my Heart unto Wisdom when I awake up I am ever with thee Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the ginning is now c. Then have an especial care that no vain filthy or impure thoughts have any entertainment within thy Breast but if any such endeavour to crowd themselves in presently discard them with detestation and abhorrency emembring that the First Fruits belong to God and he ought to have the râ—ime of all thy Thoughts then cast thy self out of Bed and whiles thou art dressing thy self desire God to cloath thee with the Righteousness of his Son Christ Jesus and use the following Ejaculations O Lord grant that I may put on the whole Armour of God that I may be able to stand against all the Fiery Darts of the Devil Above all things O Lord give me the Shield of Faith the Breast-plate of Righteousness the Sword of the Spirit the Girdle of Verity the Helmet of Salvation and let my Feet be shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace O grant that I may put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no Provision for the Flesh to fulfil it in the Lusts thereof Before thou art throughly dressed kneel down by the Bed-side and say In the Name of the Father and of the the Son and of the Holy Ghost prevent me O Lord in all my doings with thy most gracious Favour and further me with thy continual Help that in all my works begun continued and ended in thee I may glorifie thy holy Name and finally by thy Mercy obtain everlasting Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Our Father which art in Heaven c. On Combing your Head or Plaiting the Hair you may use such Ejaculaions as these Grant O Lord my Ornament may not be that of the Hair but that of a lowly meek quiet and humble Spirit Let it not be that of the outer but of the inner and hidden Man of the Heart Make me a clean Heart O God and renew a right Spirit within me While you are Washing you may Ejaculate thus O Lord wash me throughly from mine Iniquities and cleanse me from my Sin O cleanse me from all Filthiness both of Flesh and Spirit Not only my Hands and my Face O Lord but my Heart also Purge me with Hysop and so shall I be clean O Lord wash me and I shall be whiter than Snow I am unclean I am unclean but O Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me clean O touch me and say I will be thou clean Being now compleatly dress'd withdraw to thy Closet or place of Retirement and there lift up thy Soul to God in this or the like manner O Lord I beseech thee let thy holy Spirit direct me how I may spend this day most of all to thy Glory and my own and others benefit And then ponder a while on the business of the day and consider what sins either thy natural Temper Business or Company may most subject thee to to what dangers thou art most liable and what opportunities thou art like to have either of doing God Service or thy Neighbour good Against the former implore Gods Aid and Assistance in a particular Petition which you may find a convenient place to insert in your Morning Devotions and also Arm your self before-hand with Resolutions and the best Means you can to prevent them that so you may avoid the occasions of Sin And for the latter resolve to embrace all opportunities for the discharge of your Duty and then use this Ejaculation Thus thus O Lord I purpose by thy Grace to spend this day O be thou pleased to be present with me by the preventings and assistings of thy Grace and Holy Spirit that so I may perform what I intend to the Glory of thy Name the discharge of my Duty the benefit of others the comfort of my own Soul here and everlasting happiness hereafter in and through Jesus Christ Let thy Grace be sufficient for me Consider also seriously what Sins have passed from thee since thy Evening Devotions Being thus prepared take Gods Holy Book into thy hands yet not without Reverence and to put a distinction between this and other Books it will be commendable if thou uncover thy head in the reading of it or stand up even the Hearhens pay it Reverence the Jews hear the Law with Adoration and the Turks kiss the Alcoran thou maist also use one of these or the like Ejaculation or the Collect of the second Sunday in Advent Assist me I pray thee O Lord with thy Holy Spirit in the reabing of thy holy Word enlighten the Eyes of my Vnderstanding that I may understand the same give me a retentive Memory and Grace to reduce the same into Practice in my Life and Conversation through Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour Amen Open thou mine Eyes O Lord that I may see the wondrous things of thy Law Blessed art thou O Lord O teach me thy Statutes O Lord sanctifie unto me my present Reading and Meditations for Jesus Christ his sake Then read that portion of Scripture that is either accommodated to the day or most fitted for your own condition and that with much seriousness attention and particular application of it to your self When you have ended use the common Doxology of Glory be to thee O Lord. Then re-collect what things observable you have met with in your reading and spend some time in Meditation of them and consider what use you may afterwards make of them either to encourage to Vertue or deter from Vice without this Post Meditation you will reap no more benefit by this â—alutary Word than a Body by the reception of the most nutritious Aliment which is not well digested in the Stomach Nay as this will be apt to turn into Crudities and Diseases to the Body so will the other prove fatal to the Soul and that which should have been the savour of Life unto Life will be nothing else than the savour of Death unto Death Meditation being ended betake your self decently and reverently to your knees and with great fervency offer up your Morning Devotions unoâ— the Throne of Grace which being done follow your lawful Studies or Employments still having an awful sense of Gods Omnipresence But if you be a Master of a Family then call your Family together and let they as well as you serve the Lord. Read a Chapter unto them and Pray again with them before you dismiss them to their business And if you live in a place where Publick Prayers are Celebrated and your manner of Life be such that you can without considerable inconveniences dispense with it think your self not excused from the Prayers of the Church in the Congregation At Noon when you see the Table spread you may meditate concerning Gods Mercy and Bounty towards thee and all mankind and use those or the like Ejaculations hereafter prescribed for that purpose and then receive
Lord I beseech thee mercifully hear my prayer and spare me who now confess my sins unto thee that I whose conscience by sin is accused by thy merciful pardon may be absolved from all my offences through Christ our Lord. Amen O most Mighty God and Merciful Father who hast compassion upon all Men and hatest nothing that thou hast made who wouldest not the Death of a Sinner but that he should rather turn from his Sin and be saved mercifully forgive me my Trespasses receive and comfort me who am grieved and wearied with the Burthen of my Sins Thy property is alwayes to have mercy to thee only it appertaineth to forgive Sins Spare me therefore good Lord spare me whom thou hast redeemed Enter not into Judgment with thy Servant who am vile Earth and a miserable Sinner but so turn thine anger from me who meekly acknowledg my vileness and truly repent me of my faults and so make hast to help me in this World that I may ever live with thee in the World to come through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen This being done you are next to review your Sins again and consider what were the occasions which drew you into each particular Sin and then consider and think of those ways and mean by which you may for the future avoid them and arm your self before-hand with reasons and holy resolutions against their assaults whensoever they invade which you may do well to commit to Writing After this consider what Graces directly oppose your Vices that you may in the next place petition for them for it is not enough that you are pardoned but you must also remember that that will not stand you in stead If you again return to your Old Vices An Examplification of this you have in one or two Sins following As January I fasted and upon Examination I found my self guilty of unclean and unchast thoughts and that with delight and approbation which sometimes brake forth into corrupt frothy Discourse and immodest or unclean Actions Upon reflecting into the Causes of this Sin I found them to be Eating and Drinking too highly keeping light or idle Company not keeping that Guard over my self as I ought nor behaving my self in all places with that gravity and seriousness as I should and giving way to the first motions of vain and impure thoughts Upon which I resolved to use my self to a spare low Diet to avoid Drinking much Wine or Strong Liquors to avoid light Company and not suffer mine ears to hear or my tongue to utter any frothy or corrupt Communication to carry my self always with a becoming gravity in my behaviour to deport my self as in the immediate presence of God remembering that he is a God of infinite Purity and Holiness I will be watchful over my own Heart that I do not permit any unclean thoughts or fancies to enter within me much less give them Entertainment and as soon as they offer themselves to my fancy I will endeavour to divert them by holy and heavenly Meditations And last of all I will be frequent in my prayers to God for a clean heart and purity of spirit and for the Graces of Temperance and Chastity When I fasted likewise I found my self guilty of muth deadness and dulness in my Devotions vain and wandring thoughts in them c. Upon Examination of my self I found the great Causes of it to be the want of keeping my self continually in a serious frame and temper of spirit my not spending some some time in Meditation before I came to pray my want of frequency in my Devotions and want of the due sense of God's great and dreadful Majesty and my own necessities of those things I come to pray for Upon which I resolved constantly to keep my self in an habitual frame and temper of piety to be more frequent in Prayer and to praemeditate of the dread and awfulness of that Majesty before whom I appear to consider before-hand that nothing but what is hearty and from the ground of the Soul will be accepted by him and how great need I have of those things I ask I will pray often for the Spirit of Devotion and Sincerity and will be sure to watch over my thoughts when I am at my Devotions but if any such enter I will presently repel them and then pray with greater fervency to cross the Devil's design therein These meditations and resolutions being over you may begin again thus O Lord increase my weak Faith Lord I believe help thou mine unbelief and give me Grace to live and die according to my belief for I believe in thee O God the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth And in Jesus Christ thy only Son our Lord who was conceived by the holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified dead and buried He descended into Hell The third day he rose again from the dead He ascended into heaven and siteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead I believe in the Holy Ghost the Holy Catholick Church the Communion of Saints the Forgiveness of Sins The Resurrection of the Body and the life everlasting Amen O Lord be with my Spirit O Most gracious God make me careful to discharge and perform all my Vows and Resolutions which I have made unto thee both in publick and in private Make me a serious and professed enemy to every sin and to all ungodliness especially O Lord to all c. Here meition thy most prevailing Sins and Corruptions and let no sinful thought surprize me without a sorrowful sigh no ungracious word pass me without a suddain retractation and devour confession no wicked action defile me without a sincere and godly humiliation Unto each measure of sin enable me to allow a due measure of sorrow Let those sins that have been reigning over me be at set times constantly revenged by me and as my body hath been a deep sharer in my Sins so let it have a daily share in my Sufferings Help me at set times to deny my self some of those outward Enjoyments which thou O Lord in mercy hast allowed me as a true sign of my godly sorrow for that sinful excess which I have too oft taken without thine allowance Let those sinful hours which have been vainly lost in idleness and emptiness be willingly redeemed in a constant observation of Religious Duties Let no day pass me with out a solemn and devout task of Devotion no hour without some sweet Ejaculation and when at any time the troubles and disturbances of this frail life shall deny me happy opportunities for those heavenly performances what is wanting in act let it be made up in desire which thou Lord I trust wi lt graciously accept and look upon because faithfully intended These and whatever mercies thou knowest needful and requisite I humbly beg in the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ
