retire to Thee alone Grant we humbly beseech Thee that thy Providence's withdrawing every night all the world from our senses may efficaciously prompt us to clear our heads and harts of all its distractions and thy holy Spirit finding our minds happily vacant may fill them with acts of love and reverence and adoration of Thee as our only God and all things through our Lord Vouchsafe c. as page 54. Friday MATINS Introduction as page 1. Invitatory Come let 's adore our God that redeem'd us Come let 's adore our God that redeem'd us Psal LXVI VVHen we had sold our selvs to sin and were all become the slaves of Satan our blessed JESU descended from heav'n and brought a vast price to buy out our freedom Come let 's adore our God that redeem'd us The price was no less then his own dearest blood which he plenteously shed on the holy Cross depositing so his inestimable life to rescue us sinners from eternal death Come let 's adore our God that redeem'd us Let us consecrate this day to his sacred memory and tenderly compassionate his unparalleld sufferings repenting from our harts our many sins and thankfully admiring his infinite mercys Come let 's adore our God that redeem'd us Let us wean our minds from unbecoming delights and mortify our senses with a prudent restraint that carry'd on the wings of fasting and alms our prayers may mount up more swiftly to heav'n Come let 's adore our God that redeem'd us Glory be to the Father c. As it was c. Come let 's adore our God that redeem'd us Come let 's adore our God that redeem'd us Hymn XXI COme let 's adore the King of love And King of sufferings too For love it was that brought him down And set him here in wo. Love drew him from his Paradise Where flow'rs that fade not grow And planted Him in our poor dust Among us weeds below Here for a time this heav'nly Plant Fairly grew up and thriv'd Diffus'd its sweetnes all about And all in sweetnes liv'd But envious frosts and furious storms So long so fiercely chide This tender Flow'r at last bow'd down Its bruised head and dy'd O narrow thoughts and narrower speech Here your defects confess The life of Christ the death of God How faintly you express Help O thou blessed Virgin-root Whence this fair Flow'r did spring Help us to raise both hart and voice And with more spirit sing To Father Son and holy Ghost One undivided Three All highest praise all humblest thanks Now and for ever be Antiph Take up thy cross and follow thy Lord for his yoke is sweet and his burthen light Psal LXVII MY God who can complain of doing too much if they consider the labours of JESUS Those painful labours he so freely undertook and mildly stoopt to his humble task When he might have flown on the wings of Cherubims he chose to walk with us worms in the dust When he might have cal'd for Manna from heav'n in the sweat of his brows he would eat his bread When he might have made the Angels his footstool he rather became the servant of his Parents Living with Them in their litle cottage and readily obeying even their least command There in that humble privacy He increast in wisdom and grew in grace both with God and man Still by his pious candor gaining the love * of those happy few that saw his life That saw thy holy life O glorious JESU and heard with joy and wonder thy incomparable sayings That felt a gentle motion stir their harts * to love and imitate so blest a pattern O that the same sweet spirit of grace * might draw our minds dear Lord to thee O that we could in every passage of our life * still actually reflect on the example of Thine Thy retirements were fill'd with holy speculations and in the midst of busines thy mind was free for heav'n Thy converse with others mispent no time but bestow'd every moment in excellent charity To instruct the ignorant and reduce the deceiv'd to comfort the afflicted and heal the diseas'd To convince the froward and absolve the penitent and perswade all the world to be truly happy It was thy meat and drink to do thy Fathers will O make it ours to perform Thine Make us in every action still think on Thee what thou wouldst counsel us to do What Thou thy self wouldst do O Blessed JESU if thou again wert here among us And when we thus have learnt our duty Lord make us do what thou hast made us know Glory be c. Antiph Take up thy Cross and follow thy Lord for his yoke is sweet and his bruthen light Antiph He humbled himself for us and became obedient to death even the death of the Cross Psal LXVIII MY God who can repine at suffering too much if they remember the afflictions of JESUS Those many afflictions he so patiently endur'd and bore with silence all their weight Even from his humble cradle in the grot of Bethelem to his bitter Cross on the mount of Calvary How litle do we read of glad and prosperous how much of pains and grief and perpetual affronts Somtimes abandon'd by his nearest friends and left alone among all his discomforts Somtimes pursu'd by his fiercest enemys and made the common mark of all their spite Somtimes they plot to insnare Him in his words and enviously slander his miraculous deeds Somtimes tumultuously they gather about him to gaze at and abuse this Man of sorrows Somtimes they furiously seize on his Person and hale and drag him along the streets At last they all conspire to take away his life and condemn him to a sharp and cruel death Have you not seen a harmless Lamb * stand silent in the midst of ravenous wolves So stood the Prince of Peace and Innocence besieg'd with a ring of savage Jews When they blasphem'd Him he reply'd not again and when they injuriously struck him he only observ'd their rashnes When they provok't him with their utmost malice he pleaded their excuse and when they kill'd him he earnestly pray'd for their pardon O strange ingratitude of humane nature thus barbarously to crucify the worlds Redeemer O admirable love of the worlds Redeemer thus patiently to dy for humane nature Say now my soul for whom thy dearest Lord * indur'd all this and infinitely more Canst thou complain of thy litle troubles when the King of glory was thus afflicted Canst thou complain of a meanly furnisht house when the Son of God had not where to lay his head We wear the conisance of a crucify'd Lord and shall we shrink back at every cross we meet We believe in a God that was crown'd with thorns and shall we abide to tread on nothing but roses Before our eys O JESU we see thee humble and meek and shall thy servants be proud and insolent We see thee travail up and down poor and unregarded and shal thy
c. Psal LXXII TO thee O God we ow our whole selvs for making us after thine own image To thee O Lord we ow more than our selvs for redeeming us with the death of thine only Son Nor were our ruines so soon repair'd as at first our Being was easily produc'd Thy Power to create us said but one word and immediately we became a living soul But thy Wisdom to redeem us both spake much * and wrought more and suffer'd most of all To redeem us He humbled himself to this low world and all the infirmitys of our miserable nature He patiently endur'd hunger and thirst and the malicious affronts of enraged enemys How many times did he hazard his life to sustain with courage the truths of heav'n How many tears did he tenderly weep in compassion of his blind ingrateful Country How many drops of blood did he shed * in that doleful garden and on the bitter Cross The Cross where after three long hours * of grief and shame and intolerable pains He meekly bow'd his fainting head and in an agony of prayer yeelded up the Ghost So sets the glorious Sun in a sad cloud and leaves our earth in darknes and disorder But goes to shine immediately in the other world and soon returns again and brings us light And so dost Thou dear Lord and more thy very darknes is our light 'T is by thy death we are made to live and by thy wounds our soars are heal'd O my ador'd Redeemer who took'st upon thee all our miserys to impart to us thine own felicitys Can we remember thy labours for us and not be convinc't of our duty to Thee Can our cold harts recount thy sufferings and not be inflam'd with the love that suffer'd Can we beleeve our salvation cost thee so dear and live as if to be sav'd were not worth our pains Ingrateful we how do we â—â—light the kindnes of our God! how carelesly comply with his gracious design For all his gifts he requires no other return then to hope still more and desire still greater blessings For all his favours he seeks no other praise then our following his steps to arrive at his glory O glorious JESU behold to thee we bow and kumbly kiss the dust in honor of thy death Behold thus low we bow to implore thy blessing and the sure assistance of thy special grace That we may wean our affections from all vain desires and clear our thoughts from all impertinent fancys Then shal our lives be intirely dedicated to Thee and all the facultys of our souls to thy holy service Our minds shal continually study thy knowledge and our wills grow every day stronger in thy love Our memorys shal faithfully lay up thy mercys and both tongue and hart shal sing for ever Glory be c. Antiph Come let us glory in the Cross of our Lord JESVS Christ in whom is our life and helth and resurrection Capit. 2 Cor. 1. BLessed be the God and Father of our Lord JESVS Christ the Father of mercys and God of all consolation who comforts us in all our tribulations that we also may be able to comfort them who are in any distress by the consolation wherewith we also are comforted of God For as the passions of Christ abound in us so likewise by Christ our comfort abounds Hymn XXII TUne now your selvs my hart strings high Let us aloft our voyces raise That our loud song may reach the Sky And there present to Thee our praise To thee blest JESU who cam'st down From those bright sphears of joy above To purchase us a dear bought Crown And woo our Souls to ' espouse thy love Long had the World in darknes sate Til Thou and thy all-glorious light Began to dawn from heav'ns fair gate And with thy beams dispel their night We too alas stil there had stood As common slaves in the same shade But mercy came and with his blood Our general ransom freely paid Not all the spite of all the Jews Nor death it self could him remove Stil He his blest design pursues And gives his life to take our love And now my Lord my God my all What shal I most in Thee admire That pow'r which made the world and shal The world again dissolve with fire O no thy strange humility Thy wounds thy pains thy cross thy death These shal alone my wonder be My helth my joy my staff my breath To Thee great God! to Thee alone Three Persons in one Deity As former ages stil have done All glory now and ever be Antiph We are bought with a price even the most precious sweat and blood of JESUS henceforth to call Him Master whose service is perfect freedom and gives us effectual power to become the sons of God V. The chains fell off our hands and feet R. When Thine dear Redeemer were nail'd to the Cross V. O Lord hear our prayers R. And let our supplications come to Thee Let us pray O Eternal Father who sent'st down thy only Son to redeem the world inslav'd to sin and Satan by assuming our frail nature and powerfully teaching us both by word and example its sole way to that blyss for which we are created Grant we humbly beseech Thee that the continual memory of his bitter passion and death on the Cross may beget in us an utter disvalue of the Goods or Ills we meet with here compar'd to the advancing our selvs or others in the esteem of what we hope herafter through the same our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who with Thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns One God world without end Amen Here on every Friday that is fasted say kneeling V. Lord have mercy on us R. Christ have mercy on us V. Lord have mercy on us Our Father c. V. And lead us not into temptation R. But deliver us from evil Amen V. Have mercy on us O Lord have mercy on us R. For our souls confide in thee V. And under the shadow of thy wings will we hope R. Til our iniquities pass away V. Have mercy on us O Lord for we are weak R. Heal us O Lord for we have sinned against thee V. Our iniquities are gone over our head R. And like a sad burthen sit heavy on us V. Will not our God require an account of these things R. Will he not examine every passage of our lives V. He sees the secrets of our harts R. And our darkest sins are not hid from Him V. Lord make us judg our selvs lest we be condemn'd by thee R. And chastize our selvs lest we be punisht by thee V. Make us mortify our senses with discreet austeritys R. Particularly contrary to the passions which molest us V. That we may reduce our bodys into subjection to our minds R. And our minds into subjection to Thee V. That as our too much liberty brought us to folly R. Our just severity may bring us to pardon V. Pardon O Lord
c. Antiph He is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but for the sins of the whole world Antiph Now is the time of acceptance now is the day of salvation let us demean our selvs as the servants of God in fasting and watching in patience and charity Psal LXXV SHould'st thou O Lord have dealt with us in rigour we had long since been sentenced to eternal death Long since our guilty souls had been snatch't away and hurried down to everlasting torments But thy gracious mercy has repriev'd our lives and given us space to work out our pardons Now is the time of acceptance with Thee now is the day of salvation for us Now let us mourn our former offences and bring forth fruits worthy of repentance If we O JESU have hitherto persecuted thee and with our sins nayl'd thee on the tree of death Now let our whole endeavours attend thy service and loyally conspire to un-crucify their Lord Let us ascend the Mount of Calvary and often as we go kiss thy holy steps We kiss thy steps when we love thy ways and humble our selvs and follow Thee Let us there on our knees approach thy Cross and reverently cover thy naked Body We cover thee when our charity cloaths thy servants and hides the infirmitys of thy litle Ones Let us there with tendrest care unfasten the nails and gently draw them out of thy hands and feet We draw them out when we freely obey thy will and loosen our affections from cleaving to the world Lord when we thus have rescu'd Thee and plac'd thee again on thy Throne of glory Instead of Thy self nail thou us to the Cross who really deserve what Thou really indured'st Crucify our flesh with the fear of Thee and give us our portion of sorrow here Crucify the world to us and us to the world that dead to it we may live in Thee At least live thou in us O holy JESU and fit our souls for so glorious a guest Enter into our harts and fill them with thy self that no room be left for any thing but Thee One only hope we have thy care of us one only fear our neglect of our selvs Glory be c. Antiph Now is the time of acceptance now is the day of salvation let us demean our selvs as the servants of God in fasting and watching in patience and charity Capit. Philip. 2. IF there be any consolation in Christ if any comfort of Charity if any fellowship of spirit if any bowels of Commiseration fulfil my joy that you be of one meaning having the same charity of one mind of one sentiment Let nothing be done by contention nor by vain glory but in humility every one counting others better then themselvs every one considering not the things that are their own but those that are of others Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ JESVS who being in the form of God thought it no robbery to be equal to God but he abased himself taking the form of a servant made into the similitude of men and in shape found as man He humbled himself being made obedient to death even the death of the Cross for which God has exalted him and given him a name above all names that at the name of JESVS every knee bow of things in heaven of things on earth and of things under the earth and every tongue confess that our Lord JESVS Christ is in the glory of God the Father Hymn XXIII ANd now my soul canst thou forget That thy whole life is one long debt Of love to Him who on this tree Paid back the flesh He took for thee Lo how the streams of precious blood Flow from five wounds into one flood With these he washes all thy stains And buys thy ease with his own pains Tall tree of life we clearly now That doubt of former Ages know It was thy wood should make the Throne Fit for a more then Salomon Large Throne of love royally spred With Purple of too rich a red Strange costly price thus to make good Thine own esteem with thy Kings blood Hail fairest Plant of Paradise To thee our hopes lift up their eys O may aloft thy branches shoot And fill the Nations with thy fruit O may all reap from thy Increase The Just more strength the sinner peace While our half-wither'd harts and we Engraft our selvs and grow on Thee Live O for ever live and reign Blest Lamb whom thine own love has slain And may thy lost sheep live to be True lovers of thy Cross and Thee All glory to the sacred Three One undivided Deity As it has been in ages gone May now and ever stil be done Antiph Our Lord dyed for us that we might live in Him and putting off the old man with all his concupiscences be renew'd henceforth in the spirit of our minds V. Behold dear Saviour thou art exalted from the earth R. Fulfil thy word and draw all things to thy self O Lord hear our prayers And let our Supplications come to Thee Let us pray O God who at the price of thy only Sons last drop on the Cross hast purchased our harts from this life and all the goods of it to the sole pursuit and hopes of Thy self in eternity Possess we beseech Thee and absolutely dispose of what Thou hast so dearly paid for mortifying us to this world and confirming our courage to fight manfully under the Banner of our crucify'd JESUS that we stand the shock of all temptations and nothing in life or death be able to separate us from thy love in Him our glorious Redeemer who with Thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns One God world with out end Amen Here on all Fridays that are fasted say kneeling V. Lord have mercy on us R. Christ have mercy on us V. Lord have mercy on us Our Father c. V. And lead us not into temptation R. But deliver us from evil Amen V. Who will give water to our eys R. And a fountain of tears to our head V. That we may weep day and night R. The loss of our time past and the danger of our time to come V. That we may weep for our many sins R. And humbly confess our grievous offences V. We have sin'd with our fathers we have sin'd R. We have done unjustly we have committed iniquity V. We have broken the Laws of our Maker R. We have provokt the wrath of our Judg. V. We have despised the goodnes of our God R. What shall we do O thou Preserver of men V. What shall we do but appeal from the bar of thy justice R. To thy mild and gracious Seat of Mercy V. Spare us O Lord for thy mercy sake R. Spare the works of thine own hands V. Spare us whom thou hast made for the enjoyment of thy self R. Spare us whom thou hast redeem'd with thy precious Blood V. Pardon O Lord our sins of
these thy unspeakable mercys We search over all we have and find nothing to return thee but what thy self hast freely given us We search over all thou hast given us and find nothing thou expectest but that we use thy gifts to make our selvs happy O may our souls perpetually bless thee and every minute of our time be spent in thy service Let us not live O Lord but to love thee nor breath but to speake thy praise * nor be at all but to be all Thine Glory be c. Psal XCVII SIng on my soul the praises of the Lord sing on with fresh attention the mercys of thy God Whose wisdom has contriv'd â—â—o compendious a method * to redeem mankind by one short word He saw the only cause of all our ruine * was our love misplac't on this present world He saw the only remedy of all our misery * was to fix our love on the world to come This therefore was his great intent and in this concentred all his merits To change the byass of our wrong-set harts by establishing among us new motives of charity Such as might strongly incline our affections and efficaciously draw us to love our true Good Such as might gain by degrees upon all mankind and render salvation easie and universal For this he came down from his Fathers bosom * to teach us the Rules of eternal life That we might firmly believe those sacred truths * which God himself with his own mouth had told us For this he converst so long on our earth * to encourage and provoke us by his own example That he might confidently imbrace those unquestionable vertues * which God himself in his own Person had practis'd For this he endur'd those sharp and many afflictions and became at last obedient even to death That we might patiently suffer whatever should befal us * when God himself was so treated by his creatures For this he so often preacht of the joys of heav'n and set them before us in so clear a light That seeing so rich a prize hang at the race's end we might run and strain our utmost force to gain it For this he ordain'd the Mysterys of grace and left us a Sacrifice made all of miracles That he might breed and nourish in us the life of charity and ravish our harts with the sweetnes of his presence For this he establisht a perpetual Church and sent the holy Ghost to inspire and govern it That it might flourish for ever in truth and sanctity and plant the same heav'nly seed over all the world For this he assum'd those strange endearing names * of friend and brother and spouse to us wretches Doing far more for us then all those names import * then all our harts can wish Blessed O glorious JESU be the wisdom of thy mercy * that has found so sweet and short away to save us Thou art O Lord the cause of our love and love the cause of our happiness By love we fulfil all thy commands and by making us love Thou fulfil'dst all thy Father's By love we are reconcil'd from enemys to friends by love we are translated from death to life By love we are deliver'd from the fear of hell by love we are adopted to be heirs of heav'n By love we are dispos'd for that blysful Vision by love we are secur'd of the enjoyment of our God Who by the sole perfection of his own free goodnes * can never deny Himself to any that love him Else would their very loving Him be the cause of their misery since the misery of a soul is the want of what it loves Thus Lord whate're thy holy Books record of Thee in words comporting with our low capacitys Whate're they say of thy Restoring all things and Repairing again the ruines of mankind All is exactly verify'd by this one line which may our thankful harts repeat with joy Heav'n is attain'd by love alone and love alone by Thee Glory be c. Psal XCVIII STil O my soul let us sing a few lines more * to Him whose mercys are no fewer then infinite To Him whose pity took us by the hand and kindly led us into his own light To thee O blessed JESU our Lord our God! who alone art the source of all our happines The world till thou cam'st sate wrapt in darknes and few discern'd so much as a shadow of Thee They follow'd the appetites of sense and humour and plac't their felicity in being prosperous here Litle considering the life to come and less the joys that entertain that life This was alas their miserable state and worse then this they had no power to help it How could they believe what they never heard or love what they never believ'd How could they desire what they never lov'd or be glad to receive what they never desir'd 'T was thou O Lord first taught us our true end * the blysful Vision of the eternal Deity 'T was thou first taught us the true means to attain that end by a harty love and desire to attain it O the blest changes which thy hand has wrought the happy improvements which thy coming has produc't Now every woman and illiterate man * can discourse familiarly of the highest truths The Creation of the world and the Fall of Adam the Incarnation of God and Redemption of man The Mystery of the Trinity and Miracle of the Resurrection the Day of Judgment and State of Eternity All these we know but 't was Thou O Lord who taught'st us and by thy holy Church first spred them o're the world Now thou hast open'd our eys we plainly see * what unassisted nature could ne're have reacht We see the framing right our affections here * is both cause and measure of our happines hereafter If we supremely esteem the Goods of the future life * we shall find them there and be happy If we love heav'n with our whole soul and press on strongly with all our force We shall enter into its glorys with a strange surprizing delight and possess them for ever in a perpetual extasy We see our souls are made to know and perfect themselvs by the worthiest objects We see their nature is free and unconfin'd and nothing can fill them but that which is infinite All other knowledges enlarge our facultys and breed new desire to know stil more Which if unsatisfy'd we yet are miserable since none can be happy who want their desire Only the sight of God fils us to the brim and infinitely overflows our utmost capacitys It fils and overflows all the powers of our souls * with joy and wonder and unconceivable sweetnes O blest and glorious Sight when wil the happy day appear * and open to my soul that beauteous prospect When dearest Lord shall I see Thee face to face when shall I hartily at least desire to see Thee Thou art my full and high felicity * and only and alone sufficient for me O make me
ardently love Thee that I may eagerly desire Thee and eagerly desire Thee that I may transportedly enjoy Thee Glory be c. Antiph Bless our Lord O my soul and all that is within me praise his holy Name Capit. Ephes 3. NOw to Him who is able to do all things more abundantly then we desire or understand according to the power that works in us to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations world without end Amen Hymn XXX SWeet JESU why why dost thou love Such worthles things as we Why is thy hart still toward us Who seldom think on Thee Thy bounty gives us all we have And we thy gifts abuse Thy bounty gives us ev'n Thy self And we Thy self refuse My soul and why why do we love Such wretched things as these These that withdraw us from our Lord And his pure eys displease Break off and be no more a child To run and sweat and cry While all this stir this huge concern Is only for a fly Some silly fly that 's hard to catch And nothing when 't is caught Such are the toys thou striv'st for here Not worth a serious thought Break off and raise thy manly ey Up to those joys above Behold all those thy Lord prepares To woo and crown thy love Alas dear Lord I cannot love Unles Thou draw my hart Thou who thâ—â—s kindly mak'st me know O make me do my part Stil do thou love me O my Lord That I may stil love Thee Stil make me love thee O my God! That thou may'st stil love me Thus may my God and my poor soul Stil one another love Till I depart from this low world T' enjoy my God above To Thee great God to Thee alone One coeternal Three All pow'r and praise all joy and blyss Now and for ever be Here recite the Antiphon for Benedictus and the Canticle Benedictus and the Prayer as in the Proper of our Saviours Feasts But if you voluntarily say this Office on any day that is not some Feast of our Saviour then use the Antiphon and Prayer following Antiphon for Benedictus BLessed be thy holy Name O glorious Son of God and blessed be thy mercy for ever thou hast perfectly fulfil'd all thy Prophets foretold and infinitely transcended all the wonders they admir'd thou hast done enough to convince us into faith and suffer'd too much to inflame us with thy love Blessed be thy holy Name O glorious Son of God and blessed be thy mercy for ever alleluia Benedictus c. as Page 27. O Lord hear our Prayers And let our Supplications come to Thee Let us pray MOst gracious Lord who so loved'st the world that thou gavest thy self to redeem it and humbly took'st upon thee our low nature that thou might'st familiarly teach us the truth of salvation and invincibly fortify us against all persecution and efficaciously draw us after thee into thine own Kingdom by thy holy life and precious death and glorious resurrection Grant us we beseech thee so to meditate these ifinite mercys and fill our whole souls with the memory of this love that we may live in thy obedience and dy in thy favour and rise again to rejoyce with thee for ever in thy glory Who with the Father and the holy Ghost liveth and reigneth One God world without end Amen Commemorations as Page 29. Vespers for our B. Saviour IN the Name as Page 33. Antiph Thy judgements O Lord we confess are just but deal we beseech thee with thy servants in mercy Psal XCIX LIft up thy voice Jerusalem and be not afraid say to the Citys of Juda behold your God Behold the Lord your God is come with a strong hand his reward is with him and his work before him He is come to bring redemption to all the world and graciously offers it first to you his People But you refus'd the Holy One and the Just and desir'd a murtherer to be granted to you Hark with how sweet and eligant a Compassion * thy kind Redeemer complains of thy ingratitude O Jerusalem Jerusalem thou that killest the Prophets and stonest them who are sent to thee How often would I have gather'd thy children together as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings * and thou wouldest not O hadst thou known in that thy day the things which belong to thy peace but now they are hid from thine eys Harken once more with what terrible threatnings * thy provident Lord forewarns thee of thy danger Gird thee with sackcloth Jerusalem and ly down in ashes cover thee with mourning and bitterly lament For the days shal come when thy enemys shal besiege thee and compas thee about with a trench They shal not leave one stone upon another but beat thee to the ground and thy children in thee Thy people shal be slain by the edge of the sword and led as slaves into all Countrys They shal wander up and down without King or Prince they shal mourn without sacrifice or altar And Jerusalem shal be trodden under feet by the Gentiles till the fulnes of Nations be accomplisht But O how long Lord holy and merciful how long wilt thou be angry with them for ever Hast thou not said he that scatters Israel will gather them again and keep them as a Shepherd does his flock Remember thy antient promises O Lord and save the remnant of thy once lov'd Israel Take away the veil from before their eys that they may see thy truth and imbrace it Take away the hardnes from their stony harts that they again may be thy people and thou again their God Then shal they lay aside the garment of mourning and put on the brightnes which comes from Thee They shall celebrate the Jubily of this their greatest Deliverance and every one sing in that day of joy Come let 's ascend to the mountain of our Lord let us learn his ways and walk in his paths As 't was our wickednes to go astray from our God so now return'd let us seek him ten times more Too late have we known thee O thou ancicient Truth too late have we lov'd thee O Thou desir'd of all Nations We were misled by the error of our fathers we were abus'd by our own blind passions The Kingdom we expected deservs not that name a short and vain and troublesom prosperity Thy Dominion O Lord is holines and peace and of thy Kingdom there shal be no end Such was the Kingdom thou promisedst to David Thy Throne will I establish for ever Such is the Kingdom thou giv'st to thy Servants They shal live and reign with Thee for ever O make us love dear Lord this eternal Kingdom and all things else shal be added to it O make us love this eternal Kingdom though nothing else should be added to it Glory be c. Antiph Thy judgements O Lord we confes are just but deal we beseech Thee with thy servants in mercy Antiph Thou art O Lord
