and nothing but Affliction will make them wise justly art thou moved now at length to visit thy People in this Land with Persecutions after we had first turned a deaf ear to all the Calls of thy Mercy and had long abused the blessings of peace There is need O God of our sufferings to keep up a Reverence for thy Justice and to reclaim us from our iniquities and this fiery Tryal comes to purge us from our dross and to chastize us for our past Offences as well as to prove our present Obedience and Constancy to thy Holy Laws Our Peace O! Holy Father had made us loose and contentious and our Plenty had served chiefly to maintain Pride Luxury And the worldly Endowments about Religion had stoln our Affections away from it and instead of continuing thankful true to thee our hearts grew covetous and ambitious after them and preferr'd and took up with them for their Portion We are O! Lord a stubborn and a stiff-necked People still lifting up our selves against thee and against thy Vice-gerents We are given to Hypocrisie and take delight in Lyes Oppression and Rapine are to be found in our dwellings and Drunkenness and Adultery have grown common and fashionable Wickednesses have set up without shame in our streets Thy pure Worship and Service had been grievously and shamefully neglected or carelesly and indevoutly attended before it was given up to be persecuted amongst us And thine Holy Things have been desiled thy Ministers have been despised and evil intreated and thy Sacred and Dreadful Name has been commonly horribly prophaned by rash and false Oaths and by the most presumptuous terrible Imprecations Our Works O! Great and Righteous God have been Works of Iniquity and when thou hast called us we have not hearkened unto thee when thou hast smitten us we have not repented but have dealt proudly and hardned our necks against thy Word To us therefore O! Lord belongeth shame and sorrow and confusion of face and thou art Righteous in all that thou hast brought upon us Our sufferings are far below our deserts and we must needs justifie thee and condemn our selves But to thee O! God belongeth mercy and forgiveness though we have rebelled against thee And we return unto thee with true contrition and hearty repentance for all our Iniquities that thou mayest have Mercy upon us Oh! for the sake of thy Dear Son 's most pretious Blood pardon all our sins and purifie our souls Perfect our repentance and bring us home intirely to thy self and prevent all our back-slidings Help our slow and sloathful souls to be quick and vigorous and our drowsy spirits to be watchful in the ways of Righteousness Help thou us Good Lord for we are not able to help our selves and thou alone art our help And when our sufferings have by thy help and Grace reduced us to our duty we shall then O! Holy Father thankfully receive any Losses for Righteousness sake and look on all the violent attempts of the Enemy as so many instances and messengers of thy Mercy through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen 2. Out of the Office of Commination O! most Mighty God and Merciful Father who hast Compassion upon all Men and hatest nothing that thou hast made who wouldest not the death of a sinner but that he should rather turn from his sin and be saved mercifully forgive us our Trespasses receive comfort us who are grieved and wearyed with the Burden of our sins Thy Property is always to have Mercy to thee alone it appertaineth to forgive sins Spare us therefore good Lord spare thy People whom thou hast redeemed enter not into judgment with thy servants who are vile earth and miserable sinners But so turn thine Anger from us who meekly acknowledge our vileness and truly repent us of our faults and so make hast to help us in this world that we may ever live with thee in the world to come through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen 2. Prayers under Persecutions as they are Tryals of our Obedience and bring upon us Losses for Righteousness I. A General Prayer for Mercies Qualifications needful in Suffering-times O Blessed Jesus Who now callest us out to bear thy Cross and to suffer Afflictions for thy sake who sufferedst a most ignominious Death for ours bring none of us to suffer till thou hast first prepared us for it nor let us suffer more or longer than thou wilt enable us willingly and thankfully to endure Let not any among us O! Lord come to suffer for our own follies nor be afraid to suffer for thy Righteousness And give us all Grace to live according to thy Precepts that we may all have Courage and Comfort in suffering for them Let us not take liberty to transgress some duties of our Holy Religion whilst we suffer for others nor ever hope to recommend our selves or our sufferings to thy merciful acceptance without studying to be intire in our godly care and having an eye to all thy Laws And when our Afflictions press most upon us let the Graces and Comforts of thy Holy Spirit abound most in us Whatever else we lose thereby let us not lose Truth and a good Conscience Preserve us steadfast in the belief of thy Heavenly and Oppressed Truths undaunted in the Profession of them Grant us patience to bear thy Cross and not grow faint or weary and meekness to bear our Persecutors and not grow angry and bitter of spirit and Charity to forgive their Wrongs and to overcome their evil with good Strengthen our Faith of thy Heavenly Joys to recompence all these earthly sufferings and of thy never-failing Help and Grace to assist and support us under them and to deliver us from the same in thy due time Let the greatness of our distresses drive us to be more constant and earnest in our Prayers And as fast as Afflictions come from our Persecutors let succours and supports still come from thee O! Let us always have thy strength to bear us up and find thee an help at hand in our greatest needs and then our patience and godly steadfastness shall triumph over all the malice of our Persecutors And suffer us not O! Father of Mercies to be dashed to pieces in this storm swallowed up in these waves But in thy tenderness to our infirmities after we have suffered a while send us ease Shorten the days of these sufferings and hasten thy coming for our Deliverance and bring us at length to everlasting rest and peace in thy Heavenly Kingdom through JESVS CHRIST our Lord. Amen 2. A Prayer Out of the Litany O! God Merciful Father that despisest not the sighing of a contrite heart nor the desire of such as be sorrowful Mercifully assist our Prayers which we make before thee in all our troubles and adversities whensoever they oppress us and graciously hear us that those evils which the craft and subtilty of the devil or man worketh
Blessedness of coming to live with thee for ever after I am dead than with the pains of Death it self And whatever Terror it would otherwise strike into me let it arm my Spirit and sweeten all to think that I die for thee and that I die to be received into thine Eternal Mercy Lord perfect and accept my Repentance and pardon all my Sins and give me Patience and Presence of Mind to the last Let me die like a Christian with Faith and Charity willingly giving up my Life for a Testimony to thy ways and pouring out my Soul in Devotion towards thee and in Prayers for my persecutors till from my Body it shall pass into the Arms of thy Mercy and there be comfortably received by thee thro' the Merits and Mediation of my only Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ. Amen 9. Short Prayers for the Condemned Prisoner for Righteousness in his last Extremities or at other times as he sees cause 1. O! Merciful Father I throw my self upon thy Mercy and most undeserved Favour as a poor wretched Sinner I infinitely need it and most earnestly desire it And I humbly hope for the same to pardon all the Sins and Follies of my Life and to accept this Offering of my Death thro' the abundance of thy Grace and thro' the sole Merits and Mediation of my blessed Lord and only Saviour Jesus Christ Amen 2. LOrd now the World is casting of me off I seek to thee to take me in Do not thou reject me when they do for I am thy Servant Receive me for I am coming to thee Receive me for thou callest me Receive me lovingly O! my dear God for I dearly love thee and am forsaking all to injoy thee I have nothing dearer to me in this World than my Life and that I am now making thee an humble Present of and parting with it for thy Cause And in this Oblation of my self be thou pleased O! blessed Jesu first to wash me with thy Blood and to dress me with the Graces of thy Spirit that I may be an holy and acceptable Offering And then do thou vouchsafe O! Holy Father Graciously to accept the same for thy dearest Son and my dearest Saviour Jesus Christ's sake Amen 3. O! Jesu forgive me all my Sins and forgive all my Persecutors and grant them timely and true Repentance Now I am suffering for thy Cause let me be sure of thy Support and Assistance