Prayer is that I may recover thy likeness through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen V. I Know O! Gracious Lord that I cannot receive this but from thy Self Oh! therefore be thou both the Blessed giver and the Gift I know also alass that I am utterly unworthy to have thy Divine Image stamped upon my Soul But I extreamly need it and I extreamly value it and such thou art pleased to account worthy of it And I dearly love thee O! God or else I should not be thus desirous to be like thee And thou lovest to communicate thy Goodness and whom shouldst thou imprint and display it upon but on those who love thee and are earnestly desirous of the same Hear me therefore O! My God and breath iâ—to mine Heart that Spirit which renews us after thine own Image in Righteousness and true Holiness Oh! thou who seekest out Sinners to make them Good do not reject me now when I seek thee out to make me better I am poor and naked Oh! fill me with thy Righteousness My Good Thoughts are unconstant and Changeable O! fix them by thy Grace Set up thy Kingdom O! Jesu in my Heart for to become thy Faithful Servant is more to me then to have the Empire of this World Keep me stedfast O! Lord in serving thee till thou takest me finally to enjoy thee through Jesus Christ my Blessed Saviour and Redeemer Amen VI. LOrd grant that at all times I may account my Sins yea all my Sins to be my shame and make thy Laws yea all thy Laws to be my Rule and thy Blessed Will to be in every thing my choice and satisfaction And let â—â— Promises be my Hope thy Providence my Guard thy Grace my Strength and thy blessed Self my Portion both now and in the end through Jesus Christ my Saviour and Redeemer Amen THE TRYAL AND JUDGMENT OF THE SOUL OR Certain Questions or Articles of Examination whereby the Penitent himself may try and discover the Safety of his own Spiritual State On which the Guide of Souls may make Use of as he sees cause in visiting the Sick and in giving Absolution to them WHEN the Person whose Spiritual Estate is to be enquir'd into is sick some Questions may be premised touching his due Reception of his Sickness And these the Minister when he is the Examiner may begin after the Exhortation to the Sick in the Office of Visitation Questions touching the Sick Persons due Reception of their Sickness 1. Are you perswaded that your present Sickness is sent unto you by Almighty God 2. Do you believe and acknowledge not only his Justice but also his Kindness therein as in a Father's Visitation And that all which you now suffer is far less than you have deserved to suffer And that it is all sent for your Good 3. Do you therefore submit to it quietly and without murmuring because he sent it 4. And do you look up to him for Assistance and Deliverance and depend upon him to take it off again 5. And are you willing that he should do this when he pleases and contented to wait his time for it 6. And do you freely resign your self up to his disposal either to continue under your illness or to recover out of the same to live or die as he sees fittest for you 7. Do you study to be as easie as you can to those who attend or minister about you and to receive their well-meant Care and Services kindly and thankfully 8. Do you now plainly see the Vanity of this World and of all the Possessions Pleasures Pomp and Splendor thereof which seemed the most tempting and desirable to you in the time of your Health And are you fully sensible and convinced now how little there is in them and how soon you may be or are like to be taken from them 9. Do you desire therefore to keep your Heart loose and taken off from the same And to fix your Hopes and Desires upon God and Heavenly things which you will always find an Help at hand and a solid comfort in your Need 10. Will you endeavour by God's Grace to hold on in this Mind and still to shew forth the same if having by God's Blessing recovered your former Health you should come to converse again among these worldly Satisfactions and be enabled to relish and enjoy them If that is not done already I must remind you as your case requires I should and as I am directed and ordered to do by the Church to set your Worldly Affairs in order and to take care of a just Payment of all you owe and declare what is owing unto you and to make such clear Disposal of the Worldly Goods you have to leave as may both discharge your own Conscience and prevent Disputes and preserve Peace among your Friends who shall survive you I must also remind you according to your Ability to be liberal to the Poor remembring that what is disposed of this way is laid out upon your own Soul and that this giving to them is laying up Treasures for your self in Heaven And after these the Guide of Souls or the Penitent himself if the Sick Man is his own Examiner may proceed to other Questions for the Tryaâ— of his Estate in manner following Questions for the Penitent whereby to try and discover the Safety of their Spiritual State When you are passed from Death unto Judgment and stand at the great Day to be tried before the dreadful Tribunal of Jesus Christ you will be called to answer to the Searcher of Hearts and to give an Account of such Points as these I. 1. OF your Faith whether you have the Belief or Faith of a Christian. Whosoever believeth on him shall not perish but have Everlasting Life He that believeth on him is not condemned but he that Believeth not is condemned already John 3. 