secur'd of the enjoyment of our God who by the sole perfection of his own free Goodness can never deny himself to those that love him else would their very loving him be a cause of great misery since the misery of a Soul is the want of what it loves Indeed he that is possest with love is so far already a partaker of a divine nature for thou hast told us O Lord that God is Love and he that dwelleth in Love dwelleth in God and God in him He then that loves must needs be proportionably happy too for so much as he has of God so much he possesses of his true good Thus Lord Jesus whatever thy holy books do record of thee in expressions suited to our low capacities Whatever they say of thy restoring all things and repairing again the ruines of Mankind All is exactly verified with this one line which our thankful Hearts should repeat with joy Heaven is attain'd by Love alone and Love alone by thee MEDITATION III. STill my Soul let us repeat a few Lines more to the praise of him whose Mercies are no fewer than infinite Of him whose pity took us by the hand and kindly led us into his own light Of thee O Blessed Jesu our Lord our God who alone art the source of all our Happiness The World till thou camest sate wrapt in darkness and few discern'd so much as a shadow of thee They follow'd the Appetites of Sense and Humour and plac'd their felicity in being prosperous here Little considering the Life to come and less the joyes that entertain that Life This was alas their miserable State and which was worse than this they had no power to help it How could they believe what they never heard of or love what they never believed How could they desire what they never lov'd or be glad to receive what they never desir'd It was thou O Lord didst first teach us our true end the blissful Vision of the Eternal Deity It was thou didst first teach us the true means to attain that end by a hearty love and desire to attain it O the blest change which thy hand has wrought the happy improvements which thy coming has produc't Now every Woman and illiterate Man can discourse familiarly of the highest Truths The Creation of the World and the fall of Adam the Incarnation of God and Redemption of Man the mystery of the Trinity and Miracle of the Resurrection the day of Judgment and State of Eternity All these we know but it was thou O Lord who taught'st us and by thy holy Church first spread them over the World. Now thou hast opened our Eyes we plainly see what unassisted nature could never have reacht We see the framing right of our Affections here is both cause and measure of our Happiness hereafter If we supreamly esteem the goods of the future life we shall find them there and be happy If we love Heaven with our whole Soul and press on strongly with all our force we shall enter its Glories with a strange surprizing delight and possess them for ever in a perpetual extasie We see our Souls are made to know and perfect themselves by the worthiest objects We see their Nature is free and unconfin'd and nothing can fill them but that which is infinite All other knowledges enlarge our faculties and breed new desire to know still more which if unsatisfi'd we yet are miserable since none can be happy who want their desire Only the sight of God fills us to the brim and infinitely overflows our utmost capacities It fills and overflows all the powers of our Souls with joy and wonder and inconceivable sweetness O blest and glorious sight when will the happy day appear and open to my Soul that beauteous prospect When dearest Lord shall I fee thee face to face when shall I heartily at least desire to see Thee Thou art my full and high felicity and only and alone sufficient for me PETITIONS O Most Gracious and adorable Jesu who so lovedst this sinful World as to die for us we cannot think thou wilt deny us any thing that we humbly ask of thee according to thy will. Those that believing come unto thee thou wilt in no wise cast out Let me then obtain I beseech thee these important favours and whatever else thou seest conducing to my Happiness Teach me I pray effectually that this low world can never make me happy that I must set my affections on things above Make me seek therefore in the first place the Kingdom of God and the Righteousness thereof to love with my whole affections the enjoyment of God since nothing but love can qualifie me for that enjoyment and nothing without that enjoyment can ever render me happy O my God make me ardently love thee that I may eagerly desire thee and eagerly desire thee that I may with joyful transport enjoy thee Make me O Blessed Jesu so meditate on thy infinite Mercies that my whole Soul may be fill'd with the memory of thy love that the frequent remembrance of it may diffuse a vigorous love of thee into all my powers let the mark and badge which they all bear be the love of Jesus Let every step of thy love dear Lord in redeeming lost Mankind confirm my Soul in Love and Duty fortifie me thereby against all Persecution and discouragement and so effectually draw me into thine own Kingdom of Glory by thy Holy Life and precious Death and glorious Resurrection Make me to persevere in thy obedience to the end that I may die in thy favour and rise again to rejoice with thee for ever Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest one God World without end Glory be to c. Amen For the Evening MEDITATION I. REtire now my Soul from thy common thoughts that are permitted to entertain thy less serious hours Retire and call thy wandering Fancies home and speedily range them in peace and order that thou may'st be so prepar'd to hear thy Lord who invites thee among the rest to taste his sweetness The Prince of Love and Bounty sayes Come to me all you that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and you shall find rest to your Souls For my yoke is easie and my burthen is light Enough dear Lord enough is said to draw all the World to thy holy Discipline What can be offer'd so agreeable to our Natures too much alas inclin'd to pleasure and profit What can be offer'd so powerfully attractive as to make our work delightfull and then reward it As to propose an Employment like the Musick of Churches devout sweet and gainful to the Performers Whither O my God should we go but unto thee Thou alone hast the words of eternal Life Thou art our wise Instructor to know what to do and our onely Enabler to do what we know Thou
cross art thou to that design For which we had our birth Us who were made in Heaven to shine Thou bow'st down to thy Earth Nay to thy Hell for thither sink All that to thee submit Thou strew'st some flowers on the brink To drown us in the pit World take away thy tinsel wares That dazle here our eyes Let us go up above the Stars Where all our treasure lies The way we know our dearest Lord Himself is gone before And has engag'd his faithful word To open us the door But O my God! reach down thy hand And take us up to thee That we about thy Throne may stand And all thy glories see All Glory to the sacred Three One ever living Lord As at the first still may he be Belov'd Obey'd Ador'd Amen For Monday Morning MEDITATION I. IT is highly fit and just that all Mankind do adore their Maker The great God form'd our bodies out of the Earth and gave us the Spirit in man which bears his likeness a Soul that all created nature cannot sill nor any thing that is below his own Immensity He has freely bestowed on us all the rest of his Creatures which are fitted to serve and delight our bodies But he has moreover design'd us for his glorious Kingdom that we might dwell with him in perfect bliss All the Creatures he has made the great God has alwayes under his observing eye so long as they continue in being All things are open and naked to his Omniscience Though his Throne of State be establisht above and the splendours of his glory shine only on the Blessed that are there yet his unlimited Eye looks down to this lower World and beholds all the wayes of the Children of Adam If we go out he marks our steps and when we retire our shut Closet cannot exclude him while we are alone he minds all the vain and roving imaginations that we have he observes too the end that we aim at in all the Studies which we apply our selves to When we converse with others He observes our deportment and the good or ill we do to them or our selves In our Devotions he takes notice of our carriage and regards with what attention and affection we make our Prayers All the day long he considers how we spend our time and the darkest night conceals not our works from him If we deceive our Neighbour He spies the fraud and hears the least whisper of a slandering tongue If we in secret oppress the Poor or by private alms relieve their wants If in our hearts we murmur at the Rich or live contented with our little portion Whate're we do He perfectly sees us where e're we are He is sure to be with us He that made the Eye shall not he see and shall it be said that he cannot hear who formed the Ear But O thou Sovereign Lord of Heaven why dost thou stoop thus low thy glorious Eye What canst thou find that here does deserve thy view among the trifles of this empty world It is not thy own satisfaction that thou seekest herein but thy design is our advantage Thou appearest still ready to punish our sins that the fear of thy rod may prevent our miseries Sure O my God thy favours must be sweet since even thy threatnings have so much mercy And I must be worse than blind if I venture to be wicked in the face of Heaven Thou dost also Lord graciously stand by us to see us work that thine awful Eye may quicken our diligence thou art still at hand to relieve our wants When all thy work my Soul is done in the sight of him thou servest this may justly encourage thee this may make thee hope that the Labours and Sufferings of thy love shall not go unrewarded Happy we who have our God so near us if our pious Lives keep us near to him Hymn 3. WAke now my soul and humbly hear What thy mild Lord commands Each word of his will charm thine ear Each word will guide thy hands Hark how his sweet and tender care Complies with our weak minds What er'e our State and temper are Still some sit work he finds They that are merry let them sing And let the sad hearts pray Let those still ply their chearful wing And these their sober way So mounts the early chirping Lark Still upwards to the Skies So sits the Turtle in the dark Among her groans and cries And yet the Lark and yet the Dove Both sing though several parts And so should we how er'e we move With light or heavy hearts Or rather both should both assay And their cross notes unite Both grief and joy should sing and pray Since both such hopes invite Hopes that all present sorrow heal All present joy transcend Hopes to possess and taste and feel Delights that ne're will end All glory to the sacred Three All honour power and praise As at the first may ever be Beyond the end of days Amen MEDITATION II. MY God since Thou art never absent from us we will endeavour to be alwaies present with thee Often will we go up to thy Throne above and there contemplate and admire thy glory We will often wait upon thee in thy house and there adore and praise thy mercy Every where will we seek to meet thee and every where delight to find Thee My soul let it be thy endeavour to walk with God in all the parts of thy conversation and take heed that thou walk humbly with thy God. Gracious God we will spread all our wants before thee and offer all our Petitions unto thee Thou dost willingly incline a favourable ear to the Prayers that come from an upright and fervent heart Thou art a rewarder of those that diligently seek Thee Our God loves to hear us treat of Heaven as if we made it the main business of our lives to get thither All other things we must ask with submission to Him since we do not know what of them is absolutely good for our selves But his Eternal Joys we may beg without restraint we may urge and press for his assistance to gain them Heaven is the thing we may wish for if for any thing without resignation We may pray for it with great fervency and perseverance and he will not account us too importunate O wise and gracious Lord whatsoever thou dost thy love intends it for the good of thy servents If thou dost sometimes defer to grant our requests it is only in charity to us to make us repeat them It is that we may more sensibly feel our own poverty and be more strongly convinc't of our dependance on Thee That we may practise our Hope and exercise our Faith and Patience while we long expect and may practise the higher gratitude when we receive at last It is that we may learn this sure and happy skill of working in our souls the Vertues that we desire For those very desires by being often renew'd do at length
seek after Thee PETITIONS I Therefore do most humbly and constantly seek after thee my God. For all good I fly to Thee the Father of Lights and giver of every good and perfect gift And at this time Lord I ask of Thee that thou would'st alwaies possess my heart with an awful reverence of thy great Name Chase away all levity and carlesness of spirit from me by putting thy fear into my inward parts Humble my too proud and wilful spirit to a ready submission to thy will in all things Make me I pray Thee so to stand in aw of thee and of thy Judgments that I may not dare to sin Those Judgments thou hast often executed on obstinate and impenitent sinners let them be often call'd to my mind let the thoughts of them meet and antidote the temptations to sin Make my fear of them prevent my feeling the like Still O Lord let a lively sensible Conscience cry out aloud when I am tempted and say Dare you commit this evil and sin against God Dare you commit this evil and run upon the fire of divine Vengeance Are you not afraid to provoke his wrath to plunge you into everlasting torments By thy Judgments in the world thou O Lord expectest that the inhabitants thereof should be moved to learn righteousness Grant Lord that I may alwaies do so that so thy Judgments on others may prove mercies to me And let also thy abundant goodness and mercy shown to the penitent and faithful win me to repent and trust in Thee the merciful and Gracious God. Thus prevent me I beseech Thee from being overawed by the terrors of the Lord. Suffer not the Enemy of my Soul to drive me into despair because I am a Sinner dispose me to lay hold of the mercy offer'd by the Redeemer make me to believe and find that humble and penitent Sinners have an Advocate with the Father the righteous Jesus the Christ That he who suffer'd on Earth for our sins is gone to Heaven to make intercession and to plead that satisfaction in the behalf of those that apply themselves to him for his help Incourage me to a steady practice and further pursuit of Holiness by the favours thou hast shown to good men by assurance that I shall be assisted therein and that thou wilt hereafter if not in this life abundantly reward it Thus Lord let it please thee by my hopes and fears which are the great swayers of our natures here to counterpoise my propensity downwards to this earth to keep me in a constant tendency upwards lift me out of the dirt of this world into a happy converse with thee all my dayes Hymn 6. FAin would my thoughts fly up to thee Thy peace sweet Lord to find But when I offer still the world Layes clogs upon my mind Sometimes I climb a little way And thence look down below How nothing there do all things seem Which here make such a show Then round about I turn my eyes To feast my hungry sight I meet with Heaven in every thing In every thing delight I see thy wisdom ruling all And it with joy admire I see my self amidst such hopes As set my heart on fire When I have thus triumpht a while And think to build my nest Some cross conceits come fluttering by And interrupt my rest Then to the earth again I fall And from my low dust cry 'T was not in my wing Lord but thine That I got up so high And now my God whether I rise Or still lye down in dust Both I submit to thy blest Will In both on Thee I trust Guide thou my way who art thy self My Everlasting End That every step or swift or slow Still to thy self may tend To Father Son and Holy Ghost One Consubstantial Three All highest Praise all humblest thanks Now and for ever be Amen For Wednesday Morning MEDITATION I. COme my Soul let us adore the God that governs us him who is absolute King of Heaven and Earth He sees at once the whole frame of all things and thoroughly comprehends their various natures To every Creature he appoints a fit Office and guides all their motions in a perfect order till he has wrought out his glorious design and that he may finish the world in a beauteous close His councels are deep and his particular wayes may be beyond our reach yet all his wayes are wise and just and merciful And if all things come alike to all now yet he will punish wilful sinners with eternal miseries hereafter and bless his servants with eternal happiness Why then do you laugh and rejoyce unhappy wretches who tire your selves in the wayes of sin wayes they are indeed that seem smooth at first but lead to danger and end in ruine Why do you boast your pleasant life who lye asleep in the arms of Death Awake poor Souls and shake off the golden dreams that delude your crazy heads with empty fancies Awake and fill your eyes with penitent tears sadly reflect on the real miseries to which your sins have exposed you Consider whither alas will your Souls be hurry'd when in cold despair you sigh away your last faint breath they shall fly amaz'd from the sight of Heaven and hide their guilty selves in eternal darkness there they shall dwell with intolerable pains wailing and lamenting for ever their understanding shall sit as in a deep dungeon and think on nothing but its own calamities their will shall be heightned to a madness of desire and perpetually wrackt with despair of obtaining their memory shall serve but to renew their sorrows and their whole Souls be drown'd in a Sea of bitterness there every vice shall have its proper torment prodigiously bred out of its own corruption The Lascivious shall burn with unquenchable sires perpetually flaming in the rage of their own lusts the Glutton and Drunkard shall vainly sigh for a drop of water to cool their tongues the furious Cholerick shall rage like mad Dogs to their own only vexation the spiteful Envious shall have thoughts that only gnaw and torment their own minds the desires of the Covetous shall be as thorns in a mans sides the haughty Proud shall be thrown down to the lowest contempt shall be loaded with utter disdain the Slothful shall miserably deplore their lost time and languish with grief for their stupid negligence But O what horrid pangs shall seize them all and wound and pierce the very center of their Souls anguish and trouble shall infect all the whole spirit when they shall see themselves deprived of the bright and blissful Vision of God! when their offended God shall despise and reject them as if they were not his creatures shall cast them away as offensive to his sight and he that made them will not save them will shew them no mercy When they shall see themselves eternally banisht from the sweet and gracious presence of Jesus that he will not be their Saviour because they would not
