loose to thy worldly cares and business But spend all that day either in meditating praying reading good conferences or the like so as may best keep up that holy flame that is enkindled in thy heart Afterwards when thy calling requires thee to fall to thy usual affairs do it but yet still remember that thou hast a greater business then that upon thy hands that is the performing of all those promises thou so lately madest to God and therefore whatever thy outward imployments are let thy heart be set on that keep all the particulars of thy resolution in memory and whenever thou art tempted to any of thy old sins then consider this is the thing thou so solemnly vowedst against and withal remember what a horrible guilt it will be if thou shouldst now wilfully do any thing contrary to that vow Yea and what a horrible mischief also it will be to thy self For at thy receiving God and thou entredst into Covenant into a league of friendship and kindness And as long as thou keepest in that friendship with God thou art safe all the malice of men or devils can do thee no harm For as the Apostle saith Rom. 8. 31. If God be for us who can be against us But if thou breakest this league as thou certainly dost if thou yield to any wilful sin then God and thou are enemies and if all the world then were for thee it could not avail thee 32. Nay thou wilt get an enemy with in thine own bosome thy conscience accusing and upbraiding thee and when God and thine own conscience are thus against thee thou canst not but be extremely miserable even in this life besides that fearful expectation of wrâ—â—h which awaits thee in the next Remember all this when thou art set upon by any temptation and then sure thou canst not but look upon that temptation as a cheat that comes to rob thee of thy Peace thy God thy very Soul And then surely it will appear as unfit to entertain it as thou wouldst think it to harbour one in thy house who thou knowest came to rob thee of what is dearest to thee 33. And let not any experience of Gods mercy in pardoning thee heretofore encourage thee again to provoke him for besides that it is the highest degree of wickedness and unthankfulness to make that goodness of his which should lead thee to repentance an encouragement in thy sin Besides this I say the oftner thou hast been pardonâ—d the less reason thou hast to expect it again because thy sin is so much the greater for having been committed against so much mercy If a King have several times pardoned an offender yet if he still return to commission of the same fault the King will at last be forced if he have any love to Justice to give him up to it Now so it is here God is as well just as merciful and his Justice will at last surely and heavily avenge the abuse of his Mercy and there cannot be a greater abuse of his mercy then to sin in hope of it so that it will prove a miÌ„serable deceiving of thy self thus to presume upon it 34. Now this care of making good thy vow must not abide with thee some few days onely and then be cast aside but it must continue with thee all thy days For if thou break thy vow it matters not whether sooner or later Nay perhaps the guilt may in some respects be more if it be late for if thou have for a good while gone on in the observance of it that shews the thing is possible to thee and so thy after breaches are not of insirmity because thou canst not avoid them but of perverseness because thou wilt not Besides the use of Christian-Walking must needs make it more easie to thee For indeed all the difficulty of it is but from the custome of the contrary And therefore if after some acquaintance with it when thou hast overcome somewhat of the hardness thou shalt then give it over it will be most inexcusable Therefore be careful all the days of thy life to keep such a Watch over thy self and so to avoid all occasions of temptations as may preserve thee from all Wilful breaches of this vow 35. But though the obligation of every such single vow reach to the utmost day of our lives yet are we often to renew it that is we are often to receive the holy Saecrament for that being the means of conveighing to us so great and unvaluable benefits and it being also a command of Christ That we should do this in remembrance of him we are in respect both of reason and duty to omit no fit opportunity of partaking of that holy Table I have now shewed you what that reverence is which we are to pay to God in his Sacrament PARTITION IV. HONOUR due to Gods Name Of Sinning against it Blasphemy Swearing Assertory Oaths Promissory Oaths Unlawful Oaths Of Perjury Of vain Oaths and the Sin of them c. § 1. THe last thing wherein we are to express our Reverence to him is the Honouring his Name Now what this Honouring of his Name is we shall best understand by considering what are the things by which it is dishonoured the avoiding of which will be our way of honouring it The first is all Blasphemies or speaking any evil thing of God the highest degree whereof is cursing him or if we do not speak it with our mouths yet if we do it in our hearts by thinking any unworâ—hy thing of Him it is lookt on by God who sees the heart as the vilest dishonour But there is also a blasphemy of the actions that is when men who profess to be the servants of God live so wickedly that they bring up an evil report on him whom they own as their Master and Lord. This Blasphemy the Apostle takes notice of Rom. 2. 24. Where he tells those who profess to be observers of the Law That by their wicked actions the Name of God was blasphemed among the Gentiles Those Gentiles were moved to think ill of God as the favourer of sin when they saw those who called themselves his servants commit it A second way of Dishonouring Gods Name is by swearing and that is of two sorts either by false Oathes or else by rash and light ones A false Oath may also be of two kinds as first that by which I affirm somewhat or secondly that by which I promise The first is when I say such or such a thing was done so or so and confirm this saying of mine with an Oath if then I know there be not perfect truth in what I say this is a flat perjury a downright being forsworn Nay if I swear to the truth of that whereof I am only doubtful though the thing should happen to be true yet it brings upon me the guilt of Perjury for I swear at a venture and
strangers as acquaintance but more particularly those to whom we have any especial Relation either publick as our Governours both in Church and State or private as Parents Husband Wife Children Friends c. We are also to pray for all that are in affliction and such particular persons as we discern especially to be so Yea we are to pray for those that have done us injury those that despightfully use us and persecute us for it is expresly the command of Christ Mat. 5 44. And that whereof he hath likewise given us the highest example in praying even for his very crucifiers Luk. 23. 34. Father forgive them For all these sorts of persons we are to pray and that for the very same good things we beg of God for our selves that God would give them in their several places and callings all spiritual and temporal blessings which he sees wanting to them and turn away from them all evil whether of sin or punishment 8. The fifth part of Prayer is Thanksgiving that is the Praising and Blessing God for all his mercies whether to our own persons and those that immediately relate to us or to the Church and Nation whereof we are members or yet more general to all mankind and this for all his mercies both spiritual and temporal In the Spiritual first for those wherein we are all in common concerned as the giving of his Son the sending of his Spirit and all those means he hath used to bring sinful men unto himself Then secondly for those mercies we have in our own particulars received such are the having been born within the pale of the Church and so brought up in Christian Religion by which we have been partakers of those precious advantages of the Word and Sacraments and so have had without any care or pains of ours the means of eternal life put into our hands But besides these there is none of us but have received other spiritual mercies from God 9. As first Gods patience and long-suffering waiting for our Repentance and not cutting us off in our sins Secondly his calls and invitations of us to that repentance not only outward in the ministry of the Word but also inward by the motions of his Spirit But then if thou be one that hath by the help of Gods grace been wrought upon by these calls and brought from a profane or worldly to a Christian course of life thou art surely in the highest degree tyed to magnifie and praise his goodness as having received from him the greatest of mercies 10. We are likewise to give thanks for Temporal blessings whether such as concern the publick as the prosperity of the Church or Nation and all remarkable deliverances afforded to either or else such as concern our particulars such are all the good things of this life which we enjoy as Health Friends Food Raiment and the like also for those minutely preservations whereby we are by Gods gracious providence kept from danger and the especial deliverances which God hath given us in time of greatest perils It will be impossible to set down the several mercies which every man receives from God because they differ in kind and degree between one man and another But it is sure that he which receives least hath yet enough to imploy his whole life in praises to God And it will be very fit for every man to consider the several passages of this life and the mercies he hath in each received and so to gather a kind of List or Catalogue of them at least the principal of them which he may alwayes have in his memory and often with a thankful heart repeat before God 11. These are the several parts of Prayer and all of them to be used both publickly and privately The publick use of them is first that in the Church where all meet to joyn in those prayers wherein they are in common concerned And this where the prayers are such as they ought to be we should be very constant at there being an especial blessing promised to the joynt requests of the faithful and he that without a necessary cause absents himself from such publick prayers cuts himself off from the Church which hath alwayes been thought so unhappy a thing that it is the greatest punishment the Governours of the Church can lay upon the worst offender and therefore it is a strange madness for men to inflict it upon themselves 12. A second sort of Publick Prayer is that in a Family where all that are members of it joyn in their common supplications and this also ought to be very carefully attended to first by the Master of the Family who is to look that there be such prayers it being as much his part thus to provide for the Souls of his Children and Servants as to provide food for their Bodies Therefore there is none even the meanest housholder but ought to take this care If either himself or any of his Family can read he may use some prayers out of some good book if it be the Service Book of the Church he makes a good choice if they cannot read it will then be necessary they should be taught without Book some form of prayer which they may use in the Family for which purpose again some of the Prayers of the Church will be very fit as being most easie for their memories by reason of their shortness and yet containing a great deal of matter But what choice soever they make of prayers let them be sure to have some and let no man that professes himself a Christian keep so heat henish a Family as not to see God be daily worshipped in it But when the Master of a Family hath done his duty in this providing it is the duty of every member of it to make use of that provision by being constant and diligent at those Family-Prayers 13. Private or secret Prayer is that which is used by a man alone apart from all others wherein we are to be more particular according to our particular needs then in publick it is fit to be And this of private Prayer is a duty which will not be excused by the performance of the other of publick They are both required and one must not be taken in exchange for the other And whoever is diligent in publick prayers and yet negligent in private it is much to be feared he rather seeks to approve himself to men then to God contrary to the command of our Saviour Mat. 6. who enjoynes this private prayer this praying to our Father in secret from whom alone we are to expect our reward and not from the vain praises of men 14. Now this duty of Prayer is to be often performed by none seldomer then Evening and Morning it being most necessary that we should thus begin and end all our works with God and that not only in respect of the duty we owe him but also in respect of
and intercession 6. Lead us not into Temptation but deliver c. O LORD we have no strength against those multitudes of temptations that dayly assault us only our eyes are upon thee O be thou pleased either to restrain them or assist us and in thy faithfulness suffer us not to be tempted above that we are able but in all our temptations make us a way to escape that we be not overcome by them but may when thou shalt call us to it resist even unto blood striving against sin that being faithful unto death thou mayest give us the crown of life For thine is the Kingdom the Power c. HEAR us graciously answer our petitions for thou art the great King over all the earth whose Power is infinite and art able to do for us above all that we can ask or think and to whom belongeth the Glory of all that good thou workest in us or for us Therefore blessing honour glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne to our God for ever and ever Amen Pious EJACULATIONS Taken out of the Book of PSALMS For PARDON of SIN HAVE mercy on me O God after thy great goodness according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences Wash me throughly from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin Turn thy face from my sins and put out all my misdeeds My misdeeds prevail against me O be thou merciful unto my sins Enter not into judgement with thy servant for in thy sight shall no man living be justified For thy names sake O Lord be merciful unto my sin for it is great Turn thee O Lord and deliver my soul O save me for thy mercies sake For GRACE TEACH me to do the thing that pleaseth thee for thou art my God Teach me thy way O Lord and I will walk in thy truth O knit my heart to thee that I may fear thy name Make me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me O let my heart be sound in thy statutes that I be not ashamed Incline my heart unto thy I estimonies and not to covetousness Turn away mine eyes lest they behold vanity and quicken thou me in thy way I am a stranger upon earth O hide not thy Commandments from me Lord teach me to number my days that I may apply my heart unto wisdom For the LIGHT of Gods COUNTENANCE LORD why abhorrest thou my soul and hidest thy face from me O hide not thou thy face from me nor cast thy servant away in displeasure Thy loving kindness is better then life it self Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me Comfort the Soul of thy servant for unto thee O Lord do I lift up my soul. THANKSGIVING I WILL always give thanks unto the Lord his praise shall ever be in my mouth Thou art my God and I will thank thee thou art my God and I will praise thee I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live I will praise my God whilest I have my being Praised be God which hath not cast out my prayer nor turned his mercy from me Blessed be the Lord God even the God of Israel which only doth wondrous things And blessed be the Name of his Majesty for ever and all the earth shall be filled with his Majesty Amen Amen For DELIVERANCE from TROUBLE BE merciful unto me O Lord be merciful unto me for my Soul trusteth in thee and under the shadow of thy wings shall be my refuge until these calamities be over-past Deliver me O Lord from mine enemies for I flie unto thee to hide me O keep my Soul and deliver me let me not be confounded for I have put my trust in thee Mine eyes are ever looking unto the Lord for he shall pluck my feet out of the net Turn thee unto me and have mercy upon me for I am desolate and in misery The sorrorws of my heart are enlarged O bring thou me out of my troubles For the CHURCH O BE favourable and gracious unto Sion build thou the walls of Jerusalem O God wherefore art thou absent from us so long Why is thy wrath so hot against the sheep of thy pasture O think upon thy Congregation whom thou hast purchased and Redeemed of old Look upon the Tribe of thine Inheritance and Mount Sion where thou hast dwelt It is time for thee Lord. to lay to thy hand for they have destroyed thy Law Arise O God and maintain thine own cause Deliver Israel O God out of all his troubles Brief Heads of Self-Examination especially before the Sacrament Collected out of the fore-going Treatise concerning the breaches of our Duty To GOD. FAITH NOT BELIEVING there is a God Not believing his Word Not believing it practically so as to live according to our belief HOPE Despairing of Gods mercy so as to neglect duty Presuming groundlesly on it whilst we go on in wilful sin LOVE Not Loving God for his own excellencies Not loving him for his goodness to us Not labouring to please him Not desiring to draw neer to him in his Ordinances Not longing to enjoy him in Heaven FEAR Not Fearing God so as to keep from offending him Fearing man above him by committing sin to shun some outward suffering TRUST Not trusting on God in dangers and disiresses Using unlawful means to bring us out of them Not depending on God for supply of our wants Immoderate care for outward things Neglecting to labour and expecting God should support us in our idleness Not looking up to God for a blessing on our honest endeavours HUMILITY Not having a high esteem of God Not submitting obediently to act his will Not patiently suffering it but murmuring at his corrections Not amending by them Not being thankful to him Not acknowledging his wisdome in choosing for us but having eager and impatient desires of our owe. HONOUR Not Honouring God by a reverend usage of the things that relate to him Behaving our selves irreverently in his house Robbing God by taking things that are consecrated to him Profaning Holy times the Lords Day and the Feasts and Fasts of the Church Neglecting to read the Holy Scriptures not marking when we do read Being careless to get knowledge of our duty chusing rather to continue ignorant then put our selves to the pains or shame of learning Placing Religion in hearing of Sermons without practising them Breaking our Vow made at Baptisme By resorting to Witches and Conjurers i. e. to the Devil By loving the pomps and vanities of the world and followlowing its sinful customes By fulfilling the lusts of the flesh Profaning the Lords Supper By comming to it ignorantly without examination contrition and purposes of new life By behaving our selves irreverently at it without devotion and spiritual affection By neglecting to keep the promises made at it Profaning Gods Name by blasphemous thoughts or discourse Giving others occasion to blaspheme him by our vile wicked lives Taking unlawful OATHS Perjury Swearing in