15 18. The Articles or Points of this Belief or Christian Faith are these I Believe in God the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth And in Jesus Christ his 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 sitteth 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 Questions about the Belief of them 1. DO you unfeignedly and from your Heart believe the Truth of those things which are pâ—ofessed in this Creed 2. Have you any Scruples about any Points thereof or about any other great Matters of Religion wherein you are desiâ—ous to have Satisfaction 3. Do you thank God from your very Soul that you were born and bred up in this Belief and do
and in regard to the Merits of his Death who by his dying on the Cross for our Sins purchased all this Mercy for all truly Penitent Believers 3. Are you truly sensible of his Exceeding Great Love therein and from the Bottom of your Heart are you Thankful to him for the same After which questions the Guide of Souls if he is the asker of them in visiting the Sick and Dispensing Absolution or the Penitent himself when he is his own Examiner may go on to this effect Now know therefore Brother or Sister that altho you are a Sinner yet Jesus Christ came into the World to save sinners Altho you have been a lost sinner yet he is come to save and seek after that which was lost Altho you have sind yet you do not cover your Sins or Justifie them but with grief of Heart confess them and condemn your self for the same And if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our Sins You confess them to him with a resolved aversion and turn away from the same having by the help of his Grace already forsaken some and studying and being resolved in Heart to forsake all And who so Confesseth and forsaketh his Sins shall find mercy If you have sinned against your Brethren you are ready to submit your self and seek to reconcile your self to them and to the utmost of your Power to make them any reasonable satisfaction And if a Man has first reconciled himself to his Brother he may come to God with a good heart and offer his gift If he hath Repented and given again what he hath Robbed his Sin shall not be mentioned Whilst with an Humble a Contrite and a returning Heart you are thus seeking to the Father of mercys to forgive you your trespasses you do from your heart forgive all other persons who have sinned against you their Trespasses And †if we forgive men their trespasses our Heavenly Father will also forgive us As you earnestly seek mercy â—ou are ready to show it and according to your ability to give Alms to the needy And blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy and mercy rejoyceth against judgment Upon such Faith and Repentance and Satisfaction for Injuries and shewing Mercy and forgiveness of others when they are sincere and right our most merciful God and Saviour will most graciously forgive us at the great Day of Judgment And he he has committed the Ministry of reconciliation to his Ministers that upon appearance of the same they may declare and deal it out for for the Comfort of such truly faithful and Penitent Persons here in this world And now upon this profession which you have here made of this Christian Faith and Repentance and reparation of injuries and of forgiveness of others and having charity towards all persons and of shewing mercy to the miserable all which you declare is unfeigned and from the Bottom of your Heart do you desire from the mouth of Christ's Minister to receive the benefit of Absolution Then may the Minister proceed as he sees fit to lead the Penitent on in this form of Confession taken out of the Office for the Communion ALLmighty God Father of our Lord Jesus Christ maker of of all things Judge of all Men we humbly acknowledge and bewail and especially this humble Penitent doth hereby acknowledge and bewail his manifold sins and wickedness which he from time to time most grieviously hath comitted by thought word and deed against thy Divine Majesty Provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against him He doth earnestly repent and is heartily sorry for these his misdoings The remembrance of them is grievious unto him The burden of them is intolerable Have mercy