and miscarriages of our Lives and to bewail the linfulness of our Natures Our Iniquities are many and our Transgressions are multiplyed every day We feel within us a forward inclination to that which is unlawful we carry about us a Body of Sin and the least Temptation draws us aside from thy holy Ways How negligent have we been of thy Commands How vitious in our Lives How careless in our Duties How unthankful for all thy Mercies We can give no account of the number of our mistakes for they are numberless Therefore we humble our selves before thee in a deep sense of our own sinfulness and unworthiness we cast away all confidence and reliance upon our own Merits But we come to thee with a Confidence upon Christ's Merits trusting upon his promises and gracious invitations For his sake O merciful Father forgive us all our Trespasses magnifie thy Divine goodness by the pardon of our great and hainous Offences Look upon the Atonement made for us and in consideration of the precious Blood of our great Saviour spilt for our Redemption accept of our Persons and Prayers at this time Take not away from us only the guilt but also the Corruption of Sin that we may not continue in our Provocations against thy Divine Majesty As thou hast given us a sense of our Ignorance and Weakness give us the proper Remedies to these two Evils enlighten our Understandings more and more with thy Blessed Truth purifie our Wills from all unregenerate affections sanctifie and change the whole frame of our Souls according to thy revealed Will. For that purpose grant us we beseech thee good God an increase of all our Graces give life and growth to these Seeds of Holiness and Immortality strengthen the Interest of Piety in every one of us with a holy dread of thy Power and Justice and a blessed Love for thee our God who only art lovely Open our Eyes that we may perceive the Beauty and Excellency of Vertue and the filthiness and danger of those sins we have been most inclinable to practise Let the woful circumstances of our Bosom Lusts visible by our own experience and others Examples reclaim us betimes to an Obedience to thy Sacred Laws make us truly sensible both of the shame that attends upon Sin and of the misery that consequently follows it that we may begin the great Work of Repentance betimes and vigorously prosecute it till we have brought under all our irregular inclinations which are so imperious in the Children of disobedience Make us clean Hearts O God and renew a right Spirit within us Purifie our sins from all Infection from all Evil Thoughts wicked Affections and sinful designs above all keep us from the reigning sin of Hypocrisie that we may be sincere in our Profession and that we may not deceive our selves by thinking to deceive others As our great business on this side the Grave is to serve thee our great Creator and prepare our selves for Eternity assist us mercifully in our endeavours relating thereunto direct comfort and succour us against all Temptations give us Hearts and Lives that we may adorn the Gospel of our Saviour Christ Let neither the inticements of Sin nor the suggestions of the Devil nor the allurements and Vanities of the World draw us away from thee our good God nor from the Profession of thy sacred Truth Keep us from evil Examples and wicked Company and Perswasions and from the Corruptions of the time As thou hast been gracious to our Forefathers in this Land in preserving them and their Religion from all bloody designs and attempts continue thy protection to us their Children Preserve thy Gospel in this Nation defend us from Heresie Idolatry and Schism Unite us all in love and affection one towards another and in conformity to thy Will in all things Remove the differences and prejudices that are amongst us that we may embrace one another as Bretheren designed for the same Happiness sanctified by the same Spirit and redeemed by the same Christ O gracious God watch over us we beseech thee let not the Craft and Power of our Bloody Adversaries prevail or overcome the Professors of thy Gospel Defeat all their wicked endeavours against our Prince and his People and discover and disappoint all their Plots Let Religion and Truth flourish in our days and keep us all from Prophaneness and Error Send thy Blessings to this Family here humbled before thee and to every member of it As thou hast received us into thy Protection grant us a continuance of it this Night especially Let the Eye of thy Providence be awake over us to shelter and preserve us when we shall be asleep Keep us all from fearful Dreams and Apprehensions and sinful Fancies Let nothing injure either our Souls or our Bodies bring us safe through the shadows of the Night to behold the Glory of another day and feel again the manifold expressions of thy great goodness to us O Lord we depend upon and trust only in thee Thou alone hast been the Saviour of our Persons that belong to thee defend them we beseech thee from the malice of the Devils and the attempts of Bloody-minded Men and from all accidents and dangers whatsoever that we may yet live to praise and glorifie thee here on Earth and do service to our Generation Send thy Blessing to all Princes and Magistrates especially to our King and Queen and all Governours under them in Church or State preserve them from all Rebellious Designs and Attempts of our Enemies and give them grace to employ their Credit Power and Authority in the maintenance of thy Truth and Honour and in the suppression of Atheism Vice Prophaneness and whatsoever agrees not with sound Doctrine Give success to their pious endeavours Victory to our Fleets and Armies Life and safety to all the Noble Souls that watch over us or fight for us Disappoint all the Wicked designs of Antichrist scatter and subdue all his Bloody Agents and let thy Gospel and will be known to all the Nations under the Sun These and all other Mercies convenient for our Souls and Bodies we humbly beg for the sake and Merits of that immaculate Lamb who is dead for us and now makes intercession at thy right hand and we conclude these our imperfect Prayers with this most perfect Form OUR Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this Day our daily Bread And forgive us our Tespasses as we forgive them that Trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from Evil For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen THE Peace of God which passeth all Understanding preserve our Hearts and Minds in the Knowledge and Love of God and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. The Blessing of God Almighty Father Son and Holy Ghost be with us all evermore Amen An
we may so pass through things Temporal that we finally lose not the things Eternal for Jesus Christ his sake our Lord. Amen GRant O Lord we beseech thee that the Course of this World may be so peaceably ordered by thy governance that we and thy whole Church may joyfully serve thee in all Godly quietness through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen LOrd of all Power and might who art the Author and giver of all good things Graft in our Hearts the love of thy Name increase in us true Religion nourish us with all goodness and of thy great Mercy keep us in the same through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O Merciful God bless and preserve we pray thee our Princes defend them from all their Enemies direct them in all their Counsels assist them in all their religious purposes grant them and the Church amongst us peace and prosperity in this Life and everlasting Happiness in the life to come Bless all the Royal Family the Nobility the Magistrates the Gentry and People of this Land Grant us Peaâ—e and Truth and preserve us from Heresie Schism Superstition and Idolatry for Jesus Christ his sake Amen OUR Father which art in Heaven hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our Trespasses as wâ— forgive them that Trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from all Evil. For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen THe Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with us all evermore Amen Another Morning Prayer for a Family when Business is most urgent TUrn thy Face away from our sins O Lord and blot out all our Offences Make us clean Hearts O God and renew right Spirits within us Ps 51. Almighty and Everlasting God mercifullly look upon our Infirmities and in all our dangers and necessities stretch forth thy Right Hand to help and defend us through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O God whose Blessed Son was manifested that he might destroy the Works of the Devil and make us the Sons of God and Heirs of Eternal Life Grant us we beseech thee that having this Hope we may purifie our selves as he is pure that we may walk in newness of life and follow the Examples of his Patience Piety and Holiness that when he shall appear with Power and Glory we may be made like unto him in his glorious Kingdom Amen O Lord be merciful to us and our Nation bless the King's Majesty and our Queen with Life and happiness their Counsellors with Wisdom their Armies with Victory their Subjects with Peace and Prosperity Bless the Nobility the Clergy and Commonalty in their goings out and comings in Bless us we beseech thee and all our Relations with Spiritual and Temporal Mercies And all these Blessings we beg for Jesus Christ his sake in whose perfect Form of Prayer we sum up all our desires as he hath taught us OUr Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this Day our daily Bread And forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from all Evil. For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen THe Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the Love of God the Father and the Fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with us all Amen Another Morning PRAYER for a Family O Gracious God the Creator and Protector of Mankind whose continued goodness we have lately experienced in the safety and preservation of the last Night We bless thy Holy Name for this and all other expressions of thy Mercy to us we acknowledge that as thou art the Author of our Beings it is thy good Providence that maintains and defends them from all dangers and Enemies that incompass us about It is thy watchful Eye that sees all their contrivances to destroy us It is thy Wisdom that knows how to defeat their Craftiest purposes It is thy Power alone that can disappoint and oppose their wicked and hellish Plots We are not ignorant O Lord of their malice and our continual dangers dangers that proceed from the contrivances of Spiritual and Temporal Enemies we desire therefore to be heartily thankful for we are really sensible of thy merciful protection hitherto and to ascribe all the Honour and Praise of our preservation and deliverance to thy Wisdom and Providence alone But O merciful Father let this expression of thy goodness the foundation of all thy Blessings be still continued to us we are sensible of our undeservings our sins and wickednesses are multiplied our provocations and ingratitudes have been many our many deficien ies in all our Duties might justly cause thee to leave us to our selves for the future and expose us naked to the subtilties and power of our Enemies who would quickly devour us But we implore thy mercy at this time and intreat thee to forgive us our Trespasses to pardon our Infirmities and to pass by all our Transgressions for the Lord Jesus his sake In his Name and through his Merits we approach with all humility to the throne of thy grace to beg the forgiveness of all our Iniquities and the continuance of thy protection and Mercies Temporal and Spiritual How weak are we of our selves How soon cast into our Graves and what is Man that he should be able to defend us when the least blast deprives him of Life and Being Thou art therefore and thou alone O great God of Heaven thou art only able to defend us in the following course of our Life from visible and invisible perils Let thy Mercy be continued to us shelter us from the malicious designs of all our Enemies frustrate their wicked purposes lead us in all our ways direct us in all our paths bless us in all our undertakings we live in a crooked Generation in a world that overflows with sin and wickedness and our Conversation is amongst evil-doers let therefore thy Wisdom and thy fear so possess our Souls that we may not be drawn away by the Vices of the Age nor intangled in such Labryinths of Sin as might indanger our eternal welfare Suffer us not to be inticed with the allurements of unlawful Pleasure and Profit We trust not to our selves O Lord and our own frail resolutions because we have broken them so often that we have cause to mistrust our selves and to rely chiefly upon thy merciful guidance Let thy Truth direct us and thy Spirit lead us as well as thy Power protect us from the invasion of Error and Vice give us a right understanding of thy Will an unchangeable resolution to practise it suffer us not to be drawn aside neither by fear nor by profit from the
