from the power of Satan to God that they might receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them who are sanctified by faith that is in thee VIII I receive with all thankfulness this thy exceeding great grace which hath declared that if we walk in the light as thou art in the light 1 Joh. 1.7 we shall have fellowship one with another Ecclus. 17.29 and the bloud of Jesus Christ thy Son shall cleanse us from all sin I admire thy incomprehensible love O how great is the loving kindness of the Lord our God and his compassion unto such as turn unto him in holiness It constrains me to offer up my self with the heartiest affection to thy service resolving hereafter to be more watchful more diligent more zealous in the performance of my duty and to walk more circumspectly as a child of the light and to make it my delight to do thy will O God Behold O Lord my heart is bent to resign it self perfectly into thy hands and to make a new dedication of all the powers of my soul and body to be employed continually in well doing I have sworn and am stedfastly purposed to keep thy righteous precepts Psal 119.30 31.11 I have chosen the way of truth 14.15 thy judgements have I laid before me 16.115 I will stick unto thy testimonies 111.112 and run the way of thy commandments Thy word have I hid in my heart that I may not sin against thee I will rejoyce in the way of thy testimonies as much as in all riches I will meditate in thy precepts and have respect unto thy ways I will delight my self also in thy statutes I will never forget thy word Depart from me ye evil doers for I will keep the commandments of my God Thy testimonies have I taken as my heritage for ever for they are the rejoycing of my heart I have inclined my heart to perform thy statutes alway even unto the end IX Accept I beseech thee the free-will-offerings of my mouth O Lord and teach me thy judgements Give me understanding and I shall keep thy law yea I shall observe it with my whole heart Make me to go in the path of thy commandments for therein do I delight With my whole heart have I sought thee O let me not wander from thy commandments Psal 119.108,34,35,10,115,116,117 I am sensible of the exceeding great weakness and inconstancy of our nature and that without thy gracious aids I shall not be able to accomplish these resolutions And therefore I look up unto thee with the more ardent desires for power from above to confirm and strengthen them and to assist me mightily to fulfil thy whole good will and pleasure I will stedfastly depend upon the promise of my blessed Saviour who hath told me that thou wilt give thy holy spirit to them that ask it of thee My hope O God is in this thy true and faithful word Vphold me according unto thy Word that I may live and let me not be ashamed of my hope Hold thou me up and I shall be safe and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually Preserve in me such a lively sense of thy good will and readiness to help me that I may be so strong in our Lord and in the power of his might as to be able to do all things through Christ strengthing of me O thou Father of mercies who hast bestowed so many and so great blessings on us without asking who hast visited us so lovingly when we could not desire any grace from thee and when we could but did not desire it and when we did but very coldly and with little devotion of spirit deny not the humble and importunate requests of thy poor supplicant who most earnestly beseeches thee that thou wilt grant me according to the riches of thy glory to be strengthened with might by thy Spirit in the inner man Ephes 3.16 Arm me therewith against the assaults of all temptations either from the good or the evil things of this life that they may never seduce or deterr me from my duty but I may do vertuously in all points according to my Christian profession and those vows and promises wherein I stand ingaged to thee X. Fill me O God with the whole knowledge of thy Will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding that I may walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of thee my God Increase that faith likewise more and more which worketh by love and purifieth the heart and overcometh the world Stir up in me that lively hope which may make me purifie my self even as thou art pure and that ardent love to thee which will make me chearfully do thy will and love my Brethren with a pure heart fervently Excite in me a great hunger and thirst after righteousness till I feel the satisfaction of perfect reconciliation with thee conformity to thee Continue me in the number of those who are humble and lowly in their own eyes moderate in all their appetites and desires who mourn daily that they have offended thee and that others keep not thy laws who are meek and gentle towards all men in heart and word and all their actions who are merciful and kind ready to give and to forgive who are pure in all their thoughts intentions passions and conversation and who study the things that make for peace and who are void of all pride and vain-glory of all strife and contention indeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace O my God possess me with such a strong sense of the blessedness which thou hast pronounced to all these that I may be willing also to suffer wrong rather than to do it and to suffer any thing for righteousness sake with a constant heart giving thanks unto thee that thou wilt honour me and count me worthy to suffer for the name of Christ Help me to give a good example to all my Neighbours by the sincere practice of all these vertues shining as a light in the world and being the salt of the earth That others seeing my good works may glorifie thee our heavenly Father Dispose my heart to cast all its care on thee to pray without ceasing to bless thy holy name at all times to trust in thee with a stedfast confidence in thy almighty goodness to make thee my strength and my fortress and the rock of my salvation to have my conversation without covetousness and to set my affections on things above where Christ is at thy right hand In the multitude of my thoughts within me let thy comforts O Lord delight my soul When I am full O that I may never wax wanton or forget thee but still rejoyce in our Lord alway that so when I have nothing I may be as possessing all things Let the doing of my duty ever be my pleasure and
graciously accept such holy resolutions and certainly further and succeed them as the effect of thine own inspirations Suffer not his spirit to be oppressed under the sense of his great weakness or discouraged though he fall short of his present holy desires purposes and endeavours But bear him up in a strong perswasion that by sincere constant and unwearied diligence in well doing he shall at last obtain the victory through the power of thy holy Spirit assisting of him Make him see how reasonable it is most gratefully to acknowledge thy infinite Mercies if after much pains many conflicts and long patience he may recover a state of friendship with thee That so he may not spend his time in dejected complaints nor ever faint in his mind or despond in the Christian course but still pursue the compleat mastery over himself in assured hope that thou wilt be with him and never leave him or forsake him We bless thee for that instance of thy exceeding grace to the chiefest of sinners which thou gavest in thy holy Apostle of us Gentiles Who was a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious 1 Tim. 1.13,16 but for this cause obtained mercy that in him Christ Jesus might show forth all long-suffering for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting Above all we bless thee for our Lord Jesus himself whom thou sentest in our flesh that he might save sinners We bless thee for all the miraculous cures which he wrought on miserable creatures whereby he demonstrated his great charity towards us For the gracious proclamation he hath made of thy pardoning mercy and for the Universal invitation which he hath given to every one Rev. 22.17 that is a thirst to come and take the waters of life freely 1 Joh. 2.2 We thank thee for his death upon the Cross Luk. 23.34 that he might make a propitiation for the sins of the whole world Act. 5.31 2 Cor. 5.18 for his great love in praying then for his bitterest enemies Matth. 26.28 Heb. 7.25 that they might be forgiven 2.17 4.15 for his resurrection and exaltation at thy right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance and forgiveness of sins And that he hath given to his Apostles the Ministry of reconciliation and admitted us into a Covenant of mercy and forgiveness by Baptism into his Name and hatâ— left us the cup of blessing whicâ— is the New Covenant in his blouâ— for the remission of sins and given power and authority to his Mâ—nisters to absolve all those who heartily repent and unfeignedly believâ— his holy Gospel We thank thee O Lord for the assurance we havâ— that he lives for ever to make interceâ—sion for us and is able to save to thâ— uttermost all those that come to thâ— by him and that he is a merciful and faithful High-priest to make reconciliation for the sins of the people being touched with a feeling of all our miseries We cannot doubt O blessed God of thy gracious intentions and desires to pardon us and to make us better when we seriously meditate on all these testimonies of thy Divine love and on that easie and gentle yoke which thou layest on us to love thee with all our heart and our neighbour as our selves and on the promised assistance which we have hopes of from above to inspire inliven and strengthen us to all well doing and patient suffering O that this languishing soul may likewise feel the comfortable influence of all these heavenly Truths reviving and chearing his spirit into a good hope in thee that thou wilt mercifully accept the oblation which he is willing to make of himself to thee and also constantly inable him to offer himself with greater affection and more pure devotion to thy service Scatter all the clouds that darken his mind and lift upon him the light of thy countenance O give him the comfort of thy help again Psal 51.12 and stablish him with thy free spirit 143.11 Quicken him 4.7 O Lord for thy names sake 85.6 for thy righteousness sake bring his soul out of trouble 2 Thess 1.11 Put gladness into his heart 1 Tim. 1.14 and revive him again that he and we may rejoyce in thee Amen Amen O God of all grace fulfill in him all the good pleasure of thy goodness and the work of faith with power that the name of our Lord may be glorified in him according to that grace which was exceeding ahundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus To whom be glory and praise for ever and ever Amen WHen sickness arrests any person it is time for him presently in the very beginning of it to search and try his ways sorrowfully to confess the sins of which he finds himself guilty with a full purpose of amendment to advise with his Spiritual Guide and before his spirit be feeble and broken to recommend himself heartily to our blessed Saviour by receiving the Communion of his body and bloud thereing making a commemoration of his wonderful love and devoting himself again to his service And having set his house in order as thâ— Prophet said to Hezekiah Isa 38.1 and setled his estate to acknowledge Gods great goodness to him hitherto and to submit himself wholly to his good pleasure in such manner as followeth A Prayer in the beginning of a Sickness O Lord the Soveraign of the world who doest what thou pleasest in heaven and in earth Psal 135.6 and delightest most in acts of bounty as all thy works every where declare and art full of compassion and mercy Ecclus 2.11 long-suffering and very pittiful and forgivest sins and savest in time of affliction I acknowledge my self among the rest of thy creatures to be most deeply indebted to thee whose life thou hast prolonged to this time in much health plenty and peace together with the enjoyment of spiritual blessings in the Lord Jesus I thank thee and praise thee all that is within me blesses thy holy name to whose wise and good Providence I wholly refer my self for the time to come placing my intire trust and confidence in thy almighty Goodness Faithfulness and Truth which endures for ever I ought to receive with all thankfulness whatsoever comes from thy hand and believe that to be good for me which thy infinite wisdom and kindness orders and allots for my portion Accordingly I accept with all humble and dutiful affection this thy Fatherly chastisement I acknowledge thy care of me and submit to what thou wilt be pleased to lay upon me If thou thinkest good to exercise me with a longer sickness and to let the present indisposition of my body proceed to a greater disorder not my will but thine O heavenly Father be done I only wait on thee for the comfortable presence of thy holy Spirit to support my soul by faith and hope and patience under all the
Gospel of Christ That so our praises being not meerly words but real deeds and all the fruits of righteousness we may be blessed in our deed and at last hear our Lord speaking to us in those gracious words Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world Amen A Prayer for the Morning when there is a Communion O Most holy holy holy Lord God Almighty the Father of mercies the God of peace and comfort by whose power we and all things else were created and by whose good providence we are all preserved and maintain'd Be thou eternally blessed and praised worshipped and served with the most ardent love who hast made mankind so like to thy self and ordered so many of thy creatures to serve us and chosen rather to make us anew and create us again Ephes 2.10 in Christ Jesus unto good works than let us be undone by our shameful disobedience to thee For thou Joh. 3.16 hast sent thy only begotten Son into the world adored be thy inconceiveable love that whosoever believeth in him might not perish but have everlasting life And he hath laid down his life for that end and redeemed us by his bloud from the hands of our enemies and triumphed over them all most gloriously and in token thereof ascended into heaven and possessed the Crown of immortal Life and sat down at thy right hand and obtained dominion over Angels and Men and all Creatures We have felt the blessed fruits of his Death and Resurrection and Royal Power whereby Heb. 7.25 he is able to save to the uttermost all them that come to thee by him Thy holy Spirit hath breathed often into our hearts we have been instructed in the Gospel of thy grace and thy Servants the Ministers of thy Word have not ceased to call upon us yea to importune us to follow after our Saviour to that heavenly bliss in which he lives And now again thou vouchsafest to us an happy opportunity to improve our selves in Christian Wisdom Devotion and holiness and we have received thy kind invitations to the nearest approaches to thy divine Majesty O fill us we pray thee with a lively and strong sense of thy bounteous goodness which hath been so many ways expressed towards us Fill us with pious dispositions to receive more of it according to thy precious promises in Christ Jesus Stirr up in us such thankful acknowledgements to thee such hearty resolutions to obey thee such earnest desires and longings to partake more and more of thy divine Nature such love delight and joy in well doing that our souls may be lifted up above to that glorious place where our dear