Mercies which thou freely and undeservedly at first gavest him and made himself obnoxious to thy Wrath and eternal Misery thou hast not abhorred our Nature but hast so loved and honoured thy sinful Creatures as to manifest thy self in our Flesh O! that Men would therefore praise the Lord for his Goodness and declare the Wonders that he doth for the Children of Men. I revere and adore thee O Most Glorious Majesty for the Son of thy love and for all those mercies we enjoy in and through him I praise and magnifie thy holy Name for the Mission of thy holy Spirit to be the Seal of our Adoption the Sanctifier of our Souls the Earnest of the Inheritance of the Saints and the First Fruits of Everlasting Felicity that thou hast spared me so long and given me so large a time for Repentance whereas thou mightest have justly long since cut me off in my Sins and sent me headlong into eternal Destruction Had I no other Mercies but Here enumeraâ—â— thy spiritual Mercies I have sufficient matter for perpetual Praise and Thanksgiving O what what shall I render unto the Lord for all the benefits he hath done unto me I will take the Cup of Salvation and will call upon the Name of the Lord Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive Riches and Wisdom and Honour and Power and Glory and Blessing Wherefore Blessing and Honour Glory and Power be unto him that sitteth upon the Throne and to the Lamb for ever and ever Besides O Lord those Spiritual Mercies I have infinite Obligations upon me to bless and praise thee for those Temporal ones I have and do yet enjoy Thou followest me with thy goodness day by day and loadest me with thy benefits every moment It is a great mercy that I live and a greater that I enjoy not only the necessaries but the comforts of Life Thou hast been wonderfully gracious unto me in thy protections of me from and deliverances out of many apparent dangers I desire with all thankfulness to remember here mention thy deliverances many more I have forgotten or which I have suffered to pass unregarded through inadvertency for all which my Soul doth magnifie the Lord and all that is within me praiseth his holy Name Praise thou the Lord O my Soul Blessed be thy holy Name in particular for the fresh Testimonies of thy mercies this day for that thou hast put it into my heart and given me an opportunity now to humble my self before thee by Prayer and Fasting to call my self to an account of my Sins to make stedfast Resolutions against them to beg thy preventing Grace to render thee thanks for thy Mercies and to endeavour a reconcilation with thee and for any assurance of thy love and favour which thou hast given in unto my Soul Praise the Lord O my Soul and forget not all or any of his benefits And now I beseech thee O blessed God to accept of my Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving of my Fasting and Humiliation Alms and Oblation and do thou smell a sweet savour from them Let it be a Sacrifice well pleasing and acceptable in thy sight though not for any worth in it self yet in and for the Merits of Jesus Christ I confess O Lord should'st thou be extreme to mark the Iniquities of my holy things my Prayers have need to be prayed for my Repentance to be repented of and my Humiliations and Fastings to be humbled and fasted for But O Lord consider I pray thee that I am flesh and blood yea dust and ashes and so pity and pardon all my Infirmities and deal with me not according to the weakness of my performances but according to the riches of thy mercy in and through Jesus Christ Seal unto my Soul the pardon of all those sins that I have this day confess'd before thee and beg'd pardon at thy hands for especially c. and not only those but all others known or secret of what Nature or what kind soever Grant unto me all those Graces I have this day desired or thou seest me to stand in need of especially c. give me Grace to resist all Sin for the time to come not to regard any Iniquity in my heart but to abstain from the very appearance of Evil to have respect unto all thy Commandments and to serve thee by a constant sincere uniform and impartial Obedience all the days of my Life O mind me continually of all my Vows and Obligations and I pray thee let me receive such strength from thee as may enable me readily to perform the same Of my self I am a frail weak Creature obnoxious to the arrests and victory of all temptations O do thou perfect thy strength in my weakness and let thy Grace be sufficient for me O deliver me Blessed God from my own self and save me or I perish everlastingly that so when I appear again before thee in this manner I may find I have gotten Strength over my Corruptions and that I can now run the way of thy Commandments because thou hast set my Feet at liberty And now O Lord seeing thou hast been pleased to promise that thou wilt give thy holy Spirit to them that ask it I most humbly and ardently beseech thee to send down this holy Spirit into my heart and let him take possession there and rule and reign and govern therein for ever And let this Spirit of thine also if thou see it fit in the close of this Exercise assure my Soul of my pardon and reconciliation with thee and let me have any even the least taste of those joys those ravishments of thy Love wherewith some of thy Saints have been so transported that I may never be weary of well-doing nor faint in my mind but may run the way of thy Commandments with chearfulness and alacrity and may very feelingly and in the sincerity of my heart confess that thy ways are ways of pleasantness and all thy paths are Peace Hear me O Lord for my self Hear me for others Hear others for me and hear the Intercessions of thy dear Son Jesus Christ for us all In whose prevailing Name and holy Words I conclude my imperfect Prayers and Services saying Our Father which art in Heaven c. Thy grace O Lord Jesus Christ thy love O heavenly Father thy sweet and comfortable Fellowship O holy blessed and glorious Spirit of Grace be with me and remain with me always Amen This being over leave thy Closet and carry thy self with a Chearful gravity towards thy own Family or others that thon appear not unto Mâ—n to fast Mat. 6.18 then receive the good Creatures of God with moderation and thankfulness and conclude the day as you do other Days You having been for some time constant in this Duty your Soul will still call for it as your hungry Stomack will for food and you will delight in the â—eturns of it Some time the Week after it may be very profitable if you
which endureth to Everlasting Life Pardon I beseech thee O Lord as all my sins in general so especially whatever amiss hath passed from me this day and for Jesus Christ his sake do thou become unto me a reconciled Father own me for thy Child and continually preservr me by thy providence keep in me always a Religious Sense of thee and of thy goodness towards me and sanctifie my heart with thy holy Spirit that I may walk before thee the remaining part of this day and all the days of my life to thy honour and glâ—ry through Jesus Christ my blessed Lord and Saviour in whose Name and Words I continuâ— to implore thy Mercies saying Our Father c. A Prayer for the Evening in private O Most holy holy Lord God Heaven and Earth are full of the Majesty of thy Glory Thou art a God of purer Eyes then to behold the least Iniquity with the least Approbation thou chargest thine Angels with folly yea the Heavens are not pure in thy sight How shall I then so sinful and impure a Wretch dare to appear before thee or to take so holy a Name into my sinful and unhallowed Lips But O Lord thou art God and not Man thy ways are not as our ways nor thy thoughts as our thoughts but as high as the Heavens are above the Earth so are thy thoughts of Love and Peace higher than our thoughts and therefore relying on thy Mercies and gracious Promises I am bold at this time to prostrate my self before thee humbly confessing that I am corrupt in my very Nature having an inability and aversness to that which is good and an aptitude and proneness to all that is evil but I have corrupted my self yet much worse by many vicious Customs and sinful Habits I have transgressed my duty to thee my Neighbour and my self followed too much the devices and desires of my own wicked heart and not only not obeyed but many times wilfuâ—ly broken thy Commandements which are holy just and good and to my former provocations I have added the sins of the day past of omission and commission of thoughts words and actions Here particularize any sin Yea I know not how often I have offended O cleanse cleanse thou me from my secret faults And now O Lord should'st thou be extream to mark what I have done amiss I could not be justified in thy sight nor be able to answer thee for the sins of this one day but thou O God delightest in Mercy and there is forgiveness with thee that thou may'st be feared O I beseech thee let Repentance and Contrition prepare me for that Mercy of thine and then be thou pleased to take away all mine Iniquity and to receive me graciously into thy favour Neither do I desire thee only for the pardon of my past sins but do most bumbly beg for a Divine Power that I may be able to subdue them for the time to come and get a compleat Victory over all the Temptations of the World the Flesh and the Devil To that end let thy Grace and goodness and tender mercies prevent and follow me all the days of my life and bring into obedience whatsoever exalteth it self against thy blessed will that at last I may come to be such as thou would'st have me to be even holy in all manner of Conversation And as I pray unto thee so I desire likewise from an unseigned heart to praise and to bless thee for thy infinite Mercies for those which relate to this life and a better particularly for the Mercies of the day past Here enumerate them O Lord the least of these deserves my hearty Thanksgivings let not the universality and commonness of thy goodness make me to have the slighter regard of it but fill my Soul with a Sense of thy Love and my Tongue with sincere acknowledgments that as I daily receive blessings from thee so I may daily from an affectionate and devout heart offer up thanks unto thee and let my whole life and all my actions be the verification of my Praises And now I beseech thee O Lord receive me this Night into the Arms of thy providence hide me under the shadow of thy Wings Give thy holy Angels charge over me to pitch their Tents round about me that no evil happen unto me nor any plague come nigh unto my Dwelling but that I and mine and all my Concerns may be safe under thy gracious protection that lying down in thy fear and being refreshed with moderate rest I may be the fitter to serve thee in the duties of the ensuing day And all I beg in the Name and for the sake of Jesus Christ my alone Saviour and Redeemer for whom my Soul hath endless cause to bless and to praise thee to whom with thy self and Holy Spirit of Grace be by me ascribed as is most due and all thy Saints and Servants both in Heaven and in Earth all possible Praise Might Majesty and Dominion both now and for evermore Amen A Prayer in publick with the Family for the Evening HEar us O Lord in the multitude of thy Mercies even in the truth of thy Salvation and let not O let noâ— the loud cry of our sins hinder our Prayers from coming up unto thee or thy Graces and Mercies from coming down upon us but pardon our sins which make us unworthy to appear in thy presence and our services to be accepted by thee and assist us we pray thee with thy holy Spirit which may make us fervent and earnest in our Devotions that so we may obtain our Requests at thy hands in and through Jesus Christ O Eternal and Everliving Lord our God thou art in thy self most glorious and in thy Son most gracious Heaven is thy Throne and that thou fillest with thy Majesty the Earth is but thy Foot-stool and yet that thou fillest with thy Goodness both Heaven and Earth loudly proclaim the exceeding greatness of thy Glory and transcendent Excellencies We thy sinful Creatures who are not worthy to lift up our Eyes unto Heaven for we have sinned against Heaven and before thee are yet bold in the Bowels and Mercies of Jesus Christ to cast our selves down at the Foot-stool of thy Majesty desiring in all humility of Souls and Bodies to acknowledg our own vileness and wretchedness O Lord we brought into the World with us evil and wicked Inclinations and we have since made it our business to improve them into practice As the thoughts and imaginations of our hearts so the very words of our Lips and actions of our Lives have been evil and only evil and that continually Our provocations against thee our God have been very great and hainous and as for their number more than the Sands of the Sea We have lived in an universal disobedience to thy Laws and violated all thy holy Commandments in the keeping of which there is great Reward And this O Lord not only through ignorance and frailty but too many
Counsel and afterwards receive them to thy self in Glory Extend thy Compassions towards all that are in any Want Trouble Sorrow Sickness or other Adversity either of Soul or Body O visit and relieve them according to thine own Mercies Reward those that have done us any good and pardon those that have done or wish'd us any Evil. And now O Lord we desire to mingle praises with our Prayers and to bless and magnifie thy glorious Name for all thy Mercies and Favours from time to time vouchsafed unto us but more especially for the Fountain of all our Mercies Jesus Christ for the means of Grace and the hopes of Glory for all those Temporal Mercies which thou hast given us richly to enjoy For the Mercies of the day past to our Souls and Bodies to our selves and others Blessed be the Lord God which daily loadeth us with his benefits even the God of our Salvation and blessed be the Name of his Majesty for ever and ever Finally we recommend unto thee our good God our Souls and our Bodies all that we have and all that are near and dear unto unto us most humbly beseeching thee to receive us this Night into thine Almighty protection and whensoever it shall please thee that our Souls depart our Bodies receive them O Lord receive them into the Arms of thine Everlasting Mercy in whose presence is fulness of joy and at whose right hand are pleasures for evermore Grant us quiet and comfortable Refreshment by sleep and awaken us again the next Morning with hearts full of the sense and with mouths full of the acknowledgments of thy Mercies that we may all of us return with more cheerfulness to serve thee in the respective places of our calling Hear us O most merciful Father and graciously answer us in these our Requests and not only in these but in whatever else thou knowest more needful and requisite for us Accept we humbly pray thee both of our persons and our Prayers at this time pardon the many frailties and imperfections of our holy things and deal with us not according to their weakness or our demerits but according to the Richness of thy Mercy in and through Jesus Christ for whom we bless thee and in whose Name and Words we farther pray Our Father which art in Heaven c. Thy Grace O Lord Jesus Christ thy Love O heavenly Father thy sweet and comfortable Fellowship O holy and blessed Spirit of Grace be with us remain with us guide defend and comfort us this Night and for evermore Amen A Prayer for Sunday Morning in the Family which with very little variation may be used by any single person in his Closet Hear our Prayer O Lord give Ear to our Supplications In thy faithfulness answer us and in thy righteousness O Thou high and lofty One that inhabitest Eternity Thy Name is great wonderful and holy and thou dwellest in the high and holy place with them also that are of a contrite and humble Spirit howshall we then sinful Dust and Ashes who dwell in Houses of Clay and are very far from that Humility and Contrition which should render us fit for thy Co-habitation dare to appear before thee or approach the place where thine honour dwelleth But though thou art high yet hast thou respect unto the lowly and art pleas'd to humble thy self to behold the things that are done by us poor wretched Mortals here on Earth