profession of that pure Religion in which we have had the happiness to be instructed Give us all grace to value and prize this thy great Mercy that we are Christians and such Christians as have the benefits of thy sacred Oracles O let us not be so unworthy to forsake that Religion in which only we are to expect Salvation Give us Grace to follow the Blessed Rules of good living that we have learned keep us from sin and of all sins chiefly from the sins against our own Consciences and knowledge Give us peaceable Minds quiet dispositions with a willing resignation of our selves to thy Wise Providence in all things wean our Hearts and Affections from the World let not its Vanities possess any longer our affections Let the knowledge that all things shall work together for our good cause us to submit without murmuring to all the Crosses that we may meet with And as our time here below is but of a short continuance give us grace to mind our latter end to prepare for our dissolution betimes to live always in expectation of another and a more happy life where we shall never see neither Sorrow nor Pain Bless us we beseech thee in our Callings prosper us in all our lawful endeavours to serve our Generation And let us so demean our selves in our bodily and daily Employments as that we may not forget in them to serve and glorifie thee our God which is the great and chief Employment of our lives Suffer us not to mispend our precious Talents but according to our Abilities and thy Mercies let us so dispose of them of what kind soever they be that thy Truth and Holy Name may be glorified thereby and the ends for which thou hast given them answered Bless this Family now prostrate before thee with our years increase all our Graces sanctifie and prepare us for thy Enjoyment purifie and cleanse our Hearts and mercifully continue and augment all thy Blessings upon us Take into thy protection and favour the tender and weaker part of it the Infants and Children provide we beseech thee for the welfare of their Souls as well as for their Bodies imprint thy holy fear in their Hearts that they may glorifie thee in their Lives Bless all our Relations wheresoever they be dispersed let thy Mercy and Truth guide them all the days of their Lives Bless this Nation unto which we belong punish us not according to our just deservings and provocations lay not upon us the guilt of innocent Blood But pardon the extravagancy of our lives and cause a real Reformation to be practised as well as professed amongst us thou givest us Temporal Mercies in abundance continue thy Spiritual to us suffer not our Enemies to deprive us of thy Truth and Gospel watch over us and disappoint all their wicked purposes for our Ruine and give us all Hearts to be truly thankful for the many Favours Blessings Mercies and Deliverances which from time to time in all Ages thou hast heaped upon us and our Forefathers Bless more especially the person of our gracious Prince and thine anointed grant him a long and a prosperous reign guard him from the barbarous purposes of all Murderers save him from all their Plots and Conspiracies direct him in his Councils prosper him in his Designs and give him and us all Grace to lay seriously to heart thy merciful proceedings towards us Bless all his Relations enlighten them with thy Truth sanctifie them with thy Grace and direct them by thy Spirit that they may embrace as well as know thy Sacred Truth and govern themselves according to its Holy Precepts Bless thy Church dispersed throughout the whole World preserve every Member of it from the Malice of the Devil and his Agents increase daily the number of its true Professors Let thy Gospel and thy Salvation be published in all Nations bring back the Jews and accomplish the number of the Gentiles and open the Understandings of all Men that they may see the reasonableness and excellency of that Religion which Christ hath recommended to us and not only see it but embrace and practise it setting aside all prejudice and partiality Turn the Hearts of our greatest Enemies subdue our unruly Affections reconcile our Differences publick and private and give us all Grace that we may truly serve and glorifie thee in our Lives All this we beg for the Merits and by the Mediation of our most Blessed Lord and Saviour in whose Words we sum up all our imperfect Petitions in that most perfect Form which he hath taught us OUR Father which art in Heaven hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from all Evil. For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen THe Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the Love of God the Father and the comfortable Fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with us all evermore Amen Another Morning Prayer for a Family when Business is urgent O Merciful God and Heavenly Father by whose goodness we are yet alive Thy Holy Name be praised for the safety and quiet repose of our Bodies the last Night and for our preservation until this moment which we acknowledge to be a Mercy proceeding from thy Power and Providence We are sensible O Lord of our own weakness and frailty unable of our selves to withstand the assaults of our Spiritual and Corporal Enemies from thy Mercy therefore we humbly Beg this and all other Blessings needful for our Souls and Bodies that thou wouldest be pleased to be gracious to us and forgive us our Sins and protect us from all dangers in the following course of our lives defend our Souls from all assaults of Sin and Satan keep us in the Profession and Practice of thy Holy Religion without wavering strengthen our Mindes with a Divine Knowledge and our Wills with thy Celestial Grace that neither Error nor Vice may be able to prevail upon us Defend also our Bodies from all the Snares that are laid for us Let our lives be precious in thy sight sanctifie all thy Mercies to us and the more we are loaden with thy Temporal Blessings let us be so much the more thankful and ready to obey thy Holy Laws send down thy Blessing upon all our actions and endeavours in the Callings in which thy Providence hath placed us As our chief aim is the Promotion of thy Glory be pleased to assist us in the advancing of it Preserve our Minds from all inward troubles murmurings and disturbances and arm us we beseech thee with that unchangeable Spirit as may contemn the Losses and Crosses of the World for that purpose captivate our affections to thee and thy Service take possession of our Hearts and suffer them not to dote too much
upon these lower Vanities O Lord as our Treasure is in Heaven let there be the end of all our desires and the centre of all our Actions Gracious God we pray thee not only for our selves but for the whole Catholick Church and for that part of it planted in these three Nations O! let not our Enemies triumph over us but watch over and preserve thy Son from all the Conspiracies of the Devil and his Agents Reunite our Divisions and make us all of one Heart and of one Mind Preserve the King and Queen's Majesty in Health Peace and Prosperity Give his Counsellors Wisdom his Army Victory and all his Subjects Happiness and Plenty Take into thy Protection all our Kindred and Friends defend their Bodies from dangers and their Souls from Schism and Error Be merciful to all Men as thou hast Created Mankind for Happiness discover to them the Means appointed by thy Wisdom to bring them thither and give them Grace to embrace the gracious offers of thy Providence All these Mercies and others which thou knowest most needful for our well-being here and our Glorious Being hereafter we humbly beg by the Merits and powerful intercession of thy Christ and our Saviour who hath taught us thus to Pray OUR Father which art in Heaven hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdome come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that Trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from all Evil. For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen THe Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the Loveof God the Father and the Fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with us all evermore Amen A Morning Prayer for a single Person ALmighty God by whose Gracious Providence I am yet alive and escaped out of all the dangers and difficulties of this mortal life by whose merciful Protection I have been preserved the last Night from all Corporal and Spiritual Enemies I adore thy Divine Mercy and Goodness so visibly expressed in every moment of my life I praise thy Holy Name for this and all other favours received from thy Wisdom and Power I glorifie thine infinite Majesty and acknowledge thee O! my God to be the Author of my Preservation as well as of my Being of my self I am not able to resist the least danger or Enemy were it not for thy watchful Eye and Power I had been long ago in my Grave but thy goodness hath yet spared me notwithstanding my unworthiness and the many Provocations of my Life O Merciful Father thy Blessings have been heaped upon me in abundance though I have returned thee for them all nothing but ingratitude and Sin when I make a Reslexion upon my self and thy liberality upon my past behaviour and thy manifold Blessings bestowed upon me from day to day I cannot but wonder at the infiniteness of thy Mercy which could not yet be exhausted nor discouraged by my unthankfulness but let the Sense of thy Love to me change and alter the temper of my Soul the resolution of my Mind and the Actions of my Life suffer me not to presume upon these outward Expressions of thine Affection to me but let them inflame my Soul with a sincere Love for thee my God and with a fervent zeal for thy Glory Suffer me not to be overcome by the powerful temptations of the World nor to be drawn aside by the allurements of Sin I am so sensible Lord of the weakness of my own Nature as not to trust upon my strength which hath so often yielded to wicked enticements assist me therefore my God with thy Divine and Holy Spirit defeat the Devil's Power disappoint all his malicious purposes and lead me through this wicked World in thy Faith and Fear Continue also thy Protection to my weak Body preserve me from all dangers and Enemies defend me from all Bloody and Cruel Souls that I may live here below in the Service of my Generation and in glorifying thee my Creator Bless me in the Works of my Calling give me a contented Mind satisfied with the Events of thy Providence that I may not complain of any thing that shall happen contrary to my desire and expectation and a full resignation to thy Will and Pleasure Suffer not my Soul to be too much in love with my self nor with any thing here below that I may avoid the pernicious Vices of Pride self-conceitedness Covetousness Ambition Lust and Vanity which in these latter days possess Mens Minds and hurry them into the Labyrinths that lead to Hell and Damnation O Lord I resign my self into thy hands I desire to depend upon thee to be govern'd by thee and to live for thee Enlighten therefore my Understanding with thy sacred Truth sanctisie my Will and Affections with thy Blessed Spirit and the longer I live let me draw nearer to thy likeness Strengthen my Soul with an assurance upon thy Love and Protection and pacifie all the disorders of my Passions that whatsoever inconveniency I meet with in my conversation here below I may enjoy a quiet and peaceable Temper of Spirit which is so acceptable in thy sight in Prosperity and Adversity in Sickness and in Health grant me an equality of Mind not pust up with the one nor cast down with the other but give me Grace that bearing willingly my Cross after Christ my Saviour I may press forward towards that Immortal Reward which thou hast prepared for them that love and fear thee In whatsoever condition thy Providence shall be pleased to bring me give me I beseech thee a disposition suitable to it that in following the Holy Example of my Glorious Redeemer and imitating his Goodness Piety Charity Patience in suffering Holiness and other Vertues I may glorifie thy Name on Earth grace the Profession of thy true Religion and prepare my self for Eternity for that purpose grant that I may employ all my Talents in those good uses for which they are designed that when I shall render up my accounts to thee I may not be ashamed of my Actions O let my mind be fixed upon that terrible day that I may live in expectation of it and order my Soul and Body ready for my dissolution I humbly beseech thy Divine Majesty to be gracious not only to my self but also to all my Relations receive into thy Favour and Protection all those that are committed to my Care or that are near or dear unto me in Blood and Affinity preserve their Souls from the Vices and Infection of the times and their Lives from dangers and Enemies and give them all Grace to serve and Glorifie thee their God on Earth Send thy Blessings upon the Societies and Kingdom unto which I belong forgive our National sins suspend thy judgments that we have deserved and if in thy Wisdom thou thinkest fit to chastise us destroy us not utterly set
