in this present life be thou unto me Jesus in death be thou unto me Jesus in the last judgement be thou unto me Jesus in the life which is everlasting I know thou wilt sweet Jesus for as thou art immutable in thy essâ—nce so also thou art immutable in thy mercy Thou wilt not change thy name Lord Jesus for my sake alone who am a miserable sinner Yea rather thou wilt become my Saviour For thou dost not cast out him that cometh unto thee Thou that hast given me a will to come unto thee grant also unto me that coming I may be received For thy words are truth and life Let the propagation of originall sinne within me condemne me yet thou art my Jesus Let my conception in sinne condemne me yet thou art my Jesus Let my forming in sinne and under the curse condemne me yet thou art my Saviour Let the corruption of my nativitie condemne me yet thou art my Saviour Let the sinnes of my youth condemne me yet thou art my Jesus Let the course of my whole life defiled with most grievous sinnes condemne me yet thou art still my Jesus Let deâ—th the just punishment of my many and grievous sinnes and offences condemne me yet thou art my Saviour Let the severe sentence in the last judgement condemne me yet thou art my Jesus In me is sinne reprobation damnation In thy name is righteousnesse election salvation I was baptized in thy name I beleeve in thy name In thy name will I die In thy name will I rise again In thy name will I appeare in judgement In this name are all good things prepared for us and shut up as it were a treasure So much are they diminished as my diffidence is increased which that it may be farre from me I beseech thee by this thy name good Jesus that for my sinne and unbelief I be not damned whom by thy precious merit and saving name thou wouldst have saved Meditat. V. An exercise of faith from the love of Christ in the agonie of death The grace of Jesus Christ to me Is th' onely true felicity SEe Lord Jesus how injurious I am to thy passion My heart is vexed and my soul is very sorrowfull because I have no good works of mine own because I have no merits when as thy passion is my action thy works my merits I am injurious to thy passion when as I seek for the supplement of my works whereas it is in it self all-sufficient If I should finde righteousnesse in my self thy righteousnesse would profit me nothing or else I should not so much desire it If I seek for the works of the law by the law shall I be condemned But I know that now I am no longer under the law but under grace I have lived wickedly I have sinned holy Father against heaven and before thee I am not worthy to be called thy sonne yet thou wilt not refuse to call me thy servant Deny me not I pray thee the fruit of thy passion let not thy bloud wax barren but let it bring forth fruit and deliver my soul. My sinnes have alwayes lived in my flesh but I intreat thee let them at length die with me Hitherto the flesh hath alwayes ruled over me but let the Spirit at length triumph Let the outward man be subject to corruption and worms that the inward man may be glorified Hitherto I have alwayes given way to the suggestions of the devil but grant hereafter I beseech thee that I may trample them under my feet Satan is readie at hand to accuse me but he hath nothing in me The sight of death affrighteth me but death is the end of my sinnes and the beginning of an holy life Now at length shall I be able perfectly to please thee O my God Now at length shall I be confirmed in goodnesse and vertue Satan terrifieth me with my sinnes but let him accuse him which took upon him my infirmities whom the Lord hath smitten for my sinnes The debt which I ow is great indeed and I cannot pay any part thereof but my trust is in the riches and bounty of him that hath undertaken the payment Let him discharge me who hath made himself suretie for me Let him pay for me who took my debt upon himself I have sinned O Lord and my sinnes are many and grievous But this horrible sinne I will not commit to make thee a lyar who by thy words works and oath dost testifie that satisfaction is made for my iniquities I am not afraid by reason of my sinnes for thou art my righteousnesse I am not afraid by reason of my ignorance for thou art my wisdome I am not afraid of death for thou art my life I am not afraid of my errours for thou art my truth I am not afraid of corruption for thou art my resurrection I am not afraid of the sorrows of death for thou art my joy I am not afraid of the severitie of judgement for thou art my righteousnesse Distill upon my withered soul the dew of thy grace and quickening consolation My spirit waxeth dry but it shall shortly rejoyce in thee My flesh doth languish and is withered but it shall shortly bud forth I am subject to corruption but thou shalt deliver me from corruption for thou hast delivered me from all evils Thou hast created me How then can the workmanship of thy hands be dissolved Thou hast redeemed me from all mine enemies How then can death have rule over me Thou hast bestowed thy body and bloud and all that thou hadst yea even thy self for my salvation How then shall death withhold them which thou hast redeemed with so precious a ransome Thou Lord Jesus art righteousnesse it self So then my sins cannot prevail against thee Thou art life it self and the resurrection So then my death cannot prevail against thee Thou art God Therefore Satan cannot prevail against thee Thou hast given me the earnest of thy Spirit in that do I glorie in that do