not so much the number of years as the faithful endeavours and prayers of a pious Mind Would we bestow on the improvement of our Souls the time we vainly trifle away our day would be short enough and not seem tedious and yet would be long enough to finish our appointed task And what O Glorious Lord is our business here but to trim our Lamps and await thy coming To sow the Immortal seed of Hope and expect to receive the happy encrease It is no matter how late the fruit be gather'd if still it go on in growing better No matter how soon it fall from the Tree if it be not blown down before 't is ripe PETITIONS O Thou most just but secret Providence who governest all things by the Counsel of thine own Will whose powerful hand can wound and heal lead down to the Grave and bring back again Behold to thee we bow our heads and freely submit our dearest concerns Strike as thou pleasest our Health our Lives we cannot be safer than at thy dispose Onely these few requests we humbly make which O! may thy Clemency vouchsafe to hear Cut us not off in the midst of our folly nor suffer us to expire impenitent and with our sins unpardon'd But make us Lord first ready for thy self and then take us to thy self in thine own fit time Thou dost frequently O Lord put us in mind of our own and the World's last end by burying every day in the dark silent Grave of Night Sweeten we humbly beseech thee and render familiar to our expectation those terrible Periods of time by our constant due use of night and sleep Grant that our yielding so often and so easily at the Summons of our drowsie humours to suspend a while the operations of the whole man may teach our Souls to reflect themselves into a more reasonable willingness when ever thou callest to leave our Bodies in the Bed of dust and pass into the state of their own perfect and ever-waking Activity and Bliss Do thou Lord in whose indulgent hands are both our Time and our Eternity whose Providence gives every minute of our Life and governs the fatal period of our Death make us every Evening still provide to pass with comfort that important hour Make us still balance our accounts for Heaven and strive to encrease our Treasure with thee That if we rise no more to our acquaintance here we may joyfully waken among thy blessed Angels there to unite our Hymns with theirs and joyn all together in one full Quire. Amen Hymn 18. NOw O my Soul the day is gone Which in the morn was thine It 's emptied Glass no more shall run It 's Sun no longer shine 'T is true alas the day is gone O were it onely so Is it not lost as well as done Cast up thy Counts and know Art thou got so much nearer Heaven As nearer to the Grave Has thy Hearts grief a fitness given Sin 's pardon to receive From what base Vice hast thou refrain'd To break the course of sin Or what new Vertue hast thou gain'd To make thee rich within Their time is well bestow'd on those Who well their time bestow Whose main concern still forward goes Whose hopes still riper grow Who when the warning Clocks proclaim Another hour is past Have the wise art to set their aim And thoughts upon their last This sad Life's last and happiest hour Which brings them to their home Where they shall sing and bless the power That made them thither come O my dear Lord of Life and Death The ever-living King Since thou dost give to all their breath May all thy Glory sing Glory and Honour Power and Praise To the mysterious Three As at the first beginning was May now and ever be Amen For Tuesday Morning MEDITATION I. BE thou eternally adored O God of our Salvation and may thy Praises be sung by thy Servants for ever When our first Parents had disobey'd thy Precepts to the ruine of themselves and their whole Posterity thy wondrous mercy did immediately provide a remedy Thou didst provide and promise a powerfull Redeemer Thou didst commit the helping us to him that is able to save to the uttermost A Redeemer that could conquer Sin and Death and crush the Serpents head who drew us into misery A Redeemer that could fully repair the breaches our sin had made and render our condition better than before That could satisfie for our sins by his Death and merit the Beginning and Perfection of happiness for us in our present Holiness and future Glory He can enlighten our eyes with a clearer view of those excellent Truths that belong to our peace can support our feeble Nature with a stronger Grace to carry us on safely through all Encounters till we arrive at the Land of Rest and be received for ever into the glorious Kingdom O Blessed Jesu our Strength our Guide who knowest and dost pity our weak Capacities and in thy tender care hast so contrived the way to our happiness that nothing can undoe us but our own perverseness nothing but the wilful love of Sin and Death How easie hast thou made the way to Heaven how light is the burthen thou lay'st on thy followers It is but to believe in thee the God of Truth but to love thee our greatest Benefactor but to desire earnestly the seeing thee that thou requirest and doing thus we are sure to possess an Eternity of Joy. Eternal Praises be given to the admirable wisdom of God who knows how to bring good out of evil Eternal praises to that infinite Goodness which graciously condescended to do this Let all the admiring World join together in this and say O the depth of the Riches both of the Wisdom and Goodness of God! How unsearchable are his Attributes and his wayes how much past finding out Man guiltily threw away the happiness his God had given him God takes occasion thence to give him greater He not only restores us to our first degree but makes even our fall rebound us to a greater height This is the Love of God the Father to Mankind This is the Love of Jesus the Christ this is the love of the eternal Spirit of Love. Hymn 19. LET others take their course And sing what name they please Let Wealth or Beauty be their Theam Such empty Sounds as these For me I 'l ne'r admire A lump of burnisht Clay Howe're it shines it is but dust And shall to dust decay Sweet Jesus is the Name My Song shall still adore Sweet Jesus is the Charming word That does my life restore When I am dead in grief Or which is worse in Sin I call on Jesus and he hears And I to live begin Wherefore at this bright Name Behold thus low I bow And thus again yet is all this Much less than what I owe. Down then down both my knees Still lower to the ground While with mine Eyes and Voice lift up Aloud these lines
the other World and soon returns again and brings us light And so dost thou dear Lord and more Thy very darkness is our light 'T is by thy death we are made to live and by thy wounds our sores are heal'd O my ador'd Redeemer who took'st upon thee all our miseries to impart to us thine own Felicities Can we remember thy Labours for us and not be convinc't of our Duty to thee Can our cold Hearts recount thy Sufferings and not be inflam'd with the Love that suffer'd Can we believe our Salvation cost thee so dear and live as if to be sav'd were not worth our pains Ingrateful we how do we slight the kindness of our God! how carelesly comply with his gracious designs For all his gifts he requires no other return than to hope still more and desire still greater Blessings For all his favours he seeks no other praise than our following his steps to arrive at his Glory PETITIONS O Glorious Jesu behold to thee we bow and humbly implore thy blessing in whom all fulness dwells Accomplish in us we pray those gracious purposes for which thou didst assume the humane Nature and suffer a painful and ignominious Death Teach us O Lord by thy Word and thy example the sole way to that Bliss for which we were created Give us an assur'd pardon of all our sins and the priviledge of becoming the Sons of God Possess us with the joyful hope of an eternal Life purchas'd for us by our Redeemer's Death O Almighty Redeemer destroy in us the works of the Devil Deliver us for none else can from the power of every sin Set us at liberty to run the wayes of thy Commandments thy Service is perfect freedom Give us the special Assistance of thy Grace that we may wean our Affections from all vain desires and clear our thoughts from all impertinent fancies that our lives may be intirely dedicated to thee and all the Faculties of our Souls to thy holy Service That our minds may continually study thy Knowledge and our Wills grow every day stronger in thy Love Our Memories may faithfully lay up thy Mercy and both Tongue and Heart be continually disposed and often employ'd to praise thee to praise thy incomparable Love which has done and suffer'd so much for lost Mankind O let the continual memory of thy bitter Passion and Death make us despise the Goods or Ills that we meet with here compar'd to the advancing our selves or others in the esteem of what we hope hereafter through the Sufferings and Merits of thee our Lord Jesus Christ Glory be to c. Amen For Friday Evening MEDITATION I. COme let us now call off our thoughts from ranging abroad where they but lose themselves Let us diligently examine the Accounts of our Time and summ up the profit we have made to day What have we gain'd by all we have seen or heard For nothing is so barren but it may yield some fruit had we the Art to cultivate it right and fitly apply it to our own advantage If we have spy'd some good Example which our gracious God has presented to instruct or quicken us did we immediately entertain the motion and resolve in our heart effectively to follow it If we have fallen among vicious Company which O! too often engages into folly did the danger encrease our care and the sin of others breed Vertue in us We have heard perhaps some melancholy news of sudden sicknesses or unexpected Deaths But did we fear to be surprized our selves and provide betimes for that day of Trial We meet with accidents enow to disparage this World but do we really feel it lose credit in our Hearts Does our esteem of the other grow strong and high and every one faithfully tell his own Soul 'T is not in this poor World thou must expect content It is not here you must hope to enjoy a perfect rest Order thy whole affairs with utmost skil and which is seldom seen let all thy designs succeed Still thou shalt find something to trouble thee and even thy pleasures will be tedious to thee Wheresoever thou goest still Crosses will follow thee because where-ever thou goest thou carriest thy self Who then my God is truely happy in this World or rather I should ask who comes the nearest to happiness He that with patience resolves to suffer whatever his endeavours are not able to avoid Happy yet more is he that delights to suffer and glories to be like his Crucify'd Saviour When thou art come to this my Soul that thy Crosses seem sweet for the love of Jesus think then thy self sublimely happy for surely thou hast found a Heaven upon Earth at least the best Heaven that this Earth can afford and take it as a pledge of a better to come MEDITATION II. MY Soul when thou art thus retir'd alone and fitly dispos'd for quiet thoughts never let the greatness of another molest thy Peace nor his prosperous condition make thee repine Say not in thy Heart had I that fair Estate or were I intrusted with so high a place I should know how to contrive things better and never commit such gross mistakes Tell me how dost thou manage thine own Employments and fit the little room thou holdest in the World If thou hast leisure art thou not idle and spendest thy precious time in unprofitable follies If thou art busie art thou not so too much and leavest no time to provide for thy Immortal Soul Do thy riches make thee more wise and generously assist the innocent poor Does thy poverty make thee humble and faithfully labour for thy little Family Dost thou in every state give thanks to Heaven and contentedly submit to its severest decrees Canst thou rejoicingly say to God O my ador'd Creatour I am glad my Lot is in thy Hands Thou art all Wisdom and seest my wants thou art all goodness and delightest to relieve me Under thy Providence I know I am safe whatever befalls me thou guidest to my advantage If thou wilt have me obscure and low thy blessed will not mine be done If thou wilt load my back with Crosses and imbitter my daies with Grief or Sickness still may thy Blessed Will O Lord be done still govern thy Creatures in thine own best way Place where-ever thou pleasest thy other favours but secure to my Soul a Portion in thy love Take what thou wilt of the things thou hast lent me but leave I beseech thee in my Heart the Possession of thy self Let others be preferr'd and me neglected let their affairs succeed and mine if thou pleasest miscarry Onely one thing I cannot chuse but desire and may my Gracious God vouchsafe to grant me that That thou cast me not away from thy presence for ever nor wipe my Name out of the book of Life But let my Eternal hopes remain and still grow quicker as they approach their end MEDITATION III. MY Thoughts run over the passages you have met to day or
love and constantly do the things that belong to my Everlasting Peace Till my understanding with the Knowledge of such Truths as may fix it on thee the Eternal Verity Inure my will to embrace such objects as may unite them to Thee the Sovereign goodness O suffer me not obstinately to persist in any known wickedness nor maliciously to impugn any know Truth Grant I may never be deceiv'd by any false spirit nor be overcome by the vicious suggestions of Flesh and Blood. In all my doubts do thou direct me into the way of thy Truth in all my weakness grant me the assistance of thy Grace Help me devoutly and most thankfully to commemorate thy Descent to this World in the likeness of fiery Tongues which sate on each head of thy Disciples and fitted them to preach the Gospel to every Nation And let it so encrease the holy fervour of my Heart that my Life may attest by all fruits of Grace the same Spirit 's still abiding with me To the Glory of thee O God the Holy Spirit who with the Father and the Son livest and reignest ever one God world without end Amen Hymn 32. COme mild and Holy Dove Descend into our Breast Do thou in us make us in thee For ever dwell and rest Come and spread o're our heads Thy soft all-cherishing wing That in its shade we safe may sit And to Thee Praises sing To thee who giv'st us Life Our better Life of Grace Who giv'st us Breath and Strength and Speed To run and win our Race If by the way we faint Thou reachest forth thy hand If our own weakness makes us fall Thou mak'st our weakness stand When we are sliding back Thou dost our danger stop When we again alas are fall'n Again thou tak'st us up Else there we still must lye And still sink lower down Our hope to rise is all from thee Our ruin's all our own O my Ingrateful Soul What shall our dulness do For him that does all this for us Only our Love to wooe We 'l Love thee then Dear Lord But thou must give that Love We 'l humbly beg it of thy grace But thou our Prayers must move O hear thine own self speak For thou in us dost Pray Thou canst as quickly grant as ask Thy grace knows no delay Glory to Thee O Lord One Coeternal Three To Father Son and Holy Ghost One equal Glory be Amen FOR THE FEASTS OF THE SAINTS For the Morning MEDITATION I. TEll me you eager Lovers of this present World what is it you aim at in all your pretences You weary your Bodies with restless labour and afflict your Minds with perpetual care day and night you are still perplext still busily plotting to compass your ends Tell me what are those ends you so long have sought and I will tell you what you soon will find while they are many they but distract your thoughts and often engage them to quarrel among themselves One end and one alone is the way to true and lasting Peace and on that one must all the rest depend It is true perhaps you will say and by that rule we guide our Lives whatever we undertake our ultimate design is only to be happy It is to be happy that we strive to be great and enrich our selves by defrauding others It is to be happy that we run after Pleasures and covet to have in every thing our own proud will But you alas mistake your Happiness and foolishly seek it where 't is not to be found As silly Children think to catch the Sun when they see it setting at so near a distance they travail on and tire themselves in vain for the thing they seek is in another World Just so we foolish Mortals commonly judge and are just so deceived when we think to meet with Heaven upon Earth This World alas has now no Paradise but all its Fruits are mixt with Weeds and Thorns all dangerously mixed with occasions of sin all sprinkled over with the bitterness of sorrow What did we ever passionately love but still in the end it made us repent Nay the best end was heartily to repent and learn by our falling to tread more sure It is not then here that we must seek our happiness and yet it is happiness that we all must seek Happy are thy Saints O Lord who wisely chose their end and constantly pursu'd the means to attain it Come let us adore the King of Saints Hymn 33. AWake my Soul chase from thine eyes This drowsie sloth and quickly rise Get up and to thy work apace No less than Kingdoms are prepar'd And endless bliss for their reward Who finish well this short Life's race 'T is not so poor a thing to be Servants to Heaven Dear Lord and thee As this mistaken World believes Not even here where oft the wise Are most expos'd to Injuries And Vertue poor and friendless grieves Sometimes thy hand lets gently fall A little drop that sweetens all The present bitter of our Cup O what hereafter shall we be When we shall have whole draughts of thee Fill'd to the brim and drink them up Say happy Souls whose thirst now meets The fresh and living stream of sweets Which ever spring from that blest throne Did you not find this true even here Do you not find it truer there Now Heave'ns strong Joyes are all your own Oh yes the sweets we taste exceed All we can say or you can read They satisfie and never cloy On Earth our Cup was sweet but mixt Here all is pure refin'd and fixt All highest Quintessence of Joy. Here in Heave'ns splendid Court have we Our blest abode and ever see The kind and radiant face of Love Whose Beams make us with Glory shine Our glad hearts warm with Love divine And these our Tongues with Praises move Hear'st thou my Soul what glorious things The Church of Heave'n in triumph sings Of their Seraphick life above Chear thy saint hopes and bid them live All these thy God to thee will give If thou embrace his bounteous Love. Great God of rich Rewards who thus Hast crown'd thy Saints and wilt crown us As we do both to thee belong O may we both together sing Eternal praise to thee our King In one Eternal thankful Song Amen MEDITATION II. IF thus our Nature tends to Happiness there is sure some Happiness to content our Nature Sure the All-wise Creator has provided means to satisfie the Appetites which himself has made Doubt not my Soul the Bounty of thy Lord but turn all thy fear on thine unworthiness and yet correct that fear again that it do not degenerate into despair by consisidering the worthiness of our kind Mediator Look up then and see a rich delicious Land that flows with sweeter Streams than Milk and Hony Look up and see a glorious City incomparably braver than the splendid Courts of Kings Behold the blessed Angels shining on their Thrones and all the holy Saints triumphing with