Flatâ—ering him in his faults Forsaking his friendship upon slight or no cause Making leagues in sin in stead of vertuous friendship SERVANTS Servants disobeying the lawful commands of their Masters Purloining their goods Carelesly wasting them Murmuring at their rebukes Idleness Eye service MASTERS Masters using servants tyrannically and cruelly Being too remiss and suffering them to neglect their duty Having no care of their souls Not providing them means of instruction in Religion Not admonishing them when they commit sins Not allowing them time and opportunity for prayer and the worship of God CHARITY Want of bowels and Charity to our neighbours Not heartily desiring their good spiritual or temporal Not loving and forgiving enemies Taking actual revenges upon them Falseness professing kindness and acting none Not labouring to do all the good we can to the soul of our neighbour Not assisting him to our power in his bodily distresses Not defending his good name when we know or believe him slandered Denying him any neighbourly office to preserve or advance his estate Not defending him from oppression when we have power Not relieving him in his poverty Not giving liberally or chearâ—ully GOING to LAW Not loving PEACE Going to Law upon slight occasions Bearing inward enmity to those we sue Not labouring to make peace among others The use of this Catalogue of sins is this Upon days of Humiliation especially before the Sacrament read them consideringly over and at every particular ask thine own heart Am I guilty of this â— And whatsoever by such Examination thou findest thy self faulty in Confess particularly and humbly to God with all the heightning circumstances which may any way increase their guilt and make serious Resolutions against every such Sin for the future after which thou â—â—ayest use this Form following O LORD I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee for my iniquities are increased over my head and my trespass is grown up even unto Heaven I have wrought all these great provocations and that in the most provoking manner they have not been only single but repeated acts of sin for O Lord of all this black Catalogue which I have now brought forth before thee how few are there which I have not often committed nay which are not become even habitual and customary to me And to this frequency I have added both a greediness and obstinacy in sinning turning into my course as the Horse rusheth into the battel doing evil with both hands earnestly yea hating to be reformed and casting thy words behinde me quenching thy Spirit within me which testified against me to turn me from my evil ways and frustrating all those outward means whether of judgement or mercy which thou hast used to draw me to thy self Nay O Lord even my repentances may be numbred amongst my greatest sins they have sometimes been feigned and hypocritical always so slâ—ght and ineffectual that they have brought forth no fruit in amendment of life but I have still returned with the dog to his vomit and the sow to the mire again and have added the breach of resolutions and vows to all my former guilts Thus O Lord I am become out of measure sinful and since I have thus chosen death I am most worthy to take part in it even in the second death the lake of fire and brimstone This this O Lord is in justice to be the poâ—tion of my cup to me belongs nothing but shame and confusion of face eternally But to thee O Lord God belongeth mercy and forgiveness though I have rebelled against thee O remember not my sins and offences but according to thy mercy think thou upon me O Lord for thy goodness Thou sentest thy Son to seek and to save that which was lost behold O Lord I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost O seek thy servant and bring me back to the Shepherd and Bishop of my Soul let thy Spirit work in me a hearty sense and detestation of all my abominations that true contrition of heart which thou hast promised not to despise And then be thou pleased to look on me to take away all iniquity and receive me graciously and for his sake who hath done nothing amiss be reconciled to me who have done nothing well wash away the guilt of my sins in his blood and subdue the power of them by his grace and grant O Lord that I may from this hour bid a final adieu to all ungodliness and worldly lusts that I may never once more cast a look toward Sodom or long after the flesh-pots of Egypt but consecrate my self intirely to thee to serve thee in Righteousness and true Holiness reckoning my self to be dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord and blessed Saviour This PENITENTIAL PSALM may also fitly be used PSALM 51. HAVE mercy upon me O God after thy great goodness according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences Wash me throughly from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin For I acknowledge my faults and my sin is ever before me Against thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight that thou mightest be justified in thy saying and clcer when thou art judged Behold I was shapen in wickedness and in sin hath my moâ—her conceived me But lo thou requirest truth in the inward parts and shalt make me to understand wisdom secretly Thou shalt purge me with Hysop and I shall be clean thou shalt wash me and I shall be whiter then snow Thou shalt make me hear of joy and gladness that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoycè Turn thy face from my sins and put out all my misdeeds Make me a clean heart O God and renew a right Spirit within me Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy holy Spirit from me O give me the comfort of thy help again and stablish me with thy free Spirit Then shall I teach thy ways unto the wicked and sinners shall be converted unto thee Deliver me from blood guiltinesâ— O God thou that art the God of my health and my tongue shall sing of thy righteousness Thou shalt open my lips O Lord and my mouth shall shew thy praise For thou desirest no sacrifice else would I give it thee but thou delightest not in burnt offering The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit a broken and contrite heart O God shalt thou not despise O be favourable and gracious unto Sion build thou the walls of Jerusalem Then shalt thou be pleased with the Sacrifice of righteousness with the burnt offerings and oblations then shall they offer young bullocks upon thine altar Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end Amen PRAYERS BEFORE the Receiving of the blessed SACRAMENT OMost merciful God who hast in thy great goodness prepared this spiritual feast for sick
the Apostle saith Rom. 1. 31. We do not only do the things but take pleasure in them that do them and therefore intice and draw as many as we can into the same sins with us Then it is risen to the highest step of wickedness and is to be look't on as the utmost degree both of sin and danger Thus you see how you are to examine your selves concerning your sins in each of which you are to consider how many of these heightning circumstances there have been that so you may aright measure the hainousness of them 7. Now the end of this Examination is to bring you to such a sight of your sins as may truly humble you make you sensible of your own danger that have provoked so great a Majesty who is able so sadly to revenge himself upon you And that will surely even to the most carnal heart appear a reasonable ground of sorrow But that is not all it must likewise bring you to a sense and abhorrence of your basenesse and ingratitude that have thus offended so good and graecious a God that have made such unworthy and unkind returnes to those tender and rich mercies of his And this consideration especially must melt your hearts into a deep sorrow and contrition the degree whereof must be in some measure answerable to the degree of your sinnes And the greater it is provided it be not such as shuts up the hope of Gods Mercy the more acceptable it is to God who hath promised not to despise a broken and contriâ—e heart Psalm 51. 17. And the more likely it will be also to bring us to amendment For if we have once felt what the smart of a wounded Spirit is wee shall have the lesse minde to venture upon sin again 8. For when wee are tempted with any of the short pleasures of sinne wee may then out of our owne experience set against them the sharp pains and terrors of an accusing conscience which will to any that hath felt them be able infinitely to outweigh them Endeavour therefore to bring your souls to this melting temper to this deep unfeigned sorrow and that not only for the danger you have brought upon your self for though that be a consideration which may ought to work sadnesse in us yet where that alone is the motive of our sorrow it is not that sorrow which will avail us for pardon and the reason of it is clear for that sorrow proceeds only from the love of our selves we are sorry because we are like to smart But the sorrow of a true penitent must be joyned also with the love of God and that will make us grieve for having offended him though there were no punishment to fall upon our selves The way then to stir up this sorrow in us is first to stir up our love of God by repeating to our selves the many gracious acts of his mercy towards us particularly that of his sparing us and not cutting us off in our sins Consider with thy self how many and how great provocations thou hast offered him perhaps in a continued course of many years wilful disobedience for which thou mightest with perfect justice have been ere this sent quick into hell Nay possibly thou hast before thee many examples of less sinners then thou art who have been suddenly snatcht away in the midst of their sins And what cause canst thou give why thou hast thus long escaped but only because his eye hath spared thee And what cause of that sparing but his tender compassions towards thee his unwillingness that thou should'st perish This consideration if it be prest home upon thy soul cannot chuse if thy heart be not as hard as the nether Milstone but awake somewhat of love in thee towards this gracious this long suffering God and that love will certainly make it appear to thee that it is an evil thing and bitter that thou hast forsaken the Lord Jer. 2. 19. That thou hast made such wretched requitals of so great mercy it will make thee both ashamed and angry at thy self that thou hast been such an unthankful creature But if the consideration of this one sort of mercy Gods forbearance onely be such an engagement and help to this godly sorrow what will then be the multitude of those other mercies which every man is able to reckon up to himself and therefore let every man be as particular in it as he can call to minde as many of them as he is able that so he may attain to the greater degree of true contrition 9. And to all these endeavours must be added earnest prayers to God that he by his holy Spirit would shew you your sins and soften your hearts that you may throughly bewail and lament them 10. To this must be joyned an humble consession of sins to God and that not only in general but also in particular as far as your memory of them will reach and that with all those heightning circumstances of them which you have by the forementioned examination discovered Yea even secret and forgotten sins must in general be acknowledged for it is certain there are multitudes of such so that it is necessary for every one of us to say with David Psal. 19. 12. Who can understand his errors cleanse thou me from my secret faulâ—s When you have thus confest your sins with this hearty sorrow and sincere hatred of them you may then and not before be concluded to feel so much of your disease that it will be seasonable to apply the remedy 11. In the next place therefore you are to look on him whom God hath set forth to be the propitiation of our sins Rom. 3. 25. Even Jesus Christ that Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world John 1. 29. And earnestly beg of God that by his most precious blood your sins may be washed away and that God would for his sake be reconciled to you And this you are to believe will surely be done if you do for the rest of your time forsake your sins and give your selves up sincerely to obey God in all his commands But without that it is vain to hope any benefit from Christ or his sufferings And therefore the next part of your preparation must be the setting those resolutions of obedience which I told you was the third thing you were to examine your selves of before your approach to the holy Sacrament 12. Concerning the particulars of this resolution I need say no more but that it must answer every part and branch of our duty that is we must not only in general resolve that wee will observe Gods Commandments but we must resolve it for every Commandment by itself and especially where we have found our selves most to have failed heretofore there especially to renew our resolutions And herein it neerly concerns us to look that these resolutions be sincere and unfeigned and not only such slight ones as people use
