angels charge over me to keep me in all my ways 91.11 When he walks abroad and beholds all things round about him he may say as it is Psal 104.24 O Lord how manifold are thy works in wisdom hast thou made them all the earth is full of thy riches c. At Meals O taste and see that the Lord is good He filleth our hearts with food and gladness Psal 24.8 Act. 14.17 Blessed be the Lord who daily loadeth us with his benefits Psal 68.19 At Candle-light Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us Psal 4.6 Or God be merciful unto us and bless us and cause his face to shine upon us 67.1 When he goes to bed I will both lay me down in peace and sleep for thou Lord only makest me dwell in safety Psal 4.8 He that keepeth me doth not slumber The Lord is my keeper the Lord is my defence who neither slumbers nor sleeps Psal 121.4,5 In the Night season O happy souls that rest not day nor night saying Holy holy holy Lord God Almighty which was which is and is to come Rev. 4.8 O great God! the darkness hideth not from thee but the night shineth as the day the darkness and the light are both alike to thee Psal 139.12 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips when I remember thee upon my bed and meditate on thee in the night watches Because thou hast been my help therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoyce Psal 63.5,6,7 On a sick-bed or in other affliction It is the Lord let him do what seemeth him good 1 Sam. 3.18 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord Lam. 3.26 Blessed be the Lord for my long continued health and all his other benefits Let the remembrance of thy former mercies refresh my soul and incourage my hope and strengthen my patience with quiet resignation of my self to thy good pleasure At the point of Death I have waited for thy salvation O Lord Gen. 49.18 Into thy hand O Father I commend my self who breathedst into me the breath of Life Lord Jesus receive my spirit which thou hast redeemed by thy precious bloud and sanctified by the holy Ghost When he hears a Passing-bell Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity Psal 39.5 O teach me so to number my days that I may apply my heart unto wisdom 90.12 In a time of Plague O Lord correct us but with judgement not in thine anger lest thou bring us to nothing Jer. 10.24 In a time of War O Lord arise help us and deliver us for thy names sake From our enemies defend us O Christ Graciously look upon our affliction King Asa cryed unto God in this manner when he was going to give battle to a million of enemies Lord it is nothing with thee to help whether with many or with them that have no power Help us O Lord our God for we rest on thee and in thy name go against this multitude 2 Chron. 14.11 In any other publick Calamity Spare thy people O Lord and give not thy heritage to reproach Joel 2.17 A great Offender may often say with the Prodigal Father I have sinned against thee and am no more worthy to be called thy son And with the Publican God be merciful to me a sinner After any mercy received What shall I render unto the Lord for all the benefits that he hath done unto me Psal 116.12 Every day will I give thanks unto thee and praise thy name for ever and ever 145.1 I shall mention no more because I would not invite the Reader to make this sort of Prayer too common For by that means it will be in danger to grow cold and lose its force and efficacie by growing fashionable To that purpose I remember a devout Prelate of our own Bishop Hall somewhere delivers his judgement about this matter But if any one find that he can with profit turn his thoughts this way upon all occasions he may easily invent more Ejaculations The measure of them is as that forenamed person speaks to preserve our hearts in a constant tender and godly disposition which shall be further actuated upon all opportunites by the exercise of our more inlarged and fixed devotions A Prayer for Submission to God in case of any great loss in a mans Estate Relations or Friends O Most Holy holy holy the Supreme Lord and Governour of the world who are unsearchable in thy Wisdom unspotâ—ed in thy Justice and irresistable in â—hy Power whose goodness hath no â—ounds but what thy wise and holy Will gives unto it and art immuâ—able in these and all other perfections the great God most blessed for ever It is most reasonable and agreeable to our nature most profitable and convenient to our interest most satisfactory and suitable to our wisest choice by an absolute and â—uiet submission in all things to thy â—overaign Wisdom Justice and Goodness to declare our fear and reverence of thee our unfeigned love to thee and desires to please thee our trust and confidence in thee and ready disposition to obey thee Thou art too great I know to delight in grieving us thy poor creatures and hast other ways of procuring thy own pleasure than by our misery pain and torment And therefore in a full perswasion of thy unerring providence over us and infinite Charity towards us I here most humbly and freely resign all my thoughts and desires unto thee submitting my self intirely to thy Orders and resolving by thy gracious assistance to rest contented with whatsoever thou appointest The Lord gave Job 1.21 and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the Name of the Lord. Blessed bâ— thy name who hast continued to me so long the enjoyment of so many good things Blessed be thy nameâ— that I had any thing to part withal whereby I may testifie my faith in thee and affection to thee Blessed be thy name that I have any of the comforts of this life still remaining and that they are not all taken away from me I have nothing too great or too dear to be resigned to thee from whose bounty I received all I have and who art my best and my eternal friend O that no repining thoughts may arise in my heart to disorder and discompose my duty towards thee or towards my neighbour But help me rather to think wherein I have offended thee and carefully to amend it to place my affections more stedfastly on those unmoveable things which are above to lay up my treasure and hope in heaven and to prepare my self by perfecting my purity and thankfulness and paâ—ience and all other vertues to be translated thither where our life is â—id in thee with Christ Jesus I â—hank thee O Father of Mercies that thou hast given us such everlasting consolation through thy Grace in him Every day will I bless thee
deliver us from evil c. PRAYERS For particular PERSONS A Prayer for the Morning to be said by any Person alone O Most holy blessed and glorious Majesty of heaven and earth Who art before all things because they all received their being from thee and who art of thy self infinite in all perfections Before thee who art so great and incomprehensible I most humbly prostrate my self this Morning rejoycing in this happy liberty which thou vouchsafest me of retiring my thoughts a little from this world to look up unto thee the Father of my being I adore and praise thy eternal Power Wisdom and Goodness I heartily acknowledge the duty which I owe thee both as I am thy creature and as I am a Christian I bewail all my neglects of it my backwardness unto it or coldness in it I intreat thy gracious pardon and ingage my self for the time to come more heartily and firmly to thy obedience beseeching the grace of thy holy Spirit to inable me to perform all those ingagements which are upon me And blessed be thy Fatherly goodness which hath so often prevented me with that grace I owe to it all the good thoughts and inclinations that are in my heart all those motions that I feel in my soul towards thee as my chiefest good with all the effects and fruits of them in my life and actions which incourage me to hope in thee for the constant help of it to further me in well doing unto the end O thou who hast sent thy Son from heaven to dwell among us who hast not spared his life but given him up for us all who hast raised him from the dead and made him heir of all things who hast given him all power in heaven and earth that he may bless us and do us good deny not the desires of a soul that offers up it self intirely in sincere affection to thy service But assist me so mightily from above that I may make thee my constant acknowledgements likewise for the sensible fruits of his Life Death Resurrection and Exaltation produced in my heart growing more and more in all Wisdom Righteousness Purity Humility Goodness and every other divine Vertue For which end preserve me alway in such a serious temper of mind that the sense of my duty to thee may make me always ready and forward to it and the sense of my weakness may make me watchful and diligent and the sense of my former negligence make me fervent in spirit and the goodness of thy commands may render me more fruitful and abundant in the work of our Lord and the great danger I have escaped and the blessedness before me may make me persevere most patiently in all well doing with joy and thankfulness So that I may be like to Christ Jesus my gracious Lord