their Hymns Great is the Clemency of our gracious Sovereign to pardon the offences of repenting Sinners Great is the bounty of our glorious Lord to Crown with Rewards his faithful Servants Thousands of Saints attend in his presence and Millions of Angels wait on his Throne all beauteously rang'd in perfect order all joyfully singing the praises of their Creator But look up yet higher O my Soul in thy Contemplations and see the glorified Humanity of thy dear Redeemer that blessed Jesus who died for us on the Cross and now invites us to partake his Crown See and rejoyce in those eternal honours which Heaven and Earth justly pay to their King. Look up once more and if thou could'st look infinitely higher and humbly admire the unconceivable Mystery Wonder now and adore the Sovereign Deity essentially full of his own blest Light full and overflowing into all his Creatures which shine but as little Beams deriv'd from him Bow low thy Head and Knees to him before whom the Seraphims cover their Faces Bow low a humble Heart to him before whom all the happy Saints cast down their Crowns When thou hast seen all this my Soul and staid and dwelt a while among these pleasing wonders then turn thine Eye down towards this Earth again and see the petty things that are wont to entertain our minds What is a name of Honour and a momentary pleasure compar'd to the Bliss of an eternal Paradise What is a bag of Money or a fair Estate if counterballanc'd with the Treasures of Heaven How narrow there do our greatest Kingdoms seem how small a Circle the whole Globe of Earth Cities and Towns appear like little Hills and the busie World but as a Swarm of Ants running up and down and justling one another and making all this stir for a few grains of Corn. O Heaven let me again lift up my Eyes to thee and take a fuller view of that glorious Prospect There I will stand and fix my steady sight till I have lookt my self into this firm judgment All that the most prosperous fortune can here possess or even the largest Fancy possibly imagine all is an idle Dream to those real Joyes an absolute Nothing to that solid Felicity Oh how glorious is the Kingdom of Heaven where our Lord reigns in the midst of his Saints MEDITATION III. IT is true there is I see a glorious State prepar'd above for the Spirits of just men made perfect But how shall we poor dust and ashes and laden too with the burthen of our sins how shall we hope to ascend those higher Regions or obtain a portion in that holy Land Fear not my Soul but send up thy Sighs and Prayers to the gracious King of Saints Seek to him and he will guide thee by his Counsel till he has brought thee also safe to his Glory If thou would'st know what makes the bright Angels so happy his Word will tell thee that they readily obey their Creator If thou would'st know what rais'd the blessed Saints to that high Felicity which they now enjoy it will be told thee They faithfully lov'd their Redeemer and follow'd the Dictates of Love till it brought them thither If thou would'st know what bred in those happy Creatures the excellent Vertues that are thus rewarded if thou could'st hear their acknowledgements thou would'st find them often repeating such as these Blessed for ever be the Grace of our God which alone has wrought all our works in us Blessed for ever be the Bounty of our Lord which first freely gave to us and then as bounteously Crown'd those his own gifts O you blest Saints who are now arriv'd at the quiet Mansions of eternal Joy Rejoyce ye in the King of Saints eternally rejoyce and sing for ever the wondrous mercies of our Lord His blessed hand has wip'd away all tears from your eyes and now you no more shall weep you shall no more complain Now the sad Evening of sorrow is over with you and the day of eternal joy is come Now you no longer shall sigh to be deliver'd out of this dark and tedious Prison but shall dwell for ever in that glorious Light the light which ever springs from the face of God. And fear thou not my Soul though now thou dwellest below and art yet sighing under the weight of Flesh and Blood fear not to ascend at last to this place of joy and take thy happy seat among those joyfull Quires since they once liv'd in this same Vale of Tears and were set to strive with the same unruly passions He that made them overcome can as easily strengthen thee he that has crown'd their victories will as surely glorifie thine Fear not for the way is smoother than the Adversary of thy Soul would make thee believe and the time of thy Warfare perhaps is shorter than even thou thy self art disposed to desire Take the direction of thy Saviour's Word and the direction of the Saints Example to know and love but thine own true Interest which sure can be thought no very hard task And do this but whilest you live which you seldom think too long and this being well done you have no more to do but to rise and sing and rejoyce with them PETITIONS TO thee O Gracious King of Saints and to thy mild Throne we direct our Eyes and Prayers To thee whose Love we know stands ready to meet our wishes will we humbly represent our fears and wants and both alas O Lord will be many while we remain below in this miserable World Often therefore must we make our Addresses to thee till thy Goodness and Mercy shall take us to thy self And when we come to possess thee in Heaven we shall want nothing and dwelling so near thee we shall fear nothing But pity us now O Lord who are lanched on a tempestuous Sea and are so variously toss'd with our passions and lusts that we cannot steer as we should any certain course Pity us who are so blinded by the mists of Ignorance that we know not to what Port we should direct our course to find a harbour of rest Shine thou upon us O Lord with thy beauteous Light and convince us throughly that there is a better World than this a happier People than any that we know here that we may at length begin our course thitherward and be all the while preparing our selves for that blessed Company Behold us O Lord struggling in this Sea of Storms and guide us safely through all our dangers Save us O thou whose power the winds and the Sea obey save us O merciful Lord or else we perish Save us who call on theee in our distresses save us for whom thy immortal Self wert pleas'd to die and graciously receive us into thine own blest arms for thou art O Lord the Haven of our Repose bring us to thy self and our Souls shall be safe Deliver us from that sad and deplorable end which thy Justice has prepar'd for the
this vast Globe Such O my God and infinitely less are the richest Kingdoms here below If we compare their most pompous State with the meanest degree that is in the Court of Heaven When thou hast fed us a little while with Milk thou invitest our appetite to stronger Meat Thou tellest us of a sweet delicious life in the blest Society of Saints and Angels With whom we shall dwell in perpetual Friendship and be lov'd and esteem'd by them all for ever Thou tellest us of a pure Soul-ravishing joy in beholding the amiable face of Jesus Whose Gracious smiles shine round about and fill the Heavens with Holy Gladness And thou tellest dear Lord of delights that are still incomparably higher than all these Hearken well to such things O my Soul and humbly adore thy bounteous God. His abundant goodness has provided thee large rewards indeed he intends himself to be thy Portion and exceeding great reward Himself he will clearly unveil before us and openly shew us that great secret What it is Glorious Lord to behold thy face to know as we are known O happy secret if once at last attain'd If once we can but see the face of our God in Glory To know the Immensity of thy self-subsisting Essence and the Infinite Excellence of all thy Attributes To know the power of the Eternal Father and the Wisdom of the Uncreated Son and the Goodness of the Holy Spirit the incomprehenfible Glories of the undivided Trinity This O my Soul is the top of Happiness this is the Supream perfection of our Nature This this alone is worthy to be the aim of our Being the Hope and End of all our labours When we are come to this we shall presently rest and our satisfied desires will reach no farther We shall be fill'd with overflowing bliss and our utmost capacities can hold no more In one Act of Joy we shall be eternally fixt one lasting Act which will spring fresh and unwearied for ever MEDITATION III. NEver can we say too much my Soul of this glorious subject never can we think enough of the Felicities of Heaven Arise my Soul and leave mortality and time below thy flight to thee these joyes belong Arise and advance thy self on high Fly away with the wings of thy Spirit are they not strong enough to lift thee from earth the only reason of it is want of exercise Fly if thou canst possibly to that land of Promise try resolutely strive manfully to do so and visit those Heavenly Regions Take an Evenings walk in that Paradise of pure delights amongst the beautified Spirits of just men who perpetually contemplate the Eternal Deity Think thô thy habitation at present is in this vale of tears thou mai'st hope one day to be advanced to their dignity to have a place and sing among their holy Quires We may hope to know all things that are produc'd and to know besides the all producing Cause O what a fire of love will it kindle in our hearts when we shall see those shining Mysteries When our great God like a burning mirrour shall strike his brightness on the eyes of our Soul. O what excessive joy will that love produce a love so violently desiring and so fully satisfied When our capacities shall be stretcht to the utmost and the rich abounding Object shall fill and Overflow them O what profound repose will that Joy beget a Joy so exceeding high and so eternally secure When in amorous languishment we shall sweetly dissolve into a fort of blissfull Union with our first beginning When without losing what we are we shall become even what he is We shall take part in all his Joyes and share in the Glories of all his Heaven O what divine and ravishing words are these How gently they enter and delight my Ear How they diffuse themselves over all my Brain and strongly penetrate to my very Soul Methinks they turn to substance as they go and I feel them stir and work through all my powers Methinks they lie as a rich Cordial at my heart and send forth Spirits to quicken and refresh me There O my Soul we shall rest from all our labours which are but the way to all that happiness There we shall rest from sin and sorrow and no longer be troubled with our selves or others There we shall rest for ever in the protection of our God in the arms and bosom of our dearest Lord We shall enjoy a rest not senseless and stupid as here but attended with spritely joy and pleasure Such is the desirable rest that remains for the Servants of God. PETITIONS O Heaven the eternal source of all these Joyes and infinitely more and infinitely greater As the Hart pants after the Water-brooks so does my Soul thirst after thee After thee it is that I daily sigh and mourn and with a greedy longing eye often do I look up and say Descend thou blessed Heaven into my heart or rather take up my heart to thee Thy Joyes indeed are too great to enter into me O God! I pray thee who art the Heaven I long for take me hence to enter into them When O my God shall I sit at that fountain head and drink my fill of those living Streams When shall I be Inebriated with that torrent of pleasures which springs for ever from thy glorious Throne Oh that the dayes of my banishment were fully finisht How is the time of my weary Pilgrimage prolong'd Why am I still detain'd in this valley of tears still wandring up and down in this wilderness of dangers O God! who dost graciously wooe us to our eternal Inheritance by all manner of wayes which are apt to work upon us Make these glories I beseech thee powerfully to insinuate themselves into me and become absolute masters of my heart that I may not wander in this wilderness but may steadily direct my course to the heavenly Canaan Let the felicities of it so strongly settle themselves in my affections that my Soul may be ravisht therewith that I may run with courage and diligence in the way that leads to it Make me despise the gawdy vanities and temptations of this world that would bribe my flesh to hinder me in my race Come thou sweet Jesu my only hope and sure deliverer out of all sorrows and dangers Come thou and here begin to dwell in my heart O come quickly to prepare my Soul for that life which I desire and hope to live with thee in Heaven And when thou hast fitted me for it take me in thy time to my eternal home Hymn 2. WHy do we seek felicity Where 't is not to be found And not dear Lord look up to thee Where all delights abound Why do we seek for treasure here On this false barren sand Where nought but empty shells appear And marks of Shipwrack stand O world how little do thy joyes Concern a Soul that knows It self not made for such low toyes As thy poor hand bestows How
justly fears the angry brow of his offended Prince so let my oft-forgiven Soul continually tremble to provoke the wrath of thy dread Majesty Thus temper O Lord my Love with reverence and allay my fear with hope that I may live to thy glory in a chearful Obedience Glory be to the Father c. Amen For Monday Evening MEDITATION I. TO know Thee O Lord is the highest Learning and to see thy face is the only true Happiness Consider now my Soul and thankfully remember what the great God is to us men Thou Lord art the great Beginning of our nature and the glorious end of all our actions Thou art the overflowing source from whence we spring and the Immense Ocean into which we tend Thou art the free bestower of all we possess and the faithful promiser of all we hope for Thou art the strong sustainer of our lives and our ready protection from all our enemies Thou art the merciful Scourger of our sins and the bounteous Rewarder of our Obedience Thou art the only wise God and the only safe Conductor of this lifes pilgrimage Thou art the ever blessed God and the Eternal Rest of our wearied Souls God is the Guide to find my way my strength to walk in it and my rest in the end of it He must draw me or I cannot run after him He must seek me or I can never find him and unless I find and enjoy him I can never be happy Such words our narrowness is constrain'd to use when we endeavour to speak the divine bounties when we would express how many wayes mankind are beholden to him that made them In a few words Lord here is much exprest what may fill our minds with a great many thoughts and afford matter for long Meditation But yet our words are and our highest thoughts must be far short of the goodness and mercy of thy thoughts towards us they are more than can be numbred by Men or Angels MEDITATION II. LEt us now consider my Soul and with great humility remember what we are to the great God We who alas are nothing in our selves what can we be to his Immensity Thou Lord who art all things in thine own rich self what canst thou receive from our poverty This only we are to Thee O Great Cretor the unthankful objects of all thy bounties This only we are to thee O dear Redeemer the unworthy cause of all thy sufferings Guilty we committed the Crime and thou with thine own Innocency undertook'st the Punishment We went astray from the path of life and thy mercy came down from Heaven to seek us to seek us in the wilderness where we had lost our selves and bring us home to the discipline of thy Love. Thou hast sent thy Spirit to gather the lost Sheep and what are we to Thee O holy and blessed Spirit but very stubborn and untractable creatures We are not sheep till thou hast changed our natures Man is born like the wild Asses colt Lord what are we that thou shouldst thus regard such poor vile and inconsiderable wretches What can our good will avail thy Bliss that with so many charms thou wooest us to love thee What can our enmity prejudice thy