souls chief hope We to thy mercy fly Wher'ere we are thou canst protect What'ere we need supply Whether we sleep or wake To thee we both resign By night we see as well as day If thy light on us shine Whither we live or dy Both we submit to Thee In death we live as well as life If thine in death we be Glory to Thee great God One coeternal Three To Father Son and holy Ghost Eternal glory be Capit. 1 Thes 5. BUt we who are of the day let us be sober having on us the brest-plate of faith and charity and for a helmet the hope of salvation for God has not appointed us to wrath but to the purchasing salvation thorow Jesus Christ our Lord who dyed for us that whither we wake or sleep we might live together with Him Antiph By seeking our selvs in this world of vanity we lose both thee O Lord and our own souls by seeking our selvs in Thee and thy love we find both Thee and our own happines injoying already a sweet possession of hopes to end e're long in a sweeter fruition of glory V. Thou art O Lord the free bestower of all we have R. Thou art the faithful Promiser of all we expect O Lord hear our Prayers And let our Supplications come to thee Let us pray O Blessed JESU whose sacred Body after thou hadst finisht in it the work of our redemption was taken down from the Cross and after a short repose in the Sepulcher was rais'd again to a glorious immortality Grant us we beseech thee so frequently to renew in our minds the memory of thy grave that we always be prepar'd for our own and so seriously to reflect on the consequences of a holy death that every day we grow less affected to this transitory life and more in love with thy eternal joys who with the Father and the holy Ghost liveth and reigneth one God world without end Amen Vouchasfe c. as Pag. 54. to the end Office of the Holy Ghost Matins Introduction as pag. 1. Psal CV Invitatory Come let 's adore our God that sanctifys us Come let 's adore our God that sanctifys us COme let us humbly first implore his grace to make us worthy to adore our Sanctifier who from the Father and the Son eternally proceeds and with the Father and the Son is equally glorifyed Come let 's adore our God that sanctifys us He infuses into us the breath of life and brings us forth in our second birth a birth that makes us heirs of heav'n and gives us a title to everlasting happines Come let 's adore our God that sanctifys us Let us prepare our understandings to assent to his truths and our wills to follow his divine inspiratons let us fil our memorys with his innumerable mereys and our whole souls with the glory of his Attributes Come let 's adore our God that sanctifys us Let us confidently addres to Him our petitioNs who promises to help the infirmity of our pray'rs let us not doubt the bounty of his goodnes but hope he will grant what Himself inspires to ask Come let 's adore our God that sanctifys us Glory be to the Father and to the Son * and to the holy Ghost As it was in the beginning both now and ever * world without end Amen Come let 's adore our God that sanctifys us Come let 's adore our God that sanctifys us Hymn XXXIII COme holy Spirit come and breath Thy spicy odours on the face Of our dull region here beneath And fil our souls with thy sweet grace Come and root out the poysonous weeds Which over-run and choke our lives And in our harts plant thine own seeds Whose quick'ning power our spirit revives First plant the humble Violet there That dwels secure by dwelling low Then let the Lilly next appear And make us chast yet fruitful too But O! plant all the Vertues Lord And let the metaphors alone Repeat once more that mighty word Thou need'st but say Let it be done We can alas nor be nor grow Unless thy pow'rful mercy please Thy hand must plant and water too Thy hand alone must give th' increase Do then what thou alone canst do Do what to thee so easie is Conduct us through this world of wo And place us safe in thine own blyss All glory to the sacred Three One everliving Soveraign Lord As at the first still may He be Belov'd and prais'd fear'd and ador'd Antiph In those days saith our Lord I wil pour out my spirit upon all flesh Alleluja Alleluja Psal CVI. LOrd with how sweet and natural a conduct * does thy Providence govern the children of men Leading them on from one degree to another till thou hast brought them up to their highest perfection Thou putst them to learn in the school of Vertue and disposest their capacity's into several forms In the first ages when the world was young * thou gav'st them for their guide the book of Nature There thy divine assistance helpt them to read * some few plain Lessons of their duty to Thee They saw this admirable frame of creatures and as far as these could argue they could conclude Sure ther 's a God the cause of all things sure ther 's a Providence the disposer of all things He must be powerful that made so vast a world he must be wise that contriv'd such excellent works He must be goodnes it self that did all this for us and we ingrateful wretches if we 'l do nothing for Him Thus far some few could say and very few could do with those slender assistances they then injoy'd After thou gav'st thy people a written Rule which train'd them up in a set form of discipline Which grew and spred into a publick Religion and uniformly profest by a whole Nation They had some weak conceit of the Kingdom of heav'n and some imperfect means to bring them thither But for those high supernatural Mysterys * that so gloriously exalt the Christian faith They all alas were blind or in the dark and dangerously expos'd to the effects of their ignorance Wanting those clear instructions to know their End wanting those powerful motives to love their God Yet this prepar'd them for the times of Grace * to which thy mercy O Lord reserv'd far greater favours To which thou hadst promis'd by thy holy Prophets * an effusion of blessings from thine own full hands I will put my Law in their bowels and write it in their harts I will be their God and they shal be my People I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and your sons and your daughters shal prophesy They shal teach no more every one his Neighbor for all shal know me from the greatest to the least O merciful Lord who hast lov'd us from the begining be graciously pleased to love us to the end Pity the unhappy state of faln mankind which neither nature nor law could bring to perfection If any riper souls
came forward to the birth there wanted spirit to bring them forth But O send out thy spirit O Lord and they shal be created and from their nothing of sin rais'd to the life of holines Send out thy spirit and renew the face of the earth and our weeds and our thorns shal be turn'd into a Paradise Glory be c. Antiph In those days saith our Lord I will pour out my spirit upon all Flesh alleluia alleluia Antiph When He ascended on high he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men alleluia alleluia Psal CVII LOok up languishing world look up and see * how punctually thy faithful Lord performs his word When he had finisht here that glorious work * which his goodnes undertook for our redemption When he had told us what we ought to do and what to suffer for the Kingdom of heav'n When he himself had done more then he requir'd of us and suffer'd more then our boldest hopes could expect of Him When he had wrought our salvation so far that he saw his absence more expedient for us He first prepares the harts of his Disciples and comforts their sorrows with these sweet words Children I will not leave you Orphans * but will pray to my Father and he shal give you another Comforter Even the Spirit of truth who shal teach you all things and bring to your remembrance whatever I have said Peace I leave with you my peace I give you let not your hart be troubled nor let it be afraid I go to my Father and to your Father to my God and to your God I go to prepare a place for you that where I am there may my followers be This said He led them forth together and gave them his blessing and parting from them went away into heav'n So loving Mothers when the weaning time is come withdraw themselvs from their beloved Children But while they thus deprive their tender litle Ones * of their own most dear and all-supplying presence They stil depute some faithful friend to assist them for though they leave 'em they mean not to forsake 'em Such and far greater was the care of our God as his love is far greater then that of Mothers He saw it necessary for so mysterious a faith to be shewn in a clear and supernatural light to the first Beleevers That they might confidently recommend to others * what they knew so infallibly was certain to themselvs He saw it necessary for so perverse a world to infuse into its first Converters the fulnes of Charity That with an ardent zeal they might instruct their hearers and with a patient courage overcome their opposers He saw it necessary for such variety of Nations to furnish his Preachers with variety of Tongues That they might teach every one in their native speech and understand their doubts and satisfy their objections Wherefore when the appointed time was come as all the works of God go forth in their fittest season When the Disciples were gather'd together in one mind and place and so excellently dispos'd for the visits of heav'n When they had long continued in ardent Prayer and wrought 〈◊〉 their affections to the utmost point of desire Behold a sound rushes suddenly down from above whence every good and perfect gift descends Behold a vehement wind fills the whole house for the grace of God is strong and liberal Behold on the head of each sits a tongue as of fire the properest inablements to convert the world While they were all illuminated with a pure light and while they were inflam'd with a fervent heat And to communicate both to every Nation were all indued with the gift of languages Thus was the promise of our Lord fulfill'd thus were the Messengers of everlasting peace prepar'd Miraculously baptiz'd with the holy Ghost and with fire and perfectly qualify'd for their great commission To preach to every creature this happy Gospel he that beleevs and is baptiz'd shal be sav'd Glory be c. Antiph When he ascended on high he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men alleluia alleluia Antiph This is our Lords doing and it is wonderful in our eys alleluja alleluja Psal CVIII HOw glorious is thy grace O Lord over all the world how admirable the influence of thy holy spirit They who through dulnes so slowly understood * the often repeated Lessons of their divine Master Now with the first swist glance they see through all and no Mystery can pose them nor error deceive them They who through fear forsook their Lord and fled all away from the danger of being His Now they rejoyce in suffering for his Name and neither life nor death can forbid them to confess him They who knew only their Mother-tongue and that no better then as simple Fishermen Now speak to every Nation in their several language and with their powerful eloquence ravish their harts They who even after our Saviours resurrection * shut fast the dores for fear of the Jews Now in the open streets and publick Synagogs they confidently proclaim the Name of JESUS These were new bottles fill'd with new wine that made them quite forget their former selvs Wine that exalted them into a generous spirit * of despising all things for love of JESUS Wine that in the midst of racks and prisons * made 'em often break forth into that sweet extasy No joy like the pain of suffering for JESUS no life like the death indur'd for his love O were there now such tongues of fire to kindle in the world those divine flames O were there now such harts in the world to receive the holy sparks that fall from heav'n The Prince of the Apostles preacht but one Sermon and immediately converted three thousand souls He preacht again and wrought but one miracle and five thousand more were added to the Church Thus every day they increast in number and which was better their number increas'd in Vertue They were inebriated with the same heav'nly wine and fill'd with the same heroick spirit They sold all they had and brought the price * and laid it down at the Apostles feet They liv'd in common and cal'd nothing their own and even in their will and understanding they were all united Every one had enough and that 's to be rich none had too much and that 's to be free Free from the cares that perplex the welthy free from the tentations that wait on superfluity Hadst thou been there my soul to have seen * the flaming ardours of those first Converts Imagine at least and know thy utmost fancy * is far below what they really practis'd O how devoutly did they visit those holy places where our blessed Lord had shed his blood The garden where he pray'd and the halâ—â— where he was condemn'd the mountain where he suffer'd and the sepulcher where he was bury'd At every station they fel down on their knees and faces and ador'd meditated and pray'd They
that are in the world if any one love the world the charity of the Father is not in him For all that is in the world is concupiscence of the flesh concupiscence of the eys and pride of life which is not of the Father but of the world and the world passes away and the concupiscence therof but he that does the will of God abides for ever Antiph Learn of me says our Lord for I am meek and humble of hart and you shall find rest to your souls V. Meekness indeed is the heav'n of this life R. But the heav'n of heav'ns is above with Thee O Lord hear our prayers And let our supplications come to Thee Let us pray O God whose gracious Providence has particularly ordain'd the Spirit of Meeknes to waft us safely through the turbulent Sea of this world to our Haven of Blyss Vouchsafe we beseech thee so to dispose thy servants for this precious vertue by making every days clearer experience of our own weaknes and vanity strike our lofty sails and lay flat on the ground all proud conceits of our selvs that we suffer not our minds to be discompos'd with any passion nor our tongues to break forth into any violent expression but always preserve our selvs in such a regular and even temper stir the world how it will about us as becomes those all whose Powers are possest with the joys of heav'n and apt to feel in every thing only the sweet impulses of hope and charity through our Lord JESUS Christ thy Son who with Thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns One God world without end Amen V. Vouchsafe us we beseech thee O Lord a quiet night and a happy end R. Amen V. Lord have mercy on us R. Christ have mercy on us V. Lord have mercy on us Our Father c. V. And lead us not into temptation R. But deliver us from evil Amen V. Into thy hands O Lord we commend our spirits R. Into thy hands O Lord we commend our spirits R. Thou hast redeemed us O Lord thou God of truth R. Into thy hands O Lord we commend our spirits V. Preserve us O Lord as the apple of thine ey R. Under the shadow of thy wings protect us V. Save us O Lord waking defend us sleeping R. That we may watch with Christ and rest in peace V. Vouchsafe O Lord to keep us this night without sin R. Have mercy on us O Lord have mercy on us V. Lord let thy mercy be on us R. As our hope is in Thee V. O Lord hear our prayers R. And let our supplications come to Thee Let us pray VIsit we beseech thee O Lord this habitation and drive far away all snares of the enemy let thy holy Angels dwell therein to preserve us in peace and thy blessing be upon us for ever through our Lord JESUS Christ thy Son who with Thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns One God world without end Amen V. O Lord hear our Prayers R. And let our supplications come to Thee V. Bless we our Lord. R. Thanks be to God V. May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace R. Amen Pause a litle then say one of the following Antiphons and Prayers according to the time From Advent Sunday Morning to Candlemas Eve V. Our Lord give us his peace R. And life everlasting Amen Blest Mother of our Lord whose pray'rs display The gates of heav'n whose light directs our way Here in these dangerous Seas obtain supplies For those who often fall yet strive to rise Thou at whom Nature stood amaz'd to see The world's Creator humbly born of Thee Thou whom the Angel did that homage pay All-spotless Virgin for us sinners pray V. Blessed O Lord is the womb that bare Thee R. And the brests that gave Thee suck Let us pray O God who by the blessed Fruit of the Virgin Mary hast bestow'd on mankind the rewards of eternal salvation grant we beseech Thee that we may always injoy the benefit of her intercession by whom thou wert pleas'd we should receive the Author of our life JESUS Christ thy Son our Lord Amen May the divine Assistance remain with us for ever Amen Pause a litle then say The Blessing of God Almighty Father Son and holy Ghost descend upon us and dwell in our harts for ever Amen Pause a litle then rise So ends the whole Office of the day From Candlemas to Maundy Thursday V. Our Lord give us his peace R. And life everlasting Amen HAil Queen of Angels holy Quires Hail whom the Court of heav'n admires Thou art the Root whence our joys spring The Gate that light to us didst bring Heav'ns brightest Saints thy grace outshines Thy Glory all the Seraphins Live happy Favorite of Thy Son And plead our cause at his dread Throne V. Vouchsafe O holy Virgin to accept our praises R. And favour us with thy prayers for strength against our enemies Let us pray SUstain we beseech Thee O merciful God the weaknes of thy servants that we who celebrate the memory of the blessed Mother of our Lord may by the 〈◊〉 of her intercession obtain thy grace to rise from our iniquities through the same JESUS Christ our Lord Amen May the divine Assistance remain with us for ever Amen Pause Then The Blessing of God Almighty Father Son and holy Ghost descend upon us and dwell in our hearts for ever Amen From Easter to Trinity Sunday V. Our Lord give us his peace R. And life Everlasting Amen REjoyce chast Queen of Angels and apply All those blest Quires to sing this Victory He that was born of Thee and dy'd for us Has conquer'd death is risen glorious Sing then and in thy hymns this mercy crave That thy great Son our souls in Judgment save V. Rejoyce and triumph O Blessed Virgin Mary Alleluja R. For our Lord is risen indeed Alleluja Let us pray O God who by the resurrection of thy Son our Lord JESUS Christ hast vouchâ—â—af't to make glad the harts of the world grant we beseech Thee that by the prayers of his immaculate Virgin-Mother we may attain the joys of eternal life through the same JESUS Christ our Lord Amen May the divine Assistance remain with us for ever Amen Pause Then The Blessing of God Almighty Father Son and holy Ghost descend upon us and dwell in our hearts for ever Amen From Trinity Sunday to Advent Sunday V. Our Lord give us his peace R. And life everlasting Amen HAil Queen of Saints Hail mercies Mother Our life our hope our comfort Hail To thee deploring one another We poor Eves banish't off-spring wail To thee we cry and our sad moans Sigh out into thy tender ears To thee our harts weep bitter groans In this doleful vale of tears Hear glorious Advocate O hear And towards wretched us incline The gracious aspect of those dear Compassionating eys of thine Soft source of pity mil'd and sweet O
their birth and the unfortunate companions that inveagled them to sin They shall curse this vain deceitful world and cry out with a desperate enraged fury Are these the effects of those found desires whose enjoyment we made our chief felicity Alas what avail us now our wanton liberties aud the fugitive pleasures we so eagerly persu'd What comfort receive we from those empty honours * and faithles riches we so highly esteem'd They all are vanisht away like a shadow and as a cloud of smoke that 's scater'd with the wind But the remorse and punishment endure for ever and torture our spirits with perpetual anguish Thus shal they cry and none regard to hear them thus shal they mourn and none be found to pity them O sad expectance of a dissolute life O dreadful consequence of an impenitent death Eternally to long for what they never can enjoy eternally to suffer what they never can avoid Blessed be thy gracious Providence O God that with such tender care forewarns us of our dangers O save us too dear Lord from all those dangers save us for thy mercys sake Save us and make us fearful to do * what when we have done will make us miserable to suffer Quicken our apprehensions of the ruinous effects of Sin and with thy terrible threatnings check our unbridled passions That if thy glorious promises move not our harts the fear at least of hell may fright us into heav'n Glory be c. Antiph The day will come it will infallibly come when God will destroy all that work iniquity Antiph The day will come it will infallibly come when God will Crown all that love his glory Psal XLII VVHy do you mourn you children of the light to whom belong the promises of Blyss Who feed on the pleasant fruits of piety and the continual feast of a good conscience Who tast already the sweetnes of hope and herafter shal be satisfied with the fulnes of fruition What can molest your happy state whom the God of Glory has chosen for himself Whom he has adopted into his own Family and design'd for heirs of the Kingdom of heaven That Blessed Kingdom where all delights abound and sorrow and tears are banisht away Where none are sick or grow old or dy but flourish in health and youth and immortal life Where none are perplext with cares or fears but dwel secure and free for ever Where we no more shal be subject to chance no more expos'd to the danger of tentation Where we no more shal be crost by others no more disquieted by our own passions But a serene tranquillity perpetually within us and innumerable joys all round about us Joy in the excellencys of our glorifyd bodys joy in the perfections of our enlarged souls Joy in the sweet society of Saints joy in the glorious company of Angels Joy in the ravishing sight of our beloved JESUS joy in the blisful union with the adored Deity All shal be joy and love and peace and all endure for eternal ages Let then the impenitent sinner be frighted with fear and the obdurate hart break asunder with grief But for the hopeful Innocent let them always be glad and the servants of JESUS rejoyce and sing Sweet is the yoke of thy love O Lord and light the burthen of thy commands But O how far more rich are thy faithful promises how infinitely greater thy glorious rewards When every vertue shal wear its proper crown and shine with a Diadem fit for its own head The humble there shal be highly exalted and the poor in spirit prefer'd to be Kings The meek shal posses that holy land and the mourners be comforted with eternal refreshments The clean of hart shal see the God of purity and the lovers of peace have the priviledg of his Children They who hunger and thirst after heav'n shal be fill'd and the merciful entertain'd with the embraces of mercy They who suffer persecution shal abundantly be rewarded and the enlightners of others shine bright as the stars They who relinquish any thing for God shal receive a hundred fold and all the Just be in glory for ever Then shal they bless the true friend that reprov'd them and the charitable hand that assisted to their happines They shal bless the provident mercys of their God and sing aloud the victorys of his grace Is this the effect of those litle pains we took are these the repairs for those petty losses we suffer'd Happy we who deny'd our selvs toys and now are advanc't to these high felicities Millions of years shal pass away and our glory shal seem but then to begin Millions of Millions shal pass away and our glory shal be no nearer its end Thus shal they all rejoyce and none disturb them thus shal they sing and all the heav'ns joyn with them O sweet expectance of a pious life O happy consequence of a holy death Eternally to be free from whatever can afflict eternally to enjoy whatever can â—â—elight Blest be thy gracious Providence O God that with so large a bounty woos us to our happines Woos us in a way we are so apt to be taken the love of our selvs and our own great interest As thou hast prepar'd such felicitys for us O may thy grace prepare us for them O may this best of works take up all our time at least take up the best of our time At least every morning let us renew our hope and close the evening with the same sweet thoughts Let us not faint and we surely shall see a prosperous issue out of all our sorrows Still let us labour still let us suffer our troubles are short and our joys eternal Glory be c. Antiph The day will come it will infallibly come when God will crown all that love his glory Antiph What will it profit us to gain the whole world and lose our own Souls or what shal we give in exchange for our souls Psal XLIII COme now my soul and chuse for life and death are set before thee Chuse while thy gracious Lord allows thee day lest the night of darknes overtake thy neglect Chuse but remember thy eternity is concern'd and examine well ere thou mak'st thy resolve Call all the pleasures of the world before thee and ask if any of them be worth such pains Ask if to satisfy some irregular passion * can recompence the forfeiture of such felicitys Ask if the vain forbidden things thou lov'st * deserve thy affection better than thy Maker Are they more worthy in themselvs or beneficial to Thee that thou canst prefer them before thy Redeemer Dost thou expect to be quiet by enjoying them or everlastingly happy by their procurement Will they protect thee at the hour of thy death or plead thy caus at the day of Judgment O 〈◊〉 they but deceive me with a smiling look which I too often have prov'd by dear experience 'T is heav'n alone that yeilds a true content 't is heav'n alone