Thou art pleased not only to permit but to invite and command us miserable and needy Creatures to make known our Requests unto thee and it is our interest as well as our duty so to do In obedience therefore unto thy Commands in a sense of our Duâ—y and in a sense of our own Necessities which can no where else be supplied but from the riches of thy Bounty we are now emboldened at this time to present our Petitions unto thee And because thou hast said that if we confess our sins thou wilt be faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness relying an thy Mercies and gracious Promises we desire in the first place most humbly to confess before thee that we were not only conceived in Sin and brought forth in Iniquity but as if that had been but a small matter we have proceeded on to the commission of many actual Transgressions To Sins of omission we have daily added sins of commission To sins of weakness and surprize sins of wiljulness and obstinacy To sins of ignorance sins of presumption Yea O Lord if we reflect upon the actions of our lives past and seriously consider how we have behaved our selves even from the first use of our Reason to this very moment we can scarcely find that sin which we have not committed that Commandment of thine which we have not often broken although to the keeping of it thou hast annexed a great reward Thou hast not been wanting unto us in any thing that might invite or incourage us to promote the welfare of our precious and immortal Souls Thou hast given us the knowledg of our duty and instructed us in it and followed it with the inward work of thy Grace whereby we might be enabled to perform it and to conquer our sinful Lusts and Desires But O Lord we still retain a darkness in our Vnderstandings an unruliness in our Affections and a crookedness in our Wills bending down towards the carnal part and great proneness to gratifie it Thou hast deterred us also by thy menaces and denunciation of Judgments saying Thou wilt by no means clear the guilty Tribulation and Anguish Indignation and Wrath upon every Soul that sinneth and yet neither have thy Mercies allured us nor thy Threats affrighted us from following the dictates of our own sinful Inclinations but we have gone on in a continual Rebellion against thee as if we meant speedily to fill up the measure of our Iniquity and to hasten our own destruction And now O Lord what can we say for our selves But that we have deserved the severest of thy wrath and displeasure and that it is purely of the Lords Mercy that we are not consumed And now Lord what is our hope Truly our hope is even in thee Thou hast revealed thy self to be a God gracious and merciful slow to Anger and of great kindness repenting thee of the evil We Appeal therefore from the Bar of thy Justice to the Throne of thy Mercy humbly beseeching thee not to deal with us after our sins nor to reward us according to our Iniquities but for thy Names sake for thy Mercies sake yea for thy dear Son Jesus Christ his sake in whom thou hast said thou art well plsased blot out the multitude of our Transgressions pardon all our sins and receive us graciously yet once more into thy favour And as we destre thee to free us from the guilt and punishment of our sins so we pray thee also to free us from the power of them too
nothing but what comes from the ground of the Heart is accepted by him and that only the Fervent Prayer is effectual and prevails with him how great need you have of those things you ask and that for ought you know this may be the last time you may have an opportunity of putting up any Petition unto him Then draw near unto God in Faith and in Humility in a sense of his great Majesty and thy own Wretchedness and Misery In the entrance to thy Prayer earnestly desire the Assistance of Gods Holy Spirit and have a care to keep out all vain and wandring thoughts In the close of thy Prayer remember to give God thanks for that gracious opportunity vouchsafed thee for that strength of Body and Assistance of his Holy Spirit which he hath been pleased to afford thee in the performance of thy Duty and desire him for the continuation of the same Mercies to pardon the Frailties and Imperfections of thy Holy Duties and to do more abundantly for thee than thou art able to ask or think c. This being done prepare thy self for thy Bed unless thou art Major Domo Master of a Family and then call thy Family together read unto them or cause them to read a Chapter or two and afterwards Pray with them and be not unmindful to adapt thy Prayers as near as thou canst to their as well as thy own particular wants and necessities which by having an eye over them thou mayst without any great difficulty observe and know As thou art putting off thy Cloaths Meditate that it will not be long before thou put off thy Body also Beg of God therefore by Ejaculation that when this Earthly Tabernacle of thy Body shall be dissolv'd thou mayst have a building with God not made with hands but Eternal in the Heavens and that when thy Body shall lie down in its Bed of Darkness thy Soul may pass into the Regions of Light and dwell with God for ever more through Jesus Christ Amen After thou art in Bed use these or the like short Prayers or Ejaculations I will remember thee in my Bed I will think upon thee in the Night Season At Midnight will I give thanks to â—hee because of thy Righteous Judgments O Lord deliver me from the place works and spirits of Darkness O Let â—e not walk in the Night of Sin lest I â—umble and fall In the midst of Darkâ—ess and the shadow of Death O Lord â—e thou my Light Give thy Holy Angels charge over â—e to keep me in all thy ways and be â—hou O blessed Saviour unto me both 〈◊〉 life and death advantage I will lay me down in Peace and â—ake my rest for thou Lord only makest â—e dwell in fafety Consider and bear me O Lord my â—od Lighten mine Eyes that I sleep â—ot in Death Into thy hands I commend my Spirit â—oul and Body for thou hast redeemed â—â—em O Lord thou God of Truth Glory be to the Father and to the â—on and to the Holy Ghost As it was 〈◊〉 the beginning is now and ever sha◠〈◊〉 c. If any time remains before sleep seizeth on thee you cannot do better than to spend it in Meditation of some portion of that Scripture which you before read If you awake in the Night fill up the Chasms and Intervals with short Prayers Ejaculations or Meditations upon the four last things Death Judgment Heaven and Hell So shalt thou sleep and awake with God Prov. 3.24 yea thy sleep shall be sweet and no dangers of the Night or Spirits of Darkness shall terrifie thee So shalt thou be in a continual epectation of the coming of thy dearest Lord that if he call for thee at Morning or at Evening at Midnight or at Mid-day at the third or fourth Watch thou wilt be found prepared for his coming thou wilt lay thy head down in the dusâ— with joy rest in hope and at length rise to a glorious Immortality which will make an ample Compensation for these thy pains and services Of a Private Fast and Directions for it FAsting in its Definition I take to be nothing else but an abstaining from our lawful Food upon a Religious account which although it be no where in Scripture injoyn'd simply for its own sake yet if we consider the many advantages of it in order to the benefit of our Souls we shall not think the Commands of the Church and the Practice of the Primitive Christians too severe and inimitable The Jews fasted twice every Week sc Tuesdays and Thursdays concerning which is the boast of the Pharisee Luke 18.12 and the Christians have not come behind them and the Sabbath being for good Reasons altered they have observed Wednesdays and Fridays for a Religious Fast which days are taken notice of by Tertullian and called Dies Stationarii But alas we that now live in this profligate and degenerate Age are so far from following the steps of pious Antiquity or the Commands of our Holy Mother the Church that if we set apart a Day for this purpose once in a quarter shall I say before the Sacrament or a year rather we think we have sufficiently deny'd our selves and discharg'd our Duty But certainly did we seriously consider and put a due estimate upon the great Emoluments and Advantages of this Holy exercise we should not be so remiss and negligent in it which I shall in the next place give you a taste of 1. And first of all Fasting is very instrumental to all Acts of Devotion for seeing there is so near an affinity between the Soul and the Body the former using the Organs of the latter for its Operations and for the most part follows the Temperament of it it cannot be when the Body is stuff'd even to Satiety and clog'd with a Load of indigested Humours that the Soul should be so active and vigorous as at other times and mount with those Wings of Devotion with that Zeal and Affection towards Heaven as when it is freed from that Burthen which still presses it down to the Earth And if there were no other reason to be given for it every good Christian's own Experience will sufficiently evince the Truth of the Assertion 2. Fasting is very instrumental in order to our humilation for Sins past and subduing of Lusts for the future Such is the misery of Mankind That whilst we are driven by an indispensable necessity to Eating and Drinking that we may support our frail Beings we also by the same Act cherish and foment our Vices Our Flesh is apt to be too rebellious and we find a Law in our Members constantly warring against the Law of our Minds and leading us Captive at will Now fasting is the Soul's Physick and there is no better way to tame this Monstrous Panther than by substracting that Pabulum which nourishes and feeds it This course Holy David took he wept and chastened himself with Fasting and many of God's Children imitate his Example
much less can I perform any good Action that might please thee I most humbly beseech thee that as by thy special Grace preventing me thou dost put into my Mind good desires and intentions so by thy continual help I may bring the same to good Effect To that end I beseech thee cleanse the thoughts of my Heart by the Inspiration of thy Holy Spirit and give me such a preparation of Soul as may qualifie me for the Duties of the ensuing day and grant that I may perfectly love thee delight in thy service and worthily magnifie thy holy Name through Christ Jesus our Lord. The Morning being come consider what necessary business you have to do that day and dispose as prudently of it as you can that it may not interfere with your Holy Exercises of Religion when you begin upon it And if any such be you may do well to dispatch it in the Morning In your private Morning Devotions be not unmindful to continue your Requests unto God for his assistance in the Duties of the day in these or the like Expressions which you may find place to insert among your other Petitions O Most gracious God thou hast been pleased to discover unto me my Duty and hast given me an hearty desire to perform the same But O Lord I know without thee I can do nothing but through thine assisting Grace I shall be able to offer up such a Sacrifice this day as may be well pleasing and acceptable in thy sight Let that Grace O Lord be sufficient for me to quicken my Devotions to kindle my Zeal and to work in me a Godly Humiliation for all my past Sins together with stedfast Resolutions of forsaking them for the time to come And tho O Lord I know thou hearest not Sinners wilfully resolved to persevere in their Sins yet thou wilt hear those that confess and abandon them Hear me therefore O Lord in the multitude of thy Mercies even in the Truth of thy Salvation and remove my Sins from before thy sight that they may not hinder good things from me this day but set them full in mine and let them ever be before me that I may not only confess them with an humble lowly penitent and obedient Heart but also actually forsake them that so 〈◊〉 may obtain forgiveness of the same by thy infinite goodness and mercy in and through Jesus Christ Amen Another to this purpose out of the Method of Private Devotions O Lord who seest the purposes of alâ— Hearts and hast been privy to the Intentions of thy Servant touching calling himself this day to an account of his ways and humbling himself before thee for all his Transgressions and rendring thee praise and thanks for all thy Mercies Be thou in Mercy present to mâ— by the preventings and assistings of thy Grace that I may with a true Hearâ— and contrite Spirit perform what I intend Grant that no worldly cares oâ— business may so take off my mind from thee but that I may be able forthwitâ— to return and without distraction to imploy my whole Soul in my designeâ— Devotions to the Glory of thy Name my own amendment and comfort here and everlasting Blessedness hereafter iâ— and through thy Son Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen 1. First abstain from all Food and Sustenance unless thouart of a weak and valetudinary temper until the Solemnity be over If thou art if thou eat and drink sparingly with a design only to strengthen thy self the better for the carrying on of thy Duty I think thou hast not broken thy Fast The Fast it self being not injoyned so much for its own sake but as it is a help and furtherance to other Duties 2. Have a care that you do not only fast from Meat but from Sin also for if you abstain from the former and not from the latter it is a great Argument of your Hypocrisie and that your Righteousness doth not exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees who fasted to be seen of Men Matth. 6.16 and are promised their Reward shall go no farther than that of Men too This is not such a Fast as God hath chosen or will accept 3. Abstain likewise this day from all gratification of your Senses from all Pleasures and Recreations This day you have design'd for condemning your self for your sins for humiliation of your self for them and mourning over them then how inconsistent will this be with Mirth and Jollity Altogether as great a Soloecism as Musick and Dancing at a Funeral to have silence in the Kitchin and the noise of Mirth in the Chamber is a thing very indecent and incongruous 4. Lastly let not Intemperance be either the Preface or Conclusion to your Fast least the Fast be so far from taking off your old sins that it be an occasion to draw on new guilt Thus I have led you through those previous Acts towards this Duty of Fasting we now come more closely to the Exercises of it Being retired to thy Closet about Noon thy mind being as much as possible disburthen'd of Worldly Thoughts cast thy self down upon thy knees and humbly say In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Amen Prevent me O Lord in all my doings with thy most gracious favour and further me with thy continuual help that in all my Works begun continuued and ended in thee I may glorifie thy holy Name and finally by thy Mercy obtain everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Our Father which art in Heaven c. And then taking Gods Holy Book into thy hands â—ay Sanctifie unto me O Lord my present Reading and Meditations that it may in some measure prepare me for that great Work I am now about Take off my mind from all Vain and Earthly Things and inspire it with a holy Zeal that I may with spiritual desires and affections perform this spiritual Duty and grant that nothing may find admitâ—ance into my heart but what shall reaâ—ilysubmit to thy Laws and Discipline Grant this O Lord for Jesus Christ â—is sake Amen After you have spent half an hour in â—he reading of that portion of Scripture which you have thought fit to select for his purpose or that good practical â—ook which you have made choice of â—pend another half hour in digesting it â—r Meditating upon it and make partiâ—ular applications of it to your self This â—roximate preparation also you will find â—ery necessary in Order to the calling â—f your Mind from Vain and Worldly â—houghts which without it would be too apt to Straggle and be Distracted and to fix and intend them on that Exercise which you are about This being done you begin again with Prayer after this manner O Lord thou High and Holy one whose glory is above the Heavens and hast Thousands of Angels Ministring unto thee and yet are pleas'd to humble thy self to behold the things that are done by us poor wretched Mortals here on Earth In confidence therefore