content that thou dost threaten so severely if we love thee not Is there O my God not felicity enough in the sweetness alone of loving thee Is there not certainly misery enough in living destitute of thy blissfull love Yes Yes Dear Lord so it is and that thou knewest and that is indeed the only cause which moved thy goodness to court our affections Thou knew'st we would else cast away our selves by doating on the follies of this deceitful world Thou knewest the danger of our wilfull nature and therefore strivest by greatest fears and hopes and by all the wisest arts of Love and Bounty to draw us to thy self and endow us with thy Kingdom But Oh unhappy we whose frowardness requir'd so strange proceeding to force upon us our own Salvation Yet happy we are in this that our wants have met so kind a hand that our God is good long-suffering and whose mercy endures for ever His goodness needs but our emptiness to engage him to fill us and nothing but our misery to move him to make us happy MEDITATION III. LOrd without Thee what 's all the world to us but a flying dream of busie vanities It promises indeed a Paradise of bliss but all it performs is an empty cloud Thine are the Joyes that shine fixt as the Stars and make the only solid Heaven Lord without Thee what are we to our selves but the wretched causes of our own ruin We 'till thou gavest us being were purely nothing more remov'd from happiness than the most miserable of thy Creatures Now thou hast made us we wholly depend on thee and perish immediately if thou forsake us Thou who without us art the same All-glorious Essence perfectly full of thy own eternal Felicity Without us thy royal Throne stands firm for ever and all the powers of Heaven obey thy pleasures O Lord how contrary is our imperfect nature in every circumstance to thy excellency and perfection Thou dwellest above in the Mansions of Glory and we below in houses of Clay Thou art from everlasting to everlasting we are but of yesterday and are every moment going downwards to our dissolution Thou art Immense and thy presence fills the Heavens but the greatest of us alas how little are we two yards of Air contain us while we liâ—e and a few spans of Earth suffice us at our death Thou art Almighty power all-sufficient fullness we are poverty and weakness When O when my God shall these vast distances meet together it is in thy power to make these extremities embrace each other we know that by thy amazing power they were once miraculously joyn'd in the sacred person of thy Eternal Son when the King of Heaven stoopt down to earth and grafted into his own Person the nature of man We hope they once again shall be happily united in the blissfull vision of thy glorious self when we shall be like thee by seeing thee as thou art when the children of Earth shall be exalted to Heaven and be satisfied with thy likeness But are there no means here below O thou infinitely high and glorious God! Is there no way for us now to approach towards thee to diminish at least this uncomfortable distance There is none but the way of holy Love Divine Love elevates our meanness Love will bring us near to the blessed God it will make us live in a happy union to him And none can attain this but by thy free gift unless Thou O dearest Lord do first Love us and with thy Love kindle the sacred fire in our breasts we shall never be so happy as to Love thee PETITIONS O Bounteous God! O abundant Goodness add to all thy other favours this of making me love and esteem thee above all things above my self and all
great many thousands find favour with God to be saved from an universal deluge In several populous Cities before this floud could well be forgotten there could not ten righteous persons be found for whose sake they might be spar'd from destruction Then the rayes of divine light were communicated but to a few particular persons Only Abraham found favour with God to have a numerous seed and that his seed should be heirs of a Covenant of Promise I will be thy God said the Almighty to him and the God of thy seed after thee Accordingly he that was the God of Abraham took also particular care of Isaac and Jacob and he gave his Statutes and Judgments to the Children of Israel but did not deal so with any other Nation But since thy coming O glorious Messiah light is come into the world and the way of Salvation has been made known to all men unclouded light has come wlth thee no more opprest with ceremonial veils which therefore has diffused it self into the dark corners of the Earth and spread it self to the ends of the World. The Day-spring from on high has visited our distant region and on us has the Sun of righteousness kindly arose The Christian Church thanks be to thy Love Dear Lord has included within its pale a great many Nations It has had thousands that with a strong and generous love have run swiftly after Thee in the way of thy counsels nay millions with a fair degree of hope have walked constantly towards thee in the way of thy Commands Whence O my God could this strange improvement come but from the infinite Merits of the Redeemers death Hence it was that when he had ended his holy Life he ascended to Heaven and gave gifts to men He gave largely of his Spirit to his chosen Apostles and sent them out to preach his Word and dispence his appointed Sacraments He gave them the gift of Tongues that they might Preach to all Nations and the gift of working Miracles to confirm their Doctrines By his Spirits cooperating with these and succeeding their endeavours they every where propagated the Faith and Love of Jesus Our kind Lord before he ascended into Heaven appointed the use of two sacred Rites in his Church to assist the Faith of those who did not see his Person that they might notwithstanding believe and in believing be blessed Lest mankind should be so ungrateful as to forget him he has left us memorials of his tender love By these he shews us his bloody Death and Passion and makes himself present to those that believe and love and these by the powerful working of his Holy Spirit have confirm'd many Disciples in their most holy Faith Many they have possest with a holy fervour and courage to do and suffer great things for the name of Jesus O blest Memorials of my Saviours love and faithful seals of all his promises whereby what he has done for us is represented and what he has purchas'd is applyed to us If I forget to sing of you let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth If I forget to meditate on you let my head forfeit its power to think MEDITATION III. WHere O thou boundless Ocean of Immense charity where will thy overslowing streams stay their course we and our ingratitude basely strive to oppose Thee but nothing can resist thy Almighty Goodness Thou didst come to thine own People and they received Thee not yet thou didst not forsake the kind design of thy coming When the Impiety of man was treacherously plotting to betray and murder Thee then didst thou mercifully consult about means to convey thy saving blessings to the world When they were resolving to bruise and kill thy sacred Body thou wast contriving how we might best reap advantage from thy Passion and Death Thy love we see was desirous to do more than dye for us having contrived moreover a way to live in us The Lord Jesus on the same night when he was betray'd took Bread and when he had given thanks he brake it and said Take Eat this is my Body which was broken for you this do in remembrance of me After the same manner also he took the Cup after Supper saying This Cup is the New Testament in my Blood which is shed for the remission of the sins of many Drink ye all of it and do this as oft as you Drink it in remembrance of me Thus has our wise Lord found an excellent way to make even our flesh assist the Spirit in us He has contrived by sensible things to make us move towards heavenly by those things which are wont to draw and fasten us to this earth When he distributed the Bread and Wine to his Disciples he gave them an interest in his abundant graces and merits And thus is he ready to bestow himself still upon those that believe and are desirous to partake of him He has commanded the celebration of this Holy Supper to be continu'd in the Christian Church to the end of the world And that not only to keep alive a thankful remembrance of his Death but also to confirm his gracious Promises to them that believe on him To the happy Soul then that with faith and thankfulness does thus commemorate the dying Love of our Saviour this Holy Supper is a Feast of fat things and of Wine on the lees well refined Jesus Christ himself will come and Sup with such and be willing to make his constant abode with them His Promise assures his Presence with them while they are here on Earth and that they shall when they go hence be taken up to be where he is O Praise the Lord ye Nations of the Earth all praise and admire his wisdom and love His Love that so industriously seeks our happiness and his Wisdom that finds such excellent means to accomplish it Praise him that is the sole fountain of spiritual Blessings and who alone has right to ordain the means of conveying them for that he has instituted a few means and those easie to be observed and made them the conveyances of all the riches of his Grace Give hearty thanks to the kind Redeemer for this Institution and express your thankfulness by coming to this his Supper Come to it to remember his propitiatory Death and to receive Jesus Christ who offers himself to you Come to partake of the important purchases of his Death and to devote your selves entirely to him who has so lov'd you Come all ye People of the wide world and let us adore the God that feeds us With himself our kind Saviour will feed us and with his Sacred Flesh his sacred Flesh is meat indeed and his Blood is drink indeed Our first Parents eat of the forbidden tree and incurr'd for themselves and their posterity an eternal Death We are invited to a Feast of spiritual Food which whosoever eateth shall live for ever With these dainties will divine love nourish us up to immortal
have a good or a bad Eternity and that every action tends towards the one or the other Thus kept in awe thou wilt be careful not to sin and encourag'd by the reward thou wilt strive to do well Then maist thou look up with humble confidence in our God how low soever thy afflictions depress thee Thou may'st look up to the eternal Mountains and feed thy hungry desires with this sweet hope the day will come when out of this dark world we shall joyfully ascend to that beauteous light The day will come and cannot be far off when we shall rest for ever in the bosom of Bliss MEDITATION III. HAppiest of all O Lord are they whose very business is thy sacred Service Who not only bestow an interrupted glance but steadily fix their Eyes on Thee Who are devoted to the happy Service of the Sanctuary and night and day dwell in thy presence Who not engag'd in the cares and tumults of the World spend their time in Retirement and Devotion If the Sun rise it finds them at their Masters work and when it sets leaves them at the same sweet task Every place is a Church to such consecrated Souls and every day a holy Sabbath Every object is an occasion of Piety and every accident an exercise of Vertue Do they behold the beauteous Stars they presently adore their great Creator Do they look down on the fruitful Earth they instantly begin to praise his Bounty Let War or Peace do what they will and the inconstant World reel up and down they pass through all with a ferene mind and smoothly go on their regular course looking still up to that glorious Life above and entertaining this present in hope and labour to attain it When they depart sometimes from their proper center and forsake a while their belov'd retirement 't is to approach and give light to others and enflame some cold or lukewarm hearts While they are abroad they are still with Thee and nothing can divide them from thy dear Presence When they return still Devout and Innocent thou receivest them as familiar Friends and freely admit'st them to thy secret Sweetness Thou givest them a tast from thine own full board and overflowest their hearts with the Wine of gladness Often they feel a little beam from Heaven strike gently and fill their breasts with light often that gentle light is kindled into a flame and chastly burns with pure desires Desires that still mount up and aim at Thee the supernatural center of all their hopes Oh happy state of the Reverend Clergy who empty of the World are full of God! Such shall seldom fall and quickly rise and make swift Advances in the way to Heaven They shall live in purity and dye with confidence and go to sing among the Quires of Angels PETITIONS O Gracious and eternal Wisdom and Goodness who seest and pitiest the infirmities of our nature surrounded on every side with the worst of dangers tentations to folly O guide my steps in thy safe way order every chance to prevent my falling and still lead me on towards a happy end Give me the eye and wing of an Eagle to see my danger at a distance and fly swiftly away from it If I needs must engage my Enemy and there be no means left to escape the Encounter strengthen me O Lord with thy all-powerful Grace to persevere with courage to break through all that offers to divert or stop the advance of my love to thee alone strengthen me that I may never be wanting in my fidelity to thee Convince me O blessed God into this firm judgment and make my Memory faithfully retain it whatever my Senses say to deceive me or the World to obscure so beauteous a truth That thy self alone art our chiefest good and the sight of thy glory our supream felicity Give me O thou dispenser of all things give me in this World neither poverty nor riches but feed me with food convenient for me lest perhaps being full I be allur'd to deny thee and say Who is the Lord or compell'd by want do flatter or steal or forswear the name of my God. Whatever my lot be assist me by thy Grace to submit my Will intirely to thine Assist me so to improve the Talents which thy Providence assigns me that at the great day of Account I may be receiv'd with those precious words Well done good and faithful Servant enter thou into thy Masters joy Through the Merits of Jesus Christ the Mediator Glory be to c. Amen For Saturday Evening MEDITATION I. WHY do we still pursue this World and so eagerly seek its fond enjoyments A world of vanity and false deceits a world of misery and many sad disasters whose Crosses are solid and Comforts empty whose Sorrows are permanent and Delights pass quickly away A World where the innocent are often condemn'd with shame and the bold guilty acquitted with applause Where sometimes the wicked are advanc'd to honour and the vertuous are opprest with disgrace Where Friends soon fall off and Kindred forget and every one minds his own private Interest Yet are we taken with this crooked World and blindly court its ugly painted face We make some sordid Passion Mistress of our heart and neglect the pure and amiable love of Jesus whose goodness to us gives all we have whose Perfections in himself are more than we can conceive Thou art O glorious Jesu the Beauty of Angels and the everlasting Joy of all thy Saints Thou art the Heaven of Heaven it self and in thy sight alone is the fulness of Bliss All this thou art and infinitely more and yet alas how few esteem thee The World we dearly know too often has deceiv'd us and our rashness takes no care not to be undone again Thou never O Jesu hast fail'd our hope and our dulness fears to rely on thee The World distracts and embroils our spirits and wretched we delight in our misery Thou alwaies O Jesu fill'st our hearts with peace and senseless we are weary of thy happiness The World calls and we faint in eager following it thou call'st and we are still reliev'd by thee Yet is our Nature so ingratefully perverse we run after that which tires and abandon that which refreshes Sometimes our lips speak gloriously of thee O thou living Fountain of eternal Bliss Some happy times we relish thy sweetness and decry aloud the poysons of the World. But we are soon entic'd by its gilded Cup and easily forsake the Waters of Life MEDITATION II. ALL this is true and yet the World is lov'd and our nature inclines to affect its vanities 'T is lov'd and so it justly deserves to be did we understand its real value Our Life indeed seems trivial and mean and all things about us look troublesom and dangerous Yet O my God is their consequence excellent in this that they are our onely way of coming to thee This World and this alone is the Womb that breeds us
