two extreams it is not possible to pass from the one to the other in a moment or without some mediums that are appointed to rid us of the indisposition of the one and prepare us for the acceptance of the other It is for that good purpose that his Wisdom condescends to send us the assistance of his divine Graces by which our Souls are not only cleansed from the filthiness of our sinful habits but also enabled to this blessed Correspondency with God in Prayer the Fountain of all spiritual Joy and Comfort Let not therefore any Perswasion or discouragement hinder thee O Christian from visiting often thy God in Prayer Let not the sinfulness of thy Actions the vitiousness of thy Disposition the multiplicity of worldly business the Cares and Troubles of the World nor any mistake of God or of thy self cause thee to omit this beneficial Duty What if thou art sinful or naturally indisposed to so holy a Performance Remember Christ in Heaven sits at God's Right Hand to intercede for thee to render thy Prayers effectual to sanctifie thy Groans and offer them up to thy God What if thou makest thy Addresses to a glorious Being of an infinite Power and Majesty If thy disposition be suitable to the Duty thou mayest draw near with confidence to the Throne of his Grace for he is thine Heavenly Father he desires nothing more than to render thee happy and to bestow upon thee his Mercies Consider his gratious invitations and many encouragements in his holy Word Come unto me all ye that travel and are heavy laden and I will refresh you Matth. 11.28 Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will hear thee and thou shalt glorifie me Psal 50.15 The Lord is good and ready to forgive and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon him Psal 36.5 Before we call he will answer and while we are yet speaking he will hear Isaiah 65.24 To all that turn to him the Lord is gracious and merciful slow to anger and of great kindness Joel 2.13 He will not break the bruised Reed nor quench the smoaking Flax Matth. 12.20 Shall his mercy be so ready to receive thee and wilt thou be so unworthy to draw back Shall his goodness long to bestow upon thee what thou wantest and wilt thou be so unreasonable to contemn it Shall his Love desire to be acquainted with thee by thy frequent Addresses and wilt thou be so ungrateful to slight his offered kindness Take notice of the just punishment of those ungracious Souls whom his Wisdom invites in vain to her self Because I have called and ye refused I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded but ye have set at naught all my Counsel and would none of my Reproof I also will laugh at your Calamity I will mock when your fear cometh Then shall they call upon me but I will not answer they shall seek me early but they shall not find me c. Prov. 1.25 26.28 Adversity may have that Power to awaken many who in prosperity from one year to another scarce think of praying to their God But what can such expect in reason from his Bounty which they in their flourishing Estate despise or neglect Those Services can never be thought real and sincere unto which necessity drives Men and those persons that make a mock of this Duty at any time cannot probably receive from it in their greatest urgencies the benefits they expect It is therefore Wisdom constantly to practice that which may stand us in good stead and without which we shall assuredly be at a loss Prayer may help and comfort thee O Man when all other helps and comforts forsake thee when thy Riches and thy Guards thy Treasure and thy Friends thy Power and thy Glory shall leave thee to be Tormented with the Pangs of a Disease or suffer thee to pass alone and naked through the dark and mournful Vale of Death In a word when all the World can yield thee no assistance Prayer alone may assist and relieve thee I cannot prescribe to any persons the times and moments for every one to make his Addresses to his God There is no hour of the day nor night but the divine goodness is ready to receive the humble Application of a dutiful Supplicant No wonder therefore that St. Paul adviseth us to pray without ceasing Which words we must not so understand as to spend all our time in this Duty leaving all other necessary Employments of Life as the antient lasie Hereticks sirnamed by the Fathers Euthicks taught by their Doctrine and Practice But this Command may admit of a threefold interpretation equally necessary for the observance of a Christian First We may go far to the compleating of the Apostles Counsel by sending up unto God without intermission our hearty desires our sighs and groans when we are busie in our daily works to implore his needful assistance and protection The constant business of this Life should not hinder thee from this preparation for the next nor the incumbrances of the World clog thy Soul from this elevation to its God with whom an uninterrupted correspondence will wonderfully advance our present affairs as well as dispose thee O Man for a more blessed Estate Secondly in imitation of David of Daniel and of other Religious Men mentioned in holy Writ we may pray always by a constant performance of Prayer at those times that chiefly require a divine assistance and an acknowledgment of Gods continual Mercies Evening Morning and at Noon will I pray and cry aloud and he shall hear my Voice saith David Psal 55.17 And Daniel could not be frighted with the sear of the Lions fury from praying three times a day to his God In the Morning when our Eyes are open again to behold the wonderful works of God's Power and Wisdom in the Creation and Preservation of the World it concerns us to praise his divine Attributes that shine as bright as the Sun over our Heads When we receive a fresh expression of God's goodness in keeping us safe from the dangers of the preceding Night in adding another day to our Lives and a continuance of all his Temporal Favours doth not Justice and Reason call upon us to be as mindful of God's Bounty as he is of our necessities and to be as liberal of our thanks as he is of his Riches When in the Morning thou art going about thine Employments and considerest that all thy labours will be to little purpose without God's Blessings that thou art going through a world of dangers Spiritual and Temporal a World of Enemies subtle malicious and powerful that besiege thee on all sides â—s it not thine Interest to beg the favour and Protection of that good Creator that thy Soul and thy Body may be preserved in the midst of all their envious attempts that thy designs and undertakings may be successful thy labours fruitful and all thy proceedings prosperous At Noon when thou
we may so pass through things Temporal that we finally lose not the things Eternal for Jesus Christ his sake our Lord. Amen GRant O Lord we beseech thee that the Course of this World may be so peaceably ordered by thy governance that we and thy whole Church may joyfully serve thee in all Godly quietness through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen LOrd of all Power and might who art the Author and giver of all good things Graft in our Hearts the love of thy Name increase in us true Religion nourish us with all goodness and of thy great Mercy keep us in the same through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O Merciful God bless and preserve we pray thee our Princes defend them from all their Enemies direct them in all their Counsels assist them in all their religious purposes grant them and the Church amongst us peace and prosperity in this Life and everlasting Happiness in the life to come Bless all the Royal Family the Nobility the Magistrates the Gentry and People of this Land Grant us Peaâ—e and Truth and preserve us from Heresie Schism Superstition and Idolatry for Jesus Christ his sake Amen OUR Father which art in Heaven hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our Trespasses as wâ— forgive them that Trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from all Evil. For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen THe Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with us all evermore Amen Another Morning Prayer for a Family when Business is most urgent TUrn thy Face away from our sins O Lord and blot out all our Offences Make us clean Hearts O God and renew right Spirits within us Ps 51. Almighty and Everlasting God mercifullly look upon our Infirmities and in all our dangers and necessities stretch forth thy Right Hand to help and defend us through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O God whose Blessed Son was manifested that he might destroy the Works of the Devil and make us the Sons of God and Heirs of Eternal Life Grant us we beseech thee that having this Hope we may purifie our selves as he is pure that we may walk in newness of life and follow the Examples of his Patience Piety and Holiness that when he shall appear with Power and Glory we may be made like unto him in his glorious Kingdom Amen O Lord be merciful to us and our Nation bless the King's Majesty and our Queen with Life and happiness their Counsellors with Wisdom their Armies with Victory their Subjects with Peace and Prosperity Bless the Nobility the Clergy and Commonalty in their goings out and comings in Bless us we beseech thee and all our Relations with Spiritual and Temporal Mercies And all these Blessings we beg for Jesus Christ his sake in whose perfect Form of Prayer we sum up all our desires as he hath taught us OUr Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this Day our daily Bread And forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from all Evil. For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen THe Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the Love of God the Father and the Fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with us all Amen Another Morning PRAYER for a Family O Gracious God the Creator and Protector of Mankind whose continued goodness we have lately experienced in the safety and preservation of the last Night We bless thy Holy Name for this and all other expressions of thy Mercy to us we acknowledge that as thou art the Author of our Beings it is thy good Providence that maintains and defends them from all dangers and Enemies that incompass us about It is thy watchful Eye that sees all their contrivances to destroy us It is thy Wisdom that knows how to defeat their Craftiest purposes It is thy Power alone that can disappoint and oppose their wicked and hellish Plots We are not ignorant O Lord of their malice and our continual dangers dangers that proceed from the contrivances of Spiritual and Temporal Enemies we desire therefore to be heartily thankful for we are really sensible of thy merciful protection hitherto and to ascribe all the Honour and Praise of our preservation and deliverance to thy Wisdom and Providence alone But O merciful Father let this expression of thy goodness the foundation of all thy Blessings be still continued to us we are sensible of our undeservings our sins and wickednesses are multiplied our provocations and ingratitudes have been many our many deficien ies in all our Duties might justly cause thee to leave us to our selves for the future and expose us naked to the subtilties and power of our Enemies who would quickly devour us But we implore thy mercy at this time and intreat thee to forgive us our Trespasses to pardon our Infirmities and to pass by all our Transgressions for the Lord Jesus his sake In his Name and through his Merits we approach with all humility to the throne of thy grace to beg the forgiveness of all our Iniquities and the continuance of thy protection and Mercies Temporal and Spiritual How weak are we of our selves How soon cast into our Graves and what is Man that he should be able to defend us when the least blast deprives him of Life and Being Thou art therefore and thou alone O great God of Heaven thou art only able to defend us in the following course of our Life from visible and invisible perils Let thy Mercy be continued to us shelter us from the malicious designs of all our Enemies frustrate their wicked purposes lead us in all our ways direct us in all our paths bless us in all our undertakings we live in a crooked Generation in a world that overflows with sin and wickedness and our Conversation is amongst evil-doers let therefore thy Wisdom and thy fear so possess our Souls that we may not be drawn away by the Vices of the Age nor intangled in such Labryinths of Sin as might indanger our eternal welfare Suffer us not to be inticed with the allurements of unlawful Pleasure and Profit We trust not to our selves O Lord and our own frail resolutions because we have broken them so often that we have cause to mistrust our selves and to rely chiefly upon thy merciful guidance Let thy Truth direct us and thy Spirit lead us as well as thy Power protect us from the invasion of Error and Vice give us a right understanding of thy Will an unchangeable resolution to practise it suffer us not to be drawn aside neither by fear nor by profit from the