keep them in these troublesom times defend their Bodies from Death and danger and their Souls from Error and Vice preserve the King's Majesty and all the Royal Family in Health and happiness And send to all this Nation a continuance of Peace and Prosperity with a real Reformation of their Lives Grant these and all other Mercies necessary for them and thy whole Church through and by the Mediation and glorious intercession of my Blessed Saviour who hath thus taught me to sum up all my imperfect Prayers OUR Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from all Evil. For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen Let thy merciful kindness O Lord be upon me like as I do put my trust in thee Psal 33.21 A Morning Prayer for a younger Person O Almighty God who hast saved me alive till this time preserved me from my Mothers Womb and guarded me from the dangers of the last Night thy Holy Name be praised for this and all other expressions of thy Mercy and Goodness to me give me grace to employ this Life which thou sparest me to thy Honour and Glory keep me from Sin and Temptations and whatsoever might prejudice my Soul or my Body I recommend my self into thy hands and protection save me from the Dangers and inconveniencies of this Life grant me thy Wisdom and thy Fear increase in my Soul all knowledge give me a right understanding of thy Will and Grace to practise it Preserve me from the Vices of the Age from the Allurements of Sin and the Corruptions of the Times Season my tender Soul with a Love for thee my God and a sincere dread of thy Power and Divine Majesty Protect me in the Profession of thy true Religion and Bless me with Spiritual and Temporal Blessings and grant me that holy Resolution and Temper that I may so live in this Life and so spend my days that I may attain at last to Everlasting Life Preserve my Parents Relations and those whom thou hast placed over me in Health and Prosperity send them an increase of all thy Blessings save the King's Majesty from all his Enemies grant him Health and Prosperity and the whole Nation peace and happiness for Jesus Christ his sake OUR Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from all Evil. For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen The Lord preserve my going out and my Coming in from this time forth and for evermore Amen Psal 121.8 A Morning Prayer for a Child UNto thee lift I up mine Eyes O thou that dwellest in the Heavens Psal 123.1 Thy Holy Name be praised for the last Nights Rest and Preservation protect me also this day from all dangers Bodily and Spiritual keep me from sin teach me thy Ways grant me thy true Wisdom increase my abilities to serve thee bless me in my endeavours and actions sanctifie my Soul and Body give me the understanding of thy Word and Laws and a Heart to practise them keep me in the Profession of thy true Religion and from the Wicked designs of Schism and Idolatry imprint thy fear in my tender Soul and a sense of thine infinite Presence that I may glorifie thee here on Earth O my Creator and Heavenly Father and at last attain to that Glory which thou hast promised to those that shall obey thy sacred Commands Bless and preserve my Parents Kindred and Relations save the King's Majesty and grant him Health and Prosperity All this I beg from thine infinite goodness for Jesus Christ his sake my only Saviour and Mediator who hath taught me thus to Pray OUR Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from all Evil. For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen Blessed be the Lord God of our Israel from everlasting and World without End Amen An Evening Prayer for a private Family according to the Book of Common-Prayer with some Collects for the Times O Lord correct us but with judgment not in thine Anger lest thou bring us to nothing Hide thy Face from our Sins and blot out all our Iniquities Jer. 10.24 Psal 51.9 ALmighty and most Merciful Father we have erred and strayed from thy Ways like lost Sheep We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own Hearts We have offended against thy Holy Laws We have left undone those things which we ought to have done and we have done those things which we ought not to have done and there is no Health in us But thou O Lord have mercy upon us miserable Offenders Spare thou them O God which confess their faults Restore thou them that are penitent according to thy Promises declared unto Mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant O most merciful Father for his sake That we may hereafter live a godly righteous and sober life to the glory of thy holy Name Amen Lord Let this be repeated by all the Family have mercy upon us Christ have mercy upon us And forgive us all our Sins OUR Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this Day our daily Bread And forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from all Evil. For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen O Lord shew thy mercy upon us And grant us thy Salvation O Lord save the King and Queen And mereifully hear us when we call upon thee Endue thy Ministers with Righteousness And make thy chosen People joyful O Lord save thy People And bless thine Inheritance Give peace in our time O Lord. Because there is none other that fighteth for us but only thou O God O God make clean our Hearts within us And take not thy Holy Spirit from us ALmighty and everlasting God who hatest nothing that thou hast made and dost forgive the sins of all them that are penitent create and make in us new and contrite Hearts that we worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness may obtain of thee the God of all Mercy perfect remission
Kingdom when ever it shall please thee to call them out of these Tabernacles of misery and affliction Good God we resign our selves into thy hands dispose of us as it shall seem good in thy Divine Wisdom O Blessed Jesus unto whom all Power is committed in Heaven and in Earth receive us into thy Protection and Mercy we pray thee and intercede for us to thy Heavenly Father Amen A Prayer for a Ship 's Company before an Engagement at Sea O Merciful and Great God whose Power Wisdom and Providence is so visibly seen upon this unconstant Element we humble our selves before thee at this time of danger to implore thine Assistance Protection and Blessings to our necessary Endeavours for the Preservation of the Rights of the Nation unto which we belong We acknowledge our selves to be miserable Sinners and guilty of many provocations against thy Divine Laws but it belongs to thee O Heavenly Father to have mercy upon thy poor Creatures and Servants Lay not to our charge our hainous Offences but pardon we beseech thee all our former Sins and give us true Repentance that if thou shalt yet spare our Lives we may amend Let not our Guilt and Crimes hinder the Blessings of Victory and Success which we beseech thee to grant to our present Fleet and Arms. For that purpose command the Seas and the Winds to yield unto us all needful assistance and let thy Holy Angels protect our Persons and our Ships from the fury of the Enemies shot and all Casualties Good God we depend not upon our selves our Skill or Provisions or humane strength but upon thy Power upon thy Mercy O Holy Saviour upon thy protection and favour grant unto us we beseech thee Safety and Victory that we may live to admire thy goodness in our deliverance and learn by these instances of mercy to honour and praise thy Holy Name when we shall be escaped out of so great dangers Save us we intreat thee O merciful God save us our Bodies and our Souls that they may be employed again in thy Service but let our immortal Souls be dear in thy sight whenever or however thou shalt be pleased to call them out of these Earthly Vessels receive them we pray thee into thine Heavenly Sanctuary This we beg and all other things which thou knowest needful for us through the mediation of our Divine Saviour who sits at thy Right hand and whose intercession we humbly implore in the words that he hath taught us saying Our Father c. Seasonable Ejaculations and short Prayers in the midst of a Fight either by Sea or Land LOrd have Mercy upon us Save and Deliver us Good God abate the Pride and Fury of our Enemies Merciful Saviour Protect us by thine Almighty Power Lord Jesus Strengthen and Defend us O Blessed Saviour receive our Bodies and Souls into thy Favour and Mercy Good God Deliver us O Holy Jesus our Dependance is upon thee O Lord of Hosts we trust upon thy goodness and Protection and not upon our selves Save us Good Lord Save us that we may live to praise thee in our Generation Have mercy upon our Souls We recommend our present and future Beings into thy Hands O Merciful Creator Give us Victory we pray thee for Christ his sake that we may Glorifie thee and thy Mercy Amen A Prayer for Mariners in a furious Tempest at Sea O Almighty and Eternal God at whose disposal are all the parts of this great World and these violent Waves upon which we are tossed Look down in mercy upon us and give a check to the fury of these Seas We see before us nothing but Death the Deep is open to swallow us up our only help is in thy Providence and Protection Save and Preserve us we humbly beseech thee lay not to our charge our former Sins let not this heavy load and burthen sink us now into Eternal destruction but deliver us for thy mercies sake still the rage of the Sea stop these boisterous Winds and calm this mighty Tempest As thou hast manifested thy great Power to us in this occasion let us be likewise sensible of thine extraordinary mercy in our Deliverance Thou hast promised that not a hair of our heads shall fall without thy Heavenly permission O suffer us not to perish but rescue us we pray thee in this our great necessity and let us live yet longer to glorifie thy Holy Name Send us such favourable Gales as may bring us to our desired Havens and give us all grace to learn by this and other instances of thy Power and Providence that our whole dependance is upon thee our God and that thou canst quickly deprive us of Life and Being if we offer to forget our selves and thy former Mercies if we extravagantly abuse either in word or deed thy dreadful Name and holy Profession Spare us good Lord spare us at this time and we vow unto thee all submission and obedience and a sincere reformation of our Lives for the time to come To this purpose assist our good resolutions with thy heavenly Grace that all these accidents and dangers may turn to our Eternal benefit to the safety and security of our immortal Souls And all this we beg for Jesus Christ his sake our only Mediator whose intercession we humbly implore and conclude these our imperfect Prayers with his most perfect Form Our Father c. A Thanksgiving after a Victory by Sea or Land NOT unto us O Lord not unto us but to thy holy Name be ascribed O blessed God the honour of this Victory and Success We Praise thee for having spared our Lives and suffered us yet to enjoy the light of the Living We acknowledge thy Power and Providence in this great preservation of our Persons from the fury of our Enemies whom we see lying before our eyes breathless and senceless whereas thou hast been gracious to us our good God and sheltred us in the midst of those dangers that have swallowed up so many of our fellow Creatures O let us never forget this great deliverance but let these Bodies which thou hast made and preserved at this time be employed for the time to come in thy service and for thine honour Let these Members which have been secured by thy Providence from wounds and maiming be consecrated to Holiness and Piety and to advance thy Gospel Religion O Let us all make a right improvement of this great Mercy and Salvation Let it not become an aggravation of our Crimes and ungratitude Give us with all thy Mercies thankful