end of our being Hymn 15. A Wake my Soul rise from this Bed Of dull and sluggish Earth Quickly arise lift up thy head And see thy Lords new birth Once did he come O Blessed He Born of a Virgin-womb Lo now he comes and still for thee Sprung from a Virgin-tomb See thy Lord rises fresh and bright Incircled round with Stars Which all from him receive their light And from his glorious Scars And thus as he his Progress makes Up to his Heaven again Each risen Saint his Musick takes And follows in his train Thus all together they ascend 'Till at Heavens gate they come Where wondering Angels do attend To bid them welcome home The Angels know again their King And soon his Call obey All the glad Quires come forth to sing And crown with mirth the day Come thou my Soul let us rejoyce Us too our consort bring Up to high Heaven let 's lift our voice And with the Angels sing Glory and Honour Power and Praise To the mysterious Three As at the first beginning was May now and ever be Amen MEDITATION II. RAise thy head O my Soul and look up and behold the Glory of thy Crucified Saviour He that was dead and laid in the Grave low enough to prove himself Man He is risen again and ascended into Heaven and is in exaltation high enough to prove himself God. He arose and made the light his Garment and commanded the Clouds to be the Chariot of his Triumph The gates of Heaven obeyed their Lord and the everlasting Doors opened to the King of Glory Enter bright King thy glorious Palace attended with thy shining Angels enter with the glad train of thy new delivered Captives the first Fruits of thy Victory and the earnests of more Enter and repossess thy ancient Throne and reign eternally at the right hand of thy Father May every Knee bow low at thy exalted Name and every Tongue confess thy Glory May all created Nature adore thy Power and the Church of thy Redeemed exult in thy goodness Whom have we in Heaven but thee O Lord who didst expresly go thither to make way for thy followers What have we on Earth that yields us any comfort and delight but our hope by following thee to arrive at last where thou art gone before us And worth our while O Lord it is to follow thee in the greatest labour of doing well and in patience under the greatest Adversities since the end of all is that where thou art we shall be We shall be there and shall be like thee for we shall see thee as thou art We shall be exalted and glorify'd and rest from our labours O glorious Jesu our Strength and our Joy and the immortal Life of all our Souls Thou art worthy to be the principal Subject of our Studies and the daily entertainment of our most serious thoughts MEDITATION III. WHat mighty cause O God hast thou given poor Mankind to rejoyce and praise thee in that thou hast raised our Saviour from the Grave He died for our sins and rose again for our Justification In this we see a full satisfaction made for our sins by his death Hereby he ever lives to make intercession for us sinners O let all the World rejoyce in the Victory and Triumph of our Lord over all the Enemies of our Salvation I bless thee O my Saviour for thy Death and I praise and adore thee for thy Resurrection The one a work of infinite condescending Mercy the other of infinite Power And now my Soul how art thou conformable to thy kind Lord if when he is risen thou lye dead in trespasses and sins If thou be not risen with Christ to a new and spiritual Life certainly thou art none of his Will he not draw all his own thus after him Will he suffer any of them to lye entangled in earthly desires If he has not drawn thy heart from the World and from thy self and made thee value him most and delight to run the way of his Commandments thou hast no part in him And if thou be risen with Christ thou should'st seek those things which are above Why should our Hearts dwell on Earth when the best Treasure of our Hearts is return'd to Heaven Since our glorified Jesus is ascended above to prepare us a place in his own Kingdom A place of rest and secure peace where we shall see and praise and adore him for ever a place of joy and everlasting fruition where we shall love and possess and delight in him for ever O happy we and our poor Souls if once admitted to that blissfull Vision If once those heavenly Portals unfold their Gates and let us in to the joyes of our Lord how will our Spirits be ravisht within themselves to reflect on the fullness of their own Beatitude How shall we all rejoyce in one anothers felicity but infinitely more in the infinitely greater felicity of God. O Heaven towards thee it is meet that we frequently lift up craving eyes and with out-stretcht hands reach at thy Glories It is fit that with languishing Hearts we often say When O when shall we behold that incomparable light with which our exalted Saviour is cloathed as with a Garment That Glory which illuminates the eyes of Angels and eternally renews the youth of immortalized Saints That light is thy very self O Lord our God whom we shall there see face to face whom we shall there know as we are known In thy light we shall see light PETITIONS O Divine Immense Original Light shine thou perpetually in our eyes that thy brightness may for ever darken all the false lustre of this World. O light that delightest to diffuse and communicate thy self shed so many of thy powerful Beams into our Hearts as that thy heat may burn up all other desires Make us burn continually with the pure Love of thee and let that resining fire purge us from the love of this World. Let thy light shine in our Hearts and be a guide to our wayes till we be call'd from this vale of darkness into the glorious presence of the living God To see him that made the Heavens and the Earth and gave to all things their Lustre and Beauty To see him that first gave us our Being then govern'd us in our way and brought us to so bless'd an end Mean while O glorious Jesu who art the foundation and finisher of all our hopes do thou make us entertain our life with the comfort of this hope and our hope with the assurance of thy promises Let thy Triumphs and Glories ever shine in our eyes to animate our Labours and comfort our Sufferings Let them confirm our Faith in this comfortable point That if we are thy faithful followers in this Life we shall hereafter be partakers in thy Glory Make us also Lord every day more perfectly understand our own great Duty and thy infinite Love. Make us especially on this thy Day meditate the advancement of thy
their Melody All night all day they warbling run They never pause but still sing on All the fine Flowers that guild the Spring To this Praise their still Musick bring If kind Heaven bless them thankful they Will smell more sweet and look more gay Only Mankind can scarce afford This easie homage to our Lord We on whom his large bounty flows Gives all we have yet nothing owes Awake for shame my sluggish Heart Rouse thee and gladly sing thy part Learn of these birds and beasts and flowers How thou shouldst use thy nobler powers Invite whole nature to thine aid Since it was he whole nature made Joyn all in one Eternal Song Who to one Author all belong Say Live for ever glorious Lord Live by all thy great works ador'd Thou one in three and three in one All we thrice bow to Thee alone Amen MEDITATION II. TOo Glorious art Thou O Lord in thy self and thy direct Ray shines too bright for our Eyes Yet we may venture to Praise Thee in thy Works and Contemplate Thee at least reflected from thy Creatures In them we may safely behold our Almighty Maker and freely admire the Magnificence of our God Heaven and Earth are full of his greatness Heaven and Earth were created by his Power From him did all the Hosts of Angels receive their Being from him they have the honour to worship in his presence He kindled warmth and brightness in the Sun and beauteously garnisht the Firmament with Stars He spread the Air and stor'd it with flocks of Birds He gather'd the Waters and replenisht them with shoals of Fishes He establisht the Earth on a firm Foundation and richly adorn'd it with innumerable Varieties Every Element is fill'd with his Blessings and all the World with his liberal Miracles He spake the word and they were made he commands and they are still preserv'd He governs their motions in perfect order and distributes to each his proper Office contriving the whole into one vast Machin a spacious Theater of his own unlimited Greatness O Glorious Architect of universal Nature who disposest all things in number weight and measure How does thy Wisdom engage us to admire Thee How does thy Goodness oblige us to love Thee How does thy Greatness and Supream Excellency command us to reverence and stand in awe of Thee Not for themselves alone O gracious God did thy hand produce those happy Spirits above but partly to receive in charge thy little Flock and watch them in this Wilderness till thou gatherest them to folds of Bliss Not for themselves at all O Bounteous Lord were the rest of this huge Creation fram'd but to sustain our Lives in the way and carry us on to our Eternal home O my Soul do thou first Praise him for thy self and the excellent Powers that he has given thee and employ all thy Powers in his excellent Service Praise him next for all his Gifts but infinitely above all still value the Giver Let every Blessing be a motive of thy gratitude and every Creature a step of approach towards God So wilt thou faithfully observe their end and happily arrive at thine own Thou wilt use them only to sustain and comfort thee a little here and they will not hinder thy Souls preparation for Heaven And when thou art become full ripe for thy translation hence the kind Angels shall conduct thee into the divine Presence MEDITATION III. HOW admirable is thy Name O Lord over all the Earth How wise and gracious the Counsels of thy Providence After thou hadst thus prepar'd the World as a House ready furnish'd for a Man to Inhabit thy mighty hand fram'd our Bodies of the dust and built them in a shape of use and beauty Thou didst breath into us the Spirit of Life and fit us with faculties proportion'd to our end Thou gav'st us a Soul to govern our Bodies and reason to command in our Soul Thou didst reveal a Law for the Improvement of our reason and inablest us by thy grace to observe that Law Thou madest us Lords over all thy Creatures but little inferiour to thy glorious Angels Thou compellest whole Nature to serve us without reward and invitest us to love thee for our own happiness Thou designedst us an age of pure delights in that sweet and fruitful Garden where having led a long and pleasant Life thou promisedst to transplant us to thine own Paradise All this thou didst O glorious God the full Possessor of universal Bliss not for any need thou hadst of us or the least advantage thou couldst derive from our being All this thou didst O Infinite Goodness the liberal bestower of all that we possess not for any merit alas of ours or for the least motive we could offer to induce thee but for thine own excessive Charity and the meer inclination of thine own rich nature that empty we might receive of thy fullness and be partakers of thy overflowing bounty So sheds the generous Sun his beams and freely scatters them on every side guilding all the World with his beauteous light and kindly cherishing it with his fruitful heat And so dost thou and infinitely more O thou God of infinite more Perfection So we confess thou dost to us but we what return have we made to Thee have we considered well the end of our being and faithfully comply'd with thy purpose to save us Ah wretched we we neglect thy Holy Rules and govern our actions by chance and humour We quite forget our God that made us and fill our heads with thoughts that undo us This is the only praise thou expectest from us and the whole honour thou requirest of thy Creatures That by observing the orders thou appointest here in this lower region of motion and change we may all grow up to be happy hereafter in that state of permanency and Eternal rest above PETITIONS O Lord the Merciful and Gracious God I poor Sinner humbly beseech Thee to pardon all my past ingratitude all my neglect and forgetfulness of Thee and mercifully do thou direct my time to come Teach me wherein I have done amiss and have omitted my Duty and inable me to practise a sincere Repentance and amendment Teach every passage of my yet remaining Life to express the acknowledgements due to thee and to thy Mercies O Infinite and perfect Being make me to know and adore Thee to ascribe all excellency and perfection to Thee So guide thou my thoughts and words that neither of them may at any time impute what is unworthy of thee Make me ever humbly to adore thy infinite fulness of Being a fulness underived independant and unchangable Make me often to think and fully believe that there is none besides Thee like unto Thee and alwaies to ascribe unsearchable greatness Give me too O bounteous Lord I pray among thy other gifts a large sense of thy Immense liberality to Mankind that I may fitly acknowledge and praise thy bounteous Mercy Give to all mankind a
I sound Live glorious King of Heaven By all thy Heaven ador'd Live gracious Saviour of the World Our chief and only Lord. Live and for ever may Thy Throne establisht be For ever may all all Hearts and Tongues Sing Hymns of Praise to thee Amen MEDITATION II. BEhold our faithful Lord has remembred his word He has raised up in the World the long expected Prophet like Moses and put his word in his mouth and he has kindly and sufficiently taught us Light with him is come into the World to lead us through the Wilderness of Life into the true Canaan that is above Admirable wert thou O Lord in thy merciful Promise but infinitely more in thy wonderful performance Thou didst not depute an Angel to supply the place of a Redeemer nor entrust so great a work to the management of a Seraphim but didst thy self bow the Heavens and come down and with thine own blest hands work our Redemption Thy self didst take upon thee our frail Nature and vouchsafe to be born of a humble Virgin condescending to the weaknesses of a Child a Child whose Parents were poor and of no esteem in the World. So did he make himself of no reputation He did not decline the mean entertainment of a Stable O how unfit was that for the Birth of the King of Heaven He contented himself with a Manger instead of a convenient Cradle and with the homely uneasie lodging of a Bed of Straw refusing the soft Accommodations of the Rich to undergoe the inconveniences of a poor Stranger Thus Lord at the cost of thy own ease hast thou instructed us to despise the World. Only the faithful Joseph stood waiting on thee and provided as he was able for his helpless Family Onely thy pious Mother dearly embrac't thee and wrapt thy tender Limbs in little clouts Wonder O Heavens at this Ye Angels who had seen before many wonders for this surpasses all besides Be amazed O Earth and let every Creature there humbly bow the head and knee Bow all and adore this incomprehensible Mystery the Word was made Flesh and dwelt with us But most of all we who are most concern'd the guilty Children of sinful Adam let us bow down our faces to the low dust and all prostrate adore so unspeakable a mercy Behold my Soul thus low my Saviour stoopt for me to check the aspiring pride of my corrupted Nature Behold thus low he stoopt to take me from the ground and raise me to the felicities of his own Kingdom Rise willingly with him my Soul from base sensuality leave the low Earth with thy desires and seek a better Countrey so shall this God not be asham'd to be call'd thy God. Lift up thy Voice too with Joy O my Soul and sing Hosanna to the new-born Jesus With blessed Angels celebrate his gloriously humble birth and say Glory be to God on high for peace on earth and good will towards men Lift up thy Voice aloud O my Soul lift up your Voices all ye his Saints and joyn the Praises of the Church to the Hymns of Heaven MEDITATION III. REjoyce all you the faithful Nations of the Earth when ye hear the sweet Name of our dear Redeemer Rejoyce and with your bended knees and hearts adore the Blessed Jesus He is the Son of the ever-living God equally participating the glories of his Father He is that great Messias whom the Prophets foretold and all the ancient Saints so long expected At length in the fullness of time he came to visit in person our miserable world He came with his hands full of Miracles and every Miracle was full of Mercy full of miraculous good will to an unkind ungrateful world He made the crooked become strait and the lame to walk and leap for joy He opened the ears of the deaf to hear and gave sight to them that were born blind Happy they in the season of their relief who could then hear the Instructions of the Eternal Wisdom and could see thee the Blessed Saviour of the World He loosned the Tongues of the dumb to speak sure their first exercise was his deserved Praise He cleans'd the Leprous by the word of his mouth and heal'd their Diseases who did but touch his Garment To the Poor he revealed the rich treasures of his Gospel and taught the simple the Mysteries of his Kingdom He cast out Devils by his awful command and forc'd them to confess and adore his Person He rais'd the dead from the very Grave to Life the dead that was four dayes buried and was corrupting Nay even himself being slain for us on the Cross and his Tomb made fast and secur'd with a guard he rais'd again by his own victorious power and carried up our nature into the highest Heavens All these stupendious signs O glorious Jesu were done by the hand of thy Almighty mercy to witness thy truth with the Seal of Heaven and endear thy Precepts with obliging Miracles that thus strongly engag'd we might believe on thee and obey thee to the Eternal Salvation of our own Souls PETITIONS O Kind and Merciful Jesu thou didst when on Earth go about doing good as thou didst purposely come hither to do good Thou hast not lost thy goodness we believe since thou art gone to Heaven O let us find that thou hast not still exercise thy goodness and thy power O God in kind and beneficial Miracles O may it please thee to soften many stony hearts into a tender sence of thy great Goodness and their own Duty Raise our dead spirits from this heavy Earth to dwell with thee in the Land of the Living to mind and love Spiritual and Immortal things Open thou our Eyes that we may behold the wondrous things in thy Law strengthen our feeble faculties O Lord by thy all-sufficient grace that we may steadily run the race which shall be set before us strengthen us to encounter successfully all the Enemies of our Salvation that we do not run in vain nor labour in vain Thus Lord let our experience teach us to admire thy bounteous Power that we may daily sing the wonders of thy grace towards our selves and when our dayes shall be exchanged for Eternity let us eternally sing the wonders of thy Glory Whenever thou doest any of these kind things for us open thou our dumb Lips that our Mouths may shew forth thy Praise Glory be to c. For Tuesday Evening MEDITATION I. GOod God how extreamly ungrateful are Mankind How strangely insensible of our manifest Duty Every Creature performs its Duties but we who alone are made capable to understand and know ours Every Creature lives by rule but we who have reasonable Souls to direct our actions We O Lord are most beholden to thee of all the lower Creation and we alone of all prove rebellious against thee The other Creatures live by thy wise rules and so do serve and attain their particular ends And thus does every Creature reach its true dignity and