the hands of God At first endow'd with dominion o're the Earth and which was more with dominion o're thy self At first not only made sole Lord of Paradise but heir apparent of the Heav'n of heav'ns All this thou lost by one rash act * disobeying the Law of thy wise Creator All this alas we lost by thy transgression which brought in sin and death and universal misery Our bodys were deprav'd by thy distemper and our souls made fit for such depraved bodys Our senses quickly rebel'd against reason and both together conspir'd against grace Dulnes and ignorance o'respred the world error and vice possest mankind The Law they observ'd was their own unruly appetites and the Deity they worship'd the work of their own hands Even the selected people of the true God the favourite Nation of the Almighty Providence They who were brought out of Egypt with so many wonders and seated in a Country flowing with Milk and Honey They who had seen the sea divide before them and stand on each side as a wall to defend them They who had tasted the quails and manna from heavâ—â—n and drunk of the streams that came gushing from the Rock Even they forgot their great Deliverer and set up for their God a Golden Calf They could not worship what they did not see they must have Gods to go before them Thus lay the miserable world all cover'd with darknes and the thickest mists of gross Idolatry Thus had poor man quite lost his way and all he could do was to wander up and down a while Til when his few vain years were spent * he suddenly descended to everlasting sorrows This mov'd thy pity gracious Lord who often art found by those that seek thee not VVho never withdraw'st thy hand in time of need but constantly supply'st us in all our distresses This mov'd thy pity to undertake our relief and come down thy self and dwel among us That as our nature us'd to worship what it saw we now should see what we might safely worship But thou again dear Lord must leave our world and though it be good for us 't is hard to part from Thee Thou must again ascend into thy Fathers bosom to prepare a place for thy faithful Followers Yet even then O thou wise and infinite Goodnes thou didst not wholly forsake our earth Only thy usual cloaths and shape were chang'd but thy former Self stil dwels among us Stil thou art really here to move us by thy presence * and entertain our devotions without fear of excess VVe know 't is impossible to adore our God too much O that 't were possible to adore him enough Glory be c. Antiph VVhether O my God should we wander if left to our selvs where should we fix our harts if not directed by Thee Antiph Blessed be thy Providence O God that so tenderly nurses up the world stil growing on to new degrees of perfection Psal LXI LOrd what a happy change has thy coming wrought what glorious effects has thy Doctrin produced Narrow was once the gate and strait the path to bliss and few there were that found it Once in a populous City not ten that were just and on the whole earth but eight that were sav'd Now we see thousands with a strong and generous love * run swiftly after Thee in the ways of thy Counsels Now we see millions with a fair degree of hope * walk constantly towards Thee in the ways of thy Commands Now we see Kings and mighty Nations submit to Thee and hope all the world will ere long adore Thee Whence O my God could this strange improvement come but that JESUS ascending left himself on our Altars Whence could this blessing spring but from his holy life and the infinit merits of his painful death Both which are here miraculously united and the fruits of both abridg'd into this one Mystery This is the Mystery that gives life and spirit to the Church and works all the wonders that adorn the world This builds our great and sumptuous Temples to bestow on our God the best house we have This with our richest treasures beautifys our altars to entertain our Lord in the best way we can This breeds the reverence we pay to Priests and excellently disposes us to believe and obey them This keeps alive our dear Redeemers death and applies to our souls all the vertue of his Passion This fills our hearts with heroick courage * to do and suffer for the Name of JESUS This is in fine the food of faith and hope and love and these 3 fit us for eternal happines O blest memorial of my Saviours love and faithful Seal of all his promises If I forget to sing of thee * let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth If I forget to meditate on Thee * let my head forfeit its power to think All the short time I remain in thy presence * I will wholly employ to adore thy Majesty Thee will I bless for all thy mercys to Thee will I open all my necessitys Beging thy pardon for my past offences * and thy gracious assistance for the time to come Imploring thy peace for the souls departed and thy blessing for all the world O spotles Lamb once slain for us on the Cross and dayly sacrificed on the holy Altar Be thou our powerful Advocate with thy heav'nly Father and solicite by thy Merits his mercy for us Offer thy sacred Self before his Throne and turn away the wrath we deserve for our sins So slaves are rescu'd from their chains * and prisoners from the doom of death While they appease their offended King * with the pleasing remembrance of his beloved Son And so hope we and infinitely more from the infinitely greater Mediation of JESUS If Thou O Lord shalt thus restore our liberty and cloath thy servants in the robes of innocence Then shall we all delight to be still in thy presence and follow thee where're thou goest In thy Processions we 'l wait on thy triumph in thy visiting the sick we 'l attend thy charity When thou art lifted up we 'l bow before Thee when solemnly expos'd we 'l publickly adore thee Where e're Thou art we 'l never forsake Thee where e're we are our harts shall be with Thee Glory be c. Antiph Blessed be thy Providence O God that so tenderly nurses up the world still growing on to new degrees of perfection Antiph This is the greatest charity that God himself can bestow since God can bestow nothing greater then himself Psal LXII ANd does our glorious God not only visit but dwelt perpetually with us men upon earth He whom the heav'n of heav'ns cannot contain does he make his residence in our litle Tabernacles Where are you holy Angels that you fly not swiftly down and in your whitest robes attend your Lord Where are you careles men that you run not quickly hither and with your lowliest homage bow to your King Who though
men Psal LXIII VVHo will give me this happy favour that I may find my God alone That I may find him in the silence of retirement where the noise of this world can no way interrupt us But that my God may speak to me and I to him as dearest friends converse together That I may unfold before him all my wants and freely ask the charity of his counsel VVhat shall I do O my gracious Lord to be happy here VVhat shall I do to be happy herafter Nature already has thus far taught me that in all I undertake I seek my own good Only I have cause to fear I may mistake that good and set up an Idol instead of thee Unless my God vouchsafe to instruct me and shew my soul its true felicity Hark how the eternal wisdom gives thee advice and let every word sink deep into thy soul Seek with thy first endeavours the Kingdom of heav'n and all things else shall be added to thy wish Love with thy whole affections the injoyment of thy God and all things else shall conspire to thy happines All these my lips confess are excellent truths but when O my God shall my life confess them When shall I perfectly overcome my passions and guide them so that they may draw me to thy light While they are mine alas I cannot govern them behold dear Lord I offer them all to Thee Check thou their lawles motions by thy grace lest they violently carry me away from my duty Wean thou my hart from the follys of this world and quicken its appetite to thy solid joys That I may hunger and thirst perpetually after Thee and those glorious promises thou hast made to thy servants That my whole soul may seek Thee alone since Thou alone art all my heav'n Glory be c. Psal LXIV WHen O my soul shall thy God find thee alone free from those busy thoughts that fill thy head O with what ready charity would he then instruct thee and let thee in to his blessed Secrets Himself would become thy familiar Guest and dwell with thee in perpetual joy Lord Thou must enter first and chace those fancys away and consecrate my soul a temple to thy self Take thou entire possession and hold it fast for ever and suffer not the enemys of my peace to return Sit thou as Soveraign King and absolutely command for thy government is mild and rewards are infinite What hast thou promis'd gracious Lord * to him that receives thee with an humble love All that 's contain'd in those sweet and mystick words * he dwels in me and I in him O blessed words if once my soul can say He dwels in me and I in him He is my refuge in all temptations He is my comfort in all distresses He is my security against all enemys He dwels in me and I in him What can an infinite bounty give greater then it self and what can an empty creature receive greater then his God O glorious God my life my joy and the only center of all my hopes VVere my unsteddy soul once united to Thee or once had relisht the sweetnes of thy presence How would all other company seem dull and tedious and the whole world be bitter to my tast How would my thoughts cleave fast to thee and gladly seal this everlasting Covenant If Thou O Lord wilt dwel with me my hart shall continually attend on Thee Night and day will I sing thy praises and all my life long adore thy mercys Glory be c. Psal LXV THou art my only hope O blessed JESU and thy favour alone is all things to me In thee I find the providence of a father * and the tender kindnes of an indulgent mother In thee I enjoy the protection of a King * and the rare fidelity of a constant friend In thee I possess what ever I want and thy fulnes exceeds even my utmost desires Thou art O JESU my God and all things what can I think or wish for more Already enough is said for them that love and know the value of those precious words O sweet and charming words my God and all things sweet in excess to those that tast them Not to the corrupted palates of the world who relish nothing but the food of sense VVordes that revive the fainting mind and fill its darkest thoughts with light and joy O may these blessed words dwell on my tongue and live for ever in my faithful memory VVhere e're I am in this inconstant world and what ever busines entertains my hand Still let my inward ey look up towards Thee and fix my sight on thy glorious face Still may I wish and long for that happy day * which opens to my soul so blest a view Where I shall see and no longer darkly believe * that thou O Lord art my God and all things Glory be c. Antiph What couldst thou say dear Lord more sweet then this Thy delight is to be with the children of men Hymn XX. COme my thoughts who fondly fly At every toy that passes by Spending so your strength in vain While what you court you ne're can gain Come my soul who sure must be Quite tir'd with all this life can see Losing oft thy hope and time Come take advice of this plain rime Seek no more abroad thy rest But seek at home in thine own brest Let thy mind from guilt be clear Then look for all thy comfort there With thy Self and with thy God Delight to make thy chief abode There repose secure and free And no mischance can trouble thee Should death's self thy walls assail Still thou art safe and canst not fail Still thy soul 's thine own and she To a new house remov'd shall be New and lasting there above All built and furnish't with pure love There shall this mud wall of thine Repair'd the brightest stars outshine There thy Lord who feeds thee now VVith his own flesh will more bestow He came down to be like thee Thou shalt go up and like Him be King of glory King of peace May these our praises never cease Still may we adore thy Throne Still bow and sing to Thee alone Capit. 1. Pet. 5. HUmble your selvs under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in the day of visitation casting upon Him all your solicitude for He has care of you Be sober and watch for your adversary the devil as a roaring lyon compasses about seeking whom he may devour whom resist strong in faith Antiph Be vacant and see how sweet our Lord is get above the eclipse of earth and be ravisht with the light of his countenance V. I said to all creatures Peace be gone R. Let me injoy my God in solitude and silence O Lord hear our prayers And let our supplications come to Thee Let us pray O God whose delights are to be with the children of men when thy grace can prevail with us to quit all other Converse and
now and argue with me saith our Lord though your sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow and though they be red as vermillion they shall be white as wool R. Who will give water to my head and a fountain of tears to my eys that day and night I may continually weep and mourn and lament for my own sins and for my Saviours sufferings * O my ador'd Redeemer make us hartily sorry to have offended Thee make us speedily mend least we ruine our selvs Thou hast given us these holy rules to guide our lives and enforc't them on us by thine own example fasting and praying and weeping and humbling thy self to death even the death of the Cross * O my Third Lesson BEhold in the day of your fast you find pleasure and exact of all your debtors you fast to debates and contentions and strike with the first impiously Is this such a fast as I have chosen a man to afflict his soul for a day is this it to wind his head about like a circle and spread sackcloath and ashes Is not this rather the fast I have chosen dissolve the bands of impiety unlose the heavy burthens break in pieces every yoak and let the opprest go free deal thy bread to the hungry and bring the poor and harbourles into thy house when thou seest the naked cover him and despise not thine own flesh Then shal thy light break forth as the morning and thy helth speedily arise and thy justice go before thy face and the glory of our Lord compass thee round about Then shalt thou call and our Lord will answer thou shalt cry and he will say behold I am here I am he who blot out thy iniquitys for my own sake and thy sins I will remember no more I am the Lord thy God who teach thee profitable things and govern thee in the way where thou walkest I am the Lord thy God who take thee by the hand and say to thee fear not I will help thee fear not for I am with thee shrink not aside for I am thy God R. My God never let me so rely on any outward performances that I neglect the improvement of my mind lest my fasting becom an unprofitable trouble and my prayer a vain lip labor * The soul and the body make a man and the spirit and discipline make a Christian Never let me so pretend to inward perfection that I slight the outward observances of Religion lest my thoughts grow proud and phantastick and all my arguments be but a cover for licenciousnes * The Soul Glory be c. * The Soul Pause as Pag. 17. Friday Lauds O God incline as Pag. 18. Antiph Come let us glory in the Cross of our Lord JESVS Christ in whom is our life and helth and resurrection Psal LXX SHal we rejoyce my soul to day Shal we not mourn at the Funeral of our dear Redeemer Such O my Lord was the excess of thy goodnes to derive joys for us from thine own sorrows Thou forbadst thy followers to weep for Thee and reserved'st to thy self alone the shame and grief Thou invitest all the world to glory in thy Cross and command'st us to delight in the memory of thy passion Sing then all you dear-bought Nations of the Earth sing hymns of glory to the holy JESUS Sing every one who pretends to felicity sing immortal praises to the God of our Salvation To Him who for us indur'd so much scorn and patiently receiv'd so many injurys To Him who for us swet drops of blood and drank off the dregs of his Fathers wrath To the eternal Lord of heav'n and earth who for us was slain by the hands of the wicked Who for us was led away as a Sheep to the slaughter and as a meek Lamb open'd not his mouth Whither O my God did thy compassion carry thee how did thy charity too far prevail with Thee Was it not enough to becom man for us but thou must expose thy self to all our miserys Was it not enough to labor all thy life but thou must suffer for us even the pains of death No gracious Lord thy mercy stil observ'd * some wants in our nature as yet unsupplyd Thou saw'st our too much fondnes of life * needed thy parting with it to reconcile us to death Thou saw'st our fear of sufferings could no way be abated but by freely undergoing them in thine own person O blessed JESU whose grace alone * begins and perfects all our hopes How are we bound to praise thy love how infinitely oblig'd to adore thy goodnes At any rate thou would'st stil go on to heal our weak and wounded nature Even at the price of thine own dear blood thou would'st finish for us the purchase of heav'n Glory be c. Psal LXXI AWake my soul and speedily prepare * thy richest sacrifice of humble praise Awake and summon all thy thoughts * to make hast and adore our great Redeemer For now 't is time we should reverently go and offer our harts at the foot of his Cross Thither let us fly from the troubles of the world there let us dwel among the mercys of heav'n Under the shade of that happy tree let us kneel and often look up to our dearest Lord Let us remember every passage of his love and be sure that none escape our thanks Let us compassionate every stroak of his death and one by one salute his sacred wounds Blest be the hands that wrought so many miracles and were bor'd with cruel nails Blest be the feet that so often travail'd for us and at last were unmercifully fastned to the Cross Blest be the head which was crown'd with thorns the head that so industriously studied our happines Blest be the hart which was pierced with a spear the hart that so passionately lov'd our peace Blest be the entire person of our Crucifyd Lord and may all our powers joyn in his praise In thy eternal praise O gracious JESU and the ravishing thoughts of thy incomparable sweetnes O what excess of kindnes was this what strange extremity of love and pity The Lord is sold that the slave may be free the Innocent condemn'd that the guilty may be sav'd The Phisician is sick that the Patient may be cur'd and God himself dys that man may live Tell me my Soul when first thou hast well consider'd * and lookt about among all we know Tell me who ever wisht us so much good who ever lov'd us with so much tendernes What have our nearest friends done for us or even our Parents in comparison of this Charity No less then the Son of God came down to redeem us no less then his own dear life was the price he paid for us What can the favour of the whole world promise us compar'd to this miraculous bounty No less then the joys of Angels are become our hope no less then the Kingdom of heav'n is made our inheritance Glory be
the iniquity of our sins R. And graciously remove away all thy punishments V. Enter not into judgment with thy servants O Lord R. For in thy sihgt shall no one living be justify'd V. Our ruine we confess is wholly from our selvs R. And all our hope is in thy salvation V. If we repent and say Now we 'l begin R. 'T is time now to rise from sleep V. Behold temptation stands at the door R. And our weak resistance lets it in V. Our corrupt nature conspires with our enemys R. And our evil customs prevail against us V. Pity us O Lord Thou who know'st whereof we are made R. Wean us from this world Thou who mad'st us for a better V. Deliver us from the occasions that so often endanger us R. Deliver us from the occasions that so often overcome us V. Deliver us from all sudden and disastrous mischances R. Deliver us from the miserys of everlasting torments V. Why art thou sad O my soul R. And why art thou disquieted within me V. Still trust in God for still we will praise his Name R. He is our Saviour and our God V. O praise our Lord for he is good R. And his mercy indures for ever V. Let all who fear our Lord now say R. That his mercy indures for ever V. He was mindful of us in our low estate R. For his mercy indures for ever V. And redeem'd us from our enemys R. For his mercy indures for ever V. He will guide us here in the ways of peace R. For his mercy indures for ever V. He will bring us herafter to the joys of eternity R. For his mercy indures for ever V. O Lord hear our prayers R. And let our supplications come to Thee Let us pray O God who didst severely punish our first parents for eating the forbidden fruit and hast so often recommended to us the necessary dutys of abstinence and fasting grant we beseech thee that by observing diligently thy holy Discipline propos'd to us in the laws and practise of thy Church we may correct our levitys and revenge our excesses and subdue our irregular appetites and frustrate the temptations of the enemy and secure our perseverance and daily proceed to new degrees of vertue and devotion till in the end of our lives we receive the end of our labours the salvation of our souls in thy heavenly kingdom through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who with thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns One God world without end Amen These Versicles Responses and Prayers are said kneeling on all Fasting days immediately after the Prayer at Lauds Then Commemoration c. as page 29. Friday Vespers OUr Father c. as page 33. Antiph O sensless we that so litle consider what our Saviour suffer'd for us or what we do against Him Psal LXXIII LOrd how the world requites thy love how ingrateful are we to thy blessed memory We negligently forget thy sacred Passion or rather far worse our sins renew thy sufferings While we deprive others of their right what do we else but devest thee of thy cloaths While we delight in strife and Schisms what do we else but rend thy seamless coat If we despise the least of thy servants are we not as so many Herods that scorn'd Thee If we for fear proceed against our conscience how are we better then Pilate that condemn'd Thee By forsaking thy will to follow our own do we not chuse a murtherer before thee By retaining a sharp and bitter malice do we not give thee vineger and gall to drink By shewing no mercy to the poor and afflicted do we not pass by thy Cross as strangers unconcern'd Thus we again crucify the Lord of Glory and put him afresh to an open shame Is this O wretched we the duty we pay * to the sacred memory of our dear Redeemer Are these the thanks our gratitude returns * to that strange excess of our Saviours love When we sate in darknes he took us by the hand and kindly led us into his own light We sought not him but he came from far to find us we lookt not towards him but his mercy call'd after us He call'd aloud in words of tendernes why will you perish O you children of men Why will you run after empty trifles as if there were no joys above with me Return O you dear-bought souls and I will receive you * repent and though you had really crucifyed me I will forgive you Behold O Blessed JESU to Thee we come and on thy holy Cross fasten all our confidence Never will we unclasp our faithful hold till thy grace has seal'd the pardon of our sins Never will we part from that standard of hope till our troubled consciences be dismist in peace There will we stand and sigh and weep and every one humbly say to thy mercy JESU my God I suffer violence * answer Thou for me Glory be c. Antiph O sensless we that so litle consider what our Saviour suffer'd for us or what we do against Him Antiph He is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but for the sins of the whole world Psal LXXIV BE silent O my soul and thy Lord will answer for thee be content and he is thy security Be innocent and he will defend thee be humble and he will exalt thee He will forgive thee all thou repentest he will bestow on thee more then thou askest Never let us fear the favour of our God if we can but esteem and desire it He that so freely gave us himself will he not with himself give us all things else Is not his painful life and bitter death * sufficient pledg of his love to us Is not his infinite love to us * sufficient motive of our duty to Him A duty to which we are so many ways oblig'd and wherin our Eternity is so highly concern'd Surely they have litle faith and far less hope who doubt the mercys of so gracious a God Mercys confirm'd by a thousand miracles and dearly seal'd with his own blood That innocent blood which was shed for us to appease the wrath of his offended Father That blood whos 's every precious drop * was worthy to save so many worlds O blest and all-redeeming blood which flow'd so freely from the source of life Bath our polluted souls in thy clear streams and purge away all our foul impuritys Cleanse us O merciful Lord from our secret faults and from those darling sins that most abuse us Wash off the stains which our malice has caus'd in others and those which our weaknes has receiv'd of them Let not them perish by our occasion nor us be undone by theirs But let our charity assist one another and thy clemency pardon us all Pardon O gracious JESU what we have been and with thy holy discipline correct what we are Order by thy Providence what we shal be and in the end crown thine own gifts Glory be
my gracious God Vouchsafe to grant it Cast me not away from thy presence for ever nor wipe my name out of the book of life But my eternal hopes let them remain and stil grow quicker as they approach their end Glory be c. Psal LXXVIII MY thoughts run o're the passages you have met to day or rather forget such impertinent things What have we seen but distracting vanitys and what brought home but unprofitable fancys How often have we felt our minds disturb'd how often endanger'd by unhappy accidents Somtimes we frowardly throw our selvs down and like sullen children will not stand Somtimes the tempest throws us down and like weak children we cannot stand Yet are we venturing stil among the snares entic'd by the appearance of some present delight We weary our selvs with running after flyes which are hard to catch and trifles when they are caught This we pursue and follow that but nothing we meeâ—â— can fill our harts Til we have found out Thee O gracious Lord our only full all-satisfying Good Til we have found out Thee not by a dark beleef but clearly as thou art in thine own bright Self Remember O my soul this truth of the world we live in which our own experience too evidently proves The ey is not fill'd with seeing its varietys nor the ear with hearing all its harmony Remember this truth of the world we hope made sure to our faith by the word of JESUS The ey has not seen such beauteous glorys nor has the ear heard such ravishing charms Nor can the hart it self conceive such incredible joys as our God has provided for them that love him As our Blessed JESUS has purchas'd for his servants and even for Thee my soul to crown thy patience Wherfore in peace lay down thy head and rest secure in the protection of thy God Whose mercy so graciously has singled Thee out and so strongly establisht on himself thy hope Glory be c. Antiph In peace will we sleep and take our rest for thou O Lord hast particularly establisht us in hope Hymn XXIV T Is not for us and our proud harts O mighty Lord to chuse our parts But act wel what Thou giv'st 'T is not in our weak pow'r to make One step o' th way we undertake Unless Thou us releev'st What Thou hast given Thou canst take And when Thou wilt new gifts canst make All flows from Thee alone When Thou didst give it it was Thine When thou retookst it 't was not mine Thy will in all be done It might perhaps too pleasant prove Too much attractive of my love So make me less love Thee Some things there are thy Scriptures say And reason proves that heav'n and they Do seldom wel agree Lord let me then sit calmly down And rest contented with my own That is what Thou allow'st Keep thou my mind ferene and free Often to think on heav'n and Thee And what thou there bestow'st There let me have my portion Lord There all my losses be restor'd No matter what falls here Is 't not enough that we shall sing And love for ever our blest King Whose goodnes brought us there Great God as Thou art One may we With one another all agree And in thy praise conspire May Men and Angels joyn and sing Eternal Hymns to Thee their King And make up all one Quire Capit. 6 Galat. GOd forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord JESVS Christ by whom the world is crucifyd to me and I to the world For in Christ JESVS neither circumcision avails any thing nor uncircumcision but a new Creature and whoever shal follow this rule peace on them and mercy and on the Israel of God Antiph Consider O my soul and see that nothing can happen unprofitable to those who know how to use it and realâ—â—y seek by tempering right their minds to build them up in true Vertue V. Day to day utters words of instruction R. And night to night affords Science O Lord hear our prayers And let our Supplications come to thee Let us pray O God whose provident mercy makes every day a new branch of the tree of Knowledge to us whence the Evening may gather fresh variety of wholsom fruit for the nourishment of souls whose digestion by grace has sanctifyd by feeding on the tree of life the Cross of JESUS Grant we humbly beseech Thee that no experience of good or evil which this day has afforded may be lost on us but what e're of moment has happen'd to our selvs or others may by seasonable and minute rumination be fitted to render us more skilful in discerning the true value and use of this state in all its postures and stronger to sacrifice up with our Saviour our whole Concerns and Being here to thy Will and the sole advance of thy glory which at length will surely crown thy Servants with immortal Blyss through our Lord Vouchsafe as Pag 54 to the end Saturday MATINS Introduction as page 1. Invitatory Come let 's adore our Victorious Redeemer Come let 's adore our Victorious Redeemer Psal LXXIX COme all you Powers of my deliver'd soul and pay your homage to the Prince of our salvation cast your unworthy selvs at his sacred feet and renew your vows of following his steps Come let 's adore our Victorious Redeemer He triumpht over death in his own body and enables us to conquer it in ours imparting to us his heav'nly skill and provoking our courage with infinite rewards Come let 's adore our Victorious Redeemer He chang'd the corrupted government of the world and establisht a new and holy Law that as we were vassals to sin before we might now become the free subjects of grace Come let 's adore our victorious Redeemer Let us live and dy in his blest obedience and no temptation ever separate us from him who if we resist will make us overcome and when we have overcome will crown us with peace Come let 's adore our victorious Redeemer Glory be c. As it was c. Come let 's adore our victorious Redeemer Come let 's adore our victorious Redeemer Hymn XXV LOrd we again lift up our eys And leave our slugish beds But why we wake or why we rise Comes seldom in our heads Is it to sweat and toyl for welth Or sport our time away That thou preserv'st us stil in helth And giv'st us this new day No no unskilful soul not so Be not deceiv'd with toys Thy Lords commands more wisely go And aim at higher joys They bid us wake to seek new grace And some fresh vertue gain They call us up to mend our pace Till we the prize attain That glorious prize for which all run Who wisely spend their breath VVho when this weary life is done Are sure of rest in death Not such a rest as here we prove Disturb'd with cares and fears But endless joy and peace and love Unmixt with grief and tears