hearts humble and dutiful Souls that in the midst of all this Worldly Prosperity and Successes we may behave our selves as becomes true Christians Sanctifie therefore this great Blessing to us all let us not demean our selves too insolently over our fellow Creatures but treat them with compassion as thy Subjects and Servants as well as we O Let this Deliverance and Safety be so recorded in our hearts and minds that we may ever glorifie thee our God for it and oblige thee to a continuance of thy favours to grant to us and our Endeavours such Success and Prosperity that we may be a Safeguard and Security to our King and Kingdom to preserve them from the violent attempts of all their Enemies and ours 'till it shall please thee out of thine infinite goodness to put a stop to this raging War and grant us a lasting and honourable Peace These and all other Mercies which thou knowest needful for us our King and Kingdom we humbly beg through the Mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ our only Saviour to whom with the Father and Holy Spirit Three Persons and One God be ascribed from this time forth and for evermore all Honour Glory Dominion and Praise Amen A Prayer for the Preservation of the King's Person O Gracious God King of Kings and Supream Monarch of this inferiour World we humbly beseech thee to take into thy merciful Protection the Sacred Person of our King Save him from the Power and Designs of all his Enemies frustrate all their Plots and Conspiracies Preserve Him in the midst of the greatest Dangers that He may always prove an happy Instrument to promote thy Glory and true Religion amongst us For that purpose assist His Fleets and Armies bless us that Fight for Him and the Publick Interest Crown all His Endeavours with Victory and Success here and with everlasting felicity hereafter and all we beg for Jesus Christ his sake Amen A Prayer for the Church Militant GOod God look down from Heaven upon all thy Servants dispersed all over the Dominions of Antichrist and elsewhere deliver them from their grievous Oppression give a check to the unmerciful Enemy preserve them from Sin and Apostacy assist them with the Directions of thy Holy Spirit Sanctifie all their Afflictions and Crosses to them and in thy due time rescue them out of the Cruelties and Barbarous usage of their implacable Enemies For that intent bless all those Worthies that design to do them good and open the eyes of all men to understand and give them Grace to profess thy true Religion call the Jews Turks and Infidels into thy Sacred Fold compleat the number of thine Elect and bring us all to that Eternal Kingdom which thou hast provided and promised to thy chosen People Amen A Short Prayer for such as are desperately Wounded HAve Pity and Compassion upon me O Merciful God! I submit to thy Will if my Body be destroyed save mine immortal Soul Pardon all my Sins for Christ his sake Receive me into thy favour support my Spirit under all my torments Give me an assurance in thy love by a reliance upon thy gracious Promises and deliver me out of this World of Sorrow and Suffering and admit my Soul into thy Kingdom of Peace Lord Jesus receive my Spirit Amen FINIS
two extreams it is not possible to pass from the one to the other in a moment or without some mediums that are appointed to rid us of the indisposition of the one and prepare us for the acceptance of the other It is for that good purpose that his Wisdom condescends to send us the assistance of his divine Graces by which our Souls are not only cleansed from the filthiness of our sinful habits but also enabled to this blessed Correspondency with God in Prayer the Fountain of all spiritual Joy and Comfort Let not therefore any Perswasion or discouragement hinder thee O Christian from visiting often thy God in Prayer Let not the sinfulness of thy Actions the vitiousness of thy Disposition the multiplicity of worldly business the Cares and Troubles of the World nor any mistake of God or of thy self cause thee to omit this beneficial Duty What if thou art sinful or naturally indisposed to so holy a Performance Remember Christ in Heaven sits at God's Right Hand to intercede for thee to render thy Prayers effectual to sanctifie thy Groans and offer them up to thy God What if thou makest thy Addresses to a glorious Being of an infinite Power and Majesty If thy disposition be suitable to the Duty thou mayest draw near with confidence to the Throne of his Grace for he is thine Heavenly Father he desires nothing more than to render thee happy and to bestow upon thee his Mercies Consider his gratious invitations and many encouragements in his holy Word Come unto me all ye that travel and are heavy laden and I will refresh you Matth. 11.28 Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will hear thee and thou shalt glorifie me Psal 50.15 The Lord is good and ready to forgive and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon him Psal 36.5 Before we call he will answer and while we are yet speaking he will hear Isaiah 65.24 To all that turn to him the Lord is gracious and merciful slow to anger and of great kindness Joel 2.13 He will not break the bruised Reed nor quench the smoaking Flax Matth. 12.20 Shall his mercy be so ready to receive thee and wilt thou be so unworthy to draw back Shall his goodness long to bestow upon thee what thou wantest and wilt thou be so unreasonable to contemn it Shall his Love desire to be acquainted with thee by thy frequent Addresses and wilt thou be so ungrateful to slight his offered kindness Take notice of the just punishment of those ungracious Souls whom his Wisdom invites in vain to her self Because I have called and ye refused I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded but ye have set at naught all my Counsel and would none of my Reproof I also will laugh at your Calamity I will mock when your fear cometh Then shall they call upon me but I will not answer they shall seek me early but they shall not find me c. Prov. 1.25 26.28 Adversity may have that Power to awaken many who in prosperity from one year to another scarce think of praying to their God But what can such expect in reason from his Bounty which they in their flourishing Estate despise or neglect Those Services can never be thought real and sincere unto which necessity drives Men and those persons that make a mock of this Duty at any time cannot probably receive from it in their greatest urgencies the benefits they expect It is therefore Wisdom constantly to practice that which may stand us in good stead and without which we shall assuredly be at a loss Prayer may help and comfort thee O Man when all other helps and comforts forsake thee when thy Riches and thy Guards thy Treasure and thy Friends thy Power and thy Glory shall leave thee to be Tormented with the Pangs of a Disease or suffer thee to pass alone and naked through the dark and mournful Vale of Death In a word when all the World can yield thee no assistance Prayer alone may assist and relieve thee I cannot prescribe to any persons the times and moments for every one to make his Addresses to his God There is no hour of the day nor night but the divine goodness is ready to receive the humble Application of a dutiful Supplicant No wonder therefore that St. Paul adviseth us to pray without ceasing Which words we must not so understand as to spend all our time in this Duty leaving all other necessary Employments of Life as the antient lasie Hereticks sirnamed by the Fathers Euthicks taught by their Doctrine and Practice But this Command may admit of a threefold interpretation equally necessary for the observance of a Christian First We may go far to the compleating of the Apostles Counsel by sending up unto God without intermission our hearty desires our sighs and groans when we are busie in our daily works to implore his needful assistance and protection The constant business of this Life should not hinder thee from this preparation for the next nor the incumbrances of the World clog thy Soul from this elevation to its God with whom an uninterrupted correspondence will wonderfully advance our present affairs as well as dispose thee O Man for a more blessed Estate Secondly in imitation of David of Daniel and of other Religious Men mentioned in holy Writ we may pray always by a constant performance of Prayer at those times that chiefly require a divine assistance and an acknowledgment of Gods continual Mercies Evening Morning and at Noon will I pray and cry aloud and he shall hear my Voice saith David Psal 55.17 And Daniel could not be frighted with the sear of the Lions fury from praying three times a day to his God In the Morning when our Eyes are open again to behold the wonderful works of God's Power and Wisdom in the Creation and Preservation of the World it concerns us to praise his divine Attributes that shine as bright as the Sun over our Heads When we receive a fresh expression of God's goodness in keeping us safe from the dangers of the preceding Night in adding another day to our Lives and a continuance of all his Temporal Favours doth not Justice and Reason call upon us to be as mindful of God's Bounty as he is of our necessities and to be as liberal of our thanks as he is of his Riches When in the Morning thou art going about thine Employments and considerest that all thy labours will be to little purpose without God's Blessings that thou art going through a world of dangers Spiritual and Temporal a World of Enemies subtle malicious and powerful that besiege thee on all sides â—s it not thine Interest to beg the favour and Protection of that good Creator that thy Soul and thy Body may be preserved in the midst of all their envious attempts that thy designs and undertakings may be successful thy labours fruitful and all thy proceedings prosperous At Noon when thou
excuse you from this outward humility of the Body God requires it at your hands in the 99th Psalm and the fifth Verse Exalt ye the Lord our God and worship at his footstool And the Royal Prophet calls upon all devout Souls in the 95th Psalm ver 6. O come let us worship and bow down let us kneel before the Lord our maker In the next words this Religious Prince labours to stir you up to this Humility to this part of Piety by reasons drawn from God's Soveraignty his Power and Right over us For he is the Lord our God and we are the People of his Pasture and the sheep of his hand Hath thy God any Interest in thee O Christian Hast thou any respect for his Holy Name Dost thou look upon him as thy Creator Protector and Benefactor Hath he received thee into his Church and to the hopes of eternal Rewards Is this Body of thine to be admitted into his heavenly Sanctuary in all the Company of his Holy Angels to worship and bow before him Then prepare thy self for this future and happy Employment Express thy thanks for all his innumerable benefits by thy Reverence and Devotion to him as thy God with the outward Humility of the Body in all thy Addresses to his glorious Majesty whether it be in publick or in private but chiefly in the publick Prayers of the Church There not only the Honour of our God the Credit of our Profession the interest of our Brethren whose Devotions are apt to grow cold by the sight and sense of our negligence but your own Interest also as well as your Duty calls you to this outward respect for an unmannerly behaviour deserves the Curses contrary to those Blessings which we are there to beg of God However you can never expect in reason to be benefited by the Churches Prayers if you will not vouchsafe so much as to be outwardly concerned O Christians let not any popular mistakes nor any Schismatical prejudices rob you of the advantages which you might hope to obtain from God by a devout humble and affectionate attendance at the offering up of the Excellent Prayers of our Church for your good and happiness But if all these Reasons cannot prevail upon some stiff necked and invincible Souls so far as to cause them to be dutiful and humble in God's presence at the hour of Prayer let them consider that in our civil Conversation the want or the omission of a due respect is a disgrace to the Person that should render it for it causeth Men to be branded with the odious Names of Clowns Ill-bread Brutish and uncivil People Now they are the worst of Clowns that are so in Religion that know not or will not render the Hommage that is due from their Bodies to their God If therefore the respect that we have for him is not able to oblige us to a Civil Behaviour and decent Postures and Gestures in Prayer let the shame of Men if we be not insensible to that likewise cause us to behave