Now I am brought to dye for the ways of thy Righteousness let them have Honour Service by my Death Make it to work Godly Zeal and Stedfastness in thy Followers and Relenting and remorse in their Persecutors and to carry me to those most joyful and happy Mansions which thou hast prepared for all those who faithfully serve and suffer for thee in thy Fathers Kingdom Amen 10 A Thanksgiving for Deliverance when he is brought upon his Tryal for the Cause of Righteousness or for his being set at Liberty BLessed be thy Name O! Almighty Father who hast delivered me out of the Hands of those who â—ought my Life and hast set my Feet in a large Room Thou hast delivered the poor from him that was too strong for him Thou hast delivered him who served thee and counted not his own Life so dear to him as the shewing his Love and Fâ—delity unto thy Laws Thou hast delivered him because he loved thy Name and put his whole Trust in thee Lord I will be glad and rejoyce in thy Salvation I will ever praise thy Love and Goodness which is abundant in kindness and Succors towards those who fear thee and are ready to expose their own Pesons in thy Cause I will ever magnifie thy Faithfulness which hath not suffered thy Care of me to slacken nor thy sure word and promises to fail And I will ever Reverently and Thankfully adore thy Widom and Power and Justice which turn the Councels of the Wicked into Foolishness and take the crafty in their own Snares which crown thy Servants Heads with Joy and Glory but cover their Enemies with Grief and Shame which shew plainly unto all who are willing to see the same that it is extream folly to fight against thee and that they are in the sure way of Safety and Happiness who make thee their Strength and place their chiefest Security and advantage in thy good providence and gracious Promises and in keeping stedfast to thy ways And let all those that love thee O! Lord rejoyce and be glad in thee Make them Triumph in thy Righteousness and trust themselves to thy Care But put thine Enemies and mine in fear that they may sin no more And bring them to repent of their persecuting thee and thy Servants that they may not be brought to suffer for the same in the Day of Vengeance And keep me ever mindful O! blessed Father of this most merciful Deliverance that I may spend all the Days of that Life which thou hast now renewed to me in thy Service and learn thereby evermore to trust thee yea tho' the Pit be ready to shut her Mouth upon me and to place my chiefest comfort and safety in keeping stedfast to thy Laws which will be sure either to make my Sufferings end here in present Deliverance or to recompence them hereafter with unspeakable and everlasting Joys throuh the Merits and Mediation of my only Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Amen FINIS The Contents of the Office for those who suffer for Righteousness THe Introduction Page 1. Scriptures for Receiving Persecutions 1. As Chastisements of former Offences p. 9. 2. As Tryals of Obedience and as bringing Losses for Righteousness Which are to be received with 1. Contentedness and Thankfulness p. 11. 2. Free Confession of Christ and his Truths p. 13. 3. Integrity and Prudent Caution p. 14. 4. Stedfastness and Constancy p. 16 5. Faith p. 17. 6. Trust in God p. 20. 7. Against Trusting more in other Things than in God and fixing too much on Earthly Dependances p. 22. 8. With Patience p. 25. 9. With Prayers and unwearied Devotion p. 28. 10. With Charity towards Persecutors p. 29. and 11. towards Persecuted p. 33. 12. Motives to Suffer p. 36. 13. For Deliverance from Persecution p. 39. 14. For Trust in God to be preserved under the Same and Delivered from them p. 41. 15. An Hymn of thanksgiving for Deliverance from Persecutions p. 42. Prayers under Persecutions 1. As Chastisements of Offences a Penitent Prayer p. 47. Another out of the Office of Comminat p. 50. 2 As Tryals of Obedience and bringing Losses for Righteousness A General Prayer for Mercyes and Qualifications needful in Suffering Times p 51. Another out of the Litany p. 54. Particular Prayers for 1. Integrity and not Seeking to evil ways for Help p. 54. 2. Constancy in Persecuted Dutyes Against being 1. Turned aside by worldy Dangers or Losses p. 56. 2. or Shaken in mind or Scandalized 1. By Defection of others or variety of Opinions
against us be brought to nought and by the providence of thy goodness they may be dispersed that we thy servants being hurt by no persecutions may ever more give thanks unto thee in thy Holy Church thro' Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Particular Prayers I. For Integrity and not seeking to any evil ways for Help OH Almighty Lord thou hast reserved us for days when he that will depart from evil is like to make himself a Prey But grant me Grace to esteem no Loss comparable to that of Innnocency and of a good Conscience nor to harbour any fear like to that of thy displeasure and of the intolerable and eternal pangs of Hell-fire Let thy Laws O! my God direct all my steps in my greatest dangers Keep me more studious in all my Counsels of what is lawful for me than of what seems safe and serviceable in my necessity And never suffer me to stoop to any sin in hopes thereby to put by fleshly trouble or to serve any worldly turn In thy Providence O! Father of Mercies lyes all my safety and protection And Oh! that I may ever commit my self to that protecting Providence by keeping close to thy Commandments Oh! that I may never in any case forsake them but always look upon that as the ready way to have thee forsake me Whatever streights or dangers encompass me the ways of my duty O! Lord are the surest ways of thy mercy and of my own safety And Oh! that I may find them to be ways of preservation and deliverance at present and of everlasting peace and joy in the end through our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen II. For Constancy in Persecuted Duties 1. Against being turned aside by Worldly Dangers or Losses O! Almighty and Everlasting God Keep me constant to thy Truths and Precepts amidst all these violent Persecutions which are ready to come upon me for the same Oh! that I may stand fast in thy ways and be nothing terrified by the Adversaries thereof That I may stand fast in the evil day and contend earnestly for the Faith Let me not grow weary of well-doing or of godly suffering nor wax faint in a good Cause Enable me to stand to my duty at all hazards and to be ready if the will of God be so to witness it unto Bonds yea or even to seal it with my blood and to dye for thee as thou Blessed Saviour hast done for me Let not the fear of men make me forsake thee nor let my love of this World make me throw up my blessed hopes of a better Nor give me up for the sake of any Losses or Terrors to fall from my duty or to deny thee before men that thou mayst not finally deny me before the Angels which are in Heaven Oh! that I may never leave thee Oh! Holy Jesu because thou art a Man of Sorrows But give me Grace with Moses always to prefer the Afflictions of the godly when they are persecuted before the Joys of the wicked and to choose to be among those who suffer for Righteousness rather than among those who seem best to thrive and prosper in the ways of violence Oh! that I may not grudge to take up the Cross when that is in my way to win the Crown nor to endure a short tribulation for the Kingdom of Heaven which thou art ready to give to all that faithfully serve and suffer for thee thro' our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen II. Against being shaken in mind or scandalized 1. By the Defection of others or by Variety of Opinions O Almighty and most Merciful God! keep me from being any ways unsettled or shaken in mind about the way of thy Truth and of thy Righteousness Oh! that thy Judgments may not make us harbour any suspition of the Truth of our Holy Faith but make us see that they all come upon us to try how far we can suffer for it or to punish us because we have not been true to it They are sent O! Righteous Lord to punish the Loosness and Wickedness of our Lives amidst the Orthodoxy and Holiness of our Professions And let not any other Persons unsteadfastness in thy ways how great or numerous soever they be cause me to waver or once think of varying from the same Oh! that I may never follow weak minds in their fickleness and inconstancy nor worldly minds in Varying Belief and Professions according as they are blown about with every blast of worldly Interest or Convenience Let me not think the worse of thy Truths because others forsake them Nor run in to those who prefer the ways of worldly ease before the ways of innocence Nor grow weary of the ways of everlasting Life because others setting more by worldly enjoyments are ready to exchange them when there is hopes of present security thereby for ways of everlasting death Thy Truth O! Lord are everlasting and still the same And