and Master and do him honour here in this world and walk worthy of the great priviledges he hath bestowed on me and make grateful returns for all the vast receipts I have had from thy most bounteous mercy O that all my acknowledgements and pious affections may be turned into actions of holiness and piety and all my actions may be spirited with zeal and all my zeal be regulated with prudence and my prudence be void of all guile and joyned with perfect integrity of heart that adorning my most holy faith and profession by a religious upright charitable and discreet conversation whilst I am here I may receive approbation and praise at the day of the Lord Jesus and be numbered among thy Saints in glory everlasting This O Lord is the sum of all my desires Dispose me by every thing that befals me for eternal life and it sufficeth I wholly leave my concerns in this life to the wisdom of thy goodness that thou mayst order what thou judgest to be fittest for me I trust thee with my self and all I have hoping thou wilt preserve me from all things hurtful and lead me to all things profitable for my salvation The like I wish to all the world that unbelievers may be translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of thy dear Son and they who are called by the name of Christ may depart from all iniquity Inspire all Kings and Princes of the earth with great wisdom and charity and make them like to thee the Lord of all who art good unto all and pleased in mercy Indue all our Pastors and Guides with true knowledge piety and zeal and give me and all Christian people grace to receive their instructions with a meek humble and obedient heart Thou knowest the sorrows troubles and perplexities of all afflicted persons for whom I implore thy compassionate relief Support them with a lively faith and hope in thy precious promises dispose them thereby to a more strict observance of thy holy Commands and convert their present sufferings into endless joys when they have brought forth the peaceable fruit of righteousness And whilst thou art pleased to continue to me that ease plenty and prosperity which I enjoy fill me with such a sense of thy undeserved goodness that I may be the more ready to do good to those who are in misery and by a sober and moderate use of thy blessings be prepared to endure patiently whatsoever change thou shalt be pleased to order for me into a worse condition Preserve me all this day in innocence and in love to thee and to all men And since in all my ways I acknowledge thee do thou direct my paths and teach me to guide my affairs with discretion Prov. 3.6 Psal 112.5 Thou art my hope and my confidence my satisfaction and my peace my glory and my joy therefore never leave me not forsake me but conduct me safely by thy counsel through all the businesses and enjoyments through all the temptations and troubles of this life to that blessed place where our Lord Jesus liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the same spirit world without end Amen Our Father c. A Prayer for the Evening O Lord the Creator of the world and the Redeemer of mankind Who knowest all things and canst do what thou pleasest and wilt do that which is best for thy children and hast done us a world of good already and promised to do more for us if we be obedient than we can ask or think and hast given us the greatest assurance of the truth of those promises by thy Son Jesus who dyed for us and whom thou hast raised from the dead and given him the promise of the holy Ghost which he hath poured forth abundantly to shed abroad thy love in our hearts I fall down before thee in the lowliest manner to express my fear and reverence of thy Almighty Power my admiration of and submission to thy unsearchable wisdom my hearty love and thankful acknowledgement of thy wondrous goodness my trust and confidence in thy faithful Promises with my readiness and sincere purposes to perform all obedience
concernment for him we are bold to recommend him to thy favour as a great object of the bowels of thy mercy which are in Christ Jesus We ought indeed above all things to admire thy most wise goodness which hath set forth him to be a propitiation Rom. 3.25 through faith in his bloud and invited even the greatest sinners to return unto thee and live Blessed eternally blessed be thy great and glorious grace which hath sent us such glad tidings of peace and reconciliation and assured hope that if we obediently believe thy holy Gospel thou wilt be merciful to our sins and remember our iniquities no more Heb. 8.12 O Father of mercies who openest the eyes of the blind Psal 146.8 and raisest them that are bowed down open the eyes of this thy servant that he may see thy marvailous love revealed in Christ Jesus Touch his spirit with such a powerful sense of it that he may both heartily and absolutely consent to be governed by thy Laws and likewise be revived with a comfortable belief of the truth of all thy precious promises Free him from all confusion of thoughts and bestow on him a clear and distinct apprehension of all things belonging to his peace And as thou hast wrought in him a fear of thy Divine Majesty and many holy desires after thee and perswaded him we hope to be willing in all things to live godlily So possess him with an humble belief that thou wilt always inable him to do accordingly and never fail to strengthen him against all the power of the enemy till he hath got the victory and triumphs in hope of thy salvation Raise up his spirit most mighty Lord by the power of a most strong faith in thine Omnipotent Goodness which delights to cherish the least gaspings and pantings in us after true righteousness Bear him up by this above all the clouds wherein he is incompassed into a clear heaven of light and joy Quiet and appease all his tumultuous passions that he may silently listen to thy voice in thy holy Gospel saying Come unto me all ye that labour Matth. 11.28 and are heavy laden and I wilâ— give you rest Thou who searchesâ— the hearts knowest that he unfeignedly submits himself to the yoke oâ— thy Laws It is the present grieâ— and affliction of his soul that he is noâ— more perfectly subject to it O refresh him with the belief that thoâ— art more desirous than he that therâ— should be a perfect reconciliation oâ— his very nature and disposition tâ— thee and that therefore thou wilt nâ— deny him the assistance of thy mightâ— grace to help him to fulfil thy whole good will and pleasure O that he may take courage from this hope to begin to do thy will and continuing in well doing and growing more and more in strength and power to perform his duty he may be delivered from all slavish fears and jealousies and distrust of thy divine goodness Especially keep him from despair of thy mercy as the greatest dishonour to thee and to thy abundant grace in the Lord Jesus O thou who didst invite even those great sinners who by wicked hands took and crucified thy dear Son Act. 2.23,38 to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins Lift up this dejected soul to an humble confidence in thee that thou wilt not deny him the same mercy And as thou hast sworn that thou hast no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that he should turn from his evil way and live so be pleased blessed God to make him sensibly feel his soul is turning to thee since he can find no comfort and satisfaction but only in thy love and favour which he esteems better than life it self And that he may obtain thy pardon help him from his heart to forgive every one that hath trespassed against him Matth. 18.35 And if he have taken any thing from any man wrongfully Luk. 19.8 grant him grace to restore it to him 11.41 To give alms likewise of such thing as he hath Dan. 4.27 Job 33.26 and to break off his sins by righteousness his iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor that thou who art rich in mercy mayst be favourable unto him and he may see thy face with joy Hear us good Lord and give every one of us grace to walk exactly and to keep pure consciences void of offence towards thee and towards all men that so we may live and die in peace looking for thy mercy in Christ Jesus unto eternal life Amen Another for a person in the same condition O Lord the Father of spirits the Lover of our souls who â—rt pleased best in our love and hearty affection to thee and wouldst have us delight our selves in the â—houghts of thee and rejoyce conâ—inually in thy holy name Give us â—eave to render our humble thanks â—o thy divine Majesty for this knowâ—edge which thou hast given us of â—hy blessed Nature and in imitation â—f it to recommend with most ferâ—ent charity this desolate and afâ—…icted soul to thy tender Mercies â—…e is filled with trembling thoughts â—…d frightful apprehensions of thee â—he dread and terror of thy displeasure hath overwhelmed his spirit He is troubled Psal 38.6 and bowed down greatly he goeth mourning all the day long O that thou wouldst be pleased so to represent thy self unto him that he may be possessed with the same sense which thou hast wrought in our minds that thou art Love and desirest to be loved and chearfully served by all that worship thee Thou hast graciously wrought in him already a sense of his duty towards thee Great sorrow overflowes his soul for his neglects of thee and offences against thee And out of this depth he sighs and groans and crys unto thee with earnest desires and purposes to live more holily for the time to come Awaken his mind good Lord to very sensible and thankful reflections upon this grace which thou hast begun to show him Bless all the pious counsels instructions which thou likewise vouchsafesâ— unto him to the encouraging of his hope in thee that thou who hast begun a good work in him wilt perfect it even until the day of Jesus Christ Philip. 