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 businesse I mean not such business as men unprofitably make to themselves but the necessary businesse 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 whilest 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 finde time to bestow upon his vanities nay perhaps his sins say he wants leisure for prayer but let him now endeavour to redeem what he hath mis-spent 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 seldom in it 15. For first it is a great Honour for us poor worms of the earth to be allowed to speak so freely to the Majestie 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 imagned 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 Eccles. 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 whatever he wanted though it were to cost him much pains and labour now this happy man thou mayest 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 of something or other from God it is madness to let that uneasiness dishearten thee and keep thee from this so sure means 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 the fountain of happiness and at his right hand are pleasures for evermore Psalm 16. 11. And therefore the nearer we draw to him the happier we must needs be the very joyes of heaven arising from our neerness to God Now in this life we have no way of drawing so neer to him as by this of Prayer and therefore surely it is that which in it self is apt to afford abundance of delight and pleasure if it seem otherwise to us it is from some distemper of our own hearts which like a sick palate cannot relish the most pleasant meat Prayer is a pleasant duty but it is withal a spiritual one and therefore if thy heart be carnal if that be set either on the contrary pleasures of the flesh or dross of the world no marvail then if thou taste no pleasantness in it if like the Israelites thou despise Mannâ— whilest thou longest after the flesh pots of Egypt Therefore if thou finde a weariness in this duty suspect thy self purge and refine thy heart from the love of all sin and endeavour to put it into a heavenly and spiritual frame and then thou wilt find this no unpleasant exercise but full of delight and satisfaction In the mean time complain not of the hardness of the duty but of the unto wardness of thy own heart 18. But there may also be another reason of its seeming unpleasant to us and that is want of Use. You know there are many things which seem uneasie at the first tryal which yet after we are accustomed to them seem very delightful and if this be thy case then thou knowest a ready cure viz. to use it oftner and so this consideration naturally inforces the exhortation of being frequent in this duty 19. But we are not only to consider how often but how well we perform it Now to do it well we are to respect first the matter of our Prayers to look that we ask nothing that is unlawful as revenge upon our eneâ—ies or the like secondly the manner and that must be first in faith we must believe that if we ask as we ought God will either give us the thing we ask for or else something which he sees better for us And then secondly in humility we must acknowledge our selves utterly unworthy of any of those good things we beg for and therefore sue for them only for Christs sake thirdly with attention we must minde what we are about and not suffer our selves to be carried away to the thought of other things I told you at the first that Prayer was the business of the soul but if our mindes be wandering it is the work onely of the tongue and lips which make it in Gods account no better then vain babling and so will never bring a blessing on us Nay as Jacob said to his mother Gen. 27. 12. It will be more likely to bring a curse on us then a blessing for it is a profaning one of the most solemn parts of Gods service it is a piece of Hypocrisie the drawing neer to him with our lip when our hearts are far from him and a great slighting and despising that dreadful Majesty we come before And as to our selves it is a most ridiculous folly that we who come to God upon such weighty errands as are all the concernments of our souls and bodies should in the midst forget our business and pursue every the lightest thing that either our own vain fancies or the Devil whose business it is here to hinder us can offer to us It is just as if a Malâ—factor that comes to sue for his life to the King should in the midst of his supplication happen to espie a Butter flie and then should leave his suit and run a chace after that Butterflie