Saviour is and we may comfortably expect and be truly prepared for a blessed translation thither at the great day of his appearing Our great unfruitfulness we confess in the knowledge of Christ may justly make thee deny thy gratious influences from heaven upon us But O God of all grace who multiplyest mercy and delightest in doing good pardon us and make us better both at once Quicken our souls to hear thy holy Word with greater fear and reverence to sing thy praises with greater cheerfulness and gladness to pray to thee with more earnest affection and steadiness of mind to approach to thy holy Table with the deepest humility and devotion of spirit and to receive the renewed pledges of thy love to our very great increase in Faith and Hope and Love to thee and to all the world That so this may be a good day to our souls and we may be disposed and enabled to spend the rest of our days better as becomes the redeemed of the Lord who have tasted how gracious he is and who have received the earnest of eternal life O that our conversation may be in heaven by the constant love and exercise of purity righteousness mercy and godliness That we ever studying to glorifie thee our heavenly Father by bearing much of this good fruit may have the more assured hope that thou wilt glorifie us with thy self And inspire we beseech thee the hearts of all others that meet together this day to magnifie thy great and glorious Name with the like religious affections towards thee That we may all Rom. 12.1 present our selves a living sacrifice holy acceptable unto thee which is our reasonable service Help us all to Coloss 3.10,11 c. put on as thy elect children holy and beloved bowels of mercies kindness humbleness of mind meekness long-suffering forbearing one another and forgiving one another if any man have a quarrel against any even as Christ forgave us so incline us also to do And above all these things to put on charity which is the â—ond of perfectness And let the peace â—f thee our God rule in our hearts â—o which we are called in one body and â—ake us ever truly thankful Hear â—s we beseech thee O most merciâ—ul Father and after we have perâ—ected holiness here in thy fear bring â—s all to compleat our praises and â—hanksgivings to thee in the great â—ssembly of Saints and Angels through Christ Jesus our blessed Lord and Saviour 2 Pet. 3. ult To whom be glory both now and for ever Amen Our Father c. A Prayer at Night when there hath been a Communion O Eternally blessed Lord God the Creator of the world the Father of Angels and men the King of infinite Majesty and Power who canst do what thou pleasest every where 2 Chron. 6.18 Thâ—… heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee who art inthroned only in thy own greatness and crowned with the glory of thy own uncommunicated perfections There is nothing can be added to thee by us or any other creatures of whose services thou hast no need seeing thou art absolutely happy in thy self Act. 17.25 and givest to all life and breath and all things But it is our perfection and happiness to admire and praise thee whom we cannot comprehend to love thee as much as we know thee and to obey thee as much as we love thee 1 Chron. 28.9 with a perfect heart and with a willing mind for the Lord searcheth all hearts and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts We praise thee therefore O God we acknowledge thee to be the Lord. We give thee the glory that is due unto thy name and with hearty â—ove offer up our selves again intireâ—y unto thee whose we are and for whom we were made Justice and gratitude fear and love hope and interest whatsoever hath any power to move our hearts do all press and mightily urge us constantly to devote and consecreate our souls and bodies to thy faithful service We cannot neglect thee unless we will cast away our selves nor sin against thee unless we will be our own accusers judges and tormentors and throw our selves into the greatest miseries Thou hast been so good to us that if we should not become
the light of this morning Receive us likewise all this day into thy protection to which we most humbly commit our selves We trust our selves and all belonging to us with thee our Creator and Redeemer We submit to thy orders and are willing to do and suffer what thou pleasest Jude 21. Waiting for the mercy of our Lord Christ Jesus unto eternal life And we desire thou knowest the good of all mankind as well as our own especially of all Christian people that they may all walk worthy of the Gospel and live together in unity and godly love For which end we pray that all Christian Kings Princes and Governours may be wise pious just and merciciful indeavouring that all their subjects may lead peaceable lives under them in all godliness and honesty And more particularly that our Soveraign may be blessed with a religious quiet long and prosperous Reign and that all his Ministers of State and Officers of Justice may conscientiously discharge the trust that is reposed in them seeking in their several places how to right the oppressed to comfort the afflicted to provide for the poor and needy and to relieve all those that are in any misery Bless all our spiritual Pastors and Instructors succeed their labours and give us grace to follow their godly admonitions 1 Thess 5.13 to esteem them very highly in love for their works sake and to be at peace among our selves The same blessings we crave for all our friends relations and acquaintance that we may all live in perfect love and peace together doing our duties to thee to each other and to all men so faithfully that we may give a comfortable account of our selves and rejoyce together at the great day of the Lord Jesus In whose holy words we beseech thee to help us still more heartily to offer up our desires to thee Our Father c. At Night ALmighty and most merciful Father by whom we were made and in whom we live move and have our being to whose tender compassions we owe our safety the day past together with all the comforts of this present life and the hopes of that which is to come We praise and laud thee O Lord the Creator and Governor of the world We ascribe all Greatness Might Majesty Wisdom Riches and Bounty to thee whom all the host of heaven continually admires and acknowledges with the most joyful reverence We bow our selves likewise before thee and worship thee in an humble sense that we are nothing in compare with thee and have nothing but what we receive from thee Psal 75.1 Psal 43.4 68.19 Vnto thee do we give thanks unto thee do we give thanks O God our exceeding joy who daily pourest thy benefits upon us Blessed be thy great goodness for our continued health for our food and raiment our peace and safety the society of our friends the love of our neighbours and the success of our honest labours But above all things for sending Jesus Christ into the world to dwell among us to dye for us and to direct us in the way to immortal life We thank thee that we feel in our hearts any motion towards thee and that we have made the least progress in those paths of life O Lord we present our selves here before thee to be inspired with such a vigorous and full sense of thy love as may move us more powerfully towards thee and put us forward with a greater earnestness zeal and diligence in all our duty There is nothing in heaven or earth that we can desire but to be beloved of thee who possessest both and art able to make thy friends as great and happy as thou pleasest Assist us therefore still by thy grace to the recovery of such a lively Image of thee in all righteousness purity mercy faithfulness and truth that we may know thou lovest us O that Jesus the hope of glory may be formed in us in all humility meekness patience contentedness peaceableness and absolute surrender of our souls and bodies to thy holy will and pleasure That Gal. 2.20 we may no longer live but Christ may live in us and the life we lead in the flesh may be by the faith of thy Son O God who loved us and gave himself for us The remembrance of that love is most dear and precious to us We cannot often enough make mention of so great kindness as his making himself freely an offering for our sins It moves us again to offer up our selves sincerely to thee to do thy will O God as our blessed Lord and Master did We repose also an intire confidence in thee and still trust our selves with thee who hast Rom. 8.32 not spared thine own Son but given him up for us all We will humbly and reverently accept of whatsoever thou sendest us and 1 Thess 5.18 in every thing give thanks which is thy will concerning us in Christ Jesus We hope thou wilt never leave us nor forsake us but conduct us safe through all varieties and changes of our condition here in an unchangeable love to thee and an holy composure and tranquillity of mind in thy love to us till we come to live with thee and enjoy thee for ever And now that we are going to lay our selves down to sleep take us into thy gracious protection and settle our spirits in such quiet and delightful thoughts of Jesus that we may be willing to leave this world and go to him 1 Thess 5.10 Who dyed for us that whether we wake or sleep we should live together with him To his blessing we commend all mankind of whatsoever rank and condition they be high and low rich and poor that they may all be so happy as to do their several duties carefully and to enjoy contentedly whatsoever is needful for them We leave all we have with thee especially our friends and those who are dear unto us desiring that when we are dead and gone they may lift up their souls in this manner unto thee and teach those that come after to praise love and obey thee and that if we awake again in the morning our mouths may likewise praise thee again with joyful lips and we may still offer our selves a more acceptable sacrifice to thee through Christ Jesus In whose words we beseech thee to hear us according to the fullest sence and intention of them Our Father c. PRAYERS FOR FAMILIES TVESDAY MORNING ALL honour glory and praise be given to thee O Lord our Creator Redeemer and Comforter by us and by all the world Thou art worthy of all our love service and obedience being most excellent in thine own nature and of so abundant kindness to us thy creatures Who most humbly therefore prostrate our selves before thee this Morning to make thee our thankful acknowledgements for all thy benefits and tender thee our most hearty and affectionate service and wait upon thy bounty for the continuance of thy grace and mercy
never dye nor languish in our hearts but be kept alive in their vigour and force by the perpetual inspirations of the holy Ghost We wait upon thee for that promise of our Saviour to assist and promote our sincere indeavours to preserve our souls unblameable in the love of thee our God and of all mankind We heartily desire the prosperity and welfare of every one of them as well as our own O that they were all so wise and happy as to acknowledge and submit themselves to thee by obeying thy holy Laws Especially we desire that all Kings and Princes may become our Saviours Subjects and conforming themselves to his will may be rendred thereby most excellent examples to all other men Indue our Soveraign with abundance of the Spirit of counsel and judgement and the fear of our Lord. Make him happy in wise and faithful Ministers in loyal and peaceable Subjects and in the good success of all his enterprises for the honour of Religion and his peoples tranquillity We commend to thy mercies all our friends relations and benefactors desiring that all who have done us good may be requited an hundred fold here and obtain at last eternal life And all that have done evil to us as we heartily forgive them so we earnestly desire they may obtain thy gracious pardon Together with these we remember likewise all that are in affliction whatsoever it be either of soul or body to whom we wish ease and comfort and seasonable relief that they may rejoyce in the end for the days wherein they have seen adversity In these holy thoughts and desires we now are bold to commend our selves to thy protection this night who hast preserved and blessed us we most thankfully acknowledge all the day past We repose our selves in the belief of thy good providence with which we intrust our selves and all belonging to us We would lay down our selves to sleep with hearts full of love to thee and humble faith and hope in thee Desiring we may awake again in the same manner and find that we are still with thee Dispose us good Lord by the rest thou givest us always to serve thee more zealously with our renewed spirits that after the few days and nights we have to pass in this world we may come to thy eternal rest together with Christ Jesus In whose blessed name and words we still recommend our selves to thy mercies Our Father which art in heaven hallowed be thy Name Thy kingdom â—ome Thy will be done in earth as it â—s in heaven Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our â—respasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from â—vil c. PRAYERS FOR FAMILIES FRIDAY MORNING O God most blessed for ever whose the world is and the fulness thereof who needest not any thing that we can give thee for thou givest us whatsoever we injoy We prostrate our selves before thee to make such poor expressions as we are able of the sense we have of thine infinite bounty to us It is but fit and meet that we should acknowledge and praise thee though we can thereby add nothing unto thee It is our happiness to have a grateful remembrance of thy goodness to us and to be knit unto thee in hearty love and dutiful affection all the days of our life We thank thee therefore O Lord of heaven and earth who hast loaded us continually with thy benefits They are great and many more than we can number both towards our bodies and towards our souls for the comfort of this life and our everlasting Salvation in the Life to come For ever adored be thy love in Christ Jesus who hath given us an undoubted testimony of thy fatherly care and providence over us and incouraged us though we have offended thee to address our selves to thee with good hope of thy gracious acceptance of us into friendship with thee again We love thee O Lord above all things We freely offer our spirits souls and bodies to thee with most sincere devotion and the heartiest affection to thy service There is nothing we desire and long for so much as to have a lively sense of thy marvailous love always possessing our hearts that may still constrain us to love thee to obey thee to trust in thee to be content with the portion thy love allots unto us and to rejoyce even in the midst of all the troubles of this life We cannot chuse O Lord when we seriously think of what thou hast done for us but absolutely commit our selves to thee intirely confide in thee for the time to come Since thou hast Rom. 8.32 not spared thy own Son but delivered him up for us all how shalt thou not with him also freely give us all things We depend upon thee especially for the grace of thy holy Spirit for the power of which in our hearts exciting these holy desires and godly resolutions we most humbly thank thy divine Majesty O that we may feel it perpetually bearing us up by the strength of our most holy faith and by the power of love and hope above all the temptations which at any time assault us That we may keep our selves unspotted from the world and no appetite of pleasure of glory or of riches may ever carry us from our duty but we may still cleave to thee in Righteousness Purity Humility Charity and all other divine vertues of which our Lord hath given us so great an example For his sake we hope for a favourable acceptance of these our praises acknowledgements and prayers For we must be still beholden to thine infinite goodness for the least regard to any thing that we can do who are but unprofitable servants And we wait upon the same goodness for thy blessing to accompany us all this day that we may do nothing but what we know is pleasing to thee and may be so prospered protected and assisted by thine Almighty power that we may return with our hearts full of love and thankfulness to thee in the evening again to praise and magnifie thy continued kindness to us Unto which we commend most heartily the rest of mankind desiring that they may all know thee the true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent whom to know is eternal life And O that all Christians would walk worthy of thy high and heavenly Calling that others seeing their good works may be invited thereby to acknowledge and glorifie thee our heavenly Father More particularly we desire the increase of wisdom and goodness to all Christian Kings and Princes and a plentiful portion of the Spirit of thy Grace to all Christian Bishops Priests and Deacons that they may be eminent instruments of thy honour and their peoples good by the authority of their Doctrine and godly Example Make our Soveraign and us all happy in each other by the faithful discharge of our several duties in the places wherein thy