Alms with chearfulness so thou wentest about doing good and didst often relieve those that were not able to requite thee Thou hast commanded us not to fear them which can kill the Body and yielded up thine own to the death upon the Cross to do the will of him that sent thee thou wast obedient even unto death Thou hast commanded Subjection to Parents and practised it hast said Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and wrought a Miracle to pay a Tribute Thou injoynest us Mercy and Compassion and who ever exprest more than thy self Thou didst not only weep in Sympathy with the Affliction of thy Friends but also over the hard and stubborn Jerusalem that had killed thy Prophets and was ready to kill thee Thou enjoynest us to love our fiercest Enemies and thy dying breath pray'd for thy Crucifiers Thy perfect Soul did not need as our weak Natures do the outward Forms and Discipline of Religion yet thou didst conform to the observance of the common appointed Feasts and assist in the publick Duties at the Temple Thou didst watch and pray with so fervent a Zeal that thy Practice was perfectly equal to thy Precepts This Life and even Death it self our merciful Lord undertook to mark out for us the way to Heaven To beat it plain by his own sacred Steps and render our passage thither easie and secure Shall we not then O my Soul rejoycingly follow that path which we see our Saviour trod before us Which we see though spread all over with Thorns yet carried him directly to the Glories of Paradise Shall we not confidently rely on so gracious a Leader who promises if we faint to look back and relieve us MEDITATION III. MAY every Age sing Praises to our God and all Generations adore his Providence From the Beginning his Mercy has still laid means to raise us to those blessed Objects which are above our Nature At first he created Adam with all necessary knowledge and then taught the Patriarchs to inform their Families Afterwards he made use of the Angels to bring us his Commands and often inspir'd the Prophets to declare his Will. When he had done all this it was not enough to bring untoward Man to his true end What did he then to save the perishing World O strange Excess of divine Goodness He sent even his own beloved Son to dwell among us and teach us the way of Salvation the sacred Art of training up our Souls for Heaven and fitting them for the blissful Union with himself But O! thou King of glorious Sweetness whose flowing Tongue dropt Milk and Hony We were alas not happy to behold thy Person nor our Ears worthy to hear thy Voice Yet e're we were born thou hadst us in thy thoughts and didst provide a sufficient method to supply that defect selecting a number of choice Disciples and thorowly instructing them in thy heavenly Doctrine that they might keep alive the memory of thee and witness to all Nations thy stupendious works Thou didst verifie their Mission with the Power of Miracles and enflame their hearts with the fire of the Holy Spirit Over all the World they proclaim'd thy Law and undauntedly preach'd the Crucified Saviour and God. Deep in the Breasts of the Faithful did they write thy Gospel and seal it before their eyes with their own Blood. Their Successors deposited the same precious Treasure in the common Magazine of the Church The Church has been maintain'd by the mighty power of God so that the Gates of Hell have not prevail'd against her Thus is the Catholick Faith descended on us and thus shall continue to the end of the World. Blessed be thy power O Lord that has wrought such Miracles to confirm thy Truth and enclined our hearts to believe it How many Souls are miserably seduced by the Corruptions of the latter Ages and revolted to a mixture of Paganism with Christianity while we by thy good Providence are led in the right way to Happiness We are taught to direct our Homage where we cannot sin nor fail in doing it to one God by one Mediator between God and Man the Man Christ Jesus the Man who also is God. How many Nations lie miserably involv'd in the darkness of Barbarism and Unbelief while we enjoy a clear noon-day and safely walk in the light of Truth O infinite Goodness who freely choosest to pour forth thy Blessings on us who are unworthy of the least Mercies As 't is from thee alone that we receive these favours to thee alone we will return our Praises PETITIONS O Christ the all-seeing Wisdom of the Eternal Father and Soveraign King of Men and Angels who from thy glorious Throne didst descend on our Earth familiarly to teach us the Oracles of Heaven O write thy sacred Instructions deep in the Table of our Hearts and suffer not at any time our Passions to break them Make us still study thee our heavenly Master and continually admire the excellent Beauty of thy Law. Let us be transform'd into an inward agreement to it by the renovation of our Minds that all our infirmities may be cured all our defects supply'd and our thoughts and words and actions conform'd to the dictates of right Reason Let thy excellent Example O Lord alwayes shine bright before our eyes and never be forgotten by us O put it often into our Hearts to reflect and say How would our Master have behaved himself in the Circumstances that we are in And what thou hast done we pray thee enable us to do Reach forth thy powerfull hand and strengthen us with thy Grace that nothing may divert us from following thee In the dangerous Labyrinth of this World and the whole course of our Pilgrimage here Lord let thy heavenly Dictates be our Map and thy holy Life our Guide And that we may be the more surely conducted to the Folds of Bliss do thou dear Lord send us Pastours after thine own Heart O illuminate all that thy Providence calls to the Sacred Office with true knowledge and understanding of thy Word possess them with a fervent Zeal to promote thy Glory and the Salvation of our Souls Give them great prudence that they may know how to manage our folly and perverseness so as notwithstanding them to do us good Make them O Lord good Examples to the Flock in Self-denial Meekness Contempt of the World in due subjection to Magistrates and Charity to all their Neighbours that they may save themselves and those that hear them And make us O Lord to encourage them by all means in their good Work to esteem them highly in love for their works sake to receive the Instructions and submit to the Reproofs which thou sendest by them Grant these things O Lord who art the great Shepherd of Shepherds and of our Souls for thine own honour Glory be to c. Amen For Wednesday Evening MEDITATION I. WEll we are now so much nearer our Grave and all the world is older
by a day than it was in the Morning of this So much more of this short life is spent and can never be recalled again My Soul there is so much less time left us to enjoy the good things of this life that we have or hope for and so much less wherein we shall be exposed to the evils that we feel or fear Time has set us nearer to the Grave from which no priviledge can exempt any of the Sons of Adam The rich are nearer the time when they must go hence and leave all their Wealth behind them The great Ones of the World are nearer to their dark lodging in the dust into which they must e're long be thrown The beauteous Face is nearer to be turn'd into noisom rottenness and the pamper'd Bodies to become the food of Worms This day has set all the living nearer to the Grave and tumbled a great many into it The longer we live the shorter does our Life become and in the end all our Vigour Strength and Beauty turns to a little lump of clay The Portion of the wicked is so much less and the time of their punishment is nearer approacht The Sufferings of the Patient are so much diminisht and their hopes of Delivery so much encreased They who have spent this day in sin and folly see all their thoughts now vanisht like a Dream They see all the pleasure of their guilty Actions is past and there is nothing remains but the just fears of a sad revenge The best consequence that can be of their course is the sadness of a bitter Repentance But such as have wisely bestow'd their time and made another new step towards Heaven they see their joyes come to meet them in their way and still grow bigger as they come till by a holy Death they join in one and dwell together for eternal Ages For our bounteous God has made our Souls immortal And when this house of Clay shall fall into the dust and this narrow Cottage be broken down they shall soar alost on their own free wings and enter into the beatifick Vision of God If they have train'd themselves up whilest they were here to a fitness for Heaven and its joys they shall instantly fly to those blessed Objects But if their terrene thoughts have flagg'd below and delighted most to hover near the base Earth If they have not lov'd above all things and sought most the Enjoyment of their God They must sit down in the shades of Sorrow and be confin'd in the Vale of Darkness and despair for ever MEDITATION II. WE are nearer indeed to the end of our Life but what are we nearer the end for which we Live What have we done my Soul this day that has given Glory to God and advanced us towards our future Blessedness Have we encreas'd our esteem of Heaven and settled its love more strongly in our hearts Have we avoided any known Temptation or faithfully resisted what we could not avoid Have we interrupted our customary faults and checkt the Vices we are most inclin'd to Have we embraced the Opportunities of doing good which the Mercy of Providence has offer'd to our hands Have we industriously contriv'd occasions to improve as we are able our selves and others Tell me my Soul how stand our great Accounts Are we prepar'd to meet our strict and righteous Judge Who without respect of persons judges all men and will dispose them accordingly to their eternal abodes Alas dread Lord what do we see when seriously we reflect upon our too careless lives Many hours and dayes we spend in nothing and many we abuse in that which is far worse than nothing We sacrifice our Youth to sport and folly and our manly years to Lust and Pride We spend our old Age in Craft and Avarice and think then of beginning to live when we apprehend we shall shortly die Thus we lead a negligent life and Death steals upon us unawares We are apt to bewail the shortness of our time when yet we do prodigally throw much of it away We lose the time of working out our Salvation in the busie pursuit of very Trifles and so we lose our neglected Souls for ever They must in eternal anguish lament our present careless Liberties and suffer unspeakable pains for our gratifying the passions and Appetites of our Flesh O my Soul consider the mighty work thou hast to do to fit thee for a happy departure out of this world Do that work diligently while it is called to day because the night constantly approaches wherein none can work Every one of these nights sets us nearer to our last and longest which if we have spent the day of life in diligence reserves for us eternal wages MEDITATION III. COme my Soul let us make our peace betimes with our God before the evening of our Life approach too near Let us endeavour to find favour with our Judge before we shall be brought to his awful Tribunal Confess the follies and sins thou findest in thy Life and charge them all entirely on thy self Confess them with a penitent and contrite heart for a broken and a contrite heart our gracious God will not despise Thy Repentance my Soul will come too late to meet with mercy if thou deferr it till this life is at an end Seek the favour of God in the Name of his beloved Son he is pleased that we should make mention of him For his sake he will readily bestow a pardon to them that humbly seek it for he desires not the death of a Sinner Moreover my Soul all the good that thou hast done to thy self or others thou must ascribe to his free Grace as the only principle of it Such humility will be very acceptable to him and dispose thee to receive larger Benefits from his bounty Say then to him if thou hast found any good in thy course Little O Lord thou knowest is the good we do and every grain of it derived from thee We could not have sav'd our selves from any dangerous temptation unless our God had powerfully sustain'd us We could not have carried on any pious purpose unless thy hand had blest our endeavours No to thy self O Lord take all the praise if thy Creatures have perform'd the least good work Take to thy self all the glory O Lord if they have not committed the worst of sins Thy hand alone directs us to do well and the same blest hand restrains us from ill 'T is not in us to esteem thy unseen Joyes nor to despise the charming Flatteries of this deceitful World 'T is not the work of corrupted Nature to mortifie our Senses and patiently bear the Crosses we meet Of our selves we are inclin'd to none of these but the Grace of God inables us for all Grace gives us strength to overcome our Passions to make the World and the Flesh subjects to us Grace gives us Faith to fortifie our reason and helps us to take Heaven by violence O how
adore Faith's Mystery Faith is my Skill Faith can believe As fast as Love new Laws shall give Faith is my Eye Faith Strength affords To keep pace with those Gracious Words And words more sure more sweet than they Love could not think Truth could not say O Dear Memorial of that Death Which still survives and gives us Breath Live ever Bread of Life and be My Food my Joy my All to me Come Glorious Lord my hopes increase And mix my portion with thy Peace Come and for ever dwell in me That I may only live to Thee Come hidden Life and that long Day For which I languish come away When this dry Soul those Eyes shall see And drink the unseal'd source of Thee When Glory 's Sun Faith's shade shall chase And for thy veil give me thy Face Then shall my Praise Eternal be To the Eternal Trinity Amen MEDITATION II. DOst thou my Soul design an approach to the Sacred Table of our Lord Take heed then that thou put on a Wedding Garment and come thither drest like a Friend of the Bridegroom Consider how chast these Eyes should be which go to behold the Symbols of his presence How clean that mouth should be which presumes to receive the Bread of Heaven How all celestial that Soul should be which aspires to an Union with our Heavenly Lord. Look look my Heart look well into thy self and strictly search every corner of thy breast Carefully empty thy self of all that which this sacred food will not agree with that thou maist safely come to the Marriage Supper and not eat and drink thine own Damnation Empty thy self of all self-admiring thoughts and take heed there be no secret love of Sin. Empty thy self of Worldly cares and let thy desires seek only thy Saviour Seek only now the Riches of his Grace seek only the pleasures of his Love. Let no turbulent passions now dwell in thee but only serious thoughts and devout affections This spiritual food affords no nourishment but what we receive by calm Meditation Come not with any malice against a Neighbour when thou seekest the favour of thy God. The God of love will not dwell with hatred nor shew Mercy but to those that are merciful Come hither with a Faith that works by love and then thou shalt be filled with the Celestial Manna But the uncharitable Faith as a dead thing is utterly uncapable of food or nourishment Draw nigh with a humble and broken Heart to partake of the broken Body of thy Lord. Get a distinct knowledge of this divine institution that thou maist be able to discern the Lords Body Know that Christ our Passover was crucified for us the innocent Lamb of God made a Sacrifice for our Sins We are invited to Feast upon this Sacrifice and therein to be united to it and have Interest in it Jesus Christ gives himself to us at this Ordinance and expects that we should give our selves to him Come with a mighty love to thy loving Saviour and a very great esteem of an interest in him If thou believe indeed he will be precious to thee And in such thoughts as these will thy Soul move towards him Thou art my only hope O Blessed Jesu and thy favour alone is all things to me In Thee I shall possess whatever I want and thy fulness exceeds even my utmost desires In Thee I shall find the Providence of a Father and the tender kindness of an indulgent Mother In Thee I shall enjoy the protection of a King and the rare fidelity of a constant Friend I shall need no other Advocate with the Father but Thee nor want any Instruction if thou wilt be my Teacher What can I wish for more if I may say O Jesu thou art my God and all things In that enough is said for them that love thee and know the value of those precious words O sweet and charming words My God and all things Sweet in excess to those that tast them Not so indeed to the corrupted Palates of the World who relish nothing but the food of sense Words that revive the fainting mind and fills it 's darkest thoughts with light and joy Thus furnisht my Soul thou may'st come to this Feast and shalt find the reception of a welcome guest Though some imperfections do remain in thee yet go that those imperfections may be healed He has kindly and earnestly invited us to his Supper who sees and has great compassion on our Miseries He bids us come my Soul and will surely receive us and with his bounteous fulness supply our defects Go then my Soul to that Sacred Table and take thy part of that delicious Banquet Go all inflam'd with love and with desire and quench thy Holy Thirst at that Spring of Bliss MEDITATION III. APProach my Soul with an amorous reverence to the Presence of so kind a Majesty O be transported with Joy and wonder to think that thou art going to receive thy God thy great and glorious God who only out of love thus gives himself the Pledge of thy sinal Salvation Welcome the glad day with Thankfulness and Praise on which thou maist be admitted to this excellent Feast And while the King sits at his Table it is meet thy Spikenard send forth the smell thereof that thou exercise those Graces he has given thee in devout Meditations He delights in the exercises of these and thou oughtest to delight in pleasing him Say then my Soul when the Solemnity begins and thou art bid to draw near and take the Holy Sacrament Alas how poor dull and empty am I O Lord how infinitely unworthy so divine a Sacrament In my best attire O Lord I am so ragged that I am even asham'd to see my self Well may I then with shame and blushing come into the Presence of holy Angels and much rather be abasht to appear before the purer Eyes of thy Infinite Glory What is Man O Lord that thou art thus mindful of him What am I the unworthiest of men that thou shouldst Invite me O this kindness is too much for Man to receive 't is infinitely more than the mean Creature can deserve but 't is a kindness suitable to a God to bestow whose goodness like himself is infinite It is in Obedience Great Lord to thy Command that I now present my self before thee and in a due acknowledgment of thy faithfulness I come to partake of thy Blessings When thou hearest my Soul the words of Consecration pronounced which separate the Bread and Wine from a common to a divine use say I believe O Eternal Son of God thou didst take our Nature into a Personal Union with thy self Thou didst take it in all its essential Parts but free from all our sinful Infirmities I believe thy Soul was made an offering for sin and that offering was accepted of the Father thy Sacrifice made a full Propitiation and therefore are we permitted to eat of it And seeing the Body and Blood of our