Peter tells 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 greatest triumph and that testimony we can never have more clear and lively then when we suffer for righteousnes sake so that you see Christianity is very amiable even in its saddest dress the inward comforts of it do far surpass 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 when ever 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 entreat and beseech the Reader that without delay he puts himself into this so pleasant and gainful a course by setting sincerely to the practise of all those things which either by this Book or by any other means he discerns to be his duty 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 entreaty no perswasion can prevail with them to make this so reasonable so necessary a change not but that they acknowledge it needful to be done but they are unwilling to do it yet they would enjoy all the pleasures of sin as long as they live then they hope at their death or some little time before it to do all the business of their Souls But alass Heaven is too high to be thus jumpt into the way to it is a long and leasurely ascent which requires time to walk The hazards of such deferring are more largely spoken of in the Discourse of Repentance I shall not here repeat them but desire the Reader seriously to lay them to heart and then surely he will think it seasonable counsel that is given by the wise man Eccles. 5. 7. Make no tarrying to turn to the Lord and put not off from day to day FINIS PRIVATE DEVOTIONS For several OCCASIONS ORDINARY and EXTRAORDINARY LONDON Printed for T. Garthwait at the little North Door of S. Pauls Church 1660. CHRISTIAN READER I Have for the help of thy Devotions set down some FORMS of PRIVATE PRAYER upon several occasions If it be thought an omâ—ssion that there are none for Families I must answer for my self that it was not from any opinion that God is not as well to be worship'd in the Family as the Closet but because the Providence of God and the Church hath already furnish'd thee for that purpose infinitely beyond what my utmost care could do I mean the PUBLICK LITURGY or COMMON PRAYER which for all publick addresses to God and such are Family prayers are so excellent useful that we may say of it as David did of Goliah's sword 1 Sam. 21. 9. There is none like it DIRECTIONS for the MORNING As soon as ever thou awakest in the morning lift up thy heart to God in this or the like short Prayer LORD As thou hast awaked my Body from sleep so by thy grace awaken my Soul from sin and make me so to walk before thee this day and all the rest of my life that when the last trumpet shall awake me out of my grave I may rise to the life immortal through Jesus Christ. WHen thou hast thus begun suffer not without some urgent necessity any worldly thoughts to fill thy mind till thou hast also paid thy more solemn Devotions to Almighty God and therefore during the time thou art dressing thy self which should be no longer then common decency requires exercise thy mind in some spiritual thoughts as for example consider to what Temptations thy business or company that day are most like to lay thee open and arm thy self with Resolutions against them or again consider what Occasions of doing service to God or good to thy neighbour are that day most likely to present themselves and resolve to embrace them and also contrive how thou mayest improve them to the uttermost But especially it will be sit for thee to Examine whether there have any sin escaped thee since thy last nights examination If after these considerations any further leisure remain thou mayest profitably imploy it in meditating on the general Resurrection whereof our rising from our beds is a Representation and of that dreadful Judgement which shall follow it and then think with thy self in what preparation thou art for it and resolve to husband caâ—â—fully every minute of thy time towards the fitting thâ—e for that great account As soon as thou art ready retire to some private place and there offer up to God thy Morning Sacrifice of Praise and Prayer PRAYERS for the MORNING At thy first kneeling down say O Holy Blessed and Glorious Trinity three Persons and one God have mercy upon me a miserable sinner LORD I know not what to pray for as I ought O let thy Spirit help my infirmities and enable me to offer up a spiritual
when its parts do not rightly perform their Offices 11. The parts of the Soul are especially these three The UNDERSTANDING the WILL and the AFFECTIONS And that these are disordered there needs little proof let any man look seviously into his own Heart and consider how little it is he knows of spiritual things and then tell me whether his Understanding be not dark How much apter is he to Will evil then good and then tell me whether his Will be not Crooked And how strong Desires he hath after the pleasures of sin and what cold and faint ones towards God and goodness and then tell me whether his Affections be not disordered and rebellious even against the voice of his own Reason within him Now as in bodily diseases the first step to the cure is to know the Cause of the sickness so likewise here it is very necessary for us to know how the Soul first fell into this Diseased condition and that I shall now briefly tell you 12. GOD created the first Man Adam without Sin and indued his Soul with the full knowledg of his Duty and with such a strength that he might if he would perform all that was required of him Having thus created him He makes a COVENANT or agreement with him to this purpose that if he continued in Obedience to God without committing Sin then first that Strength of Soul which he then had should still be continued to him and secondly That he should never Die but he taken up into Heaven there to be Happy for ever But on the other side if he committed Sin and Disobeyed God then both He and all his Children after him should lose that Knowledg and