I triumph and am fully perswaded without doubting that I shall be admitted to the marriage of the Lambe Most deare bridegroom thou art my wedding-garment which I put on in baptisme thou shalt cover my nakednesse neither will I sow the supplement of my righteousnesse to this most precious and beautifull garment What is mans righteousnes but the cloth of a menstruous woman How then can I dare to patch that most precious garment of Christs righteousnesse with this abominable ragge In this garment will I appear before thy face in judgement when thou shalt judge the world in righteousnesse and equitie In this garment will I appear before thy face in the kingdome of heaven This garment shall cover my confusion and reproch that no man remember it any more for ever There shall I appear glorious and holy in thy sight And this my flesh this my body shall be arayed with beatificall glory which glory shall be
Without the love of God there is no desire of eternall life How then can any one be partaker of the chiefest good which loveth not which seeketh not which desireth not Such as thy love is such art thou because thy love transformeth thee into it self Love is the chiefest couple because the lover and the thing loved become one What hath conjoyned the most just God and wretched sinners What hath conjoyned them being infinitely distant one from the other Infinite love And yet that the infinite justice of God might not be weakned the infinite price of Christ interceded Again what hath conjoyned together God the Creatour and the faithfull soul created things infinitely distant Love In the life which is eternall we shall be joyned to God in the chiefest degree Why Because we shall love him in the chiefest degree Love uniteth and transformeth if thou lovest carnall things thou art carnall If thou lovest the world thou shalt become worldly But flesh and bloud cannot enter into the kingdome of God If thou lovest God and celestiall things thou shalt become celestiall The love of God is the chariot of Elias ascending up into heaven The love of God is the joy of the minde the paradise of the soul it excludeth the world it overcometh the devil it shutteth hell it openeth heaven The love of God is that seal by which God sealeth the elect and beleevers God at the last judgement will acknowledge none to be his but those that are sealed with this seal For faith it self the onely instrument of our justification and salvation is not true unlesse it doth demonstrate it self by love There is no true faith unlesse there be a firm confidence and there is no confidence without the love of God That benefit is not acknowledged for which we do not give thanks and we do not give thanks to him whom we do not love If therefore thy faith be true it will acknowledge the benefit of our redemption wrought by Christ it will acknowledge and give thanks it will give thanks and love The love of God is the life and rest of the soul When the soul departs from the body by death then the life of the body departeth When God departs out of the soul by reason of sins then the life of the soul departeth Again God dwells in our hearts by faith God dwells in the soul by love because the love of God is diffused in the hearts of the elect by the holy Spirit There is no tranquillitie to the soul without the love of God The world and Satan do much disquiet it But God is the chief rest of the soul There is no peace of conscience but to those that are justified by faith there is no true love of God but in them that have a filiall confidence in God Therefore let the love of our selves the love of the world the love of the creatures die in us that the love of God may live in us Which God begin in us in this world and perfect in the world to come Meditat. X. Of our reconciliation with God Fear not my soul be not dismaid For Iesus Christ thy debts hath paid CHrist truly took our infirmities and bare our griefs and sicknesses O Lord Jesus That which in us merited eternall punishment thou tookest upon thy self That burden which would have pressed us down into hell thou hast undergone Thou wast wounded for our iniquities thou wast broken for our sinnes By the bluenesse of thy wounds are we healed The Lord hath laid upon thee the iniquities of us all Surely wonderfull indeed is this change Thou takest our sinnes upon thy self and bestowest thy righteousnesse upon us Death due unto us thou undergoest thy self and conferrest life upon us I cannot therefore by any means doubt of thy grace or despair by reason of my sinnes The worst thing that was in us thou tookest upon thy self How then canst thou despise that which is the best in us and thine own work to wit our soul and body Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption For he is truly sanctified whose sinnes are abolished and taken away Blessed is the man whose iniquities are forgiven and to whom the Lord imputeth not his sinnes How can God impute our sinnes to us when he hath already imputed them to another For the wickednesse of his people he hath smitten his best beloved Sonne By the knowledge of him therefore he shall justifie many and shall bear their iniquities How shall he justifie those that are his Heare and attend O my soul He shall save them by the knowledge of him that is by the saving acknowledgement and firm apprehension by faith of the mercie and grace of God in Christ. This is life eternall to know and acknowledge thee the onely true God and Iesus Christ whom thou hast sent And therefore