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
pains I may endure Lay no more upon me O Father of mercies than I shall be able to bear and lay upon me what thou pleasest Free me for the present from all murmuring and repining thoughts and for the future make the sickness and anguish of my body a blessed instrument to purge my spirit more perfectly from all pride and vanity from all covetousness and worldly-mindedness and from all inordinate love of any of the pleasures of this life I believe O blessed Jesus that thou livest for ever who sufferedst and dyedst for us and that thou hast a great compassion towards those who would gladly follow thee though it be through sufferings Behold Lord I commend my self to thy mighty Love desiring above all things to be made conformable to thee in meekness in humility in patience in intire resignation to Gods holy will and pleasure and in perfect satisfaction in his Fatherly love and kindness whatsoever my condition be I am sensible O God that I have not employed my time to the utmost advantage of my soul and to thy honour glory but have wasted many precious hours and several ways neglected my duty towards thee * Here reckon up the sins you may have committed and been but an unprofitable part of this world so that I am not worthy to continue any longer in it But I hope thou wilt vouchsafe me thy gracious pardon and receive me to mercy if thou callest me hence for into thy hands O Father I commend my spirit who hast redeemed me by the precious bloud of Jesus Christ And that if thou prolongest my days on earth I shall serve thee with greater diligence and strictness and zeal and chearfulness to the end of my life I desire not to live but that I may perfect holiness in thy fear and secure to my self by doing more good an happy entertainment into the society of the blessed in the other world I see already the emptiness and insufficiency of all enjoyments upon earth All flesh is grass and all the goodliness of it as the flower of the field The grass withereth Isa 40.7 the flower fadeth Psal 119.50,81 But thy word standeth fast for ever In thy word therefore O Lord and gracious promises is my hope This is my comfort in my affliction And my perfect contentment I see lyes always in thy love and favour alone which is better than life it self O settle me in a certain and unmoveable possession of it by what means thou pleasest Do but love me and preserve me in a lively sense of thy good will towards me and dispose of me as thou thinkest good In the multitude of my thoughts within me Psal 94.19 thy comforts shall delight my soul Rom. 5.2 8.28 I will rejoyce even in the midst of tribulations Psal 23.3 30.10 and glory in thy holy name who makest all things work together for good to them that love thee Though I walk through the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me thy power and tender care they shall comfort me Accept Good Lord of these my desires and resolutions Hear me O God and have mercy upon me Lord be thou my helper for Christ Jesus his sake my ever blessed Redeemer Amen IT will be seasonable here to put the Devout Reader in mind that when he is in distress and desires Mercy of God it ought to excite his charity to others that are in misery and dispose him to shew mercy to them For though that be not Canonical Scripture which we read Tob. 12.9 Alms doth deliver from death yet this is With the merciful God will shew himself merciful Psal 18.25 Blessed is he that considereth the poor the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble 41.1,2,3 If he do not preserve him and keep him alive yet the Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing he will make all his bed in his sickness Therefore as thou recommendest thy self to God and desirest others to pray with thee so remember that Prayer is good with fasting and alms and righteousness Tob. 12.8 A Prayer to be said by the Family with the Sick person O Lord the Father of our spirits who givest to us and all creatures life and breath and all things We sinful dust and ashes blush to lift up our eyes unto heaven when we consider our vast distance from thee and reflect upon thy unspotted holiness and our impurity thy infinite wisdom and our wretched folly thy power and our weakness thy Eternity of life and our short continuance We are but of yesterday and know nothing Job 8.9 because our days upon earth are a shadow Psal 39.11 When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity Job 25.6 thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth Surely every man is vanity But so great is thy condescending grace that thou hast assured us thou wilt not despise such worms as we are Nay thou hast incouraged us blessed be thy goodness to approach unto thee with some confidence that thou wilt mercifully receive us though we have highly offended thy Divine Majesty Having sent thy dear Son into the world to save sinners to purifie our natures to indue us with a divine understanding to strengthen our weakness and to comfort us with the hope of an immortal life Behold O Lord the oblation which we make to thee of most thankful hearts devoted to thy service whose love and tender mercies have so exceedingly abounded towards us We will praise thee and glorifie thee as long as we have any being for this great salvation which Christ Jesus hath brought to light by his resurrection from the dead to an eternal Kingdom in the heavens We are humbly bold to hope in thee that thou who hast not spared thy own Son Rom. 8.32 but delivered him up for us all wilt with him also freely give us all