that perfect strength which enabled him to do all that God required of him and Secondly should be subject to death and not only so but to Eternal damnation in Hell 13. This was the Agreement made with Adam and all mankind in him which we usually call the FIRST COVENANT upon which God gave Adam a particular commandment which was no more but this That he should not eat of one only tree of that garden wherein he had placed him But he by the perswasion of the Devil eats of that Tree disobeys God and so brings that curse upon himself and all his posterity And so by that one Sin of his he lost both the full Knowledge of his Duty and the Power of performing it And we being born after his Image did so likewise and so are become both Ignorant in Discerning what we ought to Do and Weak and unable to the Doing of it having a backwardness to all good and an aptness and readiness to all evil like a sick stomack which loaths all wholsome food and longs after such trash as may nourish the disease 14. And now you see where we got this Sickness of soul and likewise that it is like to prove a Deadly one and therefore I presume I need say no more to assure you our Souls are in danger It is more likely you will from this description think them hopeless But that you may not from that conâ—eit excuse your Neglect of them I shall hasten to shew yâ—â— the contrary by proceeding to the fourth Motive of Care 15. That Fourth Motive is the likelyhood that our CARE will not be in VAIN but that it will 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 Now 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 all mankinde were under the sentence of eternal condemnation yet it pleased God so far to pity our 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 and us in him presently after his Fall and is briefly contained in those wards 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. Frst 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 finde 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 The Second 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 and 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 tells us Acts 3. 26. God sent his Son Jesus to Bless you 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 that of Praying that he not only performed on earth but continues still to do it in
hurtfull oftentimes both to them ourselves first as to them it is sure the longer we delay the longer they groan under the present want after we have designed them a relief it is in some degree a cruelty to defer bestowing of it for so long we prolong their sufferings you wil think him a hard hearted Physician that having a certain cure for a man in pain should when he might presently apply it make unnecessary delays so keep the poor man still in torture and the same it is here we want of the due compassion if we can be content our poor brother should have one hour of unnecessary suffering when we have present opportunity of relieving him or if he be not in such an extremity of want yet whatever we intend him for his greater comfort he loses so much of it as the time of the delay amounts to Secondly in respect of our selves t is ill to defer for thereby we give advantage to the temptations either of Satan or our own covetous humour to disswade us from it Thus it fares too often with many Christian duties for want of a speedy execution our purposes cool and never come to act so many resolve they will repent but because they set not immediatly upon it one delay succeeds another and keeps them from ever doing it at all and so 't is very apt to fall out in this case especially with men who are of a covetous temper and therefore they of all others should not trust themselves thus to delay 9. Thirdly We should take care to give prudently that is to give most where it is most needed and in such a manner as may do the receiver most good Charities do often miscarry for want of this care for if we give at all adventures to all that seem to want we may somtimes give more to those whose sloth and lewdness is the cause of their want then to those who best deserve it and so both encourage the one in their idlenesse and disable our selves from giving to the other Yet I doubt not such may be the present wants even of the most unworthy that we are to relieve them but where no such pressing need is we shall do best to chuse out the fitter objects of charity such are those who either are not able to labour or else have a greater charge then their labour can maintain and to those our alms should be given also in such manner as may be most likely to do them good the manner of which may differ according to the circumstances of their condition it may to some be best perhaps to give them by little and little to others the giving it all at once may tend more to their benefit and sometimes a seasonable loan may do as well as a gift and that may be in the power sometimes of those who are able to give but little But when we thus lend on charity we must lend freely without Use and also with a purpose that if he should prove unable to pay we will forgive so much of the principal as 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 alms 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 Luâ— 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 practise yet it may shew us how prime and fundamental a part of Christianity this of Charity is that at the very first founding of the Church such vast degrees of it were practised and if we farther consider what precepts of love are given us in the Gospel even to the laying down our lives for the brethren 1 Jo. 3. 