if thou shalt confesse with thy mouth the Lord Iesus and beleeve in thy heart that God raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved Faith apprehendeth Christs satisfaction He bare the iniquities of those that are his he suffered for the sinnes of many he interceded for the transgressours For he should have had very few just unlesse in mercy he had received sinners Thou shouldst have had few just O Jesus unlesse thou hadst remitted the sinnes of the unjust How then shall Christ judge according to severitie the sinnes of the penitent which he hath taken upon himself How shall he condemn him that is guilty of sinne seeing that he himself was made sinne for us Will he condemn those whom he calleth his friends Will he condemn those for whom he hath intreated Will he condemn those for whom he died Lift up thy self therefore O my soul and forget thy sinnes for the Lord hath forgotten them Whom dost thou fear as the punisher of thy sinnes but the Lord who himself made satisfaction for thy sinnes If any other had payed the price of my redemption I might have doubted whether the just Judge would accept of that satisfaction If a man or an angel had satisfied for my sinnes yet still there might be a doubt whether the price of redemption were sufficient But now there is no place for doubt How can it be that he will not accept of that price which he hath payd himself How can that choose but be sufficient which is from God himself Why art thou troubled O my soul All the wayes of God are mercie and truth Iust is the Lord and just are his judgements Why art thou troubled O my soul Let the mercy of God raise thee up let the justice of God also raise thee up For if God be just for one offence he will not exact double satisfaction For our sinnes he hath smitten his Sonne How then can he smite us his servants for them How can he punish our sinnes in us which
Therefore for our sinnes God casts us off Take not thy holy Spirit from me Therefore as bees are driven away with smoak and pigeons with ill savours so by our sinnes is the holy Spirit driven out of the temples of our hearts Restore me the joy of thy salvation Therefore sinne doth torment the minde and dry up the moisture of the heart The earth is defiled by the inhabitants thereof which have transgressed the law crieth Esay Therefore sinne is a contagious and infectious poison Out of the deeps have I cryed unto thee O Lord saith the Psalmist Therefore our sinnes presse us down unto hell We were sometimes dead in our sinnes saith the apostle Therefore sinne is the spirituall death of the soul. By mortall sinne man loseth God God is the infinite and incomprehensible good Therefore to lose God is an infinite and incomprehensible evil As God is the chiefest good so sinne is the chiefest evil Punishments and calamities are not absolutely evil for many times there comes good of them Yea rather it appeares that they are good because they come from God who is the chiefest good from whom can proceed nothing but that which is good They were in the chiefest good to wit in Christ And the chiefest good cannot partake in that which is evil truely so called And moreover they leade us unto the chiefest good that is to life everlasting Christ by his passion entred into his glorie And so do Christians by tribulations enter into eternall life Therefore sinne is the chiefest evil because it withdraws us from the chiefest good The nearer thou comest unto God the further thou departest from sinne The nearer thou comest unto sinne the further thou departest from God How saving therefore is repentance which withdraws us from sinne and brings us back again unto God! Sinne is measured by the greatnesse of him that is offended But him the heavens the earth cannot contain In like manner such is our repentance as he unto whom we return by repentance The sinner is accused by his conscience which he hath defiled by the Creatour whom he hath offended by the sinnes which he hath committed by the creatures which he hath abused and by the devil by whom he hath been seduced How saving then is repentance which frees us from such accusations Let us make haste therefore let us make haste to such a saving medicine for such a grievous disease If thou repentest at thy death thou dost not leave thy sinnes but thy sinnes leave thee Thou shalt scarce finde any one that repented truely at his death unlesse it were the thief upon the crosse Fourteen yeares have I served thee said Jacob to Laban it is time now that I should provide for mine own house And if thou hast served the world and this life so many yeares is it not fit that thou shouldest begin now to make provision for thy soul Every day doth our flesh heap sinne upon sinne Let the Spirit therefore every day wash them away by repentance Christ died that sinne might die in us And shall we suffer that to live and reigne in our hearts for the destroying whereof the sonne of God himself died Christ enters not into the heart of man by grace unlesse John Baptist prepare the way by repentance God poureth not the oyl of mercie but into the vessel of a contrite heart God doth first mortifie us by contrition that afterwards he may quicken us by the consolation of the Spirit He first leads us into hell by serious grief that afterwards he may bring us back again by the taste of grace Elias first heard a great and strong winde overturning mountains and cleaving rocks and after the winde an earthquake and after the earthquake there appeared fire