upon him have mercy upon him most merciful Father For thy Son Lord Jesus Christ's sake forgive him all that is past and grant that he may ever hereafter serve and please thee in newness of life to honour and glory of thy name through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen And then Pronounce the Absolution following ALmighty God our heavenly Father who of his great mercy hath promised forgiveness of sins to all them that with hearty Repentance and true Faith turn unto him have mercy upon you Pardon and deliver you from all your sins confirm and strengthen you in all Goodness and bring you to everlasting Life through Jefus Christ our Lord Amen Or instead of this Form of Absolution if he think that fitter he may use the form in the Visitation of the Sick Our Lord Jesus Christ who hath left power to his Church to Absolve all Sinners who truely repent and believe in him of his great mercy forgive thee thine Offences And by his Authority committed to me I absolve thee from all thy sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Amen After which the Minister may go on with the Collect that follows the Absolution in the Office of the Visitation of the Sick O! most Mercyful God who according to the multitude of thy mercies dost so put away the sins of those who truly repent that thou rememberest them no more open thine Eye of Mercy upon this thy Servant who most earnestly desireth Pardon and Forgiveness Renew in him most loving Father whatsoever hath been decayed by the fraud and malice of the Devil or by his own carnal will and frailness Preseve and continue this Sick member in the Unity of the Church consider his Contrition accept his Tears asswage his Pain as shall seem to thee most expedient for him And for as much as he putteth his full trust in thy mercy impute not unto him his former sins but strengthen him with thy Blessed Spirit and when thou art pleased to take him hence take him unto thy Favour through the merits of thy most Dearly Beloved Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen And if the Penitent is visited as a sick Person he may then use the Psalm after it In thee O! Lord have I put my trust let me never be put to Confusion but rid me c. But else instead thereof he may use these Sentences and Prayers Sentences after the Absolution in the Communion Service Hear what comfortable words our Saviour Christ saith unto all that truly turn unto him Come unto me all that travel and are heavy laden and I will refresh you Mat. 11. 28. So God loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son to the end that all that believe on him should not perish but have everlasting life Jo. 3. 16. Hear also what St. Paul saith This a true saying and worthy of all men to be received that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners 1 Tim. 1. 15. Hear also what St. John saith If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous and he is the
my own Praise and of detracting from the praise of others How liable is my Heart to give way to Discontents To harbour uncharitable surmises yea sometimes of those who are the proper Objects of Charity and stand in need of my Relief or Assistance To grow impatient and angry upon any â—â—ovocation and in such Anger to utâ—â—â— some indecent bitter or reproachâ—â—â— words especially to my inferiours and to retain such resentment of their Offences as renders me either prone â—o return ill Offices or at least backward to shew kindness to them on any fit occasion afterwards I am still offending O! Almighty Lord either by uncharitable Provocations or sinful Complyances or by Negligence and Remissness in governing my Self or my Dependants or by Irreverence and undutifulness to my Superiours or by want of Affection Fidelity or due regard to my Relations or by proud Thoughts or vain glorious Speeches or harsh Censures or by Lust Anger Envy Peevishness sinful Fear mistrustful Care covetous Desire or some other inordinate or unlawful Passions or by being guilty of some Thoughts Words or Actions which are contrary to thy Laws and to that excellent pattern of all Virtue which my dearest Lord has set me to walk by Lord be merciful to me an unrighteous Selfish proud and impatient Creature V. THese O! Most great and jusâ— God and many others which I am not able to recount are mine Offences Which I have committed several of them ordinarily others frequently and all of them even those which most seldom yet alass too often either by the frailty and violence of my Passions or by my Ignorance Negligence or Wilfulness against all the endearments of thy Mercys and the Terror of thy Judgments and all the warnings of thy Providence and the Suggestions of thy Spirit and the Bonds of my own most solemn Vows and Promises and against all other Methods of thy preventing assisting and recovering Grace which should