't is Thou bestow'st His pow'r his will to help our end Is just so much as thou allow'st If we enjoy a free estate Our only Title is from Thee Thou mad'st our lot to bear that rate Which else an empty blank would be If we have hâ—â—lth that wel-tun'd grownd Which gives the Musick to the rest It is by Thee our ayr is sound Our food secur'd our physick blest If we have hope one day to view The glorys of thy blysful face Each drop of that refreshing dew Must fall from heav'n and thy free grace Thus then to Thee our praises bow And humbly thy acceptance crave Since 't is to Thee our selvs we ow And to thy bounty all we have Glory to Thee great God alone Three persons in one Deity As it has been in ages gone May now and stil for ever be Antiph 'T is consummated Thou hast O JESU overcom in thy Body all the Powers of darknes their hour is past but thy souls eternal blyss remains and Behold That of thy triumphant Resurrection approaches V. Be not afraid of those who kill the body R. And after that have no more they can do O Lord hear our Prayers And let our Supplications come to Thee Let us pray O God who hast submitted thy only Son our Saviour JESUS to expire on the Cross and descend into the grave that he might destroy the life of sin and bury the terrors of death grant we beseech Thee they may never revive or rise again to tempt or fright us from the ways of vertue nor shake this sure and fundamental truth which thy grace has laid in our harts That the greatest mischiefs our salvation can cost us here are but momentary and work above measure exceedingly in us an eternal weight of glory through the same our Lord Commemorations as Page 29. to the end Saturday Vespers OUr Father c. as Page 33. Antiph They who use this world let them be as if they â—â—s'd it not for the figure of this world passes away Psal LXXXVI WHy do we stil pursue this world and so eagerly seek its fond enjoyments A world of vanity and false deceits a world of misery and sad disasters Whose crosses are solid and comforts empty whose sorrows are permanent and delights pass quickly away A world where the innocent are condemn'd with shame and the guilty freed with applause Where often the wicked are advanc'd to honour and the vertuous opprest with disgrace Where friends fall off and kindred forget and every one minds his private interest Yet are we taken with this crooked world and blindly court its painted face We make some ugly passion mistress of our hart and neglect the pure and amiable love of JESUS Whose goodnes to us gives us all we have whose perfections in himself are more then we can conceive Thou art O glorious JESU the beauty of Angels and the everlasting joy of all thy Saints Thou art the heay'n of heav'n it self and in thy sight alone is the fulnes of Blyss All this thou art and infinitely more and yet alas how few esteeem thee The world we dearly know too often has deceiv'd us and our rashnes cares not to be undone again Thou never O JESU hast fail'd our hope and our dulnes fears to rely on Thee The world distracts and embroils our spirits and wretched we delight in our misery Thou always O JESU fil'st our harts with peace and sensles we are weary of thy happines The world calls and we faint in following it thou cal'st and we are stil reliev'd by Thee Yet is our nature so ingratefully perverse we run after that which tires and abandon that which refreshes Somtimes our lips speak gloriously of Thee O Thou living fountain of eternal Blyss Some happy times we relish thy sweetnes and decry aloud the poyson of the world But we are soon enticed by its guilded cup and easily forsake the waters of life O Blessed JESU who took'st upon thee all our frailtys to bestow on us thine own perfections Teach us to prize the joys of heav'n and part with all things else to purchase Thee Make all the pleasures of this life seem bâ—â—tter to our tasts as they are indeed pernitious to our helths Let not their flatterys any more delude us nor superfluous cares perplex our minds But may our chief delight be to think on Thee and all our study to grow in thy love Glory be c. Antiph They who use this world let them be as if they us'd it not for the figure of this world passes away Antiph We by a fond self-self-love blame every thing but our selvs while nothing can hurt us but our own misplac't affections Psal LXXXVII ALl this is true and yet the world is lov'd and our nature inclines to affect its vanitys 'T is lov'd and so it justly deservs did we understand its real value Our life indeed seems mean and trivial and all things about us troublesom and dangerous Yet O my God is their consequence excellent in this that they are our only way of coming to Thee This world and this alone 's the womb that breeds us and brings us forth to see thy light This is alone the proper Machine wherein thy hand has set our lives To learn the art of managing it right and wind up our selves to thy glorious heav'n O that we had that happy skill how soon would every thing help forward to advance us Whether we eat or drink or what ever else * an innocent hand can undertake If we regard our faithful end and order all to the improvement of our minds They instantly change their secular name and deservedly are prefer'd to become religious Riches themselves and imperious honour * have not so perverse and fixt a malice But a prudent use converts them to piety and makes them fit instruments of highest Blyss Our very delights O the Goodnes of our God! may so be temper'd with a wise alloy That his mercy accounts them as parts of our duty and fails not to give them their full reward While they are entertain'd for the health of our bodys or the just refreshement of our wearyed spirits And both our bodys and spirits constantly apply'd * to gain new degrees of the love of heav'n Thus gracious Lord every moment of our lives * may still be climbing up towards Thee Thus may we still proceed in thy service even then when we most of all serve our selvs And then indeed it is we best serve our selvs when we are busiest in what we call thy service Thou sweetly vouchsaf'st to stile thâ—â—t thy glory which in very truth is nothing but our interest Thou kindly complain'st we dishonour thy Name when we only mischief our own souls O Blesses JESU King of clemency and great Rewarder of every little grace Thou who by all we can do pretendest no gain but bestow'st on us all thy self hast done Thou who cam'st down from heav'n to shew us a
do what ever else we are doing This we can do even while we sit still and only move our thoughts towards Thee Nay then we best perform this best of works when all our powers are quiet in Thee Yet let not this thy facil sweetnes dearest Lord be abus'd by us to a wanton neglect But make us love Thee so much more as Thou more discover'st the excess of thy love Glory be c. Antiph Too often are we troubled about many things when the truly necessary is but One. Hymn XXVIII MY soul what 's all this world to thee This world of sin and wo Where only sense can tast its sweets And those unwholsom too Truth is thy food truth thy delight Which cannot here be free Thy mind was born to know and love What this life ne're can see Malicious world how dost thou lay and cover thy false baits Here those of pleasure there of gain Each for our ruine waits Unhappy we it is our fault 'T is we our life abuse The world presents a furnisht shop And we the tools misuse So have I seen a litle child If Nurse but turn her ey Instead of heft take hold o' th blade And cut it self and cry This litle child alas am I Self-will'd self-wounded too But Lord turn not thy face away Lest I my self undo O make me stil so use this world That I the other gain O make me so the other love That this its end attain It s end to breed up souls for heav'n Then be it self new drest No more corruption no more change But one perpetual rest To Father Son and holy Ghost The undivided Three One equal glory one same praise Now and for ever be Capit. Thessal 5. THe day of our Lord shall come as a thief in the night let us not therefore sleep as others but watch and be sober For God has not appointed us to wrath but to the purchasing salvation by our Lord JESVS Christ who dyed for us that whether we wake or sleep we may live together with Him Antiph We have here no permanent City but are bound in quest of Jerusalem above the eternal mansion of Blyss V. Jesus came down to give us a glimpse of it R. And made his own life the Card to direct us to it O Lord hear our prayers And let our supplications come to thee Let us pray O God whose eternal Providence has imbarkt our souls in the ship of our bodys not to expect any port or anchorage on the Sea of this world but steer directly through it to thy glorious Kingdom grant we beseech Thee that daily reflecting with what care and unwearied diligence the wretched Adventurers for all sorts of vanity pursue round about us their desperate courses we may hartily feel our selvs confounded with just reproach who knowing our ingagement on so important a voyage yet take so litle pains to perform it Preserve us O Lord from those dangerous winds that on all sides assault us and keep the sails of our affections still duly trim'd to receive thy holy inspirations that carried sweetly forward by the gales of thy Spirit we may happily arrive at last in the haven of eternal salvation through our Lord Vouchsafe c. as page 54. to the end The OFFICE of our B. SAVIOVR Matins Introduction as Page 1. Christmas Invitatory To day for us our Lord was born alleluia Come let 's adore Him Newyears-day Invit To day our Lord was Circumciz'd and receiv'd the sweet name of JESVS alleluia Come let 's adore Him Twelfth-day Invit To day the holy Kings brought their presents to our Lordâ—â— alleluia Come let 's adore Him Candlemas-day Invit To day our Bleâ—â—ed Lord was presented in the Temple alleluia Come let 's adore Him Lady-day Invit To day the Eternal WORD was made flesh Come let 's adore Him Passion-Sunday and Palm-Sunday Invit To day if you will hear the voice of our Lord harden not your harts Easter-day All as in the Office for Sunday except as in the Proper for Festivals Invention of the Cross Invit To day the miraculous Cross of our Lord was found alleluia Come let 's adore Him Ascension Invit To day our glorious JESVS ascended into heav'n alleluia Come let 's adore Him If this Office be said on any day that is not a feast of our Saviour let the Invitatory be To day let 's adore our God that redem'd us Psal XCII BRing to our Lord all you his servants bring to our Lord the sacrifice of praise bring to our Lord all you nations of the earth bring hymns of glory to his great Name To day c. He is our God and we his people created by his goodnes to be happy for ever he is our Redeemer and we his purchase restor'd by his death to a better eternity To day c. Let us learn of Him and he will teach us his ways let us follow Him and we shal walk in the light for the Law and its types were given by Moses but grace and truth came by JESVS Christ. To day c. O Come let 's ascend to the house of our Lord and celebrate this day with a holy joy imploring his mercy for all we need and blessing his bounty for all we have To day c. Glory be c. As it was To day c. To day c. Hymn XXIX JESU who from thy Fathers throne To this low vale of tears cam'st down In our poor nature drest O may the charms of that sweet love Draw up our souls to Thee above And fix them there to rest JESU who wert with joy Conceiv'd With joy wert born while no pain griev'd Thy Mothers Virgin-womb O may we breed and bring Thee forth In our glad harts for all is mirth Where Thou art pleas'd to come JESU whose high and humble birth In heav'n the Angels and on earth The faithful Shepherds sing O may our hymns which here run low Shoot up aloft and fruitful grow In that eternal Spring JESU how soon did'st Thou begin To bleed and suffer for our sin The Circumcizing knife O may thy grace by making good Our souls just caufe ' gainst flesh and blood Cut off that dangerous strife JESU who took'st that heav'nly Name Thy blessed Purpose to proclaim Of saving lost mankind O may we bow our hart and knee Bright King of Names to glorious Thee and thy hid sweetnes find JESU who thus began'st our Blyss Thus carry'dst on our happines To Thee all praise be paid O may the Great Mysterious Three For ever live and ever be Ador'd belov'd obey'd Antiph Blessed be the mercy of our God who has left no way untry'd that could possibly recover us Psal XCIII COme now and hear you that fear our Lord and I will tell you what he has done for my soul Hear and I wil tel you what he has done for yours and the wonders of his bounty towards all the world When we lay asleep
our own conditions but to manage wel what thou appointest Psal CXXIX WHy do we thus bemoan our selvs and rashly utter such repining words Seems it so hard a fate to tread the path * which all our Ancestors have gone before us Adam the first of men and Abraham the friend of God David the man after God's own hart and the blessed Mary Virgin-Mother of our Lord All these have paid their debt to nature and subscrib'd the law of universal mortality JESUS himself the Eternal Son of God expir'd on the Corss * and went to his glory through the gates of death And shal our fond self-self-love so blindly flatter us to wish an exception from this general Rule Shal we be murmuring stil our life is but a sapn and that expos'd to innumerable sorrows Does not the very shortnes abate it's miserys do not those many miserys commend its shortnes Should we not rather rejoyce at the sight of death that when e're it comes stil brings us advantage If in our age 't is a haven of repose and ought to be welcome after so long a voyage If in our youth it prevents a thousand calamitys a thousand dangers of ruining our souls If by an ordinary sicknes 't is the course of nature if by an outward violence 't is always the wil of heaven What need we fear how many deaths there are we are sure there can be but one for us Dying is an act to be done but once and once wel done we are happy for ever Lord we confes thy Decrees are just and our selvs the cause of all our miserys We sacrifice our youth to sport and folly and our manly years to lust and pride We spend our old age in craft and avarice and begin not to live til we are ready to dy Then we bewail the shortnes of our time when our selvs have prodigally thrown it all away We lead a loose and negligent life and then complain death takes us unawares Our days are perhaps too few to grow rich or satisfy the ambition of a haughty spirit But to be taught the love of God * and the meek and humble life of JESUS Requires not so much the number of years as the faithful endeavours of a pious mind Could we bestow on the improvement of our souls * the time we so vainly trifle away Our day would be short enough not to seem tedious and long enough to finish our appointed task And what O glotious Lord is our busines here * but to trim our lamps and wait thy coming But to sow the immortal seed of hope and expect herafter to reap the Increase No matter how late the fruit be gather'd if stil it go on in growing better No matter how soon it fal from the tree if not blown down before it be ripe O thou most just but secret Providence who govern'st all things by the counsel of thy Will Whose powerful hand can wound and heal lead down to the grave and bring back again Behold to Thee we bow our heads and freely submit our dearest concerns Strike as thou pleasest our helth our lives we cannot be safer then at thy dispose Only these few requests we humbly beg which O may thy clemency vouchsafe to hear Cut us not off in the midst of our folly nor suffer us to expire with our sins unpardon'd But make us Lord first ready for thy self then take us to thy self in thine own fit time Give them eternal rest O merciful Lord and may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever Glory be c. Antiph 'T is not for us O Lord to chuse our own conditions but to manage wel what thou appointest Antiph Only our earth shal return to earth but our better part shal live for ever Psal CXXX MY Soul all these complaints concern not thee whom thy bounteous God has made immortal Who when this house of clay shal fal into dust * and this narrow cage be broken down Shalt soar aloft on thine own free wings and spread thy boundles ey over all the world If thou hast happily train'd up thy self * to aim stil upwards at the highest heavens Swift as a flash of quickest lightning * shalt thou instantly fly to those blessed Objects But if thy thoughts have flag'd below and delighted to hover too near this earth If above all things thou hast lov'd thy God but not lov'd all things in order to thy God Or if thy tears have been too few to wash away thorowly the remaining stains Unworthy as yet of that blysful light * whose beams endure not the least impurity Thou must sit down in the shades of sorrow and dwel in the vale of tears and darknes There thou must sigh and mourn and wait til the days of thy purifying be fully finisht O the dear price those prisoners pay * for neglecting here to perfect their accounts How are their souls enflam'd with anguish and continually tortur'd with unspeakable pains How do they sadly lament their careles libertys and the litle passions they too much obey'd But alas their repentance comes now too late * to meet with that mercy they so long abus'd Now they must ly in this tedious dungeon til their patience have satisfyd the utmost farthing Only this hope sustains their hart and sweetens a litle their bitter cup That the redeeming Day is stil drawing on and wil infallibly at last appear O may that happy Day make hast to come and chear their darknes with its radient beams O may that Sun of Justice speedily arise and disperse the mist that intercepts their sight Come Lord come quickly dearest JESU and rescue with thy power thine own Inheritance Thou who cam'st humbly once to redeem us sinners come gloriously now to deliver thy Servants Deliver them O Lord from the snare of the enemy and their captive souls out of the hand of the Wicked That they may pass from death to life and dwel with Thee in thy blessed peace Give them eternal rest O merciful Lord and may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever Antiph Only our earth shal return to earth but our better part shal live for ever Our Father c. First Lesson MAn that is born of a woman lives a short time and is fill'd with many miserys He comes forth as a flower and is bruised into dust he flyes away as a shadow and never continues in the same state and thinkest thou fit to open thine eys upon such a one and bring him before thee into Judgment Who can make clean him that is conceiv'd of unclean seed is it not Thou who only art The days of man are short and the number of his months are with thee thou hast appointed his limits which cannot be passed depart a litle from him that he may rest till as a hireling his wisht-for day shal come Who wil grant me this that in Hell thou wouldst protect me and hide me til thy fury pass away and appoint me a
life and closely recollecting all the forces of our soul So to pursue in earnest that One necessary work the securing for our selves the Kingdom of Heav'n Why should we thus neglect that sacred Science and be busie in every thing but our own Salvation Why should we still forsake the real substance to embrace an empty fancy Miserable are they O Lord who study all things else and never seek to tast thy sweetness Miserable though their skill can number the Stars and trace out the ways of the Planets To know thee O Lord is to be truly wise and to contemplate thee the highest learning But O thou glorious God of Truth in whom the treasures of knowledge are all laid up Unless thou draw the Curtain from before our eys and drive away the clouds that intercept our sight Never shall we see those heav'nly mysteries nor discern the beauty of thy Providence Send forth thy light O thou morning Star and lead us to thy holy Hill Send forth thy truth O increated Wisdom and bring us to thy blessed Tabernacle Shew us Thy self and thy eternal Father and it suffices to satisfie our utmost desires Shew us thy self alone O glorious JESU and in thee we shall behold all we can wish Only so much we beg to conceive of thy Majesty as may move our harts to seek thee Only so much of thy un-approachable Deity as may guide our Souls to find thee If we may not know thee clearly now let us know so far that we long to know farther If we cannot love thee perfectly in this life let us love so much that we desire to love more So let us know and love thee here O Thou Soveraign bliss of our Souls That we hereafter may know thee better â—â—nd love thee more for ever Glory be Antiph Has the Almighty Goodnes made all things for us and shall we do nothing for him nothing for our selves Our Father c. First Lesson 1 Cor. 15. and Coll. 3. CHrist is risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept for by a Man came death and by a Man the Resurrection of the dead And as in Adam all dy even so in CHRIST shall all be made alive If then you be risen with Christ seek the things that are above where Christ is sitting on the right hand of God Mind the things that are above not those which are on the Earth for you are dead and your life is hidden with Christ in God when Christ who is your life shall appear then shall you also appear with him in glory mortifie therfore your Members that are on the Earth Fornication Uncleaness Lust Evil Concupiscence and Avarice which is the service of Idols for which things the wrath of God comes on the children of incredulity And now lay you also away Anger and Indignation Malice Blasphemy and Filthy Talk out of your Mouth Ly not one to another Devest your selvs of the old man and put on the new who is renew'd into the knowledg of God according to his Image who created him where there is not Gentile and Jew Circumcision and Uncircumcision Bond and Free but all and in all Christ Responsory O Glorious Jesu in whom we live and without whom we die mortifie in us all sensual desires and quicken our harts with thy holy love that we no longer esteem the vanities of this world but place our affections entirely on Thee * Who dy'dst for our sins and rose again for our Justification O Thou our only hope and portion in the Land of the Living may our thoughts and discourses still be of Thee our works and sufferings all for Thee * Who dy'dst for our Sins and rose again for our Justification Second Lesson Coll. 3. PUt you on therfore as the Elect of God holy and beloved the Bowels of Mercy Benignity Humility Modesty Patience supporting one another and pardoning one another if any have a quarrel against any one as our Lord has pardon'd us so also do you But above all these things have Charity which is the band of perfection and let the peace of Christ triumph in your harts in which you are cal'd in one body and be thankful Let the Word of Christ dwel in you abundantly in all wisdom teaching and admonishing your selvs with Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Canticles singing with grace in your harts to God What ever you do in word or deed do all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ giving thanks to God and the Father by him Women be subject to your Husbands as you ought in our Lord Men love your Wives and be not bitter towards them Children obey your Parents in all things for that is well-pleasing to our Lord Fathers provoke not your Children to indignation that they become not discouraged Servants obey in all things your Masters according to the Flesh not with eye-service as pleasing men but in simplicity of hart as fearing God What ever you do do it from the hart as to our Lord and not to men knowing you shall receive of our Lord the reward of the inheritance Serve our Lord Jesus for he that does injury shall receive what he has done unjustly and there is no acceptance of persons with God Resp Open thou our Eys O Lord that we may see the beauty of thy Commands how wise and sweet in themselvs how necessary and beneficial to us * While they improve our felicity here and intitle us to That of hereafter Guide thou our lives O gracious Lord in the ways of thy Precepts that by observing faithfully these excellent Rules we may all be every where happy * While Third Lesson Heb. 12. 13 Chapt. LAying aside every weight and sin that compasses us about let us run with patience to the Combate that 's set before us looking on Jesus the Author and Finisher of our Faith who despising the shame for the joy that was propos'd him sustain'd the Cross and sits on the right hand of the Throne of God Think diligently on him who indur'd such contradiction of siners against himself that you be not wearied and faint in your minds for you have not yet resisted to blood striving against sin and you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as Children saying My Son neglect not the Discipline of our Lord nor be weary while thou art rebuk't of him for whom our Lord loves he chastens and scourges every Child he receivs Now no Discipline for the present seems to be joyful but grievous but afterward it will render to them who are exercis'd by it the most peaceable fruit of Justice Follow Peace with all men and Holines without which none shall see God and look diligently lest any one be wanting to the grace of God Let Brotherly love abide in you and forget not hospitality for by it some have entertain'd Angels unawars Remember them that are in bonds as if you were bound with them and them that labour as being
