the most fervent and inflamed affections of a grateful heart to blesse and praise thee for those inestimable mercies thou hast vouchsafed me Lord what is man that thou shouldst so regard him as to send thy beloved Son to suffer such bitter things for him But Lord what am I the worst of men that I should have any part in this atonement who have so oft despised him and his sufferings O the height and depth of this mercy of thine that art pleased to admit me to the renewing of that Covenant with thee which I have so often so perversly broken that I who am not worthy of that daily bread which sustains the body should be made partaker of this bread of life which nourishes the Soul and
there had been none of us alive at this day to implore thy mercy But thou art a gracious God slow to anger and hast proceeded with us with much patience and long suffering thou hast sent thy judgments to awake us to repentance and hast also allowed us space for it But alas we have perverted this mercy of thine beyond all the former we return not to him that smiteth us neither do we seek the Lord we are slidden back by a perpetual backsliding no man repenteth him of his wickedness or saith what have I done 'T is true indeed we fear the rod we dread every suffering so that we are ready to buy it off with the foulest sin but we fear not him that hath appointed it but by a wretched obstinacy harden our necks against thee and refuse to return And now O God what balm is there in Gilead that can cure us who when thou wouldst heal us will not be healed we know thou hast pronounced that there is no peace to the wicked and how shall we then pray for peace that still retain our wickedness ' This this O Lord is our forest disease O give us medicines to heal this sickness heal our souls and then we know thou canst soon heâ—l our land Lord thou hast long spoken by thy word to our ears by thy judgments even to all our senses but unless thou speak by thy Spirit to our hearts all other cals will still be uneffectual O send out this voice and that a mighty voice such as may awake us out of this Lethargy thou that didst call Lazarus out of the grave O be pleased to call us who are dead yea putrified in trespasses and sins and make us to awake to righteousness And though O Lord our frequent resistances even of these inward calls have justly provoked thee to give us up to the lusts of our own heart yet O thou boundless ocean of mercy who art good not only beyond what we can deserve but what we can wish do not withdraw the influence of thy grace and take not thy holy Spirit from us Thou wert found of those that sought thee not O let that act of mercy be repeated to us who are so desperately yet so insensibly sick that we cannot so much as look after the Physician and by how much our case is the more dangerous so much the more soveraign remedies do thou apply Lord help us and consider not so much our unworthiness of thy aid as our irremediable ruine if we want it save Lord or we perish eternally To this end dispense to us in our temporal interest what thou seest may best secure our spiritual if a greater degree of outward misery will tend to the cureing our inward Lord spare not thy rod but strike yet more sharply Cast out this Devil though with never so much foaming and tearing But if thou seest that some return of mercy may be most likely to melt us O be pleased so far to condescend to our wretchedness as to afford us that and whether by thy sharper or thy gentler methods bring us home to thy self And then O Lord we know thy hand is not shortned that it cannot save when thou hast delivered us from our sins thou canst and wilt deliver us from our troubles O shew us thy mercy and grant us thy salvation that being redeemed both in our bodies and spirits we may glorifie thee in both in a cheerful obedience and praise the name of our God that hath dealt wonderfully with us through Jesus Christ our Lord. A Prayer for This Church O Thou great God of recompences who turnest a fruitful land into barrenness for the wickednesse of theâ— that dwel therein thou hast most justly executed that fatal sentence on this Church which having once been the perfection of beauty the joy of the whole earth is now become a scorn and derision to all that are round about her O Lord what could have been done to thy vineyard that thou 〈◊〉 not done in it and since it hath brought forth nothing but wild grapes it is perfectly just with thee to take away the hedg thereof and let it be eaten up But O Lord though our iniquities testifie against us yet do thou it for thy Names sake for our backslidings are many we have sinned against thee O the hope of Israel the Saviour thereof in time of trouble why shouldst thoâ— be as a stranger in the land as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to carry for a night Why shouldst thou be as a man astonied as a mighty man that cannot save Yet thou O Lord art in the midst of us and we are called by thy name leave us not deprive us of what outward enjoyments thou pleasest take from us the opporâ—unities of our Luxury and it may be a mercy but O take not from us the means of our reformation for that is the most direful expression of thy wrath And though we have hated the light because our deeds were evil yet O Lord do not by withdrawing it condemn â—s to walk on still in darkness but let it continue to shine till it have guided our feet into the way of peace O Lord arise stir up thy strength and come and help us and deliver not the soul of thy turtle dove this disconsolate Church unto the multitude of the enemy but help act O God and that right early But if O Lord our rebellions have so provoked thee that the Ark must wander in the wilderness til all this murmuring generation be consumed yet let not that perish with us but bring it at last into a Canaan and let our more innocent posterity see that which in thy just judgment thou denyest to us In the mean time let us not cease to bewail that desolation our sins have wrought to think upon the stones of Sion and pity to see her in the dust nor ever be ashamed or afraid to own her in her lowest and most persecuted condition but esteem the reproach of Christ greater riches then the treasures of Egypt and so approve our constancy to this our afflicted mother that her blessed Lord and head may own us with mercy when he shall come in the glory of thee his father with the holy Angels Grant this merciful Lord for the same Jesus Christ â—is sake A Prayer for the Peace of the Church LOrd Jesus Christ which of thine almightiness madest all creatures both visible and invisible which of thy godly wisdome governest and settest all things in most goodly order which of thine unspeakable goodness keepest defendest and furtherest all things which of thy deep mercy restorest the decayed renewest the fallen raisest the dead vouchsafe we pray thee at last to cast down thy countenance upon thy well-beloved Spouse the Church but let it be that amiable and merciful countenance wherewith thou pacifiest all things in heaven in earth and whatsoever is above heaven and under the earth vouchsafe to cast upon us those tender