our selves with decency with respect in God's presence as becomes Men of Reason and Christians of good breeding and extraction and not as Brute Beasts that have neither manners nor understanding But of all Men none are more engaged than such as Officiate publickly and are the Mouths of their People to offer up their Prayers with all the decency humility and outward Devotion which might serve to excite the Auditors to a due respect for as their Persons are eyed by the whole Congregation their Example is not without followers It hath a great influence upon all that are present either to encourage or discourage them in their publick Worship Therefore in their disrespectful offering up of the Prayers of the Church they are not only scandalous in their own Persons and guilty of dishonouring God disgracing their Religion profaning the publick Worship but they are likewise guilty of all the contempt negligence and unmannerly behaviour of their Attendants if it happens through their shameful and irreverent Praying Let therefore my Brethren of the Clergy seriously consider the apparent danger they are in by an omission of this Duty I am perswaded that our Nation alone had never fall'n into that extravagant humour to loath the Godly Forms of Prayer which all good Men both at home and abroad highly esteem were it not for their disrespectful handling and reading of them whose Duty it is to recommend and grace them by their pâ—actices Good things when they are delivered by a slovenly hand are usually rejected and it is the weakness of the Common people to value things not according to their true intrinsick worth but according as they appear outwardly to their Senses A Prayer that shines with the gay cloaths of Wit and invention and a good delivery shall meet with acceptance and draw many sighs and groans from an ignorant Soul tho' otherwise never so full of imperfections when many will scarce afford an hearing to the solid and divine Prayers of the Church How many in our late Days have delighted to listen to the unadvised and blasphemous Prayers of the Sons of Tumult and Division How many have spent their Days under the Pulpits of those bloody Saints without any discovery of weariness whereas they now Complain of tediousness when in our ordinary Devotions we employ a few minutes to implore God's divine Mercies according to the most approved and religious manner How comes it to pass that the extemporary productions of many idle and wicked Fancies have been far more esteemed amongst many of us than those wise and excellent Prayers composed in the beginning of our Reformation by such as have sealed the Protestant and Christian Truths with their Blood Those Prayers I say which are fitted to all Capacities recommended to us by the Piety and Practice of the Antient Catholick and Othodox Church and which are not to be mended by any humane endeavours This question gives me an occasion to speak to thee my Christian Reader of some few particulars concerning Prayer which the present dissentions amongst us render very seasonable First I shall speak in vindication of publick Forms of Prayer against the new Modes of Praying ex tempore Secondly I shall enquire into the true Causes of our unreasonable distastes at the publick Forms injoyned by authority in our Church of England Thirdly I shall offer to thee my Christian Brother some directions how thou shalt use this Liturgy with Comfort to thy Soul Fourthly I shall examine what praying by the Spirit is in the sense of St. Paul and of the Holy Fathers Amongst the ancient Hereticks I find none so bold as to attempt the total subversion of God's Divinâ— Worship or to bring in any other mode but that which was generally embraced in the places where they lived They ventured to oppose some certain Articles of our Christian Belief or to introduâ—â— vitious and irregular practices in the Church They made it their business to
corrupt either the judgments or the manners of Christ's Disciples and by that means to render them more unsit for God's great design in our Redemption but they never offered to overthrow the whole Service of God or to thwart the common practices recommended to them by the well-advised Piety of their Predecessors This strange attempt was reserved for these last and worst Ages of the World and this kind of impiety which could never find entertainment amongst the Primitive Enemies of God and of his Truth hath been greedily embraced by some in these latter days under the usual deceiving pretence of purity and Religion as if they alone were to be esteemed Religious who slander condemn blaspheme and contradict the religious Practices of the rest of Christians as if irregularity and an affected sigularity were the best means to render them acceptable to God in his Worship For that purpose we have seen them to our great grief cast out of the Church all the godly Forms of Prayer which the Wisdom and Piety of former Ages have recommended to us and because they could not spie in them any sufficient cause to condemn and reject them we have seen these over zealous brethren generally exclaim against all Forms as unlawful irreligious and Popish leaving every one to the irregular dictates of their Passion and presumptuous minds A mistake of a most dangerous consequence that opposeth the practice of Christ and of the true Church of God in all Ages since the beginning of the World for if you please to examin Holy Scriptures concerning Forms of Prayer and praising of God especially in the publick worship you shall not find a Church nor Congregation professing the Truth without Set Forms in the first Ages of Mankind it is said when Enos Seth's Son was born and that Men began to increase they began also to call upon the Name of the Lord Cen. 4.26 which words are 〈◊〉 simply to be understood of their addressing themselves to God's Divine Majesty as if before that time neither Adam nor Eve had ever minded to call upon him nor none of their Children for both Cain and Abel had been taught to worship God with the Fruits of their labour and the increase of their Substance which could not be done without calling upon God for a continuance of his Blessings besides it is very unlikely that Adam a Man created in an Estate of Holiness who could not be insensible of our dependency upon and want of God's daily mercies who had seen his wonderful Power in the Creaton of the World should forget to teach his Children to call upon God's Holy Name But these words are to be understood of their calling upon the Holy Name of God in a publick Society and with set and prescribed Forms and in a manner answerable to their condition It is to be understood of solemnizing the publick Service and Worship of God with Prayers Praises and Sacrifices for the obtaining of God's Blessings and the acknowledgments of his favours and protection according to a certain manner appointed by the Religious Persons of those days therefore in the Original the word employed to signifie in this passage calling upon God is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 derived from the root 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to meet together and assemble or from the root 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 publickly to read and declare or cry out because that this calling upon the Name of the Lord of these first Men of the ancient World was performed in their publick meetings wherein there was a Service and ordinary Worship appointed and observed by the distinct reading of Prayers and Praises which infer sufficiently that they had publick places appointed persons in whom the care of Religion was entrusted and a common manner prescribed to them in writing which they were to read in the audience of the People Further it may be worthy of our Observation that the Prophet David when he speaks of calling upon the Name of the Lord in many of his Psalms he useth the same significant word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as in that most remarkable Verse of the 116 Psalm and the 13 Verse where he speaks of that Cup of Salvation which was usually taken by the Jews in the publick Sacrifices a Type of our Christian Eucharist I will take the Cup of Salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord. This calling signifies meeting together in the publick Worship of God and offering to him reading those Forms of Prayers appointed by the Church For it is the custom of God's Holy Spirit in relating the passages of former times to allude by the expression to the manner and circumstances of those Actions that are mentioned Thus David in the 79th Psalm Verse 6. desires God to send down his Judgments and pour out his Wrath upon the Heathen that have not known him and upon the Kingdoms that have not called upon his Name he makes use of the same word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 derived from the same root as if he should say send down thy Judgments upon the Kingdoms which call not upon thee in publick Meetings and where there is no set nor appointed Worship for the Inhabitants to use in glorifying thy Name And in many other Psalms David useth the same Expression which imports a publick Assembly and the reading of the Praises and Prayers in his Divine Worship when he was wont to call upon God This Observation is confirmed by the constant Practice of all the Heathens in the Worship of their Gods Both the Greeks and the Romans had their constant Forms of Prayers and Praises which yet are extant in the Writings of their Poets It seems that they had received this judicious and pious Custom from the first Men of the World And what God's People were accustomed to do to the Honour of the true God these Heathens did commonly practice the same in the service of their false Gods as may be observed by their Hymns and other Ceremonies in their Worship But this religious use of set Forms was in the Jewish Church by the appointment of Moses and of the succeeding Prophets as may be easily proved by the song of Triumph composed by Moses and Miriam Exod. 15. after Pharaoh's overthrow in the Red-Sea The 9th Psalm is a Prayer of Moses by the words and Ceremonies to be used in the eating of the Paschal Lamb by the other Institutions and passages of the Ceremonial Law and chiesly by the Psalms of David which Hezekiah restored in the publick Worship of God for it is said 2 Chron. 29.25 That he set the Levites in the House of the Lord with Cymbals with Psalteries and with Harps according to the Commandment of David and of Gad the King's Seer and Nathan the Prophet Observe what is added in the next words For so was the Commandment of the Lord by his Prophets It seems in the Jewish Church the observing of a prescribed Form was no Human institution but proceeded from