Oh! that my Belief and Love thereof may always be one and the same too for our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ's sake Amen 2. Or By a Reverence of any Mens Persons ESpecially O! Lord let not my reverence of any Mens Persons cause me to erre from the way of thy precepts Let not them carry me against my own Knowledge Nor suffer me to ascribe more Authority or to have more Belief in their Examples than in the plain Voice of thy Word or in the clear common Notions of Right and Wrong and of Natural Conscience If they would have me shut mine eyes against this Light let me no longer reverence or give ear to them Yea Though an Angel from Heaven should come and preach against the same let me not believe him Let God be true though they be held Lyars And let these Monitors be ever firmly thought to speak right though the most admired Persons gainsay it and both act and speak wrong Make me know O! God that thy plain Word and the known and received Dictates of Natural Honesty and Conscience are always true and faithful but that every man even the best of men are lyable to fail Let me ever bear in mind that good men may alter and lose their goodness but that evil and unrighteous things do not alter nor can ever lose their unrighteousness So that whensoever a good man falls to do a manifestly evil and unrighteous thing his doing it can onely make us think the worse of his Person but is not in any wise to make us think better of the unrighteous Action Teach me O! Lord that it is thy Law and not their Example which is to be my Rule That I am thy servant not theirs and am to hearken unto thee not unto them and to call no man Master upon earth in opposition to thee my great Master who art in Heaven Oh! therefore let thy Truths O! my God and not other mens practice be my Guide and let thy approbation and acceptance not their
are lyable to be tempted our selves and to fall by temptations and therefore ought to mete out the same measure to them in judging of their Actions which we desire that others would mete out to us again when they come to censure ours Yea O! Holy FATHER cause us always to have before our eyes thy Clemency as well as our own Necessity and keep us ready to afford those allowances and abatements in their case which we all need and desire at thine hands and through thy mercy hope to find from thee in our own Let us not be rigorously hard upon them for common Offences which are ordinarily incident to frail and sinful Natures Nor for such Falls in great Tryals as may move pity upon the account of humane weakness as well as deserve blame for their own ungodliness Let us not shew severity in accusing them violently and condemning them without any mixture of mercy for having been over-born by fear or for having complyed too far for sustenance or safety for having err'd under some great astonishment and where they had little time for deliberation and little help for Counsel and Advice or for falling any other ways in very difficult and perplexed circumstances Suffer us not to favour any wickedness in them O! Righteous God and much less to justifie it But when we are about to tax and condemn the Crimes to the end that we may shew a just Zeal for thee and for thy Righteousness Let us remember withal to consider the greatness and difficulties of their Tryals and thereupon to pity their frailty and to imitate thy mercy which thou art graciously pleased to shew both to them upon their Falls and likewise to us upon any Falls of ours whereby we dayly stand in need thereof for our most dear Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ's sake Amen 11. A Prayer for Grace to turn the same from carrying on impatience aud anger against others to carry on amendment of our selves LOrd under all these sorrows and sharp sufferings teach us to look for the cause thereof within our selves Our own Sins O! Righteous Father are most justly though severely punished in them and our earthly affections and dependances need to be purged off by them And therefore instead of envying and accusing others and taxing the injustice of our Persecutors make us look up with reverence to thy Justice and lay to heart our many private and publick Miscarriages and learn thereby to condemn and amend the errours of our own ways Grant O! God that the experience of our own fears and failures under our Tryals may keep us humble and jealous over our selves and charitable towards the Falls of others And let our dayly proofs of thy seasonable succours and preservations teach us to have firm Faith in thee and to rely intirely on thy care and gracious promises Let the difficulties which we feel in sustaining Losses for thy sake shew us the worldliness of our desires Let the inclinations which we find at any time to ease or secure our selves by sin or to allow in our selves what we condemn in others convince us of the deceitfulness of our own hearts and of the hypocrisie of our pretences Shew us all the roots of bitterness which are ready to discover themselves when we are tryed and when we see them give us Grace to cast them out and to purge our Hearts of the same Thus O! Holy Father if we cannot amend our Confusions make them we humbly intreat thee thorowly to amend us And teach us by the needful and profitable Discipline thereof both to walk more perfectly in thy fear and to bear them with patience remembring that therein we are reaping the just fruits of our own ways and to shew Charity towards our Persecutors as considering how we have done amiss our selves and how by such Mercy and Forgiveness towards others we are all to expect Mercy and Forgiveness of our own Offences at thine hands through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen 12. A Prayer for Charity to the Persecuted O! Righteous Lord who tryest thy People with heavy sufferings for thy Truth and Righteousness sake give me the heart constantly to own thy ways and those who suffer for them Oh! that whensoever I see a Member of thine suffering as a good Fellow-Member I may suffer with it That I may be among those who grieve for the afflictions of Joseph and come in to bear a share of their Adversity who are enduring afflictions for thee and remember those who are in bonds as bound with them Let not me be ashamed of the Testimony of the Lord nor of any of those who are his Prisoners But rejoyce to make my self a Companion of such as are bearing Tribulation for his Truths and be glad when I can minister unto their necessities and relieve the same When I see them Sick and in Prison give me the heart to visit them or strangers and forced to leave their own homes for thy Cause to take them in or in want of food and rayment to supply them therewith Give me Grace to do something like to them as I would do to thee O! Blessed Jesu wert thou here before me and in their Condition And Oh! that I may look upon such services as the most blessed opportunities of shewing my Love unto thys self remembring that thou wilt say unto us one day in as much as ye did it unto the least of these ye did it unto me Yea that I may reekon my self therein to be shewing kindness not so much to them as to my own soul. Knowing that thus to communicate and have fellowship with them in their sufferings is the way to communicate and have fellowship with them in their Blessedness and that he who receiveth a Prophet or a righteous Man in the name of a Prophet or of a righteous Man shall have a Prophet's or a righteous Man's reward Wherewith thou O! Father wilt crown both the Sufferers and their Partakers in the end through the merits of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen 13. A Prayer for deliverance from Persecutions after one is wearied therewith O! Merciful God who hast visited my Bacâ—slidings and tryed my Faith and fixt adherence to thy ways with sharp Persecutions look now with pity on my sorrows and infirmities and if it seem fit for thy Glory and for my Good send me the sweet and speedy comforts of rest and peace Consider my weakness O! God for I am brought very low Consider that it is thine own cause and that I am persecuted for thy sake Consider those that wait on thee and let not them be ashamed or disheartned for my cause Consider mine Enemies and let not them still more and more exalt themselves And remember that they daily reproach thy ways and as oft as thou givest them success against us they triumph in it as thy favouring and owning of their ungodly violence and asperse thee with their