have kept me from them All these my Transgressions testifie against me and my own Conscience accuseth me and thou Holy Lord art an upright judge who wilt doe Justice and not justifie a Sinner in any Wickedness and whither then shall my guilty and fearful Soul flye But thine own Dearly Beloved on O Gracious God hath paid his Life a Ransome for my Sins and through the Merits of his Blood thou art most ready to embrace a Returning Penitent and to make thy Mercy glory over Judgment O! Lord I repent of all these my Sins from my very Heart and freely forgive all who have trespassed against me as I now desire that thou wouldest freely forgive me O! suffer me not to be swallowed up either in Death or Despair but in the multitude of thy Mercys do away all mine Offences and give me comfort and peace of Conscience that being cleansed from all my Sins I may serve thee with a quiet mind Consider my Weakness O! Father of Mercies and how frail my Nature is And that frail and sinful as I am I am still the work of thine own Hands and am called upon by thy Name And how I am heartily ashamed and sorry for what I have done and for Jesus Christ's sake the Son of thy Love do earnestly Implore thy Pardon And how the Saviour of the World dyed to save Sinners and how thou anâ— my Father and I thy Son in Christ Jesus Accept me therefore good Lord in thy beloved Forgive mè freely all that is past and keep up in me by thySpirit such vigour of holy Resolution and such watchfulness and circumspection for the time to come that I may never return to them again I know O Gracious Father the falseness of my own Heart and the instability of my Spirit But it is not in my self but in thee that I trust My Faith is in thine Almighty Aid which thou hast bountifully promised and which thy Son has dearly purchased for us with his most precious Blood Oh! Let that always be my Guard and then my Sins shall no more prevail over me but I shall finish my days in thy Righteousness and rest at last in thine Everlasting Peace through Jesus Christ my only Saviour and Redeemer Amen 4. Another particular Enumeration of Sins and Repentance of the same in a short Form I. O! Almighty Lord I thy poor Creature who am a vile and miserable Sinner do here in great Humility lament before thee and am most heartily ashamed and troubled for my having lived so long in the World as through thy Mercy I have done and yet having done so little good in it and being still so unfit to leave it and so little qualified for a better I am grieved O! Blessed God for having lived so long a stranger to thee and for my loving and obeying thee no better and having no greater Zeal for thee since by thy Grace I have been brought to know and fear thee For all my neglects of thy Service and for my insincerity and unaffectedness in performing it For all the Lightness and evil wandrings of my Thoughts in my Prayers and my great and daily unthankfulness forthy great and innumerable Mercys for my solicitude about wordly things and mydistrust of thy Paternal Care and sure Promises For all my negligence yea and averseness in studying and learning thy Holy Will and all my remissness and forgetfulness in doing it and for all the defects and difficulties which I have ever found in suffering and submitting to the same For all my corrupt averesness and shameful refusal to take up thy Cross and preferring World Ease and Interest before a good Conscience and for having chosen at any time rather to part with the way of thy Truth and Righteousness than to follow thee O! Holy Jesu in patient and faithful Suffering for the same For all my prophanations of thy Sacred Name by irreverent use thereof especially by careless and common swearing but most of all by the horrible wickedness of false or faithless Oaths For all which and all other my offences of this kind which either I can remember or have forgotten Lord be merciful to me a contrite Sinner II. I Am troubled O! Lord for all the discontentedness which I have ever shewn with my own Condition and for all the Envy and Evil Eye which I have cast upon the happier Lot of other Men. For all the pride of my Heart and all the sinful lightness of my Spirit and for all my immoderate Love of this World For all my unclean Thoughts and unchaste Carriage and for all the Unthankfulness or Uncharitableness or Intemperance which I have ever shewn in my use of outward enjoyments For all which and all my other like offences which either I can remember or have forgotten Lord be merciful to me a Contrite Sinner III. I Am heartily sorry O! Holy Father for all my deceitful and insincere Expressions and feigned or faithless promises for my having at any time divulged secrets which I ought to have concealed or