things O thou Father of mercies and God of all comfort who hast not thought a Crown of everlasting life and glory too much to promise us we believe that thou wilt not deny us what is needful and fit for us both for our souls and our bodies in our passage through this world to that honour glory and immortality In this confidence we more particularly recommend this thy sick servant to thy infinite and most compassionate mercy Settle in his * Or her soul a stedfast faith that thou dost not willingly grieve the children of men but intendest good to him by this affliction And now that other pleasures and enjoyments fail him represent thy self effectually unto him as his true happiness and satisfaction Wherein soever he hath neglected thee or committed any offence against thee make him deeply sensible of and heartily sorrwful for his folly And as he earnestly desires pardon and forgiveness of thee so work in him a serious resolution to live more circumspectly and exactly in time to come Assist him graciously
most high wisdom hath set us And we desire the comfort of those that mourn the ease of those who are in pain the health of the sick the release of poor prisoners and captives the quiet and satisfaction of those who are in trouble and anguish of mind and the true content of all men in whatsoever condition they are that we may be all continually giving thanks to thee the Father of mercies for the joy thou hast set before us and the hope we have by running our Christian race with patience to come to that blessed place into which Jesus our fore-runner is already entred for us By whom we continue to desire in his own words that thou mayst be glorified every where in our well doing saying as he hath taught us Our Father c. At Night O Lord the Almighty Creator and Governour of the world Psal 104.24 How great and manifold are thy works in wisdom hast thou made them all 74.16 The day is thine the night also is thine thou hast prepared the light and the Sun We thy creatures a small part of mankind prostrate our selves before thee this evening in the humblest adoration of thy divine Majesty praising thy incomprehensible perfections and rendring thee our thanks for all the benefits thou hast bestowed on the whole world especially on us whom thou hast called to the knowledge of thy grace in Christ Jesus It is a marvailous love wherewith thou hast loved us Thou hast not dealt so with all people and as for thy great and precious promises they have not known them We are bound therefore more particularly to offer up unto thee continually spiritual sacrifices by Christ Jesus and to laud and bless thy great and glorious Name in the behalf of our selves and the rest of mankind among whom thou hast left innumerable testimonies of thy careful providence in that Act. 14.17 thou dost them good and givest them rain from heaven and fruitful seasons filling their hearts with food and gladness We praise thee we bless thee we magnifie and extol thy wise and powerful goodness we thank thee for thy never ceasing bounty towards us especially that thou hast vouchsafed to send Jesus Christ to restore us by his appearing among us and his humbling himself to the death for us and his glorious Resurrection from the grave and Ascension on high to a blessed hope of thy mercy unto eternal life We can do no less than devote our selves souls and bodies eternally to thee returning what we have received from thee back again with the greatest love and most grateful acknowledgements Accept we pray thee O most gracious and merciful Father of this small oblation we make thee of our most hearty and unfeigned resolutions to worship and serve thee in the constant exercise of righteousness mercy meekness patience humility and purity with whatsoever is lovely and of good report And we humbly beg thy holy Spirit may constantly accompany us inabling us to think of these things to cleave unto them to delight in them and to persevere in a free and willing performance of all our duty towards thee and all men to our lives end And we most heartily desire the rest of mankind may at last be so happy as to come acquainted with the exceeding riches of thy grace in Christ O that Psal 67.2 thy way may be known upon earth and thy saving health among all nations Rom. 15.10.6 that all the Gentiles may rejoyce with thy people and we may with one mind and one mouth glorifie thee our God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ O that all Idolatry and ungodliness all cruelty and filthiness all rapine and violence may be abolished and rooted out of the earth and true piety righteousness holiness and brotherly kindness may flourish in the room thereof For which end we beseech thee indue all Kings and Princes especially those that are Christian with a great sense of thy Soveraign Authority over all that they may humbly obey thee as they desire others should obey them and govern all their people with great wisdom uprightness and a tender compassionate care of their welfare O that no covetousness ambition or revenge may rule in any hearts provoking them to war and bloudshed but there may be great peace in all Lands by observing the holy Laws of the Prince of peace Christ Jesus More particularly we recommend unto thy blessing these Kingdoms wherein we live beseeching thee to be merciful to our sins in giving us grace to repent of them and to bring forth fruits meet for repentance and amendment of life Bless our Soveraign and all that are imployed under him either in Spiritual or Civil affairs with all those graces which are necessary for the right discharge of