1.6 Remember him that as thy Majesty is Ecclus 2.18 so is thy mercy and that thy power delights to show it self in doing good unto thy creatures especially to the humble the thankful and the willing persons who are ready to submit themselves to thy blessed Will O that this divine faith may banish all those fears that drive him from thee and that he may rather fear lest he should offend thy Divine Majesty by not confiding in those promises of mercy which thou hast made in thy holy Gospel to all returning sinners O that all his thoughts and care hereafter may only be to make his purpose of pleasing thee in all things serious hearty and unfeigned believing that thou wilt
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
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
contented and in every condition to give thanks unto thee and rejoyce in thy holy Name and in the hope of eternal life through Christ Jesus my most blessed Lord and Saviour Amen A Prayer when the time of heâ— Travel draweth near O God the helper and delâ—verer of all those that trust iâ— thee by whose power I was formed in my Mothers Womb by whoâ— care I was brought from thence anâ— by whose merciful kindness I havâ— been preserved in many dangers since I praise and magnifie thy great and glorious Name and am encouraged by the remembrance of thy mercies which have been ever of old to implore thy compassionate help in the approaching time of my need pain and danger Thou art present to all thy creatures and hearest the cryes of the beasts of the earth which all wait upon thee O be not far from me when trouble is near but hearken unto me and save me when I call upon thee Shorten my pains or lengthen my patience which thou pleasest Bear up my spirit in submission to thy will and in some humble hope that I shall forget my anguish for joy that a man is born into the world Joh. 16.21 Psal 138.8 22.4,5 Forsake not the work of thy own hand but in due time perfect it and bring forth that which thou hast wrought in secret into the light that we may all see the wonders of thy wisdom and praise thy goodness and thy power My parents trusted in thee they trusted and thou didst deliver them They cryed unto thee and were delivered they cryed unto thee and were not confounded In thee likewise do I humbly put my trust and confidence which nothing disheartens but my own great unworthiness by reason of my forgetfulness of thy benefits and unthankful returns for former mercies bestowed upon me But thou hast taken care that this should not discourage me neither by proclaiming a gracious pardon by him that was born of woman and dyed for us unto contrite and reforming sinners Accept I beseech thee of my sincere resolutions to preserve hereafter a more affectionate remembrance of thy love to me and to dedicate my self and all I have to thy service 1 Tim. 2.15 in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety Or if thou art pleased oâ—herwise to dispose of me I resign â—y self heartily unto thee Lord â—eceive me to a better life where all â—ghing and sorrow shall be done away and eternal joy intirely posâ—ess our hearts Amen for Christ Jeâ—us his sake Amen 〈◊〉 Prayer to the same purpose to be said by her Relations O Most mighty Lord who hast already given us innumerable â—ledges of thy love and many arâ—uments to trust in thee for ever â—nd to expect with quiet and patient â—inds the issue of thy wise and good â—rovidence Thou hast respect to all â—e works of thy hands especially 〈◊〉 the sons of men and to those aâ—ove the rest who seek thy favour â—d give thee the glory of all thy â—ercies and are resolved to devote â—emselves and their children and all they have to do thee honour in the world We most humbly commend thy servant drawing near the time of her Travel to thy care and blessing beseeching thee to give her a gracious deliverance and to ease her of the burden wherewith she labours We our selves are monuments oâ— that mercy which we beg of thee Thou broughtest us into this world and didst unloose the bands wherewith we were swadled in our mothers womb We have had long experience also of thy readiness to succour us and to do us good eveâ— since many times beyond our desires and hopes and always beyond our deservings We dare not buâ— commit our selves and every thing belonging unto us most heartily into thy hands remembring that thou hast the same power and goodnesâ— still by which we came into thâ— light of the living and that thou still exercisest them as thy wisdom thinks most meet We cannot desire to be better provided for than as thy infinite understanding and counsel judges most convenient for us Unto that we refer our selves beseeching thee if it be thy good pleasure that her deliverance may be as speedy as her cryes unto thee or her patience as great and long as her pains Thou who ripenest the fruits of the earth and then givest us to gather them to our comfort blast not our humble hopes of the fruit of the womb But after thou hast brought it to maturity deliver it into our hands as a new pledge of thy goodness to us for which we will ever thankfully acknowledge and praise thy Name Or if thou hast otherwise determined Lord give us grace to submit to thy holy will and to rest satisfied in thy wise appointments and never to distrust thy goodness and care over us Yea help us still to bless thee and to speak good of thy Name saying The Lord gave and tâ—e Lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord from henceforth and for ever Amen A Thanksgiving to be used by those present after her safe Deliverance WE thank thee O Father Lord of heaven and earth for thy long continued goodness to us thy creatures who are unworthy of the least of thy favours In thee we live and move and have our being And it is only of thy mercy that we have not lived in perpetual pain and torment spending our days in sighs and lamentations but have enjoyed much health and ease and had innumerable occasions to praise thee and to rejoyce in thee who loadest us daily with thy benefits Blessed be thy Name O Lord who forgivest all our iniquities and healest all our diseases Who redeemest our life from destruction and crownest us with loving kindness and tender mercies More particularly we thank thee that thou hast heard the humble supplications of this thy servant to whom thou hast now granted a gracious deliverance and turned her sorrow and heaviness into joy and gladness We thank thee that thou hast sent her seasonable helpers and blessed their endeavours for the preservation of her and of the fruit of her womb And that thou likewise vouchsafest her all needful things for her refreshment in this weak condition wherein she lies waiting upon thee for the perfecting of thy mercies towards her Accept we beseech thee of our hearty acknowledgements of thy powerful and good providence over her and over any person here present in the like necessity which we now thankfully call to mind and desire may never be forgotten O that a lively remembrance of this and all other thy mercies may so mightily affect our hearts that we may be moved thereby to fear thee all our days and to love thee and to put our trust in thee and with quiet and resigned minds to cast all our burdens and cares on thee in a constant and chearful obedience to all thy holy commands And since thou hast begun to be so gracious to this thy hand-maid grant