worldly Troubles let me have Peace with thee and with mine own Conscience And whilst thy Comforts do refresh my Soul by thy Grace strengthening me I shall better bear any other Misery which thou shalt give my Enemies leave to inflict upon my Body and persevere faithfully to serve and patiently to suffer for thee till thou shalt Graciously take me out of their Hands to thine Everlasting Rest and Mercy for Jesus Christ's sake Amen 6. A Prayer for Graces needful for him at the Tryal when he is to be judged for his Stedfastness to Gods Truth or Righteousness O! Blessed Lord if by thy wise ordering 〈◊〉 I meekly submit I shall be carried from the place of Cusâ—ody to the place of Tryal or of further Examination do tho vouchsafe to go along with me When I am question'd teach me what I shall say that I may answer so honestly as not to offend or dishonour thee and so prudently as not to prejudice my self nor bring Trouble on any other Righteous Persons for their bearing a good Affection to Righteous Things Give me presence of mind and clearness of Spirit in appearing before all Tribunals and wisdom and readiness in answering all Questions Let my Carriage be without Fear or Confusion or any evil or insincere Arts in all things acceptable unto thee and becoming my Person and Condition Suffer me not to be made a Sacrifice by the Fears or Forgetfulness the mis-representations or false Accusations of Witnesses nor by the Fetches and false colours of Council nor by the partiality or misguided Zeal of Judges and Juries Or if thou hast otherwise determined and I must fall enable me Good Lord to bear thy Will And tho' my Blood which is shed in this Cause be vile in the sight of Men let it be acceptable and of a sweet smell in thy Sight for my Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ's sake Amen 7. Prayers after Sentence of Condemnation is past upon him for his Stedfastness to the same EJACULATIONS THE Cup which my Father hath given me shall I not drink it Joh. 18. 11. Not my Will O! my God but thine be done Luk. 22. 42. Lord I thank thee for counting me worthy to receive this Sentence for the sake of thy Righteousness Lord lay not this Sin to their Charge Acts 7. 60. Forgive them for they know not what they do Luk. 23. 34. A short Prayer upon his receiving the Sentence LOrd I meekly submit to this heavy Sentence yea I thank thee for it and Glory in this shame since it comes upon me for my Love unto thy ways And I humbly pray thee to look upon their Ignorance for their excuse than upon their Blood-Guiltiness for their punishment If they understood the ways of thy Righteousness they would not shed my Blood for keeping stedfast to the same But now they think alass to serve and please thee by slaying me Father forgive them for they know not what they do And bring them timely to see their Errors and thoroughly to repent thereof That they who now in their misguided Zeal for thee are my Enemies may yet however at length be Loving and Happy Sharers with me of thine Everlasting Mercies through the Merits of our dear Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Amen A Longer Prayer afterwards O! Righteous Lord since thou art pleased to call me to give Testimony to thy Righteousness with my Blood I am content to do it Yea I thank thee O! Father that thou hast counted me worthy to lay down my Life for thy sake But as thou tryest me to the utmost sâ— strengthen me to the utmost I most humbly beseech thee that in this highest and last Service I may shew stedfast Faith in thee and Charity towards my Persecutors and meet my Death with that constancy and devout Chearfulness which befits one who is pasing thro' the Red Sea to the Heavenly Canaan and laying down his Life for thy Cause Tho' I stand Condemned and viliâ—ied among Men for this adherence to thy ways yet I humbly hope that thou O! my God wilt acquit and lovingly accept me And if I have thy Approbation my Heart shall rejoyce therein and account it enough for me whatever the World thinks of me Shew them their Error and our Uprightness O! Lord in standing firm to these points for which we suffer But if we cannot satisfie them that the way for which they persecute our Souls is Innocent and Holy let it however satisfie us that so it is and that so it will be â—ouâ—d and declared by thee before all thine elect Angels when tâ—ou shalt appear in thy dreadful Majesty to pass Sentence both upon our way and theirs And to the clearing of that Day and the Tryal of thy Righteous Tribunal do we humbly commit our Cause and Sufferings Where our Hope is that thou Blessed Jesu wilt Graciously own and receive both tho' they disdainfully reject them And that thou Righteous Father for Jesus sake wilt both pardon the real Guilt of our other Sins and openly clear us of the fancied Guilt of these ways wherewith our Persecutors do falsly asperes thy Truths and Reproach us Which grant O! merciful Lord that we may all comfortably expect in our Lives and comfortably find at our Deaths for thy dear Son and our only Saviour Jesus Christs sake Amen After this he may at any time use such of the Prayers as he likes best in the preceding Office for Sufferers for Righteousness to exercise and strengthen his Faith his Patience his Charity or other Graces proper for his Circumstances or to assist him in making Intercessions for others 8. A Prayer for Dying without Fear O! Almighty and most merciful Father perfect thy Strength in my Weakness and support thy Frail and most unworthy Servant in this last and greatest Service which I have now to pay thee of laying down my Life and leaving all that is dear unto me in this World for thy Cause Oh! let not me dishonour the Cause and Truths for which I suffer by shewing any mis-becoming Fears or unwillingness to suffer 'T is not my mistrust of the Righteousness of this Cause O! my God but the Conscience of my other Sins and of the common Errors of my Life from the Rule of thy Holy Commandments which makes me at all afraid to appear at thy Righteous Bar. But cleanse thou me from all my Sins by the Blood of my dearest Lord and then I may meet Death with an humble Confidence and Triumph over it I know O! blessed Lord that when Sin and Guilt which are the Sting of Death are taken out there is still an aversion in Nature which is common to us all against this Change and which found place in our Blessed Lord himself But let the Influences of thy Grace though not wholly purge off this averseness yet subdue and over rule it in my Spirit Possess my Mind more with the Righteousness of the Cause for which I dye and with the
it and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it Mat. 16. 25. Let us not be weary in well-doing for in due time we shall reap if we faint not Gal. 6. 9. Consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners lest ye be weary and faint in your minds Heb. 12. 2. He shall not fail nor be discouraged till he have set judgment in the earth Isa. 42. 4. Because iniquity of persecutors shall abound the love of many shall wax cold But he that shall endure unto the end the same shall be saved Mat. 24. 12 13. Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a Crown of Life Rev. 2. 10. Here is the patience and faith of the Saints Rev. 13. 10. 9. With Prayer and unwearied Devotion Be patient in tribulation continuing instant in prayer Rom. 12. 12. Take unto you the whole armour of God that ye may able to stand in the evil day Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all Saints Eph. 6. 13. 18. Is any among you afflicted let him pray Jam. 5. 13. For my love they are my adversaries but I will give my self unto prayer Psal. 109. 4. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering Not forsaking the assembling of our selves together as the manner of some is but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching Heb. 10. 23 25. 10. With Charity towards Persecutors 1. When ye suffer for well-doing take it patiently for this is acceptable with God 1 Pet. 2. 20. And be ready to give an answer to every man that seeth you suffer and asketh a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and reverence 1 Pet. 3. 18. Bless those that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you That you may be the children of your Father which is in Heaven who doth good to the just and unjust Mat. 5. 44 45. Moreover Hereunto are ye called because Christ also suffered for us leaving us an example that we should follow his steps Who when he was reviled reviled not again when he suffered he threatned not but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously 1 Pet. 2. 21 23. He was oppressed and brought as a Lamb to the slaughter yet he opened not his mouth Isa. 53. 7. When they Crucified him then said Jesus Father forgive them for they know not what they do Luk. 23. 34. They stoned Stephen and he kneeled down and cryed with a loud voice Lord lay not this sin to their charge Act. 7. 59. 60. Being reviled we bless being persecuted we suffer it being defamed we intreat or intercede for our defamers 1 Cor. 4. 12 13. 2. Let not thy heart envy sinners but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long For surely there is an end and thy expectation shall not be cut off Prov. 23. 17 18. Fret not thy self because of evil men neither be thou envious against the wicked For there shall be no reward to the evil man the candle of the wicked shall be put out Prov. 24. 