Amen A Prayer for Grace out of the Whole Duty of Man O Most Gracious God from whom every good and perfect gift commeth I wretched creature that am not able of my self so much as to think a good thought beseech thee to work in me both to will and to do according to thy good pleasure O inlighten my mind that I may know thee and let me not be barren or unfruitful in that Knowledge Lord work in my heart a true faith a purifying hope and an unfeigned love towards thee give me a full trust on thee zeal for thee reverence of all things that relate unto thee make me fearful to offend thee in any thing careful to please thee in all things thankful for thy mercies humble under thy corrections devout in thy service sorrowful for my sins and grant that in all things I may behave my self so as befits a creature to his Creator a servant to his Lord Enable me likewise to perform that duty I owe to my self Give me that meekness humility and contentedness whereby I may always possess my Soul in patience and thankfulness Make me diligent in all my duties watchful against all temptations perfectly pure and temperate and so moderate in my most lawful enjoyments that they never become a snare to me Make me also O Lord to be so affected towards my Neighbour that I never transgress that Royal Law of thine in loving him as my self Grant me exactly to perform all parts of Justice yielding to all whatsoever by any kind of right becomes their due and give me such bowels of mercy and compassion that I may never fail to do all acts of Charity to all Men whether Friends or Enemies according to thy Command and Example Finally I beseech thee O Lord to sanctifie me throughout that my whole Spirit and Soul and Body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory for ever Amen Here you may also pray more particularly for those graces you have found your self most of all to stand in need of better forms for which I can not advise you to thâ—n those contained in the Book of that Excellent Author The whole Duty of Man where you have devout Prayers for all those particular Graces which a Christian can stand in need of These Prayers being over spend some time again in Reading and Meditation afterwards having before prayed for your self you are next in Charity bound to pray for others also being as members of the same mystical body the Church which you may do in this or the like Form A Prayer of Intercession O Most gracious Lord who so tenderly lovedst Mankind as to give thy dear Son out of thy bosome to be a propitiation for the Sins of the whole World grant that the effect of this redemption may be as universal as the design of it that it may be to the Salvation of all O Let no person by impenitence and wilful Sin forfeit his part in it but by the power of thy Grace bring all even the most obstinate sinners to repentance Inlighten all that sit in Darkness all Jews Turks Infidels and Hereticks take from them all blindness hardness of heart and contempt of thy Word and so fetch them home blessed Lord unto thy Fold that they may be saved among the number of the true Israelites And for all those upon whom the Name of thy Son is called grant O Lord that their conversations may be such as becometh the Gospel of Christ that his Name be no longer blasphemed among the Heathens through us O blessed Lord how long shall Christendom continue the vilest part of the World a sink of all those abominable pollutions which even Barbarians detest O let not our profession and our practice be always at so wide a distance Let not the disciples of the holy and immaculate Jesus be of all others the most profane and impure Let not the Subjects of the Prince of Peace be of all others the most contentious and bloody but make us Christians in deed as well as in Name that we may walk worthy of that holy vocation wherewith we are called and may all with one mind and one mouth glorifie thee the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Have mercy on this languishing Church and sinful Nation look down from Heaven the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory Where is thy zeal and thy strength the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies towards us Are they restrained Be not wroth very sore O Lord neither remember iniquity for ever but though our backslidings are many and we have grievously rebelled yet according to all thy goodness let thy anger and thy fury be turned away and cause thy Face still to shine upon thy Sanctuary which is in danger to be desolate for the Lord's Sake do thou compose our differences heal the wounds which our unhappy schisms and divisions have made in thy Church and make up the breaches of our Sion and so separate between us and our sins that they may no longer separate between us and our God Avert those heavy judgments which we either fear or feel and our sins cry aloud to Heaven for and deny us not the continuance of those mercies which we yet enjoy and are altogether unworthy of but whatever temporal mercies thou art pleas'd to deny us whatever temporal judgments thou art pleased to bring upon us O remove not thy Candle-stick from us nor quench the light of our Israel but blessed Lord be pleased still to continue unto us the liberty of thy House the freedom of thy Gospel the injoyment of thy Sabbaths Sacraments and Ordinances in their primitive purity and regularity until time shall be no more Save and defend all Christian Kings Princes and Governours especially thy Servant Charles our King and those to whom we owe subjection Plead thou their cause O Lord against those that strive with them and fight thou against those that fight against them and so guide and assist them in the discharge of that Office whereunto thou hast appointed them that under them we may live quiet and peaceable Lives in all godliness and honesty Bless them that wait at thy Altar by what Names or Titles dignified and distinguished whether Arch Bishops Bishops or other inferiour Clergy Grant that they may all speak as the Oracles and live as the Messengers of God that so they may both save themselves and those that hear them More especially be gracious unto thy Servants Here you may insert the Bishop of the Diocese your Parochial Minister the Authors of good Books yet living or any that have been instrumental to your conversation Pour down a double portion of thy Spirit into their hearts make them eminent Instruments for thy glory Let them turn many from their wicked ways unto thee the living God and hereafter let them shine as Stars of the Firmament in thy Kingdom O
let not the Lights of the World any more be put under Bushels but keep them in their Candlesticks that they may give light to all that are in the House Let not Jeroboam's Priests profane thy service but let the seed of Aaron still minister before thee And O thou Father of mercies and God of all comfort succour and relieve all that are in affliction and deliver the outcast and poor help them to right that suffer wrong Let the sorrowful sighing of the Prisoners and the Captives come before thee and according to the greatness of thy Power preserve thou those that are appointed to die Grant easie to those that are in pain health to those that are in Sickness Here mention any that you know in that Condition Give them patience and contentation under this thy Visitation and a happy Issue out of all their Afflictions when and which way it shall seem best to thy godly Wisdom only so preserve them by thy Grace that Christ may be unto them whether in Life or Death advantage Give suitable supplies to all that are in want to all presumptuous sinners give a sense of their sins and to all despairing a sight of thy mercy and do thou O Lord for every one above what they can ask or think forgive my Enemies Persecutors or Slanderers overcome all their evil with thy infinite goodness turn their hearts and draw them powerfully to thy self Pour down thy blessings on all my Friends and Benefactors all that have commended themselves to my prayer or that I am bound to pray for especially c. Here specify thy nearest relations particular Friends and all committed to thy Charge O Lord infuse Grace where it is not and where it is weak do thou strengthen it give them all things necessary for their Souls and Bodies guide them here by thy counsel and afterwards receive them to thy self in glory And grant O merciful Father that through this Blood of the Cross we may all be presented pure and unblamable and unreproveable in thy sight that so we may be admitted into that place of Purity where no unclean thing can enter there together with Saints and Angels to sing eternal Praises Doxologies and Alelujahs to Father Son and holy Ghost for ever Amen Either before or immediately after this Intercession make an oblation unto God of something for the Poor or Pious Uses and if it be the tenth of all thy Acquists thou wilt in the end be no looser by it but 't will prove unto thee a piece of frugal prodigality He that soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully 2 Cor. 9.6 We put our money into sure hands it is but lent though it be given We engage God himself and he will pay us again Pro. 19.17 This is the Fast that God hath chosen and delights in Isa 58.7 This stock that you thus lay up is the treasure that you send before you to heaven your Friend of the mammon of unrighteousness that when these earthly things fail will receive you into everlasting habitations 'T is call'd a Sacrifice wherewith God is well pleased Heb. 13.16 and again Phil. 4.18 a Sacrifice acceptable well pleasing to God St. Augustine saith that Jejunium sine Eleemosina Lampas sine Oleo Fasting without Alms is a Lamp without Oyl It may shew beautiful to the Eye but will never lead you by it's light to Heaven When you have separated that portion which you chearfully design for this Charitable Use it may not be amiss if you offer and devote it to God in this or the like manner O Blessed Lord God I know that my goodness extendeth not to thee thou art infinitely happy in and from thy self alone Lucret. and wants nothing of ours to make any addition to thy happiness Yea O Lord all that we have and enjoy is from thy bounty and goodness and I can retribute nothing to thee but what must first come from thee Yet O Lord seeing there are many of thy poor necessitous Servants that stand in need of our Charity and thou hast said that whatsoever we do unto these we do it unto thee in consideration of my duty and thy mercies I here offer and devote unto thee for pious and holy uses this small portion as thou hast been pleased to bless me the week past O let it be a Sacrifice acceptable and well pleasing in thy Sight throughâ— Jesus Christ Amen Put this up in the poor Man's Purse by it self By this course thou wilt have always something in store by thee to give all indigent persons as there is opportunity offered and this great advantage thou wilt have by it also thou wilt not give grudgingly as the Apostle terms it 2 Cor. 9.7 or murmur when a poor Man asks an Almes of thee Deut. 15.10 for thou lookest upon this stock as not thy own and thy self only as Gods Purser and the Hand to dispense it yea thou will rejoyce and give God thanks when thou hast a fit opportunity to distribute do good and refresh the hungry bowels of thy poor Brother After this spend some time in Reading or Meditating or both Then call to mind and consider your Mercies both Spiritual and Temporal which you have in the foregoing Week received at the hands of God and if they have been any way eminent omit not to commit them to your Diary where also you may place your Vows if you have made any the benefit which may accrue from hence I shall hereafter shew you If you have no other mercies but the preservation of you from your own vile-Lusts Lusts and Affections from Presumptuous Sins and from Death and Damnation for the Temporal Mercies of each particular day and the mercies even of this day thou hast Matter enough of thanksgiving therefore you cannot do better than conclude your Fast with Praises and Thanksgiving The Thanksgiving and Conclusion of the Work O Most holy and for ever blessed Lord God thy Name only is excellent and thy praise above Heaven and Earth Heaven is thy Throne and that thou fillest with thy Majesty the Earth is but thy Foot-stool and yet that thou fillest with thy Goodness O how great are thy tender Mercies to us O Lord how large is the Summ of them If I would declare them and speak of them they are more than I am able to express I may as well count the sands upon the Sea Shore or the drops of the Ocean as enumerate thy favours Thou didst at first create me out of nothing instamp thine own Image upon me and gavest me Dominion over the Works of thy hands Thou art he that took me out of my Mothers womb By thee have been holden up ever since I was Born thy Almighty hand hath constantly supported me and thy Providence watched over me and I still acknowledg my dependance on thee When Mankind had departed from thee by Disobedience and erased that Image and Innocency in which he was created and for feited that Right to all thy