their duties in such high places Prosper all their pious indeavours for the good either of mens souls or outward estates that true Religion and Vertue increasing and all ungodliness and vice being put to shame we may become a renowned Nation and a praise in the earth We commend to thee also O Father of mercies all those who are in a distressed and sorrowful condition most earnestly desiring their seasonable relief and comfort with their release from those troubles when thou pleasest And now that we are going to lay down our selves to sleep we put our selves and our habitations with all that belong unto us into thy most gracious protection hoping thou wilt take care of us when we cannot so much as think how to secure our selves from any danger that may approach us Thou hast been our helper keeper and defender therefore under the shadow of thy wings will we still rejoyce When we close our eyes let these holy thoughts of thee and affections towards thee still remain in us and possess our hearts that they may awake again with us in the morning and send up our souls in renewed love and thanks and praise to thy divine Majesty by our blessed Saviour and Redeemer Christ Jesus In whose words we continue to implore thy mercies towards us Our Father which art in heaven hallowed be thy Name Thy kingdom come Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil c. PRAYERS FOR FAMILIES SATVRDAY MORNING O Lord all thy works praise thee and declare the greatness of thy Majesty Power Wisdom and Bounty which surpass all understanding Thou art good unto all and thy tender mercies are over all thy works Thou art holy in all thy wayes and righteous in all thy doings and keepest truth for ever Thy Kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations We all decay and perish the heavens themselves wax old like a garment but thou art the same and thy years shall have no end We adore thee O Lord
art so great so glorious and dwellest in light not to be approached Adored be thy wonderful love who hast incouraged our approaches to thee by humbling thy self to look down upon us and by appearing graciously to us in our own flesh Blessing Honour Glory and Praise be eternally ascribed unto thee who didst not abhor us and utterly cast us out of thy sight when we had turned our backs upon thee but sent thy only begotten Son into the world to call us again unto thee yea to beseech us and oblige us by laying down his own life for us to return unto thee and live No thought can comprehend the unsearchable riches of thy Grace manifested unto us in the Lord Jesus who was pleased to be vilely intreated and shamefully used to suffer the reproach of the Cross and to shed his dearest bloud that we might not suffer the pain of eternal death but be restored to the dignity of thy children and advanced to honour glory and immortality together with him Thou hast found out a way to manifest thy most tender love to us without the least suspicion of approving and loving our sins and to preserve thy Soveraign Authority without destroying those who were in rebellion against it Thou hast ordered such a chastisement of our iniquities as might save and deliver us who deserved to be punished and so disposed the means of our redemption as to pardon and amend us both at once O the wisdom of thy Love which hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin 2 Cor. 5.21 that we might be made the righteousness of thee our God in him O the riches of thy Grace which hath abounded to us in all wisdom and prudence Healing us by his stripes 1 Pet. 2.24 and condemning sin in the flesh by his sacrifice for sin Rom. 8.3 and making him a curse for us Gal. 3.14 that we might inherit a blessing and receive the promise of the Spirit through faith in him I see O Lord how infinitely I am indebted to thee I behold the design of thy wise goodness in giving him for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity Tit. 2.14 and purifie us to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works I thank thee with all my soul for his bearing our sins in his own body on the tree 1 Pet. 2. that we being dead unto sin should live unto righteousness There is nothing I can more desire than by doing righteousness 1 Joh. 3. to become righteous even as he is righteous Assist me I beseech thee to attain this end of his death and passion by the power of that holy Spirit which he hath thereby purchased for us and hath likewise promised to us and is able to bless us withal I dread to think that his precious bloud should be lost and spilt in vain for me that so great a price should be cast away wherewith thou hast bought me to glorifie thee with my body and spirit which are thine O God preserve in me such a lively sense of his grief and sorrow of his pain and anguish that I may bitterly hate the cause of all his torments and look on every sin as the most fearful curse that can befal me Preserve in me a constant sense of the great value of my soul for which he paid so dearly and a great esteem of that purity righteousness and goodness for the restoring of which he made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was obedient to death even the death of the Cross And especially raise me to a great height of love and gratitude to thee and of hope and confidence in thy infinite mercies of which we have such strong assurance by his being delivered for our offences Rom. 4.25 and raised again for our justification Make me more and more in love with that lowliness of mind that tender and compassionate charity that meekness patience and forgiveness which shone