Sacrifice acceptable to thee by Jesus Christ. A THANKSGIVING O Gracious Lord whose mercies endure for e-ever I thy unworthy servant who have so deeply tasted of them desire to render thee the tribute of my humblest praises for them In thee O Lord I live and move and have my being thou first madest me to be and then that I might not be miserable but happy thou sendest thy Son out of thy bosâ—me to redeem me from the power of my sins by his Grace and from the punishment of them by his Blood and by both to bring me to his glory Thou hast by thy mercy caused me to be born within thy peculiar fold the Christian Church where I was early consecrated to thee in Baptism and have been partaker of all those spiritual helps which might aid me to perform that Vow I there made to thee and when by my own wilfulness or negligence I have failed to do it yet thou in thy manifold mercies hast not forsaken me but hast graciously invited me to repentance afforded me all means both outward and inward for it and with much patience hast attended and not cut me off in the acts of those many damning sins I have committed as I have most justly deserved It is O Lord thy restraining grace alone by which I have been kept back from any the greatest sins and it is thy inciting and assisting grace alone by which I have been enabled to do any the least good therefore not unto me not unto me but unto thy name be the praises For these and all other thy spiritual blessings my soul doth magnifie the Lord and all that is within me praise his holy Name I likewise praise thee for those many outward blessings I enjoy as health friends food and raiment the comforts as well as the necessaries of this life for those continual protections of thy hand by which I and mine are kept from dangers and those gracious deliverances thou hast often afforded out of such as have befallen me and for that mercy of thine whereby thou hast sweetned and allâ—yed those troubles thou hast not seen sit wholly to remove for thy particular preservation of me this night and all other thy goodness towards me Lord grant that I may render thee not only the fruit of my lips but the obedience of my life that so these blessings here may be an earnest of those richer blessings thou hast prepared for those that love thee and that for his sake whom thou hast made the Author of Eternal Salvation to all that obey him even Jesus Christ. A CONFESSION O Righteous Lord who hatest iniquity I thy sinful creature cast my self at thy feet acknowledging that I most justly deserve to be utterly abhorred and forsaken by thee for I have drunk iniquity like water gone on in a continued course of sin and rebellion against thee dayly committing those things thou forbiddest and leaving undone those things thou commandest mine heart which should be an habitation for thy spirit is become a cage of unclean birds of foul and disordered affections and out of this abundance of the heart my mouth speaketh my hands act so that in thought word and deed I continually transgress against thee Here mention the greatest of thy sins Nay O Lord I have despised that goodness of thine which should lead me to Repentance hardning my heart against all those means thou hast used for my amendment And now Lord what can I expect from thee but judgment and fiery indignation that is indeed the due reward of my sins But O Lord there is mercy with thee that thou may est be feared O fit me for that mercy by giving me a deep and hearty Repentance and then according to thy goodness let thy anger and thy wrath be turned away from me look upon me in thy Son my blessed Saviour and for the merit of his sufferings pardon all my sins And Lord I beseech thee by the power of thy grace so to renew and purifie my heart that I may become a new creature utterly forsaking every evil way and living in constant sincere universal obedience to thee all the rest of my days that behaving my self as a good and faithful servant I may by thy mercy at the last be received into the joy of my Lord Grant this for Jesus Christ his sake A PRAYER for GRACE O Most gracious God from whom every good and perfect gift cometh I wretched creature that am not able of my self so much as to think a good thought beseech thee to work in me both to will and do according to thy good pleasure inlighten â—◠〈◊〉 that I may know thee and let me not be barren or unfruitful in that knowledg Lord work in my heart a true faith a purifying hope and an unfeigned love towards thee give me a full trust on thee zeal for thee reverence of all things that relate to thee make me fearful to offend thee thankful for thy mercies humble under thy corrections devout in thy service sorrowful for my sins and grant that in all things I may behave my self so as befits a creature to his Creator a servant to his Lord enable me likewise to perform that duty I owe to my self give me that meekness humility and contentedness whereby I may always possess my soul in patience and thankfulness make me diligent in all my duties watchful against all temptations perfectly pure and temperate and so moderate in my most lawful injoyments that they never become a snare to me make me also O Lord to be so affected towards my neighbour that I never transgress that royal Law of thine of loving him as my self grant me exactly to perform all parts of justice yielding to all whatsoever by any kinde of right becomes their due and give me such bowels of mercy and compassion that I may never fail to do all acts of charity to all men whether friends or enemies according to thy command and example Finally I beseech thee O Lord to sanctifie me throughout that my whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory for ever Amen INTERCESSION OBlessed Lord whose mercy is over all thy works I beseech thee to have mercy upon all men and grant that the precious ransome which was paid by thy Son for all may be effectuall to the saving of all Give thy inlightning grace to those that are in darkness and thy converting grace to those that are in sin look with thy tenderest compassions upon the Universal Church O be favourable and gracious unto Sion build thou the walls of Jerusalem unite all those that profess thy Name to thee by Purity and Holiness and to each other by Brotherly love Have mercy on this desolate Church and sinful Nation thou hast moved the Land and divided it heal the sores thereof for it shaketh make us so truly to repent
to sin no more least a worse thing come unto me Lord let not this reprieve thou hast now given me make me secure as thinking that my Lord delayeth his coming but grant me I beseech thee to make a right use of this long suffering of thine and so to imploy every minute of that time thou shalt allow me that when thou shalt appear I may have confidence and not be ashamed before thee at thy coming Lord I have found by this approach towards death how dreadful a thing it is to be taken unprepared O let it be a perpetual admonition to me to watch for my Masters Coming And when the pleasures of sin shall present themselves to entice me O make me to remember how bitter they will be at the last O Lord hear me and as thou hast in much mercy afforded me time so grant me also grace to work out my own salvation to provide oil in my lamp that when the Bridegroom cometh I may go in with him to the marriage Grant this I beseech thee for thy dear Sons sake A Prayer at the approach of Death O ETERNAL and everliving God who first breathedst into man the breath of life and when thou takest away that breath he dies and is turned again to his dust look with compassion on me thy poor creature who am now drawing near the gates of death and which is infinitely more terrible the bar of Judgement Lord my own heart condemns me and thou art infinitely greater then my heart and knowest all things The sins I know and remember fill me with horrour but there are also multitudes of others which I either observed not at the time or have since carelesly forgot which are all present to thee Thou settest my misdeeds before thee and my secret sins in the light of thy countenance and to what a mountainous heap must the minutely provocations of so many years arise How shall one so ungodly stand in thy Judgement or such a sinner in the Congregation of the Righteous And to adde yet more to my terrour my very repentance I fear will not abide the trial my frequent relapses heretofore have sufficiently witnessed the unsincerity of my past resolutions And then O Lord what can secure me that my present dislikes of my sins are not rather the effects of my amazing danger then of any real change And O Lord I know thou art not mocked nor wilt accept of any thing that is not perfectly sincere O Lord when I consider this fearfulness and trembling comes upon me and an horrible dread overwhelmeth me my flesh trembleth for fear of thee and my heart is wounded within me But O Lord one deep calleth upon another the depth of my misery upon the depth of thy mercy Lord save now or I perish eternally O thou who willest not that any should perish but that all should come to repentance bring me I beseech thee though thus late to a sincere Repentance such as thou wilt accept who triest the heart Create in me O God a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me Lord one day is with thee as a thousand years O let thy mighty Spirit work in me now in this my last day whatsoever thou seest wanting to fit me for thy mercy and acceptation Give me a perfect and entire hatred of my sins and enable me to present thee with that sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart which thou hast promised not to despise that by this I may be made capable of that attonement which thy dear Son hath by the more excellent oblation of himself made for all repenting sinners He is the propitiation for our sins he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was on him O heal me by his stripes and let the cry of his blood drown the clamour of my sins I am indeed a childe of wrath but he is the Son of thy loue for his sake spare me O Lord spare thy creature whom he hath redeemed with his most precious blood and be not angry with me for ever In his wounds O Lord I take Sanctuary O let not thy vengeance pursue me to this city of refuge my Soul hangeth upon him O let me not perish with a Jesus with a Saviour in my arms But by his Agony and bloody Sweat by his Cross and Passion by all that he did and suffered for sinners good Lord deliver me deliver me I beseech thee from the wages of my sins thy wrath and everlasting damnation in this time of my tribulation in the hour of death and in the day of Judgement Hear me O Lord hear me and do not now repay my former neglects of thy calls by refusing to answer me in this time of my greatest need Lord there is but a step between me and death O let not my sun go down upon thy wrath but seal my pard on before I go hence and be no more seen Thy loving kindness is better then the life it self O let me have that in exchange and I shall most gladly lay down this mortal life Lord thou knowest all my desire and my groaning is not hid from thee deal thou with me O Lord according to thy Name for sweet is thy mercy take away the sting of death the guilt of my sins and then though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil I will lay me down in peace and Lord when I awake up let me be satisfied with thy presence in thy glory Grant this merciful God for his sake who is both the Redeemer and Mediator of sinners even Jesus Christ. PSALMS PUT me not to rebuke O Lord in thine anger neither chasten me in thy heavy displeasure There is no health in my flesh because of thy displeasure neither is there any rest in my bones by reason of my sins For my wickednesses are gone over my head and are a sore burden too heavy for me to bear My wounds stink and are corrupt through my foolishness Therefore is my spirit vexed within me and my heart within me is desolate My sins have taken such hold upon me that I am not able to look up yea they are more in number then the hairs of my head and my heart hath failed me But thou O Lord God art full of compassion and mercy long-suffering plenteous in goodness and truth Turn thee unto me and have mercy upon me for I am desolate and in misery If thou Lord shouldst be extream to mark what is done amiss O Lord who may abide it O remember not the sins and offences of my youth but according to thy mercy think thou upon me for thy goodness Look upon my adversity and misery and forgive me all my sin Hide not thy face from thy servant for I am in trouble O haste thee and hear me Out of the deep do I call unto thee Lord hear my voice Turn thee O Lord and deliver my
when its parts do not rightly perform their Offices 11. The parts of the Soul are especially these three The UNDERSTANDING the WILL and the AFFECTIONS And that these are disordered there needs little proof let any man look seviously into his own Heart and consider how little it is he knows of spiritual things and then tell me whether his Understanding be not dark How much apter is he to Will evil then good and then tell me whether his Will be not Crooked And how strong Desires he hath after the pleasures of sin and what cold and faint ones towards God and goodness and then tell me whether his Affections be not disordered and rebellious even against the voice of his own Reason within him Now as in bodily diseases the first step to the cure is to know the Cause of the sickness so likewise here it is very necessary for us to know how the Soul first fell into this Diseased condition and that I shall now briefly tell you 12. GOD created the first Man Adam without Sin and indued his Soul with the full knowledg of his Duty and with such a strength that he might if he would perform all that was required of him Having thus created him He makes a COVENANT or agreement with him to this purpose that if he continued in Obedience to God without committing Sin then first that Strength of Soul which he then had should still be continued to him and secondly That he should never Die but he taken up into Heaven there to be Happy for ever But on the other side if he committed Sin and Disobeyed God then both He and all his Children after him should lose that Knowledg and that perfect strength which enabled him to do all that God required of him and Secondly should be subject to death and not only so but to Eternal damnation in Hell 13. This was the Agreement made with Adam and all mankind in him which we usually call the FIRST COVENANT upon which God gave Adam a particular commandment which was no more but this That he should not eat of one only tree of that garden wherein he had placed him But he by the perswasion of the Devil eats of that Tree disobeys God and so brings that curse upon himself and all his posterity And so by that one Sin of his he lost both the full Knowledge of his Duty and the Power of performing it And we being born after his Image did so likewise and so are become both Ignorant in Discerning what we ought to Do and Weak and unable to the Doing of it having a backwardness to all good and an aptness and readiness to all evil like a sick stomack which loaths all wholsome food and longs after such trash as may nourish the disease 14. And now you see where we got this Sickness of soul and likewise that it is like to prove a Deadly one and therefore I presume I need say no more to assure you our Souls are in danger It is more likely you will from this description think them hopeless But that you may not from that conâ—eit excuse your Neglect of them I shall hasten to shew yâ—â— the contrary by proceeding to the fourth Motive of Care 15. That Fourth Motive is the likelyhood that our CARE will not be in VAIN but that it will be a means to preserve the thing cared for where this is wanting it disheartens our care A Physician leaves his Patient when he sees him past Hope as knowing it is then in vain to give him any thing but on the contrary when he sees hopes of recovery he plies him with Medicines Now in this very respect we have a great deal of reason to take care of our souls for they are not so far gone but they may be recovered nay it is certain they will if we do our parts towards it 16. For though by that Sin of Adam all mankinde were under the sentence of eternal condemnation yet it pleased God so far to pity our misery as to give us his Son and in him to make a new Covenant with us after we had broken the first 17. This SECOND COVENANT was made with Adam and us in him presently after his Fall and is briefly contained in those wards Gen. 3. 15. Where God declares that THE SEED OF THE WOMAN SHALL BREAK THE SERPENTS HEAD and this was made up as the first was of some mercies to be afforded by God and some duties to be performed by us 18. God therein promises to send his only Son who is God equal with himself to earth to become man like unto us in all things sin only excepted and he to do for us these Several things 19. Frst to make Known to us the whole Will of his Father in the performance whereof we shall be sure to be Accepted and rewarded by him And this was one great part of his business which he performed in those many Sermons and Precepts we finde set down in the Gospel And herein he is our PROPHET it being the work of a Prophet of old not only to foretel but to Teach Our Duty in this particular is to hearken diligently to him to be most ready and desirous to learn that will of God which he came from heaven to reveal to us The Second thing He was to do for us was to Satisfie God for our Sins not only that one of Adam but all the Sins of all Mankind that truly repent and amend and by this means to obtain for us Forgiveness of sins the Favour of God and so to Redeem us from Hell and eternal damnation which was the punishment due to our sin All this he did for us by his death He offered up himself a Sacrifice for the Sins of all those who heartily bewail and forsake them And in this He is our PRIEST it being the Priests Office to Offer Sacrifice for the sins of the people Our Duty in this particular is first truly and heartily to Repent us of and forsake our Sins without which they will never be forgiven us though Christ have died Secondly stedfastly to Believe that if we do that we shall have the benefits of that Sacrifice of his all our sins how many and great soever shall be forgiven us and we saved from those eternal punishments which were due unto us for them Another part of the PRIESTS Office was Blessing and Praying for the people and this also Christ performs to us It was his especial Commission from his Father to Bless us as St. Peter tells us Acts 3. 26. God sent his Son Jesus to Bless you the following words shew wherein that blessing consists in turning away every one of you from his iniquity those means which he has used for the turning us from our Sins are to be reckoned of all other the greatest blessings and for the other part that of Praying that he not only performed on earth but continues still to do it in