my life This is that which will exact our greatest praises here and because this life is too scanty and contracted for it it will afford us matter for our eternal Praises in the Kingdom of Heaven My next Method leads me to the Meditation of the joys of Heaven And here I must pause a while This is a Theme too sublime for Humane Oratory the Tongues of Men and Angels come infinitely short of Expressions of those joys nay they never entred into the heart of Man to conceive them 1 Cor. 2.9 The Eye sees much the Ears hear more the Heart conceives most yet all come short of apprehension much more of comprehension of those joys Therefore enter thou into thy Masters joy for it is too great to enter into thee said a pious Author But as Pythagor as guessed at the Stature of Hercules by the length of his Foot And as the Israelites made some discovery of the sertility of Canaan from the few Clusters of Grapes brought them by the Spies so may we make some imper fect Collection of the Glory of this heavenly Kingdom from that of this temporal one for the visible things of this World which are made declare unto us the invisible things of God Rom. 1.20 If we look downwards upon the beauty and comeliness the order decency and usefulness of all created Beings here below what Excellencies do we find there But if we cast our Eyes upwards and consider the Embroidered Canopy of Heaven drawn over our heads the Majestick brightness of the Sun Moon and Stars Lights to which preâ—ious Stones in their brightest Lustre are but Clouds What is exposed to our view is admirable how much more what we cannot see If the out-side of the Royal Pallace be so Magnificent if the Hall appear so rare what Ornaments are there in the Presence-Chamber of the King If the lower side of that Pavement which the Feet of the Saints shall walk upon in Heaven be so glorious What be the Parlors and Inner Chambers unseen Whence the Poet If in Heaven's outward Court such Beaâ—ty be What is the Glory which the Saints do see Heaven I should express but in faint Meâ—aphors should I tell you of Chrystal Streams and Shady Groves of a feigned Elysium or Temporal Canaan St. John in his Revelation gives us some imperfect account of this Holy Place this New Jerusalem Rev. 21. to bring the thing as near to sense as he can and our apprehensions he tells us the Walls are of all manner of precious Stones the City of pure Gold the Twelve Gates whereof are Twelve Pearls every several Gate of one Pearl There is no Night there neither is there any need of the Sun or Moon to shine in it or of a Candle to lighten it for the Glory of the Lord doth lighten it and the Lamb is the Light thereof of which Ingenious Mr. Cowley For there no Twilight of the Suns dull ray Glimmers upon the pure and native day No pale-fac'd Mâ—on do's in stoln beams appear Or with dim Taper scatters Darkness there We are now come to the high Court of Heaven and if these things be so full of Majesty and Glory what is the transcendent brightness and glory of their Maker And here I can go no farther for as no Man hath ever seen God at any time so no mind could ever comprehend him Whatsoever we can conceive of him it is but in part 1 Cor. 13.12 We hear of him but a little portion saith Job ch 26.14 and we know less Who can behold the Sun in his glorious Shining Much less can we comprehend the glorious Majesty of God Who hath beheld it that he may demonstrate it Not the Angels for they are fain to cover their Faces Isa 6. v. much less we that dwell in houses of Clay who have that ignorance and guiltiness that those glorious Seraphims are freed from Should Angels Cherubims and Seraphims descend from Heaven to proclaim the exceeding greatness of his Glory we may at length conclude with the Queen of Sheba concerning Solomon's Magnificence That the one half was not told us And yet such is the immense goodness of God that he hath promised us wretched Creatures Dust and Ashes who faithfully serve him the Vision and Contemplation of this his Glory that we shall be where he is and behold him Face to Face And in this Beatifick Vision consists the greatest joy and blessedness of the Godly Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God Matt. 5.8 Here we shall have a perfect compleat knowledg of his Goodness and Glory and the full fruition of his presence which will abundantly satisfie and no wonder for in his presence is fulness of Joy and at his right hand are pleasures for evermore For quality they are pleasures for quantity fulness for dignity at Gods right hand for eternity for evermore Psal 16. ult Delight we in good Company Here is the glorious presence of the Blessed Trinity the Father that made us the Son that redeemed us even with the price of his own most precious Blood the Holy Ghost that sanctified us and that brought us unto this place the holy and unspotted Angels that rejoyced at our Conversion on Earth much more at our Consolation in Heaven All the Patriarchs Prophets and the full Communion of Saints Delight we in pleasant Musick Here are Quires of Angels and beautifi'd Spirits who cease not night and day to sing Praises and Hosanna's unto him that sitteth upon the Throne and unto the Lamb and oh the sweet Melody of Alelujahs which so many glorified Souls shall sing to God in Heaven Delight we in dainty Fare or good Cheer We shall eat and drink with Christ at his Fathers Table and hear Christ himself thus Welcoming us Eat O my Friends and make you Merry O well be loved Cant. 5.1 Such honour have all his Saints Delight we in good Apparel We shall be arraied with Fine Linnen and long White Robes Revel 6.11 If in Dominion We shall Judge the Angels And they shall Reign for ever and ever Rev. 22.5 In a word We shall enjoy more than ever we could desire or wish All our Faculties which shall now be more capacious than ever shall be silled to the utmost and we shall be possessed of those Joys and Delights which know neither measure nor end And as the consideration of the duration of the Torments of the Wicked to all Eternity gives them their greatest venom and malignity so on the other side the consideration of the continuance of those Joys to all Eternity adds unto them their greatest Beauty and Perfection they shall come out from thence no more for ever For as nothing enters into that holy place that defileth so there is nothing there that can defile The great Dragon the grand Enemy and Accuser of the Brethren is cast down into the bottomless Pit whence he shall never return to tempt the Godly more The World is consumed and no
Temptation can come thence or if we could come to it those pleasures now would have no gusts or relish The Flesh cannot tempt us for that is now refined and purifi'd from all Corruptions and vain Desires we are now so confirmed in our State of Happiness that God himself with reverence do I speak it cannot alter or change it to all Eternity Reflections upon Heaven and the Joys thereof AND now O my Soul Is Heaven such a glorious place Are the joys thereof so transcendant so satisfactory and so permanent without any fear of Diminution or Mutation Then this should teach thee to use all possible diligence that thou may'st in the end attain them and think no pain care or trouble too great for their Acquisition This is the Pearl of great price for which if thou sell all to purchase it thou wilt be a great gainer This is the Vnum necessarium the only thing necessary thy all that thou hast to do in this World 2. Is Heaven such a glorious Place and are there such Joys and Priviledges reserved for blessed Souls Then wo is me that I must remain in Meshech and have my habitation among the tents of Kedar I cannot but say with Elias I am weary of my life and with Simeon Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace with St. Paul I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ which is far better than to abide in this Baca of Tears and Wilderness of Fears for there all Tears shall be wiped away from mine Eys I shall cease to sorrow cease to grieve cease to sin If the poor deluded Mahometans can rejoyce at the expectation of a feigned sensual Paradise If a pooâ— Heathen could desire to die Cicero de Somn. Scipion. because he had hopes of conversing after death with such Heroick Spirits as Socrates Aristides Scipio c. â—ow much more should all true Christiâ—ns who have far greater hopes and firm assurance of the enjoyment of a real spiritual Paradise of conversing with Saints and Angels with our blessed Reâ—eemer nay God himself rejoyce to â—hink of that day and cry out with holy David Oh that I had Wings like a Dove for then would I fly away and be â—t rest My Soul is athirst for God yea â—ven for the living God when shall I â—ome to appear before the presence of God For one day in thy Courts is better â—han a thousand I had rather be a Door-keeper in the House of my God than â—o dwell in the Tents of Wickedness Thou art my Helper and my Redeemer O Lord make no long tarrying 3. Is Heaven such a glorious Place And are there such joys and pleasures at Gods right hand Then this discovers unto me the madness and extream folly of the World who put so high a value â—nd estimate upon the pitiful contemptible empty things of this Life as riches â—onours pleasures and the like which we either lose living or leave dying without securing themselves of that Heaven and those Joys which are far above all value and comparison What a deal of toil and trouble do Men take for that Meat which perisheth And neglect that which endureth to everlasting Life How eagerly do Men gape after Riches rise early and late take rest endeavouring by all unlawful as well as lawful means to inlarge their Possessions to add Field to Field and House to House till there be no more place and neglect the true Riches Yet musâ— at last be content with a mouthful oâ— Earth whom many Mannors did noâ— content in life How do Men prefer aâ— little outward pomp and grandeur oâ— a fading title of Honour before the Ornaments of a meek and humble Spirit before the honour of being Gods Children here and of being admitted into his presence to raign with him for ever How do Men greedily hunt after and court the unsatisfactory yea troublesome pleasures of this vain World 〈◊〉 which are but momentany and aspire not to those which are at Gods righâ— hand for evermore O my Soul come not thou into their secret to their Assembly be not thou united 4. Is Heaven such a glorious Place 〈◊〉 Do the joys thereof so far transcend all â—umane Conceptions and Imaginations Then this should teach thee O my Soul â—o be content with whatever coarse Enâ—ertainment thou shalt meet withal in â—hy way thither be it poverty sickâ—ess disgrace disappointment losses â—r the greatest temporal Evil or Calamiâ—y that may befal thee Consider that Heaven will make amends for all O how great is the goodness which thou hast laid â—p for them that fear thee All the Afâ—lictions thou canst meet with here will â—ccompany thee no farther than the Grave and that is but a little way a â—hort time at most but a moment with respect to Eternity Those light Afflictions which are but for a moment work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory 2 Cor. 4.17 Those may not retard thy motion neither for commonly they rather acceâ—erate the course they work for us where as too much prosperity slackens â—logs us and works against us makes us apt to set up our rest on this side Jordan and never long for a better for a more heavenly Canaan If we come to a Friends House where we are well accommodated and have all things according to our desire we are inclined to stay longer than at first we designed and are very difficultly drawn thence but if we meet with bad Accommodation and unwelcome Entertainment we care not how soon we are gone and presentâ—y bethink us of our home where we shall have all things at our desire This World is but our passage our way not our home Heaven is our home our abiding our resting place and we can never be well accommodated till we arrive there We have many difficulties to pass through before we come to our Journeys end and then we may sit down and rejoyce Et olim haec meminisse juvabit and then it will be pleasant and delightful to reflect upon our past dangers Here I am in a state of Bondage I shall then enjoy perfect Freedom and Liberty yea the Liberty of the Children of God I cannot here attend one minute to thy service without distraction there I shall be free and find no interruption O bring my Soul out of Prison that I may give thanks unto thy Name and together with Angels and Arch-Angels and all the company of Heaven laud and magnifie thy glorious Name evermore praising thee and saying Holy holy holy Lord God of Hosts Heaven and Earth are full of thy Glory Glory be to thee O Lord most high Amen JOB 16.24 When a few years are come then shall I go the way whence I shall not return THere is not a more powerful Argument to reclaim a Sinner from the wickedness of his ways or to incourage a holy man in the prosecution of Piety and Goodness than the frequent Meditation of Death When a wicked