in his sufferings And subdue my will so perfectly unto such an absolute quiet and ready submission to thy holy Will in every thing that my hope in thee may increase exceedingly and not only so but I may also joy in thee my God through our Lord Jesus Christ Rom. 5.11 by whom we have now received the atonement Hear Good Lord the prayers of the whole Church which thou hast purchased with thine own bloud O that every member thereof may serve thee purely and orderly in the rank and condition wherein thou hast placed them to their mutual benefit and comfort and to the conviction of those who are enemies or strangers to the Name of the Lord Jesus that they seeing our good works may glorifie thee our heavenly Father and acknowledge that thou art among us of a Truth Bless all the Ministers of Religion or Justice and endue them with a great love to the honour of our Saviour and with a great zeal to make his holy Laws understood and observed That as he gave himself for his Church Ephes 5.26,27 that he might sanctifie and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word and present it to himself a glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing So all that name the name of Christ may depart from all iniquity and indeavour to be holy and without blemish and be found of him in peace at the day of his appearing Now unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own bloud and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever Amen Rev. 1.5,6 A PRAYER ON ANY SAINTS DAY THou art to be praised O Lord of heaven and earth in all thy works of wonder which declare the astonishing greatness of thy Majesty Power Wisdom and Goodness throughout the world One generation praises thy works to another and declares thy mighty acts especially the manifold wisdom of thy incomprehensible love in the salvation of mankind by Christ Jesus who hath brought us the glad tidings of peace and reconciliation with thee and the promise of immortal life and glory if we will be obedient to thee An innumerable company of holy Souls have in all ages since most thankfully received and acknowledged this thy grace and tender mercy being obedient to the very death and leaving us an excellent example of pure love to thee and constant affection and hearty devotion and ardent zeal for the honour of our Lord and Master Christ Jesus I add my poor tribute of praise and thanksgiving to all that hath been rendred unto thee O God who in the beginning commandedst the light to shine out of darkness and hast now shone into the hearts of thy holy ones to give the light of thy divine knowledge in the face of Jesus Christ Thanks be to thy infinite goodness as for that glorious manifestation of thy self in our flesh and the eternal
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
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
unto her and her relations further favour Tob. 8.16 and finish their life in health with joy and mercy Renew her strength daily and as that increaseth so make her thankfulness and pious affections towards thee and serious resolutions to obey thee faithfully grow up together therewith Refresh her spirit while she lyeth on this bed of weakness with many heavenly thoughts and delightful meditations of all thy mercies towards her and towards mankind especially with a sense of thy wonderful love in Christ Jesus who was pleased to be born of a woman and to become like one of us that we might be assured of thy care over us in every condition and be made thy children and at last be heirs of everlasting life And when she hath recovered her former strength make her to feel this love still more powerful in her heart exciting her to serve thee carefully in all righteousness sobriety modesty devotion and readiness to assist others especially the poor and needy in the same distress wherein she hath been her self We commend likewise this little one which thou hast blessed her withal unto thy tender care and fatherly love beseeching thee that it may live to be dedicated unto thee and to be instructed in the knowledge of thee and to praise thee as we now do for bringing it into the world and for making it partakeâ—… likewise of thy grace in Christ Jesus Or if it shall seem good to thee to let either of them fall into any further danger enable her to endure iâ— with patient submission to thee trusting even in death it self in thy good providence and in thy precious promises who never failest those that faithfully seek thee Hear us O Father of mercies and pardon our offences pitty our infirmities make us more thankful for what we have received and more fit for thy future mercies either in this life or in the next through thy infinite love declared to us in Christ Jesus in whose holy words we conclude our prayers saying as he hath taught us Our Father c. A Thanksgiving to be used by the person her self when she is able UNto thee O God do I give thanks unto thee do I give thanks for that thou art near thy wondrous works declare Psal 75.1 In my distress I called upon thee and my cry came unto thee 18.6 34.4 I sought thee O Lord 138.3 and thou heardest me 30.3 and deliveredst me from all my fears 66.20 56.12 In the day when I cryed 104.33,34 thou answeredst me and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul Thou hast brought up my soul from the grave thou hast kept me alive that I should not go down to the pit Blessed be God which hath not turned away my prayer nor his mercy from me Blessed be God who hath preserved the fruit of my womb and made me the joyful mother of a child Thy vows are upon me O God I