and forgiveness through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O God from whom all Holy Desires all good Counsels and all just Works do proceed give unto thy Servants that peace which the World cannot give that both our Hearts may be set to obey thy Commandments and also that by thee we being defended from the fear of our Enemies may pass our time in rest and quietness through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour Amen LIghten our Darkness we beseech thee O Lord and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night for the Love of thy only Son our Saviour Jesus Christ Amen ALmighty God who seest that we have no power of our Selves to help our selves keep us both outwardly in our Bodies and inwardly in our Souls that we may be desended from all Adversities which may happen to the Body and from all evil Thoughts which may assault and hurt the Soul through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O Almighty God who alone canst order the unruly Wills and Affections of sinful Men grant to thy People that they may love the thing which thou commandest and desire that which thou dost promise so that among all the sundry and manifold changes of the World our Hearts may surely there be sixed where true Joys are to be found through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O Lord who never failest to help and govern them whom thou dost bring up in thy stedfast Fear and Love keep us we beseech thee under the protection of thy good Providence and make us to have a perpetual Fear and Love of thy Holy Name through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O God whose never failing Providence ordereth all things both in Heaven and Earth we humbly beseech thee to put away from us all hurtful things and to give us those things which be profitable for us through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen BE merciful O Lord to this Church and Nation punish us not accord-to our deservings but let thy Mercy protect and save us from the Evil hands of all our restless Enemies continue thy Word and Gospel amongst us remit our senseless Divisions open the Eyes and Hearts of all our Dissenting and disaffected Brethren that they may embrace thy Truth set aside all Prejudice and joyn with us thy Servants in the sincere Worship of thee the true God All this we beg for Jesus Christ his sake Amen O God for as much as without thee we are not able to please thee mercifully grant that thy Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our Hearts through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O Almighty God who art a strong Tower of defence unto thy Servants against the face of their Enemies We yield thee Praise and Thanksgiving for our Deliverance from those great and apparent Dangers wherewith we have been compassed We acknowledge it thy goodness that we are not delivered over as a Pray unto them beseeching thee still to continue such thy Mercies towards us to discover all hellish Plots contrived against our King Religion and Country and to disappoint all the black Designs of our Bloody Enemies that all the World may know that thou art our Saviour and mighty Deliverer through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O Lord our God who upholdest and governest all things in Heaven and Earth Receive our Humble Prayers for our Soveraign Lord and Lady the King and Queen set over us by thy Grace and Providence And so together with them Bless the whole Royal Family with the Dew of thy Heavenly Spirit that they ever trusting in thy goodness protected by thy Power and Crowned with thy gracious and endless Favours may continue before thee in Health Peace Joy and Honour a long and happy life upon Earth and after Death obtain everlasting life and glory in the Kingdom of Heaven by the Merits and Mediation of Jesus Christ our Saviour Amen BLess we beseech thee O Lord our Bishops Priests and Deacons with true Knowledge and understanding of thy Word and that both by their Preaching and living they may set it forth and shew it accordingly enable them all to be faithful in their great trust in the maintetenance of thy true Religion against the Incroachings of Popery Heresie Schism and Prophaneness Bless the Lords of the Council and all the Nobility Magistrates and Gentry with Grace Wisdom and Understanding of thy Will and Word Give to all Nations Quietness and Peace and to this thy People give Unity and Happiness help the weak-hearted raise up them that fall subdue Satan under our Feet Comfort all that are in Tribulation preserve all that are in danger shew thy pity to Prisoners and Captives Provide for the Fatherless the Widows and all that are Oppressed Have mercy upon all Men. Forgive our Enemies and turn their Hearts Preserve for our Use the kindly Fruits of the Earth And endue us with the Grace of thy Holy Spirit and amend our Lives according to thy Holy Word All this we beseech thee to grant us for Jesus Christ his sake Amen From our Enemies defend us O Christ Graciously look upon our Afflictions Pitifully behold the sorrows of our Hearts Mercifully forgive the Sins of thy People Favourably with mercy hear our Prayers O Son of David have mercy upon us Both now and ever vouchsafe to hear us O Christ Graciously hear us O Christ graciously hear us O Lord Christ O Lord let thy mercy be shewed upon us As we do put our Trust in thee WE humbly beseech thee O Father mercifully to look upon our infirmities and for the Glory of thy Name turn from us all those Evils that we most righteously have deserved and grant that in all our Troubles we may put our whole Trust and Confidence in thy mercy and evermore serve thee in Holiness and pureness of Living to thy Honour and Glory through our only Mediator and Advocate Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen PRevent us O Lord in all our doings with thy most gracious Favour and further us with thy continual help that in all our Works begun continued and ended in thee we may glorifie thy holy Name and finally by thy mercy obtain eversasting Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen ALmighty God who hast given us Grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications unto thee and dost promise that when two or three are gathered together in thy Name thou wilt grant their Requests Fulfil now O Lord the desires and Petitions of thy Servants as may be most expedient for them granting us in this World knowledge of thy Truth and in the World to come life everlasting Amen THe Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with us all evermore Amen An Evening Prayer for a whole Family sutable to the times O Merciful God here we thine unworthy Servants are prostrate before thee at the close of this day loaden with thy manifold Mercies to acknowledge the Weaknesses
should cause us to set aside all other considerations Now in this case of Prayer here is considerable nay assured and unspeakable Benefits mentioned before arising from thence to our Bodies and our Souls The prosperity the Health the Riches the Honours Blessings and the very breath of the former with all other Temporal things relating to its good are in the Hands and at the disposal of our God they proceed from his Bounty and are commonly obtain'd by our zealous Prayer for God an unchangeable Truth hath promised in his holy Word to have a special regard to the Prayer of the Destitute to hear the groaning of the Prisoner to loose them that are appointed to Death That he will cause him that asketh to receive he that seeketh from him his Necessities shall find them in due time That he will grant whatsoever we ask in Christ's name That he will hear the Prayers of all Flesh and perform their desires That he will open the Treasuries of his Mercies to such as call upon his Name and grant them their requests In a word God promiseth that he will freely bestow upon us all those earthly advantages which Men so highly esteem and stand in need of in consideration of our devout and Constant Prayer together with the more lasting and more excellent Riches of the Soul Psalm 102.17 Luke 11.9 John 14.13 Psal 65.2 Jer. 29.12 and Jer. 33.3 Zech. 13.9 If some prophane Varlets that contemn God and Religion and neglect this Duty nevertheless seem to be so happy as to be loaden with these Temporal Blessings they enjoy them not with that deliciousness and content as a praying Soul That which to the latter is a real Benefit proves a present Curse to the former and an aggravation and the fâ—wel of their Vices Neither can they find that sweetness in good which naturally it yields and a good Christian tastes partly because the fears and apprehensiens which commonly attend upon a disorderly behaviour with the gripings of an awaken'd Conscience sour and poison all the Mercies of Heaven and partly because the secret Curse that accompanies the Wicked in the neglect of their Duty to God changes the very nature of the greatest Blessings Let therefore the Care Diligence and Frugality of our Fore-fathers make never so much provision for us Let God's Providence put into our hands a plentiful Estate Honours Power and Authority as soon as we are born Prayer is as needful in such a Condition as if we were daily to expect the continual Supplies of God's Bounty to entertain our beings as if we had no such assurance of a livelihood in the World Humane Greatness if not supported and animated by Goodness and Piety is like those unweildy Bodies the sooner brought to ruine for want of Vital Spirits required to keep them in motion and preserve them from the encroachings of the Diseases unto which their grossness and fatness are inclinable Worldly promotion can never be well maintain'd and continued but by that Providence from whence it first proceeds Reason as well as Religion obligeth us to seek from God's mercy the preservation of those Stores of good things which he hath bountifully bestowed upon us seeing that without it they must needs decay and shrink away to nothing Think not thy self O Man less indebted to thy God because he hath given thee by whole Sale all the Riches of the Earth which he distributes to others but by retail and that therefore thou dependest not so much upon his Power and needest not so much his continual assistance as others of the lowest rank of Men. Sooner may the Moon and glittering Stars yield their light and comfortable Influences without the Aspect of the Sun sooner may the Earth bring forth its variety of Creatures without the Celestial Globes than that Man tho' never so Rich and Powerful should subsist without his God When therefore Solomon the wisest of all the Kings of Israel built the famous Temple of Jerusalem he placed the King's Bed-Chamber near to God's Sanctuary and caused a door to lead into it whereof the Key was transmitted with the Crown and Scepter of Israel and always in the King's possession that this might mind him of his dependency upon his God and to seek from him those Blessings and the protection that he continually wanted in that lofty Station of Honour If therefore our Subsistance the preservation of our Estates in the highest degree of Power and the continual assistance of our God needful in the greatest abundance proceed from his bountiful hand and are obtainable by and promised to our Prayers should not this oblige us to draw near with Humility to the Throne of God's Grace to offer up this cheap Sacrifice always ready and at hand so acceptable to our good God I confess he is acquainted with our indigencies and his infinite knowledge needs not be informed of the things that we want in the World for he knows our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking He understands our most bosom thoughts He sees and foresees what is most useful both for our Souls and Bodies Tho' this Consideration may seem to render our Prayers frivolous and not so needful as if God were ignorant of our Wants Yet Christ and his Holy Apostles require and advise us both by their Examples and Commands to lay open our Necessities in Prayer to our gracious God and Nature it self calls upon us to seek from him a supply to our daily Wants For we must not look upon Prayer as a simple information of our desires and estate but as an open acknowledgement of God's Liberality and Riches not as an increase to his knowledge which is in it self Infinite and can admit no augmentation but as a means appointed by his Wisdom to increase and augment our happiness Neither must we look upon Prayer as an obligation laid upon God to commiserate our poor Condition but as a nâ—â—hod to dispose and render us fit to receive the Mercies of Heaven and as that unto which God's promises of Earthly and Spiritual Blessings are annexed Which the divine Wisdom hath so much the more cause to encourage and we sinful Men to practice because it is the most agreeable to God's magnificence and unlimited Bounty and to Man's weakness and poverty Because it is the most excellent Armour to strengthen us against the assaults of worldly Casualties the safest shelter where we may retreat when pursued by Storms and Tempests The best Pourveyor to procure us all things needful for our maintenance and beings And because it is the readiest means to entertain and increase that familiarity with our God which must of necessity precede that Eternal Union and Communion with him which we shall enjoy in the Estate of Glory God will have us draw nearer to him by degrees and not leap from our vile Fellowship with Sin and the World into an immediate fruition of his unspeakable Bliss As there is a vast distance between these