mercy upon me Lord be thou my helper O spare me a little that I may recover my strength before I go hence and be no more seen II. I have sinned what shall I do unto thee O thou preserver of Men The Lord is Righteous for I have rebelled against his Commandments Lam. 1.18 I will bear the Indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him Thy ways are equal but mine have been very unequal The Lord is righteous in all his ways and holy in all his Works Thou hast punished me less than mine Iniquity hath deserved I have sinned against Heaven and before thee and am no more worthy to be called thy Son no not the meanest of all thy Servants But yet O do not thou cast off the bowels and compassions of a Father but as a Father pitieth his own Children so be thou merciful unto me Enter not into Judgment with thy Servant O Lord for in thy sight shall no Flesh living be justified But there is Forgiveness with thee that thou may'st be feared Thou art full of Compassion and Mercy long Suffering and very Pitiful and forgivest Sins and savest in time of Affliction Eccles 2.11 Look upon my Affliction and my Pain and forgive me all my Sin My sins have deserved Eternal Torments make me cheerfully and thankfully to bear my present Pains Chasten me here as thou pleasest that I be not Condemned with the World III. I have set the Lord always before me Because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved Though I walk through the Valley of the shadow of Death I will fear no Evil for thou art with me thy Rod and thy Staff shall comfort me Thy Word standeth fast for ever in thy Word and gracious Promises is my hope This is my Comfort in my Affliction In the multitude of the Sorrows that I have on my Bed thy Comforts shall refresh my Soul My Flesh and my Heart faileth but God is the strength of my Heart and my Portion for ever I will wait patiently for the Lord untill he incline his Ear unto me and hear my cry I know that my Redeemer liveth and because he lives I shall live also He that spared not his own Son but delivered him for us all how shall he not with him also freely give us all things Why art thou cast down O my Soul and why art thou disquieted within me Put thy trust in God for I shall yet give him thanks who is the health of my countenance and my God I have fought a good Fight I have finished my Course I have kept the Faith Henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Glory IV. I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ which is far better than to remain in this Vale of Tears for there all Tears shall be wiped away from mine Eyes and there shall be no more death nor sorrow nor crying nor pain O that I had Wings like a Dove for then would I fly away and be at rest My Soul is athirst for God even for the living God When shall I come to appear before the presence of God In thy presence is fulness of joy and at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore Lord now lettest thou thy Servant depart in peace for mine Eyes have seen thy Salvation Thou art my Helper and my Redeemer O Lord make no long tarrying Into thine hands I commend my Spirit for thou hast redeemed it O Lord thou God of Truth Come Lord Jesu come quickly Thanksgiving for Recovery BEhold for peace I had great bitterness but thou hast in love to my Soul delivered it from the Pit of Corruption for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back Isaiah 38.17 The Lord was ready to save me therefore will I sing unto him as long as I live yea I will sing praises to the God of my life while I have any being I should utterly have fainted but that I believed verily to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the Living I will praise thee for thou hast heard me and art become my Salvation The Lord hath Chastned and Corrected me but he hath not given me over unto Death Open to me the Gates of Righteousness I will go into them and will praise the Lord and pay him the Vows which I promised with my Lips and spake with my Mouth when I was in trouble Gracious is the Lord and Righteous yea our God is merciful The Lord preserveth the simple I was in Misery and he helped me Return into thy rest O my Soul for the Lord had dealt bountifully with thee For thou hast delivered my Soul from death mine Eyes from Tears and my Feet from falling What shall I render unto the Lord for all the benefits he hath done unto me I will take the Cup of Salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living Hold thou up my goings in thy paths that my Foot-steps slip not Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning c. A Prayer for the Morning in private EArly in the morning will I direct my Prayer unto thee O â—ord and will look up O hear me in the multitude of thy mercies and for the sake of Jesus Christ O thou great Creator both of Heaven and Earth and of all things contained therein thou art a God infinately Wise Holy Powerful Just and Good transcendent in all perfections give me I beseech thee O Lord a firm belief and an acknowledgment of thy divine Nature and Existence a deep sense and due apprehensions of all thy excellencies and goodness together with sutable affections and demeanor towards thee that I may daily more and more adore thee love thee fear thee honour thee and depend upon thee Give me a deep sense of thy infinite Purity and Holiness which may cause in me aversness unto and an abhorrence of whatsoever is sinful and impure and excite in me the fear of Reverence and Caution of offending thee by doing any thing that may displease thee or omitting to do what may be pleasing unto thee I confess O Lord hadst thou been exact to mark iniquity and laid judgment to the Line and righteousness to the Plummet I had long since been cut off in the midst of my sins and felt the Effects of thy severe displeasure but because thy mercy triumphs over thy justice I am not consumed unto this day I have one opportunity more praised be thy holy name to beg pardon at thy hands for all my sins which to my own shame and confusion I confess to be exceeding great and hainous but yet O Lord I know thy mercies do far exceed the multitude and haniousness of my Transgressions O magnifie therefore the Riches of the same mercy in the full pardon and forgiveness of them all cast them behind thy Back bury them in my Saviour's Grave
that they may never rise to shame me here or to condemn me hereafter and I pray thee O Lord to give me every day a deeper sense of my sins and a more compleat repentance for them a loathing and detestation of them and let their remembrance be bitter unto my soul Send down thy holy Spirit into my heart and let him root out every accursed unmortified Lust and sinful corruption from my Soul and destroy in me all the remaining affections unto Sins and dispose my Soul to a constant obedience of all thy Commandments and keep me in an habitual frame and temper of Piety all the days of my Life O Lord give me daily a clearer sight of my Duty and incline my heart to walk exactly and so acceptably continually before thee make me sensible of thy exuberent Love and let not all thy mercies longanimity and patience towards me a miserable Sinner prove successless but raise in my heart all grateful acknowledgments Blessed be thy great and glorious Name O Lord God for all the mianfestations of thy love and goodness towards me unto this day for the Mercies of thy right as well as thy left hand but especially for the Fountain and Foundation of all our Mercies Jesus Christ for the means of Grace for the hopes of Glory for thy particular preservation of me and mine this Night past and for all other thy goodness and loving kindness and I pray thee O Lord Give me that due sense of all thy Mercies that my heart may be unfeignedly thankful and that I may shew forth thy praise not only with my lips but in my life by giving up my self to thy Service and by walking before thee in Holiness and Righteousness all my days And now O Lord since thou hast been pleased in thy Mercy to bring me safe to the beginning of another day preserve me I beseech thee in the same by thy mighty power from all sin and from all danger Let thy spirit and providence direct and preside over all my Actions this day and keep me by the power of thy Grace from those Sins to which my wicked and disorderly Nature subjects me to but especially free me from Here mention thy most prevailing Sins or such as thy Nature Business or Company may that day incline thee to Make me exactly watchful over my self to behave my self as in thy presence and to set thee always before my Eyes that so I do nothing which may dishonour thee my God or wound my own Soul and grant that by the conduct of thy Grace I may be directed and assisted in keeping strictly close unto all thy Commandments and in the discharge of my Duty in that place and Calling in which thou hast set me Let thy blessing O Lord attend me in my Studies Labours or Employments this day give me holiness of intention in them and succeed all with thy benediction Let thy Providence signally watch over me and thy Presence secure me from all evil either of Soul or Body this day and for ever Hear me O Lord and answer me graciously and do for me more abuundantly then I can ask or think and all I beg for Jesus Christ his sake for whom my Soul desires to bless thee and in whosemost prevailing name and holy words I farther pray unto thee saying Our Father which art in heaven c. A Prayer for the Morning in publick with thy Family which with little variation may be also used in private It is a good thing to give thanks unto thee O Lord and to sing praise unto thy name O thou most high to shew forth thy loving kindness in the Morning and thy faithfulness every Night Hear our Prayers O Lord and accept of our praises in Jesus Christ O Most Gracious Lord our God whose Mercies endures for ever and thy Remembrance throughout all generations Thou art boundless in thy compassions towards all thy Creatures and art infinitely good unto them not only beyond what they can deserve but what they can wish We the unworthyest of them desire at this time to give glory unto thee in a humble and hearty acknowledgment of those many mercies and favours both Spiritual and Temporal which thou from time to time hast vouchsafed unto us and most liberally heaped upon us We confess O Lord that we are not worthy of the least of all thy Mercies but most worthy of the greatest and severest of all thy Judgments especially when we consider the sinfulness and wickedness of our lives past for we have drank iniquity like water gone on very Stubbornly and Rebelliously against thee and thy Commandments all the days of our lives continually committing those things thou forbiddest and leaving undone those things which thou commandest yea all the thoughts and imaginations of our hearts have been evil and only evil and that continually and which is worst of all we have still the same proneness to all that is evil but aversness and obstinacy towards that which is good We have still impenitent hard hearts that are not mollified with the sense of our Sins or of thy Wrath due unto us for them But O thou who art a God of infinite Mercies and Compassions manifest the same unto us in the full pardon and forgiveness of all the Sins that ever we have committed against thy Divine Majesty Accept of that satisfaction and attonement made by thy innocent and beloved Son Jesus Christ and for the merits of his suffering pardon all that is past and be thou fully reconciled unto us And so assist us with thy Grace and Holy Spirit that we may be able for the time to come to repel all the temptations of the Devil the World and the Flesh and to live more Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present evil World that so having our fruits unto holiness here we may have our ends everlasting Life O make us stedfastly resolved to despise all the pleasures of sin rather than offend thee our God and to chuse the most difficult parts of Virtue and Piety to obtain and secure thy Love O let us delight in thy Service and desire thy favour above alâ— things which is better than life it self and all the comforts of it Let us love what thou lovest and hate what thou hatest wish nothing so much as to please thee fear nothing so much as to offend thee and in all things be conformable to thy holy Will and walk before thee in all well pleasing O Lord put us in mind of Death and Judgment that every day we draw nearer to our last day and that we shall all shortly give a severe account of all that we have done in the Body and all that we have left undone of all that we have spoken nay of all that we have thought So teach us therefore O Lord to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto Wisdom and continually so to demean our selves as those that must one day appear before the Judgment seat
Give us grace to apply it to our selves and to reduce it into practice that thy word may be unto us the savour of life unto life and not unto any Soul of us the savour of death unto death These Mercies O most merciful Father for our selves or any of thine and whatever else thou knowest fitting for us together with the acceptance of our praises we humbly beg at thy hands though not for any worthiness that is in our selves for we utterly disclaim all but for the Merits of him who alone is worthy Jesus Christ the Righteous in whose endearing Name and holy Words we continue to pray unto thee saying Our Father c. Thy Grace O Lord Jesus Christ c. A Prayer for Sunday Evening in the Family Open thou our Lips O Lord and our Mouths shall shew forth thy praise O Most blessed and glorious Lord God Father of Mercies and of our Lord Jesus Christ Thou fillest Heaven with thy Glory and the Earth with thy Goodness All thy works praise thee O Lord and thy Saints give thanks unto thee Thy Name only is excellent and thy praise above Heaven and Earth but because thou art good and delightest in doing good thou art pleased to permit us thy poor unworthy Creatures here on Earth to offer up our Prayers and our Praises unto thee who dwellest in the highest Heavens that thou may'st reward them with thy favour and loving kindness And that we might never be wanting to our selves thou art daily pleased to give us new and fresh occasions of Praising and Magnifying thy Holy Name Even this very day we have had large Experiences of thy Goodness which call for our highest Thanksgivings The temporal Mercies we have received in thy protection of us from those many dangers to which we were exposed by reason of our sins and the plentiful refreshment we have had in the use of thy good Creatures deserve our due acknowledgments but that thou hast given us Dust and Ashes an opportunity and leave to come into thy more immediate presence to wait upon thee in thy House to speak unto thee the glorious Majesty of Heaven before whom Angels cover their Faces and to hear thee speaking unto us instructing us in our Duties and offering unto us terms of Reconciliation most justly challenge our devoutest Affections and most exalted Praises Thou hast given thine only Son to be a Sacrifice for us by whom we have Redemption through his Blood thou hast given him Victory over Hell and the Grave by his Resurrection from the dead and he is now sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high making continual Intercession for us Thou hast given us the constant Solicitations of thy blessed Spirit of Truth the Seal of our Adoption and the earnest of the Inheritance of the Saints together wih a succession of Pastors and Teachers to be the Dispensers of thy Word and Will and the Guides of our Souls And thou hast prepared such things for those that fear thee as Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard nor ever entred into the heart of Man to conceive Lord what is Man that thou art mindful of him Or the Son of Man that thou hast done such great things for him Praise the Lord O our Souls and all that is within us praise his holy Name Praise the Lord O our Souls and forget not all his benefits O that all this Goodness of thine might ingage us by way of just return to thy free and undeserved