will render praise unto thee I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live I will sing praises unto my God while I have my being My meditation of him shall be sweet I will be glad in the Lord. Accept O most merciful Father of these thankful acknowledgements Psal 17.2 57.2 which go not forth out of fained lips And be pleased graciously to preserve such a lasting and fresh remembrance of thy great mercies in my heart that I may always be joyful in thee and speak good of thy name and trust in thee at all times and still cry unto thee O God most high who performest all things for me Make me studious likewise and forward to bring forth all the fruits of righteousness throughout the whole course oâ— my life which may witness the truth and sincerity of my thankfulness to thee O that I may never be less earnest and fervent in the return of obedience than I have been in desires and prayers to receive thy blessings Dispose me to have a kind and tender care of this infant which thou hast committed to my charge Make me willing to undergo to the utmost of my power the pains that accompany its education Let not the love of ease and pleasure breed in me an aversness to any duty to which both Nature and Religion incline me or give me grace by sober thoughts and a thankful remembrance of the late pain from which thou hast delivered me to overcome it Especially indue me with the greatest love to its precious and immortal soul And help me so to grow and encrease in Christian wisdom and goodness that I may be able to instruct it when it is capable in the fear of our Lord and by meek and gentle admonitions together with a good example in all things to win it to the love of true godliness Or if thou art pleased to take it from me who deserve not the least of thy mercies Lord so moderate my affections and bring them in subjection to thee that I may not undutifully repine at thy providence but in an humble adoration of thy unsearchable wisdom and a stedfast confidence of thy good will towards me resign it unto thee from whom I received it And I also beseech thy Divine goodness when thou shalt restore me to the publick assemblies of thy people again to give me grace to receive that mercy with exceeding joy Prepare my heart with enlarged affection to offer unto thee not only the sacrifice of praise giving thanks unto thy name but all other oblations which ought to accompany such addresses to thy glorious Majesty That they may be but an earnest of my future diligence and zeal in thy Divine Service and oâ— my readiness to do good and communicate unto others whereby I may lay up in store for my self a good foundation against the time to come 1 Tim. 6.19 that I may lay hold on eternal life through Christ Jesus Amen A Prayer for good success in some extraordinary business ALmighty and most merciful father the supreme Governour of the whole world who disposest and orderest all things in heaven and earth with admirable judgement and canst not possibly err in what thou doest nor fail of what thou designest I adore in the humblest reverence of my soul thy most glorious Majesty thy eternal Power Holiness Goodness and Truth which are all beyond my comprehension And more particularly I adore thy unspotted Justice and all-seeing Wisdom which penetrates into the deepest secrets and spies out all the ways of the sons of men and renders to every one of them according to their doings Jer. 10.23 I know O Lord that the way of man is not in himself Prov. 16.9 19.21 it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps Tob. 4.19 The success of all our counsels and actions depends on thy pleasure and when we have devised the way we intend to go thou givest it what issue seems good in thine eyes There are many devices in a mans heart
me with such an hatred of idleness and sloth that I may always be busied about some good or innocent thing Especially dispose me to exercise my self in works of mercy and charity and to take all opportunites of doing good to the bodies or souls of my Neighbours Indue me with prudence and discretion in the choice of my company and friends and give me wisdom to improve their society to the best purposes Make my mind more heavenly and when any thoughts contrary to my inclinations and resolutions arise in me turn them immediately to thy self and my blessed Saviour Open my eyes to behold the things that are not seen And put out the splendor of all those things that dazzle our eyes here by the appearance of a brighter and more glorious good Which may raise my designs higher than this world and make all my passions and affections more equal and moderate my discourse more profitable my behaviour more humble modest and such as becometh Saints and all my actions more conformable to thy will and more exemplary to those whom I converse withal The very God of peace sanctifie me wholly 1 Thess 5.23 and preserve my whole spirit and soul and body blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ O that my love to any thing here may not turn into wantonness and folly nor my joy and chearfulness into lightness and vanity nor my seriousness or sorrow into melancholy and discontent nor my just anger into hatred and contention nor industry in my business into carefulness distrust and earthliness of mind nor my discretion and prudence into craft dissembling and deceit Dispose my heart that I may so mind heavenly things as to be very humble and lowly in my own eyes and be so humble and sensible of my own unworthiness and weakness as to make my addresses to thee continually with the greater earnestness for