19 20. Rejoyce not when thine enemy falleth and let not thy heart be glad when he stumbleth Lest the Lord see it and it displease him and he turn away his wrath from him to thee Prov. 24. 17 18. Charity suffereth long charity vaunteth not it self is not puffed up Doth not behave it self unseemly seeketh not her own is not easily provoked thinketh or imputeth no evil Rejoyceth not in iniquity beareth all things believeth all things hopeth all things endureth all things And though I give my body to be burned and have not this charity it profiteth me nothing 1 Cor. 13. 3 4 5 6 7. Bless them which persecute you bless and curse not Recompence to no man evil for evil Avenge not your selves but give place unto wrath for it is written Vengeance is mine I will repay saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger feed him if he thirst give him drink Be not overcome of evil but overcome evil with good Rom. 12. 14 17 19 20 21. 11. With Charity towards the Persecuted 1. I will weep bitterly labour not to comfort me because of the spoyling of the Daughter of my People Isa. 22. 4. O! that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears that I might weep day and night for the slain of the Daughter of my People Jer. 9. 1. Wâ— unto them that are at ease in Sion that lye upon beds of Ivory That chaunt to the sound of the Viol that drink Wine in Bowls and anoint themselves with the chief Oyntments but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph Am. 6. 1 3 4 5 6. Whether one member suffer all the members suffer with it or one member be honoured all the members rejoyce with it 1 Cor. 12. 26. Rejoyce with them that do rejoyce and weep with them that weep Rom. 12. 15. 2. Remember them that are in bonds as bound with them and them which suffer adversity as being your selves also in the body Heb. 13. 3. Be not thou ashamed of the Testimony of the Lord nor of me his Prisoner but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel according to the power of God The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus for he oft refreshed me and was not ashamed of my Chain But when he was in Rome he sought me out very diligently and found me 2 Tim. 1. 8 16 17. Ye endured a great fight of afflictions partly whilst ye were made a gazing-stock both by reproaches and afflictions and partly whilst ye became Companions of them that were so used For ye had compassion of me in my bonds took joyfully the spoyling of your goods knowing in your selves that ye have in Heaven a better and an enduring substance Heb. 10. 32 33 34. Beloved thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren and to strangers which have born witness of thy Charity before the Church whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort thou shalt do well Because that for his Name sake they went forth We therefore ought to receive such that we might be fellow-helpers to the truth 3 Jo. 5 6 7 8. He that receiveth a Prophet in the Name of a Prophet shall receive a Prophets reward and he that receiveth a Righteous Man in the Name of a Righteous Man shall receive a Righteous Mans reward And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the Name of a Disciple verily I say unto you he shall in no wise lose his reward Mat. 10. 41 42. I was an hungred and ye gave me no meat thirsty and ye gave me no drink A stranger and ye took me not in naked and ye cloathed me not sick and in
prison and ye visited me not In as much as ye did it not unto the least of these ye did it not to me Mat. 25. 42 43 45. 12. With Motives and Encouragements to suffer Whosoever will be a friend of the World is the enemy of God Jam. 4. 4. If any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him 1 Joh. 2. 15. Ye cannot serve both God and Mammon Mat. 6. 24. And what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul Mat. 16. 26. Fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell Mat. 10. 28. As the sufferings of Christ abound in us so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ who comforteth us in all our Tribulation 2 Cor. 1. 4 5. It is a faithful saying if we suffer we shall also reign with him if we deny him he also will deny us 2 Timothy 2. 11 12. Whether we be afflicted or whether we be comforted it is for your consolation and salvation which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer And our hope of you is also steadfast knowing that as you are partakers of the sufferings so shall ye be also of the consolation 2 Cor. 1. 6. 7. I would ye should understand that the things which happened unto me have faln out rather unto the furtherance of the Gospel And many of the Brethren of the Lord waxing confident by my bonds are much more bold to speak the word without fear Phil. 1. 12. 14. I suffer trouble as an evil-doer even unto bonds but the word of God is not bound Therefore I endure all things for the Elects sakes that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with Eternal Glory 2 Tim. 2. 9. 10. 13. For Deliverance from Persecutions O! Let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end but establish thou the just Ps. 7. 9. Return O Lord how long and let it repent thee concerning thy servants O! Satisfie us early with thy mercy that we may rejoyce and be glad all our days Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us and the years wherein we have seen evil Let thy Work appear unto thy Servants and thy Glory unto their Children Ps. 90. 13 14 15 16. Help us then O God of our salvation for the Glory of thy Name Ps. 79. 9. Arise and plead thine own Cause Remember that the Enemies have blasphemed thy Name and how the foolish Man reproacheth thee dayly Forget not the voice of thine Enemies the Tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually Ps. 74. 18 22 23. Wherefore should the Heathen say Where is their God Ps. 79. 10. Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God He hath said in his heart thou God wilt not require it Ps. 10. 13. Grant not the desires of the wicked O Lord further not his wicked device lest they exalt themselves Ps. 140. 8. Put them in fear O Lord that they may know themselves to be but men Ps. 9. 20. Fill their faces with shame that they may seek thy Name Psal. 83. 16. 14. For Trust in God to be preserved under the same and delivered from them The Wicked watcheth the Righteous and seeketh to slay him But the Lord will not leave him in his hand nor condemn him when he is judged Though he fall he shall not be utterly cast down for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand They shall not be ashamed in the evil time Ps. 37. 19 24 32 33. Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man thou shalt keep them secretly in a Pavilion from the strife of tongues Ps. 31. 20. Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee which frameth mischief by a Law They gather themselves together against the soul of the Righteous and condemn the innocent blood But the Lord is my defence and my God is the rock of my refuge And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity and shall cut them off in their own wickedness yea the Lord our God shall cut them off Ps. 96. 20 21 22 23. For yet a little while and the wicked shall not be yea thou shalt diligently consider his place and it shall not be Ps. 37. 10. But the needy shall not always be forgotten the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever Ps. 9. 10. For thou wilt save the afflicted people but wilt bring down high looks Ps. 18. 27. So that a man shall say verily there is a reward for the Righteous verily he is a God that judgeth the earth Ps. 58. 11. 15. An Hymn of Thanksgiving for deliverance from Persecutions Oh! How great is thy goodness which thou hast layd up for them that fear thee which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men Ps. 31. 19. For thou Lord hast heard the desire of the humble thou wilt prepare their heart thou wilt cause thine ear to hear To judge the Fatherless and the Oppressed that the man of the earth may no more oppress Ps. 10. 17 18. Light is sown for the Righteous and gladness for the upright in heart Ps. 97. 11. Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted Mat. 5. 4. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy He that goeth forth and weepeth bearing pecious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoycing bringing his sheaves with him The Lord hath turned our Captivity he hath done great things for us whereof we are glad Ps. 126. 3 4 5 6. Many shall see it and fear and shall trust in the Lord Ps. 40. 3. The Righteous shall be glad in the Lord and shall trust in him and all the upright in heart shall glory Ps. 64. 10. Zion heard and was glad and the Daughters of Judah rejoyced because of thy judgments O! Lord Ps. 97. 8. O love the Lord all ye his Saints for the Lord preserveth the faithful and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer Be of good Courage and he shall strengthen your heart all ye that trust in the Lord Ps. 31. 23 24. Rejoyce in the Lord O ye Righteous and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness Ps. 97. 12. Sing unto the Lord bless his Name be telling of his salvation from Day to Day Psal. 96. 2. And my tongue shall speak of thy Righteousness â—nd of thy Praise all the day long I will give thee thanks in the great Congregation I will praise thee among much People Psal. 35. 18 28. PRAYERS for Those who suffer for Righteousness I. A Penitential Prayer under Persecutions as they are Chastisements for our former Offences 1. O Almighty Lord Who art wont to shew both thy Power and Mercy in correcting Sinners when the cry of sins grows great