Heaven He sits on the right hand of God and makes Request for us Romans 8. 34. Our Duty herein is not to resist this unspeakable blessing of his but to be willing to be thus Blest in the being turned from our sins and not to make void and fruitless all his Prayers and Intercessions for us which will never prevail for us whilest we continue in them 21. The third thing that Christ was to do for us was to Enable us or give us Strength to do what God requires of us This he doth first by taking off from the hardness of the Law given to Adam which was never to commit the least sin upon pain of damnation and requiring of us only an honest and hearty endeavour to do what we are able and where we fail accepting of Sincere Repentance Secondly By sending his Holy Spirit into our hearts to govern and Rule us to give us strength to overcome Temptations to Sin and to Do all that He now under the Gospel requires of us And in this He is our KING it being the Office of a King to govern and Rule and to subdue enemies Our Duty in this particular is to give up our selves obedient subjects of his to be governed and Ruled by him to obey all his Laws not to take part with any Rebel that is not to cherish any one sin but diligently to Pray for his Grace to enable us to subdue all and then carefully to make use of it to that purpose 22. Lastly He has purchased for all that faithfully obey him an Eternal glorious inheritance the Kingdom of Heaven whither he is gone before to take possession for us Our duty herein is to be exceeding careful that we forfeit not our parts in it which we shall certainly do if we continue impenitent in any sin Secondly not to fasten our Affections on this world but to raise them according to the precept of the Apostle Col. 3. 2. Set your affections on things above and not on things on the earth continually longing to come to the possession of that blessed inheritance of ours in comparison whereof all things here below should seem vile and mean to us 23. This is the Sum of that SECOND COVENANT we are now under wherein you see what Christ has done how he Executes those Three Great Offices of KING PRIEST and PROPHET as also what is Required of us without our Faithful Performance all that he hath done shall never stand us in any stead for he will never be a Priest to Save any who take him not as well for their Prophet to Teach and their King to Rule them nay if we neglect our part of this Covenant our condition will be yet worse then if it had never bin made for we shall then be to Answer not for the breach of Law only as in the first but for the abuse of mercy which is of all sins the most provoking On the other side if we faithfully Perform it that is set our selves heartily to the obeying of every precept of Christ not going on wilfully in any one sin but bewailing and forsaking whatever we have formerly been guilty of it is then most certain that all the fore-mentioned benefits of Christ belongs to us 24. And now you see how little Reason you have to cast off the CARE of your SOULS upon a conceit they are past cure for that it is plain they are not Nay certainly they are in that very condition which of all others makes them fittest for our care If they had not been thus REDEEMED by CHRIST they had been then so hopeless that care would have been in vain on ther other side if his Redemption had been such that all men should be saved by it though they Live as they list We should have thought it needless to take care for them because they were safe without it But it hath pleased God so to order it that our care must be the means by which they must Receive the good even of all that Christ hath done for them 25. And now if after all that God hath done to Save these Souls of ours we will not bestow a little Care on them our selves we very well deserve to perish If a Physician should undertake a patient that were in some desperate disease and by his skill bring him so far out of it that he were sure to recover if he would but take care of himself and observe those rules the Physician set him would you not think that man weary of his life that would refuse to do that So certainly that man is weary of his soul wilfully casts it away that will not consent to those easie conditions by which he may save it 26. You see how great kindness God hath to these Souls of ours the whole TRINITY Father Son and Holy Ghost have all done their parts for them The FATHER gave his only Son the SON gave Himself left his glory and endured the bitter death of the Cross meerly to keep our Souls from perishing The HOLY GHOST is become as it were our attendant waits upon us with Continual offers of his grace to Enable us to do that which may preserve them Nay he is so desirous we should accept those Offers of his that he is said to be grieved when we refuse them Ephes. 4. 30. Now what greater disgrace and affront can we put upon God then to despise what he thus values that those Souls of ours which Christ thought worthy every drop of his blood we should not think worth any part of our Care We use in things of the world to rate them according to the opinion of those who are best skilled in them now certainly God who made our Souls best knowes the worth of them and since he prizes them so high let us if it be but in reverence to him be ashamed to neglect them Especially now that they are in so hopeful a condition that nothing but our own carelesness can possibly destroy them 27. I have now briefly gone over those Foure Motives of care I at first proposed which are each of them such as never misses to stir it up towards the things of this World and I have also shewed you how much more Reasonable nay Necessary it is they should do the like for the Soul And now what can I say more but conclude in the words of Isaiah 46. 8. Remember this and shew your selves men That is deal with your Soul as your Reason teaches you to do with all other things that concern you And sure this common Justice bindes you to for the Soul is that which furnishes you with that Reason which you exercise in all your worldly business and shall the Soul it self receive no Benefit from that Reason which it affords you This is as if the Master of a Family who provides food for his servants should by them be kept from Eating any himself and so remain the only starved creature in his house 28. And as Justice
ties you to this so Mercy doth likewise you know the poor Soul will fall into Endless and unspeakable Miseries if you continue to neglect it and then it will be too late to consider it The Last Refuge you can hope for is Gods mercy but that you have despised and abused And with what face can you in your greatest need beg for his mercy to your Souls when you would not afford them your own No not that common Charity of considering them of bestowing a few of those idle Hours you know not scarce how to pass away upon them 29. Lay this to your hearts and as ever you hope for Gods pity when you most want it be sure in time to Pity your selves by taking that due Care of your precious Souls which belongs to them 30. If what hath been said have perswaded you to this so necessary a Duty my next work will be to tell you how this Care must be imployed and that in a word is in the Doing of all those things which tend to the making the Soul Happy which is the end of our Care and what those are I come now to show you PARTITION I. Of the DUTY of MAN by the Light of Nature by the Light of Scripture Of FAITH the Promises of Hope of Love c. THE Benefits purchased for us by Christ are such as will undoubtedly make the Soul Happy for Eternal Happiness it self is one of them but because these Benefits belong not to us till we perform the Condition required of us whoever desires the happiness of his Soul must set himself to the performing of that Condition what that is I have already mentioned in the General That it is the hearty honest endeavour of obeying the whole Will of God But then that Will of God containing under it many particulars it is necessary we should also know what those are that is what are the several things that God now requires of us our performance whereof will bring us to everlasting happiness and the neglect to endless misery 2. Of these things there are some which God hath so stamp'd upon our souls that we Naturally knew them that is we should have known them to be our Duty though we had never been told so by the Scripture That this is so we may see by those Heathens who having never heard of either Old or New Testament do yet acknowledge themselves bound to some General Duties as to Worship God to be Just to Honour their Parents and the like And as S. Paul saith Rom. 2. 15. Their consciences do in those things accuse or excuse them That is tell them whether they have done what they should in those particulars or no. 3. Now though Christ have brought greater Light into the world yet he never meant by it to put out any of that Natural light which God hath set up in our Souls Therefore let me here by the way advise you not to walk contrary even to this lesser light I mean not to venture on any of those Acts which meer Natural Conscience will tell you are Sins 4. It is just matter of sadness to any Christian heart to see some in these dayes who profess much of Religion and yet live in such sins as a meer heathen would abhor men that pretending to higher degrees of Light and holiness then their brethren do yet practice contrary to all Rules of common honesty and make it part of their Christian liberty so to do of whose Seducement it concerns all that love their Souls to beware and for that purpose let this be laid as a Foundation That that Religion or Opinion cannot be of God which allows men in any wickedness 5. But though we must not put out this light which God hath thus put into our Souls yet this is not the onely way whereby God hath revealed his will and therefore we are not to rest here but proceed to the knowledg of those other things which God hath by other means revealed 6. The way for us to come to know them is by the SCRIPTURES wherein are set down those several commands of God which he hath given to be the Rule of our Duty 7. Of those some were given before Christ came into the world such are those precepts we finde scattered throughout the Old Testament but especially contained in the Ten Commandements and that excellent book of Deuteronomy others were given by Christ who added much both to the Law implanted in us by Nature and that of the Old Testament and those you shall find in the New Testament in the several precepts given by him and his Apostles but especially in that Divine Sermon on the Mount set down in the fifth sixth and seventh Chapters of S. Matthews Gospel 8. All these should be severally spoke to but because that would make the discourse very long and so lesse fit for the meaner sort of men for whose use alone it is intended I chuse to proceed in another manner By summing all these together and so as plainly as I can to lay down what is now the duty of every Christian. 9. This I find briefly contain'd in the words of the Apostle Tit. 2. 12. That we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present world where the word Soberly contains our duty to our selves Righteously our duty to our neghbour and Godly our duty to God These therfore shall be the Heads of my discourse our DUTY to GOD our SELVES and our NEIGHBOUR I begin with that to God that being the best ground-work whereon to build both the other 10. There are many parts of our DUTY to GOD The two chief are these First to acknowledge him to be God Secondly to have no other under these are contained all those particulars which make up our whole duty to God which shall be shewed in their order 11. To acknowledge him to be God is to believe him to be an infinite glorious Spirit that was from everlasting without beginning and shall be to everlasting without end That he is our Creator Redeemer Sanctifier Father Son and Holy-Ghost one God blessed for ever That he is subject to no alterations but is Unchangeable that he is no bodily substance such as our eyes may behold but spiritual and invisible whom no man hath seen nor can see as the Apostle tells us 1 Tim. 3. 16. That He is Infinitely Great and Excellent beyond all that our wit or conceit can imagine that he hath received his being from none and gives being to all things 12. All this we are to believe of him in regard of his Essence and being But besides this he is set forth to us in the Scripture by several Excellencies as that he is of Infinite Goodness and Mercy Truth Justice Wisdom Power All-sufficiency Majesty That he disposes and governes all things by his Providence that he Knowes all things and is Present in all places these are by Divines called the Attributes of God
to us how wickedly soever we live The Apostle teaches us another use of them 2 Cor. 7. 1. Having therefore these promises let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God When we do thus we may justly apply the promises to our selves and with comfort expect our parts in them But till then though these promises be of certain truth yet we can reap no benefit from them because we are not the persons to whom they are made that is we perform not the condition required to give us right to them 23. This is the Faith or Belief required of us towards the things God hath revealed to us in the Scripture to wit Such as may answer the End for which they were so revealed that is the bringing us to good lives the bare believing the truth of them without this is no more then the Devils do as S. James tells us Chap. 2. 19. Only they are not so unreasonable as some of us are for they will tremble as knowing well this Faith will never do them any good But many of us go on confidently and doubt not the sufficiency of our Faith though we have not the least fruit of obedience to approve it by let such hear S. James's judgment in the point Ch. 2. 26. As the body without the spirit is dead so Faith if it have not works is dead also 24. A second Duty to God is HOPE that is a comfortable expectation of these good things he hath promised But this as I told you before of Faith must be such as agrees to the nature of the promises which being such as requires a condition on our part we can hope no further then we make that good or if we do we are so far from performing by it this duty of Hope that we commit the great sin of Presumption which is nothing else but hoping where God hath given us no ground to hope this every man doth that hopes for pardon of sins and eternal life without that repentance and obedience to which alone they are promised the true hope is that which purifies us S. John saith 1 Epist. 3. 5. Every man that hath this hope purifieth himself even as he is pure that is it makes him leave his sins and earnestly endeavour to be holy as Christ is and that which doth not so how confident soever it be may well be concluded to be but that hope of the Hypocrite which Job assures us shall perish 25. But there is another way of transgressing this Duty besides that of Presumption and that is by Desperation by which I mean not that which is ordinarily so called viz. the Despairing of mercy so long as we continue in our sins for that is but just for us to do But I mean such a desperation as makes us give over endeavour that is when a man that sees he is not at the present such a one as the promises belong to concludes he can never become such and therefore neglects all duty and goes on in his sins This is indeed the sinful desparation and that which if it be continued in must end in destruction 26. Now the work of hope is to prevent this by setting before us the generality of the promises that they belong to all that will but perform the condition And therefore though a man have not hitherto performed it and so hath yet no right to them yet hope will tell him that that right may yet be gained if he will now set heartily about it It is therefore strange folly for any man be he never so sinful to give up himself for lost when if he will but change his course he shall be as certain to partake of the promises of mercy as if he had never gone on in those former sins 27. This Christ shews us in the parable of the Prodigal Luke 15. where wee see that Son which had run away from his Father and had consumed the portion given him in riotous living was yet upon his return and repentance used with as much kindness by the Father as he that had never offended nay with higher and more passionate expressions of love The intent of which Parable was only to shew us how graciously our heavenly Father will receive us how great soever our former sins have bin if we shall return to him with true sorrow for what is past and sincere obedience for the time to come nay so acceptable a thing is it to God to have any sinner return from the error of his ways that there is a kinde of triumph in heaven for it there is joy in the presence of the Angels of God over one sinner that repenteth Luke 15. 