thy merciful help and supply Teach me so to pray and call upon thee as to labour and strive my self and so to labour and run that I may obtain Let faith in thy good providence and precious promises be my comfort and hope of thy glory make me rejoyce and a great love to thee make me unwearied and fill me with the consolations of the holy Ghost O that my Religion may become my Nature so that it may not be my burden or trouble and help me so to look upon it as my duty as withal to account it my honour priviledge and happiness O that I may never desire any thing but to be so pure as thou wouldst have me and to enjoy those rewards of holiness which thou canst and wilt bestow upon me This is the summe of my desires that whatsoever I do may please thee and whatsoever thou dost may be pleasing to me Lord hear me and answer me graciously And if I shall see any cause hereafter to change my condition preserve in me â—n unchangeable love to thee above â—ll things That still I may please â—hee and be acceptable in thy sight delighting my self in wisdom and â—eposing my self with her Wisd 8.16 â—or her conversation hath â—o bitterness and to live with her hath â—o sorrow but mirth and joy In which happiness the Lord vouchsafe â—o keep me whatever my condition â—e for Jesus his sake To whom with thee O Father and thy blessed â—pirit be everlasting praises Amen A Prayer when there are any thoughts of changing that condition and deliberations about Marriage O Lord my most gracious and merciful Father of whose tender care and good providence I have had so long and abundant experience that I should be extreamly ungrateful if I should not acknowledge thee and love thee and trust in thee and upon all occasions call upon thee and seek thy favour for ever There hath no day passed since I came into the world but it hath brought along with it many tokens of thy love which thou art still renewing in every moment of my life By thee I have been carried through all the dangers of infancy and child-hood unto this age of understanding and reason And thou hast blessed me many ways since that time especially with some remembrance and sense of thy self from whom I came and on whom I depend which I account the greatest benefit of all Blessed be thy goodness that I am not a perfect stranger to thee but that thou hast made me to know something of thee and of thy infinite goodness who alone art able to make me happy both here and eternally I hope in thee O my God that thou wilt never forsake me but be my guide even unto death Pardon I beseech thee all the sins and negligences of which I have been at any time guilty and let them not hinder the continuance of thy mercy and favour towards me on which all the comfort of my life depends Leave me not to my self and the weakness of my own counsels especially now in the greatest turn and change of my life but vouchsafe to direct my thoughts and all the motions of my heart aright to that which will be most profitable for me and conduce every way to my future comfort and satisfaction Lead me in the way wherein I shall go and guide me for thy names sake Indue me with such a serious considerate and discerning spirit that I may not follow the inticements of any fading and perishing good but cleave to that wich is unchangeable and never dies Favour thou hast taught me is deceitful Prov. 31.30 and beauty is vain but one that feareth the Lord shall be praised O possess my heart with an holy fear of thee that nothing may appear so amaible in mine eyes as true Religion Piety and Vertue Make me in love with the beauties of Wisdom for thou lovest none but him that dwelleth with wisdom Wisd 7.28 to be allied unto which is immortality 8.17,18 and great pleasure I know it is to have her friendship and with the beauties of sobriety meekness mercifulness humility and all those things which are the image of thy goodness That being inclined by these in my choice I may find a fit person to be the guide of my youth or an help meet for me the delight of mine eyes in whose society I may enjoy a constant relief ease and pleasure and be set forward thereby in the way to heaven Assist me I beseech thee in all my deliberations about this change that I may soberly weigh every thing which is offered to my thoughts And after all the dangers which by thy goodness I have escaped I may not be so unhappy now as to fall into the saddest of all by the strength of fancy by rashness and unadvisedness of mind or the violence and unruliness of any passion but may dispose of my affections to a person worthy of them Help me blessed Lord to make so wise a choice that I may never repent of it afterward Direct and govern likewise the minds and hearts
them and to be led by them which is sufficient to humble and lay us low in our own eyes With what dejection of spirit then ought I to mention all those offences whereby I or others have justified that first rebellion and still taken part with the Devil and his Angels against thee and the motions of thy holy Spirit in our hearts Thy mercy indeed is so much the more miraculous which hath bestowed such great benefits as I have acknowledged upon such vile such sinful such unthankful wretches and at the best such unprofitable creatures whose understandings are so shallow to comprehend and admire thy love whose affections are so heavy so listless and so unapt to lay it to heart and who when they have done all that they can have done no more than was their duty to do But the greater reason there is that I should be confounded at the remembrance of my disobedience to thee notwithstanding such