Rod of the Wicked rest upon the Lot of the Righteous lest they put forth their hand unto Iniquity Shorten the days of these Sorrows and make hast to help and deliver us And work that Deliverance if it please thee by the Conviction rather than by the destruction of our Enemies for our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christs sake Amen 3. Prayers for a Kingdom when in any Time or Place it happens to labour under Persecutions for any part of Gods Truth or way of Righteousness Or when it is torn to pieces by Intestine Divisions about the same 1. O! Almighty and most Merciful God have Mercy upon this most wretched and sinful Land and exalt the greatness of thy Mercy by curing the Height of our Misery And in the first place purge our Sins O! Lord which are the chief cause of all our Sorrows and which are the heaviest Plague that we lye under tho' alass we are least sensible thereof Oh! give us not up to a Reprobate mind and a seared Conscience Let thy Correction open all our Eyes to see and abhor all that iniquity and ungodliness which calls aloud to thee for Vengeance Oh! that we may see what it is to be false and faithless to God and Man to forsake thee in our Distress and seek to unrighteous ways for Refuge That we may lay to heart all that Hypocrisie and Prophaneness all that shedding of Innocent Blood all that Violence whereof our hands are full and the Spoils and Oppressions and other Wickednesses which have reign'd amongst us And by these foretasts of Sorrows which we have already felt in the course of these Iniquities Grant O! Lord that we may be struck with Terror of those insupportable Plagues and after-reckonings which are yet to come if we continue in the same And that we may learn thereby to Sin no more but apply our selves faithfully to seek and serve thee that we may be fit for thine Eternal Mercy through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen 2. AND when thou hast cleared us of the Guilt then Deliver us O! Gracious Lord from the Curse of our Transgressions Let not Power be employed to suppress thy Truths or a Righteous Cause but to support them Let not violence be able to force the Seat of Justice nor to hinder or pervert the due and free course thereof Bless the Labours of all those who seek to have Truth and Equity take place and to plant and settle Peace on Righteousness And set thy Face against them whose hearts and hands are set on ways of unjust Violence and publick Disturbance Turn their hearts O! God to be in love with Peace and Justice Or if still they will be obstinate against the same weaken their hands that they may not be able to hinder us of the speedy and happy influence and settled enjoyment thereof Bind up our breaches O! Father and make all our unnatural broils and bloodshed cease We are a People shaken to pieces do thou settle us We are all in confusion do thou bring us into order We are broken by our Sins Oh! do thou repair and heal us by restoring us to ways of Righteousness Our guilt and misery have made us heartless and void of courage Oh! let Innocence and the light of thy Countenance raise our Spirits We lye comfortless in our Iniquities Oh! Oh! Let thy Spirit reform us and then speak comfort to us Heal all the Sores of our Souls and then lighten our Earthly Burdens Keep Life in this exhausted Kingdom which is ready to faint and daily encrease it in the same and settle us once more in Justice and Holiness Peace and Safety for Jesus Christ's sake Amen 4. Prayers for the Church when in any any Time or Place it is called to suffer Persecution for Truth or Righteousness 1. A general Prayer for things needful to the same in such Times of Persecution O! Almighty Lord who hast purchased to thy self a Church with thine own Blood look in Mercy â—pon the same however Distressed â—ro ' all the World Especially upon â—â—at part thereof which languisheth in this Land and suffer not the Adversary to lay it wasâ—e or utterly to deface it after thou hast paid so dear for it Let not either Superstition or immoral Wickedness Corrupt and Prophane thy Worship nor let Schism any longer tear thy Body to pleces Let not vile Men go on to make Religion a Cover and Pretence for acting against moral Honesty and Justice lest the Hypocrisie of some beget Atheism in others and lest thereby loose Men be tempted to think and take occasion to say That there is nothing under any Professions of Religion but serving Worldly ends because they can see nothing else under theirs Oh! That Truth and Righteousness may be set up in thy Church and that Love and Unity may be set up in our Hearts That we may once more hear the Voice of Joy and Peace and receive Beauty for Ashes Pity a Church O! Blessed Lord which has long maintained Truth of Doctrin and Purity of Worship in the Nation and which has openly professed and bore out the Doctrin of patient Suffering for Righteousness and not resorting to any evil means for Relief in the Eyes of Men. Pity those who suffer and are in danger to be destroyed for their stedfast adhering to these thy ways when others generally fall off from them and set themselves violently to persecute the same And hear their Crys who mourn in Sion and are afflicted for the Dishonour that is brought upon thy Name and for all the Violences which are done to an Holy Religion Preserve them Holy FATHER by thy Power and give them not up to the VVill of their Oppressors But stir up thy Strength and come and help us Give us Constancy against the Errors of our Persecutors and in thy good time give us rest from their Violence for our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ's sake Amen The Collect for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity GRant O! Lord we beseech thee that the Course of this World may be so peaceably ordered by thy Governance that thy Church may joyfully serve thee in all Godly Quietness through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen 2. Prayers for particular Graces or Blessings when at any time or any where it is violently broken or pressed by Persecutions to forsake the way of God's Truth or Righteousness 1. Prayers for its Purity and Integrity 1. O! Father of Mercies who seest all the Back-slidings and Calamities of thy poor Church amongst us pity its misery and possess it with such a Spirit as is fit to enliven and actuate thy Body Oh! Keep it in thy Truth and save it from Heresie and false Doctrines either about Faith or Practice Give it not up to teach Errors for Advantage or to justifie unlawful ways for worldly Ends and Securities Nor suffer it to suit its Doctrines to secular Turns or to change Religious Principles as it shall be driven thereto by worldy Necessities Fix
it in ways of Holiness O! Lord that all its Ministrations may be such as become Saints Suffer it not to mix sin in thy Service or to teach it to thy People To pollute holy Offices with any ungodly or unrighteous Petitions and prostitute and prophane thy Worship by falling therein to offer any abominable things Oh! let not its Ministrations become the Ministrations of Unrighteousness but be Holy and without Blemish as besits thine House and becomes thy Spouse Whilst thou art pleased to try it with Tribulations Lord let them only purge it but not lay it waste And revive a suffering Spirit among us when it labours under a suffering State Make it willing then and ready to quit all Interests of this World and live upon the hopes of a better Enable it contentedly yea joyfully to take up thy Cross and to bear it after thee Oh! that at such times it may always be more afraid of Sinning than of Suffering Oh! that it may never fall to make the way of Gain to pass for the way Godliness or to Preach up what is Unrighteous because it is become serviceable and safe Nor ever seek to Error and Wickedness for Refuge instead of seeking to God and trusting in him and in his holy ways for the same Oh! Father in thy Mercy guard it against all Error and Ungodliness rescue it from all Schisms and Divisions and free it in thy due time of its Distress and Persecutions for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake Amen 2. O! Almighty Lord Direct and Rule the Hearts of thy People by the Power of thy Grace