10. And now who would not rather chuse by a timely repentance to bring joy to heaven to God and his holy Angels then by a sullen desperation to please Satan and his accursed spirits especially when by the former we shall gain endlesse happiness to our selves and by the latter as endless torments 28. A Third Duty to God is LOVE there are two common Motives of love among men the one the goodness and excellency of the person the other his particular kindness and love to us and both these are in the highest degree in God 29. First he is of infinite goodness and excellency in himself this you were before taught to believe of him and no man can doubt it that considers but this one thing that there is nothing good in the world but what hath received all its goodness from God His goodness is as the Sea or Ocean and the goodness of all creatures but as fome small streams flowing from the Sea now you would certainly think him a mad man that should say the Sea were not greater then some little brook and certainly it is no less folly to suppose that the goodness of God doth not as much nay infinitely more exceed that of all creatures Besides the goodness of the creature is imperfect and mixt with much evil but his is pure and entire without any such mixture He is perfectly Holy and cannot be rainted with the least impurity neither can he be the Author of any to us for though he be the cause of all the goodness in us he is the cause of none of our sins This S. James expresly tells us Chap. 1. 13. Let no man say when he is tempted He is tempted of God for God cannot be tempted with evil neither tempteth he any man 30. But secondly God is not only thus good in himself but he is also wonderful good that is kind and merciful to us we are made up of two parts a Soul and a Body and to each of these God hath exprest infinite mercy tenderness Do but consider what was before told you of the SECOND COVENANT the mercies therein offered even Christ himself all his benefits and also that he offers them so sincerely
How much worse then his very crucifiers They crucified him once but thou hast as much as in thee lay crucified him daily They crucified him because they knew him not but thou hast known both what he is in himself The Lord of Glory and what he is to thee a most tender and merciful Saviour and yet thou hast still continued thus to crucifie him afresh Consider this and let it work in thee first a great sorrow for thy sins past and then a great hatred and a firm resolution against them for the time to come 25. When thou hast a while thus thought on these sufferings of Christ for the increasing thy humility and contrition then in the second place think of them again to stir up thy Faith look on him as the sacrifice offered up for thy sins for the appeasing of Gods wrath and procuring his favour and mercies toward thee And therefore believingly yet humbly beg of God to accept of that satisfaction made by his innocent and beloved Son and for the merits thereof to pardon thee whatever is past and to be fully reconciled to thee 26. In the third place consider them again to raise thy thankfulnesse Think how much both of shame and pain he there endured but especially those great agonies of his Soul which drew from him that bitter cry My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Matt. 27. 45. Now all this he suffered only to keep thee from perishing And therefore consider what unexpressible thanks thou owest him and endeavour to raise thy Soul to the most zealous and hearty thanksgiving For this is a principal part of duty at this time the praising and magnifying that mercy which hath redeemed us by so dear a price Therefore it will here well become thee to say with David I will take the Cup of Salvation and will call upon the Name of the Lord. 27. Fourthly look on these sufferings of Christ to stir up this love and surely there cannot be a more effectual means of doing it for here the love of Christ to thee is most manifest according to that of the Apostle 1 John 3. 16. Hereby perceive we the love of God towards us because he laid down his life for us And that even the highest degree of love for as himself tells us John 15. 13. Greater love then this hath no man then that a man lay down his life for his friend Yet even greater love then this had he for he not only died but died the most painful and most reproachful death and that not for his friends but his utter enemies And therefore if after all this love on his part there be no return of love on ours we are worse then the vilest sort of men for even the Publicans Matth. 5. 46. Love those that love them Here therefore chide and reproach thy self that thy love to him is so faint and cool when his to thee was so zealous and affectionate And endeavour to enkindle this holy flame in thy Soul to love him in such a degree that thou mayest be ready to copy out his example to part with all things yea even life it self whenever he calls for it that is whensoever thy obedience to any command of his shall lay thee open to those sufferings But in the mean time to resolve never again to make any league with his enemies to entertain or harbour any sin in thy brest But if there have any such hitherto remained with thee make this the season to kill and crucifie it offer it up at this instant a sacrifice to him who was sacrificed for thee and particularly for that very end that he might redeem thee from all iniquity Therefore here make thy solemn resolutions to forsake every sin particularly those into which thou hast most frequently fallen And that thou mayest indeed perform those resolutions earnestly beg of this crucified Saviour that he will by the power of his death mortifie and kill all thy corruptions 28. When thou art about to receive the Consecrated Bread and Wine remember that God now offers to Seal to thee that New Covenant made with mankinde in his Son For since he gives that his Son in the Sacrament he gives with him all the benefits of that Covenant to wit pardon of sins sanctifying grace and a title to an eternal inheritance And here be astonished at the infinite goodness of God who reaches out to thee so precious a treasure But then remember that this is all but on condition that thou perform thy part of the Covenant And therefore settle in thy soul the most serious purpose of obedience and then with all possible devotion joyn with the Minister in that short but excellent prayer used at the instant of giving the Sacrament The Body of our Lord c. 29. So soon as thou hast received offer up thy devoutest praises for that great mercy together with thy most earnest prayers for such assistance of Gods Spirit as may enable thee to perform the vow thou hast now made Then remembring that Christ is a propitiation not for our sins only but also for the sins of the whâ—le world let thy charity reach as far as his hath done and pray for all mankind that every one may receive the benefit of that sacrifice of his commend also to God the estate of the Church that particularly whereof thou art a Member And forget not to pray for all to whom thou owest obedience both in Church and State and so go on to pray for such particular persons as either thy relations or their wants shall present to thee If there be any Collection for the poor as there always ought to be at this time give freely according to thy ability or if by the default of others there be no such Collection yet do thou privately design something towards the relief of thy poor brethren and be sure to give it the next fitting opportunity that offers it self All this thou must contrive to do in the time that others are receiving that so when the publick prayers after the administration begin thou mayst be ready to ioyn in them which thou must likewise take care to do with all devotion thus much for thy behaviour at the time of receiving 30. Now follows the third and last thing That is what thou art to do after thy receiving That which is immediately to be done is as soon as thou art retirâ—d from the Congregation to offer up again to God thy Sacrafice of praise for all those precious mercies conveyed to thee in that holy Sacrament as also humbly to intreat the continued assistance of his grace to enable thee to make good all those purposes of obedience thou hast now made And in whatsoever thou knowest thy self most in danger either in respect of any former habit or natural inclination there especially desire and earnestly beg his aid 31. When thou hast done thus do not presently let thy self
I might enlarge much upon this but because some severals of it have been toucht on in the former discourse I suppose it needless And therefore shall now proceed to the second head of DUTY that to our SELVES PARTITION VI. Of DUTIES to our SELVES Of Sobriety Of Humility the great Sin of PRIDE the Danger the Folly of this Of VAIN-GLORY the Danger Folly the Means to Prevent it Of MEEKNES the Means to obtain it c. § 1. THIS DUTY to our SELVES is by S. Paul in the forementioned Text Titus 2. 12. summed up in this one word Soberly Now by Soberly is meant our keeping within those due bounds which God hath set us My business will therefore be to tell you what are the particulars of this Sobriety And that first in respect of the soul secondly in respect of the body The sobriety of the soul stands in right governing its passions and affections and to that are many Virtues required I shall give you the particulars of them 2. The first of them is Humility which may well have the prime place not only in respect of the excellency of the virtue but also of its usefulness towards the obtaining of all the rest This being the foundation on which all others must be built And he that hopes to gain them without this will prove but like that foolish builder Christ speaks of Luke 6. 49. who built his house on the sand Of the Humility towards God I have already spoken and shewed the necessity of it I am now to speak of Humility as it concernes our selves which will be found no lessnecessary then the former 3. This Humility is of two sorts the first is the having a mean and low opinion of our selves the second is the being content that others should have so of us The first of these is contrary to pride the other to vain-glory And that both these are absolutely necessary to Christians I am now to shew you which will I conceive best be done by laying before you first the sin secondly the danger thirdly the contrary vices 4. And first for Pride the sin of it is so great that it cast the Angels out of heaven and therefore if we may judge of sin by the punishment it was not onely the first but the greatest sin that ever the Devil himself hath been guilty of But we need no better proof of the hainousness of it then the extream hatefulness of it to God which besides that instance of his punishing the Devil we may frequently finde in the Scriptures Prov. 16. 5. Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord. And again Chap. 6. 16. where there is mention of several things the Lord hates a proud look is set as the first of them So Jam. 4. 7. God resisteth the proud and divers other texts there are to the same purpose which shew the great hatred God bears to this sin of Pride Now since it is certain God who is all goodness hates nothing but as it is evil it must needs follow that where God hates in so great a degree there must be a great degree of evil 5. But secondly PRIDE is not only very sinful but very dangerous and that first in respect of drawing us to other sins secondly of betraying us to punishments First Pride draws us to other sins wherein it shews it self indeed to be the direct contrary to humility for as that is the root of all Vertue so is this of all Vice For he that is proud sets himself up as his own God and so can never submit himself to any other rules or Laws then what he makes to himself The ungodly saies the Psalmist is so proud that he careth not for God Psal. 10. 4. Where you see it is his pride that makes him despise God And when a man is once come to that he is prepared for the commission of all sins I might instance in a multitude of particular sins that naturally flow from this of pride as first Anger which the wise man sets as the effect of pride Pro. 21. 24. calling it proud wrath secondly strife and contention which he again notes to be the off spring of pride Prov. 13. 10. Only by pride cometh contention And both these are indeed most natural effects of pride For he that thinks very highly of himself expects much submission and observance from others and therefore cannot but rage and quarrel whenever he thinks it not sufficiently paid It would be infinite to mention all the fruits of this bitter root I shall name but one more and that is that pride not onely betrayes us to many sins but also makes them incurable in us for it hinders the working of all remedies 6. Those remedies must either come from God or man if from God they must be either in the way of meekness and gentleness or else of sharpness and punishment Now if God by his goodness essay to lead a provd man to repentance he quite mistakes Gods meaning and thinks all the mercies he receives are but the reward of his own desert and so long 't is sure he will never think he needs repentance But if on the other side God use him more sharply and lay afflictions and punishments upon him those in a proud heart work nothing but murmurings and hatings of God as if he did him injury in those punishments As for the remedies that can be used by man they again must be either by way of correction or exhortation corrections from man will sure never work more on a proud heart then those from God for he that can think God unjust in them will much rather believe it of man And exhortations will do as little For let a proud man be admonished though never so mildly and lovingly he looks on it as a disgrace And therefore in stead of confessing or amending the fault he falls to reproaching his reprover as an over-busie or censorious person and for that greatest and most precious act of kindness looks on him as his enemy And now one that thus stubbornly resists all means of cure must be concluded in a most dangerous estate 7. But besides this danger of sin I told you there was another that of punishment and of this there will need little proof when it is considered that God is the proud mans profest enemy that he hates and resists him as appeared in the Texts forecited And then there can be little doubt that he which hath so mighty an adversary shall be sure to smart for it Yet besides this general ground of conclusion it may not be amiss to mention some of those texts which particularly threaten this sin as Prov. 16. 18. Pride goeth before destruction and an haughty spirit before a fall Again Prov. 16 5. Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord though hand joyn in hand yet they shall not be unpunished The decrâ—e it seems is