Mercies more heartily to love thee more devoutly to worship thee and more diligently to live after thy Commandments Give us a due savour and relish of those Divine Truths we have learned this day Grant that we may not be only hearers but doers of thy Word lest we deceive our own Souls Cherish those holy Thoughts Affections and Resolutions which thy good Spirit hath raised in us O Let not them pass out of our minds with the day but leave Impressions upon our hearts the whole Week following and all our days that as we have received how we ought to walk and to please thee our God so we may abound more and more Bless all the faithful Dispensers of thy Word and Sacraments however dignified or distinguished More especially bless him O Lord who hath this day blessed us in thy Name Pour down a double portion of thy holy Spirit into his heart make him an eminent Instrument for thy Glory Let him turn many from their wicked ways unto thee the living God and hereafter let his Soul shine as a Star in the Firmament of thy Kingdom Continue unto us O Lord such holy opportunities and seasons of Grace as thou now affordest us and send them where they are not Let not O let not the loud cry of our national Sins provoke thee to remove thy Candlestick from us or to quench the Light of our Israel but blessed God whatever temporal Judgments thou art pleased to bring upon us whatever Mercies thou art pleased to deny us yet for thy Names sake and for thy Truth and Righteousness sake be pleased still to continue unto us the free liberty of thy House of thy Word Sacraments and Ordinances in their primitive purity and regularity until time shall be no more Pardon we pray thee good God whatever thou hast seen amiss in us the day past even the many frailties and imperfections of our holiest Duties and Performances Look not upon the weakness of our Flesh but upon the sincerity of our Hearts and Desires Pity all our Infirmities and let those Sacrifices which we have this day offered unto thy Divine Majesty be accepted in and for that Sacrifice which thy Son Christ Jesus hath offered up upon the Cross for us Finally O Lord we commend into thine hands this Night our Selves Souls and Bodies and all our Friends every where to be protected by thy providence refreshed with moderate rest and raised again the next Morning by thy power to serve thee with more cheerfulness and to praise thee for thy renewed Mercies And all we beg for the alone sake and love of thy Son who is the Son of thy love Jesus Christ our Lord In whose holy Name we are bold to beg the acceptance of our Petitions and Thanksgivings and to continue to supplicate thy Divine Majesty Saying as he hath taught us Our Father which art in Heaven c. Thy Grace O Lord Jesus Christ c. A Prayer preparatory for Death to be often used in the time of Health O Immortal and Everliving Lord God thy years endure throughout all Generations from everlasting to everlasting thou art God I thy frail Creature created at first by thy power to a state of Immortality with thy self which by Adams Transgression the representative of all mankind I have long since forfeited my right to and am become liable to Death I acknowledg thy mercy towards me in my Creation and thy justice and faithfulness in the execution of thy Threatnings upon breach
of the first Covenant The Lord is righteous in all his ways and holy in all his works Behold thou hast now made my days as it were a span length and mine age is even as nothing in respect of thee and I am altogether vanity The sentence of Death hath passed upon all for that all have sinned And I who have had so great a share in sinning cannot but expect to receive the due Wages of it Death Only I beseech thee blessed God to make me wise now in the time of my Health and Srength to understand this and to consider my latter end Grant O Lord that by departing from every known sin by keeping Innocency and always taking heed to the thing that is right I may be in an habitual preparation for Death and find peace at the last Wean my heart daily more and more from the love of the World and worldly things and place my affections upon their right and more deserving Objects Heaven and Heavenly things that my heart may be where my Treasure is and that whenever I shall be called to part with them I may leave all without any murmuring or reluctancy and be willing and content to die Let every pain and sickness mind me of my last And that Death may not be a surprize unto me furnish my Soul with all those Graces before-hand which I shall have greatest occasions to make use of in my last Conflict Give me Repentance unto life not to be repented of A Stedfast Faith that worketh by Love towards thee my God and Charity to all the World A Firm Hope such as maketh not ashamed but may become an Anchor of my Soul entring even within the Vail True Christian Courage and Patience and a resolvedness of a cheerful submission to thy Fatherly Correction And Grant that in all things I may so put my Soul and House in order that when I come to die I may have nothing else to do but to die Let not my Death be unexpected untimely or violent if it be thy holy will And when it shall please thee to cast me on my last Bed give me Grace to search my Heart to renew my Repentance and Interest in Jesus and to compose my Soul for God Give me the opportunity and refreshment of thy holy Sacrament the Seal of the Divine Love the benefit of Absolution Some irradiations of thy Love and Favour in the assurances of pardon and peace together with a patient and comfortable expectation of the performance of all thy promises Let not the Devil take advantage of my weakness nor any of his Suggestions prevail upon me Let not his Accusations or my Sins distract me in my last hour but do thou interpose thy seasonable Relief O forsake me not when my strength faileth me but in the mid'st of the sorrows and temptations that I have upon my Bed let thy Comforts refresh my Soul O suffer me not for any pains of death to fall from thee And in my last Agonies when my Soul shall quit the ruinous habitation of my Body let thy holy Angels convey it into the Regions of a glorious Eternity where there shall be no more death nor sorrow nor crying nor pain Grant this O merciful Father for the sake of him who by death hath overcome death even Jesus Christ my High Priest and blessed Redeemer Amen A Prayer for Sincerity out of the Whole Duty of Man O Holy Lord who requirest Truth in the inward parts I humbly beseech thee to purge me from all Hypocrisie and unsincerity The heart O Lord is deceitful above all things and my heart I fear is deceitful above all hearts O thou who searchest the Heart and Reins try me and seek the ground of my heart and suffer not any accursed thing to lurk within me but purifie me even with Fire so thou consume my dross O Lord I cannot deceive thee but I may most easily deceive my self I beseech thee let me not rest in any such deceit but bring me to a sight and hatred of my most hidden Corruptions that I may not cherish any darling Lust but make an utter destruction of every Amalekite O suffer me not to speak peace to my self when there is no peace but grant I may judge of my self as thou judgest of me that I may never be at peace with my self till I am at perfect peace with thee and by purity of haert be qualified to see thee in thy Kingdom through Jesus Christ Amen For Contrition out of the same Author O Holy Lord Who art a merciful Embracer of true Penitents but yet a consuming Fire towards obstinate sinners how shall I approach thee who have so many provoking sins to inflame thy Wrath and so little sincere Repentance to incline thy Mercy O be thou pleased to soften and melt this hard obdurate heart of mine that I may heartily bewail the Iniquities of my life Strike this Rock O Lord that the Waters may flow out even Floods of Tears to wash my polluted Conscience my drowzy Soul hath too long slept securely in sin Lord awake it though it be with Thunder and let me rather feel thy Terrors then not feel my sin Thou sentest thy blessed Son to heal the broken hearted but Lord what will that avail me if my heart be whole O break it that it may be capable of his healing Virtue and grant I beseech thee that having once tasted the bitterness of sin I may fly from it as from the Face of a Serpent and bring forth Fruits of Repentance in amendment of Life to the praise and glory of thy Grace in Jesus Christ our blessed Redeemer Amen Those whose Devotions are apt to be assisted by variety or are desirous of Forms for other Graces or more particular occasions may find a plentiful supply in the Books of the aforementioned-Pious Author in Dr. Tailor's holy Living and Dying but more especially in the Book of Devotions composed by the Reverend and Learned Dr. Patrick A Prayer to be used by any Pious Christian in these difficult times O Most just and holy Lord God thou art Righteous in all thy ways and holy in all thy Works I must needs confess that when I seriously consider the multitude and hainousness of my own Sins and those of the whole Nation which cry loudly to Heaven for Vengeance that it is even a miracle of Mercies that we have not long since felt the severities of thy Wrath in some direful Judgments but thou O Lord hast been exceedingly gracious and with much patience and long suffering hast waited for our Repentance and Amendment of Life but yet we have abused this Mercy of thine beyond all the former and have not returned unto thee And now O Lord seeing we would not be allured by thy Mercies thou art pleas'd to threaten us with the approach of thy Judgments which if thou wilt not avert O fit and prepare me for the cheerful Entertainment of whatsoever thy Wisdom shall think fit to
contribute some assistance to them who have not better advice And being to make this publick I know no person that I have so many Obligations to dedicate it to as your Ladyship and having nothing better to present by way of an ackonwledgment I hope your Ladyship will not refuse to accept this though of a small value from From Newcastle upon Tine Nov. 2d 1682. Your Honours most Faithful and most Obedient Servant Henry Atherton THE PREFACE HAving in the former Treatise I hope satisfied all rational persons concerning the Existence of a Deity it will I judge naturally follow that this Deity is to be Worshipped I say Naturally because I never read of any of the Heathens who acknowledged gods but they paid them homage and adoration Qualescunque sunt saith Cicero in his Book De Natura deorum after he had reckoned up the variety of gods hos does venerari colere debemus Whatsoever they are if we own them gods we ought to honour and worship them Nay He though a Heathen goes farther Cultus autem deorum est optimus idemque castissimus atque sanctissimus plenissmusque pietatis ut eos semper pura integra incorrupta mente voce veneremur For indeed the worship of the gods is best of all most pure most holy and most full of Piety and he advises that when we worship them it should be always with a sincere honest Heart and undefiled Tongue There are many ways by which God may be worshipped but that which I only intend to mention here is by Prayer and Invocation which I shall not curiously dissect neither into its various parts but only tell you that this being a part of Gods Worship those that own his Existence and their dependance upon him are indispensably obliged to pay him that so easie Tribute and Adoration Prayer is the great duty and greatest priviledge of a Christian By it we have intercourse with Heaven and bear a part with Angels and beautifi'd Spirits It is the Medium by which we discover all our wants and necessities unto God the Key to unlock Heaven and draw down all Blessings spiritual and temporal upon us Is any Man Afflicted let him Pray Doth any Man lack Wisdom James 1.5 Let him ask of God who giveth to all Men liberally and it shall be given him Therefore seeing it is so much our interest as well as our priviledg and duty let us not be wanting to our selves in it You will find in the following Sheets a small Manual of Directions and Devotions which as by the homeliness of the dress you may easily see were composed only for my own private use and addresses and never intended that they should as much as peep out of my Closet door And now I shall not tell you as many do that they were press'd out or extorted from me by importunity of Friends or the like but indeed after a little pause and consideration with my self they came out voluntarily hoping at least they may have some good influence on some or other either for Direction or Encouragment to a Holy Life and if not they will only remain useless to others as they did before in my Closet and yet however I shall have this satisfaction in my own Conscience that I intended them well and I hope the purity of the Intention will some way sanctifie the Action and procure Acceptance if not with Men yet with God I am very sensible of the most excellent and unparallell'd composure of the Liturgy of our Church for all publick and most private concerns and how the deficiency of this as to particular wants if any such be is supplied by the incomparable Authors of the Whole Duty of Man Practice of Piety Method of Private Devotions Devout Christian by Bishop Taylor and many other worthy and pious Persons whose Shoes I am not worthy to bear out of some of which you will find several Collections in the following pages But yet give me leave to east in my Mite too and take in good part my weak endeavours also which probably in some things may be more particular than what you meet in them Neither dare I being a Laick prescribe them as Forms for others but only acquaint my Reader that they are such as I use my self and may perhaps be beneficial to him upon the like occasions These I know are very defective too and as he grows more prolifick in Grace so he will be able to supply my defects by a new Additament of his own And if these may give any such encouragment or have any good effect upon any one I have my aim and shall think my self well recompenced for my Studies Hic Rhodus Hic saitus I know this little Tract will fall into the hands of many a Momus who will either carp at or deride it The Learned will perhaps think it impertinent or at least not dainty enough for their curious Paluts and the looser vulgar taunt and scoff at it This is the best usage I can expect it shall meet withal in this profligate Age but however I doubt not but amongst sober and pious Christians it will find better entertainment which will make me dis-esteem the Censures of the one and the revilings of the other it being my design to gratifie â—ot the most but the best Directions how to spend every day in the Fear of God EVery Morning as soon as thou awakest out of Sleep endeavour to get thy Soul Affected with the Majesty and Mercy of God Consider his Power that he was able to raise thee again and his Goodness that he would not suffer thee to sleep in death his Mercy that he hath carefully defended thee and thine from the many sad Casualties and Accidents which might have justly faln either upon thee or them by reason of your Sins and then lift up thy Soul to God in these or the like short Prayers or Ejaculations O Almighty God who hast in thy Mercy awak'ned my Body out of Sleep so I beseech thee by thy grace awaken my Soul from the sleep of Sin and grant I may so walk before thee this day and all the days of my life hereafter that when the last Trumpet shall awaken my Body out of the Grave I may rise to the Life Immortal through Jesus Christ My Voice shalt thou hear in the Morning O Lord in the Morning will I direct my Prayer unto thee and will look up I will sing of thy Power yea I will sing aloud of thy Mercy in the Morning for thou hast been my Defence and my Refuge in the time of my Trouble My Soul desires to wait for thee O Lord more than they that wait for the Morning O God therefore be thou merciful unto me and bless me and cause thy Face to shine upon me O fill me with thy Mercy this Morning so shall I rejoyce and be glad even all the days of my life So teach me to number my days that I may apply