that they may no longer run furiously upon Unrighteous Expedients nor by their Violence drive their Teachers into the Practice and Justification thereof Oh! that they may seek to hear true and not pleasing things and not only hear but love to be faithfully dealt with And give them not up O! Father to persecute the Preachers of Righteousness who are ready to warn them of the Error and Danger of their ways or to despite them and treat them as their worst Enemies only for telling them thy Saving Truths Lord let not the love of Error and Hatred of those Truths which are according to Godliness and Honesty always Reign in them Let them not persist therein without Remorse Or when they are smitten with Relentings let them not lie sealed up in their Iniquity as the fallen Angels do by despair of Mercy and seat themselves among those Sinners who when once they have done ill think they cannot be safe but by doing worse Especially O! God deliver them not over to a Reprobate Sense nor shut them up under a Spiritual Blindness But open their Eyes to see from whence they are fallen and to seek after those things which are necessary to their Everlasting Peace through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen 2. Prayers for cure of Schisms and for Graces in divided Times 1. DEliver this Church O! Almighty Lord from Schisms which have torn it to pieces And grant that all those Members who are broken off may return to offer up their Religious Services in due Dependance upon their own Orthodâ—x and Lawful Pasters and to make Conscience of keeping Union and of continuing Subject and Obedient unto those who are Rightfully set over them in the Government of thy Church Let them not think it enough O! God to have Holy Prayers But teach them moreover to put up these Prayers in such Assemblies as keep Obedient and United to those Spiritual Fathers whom thou hast called to be the Rightful Governors of the Body And make them know that when as good Christians they are careful to joyn in none but Holy Services they must take care also as good Church-Members to present those Services to thine Hands in the Unity and Communion of thy Church there to be accepted with thee through his Merits and Mediation who is the Head and Saviour of the Body even thy most Blessed Son and our only Saviour Jesus Christ Amen 2. BEnd the Hearts of all amongst us O! blessed Lord to have Peace amongst themselves Teach them Humility and Submission to those whom thou hast put in Authority over them Let Love and Lowliness increase and all self-denying and amicable Tempers And remove far from us Covetous and Aspiring Thoughts and Pride and self-pleasing and all Wrath and bitter Passions Reconcile all jarring Spirits and cause all Discord and Division to cease And dispose us all O! Jesu thou Prince of Peace to see those Truths which make for Peace and tend to close our Breaches and willingly to submit to them Let us not give way so far to Anger and bitter Passions till none but violent things will please us and till we grow fond and greedy of any Error that will make the Breach wider but Zealous against such Truths as might serve again to unite and bring us together Oh! keep us strictly careful both of Peace and Truth And as we humbly pray that we may never give up thy saving Truths for Peace so do we likewise that we may never divide from each other and be averse to Peace when thy Holy Truths stand in no need thereof And whilst we labour under our unhappy Breaches Let us not be wanting in any mutual Offices of Humanity good Neighbourhood or common Justice towards each other Let us not fancy that their being of different Opinions or of different Churches from us must put a stop to the Just Acts and Offices of Gratitude and to the Remembrance of former kindness or that they must give us a discharge from any mutual Obligations of natural Kindred or of civil Relations Especially O! Merciful God keep us from placing all Religion in the Notes of a Party Let us not so over-ratc the real or fancied Virtues of our several Divisions as to take up therewith and become our selves as culpable for the Breach and allowed Neglect of some Duties as we charge our Brethren to be for the Breach of others But whilst on all sides we are zealous in pursuing those points wherein we differ let us be zealous for others too aud not overlook or lay aside the care of good Life and of that common Religion wherein we all agree and which at last must deliver us all from thy Wrath and prepare us for thine Everlasting Mercies thro' our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Amen 3. Prayers for the Bishops and Clergy under Persecutions 1. O! Almighty Lord under all these Persecutions which are sent to prove and purge us have an especial care of the Bishops and Pastors of thy Church who are set to take of thy People and to defend thy cause and fill their Hearts with the power of thy Spirit and with all those Gifts and Graces which are needful to maintain their own Standing or prevent the Falls of others Make them clear Examples O! God of Holy Living and of truly Christian and Righteous Suffering to thy Flock setting before their Eyes the lively Draughts and
the sweet and refreshing Comforts of this Rest and Peace O! Lord let us never forget this great Mercy nor abuse it Let us not grow Careless or Corrupt by the Blessings of Peace or run into Earthly Affections and Dependencies and contract such Dross as may need a second time to be brought through the Furnace But keep us sober and purged and purified in our Hearts and Minds and maintain in us â—uch a Godly Zeal and watchful diligence under the same as will make use of the blessed Opportunities of Peace for going on with more constancy and with less hindrance and disturbance in thy Service And make us learn O! Gracious God by our past Suffering and Experience of thy Goodness to keep improved in Faith and Patience Having found thee so faithful in our necessity give us Grace to relye upon thee Let us not cast away our confidence nor grow weary in well doing knowing that in due time we shall reap if we faint not Oh! that the sweet Remembrance of thy Mercies may ever fill our Hearts with Love and our Tongues with Praise Oh! that it may make us careful in well doing and confident of thy Faithfulness and Care over us whilst we commit our Souls unto thy keeping in holding to thy ways through our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen AN OFFICE FOR Prisoners for Righteousness SCRIPTURES Psal. 7. Act. 5. from v. 18. Mat. 10. Psal. 10. Act. 16. from v. 18. 1 Pet. 4. from v. 12. 1. YE shall be Betrayed both by Parents and Brethren and Kinsfolk and Friends and some of you shall they cause to be put to Death And they shall lay Hands on you and deliver you up into Prisons and ye shall be brought before Kings and Rulers for my Names sake And it shall turn to you for a Testimony But there shall not an Hair of your Head perish In your Patience possess ye your Souls And Meditate not before what ye shall answer But settle in your Hearts that I will give you a Mouth and Wisdom which all your Adversaries shall not be able to gain say or resist Luk. 21. 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19. Precious in the Sight of the Lord is the Death of his Saints Ps. 116. 15. What mean ye to weep and to break mine Heart For I am ready not to be bound only but to die at Jerusalem for the Name of the Lord Jesus Act. 21. 13. He that loveth his Life shall lose it and he that hateth his Life in this World shall keep it unto Life Eternal Joh. 12. 25. 2. THE Lord heareth the poor and despiseth not his Prisoners Psal. 69. 33. Deliver me from my Persecutors for they are stronger than I. Bring my Soul out of Prison that I may praise thy Name Psal. 142. 6 7. Deliver me O! Lord from the evil man preserve me from the Men of Violence Keep me O! Lord from the Hands of the Wicked who have proposed to overthrow my Goings For the Proud have hid a Snare for me and Cords they have spread a Net by the way-side they have set Gins for me They have sharpned their Tongues like a Serpent Adders Poyson is under their Lips Psal. 140. 1 3 4 5. In the work of the Gospel I suffer trouble as an evil Doer even unto Bonds but the word of God is not bound 2 Tim. 2. 9. For many of the Brethren in the Lord waxing confident by my Bonds are much more bold to speak the word without Fear Phil. 1. 14. 3. REmember my Bonds Col. 4. 18. Remember those that are in Bonds as bound with them Heb. 13. 3. Ye had compassion on me in my Bonds and took joyfully the spoiling of your Goods whilst ye became Companions of those that were made a gazing-Stâ—ck by Reproaches and Afflictions Heb. 10. 33 34. I would have retained Onesimus with me that in thy stead he might have ministred to me in the Bonds of the Gospel Philem. 13. Be not thou ashamed of the Testimony of our Lord nor of me his Prisoner but be thou partaker of the Afflictions of the Gospel according to the Power of God 2 Tim. 1. 