dissembled things which I ought openly to have professed for all my unjust and hard censures and for all my detracting Speeches against any of my Brethren For all the Advantage which I have ever taken of the Ignorance and and for all the sport and pastime which I have ever made with the folly and weakness of my Neighbours For all my covetous desires and all my wrongful Gripings or hard dealings towards any whom I have at any time been concerned withall For all the over reaching which I may have been guilty of in gaming or other ways and for all the excesses and offences of my Recreations I lament O! Lord for all the countenance which I have given to other Mens Sins or complyance with them or neglect to reprove the same when I had an obliging call so to do For all the Provocation which I have ever given others and for all the sinful Passion which I have ever shewn and opprobrious Speeches which I have ever used and ill will which I have ever retained towards them when at any time they have provoked me For all the ungrounded Jealousies and evil and uncandid surmises and for all the Back-bitings and Evil-speakings which I stand guilty of towards any For all my Deafness to the cries or narrowness of Heart in Relieving the wants of the poor and needy For all which and all my other offences of the like sort which either I can remember or have forgotten Lord be merciful to me a contrite Sinner IV. I Humble my Self before thee O! Almighty God for all my irreverence Disloyalty or Breach of Faith and due Obedience whereby I have trespassed against those who have had the Right to reign over me For having ever offered a deaf or disobedient Ear to my Ghostly Rulers for all my undutyfulness to my Parents or unkindness to my Wife or Husband or remissness in governing my Dependants and training up all that serve or are any way subject unto me to fear and serve thee For all the Evil thoughts of my Heart and sinful words of my Mouth and unrighteous Actions of my Life wherein I have grievously offended thee either this Day or at any other times For all these and all other Sins O! Almighty and most Righteous Lord which either mine own Heart or thou who knowest better than my Heart seest me to be guilty of I am sorry at my very Soul and here humbly confess them before thee with shame and a broken Spirit and with stedfast Resolution by thy Grace to watch and strive against them for the time to come Where I have wickedly broken thy Statutes my Study shall be religiously to keep them And where I have done wrong to any Person I am ready and willing according to the utmost of my Power to repair the same Lord I Repent encrease my Repentance And for Jesus Christ's Sake pardon me a poor repenting Sinner Oh! Let his Blood wash me from all my Sins and let his peace rid me of all my Fears and let his Spirit preserve me from all Relapses Oh! That having utterly abandoned all my former evil ways I may eveâ—hence forward be fixt in thy Fear and be duly disposed for thine Eternal Mercy and favour though the Merits of my only Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ. Amen Short Prapers and Ejaculations for the Penitent to use at any time as he sees cause EJACULATIONS I Am a Sinful Man O! Lord Luke 5. 8. And mine Iniquities are gone over my Head as an heavy Burden they are too heavy for me Psal. 38. 4. Lord carest thou not that I perish Mar. 4. 38. Jesus Master have Mercy upon me Luke 17. 13. Thou that camest into the World to save Sinners 1 Tim. 1. 15. Be merciful to me a Sinner Luke 18. 13. Thou that takest away the Sins of the World Jo. 1. 29. And hast abolished and overcome Death 2 Tim. 1. 10. 1 Cor. 15. 54 57. And destroyed him that had the Power of it Heb. 2. 14. Deliver me from the Body of Sin and Death Ro. 7. 24. Short Prayers I. LOrd I am not worthy to lift up my polluted Eyes unto thee But whither should a Wretch Guilt and Misery look but unto the Fountain of Mercy Whither â—â— to a God whose Mercy is greater than our Wickedness To a God whose property it is to be kind â—â— his Enemies and whose patience â—â— bear our Sins is as great as his power to punish them and who has much rather be reconciled to us than take Vengeance on us Whither indeed but to thee O! God of all Grace and Comfort who shewest mercy on the unworthy and who art most Graciously pleas'd to fit and qualifie them for thy Mercy that so thou mayest bountifully confer it on them for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake Amen II. LOrd under my heavy load oâ— Guilt and Misery I address my Self unto thee But I make no Plea but for thy Mercy Nor have any pretence to claim it O! Father of Mercies but only because I infinitely need it and because thou lovest to shew it and art more ready to look at our needs which move thy Pity and Tenderness than at our Deserts which cry aloud to thee for Wrath and Vengeance upon our Heads And because unworthy as I am yet through thine inexpressible Love and his I have a most mercyful