benefits we have received and therefore may justly fear thou shouldest withhold thy tender mercies and shut up thy loving kindness in displeasure But the desires and holy resolutions thou hast wrought and continuest in our souls to amend and become still more fruitful in all good works incourage us to hope in thee for pardon through the bloud of Jesus Christ and for the assistance of thy holy Spirit to inable us to accomplish that which we intend and purpose to grow more and more in wisdom and knowledge and in righteousness and true holiness O that this Image of thine may appear every day fairer and more beautiful before thee and in the sight of all men That so we may adorn the Religion we profess and be a good Example unto others and have a solid foundation of peace and comfort in our own hearts and be able to hope in thee for thy future mercy in Christ Jesus even unto eternal life We commend our selves to thy wonted grace and in a sense of what thou hast done already for us and what thou hast promised to do depend on thy goodness for what thou seest profitable and conducing to our chiefest good referring our selves wholly to thy wise will and pleasure and resolved contentedly to submit to thy appointments thankfully to receive thy mercies and to rest satisfied with our portion whatsoever it be that thou orderest for us Make us but steadfast in thy faith and love unwearied in well doing patient and constant under all sufferings full of a lively hope in thy mercy and willing to dye when and as thou pleasest and we have enough In confidence that thou hearest us and art every where and never slumberest nor sleepest we commit our selves to the custody of thy watchful providence this night to be secured and protected by thee when we cannot at all attend to our own preservation May it please thy goodness to give this whole family a comfortable rest and repose to defend this habitation and all about us from fire and such like sad accidents to deliver us from the power of evil spirits and of evil men and to raise us in health and chearfulness to praise thee and to glorifie thee both in soul and body the next day Psal 59.16,17 Then will we sing of thy power yea we will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning because thou hast been our defence and our refuge at all times Vnto thee O our strength will we sing for God is our defence and the God of our mercy 111.1 We will praise the Lord with our whole heart in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation 92.1,2 For it is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord and to sing praises unto thy name O most High to shew forth thy loving kindness in the morning and thy faithfulness every night 24.1 The earth is thine and the fulness thereof the world and they that dwell therein 22.27,28 Let all the people praise thee O God let all the people praise thee O that all the ends of the world would remember and turn unto the Lord and all the kindreds of the Nations worship before him For the kingdom is the Lords and he is the governour among the Nations Bless especially all Christian Kings and Princes that it may Prov. 16.12 be an abomination to them to commit wickedness and their thrones may be established by righteousness And incline the hearts of all those who have any authority in these Kingdoms to love and hold fast thy true Religion and to live according to to it that 20.28 by mercy and truth the king may be preserved and his throne be upholden by mercy We heartily desire the ease peace and satisfaction of all those who are in pain trouble and perplexity and that all poor miserable people may find supply of their wants from thy bounty and the charity of those on whom thou hast bestowed plenty and abundance We humbly also wait for thy blessing upon all our Relations and Friends trusting in thee for such a measure of health and all other good things as thou judgest useful for us and especially that the Lord Jesus 1 Tim. 4.8 will deliver us from every evil work and preserve us to his heavenly kingdom To whom be glory for ever and ever Amen Our Father c. A shorter Morning Prayer for any day in the week when there is not time by reason of some extraordinary occasions for the other O Most great and glorious God the Soveraign of the World Upon whom we continually depend to whom we owe all the love the service and the praise that we are able to render to all eternity We adore thy infinite mercy from whence we have received so many blessings for the comfort of this life and by which we have a sure Hope of good things in the life to come Blessed be thy goodness which hath not suffered us to wander without instruction after the foolish desires of our own hearts but hath clearly shown us where our happiness lyes We receive with all thankfulness those holy words which teach us the blessedness of poverty and contentedness of spirit of meekness and humility of mind of hungering and thirsting after righteousness of mercifulness and purity of heart of peaceableness and patient suffering for doing the will of our Lord Christ O that we may have grace to labour alway to be in the number of those blessed Souls that never set their hearts on any thing so much as these heavenly vertues O that we may ever think and feel our selves happy in the comfort of those great and precious promises of being made the children of the highest the heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven and at last of seeing thee our God It suffices O Lord that we have these glorious hopes hereafter which make us believe thou wilt not let us want what is necessary for us whilst we continue here We commend our selves with an humble confidence to thy watchful providence this day beseeching thee to guide and assist us that in all our desires words and actions we may keep our selves innocent and undefiled before thee and be disposed to do all good as we have opportunity And we heartily desire that all mankind may be filled with the same devotion to thee and especially that all Christian people may glorifie thy Name and be joyful in thee And the greater any are in Dignity and Power raise their spirits to the greater pitch of Wisdom Mercy and Piety that they may right those that suffer wrong and defend those that have no helper and provide for the ease and comfort of all miserable creatures to the utmost of their power In this ardent charity we commit both souls and bodies to thee beseeching thee to increase our love to thee and to all men till we be fit to be translated to the region of love and joy and perfect satisfaction through Christ Jesus
who hath taught us when we pray to say Our Father c. Another short Prayer for the Morning O Blessed God be thou acknowledged praised and loved by us and all the children of men on whom thou pourest continually thy benefits They are great and many we know not the summe nor understand the value of them The Angels themselves admired thy love to us in Christ Jesus and are become ministring Spirits to them who are heirs of Salvation We enjoy the continual fruits of thy watchful providence by which we have been kept in peace and safety the last night and are raised this morning in health and strength both of body and mind beholding all things belonging to us just as we left them with thee when we went to sleep Accept we most humbly beseech thee of this poor tribute of praise and thanks together with the hearty oblation of our souls and bodies which we here dedicate again to thy service Vouchsafe us the continued assistance of the grace of thy holy Spirit to inable us to make good those vows that are upon us of obediently keeping thy holy will and commandments and walking in the same all the days of our life Pardon good Lord all our breaches of this Sacred Covenant Deal not with us according to our sins neither reward us after our iniquities But in the multitude of thy tender mercies pitty our errors and wandrings and help us against our infirmities Give us leave this day to put our selves into thy powerful protection and to depend on thee for thy merciful guidance and assistance that we may be more faithful to thee in the discharge of our duties and never swerve from the rules of Sobriety Righteousness Charity and Godliness So shall we return with joyful hearts to praise thee in the Evening and teach those who shall come after us to continue thy praises in the next generation Amen for thy mercies sake in Christ Jesus in whose words we present the earnest desires of our hearts for our selves and all our Brethren saying Our Father c. A short Prayer for the Evening when there is not time for the longer O God we thy creatures who have tasted liberally of thy bounty many ways and been blessed in our several imployments and mercifully preserved from several dangers this day are here met to joyn together in most hearty thanksgivings to thy divine Majesty which with one accord we offer up unto thee It is the greatest happiness of all we acknowledge that we have any sense of thee in our minds any love to thee in our hearts any remembrance of thy benefits any holy dispositions to obey thee and any hopes that thou wilt pardon our sins and make us partakers of eternal life All that we desire of thee O Lord is the continuance and increase of this happiness that we may be possessed with a stronger sense of thy Majesty thy Soveraign Power thy unsearchable Wisdom Goodness and Truth and be filled with a more ardent love to thee and to all righteousness and delight to do thy Will in every thing and rejoyce in hope of thy immortal Glory As for all the things of this life in a grateful remembrance of thy many past mercies we intirely trust thee for the time to come referring our selves to thy Wisdom and resolving to be content with that portion which thy good providence is pleased to assign us Help us but to be steadfast and unmoveable in the work of our Lord to bring forth all the fruits of the Spirit love joy peace long-suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness and temperance and we shall think our selves rich enough and well provided for in every state and condition of life In these holy thoughts and desires we commend our selves to thy gracious protection this night hoping to find them fresh and lively in our souls when we awake in the Morning and desiring withal the happiness of the rest of the world that they may know thee and acknowledge thee and be guided unto and walk in the way that leads to everlasting life through Christ Jesus our blessed Redeemer In whose powerful name and comprehensive words we continue to pray as he hath taught us saying Our Father c. Another for the Evening IN an humble and thankful sense O Lord of heaven and earth of our intire dependence on thee and of the duty we owe thee and the many promises and vows wherein we stand ingaged to thee we fall down before thee this Evening and with all reverence worship thy divine Majesty Giving thee the glory that is due unto thy Name and acknowledging thy multiplied mercies to us particularly those of this day to the conclusion of which thou hast now safely brought us with new resolutions in our hearts to continue for ever in thy faith and fear and love and obedience It is but just and reasonable and we feel likewise by daily experience that it is our happiness to keep thy Commandments and to maintain chearful thoughts of thee and an hearty friendship with thee by complying in all things with thy holy Will O pardon our folly most gracious God in forsaking at any time that perfect Rule to follow our own unruly desires Pardon us we beseech thee for we know not how to pardon our selves such ingratitude to thee and cruelty to our selves It is the grief of our hearts that we have in the least offended thee and our most earnest unfeigned desire to be preserved hereafter in an exact conformity to our Rule in every thing Yea we would delight to do thy Will O God and take such a pleasure in all the acts of righteousness mercy meekness and gentleness to our Neighbours and in praising and acknowledging thee the God of all grace and in living in an humble sense of thy bounty and our own undeservings and in a temperate and thankful use of all thy blessings that we may have the continual feast of a good conscience and the constant comfort and satisfaction of having thee alway for our friend and our gracious Father in Christ Jesus O thou who art the Inspirer of such holy counsels desires and purposes keep them for ever in our hearts Incourage strengthen and increase them that after the refreshment of a quiet sleep this night we may feel them lively and powerful in the Morning and with renewed joy we may still devote our selves to thy faithful service O that our friends and all thy people in every place may partake of the same mercies we desire for our selves and howsoever we are severed one from another in this world grant us an happy meeting at the day of our Lord in whose words we pray thee to hear us Our Father which art in heaven hallowed be thy Name Thy kingdom come Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into temptation but