That he would bless his Minister that hath this day blessed you that he would pour down a double portion of his Spirit into his heart and make him an eminent Instrument for his glory and finally may so live and so preach that he may both save himself and them that hear him Pray also that he would continue such his spiritual Mercies towards you and make you to grow in knowledg and to be more fruitful under all the means of Grace that so his Word may be unto you the savour of Life unto Life and not to any Soul of you the savour of death unto death c. Thus shalt thou sanctifie this day unto the Lord and the Lord will sanctifie thee unto himself He will give thee of the blessings of this Life and that which is to come Remember the words of the Prophet Isaiah ch 58.13 14. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath from doing thy pleasure on my Holy day and call the Sabbath a Delight the holy of the Lord honourable and shalt honour him not doing thy own ways nor finding thine own pleasure nor speaking thine own words Then shalt thou delight thy self in the Lord and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the Earth and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy Father for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it Of the holy Sacrament SHould I here go about to enumerate the many great benefits of this holy Mystery I might in the next page also reckon up all the benefits of Physick Meat and Drink for what there are to the Body the other is to the Soul Meat and Drink are the Supporters of our Beings strengthen the Powers and Abilities of the Body preserve its natural heat and vigor and repair its decays and our Saviour saith of this Holy Sacrament my Flesh is Meat indeed and my Blood is Drink indeed such as will not only like Meat strengthen and nourish but like Drink or Wine comfort encourage and revive even drooping dying Souls It came down from Heaven and it is of Efficacy sufficient to translate us thither and as the Body being but a little deprived of Food languishes and at last expires even so is it with the Soul being deprived of this spiritual Sustenance which is said to nourish the Soul unto Life everlasting it immediately grows sick and at length dead unto all good Works And then as the Body by too great plenty of feeding at last contracts Corruption and Diseases and hath need of some Physick to cleanse and purifie it and to preserve the Blood from dangerous putrefactions even so is it with the Soul which by conversing with the pleasures and delights of the World is apt to contract some stain and foulness which may here in this sacred Fountain be washed away and cleansed and the Soul by this Antidote preserved from future Corruptions It is not my design here to acquaint you with the nature use and end of this Sublime Mystery or with the manner of worthy receiving it this being a Province above my low Sphere or Capacity and already so exactly done by the Learned and Pious Authors of the Christian Sacrifice Whole Duty of Man Method of Private Devotions c. to which I refer you All that I shall say in it is to endeavour to press you to the frequency of communicating which if we consider the Will and Command of Christ Luke 22.19 our continual wants and necessities and the great and inestimable benefits we reap by it we should not think our selves excused from any opportunity that offers it self but rather court every one and if it be in our power make it rather than want it for certainly if thou be a good Christian thou wilt think every return too slow and confess with David That as the Hart panteth after the Rivers of Waters so panteth thy Soul after God That thy Soul is athirst for God even for the living God when shalt thou come and appear before him And if thou not knowing it before-hand come into a Congregation where the Table is spread or art sodainly invited to communicate with a sick or dying person I cannot see how thou canst turn thy Back upon that sacred Ordinance although thy preparations are not according to the Sanctuary or so strict as they ought to have been hadst thou had timely notice thereof Supposing thee therefore to be one who lives in an habitual preparation that is in a daily Examination of thy Conscience and calling thy self to an account of thy Sins and in a constant performance of Religious duties and even now lamenting that thou hast not more time to prepare thy self so that what is wanting in Act is made up in Desire thou may'st undoubtedly draw near with comfort and receive as worthily though not perhaps so much to thy own satisfaction as if thou hadst made a greater and more solemn preparation and I must tell thee who ever thou art that unless thou art thus always ready to receive thou art in no wise prepared to die which that thou maist be I shall in the next Section set down some short Rules and Directions which may help thee towards it Remote Preparations for Death THere is nothing so much sharpens the sting of Death and adds greater malignity and venom to it than the want of due Consideration of it before-hand and Preparation for it Inexpertata plus aggravant novitasadjicit calamitatibus pondus Senec. Epist 91. The suddenness and surprize of an evil adds to the weight and smart of it Death we are told is an enemy 1 Corinth 15.26 and you know to be surprized by an Enemy puts all into tumult and confusion and permits not the free use of that reason and conduct that we should otherwise have had upon a timely monition and preparation Nay we are told that it is the last enemy and being to fight but this one battle it will be the greatest imprudence in the World not to muster up all our forces not to make all the provision we can before-hand that we be not worsted in this last Conflict Non licet in bello his peccare To fail once here is to fail for ever And we shall never have any opportunity more to rectify a former fault And therefore that you may not miscarry in so momentous a concern take and follow these brief Directions First in the time of your greatest health carry your self with the greatest innocency watchfulness and circumspection Endeavour to keep your Soul in an habitual frame and temper of piety continually abstain from the commission of any known Sin and do not that at any time which if God should then call for thee for no Man hath any assurance that he shall not die suddainly thou wouldst not be ashamed to be found doing If a sharp Sickness seizes our Bodies whilst we have a load of guilt upon our Souls what consternation and terrour does it strike unto us Our Sins stare
blessed Remove from me all Distractions by worldly Thoughts enlighten my Judgment quicken my Invention rectifie my Will and increase my Affection to heavenly Things that my Heart may be more enlarged towards thee and my Devotion so enkindled that I may find my Corruptions abated and my Graces thriven and my Life every way bettered by this holy Exercise Grant this O Lord for Jesus Christ his sake Amen Next consider seriously with your self what the thing is whereof you meditate and endeavour rightly to understand it in its definition then proceed to the division and explication of it from thence if it be an Attribute of God proceed to the Admiration and Love of God for such his infinite Perfections and if it be such as is imitable stedfastly resolve to seek to attain it in part which thou canst not in degrees if it be a Vertue thou art meditating of represent it to thy Soul in the most amiable dress by comparing it with the contrary deformities of Vice If a Vice uncover its nakedness and shew all its ugliness and evil consequences freely confess thy former Follies resolve against it and beg Gods Assistance against future Backslidings If it be Mercies or Providences thou art meditating of be sure to mention all the Circumstances of them and to raise thy Soul to the highest pitch of gratitude for them And in all these remember that if the Sacrifice wants a Heart it will not be accepted by God never therefore leave considering and meditating until thou hast ingaged thy Heart and Affections in the Work Throughout the whole time of thy Meditation be frequent in Soliloquies and Ejaculations and at length conclude all with Thanksgiving and recommending thy self to God It will be impossible for me and I think for any other to prescribe an exact method for proceeding in this Duty because of the different matter and various subjects of Meditation Every pious Soul after some constancy in it will know best how to adapt it to his own greatest profit However take in good part Reader those following Exemplifications The Thanksgiving after Meditation O Blessed God the fountain of all Mercies I give thee most humble and hearty Thanks for this present Expression of thy love and kindness for the Assistances of thy holy Spirit and inward Comforts which I have now received by â—his holy Exercise O that Men would praise the Lord for his goodness and declare the wonders â—hat he doth for the Children of Men for he satisfieth the empty Soul and filleth the hungry Soul with goodness Grant me O Lord an unweariedness in well-doing and let it be the delight and joy of my Soul to do thy will and let thy comforts always encourage and refresh my Soul Pardon O Lord all my sins pity all my Infirmities especially those of my present performances and receive me into thy gracious protection both now and ever through Jesus Christ Amen Divine Meditations Concerning Gods Omnipresence BY the Omnipresence or Ubiquity of God is meant Gods being present in every place and at all times Gods most glorious presence is in the highest Heavens where he is encircled with Myriads of Angels and beautifi'd Spirits who continually behold and admire his Majesty and Glory yet he is not here Circum Scriptivè or as confined only to that place for then he were not God but he is here also on the lowest Earth and we daily discover him in his Providences Nay he is in Hell too and that the Devil and Damned discover by their Torments his Center is every where and his Circumference no where Though no place can contain him yet none can exclude him for he fills Heaven and Earth â—rem 23.24 Whither shall I flee from â—y presence saith David if I ascend 〈◊〉 into Heaven thou art there if I â—ake my Bed in Hell behold thou art â—ere also Psalm 139.7 8. No place no time can bound his preâ—â—nce The most wild and untrodden â—aces of the Desart the solitary Caves â—nd Recesses of the Earth the thickest â—nd more than Cimmerian darkness of â—e Night are no shelter from thy All-â—eing Eye the darkness is no darkness â—ith thee yea the day and night to â—â—ee are both alike Psalm 139.12 God is present in the Church beholdâ—â—g our Order and Behaviour there He 〈◊〉 present in the Closet when the door 〈◊〉 closest shut to inspect our seriousâ—ess and devotion there He is present â—t our Tables and at our Merry Meetâ—ngs at our Feasts and at our Fasts â—e is about our Beds and about our â—aths he takes particular notice of all â—ur Actions and weighs all our words â—n a ballance Nay thoughts secret â—houghts are not hid from him but he â—nows them long before we do or can Our flesh alas is too pervious to hinder â—im from entring into the secret recesses â—f our hearts 1. This then should teach thee O my Soul to revere and adore the God of such infinite Perfections and firmly to believe what thou canst not comprehend We know a humane Body the perfection of the whole Creation cannot be in two places at one and the same time yet blessed God I am assured by Faith and by the constant dispensation of thy Providences in all places that thou art Omnipresent at the same time That there is not any Creature that is not manifest in thy sight Heb. 4.13 but all things are open and naked unto the Eyes of thee with whom we have to do for in thee we live and move and have our being Acts. 7.28 2. Thou may'st learn hence O my Soul to have continually an awful sense of the Divine Majesty to tremble at the apprehensions of his presence Jereuâ— 5.22 and to behave thy self always as in his sight not to dare to commit any even the most minute sin in secret because God sees and is present who will be both thy Witness and thy Judge How shall I do this Wickedness saith Joseph and sin against God Genesis 39.9 Though no Eye saw him yet he was conscious that God was a Spectator and therefore he dares not offend in his presence Do thou therefore good God throughly convince my Soul of this great Truth that I can never abscond my self from thy presence that thy Eye is watchful over all my Actions that thy Ear is ever open to hear all my words and that thou discernest the most secret of my thoughts that so looking upon thee as a Witness of my whole Conversation I may always keep a Conscience void of offence towards thee and towards all Men. 3. Be careful O my Soul because thou art in the immediate presence of God to be sincere towards him in all thy Religious Duties as well private as publick and approve thy self to thy Father who seeth in secret Matth. 6.6 4. This will be a comfort to thee O my Soul in all the Afflictions in all the Troubles thou can'st meet withal here in this World Psal 91.15 Gen. 17.1 God is present with