conspire with it against us Sometimes surprizing our unwary negligence sometimes defeating even our strongest resolves Not that they can compell our wills unless we yield or make the least wound without our consent Much less prevail against the power of Heaven and frustrate the purpose of the Almighty Wisdom Whose Mercy has us'd more arts to save us than the craft of Vice can invent to destroy us Such a Redemption so miraculously wrought such holy Sacraments so often repeated Such glorious promises so faithfully assur'd and which revives our hope so easily attain'd O infinite goodness how generous is thy Love how liberally extended over all the World Thou invites t little Children to come to thee and the lame and the blind to sit down at thy Feast None are shut out of Heaven but such as will not go in none made unhappy but those who care not to be otherwise Chear then thy self my Heart and let no fears molest thee nor even Death it self abate thy courage Death is a passage that was alwayes short and our Saviours death has made it safe to them that follow him in their lives By the practice of the Saints it is grown familiar and by their happy success become desirable Lose not then thy hope in so glorious an enterprize where Eternity is at stake and Heaven is the reward That Heaven for which the Ancient Hermits sought devout retirement in the Deserts That Heaven for which the holy Confessors spent all their time and innumerable Martyrs laid down their dearest lives That Heaven where Millions of Angels continually sing and all the blessed make one Quire That Heaven where the adored Jesus eternally Reigns and the Immortal Deity shines bright for ever That very Heaven is promis'd to thee my Soul that blest Eternity thou art commanded to hope for Raise now thy head and see those beauteous Prospects that ravish the Hearts of all their beholders Yonder far above the Stars is thy Saviours Kingdom yonder we must dwell when we leave this Earth Yonder must our Souls remove to rest when the stroak of Death shall divide them from their Bodies And when the Almighty Power shall joyn them again yonder must we live with our God for ever PETITIONS O Most Gracious and Bountiful King of Saints It was by thy sufficient grace afforded to them that any of thy Saints were able to do much good and to suffer much evil for thy sake They acknowledg'd it was not they that did any good but it was Christ that lived in them O Lord to whom then should we go but unto thee for assistance to follow those that have been Followers of Thee To thee O Lord we must address our selves and to Thee alone for thou alone art the Dispenser of that Grace we need And we thank thee thou hast given us such assurance of thy good will in taking our nature and dying for us that we know not nor need desire one more tender than thou and more ready to help us O Lord direct us we Pray to find the footsteps of thy Flock and inable us to follow the blessed track that we may come at last to the happy rest thou givest them Pity O Lord the Infirmities of thy Servants and quicken our slowness by the example of thy Saints What we see they have done for the love of Jesus let us be ambitious to do what they patiently suffer'd let us neither sinfully decline nor undergo with murmuring and discontent Make us especially O Lord to remember what thou hast done and suffer'd to set before our selves thy bright example the light of which directed them And make us mindful too of what thou promisest and what they have gain'd by following thee that their Names according to thy Promise are written in the Book of Life and they shall be exalted to sit with thee on thy high Throne O Bounteous Lord the only Author of all we have the only object of all we hope As thou hast prepared a Heaven for us O may thy grace prepare us for it O make us live the Life of the Just and let our last end be like theirs that we may dye the death of the Just and live for ever in that blest Society and in that blest Society may for ever sing thy Praise and say To him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own Blood and hath made us Kings and Priests unto God and his Father to him be Glory and Dominion for ever and ever Amen Hymn 34. TEll me ye glorious Stars that shine About the Lambs Caelestial throne How from such bodies once as mine Are you to this great brightness grown Hark with one Voice they thus reply This to the Lambs desert is due His humble Death rais'd him so high And us his faithful Followers too With one Voice this too they will say Our Lord taught us the happy Skill By his bright steps to guide our way And follow his best Followers still As we saw they had set their mind And rul'd their course we order'd ours This State alone we both design'd And up towa'rds this strein'd all our powers Taught by wise Temperance we abstain'd From Earths low Joyes for greater goods And slighting little drops we gain'd Full sweet and everlasting Floods Well arm'd with Fortitude we bare All lesser evils worse to flye And mortal-death we durst out-dare That we might not for ever dye Strict Justice we observ'd by giving To every one their utmost due That all in peace and order living All freely might this Heaven pursue But Prudence govern'd all the rest Prudence that made us still apply That which was fittest and was best To advance greatest Charity On these swift golden wheels of Grace That Loves bright fiery Chariot bear We all arriv'd at this bright place O follow us and do not fear O certain Truths O blest Attesters O that all yet on Earth might prove Of both these things such strong digesters That both these things might feed their love Him who hath made us all for this Him who hath made himself our waâ—… Him that will lead us in 't to Bliss May all men Praise and all obey Amen Devotions FOR THE Holy-dayes The Second Part. FOR THE FEASTS OF OUR BLESSED SAVIOUR For the Morning MEDITATION I. COme let us ascend to the house of our Lord and celebrate this day with a holy Joy imploring his Mercy in all we need and blessing his Bounty for all we have He is our God and we are his People Created by his goodness to be happy for ever He is our Redeemer and we his Purchase restor'd by his Death to a forfeited Happiness to day let us adore our God that Redeem'd us Praise our Lord all you Nations of the Earth Praise him with the Voice of Joy and of Thanksgiving Praise him with the well-tun'd strings of your Hearts Praise him with the sweetest Instrument a chearful Obedience Let every one that pretends to felicity sing immortal
Praises to the God of our Salvation He is our full and all-sufficient Redeemer he has perfectly finisht what he graciously undertook for all our Trespasses he has made satisfaction for all our forfeitures he has paid the ransome We by our Disobedience were banisht from Paradise and he has received us into his own Kingdom He has set up a Kingdom of Grace on Earth to prepare us for his Kingdom of Glory We wandred up and down in the wilderness of Errour and he has guided us into the wayes of Truth We were by nature Children of wrath and he has mediated our Peace with his offended Father We were become the Slaves of sin and he has bought our Freedom with his own Blood We were in bondage to the dominion of Satan and he has overcome and confin'd his Power We were in danger of sinking into Hell and he has sav'd us from that bottomless Pit The gates of Heaven were shut against us and he went up himself and opened them to all Believers dissolving for ever the terrours of Death and rendring it now but a passage into Life O dearest Lord who mad'st us first of nothing and restor'dst us again when we had undone our selves Who wouldst at any rate redeem us from Misery at any rate procure our Felicity How came we wretches to be so consider'd How came we Sinners to obtain such Favour that from thy Throne of Glory where Seraphims ador'd thee thou should'st descend on our Earth where Slaves would affront thee That thou should'st lead a Life of poverty and labour and in perfect Innocence dye a Death of shame and sorrow That thou should'st do all this for such contemptible worms as we without the least concern or benefit to thy self only to raise us up from our humble dust and set us to shine amongst thy glorious Angels O infinite Goodness the bounteous Authour of all our hopes What shall we say to thy excessive Charity O gracious Lord and mighty deliverer from all our fears What shall we render for thy unspeakable Mercies We cannot chuse but search over all we have but we can find nothing to return but what thou hast given us We will therefore use the gifts thou hast bestowed on us according to thy direction and give the Praise to Thee of what we do well All the Glory of our Salvation we will ascribe to thee and to thee alone as the great cause who hast begun alone as and wilt at length finish it By thee we will alwayes say we do good and not lean to our own understandings by thee we will expect our Reward and never rely upon our own Merits Hymn 35. SWeet Jesu why why dost thou love Such worthless things as we Why is thy Heart still towards us Who seldom think on thee Thy Bounty gives us all we have And we thy Gifts abuse Thy bounty gives us ev'n thy self And we thy self refuse My Soul and why why do we love Such worthless things as these These that withdraw us from our Lord And his pure Eyes displease Break off and be no more a Child To run and sweat and cry While all this stir this huge concern Is only for a Fly Some silly Fly that 's hard to catch And nothing when 't is caught Such are the toyes thou striv'st for here Not worth a serious thought Break off and raise thy manly Eye Up to those Joyes above Behold all those thy Lord prepares To wooe and crown thy Love. Alas Dear Lord I cannot love Unless thou draw my Heart Thou who thus kindly mak'st me know O make me do my part Still do thou love me O my Lord That I may still love Thee Still make me love thee O my God! That thou may'st still love me Thus may my God and my poor Soul Still one another love Till I depart from this low World To ' enjoy my God above To thee Great God to thee alone One Coeternal three All Pow'r and Praise all Joy and Bliss Now and for ever be Amen MEDITATION II. PRoceed my Soul to celebrate the Praises of thy Lord go on with fresh attention to remember the Mercies of thy God whose Wisdom has contriv'd to save Mankind by so compendious a method as may be exprest in one short word He saw the only cause of all our ruin was our Love misplac'd on this present World He saw the only remedy of all our Misery was to fix our Love on the World to come This therefore was his great intent and in this concentred all his Merits to possess us with Love the end of Faith and greatest of divine graces to change the byass of our wrong-set hearts by establishing among us new motives of Charity such as might strongly incline our Affections and efficaciously draw us to Love our true Good such as might gain by degrees upon all Mankind and render Salvation easie and universal For this he came down from his Fathers Bosom to teach us the rules of Eternal Life that we might firmly believe those Sacred Truths which God himself with his own mouth has told us For this he Converst so long on our Earth to encourage and provoke us by his own example that we might confidently embrace those unquestionable Virtues which God himself in his own Person had practised For this he endur'd so sharp and many Afflictions and became at last obedient to the Death that we might patiently suffer whatever should befall us when God himself was so treated by his Creatures For this he so often Preacht of the Joyes of Heaven and set them before us in so clear a light that seeing so rich a Prize hang at the end of our Race we might run and strive with our utmost force to obtain it For this he ordain'd all the means of Grace and left us the Sacraments of his Body and Blood that he might breed and nourish in us the Life of Charity and ravish our Hearts with the sweetness of his Presence For this he establisht a perpetual Church and sent the Holy Ghost to Inspire and govern it that it might be maintain'd through all Ages in Truth and Sanctity and plant the same heavenly Seed over all the World For this he assum'd those strange endearing Names of Friend and Brother and Spouse to us Wretches doing far more for us O wondrous Love than all those Names import than all our hearts can wish Blessed O Glorious Jesu be the Wisdom of thy Mercy that has found so sweet and short a way to save us Thou art O Lord the cause of all our Love and Love the cause of all our Happiness By Love we fulfil all thy Commands and in keeping thy Commands there is great reward By Love we are reconcil'd from Enemies to Friends by Holy Love we are translated from Death to Life by Love we are deliver'd from the fear of Hell by Love we are the regenerated Heirs of Heaven by Love we are dispos'd for that blissful Vision by Love we are
to adore thee the kind Saviour of us all who with the Father and the Spirit art one God blessed for ever Glory be to c. Amen For the Evening MEDITATION I. ALL things do live to thee O Lord thou sole preserver of universal nature the blessed Saints rejoice in thy glory and our imperfect Souls are here sustain'd in hope We know that thou wilt bring us to the Grave which is the house appointed for all the living and from thence thou wilt raise us again to an universal Judgment and then dispose of us to our Eternal Portion O happy they whom our Lord shall honour on that day of his solemn triumph and rising from his seat of Judgment go gloriously before them and with these sweet and gracious words invite them to follow him Come you blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the Foundation of the World. The reward of your labours I will give you I my self will be your reward you have firmly believ'd you have readily obey'd you have constantly suffer'd Come enter now into your Masters joy They that are careful my Soul to dye the death of the righteous will with them be thus caress'd at the day of judgement Now thou hast pass'd another day another step towards thy long home thou hast seen the Sun a few hours more and this day is gone and lost in its own night But hast thou lost it too and made no use of it while it shin'd then let the dew of thy penitent tears for shame lament its departure Thou art nearer thy death but no more prepar'd for it if thou hast made no advance towards perfection Examine thy self to know the truth and ask thy self these useful Questions Am I grown devout as the Saints of God were Am I chaste temperate and resign'd as they yet Do I despise now the World with a Zeal like theirs and value Heaven at the same high rate with them Would I give all I have just now to be there And part with Life it self just now to go thither Has the consideration of their blissful reward brought me to a full resolution to aim at the highest imitation of them At least have I learnt to humble my self and check the vanity of my proud conceits To mourn and blush at my own many Infirmities when I consider their excellent Lives and Vertues If thou canst not equal my Soul such glorious patterns yet let it be thy hearts desire to do it and what they really did do thou really wish to do MEDITATION II. LET us humble our selves we that are yet in this low state but not grow faint at the sight of others so far before us Rather let us quicken our sloth by considering their swift pace and encourage our fears with their happy success We who profess the Religion of all these Saints who liv'd and dy'd Members of the same Church with us We who partake of the same holy Sacraments and eat the same celestial Food who may partake of the same holy and powerful Spirit if we diligently seek and readily receive him Why should we fear but that one day we may shine above and rejoyce together with the glorified Saints Are we not all redeem'd by the same rich price and the same eternal Crowns propos'd to us all Are we not bred in the same Apostolick Faith and taught of God by his appointed Ministers The Lessons I see and Teacher is the same but the hand is dull and the Instrument out of tune They liv'd in a dangerous World like this and were ty'd to Bodies frail as ours But by a constant vigilance they overcame the World and subdu'd those Bodies to the service of their Minds They overcame with a joyful Heart and we thus congratulate the Triumph of their victories They overcame but not by their own strong hand and now they triumph but 't is by the bounty of their God. Chear then thy self my Soul and raise thy Head and open thy bosom to the hopes of Heaven Fear not our God has a blessing too for us if we have a love and obedience for him If we delight in the wayes of Piety and diligently attend the Offices of Devotion If we refrain from the liberties of the World and curb the loose suggestions of the Flesh If we can look on Gold and Honour and their flaming beams not dazle our Eyes if we perform with them the part of faithful Servants we shall surely with them have the portion of Children MEDITATION III. PRecious