to thy holy Commands There is nothing O Lord so afflictive to me as the remembrance that I have any time offended thy Soveraign Authority I am heartily sorry for the breaking of any of thy sacred righteous and good Laws I abhorr the thoughts of doing so again And protest eternal enmity to all that is contrary to thy blessed Will addicting my self with most hearty affection to thy true and faithful service Pardon me therefore most gracious and merciful Father and accept these holy resolutions which thou hast inspired me withal Strengthen I beseech thee and further them with thy continued grace that no sudden desires vehement inclinations ineffectual purposes no nor partial performances may deceive and lead me into a false opinion of my self but I may bring forth actually and with a constant spirit all the fruits of righteousness which are by Christ Jesus to the praise and glory of thee my God Possess me with such a deep and strong sense of thy supreme Authority over all of the obligations I have to thee and the great kindness thou hast done me in ingaging me to be thy servant that Religion may be the very business of my life and my greatest pleasure may be to please thee in every thing and my highest design to attain that blessed immortality which Christ Jesus hath promised O lift up my affections more and more to those things above where he is That heaven may have my heart while this world hath my body and I may have perfect contentment of mind in well doing and patient suffering and the good hope I have of being eternally beloved of thee the Lord of heaven and earth may make me rejoyce evermore Free me from all inordinate cares for the things of this life from all distrust of thy good providence from all repining at any thing that befals me and inable me in every thing to give thanks believing that all things are ordered by the greatest reason and shall work together for good to those that love thee I doubt not of thy Fatherly affection to those that study in all sincerity to approve themselves unto thee and therefore still resolve to leave my self intirely to thy wise Counsels that thou mayst dispose me into such a condition as thou seest best in this world Remember me but of my duty quicken and excite me to it strengthen me in the doing of it support me under all discouragements advise me in all difficult cases and comfort me with a steadfast belief of thy holy Word and I shall ever be giving thanks and praise unto thee who dealest so bountifully with me Into thy hands I commend this night both soul and body which have been mercifully preserved in safety all this day I repose my self in the belief of thy watchful providence and that thou givest thy Angels charge of us and art about our beds and about our paths and spiest out all our thoughts O continue these holy thoughts and desires in me till I fall asleep that thou mayst have a soul full of love to thee in thy custody and I may receive the light of the Morning if thou prolongest my life with new joy in thee and thankful affection to thee I most heartily desire likewise O merciful God the good of the whole world Pitty the follies of mankind deliver them from their sins and from their miseries Hear the groans of every part of the creature that is yet subject to the bondage of corruption and bring them all into the glorious liberty of thy children Hear the daily prayers of the Catholick Church Free her from all foul and dividing errors Let the Truth as it is in Jesus prevail and peace be in all her borders O that all Christian Kings and Governours may follow after peace and insue it Make thy Ministers the Messengers of peace and dispose the hearts of all Christians to keep the Unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace Inlighten the minds of all Jews Turks and Infidels with the knowledge of thy Truth Give repentance unto sinners and increase of grace and strength to all thy faithful servants Reduce those that wander out of the way raise up those who are faln confirm and settle those that stand and grant them a steadfast resolution to persevere in faith love and obedience Relieve and comfort all those that are in any distress Make the earth to bring forth her increase in due season And let all honest and industrious people be succeeded and blessed in their labours Remember all those to whom I am indebted for my birth education instruction or promotion Thou who art rich in mercy reward and recompence their care and love Grant forgiveness and charity to all my enemies Continue good will among all my kind Neighbours Assist those who are dying and leaving this world Fit them for a better place receive the souls which thou hast redeemed with thy Sons most precious bloud and sanctified by the holy Ghost and give us all a glorious resurrection and eternal life Amen Amen Our Father c. A shorter Prayer to be used by any one alone in the Morning I Adore thee O Lord the possessor of heaven and earth who surpassest all our thoughts and dost us good beyond all our desires There is all reason that I should acknowledge thee continually that I should worship and praise and love and obey thee whilst I have my being I cannot but witness against my self whensoever I neglect thee much more when I oppose thy most high Authority by doing contrary to thy Laws For thy Almighty Goodness gave me my being and by that alone have I been maintained and liberally provided for yea it hath born with me very patiently in my rebellion and used extraordinary means to make us friends and ceases not its intreaties after many unkind denials but continues to importune me till my heart consent to yield it self intirely to thee I cannot withhold my self O Lord from thee when I consider what thou art and what thou hast been to me such a tender gracious and compassionate Father as my greatest affections cannot find words to express I must again surrender soul and body into thy hands which have been so long so lovingly stretched out towards me resolving to stay with thee and never to depart away from thee For the more I know of thee the more I find that I must needs love thee and the more I love thee the more I desire to love thee and to resemble thee and to be beloved of thee O that I may feel the power of thy love so great in my heart that it may govern the rest of my passions and affections and nothing in the world may tempt me to displease thee but every thing provoke me more to love thee and delight in thee and obey thee For whom is there in heaven that I can desire but thee or on earth besides thee who art the blessed and only Potentate the King of kings and the Lord of
lords who only hast immortality and designest by thy Son Jesus to raise us sinful dust and ashes to a kingdom glory honour and immortality in the heavens I most earnestly beseech thee that this sense of thee may accompany me wheresoever I go and in whatsoever I do this day That approving my self to thee in such a godly sober righteous charitable and prudent behaviour as may adorn the Gospel of my Lord and Master Christ Jesus I may have a greater assurance of thy good will towards me and an undoubted hope of thy mercy in him to eternal life In whose most blessed name and words I humbly recommend my self my friends and all thy servants to thy infinite charity saying as he hath taught us Our Father c. Another for the Evening BLessing Glory Honour and Praise be again returned to thee O Father of mercy from a most thankful heart which offers up it self also in holy devotion to thee Who art my Soveraign Lord my most loving Saviour my Deliverer and Benefactor the Fountain of all the good things I enjoy at present and the hope of my soul for ever and ever Blessed be thy renewed kindness to me this day past both to my self and my relations to my soul and my body in my transactions with men and in the liberty thou allowest me of addresses to thy self Pardon good Lord whatsoever hath escaped me in thought word or deed contrary to my duty And accept of those sincere intentions and unfeigned purposes which were and I hope shall always be in my heart to study to approve my self to thee in all well doing It is but just and reasonable that I should follow thy will and not my own and in a grateful sense of what I have received from thee I ought to be moved to imploy all the powers of my soul and body for thee But such is the goodness of thy will that it is for my ease and pleasure and greatest happiness to be absolutely led and governed by it I am sensible O Lord how much I am indebted to thee for teaching me by Christ Jesus and also strongly obliging me to exercise my self to all godliness purity righteousness humility goodness and truth And accordingly I thank thee above all things for his holy instructions and example for the hope thou hast given us by his bloud that thou wilt be so merciful to our sins as not to deny us the power of thy holy Spirit to inable us to follow him and obey his commands and for that exceeding great and precious promise which he hath given us of immortal life to incourage us to follow him willingly and chearfully even to the death O that I may feel a lively and steadfast faith in his Word continually working with great power in my heart exciting me to an unwearied diligence and zeal and love and patient continuance in my duty towards thee and towards all men That so my hope in thee may grow and increase and I may joyfully expect that hour which shall translate me hence to the eternal happiness of the other world And during my stay here I commend my self to thy good providence which hath hitherto been so tender of me I trust thee wholly with my self and all belonging to me and am willing in every thing to be disposed of as thou seest good This night 〈◊〉 fly unto thy Almighty protection hoping thou wilt keep me safely and whether I awake in this or the other life I shall still be praising thee whose Mercy endureth for ever Amen for Christ Jesus his sake by whom thou hast incouraged me to hope in thee and taught me to call thee father saying Our Father which art in heaven hallowed be thy Name Thy kingdom come Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil c. THat time which is wont to be spent in the Church in talking or looking about before Divine Service begin may be better imployed in private Prayer to dispose us to joyn with greater seriousness in the Publick And indeed our business being there with God alone and that place being separated to his service only the custom which now universally prevails of entertaing discourse one with another is very undecent to say no worse and ought to be reformed We have other times and places enow to confer with our neighbours and therefore have no temptation to pervert the use of this which is set apart for devout intercourse with God and none else by speaking to him in Prayer and Praises and hearing him speak to us in his holy Word It is fit to silence all other speech and therefore here follow some helps for that purpose which I hope all good Christians will indeavour to use or imitate and not despise this loving admonition Private PRAYERS IN THE CHVRCH A short Prayer before Divine Service begins BEhold O Lord of heaven and earth a Soul prostrate before thee desirous to be filled with such an awful sense of thy divine Majesty that no other thing may interpose it self while I am in thy presence Fix my inconstant thoughts in a steadfast attention to thy most holy Word Inspire me with devout affections when I set forth thy praise and render thanks for all thy benefits And excite in me such fervent desires for all those things which I ask of thee that I may feel my self better disposed by these addresses to thee to every Christian duty the rest of this day through Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour Amen Another IN an humble and thankful sense of thine infinite goodness which honoureth us so much as to speak to us and gives us leave to speak to thee I bow down my self before thee O most high and holy Lord the Creator of the world desiring my mind may be possessed with such great thoughts of thee whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain and who openest thy hand and fillest all things with good that I may most reverently worship thee and affectionately acknowledge thy bounty and set my heart open to receive thy holy Word and my mouth may praise thee with joyful lips Silence all other thoughts and desires in me while I am here in thy presence And lift up my heart so towards heaven that I may feel it united to that glorious company above who perpetually praise thee and rejoyce in thee and do thy Commandments hearkning to the voice of thy Word Which I humbly beg in the name of Christ Jesus which is ever dear unto thee and by whom thou hast promised to hear us Amen Or those words of the Prophet David which you read Psal 5.7 17.1 118.28 119.47,48 c. may be a little altered in this manner IN the multitude of thy mercy I am come into thy house and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy
O God for the good hope which thy infinite charity hath given us by thy great grace in Christ Jesus and the plentiful communication of the holy Ghost O let thy mercy be upon me according as I hope in thee Preserve me alway in thy love through that abundant grace in thy Son Christ and the powerful presence of thy holy Spirit working in me mightily this day and ever Or after The peace of God which passeth all understanding c. you may say as the Apostle St. Paul 2 Thess 3.16 and the Psalmist 115.12,13,18 NOw the Lord of peace himself give me peace always by all means The Lord be with us all The Lord hath been mindful of us he will bless us He will bless them that fear him both small and great And we will bless the Lord from this time forth and for evermore Amen A short Prayer for the Lords-day or any other to be used at home before Morning Service O Lord the Almighty Creator of the world and the merciful Saviour of mankind who art above all our thoughts and excellest the praises of the highest Angels Thou art greatly to be feared in the assembly of thy Saints and to be had in reverence of all those that are about thee I most humbly desire leave to joyn my self with all those holy ones to worship thy most glorious Majesty to express the due sense I have of all thy benefits by paying thee my most thankful acknowledgements for them to make thee the best oblation I am able and devote my self intirely to thy obedience Since thou hast graciously inclined me to go into thy house and there to set forth thy praise to declare thy loving kindness to resign my self to thy Will to recommend my self to thy Wisdom to submit to thy Government to approve the justice and goodness of all thy Laws to profess that I am thy servant to renounce all thy enemies and to testifie my continued purpose to follow thee against all the temptations of the world the flesh and the Devil be pleased good Lord to pardon all my former failings and at this present to accept my holy intentions and to inspire me from above that I may chearfully perform all these acts of devotion to thy Divine Majesty And vouchsafe more fully to inform me in my duty to correct and amend what is amiss in me to incourage and strengthen my good resolutions and to assist me in all well doing Fill me with a great love to thee and to my blessed Saviour to thy holy Word and to all holy duties to Christian people every where and to all mankind Perfect me in Wisdom in Holiness and in Goodness By all thy instructions by all thy mercies by all thy chastisements and by all my prayers praises and thanksgivings to thee the Father of mercies make me such as thou canst love and delight in and reward at the great day of the Lord Jesus Amen A short Prayer at home after we are come from Church before Dinner I Adore thee again O Lord of Life and glory I acknowledge my dependence on thee I thank thee for thy mercies which thou never ceasest to heap upon me Accept I beseech thee of that dedication I have made of soul and body with praises and thanksgivings unto thee in the publick Congregation Be merciful to all my sins and indue me with the grace of thy holy Spirit to inable me to present my self when I appear again before thee a more holy and devout Sacrifice unto thee