called thy Son make me as one of thy hired Servants A greater Humility in such a Case ought to prepare our Persons and Prayers for God's acceptance The more unworthy sin hath made us the more lowly ought our approaâ—hes to be to him The alteration in our behaviours should cause an alteration in our Souls before we present our selves before God Instead of alienating our minds from him the consideration of our weakness should incourage us to fly to him by prayer and seek from his all-sufficiency strength against future Temptations In such a case I would have a repenting Christian understand that God our merciful Creator is not so soon estranged from us as we are from him The Sin that disorders our Souls and causeth us to shun his presence may cause him to correct us for our good but it will never oblige him to cast us away if there be any sense of our Guiltiness in us accompanied with the hopes of his Mercy Therefore this ought not to be long an impediment to our Prayers or the cause to interrupt our daily correspondency with God Morning and Evening for we see it often happen by woful experience that by such an omission of our Duty many are insensibly brought into dangerous Snares And God withdraws his protection from such as were not mindful to take it along with them To avoid such miscarriages and dangers Prayer is as needful to a Christian in the beginning and close of the day as Armour and Weapons to a Souldier and Shoos and Cloathing to a Traveller to defend him from the injuries of the Way and Weather It emboldens the Soul against all accidents it gives Life and Heart to a Christian and makes him walk every where and lye down with David's Confidence Tho' I walk through the Valley of the shadow of Death I will fear no ill for thou art with me thy Rod and thy Staff they comfort me Psal 23. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my Life Psal 4.6 Likewise in the midst of a danger at the Tidings of Losses or Successes at the beginning of any Business of weight or moment and at several other times and occasions it concerns us to address our selves in Prayer to God the chief and only Author of all Temporal and Spiritual happiness for as this Devotion will disappoint the mischievous intent of Evils and Crosses it will infallibly draw a Blessing upon all our undertakings I have therefore endeavoured in this Book to furnish you my Christian Brethren with all the Prayers that are suitable for many Occasions and Casualities and Accidents needful in these wicked and dangerous times in which we now live If you offer them up in the manner as you ought you need not doubt of the Success The Prayer of a devout Soul hath an invincible Power The whole Creation is not able to resist or render ineffectual the religious Prayers of a Child of God Joshua's Prayers arrested the Sun in the middle of its Course Moses's Prayer dryed up the Waters of the Red Sea The Israelites Prayers undermined the Walls of Jericho Hezekiahs's prayer obtained fifteen years to his Life already condemned by the furiousness of a Disease naturally irrecoverable and caused an alteration in the common Course of Nature David by his Prayers marched safe through many dangers and was secure in the midst of all the Risings and Tumults of his Enemies Ahab's humility and prayers suspended and put a stop to God's Judgments that were going to fall upon his Idolatrous House Manasses's Prayer freed him from the Chains of Babylon and restor'd him against all probability to his Kingdom and Throne Daniel's Prayer shut up the Lyons mouths and disarm'd those furious Beasts Esther's Prayers changed the Sentence of death established against against the Jews and caused the mischief to fall upon their Enemiâ—s Heads The Churches Prayers unfettered St. Peter in the midst of his Guards opâ—ned for him the Iron Gâ—te and set him at liberty Elijah's Prayers shut and opeâ—'d thâ— Windows of Hâ—aven The thuâ—dering Roman Lâ—gion by Prayer reliev'd their fellow Souldiers with fresh showers of Rain and discomfiâ—ed their Enemies with strange Lightning and Thunder So many and such strange Events above all expectation and humane Power have been brought to pass by zealous Prayers that we have good cause in the greatest difficulties to be full of hopes whilst we have liberty to pray The Heavens the Seas the Earth the Elements and all the Creatures animate and inanimate seem to be at the Devotion of a devout Soul For the great Author and preserver of all Created Beings causeth them to yield help to the assistance of the humble and contrite Petitioner As they are alway in his hand and at his disposal he employs them in their Relief and for the accomplishment of such desires as tend to the Universal good of his Creatures and his own Glory What is not Prayer able to bring to pass when it intâ—râ—sseth an Almighty Power and an infinite Goodness in our Affairs and fetches to its assistance that same Omnipotency that created the World out of nothing Nihil fortius saith a Father homine legitime Orante There is nothing more powerful than a Man praying as he ought For the efficacy of Prayer depends not upon the holiness of the Petitioner but upon God's promises that are unchangeable Christ's Merits that are truly meritorious and his intercession that is unresistable At the right hand of God where he sits above this unconstant World he is employed in offering up the requests of his Members and Sâ—rvants on Earth and there before the Mercy Seat to perfume them with the Frankineense of his Passion that they might be acceptable to our Heavenly Father Whilst we have such a prevailing Mediator never doubt of the success of a Prayer procceeding from an humble Soul sit for the acceptance and encouragement of our merciful Saviour And if at any time thou feelest thy self indisposed or not able to offer up thy Prayers with that Devotion that is requisite be not therefore discouraged despair not of the success know for certain that it is not so much thy weakness as thy negligence not so much thy inability as thy sloth and indisposition that clogs thy Prayers and stops them in their ascent to Heaven Know for certain that God regards more humility truth and sincerity than the flourishes of Wit and the excellency of the language or the vehemency of the expression in all thy Requests That the Sighs and Groans of a broken heart or of a devout Soul are more powerful with God than the strongest Arguments or the longest Prayers God is not wont to proportion his mercies only to our deservings or reasons but rather out of his inexhaustible Treasuries to take and bestow upon us Men beyond all merits and expectation Therefore slack not thine Endeavours to pray well God's greatness and thine estate in relation to him calls for the greatest Respect the profoundest
Humility the exactest care the most fervent Zeal and earnestness that thou art capable of God is not to be courted with ordinary Devotion His Blessings are not to be obtained by a slothful hand and a negligent Soul The distance betwixt God and us vile Men should be expressed by the humility of our Souls and Bodies and our Prayers offered to so excellent a Majesty must have an excellency to recommend them to the Throne of his Grace For that purpose we must take notice of and observe these following directions in all our Addresses to God First let a short Meditation upon God his Power Glory Sufficiency infinite Presence Goodness Knowledge and Riches precede your Prayers with some Reflections upon your selves your sinfulness vileness and the former experience of God's goodness that such Considerations as these may cause you to shake off all negligence and sloathfulness and help to banish from your Souls all undecency carelesness and misapprehensions usually found in the devoutest persons We are naturally too much unmindful of the respect that we owe to our God too careless in the performance of our Duties too fond of the World and its Vanities Therefore this Meditation must stir us up and pre-dispose us for this holy Conference with our Maker It must withdraw all our minds from all other intangling thoughts that we may with more liberty set our selves entirely apart for this important Duty We must rid our selves of those things that commonly entangle us when we present our selves before our God and draw near to him with such thoughts as these I poor wretched and weak Man Dust and Ashes am going to speak to and petition a God the Creator of the World a Holy and Divine Majesty an incomprehensible Spirit which sills Heaven and Earth with his infinite presence He is at my Elbows and takes notice of my behaviour in my Soul and observes all the wandrings of the Mind in every corner of this wide World and sees and hears our wants and necessities How careful must I be to appear with respect before him He is Holy and abhors all filthiness I must therefore banish all silthy polluted and idle imaginations at this moment He is as just as he is good ready to punish irreverence but much more inclinable to reward Humility and Devotion how devout therefore should my Soul be in his presence How circumspect and humble before him who is an all-seeing Majesty and a consuming Fire The indiscreet Devotions of the Sons of Aaron caused the Fire from the Lord to fall upon and consume them Vzzah's unseasonable officiousness and the impudence of the men of Bethshemesh in drawing near to God without respect were severely punished and shall I presume to draw near to my God with carelesness and indiscretion Shall I escape if I venture before him without due consideration Shall I expect any gracious returns of those prayers that are offered up with so little grace and dread of God's Power with so little sense of his glory and Majesty O let my Soul be silled with the fear and reverence of so fearful and holy a Being Let my mind be seasoned with such a dread of him that may not fright me from him but rather oblige me to draw nearer to him with more Devotion and Humility If we entertain such thoughts as these they will cleanse our Souls from all that sapersluity which will otherwise disgrace and spoil all our holy performances A little pause therefore before Prayer is needful for this purpose however it is an Act of Wisdom in so weighty a business to proceed on with caution and wariness and this little recollection of our selves which I recommend to every devout Soul before Prayer chiefly before the solemn and publick Prayers offered up to God in the publick Congregation cannot but be of a great use and very instrumental to prepare us for that Duty for thereby we may see what there is in us able to impede us in our addresses to God and what is likely to hinder a favourable return of our Petitions besides it savours much of that respect that God's greatness requires from us together with our Relation to him Keep thy foot saith the Wise man when thou goest to the House of God and be more ready to hear than to give the Sacrifice of Fools Ecclesiast 5.1 That is when thou goest to appear before God's Majesty keep thy self with watchfulness and circumspection and understand thy self thy disposition and what thou art and what thou dost that this sacred Frankincense of Prayer may be presented to God with the Ingredients necessary and from a. Soul rightly qualified Secondly For that purpose you must never come to God with any known sin unrepented of that is with any sin near and dear unto our Souls which we entertain with a Resolution never or not yet to part with For not only the sacred Word of God assures us that God heareth not Sinners John 9.31 but Reason also teacheth us that it consists not with his Wisdom to listen to the Prayers of such as will not hearken to his Commands to bestow his Blessings and Mercies upon such unworthy Souls as will not leave a sin for his sake or as prefer the filthy Pleasures of the Flesh to the sincere Joys of God's savour and the real advantage which slow from thence in abundance Therefore by the Mouth of the Prophet Isaiah he speaks thus to the Jews and to all impenitent Sinners When you spread forth your hands I will hide mine Eyes from you when you make many Prayers I will not hear The cause of this severity is discovered in the next words because your Hands are full of Blood All other sins as well as blood guiltiness are wont to divert God's Mercies from us and withdraw those good things which otherwise we might enjoy Our Prayers in such a case without this due Preparation savours of the greatest impudency and Atheistical boldness because we attempt the obtaining of God's Riches and Favours to our unworthy Beings and present before his all-seeing Eye Bodies distempered with Vice Hands full of Sin Eyes swelling with Pride or bearing the marks of Contempt of his Divine Majesty and a Soul that would never regard him were it not for our Wants and God's Riches The Prayers of such a Person will prevail no more upon God than the Sacrifice of Corah and his Confederates for he accepts not the Offerings presented by foul hands Purity and Innocency are required in such as come before God And tho' none of us can pretend to an absolute freedom from sin and from those wicked propensities to vice which render our Prayers ineffectual yet every one of us may cleanse our selves from all actual Transgressions by Repentance and make some amends by a repeated resolution against our beloved Sins and by an inward and hearty sorrow before we appear in God's presence for our past miscarriages for unless we appear in that temper our most just and