purpose I know that several Pious and Learned Men have lately and in the former Age furnished our Nation with Books of this kind but I think that their religious labours fitted for those times and answerable to their private designs will not hinder this present Treatise from being useful in its kind for the prevention of the Mistakes lately crept in amongst us and the mischiefs that are intended by our Enemies at home and abroad I find them busily employed in contriving our ruine and in poisoning our people with strange Principles by spreading in the Country new Pamphlets printed for that evil purpose I wish that we were as watchful for our own preservation The best means for that intent is to employ the same policy and to furnish our People with new and fresh advices which may serve as Antidotes against the Venom of their Enemies and ours Such Treatises therefore as this I think to be very seasonable for our divided times I am certain that it is much wanting in the place where I live and to the people committed to my Charge My first design was only to have a regard to their private wants at the requests of one of my Parishioners but when I considered that tho' Providence hath given me a particular inspection over the Inhabitants of a small division in a Wilderness it is my Duty to aim in all my actions at the general good I resolved to recommend to the publick such a Treatise as might serve and be useful to all Families in our Reformed Church and in it to have a general aim at the benefit of all Christians for I think that there is none in the state of Grace or within the limits of Christ's Church but he shall in this short Tract find Prayers and Advices which may sute with the condition and temper of his Soul You therefore that desire that Religion should flourish amongst us neglect not its chief Duty but see that it be carefully observed in your own practice and that of those recommended to your care As soon as your Children begin to speak teach them to cry Abba Father which art in Heaven Call upon them Morning and Evening to implore Protection and Assistance Let their Tongues be used betimes to tune forth the Praises of their Maker and acknowledge the Providence of God Remember that Piety with the Blessings of Heaven is the best and most durable portion which you can procure to your little ones And the only means to obtain it is carefully to practise this and all other Duties of Religion As they grow to years of Understanding Let them proceed on in learning the Prayers that are sit for their capacity and suitable to their Abilities Let them know that their chief dependency is upon that Almighty Being who hath created the World and put them into it to serve and worship him This daily practice of seeking to God in Prayer will keep youth from all those extravagancies and vitious actions by which the Gallants of our time are become a reproach to Christianity and Humanity it self Thou shalt never have the displeasure to see thy Son and thy Daughter either unruly in their behaviour or prophane in their discourse or corrupt in their Lives if thou wilt when they are young train them up in the constant and continual observance of this Duty of Prayer for there is nothing more proper and of a greater force to keep the Souls of Men from the temptations of our days and from all disorders as this Correspondency with God in Prayer Man therefore in this respect is like a Watch or a Clock the least neglect disturbs the Motion and steals him insensibly into improficiency or an ossence Pray therefore O Christian Man or Woman and pray without ceasing In prosperity and adversity let your requests be made known unto God Be not silent when God requires you to speak In whatsoever estate Providence may cast you make use of those Prayers that are answerable to your condition If you can offer up the Prayers of our Church with any satisfaction to your minds use them rather than others But if your prejudices be so strong and your aversion so invincible that you cannot yet relish them use the other Prayers more agreeable to your affections However neglect not this most important this most weighty and most indispensible Duty but perform it with all the Care and Devotion that God's greatness and thy mean condition requires from thee And I beseech the God of all Goodness to hear thy Requests to grant thy Petitions to comfort and refresh thy Soul and Body with Spiritual and Temporal Mercies and that this Treatise may be as useful to the Publick as it is intended by M. D. A Morning Prayer FOR A FAMILY According to the Book of Common-Prayer O! Lord who hast promised that before we call thou wilt answer and whilst we are yet speaking Isa 65.24 Psal 6.1 Psal 25 1â— Psal 51.10 thou wilt hear Rebuke us not in thine indignation neither chasten us in thy displeasure For thy Names sake be merciful to our sins Make us clean Hearts O God and renew a right Spirit within us O! Lord we beseech thee mercifully hear our Prayers and spare all those who confess their sins unto thee that they whose Consciences by Sin are accused by thy merciful pardon may be absolved through Christ our Lord. Amen O! Almighty Lord and everlasting God vouchsafe we beseech thee to direct sanctifie and govern both our Hearts and Bodies in the ways of thy Laws and in the works of thy Commandments that through thy most mighty protection both now and ever we may be preserved in Body and Soul through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Amen PRevent us O Lord in all our doings with thy most gracious favour and further us with thy continual help that in all our Works begun continued and ended in thee we may glorifie thy holy Name and finally by thy Mercy obtain everlasting Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen BLessed be thy Holy Name O Lord for thy continual and daily Mercies granted to us for thy Protection and Preservation till this time for the safety and quiet Repose of the last night for the welfare and Health of our Bodies and for all thy Temporal Blessings which thou heapest upon us Gracious God we acknowledge these and all other Mercies which we enjoy to be undeserved Favours proceeding from thy bountiful hand and fatherly goodness Continue them we beseech thee to us and all other things needful for our Souls and Bodies and give us grace in the use of them to glorifie thy great Name and to be truly thankful in our Hearts and Lives for all expressions of thine unwearied Liberality All this we beg for Jesus Christ his sake Amen O God the Protector of all that put their trust in thee without whom nothing is strong nothing is holy increase and multiply in us thy Mercy that thou being our Ruler and Guide
and forgiveness through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O God from whom all Holy Desires all good Counsels and all just Works do proceed give unto thy Servants that peace which the World cannot give that both our Hearts may be set to obey thy Commandments and also that by thee we being defended from the fear of our Enemies may pass our time in rest and quietness through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour Amen LIghten our Darkness we beseech thee O Lord and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night for the Love of thy only Son our Saviour Jesus Christ Amen ALmighty God who seest that we have no power of our Selves to help our selves keep us both outwardly in our Bodies and inwardly in our Souls that we may be desended from all Adversities which may happen to the Body and from all evil Thoughts which may assault and hurt the Soul through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O Almighty God who alone canst order the unruly Wills and Affections of sinful Men grant to thy People that they may love the thing which thou commandest and desire that which thou dost promise so that among all the sundry and manifold changes of the World our Hearts may surely there be sixed where true Joys are to be found through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O Lord who never failest to help and govern them whom thou dost bring up in thy stedfast Fear and Love keep us we beseech thee under the protection of thy good Providence and make us to have a perpetual Fear and Love of thy Holy Name through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O God whose never failing Providence ordereth all things both in Heaven and Earth we humbly beseech thee to put away from us all hurtful things and to give us those things which be profitable for us through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen BE merciful O Lord to this Church and Nation punish us not accord-to our deservings but let thy Mercy protect and save us from the Evil hands of all our restless Enemies continue thy Word and Gospel amongst us remit our senseless Divisions open the Eyes and Hearts of all our Dissenting and disaffected Brethren that they may embrace thy Truth set aside all Prejudice and joyn with us thy Servants in the sincere Worship of thee the true God All this we beg for Jesus Christ his sake Amen O God for as much as without thee we are not able to please thee mercifully grant that thy Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our Hearts through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O Almighty God who art a strong Tower of defence unto thy Servants against the face of their Enemies We yield thee Praise and Thanksgiving for our Deliverance from those great and apparent Dangers wherewith we have been compassed We acknowledge it thy goodness that we are not delivered over as a Pray unto them beseeching thee still to continue such thy Mercies towards us to discover all hellish Plots contrived against our King Religion and Country and to disappoint all the black Designs of our Bloody Enemies that all the World may know that thou art our Saviour and mighty Deliverer through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O Lord our God who upholdest and governest all things in Heaven and Earth Receive our Humble Prayers for our Soveraign Lord and Lady the King and Queen set over us by thy Grace and Providence And so together with them Bless the whole Royal Family with the Dew of thy Heavenly Spirit that they ever trusting in thy goodness protected by thy Power and Crowned with thy gracious and endless Favours may continue before thee in Health Peace Joy and Honour a long and happy life upon Earth and after Death obtain everlasting life and glory in the Kingdom of Heaven by the Merits and Mediation of Jesus Christ our Saviour Amen BLess we beseech thee O Lord our Bishops Priests and Deacons with true Knowledge and understanding of thy Word and that both by their Preaching and living they may set it forth and shew it accordingly enable them all to be faithful in their great trust in the maintetenance of thy true Religion against the Incroachings of Popery Heresie Schism and Prophaneness Bless the Lords of the Council and all the Nobility Magistrates and Gentry with Grace Wisdom and Understanding of thy Will and Word Give to all Nations Quietness and Peace and to this thy People give Unity and Happiness help the weak-hearted raise up them that fall subdue Satan under our Feet Comfort all that are in Tribulation preserve all that are in danger shew thy pity to Prisoners and Captives Provide for the Fatherless the Widows and all that are Oppressed Have mercy upon all Men. Forgive our Enemies and turn their Hearts Preserve for our Use the kindly Fruits of the Earth And endue us with the Grace of thy Holy Spirit and amend our Lives according to thy Holy Word All this we beseech thee to grant us for Jesus Christ his sake Amen From our Enemies defend us O Christ Graciously look upon our Afflictions Pitifully behold the sorrows of our Hearts Mercifully forgive the Sins of thy People Favourably with mercy hear our Prayers O Son of David have mercy upon us Both now and ever vouchsafe to hear us O Christ Graciously hear us O Christ graciously hear us O Lord Christ O Lord let thy mercy be shewed upon us As we do put our Trust in thee WE humbly beseech thee O Father mercifully to look upon our infirmities and for the Glory of thy Name turn from us all those Evils that we most righteously have deserved and grant that in all our Troubles we may put our whole Trust and Confidence in thy mercy and evermore serve thee in Holiness and pureness of Living to thy Honour and Glory through our only Mediator and Advocate Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen PRevent us O Lord in all our doings with thy most gracious Favour and further us with thy continual help that in all our Works begun continued and ended in thee we may glorifie thy holy Name and finally by thy mercy obtain eversasting Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen ALmighty God who hast given us Grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications unto thee and dost promise that when two or three are gathered together in thy Name thou wilt grant their Requests Fulfil now O Lord the desires and Petitions of thy Servants as may be most expedient for them granting us in this World knowledge of thy Truth and in the World to come life everlasting Amen THe Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with us all evermore Amen An Evening Prayer for a whole Family sutable to the times O Merciful God here we thine unworthy Servants are prostrate before thee at the close of this day loaden with thy manifold Mercies to acknowledge the Weaknesses