16. We cannot imagine our goods are in Gods account so much more precious then our lives 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. 8. 9. For ye know the Grace of our Lord Jesus 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 enjoyed in Heaven with his Father and submitted himself to a life of much meaness and poverty only 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 Alms 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 Alms 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 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 liberall
and famished Souls make my desires and gaspings after it answerable to my needs of it I have with the prodigal wasted that portion of grace thou bestowedst upon me and therefore do infinitely want a supply out of this treasury But O Lord how shall such a wretch as I dare to approach this holy Table I am a dog how shall I presume to take the childrens bread Or how shall this spiritual Manna this food of Angels be given to one who hath chosen to feed on husks with swine nay to one who hath already so often trampled these precious things under foot either carelesly neglecting or unworthily receiving these holy mysteries O Lord my horrible guiltiness makes me tremble to come and yet makes me not dare to keep away for where O Lord shall my polluted soul be washed if not in this fountain which thou hast opened for sin and for uncleanness Hither therefore I come and thou hast promised that him that cometh to thee thou wilt in no wise cast out This is O Lord the blood of the New Testament grant me so to receive it that it may be to me for remission of Sins And though I have so often and so wretchedly broken my part of that Covenant whereof this Sacrament is a seal yet be thou graciously pleased to make good thine to be merciful to my unrighteousness and to remember my sins and my iniquities no more and not only so but to put thy laws into my heart and to write them in my mind and by the power of thy grace dispose my soul to such a sincere and constant obedience that I may never again provoke thee Lord grant that in these holy mysteries I may not only commemorate but effectually receive my blessed Saviour and all the benefits of his Passion and to that end give me such a preparation of soul as may qualifie me for it give me a deep sense of my sins and unworthiness that being weary and heavy laden I may be capable of his refreshings and by being suppled in my own tears I may be the fitter to be washed in his blood raise up my dull and earthly mind from groveling here below and inspire it with a holy zeal that I may with spiritual affection approach this spiritual feast and let O Lord that infinite love of Christ in dying for so wretched a sinner inflame my frozen benummed soul and kindle in me that sacred fire of love to him and that so vehement that no waters may quench no floods drown it such as may burn up all my drosse not leave one unmortified lust in my soul and such as may also extend it selfe to all whom thou hast given me command and example to love even enemies as well as friends Finally O Lord I beseech thee to cloath me in the wedding garment and make me though of my self a most unworthy yet by thy mercy an acceptable guest at this holy Table that I may not eat and drink my own condemnation but may have my pardon sealed my weakness repaired my corruptions subdued and my soul so inseparably united to thee that no temptations may ever be able to dissolve the union but that being begun here in grace it may be consummated in glory Grant this O Lord for thy dear Sons sake Jesus Christ. ANOTHER O Blessed Jesus who once offeredst up thy self for me upon the Cross and now offerest thy self to me in the Sacrament let not I beseech thee my impenitence and unworthiness frustrate these so inestimable mercies to me but qualifie me by thy grace to receive the full benefit of them O Lord I have abundant need of thee but am so clog'd with guilt so holden with the cords of my sins that I am not able to move towards thee O loose 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 dayly 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 frivolous 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 came 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 only refuge 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 wounds shall be my refuge untill 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 behalf 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 transcendant love of thine in dying for me is shed forth so I beseech thee let it convey such grace into me as may enable me to make some returns of love O let this divine fire descend from heaven into my â—oul and let my sins be the burnt offering for it to consume that there may not any corrupt affection any accursed thing be sheltered in my heart that I may never again defile that place which thou hast chosen for thy Temple Thou dyedst O dear Jesu to redeem me from all iniquity O let me not again sell my self to work wickedness but grant that I may approach 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 groans under Here mention thy most prevailing corruptions And though I lye never so long at the Pool of Bethesda come never so often to thy Table yet unless thou be pleased to put forth thy healing virtue 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 loathsome 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