Seventhly Faith must likewise be an ingredient in this part of God's Worship as well as in the rest This Grace is the Life and Soul of Devotion without which all our Addresses are to no purpose For he that comes unto God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that seek him Now there is a double Duty that our Faith is bound to perform in Prayer First it must make us sensible of God's presence and all-seeing Eye it must cast the Soul into a dread of that divine Majesty who hears and sees every Petitioner all over the World it must awaken all our abilities and quicken us with the consideration of God's glorious Being unto whom we offer up our Requests it must represent him present and as he is a God a just a powerful and a merciful Creator to our imagination but let the good Christian take heed that he suffer not his fancy to give any visible shape to God's incomprehensible Being Our minds are too apt to be extravagant in this Case and to commit that Spiritual Idolatry which the Heathens were outwardly guilty of This infinite Spirit is to be represented inwardly to Souls without any such contemptible appearance unto which our imagination instructed by our Senses is wont to confine him His incomprehensible Being must not be disgraced by our weak and shallow apprehensions Therefore in all our Addresses to him our busie imagination ought to be entertain'd with the Thoughts of the things we want and desire from God and our Minds stopt with the notion of his Immensity and our belief ought to make us as sensible of his Presence as if he were visible before our Eyes this will banish all careless idle and wandering thoughts and negligence and quicken us in the performance of this important Duty The sense of God's presence will cause us to summon all our abilities and rid us of all those things that might be an impediment to our Prayers And for want of it Men are commonly sloathful and careless in their Addresses to God's Divine Majesty But there is another Duty that our Faith must perform in Prayer that is it must keep the Soul in an expectation of the grant of our requests and assure us that God is both willing and able to fulfil our desires in his due time that he hath Goodness and Power enough in store to reward us and satisfie all our Wishes nay that he will give us the good things that we petition for if they be convenient for us and likely to be instrumental in the promotion of his Glory on Earth For that purpose Christ hath encouraged us with this promise Math 21.22 All things whatsoever ye shall ask in Prayer believing ye shall receive And elsewhere he calls upon the sloathful to ask and assures them Math. 7.7 that they shall have seek and ye shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you And immediately before his Crucifixion he reproved his Disciples for their backwardness in Prayer John 16.24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my Name ask and ye shall receive that your Joy may be full By these and such like Promises Christ offers us God's assistances and mercies and desires us to send up our Prayers to him with a lively Faith and a strong perswasion that he will grant us our requests or so much of them as is needful for us This Faith or Perswasion must not be grounded upon such a deceitful Foundation as our Vertues good Qualities and Excellency Men are too apt to flatter themselves with such proud mistakes and to look upon their persons as deserving the favours that they petition for and that in consideration of their own Piety and Holiness God will infallibly hear their Prayers Though our innocency may be a means to draw the Blessings of Heaven upon our Heads it becomes not our Christian Humility to rely upon our Merits and claim God's mercies as due for our Services If God is a Debtor to us it is in regard of his Promises and not of our deservings which cannot be in any wise proportionable to his Blessings God may reward our Piety with the good things of this Life and with a prosperous success in all our undertakings according to our desires he may vouchsafe his mercies to his faithful Servants as well as keep them from the smart and fury of his judgments and that because of their Virtues and abstinence from the publick Sins but it becomes not the Humility of a Beggar when he comes to the Throne of God's undeserved Grace either to expect or claim more gracious returns because of our former services due to his Soveraignty over us Besides Men are commonly mistaken and we are apt to think too well of our selves but tho' our Virtues should be never so Heroick and our lives never so exemplary I would not advise any Petitioner to settle thereupon his Faith and Confidence of acceptance of and success to his Prayers because that perswasion claims God's Mercies as Debts and deserves as severe a repulse as that boasting Pharisee in the Gospel whose Prayer was but a provocation of God's displeasure against him whereas the Publican's Humility obtain'd a gracious forgiveness Self-conceitedness in Prayer is the worst disposition that we can bring and discover in our Addresses to him who knows the very bottom of our Souls sooner will the scandalous Sinner who is sensible of having render'd himself unworthy of Heavens Mercies receive the effects of the tenderness of his Fatherly Love rather than an over-confident and a proud Saint that is ready to upbraid God with his continual Services But as our confidence in Prayer must not proceed from an high Opinion that we have conceived of our selves of our perfections or actions so it should be setled upon the Merits and satisfaction of Christ our blessed Saviour and our real Interest in him our faith and assurance of God's acceptance must eye his Promises and infallible Truth and look upon the deservings of an alsufficient Redeemer in whom and by whom we are welcome to a bountiful God it must trust upon Christ's intercession that sanctifies our imperfect Prayers and offers them up for us to our Heavenly Father Let his Mediation procure us admittance and his Excellency purchase unto us a favourable return then only we may expect success when our Petitions are recommended by the Merits of a Crucified Christ All such requests as our Saviour promiseth shall meet with acceptance if we can be perswaded of an assured success or if we believe By which words he seems to encourage us to believe that whatsoever we ask the Father in his name we shall obtain it Experience teacheth us that this promise is not to be understood in as large a Sense as the words seem to intimate without any exception or restriction for many things we may ask of God which becomes not his Wisdom and Fatherly care over us to grant and our ignorance is such that we may
have any regard to God our merciful Creator I think there is no person so simple as to imagine that the Eloquency of the Tongue or unusual expressions can have a greater influence upon him than the Common Prayers of the Church It is not the Tongue but the Heart that God Eyes in all our Services The whisperings and private Complaints of the one are heard when the loud Cries of the other are rejected The Door of Mercy flies open at the beatings of a devout Heart when it remains bolted at the furious assaults of the most eloquent Tongue Therefore as it should be our chief regard in Prayer to examine that which is most pleasing to God not that which gratifies our own Humour We should chuse those Prayers to offer up to him wherein our Hearts may be as well concerned as our Tongues In order thereunto as the Set Forms of Prayer are the greatest helps that we can procure both to the learned and the unlearned to the wise and the ignorant I see no reason wherefore Men should be deprived of them and extemporary Prayers set up Those Forms I mean where things are spoken and not only words where the Conceptions are plainly expressed and the Prayers fitted for the use of the weakest Capacities They can never be too plain nor too easie and the Wise and the Learned ought not to think it a trouble to condescend in their Publick Worship to requests worded in a manner answerable to the meanest abilities for Christianity requires from them an Union with the weakest of their Brethren who is in as great a likelihood of God's mercy and obtaining God's Glory as persons of the greatest Reach and Judgment I know that it is the common use of our Dissenting Brethren to upbraid us in our Devotions with too much Formality in regard of our being so fond of Set Forms with an exclusion of all new composed Prayers I heartily wish that we our selves the Clergy and the People did not give cause for this aspersion but that it may not deceive the ignorant with its first plausible appearance let me tell them that we are not guilty of Formality nor to be condemned for it because that we use set and prescribed Forms but because we use them not right with that Devotion Respect Humility and inward Affection as becomes Christians and Petitioners of the God of Heaven Because in our Publick Service we repeat only the Words and mind not the uttering them with the affections of the Soul because some make it only a trade to go to Prayer others run them over as a Task and too many mind the Form but few mind the Substance of Prayer that is to express and offer them up to God with those inward qualifications and outward humility that I have now recommended to the practice of our Christian Brethren This causeth me to pass to the second particular that I have promised to examine The causes of the Peoples Contempt of our Liturgy and their neglect of the Forms of Prayer enjoined in our Church of England I could name a great many Causes that we our selves give but I shall reduce them all for brevity sake to these six following First I must accuse the Clergy both high and low great and small for having given the greatest cause of the contempt of our Liturgy and Rubrick by their indifferent Practices By their over hasty reading of them and by their omission of that respect which they should outwardly express and that devotion which is due to God they give occasion to many to slight the very Prayers themselves As they are the Peoples mouths to God they should be the Peoples Examples and Patterns to shew them how to beg God's Mercies as well as to endeavour to obtain them for their relief And the greater care they should take to observe all the motions of reverence because their practice hath so great an influence upon the Congregation and is of so great a consequence that they oblige Men to esteem those Prayers that are offered up to God For this reason a person that officiates in the audience of a Congregation should read over the Prayers not as we peruse a Story in a Book but with his Hands and Eyes lifted up to Heaven and upon his knees he ought to pronounce the Prayers as if he were speaking to God's Divine Majesty visibly present and to deliver them with the most apparent signs of sincerity of reverence and earnestness imaginable Endeavour to grace the godly Prayers of the Church with thy graceful and comely delivery with thy decent and respectful postures and gestures