steadfastly resolved and chearfully disposed in every thing to be ordered by thy Will For which end be pleased to settle and root in my heart a stronger belief of thy holy Gospel and to fix my thoughts and affections upon that unseen happiness and bliss where our Saviour is That nothing here below may either allure or affright me from my duty nor ever make me remiss or negligent in it but I may be zealous of good works fervent in spirit serving my Lord from whom I expect the reward of an immortal inheritance Preserve in me always a Religious sense of thee And make me now so thankful and sober a partaker of the refreshments of my body that they may not damp the devotion of my soul But I may rather return to worship thee with greater chearfulness and gladness of heart after thou hast added the good things of this world to those of the other according to thy abundant love in Christ Jesus Amen A Prayer in private before the Evening Service O God who art rich in mercy to all that call upon thee and hast bid us 1 Thess 5. pray without ceasing and rejoyce evermore In obedience to thy command and incouraged by the goodness of thy Nature thy gracious invitations thy most precious promises and the long experience that I and others have had of thy bounty I am bold again to approach into thy presence to renew my requests unto thee to bless thy holy name to make profession of my love to thee and readiness in all things to obey thee Quicken my thoughts and affections O Lord to a free and joyful attendance on thee in all holy duties that no dulness nor weariness may seize upon my spirit but such a fervent love to thee may possess my heart as may render all the imployments of Religion my delight and the doing thy Will both now and alway my greatest pleasure And pass by I most humbly beseech thee all my unwilling indispositions Accept of such service as I am able to render thee And dispose me by all my addresses to thee to be more circumspect and watchful more diligent and industrious more forward and zealous in the performance of every part of my duty That being led by thy Counsel governed by thy Spirit and preserved by thy gracious Providence I may at last be admitted into the company of the blessed there to perfect my praises and acknowledgements and to receive the reward of patient continuance in well doing through Christ Jesus Whose grace be with my spirit Amen Another after the Evening Service is done as soon as there is opportunity to retire alone I Acknowledge thy manifold blessings O Lord which are renewed upon me every moment I owe my life continually to thee with all the comforts of it If I had no more to thank thee for but the mercies of this day they are so many so great that I could never thank thee enough for them Thou takest care of my body and of my soul Thou feedest me at thy house and at my own Thou lettest me taste the bread of Life which came down from Heaven besides the many supports and refreshments which thou affordest for this natural life Several of thy creatures lose their lives to preserve mine and thy dear Son hath not thought it too much to lay down his precious Life for my sake Thou speakest to me and givest me leave to speak to thee Thou instructest me in my duty and
lowest prostrations of my soul and body with mine eyes full of tears and my heart full of grief and sorrow because I have been so undutiful to thee whose grace and mercy hath so exceedingly abounded towards us When I cast mine eyes upon my Saviour and upon my self with the rest of the children of men I am astonished at the wonderful greatness of thy love which surpasses the thoughts of men and Angels For what were we that thou shouldest make thy dear Son a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief for our sake That he should become poor and mean not having where to lay his head and indure likewise cruel mockings and buffettings and be spit upon and abused yea sorely wounded and bruised and drink that bitter cup the vile and accursed death of the cross where he shed his most precious bloud and gave himself a ransome for us O Lord what was the whole race of mankind worth that thou shouldest purchase them with so dear a price and by the obedience of thy Son Christ Jesus unto the death grant a pardon for their rebellion and seal a new Covenant of Grace in his bloud and by the same bloud consecrate him to be an high-Priest with royal Power in the heavens to give repentance and remission of sin and all this so freely that we did not so much as desire it nor did it enter into the heart of men to conceive that thou shouldest be so gracious to them O blessed God how rich is thy goodness that lets us withal injoy a great plenty of worldly good things much of that ease and pleasure which was denyed our dear Saviour and yet we are sinners and he had no sin neither was guile found in his mouth yea we are ungrateful sinners so far from being sensible as we ought of such infinite loving kindness that we may justly fear lest this goodness of thine which was designed to save us should through our unthankfulness and negligence prove the occasion of our greater ruine I most heartily bewail O most merciful Father my shameful forgetfulness of so great benefits or my cold and dull remembrance of them I lament all the errors and miscarriages of my life which are the more heynous I acknowledge after such a plain declaration of thy displeasure against sin and of thy marvellous love to us sinners I am afflicted for the hardness and stupidity of my heart which alas is oft-times little pierced and wounded when I reflect upon his sorrow and pain and anguish for the sake of sinners and for the listlessness and backwardness of my will to give up my self absolutely to him who so willingly gave himself an offering for our sins I blush to remember how weak and short my thoughts have been how transient and ineffectual my passions when I have meditated on his bloudy death and sufferings And am confounded when I think how suddenly I have started from those holy purposes and resolutions which the sense of his love hath sometimes begot in my heart I cannot but accuse and condemn my self here in thy presence but I likewise condemn every sinful desire that is still remaining in me to dye and be crucified together with him I would have nothing contrary to thy Will to have any power or live any longer in me and therefore here yield up my self intirely into thy hands to be conformed in all things to Christ Jesus who dyed for me Fix my thoughts so constantly upon his dying love and affect my heart so mightily therewith that I may chearfully undergo any pains to be made like unto him in his humility in his obedience in his resignation of himself to thy wise will and pleasure in his patience in his meekness in his charity and forgiveness of his enemies in his willingness to quit all things for thy names sake and to trust both soul and body with thee in well doing and contented suffering whatsoever it be that thou requirest of me I desire not to live O Lord but that I may live to him that dyed for me I refuse no reproaches no poverty no pain or trouble if thy will cannot other ways be accomplished by me Do what thou pleasest with me so that I may but be perfected in holiness and obtain thy gracious pardon through the redemption that is in Jesus I believe the vertue and power of his Sacrifice to be everlasting and that when he had by himself purged our sins he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high And therefore I look for the constant assistance of thy good Spirit which he hath bid me ask in his Name to inable me to purifie my self and to tread in the steps of his humble meek and patient Charity that so I may be presented unblameable and unproveable in thy sight at the day of his appearing Great is the wisdom of thy love wherein thy grace hath abounded towards us in Christ Jesus Great are the incouragements which thou hast given us by his laying down his life for us that he might take it again and live for evermore Great is the boldness that we have to enter into the holyest by the bloud of Jesus by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through his flesh Give me the grace I beseech thee wisely to consider and ponder the merciful design of thy Grace to walk circumspectly and exactly as the redeemed of the Lord as an heir of his love that hopes to see him in immortal glory O that the comfort and joy of this hope to see Jesus who was so scorned and abused sitting upon his throne and triumphing over all his enemies may so raise and inlarge my mind by the power of it that I may overlook and despise all the petty temptations of this world looking still steadfastly unto him and following him with unmoveable resolution till I come to possess that which I hope for and rejoyce eternally in his love Hear me O Father of mercies and deal graciously with me far beyond all my thoughts and desires for his sake who is the Author and the finisher of our faith who dyed once for us and now lives for ever to make intercession on our behalf By whom all honour praise thanksgiving love and obedience be rendered to thee by me and by all mankind both now and for ever Amen A Prayer on Good Friday in the Evening O Most holy most gracious the only wise God most blessed for ever We cannot conceive the greatness of thy perfections nor is there any thing to which we can compare them Thy holiness is more unspotted than the light of the Sun Thy goodness spreads it self more largely than its beams Thy Wisdom pierces into those secrets which are buried in darkness and though all things alter and wax old yet thou art the same unchangeable being whose years have no end How shall such a vile wretch as I am take the boldness to look towards thee and speak unto thee who
be â—eared Psal 130.4 Thou hast sworn â—hat thou desirest not â—he death of a sinner Ezek. 18.32 â—ut rather that he should return and â—ve And hast sent thy Son Jesus â—ith the most indearing arguments â—f the greatest love to perswade us â—o return unto our duty Behold O Lord I return with grief and â—ffliction of spirit that I have offendâ—d thee detesting the thoughts of â—oing the like again and resolving â—o be more careful and diligent and â—rcumspect for the time to come â— let me live to the praise of thy â—mnipotent Grace inabling me to â—erform these resolutions in a more â—rict and exact obedience to thy hoâ— commands the rest of my days â—ercy mercy I most earnestly beg â— Father of mercies for the sake of him that dyed for me not meerly for the pardon of my sins but for a Divine Power to enable me to subdue them I desire not thy infinite goodness to bear me out in rebellion against thy righteousness purity and truth but that by thy goodness I may be partaker of them that my repentance may be accepted and that it may be hearty and stedfast never to be repented of I desire no peace quiet and ease in my heart but in a constant and resolute opposition of all the temptation of the world the flesh and the devil and in the hope I have thaâ— through thy gracious assistance iâ— shall be victorious O settle me I beseech thee in thiâ— holy disposition that I may preservâ— an intire friendship with thee hereâ— after by an happy agreement witâ— thy will and pleasure in every thing And for that end makâ— me strong in the Lord Ephes 6.10 anâ— in the power of his might That bâ—ing sensible of my own great weakness I may more earnestly depend upon thy aid from above by an humble and vigorous faith in thy Almighty goodness Maintain such a clear light in my mind that may keep me from being deceived with the vain shadows and empty appearances of satisfactory pleasure in any thing of this world Fortifie my will with the power of thy Divine love that may overcome all sensual affections that arise in me at any time against thy sacred commands And possess me with such a lively hope of those good things which Christ hath promised in the other life that may make me active â—nd zealous stedfast and unmoveable â—lways abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that my labour shall â—ot be in vain in the Lord. Thou knowest the secrets of all â—earts let thy mercy O Lord be â—pon me according as I deliberately and sincerely chuse to cleave unto thee with purpose of heart Act. 11.23 Psal 51.9,10,11 O cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy holy Spirit from me But hide thy face from my sins Psal 119.80 and blot out all mine iniquities Psal 19.13,14 Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a constant spirit in me Make my heart to be sound in thy Statutes that I may never be ashamed Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins let them not have dominion over me Then shall I be upright and I shall be innocent from the great transgression The words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart shall be accepted in thy sight O Lord my strength and my Redeemer Amen Amen A THANKSGIVING To the DIVINE GOODNESS For any hope of a PARDON After such RELAPSE O Eternally most blessed God the Fountain of all good from whence all creatures derive whatsoever they injoy They are all poor and indigent things full of necessities and wants which are continually supplied out of thy fulness But the wants of our souls are the most lamentable because besides the poverty of creatures we have made a great many needs to our selves by our wilful departure from thee in whom we live and move and have our being We stand in need of thy Pardon of thy converting grace and the greater supplies of thy holy Spirit which we know not how with any confidence to expect but that all these wants are not too big for thy infinite goodness to relieve and that thou hast been pleased most compassionately to consider our miserable condition in sending Christ Jesus into the world and filling him with all the treasures of thy grace and mercy that he might dispense them to us according to our several necessities O how excellent is thy loving kindness O God! How surpassing is thy love that will pass by the insolent offences of thy creatures against thy high authority and Soveraign goodness and not let them eternally perish without a remedy in that forlorn condition into which they have brought themselves â— Blessed for ever blessed be thy sparing Mercy which hath delivered Christ Jesus for our offences and testified thy acceptance of his Sacrifice of himself by raising him again for our justification Blessed by thy name for the gracious declaration which thou hast made that if any man sin we have an advocate with thee 1 Joh. 2.1,2 Christ Jesus the righteous who is the propitiation for our sins I most thankfully receive these glad tidings which are worthy of all acceptation 1 Tim. 1.15 that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners Thanks be to thy tender mercy which hath restored us to a possibility of recovering thy grace and favour The smallest hope of it I acknowledge is more valuable than the greatest abundance of all the injoyments and pleasures of this present life What praise therefore what love what obedience am I bound to render unto thee who hast given me such a good hope of peace and reconciliation with thee and thereby delivered me from the horror of my own guilty mind remembring that I have adventured to oppose my will to thine I ought for ever with the most zealous devotion of a grateful and obedient heart to admire and stand amazed at thy inconceiveable Grace which will not strictly mark what is done amiss but accept of our repentance and amendment in stead of an intire and constant performance of our duty to thee O the heighth the depth the length and the breadth of thy love in Christ Jesus which is the satisfaction of our heart and the joy of our lives which would otherwise be intolerably grievous and burdensome to us whilst we remember that we are sinners Fill me O Lord with a most ardent love to thee now that I here offer up my self in truth and sincerity of heart to be wholly disposed by thee Behold O Lord my will lies at thy feet I would have no will of my own but desire only that thy will may be done And fill me with an holy fear of thee that thy indulgent mercy may not make me remiss and negligent and presumptous again to offend thee But a perpetual sense of my new obligations to thee in reviving my hopes which I had forfeited in thee may render me more watchful more