8. Both in my Bonds and in the Confirmation and Defence of the Gospel ye are all Partakers of my Grace Phil. 1. 7. I was in Prison and ye came unto me In as much as ye have done it to one of the least of these my Brethren ye have done it unto me Mat. 25. 36 40. 4. An Hymn of Thanksgiving for Deliverance upon a Trial or out of Pâ—ison IF it had not been the Lord who was on my side when Men rose up against me Then they had swallowed me up quick when their Wrath was kindled against me Then the proud Waters had gone over my Soul Psal. 124. 2 3 5. The Sorrows of Death compassed me and the Floods of ungodly Men made me afraid Psal. 18. 4. They compassed me about like Bees they thrust sore at me that I might fall but the Lord helped me Psal. 118. 12 13. And I had the Sentence of Death in my self that I should not trust in my self but in God which raiseth the Dead 2 Cor. 1. 9. But blessed be the Lord who hath not given me as a Prey unto their Death My Soul is escaped as a Bird out of the Snare of the Fowler the Snare is broken and I have escaped Ps. 124. 6 7. He sent down his Hand from above and delivered me out of the great Waters from the Hands of strange Children Whose Mouth speaketh Vanity and their Right Hand is a Right Hand of Falshood Ps. 144. 7 8. He delivered me from my strong Enemy and from them which hated me for they were too strong for me He brought me forth also into a large place he delivered me because he delighted in me Psal. 18. 17 19. The Lord is my Strength and my Song and is become my Salvation The Lord is on my side I will not fear what Man can do unto me I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord Psal. 118. 6 14 17. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be World without end Amen This Doxology may likewise be used at the end of the several proceeding Collections of Scriptures in this Office for Prisoners for Righteousness as also at the end of the several Collections of Scripture in the former Office for those who suffer for Righteousness when these Collections are read not only for Instruction but Devotionally as Hymns to God Prayers 1. A General Prayer for all Prisoners O! Almighty and Everlasting God thou seest the Streights and Sorrows which I endure in this place and how unable I am to help my self or to bring about my own Deliverance But the less Hope and Support I have in my self the more I look up unto thee and place my Trust in thy Mercy And when my own care can avail
Breach of Confidence from all Faithless or strained and false Accusations as thou canst turn or defeat the Malice of my Foes And to thee O! merciful Father do I trust that neither my Foes shall have their Wills in working of my Ruin nor the weakness of my Friends shall carry them against their Wills to do the same And oh as thou art my Confidence so let me be thy Care Keep me safe here under thy custody and receive me at last to thine Everlasting Mercy for thy blessed Son and my only Saviour Jesus Christ's sake Amen 3. A Prayer for Graces at such times under his Sufferings and Persecutions for any ways of Truth and Righteousness IN the mean time O! Righteous Lord whatsoever thou hast appointed for me in this Tryal I am content to bear it And give me Strength and Ability to bear it yea though it proceed to Blood I resign my self up to thy good pleasure therein I humbly and meekly submit to it as it is thy doing and as it is infinitely my Deserving and own thy Judgment upon me for my Sins to be most Just and Righteous therein But then Holy Father I most earnestly intreat thee that I may have all my Punishment in this World but rest with thee in thy Heavenly Kingdom Yea as my Tryal is a Suffering for thy Righteousness I thankfully receive it at thine Hand But then O! my God whilst I am tried for thee do thou shew forth thy Power and the abundance of thy Grace in me Grant me a Serene Patience calmly to bear my Sufferings and contentedly and quietly to wait the end thereof Give me Courage and constant Presence of Mind to behave my self undauntedly and Prudence to act and answer in all things wisely and becomingly Give me Faith in thy power and promises to hold on without Fainting in sure Expectation of thy Succors and to endure all without weariness in Confidence of thy joyful and eternal Recompences Fill me with an inflexible Integrity and Constancy in my Duty that I may not waver therein at any time much less fall from it or from any Precepts thereof to rid my self out of my own great Troubles or to bring any desired Events to pass Yea fill me with such Constancy in thy ways as will not suffer me how long soever the Rod of the Unrighteous rests upon me to put forth my Hand unto Iniquity And give me Charity after thine own Example O! blessed Jesâ— freely to forgive my Malicious Enemies or Frail and Faithless Friends and heartily to pray for them tho' they continue to persecute me Whilst thou keepest on my Trials deny me not these Graces O! merciful Lord nor any others which thou seest needful for me that I may acquit my self well and acceptably under the same for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake Amen 4. A Prayer for a Mind raised above Earthly Things O! Father of Mercies raise my Mind by these Afflictions above the Love of all Earthly Things Yea even of those things which I have lavishly spent most time upon and have been the most inordinately fond of I see now and make me daily to see it more and more how vain and unprofitable they are when the evil day comes And oh what I may learn thereby and learn it perfectly to fix mine Eyes and Heart on thee who hast deserved more of me infinitely than I can express to thee and who canst always help and comfort me and wilt never leave me especially not then when I am driven to thee for Succour and find the greatest Need to have thee stand by me Make my Duty good Lord to become my Delight and Heavenly things my Treasure For they are Comforts in Distress stable Comforts that will accompany us to the Block or the Grave and beyond them and will not fail to make us infinitely and for ever happy in thy Presence Which Grant O! Heavenly Father to me a wretched Sinner for the sake of my dearest Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ. Amen 5. A Prayer for Peace with God and a quiâ—t Conscience ABove all O! blessed Lord let me have the Comforts of thy holy Spirit and a clear and quiet Conscience to support me under all these hard Tryals Shew me all my Sins and give me Grace intirely to repent of them and to be perfectly set against the same But assure me at the same time of thy Mercies towards all true penitent Sinners and make me see O! Gracious Father that for Christ's sake thou art not only willing but desirous and joyful to receive them yea to run out and meet them as the tender Father did the Returning Prodigal And as for my Sins O! God tho' with the Prodigal I have gone far and have lost my self in evil ways yet by thy Grace I am come also with him heartily to return from mine Offences I am weary of my Sins and am earnestly desirous to forsake them Tho' I have been lamentably careless in times past yet now my sincere desire and full purpose is to shew a Godly care and diligent endeavour against the same for the time to come And I humbly depend upon thy Grace and trust to thy precious promises thereof to perfect and give strength to my sincere Endeavours Look upon me therefore O! Father and give me the Comfort to look upon my self as one who though he has been an offending is now become a Returning Son Lot not my Sins rise up against me after once I have truly repented of them Let them not be able to provoke thy wrath or to trouble my Conscience But make me know that however offensive I was in the ways of my Wickedness thro' the Blood of thy Son I am acceptable to thee in the ways of my Repentance And that my Sins however provoking whilst I lay in them give thee no more provocation after once I return from them Yea tho' great and strong in themselves yet that after true Repentance they are not too great for my Saviour's Merits or for thy Mercies not too grievous for thy Goodness to forgive or too strong for thy Grace to cure I am ready O! my God to return to thy Laws not only in doing what they call for but if thy Will be so in suffering for the same Yea if thou callest me to it I desire not to leave the way of Righteousness for any hazards but to suffer for it even unto Blood And tho' I know O! Righteous Lord that it is not enough to die a Martyr for one precept if I allow my self at the same time to live a known Transgressor of others Yet give me the Comfort to look on Martyrdom as a sort of Baptism as thou blessed Jesu wast pleased to style it when thou spakest of thine own and like it to purge and wash away our Sins if at the same time when we are suffering for one Duty we are inwardly resolved and prepared in Heart to observe all Lord in the midst of my