your selvs also in the body Let your conversation be without covetousness contented with what you have for he has said I will not leave thee nor forsake thee so that we may confidently say our Lord is my help I will not fear what man can do to me And the God of Peace who brought again from the Dead the great Pastor of the Sheep in the blood of the eternal Testament our Lord Jesus Christ make you perfect in all goodness that you may do his Will working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight thorough Jesus Christ to whom be glory for ever and ever Amen Resp Thither O my Soul let us still be going where once to arrive is always to be at rest there let us dwell already in hope where once to enjoy is always to be happy * Since whate're we desire we are sure to have and whate're we have can never be taken from us Let us believe and obey and suffer let us read and meditate and pray Heaven 's a reward worth all our pains * Since what e're we desire we are sure to have and whate're we have can never be taken from us Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost * Since whate're we desire we are sure to have and whate're we have can never be taken from us Te Deum WE praise thee our God we acknowledge thee our Lord All the Earth adores thee thou Father Eternal To Thee the blessed Angels to Thee the Heavens and all their Powers To Thee the Cherubims and Seraphims perpetually sing Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Sabaoth The heavens and the earth are full of the Majesty of thy glory The glorious Quire of Apostles praise Thee The renown'd society of Prophets bless Thee The noble Army of Martyrs glorify Thee The holy Church throughout the world confesses Thee Father of immense Majesty Thy adorable true and only Son Also the holy Spirit the Comforter Thou art the King of glory O Christ Thou art the eternal Son of the Father Thou being to undertake the delivery of Man did'st not disdain the Virgins Womb. Thou having overcom the sting of death opend'st to Believers the Kingdom of heav'n Thou sittest at the right hand of God in the glory of thy Father We believe thou shalt com to be our Judg. Help therfore we beseech Thee thy servants whom thou hast redeem'd with thy precious blood Make them be numbred with thy Saints in glory everlasting Lord save thy People and bless thy Inheritance And govern them and raise them up even to eternity Every day we glorify Thee and praise thy Name for ever and ever Vouchsafe O Lord to keep us this day without sin Have mercy on us O Lord have mercy on us Let thy mercy O Lord be on us as our hope is in Thee In Thee O Lord have I plac't my hope let me not be confounded for ever Pause a while to reflect on what you have said and to renew your attention then begin Lauds Sunday Lauds O God incline unto our ayd O Lord make hast to help us Glory be to the Father and to the Son * and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning both now and ever world without end Amen Alleluia Antiph O how adorable are thy counsels O Lord how strangely indearing the ways of thy love Alleluia Psal V. SIng to our Lord a Psalm of Joy sing praises to the God of our Salvation Sing with a loud and chearful voice sing with a glad and thankful hart Say to the weak of Spirit be strong and to the sorrowful be of good comfort Tel all the world this soul-reviving truth and may their harts within them leap to hear it Tel them the Lord of life is risen again and has cloth'd himself with immortal glory He made the Angels messengers of his victory and vouchsaf't even himself to bring us the joyful news How many ways did thy mercy invent O Thou wise contriver of all our happines To convince thy followers into this blest belief and settle in their harts a firm ground of hope Thou appeard'st in the Garden to the holy women that sought Thee and open'dst their eys to know and adore Thee Thou overtook'st in the way the Two that discour'st of thee and mad'st their harts burn within them to hear thee Thou shewd'st thy self on the stedfast shore to thy weary Disciples labouring at Sea Labouring alas all night in vain without the blessing of their beloved JESUS Thou shew'dst thy self and told'st them who thou wert in the kind known token of a beneficial miracle Thorow the doors though shut thou swiftly passed'st to carry peace to thy comfortles friends To encourage their fears with thy powerful presence and secure their faith by thy charitable arguments How did'st thou condescend to eat before them and invite them to touch thy impassible body How didst thou sweetly constrain that incredulous servant to thrust his hand into thy wounded side Actions we know unfit for thy glorify'd state but absolutely necessary for our slow belief How often O my gracious Lord in those blessed forty days * did thy charity cast to meet with thy Disciples That thou might'st teach them stil some excellent truth and imprint still deeper thy love in their harts Discoursing perpetually of the Kingdom of heav'n and establishing means to bring us thither At last when all thy glorious task was done and thy parting hour from this earth approacht Thou tenderly gather'dst thy Children about thee and in their full sight wentst up into heaven Leaving thy dearest blessing on their heads and promising them a Comforter to supply thine absence O how adorable are thy counsels O Lord how strangely endearing the ways of thy love Say now my Soul is not this evidence clear enough * to answer all our darkest doubts Is not this hope abundantly sufficient to sweeten all our bitterst sorrows What though we mourn and be afflicted here and sigh under the miseries of this world for a time We 're sure our tears shal one day rejoyce and that joy none shal take from us What though our bodies be crumbled into dust and that dust blown about o're the face of the Earth Yet we undoubtedly know our Redeemer lives and shal appear in brightnes at the last great Day He shal appear in the midst of innumerable Angels and with these very eys we shal see Him We shal see him in whom we have so long believ'd we shal find him whom we have so often sought We shal possess him whom our souls have lov'd and be united to him for ever who is the only end of our Being Glory be c. Psal VI. RAise thy head O my soul and look up and behold the glory of thy crucify'd Saviour He that was dead and layd in the grave * low enough to prove himself Man Is risen again and ascended into heaven * high enough to prove himself God He is risen and
made the light his Garment and commanded the Clouds to be the chariot of his triumph The gates of heaven obey'd their Lord and the everlasting doors opened to the King of glory Enter bright King attended with thy beauteous Angels and the glad train of thy new deliver'd Captives Enter and repossess thy antient Throne and reign eternally at the right hand of thy Father May every knee bow low to thy exalted Name and every tongue confess thy glory May all created nature adore thy Power and the Church of thy Redeem'd exult in thy goodnes Whom have we in heav'n O Lord but Thee who expresly wentst thither to make way for thy followers What have we on earth but our hope by following Thee * to arrive at last where Thou art gon before us O glorious JESU our strength our Joy and the immortal life of all our Souls Be Thou the principal subject of our studyes and dayly entertainment of our most serious thoughts Draw us O dearest Lord from the World and our selvs that we be not entangled with any earthly desires Draw us after Thee and the odours of thy sweetnes that we may run with delight the ways of thy Commands Draw us up to Thee on thy Throne of blyss that we may see thy face and rejoyce with Thee for ever in thy Kingdom Glory be c. Psal VII WHy should our harts stil dwel upon earth since the treasure of our harts is return'd to heav'n Since our glorify'd Jesus is ascended above to prepare us a place in his own Kingdom A place of rest and secure peace where we shal see and praise and adore Him for ever A place of joy and everlasting fruition where we shal love and possess and delight in Him for ever O happy we and our poor souls if once admited to that blisful Vision If once those heav'nly portals unfold their gates and let us in to the joys of our Lord How wil our spirits be ravisht within themselvs to reflect on the fulness of their own beatitude How shal we all rejoyce in one anothers felicity but infinitely more in the infinitely greater felicity of God! O heav'n towards thee we lift up our languishing heads and with stretcht-out hands reach at thy gloryes When O Thou Finisher of all our hopes when shal we once behold that incomparable light That light which illuminates the eys of Angels and renews the youth of Saints That light which is thy very self O Lord our God! whom we shal there see face to face Whom we shal there know as we are known we shal know thee in thine own clear light O light shine thou perpetually in our eys that thy brightnes may darken the false lustre of this world O Light shed thou thy flames in our harts that thy heat may consume all other desires That we may burn continually with the chast love of thee til thine own bright day appear Til we be cal'd from this vale of darknes into the glorious presence of the living God To see Him that made the heav'ns and the earth and disposes all creatures in so beauteous order To see him that first gave us our being then govern'd us in our way * and brought us at length to so blest an end Meanwhile O gracious Lord the Crown of all thy Saints and only expectation of thy faithful servants Make us entertain our life with the comfort of this hope and our hope with the assurance of thy promises Make us still every day more perfectly understand * our own great duty thy infinite love Make us continually meditate the advancement of Thy glory and invite all the World to sing thy praises Praise our Lord O you holy Angels Praise him O you happy Saints Praise him O you Faithful departed in his grace Praise him O you Living who subsist by his mercy Praise him in the vast immensity of his power Praise him in the admirable wisdom of his Providence Praise him in the blest effects of his goodnes Praise him in the infinitenes of all his Attributes Praise thy Eternal Self O glorious God! and to all the felicities Thou essentially possessest may every creature say Amen Glory be Antiph O how adorable are thy Counsels O Lord how strangely endearing the ways of thy love Alleluia Capit. 1 Pet. 1. Blessed be God and the Father of our Lord JESUS Christ who according to his great mercy has regenerated us to a lively hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible and pure and which cannot fade conserv'd for you in the heav'ns Hymn II. VVAke my Soul rise from this Bed Of dull and slugish earth Quickly rise lift up thy head And see thy Lords new birth Once He cam O blessed He Born of a Virgin-Womb Now He comes both times for thee Sprung from a Virgin tomb Lo he rises fresh and bright Incircled round with Stars Which from Him take all their light And from his glorious Scars Stil as He his progress makes Up to his heav'n again Each blest Saint his musick takes And follows in his train Thus together They ascend Til at heav'n gates they come Where the Angels all attend To bid them welcome home Soon they know again their King Soon they his Call obey All the Quires come forth to sing And crown with mirth the Day Come my soul let us rejoyce Let us our Concert bring Up to heav'n le ts lift our voice And with the Angels sing Glory honor pow'r and praise To the mysterious Three As at first begining was May now and ever be Antiph Why seek you the Living among the the Dead He is risen He is not here He is gloriously ascended and the heav'ns have receiv'd Him Alleluia Alleluia Benedictus BLessed be our Lord the God of Israel for he has visited and redeem'd his People And rais'd up a Kingdom of Salvation to us in the house of David his Servant As he spake by the mouth of his holy Prophets who have been since the world began Salvation from our Enemies and from the hands of all that hate us To shew mercy to our Fathers and to remember his holy Testament The Oath which he sware to Abraham our Father that he would give us Himself That being deliver'd from the hand of our enemys we may serve him without fear In holines and Justice before him * all the days of our life And Thou Child shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest for thou shalt go before the face of our Lord to prepare his ways To give Knowledg of salvation to his people for remission of their sins Through the tender mercy of our God wherby the Day-spring from on High has visited us To give light to them that sit in darknes and in the shadow of death to direct our feet into the way of Peace Glory be c. Antiph Why seek you the Living among the dead He is risen He is not here He is gloriously ascended and
Creation to its end Vouchsafing so to order all thy creatures about us by thy grace that they may attain their perfection in duly serving us and we Ours in eternally injoying Thee through our Lord JESUS Christ thy Son who with Thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns One God world without end Amen Commemorations c. as pag. 29. Monday Vespers IN the Name of the Father c. as pag. 33. Antiph To know Thee O Lord is the highest learning and to be known of Thee the greatest happines Psal XXI LEt us now consider O Lord our God! let us thankfully remember what Thou art to us Thou art the great Begining of our nature and glorious end of all our actions Thou art the overflowing Source from whence we spring and the immense Ocean into which we tend Thou art the free Bestower of all we possess and faithful Promiser of all we hope Thou art the strong Sustainer of our lives and ready Deliverer from all our enemys Thou art the merciful Scourger of our sins and bounteous Rewarder of our obedience Thou art the safe Conducter of our pilgrimage and the eternal Rest of our wearied souls Such words alas our narrownes is constrain'd to use * when we endeavour to speak thy bountys Wider a litle can our thoughts extend yet infinitely less than the least of thy mercys Tell us thy self one word of thine expresses more * then all the eloquence of men and Angels Tell us Thy self O Thou mild instructer of the ignorant what thou art to us Say to our souls Thou art our salvation but say it so that we may hear Thee Gladly will we run after the sound of that voice and hope by following it to find out Thee When we have found Thee once O Thou joy of our harts never let us lose thy sight again Never let us turn our eys from Thee but steddily fix them on thy glorious face Suffer us not to go till thou hast given us thy blessing and then may thy blessing bind us faster to Thee Glory be c. Antiph To know Thee O Lord is the highest learning and to be known of Thee the greatest happines Antiph To know our selvs is the truest wisdom and to see our own poverty the safest riches Psal XXII LEt us now consider O Lord our God! let us humbly remember what we are to Thee We who alas are nothing in our selvs what can we be to thy Immensity Thou who art all things in thine own rich self what canst thou receive from our poverty This only we are to Thee O great Creator the unthankful object of all thy bountys This only we are to Thee O dear Redeemer the unworthy cause of all thy sufferings Guilty we committed the crime and thou with thine innocency undertookst the punishment We went astray from the path of life and thy mercy came down from heav'n to seek us To seek us in the wilderness where we had lost our selvs and bring us home to the discipline of thy love Lord what are we that thou shouldst thus regard * such poor and vile and inconsiderable wretches What can our good will avail thy Blyss that with so many charms thou woo'st us to love Thee What can our malice prejudice thy content that thou threatnest so violently if we love thee not Is there O my God not felicity enough * in the sweetness alone of loving Thee Is there perhaps not misery enough * in living depriv'd of thy blysful love Yes Yes dear Lord and that thou knew'st and that 's the only cause * which mov'd thy goodnes to court our affections Thou knew'st we else would cast away our selvs * by doating on the follys of this deceitful world Thou knew'st the danger of our wilful nature and therefore striv'st by greatest fears and greatest hopes And all the wisest arts of love and bounty * to draw us to thy self and endow us with thy kingdom Unhappy we whose frowardness requir'd so strange proceeding * to force upon us our own salvation Happy we whose wants have met so kind a hand that needed but our emptines to engage him to fill us Happy yet more that our Lord who thus favours us now * will at last even give us Himself Glory be c. Antiph To know our selvs is the truest wisdom and to see our own Poverty the safest riches Antiph Vanity of vanitys all is vanity but the love of God and hope to enioy Him Psal XXIII LOrd without Thee what 's all the world to us * but a flying dream of busie vanitys It promises indeed a Paradise of blyss but all it performs is an empty cloud Thine are the joys that shine fixt as the stars and make the only solid heav'n Lord without Thee what are we to our selvs but the wretched causes of our own ruin We till thou gav'st us Being were purely nothing more remov'd from happines then the miserablest of thy creatures Now thou hast made us we wholly depend on Thee and perish immediately if thou forsake us Thou without us art the same all-glorious Essence brim-ful of thy own eternal felicity Without us thy royal Throne stands firm for ever and all the Powers of heav'n obey thy pleasure Pity O gracious Lord our imperfect nature whose every circumstance is so contrary to Thine Thou dwel'st above in the Mansions of glory and we below in houses of clay Thou art immortal and thy day out-lives all time we every moment go downwards to our grave Thou art immense and thy presence fills the heav'ns but the Greatest of us alas how litle are we Two yards of air contain us while we live and a few spans of earth suffice us at our death When O my God shall these distances meet together when will these extremitys embrace each other We know they once were miraculously joyn'd * in the sacred Person of thy eternal Son When the King of heav'n stoopt down to earth and grafted into his own Person the nature of man We hope they once again shall be happily united * in the blysful vision of thy glorious Self When the children of the earth shall be exalted to heav'n and made partakers of thy divine nature But are there no means for us here below O Thou infinitely high and glorious God! Is there no way to approach towards Thee and diminish at least this uncomfortable distance None but the way of holy love which none can attain but by thy free gift Nor must we sinners dare to ask thy love being infinitely unworthy to be cal'd thy servants Rather let us humbly beg the grace to love Thee who art so many ways worthy of more than our harts And yet O dearest Lord unless thou first love us and sweetly draw us by thy gentle hand Never shal we be so happy as to love Thee nor ever happy unless we love Thee O bounteous God! to all thy favours add this one * of making us esteem Thee above them
all Be thou to us our God and all things and make us nothing in our own eys Be thou our whole everlasting delight and let nothing else be any thing to us Glory be c. Antiph Vanity of Vanitys all is Vanity but the love of God and hope to enjoy him Capit. Ephes 6. CHildren obey your Parents in our Lord for this is just and you Fathers provoke not your Children to anger but bring them up in discipline and the fear of our Lord. Servants be obedient to your Masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling in the simplicity of your harts as to Christ not serving to the ey as it were pleasing men but as the servants of Christ doing the will of God from the hart knowing whatever good any one shal do that shal he receive of our Lord whether he be bond or free And you Masters do the same things to them forbearing threatnings knowing that both their Lord and yours is in heav'n and with Him is no acceptance of persons Hymn VII LOrd who shal dwel above with Thee There on thy holy Hill Who shal those glorious Prospects see That heav'n with gladnes fill Those happy souls who prize that life Above the bravest here Whose greatest hope whose eagrest strife Is once to settle there They use this world but value That That they supremely love They travel through this present state But place their home above Lord who are they that thus chuse Thee But those Thou first didst chuse To whom Thou gav'st thy grace most free Thy grace not to refuse We of our selvs can nothing do But all on Thee depend Thine is the work and wages too Thine both the way and end O make us stil our work attend And we 'l not doubt our pay We wil not fear a blessed end If thou but guide our way Glory to Thee O bounteous Lord Who giv'st to all things breath Glory to Thee Eternal Word Who sav'st us by thy death Glory O Blessed Spirit to Thee Who fill'st our harts with love Glory to all the Mystick Three Who reign one God above Amen Antiph He that fram'd the hart of man design'd it for himself and bequeath'd it unquietnes til possest of its Maker V. Vanity of Vanitys all is Vanity R. But to love our God and attend his service O Lord hear our prayers And let our supplications come to Thee Let us pray O God who alone art all in all things to us and to whom we are nothing but wretched objects of thy bounty which the more flows upon us the more we truly feel our own pure emptines and want of it Encrease we humbly beseech thee this happy sense iu thy servants by our dayly experience of this worlds unsatisfyingness and grant that finding it ordain'd by Thee to breed and widen not fill our capacity we may make this only use of all thy creatures here to raise and heighten our desires of thy infinite Self in Eternity through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who with thee and the Holy Ghost lives and reigns one God world without end Amen V. O Lord hear our prayers R. And let our Supplications come to Thee V. Bless we our Lord R. Thanks be to God V. May the Souls of the Faithful Departed through the mercy of God rest in peace Amen Pause a while to reflect and renew Then begin Complin Monday Complin V. OUr help is in As Page 46. Antiph All thy ways O Lord are mercy and wisdom and all thy Counsels tend to our happines Psal XXIV MY God in every thing I see thy hand in every passage thy gracious Providence Thou wisely govern'st the house thou hast built and preventest with thy mercy 's all our wants Thou cal'st us up in the early morning and giv'st us light by the beams of thy Sun To labour every one in their proper Office and fill the litle place appointed them in the world Thou provid'st a rest for our weary Evening and favour'st our sleep with a shady darknes To refresh our bodys in the peace of night and save the wast of our decaying spirits Again thou awak'st our drowsy eys and bid'st us return to our dayly task Thus has thy wisdom mixt our life and beauteously interwoven it of rest and work Whose mutual changes sweeten each other and both prepare us for our greatest duty Of finishing here the work of our Salvation to rest herafter in thy holy peace Glory be c. Psal XXV LOrd how thy bounty gives us all things else * with a large and open hand Our Fields at once are cover'd with corn and our trees bow under the weight of their fruit At once thou fill'st our Magazines with plenty and sendst us who'e show'rs of other blessings Only our time thou distil'st by drops and never giv'st us two moments at once But tak'st away one when thou lendest another to teach us the price of so rich a Jewel That we may learn to value every hour and not childishly spend them on empty trifles Much less maliciously murther whole days in pursuing a course of sin and shame Lord as Thou thus hast taught our ignorance so let thy grace enable our weaknes Wisely to manage the time thou giv'st us and stil press on to new degrees of improvement That with our few but wel-spent years we may purchase to our selvs a blest eternity Glory be c. Psal XXVI IT was thy mercy too O gracious Lord to dispense by parcels our portion of time That the succeeding day may learn to grow wise and correct its faults by experience of the past Else were our Being all at once as it shall be in the next Eternal life Our sins would have here no power to be repented and then alas how desperate were we We who are born in the way to misery and unless we change can never be happy We who so often wilfully go astray and unless we return must perish for ever O Thou in whose indulgent hands * are both our time and our Eternity Whose Providence gives every minute of our life and governs the fatal period of our death O make us every Evening still provide * to pass with comfort that important hour Make us still ballance our accompts for heav'n and strive to increase our treasures with Thee That if we rise no more to our acquaintance here we may joyfully waken among thy blessed Angels There to unite our Hymns with Theirs and joyn all together in one full Quire Glory be c. Antiph All thy ways O Lord are mercy and wisdom and all thy Counsels tend to our happines Hymn VIII NOw my Soul the day is gone Which in the morn was thine Now its glass no more shall run Its Sun no longer shine True alas the day is gone O were it only so Is 't not lost as well as done Cast up thy counts and know Are we so much nearer heav'n As to the grave we bow Has our sorrow made all
art so much the more humble thy self and thou shalt find grace before God for the power of God only is great and he is honor'd of the humble Seek not the things that are too high for thee nor search into those that are above thy strength but the things which God has commanded thee think always on them and in many of his works be not curious since 't is not necessary for thee to see with thine eys those things that are hidden Place thy treasure in the precepts of the Highest and it shall profit thee more then gold Lay up thy alms in the hart of the poor and it shall obtain for thee against all evil above the shield of the mighty and above the spear it shall fight against the enemy In all thy gifts shew a chearful countenance and dedicate thy tyths with gladness give to the Highest according to what He has given thee and with a good ey do according to the ability of thy hands for our Lord is thy rewarder and he will repay thee seven times as much When the ways of a man please our Lord he will convert even his enemys to peace The hart of a man disposes his way but it pertains to our Lord to direct his steps He that is patient is better then the strong and he that rules over his mind then the Conqueror of Cities There is no wisdom there is no prudence there is no counsel against our Lord the horse is prepar'd for the day of batle but our Lord gives salvation R. Well may we give thee O Lord some part of what we have since we receiv'd of thee even all we have well may we give with gladness to Thee since thy bounty rewards us with so great advantage O make us still mistrust our selvs and with an humble confidence rely on Thee Without thy blessing our labors are in vain and against thy decrees no pollicy can succeed but if we humbly submit to thee thou wilt direct us if we keep thy commandments thou wilt defend us O make us Second Lesson WHen thou com'st to the service of God stand in justice and fear and prepare thy soul for tentation What ever is brought upon thee receive and in thy sorrow bear up and when thou art humbled have patience for gold and silver are try'd in the fire and acceptable men in the furnace of affliction Believe God and he will recover thee order thy way aright and hope in Him keep his fear and grow old therein You who fear our Lord expect his mercy decline not from him lest you fall believe him and your reward shall not miscarry You who fear our Lord hope in him and mercy shall come to you for your refreshment love him and your harts shall be illuminated Behold the generations of men and know that none has hop't in our Lord and been confounded Who ever continued in his commandments and was forsaken or cal'd upon him and he despised him God is compassionate and merciful and will pardon sins in the day of tribulation and protect all those that seek him in truth Wo to the double hart and wicked lips and the hands that work evil and the sinner that goes on the earth two ways Wo to them that are of dissolute hart who believe not God and therefore shall not be protected by him Wo to them that have lost patience and forsaken the right path and declin'd into perverse ways what will they do when our Lord shall begin to look into them R. Teach us O gracious Lord to begin our works with fear and go on with obedience and finish them with love and after all sit humbly down in hope and with a chearful confidence look up to thee * whose promises are faithful and rewards infinite All this we may do for men and yet they fail us we may fear and obey and they forget our service we may love and hope and they neglect our affections only Thou O Lord our God whom we no way can benefit dost every way oblige us * whose promises Third Lesson BEcause sentence is not speedily pronounc't against the wicked the children of men commit evil without fear but though a sinner offend a hundred times and be forborn by patience I know it shall be well with them that fear God There are just men to whom evil things happen as though they had done the works of the impious and there are impious who live secure as if they had the deeds of the just and this also I judg most vain The just and the wise and their works are in the hands of God yet no man knows whether he be worthy of love or hatred but all things are reserv'd incertain for the time to come because all things happen alike to the good and to the bad As is the vertuous so is the sinner and as the perjur'd so he that swears the truth by this the harts of men are fill'd with malice and contempt while they live and after are led away into hell I turn'd me to another thing and saw under the Sun that the race is not to the swift nor the batle to the strong nor bread to the wise nor riches to the learned nor favour to men of skill but time and chance in all things R. And sure 't is fittest so for what can an infinite Power and Wisdom and Goodnes do but that which is best Lord I submit and adore thy Providence which scatters these temporal things with a seeming negligence as trifles of so litle importance that they signifie neither love nor hatred * Nothing but heav'n is indeed considerable nothing but Eternity deservs our esteem Fix thou our steps O Lord that we stager not at the uneven motions of the world but steddily go on to our glorious home not censuring our journy by the weather we meet nor turning out of the way for any accident that befals us * Nothing but Glory be * Nothing but Pause as page 17. Tuesday Lauds O God incline c. as page 18. Antiph Praise our Lord O my soul and forget not all his benefits Psal XXXI BE thou eternally ador'd O God of our salvation and may thy praises be sung by thy servants for ever When our first parents had disobey'd thy precepts to the ruine of themselvs and their whole posterity Thy mercy immediately provided a remedy and graciously promised a powerful Redeemer A Redeemer that should conquer sin and death and crush in pieces the serpents head A Redeemer that should fully repair the breaches of mankind and render our condition better then before Enlightning our eys with a clearer view * of those excellent truths that belong to our peace And supporting our nature with a stronger grace * to bear us safely on through all encounters Till we arrive at the land of rest and be receiv'd for ever into that glorious Kingdom O Blessed JESU our strength our guide who know'st and pittiest our weak capacitys Who in thy