in thy sight O Lord is the death of thy Saints which finishes thy greatest Work the perfecting of Souls whom thou esteemest as the Jewels of Heaven and choicely gatherest into thine own Treasury Precious to themselves O Lord is the death of thy Saints which takes off the dusky cover that hides their brightness which shapes and polishes them to a beauteous lustre and sets them as Stars round about thy Throne Precious O Lord to us is the death of thy Saints from whence we are furnisht with such means of Vertue Some teach us courage to encounter dangers and not for fear make shipwrack of our Conscience Others by their Example instruct us to converse with meekness and patiently bear neglects and injuries From some we may learn how to use this world wisely and make it serve us in our way to the next From others we may learn how more generously to despise it and pass our dayes in Peace and Prayer By all with thy blessing we may learn this best of arts to live and dye like Saints and do this in the best of methods thy glorious Example O gracious Lord whose Love still looks about and searches every way to save us sinners who camest thy self bright Sun of Glory to enlighten our darkness and warm our frozen Hearts Who with thy fruitful Beams still kindlest others to burn as Tapers in thy Church's hand and by their near proportionate distance stand fit to shine into every corner of our lives We will ever bless thy Name for all these Mercies and take care to pass by not one with Ingratitude We will not consider in vain the Crown at the Race's end and sit down lazily in the shades of ease nor keep in vain the memory of thy Saints without endeavouring to imitate them which would be to the reproach of our unprofitable lives We will strain all our Powers and pursue to the mark for the glorious prize that is set before us Still with our utmost speed we will follow them whose travel ended in so sweet a rest PETITIONS O God of infinite adorable Goodness who after thy faithful Servants had spent their day of life in a course of steady and laborious Piety and Vertue did'st graciously close their Evening with a comfortable death and give them instead of this an eternal day of Glory O grant to us below we beseech thee so to imitate thy Saints in the wise bestowing our allotted time on our Earth that we may follow them in their happy passage out of this World and be admitted with them to thy everlasting Glories in the other When our Life's last day O Lord begins to fall and bids us hasten to prepare for night then send thy willing Angels to watch about us and suffer not the Enemy to disturb our passage Send them to receive in peace our departing Souls and to bear them safely to thy presence Then O thou dear Redeemer of the World and sovereign King of Life and Death thou who despisest not the Tears of the Penitent nor turnest away from the sighs of the Afflicted Thou who preservest all that rely on thee and fulfillest their desires that long to be with thee Do thou hear our cries and pardon our sins and graciously deliver us from all our fears Call us to thy self with thine own blest Voice Call us O dearest Jesu in thine own sweet words Say Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the World. Then will our happy Souls immediately obey and go forth with gladness to meet their Lord and Love to live with him and behold his Glory and partake of his Happiness and sing his Praise These things O Lord we humbly expect from the merit of thy humble Death and the power of thy glorious Exaltation O Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the World have mercy upon us have mercy upon us and grant us thy eternal peace Amen Hymn 40. TOO hasty night forbear our Praise And our yet young beginning Hope Set to encrease on these blest dayes So faint and dull requires more scope Night will not hear but sullen flies And summons all the World to sleep Commands us close our Books and Eyes What we have gain'd content to keep O happy Saints this broken rate Our slowness bids to ply its wings While your unwearied active state Does alwaies wake and alwaies sings Yet eve'n our state your School too was And those your now unweary'd Laies By such a change of sing and pause Here among us you learn'd to raise Here you thus often too took breath And yet have climb'd those hills of light O may your good success bequeath A Hope to reach that glorious height Though now our Notes be short and few Our rests too frequent are and long If we but keep in tune with you We shall at last sing your glad Song If with our utmost humble powers We here our daily Praye'rs attend These poor Devotions shall like yours There in a nightless fervour end Glory O Lord to thee alone Be here below as there above O may thy joyes Great Three in One Ever attract and Crown our Love. Amen FINIS ERRATA These few mistakes of the Press the Courteous Reader is desir'd to Pardon and Correct PAge 6. line 7. for talk read task p. 17. l. 20. f. beautified r. beatified p. 28. l. â—8 f. seel r. feel p. 72. r. Hymn 7. p. 96 f. Son r. Sun. p. 204. l. 6. f. potion r. portion p. 282. last l. r. thus acting p. 302. first l. of the Hymn r. ' T is not for us p. 319. l. 7. f. adventures r. adventurers p. 358. r. H. 31. p. 442 443. 445 446. at the top f. Even r. Morn p. 452. l. 17. f. fire r. flame
do thee faithful Service I own O Lord the Justice and Equity of being so obliged I account it my Interest to be intirely thine I am saved by being Devoted to thee and honour'd in admission to thy Service It is the greatest Preferment I can attain to serve him who is Lord of Heaven and Prince of the Kings of the Earth Thy Service O Lord is perfect Freedom and they have great Peace that love thy Law There are no riches comparable to thy rewards nor any Pleasures so sweet as thy Consolations I am asham'd O Lord and have great reason to be so for that I have liv'd no more suitable to such a Devoted State That I have presum'd to dispose of my self so much according to the devices and desires of of my own heart I have often wander'd from the safe and pleasant Path of thy Commandments and often stept into the dangerous uneasie wayes of sin I have greatly disparaged my self hereby in thy sight and in the sight of thy Holy Angels O it is fit that thou and they who have seen my sins should see my repentance that have seen me most basely breaking my Covenant with my God should see me heartily renewing again so just a Covenant I thank thy Love Dear Jesu for 't is by what thou hast done for us that our Repentance may be accepted I thank thee O gracious Saviour for Instituting thy Supper for the Renewal and Confirmation of our Baptismal Covenant that thou hast commanded us at that to reinforce our resolutions and that thou art ready to confirm them by thy Grace It is Lord the sincere desire of my Soul never to revolt from Thee any more I believe there is no greater happiness than to be a firm Confederate with the faithful Jesus By which I shall become a Temple to the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Light and Love the Spirit of Grace and Glory Now Lord that I have had a fresh sight of thy Love and have sate under thy Shadow with Delight thy blessed Name shall be deeply engraven in my heart I will allow no affection but the Love of Jesus and all my powers and all their motions shall be subject to that I will say to all the Vanities of the world Be gone I have no room in my heart for you whom I cannot love too little I will reserve it all for my Saviour whom I can never love too much I will say to those Temptations that would draw me into sin cease your base Solicitations for I cannot willingly grieve my loving Saviour If it be difficult to serve him I will steadily conflict with those difficulties If it will cost me the loss of all worldly Conveniencies I will gladly forsake all to adhere to him If it expose my Life I will let that goe rather than deny my loving Lord. Now that I have receiv'd the Blessed Jesus at his Supper and thou Lord art come to make thy abode with me I will study to give thee such kind Entertainment as may please thee and keep thee with me I will indeavour in my thoughts words and actions to set alwayes before thee what I think will be acceptable I will watch against every thing that is impure and would be offensive to thy holy sight I will often retire from the World to converse with thee Worldly cares and business shall not keep me from thy Company I have been praising thee O Lord in thy House and at thy Table but I have not praised thee enough And who can praise thee enough for what I there saw for what I there received Oh! how low are my Conceptions of thy Love how vastly below it are all my words I will try O Lord what my deeds can do in praising thee and every part of my Life shall endeavour thy honour Thus Lord I may and ought to resolve but my Practice depends entirely on thy Grace PETITIONS O Lord our kind and gracious Redeemer Thou art exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour to give Repentance and Remission of Sins I beseech thee O Lord as thou hast enabled me to repent and to confess the folly of my backsliding heart do thou graciously give me thy pardon Forgive me O Lord that I have been so false to former Vows and have so often contradicted my Covenants with thee O deal not with me as I deserve cast me not away from thy presence take not thy Holy Spirit from me I have been weakly striving against my sins and could not so far conquer them as I would And therefore Lord I came to thy Table to receive greater strength against them O let such a vertue come from thy Death at this Remembrance of it as may lay all my sins utterly dead and let the Influence of that power so remain as that they may never revive that I may never be hinder'd in my Duty by any sin easily besetting me that I may serve and please thee in all purity heavenly-mindedness integrity in Charity Humility and Contentedness in whatever condition it shall please thee to place me Enable me perfectly to overcome my Passions and keep them all subject to the Laws of thy Love. Let thy Love which is represented in this Sacrament so deeply affect me that I may delight to think and to speak of it and may endeavour as far as I can to imitate it Keep me mindful of my Vows make my Endeavours successful and my Obedience perfect and compleat in all things So possess me with the Love of thee my kind Redeemer as to make me ardently desirous of seeing thee face to face Refine me at length by that holy fire from all the dross of my Corruptions and to such a degree of holiness and purity that I may be fit to fly away from this World to the Habitation of thy Holiness and Glory Amen Hymn 24. DO I resolve an easie life With plenty stor'd and free from strife When my dear Lord thy days and nights Were past in poverty and fights Do I design a gentle Death Just singing out my aged Breath When my Love cruel tortures tore Thy dear Soul out all drown'd in gore Oh no our Christian Sacrifice Acting in a sweet disguise My Saviours Passion o're again Shall all such fond Conceits restrain This must keep lively in my mind How I ought still to be resign'd This humble pattern should destroy My sensual Grief and worldly Joy. Are Sufferings Ills No Goodness chose His and our way to Bliss through those Are Pleasures Goods No Wisdom scorn'd Their dalliance and has us forewarn'd This Lord this make my Song to be At least whene're I meet with thee Thee its glad ground so oft repeating As may prevent my Souls forgetting Jesu thus arm'd no terrours shall E're make my vertuous Courage fall No flatteries here my blest hopes drown Since thy sad Cross led to thy Crown O live for ever glorious Lord Live by all Heaven and Earth ador'd May both their joyful praises give They
who can see we who believe Praise to the glorious Three in One Let Time ascribe till Time be done Then let the work continued be By an endless Eternity Amen For Friday Morning MEDITATION I. COme let us glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ in whom is our Life and Health and Resurrection Shall we rejoyce my Soul to day Shall we not rather mourn at the Funeral of our dear Redeemer Such O my Lord was the Excess of thy Goodness to derive joyes for us from thine own Sorrows Thou forbad'st thy followers to weep for thee and reserved'st to thy self alone the shame and grief Thou invitest all the World to glory in thy Cross and command'st us to delight in the memory of thy Passion Sing then all you dear-bought Nations of the Earth sing Hymns of Glory to the holy Jesus Sing every one who pretends to Felicity sing immortal praises to the God of our Salvation To him who for us endur'd so much scorn and patiently receiv'd so many Injuries To him who for us sweat drops of Blood and drank off the dreggs of his Father's wrath To the Eternal Lord of Heaven and Earth who for us was slain by the hands of the wicked who for us was led away as a Sheep to the slaughter and as a meek Lamb opened not his Mouth Whither O my God did thy Compassion carry thee how did thy Charity too far prevail with thee Was it not enough to become Man for us but thou must expose thy self to all our Miseries Was it not enough to labour all thy life but thou must suffer for us even the pains of Death No gracious Lord thy Mercy still observ'd some wants in our condition as yet unsupply'd Thou saw'st our too much fondness of Life needed thy parting with it to reconcile us to Death Thou saw'st our fear of Sufferings could no way be abated but by freely undergoing them in thine own person Thou saw'st our Souls so deeply stain'd with Guilt that without thy Blood we could have no Remission O Blessed Jesu whose Grace alone begins and perfects all our hopes How are we bound to praise thy Love how infinitely oblig'd to adore thy goodness At any rate thou would'st still go on to heal our weak and wounded Nature Even at the price of thine own dear Blood thou would'st accomplish for us the purchase of Heaven Hymn 25. TUne now your selves my Heart-strings high Let us alost our Voices raise That our loud Song may reach the Skie And there present to thee our Praise To thee Blest Jesu who cam'st down From those bright Sphears of Joy above To purchase us a dear-bought Crown And wooe our Souls to ' espouse thy Love. Long had the World in darkness sate 'Till thou and thy all-glorious Light Began to dawn from Heavens fair Gate And with thy Beams dispel their Night We too alas still there had stood As common Slaves in the same shade But Mercy came and with his Blood Our general Ransome freely paid Not all the Spite of all the Jews Nor Death it self could him remove Still he his blest design pursues And gives his Life to crown our Love. And now my Lord my God my all What shall I most in thee admire That power which made the World and shall The World again dissolve with fire Oh no thy strange Humility Thy Wounds thy Pains thy Cross thy Death These shall alone my wonder be My Health my Joy my Staff my Breath To thee Great God! to thee alone Three Persons in one Deity As former Ages still have done All Glory now and ever be Amen MEDITATION II. AWake my Soul and speedily prepare thy richest Sacrifice of humble Praise Awake and summon all thy thoughts to make haste and adore our great Redeemer To him let us reverently go and offer our devout hearts at his sacred Feet Thither let us fly from the Troubles of the World with him let us dwell among the Mercies of Heaven Under the shade of that happy Tree let us fix our abode A Tree of safe defence and delicious fruit Let us remember every passage of our Saviour's Love and desire that none may escape our thanks Let us compassionate every stroke of his Death and one by one salute his sacred Wounds Blest be the Hands that wrought so many Miracles and were bor'd with cruel Nails Blest be the Feet that so often travell'd for us and at last were unmercifully fastened to the Cross Blest be the Head which was crowned with Thorns the Head that so industriously studied our Happiness Blest be the Heart which was pierc'd with a Spear the Heart that so passionately lov'd our peace Blest be the entire person of our Crucifi'd Lord and may all our powers joyn in his praise In thy eternal praise O gracious Jesu and the ravishing thoughts of thy incomparable Sweetness O what excess of Kindness was this what strange extremity of Love and Pity The Lord is sold that the Slave may be free the innocent condemn'd that the guilty may be sav'd The Physician is sick that the Patient may be cur'd and he who was God dies that man may live Tell me my Soul when first thou hast well consider'd and lookt about among all we know tell me Who ever wisht us so much good Who ever lov'd us with so much tenderness What have our nearest Friends done for us or even our Parents in comparison of this Charity No less than the Son of God came down to redeem us no less than his own dear Life was the price he paid for us What can the favour of the whole World promise us compar'd to this miraculous Bounty No less than the joyes of Angels are become our hope no less than the Kingdom of Heaven is made our Inheritance MEDITATION III. TO thee O God we owe our selves for making us after thine own Image To thee O Lord we owe more than our selves for redeeming us with the Death of thine onely Son. Nor were our Ruines so soon repair'd as at first our Being was easily produc'd Thy Power to Create us said but one word and immediately we became a living Soul But thy Wisdom to Redeem us both spake much and wrought more and suffer'd most of all To redeem us he humbled himself to this low World and all the infirmities of our miserable Nature He patiently endur'd hunger and thirst and the malicious affronts of enraged Enemies How many times did he hazard his life to sustain with Courage the Truths of Heaven how many Tears did he tenderly weep in compassion of his blind ungrateful Country how many drops of Blood did he shed in the doleful Garden and on the bitter Cross the Cross where after three long hours of grief and shame and intolerable pains he meekly bow'd his fainting Head and in an Agony of Prayer yielded up the Ghost So sets the glorious Sun in a sad Cloud and leaves our Earth in darkness and disorder but goes to shine immediately in