Saviour who has born all the punishment of my Sins to purchase Mercy for me a Sinner and who now powerfully intercedes with thee for Mercy for me if being weary of my Sins I turn to seek and serve thee through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen III. AND my Soul O! Gracious God is wearied out and filed with the bitterness of mine own ways I accuse my Self and need â—o Witnesses I condemn my Self and need no other Judge to proâ—ounce me Guilty I punish and afâ—ict my Self for all my Sins that I â—ay prevent thy Justice for the same And by thy Grace I am resolved to â—rn from them all that they may â—o longer provoke thee and as far as I am able to repair the harm which my Brethren have sustained thereby that they may no longer damnifie or disturb them Father forgive me for I am heartily sorry for all the Evils which I have done Forgive all my Sins for I am fully resolved by thy Grace to forsake them Forgive me O! Dear God for I forgive others yea I forgive all Do not go to exact punishment of me for my Sins but extend thy Mercy and Pardon to my true Repentance for my dearest Lord and only Saviour Jesus Christ's sake Amen IV. AND having thus utterly renounced my Sins O! Holy Father I desire above all things to partake of thy Righteousness Having utterly defaced and corrupted my self I would gladly be new made by thee Having hitherto miscarryed whilst I would be in mine own Hands I desire now to be altogether in thine I loath my self O! My dear God whilst I am without thee and whatever else I loose my earnest
be cleansed from all our Sins and serve thee with a quiet mind through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen Prayers for Particular Graces 1. Prayers for a sense of Sins without Despair of Mercy to Pardon them or of Grace to cure them I. O! Almighty Lord make me truly and deeply humble for my sins and fully sensible of my own Vileness Never suffer me so far to loose my fears as to grow conceited of my self or Careless of my Duty nor so far to presume upon thy Mercy and Pardon when I truly repent of the same as to cast off a true Dread and Terror of thy Justice if I should revolt and return to them again But deliver me O! my God from all such abjectness as instead of setting me further off from my Sins is fit only to keep me a surer Prisoner under them And whilst I retain so much fear and lowlyness as will keep up holy care and watchfulness grant that I may retain so much hope too as will encourage and strengthen Holy Endeavours and afford Peace And therefore O! my Dear Lord when I think the worst of my self let me not proceed to a Beleif that I am past all bounds of being pardoned by thy Mercy or of being made better by thy Grace Let me not once imagine when I am fallen either that it is in vain for me to endeavour to rise again or if by thy help I should rise that there is no hope of my being forgiven But when I am most jealous of my self let me be confident of thee And together with an humble sense and fear of my Sins enable me to keep up a sure hope of thy Promises and a strict care of my own Repentance and a Comfortable Persuasion of thy Gracious acceptance thereof for our Lord Jesus Christs sake Amen II. KEEP me always sensible O! God that as thou art most justly angred at my Sins so thou art most easy to be appeased and reconciled by my true Repentance And that thou art not more offended with me whilst I lye down in my folly than thou wilt be delighted with me when with the Penitent Prodigal I shall have come to my self and returned to my Duty Let me never forget that there is joy in Heaven over every Sinner that Repenteth and that whensoever a Sinner turneth away from his iniquity he shall be sure to find mercy with thee through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord Amen 2. A Prayer for Hopes of Mercy and of Grace to encourage Repentance MY Heart O! almighty Lord is full of trouble and ought to be so whilst it is fond of sin But let not my sorrow settle into a neglect of cure nor my fear grow up into Despair When I think ill of my self let me not fall O! most Gracious Father to think ill of thee and after I have grievously affronted thy Majesty as I have alass thro all the course of my life let me not come now at last to affront and exclude thy Mercy My Sins O! Lord are many and great But my sweet Saviours Merits and thy Mercys are infinitely greater And the Guilt thereof is not too great for thy Mercy to Pardon nor my proneness to repeat the same too great for thy Grace to overcome And therefore O! Dear God tho by my former evil life I have thrown off my Innocence give me not up therewith to throw away the thoughts of my own Repentance nor the hopes of thy Gracious acceptance Let me not shut that Gate of Mercy upon my self by Despair which thou hast set open for every truly contrite Sinner nor