blest purpose in us and finish these happy beginings towards us For our hopes are great thou hast chosen us to thy glory since already thou so far art engag'd by thy grace Glory be c. Antiph Dreadful art Thou O Lord in the terrors of thy judgments but infinitely more amiable in the sweetnes of thy mercys Capit. Rom. 13. LEt every soul be subject to the higher Pow'rs for there is no Power but of God and they that be are ordain'd of God who ever therefore resists the Power resists the ordinance of God and they who resist purchase to themselves damnation For Princes are not a terror to good but evil works wilt thou then not be afraid of the Power do that which is good and thou shalt have praise of it for he is the minister of God to thee for good but if thou dost evil fear for he bears not the sword in vain for he is the minister of God a revenger to wrath on him that does evil Wherefore be subject to what is so necessary not only for wrath but also for conscience And for this cause do you also pay tribute for they are the ministers of God serving to this very purpose Render therfore to all their dues tribute to whom tribute custom to whom custom fear to whom fear honor to whom honor Ow no man any thing but to love one another for he who loves has fulfill'd the Law Hymn XI FAin would my thoughts fly up to Thee Thy peace sweet Lord to find But when I offer still the world Lays clogs upon my mind Sometimes I climb a litle way And thence look down below How nothing there do all things seem That here make such a show Then round about I turn my eys To feast my hungry sight I meet with heav'n in every thing In every thing delight I see thy Wisdom ruling all And it with joy admire I see my self among such hopes As set my hart on fire When I have thus triumph't a while And think to build my nest Some cross conceits come fluttering by And interrupt my rest Then to the earth again I fall And from my low dust cry 'T was not in my wing Lord but thine That I got up so high And now my God whether I rise Or still ly down in dust Both I submit to thy blest will In both on Thee I trust Guide thou my way who art thy self My everlasting End That every step or swift or slow Still to thy self may tend To Father Son and holy Ghost One Consubstantial Three All highest praise all humblest thanks Now and for ever be Antiph What hart can resist the great King of Kings terrible and amiable and mightily shewing Both in glorious miracles of vengeance and love V. His right hand holds a golden Scepter R. And his left a flaming sword O Lord hear our prayers And let our supplications come to Thee Let us pray O God who by hopes and fears the main swayers of our nature here hast graciously provided to counterpoise our weight downwards and sustain our faint progress up to Thee in thy Kingdom Grant we humbly beseech Thee that the many notorious Examples of thy dreadful judgments on obstinate and incorrigible sinners may strongly over-aw our vices and impenitence and thy many more eminent instances of indulgence and mercy to the penitent and truly desirous of vertue may incourage our weaknes into effectual endeavours after it by the abundant and surely efficatious means thou hast vouchsaf't in thy Church through our Lord O Lord hear c. As page 45. Tuesday Complin OUr help is in c. as page 46. Antiph Thou art O Lord all goodnes and patience and we alas all sin and disobedience Psal XXXVII GOod God how extreamly ingrateful are we how strangely insensible of our manifest duty Every creature hears thy voice but we every thing lives by rule but we The Sun observs its constant rising and sets exactly at his appointed time The Sun stands still if thou commandest and even goes back to obey thy will And yet the Sun pretends no reward nor looks to be plac'd in a higher heav'n We who expect those glorious promises and aim no lower then the heav'n of heav'ns Shall we forget the law of our God that only instructs us to perfect our selvs We who are bought by the blood of JESUS and freely redeem'd by his sacred Cross Shall we neglect so gracious a Saviour whose only design is to draw us to his love Shall we neglect so generous a love whose only effect is to make us happy O may thy holy will dear Lord be all our rule and thy gracious hand our only guide O may thy infinite goodnes engage us to love Thee and thy blessed love prepare us to enjoy Thee Glory be c. Psal XXXVIII WHat did I say O Lord my God! we guide not our lives by thy strait rules It was too mild and gentle a reproof * for us who quite contradict thy Laws What thou forbidst we eagerly pursue and what thou command'st our frowardnes still resists We boldly converse with temptation and sin which thy charity advises us to fly like death We timorously fear a loss or frown where Thou bidst us proceed with undaunted courage We govern our actions by our own wild fancys and expect thy Providence should comply with our humors We would have Thee relieve us when we list and rain and shine as we think fit Pardon O gracious Lord this rude perversnes and fashion our spirits to submit to Thee Make us exactly observe what Thou prescrib'st how bitter so ever it tasts to our sense We are sure thy wisdom knows our infirmities we are sure thy Goodnes delights in our relief Glory be c. Psal XXXIX T Was not alone to make the day that Thou O Lord did'st make the Sun But to teach us these pious Lessons and write them plain as it 's own beams So should our light shine forth to others and so our charity warm their coldness So when they say we are under a cloud we should like the Sun be really above it And though we appear sometimes Eclipst or even extinguisht in a night of sorrow Still we should shine to our selves and Thee and still go on the ways of light Still like the regular Sun unchangedly expect * the appointed periods of bright and dark Only in this we gladly disagree and blest be our God who made the difference Not like the Sun that every night goes down and must at last be quite put out When we have finisht here our course and seem to set to this dark earth We hope to rise and set no more but shine perpetually in a brighter heav'n Glory be c. Antiph Thou art O Lord all goodnes and patience and we alas all sin and disobedience Hymn XII BLessed O Lord be thy wise grace That governs all our day And to the night assigns its place To rest us in our way If
he shines out clear to the Blessed alone and the beams of his glory strike bright upon their faces Yet have his mercys to us far more of miracle far more of care and tender Providence VVhile he not only is pleas'd to be among us but condescends to become even one with us VVhile he not only is our God to go before us but our very food to enter into us O souls redeem'd by the Blood of JESUS and nourisht with the flesh of his sacred Body Why melt you not away into tears of joy for being so regarded by the King of heav'n Why not at least dissolve into tears of sorrow for so litle regarding him Who will not tremble with an amorous reverence * that stands in the sight of so great a Majesty Who can forbear to be transported with joy that thinks I 'm going to receive my God! Who can contain the overflowings of his hart while his brest can say here I have my God! My great and glorious God who meerly out of love * thus gives me Himself in pledg of my salvation O infinite sweetnes how good is it for us to be here and behold our Lord transfigur'd before us Here let us make a thousand Tabernacles one O my JESU for Thee and one for each of us That in our litle tents we may dwel about thee and sing and bow and rejoyce before thee What should the captive wish but liberty and the weary Pilgrim but to be at rest What should the sick desire but helth and what can I but to be with my God But stay am I drest like a friend of the Bridegroom * that I safely may come to this Marriage Supper Have I consider'd how chast those eys should be * which go to behold the God of purity Have I consider'd how clean that mouth should be * which presumes to eat the Bread of heav'n But most how all-celestial that soul should be * which aspires to an union with the Body of our Lord Look look my hart look well into thy self and strictly search every Corner of thy brest Alas how poor and dull and empty are we how infinitely unworthy so divine a Sacrament Yet are we cal'd by Him that can command by Him that sees and pitys our misery He bids us come he surely will receive us and with his bounteous fulnes supply our defects Go then my soul go to that sacred Table and take thy part of that delicious Banquet Go all inflam'd with love and joy and hope and quench thy holy thirst at that Spring of Blyss When thou hast tasted the sweetnes of thy God and feel'st his heav'nly streams flow gently on thee Open thy happy brest and suck those waters in and let them freely run over all thy powers Let them soak deep to the root of thy hart and turn thy barren heath into a fruitful land Fruitful in holy thoughts and pious words fruitful in good and just and charitable deeds Fruitful to thy self in thine own improvement fruitful to others in thy good example No more ingratitude to so gracious a God no more neglect of so glorious a Majesty Away false pleasures sin and vanity for the God of holines hath touch't my hart He has himself gone in and taken full possession and seal'd it up for his own service Glory be c. Antiph This is the greatest charity that God himself can bestow since God can bestow nothing greater then himself Capit. 1 Cor. 13. IF I speak with the tongues of men and Angels and have not charity I am become as sounding brass or a tinckling Cymbal and if I should have Prophecy and understand all mysteryes and all knowledg and if I should have all fayth so that I should remove mountains and have not charity I am nothing Charity is patient is benigne Charity envyes not deals not perversly is not puft up is not ambitious seeks not her own is not provok't to anger thinks not evil rejoyces not upon iniquity but rejoyces with the truth suffers all things beleevs all things hopes all things bears all things Charity never fayls but whether Prophesyes they shal be made void or tongues they shall cease or knowledg it shal be destroy'd for we know in part and Prophecy in part but when that which is perfect shal come that which is in part shal be made void When I was a child I spake as a child I understood as a child I thought as a child but when I became a man I put away childish things Now we see darkly through a glass but then face to face now I know in part but then I shal know even as I am known and now there remain faith hope charity these three but the greatest of these is Charity Hymn XIX DO I resolve an easy life Stor'd with plenty free from strife When dear Lord thy days and nights Pass'd in poverty and fights Do I design a gentle death Singing out my aged breath When my Saviour tortures tore Thy dear soul out drown'd in gore O dread dayly Sacrifice Acting in a sweet disguise JESUS Passions o're again Such undue conceits restrain Keep stil lively in my mind How I ought to be resign'd How this Pattern ought destroy All my sensual greif or joy Are suffrings Ills no goodness chose His and our way to blyss through those Are pleasures Goods no wisdom scorn'd Their daliance and us forewarn'd This this make my Ditty be At least whenever Thee I see Thee it's ground so oft repeating To prevent my souls forgetting JESU thus arm'd no terrors shall Make my vertuous courage fall No flatterys here my blest hope drown Since thy Cross led to thy Crown Live for ever glorious Lord Live by heav'n and earth ador'd May both their praises give They who see we who beleeve Amen Antiph Thou art ascended our glorious Redeemer to prepare a place for us yet continuest stil here our gracious Emmanuel to prepare us for it V. 'T is thy delight O Lord to be with the children of men R. O make it ours to be with the God of heav'n O Lord hear our prayers And let our supplications come to Thee Let us Pray O God who seeing the dulnes of our spirits need so often fresh impulses of sense hast wonderfully contriv'd our alone saving Object thy sacrific'd Son continually to solicite our harts by his own dear Presence stil really among us Reclaim we humbly beseech Thee all our wandring affections with this miracle of goodnes and compose them into such a diligent and devout attendance on our graciously veild JESUS that we may dayly feed our adoration and love of Him and dayly grow in our desires of seeing eternally his glorious Face who with Thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns One God world without end Amen O Lord hear as Pag. 45. Thursday Complin OUr help c. as Pag. 46. Antiph What could'st thou say dear Lord more sweet then this Thy delight is to be with the Children of
followers strive to be rich and esteem'd Thy charitable labours were maliciously slander'd and shall not our faults have the patience to be reprov'd Thou disdain'dst not to be cal'd in scorn the Carpenters son and cannot our lownes bear a litle disparagement O how unlike are we to that blest Original * who descended from heav'n to become our pattern How do we go astray from that sacred path * which the holy JESUS trac'd with his own steps Pity O dear Redeemer the infirmitys of thy children and strengthen with thy grace our fainting harts Arm us O glorious Conqueror of sin and death against all the fears and terrors of this world Arm all our powers with those celestial vertues of Faith and Hope and invincible Love That we may still go on and resolutely meet * whatever stands in our way to heav'n Since we must suffer as Christians and deserve it as sinners * Lord let us bear it as becomes thy servants Glory be c. Antiph He humbled himself for us and became obedient to death even the death of the Cross Antiph Unworthy are we O Lord of the least of thy favours and ingrateful for all Psal LXIX MY God when I consider what thou hast suffer'd for us and what we have done against our â—â—elvs I am amaz'd at the wonders of thy goodnes and confounded at the vilenes of our misery Our sins were the cause of thy cruel death yet still we permit them to live in us We entertain the worst of thine enemys and treacherously lodg them in our own bosoms Prefering a petty interest before thy heav'n a transitory pleasure before eternal felicity Many we confess are the follys of our life and our consciences tremble at their own great guilt Many are the times thou hast graciously pardon'd us and still we relapse and abuse thy clemency The memory of our transgressions is bitter to us and the thought of our ingratitude extreamly afflicts us But is there O my JESU any stain so foul * which thy precious Blood cannot wash away Is there any heap of sins so vast * to exceed the number of infinite mercys O no Thou canst forgive more then we can offend but Thou wilt not forgive unless we fear to offend Unless we seek to Thee for peace and reconcilement and humble our selvs in thy holy presence Wherefore behold O Lord we fall down at thy crucified Feet and there ask pardon for our perverse affections Reverently we kiss thy pierced Hands and implore forgivenes of our wicked actions Humbly we salute thy bleeding Side and supplicate thy grace to purify our intentions All we can offer thy offended Majesty * to pacify the justice of thy wrath Is only an humble ey bath'd in tears and a penitent hart broken with contrition Only a firm Resolve to change our lives and even all this we must beg of Thee O Thou our gracious and indulgent Lord who freely pardon'st all that truly repent Who giv'st repentance to all that ask and invit'st all to ask by promising to give Make us look seriously into our own brests and hartily lament our many failings Make us search diligently for our bosom-sins and strive to cast them out with prayer and fasting Open thou O Lord our lips to accuse our crimes that we blush not to confess what we fear'd not to do Correct our past sins with the works of pennance that the stains they leave may be quite ta'ne away Preserve us herafter with thy powerful grace that no temptation surprize or overcome us Extend thy mercy O Lord over all our works since Thy self has declar'd 't is above all thine own Glory be c. Antiph Unworthy are we O Lord of the least of thy favors and ingrateful for all Our Father c. First Lesson ATtend to me O my People hear me O my Nation for a Law shall proceed from Me and my judgment shall rest to be a light of the world I gave my back to the scourgers and my cheeks to those who pluckt off the hair I turn'd not away my face from them that rebuk't me and spit upon me I have trodden the winepress alone and of the Gentiles there was not a man with me I lookt about and there was no helper I sought and there was none to aid All that saw the laught me to scorn they shot out their lips and shook their heads he hop't in the Lord let him deliver him because he delights in him let him save him I was as one that is deaf and heard not and as a dumb man that opens not his mouth They who sought evil against me spake vanitys and meditated deceits all the day long They open'd their mouths upon me as a lyon ravening and roaring many dogs incompast me the councel of the malignant besieg'd me They pierc'd my hands and my feet they numbre'd all my bones they divided my garments and for my vesture they cast lots They gave me gall to eat and in my thirst vineger to drink I am poured out as water and all my bones are disjoynted my hart is made like wax melting in the mid'st of my bowels my strength is dry'd up like a potsheard and my tongue cleav'd to my mouth Thou hast brought me down to the dust of death R. All this O Blessed JESU thou taught'st thy holy Prophets to prepare the world for thy coming all this and infinitely more Thou verify'dst in thine own Person with pains and sorrows and reproaches able to make even patience it self break forth into this sad complaint * O all you that pass by the way behold and see if there be grief like to my grief I was betray'd and bound and led away captive I was revil'd and buffeted and scornfully spit on I was stript and scourg'd and condemn'd to a cruel death I was crown'd with thorns and pierc't with nails and crucify'd among theeves * O all Second Lesson NOw therefore saith our Lord Turn to me with all your hart in fasting and weeping and mourning Rend your harts and not your garments and be converted to the Lord your God for he is benign and merciful patient and of much compassion and ready to pardon your offences who knows if he will return and forgive and leave behind him a blessing Seek our Lord while he may be found call on him while he is nigh Behold the hand of the Lord is not shortned that he cannot save nor his ear heavy that it cannot hear but your iniquities have divided between you and your God and your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear Let the impious forsake his way and the wicked man his thoughts and return to our Lord and he will have mercy on him and to our God for he is bountiful in pardoning Wash you be clean take away the evil of your thoughts from mine eys cease to do perversly learn to do good seek judgment relieve the oppressed judg for the fatherless defend the widow Come
Glory to Thee O bounteous Lord Who giv'st to all things breath Glory to Thee Eternal VVord VVho sav'st us by thy death Glory O blessed Spirit to Thee Who fill'st our souls with love Glory to all the mystick Three Who reign one God above Antiph This is alas the land of the Dying but we hope to see the glory of God in the land of the Living Psal LXXX PRostrate before thy Tomb O Lord behold we freely confess our misery And in the lowliest posture of afflicted Pilgrims humbly implore thy mercy Peacefully in the grave thy body repos'd and thy soul went triumphing to redeem thy Captives But we alas thy helpless orphans how are we left in the midst of our enemys To how many dangers is our life expos'd with how many tentations are we round besieg'd Tentations in meat tentations in drink tentations in conversing tentations in solitude Tentations in business tentations in leisure tentations in riches tentations in poverty All our ways are strew'd with snares and even our own senses conspire against us Whether O my God shall our poor souls go encompast with a body so frail and a world so corrupt Whether but to Thee the Justifier of sinners and to thy grace the Sustainer of the weak Thy grace instructs us what we ought to do and breeds in us the will to endeavour what we know Thy grace enables us to perform our resolvs and when all 's done thy grace must give the success Govern us with this thy grace O Eternal Wisdom and direct our steps in the safe way Order every chance to prevent our falling and still lead us on towards our happy end Give us the ey and wing of an eagle to see our danger and fly swiftly away If we must needs engage our Enemy and no means left to escape the encounter Strengthen us O Lord to persevere with courage that we never be wanting in our fidelity to Thee Convince us Blessed JESU into this firm judgment and may our memorys faithfully retain it What ever our senses say to deceive us or the world to obscure so beauteous a truth That Thy self alone art our chiefest good and the sight of thy glory our supream felicity Glory be c. Antiph This is alas the land of the Dying but we hope to see the glory of God in the land of the Living Antiph Well done thou good and faithful servant I gave thee two talents and thou hast gain'd two more enter into thy Masters joy Psal LXXXI HAppy are they O Lord who have so much employment that there remains no room for idle thoughts Happy are they who have so litle business that they want not space to attend their souls Happy yet more are they who in the midst of their work * can think somtimes of the wages above Whom nothing diverts from that chief concern * of seeking to make their election sure But while their backs are bow'd down with labor they freely can raise up their minds to heav'n And while they are tyed to their beds with sicknes can yet move on towards their eternal rest Often they rejoyce with themselvs alone and silently say in their contented harts Here we alas are narrowly confin'd and our time entertain'd with trivial affairs But herafter we expect an unbounded enlargement and the same glorious office with the blessed Angels Here we are subject to a thousand miserys and the most prosperous life is vain and short But herafter we expect an infinity of joy and the solid pleasures of heav'n for ever We too O gracious Lord who now adore Thee and in thy presence sing these holy words We humbly pray thee guide us in the middle path that we never decline to any vicious extreme Deliver us from the stormy sea of busines and the dead water of a slothful life Lest we be cast away by forgetting thee or becom corrupted by neglecting our selvs Make us somtimes at least recollect our thoughts how much soever our condition distract us Make us look up with confidence in our God how low soever our afflictions depress us Make us look up to the eternal mountains and feed our souls on this sweet hope The day wil come when out of this dark world * we shal joyfully ascend to that beauteous light The day will come and cannot be far off when we shal rest for ever in the bosom of blyss Glory be c. Antiph Well done thou good and faithful servant I gave thee two talents and thou hast gain'd two more enter into thy Masters joy Antiph Well done thou good and faithful servant I gave thee five talents and thou hast gain'd five more enter into thy Masters joy Psal LXXXII HAppiest of all O Lord are they * whose very business is thy service Who not only bestow an interrupted glance but stedily fix their eys on Thee Who not only visit thy house somtimes but night and day dwel in thy presence If the Sun rise it finds them at their prayers and when it sets leaves them at the same sweet task Every place is a Church to them and every day a holy Sabaoth Every object an occasion of Piety and every accident an exercise of vertue Do they behold the beauteous stars they presently adore their great Creator Do they look down on the fruitful earth they instantly begin to praise his bounty Let War or Peace do what they will and the inconstant world reel up and down They pass through all as unconcern'd and smoothly go on their regular course Looking stil up to that glorious life above and entertaining this present in hope and solitude If they depart somtimes from their proper center and forsake a while their belov'd retirement 'T is to approach and give light to others and enflame some cold or â—â—ukewarm hart While they are thus abroad their minds are at home with Thee and nothing can divide them from thy dear presence Yet do they wisely make hast to return and injoy Thee alone in their litle Cell There Thou receiv'st them as familiar friends and freely admit'st them to thy secret sweetnes Thou giv'st them a tast from thine own full board and overflow'st their harts with the wine of gladnes Often they feel a litle beam from heav'n * strike gently and fill their brests with light Often that gentle light is kindled into a flame and chastly burns with pure desires Desires that stil mount up and aim at Thee * the supernatural center of all their hopes O happy state of reverend Discipline free from the cares and tumults of this world Free from the dangerous allurements of sin and perpetually solicited with engagements to vertue Where they seldom fall and quickly rise and make swift advances in the way to heav'n Where they live in purity and dy with confidence and go to sing among the Quires of Angels Blest Providence who govern'st all things in perfect wisdom and assign'st to every one his proper place If Thou hast pleas'd to