instruction Prov. 5.12,13 and my heart despised reproof And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers nor inclined mine ear to them that admonished me How swift have my feet been to run into evil and how backward and averse have I been to any thing that is good O the injuries which I have done my Neighbours the abuse of my self and of thy good creatures The prophane contempt or neglect of thee and the duties of thy worship and service * Here let him reckon up the blasphemy debauchery and violence that he hath been guilty of The remembrance of all this is dreadful the burden of it is intolerable How shall I appear before thee at whose rebuke the Mountains quake since I cannot think of appearing before an earthly Judge without shame and affrightment of spirit O Lord work in me a greater dread of thee with a greater shame and confusion of face now that I am in thy presence For which end be pleased to represent unto me effectually the wickedness the baseness and vileness of all my evil doings as well as the guilt and just desert of them O that I could hate and abhorr them more than that death * Or punishment when the crime is less which I expect shortly to suffer for them Bestow on me that ingenuous and godly sorrow which worketh repentance and unfeigned purposes of amendment of life They come too late indeed I may justly think to find acceptance with thee and therefore not without fear and trembling and a great sense of my undeservings I look up unto thee acknowledging thy infinite goodness if thou wilt vouchsafe but the smallest hope of mercy Mercy mercy good Lord cast me not quite out of thy sight for Jesus Christs his sake who gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity It is the beginning of some mercy and an earnest I hope of more that thon hast made me sensible of mine offences and that thou hast wrought in me a resolution to forsake them and some love to a godly sober and righteous life Help me to manifest the sincerity and uprightness of my soul in these resolutions as much as I am able by giving thee hearty thanks that the hand of justice hath over-taken and laid hold upon me and put a stop to the further mischief which I might have committed and by making a free and open confession of my crimes and taking the shame which belongs to me before others and by acknowledging that I am unworthy to live and by earnest admonishments to all to be warned by my example and to cease betimes to do evil and learn to do well O God that I could glorifie thee a little in my latter end after this manner And till I come to receive my deserved punishment help me to spend my time in bewailing my sins in humbling my self before thee for them in setting my heart against them in studying and admiring with the greatest affection the holy life of the Lord Jesus in calling other offenders to repentance and exhorting them thereby to give thee glory Deny me not the grace I beseech thee to enable me thus to imploy my self that I may have some taste of thy mercy and the fear of death may be abated by some hope that when my soul shall be parted from the body thou O blessed Jesus wilt receive it though so unworthy into some of the heavenly mansions Amen Amen A Souldier's Prayer that fights for his Country O Most mighty Lord the Fountain of life and strength and courage whom all the host of heaven continually obeys I prostrate my self before thee in a religious sense that the fear of thy divine Majesty a pure conscience and a strong hope and confidence in thy Omnipotent goodness will give the most assured resolution valour and boldness to our spirits in all dangers Most humbly beseeching thee to purge my heart from the love of every thing that is offensive to thee to pardon all my former sins negligences and ignorances and to indue me with the grace of thy holy Spirit strictly to amend and reform my life according to thy holy Word Many temptations I am sensible will continually assault me in this state of life wherein I am ingaged But I as earnestly beseech thee to defend me from the power of them as I desire to be defended from death and to be covered by thee in the day of battle O that no covetous desires or greediness of spoil no ambition or vain-glory no hatred or malice may push me forward in any enterprize But give me the victory over these and all other vile affections and passions before I meet with any other enemy And graciously bless and prosper our arms for the defence of our Country and the preservation of our Religion Government Laws and Liberties And whilst we fight for the preservation of good Order Lord give us all grace to be examples of it our selves That abhorring all blasphemy and prophaneness all riot and lasciviousness Luk. 3.14 and doing violence to no man accusing no man falsly and being content with our wages we may adorn both our Cause and our Religion and whatsoever the issue be we may have peace in our own hearts and living or dying may be accepted with thee through Christ Jesus the Prince of peace To whom c. Amen A Prayer for the use of one that is Aged I Adore thee O Lord of life and glory who art from everlasting to everlasting and changest not beseeching thee to look graciously upon thy unworthy servant whose hope is only in thine infinite mercy by which my life hath been prolonged to old age and which is able to make me eternally blessed I thank thee for thy inconceiveable love in the Lord Jesus who hath given me such a solid and stedfast ground of hope to suppport and strengthen my heart when all the comforts of this life fail me and likewise praise and magnifie thy bounteous goodness for those innumerable blessings which time after time thou hast bestowed upon me from the beginning of my life till this present * Let them be reckoned up as particularly as you can O my God help me always to solace my self now that the days are come wherein I have no pleasure with a perpetual remembrance of all thy past loving kindnesses to me and with those hopes which I have of thy endless love in the other world And the more my outward senses decay vouchsafe me the quicker and more lively sense in my heart of those good things which thou hast laid up there for those that fear thee Preserve me from all discontented thoughts and peevish passions Make me an example unto others of Holiness discretion temperance gravity Tit. 2.2,3 peaceableness and patience Prov. 20.29 that so I may with the more authority be a teacher of good things Ecclus. 25.4 and my hoary head may be a crown of glory being found in the ways of righteousness
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
ceasing to do evil â—nd constantly doing well and we â—ay glorifie thee throughout our whole life in all our actions 1 Pet. 2.9 showâ—ng forth thy praises who â—ast called us out of darkness into thy marvailous light accordâ—ng to thy abundant mercy in Christ Jesus By whom thou hast given us a good hope in thee that thou wilt hear our prayers and do for us above all that we can ask or â—hink which we humbly beg in â—hose holy words which he hath â—aught us saying Our Father c. Another at Night O Most blessed for evermore the Father of Mercies and the God of all Comfort How precious are thy thoughts to us ward how great is the sum of them Thou renewest thy favours continually and art still pouring upon us innumerable benefits of which this is not the least that thou givest us leave to come into thy presence to call thee Father and to make known our requests to thee by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving We accept O Lord with all thankfulness this thy great grace and loving kindness to us and are here again prostrate before thee this evening to acknowledge thy goodness in making us such excellent creatures capable to know thee and acknowledge thee and love thee and by being made like thee to be eternally happy with thee Blessed be thy name that we are now alive and that we have lived so long in health and strength and peace and plenty of all good things whereas our eyes might have been consumed with grief our bones sore vexed and we might have mingled our drink with continual weeping We are bound unto thee for the free use of our understandâ—ngs for the good inclinations we find in our wills for any devout â—ffections which are stirring in our hearts for all the advantages we have had by our education good company and holy examples And more especially for the illuminations of the holy Ghost by thy blessed Gospel the breathings of it frequently into our spirits the importunities thou hast used to draw us to thee and the great and precious promises whereby thy love in Christ Jesus constrains us to resign our selves intirely to the obedience of thy Precepts We ought likewise to admire and praise thee for thy goodness to all thy creatures who live daily upon thy bounteous allowance Psal 145. The eyes of all wait on thee and thou givest them their food in due season Thou diffusest thy blessings in several streams to every one of them according to their needs 104.28 That thou givest them they gather thou openest thy hand they are filled with good We give thee the glory of the plentiful provision thou hast made for them and more particularly admire thy great liberality to the children of men under whose feet thou hast put in subjection all sheep and oxen yea and the beasts of the field the fowl of the air and the fish of the sea and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the waters O Lord we praise thee for thy goodness to those who praise thee not themselves Be thou adored and acknowledged in thy bounty which bestows so many blessings unasked and unsought and continues them notwithstanding abundance of provocations and most high offence that they have given to thy merciful kindness And let thy goodness to thy Church be never forgotten by us which thou hast in all ages protected and defended in a marvailous