neglect by true Repentance to enter in at the same There is mercy with thee O God! that thou mayest be appeased And therefore there shall be Repentance with me and in hopes of thy mercy thou shalt be feared Tho I have falen yet by thy Grace I will not rest under my fall nor despair of thy Mercy when I am risen nor of strength by thy Grace to rise up again But setting my heart to fear thee I desire to rest my Soul on the sure hopes of thy Spirit to perfect my sincere Endeavours and on the sure Hopes of thy Mercy to Pardon mine Offences for the merits of thy dear Son and my only Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ Amen 3 A Prayer setting forth the Grounds of Hope thereof O! Father of Mercys be thou my support and stay under all this heavyness and Dejection of my Spirit And let not thy Mercy or my Faith fail me when all things else do Tho at present thou art angry with me yet O Lord thou retainest not anger for ever because thou delightest in Mercy Oh! resâ—ine thy beloved property towards me and laying aside thy fierce wrath shew Pity on me Tho I am a wicked and a wretched Creature yet thou art a Mercyful God Thou art a God forgiving Iniquity forgive that which lyes so heavy upon me †Thou art the Saviour of Sinners save me who am a most Greivous Sinner and let me not Perish in my Sins Thy Mercyes O! Gracious Father have been wonderful towards the greatest offenders such as thy servant David who was guilty of Adultery and Murther and Peter who forsware himself and denyed his â— after and Saul who Persecuted and made havock of the Church yea and even those wicked Jews who murdered and Crucyfied the Son of God himself and they were never shut against any Sinners who turned to thee with true Repentance Oh! then let not me despair of that Pardon which was never yet deny'd to any truly contrite heart in my condition Let not me imagine that thou who art insinite in mercys hast less mercy in store when I need than thou hadst for the needs of others Or that thou who art a tender Father towards all and Judgest without respect of persons wilt deny that mercy to my true repentance which according to thy gracious Promises thou didst extend to theirs I know O! God that I have deserved the severest Punishments But thy mercy dealeth not with us according to our Deserts And as my sins have deserved Punishment So thou O! Blessed Jesus hast deserved my Pardon of the same Thou art the Propitiation for our sins And thy Blood cleanseth us from all sin Oh! let me not mistrust the sufficiency of thy Sacrifice to atone for all mine Offences which expiates the Sins of the whole World If any Man sin thou art his Advocate with the Father And let not me imagine that thou canst ever move in vain or that whilst thou art ready yea sure to intercede in the cause of every other contrite Sinner thou wilt be silent and sit still in mine Holy Father have mercy on me Sweet Jesu cleanse and save me Wash away the stain of my Sins and speak peace to my affrighted conscience and revive and comfort up my broken Heart that I may live a monument of thy mercy and a
a distance and not lift up so much as my Eyes to Heaven Look upon me who have a contrite Heart and despise it not who am Poor and Tremble at thy word and according to thy Promise dwelâ— with me and receive my Spirit Lord I humble my self before thee do thou take me up I humble my self justly but do thou take me up in mercy And all my comforts will I ever most thankfully ascribe to the praise of thy free bounty and Grace through the merits of my blessed Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ Amen 7. Prayers for Peace and Hope and Joyn in God I. O! Blessed Lord grant that I may both do thy holy will and take delight in doing it and have the Comfort as well as the Guidance of thy Grace Grant me even now to taste the pleasures as well as hereafter to reap the Profits of thy Service that I may both go on therein more cheerfully my self and may also recommend the same unto others by shewing a comfortable and joyful spirit in Performance thereof O! that no hard or unjust thoughts of thee may embitter Religion to me O! that no mistrusts of thy merciful acceptance may either discourage the course of my sincere obedience or deprive me of the comforts of the same Whilst I am labouring sincerely to serve thee give me the comfort of hope that thou dost accept me and let me find the ways of of righteousness to be ways of Peace both now and in the end through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen II. Lord let thy Holy spirit work in me Joy and Peace together with Faith and Righteousness and other of its blessed fruits Set up thy Kingdom in my heart as in righteousness so in Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost Teach me to joyce in the Lord Yea to rejoyce in him always Let perfect love when it