diligent more earnest and solicitous more humble and distrustful of my self and more fervent to implore the powerful succours of thy divine Grace O that it may be as natural to me to pray to thee as it is to breath And thou who fillest the hungry with good things pour into me life and strength and vigor in a constant dependance on thee and an hearty indeavour to do thy will Ephes 3.16 Strengthen me with might by thy spirit in the â—inner man That notwithstanding the strongest temptations wherewith I may be assaulted and notwithstanding the weakness and feebleness of my own spirit to resist them I may persevere couragiously in well doing unto the end and finish my course with joy and lay my self down to rest in an holy hope that I shall enter into a state of safety and security from all danger and remain for ever in the joy of our Lord. Amen A Prayer for the Divine Grace O Most blessed God the high and mighty One who inhabitest eternity and art what thou always wast and ever wilt be the mosâ— perfect power wisdom goodnesâ— and truth the fountain of all thâ— perfections that are in us We oughâ— to address our selves to thee in the greatest humility of spirit having nothing to present thee withal which we can call our own being unable by all our righteousness to profit thee who standest in need of none of thy creatures But alas O Lord we have robbed thee of that which we have received from thee and are so far from giving thee any thing of ours that we have not returned to thee that which is thine O the miserable condition therefore into which we have brought our selves who are not so much as fit to receive any more from thy divine bounty and which is worse have been too unwilling to partake of thy favours O thy infinite love in Christ Jesus which hath bestowed the richest grace upon us whether we would or â—o Thou hast honoured our naâ—ure with thy divine presence dwelâ—ing in it Thou hast delivered him â—o dye for our sins Thou hast given us 〈◊〉 blessed hope in thee by his Resurâ—ection from the dead Thou hast â—nt him to bless us in turning every one of us from our iniquities Act. 3.26 And given him all power in heaven and earth that he may succour and strengthen us when we are tempted and enable us to overcome I thank thee with all my soul for this abundant grace so freely and undesired conferred upon us Which incourages me to hope in thee now that thou inclinest my heart towards thee and hast given me a thankful sense of thy love and some will to obey thee and holy resolutions to cleave unto thee in well doing that thou wilt not deny me the constant assistance of that good Spirit which our Saviour hath bid us ask of thee to strengthen confirm and settle what thou hast begun to do for me in a perfect love and stedfast obedience to all thy holy commands O God of all grace and might the root of our life and power and strength without whom all good desires and purposes wither and die withdraw not the sweet influences of thy holy Spirit from thy unworthy servant who intirely confides in thee and hath no hope but in thy infinite Mercies Remember not against me former iniquities let not my late back-sliding and return to folly cut me off from the communication of thy grace which is wont to press into those souls that open themselves to receive it and seriously thirst after it My soul thirsteth for thee O God that I may be more firmly united to thee and be made more exactly like thee in unchangeable righteousness purity and goodness Cherish and increase the most faint but sincere motions which thou seest in me towards a more compleat participation of thee And especially preserve in me a full confidence in thy Almighty Love as ready to accomplish the desires and indeavours of all those who yield up themselves unto it in hearty willingness to be governed by it That being born up by this strong hope in thee my helper and exceeding great reward no temptation may be able to prevail over me but I may walk stedfastly and evenly with thee in all conditions and circumstances of life Make me feel so much of the comfort of this faith and love and hope and obedience reviving me to a delightful sense of a blessed immortality that whatsoever allurements or discouragements I meet withal in this world they may only provoke me to give a greater proof of all these in a constant adherence to my duty and occasion the increase of my unspeakable joy and satisfaction And inlarge my heart thereby to such a measure of Christian piety that I may not only be innocent and harmless but forward also to do good and not only be contented with my portion but rejoyce in our Lord alway and rejoyce not only to do thy will but to suffer also for righteousness sake knowing that great shall be my reward in heaven Bless my indeavours to add to faith vertue and to vertue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience 2 Pet. 1.5,6,7,10,11 and to patience godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness charity That doing these things I may never fall But an entrance may be ministred to me abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Amen A short Prayer when any man's occasions call him to a place where he fears danger O Almighty God who art every where and more especially present to those souls that look up unto thee with an high esteem of thy favour and grace and with hearty desires to continue in thy love by patient continuance in well doing In this humble faith in thy Divine goodness and with a due fear and reverence of thy glorious Majesty I prostrate my soul and body before thee to put my self into thy most gracious protection and to beg the powerful assistance of thy holy Spirit to preserve me wheresoever I am in a dutiful observance of all thy holy commands I am sensible O Lord that we live in a world of temptations and that our nature is weak and ready to yield to them and that our affections are apt to wander after vanity and that sudden passions oftentimes transport us from our duty But I know withal that a sense of thy all-seeing eye and of the life to come and of the rewards and punishments which thou wilt render according to our works will certainly overawe all sinful motions in me and break the force of the strongest temptations that assault me And therefore the greater the danger is the more earnestly I sue unto thee to be possessed with a piercing sense and lively remembrance of these things which may abide with me alway and especially this day in every place and company into which I shall come O that I may not be so forgetful
and I will praise thy name for ever and ever for those exceeding great and precious promises which thou hast given us to support and comfort us in all the troubles of this life Increase my faith strengthen and confirm my hope lift up my spirit continually to that blessed place where Jesus is that I may rejoyce in hope of that immortal life when all tears shall be wiped from our eyes and there shall be no sighing nor sorrow any more but we * This clause to be used only in the loss of Friends or Relations who are now parted asunder shall meet together to acknowledge with eternal praises thy wise and merciful providence which by ways most contrary to our desires hath brought us to endless and undisturbed bliss Thou knowest O Lord the weakness and frailty of our nature and therefore vouchsafe me the constant assistance of thy good Spirit for which I depend upon thee to inable me to continue in this humble quiet and dutiful submission to thee waiting for that peaceable and joyful repose in the eternal rest which thou hast prepared for thy people through thy mercies in Christ Jesus By whom all glory honour love and obedience be rendred to thee by me and all mankind both now and for ever Amen A Prayer which a pious soul may use that is full of doubts and much troubled in mind O Lord 2 Cor. 1.3 the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort I acknowledge and adore thy eternal Power Wisdom and Goodness I render thee my most hearty thanks for all the benefits thou hast freely bestowed on me from my first coming into the world until this time Many O Lord my God are thy wonderful works which thou hast done and thy thoughts which are to us ward they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee Psal 40.5 if I would declare and speak of them they are more than can be numbred Above all I bless thee for that great demonstration of thy love and good will to mankind by Christ Jesus whom thou hast sent into the world to save sinners and for bringing me to the clear knowledge of him faith in him and some love I hope towards him and unfeigned affection to thy holy will declared to us in his blessed Gospel O God thou hast taught me from my youth up and hitherto been marvailously gracious to me Hide not I beseech thee thy face now from me and put not thy servant away in displeasure Thou hast been my help leave me not neither forsake me O God of my salvation But for Jesus Christ his sake I humbly intreat thee to pardon and pass by all my neglects of thee and unthankfulness to thee and offences against thee And as I here sincerely devote and dedicate my whole self soul and body to thy service so help me O my God and further me in the performance of my duty by the grace of thy holy Spirit To thee all hearts are open and from thee no secrets are hid deal with me according to the earnest desire and full purpose of my soul to conform my self in all things to thy holy Will Settle in me an unmoveable faith in thy infinite Mercies a constant love and chearful affection to my duty and a readiness of heart to obey thee and to submit to thy wise appointments in every condition The whole earth is full of thy Mercy thou openest thy hand and satisfiest the desire of every living thing O refuse not the humble desires of my poor soul which gaspeth after thee even as the thirsty land Thou who givest to the Beasts their food and to the young Ravens when they cry O satisfie me early with thy Mercies that I may rejoyce and be glad all my days Compose my broken and disturbed thoughts quiet my troubled and disordered spirit and appease all the ragings and tumults there by a sweet sense of thy most tender mercies which have been ever of old and endure continually Banish from me all causless fears and jealousies deliver me from all unprofitable sadness and dejection of spirit keep me from rash judging of my self and much more from charging thee foolishly Bestow upon me a chearful spirit by an humble hope in thee and by referring my self wholly to thee Endue me with such wisdom and uprightness that I may neither neglect my duty nor suspect thy gracious acceptance of me Give me an hearty zeal to do the best that I am able and a setled perswasion that thou requirest no more of me Defend me O my gracious God from dishonouring thee and my Religion by distrusting thy goodness and calling thy loving kindness in question towards those that are sincerely bent to please thee Remove all troublesome imaginations from me and give me a clear understanding of thee and of my self Or when I am in darkness and confusion of thoughts grant me so much light and judgement as not to conclude my self forsaken by thee but to reflect upon thy long continued favours to me and many deliverances of me that so I may resolve still to hope in thee to bear my present trouble patiently and to resign my will absolutely to thy good pleasure And good Lord enable me to look beyond these clouds to that blessed state whither my Saviour is gone in which there is no darkness at all and in an humble hope of coming to the same place where he is to content my self with any condition whilst I am here so far remote from that Region of light and glory Hear me most loving and merciful Father I most humbly beseech thee Pitty my great dulness and deadness of heart Strengthen my weak and feeble endeavours Support my fainting spirit and cause it humbly to hope in thee for ever Confirm and establish every good thought desire and purpose which thou hast wrought in me Perfect that which thou hast begun Make me to grow in wisdom faith love and willing obedience Conduct me hereafter so evenly and steadily so peaceably and quietly so chearfully and securely in thy ways that I may glorifie thee whilst I live by incouraging others to accompany me in thy service And when I come to dye may resign my soul unto thee with an undisturbed mind and in an holy hope also of a joyful resurrection of the body at the great day of the Lord Jesus to whom be glory and dominion for ever Amen A Prayer to be said by others for one that is troubled in mind O God the only Hope the Refuge the Comfort and satisfaction of our souls Of whose Goodness and tender mercy all the world hath so many testimonies and we our selves have had such long experience that we are incouraged thereby though most unworthy to make this humble address to thy Divine Majesty Thou seest we know and pittiest the misery and torment of this afflicted spirit none of his * Or her sighs or groanings are hid from thee But to express also our charity and compassionate