Soul O save me for thy mercies sake O go not from me for trouble is hard at hand and there is none to help I stretch forth my hands unto thee my Soul gaspeth unto thee as a thirsty land Draw nigh unto my soul and save it O deliver me because of my enemies For my Soul is full of trouble and my life draweth nigh unto hell Save me from the Lions mouth hear me from among the horns of the Unicorns O set me up upon the rock that is higher then I for thou art my hope and a strong Tower for me against the enemy Why art thou so heavy O my Soul and why art thou so disquieted within me Put thy trust in God for I will yet give him thanks for the help of his countenance The Lord shall make good his loving kindness towards me yea thy mercy O Lord endureth for ever despise not then the work of thine own hands O GOD thou art my God early will I seek thee My Soul thirsteth for thee my flesh also longeth after thee in a barren and drie land where no water is Like as the hart desireth the water brooks so longeth my Soul after thee O God My Soul is a thirst for God even for the living God when shall I come to appear before the presence of God How amiable are thy dwellings O Lord of Hosts My Soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the Courts of the Lord my flesh and my heart rejoyce in the living God O that I had wings like a Dove for then would I flye away and be at rest O send out thy light and thy truth that they may lead me and bring me unto thy Holy Hill and to thy dwelling For one day in thy Courts is better then a thousand I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God then to dwell in the tents of wickedness I should utterly have fainted but that I believed verily to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living Thou art my helper and my redeemer O Lord make no long tarrying EJACULATIONS O LORD of whom may I seek for succour but of thee who for my sins art justly displeased Yet O Lord God most Holy O Lord most Mighty O Holy and most Merciful Saviour deliver me not into the bitter pains of eternal death Thou knowest Lord the secrets of my heart shut not up thy merciful eyes to my prayer but hear me O Lord Most Holy O God most Mighty O Holy and Merciful Saviour thou most worthy Judge eternal suffer me not at my last hour for any pains of death to fall from thee Father I have sinned against heaven and before thee and am not worthy to be called thy child yet O Lord do not thou cast off the bowels and compassions of a Father but even as a father pittieth his own children so be thou merciful unto me Lord the prince of this world cometh O let him have nothing in me but as he accuseth do thou absolve he lays many and grievous things to my charge which he can too well prove I have nothing to say for my self do thou answer for me O Lord my God O Lord I am cloathed with filthy garments and Satan stands at my right hand to resist me O be thou pleased to rebuke him and pluck me as a brand out of the fire cause mine iniquities to pass from me and cloth me with the righteousness of thy Son Behold O God the Divel is coming towards me having great wrath because he knoweth that he hath but a short time O save and deliver me lest he devour my soul like a Lion and tear it in pieces while there is none to help O My God I know that no unclean thing can enter into thy Kingdom and I am nothing but pollution my very righteousnesses are as filthy rags O wash me and make me white in the blood of the Lamb that so I may be fit to stand before thy Throne Lord the snares of death compass me round about O let not the pains of hell also take hold upon me but though I find trouble and heaviness yet O Lord I beseech thee deliver my soul. O dear Jesus who hast bought me with the precious price of thine own blood challenge now thy purchase and let not all the malice of Hell pluck me out of thy hand O blessed high Priest who art able to save them to the utmost who come unto God by thee save me I beseech thee who have no hope but on thy merits and intercession O God I confess I have defaced that Image of thine thou didst imprint upon my Soul yet O thou faithful Creator have pity on thy creature O Jesu I have by my many and grievous sins crucified thee afresh yet thou who prayedst for thy persecutors intercede for me also and suffer not O my Redeemer my soul the price of thy blood to perish O Spirit of grace I have by my horrid impieties done despight to thee yet O Blessed Comforter though I have often grieved thee be thou pleased to succour and relieve me and say unto my soul I am thy salvation Mine eyes look unto thee O Lord in thee is my trust O cast not out my soul. O Lord in thee have I trusted let me never be confounded O