and let the Eyes of the Assembly learn from thee my reverend Brother the manner how to pray as well as the words and expressions of Prayer O! let not the negligence and sloathfulness of so many be laid to thy charge but strive to be zealously affected thy self that this disposition may be communicated to thy hearers I speak to you chiefly whose office and happiness it is to sing daily praises to God in Cathedral Churches Think not that you have sufficiently discharged your Duty if you have observed your distances your tunes and pleased the Auditors with your melodious Voices O! Remember my Christian Brother that thou must likewise please thy God with the harmony of the Soul and tune as well his praises with the inward affections as well as with the outward concerts of Musick Take heed lest thy behaviour or thy negligent discharge of thy Duty give scandal to our dissenting Brethren who are too apt to be offended at the least sign of weakness which thou mayest discover at such a time Secondly Another cause of the contempt of our Liturgy given by the Clergy is the negligence of the Superior and wealthiest Clergy who seldom read the Prayers of the Church themselves unless it be some small portion but commonly employ their Deacons or the meanest persons of the Church to offer up those Prayers that are of the greatest concernment to us and the chiefest of the Rubrick As if that Office were too mean for their Promotions and Dignity whereas it is the most glorious Employment that we Men can pretend to It makes us like our divine and great Saviour who intercedes for us in the presence of God and offers up our Requests Is there any that nameth himself a Christian that scorns to imitate the Author of our Salvation and to offer up the Prayers of their Congregations to God No person can be too worthy for so excellent an Employment and because the usual method observed in Cathedrals cannot well be changed I could wish that the Superior Clergy the Bishop the Dean and the Canons would sometimes perform those parts of Devotion which they have totally appropriated to the meanest of their Foundation and Society that thereby they might remove from the minds of Men the disesteem of our Prayers which they are apt to conceive and entertain thereby For as in the Days of Jeroboam
purpose I know that several Pious and Learned Men have lately and in the former Age furnished our Nation with Books of this kind but I think that their religious labours fitted for those times and answerable to their private designs will not hinder this present Treatise from being useful in its kind for the prevention of the Mistakes lately crept in amongst us and the mischiefs that are intended by our Enemies at home and abroad I find them busily employed in contriving our ruine and in poisoning our people with strange Principles by spreading in the Country new Pamphlets printed for that evil purpose I wish that we were as watchful for our own preservation The best means for that intent is to employ the same policy and to furnish our People with new and fresh advices which may serve as Antidotes against the Venom of their Enemies and ours Such Treatises therefore as this I think to be very seasonable for our divided times I am certain that it is much wanting in the place where I live and to the people committed to my Charge My first design was only to have a regard to their private wants at the requests of one of my Parishioners but when I considered that tho' Providence hath given me a particular inspection over the Inhabitants of a small division in a Wilderness it is my Duty to aim in all my actions at the general good I resolved to recommend to the publick such a Treatise as might serve and be useful to all Families in our Reformed Church and in it to have a general aim at the benefit of all Christians for I think that there is none in the state of Grace or within the limits of Christ's Church but he shall in this short Tract find Prayers and Advices which may sute with the condition and temper of his Soul You therefore that desire that Religion should flourish amongst us neglect not its chief Duty but see that it be carefully observed in your own practice and that of those recommended to your care As soon as your Children begin to speak teach them to cry Abba Father which art in Heaven Call upon them Morning and Evening to implore Protection and Assistance Let their Tongues be used betimes to tune forth the Praises of their Maker and acknowledge the Providence of God Remember that Piety with the Blessings of Heaven is the best and most durable portion which you can procure to your little ones And the only means to obtain it is carefully to practise this and all other Duties of Religion As they grow to years of Understanding Let them proceed on in learning the Prayers that are sit for their capacity and suitable to their Abilities Let them know that their chief dependency is upon that Almighty Being who hath created the World and put them into it to serve and worship him This daily practice of seeking to God in Prayer will keep youth from all those extravagancies and vitious actions by which the Gallants of our time are become a reproach to Christianity and Humanity it self Thou shalt never have the displeasure to see thy Son and thy Daughter either unruly in their behaviour or prophane in their discourse or corrupt in their Lives if thou wilt when they are young train them up in the constant and continual observance of this Duty of Prayer for there is nothing more proper and of a greater force to keep the Souls of Men from the temptations of our days and from all disorders as this Correspondency with God in Prayer Man therefore in this respect is like a Watch or a Clock the least neglect disturbs the Motion and steals him insensibly into improficiency or an ossence Pray therefore O Christian Man or Woman and pray without ceasing In prosperity and adversity let your requests be made known unto God Be not silent when God requires you to speak In whatsoever estate Providence may cast you make use of those Prayers that are answerable to your condition If you can offer up the Prayers of our Church with any satisfaction to your minds use them rather than others But if your prejudices be so strong and your aversion so invincible that you cannot yet relish them use the other Prayers more agreeable to your affections However neglect not this most important this most weighty and most indispensible Duty but perform it with all the Care and Devotion that God's greatness and thy mean condition requires from thee And I beseech the God of all Goodness to hear thy Requests to grant thy Petitions to comfort and refresh thy Soul and Body with Spiritual and Temporal Mercies and that this Treatise may be as useful to the Publick as it is intended by M. D. A Morning Prayer FOR A FAMILY According to the Book of Common-Prayer O! Lord who hast promised that before we call thou wilt answer and whilst we are yet speaking Isa 65.24 Psal 6.1 Psal 25 1â— Psal 51.10 thou wilt hear Rebuke us not in thine indignation neither chasten us in thy displeasure For thy Names sake be merciful to our sins Make us clean Hearts O God and renew a right Spirit within us O! Lord we beseech thee mercifully hear our Prayers and spare all those who confess their sins unto thee that they whose Consciences by Sin are accused by thy merciful pardon may be absolved through Christ our Lord. Amen O! Almighty Lord and everlasting God vouchsafe we beseech thee to direct sanctifie and govern both our Hearts and Bodies in the ways of thy Laws and in the works of thy Commandments that through thy most mighty protection both now and ever we may be preserved in Body and Soul through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Amen PRevent us O Lord in all our doings with thy most gracious favour and further us with thy continual help that in all our Works begun continued and ended in thee we may glorifie thy holy Name and finally by thy Mercy obtain everlasting Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen BLessed be thy Holy Name O Lord for thy continual and daily Mercies granted to us for thy Protection and Preservation till this time for the safety and quiet Repose of the last night for the welfare and Health of our Bodies and for all thy Temporal Blessings which thou heapest upon us Gracious God we acknowledge these and all other Mercies which we enjoy to be undeserved Favours proceeding from thy bountiful hand and fatherly goodness Continue them we beseech thee to us and all other things needful for our Souls and Bodies and give us grace in the use of them to glorifie thy great Name and to be truly thankful in our Hearts and Lives for all expressions of thine unwearied Liberality All this we beg for Jesus Christ his sake Amen O God the Protector of all that put their trust in thee without whom nothing is strong nothing is holy increase and multiply in us thy Mercy that thou being our Ruler and Guide
upon these lower Vanities O Lord as our Treasure is in Heaven let there be the end of all our desires and the centre of all our Actions Gracious God we pray thee not only for our selves but for the whole Catholick Church and for that part of it planted in these three Nations O! let not our Enemies triumph over us but watch over and preserve thy Son from all the Conspiracies of the Devil and his Agents Reunite our Divisions and make us all of one Heart and of one Mind Preserve the King and Queen's Majesty in Health Peace and Prosperity Give his Counsellors Wisdom his Army Victory and all his Subjects Happiness and Plenty Take into thy Protection all our Kindred and Friends defend their Bodies from dangers and their Souls from Schism and Error Be merciful to all Men as thou hast Created Mankind for Happiness discover to them the Means appointed by thy Wisdom to bring them thither and give them Grace to embrace the gracious offers of thy Providence All these Mercies and others which thou knowest most needful for our well-being here and our Glorious Being hereafter we humbly beg by the Merits and powerful intercession of thy Christ and our Saviour who hath taught us thus to Pray OUR Father which art in Heaven hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdome come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that Trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from all Evil. For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen THe Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the Loveof God the Father and the Fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with us all evermore Amen A Morning Prayer for a single Person ALmighty God by whose Gracious Providence I am yet alive and escaped out of all the dangers and difficulties of this mortal life by whose merciful Protection I have been preserved the last Night from all Corporal and Spiritual Enemies I adore thy Divine Mercy and Goodness so visibly expressed in every moment of my life I praise thy Holy Name for this and all other favours received from thy Wisdom and Power I glorifie thine infinite Majesty and acknowledge thee O! my God to be the Author of my Preservation as well as of my Being of my self I am not able to resist the least danger or Enemy were it not for thy watchful Eye and Power I had been long ago in my Grave but thy goodness hath yet spared me notwithstanding my unworthiness and the many Provocations of my Life O Merciful Father thy Blessings have been heaped upon me in abundance though I have returned thee for them all nothing but ingratitude and Sin when I make a Reslexion upon my self and thy liberality upon my past behaviour and thy manifold Blessings bestowed upon me from day to day I cannot but wonder at the infiniteness of thy Mercy which could not yet be exhausted nor discouraged by my unthankfulness but let the Sense of thy Love to me change and alter the temper of my Soul the resolution of my Mind and the Actions of my Life suffer me not to presume upon these outward Expressions of thine Affection to me but let them inflame my Soul with a sincere Love for thee my God and with a fervent zeal for thy Glory Suffer me not to be overcome by the powerful temptations of the World nor to be drawn aside by the allurements of Sin I am so sensible Lord of the weakness of my own Nature as not to trust upon my strength which hath so often yielded to wicked enticements assist me therefore my God with thy Divine and Holy Spirit defeat the Devil's Power disappoint all his malicious purposes and lead me through this wicked World in thy Faith and Fear Continue also thy Protection to my weak Body preserve me from all dangers and Enemies defend me from all Bloody and Cruel Souls that I may live here below in the Service of my Generation and in glorifying thee my Creator Bless me in the