it that at what distance soever we be one from another we may all live and walk in the same spirit of Faith and Love and Holiness Give us an happy meeting together again in this place if it be thy good will and pleasure to pay thee the vows which I make of greater care and diligence in thy service and greater charity towards all my neighbours Howsoever in the end of our pilgrimage bring us all together in that blessed rest which thou hast prepared for thy people after all their travels and labours through thy mercy in Christ Jesus To which I commend my self and all mine both now and ever Amen A short Prayer in ones Inne or at the end of the Iourney BLessed be thy goodness O Lord my Creator and continual Preserver by which I have been led it safety to this place and am not only alive but sound and unmaimed To thee O God will I sing and give praise who hast dealt so bountifully with me For thou hast delivered my soul from death Psal 116.1 7.8,9 mine eyes from tears Gen. 15.1 and my feet from falling 17.1 I love the Lord because he hath heard my voice and my supplications Because he hath inclined his ear unto me therefore will I call upon him as long as I live I will walk also with a perfect heart before the Lord who is my shield and my exceeding great reward Preserve in me I beseech thee a pious remembrance of all thy mercies and of all those holy resolutions which they excite in me Take me still into thy Almighty protection Continue me in thy fear and love and faithful obedience That having finished this journey in peace I may return to the place from whence I came full of thankful affections to thee and zealously disposed to perform my vows in a careful discharge of all the duties which my place and relations require of me And inable me good Lord ever to perform them with uprightness of heart and good will as becomes the servant of Christ Jesus To the same merciful providence which hath watched over me all this day I commend my self and all my relations and friends every where this night Beseeching thee to awaken in me in the morning the same love and thankfulness and humble confidence which I now find and desire ever to have in my heart towards thee my gracious Father Saviour and Deliverer To whom be glory honour and praise everlasting Amen A Prayer in case of any hurt from Thieves or otherwise O Most merciful Father for so I ought ever to acknowledge thee without whom one of the smallest creatures cannot fall to the ground and to whom we are of more value than many of them Matth. 10.29 I humbly and meekly submit my self to this cross in my way which thou in thy wisdom hast suffeâ—ed to befal me I know that thou â—rt able to make even this with all â—ther things work together for my â—ood And therefore I beseech thee â—ut graciously to pardon my sins which deserve greater punishment â—nd to preserve my soul still in safety â—…om all murmuring and repining at â—y providence by a stedfast faith â—nd trust in thee and an absolute reâ—gnation to thy holy will and pleaâ—ure and I shall not cease to â—less thee and to speak good of thy â—ame Help me to learn by this to live in constant sense of the uncertainty â—f all worldly hopes to set my affeâ—ions more perfectly on unchangeaâ—le enjoyments and to place my â—appiness only in chearful obedience â—nd contented patience in all estates â—nd conditions of life I remember â—…at we are all but pilgrims and stranâ—ers whilst we are here subject to many other changes and chances iâ— this mortal life And thereforâ— whatsoever I or those I have left aâ— home may further suffer before mâ— return Lord assist us all to take thaâ— patiently also And as we have received so many good things froâ— thee to receive likewise that whicâ— is evil giving thanks to thee thâ— Father of mercies who hast give us such a good hope of perfect secâ—rity peace and joy in our heaveâ—ly Country when we have doâ— and endured all thy pleasure 〈◊〉 the expectation of which blesseâ— state I will continually rejoyce praying thee to purifie me more aâ— more that I may be prepared fâ—… it and at last by thy mercy entâ— into it to give thee eternal praise Amen A Prayer to be said for a Friend in a Iourney O God whose Almighty Power and wise Providence and Omnipresent Goodness is the security support and comfort of all those that know thee It is the highest satisfaction of our souls to have a lively hope in thee of eternal life in the other world And to be perswaded that thou lovest us and wilt take care of us and bless us whilst we continue here and that nothing can befal us without the knowledge and consent of thy infinite goodness gives the most solid peace and repose unto our spirits in all the alterations and changes of this life I rejoyce in the belief that I live in a world which is full of thee that I am always under thy eye and have thee near unto me as to observe me so to help protect and defend me And I beseech thee fill the mind of him * Or her who is now gone from me with the same sense of thee that he may carry along with him every where this stedfast faith and hope in thee as the stay the rest and the refreshment of his soul How far soeveâ— he be from me O that he may be nigh to thee in frequent serious thoughts of thee and hearty love to thee and perfect trust in thee and a constant disposition of mind and will to do and be what thou pleasest That travelling under the shadow of the Almighty no harm may come to him but even those things which we account the greatest mischiefs if they shall betide him may be humbly accepted by us all with fear and reverence and chearful submission to thee as becomes those who profess our selves thy friends as well as thy servants No Thieves Murderers or other evil persons or things can approach him I know without thy leave who governest and over-rulest the motions of every creature at thy pleasure to which we ever ought â—o submit our own But if thou â—hinkest good to restore him hither â—gain untouched by any of them Lord help us to be so much the more thankful to thee who dealest with us according to our own hearts desire O that the sense of â—hy goodness then may so powerâ—ully affect our hearts that we may â—e moved thereby to a greater zeal â—nd freedom of spirit in thy service â—nd be the more forward to imitate â—hee in doing good and showing mercy to all men O that thy benefits may never slip out of our minds O that the mediâ—ation of them may be â—weet unto us Psal 104.34 and we may learn
will O Lord be done I commend both my body and my spirit into thy hands who art able to make the Sea give up her dead by thine Almighty Word Help me always to hold fast that hope of eternal life as an anchor of my soul both sure and stedfast Heb. 6.19,20 which may preserve me in unshaken comfort and joy at the hour of death it self And looking up to that quiet place whither Jesus our fore-runner is entred for us I may begin those Praises and Thanksgivings which I hope shall have no end but be continued for ever in the company of the blessed in the other world Unto which I beseech thee of thine infinite mercies to bring me through Christ Jesus who is made an high priest for ever Amen A Thanksgiving after it is finished and the party returned home again O Blessed Lord Thou art great and greatly to be praised for by thy word the heavens were made Psal 48.1 33.6,7 and all the host of them by the breath of thy mouth 135.6 107.24 c. Thou didst gather the waters of the Sea together as an heap and laidst them up in the store-houses of the deeps They are all at thy command and whatsoever thou pleasest that dost thou in heaven and in earth in the Seas and all deep places I have seen thy works O Lord and thy wonders in the deep For thou spakest the word and the stormy wind arose which lifted up the waves thereof And again when we cryed unto thee thou madest the storm a calm so that the waves thereof were still Blessed be thy Almighty Goodness which carried me safe through such great and dreadful dangers Blessed be thy goodness that the deep hath not swallowed me up and that I am not gone down into silence Blessed be thy goodness that neither my body nor my goods became a prey to unreasonable men but that thou broughtest me to the haven where I would be and hast now returned me home in safety O God that I may never forget the vows which I was forward to make when I was in trouble Preserve in me for ever an awful sense and apprehension of thy great power who bringest the wind out of thy treasuries Psal 135.7 89.9 and rulest the raging of the Sea Jer. 5.22 and stillest the noise of its waves Psal 120.11 Who would not fear thee O Lord who would not tremble at thy presence who hast placed the sand for the bound of the Sea by a perpetual decree that it cannot pass it and though the waves thereof toss themselves yet can they not prevail though they roar yet can they not pass over it O possess my heart with a greater reverence of thy divine Majesty that I may ever serve thee with fear and rejoyce before thee with trembling Especially make me fearful of offending thee who art so great and powerful and hast done such great things for me and canst do greater and wilt do them as thou hast promised by Christ Jesus Philip. 3.20 who hath power to subdue all things to himself Heb. 2.3 Blessed be thy infinite grace which hath wrought such a marvellous redemption for us by him How shall I escape if I neglect so great salvation How miserable shall I be if after all the dangers from which I have now been rescued I should for my ingratitude and disobedience be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone O God that all thy mercies and deliverances here may by a thankful remembrance and careful improvement of them only prepare me for that glorious deliverance at the day of the Lord Jesus And as by thy good providence thou hast saved me from the violence of storms and tempests and other hazards so by thy grace deliver me from the power and violence of all temptations and enable me stedfastly to persist in well doing and patient suffering unto the end Endue me with such a right sense of my Religion as may make it to be my delight that so I may be out of all danger of being prevailed withal to forsake that which is so sweet and pleasant to my soul O that it may be my guide in prosperity and my comfort in adversity the rule of my life and my great satisfaction in death Sanctifie every condition unto me that sickness or health poverty or riches honour or disgrace may prove real blessings to me and make me profit in piety and vertue And let a great sense of thee and of Religion intermix it self with all my employments Teach me so to behave my self that I may be acceptable in thy sight not only when I make such addresses as these unto thee But whether I eat or drink or whatsoever I do else I may abide in thy love and be approved by thee for a good and faithful servant All which I most humbly beg of thee and whatsoever thou seest good for me in the name of the Lord Jesus by whom and with whom in the unity of the holy Ghost all honour and glory be unto thee O Father Almighty world without end Amen A Prayer to be used by a woman with Child O God the Author of our being the Fountain of life and all other good who hast begun an excellent work in me which no eye but thine sees and no hand but thy Almighty power can finish I adore thy great and glorious Majesty in this and in all other thy works of wonder Thou dost great things without number but art more particularly to be acknowledged in the formation of mankind who are fearfully and wonderfully made after thy own image and likeness Be pleased O Lord in thy infinite goodness to perfect and compleat that which thou hast begun Preserve the smallest degree of life which thou hast inspired Bestow upon it intireness of all its parts and prepare a convenient habitation for an understanding spirit capable of the best wisdom and inclinable to vertue and goodness Prevent good Lord the miscarriage of my hopes and ripen them to a good issue And the nearer they come to their full growth strengthen the more my humble trust in thee and submission to thee and hearty desires to encrease the number of thy faithful people together with my own Family That ought to be the chiefest desire of my soul to be formed my self in all things according to the mind and will of thee my God that so I may be an instrument of doing good to others O thou who hast wrought many holy purposes and resolutions in my heart preserve and confirm them that they may not prove abortive but bring forth continually the fruit of good living Perfect me in Knowledge in Faith in Love and in Obedience Enable me so discreetly and carefully to discharge the duties of all the Relations wherein I at present or shall hereafter stand that I may be a comfort to them and a credit to Religion And howsoever thou disposest of me or them Lord make me well
me with such an hatred of idleness and sloth that I may always be busied about some good or innocent thing Especially dispose me to exercise my self in works of mercy and charity and to take all opportunites of doing good to the bodies or souls of my Neighbours Indue me with prudence and discretion in the choice of my company and friends and give me wisdom to improve their society to the best purposes Make my mind more heavenly and when any thoughts contrary to my inclinations and resolutions arise in me turn them immediately to thy self and my blessed Saviour Open my eyes to behold the things that are not seen And put out the splendor of all those things that dazzle our eyes here by the appearance of a brighter and more glorious good Which may raise my designs higher than this world and make all my passions and affections more equal and moderate my discourse more profitable my behaviour more humble modest and such as becometh Saints and all my actions more conformable to thy will and more exemplary to those whom I converse withal The very God of peace sanctifie me wholly 1 Thess 5.23 and preserve my whole spirit and soul and body blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ O that my love to any thing here may not turn into wantonness and folly nor my joy and chearfulness into lightness and vanity nor my seriousness or sorrow into melancholy and discontent nor my just anger into hatred and contention nor industry in my business into carefulness distrust and earthliness of mind nor my discretion and prudence into craft dissembling and deceit Dispose my heart that I may so mind heavenly things as to be very humble and lowly in my own eyes and be so humble and sensible of my own unworthiness and weakness as to make my addresses to thee continually with the greater earnestness for thy merciful help and supply Teach me so to pray and call upon thee as to labour and strive my self and so to labour and run that I may obtain Let faith in thy good providence and precious promises be my comfort and hope of thy glory make me rejoyce and a great love to thee make me unwearied and fill me with the consolations of the holy Ghost O that my Religion may become my Nature so that it may not be my burden or trouble and help me so to look upon it as my duty as withal to account it my honour priviledge and happiness O that I may never desire any thing but to be so pure as thou wouldst have me and to enjoy those rewards of holiness which thou canst and wilt bestow upon me This is the summe of my desires that whatsoever I do may please thee and whatsoever thou dost may be pleasing to me Lord hear me and answer me graciously And if I shall see any cause hereafter to change my condition preserve in me â—n unchangeable love to thee above â—ll things That still I may please â—hee and be acceptable in thy sight delighting my self in wisdom and â—eposing my self with her Wisd 8.16 â—or her conversation hath â—o bitterness and to live with her hath â—o sorrow but mirth and joy In which happiness the Lord vouchsafe â—o keep me whatever my condition â—e for Jesus his sake To whom with thee O Father and thy blessed â—pirit be everlasting praises Amen A Prayer when there are any thoughts of changing that condition and deliberations about Marriage O Lord my most gracious and merciful Father of whose tender care and good providence I have had so long and abundant experience that I should be extreamly ungrateful if I should not acknowledge thee and love thee and trust in thee and upon all occasions call upon thee and seek thy favour for ever There hath no day passed since I came into the world but it hath brought along with it many tokens of thy love which thou art still renewing in every moment of my life By thee I have been carried through all the dangers of infancy and child-hood unto this age of understanding and reason And thou hast blessed me many ways since that time especially with some remembrance and sense of thy self from whom I came and on whom I depend which I account the greatest benefit of all Blessed be thy goodness that I am not a