manner propagating the Gospel of our Saviour confounding its opposers and spreading it by the power of the holy Ghost over the face of the earth We thank thee for thy singular favour to these Countries wherein we live To whom these glad tydings of Salvation have reached and who have long enjoyed a more glorious light than many other places and been delivered from the darkness of Popish superstition and from sundry attemps that have heen made to bereave us of this happiness and are again settled after many confusions in a peaceable enjoyment of thy true Religion which thou hast also continued to us though we have not brought forth fruit worthy of the Gospel of thy Grace O that all thy undeserved goodness may have this effect upon us to make us heartily love thee and devoutly worship thee and zealously obey thee and steadfastly trust and hope in thee for ever That by a careful improvement of the knowledge of thee our God and our Lord Jesus Christ by whom thou hast given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness we may still enjoy this inestimable treasure and all thy love to us may at last be finished in those eternal joys which he hath promised to the faithful And as we have been taught exhorted and incouraged this day out of thy holy word and have likewise publickly acknowledged our obligations to thee and made profession of love and gratitude and dutifulness to thy Divine Majesty So help us all the week following openly to testifie the truth and honesty of our hearts in all this by a blameless conversation in all humility meekness temperance righteousness charity and peace with all them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart Bless our Soveraign the Defender of the Faith we profess and all imployed under him in their several offices that they may be instruments of continuing to us these holy opportunities with all other good things that may make these Kingdoms happy O that all our Friends may be thine and if we have any enemies Father forgive them Comfort and support the sick the needy and all other distressed persons with an immoveable belief of thy wise and good providence to which give them grace patiently and obediently to resign themselves And when all our senses this night shall be bound up with sleep be thou O Lord our keeper and after the refreshment of that repose and this holy rest from our labours raise us in the morning to return unto them with cheerful minds and ready wills praising still and magnifying thy multiplyed mercies to us in Christ Jesus by whom we present our selves and petitions to thee saying further as he hath taught us Our Father c. Another for the Afternoon or any other time of that day O Most Holy Glorious and Blessed Thy Name is excellent in all the earth and thou art for ever praised by all the host of heaven who are never weary of thy service We thy creatures sinful dust and ashes have many times professed it is our happiness to joyn with those heavenly inhabitants in admiring worshipping blessing and loving thee the great Lord of all with pure hearts in unity of spirit sincere friendship and brotherly accord one with another We have often spoken great things of thee and declared thy service to be the sweetest pleasure and one hour spent in holy meditations devout affections and cheerful thanksgivings to be far better than all the time we spend in other imployments How much then if we mean sincerely and according to our words should our
us especially those in the Lord Jesus in whom thy Grace hath so exceedingly abounded as to surpass not only our deserts but the largest of our desires Blessed blessed for ever blessed be thy fatherly goodness who hast sent him from heaven so unexpectedly to visit us vile wretches who dwell in houses of clay whose foundation is in the dust Lord what is man that thou art mindful of him or the son of man that thou didst thus visit him We thank thee according to our poor ability from the very bottom of our hearts for his manifestation in our flesh for the charitable testimonies he gave of his love to mankind in the course of his life for that astonishing grace in submitting himself to dye for us for his glorious Resurrection and Ascension to heaven for the Soveraign Power and Authority which thou hast given him at thy right hand for his compassionate intercession for us and the assurances we have received of his being the King of glory and of his continued kindness to us by the coming of the Holy Ghost We will never cease to bless thee for that great salvation Heb. 2.3,4 which was first preached by the Lord was confirmed by them that heard him and for the witness which thou barest to them both with signs and wonders and with divers miracles and gifts of the holy Ghost according to thy own will We rejoyce in the Light of thy holy Gospel that we see the way to be happy both by the Doctrine and example of thy Son Jesus that we have the incouragement of his precious promises and such good hope of remission of sin and eternal life in the day when he shall judge the world in righteousness O how much are we bound unto thee for that comfortable hope which thou hast given us of seeing our dear Saviour in all his glory and being there where he is and reigning with him for ever We again render thee our most hearty thanks for that everlasting consolation and good hope through grace which thou hast given us and for all those benefits likewise which thou art pleased to bestow upon us to make our stay here on earth the more convenient and delightful to us We are every way obliged to thee beyond all that we are able to express or conceive Thou feedest us and clothest us thou preservest our health and our strength thou hast delivered us from innumerable dangers and when thou hast chastised us it hath been in great mercy and clemency and not according to our deserving O that all the world would shew forth thy praise and devote themselves to the service of our Lord. Let all Kings of the earth submit themselves unto him and glory in the name of his obedient subjects High and low rich and poor let them praise the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore Accept most gracious God of these unfeigned desires of us thy servants who for our parts intirely dedicate our selves both souls and bodies unto thee Resolving in all things to walk worthy of thee who hast called us to thy Kingdom and Glory and blessed us also with many other good things which make this life to be a more easie passage to a better We will never forget how much we are indebted to thee but study to express our grateful remembrance of thy mercies by living Tit. 2.12,13 soberly righteously and godly in this present world looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ Favour we pray thee these holy purposes with the constant assistance of thy good spirit that we may be able to accomplish what we have begun and to perfect holiness in thy fear Help us to 2 Pet. 1.5,6,7,8 add to our faith vertue and to vertue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience and to patience godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness charity That these things being in us and abounding they may make us to be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ Preserve us this day especially that we swerve not presently from these pious resolutions But may give such a proof of their sincerity by our being steadfast and immoveable in all well doing notwithstanding any temptation to the contrary that we may have the better hope we shall persevere to the very end through thy continued grace in Christ Jesus in whose words we desire all that thou seest needful either for our souls or bodies saying Our Father c. At Night WE are here again prostrate before thee O Lord of heaven and earth to joyn our selves with all that holy company Revel 4.8,11 who rest not day and night saying Holy holy holy Lord God Almighty which was and is and is to come Thou art worthy O Lord to receive glory honour and power for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created Blessed be thy divine goodness which hath made the children of men but little lower than the Angels and crowned us with such glory and honour that we are capable to accompany that heavenly host in giving continual thanks and praise unto thee Praised be thy name that we are now alive and that we have the use of our reason and understanding and enjoy so many of the comforts and conveniences of this present life and have attained a good hope through Christ Jesus of being immortally happy O how great was thy love which sent him into the world to direct us in the way to that happiness by his holy doctrine and life and to be a propitiation for our sins by his death and to Act. 26.23 be the first that should rise from the dead and should shew light unto the world We rejoyce in that light of life We most chearfully devote our selves to be the faithful Disciples of him the Prince of peace the Lord of life and glory It is our happiness as well as our duty to be governed by him and obey his commands We are sensible that they are all equal just and good and that thou hast done us an infinite kindness in teaching us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this present world And therefore we here again most heartily surrender our wills to thine desiring that we may unchangeably cleave unto it with the greatest and most intire love and affection to all its commands O that there may abide for ever in us such a strong and powerful sense of thy mighty love towards us in Christ Jesus as may constrain us freely and willingly to please thee in the constant exercise of piety and devotion righteousness and mercy temperance and chastity meekness and patience truth and fidelity together with such an humble contented and peaceable spirit as may adorn the Religion of our Lord and Master O God that these holy desires and inclinations may