Works of my Calling give me a contented Mind satisfied with the Events of thy Providence that I may not complain of any thing that shall happen contrary to my desire and expectation and a full resignation to thy Will and Pleasure Suffer not my Soul to be too much in love with my self nor with any thing here below that I may avoid the pernicious Vices of Pride self-conceitedness Covetousness Ambition Lust and Vanity which in these latter days possess Mens Minds and hurry them into the Labyrinths that lead to Hell and Damnation O Lord I resign my self into thy hands I desire to depend upon thee to be govern'd by thee and to live for thee Enlighten therefore my Understanding with thy sacred Truth sanctisie my Will and Affections with thy Blessed Spirit and the longer I live let me draw nearer to thy likeness Strengthen my Soul with an assurance upon thy Love and Protection and pacifie all the disorders of my Passions that whatsoever inconveniency I meet with in my conversation here below I may enjoy a quiet and peaceable Temper of Spirit which is so acceptable in thy sight in Prosperity and Adversity in Sickness and in Health grant me an equality of Mind not pust up with the one nor cast down with the other but give me Grace that bearing willingly my Cross after Christ my Saviour I may press forward towards that Immortal Reward which thou hast prepared for them that love and fear thee In whatsoever condition thy Providence shall be pleased to bring me give me I beseech thee a disposition suitable to it that in following the Holy Example of my Glorious Redeemer and imitating his Goodness Piety Charity Patience in suffering Holiness and other Vertues I may glorifie thy Name on Earth grace the Profession of thy true Religion and prepare my self for Eternity for that purpose grant that I may employ all my Talents in those good uses for which they are designed that when I shall render up my accounts to thee I may not be ashamed of my Actions O let my mind be fixed upon that terrible day that I may live in expectation of it and order my Soul and Body ready for my dissolution I humbly beseech thy Divine Majesty to be gracious not only to my self but also to all my Relations receive into thy Favour and Protection all those that are committed to my Care or that are near or dear unto me in Blood and Affinity preserve their Souls from the Vices and Infection of the times and their Lives from dangers and Enemies and give them all Grace to serve and Glorifie thee their God on Earth Send thy Blessings upon the Societies and Kingdom unto which I belong forgive our National sins suspend thy judgments that we have deserved and if in thy Wisdom thou thinkest fit to chastise us destroy us not utterly set
the Times make me truly constant and faithful in the Professionof that Holy Religion unto which I am called Give me a right Understanding of its divine Precepts and grace to practise them in my Life Let thy Word be my Rule thy Truth my guide thy Spirit my Comforter and thy Glory my Reward Preserve me I beseech thee my good God from the Evils unto which I am subject and let my Soul and Body be precious in thy Sight especially this Night into which I am entring let the Merciful Eye of thy Providence preserve me during its mournful shadows from all Spiritual and Temporal Enemies Let thy Holy Angels guard and protect me and bring me safe to the next day to behold and admire the Wonders of thy Creation and Providence in the World Make me useful in my Generation bless all my undertakings and endeavours in my Calling that I may by it advance thy Glory and do good both to my self and others And because our natural Poverty is such that without thee and a continual supply from thy Bounty we cannot possibly subsist gracious God send me all things needful for my Soul and Body let me not depend too much upon the plentiful Provision of these earthly things already made for me but as thou art the Life and Soul of all thy Creatures and without thy Blessing our greatest plenty of good things is altogether unprofitable let the expectation of this Blessing incourage me to depend wholly upon thy favour and stir up my industry in the duties of my Calling and in the service of my Country Bless all my Relations and Parents more especially here name such as are in Affliction grant them long life health and happiness preserve the King's Majesty all my Governours and Teachers inable them all in their places to glorifie thee their God and do good to this Nation and People Defend us all from our Enemies at home and abroad and suffer them not to triumph over us but continue in our days Peace Truth Justice Plenty and Prosperity These and all other Mercies I humbly Beg for Christ Jesus his sake my only Saviour and Mediator who taught us thus to pray OUR Father which art in Heaven hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdome come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that Trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from all Evil For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen LEt thy grace thy Truth and Goodness be with me preserve and keep me now and for evermore Amen Prayers before Meal SEnd down thy Blessing good God upon these thy Creatures that we are now to be partakers of inable them to feed our Bodies and recruit our weakness and strengthen us to serve and glorifie thee on Earth that we may receive from thee the Rewards of thy Servants in Heaven This we beg for Jesus Christ his sake Amen Another Prayer before meat GRacious God we see by these fresh Expressions of thy Bounty that thou art never weary to load us with thy good things Sanctifie them unto us at this present time and us to thy Service through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Profitable Meditation at the sight of a Table spread or covered with Food for our Bodies HOw often have I tasted and felt the goodness of my God! He is that full Ocean of Mercy and Sweetness from whence these Streams proceed by various dispensations and Methods He is that bottomless Fountain that never will be exhausted Here here are tokens of his Love to us and care of our preservation before our Eyes These Creatures are sent to mend the daily breaches of this outward Tabernacle to recruit our Mortal Weaknesses with a fresh supply to corroborate the decaying strength of Nature with new Spirits We see by experience that these Bodies that God hath made he is careful to maintain and by the Influence of the Heavens and the Fruitfulness of the Earth to furnish with all their Wants O wonderful Providence How full and plentiful are thy Stores that so great a share is appointed for me How rich is that Bounty that when all my Fellow Creatures so many Millions in Number are provided vouchsafes me so great a Lot and large Portion He can never want that entertains a good Correspondency with the great Purveyor of Mankind whilst the Avenues and Conveyances are open O shut not up thy mercy from us for let my Estate be never so great and the Provision for my Body be never so large alas these poor senseless Creatures cannot benefit me without thy Blessing accompanies them these morsels may as soon choak as feed me without that invisible Vertue which thou alone canst send along with them I humbly crave it at thy good hands my good God let not my Sins sower or poison these thy Mercies let me not trust too much upon these outward assistances of Life and Health but as by thy daily proceedings thou hast taught me to depend chiefly upon thy Liberality let me look up to and expect from thee daily food and nourishment grant me a thankful Heart never to forget so great a goodness But the sweetness that I am going to relish minds me of the sweetness of that Bounty from whence it proceeds and of the greatness of thy Divine Wisdom that hath baited all necessary actions of our Life with a natural delight and pleasure How ravishing must the Fountain of Goodness be seeing these drops conveyed unto us at such a distance are so pleasing to our Palats God that now entertains my Being so far from his immediate presence intends one day to draw me nearer to himself to live with him for ever then the Divine Goodness shall refresh and comfort me without the cold assistance of inferior things then the smiles of God's Countenance shall be conveyed to us not by Reflections and at second hands but more immediately we shall then see as we are seen and solace our selves during the numberless Ages of an Eternity in the presence of this good God where we shall want neither Food nor Raiment but these corrupt Bodies shall be freed from all the slavery of the Elements and dependency upon them for we shall depend upon our God alone and him only shall we serve For this Corruption must put on Incorruption and this Mortal must put on Immortality O that I might have always in mind that final end of Mankind and use these thy Comforts but not abuse them by excess and gluttony These Bodies which thou hast so wonderfully made and preserves with such care are of that Excellency and designed for those Noble and Divine purposes that they must not be disgrac'd nor polluted with Vice These Creatures thou hast appointed for our Refreshment not for the dishonour or ruine of our Bodies If our Tables overflow how many of our poor
all the Endowments and Faculties which cause me to excel all other visible Species in providing so well for me and defending me in my Infancy from the dangers unto which its infirmities are exposed in bringing me to an age of discretion and supplying all my Wants with fresh and continual Blessings in preserving my Body and Soul from all Evils and Enemies unto this Moment in blessing my Labours and augmenting the Provisions for my subsistence I am not able O Celestial Good ness to reckon up the chief Heads of thy continual Favours O that I may learn to imitate this Heavenly Goodness and to express it in my behaviour and actions to my fellow Creatures Is it for me alone that thou hast given so many and so great Blessings should I not impart and bestow them upon those that want Supplies Must I ingorge and swallow all Must I keep with a tenacious hand what thou sendest to me that I may convey it further with discretion to such as are not so plentifully stored that they also may have cause with me to praise thy Holy Name and liberality Give me not only good things but also as good and distributive a mind and as liberal a hand to send them abroad that other my fellow Servants may likewise feel and have a sense of thy bounty to me and them O! Divine Goodness make me to be like thy self and bring me nearer to thy self that what I now experience at a distance I may find in thee in a nearer approach unto thine Eternal Presence This sweetness that I relish in thy Creatures invites me and promiseth greater and more unspeakable delights when I shall appear before thee my God who art the only Source and inexhaustible Fountain of all sincere pleasure and joy Give me such an heart to manage and behave my self amongst these Earthly Comforts that I may not forfeit my right to the Heavenly but that I may lay up in store for my self such a good Foundation against the time to come that I may lay hold on Eternal Life Amen A Meditation and Prayer upon the Mercy of God in the Redemption of Man by the Lord Jesus Christ O Supernatural Goodness it is in this Action that thou hast discovered to all intelligent Beings the unfathom'd depths of Love Kindness Mercy Liberality and Compassion Here it is that the Divine Bounty appears in its greatest Splendour Is my God come to visit me in my decayed Estate Doth his mercy stretch forth a hand to fetch me out of that Abyss of Misery into which I was with the rest of Mankind falling irrecoverably Has he so much love and humility as to cloath himself with the rags of my mortality that I might be lifted up and one day adorned with the Crown of his Glory O blessed exchange that bespeaks a mercy and love in my Saviour beyond my apprehension What wonderful and surprising Methods appointed by the Divine Wisdom to bring to pass this happy end Give me leave with the Wise Men of the East and the Shepherds of the Fields my merciful Saviour to visit thee in thy Nativity and from thence to view the footsteps and proceedings of this stupendious Mercy as they appear in every part and passage of thy Life and Death of and our Redemption O Merciful God the wonder of thy mercy in thine Incarnation is clearly seen in the greatness of thine abasement in the conformity to such an apostate and offending Nature in submitting to the weakness of our Humanity and ingaging thy self in a Race full of the most grievous Sufferings without the ordinary conveniencies of Life to sweeten the bitterness of thy griefs and mittigate thy sorrows How merciful dost thou shew thy self to such as wanted