place of happiness tells us also that drunkards are of the number of those that shall not inherit it 1 Cor. 6. 10. And again Gal. 5. 21. Drunkenness is reckoned among those works of the flesh which they that do shall not inherit the kingdom of God And indeed had not these plain texts yet meet reason would tell us the same That is a place of infinite purity such as flesh and blood till it be refined and purified is not capable of as the Apostle tells us 1 Cor. 15. 53. and if as we are meer men we are too gross and impure for it we must sure be more so when we have changed our selves into Swine the soulest of beasts we are then prepared for the Devils to enter into as they did into the herd Mark 5. 13. and that not only some one or two but a Legion a troop and multitude of them And of this we daily see examples for where this sin of drunkenness hath taken possession it usually comes as an harbinger to abundance of others each act of drunkenness prepares a man not only for another of the same sin but of others lust and rage and all brutish appetites are then let loose and so a man brings himself under that curse which was the saddest David knew how to foretel to any Psal. 69. 28 The falling from one wickedness to another If all this be not enough to affright thee out of this drunken fit thou must still wallow in thy vomit continue in this sottish sensless condition till the flames of Hell rowse thee and then thou wilt by sad experience find what now thou wilt not believe that the end of those things as the Apostle saith Rom. 6. 21. is death God in his infinite mercy timely awake the hearts of all that are in this sin that by a timely forsaking it they may flie from that wrath to come I have now done with this second part of Temperance concerning Drinking PARTITION IX Temperance in SLEEP the rule of it c. Of RECREATION Of APPAREL § 1. THE Third part of TEMPERANCE concernes SLEEP And Temperance in that also must be measured by the end for which sleep was ordained by God which was only the refreshing and supporting of our frail bodies which being of such a temper that continual labour and toil tires and wearies them out Sleep comes as a Medicine to that weariness as a repairer of that decay that so we may be enabled to such labours as the duties of Religion or works of our Calling require of us Sleep was intended to make us more profitable not more idle as we give rest to our beasts not that we are pleased with their doing nothing but that they may do us the better service 2. By this therefore you may judge what is temperate sleeping to wit that which tends to the refreshing and making us more lively and fit for action and to that end a moderate degree serves best It will be impossible to set down just how many hours is that moderate degree because as in eating so in sleep some constitutions require more then others Every mans own experience must in this judge for him but then let him judge uprightly and not consult with his sloth in the case for that will still with Solomons sluggard cry A little more sleep a little more slumber a little more folding of the hands to sleep Prov. 24. 33. But take only so much as he really findes to tend to the end forementioned 3. He that doth not thus limit himself falls into several sins under this general one of sloth as first he wastes his time that precious talent which was committed to him by God to improve which he that sleeps away doth like him in the Gospel Matth. 25. 18. Hides it in the earth when he should be trading with it and you know what was the doom of that unprofitable servant vers 30. Cast ye him into outer darkness he that gives himself to darkness of sleep here shall there have darkness without sleep but with weeping and gnashing of teeth Secondly he injures his body immoderate sleep sils that full of diseases makes it a very sink of humours as daily experience shews us Thirdly he injures his Soul also and that not only in robbing it of the service of the body but in dulling its proper faculties making them useless and unfit for those imployments to which God hath designed them of all which ill husbandry the poor Soul must one day give account Nay lastly he affronts and despises God himself in it by crossing the very end of his creation which was to serve God in an active obedience but he that sleeps away his life directly thwarts and contradicts that and when God saith Man is born to labour his practice saith the direct contrary that man was born to rest Take heed therefore of giving thy self to immoderate sleep which is the committing of so many sins in one 4. But besides the sin of it it is also very hurtful in other respects it is the sure bane of thy outward estate wherein the sluggish person shall never thrive according to that observation of the Wise man Pro. 23. 21. Drowsiness shall cover a man with rags that is the slothful man shall want convenient clothing nay indeed it can scarce be said that the sluggard lives Sleep you know is a kind of death and he that gives himself up to it what doth he but die before his time Therefore if untimely death be to be lookt upon as a curse it must needs be a strange folly to chuse that from our own sloth which we dread so much from Gods hand 5. The fourth part of Temperance concerns Recreations which are sometimes necessary both to the body and the minde of a man neither of them being able to endure a constant toil without somewhat of refreshment between and therefore there is a very lawful use of them but to make it so it will be necessary to observe these Cautions 6. First We must take care that the kind of them be lawful that they be such as have nothing of sin in them we must not to recreate our selves do any thing which is dishonourable to God or injurious to our neighbour as they do who make profane or filthy backbiting discourse their recreation Secondly we must take care that we use it with moderation and to do so we must first be sure not to spend too much time upon it but remember that the end of recreation is to fit us for business not to be it self a business to us Secondly we must not be too vehement and earnest in it not set our hearts too much upon it for that will both ensnare us to the using too much of it and it will divert and take off our minds from our more necessary imployments Like School-boyes who after a play time know not how to set themselves to their books again Lastly we
one the lesson of the other and therefore 't is the greatest absurdity and contradiction to profess themselves Christians and yet at the same time to resist this so express Command of that Christ whom they own as their Master If I be a Master saith God where is my fear Mal. 1. 6. Obedience and reverence are so much the duties of servants that no man is thought to look on him as a Master to whom he payes them not Why call ye me Lord Lord and do not the things that I say saith Christ Luke 6. 46. The whole world is divided into two great Families Christs and Satans and the obedience each man payes signifies to which of these Masters he belongs if he obey Christ to Christ if Satan to Satan Now this sin of malice and revenge is so much the dictate of that wicked spirit that there is nothing can be a more direct obeying of him 't is the taking his livery on our backs the proclamation whose servants we are What ridiculous impudence is it then for men that have thus entred themselves of Satans Family to pretend to be the Servants of Christ Let such know assuredly that they shal not be owned by him but at the great day of accompt be turned over to their proper Master to receive their wages in fire and brimstone A second consideration is the example of God this is an argument Christ himself thought fit to use to impress this duty on us as you may see Luk. 6. 35. 36. Where after having given the Command of Loving Enemies he encourages to the practise of it by telling that it is that which will make us the Children of the Highest that is 't will give us a likeness and resemblance to him as children have to their Parents for he is kind to the unthankfull and the evil And to the same purpose you may read Mat. 5. 45. He maketh his sin to rise on the evil and on the good and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust And sure this is a most forcible consideration to excite us to this duty God we know is the fountain of perfection and the being like to him is the summe of all we can wish for and though it was Lucifers fall his ambition to be like the most high yet had the likeness he affected been only that of Holyness and goodness he might still have been an Angell of light This desire of imitating our Heavenly Father is the especial mark of a child of his Now this kindness and goodness to enemies is most eminently remarkable in God and that not only in respect of the temporal mercies which he indifferently bestowes on all his sun and rain on the unjust as in the text forementioned but chiefly in his spiritual Mercies We are all by our wicked works Col. 1. 21. Enemies to him and the mischief of that enmity would have fallen wholly upon our selves God had no motive besides that of his pity to us to wish a reconciliation yet so far was he from returning our enmity when he might have revenged himself to our eternal ruine that he designes and contrives how he may bring us to be at peace with him This is a huge degree of mercy and kindness but the means he used for effecting this is yet far beyond it He sent his own Son from Heaven to work it and that not only by perswasions but sufferings also So much did he prize us miserable creaâ—ures that he thought us not too dear bought with the blood of his Son The like example of mercy and patience we have in Christ both laying down his life for us Enemies and also in that meek manner of doing it which we finde excellently set forth by the Apostle 1 Pet. 2. 22 23 24. and commended to our imitation Now surely when all this is considered we may well make S. Johns inference Beloved if God so loved us we ought also to love one another 1 John 4. 11. How shameful a thing is it for us to retain displeasures against our brethren when God thus layes by his towards us and that when we have so highly provoked him This directs to a third consideration the comparing our sins against God with the offences of our brethren against us which we no sooner shall come to do but there will appear a vast difference between them and that in several respects For first there is the Majesty of the person against whom we sin which exceedingly encreases the guilt whereas between man and man there cannot be so great a distance for though some men are by God advanced to such eminency of dignity as may make an injury offered to them the greater yet still they are but men of the same nature with us whereas he is God blessed for ever Secondly there is his soveraignity and power which is original in God for we are his creatures we have received our whole being from him and therefore are in the deepest manner bound to perfect obedience whereas all the soveraignty that one man can possibly have over another is but imparted to them by God and for the most part there is none of this neither in the case quarrels being most usual among equals Thirdly there is his infinite bounty and goodness to us all that ever we enjoy whether in relation to this life or a better being wholly his free gift so there is the foulest ingratitude added to our other crimes in which respect also 't is impossible for one man to offend against an other in such a degree for though one may be too many are guilty of unthankfulness towards men yet because the greatest benefits that man can bestow are infinitely short of those which God doth the ingratitude cannot be neer so great as towards God it is Lastly there is the greatness and multitude of our sins against God which do infinitely exceed all that the most injurious man can do against us for we all sin much oftner and more heinously against him then any man be he never so malicious can find opportunities of injuring his brethren This inequality and disproportion our Saviour intimates in the parable Mat. 18. where our offences against God are noted by the ten thousand talents whereas our brethrens against us are described by the hundred pence a talent hugely out-weighs a penny and ten thousand outnumbers a hundred yet so and much more does the weight and number of our sins exceed all the offences of others against us Much more might be said to shew the vast inequality between the faults which God forgives us and those we can possibly have to forgive our brethren But this I suppose may suffice to silence all the objections of cruel and revengefull persons against this kindness to enemies They are apt to look upon it as an absur'd and unreasonable thing but since God himself acts it in so much a higher degree who can without blasphemy say 't is unreasonable If this or
of those sins which have provoked thy Judgements that thou also mayest turn and repent and leave a blessing behinde thee Bless those whom thou hast appointed our Governours whether in Church or State so rule their hearts and strengthen their hands that they may neither want will nor power to punish wickedness and vice and to maintain Gods true Religion and Vertue Have pity O Lord on all that are in affliction be a Father to the fatherless and plead the cause of the widow comfort the feeble minded support the weak heal the sick relieve the needy defend the oppressed and administer to every one according to their several necessities let thy blessings rest upon all that are near and dear to me and grant them whatsoever thou seest necessary either to their bodies or their Souls Here name thy neerest Relations Reward all those that have done me good and pardon all those that have done or wisht me evil and work in them and me all that good which may make us acceptable in thy sight through Jesus Christ. For PRESERVATION OMerciful God by whose bounty alone it is that I have this day added to my life I beseech thee so to guide me in it by thy grace that I may do nothing which may dishonour thee or wound my own soul but that I may deligently apply my self to do all such good works as thou hast prepared for me to walk in and Lord I beseech thee give thy Angels charge over me to keep me in all my wayes that no evil happen unto me nor any plague come nigh my dwelling but that I and mine may be safe under thy gracious protection through Jesus Christ. O Lord pardon the wandrings and coldness of these petitions and dâ—al with me not according either to my prayers or deserts but according to my needs and thine own rich mercies in Jesus Christ in whose blessed Name and Words I conclude these my imperfect Prayers saying Our Father c. DIRECTIONS for NIGHT. AT NIGHT when it draws towards the time of rest bethink thy self how thou hast passed the day examine thine own heart what sin either of Thought Word or Deed thou hast committed what opportunity of doing good thou hast omitted and what soever thou sindest to accuse thy self of confess humbly and penitently to God renew thy purposes and resolutions of amendment and beg his pardon in Christ and this not slightly and only as of course but with all devout earnestness and heartiness as thou wouldest do if thou were sure thy death were as near approaching as thy sleep which for ought thou knowest may be so indeed and therefore thou shouldest no more venture to sleep unreconciled to God then thou wouldest dare to die so In the next place consider what special and extraordinary mercies thou hast that day received as if thou hast had any great deliverance either in thy inward man from some dangerous temptations or in thy outward from any great and apparent danger and offer to God thy hearty and devout praise for the same or if nothing extraordinary have so happened and thou hast been kept even from the approach of danger thou hast not the less but the greater cause to magnifie God who hath by his protection so guarded thee that not so much as the fear of evil hath assaulted thee And therefore omit not to pay him the tribute of humble thankfulness as well for his usual and dayly preservations as his more extraordinary deliverances And above all endeavour still by the considerations of his mercies to have thy heart the more closely knit to him remembring that every favour received from him is a new engagement upon thee to love and obey him PRAYERS for NIGHT. O Holy blessed and glorious Trinity three persons and one God have mercy upon me a miserable sinner Lord I know not what to pray for as I ought O let thy Spirit help my infirmities and enable me to offer up a spiritual Sacrifice acceptable unto thee by Jesus Christ. A CONFESSION O MOST Holy Lord God who art of purer eyes then to behold iniquity how shall I abominable wretch dare to appear before thee who am nothing but pollution I am defiled in my very nature having a backwardness to all good and a readiness to all evil but I have defiled my self yet much worse by my own actual sins and wicked customes I have transgrest my duty to thee my neighbour and my self and that both in thought in word in deed by doing those things which thou hast expresly forbidden and by neglecting to do those things thou hast commanded me And this not only through ignorance and frailty but knowingly and wilfully against the motions of thy Spirit and the checks of my own conscience to the contrary And to make all these out of measure sinful I have gone on in a dayly course of repeating these provocations against thee notwithstanding all thy calls to and my own purposes and vows of amendment yea this very day I have not ceased to adde new sins to all my former guilts Here name the Particulars And now O Lord what shall I say or how shall I open my mouth seeing I have done these things I know that the wages of these sins is death but O thou who willest not the death of a sinner have mercy upon me work in me I beseech thee a sincere contrition and a perfect hatred of my sins and let me not dayly confess and yet as dayly renew them but grant O Lord that from this instant I may give a bill of Divorce to all my most beloved lusts and then be thou pleased to marry me to thy self in truth in righteousness and holiness And for all my past sins O Lord receive a reconciliation accept of that ransome thy blessed Son hath paid for me and for his sake whom thou hast set forth as a propitiation pardon all my offences and receive me to thy favour And when thou hast thus spoken peace to my soul Lord keep me that I turn not any more to folly but so establish me with thy grace that no temptation of the world the Divel or my own flesh may ever draw me to offend thee that being made free from sin and becoming a servant unto God I may have my fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord. A THANKSGIVING O Thou Father of Mercies who art kind even to the unthankful I acknowledge my self to have abundantly experimented that gracious propertie of thine for notwithstanding my dayly provocations against thee thou still heapest mercy and loving kindness upon me All my contempts and despisings of thy spiritual favours have not yet made thee withdraw them but in the riches of thy goodness and long suffering thou still continuest to me the offers of grace and life in thy Son And all my abuses of thy temporal blessings thou hast not punished with an utter deprivation of them but art still pleased to afford me