in the time of my sickness O that this world may ever appear unto me as it was then represented to my mind That I may never set my heart too much upon these perishing enjoyments and short satisfactions nor ever neglect thee whose favour and grace I then sought so earnestly as my chiefest good But remembring how little comfort I could find in any thing here what a joy it was to have any hope in thee the eternal God and how that in my best estate I am but altogether vanity I may most seriously apply my self to work out my salvation with fear and trembling and give all diligence to settle a stedfast hope in thee that never may be shaken Make me often to remember that my days are but like a shadow that declineth Psal 102.11,12,27 and that I wither like the grass But thou O Lord shalt endure for ever for thou art the same and thy years shall have no end That so I may neither seek my happiness in this dying life but in thy endless love and favour nor be slothful in business Rom. 12.11 but fervent in spirit serving the Lord. Blessed be thy goodness that I feel these holy thoughts and desires still remaining in me Excite me I humbly beseech thee continually to renew them that no day may pass without serious reflections upon thy patient and long-suffering kindness towards me upon the shortness oâ— this life the uncertainty of all earthly comforts and the happiness of having a good hope in thee by stedfast continuance in well doing And let these thoughts be so deeply imprinted in my heart that my affections may be weaned thereby from all things here below and set on things above where Christ is at thy right hand O that I may desire and covet those heavenly things for my portion more than I do to eat and drink or enjoy any other pleasure of this life Make me to rejoyce in them more than in a whole world of other comforts and to stand in greater fear of losing them than I do to dye or endure any misery Preserve in me good Lord such a sober and considerate disposition of mind that I may never be proud who am I see but dust and ashes nor confident of my own strength and power which is but weakness and vanity nor distrustful of thee who art so gracious and merciful as well as mighty to save Suffer me not to sink under any discouragements who have the everlasting arms under me the wisdom of heaven to direct and guide me and the infinite treasures of goodness to supply all my necessities And more particularly I beseech thee to give me grace by my late confinement weakness dulness want of appetite and rest to learn to value very highly the benefits of liberty strength and quickness of all my senses and to bless thee more than ever I have done for the constant refreshments of my food in the day and of undisturbed sleep in the night together with the rest of the pleasures of life to which thou hast restored me with my health Make me perfectly contented in any state and condition whilst I enjoy so great a blessing as that which comprehends so many others in it And when thou art pleased to take it again away from me O that I may be able to be contented then also in a remembrace of all thy past kindnesses to me and of a well-spent life and careful improvement of this renewed health and in hope of thy continued mercies to me in Christ Jesus even to eternal life To which I humbly beseech thee to bring me by an unchangeable love and obedience to thee in all the changes and alterations of this mortal life for his sake who loved me and gave himself for me To whom with thy self in the Unity of the same spirit be glory everlasting Amen A Thanksgiving to be said by the Family O Most holy great and glorious God the Almighty Creator â—f heaven and earth who upholdest â—ll things by the word of thy powâ—r and governest the whole world with admirable wisdom justice and mercy Thou deservest the highest acknowledgements of all thy creatures The Praises of Angels are not worthy of thee nor any of their thoughts equal to thy infinite Majestie What can we vile creatures then speak of thee or what thoughts shall we frame of thy perfections Especially of thy transcendent love which hath moved thee in much compassion to consider our weaknesses and help our infirmities Thou hast taught us by our Lord Jesus what we should think of thee having vouchsafed to dwell among us and make thy self visible unto us not only as the most Wise and Mightie but as the most Holy Righteous Gracious and Merciful Lord who designest the greatest blessings to us But now that we see thee we have the greatest reason to abhorr our selves in dust and ashes when we consider how unlike we are unto thee in those excellent qualities wherein thou hast made thy self known unto us and how unthankful we have been unto thy divine goodness which hath so strangely condescended unto us who are unworthy of the least regard from thee And yet such is thy tender mercy and pitty towards us that thou hast declared thy self willing to entertain even the greatest sinners into thy favour by making them better We our selves have received innumerable tokens of thy great clemency patience and forbearance And now â—ately thou hast been pleased to give us a new instance of thy loving kindness and of thy desire to win our hearts unto thee in rescuing one of as from going down into the grave and restoring him to health and strength again The living the living O Lord â—hall praise thee as we do â—his day Yea Isa 38.19 we will â—less thy name as long as â—e live Psal 104.33 and sing praises unto thee Psal 86.12,13 as long as we have any being We will praise thee O Lord our God with all our heart 118.14,15 and glorifie thy name for evermore For great is thy mercy towards us and thou hast delivered the soul of thy servant from the lowest hell The Lord is our strength and our song and is become our salvation The voice of joy and health is in our dwellings the right hand of the Lord bringeth mighty things to pass O that there were such an heart in every one of us as to studie seriously to know thee better to meditate continually on thy benefits both to our souls and bodies to love thee intirely and to indeavour to be like unto thee which is the design of thy goodness towards us Empty our hearts of all other things and make room for thy self to dwell there in wisdom righteousness and true holiness Dispose every one of us to follow Jesus Christ our Master in lowliness patience and charity and to be ordered by the governance of his holy Spirit Common Prayer-Book in the Commination seeking always his glory and serving
ever to be acknowledged * Mention all the particular mercies you can remember and then proceed still to admire his loving kindness in all those you took no notice of or have forgotten III. O my God with what awe and reverence ought I to make mention of thy name who dwellest in eternity whose throne is inestimable whose glory cannot be comprehended 2 Esd 8.20,21 before whom the hosts of angels stand with trembling With what humility of soul ought I to acknowledge thy Divine Grace that thou who art so great and highly exalted wilt humble thy self to take notice of such poor things as we are Thou art to be admired with our highest thoughts thou art to be loved with all our heart and soul and strength We ought to render thee most chearful service and confess that we never serve our selves more than when we even lose all thought of our selves and forget all things here in admiring loving praising and giving thanks to thee All that is within me ought to bless thy holy Name O how great ought my joy to be in thy love and in thy Salvation who art worthy to be praised with all pure and holy praise Tob. 8.16 Therefore let thy Saints praise thee 12.6 with all thy creatures And let all thine angels and thine elect praise thee for ever It is good to praise God and exalt his Name and with honour to shew forth all his works therefore be not slack to praise him Yea to thee O Lord I ought to resign my self with the greatest willingness of heart to trust and hope in thee at all times to excite all others to shew forth thy praise and to study to glorifie thee more and more not only by my words but with my body and soul in all the actions of a sober righteous and godly life I can desire no greater honour in this world than that I may live to the praise of the glory of thy grace in Christ Jesus walking worthy of thee who hast called me to thy Kingdom and Glory and behaving my self in all things as becomes one that hath received such pledges of thy love already and looks for thy mercy unto eternal life All thy Laws I know are just and good Thy ways are ways of pleasantness Prov. 3.17 and all thy paths are peace Psal 19.10,11 More to be desired are thy commandments than gold yea than much fine gold 119.165 sweeter also than hony 84.11,12 and the honey comb By them doth thy servant shine gloriously Ecclus. 