thine assistance Thy mercy gave eyes to the Blind feet to the Lame health to the Sick soundness to the Distemper'd deliverance to the Possessed pardon to the troubled in mind and life to the dead Never any did seek unto thee for help but thy compassion did as soon grant it as it was desired unto them also whose estate rendred them incapable of thy most signal favours Not only thy Friends but thine Enemies too have felt and experienced the tenderness of thy mercy What tears of compassion didst thou not shed at the sight of Jerusalem's Sins and at the consideration of its approaching Judgments How full of mercy was thy just indignation to behold the hardness of the Jews hearts after so many and such aparent Miracles the Evidences of a Divine power and approbation How full of mercy was this dying Saviour to pray for his Enemies at the very moment of loading him with affronts and contempt O Divine Sacrifice of Mercy to live such a painful Life for our sakes was a great expression of thy love and mercy but to dye for us to pay for the price of our Redemption and suffer such an ignominious and grievous Death was a far greater Mercy O my Saviour leads thee through Death and the Grave to a joyful Resurrection Every step is a step of Divine Mercy relating to us it shines most visibly in releasing our great Surety out of the Grave where our Enemies had shut him up in affording us such an assurance of the accomplishment of our Redemption and in admitting our Nature into the Coelestial Mansions Blessed be this wonderful Mercy in that it hath called us to and made us partakers of the Benefits of our Redeemer's Death and Passion and giveth us such fair hopes and assurances of a Glorious immortality with and by him I beseech thee let me never be unworthy of so much goodness And seeing thy mercy O my God hath look'd upon the greatest of Sinners shall I doubt of or question whether it will be extended to me Seeing it was designed for my benefit and this good Saviour bore my Sins upon his Cross shall I exclude my self by my unbelief shall I lessen that which is infinite and unspeakable and that which I ought to magnifie by my confidence upon it Prepare me for the reception of it forgive and pardon all my Sins admit me into thy favour and into the number of thine Elect. Give me such visible Evidences that I may rejoyce in thy Salvation confirm my faith and strengthen my reliance upon the tenderness of thy Compassions and as thy Mercy is extraordinary to my Soul let me not be cruel to my fellow Servants but courteous compassionate kind and merciful to them that I may be a real imitator of thee my great God and Saviour and copy out in my actions the expressions of thy wonderful mercy to my Soul Amen A Meditation and Prayer upon the Justice and Holiness of God O Dreadful Majesty as we gratefully acknowledge thy mercy and goodness to be infinite and unspeakable to us poor men so we humbly adore thy Divine Justice and know it to be most terrible to such unworthy Creatures as provoke thy Displeasure Thy forbearance may suffer the wicked to Flourish and
O that I may be true and faithful and not alienate to the service of Sin to the gratifying of my Lusts or the pleasing of the Devil what appertains to thee my God As thou hast increased my stores increase in me thy grace and wisdom that I may mannage these Talents to thy honour and service Humble my Soul under such a load of earthly Blessings am I more deserving than so many thousand others who are not so well supplied and furnished what obligations have I laid upon thee my God to lift me up above so many that I see below me to favour me more than thousands who are in want to fill me with all these good things when others are empty how greatly am I indebted to thy Bounty how shall I discharge my self and make suitable returns with these earthly Comforts bestow upon me thy heavenly blessings sanctifie them to me that they may not be an increase to my guilt but rather a a means of Salvation Bestow upon me a contented mind a poverty of Spirit in the midst of all this plenty that I may enjoy it with moderation and dispose of it with discretion Wean mine affections from the World and all these Vanities that they may be a preparation for greater and more lasting Riches which thou hast laid up in thine Heavenly Sanctuary for them that love and fear thee If these things are so sweet and pleasing to us now conveyed to us at such a distance off and attended with much labour and sorrow how sweet and ravishing will that plenty and those riches be which thou wilt grant at a nearer approach when thou shalt wipe away all tears from our eyes and there shall be no more labour to get and preserve them no fear to lose them nor trouble in the enjoyment What a glorious prospect hast thou given us in thy holy Word of greater and more excellent Possessions of an Inheritance far more worthy of mine acquisition if I now render not my self unworthy of so wonderful a bounty by ill actions or too great a fondness of this present World I am certain my good God what thy Truth hath declared thy Power and Liberality will one day perform in us and for us for thou hast created me for happiness If I will accept of it thou hast designed provided and purchased happiness for me Whilst I live in this World there is but a shaddow in the midst of all these good things that I embrace of true felicity The Cares and Incumbrances the Miseries and Calamities the Pains and the Aches and the Fears and Apprehensions are continually disquieting our minds in the greatest plenty of outward enjoyments and the temptations of Sin and the World will not suffer me to be truly happy Neither can my Soul an Immortal and Heavenly Being Created for the Vision of God be content without thee O my Maker The joy that I now feel is in that relation and interest that I have to and in thee for all these possessions and these enjoyments I look upon my self but as a Stranger and a Pilgrim my Country is Heaven When thou shalt call me thither let not these Honours and Dignities these Riches and this outward Splendour these vain and deceitful Pleasures incumber my Soul or cause it to look back upon these deceitful appearances that I may be ready to shake them off and willing to depart to visit thine Eternal Presence where my blessed Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ will receive and welcome my Soul in the Companies of immortal Spirits and Angels and bestow upon me the Heavenly and everlasting Riches and true Honours Things that eye hath never seen ear hath never heard and can never enter into the heart of man Preserve I beseech thee my good God my Soul and Body to thine Eternal Kingdom where all these wonders of thy Power and Bounty are carefully laid up Amen A Meditation and Prayer upon the Consideration and Sense of Poverty and Want O My Creator and Redeemer my God who hast granted me a Being and placed me in this station of Life destitute of all Worldly Comforts I adore thy Divine Wisdom and am content to undergo all the troubles and inconveniencies that thou shalt think sitting to put upon me I doubt not but as I am thy Creature and Servant as my good Lord and Master thou wilt provide for my subsistence and if the allowance be but small it is more than I deserve at thy hands however it is enough if I can have but a satisfied mind Thou hast promised to supply my wants from day to day and give me meat drink and raiment without which I cannot continue in this Life why shall I doubt of the performance of this thy declaration thy stores are full and thou art rich in bounty able and sufficient by various means to recruit all my wants if the supplies come but sparingly and thou dost allow me but a small pittance if I receive from thee by Retail what others have from thee by Wholesale it is thy will and pleasure that my dependance might be more upon thy Goodness and Providence and that I may be always looking up to thee for the Conveniencies and Necessaries of Life Thy Wisdom O my God knowest what is best for me what is most proper to exercise my patience saith reliance upon thee and my submission to thy holy and heavenly will Who knows but if I were placed in the midst of plenty I should abuse thy temporal mercies and employ them in my own Damnation now I have no such debt to answer for Thou hast recommended unto me contentment in this estate by teaching me to pray only for my daily bread if it be but course it is such as proceed from thy liberal hand and fine enough to maintain this Earthly Tabernacle that must shortly become food to the Worms of the Earth O my God by these troubles of Life it is thy pleasure to wean mine affections from the World and that I may place my chief happiness beyond the Grave that I may live in expectation when thou wilt call me out of this painful and laborious Life to mine Eternal Rest where I shall be no more exercised but in the praising of thy Glorious Majesty in the Quires of Heavenly Spirits I am satisfied O my Heavenly Father in thy Love and Goodness which has never been wanting to me since I was in this World I look upon my mean estate and poverty to be an argument of the reality of thy love and kindness seeing a Lazarus upon a Dunghill was as dear unto thee as the richest and noblest of thy Children seeing so many of thy chosen Servants of the Worthies of former Ages have in this present Life wandered about in Sheep Skins and Goat Skins being Destitute Afflicted Tormented and have suffered greater wants and more pressing necessities than I am reduced to But shall I murmur at thy wise and good Providence when I am reduced to the Condition of
thee for ever and ever Come Lord Jesus come quickly receive me into thy Sacred Embraces I will wait thy leisure send thine Holy Angels to convey my Soul into thy gracious presence that I may rejoyce for ever with thine Elect and glorifie thy Mercy Ease me of my grievous pains relieve my sorrowful Soul comfort it with a Beam of thy Countenance Thou hast redeemed it O my sweet Jesus receive it as thine own purchase I yield it up unto thee Turn my sorrows into joys my sufferings and agony into pleasures laid up at thy right hand Assist me with thine intercession and plead for me O my Heavenly Advocate Amen A Meditation and Prayer for such as are going to the Publick Assemblies to hear the word of God O Eternal Wisdom what a mercy is this to Instruct and Teach us at our Doors to enable enlighten inspire and send Messengers so near our Dwellings to direct us in the right way of Eternal Happiness What a condescention is this to speak to us in our own Language according to our Capacities by Men whose presence express nothing but meekness and love was it not sufficient O blessed God that thou shouldest open to us the large Book of Nature to inform us of thy Will and Sacred Laws by so many Characters imprinted in every thing that is made was it not sufficient for our Learning to shew us thy pleasure in the several leaves of another Book of Providence opened to us wide every day of our Life but must thy tender compassion of our Natural ignorance unmindfulness and wilful corruption teach us by such plain easie and excellent methods so full of kindness and love Must the repetition be so frequent must thou so often visit and call upon us to study and meditate upon the Divine Matters Certainly our minds are too much wedded to the World and too much enclined to irregular actions seeing thou hast judged needful to repeat so often to us our Duties and we want every weeks instruction to withdraw our contemplation from Evil and Vanity Should not our diligence answer in some respect thy continual Care O Merciful Wisdom and as frequently meet thee as we are called upon by these Publick Summons Doubtless the business that we are to mind is of importance seeing my Creator thinks necessary to interpose his Divine Authority and to speak to us himself though by the tongue of a Mortal Man With what reverence and dread ought I to approach the gracious presence of my God who vouchsafes to speak and instruct me in such a loving manner His Word and Laws should not in reason have the less power and impression upon me because of his condescention to my weakness and Capacity Should I despise the mercies of my God that are so great and wonderful delivered to me in earthen vessels O Blessed and Heavenly Wisdom I am called away from my Temporal Affairs to wait upon thee and hearken to the Divine Matters that shall be proposed which relate to my Eternal Interest Their excellency requires my attention and diligent enquiry for this supernatural knowledge which is able to save my Soul Here thou dost reveal unto me what I am and what I should be and what I shall be Here are discovered the admirable Mysteries of the Holy Trinity and Unity of the Incarnation and Redemption Here thou dost unbosome