increaseth Obedience and chearful Reverence cast out all tormenting fears and let the Peace of God which passeth all understanding keep my heart and mind Yea keep it so sure that doubtfullness or dispair may never be able to possess themselves thereof any more Make my heart to hope in God yea to abound in hope through the Rower of the Holy Ghost To give diligence to the full assurance of hope and that even to the end O! that I may have this comfortable hope of thy mercies as an anchor of the Soul both sure and steadfast and may never be driven from the same by any Storms or troubles of this World Yea grant O! Lord that I may rejoyce in hope and be filled with all joy and peace in believing That I may look for thy glorious appearance and love it and with desire haste it on And that in all my Tryals here I may bear up my self with the comfortable expectation of the same till at length thou shalt mercifully accomplish my Hope and turn it into a blessed and everlasting fruition and enjoyment for my dearest Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ's sake Amen The Person in trouble may likewise use the Prayers in the Office for Penitents intituled A Profession of the fruits of Repentance and the conditions of forgiveness p. 29 for the quieting of his mind And the two Prayers following for Pardon of Sins and for Peace of mind and comfort upon the same as he sees cause 8. A Prayer against perplexing Doubts and Scruples O! Merciful Lord keep me under such an Holy Fear as will make me careful not to trust in false ways nor to swerve from my Duty when I know it But remove from me perplexing doubts and unresolvedness about the same which will either hinder me from doing it at all or make me do it heavily and with a troubled mind Let not me indulge them as true tenderness of spirit and fruits of thy Grace but labour against them as my spiritual diseases or as Satans Temptations Lord let not me be still disputing what thy holy will is when I should be doing it or endlesly doubtful and disturbed to find thy ways when I should be walking in them and ever irresolute and still scrupulously deliberating when I am called out to action Let me not want knowledge of my duty so as to disobey thee blindly and securely Nor true tenderness of Conscience so as to venture on some things which really offend thee without remorse because they seem little to my carnal and corrupt thoughts or are little accounted of by others But after once I have been duely instructed therein and am tenderly sensible of the same cause me to be fixed and firmly settled in what I know and to give up my selfe afterwards chearfully to perform it not scrupulously to debate a new and endlesly examine on every occasion whether I may safely and acceptably do it or no. O! My God let faith and knowledge direct my steps and let Joy and Peace accompany them Whatever else thou leavest me ignorant of let me be clear and well resolved about thy ways and careful with all uprightness to walk therein Let me not miss here of finding and doing my duty nor at last of thy eternal mercy through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen 9. A Prayer against Prophane mistrust of Divine Truths and Blasphemous Thoughts O! Most gracious God who by the Power of thy Spirit art only able to cure the sickness and to overcome the unruliness of mine Protect me I humbly and earnestly intreat thee against all Prophane Doubts and Mistrusts of thy truths and against all Blasphemous Thoughts and suggestions about Divine things which either mine own melancholly fancy or the busie and wicked adversary are ready to represent and suggest to me Never suffer them O! God to stagger or weaken my Faith nor to hinder or clog my Practice nor if thou pleasest by their wearisom conflicts to be a pain and burden to my Life Preserve me not only from the sin but if it may seem good to thy Fatherly Wisdom from the temptation too and from the trouble and sorrow of them But if it be thy blessed will to continue these prophane and terrifying thoughts for my Tryal and Humiliation Lord make me sensible and comfort my disturbed Heart with the sense thereof that it will not be imputed as a sin to me to be tempted therewith but to yield to the Temptation And that in thy sight I am not guilty of the same whilst I neither believe them nor give place to them not altering or abateing either my Faith or my Practice thereupon And that they are the enemies sin who to try and tempt me studiously and wickedly suggests them not mine who instead of hearkning thereto and complying therewith immediately resist them as soon as I perceive them and cast them out with horror and indignation And Oh! that during this tryal I may learn to depend intirely upon thee without whom I can do nothing That as often as these prophane thoughts are thrown into my mind I may find