unexpected as well as undeserved demonstrations of thy love and grace towards mankind It becomes me to bow my self lower than my knees before thee and to debase my self as much as I am able in thy presence since I am but sinful dust and ashes that deserves to be cast down even into the pit of destruction The very multitude of my offences is enough to amaze and perplex my thoughts the weight of them did I always feel it may well depress and sink my spirit into the greatest horror and affrightment but the baseness and ingratitude of them to so gracious a Father O how VI. I am not able to express O Lord the shame the consternation and the trouble of my spirit at the thought of that ingratitude I loath and abhor my self as unworthy to live and breath upon the face of the earth I am astonished at thy wonderful patience and long-suffering which not only endures such a wretch as I am but permits me to speak unto thee and to cry for mercy to that love which I have so much abused O that I were sensibly affected with something of thee That at least thy sparing and forbearing mercy did mightily move and everlastingly possess my heart with admiration of it That so I may with the more ingenuous sorrow and grief bewail mine offences against such tender bowels of compassion towards me Jer. 9.1 O that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears that I might weep bitterly for my unkind requitals of the infinite bounty of thee my Creator and of the inconceiveable love of my blessed Saviour and of the unwearied grace of thy holy Spirit which I hope I still feel working in my heart Fill me O God with the saddest remembrance of all my follies and possess my reason so much against them that I may have an utter hatred and detestation of them as the greatest offences to me as well as to thy divine Majesty It is easier I know to make large confessions than to be truly contrite and broken in heart and we are more inclin'd to sigh and groan under the sense of thy displeasure than to abhorr that which is evil and to cleave to that which is good Rom. 12.9 Be thou therefore pleased Psal 42.8 O Lord the Father of our spirits to wound my soul with a lively sense of the vileness of my behaviour towards thee Dan. 5.23 the God of my life in whose hand my breath is and whose are all my ways Estrange me from every thing that will not let me love thee with all my heart and soul and strength by whom it is that I have power to love any thing at all Set my heart in such a perfect enmity to all things contrary to thy blessed will that I may never be reconciled to them any more And dispose me to such an entire affection to all thy commands that none of them may be grievous to me but I may account thy yoke to be easie and thy burden to be light And then be merciful unto me good Lord according to thy loving kindness Psal 51.1 according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions 25.7 38.18 Be merciful unto me for Jesus his sake 32.5 who came into the world and dyed to save sinners 143.2 O remember not the sins of my youth 130.3,4 nor the transgressions of my riper years 86.5,6 25.11 according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness sake O Lord. For I confess mine iniquity and am sorry for my sin I acknowledge my sin unto thee and mine iniquity have I not hid Enter not therefore into judgement with thy servant for if thou Lord shouldest mark iniquities O Lord who shall stand But there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayst be feared Thou art good and ready to forgive and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee Give ear therefore unto my prayer and attend to the voice of my supplications And for thy name sake pardon mine iniquity for it is great VII Great are thy tender mercies O Lord who hast not yet cast me away from thy presence nor dealt with me after my sins nor rewarded me according to mine iniquities Adored be thine infinite goodness that I am so far from being cast into the place of weeping wailing and gnashing of teeth that I do not yet suffer here the pains and the anguish and misery which mine offences have deserved I might have been lamenting them in those doleful complaints of thy ancient servant saying thine arrows stick fast in me and thy hand presseth me sore There is no soundness in my flesh Psal 38.2.3.6 c. because of thine anger 88.16,18 neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin I am troubled I am bowed down greatly I go mourning all the day long For my loyns are filled with a loathsome disease and there is no soundness in my flesh I am feeble and sore broken I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart But thanks be to thy most long-suffering goodness thy fierce anger goeth not over me thy terror hath not cut me off Lovers and friends hast thou not put far from me nor mine acquaintance into darkness Yea thou declarest thy self willing to accept me again into friendship with thy self And hast in the most loving manner invited me to come unto thee and bid me hope for a pardon through thy mercy in Christ Jesus O how sweet are those gracious words Come unto me all ye that labour Matth. 11.26 and are heaven laden Heb. 8.10,12 and I will give you rest How precious are thy promises Act. 26.18 that thou wilt put thy laws into our mind and write them in our hearts And be merciful to our unrighteousness and remember our sins and iniquities no more Marvellous was thy mercy O Lord Jesus who sent thine Apostles to open mens eyes and to turn them from darkness to light and
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