perfect stranger to thee but that thou hast made me to know something of thee and of thy infinite goodness who alone art able to make me happy both here and eternally I hope in thee O my God that thou wilt never forsake me but be my guide even unto death Pardon I beseech thee all the sins and negligences of which I have been at any time guilty and let them not hinder the continuance of thy mercy and favour towards me on which all the comfort of my life depends Leave me not to my self and the weakness of my own counsels especially now in the greatest turn and change of my life but vouchsafe to direct my thoughts and all the motions of my heart aright to that which will be most profitable for me and conduce every way to my future comfort and satisfaction Lead me in the way wherein I shall go and guide me for thy names sake Indue me with such a serious considerate and discerning spirit that I may not follow the inticements of any fading and perishing good but cleave to that wich is unchangeable and never dies Favour thou hast taught me is deceitful Prov. 31.30 and beauty is vain but one that feareth the Lord shall be praised O possess my heart with an holy fear of thee that nothing may appear so amaible in mine eyes as true Religion Piety and Vertue Make me in love with the beauties of Wisdom for thou lovest none but him that dwelleth with wisdom Wisd 7.28 to be allied unto which is immortality 8.17,18 and great pleasure I know it is to have her friendship and with the beauties of sobriety meekness mercifulness humility and all those things which are the image of thy goodness That being inclined by these in my choice I may find a fit person to be the guide of my youth or an help meet for me the delight of mine eyes in whose society I may enjoy a constant relief ease and pleasure and be set forward thereby in the way to heaven Assist me I beseech thee in all my deliberations about this change that I may soberly weigh every thing which is offered to my thoughts And after all the dangers which by thy goodness I have escaped I may not be so unhappy now as to fall into the saddest of all by the strength of fancy by rashness and unadvisedness of mind or the violence and unruliness of any passion but may dispose of my affections to a person worthy of them Help me blessed Lord to make so wise a choice that I may never repent of it afterward Direct and govern likewise the minds and hearts
them and to be led by them which is sufficient to humble and lay us low in our own eyes With what dejection of spirit then ought I to mention all those offences whereby I or others have justified that first rebellion and still taken part with the Devil and his Angels against thee and the motions of thy holy Spirit in our hearts Thy mercy indeed is so much the more miraculous which hath bestowed such great benefits as I have acknowledged upon such vile such sinful such unthankful wretches and at the best such unprofitable creatures whose understandings are so shallow to comprehend and admire thy love whose affections are so heavy so listless and so unapt to lay it to heart and who when they have done all that they can have done no more than was their duty to do But the greater reason there is that I should be confounded at the remembrance of my disobedience to thee notwithstanding such unexpected as well as undeserved demonstrations of thy love and grace towards mankind It becomes me to bow my self lower than my knees before thee and to debase my self as much as I am able in thy presence since I am but sinful dust and ashes that deserves to be cast down even into the pit of destruction The very multitude of my offences is enough to amaze and perplex my thoughts the weight of them did I always feel it may well depress and sink my spirit into the greatest horror and affrightment but the baseness and ingratitude of them to so gracious a Father O how VI. I am not able to express O Lord the shame the consternation and the trouble of my spirit at the thought of that ingratitude I loath and abhor my self as unworthy to live and breath upon the face of the earth I am astonished at thy wonderful patience and long-suffering which not only endures such a wretch as I am but permits me to speak unto thee and to cry for mercy to that love which I have so much abused O that I were sensibly affected with something of thee That at least thy sparing and forbearing mercy did mightily move and everlastingly possess my heart with admiration of it That so I may with the more ingenuous sorrow and grief bewail mine offences against such tender bowels of compassion towards me Jer. 9.1 O that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears that I might weep bitterly for my unkind requitals of the infinite bounty of thee my Creator and of the inconceiveable love of my blessed Saviour and of the unwearied grace of thy holy Spirit which I hope I still feel working in my heart Fill me O God with the saddest remembrance of all my follies and possess my reason so much against them that I may have an utter hatred and detestation of them as the greatest offences to me as well as to thy divine Majesty It is easier I know to make large confessions than to be truly contrite and broken in heart and we are more inclin'd to sigh and groan under the sense of thy displeasure than to abhorr that which is evil and to cleave to that which is good Rom. 12.9 Be thou therefore pleased Psal 42.8 O Lord the Father of our spirits to wound my soul with a lively sense of the vileness of my behaviour towards thee Dan. 5.23 the God of my life in whose hand my breath is and whose are all my ways Estrange me from every thing that will not let me love thee with all my heart and soul and strength by whom it is that I have power to love any thing at all Set my heart in such a perfect enmity to all things contrary to thy blessed will that I may never be reconciled to them any more And dispose me to such an entire affection to all thy commands that none of them may be grievous to me but I may account thy yoke to be easie and thy burden to be light And then be merciful unto me good Lord according to thy loving kindness Psal 51.1 according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions 25.7 38.18 Be merciful unto me for Jesus his sake 32.5 who came into the world and dyed to save sinners 143.2 O remember not the sins of my youth 130.3,4 nor the transgressions of my riper years 86.5,6 25.11 according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness sake O Lord. For I confess mine iniquity and am sorry for my sin I acknowledge my sin unto thee and mine iniquity have I not hid Enter not therefore into judgement with thy servant for if thou Lord shouldest mark iniquities O Lord who shall stand But there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayst be feared Thou art good and ready to forgive and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee Give ear therefore unto my prayer and attend to the voice of my supplications And for thy name sake pardon mine iniquity for it is great VII Great are thy tender mercies O Lord who hast not yet cast me away from thy presence nor dealt with me after my sins nor rewarded me according to mine iniquities Adored be thine infinite goodness that I am so far from being cast into the place of weeping wailing and gnashing of teeth that I do not yet suffer here the pains and the anguish and misery which mine offences have deserved I might have been lamenting them in those doleful complaints of thy ancient servant saying thine arrows stick fast in me and thy hand presseth me sore There is no soundness in my flesh Psal 38.2.3.6 c. because of thine anger 88.16,18 neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin I am troubled I am bowed down greatly I go mourning all the day long For my loyns are filled with a loathsome disease and there is no soundness in my flesh I am feeble and sore broken I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart But thanks be to thy most long-suffering goodness thy fierce anger goeth not over me thy terror hath not cut me off Lovers and friends hast thou not put far from me nor mine acquaintance into darkness Yea thou declarest thy self willing to accept me again into friendship with thy self And hast in the most loving manner invited me to come unto thee and bid me hope for a pardon through thy mercy in Christ Jesus O how sweet are those gracious words Come unto me all ye that labour Matth. 11.26 and are heaven laden Heb. 8.10,12 and I will give you rest How precious are thy promises Act. 26.18 that thou wilt put thy laws into our mind and write them in our hearts And be merciful to our unrighteousness and remember our sins and iniquities no more Marvellous was thy mercy O Lord Jesus who sent thine Apostles to open mens eyes and to turn them from darkness to light and
promised far greater if we will but be truly grateful unto thee for what we have already received Thou sendest one blessing as the earnest of another having given thy Son to us that he might give us thy holy Spirit and given him to dye for us that he might give us life Thou grantest to us thy grace that we may repent and thou givest repentance that thou mayst give us pardon and thou pardonest our sins that we may be thy children and being thy children thou designest to make us thy heirs together with our blessed Saviour Thou givest us temporal blessings that we may thirst after spiritual and thou fillest us with spiritual blessings in Christ that we may long for the accomplishment of them in immortal life There is none can declare the goodness of the Lord. We best declare our sense of it when we thankfully receive it and become as good as thou wouldst have us and inablest us to be And how great how free is that goodness which is most of all pleased when we are happy and esteems our doing our selves good with thy grace and favour the return that we should make to thy bounty Thou dost us good before we ask and thou givest liberally unto us that thou mayst move us to ask more Thou intreatest us when we are unwilling thou beseechest us that we would let thee bless us and not put impediments in the way of our own happiness thou pittiest us when we have no compassion for our selves and art still careful of us when we trifle away the richest mercies V. O the exceeding riches of thy grace to the children of men who can number all thy mercies and who can understand the greatness of those of which we make mention It is easier to speak of them than to be affected with the multitude and surpassing value of them and we can sooner be affected with them than do any thing worthy such excellent love Our Praises and Thanksgivngs consist too much in words and transient admirations and sudden passions O that I had such a serious such a considerate heart as to return unto thee the constant uniform and chearful obedience of a godly life By which I know I shall not only most praise and glorifie thee but do the greatest benefit to my self And when I have done all that I can I will acknowledge my self an unprofitable servant that hath done no more than was his duty to do I will esteem all my goodness to be the fruit of thy great goodness to me And I will rejoyce in this that thou art formed in me and that I am made like unto the Son of thy love and that I have hopes through thy abundant and undeserved mercy to live with him in his heavenly Kingdom Which I beseech thee hasten to the eternal joy of all those that love his appearing Amen Amen Let thy kingdom come that I may see the good of thy chosen and glory with thine inheritance and we may all with united hearts and affections render our thanks unto thee and sing thy everlasting praises The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communication of the holy Ghost be with me and with all thy people every where both now and always Amen A Prayer in Lent or upon any publick Fast I. O Most glorious God who art from everlasting to everlasting blessed in thy self and who alone canst satisfie the hungry soul and fillest the humble with good things In a serious sense of my own emptiness and thy fulness of my great needs and thy bounty and readiness to bestow thy benefits I cast down my self before thee worshiping adoring thine incomprehensible perfections with a great fear of thy Almighty Majesty and an humble hope in thine infinite goodness and an hearty love to thy purity righteousness and intire submission to thy holy Will believing thy gracious promises desiring to be guided by thy wisdom depending on thy providence blessing and praising thee for thy unspeakable mercies to me and earnestly beseeching the continuance of them with a continued sense in my heart of thy abundant goodness to me and to all thy creatures and of those duties which I owe to thee and to all men II. I most sorrowfully bewail my carelesness O Lord that I have had so seldom or so short or so cold and little affecting thoughts of thee and that I have performed these acts of worship and adoration of fear and reverence of faith and love of submission and resignation of supplication and thanksgiving with so little intention and earnestness of mind with so little zeal and fervency of affection and with so little humility and prostration of spirit Nothing O my God is of so bitter remembrance to my thoughts nothing is such a load to my heart as that I have loved the world at any time more than thee and pursued with greater eagerness the possessions and pleasures and honours of a dying life than the glory and treasures of thy Kingdom the joy and happiness of eternal endurance It grieves me to think that I have at any time so coldly entertained the glad tydings of salvation so listlesly embraced the loving invitations of my dear Saviour so negligently improved the helps and assistances of the holy Spirit of Grace and so faintly sought I sorrowfully again acknowledge that glory honour and immortality which Christ hath brought to light by his Gospel How little have I been wounded with the dying and bleeding of thine only begotten Son for my sake How little concern'd sometimes in his passionate desires of the happiness of mankind How little melted with the ardent flames of his incomparable love How little moved or perswaded with his importunate intreaties How incompliant with his inspirations disobedient to his commands and insensible of his precious promises and fearful threatnings III. I have praised thee alas but seldom or slightly for so glorious an example as he hath left us of an holy life for the effects and fruits of his passion and intercession and for the power which he hath obtained at thy right hand And lother have I too often been to imitate his life and to imploy that power which he hath sent me from heaven to bring my heart to a conformity with his pattern How often have I received thy good creatures without such serious and hearty thanksgivings for them as they deserve and tasted their sweetness with little sense of thee or delight in thee who art the fountain of all bliss How sollicitous have I been to please men and obtain the good opinion and praise of others rather than to please thee and to do thy commandments the praise of which endureth for ever O the little envyings that have been in my heart at my Brethrens greater prosperity and my aptness to be angry and peevish to entertain suspicions easily to make wrong or unkind interpretations to aggravate offences and to keep too long a sense of injuries I hate my self