of death thou open'dst the kingdom of heav'n to all Believers Psal LXXXIII IF we rejoyc'd for our selvs in the sufferings of our Lord let us now rejoyce for Him that his sufferings are ended Now that the fowlers net is broken and the meek and innocent Dove escap't Now that the cup of bitternes is past away and never possible to return again Never again O dearest JESU shall those blest eys weep nor thy holy soul be sorrowful to death Never shall thy precious life be subject any more * to the bloody malice of ambitious hypocrites Never shall thy innocence any more be expos'd * to the barbarous fury of an ingrateful multitude But thou shalt live and reign for ever and all created nature perpetually adore Thee O happy end of well indur'd afflictions O blessed fruits that spring from the Cross of JESUS Look up my soul and see thy crucify'd Lord * sit gloriously inthron'd at the right hand of his Father Behold the ragged purple now turn'd into a robe of light and the scornful reed into a royal Scepter The wreath of thorns is grown into a sparkling diadem and all his scars polisht into brightnes His tears are all now chang'd into joy and the laughter of his persecuters into sad despair Herod long since perisht in miserable contempt and Pilate still trembles with everlasting fears The impenitent Jews are scatter'd o're the world to attest his truth and their own obdurate blindness But Himself is crown'd with eternal Triumphs and the souls he has redeem'd shall sing his victories for ever Live glorious King of men and Angels live happy Conqueror of sin and death Our praises shall always attend thy Cross and our patience endeavour to bear our own Through fiercest dangers our faith shall follow Thee and nothing wrest from us our hope at last to see Thee We 'l fear no more the sting of death nor be frighted at the darkness of the grave Since thou hast chang'd our grave into a bed of rest and made death it self but a passage into life We 'l love no more the pleasures of vanity nor set our harts on unsatisfying riches Since Thou hast open'd Paradise again and purchas'd for us the kingdom of heav'n Glory be c. Psal LXXXIV BLessed be thy Name O holy JESU and blessed be the mercy of thy Providence Who hast cast our lot in these times of grace and design'd our birth in the days of light When we may clearly see our ready way and directly go on to our glorious end Till Thou appear'dst O Thou only light of the world our miserable earth lay cover'd with darknes Till thou went'st away O thou soveraign Lord of life thy Saints sate expecting in the shades of death The kingdom of heav'n was close shut up and none permitted to behold thy glory Soon as thine own afflictions were ended thou communicatedst thy joys to all the world All that esteem'd so blest a sight and stood prepar'd to entertain thy coming As for the rest whose eys are shut or turn'd away by their own malice Thy presence alas yields no more joy then light to those who will not see But the harts that love Thee Thou fill'st with gladnes and overflow'st them with an ocean of heav'nly delights Come happy souls to whom belongs * so fair a title to all these mercys Come let us now raise up our thoughts and continually mediâ—â—ate our future beatitude Let us comfort our labours with the hope of rest and our sufferings with the expectance of a quick reward Now that the hand of our gracious Lord * has unlockt the gates of everlasting blyss Now that they stand wide open to admit * such as press on with their utmost strength Such as have wisely made choice of heav'n * for the only end and business of their life Rejecting all these false allurements to attend the pursute of true felicity O Blessed JESU our hope our strength and the full rewarder of all thy servants As thou hast freely prepar'd for us ready wages so Lord let thy grace enable us to work Make us direct our whole life to Thee and undervalue all things compar'd with thy love Seal thou our eys to the illusions of this world and open them upwards to thy solid glorys That when our earthly tabernacle shal be dissolv'd and this house of clay fall down into the dust We may ascend to Thee and dwel above in that Building not made with hands eternal in the heav'ns Glory be c. Psal LXXXV PRaise our Lord O you children of men praise Him as the Author of all your hopes Praise our Lord O you Blessed of heav'n praise Him as the Finisher of all your joys Sing O you reverend Patriarks and holy Prophets sing Hymns of glory to the great Messias Sing and rejoyce all you Ancient Saints who so long repos'd in the bosom of Abraham Bring forth your best and purest incense and humbly offer it at the Throne of the Lamb The Lamb that was slain from the begining of the world by the sprinkling of whose blood you all were saved O still sing on the praises of the King of peace and bless for ever his victorious mercy 'T was he dissolv'd the power of darknes and brake asunder the bars of death 'T was He came down to visit your prisons and lead you away out of the shades of sorrow How did your glad eys sparkle with joy to see at last your Desir'd Redeemer How were your spirits transported with delight to behold the splendors of his glorious presence His presence that can quickly turn * the sadest night into a chearful day That can change a dungeon into a house of mirth and make every place a Paradise O glorious Presence when shall our souls be fill'd * with strong and constant desires of enjoying Thee When dearest JESU shal our desires be fil'd * with the everlasting fruition of thy Blessed self Henceforth for Thee and for thy sacred love O Thou great and only Comfort of our souls May all afflictions be welcom to us as wholsom phisick to correct our follyes May the pleasures of the world be rejected by us as dangerous fruits that fill us with diseases May we by thy example neither feare to dy nor refuse the labours of this life But while we live obey thy grace that when we dy we may injoy thy glory Glory be c. Antiph When thou hadst overcom the sting of death Thou opend'st the Kingdom of heav'n to all believers Capit. 2. Pet. 3. TAke heed lest being led aside by the error of the unwise you fall away from your own stedfastnes But grow in grace and the knowledg of our Lord JESUS Christ to Him be glory both now and to the day of Eternity Amen Hymn XXVI MY God to Thee our selvs we ow And to Thy bounty all we have Behold to Thee our praises bow And humbly thy acceptance crave If we are happy in a friend That very friend
in peace and go up to dwel among thy Saints and Angels bless us O Lord with a holy life and then our death cannot but be happy * O make Glory be c. O make Te Deum as Page 16. Lauds for Saints O God incline as Page 18. Antiph The Just shal be as lillys planted in Paradise Alleluja and flourish in the presence of God for ever Alleluja Psal CXIX COme le ts all bring forth our Psalms and go together to the house of Praise There let us meet in peace and love and joyn our harts and voices into one glad song Come let us sing but who shal be our theme what worthy subject shal our Musick chuse No 't is not Conquerours we mean to admire nor any of the Great Ones whom the world applauds But You Blest Spirits who bravely overcame your selvs and led in triumph your own passions Who either wisely us'd this world or to be safer us'd it not at all You are the illustrious worthies we desire to praise * and guild our hymus with your bright names Yours are the only Trophys we delight to set up and beautify our Churches with your holy Pictures Sing then aloud my Soul the glorys of the Saints and let their sacred memorys be always in thine Rejoyce thou who feelst these miserys here * and often complain'st of the dangers of this life Rejoyce at their glad delivery from all these sorrows and hartily congratulate their secure felicity Rejoyce and with thy best instructed thoughts admire * the exquisite wisdom of the divine Providence Who from such low beginings can raise so great effects yet every step thrust naturally on the next Behold a litle seed that 's buryed in the earth * shoot gently out its tender leavâ—â— And nourisht on with the clouds and Sun * climb up by degrees into a tall stalk There it displays its full blown hope and crowns its own head with a silver lilly Such is the progres of immortal souls even those who shine now among the highest Seraphins At first shuâ—â— up in their mothers womb where they ly confin'd close prisoners in the dâ—â—rk Thence they come forth to see and hâ—â—ar and slowly begin to walk and spek Next they advance to understand and discourse then learn to fly with the wings of grace Til they get up even beyond themselvs and believe and live above their own nature At last the kindly hand of death gives them a stroke and they instantly become like the glorious Angels Instantly their dark and narrow knowledg unfolds it self and spreads into a clear and spacious view Where they at once shal see all the glorys of heav'n at once possess and for ever injoy them Thus from the humble seed of grace connaturally spring the flowers of glory And from this life 's green stem of hope * grow just on the top of the Lillys of Paradise Lillys that never fade but stil shine on and fil the heav'ns with their beauteous sweetnes Lillys that even Salomon in all his glory * was not array'd like one of these Sing then my soul but stil among thy Hymns * mingle resolvs to imitate their lives Those are the Lauds most delighâ—â—ful to Them whose charity rejoyces at the conversion of a sinner Those are the Feasts most profitable to thee whose weaknes needs the impressions of example Learn but of them to be humble and meek to submit all thy wishes to the Will of heavâ—â— To govern thy senses by a rule of reason and thy reason by the dictates of Religion To design thy whole life in order to thy end and establish for thy end the blyss of eternity These holy Lessons let thy life transcribe and never fear their acceptance of thy praise Saints like our service best when our honoring them * becomes an occaâ—â—ion of benefiting our selvs Glory be c. Antiph The Just shal be as lillys planted in Paradise Alleluja and flourish for ever in the presence of God Alleluja Antiph Rejoyce O you Holy and Just Alleluja for our Lord has chosen you for his own inheritance Alleluja Psal CXX O Praise our Lord all you powers of my soul praise the immortal King of Saints and Angels Praise him as the Author of all their graces praise him as the Finisher of all their glorys Praise him in the admirable priviledges of his Virgin-Mother whom he obeyed on earth and assum'd into heav'n That he might give us hope our petitions will be heard presented by the hand of so powerful an Advocate Praise him in the mighty hosts of Angels whom he sets about us as the Guard of our lives That they may safely keep us in all our ways and carry us at last to their own home Praise him in the sacred Colledg of Apostles to whom he reveal'd the mysterys of his Kingdom That they might teach us too those heavenly truths and shew us the same best way to felicity Praise him in the generous fortitude of Martyrs whom he strengthen'd with courage to resist even to death That we might learn of them to hold fast our faith and rather lose this life then hazard the Other Praise him in the eminent fanctity of Confessors whose whole design was a course of heroick Vertue That we might raise our minds from our usual lazy flight and with a quick and active wing mount up towards heav'n Praise him in the Angelical purity of Virgins whose harts he enflam'd with his divine charity That they might kindle ours with the same chast fire the same feâ—â—vent love to the spouse of our souls Praise him in the perfect holines of all his Saints whose lives he moulded into so various shapes That every size of ours might readily be furnisht * with a pattern cut out and fitted for it self O praise our Lord all you powers of my soul praise the immortal King of Saints and Angels Praise every Person of the sacred Deity and give a harty joy to the whole court of heaven Blessed for ever be the Eternal Father who has fixt his Angels in so high a happines Triumph bright Angels on your radiant thrones and shine continually in the presence of your God Blessed for be ever the Eternal Son who has crown'd so gloriously his incomparable Mother Live most miraculous Mother of the King of heaven and dwel perpetually in the joys of thy Son Blessed for ever be the Eternal Spirit whose grace prefers all the Saints into glory Rejoyce every happy Saint in your own felicity rejoyce every one in the felicity of All. Blessed for ever be the undivided Trinity whose sight alone is the heaven of heaven Sing all you holy Citizens of heaven sing all together everlasting hymns Sing and among your highest fervours forget not us who thus in our low way remember you Still pray our dear Redeemer to save our souls and still we 'l praise his Name for saving yours Glory be c. Antiph Rejoyce O you Holy and Just Alleluja for our Lord
has chosen you for his inheritance Alleluja Antiph Perpetual light shall shine on thy Saints O Lord Alleluja and joy and glory for ever Alleluja Psal CXXI BUt who are we born here below in the dust and still kept down with the thoughts of this world Lord who are we that our polluted hands * dare offer to Thee the incense of praise We who so often disobey thy commands and so seldom weep for our many follys Forgive great God our boldnes who thus rashly presume forgive our frailtys who thus weakly perform Plead our excuse O you glorified Spiritis and with your flaming charity warm our coldnes O praise our Lord you pure unblemisht Angels * who never displeas'd him with the least offence Praise him O you freely pardon'd Saints who perfectly repented every litle trespass Praise him with the highest Office of all your Feasts praise him with the loudest musick of all your Quires And so they do look up my soul and see * the innumerable multitude of triumphing Spirits See how they stand all cloth'd in white robes with palms in their hands and golden crowns on their heads Behold the glorious Angels fall down before the Throne and prostrate adore Him that lives for ever Behold the blessed Saints lay their Crowns at his feet and on their faces adore Him that lives for ever Hark how they fill that spacious Temple with their Hymns * while night and day they continually sing Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come Alleluja Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Hosts heav'n and earth are full of thy glory Alleluja Glorious art Thou in creating all things glorious in preserving them every moment of their being Glorious in governing them their several ways glorious in appointing them their proper ends Glorious in rewarding thy servants above their hopes glorious in punishing sinners below their demerits Glorious art Thou O Lord in all thy works but infinitely more in thine own self-blessed Essence Thus they rejoyce above thus they triumph and may their joy and triumph last for ever But O were we not made as wel as they ** to serve and glorify our great Creator We ow him all we have and they can ow no more they can but do their best and we should do no less Your pardon blessed spirits if we worms aspire to sing the same bright name which you adore We are ingag'd as deep as You but cannot pay without your charity O in your golden Censers put our prayers and offer them perfum'd with the odours of yours Though we are now alas in this land of banishment and indispos'd for those Songs of Sion Yet 't is our hope one day to dwel above and hear your holy harps and learn to sing of You We hope to walk with you those ways of light and follow the Lamb with you where're He goes Mean while we every day will joyn our Vowâ—â— to Yours and say a glad Amen to all You sing We as Your faithful Ecchoes will every day repeat * these few short Ends of Your Seraphik Hymns Salvation to our God who sits on the Throne and to the Lamb that redeem'd us with his blood Alleluja Blessing and Wisdom and Power be to Him that sits on the Throne and to the Lamb for all eternity Alleluja Glory be c. Antiph Perpetual light 〈◊〉 shine on thy Saints O Lord Alleluja and joy and glory for ever Alleluja Capit. Apoc. 7. AFter these things I saw a great multitude which no man could number of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues standing before the Throne and in the sight of the Lamb cloth'd in white robes and palmes in their hands And they cry'd with a loud voice saying Salvation to our God who sits on the Throne and to the Lamb. And all the Angels stood in the Circuit of the Throne and of the Seniors and of the four Beasts and they fell in the sight of the Throne upon their faces and ador'd God saying Amen Benediction and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving honour and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever Amen Hymn XXXVII WAke all my hopes lift up your eys And crown your heads with mirth See how they shine beyond the skys Who once dwelt on our earth Peace busy thoughts away vain cares That clog us here below Let us go up above the Sphears And to each order bow Hail glorious Angels Heirs of light The high-born Sons of fire Whose heats burn chast whose flames shine bright All joy yet all desire Hail holy Saints who long in hope Long in the shadow sate Til our victorious Lord set ope Heav'ns everlasting gate Hail great Apostles of the Lamb Who brought that early Ray Which from our Sun reflected came And made our first fair day Hail generous Martyrs whose strong harts Bravely rejoyc't to prove How weak pale death are all thy darts Compar'd to those of love Hail Blessed Confessors who dy'd A death too love did give While your own flesh You crucify'd To make your spirit live Hail beauteous Virgins whose chast vows Renounc't all fond desires Who wisely chose your Lord for Spouse And burnt with his pure fires Hail all you happy Spirits above Who make that glorious ring About the sparkling Throne of love And there for ever sing Hail and among your Crowns of praise Present this litle wreath Which while your lofty Notes you raise We humbly sing beneath All glory to the sacred Three One ever-living Lord As at the first stil may he be Belov'd obey'd ador'd Antiph The number of Them was thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and divinity and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and benediction Alleluja Alleluja Alleluja O Lord hear our Prayers And let our Supplications come to Thee Let us pray MOst gracious God the author of all sanctity and Lover of unity whose wisdom has establisht an admirable communion between thy Church Triumphant in heav'n and Militant on earth as members of the same mystical Body wherof thy Son Christ Jesus is the head mercifully grant that as thy Blessed without ceasing pray to Thee for us we may continually praise Thee for them and in correspondence to their perfect charity with pious observance celebrate their Memory till-we all meet before thy glorious throne and with one hart adore the Saviour of us all who with Thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns one God world without end Amen Commemorations c. as page 29. Vespers for Saints IN the Name c. as page 33. Antiph Pity O Lord the infirmitys of thy servants and quicken our slownes by the example of thy Saints Psal CXXII LOrd what a lukewarm life is this of ours compar'd to the zeal and fervor of thy Saints Often and long they fasted to chastize their bodys and bring them under the command of reason On all their senses they set a constant
victorys Whom shal we then fear thus safely guarded who can resist so invincible a strength None but our own corrupted nature dare contend and the unlucky accidents that conspire with it against us Somtimes surprizing our unwary negligence somtimes defeating even our strongest resolvs Not that they can compel our wills unles we yeild or make the least wound without our consent Much less prevail against the power of heav'n and frustrate the purpose of the Almighty Wisdom Whose mercy has us'd more arts to save us when the craft of Vice can invent to destroy us Such a redemption so miraculously wrought such holy Sacraments so often repeated Such glorious promises so faithfully assur'd and which revives our hope so easily attain'd O infinite Goodnes how generous is thy love how liberally extended over all the world Thou invitest little children to come to Thee and the lame and the blind to sit down at thy feast None are shut out of heav'n but such as wil not go in none made unhappy but those who care not to be otherwise Cheer then thy self my hart and let no fears molest thee * nor even death it self abate thy courage Death is a passage that was always short and our SAVIOURS Cross has made it safe By the practise of his Saints 't is grown familiar and by their happy success becom desirable Lose not then thy hope in so glorious an enterprise Eternity is at stake and heav'n the reward That heav'n for which the antient Hermits peopled the Desart and so many Religious live bury'd in their Cells That heav'n for which the holy Confessors spent all their time and innumerable Martyrs laid down their dearest lives That heav'n where Millions of Angels continually sing and all the Blessed make one glorious Quire That heav'n where the ador'd JESUS eternally reigns and the immortal Deity shines bright for ever That very heaven is promis'd thee my soul that blest eternity thou art commanded to hope Raise now thy head and see those beauteous Prospects that ravish the harts of all their Beholders Yonder far above the Stars is thy Saviours Kingdom yonder we must dwell when we leave this earth Yonder must our souls remove to rest when the stroak of death shal divide them from their bodys And when the Almighty Power shal joyn them again yonder must we live with our God for ever O bounteous Lord the only Author of all we have the only object of all we hope As thou hast thus prepar'd a heav'n for us O may thy grace prepare us for it O make us live the life of the Just and let our last end be like Theirs That we may dy the death of the Just and live for ever in their blest society Glory be c. Antiph If God be with us who can be against us if He justify us who can condemn us Capit. Apoc. 7. THese are they who are come out of great tribulation have washt their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb therfore they are before the Throne of God and serve him day and night in his Temple and He that sits on the Throne shal dwel over them They shal hunger no more nor thirst the Sun shal not fal upon them nor any heat for the Lamb who is in the midst of the Throne shal rule them and conduct them to the living fountains of waters and God shal wipe away all tears from their eys Hymn XXXVIII TEll me You bright Stars that shine Round about the Lambs high Throne How through bodys once like mine How are you thus glorious grown Hark with one voice they reply This was all our happy skil We on JESUS fixt our ey And his emi'nent followers stil As we clearly saw their mind Set and rul'd we order'd ours Both This state alone design'd Up towards this strem'd all our Powers Taught by Temp'rance we abstain'd From all less for greater Goods Slighting litle drops we gain'd Full and sweet and lasting Floods Arm'd with Fortitude we bare Lesser Evils worse to fly Mortal death we durst outdare Rather then for ever dy Iustice we observ'd by giving Every one their utmost due That in peace and order living All might freely Heav'n pursue Prudence govern'd all the Rest Prudence made us still apply What was fittest what was best To advance great Charity On those golden wheels of grace That loves fiery Chariot bear We ariv'd at this bright place Follow us and never fear O sure truth O blest Attesters O that aâ—â— the world may prove Of both these such strong digesters That both these may feed their love Him who made us all for This Him who made Himself our way Him who leads us in'to Blyss May all praise and all obey Antiph Worthy art Thou O Lord to receive the book and to open the seals thereof for thou wert slain and hast redeem'd us to God with thy blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation and hast made us to our God a Kingdom Alleluja Magnificat as Page 44. Antiph Worthy art Thou c. O Lord hear our prayers And let our supplications come to Thee Let us pray O God whose merciful Providence has stil from the Begining sown the seeds of grace in the harts of thy chosen servants which at the Resurrection of thy Son the first fruit of them that slept sprung up into glory and by his holy doctrin and admirable life and precious death has infinitely encreast the meanâ—â— of salvation and the number of thy Saints Grant we beseech Thee that we whom thoâ—â— hast favour'd with so many advantages may by the powerful intercession of that glorious Comâ—â—pany obtain thy grace to imitate them here and rejoyce with them for ever in thy Kingdom hereafter through the same our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who with thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns one God world without end Amen Commemorations as page 29. Complin for Saints OUr help c. as page 46. Antiph Help us you blessed Citizens of heaven direct our way you who have attain'd your end Psal CXXV THus we have past another day another step towards our long home We have seen the Sun a few hours more and our day is lost in its own night But is it lost O careles we and all the holy words we have read and heard Leave they no mark in our memorys behind them but make a litle sound and vanish in the air Have we not been at a solemn Feast and do we soon forget our entertainment Could we see nothing among all those raritys * that relisht with us and stir'd our appetite Was there no fit provision for some vertue we want no proper remedy for some weaknes we have Are we devout already as the Saints of God and chast and temperate and resign'd as they Do we despise this world with a zeal like theirs and value heav'n at the same rate with Them Would we give all we have just now to be
there and part with life it self to dy and go thither Alas how short are we of these perfections how slowly do we follow those excellent Guides O that we liv'd I dare not say blest Souls like you * whose aim was high and a generous heat bet in your brests But that our harts desire were to live like you and what you really did we really wisht to do O that we liv'd in some degree like you and lov'd to think and read and speak of you To sign and publish your heroick Acts and where we cannot imitate at least admire At least let us learn to humble our selvs and check the vanity of our proud conceits Let us mourn and blush at our many infirmitys and so much the louder call to heav'n for releef Hear us you blessed Saints who dwel secure above and turn your eys of pity towards us below Look down with tendernes on our world of miserys and bow your charitable knees to the God of mercys That what our own unworthines cannot obtain we may hope to receive by your holy prayers Glory be c. Antiph Help us you blessed Citizens of heav'n direct our way you who have attain'd your end Antiph Fear not my soul our God has a blessing too for us if we have a love and obedience for Him Psal CXXVI LEt us humble our selvs but not grow faint * at the sight of others so far before us Rather let us quicken our sloth by their swift pace and encourage our fears with their happy success We who profess the Religion of all these Saints who liv'd and dy'd in the same Church with us We who partake of the same holy Sacraments and eat the same celestial Food Why should we fear one day to shine above and rejoyce together with you glorious Saints Are we not all redeem'd by the same rich price the same eternal crowns propos'd to us all Are we not bred in the same Apostolick faith and nurst at the brests of the same Catholick Church The Lessons I see and Teacher is the same but the hand is dul and instrument out of tune You liv'd indeed in a dangerous world like this and were ty'd to bodys frail as ours But by a constant vigilance you o'recame the world and subdu'd your bodys to the service of your minds You overcame with a joyful hart * and we thus congratulate the triumph of your victorys You overcame but not by your own strong hand you now triumph but 't is by the bounty of your God Chear then thy self my soul raise thy head * and open thy bosom to the hopes of heaven Fear not our God has a blessing too for us if we have a love and obedience for Him If we delight in the ways of piety and diligently attend the Offices of devotion If we refrain from the libertys of the world and curb the loose suggestions of the flesh If we can look on gold and honor and their flaming beams not dazle our eys If we perform with them the part of faithful servants * we shal surely with them have the portion of children Glory be c. Antiph Fear not my soul our God has a blessing too for us if we have a love and obedience for Him Antiph Precious in thy sight O Lord is the death of thy Saints precious to thee and themselvs and us Psal CXXVII PRecious in thy fight O Lord is the death of thy Saints which finishes thy greatest work the perfecting of Souls Whom Thou esteem'st as the jewels of heav'n and choicely gather'st into thine own Treasury Precious to themselvs O Lord is the death of thy Saints which takes off the dusky cover that hides their brightnes Which shapes and polishes them to a beauteous luster and sets them as stars round about thy Throne Precious to us O Lord is the death of thy Saints which makes us heirs of so great a welth Which leaves us furnisht with so rich variety that every kind of want is abundantly supply'd Some teach us courage to encounter dangers and not for fear make Shipwrack of our conscience Others instruct us to converse with meeknes and patiently bear neglects and injurys From some we learn how wisely to use this world and make it serve us in our way to the next From others how more generously to renounce it and pass our time in peace and prayer From all we learn this best of arts to live and dy like Saints and in the best of methods their own example O gracious Lord whose love still looks about and searches every way to save us siners Who cam'st thy self bright Sun of glory * to inlighten our darknes and warm our frozen harts Who with thy fruitful beams stil kindlest others to burn as tapers in thy Churches hand And by their near proportionate distance stand fit to shine into every corner of our lives O make us bless thy Name for all these mercys and let not one be lost by our ingratitude Let us not see in vain the crown at the races end and sit down lazily in the shades of ease Let us not keep in vain these sacred memorys to be only a reproach to our unprofitable lives But let us stretch our selvs and pursue to the mark for the glorious prizeis that set before us Stil with our utmost speed let us follow Them whose travails ended in so sweet a rest And when our life's last day begins to fal and bids us hasten to prepare for night Then come you holy Angels and watch about 〈◊〉 and suffer not the enemy to disturb our â—â—ssage Come and receive in peace our departing souls and bear them safely to the presence of our Lord. Then O Thou blessed Virgin-Mother protect us with thy favor and all you glorious Saints assist us with your pray'rs Then O Thou dear Redeemer of the world and Soveraign King of life and death Thou who despisest not the tears of the penitent nor turnest away from the sighs of the afflicted Thou who preserv'dst all that rely on Thee and fulfilst their desires that long to be with Thee Hear Thou our cryes and pardon our sins and graciously deliver us from all our fears Cal us to thy self with thine own blest voice cal us O dearest JESU in thine own sweet words Come you Blessed of my Father possess the kingdom * prepared for you from the foundation of the world Then O my happy soul immediately obey and go forth with gladnes to meet the Lord To live with Him and behold his glory to rejoyce with Him and sing his Praise Glory be c. Antiph Precious in thy sight O Lord is the death of thy Saints precious to Thee and themselvs and us Hymn XXXIX NIght forbear alas our Praise And our young begining hope Set to grow on these blest days Faint and dull requires more scope 'T will not hear but sullen flys Summons all the world to sleep Bids us close our books and eys What