thy self to mortal Creatures and shewest the tenderness of thine affection to us Here I may have a prospect of the unspeakable riches of Heaven and see the Glories that are laid up for me in thine Eternal Sanctuary These are Matters worthy of the Angels prying into these are Meditations fit for the Heavenly Spirits and shall I neglect or despise them shall I idle away this precious moment designed for the benefit of mine immortal Soul My gracious God cause me to increase in Grace and in the Divine knowledge of my Redemption enlighten mine Understanding with a clear apprehension of the Heavenly Truths Sanctifie the outward preaching of thy word that it may be effectual and able to work upon my will Give me an attentive ear and an obedient heart willing to submit to and practise whatsoever thou shalt command Deliver me from the ill consequences of Errors Partiality and Prejudice and make me truly thankful to thee for this great Blessing Remove not thy Gospel from us but save us from the pernicious Plots of the Antichristian Heresie Unite all of us in our Worship and Church that we may study to preserve the Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace And being all together united now in the Church Militant we may be all the more ready and prepared to enter in due time into the Church Triumphant into that Glorious Kingdom of Love and Peace where our Sanctification shall be compleated our Knowledge perfected and our Employment for ever shall be to Celebrate and Sing forth thy Praises with the Chorus of Heavenly Spirits Amen A Prayer for Souldiers before a Fight O Lord of Hosts Creator and Preserver of the World look upon us in mercy at this time that we are going to hazard our Lives for the Honour an Interest of our King and Kingdom and for the Glory of thy Name and the Preservation of thy true Religion amongst us We are confident in the Justice and Equity of our Cause against these disturbers of the peace and happiness of Mankind Good God assist us with Victory and Success strengthen our Courages give us Undaunted Spirits stand by thine own Cause and such as Fight for the Preservation of thy Church and Kingdom We trust not upon our selves nor upon our numbers and resolutions but upon thy Providence and Celestial Vertue which we beseech thee to send unto us in the midst of danger suffering us not to betray the trust repose in us by any weakness or fear we know that thine Almighty hand and all-seeing eye disposes of all things and that no violence can hurt us without thy Commission O Merciful God let our Lives be precious in thy sight preserve our Persons from the violence of the shot and sharpness of the Enemies Weapons that we may yet live to praise thee and serve thee in our Generations in that station of Life unto which we are called We trust it is not unpleasing to thee who vouchsafest to be named the God of Armies and seeing the necessity of the Kingdom unto which we belong requires it Bless us therefore we pray thee O merciful Saviour in these our undertakings assist our General and Officers with Wisdom and Skill and all of us with an undaunted Spirit and entire dependance upon thy will and disposal Whatever happens to these Bodies of Clay which we are willing to Sacrifice for thy Glory look in mercy upon our precious Souls pardon and forgive the former weaknesses of our lives accept of the blood of our Surety and Redeemer for us and for his sake receive our immortal Beings into thy favour and Celestial
Kingdom when ever it shall please thee to call them out of these Tabernacles of misery and affliction Good God we resign our selves into thy hands dispose of us as it shall seem good in thy Divine Wisdom O Blessed Jesus unto whom all Power is committed in Heaven and in Earth receive us into thy Protection and Mercy we pray thee and intercede for us to thy Heavenly Father Amen A Prayer for a Ship 's Company before an Engagement at Sea O Merciful and Great God whose Power Wisdom and Providence is so visibly seen upon this unconstant Element we humble our selves before thee at this time of danger to implore thine Assistance Protection and Blessings to our necessary Endeavours for the Preservation of the Rights of the Nation unto which we belong We acknowledge our selves to be miserable Sinners and guilty of many provocations against thy Divine Laws but it belongs to thee O Heavenly Father to have mercy upon thy poor Creatures and Servants Lay not to our charge our hainous Offences but pardon we beseech thee all our former Sins and give us true Repentance that if thou shalt yet spare our Lives we may amend Let not our Guilt and Crimes hinder the Blessings of Victory and Success which we beseech thee to grant to our present Fleet and Arms. For that purpose command the Seas and the Winds to yield unto us all needful assistance and let thy Holy Angels protect our Persons and our Ships from the fury of the Enemies shot and all Casualties Good God we depend not upon our selves our Skill or Provisions or humane strength but upon thy Power upon thy Mercy O Holy Saviour upon thy protection and favour grant unto us we beseech thee Safety and Victory that we may live to admire thy goodness in our deliverance and learn by these instances of mercy to honour and praise thy Holy Name when we shall be escaped out of so great dangers Save us we intreat thee O merciful God save us our Bodies and our Souls that they may be employed again in thy Service but let our immortal Souls be dear in thy sight whenever or however thou shalt be pleased to call them out of these Earthly Vessels receive them we pray thee into thine Heavenly Sanctuary This we beg and all other things which thou knowest needful for us through the mediation of our Divine Saviour who sits at thy Right hand and whose intercession we humbly implore in the words that he hath taught us saying Our Father c. Seasonable Ejaculations and short Prayers in the midst of a Fight either by Sea or Land LOrd have Mercy upon us Save and Deliver us Good God abate the Pride and Fury of our Enemies Merciful Saviour Protect us by thine Almighty Power Lord Jesus Strengthen and Defend us O Blessed Saviour receive our Bodies and Souls into thy Favour and Mercy Good God Deliver us O Holy Jesus our Dependance is upon thee O Lord of Hosts we trust upon thy goodness and Protection and not upon our selves Save us Good Lord Save us that we may live to praise thee in our Generation Have mercy upon our Souls We recommend our present and future Beings into thy Hands O Merciful Creator Give us Victory we pray thee for Christ his sake that we may Glorifie thee and thy Mercy Amen A Prayer for Mariners in a furious Tempest at Sea O Almighty and Eternal God at whose disposal are all the parts of this great World and these violent Waves upon which we are tossed Look down in mercy upon us and give a check to the fury of these Seas We see before us nothing but Death the Deep is open to swallow us up our only help is in thy Providence and Protection Save and Preserve us we humbly beseech thee lay not to our charge our former Sins let not this heavy load and burthen sink us now into Eternal destruction but deliver us for thy mercies sake still the rage of the Sea stop these boisterous Winds and calm this mighty Tempest As thou hast manifested thy great Power to us in this occasion let us be likewise sensible of thine extraordinary mercy in our Deliverance Thou hast promised that not a hair of our heads shall fall without thy Heavenly permission O suffer us not to perish but rescue us we pray thee in this our great necessity and let us live yet longer to glorifie thy Holy Name Send us such favourable Gales as may bring us to our desired Havens and give us all grace to learn by this and other instances of thy Power and Providence that our whole dependance is upon thee our God and that thou canst quickly deprive us of Life and Being if we offer to forget our selves and thy former Mercies if we extravagantly abuse either in word or deed thy dreadful Name and holy Profession Spare us good Lord spare us at this time and we vow unto thee all submission and obedience and a sincere reformation of our Lives for the time to come To this purpose assist our good resolutions with thy heavenly Grace that all these accidents and dangers may turn to our Eternal benefit to the safety and security of our immortal Souls And all this we beg for Jesus Christ his sake our only Mediator whose intercession we humbly implore and conclude these our imperfect Prayers with his most perfect Form Our Father c. A Thanksgiving after a Victory by Sea or Land NOT unto us O Lord not unto us but to thy holy Name be ascribed O blessed God the honour of this Victory and Success We Praise thee for having spared our Lives and suffered us yet to enjoy the light of the Living We acknowledge thy Power and Providence in this great preservation of our Persons from the fury of our Enemies whom we see lying before our eyes breathless and senceless whereas thou hast been gracious to us our good God and sheltred us in the midst of those dangers that have swallowed up so many of our fellow Creatures O let us never forget this great deliverance but let these Bodies which thou hast made and preserved at this time be employed for the time to come in thy service and for thine honour Let these Members which have been secured by thy Providence from wounds and maiming be consecrated to Holiness and Piety and to advance thy Gospel Religion O Let us all make a right improvement of this great Mercy and Salvation Let it not become an aggravation of our Crimes and ungratitude Give us with all thy Mercies thankful hearts humble and dutiful Souls that in the midst of all this Worldly Prosperity and Successes we may behave our selves as becomes true Christians Sanctifie therefore this great Blessing to us all let us not demean our selves too insolently over our fellow Creatures but treat them with compassion as thy Subjects and Servants as well as we O Let this Deliverance and Safety be so recorded in our hearts and minds that we may ever glorifie thee our God for it and oblige thee to a continuance of thy favours to grant to us and our Endeavours such Success and Prosperity that we may be a Safeguard and Security to our King and Kingdom to preserve them from the violent attempts of all their Enemies and ours 'till it shall please thee out of thine infinite goodness to put a stop to this raging War and grant us a lasting and honourable Peace These and all other Mercies which thou knowest needful for us our King and Kingdom we humbly beg through the Mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ our only Saviour to whom with the Father and Holy Spirit Three Persons and One God be ascribed from this time forth and for evermore all Honour Glory Dominion and Praise Amen A Prayer for the Preservation of the King's Person O Gracious God King of Kings and Supream Monarch of this inferiour World we humbly beseech thee to take into thy merciful Protection the Sacred Person of our King Save him from the Power and Designs of all his Enemies frustrate all their Plots and Conspiracies Preserve Him in the midst of the greatest Dangers that He may always prove an happy Instrument to promote thy Glory and true Religion amongst us For that purpose assist His Fleets and Armies bless us that Fight for Him and the Publick Interest Crown all His Endeavours with Victory and Success here and with everlasting felicity hereafter and all we beg for Jesus Christ his sake Amen A Prayer for the Church Militant GOod God look down from Heaven upon all thy Servants dispersed all over the Dominions of Antichrist and elsewhere deliver them from their grievous Oppression give a check to the unmerciful Enemy preserve them from Sin and Apostacy assist them with the Directions of thy Holy Spirit Sanctifie all their Afflictions and Crosses to them and in thy due time rescue them out of the Cruelties and Barbarous usage of their implacable Enemies For that intent bless all those Worthies that design to do them good and open the eyes of all men to understand and give them Grace to profess thy true Religion call the Jews Turks and Infidels into thy Sacred Fold compleat the number of thine Elect and bring us all to that Eternal Kingdom which thou hast provided and promised to thy chosen People Amen A Short Prayer for such as are desperately Wounded HAve Pity and Compassion upon me O Merciful God! I submit to thy Will if my Body be destroyed save mine immortal Soul Pardon all my Sins for Christ his sake Receive me into thy favour support my Spirit under all my torments Give me an assurance in thy love by a reliance upon thy gracious Promises and deliver me out of this World of Sorrow and Suffering and admit my Soul into thy Kingdom of Peace Lord Jesus receive my Spirit Amen FINIS