and famished Souls make my desires and gaspings after it answerable to my needs of it I have with the prodigal wasted that portion of grace thou bestowedst upon me and therefore do infinitely want a supply out of this treasury But O Lord how shall such a wretch as I dare to approach this holy Table I am a dog how shall I presume to take the childrens bread Or how shall this spiritual Manna this food of Angels be given to one who hath chosen to feed on husks with swine nay to one who hath already so often trampled these precious things under foot either carelesly neglecting or unworthily receiving these holy mysteries O Lord my horrible guiltiness makes me tremble to come and yet makes me not dare to keep away for where O Lord shall my polluted soul be washed if not in this fountain which thou hast opened for sin and for uncleanness Hither therefore I come and thou hast promised that him that cometh to thee thou wilt in no wise cast out This is O Lord the blood of the New Testament grant me so to receive it that it may be to me for remission of Sins And though I have so often and so wretchedly broken my part of that Covenant whereof this Sacrament is a seal yet be thou graciously pleased to make good thine to be merciful to my unrighteousness and to remember my sins and my iniquities no more and not only so but to put thy laws into my heart and to write them in my mind and by the power of thy grace dispose my soul to such a sincere and constant obedience that I may never again provoke thee Lord grant that in these holy mysteries I may not only commemorate but effectually receive my blessed Saviour and all the benefits of his Passion and to that end give me such a preparation of soul as may qualifie me for it give me a deep sense of my sins and unworthiness that being weary and heavy laden I may be capable of his refreshings and by being suppled in my own tears I may be the fitter to be washed in his blood raise up my dull and earthly mind from groveling here below and inspire it with a holy zeal that I may with spiritual affection approach this spiritual feast and let O Lord that infinite love of Christ in dying for so wretched a sinner inflame my frozen benummed soul and kindle in me that sacred fire of love to him and that so vehement that no waters may quench no floods drown it such as may burn up all my drosse not leave one unmortified lust in my soul and such as may also extend it selfe to all whom thou hast given me command and example to love even enemies as well as friends Finally O Lord I beseech thee to cloath me in the wedding garment and make me though of my self a most unworthy yet by thy mercy an acceptable guest at this holy Table that I may not eat and drink my own condemnation but may have my pardon sealed my weakness repaired my corruptions subdued and my soul so inseparably united to thee that no temptations may ever be able to dissolve the union but that being begun here in grace it may be consummated in glory Grant this O Lord for thy dear Sons sake Jesus Christ. ANOTHER O Blessed Jesus who once offeredst up thy self for me upon the Cross and now offerest thy self to me in the Sacrament let not I beseech thee my impenitence and unworthiness frustrate these so inestimable mercies to me but qualifie me by thy grace to receive the full benefit of them O Lord I have abundant need of thee but am so clog'd with guilt so holden with the cords of my sins that I am not able to move towards thee O loose me from this band wherewith Satan and my own lusts have bound me and draw me that I may run after thee Lord thou seest dayly how eagerly I pursue the paths that lead to death but when thou invitest me to life and glory I turn my back and forsake my own mercy How often hath this feast been prepared and I have with frivolous excuses absented my self or if I have come it hath been rather to defie then to adore thee I have brought such troops of thy professed enemies unrepented sins along with me as if I came not to commemorate but renew thy passion crucifying thee afresh and putting thee to open shame and now of what punishment shall I be thought worthy who have thus trampled under foot the Son of God and counted the blood of the Covenant an unholy thing Yet O merciful Jesu this blood is my only refuge O let this make my atonement or I perish eternally Wherefore didst thou shed it but to save sinners Neither can the merit of it be overwhelmed either by the greatness or number of sins I am a sinner a great one O let me find its saving efficacy Be merciful unto me O God be merciful to me for my soul trusteth in thee and in the clefts of thy wounds shall be my refuge untill thy fathers indignation be overpast O thou who hast as my high Priest sacrificed for me intercede for me also and plead thy meritorious sufferings on my behalf and suffer not O my Redeemer the price of thy blood to be utterly lost And grant O Lord that as the sins I have to be forgiven are many so I may love much Lord thou seest what faint what cold affections I have towards thee O warm and enliven them and as in this Sacrament that transcendant love of thine in dying for me is shed forth so I beseech thee let it convey such grace into me as may enable me to make some returns of love O let this divine fire descend from heaven into my â—oul and let my sins be the burnt offering for it to consume that there may not any corrupt affection any accursed thing be sheltered in my heart that I may never again defile that place which thou hast chosen for thy Temple Thou dyedst O dear Jesu to redeem me from all iniquity O let me not again sell my self to work wickedness but grant that I may approach thee at this time with most sincere and fixed resolutions of an entire reformation and let me receive such grace and strength from thee as may enable me faithfully to perform them Lord there are many old habituated diseases my soul groans under Here mention thy most prevailing corruptions And though I lye never so long at the Pool of Bethesda come never so often to thy Table yet unless thou be pleased to put forth thy healing virtue they will still remain uncured O thou blessed Physician of souls heal me and grant I may now so touch thee that every one of these loathsome issues may immediately stanch that these sicknesses may not be unto death but unto the glory of thy mercy in Pardoning to the glory of thy grace in Purifying so polluted a wretch O Christ
hear me and grant I may now approach thee with such humility and contrition love devotion that thou mayest vouch safe to come unto me abide with me communicating to me thy self all the merits of thy Passion And then O Lord let no accusations of Satan or my own conscience amaze or distract me but having peace with thee let me also have peace in my self that this Wine may make glad this Bread of life may strengthen my heart enable me chearfully to run the way of thy Commandments Grant this merciful Saviour for thine own bowels compassions sake EJACULATIONS to be used at the LORDS TABLE LORD I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof I have sinned What shall I do unto thee O thou preserver of men Here recollect some of thy greatest sins If thou Lord shouldst be extream to mark what is done amiss O Lord who may abide it But with the Lord there is mercy and with him is plenteous Redemption Behold O Lord thy beloved Son in whom thou art well pleased Hearken to the cry of his blood which speaketh better things then that of Abel By his Agony and bloody Sweat by his Cross and Passion good Lord deliver me O Lamb of God which takest away the sins of the world grant me thy Peace O Lamb of God which takest away the sins of the world have mercy upon me Immediately before Receiving THOU hast said That he that eateth thy flesh and drinketh thy blood hath eternal life Behold the servant of the Lord be it unto me according to thy word At the Receiving of the Bread BY thy Crucified body deliver me from this body of death At the receiving of the Cup. O LET this blood of thine purge my conscience from dead works to serve the living God Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me clean O touch me and say I will be thou clean After Receiving WHAT shall I render unto the Lord for all the benefits he hath done unto me I will take the Cup of Salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing Therefore blessing honour glory and power be to him that sitteth upon the Throne and to the Lamb for ever and ever Amen I have sworn and am stedfastly purposed to keep thy righteous judgements O hold thou up my goings in thy paths that my footsteps slip not A Thanksgiving after the Receiving of the Sacrament O Thou fountain of all goodness from whom every good and perfect gift cometh and to whom all honour and glory should be returned I desire with all the most fervent and inflamed affections of a grateful heart to bless and praise thee for those inestimable mercies thou hast vouchsafed me Lord what is man that thou shouldst so regard him as to send thy beloved Son to suffer such bitter things for him But Lord what am I the worst of men that I should have any part in this attonement who have so oft despised him and his sufferings O the height and depth of this mercy of thine that art pleased to admit me to the renewing of that Covenant with thee which I have so often and so perversly broken that I who am not worthy of that dayly bread which sustains the body should be made partaker of this bread of life which nourisheth the soul and that the God of all purity should vouchsafe to unite himself to so polluted a wretch O my God suffer me no more I bâ—seech thee to turn thy grace into wantonness to make thy mercy an occasion of security but let this unspeakable love of thine constrain me to obedience that since my blessed Lord hath died for me I may no longer live unto my self but to him O Lord I know there is no concord between Christ and Belial therefore since he hath now been pleased to enter my heart O let me never permit any lust to chace him thence but let him that hath so dearly bought me still keep possession of me and let nothing ever take me out of his hand To this end be thou graciously pleased to watch over me and defend me from all assaults of my spiritual enemies but especially deliver me from my self from the treachery of my own heart which is too willing to yield it self a prey And where thou seest I am either by nature or custome most weak there do thou I beseech thee magnifie thy power in my preservation Here mention thy most dangerous temptations And Lord let my Saviours sufferings for my sins and the Vows I have now made against them never depart from my minde but let the remembrance of the one enable me to perform the other that I may never make truce with those lusts which nailed his hands pierced his side and made his soul heavy to the death But that having now anew listed my self under his banner I may fight manfully and follow the Captain of my Salvation even through a sea of blood Lord lift up my hands that hang down and my feeble knees that I faint not in this warfare O be thou my strength who am not able of my self to struggle with the slightest temptations How often have I turned my back in the day of battel How many of these Sacramental vows have I violated And Lord I have still the same unconstant deceitful heart to betray me to the breach of this O thou who art Yea and Amen in whom there is no shadow of change communicate to me I beseech thee such a stability of minde that I may no more thus start aside like a broken bow but that having my heart whole with thee I may continue stedfast in thy Covenant that not one good purpose which thy Spirit hath raised in me this day may vanish as so many have formerly done but that they may bring forth fruit unto life eternal Grant this O merciful father through the merits and mediation of my Cruâ—ified Saviour A Prayer of Intercession to be used either before or after the receiving of the Sacrament O MOST gracious Lord who so tenderly lovedst mankind as to give thy dear Son out of thy Bosome to be a propitiation for the sins of the whole word grant that the effect of this Redemption may be as universal as the design of it that it may be to the salvation of all O let no person by impenitence and wilful sin forfeit his part in it but by the power of thy grace bring all even the most obstinate sinners to repentance Inlighten all that sit in darkness all Jews Turks Infidels and Hereticks take from them all blindness hardness of heart and contempt of thy Word and so fetch them home blessed Lord unto thy fold that they may be saved among the number of the true Israelites And for all those upon whom the Name of thy Son is called grant O Lord that their conversations may
be such as becometh the Gospel of Christ that his Name be no longer blasphemed among the Heathens through us O Blessed Lord how long shall Christendom continue the vilest part of the world a sink of all those abominable pollutions which even Barbarians detest O let not our Profession and our Practice be always at so wide a distance Let not the Disciples of the holy and Immaculate Jesus be of all others the most profane and impure Let not the subjects of the Prince of Peace be of all others the most contentious and bloody but make us Christians in deed as well as in name that we may walk worthy of that Holy vocation wherewith we are called and may all with one mind and one mouth glorifie thee the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Have mercy on this languishing Church look down from heaven the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory where is thy zeal and thy strength the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies towards us Are they restrained Be not wroth very sore O Lord neither remember iniquity for ever but though our backslidings are many and we have grievously rebelled yet according to all thy goodness let thy anger and thy fury be turned away and cause thy face to shine upon thy Sanctuary which is desolate for the Lords sake and so separate between us and our sins that they may no longer separate between us and our God Save and defend all Christian Kings Princes and Governours especially those to whom we owe subjection plead thou their cause O Lord against those that strive with them and fight thou against those that fight against them and so guide and assist them in the discharge of that office whereunto thou hast appointed them that under them we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty Bless them that wait at thine Altar open thou their lips that their mouth may shew forth thy praise O let not the lights of the world be put under bushels but place them in their Candlesticks that they may give light to all that are in the house Let not Jerohoams Priests profane thy Service but let the seed of Aaron still minister before thee And O thou Father of mercies and God of all comfort succour and relieve all that are in affliction deliver the out-cast and poor help them to right that suffer wrong let the sorrowful sighing of the prisoners come before thee and according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die grant ease to those that are in pain supplies to those that suffer want give to all presumptuous sinners a sense of their sins and to all despairing a sight of thy mercies and do thou O Lord for