4.12 and in keeping of them there is great reward He that loveth them loveth life he that holdeth them fast shall inherit glory and wheresoever they enter the Lord will bless Great peace have they that love thy Law and nothing shall offend them The Lord God is a sun and shield the Lord will give grace and glory no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly O Lord of host blessed is the man that trusteth in thee IV. But the more O Lord I speak in thy praise the more I am sensible I reproach my self who have not given thee that honour and glory that fear and love that hearty service and chearful obedience which is due unto thee so many ways I stand condemned out of my own mouth of most fearful ingratitude to thee from whom I have received so many and such inestimable benefits How seldom have I thought of them Or how little have they affected my heart How loth have I often been to dispose my self to commemorate the greatest love of my dearest Saviour And how soon am I weary even of the most delightful imployment of praising and blessing thee With whom I profess that I desire and hope to live for ever and praise thy Name O the vanity of my mind the looseness of my thoughts the inordinateness of my desires and unruliness of my passions the discontent of my spirit the unstedfastness of my resolutions the breach of my promises the coldness of my prayers and the dulness of my meditations the loss of my precious time and neglect of good opportunities my eagerness after these worldly enjoyments and feeble indeavours after heaven I am astonished to think that ever I should distrust thy providence who hast been so tenderly careful of me or be unthankful for thy benefits which are every moment poured forth so plentifully upon me or be uncharitable to my Neighbours when I stand in so great need of mercy my self and live continually upon thy bounty or abuse any of those blessings which thou canst so easily deprive me of or wholly spoil the comfort of them And yet alas how prone have I been to deceive my self with shadows of Religion and Devotion towards thee and to content my self with the praises of those divine perfections which I have not so zealously studied to imitate O how unlike am I to the humble the meek the pittiful and the patient Jesus Yea how insensible am I of his incomparable love which made him to lay down his life for me How many ways have I injured my Neighbours or neglected to do them good I am conscious to my self of sundry offences not only against the rules of righteousness and mercy but of sobriety and godliness * Here mention the particular acts of intemperance uncharitableness or any else you have been guilty of And thou to whom all things past are present who searchest the hearts and tryest the reins knowest a great deal more My secret sins are no more hid from thee than those which are most open and manifest And they are all the more grievous because a petty temptation hath too oft prevailed to make me neglect my duty towards thee O how shameful is it that a small gain or a momentany pleasure or the good word of men whose breath is in their nostrils should be preferred before that honour which I owe to thee and those infinite treasures of thy grace in Christ Jesus and that immortal life and glory which he hath promised to the faithfull And all this against the clear understanding which thou hast given me of thy will against many holy purposes resolutions and vows of absolute obedience to it in all things and against the tastes I have had how gracious thou art and how good it is to keep thy commandments V. I blush O Lord to lift up mine eyes towards heaven To me belongs nothing but shame and confusion of face in which I ought to lye down before thee if I reflected only upon the baseness and vileness of my descent being the off-spring of disloyal parents who were rebels and traytors against thy divine Majesty This is a just reproach and disgrace to the best of us We were tainted in our first Father who hath left a foul blot and stain upon our Nature and we feel that weakness in our reason that strength and violence in our passions and that forwardness in our wills to follow
they may spare the poor and needy and save and redeem their soul from deceit and violence and their bloud may be precious in their sight Bless these Kingdoms wherein we live and as thou hast long continued to us the knowledge of thy Truth so give us grace to bring forth fruit becoming the Gospel that thou mayst not cut us down as barren trees which cumber the ground Lord save the King and establish his Throne in righteousness that we may see many happy days under his government and be Psal 90.15 comforted now after the time that thou hast plagued us and for the years wherein we have suffered adversity Prosper the pious endeavours of all those that faithfully feed and instruct thy people and increase the number of them O that the seed which hath been sown this day may take deep root in all our hearts and bring forth fruit abundantly that being not Jam. 1.25,26 forgetful hearers but doers of the work we may be all blessed in our deed Help us in all the week following to Psal 141.3,4 set a watch before our mouth and to keep the door of our lips Preserve us that our heart incline not to any evil thing to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity but we may be always 1 Pet. 3.13 followers of that which is good 1 Thess 4.1 and as we have received how we ought to walk and please thee our God so we may abound more and more Protect us we beseech thee and all our friends every where this night Grant us quiet and undisturbed rest and sleep and awaken in the morning these good thoughts and desires again in our hearts Joh. 15.7 that the words of our Saviour may abide in us and we in him till we come to endless life together with him by whom we are incouraged thus to address our selves unto thee and to continue to pray as he hath taught us in his holy Gospel saying Our Father c. A shorter form of Prayer for the Lords day Morning O Most holy eternally Blessed Deut. 10.14 The heaven and the heaven of heavens is thine the earth also with all that therein is Thou art every where and canst not be excluded from any place but art present to the greatest secrets of our souls and seest the closest and most retired thoughts of our hearts Thou knowest very well with what designs and affections we now bow our selves before thee and canst not be deceived by any words that we are able to speak in thy praise whilst our hearts are far from thy fear and love Behold O Lord our hearts are full with desires to be possessed with a mighty reverend sense of thee and all the benefits thou hast bestowed on us and to be lifted up to heaven in love to thee and joy in thee whilst we bless and praise thee and speak good of thy Name We here remember with all humility and thankfulness that thou art our Creator And acknowledge thy care and providence over thy ancient people in blessing and sanctifying a day wherein thou thy self restedst from thy works that they might cease from all other imployments and admire thy wonderful works extol thy power bless thy goodness and be astonished at thy wisdom in making preserving adorning and governing this excellent frame of the world The heavens declare thy glory O God and the firmament sheweth thy handy-work The Sun the Moon and all the host of Heaven proclaim the greatness and splendor of thy Majesty The Psal 104.24 whole earth is full of thy rich goodness so is the great and wide sea wherein are things moving innumerable both small and great living creatures There is nothing but what speaks of thee and above all the children of men whom thou hast wonderfully made and curiously wrought and impressed with thine own Image that they might understand thee and love thee in all and above all things The variety the order the stedfastness of all thy works in this great world abundantly utter thy adorable perfections But thou O Lord by thy goodness in giving thy Son for us and then raising him up from the dead and setting him at thy right hand hast given us new matter of wonder and praise and consecrated a better rest and holy-day of rejoycing wherein we should behold the glories of another world and have before our eyes the happiness thou intendest for us there together with all the excellent means which