lying before me in their Tombs and have I not often felt Death knocking at my doors sending its usual Summons before hand to warn me for a preparation by frequent Aches and Weaknesses that have seized upon me O Lord as thou hast vouchsafed me health give me grace to preserve it by avoiding all those Vices that are apt to ruine it Let me never depend too much upon it but upon thy Sacred Will sanctifie all the means for my preservation keep me from falling into mischiefs and dangers O that I may employ this Body and Health in thy Service and to thy Glory Thou hast admitted this Body of mine to be a Member of the Mystical Body of thy Son the Lord Jesus Christ and it is now to be the Temple of the Holy Ghost Let me not therefore prophane what thou hast Consecrated to such an excellent purpose and design'd for a Glorious end to be a Vessel of Honour in thy Celestial Sanctuary O my God let me have always before mine Eyes my departure hence and the sinal Resurrection of my Body when thou shalt grant unto me a Health that shall never be interrupted a Strength that shall never decay a Life that shall continue for ever and these dark and infirm Bodies shall rise Immortal Splendid Spiritual Vigorous Transparent Incorruptible and Glorious Amen A Medittaion and Prayer useful in time of Sickness O My Merciful God and Preserver of my Being I acknowledge this Sickness to come from thy divine Appointment these Pains and Aches have their Commission from thee to torment my weak Body and render my present abode in this Life so uneasie I have justly deserved a severer treatment from thy Justice I acknowledge my Transgressions and my Sins are ever before me my provocations are many and great I have now time to look back upon the sinful Extravagancies of my former Conversation I perceive how vainly and foolishly I have spent my days how wickedly I have acted in the World without any regard to thy Divine and Sacred Laws These Torments of Body inflicted upon these Members mind me sufficiently how I have employed them formerly to dishonour thy Glorious Majesty I see that thou hast taken notice of my Actions and dost punish me in that very part that hath offended most O ungrateful Creature that didst receive from thy God these entire and perfect Members and from his unwearied Liberality their Growth Support and Maintenance and wert thou so vile as to make them instrumental in serving the Devil and thy base Lusts against thy God in sinning against his Authority Well may thy Justice O my Creator take me to task and cast me into greater Tortures than these that I now suffer I have experienced thy Mercy and Forbearance in every moment of my days When I added one Transgression to another and multiplied my Crimes without number How many gracious Calls and Invitations had I from thy Goodness to repent and amend How mercifully hast thou always treated me And now this disorder of my Body proceeding from the irregularities of my life past might draw upon me an heavier Burden and more unsufferable Torments were it not for thy gracious forbearance I understand O my God this language of thy Mercy Thou art not willing to cast me into the bitter and everlasting Torments of that Lake that burns with Fire and Brimston therefore these gentle Flames are kindled in my Body to make me sensible of thy Justice that I may prevent it by a seasonable Repentance This Fever and these Aches admonish and speak to me in that manner that thou O my Heavenly Father usest to speak to thy dearest Children in that manner that is most proper for me and suitable to thy Grace and Wisdom Thou art willing to correct and not to destroy me Thou dost punish my Body that my Soul may be spared and live with thee for ever that the Sickness of the one may be the Health of the other I am content to bear all these strokes of thy Mercy O my God I submit with all humility to thy sacred Will Thou art my good and most skilful Physician Thou knowest what Corrosives and Remedies are best to be applied to my Soul and Body Vain is the help of Man without thy blessing and operation And though I seek for ease and for my recovery from these Pills Potions Cordials Recipe's and Medicines and from the skill of the Learned I must first look up to thee my God before I can find any benefit in these outward means I crave thine assistance to influence and sanctifie these methods appointed in thy Providence to restore me to Health again for I know that my Life depends wholly upon thy Will and Word and thou canst raise me again from the lowest Estate from the Gates of Death and when all other skill and means forsake me thou art my God my best Friend and most experienced Physician who hast in thy hands and power the issues of Life and Death able to relive heal and remedy all my Wants To thy Power and Mercy I flee in this time of my distress I have little other comfort but in thine unspeakable Goodness which I beseech thee not to deny to thy poor afflicted Creature and Servant Lay not upon me a greater burden than I can well bear and with these griefs of Body administer inward Comforts to my precious Soul Pardon and forgive all my Sins reveal to me some assurances of thy Favour discover to me some tokens of thy Love in these my bodily Sufferings Give me a real interest in my Redeemer who hath suffered much more for me Increase my Faith in his Merits and Promises However it shall please thee to dispose of this decaying Tabernacle of my Body have compassion upon my poor Soul which thou hast created after thine own image and purchased to thy self with the invaluable Blood of thy dear Son After so great an expression of thy tender Love for me let me not be disappointed in the future expectations that in Reason and Justice I ought therefore to entertain and have of thy divine Mercy O my God restore me to my former Health that I may yet live in my Generation to praise and serve thee Bless all the means used for my recovery direct my Physicians in prescrcibing Remedies and give power to the Physick to operate and do me good if thou art willing that I should continue any longer in this troublesom life But why should I be desirous to abide in this World of misery in this painful and sinful Estate seeing thou hast given me so clear a prospect of an immortal Life of a far better and a more glorious Estate provided for me with thee where none of these Distempers and Torments shall come to disturb my quiet and happiness O prepare me for this blessed Rest wean my heart and affections from this vain and troublesom World give me an entire resignation of my will and desires to thy good pleasure If
thee for ever and ever Come Lord Jesus come quickly receive me into thy Sacred Embraces I will wait thy leisure send thine Holy Angels to convey my Soul into thy gracious presence that I may rejoyce for ever with thine Elect and glorifie thy Mercy Ease me of my grievous pains relieve my sorrowful Soul comfort it with a Beam of thy Countenance Thou hast redeemed it O my sweet Jesus receive it as thine own purchase I yield it up unto thee Turn my sorrows into joys my sufferings and agony into pleasures laid up at thy right hand Assist me with thine intercession and plead for me O my Heavenly Advocate Amen A Meditation and Prayer for such as are going to the Publick Assemblies to hear the word of God O Eternal Wisdom what a mercy is this to Instruct and Teach us at our Doors to enable enlighten inspire and send Messengers so near our Dwellings to direct us in the right way of Eternal Happiness What a condescention is this to speak to us in our own Language according to our Capacities by Men whose presence express nothing but meekness and love was it not sufficient O blessed God that thou shouldest open to us the large Book of Nature to inform us of thy Will and Sacred Laws by so many Characters imprinted in every thing that is made was it not sufficient for our Learning to shew us thy pleasure in the several leaves of another Book of Providence opened to us wide every day of our Life but must thy tender compassion of our Natural ignorance unmindfulness and wilful corruption teach us by such plain easie and excellent methods so full of kindness and love Must the repetition be so frequent must thou so often visit and call upon us to study and meditate upon the Divine Matters Certainly our minds are too much wedded to the World and too much enclined to irregular actions seeing thou hast judged needful to repeat so often to us our Duties and we want every weeks instruction to withdraw our contemplation from Evil and Vanity Should not our diligence answer in some respect thy continual Care O Merciful Wisdom and as frequently meet thee as we are called upon by these Publick Summons Doubtless the business that we are to mind is of importance seeing my Creator thinks necessary to interpose his Divine Authority and to speak to us himself though by the tongue of a Mortal Man With what reverence and dread ought I to approach the gracious presence of my God who vouchsafes to speak and instruct me in such a loving manner His Word and Laws should not in reason have the less power and impression upon me because of his condescention to my weakness and Capacity Should I despise the mercies of my God that are so great and wonderful delivered to me in earthen vessels O Blessed and Heavenly Wisdom I am called away from my Temporal Affairs to wait upon thee and hearken to the Divine Matters that shall be proposed which relate to my Eternal Interest Their excellency requires my attention and diligent enquiry for this supernatural knowledge which is able to save my Soul Here thou dost reveal unto me what I am and what I should be and what I shall be Here are discovered the admirable Mysteries of the Holy Trinity and Unity of the Incarnation and Redemption Here thou dost unbosome thy self to mortal Creatures and shewest the tenderness of thine affection to us Here I may have a prospect of the unspeakable riches of Heaven and see the Glories that are laid up for me in thine Eternal Sanctuary These are Matters worthy of the Angels prying into these are Meditations fit for the Heavenly Spirits and shall I neglect or despise them shall I idle away this precious moment designed for the benefit of mine immortal Soul My gracious God cause me to increase in Grace and in the Divine knowledge of my Redemption enlighten mine Understanding with a clear apprehension of the Heavenly Truths Sanctifie the outward preaching of thy word that it may be effectual and able to work upon my will Give me an attentive ear and an obedient heart willing to submit to and practise whatsoever thou shalt command Deliver me from the ill consequences of Errors Partiality and Prejudice and make me truly thankful to thee for this great Blessing Remove not thy Gospel from us but save us from the pernicious Plots of the Antichristian Heresie Unite all of us in our Worship and Church that we may study to preserve the Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace And being all together united now in the Church Militant we may be all the more ready and prepared to enter in due time into the Church Triumphant into that Glorious Kingdom of Love and Peace where our Sanctification shall be compleated our Knowledge perfected and our Employment for ever shall be to Celebrate and Sing forth thy Praises with the Chorus of Heavenly Spirits Amen A Prayer for Souldiers before a Fight O Lord of Hosts Creator and Preserver of the World look upon us in mercy at this time that we are going to hazard our Lives for the Honour an Interest of our King and Kingdom and for the Glory of thy Name and the Preservation of thy true Religion amongst us We are confident in the Justice and Equity of our Cause against these disturbers of the peace and happiness of Mankind Good God assist us with Victory and Success strengthen our Courages give us Undaunted Spirits stand by thine own Cause and such as Fight for the Preservation of thy Church and Kingdom We trust not upon our selves nor upon our numbers and resolutions but upon thy Providence and Celestial Vertue which we beseech thee to send unto us in the midst of danger suffering us not to betray the trust repose in us by any weakness or fear we know that thine Almighty hand and all-seeing eye disposes of all things and that no violence can hurt us without thy Commission O Merciful God let our Lives be precious in thy sight preserve our Persons from the violence of the shot and sharpness of the Enemies Weapons that we may yet live to praise thee and serve thee in our Generations in that station of Life unto which we are called We trust it is not unpleasing to thee who vouchsafest to be named the God of Armies and seeing the necessity of the Kingdom unto which we belong requires it Bless us therefore we pray thee O merciful Saviour in these our undertakings assist our General and Officers with Wisdom and Skill and all of us with an undaunted Spirit and entire dependance upon thy will and disposal Whatever happens to these Bodies of Clay which we are willing to Sacrifice for thy Glory look in mercy upon our precious Souls pardon and forgive the former weaknesses of our lives accept of the blood of our Surety and Redeemer for us and for his sake receive our immortal Beings into thy favour and Celestial