every one abundantly above what they can ask or think Forgive my enemies persecutors and slanderers and turn their hearts Powre down thy blessings on all my friends and benefactors all who have commended themselves to my Prayer Here thou mayest name particular persons And grant O merciful Father that through this blood of the Cross we may all be presented pure and unblameable and unreproveable in thy sight that so we may be admitted into that place of purity where no unclean thing can enter there to sing eternal praises to Father Son and holy Ghost for ever A Prayer in times of common Persecution O BLESSED Saviour who hast made the Cross the badge of thy Disciples enable me I beseech thee willingly and chearfully to embrace it thou seest O Lord I am fallen into days wherein he that departeth from evil maketh himself a Prey O make me so readily to expose all my outward concernments when my obedience to thee requireth it that what falls as a Prey to men may by thee be accepted as a Sacrifice to God Lord preserve me so by thy grace that I never suffer as an evil doer and then O Lord if it be my lot to suffer as a Christian let me not be ashamed but rejoyce that I am counted worthy to suffer for thy Name O thou who for my sake enduredst the cross and despisedst the shame let the example of that love and patience prevail against all the tremblings of my corrupt heart that no terrors may ever be able to shake my constancy but that how long soever thou shalt permit the rod of the wicked to lye on my back I may never put my hand unto wickedness Lord thou knowest whereof I am made thou remembrest that I am but flesh and flesh O Lord shrinks at the approach of any thing grievous It is thy Spirit thy Spirit alone that can uphold me O stablish me with thy free Spirit that I be not weary and faint in my mind And by how much the greater thou discernest my weakness so much the more do thou shew forth thy power in me and make me O Lord in all temptations stedfastly to look to thee the author and finisher of my faith that so I may run the race which is set before me and resist even unto blood striving against sin O dear Jesus hear me and though Satan desire to have me that he may winnow me as wheat yet do thou O blessed Mediator pray for me that my faith fail not but that though it be tryed with fire it may be found unto praise and glory and honour at thy appearing And O Lord I beseech thee grant that I may preserve not only constancy towards God but charity also towards men even those whom thou shalt permit to be the instruments of my sufferings Lord let me not fail to imitate that admirable meekness of thine in loving and praying for my greatest persecutors and do thou O Lord overcome all their evil with thy infinite goodness turn their hearts and draw them powerfully to thy self and at last receive both me and mine enemies into those mansions of peace and rest where thou reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost one God for ever A Prayer in time of affliction O JUST and holy Lord who with rebukes dost chasten man for sin I desire unseignedly to humble my self under thy mighty hand which now lies heavy upon me I heartily acknowledg O Lord that all I do all I can suffer is but the due reward of my deeds and therefore in thy severest inflictions I must still say Righteous art thou O Lord and upright are thy judgements But O Lord I beseech thee in judgement remember mercy and though my sins have inforced thee to strike yet consider my weakness and let not thy stripes be more heavy or more lasting then thou seest profitable for my soul correct me but with the chastisement of a father not with the wounds of an enemy though thou take not off thy rod yet take away thine anger Lord do not abhor my soul nor cast thy servant away in displeasure but pardon my sins I beseech thee if yet in thy fatherly wisdome thou see fit to prolong thy corrections
thy blessed will be done I cast my self O Lord at thy feet do with me what thou pleasest Try me as silver is tried so thou bring me out purified And Lord make even my flesh also to subscribe to this resignation that there may be nothing in me that may rebel against thy hand but that having perfectly supprest all repining thoughts I may cheerfully drink of this cup. And how bitter soever thou shalt please to make it Lord let it prove medicinal and cure all the diseases of my soul that it may bring forth in me the peaceable fruit of righteousness That so these light afflictions which are but for a moment may work for me a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory through Jesus Christ. A Thanks giving for Deliverance O BLESSED Lord who art gracious and merciful slow to anger and of great kindness and repentest thee of the evil I thankfully acknowledge before thee that thou hast not dealt with me after my sins nor rewarded me according to my iniquities My rebellions O Lord deserve to be scourged with Scorpions and thou hast corrected them only with a gentle and fatherly Rod neither hast thou suffered me to lie long under that but hast given me a timely and a grcaious issue out of my late distresses O Lord I will be glad and rejoyce in thy mercy for thou hast considered my trouble and hast known my soul in adversity Thou hast smitten and thou hast healed me O let these various methods of thine have their proper effects upon my soul that I who have felt the smart of thy chastisements may stand in awe and not sin and that I who have likewise felt the sweet refreshings of thy mercy may have my heart ravished with it and knit to thee in the firmest bands of love and that by both I may be preserved in a constant entire obedience to thee all my days through Jesus Christ. Directions for the time of Sickness WHEN thou findest thy self visited with Sickness thou art immediately to remember that it is God which with rebukes doth chasten man for sin And therefore let thy first care be to find out what it is that provokes him to smite thee and to that purpose Examine thine own heart search diligently what guilts lie there confess them humbly and penitently to God and for the greater security renew thy Repentance for all the old sins of thy former life beg most earnestly and importunately his mercy and pardon in Christ Jesus and put on sincere and zealous resolutions of forsaking every evil way for the rest of that time which God shall spare thee And that thy own heart deceive thee not in this so weighty a business it will be wisdome to send for some godly Divine not only to assist thee with his prayers but with his counsel also And to that purpose open thy heart so freely to him that he may be able to judge whether thy Repentance be such as may give thee confidence to appear before Gods dreadful Tribunal and that if it be not he may help thee what he can towards the making it so And when thou hast thus provided for thy better part thy Soul then consider thy Body also and as the Wise man saith Eccluâ— 38. 12. Give place to the Physician for the Lord hath created him Use such means as may be most likely to recover thy health but always remember that the success of them must come from God and beware of Asa's sin who sought to the Physicians and not to the Lord 2 Chro. 6. 12. Dispose also betimes of thy temporal affairs by making thy Will and setting all things in such order as thou meanest finally to leave them in and defer it not till thy sickness grow more violent for then perhaps thou shalt not have such use of thy Reason as may fit thee for it or if thou have it will be then much more seasonable to imploy thy thoughts on higher things on the world thou art going to rather then that thou art about to leave we cannot carry the things of this world with us when we go hence and it is not fit we should carry the thoughts of them Therefore let those be early dispatched that they may not disturb thee at last A Prayer for a sick Person O MERCIFUL and Righteous Lord the God of health and of sickness of life and of death I most unfeignedly acknowledg that my great abuse of those many days of strength and welfare which thou hast afforded me hath most justly deserved thy present visitation I desire O Lord humbly to accept of this punishment of mine iniquity and to bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him And O thou merciful Father who designest not the ruine but the amendment of those whom thou scourgest I beseech thee by thy grace so to sanctifie this correction of thine to me that this sickness of my body may be a means of health to my soul make me diligent to search my heart and do thou O Lord enable me to discover every accursed thing how closely soever concealed there that by the removal thereof I may make way for the removal of this punishment Heal my soul O Lord which hath sinned against thee and then if it be thy blessed will heal my body also restore the voice of joy health unto my dwelling that I may live to praise thee and to bring forth fruits of repentance But if in thy wisdom thou hast otherwise disposed if thou have determined that this sickness shall be unto death I beseech thee to fit prepare me for it give me that sincere and earnest repentance to which thou hast promised mercy and pardon wean my heart from the world and all its fading vanities and make me to gasp and pant after those more excellent and durable joys which are at thy right hand for ever Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me and in all the pains of my body in all the agonies of my spirit let thy comforts refresh my soul and enable me patiently to wait till my change come And grant O Lord that when my earthly house of this Tabernacle is dissolved I may have a building of God an house not made with hands eternal in the heavens And that for his sake who by his precious blood hath purchased it for me even Jesus Christ. A THANKSGIVING for RECOVERY O GRACIOUS Lord the God of the spirits of all flesh in whose hand my time is I praise and magnifie thee that thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption and restored me to health again it is thou alone O Lord that hast preserved my life from destruction thou hast chastned and corrected me but thou hast not given me over unto death O let this life which thou hast thus graciously spared be wholy consecrated to thee Behold O Lord I am by thy mercy made whole O make me strictly careful
us from our troubles O shew us thy mercy and grant us thy salvation that being redeemed both in our bodies and spirits we may glorifie thee in both in a chearful obedience and praise the Name of our God that hath dealt wonderfully with us through Jesus Christ our Lord. A Prayer for This Church O Thou great God of recompences who turnest a fruitful land into barrenness for the wickedness of them that dwell therein thou hast most justly executed that fatal sentence on this Church which having once been the perfection of beauty the joy of the whole earth is now become a scorn and derision to all that are round about her O Lord what could have been done to thy vineyard that thou hast not done in it and since it hath brought forth nothing but wilde grapes it is perfectly just with thee to take away the hedge thereof and let it be eaten up But O Lord though our iniquities testifie against us yet do thou it for thy Names sake for our backslidings are many we have sinned against thee O the hope of Israel the Saviour thereof in time of trouble why shouldst thou be as a stranger in the land as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night Why shouldst thou be as a man astonied as a mighty man that cannot save Yet thou O Lord art in the midst of us and we are called by thy Name leave us not deprive us of what outward enjoyment thou pleasest take from us the opportunities of our luxury and it may be a mercy but O take not from us the means of our reformation for that is the most direful expression of thy wrath And though we have hated the light because our deeds were evil yet O Lord do not by withdrawing it condemn us to walk on still in darkness but let it continue to shine till it have guided our feet into the way of peace O Lord arise stir up thy strength come help us and deliver not the soul of thy Turtle Dove this disconsolate Church unto the multitude of the enemy but help her O God and that right early But if O Lord our rebellions have so provoked thee that the Ark must wander in the wilderness till all this murmuring generation be consumed yet let not that perish with us but bring it at last into a Canaan and let our more innocent posterity see that which in thy just judgement thou denrest to us In the mean time let us not cease to bewail that desolation our sins have wrought to think upon the stones of Ston and pity to see her in the dust nor ever be ashamed or afraid to own her in her lowest and most persecuted condition but esteem the reproach of Christ greater riches then the treasures of AEgypt and so approve our constancy to this our afflicted Mother that her blessed Lord and Head may own us with mercy when he shall come in the glory of thee his father with the holy Angels Grant this merciful Lord for the same Jesus Christ his sake A Prayer for the Peace of the Church LORD Jesus Christ which of thine Almightiness madest all creatures both visible and invisible which of thy godly wisdome governest and settest all things in most goodly order which of thine unspeakable goodness keepest defendest and furtherest all thing which of thy deep mercy restorest the decayed renewest the fallen raisest the dead vouchsafe we pray thee at last to cast down thy countenance upon thy well beloved Spouse the Church but let it be that amiable and merciful countenance wherewith thou pacifiest all things in heaven in earth and whatsoever is above heaven and under the earth vouchsafe to cast upon us those tender and pitiful eyes with which thou didst once behold Peter that great Shepherd of thy Church and forthwith he remembred himself and repented with which eyes thou once didst view the scattered multitude and wert moved with compassion that for lack of a good Shepherd they wandered as sheep dispersed and strayed a sunder Thou seest O good Shepherd what sundry sorts of Wolves have broken into thy sheep cotes so that if it were possible the very perfect persons should be brought into error thou seest with what winds with what waves with what storms thy silly ship is tosl d thy ship wherein thy little flock is in peril to be drowned And what is now left but that it utterly sink and we all perish Of this tempest and storm we may thank our own wickedness and sinful living we discern it well and confess it we discern thy righteousness and we bewail our unrighteousness but we appeal to thy Mercy which surmounteth all thy works we have now suffered much punishment being scourged with so many wars consumed with such losses of goods shaken with so many floods and yet appears there no where any Haven or Port unto us being thus tired and forlorn among so strange evils but still every day more grievous punishments and more seem to hang over our heads We complain not of thy sharpness most tender Saviour but we discern here also thy mercy forasmuch as much grievouser plagues we have deserved But O most merciful Jesus we beseech thee that thou wilt not consider nor weigh what is due for our deservings but rather what becometh thy mercy without which neither the Angels in heaven can stand sure before thee much less we silly vessels of clay Have mercy on us O Redeemer which art easie to be intreated not that we be worthy of thy mercy but give thou this glory unto thine own Name Suffer not those which either have not known thee or do envy thy glory continually to triumph over us and say Where is their God where is their Redeemer where is their Saviour where is their Bridegroom that they thus boast on These opprobrious words redound unto thee O Lord while by our evils men weigh and esteem thy goodness they think we be forsaken whom they see not amended Once when thou sleptst in the ship and a tempest suddenly arising threatned death to all in the Ship thou awokest at the outcry of a few Disciples and straightway at thine Almighty word the waters couched the winds fell the storm was suddenly turned into a great calm the dumb waters knew their makers voice Now in this far greater tempest wherein not a few mens bodies be in danger but innumerable souls we beseech thee at the cry of thy holy Church which is in danger of drowning that thou wilt awake So many thousands of men do cry Lord save us we perish the tempest is past mans power it is thy word that must do the deed Lord Jesu Only say thou with a word of thy mouth Cease O tempest and forthwith shall the desired calm appear Thou wouldst have spared so many thousands of most wicked men if in the City of Sodom had been found but ten good men Now here be so â—any thousands of men which love the glory of