lead unto it Thou givest us occasion not only to reflect upon all the good things thou hast provided for our bodies which we can never acknowledge enough the very health and ease of one day deserving the thankfulness of many but we must also remember that we are thy redeemed ones and that thou hast done great things for our souls in thy Son Jesus who is entred into the heavens for us and gone to prepare a resting place for all those that follow him This exceeding riches of thy grace infinitely surpasses all our acknowledgements since all the praises we are able to render thee are less than is due for thy temporal blessings To this love we â—owe the knowledge of thee the true and only God our freedom from Idolatry and a vain conversation the true principles of holy living the benefit of repentance the promise of a pardon the assistance of thy holy Spirit the ministry of thy Angels the hope of immortal life and the pledges our Lord hath left us of his endless love To this we owe thy forbearance in the days of our ignorance thy unwearied patience towards us in a continued rebellion and thy earnest intreaties of us when we were passionately bent upon our own destruction Thou hast sent us in much love many holy Instructors and guides to blessedness We have had the benefit of sundry pious Sermons good Examples wholesome admonitions and serious counsels of the power of the Holy Ghost and divers restraints of fear and shame and love and thou still pursuest us with thy merciful kindness and beseechest us to attend to thy call and receive thy blessings and make thee our choice and be eternally happy in thy Divine favour and likeness What shall we render to the Lord for all his benefits towards us O help us to manifest our real and unfeigned desires to make some worthy returns to thee by our careful improvement of the holy opportunity which thou this day puttest into our hands O that our minds may be more inlightned to understand the truth as it is in Jesus that our wills may be more steadfastly resolved to cleave unto it that our affections may be excited to a stronger and more ardent love to thee and to a greater delight in thee and all the powers of our souls disposed to serve thee at all other times more cheerfully and readily in all the Duties of Piety Soberness Righteousness and Mercy So that every day may become an holy rest to the Lord by
present contentment and satisfaction of it hath a great recompence of reward O preserve in my mind a constant remembrance how dearly I am bought by the precious bloud of thy Son Christ how early I was dedicated to thy service how often I have since found abundant cause to determine I would be thine how I have condemned my self for the breach of those holy purposes and what great satisfaction of mind I have had in the keeping of thy Commandments That so I may never wilfully offend against so many forcible reasons obliging me to my duty but be swayed by them notwithstanding all the temptations of the world the flesh or the devil to persevere in a resolved obedience to thee for ever And by the power of thy holy Spirit I beseech thee to make them clearer stronger and more effectual that I may have the same thoughts passions inclinations and purposes now which I shall be apt to have when I come to dye For which end help me often to place my self before thy Judgement Seat and to consider that I must give an account for all that I have received for thy holy Gospel for thy divine inspirations for the counsels and exhortations of thy Ministers for all the means and helps of growing better and for all the incouragements I have even from the good things of this life which thy bounty bestows upon me That by a careful preparation for such a reckoning I may be kept close and stedfast to my duty in hope of that exceeding glorious reward which our Lord will bestow upon all his faithful servants at the day of his appearing Amen Another to the same effect O Most great and glorious Majesty of heaven and earth who art of unspotted purity and in whom there is not the least shadow of change I know that all the resolutions of thy Wisdom are most just and equal and I cannot chuse when I am in my right mind to be guided by any thing else but thy holy Will who designest I see in all the revelations thou hast made of thy self to us to make us like to thy own most blessed Nature I do here own and acknowledge most heartily the righteousness and goodness of all thy Laws I admire the loveliness of thy Image in wisdom righteousness and true holiness I loath my own deformity whilst I am unlike to thee I implore thy renewing grace as the greatest blessing I can receive from thee and I bind my self to the faithful improvement of it as the weightiest imployment of my life I am abundantly satisfied in the declaration thou hast made of thy gracious purposes towards us I renounce all thoughts and desires that are contrary thereunto and resolve that holiness and eternal life shall be my design and study I expect no pardon O my God but in ways of sobriety righteousness and godliness I hope for a blessed immortality only by patient continuance in well doing I consent to every part of thy holy Gospel and add my testimony to the truth of its words that none of thy commandments are grievous but thy yoke is easie and thy burden light I hope O Lord by thy grace I shall never contradict my self by disowning in my practice these free and serious professions But that I shall every day so call to mind my own protestations and resolutions as to continue with an unwearied diligence in stedfast obedience to thy commands and to grow still stronger in the grace of the Lord Jesus O that every such address as this unto thy Divine Majesty may leave a greater sense of thee and of my duty and of my happiness and of my manifold obligations and repeated promises upon my heart That I may always go out of thy presence with my mind more towards heaven with lower thoughts of all the injoyments of this life with a greater relish of piety and holiness and more passionate desires to become every way such as thou canst approve and love and delight in for ever And assist me I humbly beseech thee so constantly from above that whatsoever good thoughts are at any time in my mind they may grow to fixed principles and all heavenly affections may become a new nature and the constant temper of my spirit and all my purposes and resolutions may advance into a serious practice and exercise of godliness and all the actions of an holy life may grow more free chearful vigorous and full of delight till they be compleated in everlasting bliss through Christ Jesus Amen A PRAYER After RELAPSE Into any SIN I Cast down my self before thee O most holy Lord of heaven and earth with an humble sorrowful and penitent heart adoring thy infinite grace which suffers such a vile and miserable sinner to approach into thy presence I am thine indeed dedicated long ago to thy service which I have since chosen as the most perfect freedom But so much the greater reason I have to be abashed before thee and to be astonished at thy forbearing mercy which prolongs the life of such an one as I am who have been so false to thee and to my own resolutions I remember in the bitterness of my soul how many obligations thou hast laid upon me to observe and obey thee how often I have acknowledged the justice and goodness of thy Precepts and how frequently I have promised and vowed to conform my self unto them and what great and precious promises thou hast made to me of invaluable blessings And yet wretch that I am I have been drawn aside from thy ways by easie and slight temptations and for a small and momentary pleasure or gain * Here mention the particular sin have ventured the loss of thy favour which is better than life it self O God that thou shouldst have patience with so perfidious so ungrateful so senseless a creature as I am That thou shouldst permit me to see the light of the Sun and hast not condemned me to utter darkness in weeping wailing and gnashing of teeth But that thou givest me leave to look towards heaven and that I have any heart to speak unto thee and still may call thee Father saying Father I have sinned against thee and am no more worthy to be called thy son O the riches O the unsearchable riches of thy grace I can never sufficiently admire thy exceeding great long-suffering towards me in Christ Jesus Nor sufficiently abhorr and loath my self for my foul revolt from thee who art so kind gracious especially if I should still continue to abuse such tender mercy and compassion towards me Tribulation and anguish indignation and wrath I acknowledge is the due portion of those that do evil and if thou shouldst abandon me and cast me out of thy sight I must confess that thou art righteous and that I reap but the fruit of my own ways and suffer the deserved punishment of my late iniquity But thou O God delightest in mercy and there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayst
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