Blessed Lord who scourgest every Son whom thou receivest let me not be weary of thy correction but give me such a perfect subjection to thee the Father of Spirits that this chastisement may be for my profit that I may thereby be partaker of thy holiness O thou Captain of my Salvation who wert made perfect by sufferings sanctifie to me all the pains of body all the terrors of minde which thou shalt permit to fall upon me Lord my sins have deserved eternal torments make me chearfully and thankfully to bear my present pains chasten me as thou pleasest here that I may not be condemned with the world Lord the waters are come in even unto my soul O let thy Spirit move upon these waters and make them like the pool of Bethesda that they may cure whatsoever spiritual disease thou discernest in me O Christ who first sufferedst many and grievous things and then enteredst into thy glory make me so to suffer with thee that I may also be glorified with thee O dear Jesus who humblest thy self to the death of the Cross for me let that death of thine sweeten the bitterness of mine When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death thou didst open the Kingdome of heaven to all believers I believe that thou shalt come to be my Judge I pray thee therefore help thy servant whom thou hast redeemed with thy most precious blood Make me to be numbred with thy Saints in glory everlasting Thou art the resurrection and the life he that believeth in thee though he were dead yet shall he live Lord I believe help thou my unbelief My flesh and my heart faileth but God is the strength
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 chearful 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 wickedness of them that dwell 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 hast not done in it and since it hath brought forth nothing but wilde grapes it is perfectly just with thee to take away the hedge 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 thou be as a stranger in the land as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry 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 enjoyment thou pleasest take from us the opportunities 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 us 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 come help us and deliver not the soul of thy Turtle Dove this disconsolate Church unto the multitude of the enemy but help her O God and that right early But if O Lord our rebellions have so provoked thee that the Ark must wander in the wilderness till 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 judgement thou denrest to us In the mean time let us not cease to bewail that desolation our sins have wrought to think upon the stones of Ston 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 AEgypt 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 his 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 thing 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 and pitiful eyes with which thou didst once behold Peter that great Shepherd of thy Church and forthwith he remembred himself and repented with which eyes thou once didst view the scattered multitude and wert moved with compassion that for lack of a good Shepherd they wandered as sheep dispersed and strayed a sunder Thou seest O good Shepherd what sundry sorts of Wolves have broken into thy sheep cotes so that if it were possible the very perfect persons should be brought into error thou seest with what winds with what waves with what storms thy silly ship is tosl d thy ship wherein thy little flock is in peril to be drowned And what is now left but that it utterly sink and we all perish Of this tempest and storm we may thank our own wickedness and sinful living we discern it well and confess it we discern thy righteousness and we bewail our unrighteousness but we appeal to thy Mercy which surmounteth all thy works we have now suffered much punishment being scourged with so many wars consumed with such losses of goods shaken with so many floods and yet appears there no where any Haven or Port unto us being thus tired and forlorn among so strange evils but still every day more grievous punishments and more seem to hang over our heads We complain not of thy sharpness most tender Saviour but we discern here also thy mercy forasmuch as much grievouser plagues we have deserved But O most merciful Jesus we beseech thee that thou wilt not consider nor weigh what is due for our deservings but rather what becometh thy mercy without which neither the Angels in heaven can stand sure before thee much less we silly vessels of clay Have mercy on us O Redeemer which art easie to be intreated not that we be worthy of thy mercy but give thou this glory unto thine own Name Suffer not those which either have not known thee or do envy thy glory continually to triumph over us and say Where is their God where is their Redeemer where is their Saviour where is their Bridegroom that they thus boast on These opprobrious words redound unto thee O Lord while by our evils men weigh and esteem thy goodness they think we be forsaken whom they see not amended Once when thou sleptst in the ship and a tempest suddenly arising threatned death to all in the Ship thou awokest at the