have had sacrifice I verily had given it with burnt-offerings thou art not delighted R. A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit a contrite and an humbled hart O God thou wilt not despise V. Deal favorably O Lord in thy good will with Sion that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up R Give them eternal rest O merciful Lord and may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever V. Turn not thy face away from them O Lord R. Turn not thy face away in wrath from thy servants V. Behold their humiliation and their labor R. And forgive them all their sins V. Behold how their spirit is in anguish R. And their hart troubled within them V. Their iniquitys have overtaken them R. Innumerable evils have compast them about R. And now what is their expectation but thou O Lord R. And their substance is with Thee V. Before Thee is all their desire R. And their groans are not hid from Thee V. As the Hart pants after the water brooks R. So do their souls thirst after thee V. Their souls thirst after Thee the living fountain R. When shal they come and appear before thy face V. Their tears are their bread day and night R. While stil 't is said to them Where is your God V. Convert them O Lord thou God of strength R. Shew them thy face and they shal be safe V. Bring out their souls from prison to praise thy Name R. The Just stand expecting til thou rewardst them V. How long Lord wilt thou forget them for ever R. How long wilt thou hide thy face from them V. Turn thee O Lord and deliver their souls R. Save them for thy mercys sake V. Save thy People O Lord and bless thy Inheritance R. Govern them and raise them up to eternity V. That they may walk in the light of thy countenance R. And rejoyce in thy presence for ever V. That their souls may live and sing thy praise R. While even thy judgments lead them to their Blyss V. O Lord hear our pray'rs R. And let our supplications come to thee Let us pray O God who in thy mercy hast prepar'd immediate rewards for the Perfect and in thy justice immediate punishments for the wicked and mingling thy mercy and justice together hast ordain'd a middle state for those who depart in a true but weak degree of divine charity hear we beseech thee our prayers for these thy afflicted servants who look up to thee and sigh after the times of refreshment from thy glorious presence forgive them their sins and deliver them from their sorrows and bring them to the possession of all their wishes in rest and peace and everlasting joy through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who with Thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns One God world without end Amen A Prayer for any particular person departed BEhold with pity we beseech thee O Lord the soul of thy servant N. for whom we humbly offer our Pray'rs to thy Divine Majesty and grant that the offences which humane frailty has inconsiderably committed being by thy clemency mercifully forgiven and all impediments by a perfect cleansing from the strains of sin thorowly remov'd the happy effect of seeing Thee face to face for ever may immediately follow through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who V. Give them eternal rest merciful Lord. R. And may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever V. May they rest in peace R. Amen Vespers for the Dead OUr Father Hail Mary Secretly and Kneeling then rise and say Antiph Blessed are the servants whom our Lord shal find watching he surely wil bestow on them all the mercys of heav'n Psal CXXXIV COme let us make our peace betimes with our God before the evening approach too near While it is cal'd to day let us faithfully labour for the night wil come wherein none can work Let us implore his favour first for our selvs and not til then presume to beg for others Let us look first into our own brests and strictly examine what passes there Lest while we pray for the salvation of others * our selvs becom everlasting reprobates Tel me my soul how stand our great account are all things even betwixt heav'n and us Are we prepared to go meet our Judg whose justice punishes every least defect Is there not stil some restitution to make which the love of this world tempts us to delay Is there not stil some mis-affection to rectify which our own false harts abuse us to connive at Not that we esteem O Lord any creature more then thee from which abhor'd ingratitude defend thy servants But that we esteem them more then they deserve serve and busy our thoughts too eagerly about them We love them in some degree for themselvs not purely as instruments to bring us to Thee Forgive O Soveraign Goodnes these our imperfections and fix our whole harts on nothing but Thy self Why are we thus at best but good by halfs for whom there 's a heav'n prepar'd worth all our labors Why do we mingle stil with thy pure grace * so much of our own corrupted nature Deliver us O Lord from the tentations of this world and mercifully save us from the wrath to come That dreadful wrath which we so justly fear and which so many terribly feel Justly they too confes and yet they hope * in the God of clemency to meet with pity Pity O Lord their miserys Thou who hear'st their crys releive their sorrows Thou who seest their tears Pity their fainting eys that perpetually wake * till the long expected day appear Pity their wearied hands stretch't out to Thee and send thy blessed Angels to unloose their bonds That they may pass away to those mansions of joy where holy Souls rest and weep no more Give them eternal rest O merciful Lord and may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever Antiph Blessed are the servants whom our Lord shal find watching he surely wil bestow on them all the mercys of heav'n Antiph Happy they who are pray'd for by others but far more happy they who pray for themselvs Psal CXXXV HEar these our Pray'rs O Lord for thy servants and favourably accept our humble charity Hear their own better pray'rs O Lord for themselvs and tenderly regard their doleful complaints Out of that dark and dismal prison behold they cry in the anguish of their harts O wretched we what do we feel what strange extremitys do we here endure How has the just Avenger of our crimes * severely pour'd his wrath into our souls Every thing afflicts us in this sad abode but nothing so much as our own iniquitys They like a heavy yoke oppress our necks and keep down our eys from looking into heaven Lord we confess we have follow'd vanity and negligently perform'd the work thou gav'st us We confess we have gone astray after the manner of men but our chief desires were towards thee In Thee we believed and
risen Saviour may quicken our harts not only in words but in life and death like him exemplarily to confes thy Son JESUS our Lord and our God to whom with Thee and the H. Ghost be all honour and glory now and for ever Amen Christmas-day and the fourth and fifth days in the Octave All as in the Office of our Saviour except 1. Antiph O joyful tydings worthy an Angels mouth Behold this day was born to us a Saviour who is Christ our Lord Alleluja 2. Antiph Wonderful signs to seek this new-born King of heav'n and earth you shal find him wrapt in swadling cloths and laid in a manger Alleluja 3. O blessed harmony of the celestial Quires Glory be to God on high in earth peace towards men of good wil Alleluja Alleluja Antiph for Benedictus and Magnificat This is the day which our Lord has made let us be glad and rejoyce therein Alleluja This is the day which made our Lord let us exâ—â—lt and triumph therein Alleluja Alleluja O Lord hear our prayers And let our supplications come to Thee Let us pray O God who every year giv'st a fresh birth to the devotions of thy Church by the welcom Festival of our Saviour's Nativity Grant us we beseech Thee with such tender affections to entertain this first humble Rising of the Sun of righteousnes to us as may better dispose and stronglier engage us to follow Him through the whole painful course which like a Giant he rejoyc't to run inlightening the world with thy truth and inflaming it with thy love til in the end we arrive at his eternal Rest through the same our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who with Thee and the H. Ghost lives and reigns one God world without end Amen S. Stephen All as in the Office of Saints except 1. Antiph Stephen ful of grace and courage wrought great miracles among the people and none could resist the Wisdom and Spirit by which he spake Alleluja 2. Antiph And looking stedfastly up he saw the heav'ns open'd and Jesus standing on the right hand of God he saw and enter'd blessed are they to whom the heav'ns shal be open'd Alleluja 3. Antiph While they ston'd him he cal'd up on God and pray'd Lord Jesu receive my soul and kneeling down cry'd out with a loud voice Lord lay not this sin to their charge Alleluja Prayer O God who in thy first Martyr S. Stephen hast vouchsafed thy Church an eminent example of perfect Christianity Kindle we beseech Thee in our harts a zealous emulation of his graces that imitating here his constancy in asserting thy truth and his charity in praying for our persecuters even to death we may with him herafter receive the crown of eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ c. For Commemoration of Christmas-day recite the four Antiphons and Prayer of Christmas-day S. John Evangelist All as in the Office of Saints except 1. Antiph This is that favorite Disciple who learn'd on our Lord's brest at his last supper and to whom were reveal'd the secrets of Heav'n Alleluja 2. Antiph This is He in whom meet all those glorious Titles of Apostle Evangelist and Prophet of Martyr Confessor and Virgin Alleluja 3. Antiph This is He who above all those glorious Titles delights in this One incomparably greater then them all The Disciple whom JESUS lov'd Alleluja Alleluja Prayer O God by the prerogative of whose special grace the B. Apostle S. John obtain'd that transcendent character of Beloved of his Master and after became the great Doctor of mutual charity over all the world Grant we beseech Thee that his sacred Memory may excite us also and encourage us by the same purity of body and mind and steddy love of Thee and sincere charity one with another to aspire to some share in that blessed Title and its happy consequents thy grace here and thy glory herafter through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who c. For Commemoration of Christmas-day recite its four Antiphons and Prayer SS Innocents All as in the Office of Saints except 1. Antiph God withdrew his only Isaac and left a thousand happy lambs to be sacrific'd in his stead and accepted for his sake Alleluja 2. Antiph A voice was heard in Rama lamentation and great mourning Rachel weeping for her children and would not be comforted because they were not Antiph 3. Weep not for thy children Rachel behold they are be comforted they are Kings and reign with Christ for ever Alleluja Alleluja Prayer O God who by the Martyrdom of the H. Innocents hast taught thy Church that no age or occasion of suffring for our Saviour is exempt from high reward Grant we beseech Thee that our celebrating their Festival may make us adore this gracious Ordination of thy Providence and however severely it may seem at any time to treat us or our relations confirm our harts in a hopeful resignation to thy Will and assured trust that all leads to eternal advantage through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who c. For Commemoration of Christmas-day recite its four Antiphons and Prayer S. Sylvester All as in the Office of Saints except 1. Antiph This is the holy Pope who miraculously heal'd the great Emperor Constantine and by the sacred laver of Baptism cleans'd him at once from the leprosy of his body and the sins of his soul Alleluja 2. Antiph The sign of the Son of man in the heav'ns which copyed on his Banner made him a Conqueror display'd on his forehead did incomparably more made him a Christian Alleluja 3. Antiph O happy times when Paganism was abolisht and Arianism condemn'd when persecution ceas'd and publick liberty was given to profes and practise as Christians and Catholicks Alleluja Alleluja Prayer O God whose bounty crown'd even on earth thy holy servant Pope Sylvester with the glory of baptizing the first Christian Emperor Constantine and the happines of obtaining liberty and incouragement for Christianity over all his Dominions Grant we beseech Thee that our celebrating his Festival may refresh in us the memory of that high mercy to the world and render us more tenacious of that primitive Faith so eminently at length victorious over all persecutions through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who c. For Commemoration of Christmas-day recite its four Antiphons and Prayer New-years-day 1. Antiph To day our B. Saviour who was Lord of the Law and by his perfect purity absolutely exempt undertook for us the smart of Circumcision and dishonour of being reckon'd among siners Alleluja 2. Antiph To day was given Him the Name above every name that at the Name of JESUS every knee should bow of things in heav'n of things on earth and things under the earth Alleluja Alleluja Alleluja 3. Antiph O B. JESU make good to us thy precious Name and save us from our sins that now we may begin a new year of vertue and cancel by repentance all the failings of the old Alleluja Prayer O God who
the true light of the world they who follow Thee walk not in darknes Psal C. RIse holy Spouse of the Son of God rise and put on thy robes of joy Rise and shine forth for thy glory is come and the splendor of our Lord strikes bright upon Thee The Gentils shal walk in the beams of thy light and Kings in the lustre of thy brightnes Lift up thine eys round about and behold they gather all together and flock to Thee Thy Sons shal come from far and thy Daughters be nurst at thy side Then thou shalt see and flow in abundance thy hart shal wonder and be enlarg'd with gladnes When the multitude of the Sea shal be converted to Thee and the strength of the Gentiles submit to thy Laws The sons of strangers shal build thy walls and Princes obey thy commands The Nation shal perish that will not serve thee and the Kingdom be utterly wasted that refuses thee The sons of thy afflicters shal bow before thee and they that despis'd thee kiss thy footsteps For our Lord shal be thy everlasting light and the days of thy mourning shall end in glory To thee shal be given the Keys of heav'n and thou shalt shut and open those eternal doors Thy foundation shal be laid on a firm rock and the gates of hell not prevail against thee A way shal be made so direct and plain that the Passengers though fools shal not err therin And the Earth shal be filled with the knowledg of our Lord * as the waters cover the sea All this we read all this we firmly beleeve for the mouth of our Lord has spoken it Heav'n and earth shal pass away but not a tittle of his Word be disappointed for ever Already these sacred Prophecys are in part fulfill'd abundantly sufficient to assure us of the rest Already a Virgin has brought forth a Son and given him the gracious Name of JESUS The Kings of the east have been led to him by a star and offer'd him gold and frankincense and myrth His holy Parents have presented him in the Temple and the devout Simeon was overjoy'd to see him In his tender infancy he fled into Egypt and the Idols fell down at the presence of a child He past his private life in peace and meeknes and taught a contradicting people in patience and humility He confirm'd his doctrin with innumerable miracles and defended the truth to the last drop of his blood He rose again victoriously from the grave and ascended in triumph to the right hand of his Father And there O glorious JESU mayst thou sit and reign till all thy enemys becom thy footstool Nor has thy judgment slept O dreadful Lord but with a swift and terrible vengeance crusht them into ruine Jerusalem long since was made a heap of stones and the children of thy Crucifyers run wandring o're the world While thou art thus severe in the predictions of thy justice thou did'st not forget those of thy mercy Thousands of that ingrateful City have acknowledg'd Thee their Lord thousands of that perverse generation have submitted to thy Scepter Whole Nations of the Gentiles have embrac't thy faith and remotest Islands received thy law Blessed for ever be thy Name O Lord and blessed be the sweetnes of thy mercy Who reveal'st thy self to those that knew thee not and art found of those that sought thee not Who often followest those that fly from thee and never refusest any that come to thee Thou stil exactly perform'st thy part but we ingrateful wretches how do we comply with ours Where is the profit thou mayst justly require to answer the care of thy providence over us Thou hast planted us O Lord in thine own Vineyard and fenc'd us about with thy holy discpline Where is the fruit we should always be beaâ—â—ing since good works are never out of season Of our selvs alas we are dry and barren and our nature at best brings forth nothing but leaves O Thou in whom while we remain we live and from whom divided we instantly dy Curse not we humbly beg these fruitless branches lest they wither away and be cast into the fire Pronounce not against us that dreadfull sentence Cut them down why Cumber they the ground But mercifully Cut them off from their wild stock and graft them in Thy self the only true vine water O Lord our weeds with the dew of heav'n and bless our low shrubs with thy powerful influence So grapes shal grow on thorns and figs be gather'd on Thistles Glory be c. Antiph Thou art O Lord the true light of the world they who follow thee walk not in darkness Antiph In Thee O Lord is all our hope have mercy on the works of thine own hands Psal CI. REjoyce in our Lord all you children of Adam rejoyce in the bounty of his free grace No longer now confyn'd to a few choyce Favorites and the narrow compass of a private Family He has thrown down that partition wall and opened the way of life to all mankind That all may beleeve and love him here and all injoy and be happy in him herafter But O my God what do we see * when we look abroad into the wide world We see sad effects but cannot see the cause * why so many Kingdoms ly miserably wast We know O Lord thy ways are in the deep abyss and humbly adore thy secret Counsels Only we cannot think on their lamentable condition without pitying their misery and imploring thy mercy Some have not yet so much as heard of thee others who have heard refuse to entertain thee Some who have once acknowledg'd thee have quite faln away and others reject what they list and obey by halfs Many even of those who rightly beleeve * abuse their holy faith by a wicked life Thus the for greatst part of wretched mankind whom thy goodness created to thine own similitude Whom thou hast redeem'd with thy precious blood and design'd to so great and long a happiness Still fail alas of their true end and dy in their sins and eternally perish Look down O Lord and behold from heav'n behold from the Habitation of thy holines Where is thy Zeal and the bowels of thy mercy where are thy promises to thy beloved Son Hast thou not said all Nations shal adore Him and all the Tribes of the earth be blessed in him Hast thou not said Thy self O glorious JESU If I be exalted I wil draw all men to me Hast thou not given thy Disciples express Commision * to go into all the world and Preach to every Creature Remember O thou God of everlasting truth remember O thou Author and Finisher of our faith Remember these thy dear engagements and graciously acomplish what thou hast mercifully begun Visit O Lord thine own house first and thorowly redress what thou findst amiss Make our lives holy as thou hast made our faith and perfectly unite us in the bonds of love Kindle in the harts
of Kings the great ones of the world * an Heroick spirit to advance thy glory Enflame the harts of Prelats and the Preists of thy Church * with a generous Zeal of Conversion of souls Convince them all 't is the end and duty of their place * to improve mankind in vertue and Religion One mercy more we humbly beg which O may thy Providence favorably supply Prepare O Lord the harts of those that err * and make them apt to receive the truth Then chuse thy burning and thy shining lights and send them forth over all the world Send them O God of infinite Charity but send them not alone * lest they faint by the way or miscarry in the end Go with them Thy self guide them by thy grace and crown their labors with thy powerfull blessing So shall the humble vallyes be rais'd up and the stubborn mountains be brought low So shal the crooked paths be made direct and the rough ways smooth and plain So shal the glory of God be every where reveal'd and all flesh see it together Happy the times when this shal come to pass happy the eys that shal see these times Come glorious days wherin that Sun shal shine * which inlightens all at once both the hemisphears Come holy JESU and make those glorious days and let no cloud o'recast them for ever Come and in the largest sense maintain thy Title Be effectively the Saviour of the universal world Glory be c. Antiph To Thee O Lord we look up for salvation have mercy on the works of thine own hands Capit. Tytus 2. THe grace of God our Saviour has appeared to all men instructing us that denying all iniquity and wordly desires we should live soberly justly and piously in this present world expecting the blessed hope and the coming of the glory of our great God and Saviour JESUS Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify to himself an acceptable people zealous of good works Hymn XXXI JESU whose grace inspires thy Priests To keep alive by solemn feasts The Mem'ory of thy love O may we here so pass thy days That they at last our souls may raise To feast with Thee above JESU behold three Kings from far Led to thy Cradle by a star Bring gifts to Thee their King O guide us by thy light that we May find thy lov'd face and to thee Our selvs for tribute bring JESU the pure and spotles Lamb Who to the Temple humbly came Those legal Rights to pay O make our proud and stubborn will Thine and thy Churches laws fulfil Whate're fond nature say JESU who on that fatal wood Pour'dst forth thy life's last drop of blood Nail'd to a shameful cross O may we bless thy love and be Ready dear Lord to bear for Thee All grief all pain all loss JESU who by thine own love slain By thine own pow'r took'st life again And from the grave did'st rise O may thy death our spirits revive And at our death a new life give A life that never dyes JESU who to thy heav'n again Return'dst in triumph there to reign Of men and Angels King O may our parting souls take flight Up to that land of joy and light And there for ever sing All glory to the sacred Three One undivided Deity All honour pow'r and praise O may thy blessed name shine bright Crown'd with those beams of beauteous light It s own eternal rays Here recite the Antiphon for Magn. with the Canticle Magnificat and the Prayer after it as in the Proper of our Saviours Feasts But if you voluntarily say this Office on any day that is not some Feast of our Saviour then use the Antiphon and Prayer following Antiph Come all you Nations of the earth whom the mercy of our Lord has so dearly redeem'd Come and in honour of the divine Son sing the Canticle of the Blessed Mother alleluia Magnificat as Pag. 44. O Lord hear our Prayer And let our Supplications come to Thee Let us pray O Holy and ever-blessed JESU who being the eternal Son of God and most high in the glory of thy Father vouchsafed'st for us sinners to be born of an humble Virgin to be subject to the weaknesses of a litle child to grow up in a life of privacy and labour to declare thy self at last the Redeemer of the world by establishing a perfect law of grace and confirming it with innumerable miracles and suffering for it intollerable persecutions even to death it self Work in us we humbly beseech thee the happy effects of all these mercys that beleeving in thee we may imitate thy life and obeying thy commands injoy thy promises who with the Father and the holy Ghost livest and reignest one God world without end Amen Commemorations as Page 29. O Lord hear our Prayers as Page 29. Complin for our B. Saviour OUr help is in as Pag. 46. Antiph Whither O my God should we go but to Thee Thou hast the words of eternal life Psal CII REtire now my soul from thy Common thoughts * permitted to entertain thy less serious hours Retire and call thy wandring fancys home and speedily range them into peace and order That thou mayst so be prepar'd to hear thy Lord * invite thee among the rest to tast his sweetnes Come to me you that labour and are opprest and I will refresh you Take up my yoke and learn of me for I am meek and humble of hart and you shal find rest to your souls For my yoak is sweet and my burthen light Enough dear Lord enough is said * to draw all the world to thy holy Discipline What can be offer'd so agreable to our nature * too much alas inclin'd to pleasure and profit What can be offer'd so powerfully attractive as to make our work delightful and then reward it As to propose an employment like the musick of Churches devout and sweet and gainful to the performers Whither O my God should we go but to thee Thou hast the words of eternal life Thou art our wisest Instructer to know what to do and only Enabler to do what we know Thou art the free Bestower of all we have and faithful Promiser of all we hope Thou kindly calst us O make us gladly hear thy voice * and constantly follow it till we come to Thee Suffer us no longer to go astray like lost sheep wandring up and down in our own by-ways Suffer us no longer to be distracted among many things * from thee O Lord who art but One But gather us up from the world into our selvs then take us from our selvs into Thee There to be ravisht with thy holy embraces there to be feasted with the Antepasts of heav'n O how unspeakable are thy sweetnesses O Lord which thou hast hid for those who fear Thee Which thou hast partly reveal'd to those who love Thee * and keep their tasts uncorrupted with the world