God's Holy Spirit And in the 30 verse it is said that Hezekiah the King and the Princes commanded the Levites to sing Praises unto the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the Seer It was for that good purpose that David compos'd all his Divine Psalms that they might be of a constant use in the praising of and the praying unto our great God And after the Jews return from Babylon Nehemiah commands the same use to be observed Nehem. 2.45.46 And as it was not lawful to change these Forms so likewise it may not be lawful for any but such only as were inspired of God or were to take care of Religion Man de Missa Lib. 1. cap. 5. to introduce in God's Divine Service any new Forms as may be easily proved But this use of Set Forms of Prayers and praising of God is not Jewish it is grounded upon such solid and moral Reasons that have recommended it to the Christian Church St. John the Baptist in imitation of the Pharisees gives a Set Form of Prayer to his Disciples And Christ our Saviour to comply with the desires of his Followers teaches them a Set Form opposite to the long and tedious Forms used by the Scribes and Pharisees Luke 11.1 2. And not only in this particular but also in the receiving of the Paschal Lamb Christ shews himself to be no Enemy of Forms and Humane Institutions when they tend to a Godly purpose as may appear by the singing of the Hymn after the Celebration and by the posture of leaning And St. Paul likewise in imitation of his great Master commands Timothy 1 Tim. 2.1 2 3. That Supplications Prayers Intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men That is that he should appoint in the Churches of his Diocess such Set Forms of Prayer as might be offered up to God For Kings and for all that are in authority that we may lead a quiet and a peaceable Life in all Godliness and Honesty for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour That this was the intent of St. Paul may appear by the practice of the Christian Churches in the next Age to the Apostles for in the Ancientest Fathers we read of the Set Forms of Prayer See Conc. Laodicea can 19.8 Miletan Con. can 2. commonly used in God's Publick Worship And we have yet extant some of those Primitive Liturgies of the People of God differing in many things for the Wisdom of God's Holy Spirit hath left the Composure of these Prayers to the Rulers of the distinct Churches that they should appoint such Forms as were most agreeable with the Tempers and Manners of their People such as will encourage Devotion and Piety and serve best for the Promotion of God's Glory Likewise in these later Days since the beginning of the Reformation all the Churches of our Brethren beyond the Seas have their Set Forms of Prayer from which it is not lawful to vary and which are appointed by the authority of their Rulers Never any attempted the changing of them their People never mutined against them or against Forms in general Never any person was allowed in publick to prefer his own Fancies to these Prayers commanded to be used in the Church But in the Churches of every Nation there is a constant and an universal Uniformity in the Publick Worship of our God And this good Order is Religiously kept without any fear of Superstition This Universal Practice of all Ages Churches and Nations that have instituted and constantly used Set Forms of Prayer in God's Publick Worship is sufficient to justifie the Religious Orders of our Church from all scandalous aspersions of our mistaken Brethren But Reason and Religion and the general good of Christian Societies recommended this Practice and Use to us as well as to them I suppose no person can deny but set Forms are absolutely necessary for the information instruction and benefit of the more ignorant and younger sort who must be taught how to ask their Conveniencies from God's Bounty and in what Name to make their Addresses to his Divine Majesty for without this information from Men we find them not in a Capacity to pray and speak to God as they should unless they be inspired from above which is not usual To remedy their ignorance and weakness the Church of England commands constantly the use of Set Forms of Prayer in publick that by a frequent repetition we might imprint them in the memories of Persons not able to read and that otherwise have no means to learn them Therefore generally to discourage or condemn the use of Set Forms of Prayer is to deprive a great part of Christianity from the comfort and advantage of praying to God and it is to discover an Enmity against Religion which no good Disciple of Christ can possibly harbour I could here shew many horrid inconveniencies that would happen amongst us had we no Set Forms of Prayer but for brevity sake I omit the mention of them for I conceive it is not so much at Set Forms of Prayer that our Zealots quarrel as it is at their publick use in God's Divine Worship and the exclusion of all others of their own or other Mens Fabrick at such solemn times and occasions But let Mens abilities and gifts of Prayer be never so signal and extrordinary I dare affirm and can easily prove by Scripture and Reason that they are not to be allowed to cause their own Inventions to justle out the usual Service of the Church That Forms of Prayer are to be preferred whether they be declared memoriter or read in a Book to all the most excellent extemporary speeches or Prayers and that constant and setled Forms in a well governed Church are agreeable with the Word of God and the common good Were there no other reason to recommend them but that decency which St. Paul desires to be observed in Christ's Church in all its publick Practices and Divine Worship it would be sufficient to make us embrace an Uniformity both in manner as well as matter for how ridiculous would a Nation appear to all unbyassed Souls if there were no order if every Congregation should be differing in their actions if one Minister should read when the other sings if one should spend the Sabbath in speaking and another in praying or if one should pray for one thing another for the contrary or if the prayers were discrepant if one Minister should pray in one manner others follow the dictates of a Rubrick of another make what a wide Gate would this deformity open to all kind of Errors Heresies and Blasphemies And how ridiculous should we appear to all Foreign Churches We have already experienced sufficiently the danger of this general liberty allowed to all Men to pray what they list in the Ears of the People For not to mention the Extravagancies that some have been guilty of the Whimsies and Blasphemies that they have bolted forth
Evening Prayer for a single Person O Being of Beings the great Creator of the World and preserver of Mankind by whose gracious goodness I am now alive and brought safe through the many dangers and inconveniencies of this mortal Life to the close of this day I humbly acknowledge thy Providence and merciful Protection Thou hast fed me with thy Creatures defended me by thy Power instructed me in thy Truth admitted me into thy Church for these and all other Mercies received from thy Bountiful hand I return thee my homage and Thanks and confess my self unworthy of the meanest of thy Favours by reason of the many Provocations that I am guilty of O Lord I have sinned against Heaven and against thee and am no more worthy to be called thy Son my Transgressions are multiplyed every day and mine Iniquities are without number How easily have I yielded to the Power of Temptations how often have I broken thy sacred Laws Gracious God be merciful be merciful to me a Sinner blot out all mine Iniquities and forgive me for the sake of my dear and only Saviour who is dead and intercedes for me Accept his Sacrifice and Mediation for my poor Soul grieved with the sense of Sin Give me true Repentance and that Frame of Spirit and Holy Resolution unto which thou hast promised in thy Holy Word mercy and forgiveness As thou hast begun the Work of Reformation in me perfect it I beseech thee by the continual influences of thy Holy Spirit forsake me not good God nor leave me to my wretched self but let thy Truth and Wisdom direct my Understanding and thy grace govern my Will in the practice of Piety Suffer me not to be overcome by the mistakes and inticements of Sin and Satan defend my Soul from all wicked impressions and infections of the World As thou hast redeemed me for thy self let not Vice nor Error draw me from thee nor the dangerous Allurements of Earthly Vanities but as my dependency is upon thy Power let my expectation of Happiness be from thy Bounty and my delight be in fulfilling thy holy Will Strengthen and increase in me all goodness Let every day bring me nearer to thee and to that Purity and Holiness without which no Man shall see thy Face Time that carries me apace to my cold Tomb minds me of an Eternity of a Resurrection and the last Judgment Prepare me I beseech thee for this last Account and that terrible Day wherein every Man shall give up an account of his Actions before a Righteous and Impartial Judge Grant that I may find Mercy and Favour at the hands of my great Redeemer and be admitted into the Joys of his Paradise And as I am now going to lye me down to refresh my weary Body with rest blessed God be merciful to me this Night protect me from all dangers and Evils Suffer not the Malice of the Devils nor of Wicked Men to hurt this outward Tabernacle nor the precious Soul that is within keep from me all troublesom Dreams and Thoughts and whether sleeping or waking let my Soul be armed with a reliance upon thy Goodness and Power grant me a moderate Rest that I may be better enabled to serve thee in my Generation and proceed on in the Employment unto which thy Providence hath called me In which let my chief aim be to advance thy glory rather than my own fordid Interest and to mind the careful management of all the Talents which thou hast put into my hands that I may as a good Servant and Steward improve and increase them Look in mercy upon all my Relations wheresoever they be let thy Grace thy Truth and Goodness accompany and protect them during their abode here below Crown with the choicest of thy Blessings our Religious King and Queen shield them from the wicked attempts of all their Enemies and give them long Life Health and Prosperity now and at last receive them into everlasting happiness Bless all their Royal Relations give them all Grace to be instrumental in promoting the Interest of thy Truth Godliness and Virtue that they may answer the good ends for which thou hast put much into their Hands Bless all Governours and Magistrates give them Grace to prefer thine Honour and Glory to all other Corrupt purposes whatsoever Defend this Nation from all Plots and Conspiracies defeat the Designs of all our Enemies and disappoint all Combinations against it If thou wilt afflict us good God let it be for a time take not thy Truth and Gospel from us and our Posterity and sanctifie all thy Judgments and Mercies to us that they may effect and produce in us that Reformation and those Graces for which they are intended Spread thy Gospel and Truth all over the World pull down Antichrist let all Nations understand thy Will and readily submit unto it Be merciful unto all Sons and Daughters of Affliction comfort and succour all sick Persons and such as are grieved with the loss of Goods Friends or Relations Be thou their good God and Saviour in thy due time giving them grace to submit to thee to trust upon thee and to expect from thy mercy alone a seasonable and proper Remedy to all their pressures and troubles And now blessed Lord I recommend my self again into thy merciful hands and conclude these my imperfect Prayers with that most perfect Form recommended to us by my good Saviour in whose Name I beg aâ—â— for whose sake I intreat thee O merciful Father grant me these my Requests and all other Mercies which thou knowest needful for my Soul and Body OUR Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our Tespasses as we forgive them that Trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from Evil For thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen An Evening Prayer for young Persons and Children O God who hast received me amongst thy Children instructed me in thy Truth and called me to be a Professor of thy Holy Religion Great and merciful Creator who hast been my Proteor and Defender from all dangers look down in mercy upon me and continue thy Favours to me the remaining part of my Life I see and experience every day the manifold expressions of thy goodness Thy Holy Name be praised for them all Give me more and more a Sense of thy mercifulness and a grateful heart that in these tender Years I may learn my great Duty to serve and glorifie thee on Earth and prepare my self for an Eternity for this purpose increase my knowledge and the graces thou hast been pleased to bestow upon me through a good Education of my Religious Parents Bless all my endeavours and theirs imprint thy holy Fear in my tender Soul preserve me from ill Company from the Vices and Errors of