outcry of a few Disciples and straightway at thine Almighty word the waters couched the winds fell the storm was suddenly turned into a great calm the dumb waters knew their makers voice Now in this far greater tempest wherein not a few mens bodies be in danger but innumerable souls we beseech thee at the cry of thy holy Church which is in danger of drowning that thou wilt awake So many thousands of men do cry Lord save us we perish the tempest is past mans power it is thy word that must do the deed Lord Jesu Only say thou with a word of thy mouth Cease O tempest and forthwith shall the desired calm appear Thou wouldst have spared so many thousands of most wicked men if in the City of Sodom had been found but ten good men Now here be so â—any thousands of men which love the glory of
Heaven He sits on the right hand of God and makes Request for us Romans 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 whilest 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 only 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 and 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 Laws 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 whither 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 according to the precept of the Apostle Col. 3. 2. Set your affections on things above and 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 Sum 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 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 bin made for we shall then be to Answer not for the breach of Law only as in the first but for the abuse of mercy which is of all sins the most provoking On the other side if we 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 bewailing and forsaking whatever we have formerly been guilty of it is then most certain that all the fore-mentioned benefits of Christ belongs to us 24. And now you see how little Reason you have to cast off the CARE of your SOULS upon a conceit they are past cure for that it is plain they are not Nay certainly they are in that very condition which of all others makes them fittest for our care If they had not been thus REDEEMED by CHRIST they had been then so hopeless that care would have been in vain on ther other side if his Redemption had been such that all men should be saved by it though they Live as they list We should have thought it needless to take care for them because they were safe without it But it hath pleased God so to order it that our care must be the means by which they must Receive the good even of all that Christ hath done for them 25. And now if after all that God hath done to Save these Souls of ours we will not bestow a little Care on them our selves we very well deserve to perish If a Physician should undertake a patient that were in some desperate disease and by his skill bring him so far out of it that he were sure to recover if he would but take care of himself and observe those rules the Physician set him would you not think that man weary of his life that would refuse to do that So certainly that man is weary of his soul wilfully casts it away that will not consent to those easie conditions by which he may save it 26. You see how great kindness God hath to these Souls of ours the whole TRINITY Father Son and Holy Ghost have all done their parts for them The FATHER gave his only Son the SON gave Himself left his glory and endured the bitter death of the Cross meerly to keep our Souls from perishing The HOLY GHOST is become as it were our attendant waits upon us with Continual offers of his grace to Enable us to do that which may preserve them Nay he is so desirous we should accept those Offers of his that he is said to be grieved when we refuse them Ephes. 4. 30. Now what greater disgrace and affront can we put upon God then to despise what he thus values that those Souls of ours which Christ thought worthy every drop of his blood we should not think worth any part of our Care We use in things of the world to rate them according to the opinion of those who are best skilled in them now certainly God who made our Souls best knowes the worth of them and since he prizes them so high let us if it be but in reverence to him be ashamed to neglect them Especially now that they are in so hopeful a condition that nothing but our own carelesness can possibly destroy them 27. I have now briefly gone over those Foure Motives of care I at first proposed which are each of them such as never misses to stir it up towards the things of this World and I have also shewed you how much more Reasonable nay Necessary it is they should do the like for the Soul And now what can I say more but conclude in the words of Isaiah 46. 8. Remember this and shew your selves men That is deal with your Soul as your Reason teaches you to do with all other things that concern you And sure this common Justice bindes you to for the Soul is that which furnishes you with that Reason which you exercise in all your worldly business and shall the Soul it self receive no Benefit from that Reason which it affords you This is as if the Master of a Family who provides food for his servants should by them be kept from Eating any himself and so remain the only starved creature in his house 28. And as Justice