At length there followed a small and still voice In like manner terrour goes before the taste of Gods love and sorrow before comfort God bindes not up thy wounds unlesse thou lay them open by confession and bewail them He covers not unlesse thou first uncover He pardons not unlesse thou first acknowledge He justifies not unlesse thou first condemne thy self He comforts not unlesse thou first despair in thy self This true repentance God by his holy Spirit work in us Meditat. IIII. Of the name of JESVS Blessed blessed name of Jesus Who tormented was to ease us O Good Jesus be thou my Jesus for thy holy names sake have mercy on me My life condemnes me but the name of Jesus shall save me For this thy names sâ—ke do unto me according to thy name seeing that thou art a true and a great Saviour surely thou dost respect those that are sinners indeed yea great sinners Have mercie on me O good Jesus in the time of mercie that I be not condemned in the time of judgement If thou receive me into the bosome of thy mercy thou shalt have never the lesse room If thou bestow upon me the crumbes of thy goodnesse yet thou shalt want never the more For me thou wast born for me thou wast circumcised to me also thou art become a Jesus How sweet and delightfull is this name For what is Jesus but a Saviour and what harm can happen to those that are saved what else can we desire or expect beyond salvation Receive me Lord Jesus into the number of thy sonnes that together with them I may land thy holy and saving name Though I have lost my integritie yet thou hast not forgotten thy mercy Though I had power to lose and condemne my self yet thou in thy mercie art more powerfull to save me Lord do not thou so look upon my sinnes as to forget thy mercy do not so ponder and weigh my offences that they overpoise thy merit do not so remember my wickednesse as therefore to forget thy goodnesse Remember not thy anger against my guiltinesse but remember thy mercie towards my miserie Thou who hast given me a minde to desire thee withdraw not thy self from my desire Thou who hast shewed unto me my unworthinesse and just damnation hide not from me thy merit and the promise of everlasting salvation My cause is to be tried at the heavenly tribunall but this is my comfort that in the court of heaven thou hast assigned unto thee the name of a Saviour for that name was brought down from heaven by an angel O most mercifull Jesus to whom wilt thou be Jesus if not to miserable sinners that seek thy grace and salvation They that trust in their own righteousnesse and holinesse seek salvation in themselves but I flie unto thee my Saviour for I finde nothing in my self worthy of eternall life Save the condemned shew mercie to the sinner justifie the unrighteous absolve the accused Thou Lord art truth thy name is holy and true Let thy name also become true in respect of me and become thou my Jesus and Saviour Be thou unto me Jesus
requires that I should live chastly modestly and temperately But how often hath the love of drunkennesse and lust made my soul captive to sinne How often do fires of lust flame within me although my outward members be restrained He that looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath already committed adultery with her in his heart saith the Text How often therefore in the sight of God do we commit adultery The inordinate and immoderate use of meat drink and wedlock often steals upon us and makes us appear guilty before thee if thou wouldest enter into judgement with us Thy holy Writ requireth that in bargaining I deceive not my neighbour in any sort but that I rather further and procure his good that I traduce not his faults but rather cover them with the cloke of charitie and that I do not censure him rashly and unadvisedly But how often do I seek mine own profit by injustice How often do I spend my judgement rashly upon my neighbour Thy holy will requires that my spirit minde and soul be free from concupiscence But how often doth my flesh solicite me to sinne and contaminateth my spirit with wicked concupiscences As a fountain doth abound with continuall bubbling of water So doth my heart alwayes swell with evil concupiscence For these and all other my sinnes and defects I offer unto thee most holy Father the most perfect obedience of thy Sonne who loved all men with perfect love and in whose mouth was found no guiâ—◠〈◊〉 whose words and deeds no aberrations no corruption in nature To this propitiation I flee with true faith and by faith I â—uck out of his wounds as much as is sufficient to justifie me and save me Have mercy on me my God and my Father Amen PRAYER VI. He sheweth that we often partake in other mens sinnes HOly God and just Judge Thou â—ast committed unto me not onely the care of mine own soul but also the care of my neighbours But how often doth my neighbour through my negligence suffer great losse of godlinesse How often do I neglect freely and boldly to chide him when he sinnes How often do I being hindred either by favour or fear reprove him for his sinnes more slightly then I ought In pouring out prayers for his salvation I am too remisse in reprehending his sinnes I am too-too timorous in furthering his salvation I am too slothfull insomuch that thou mayest justly require at my hands the bloud of my neighbour that perisheth If there were in me a perfect and sincere love of my neighbour surely from thence would proceed freedome in reproving of sinne If the fire of sincere charitie did burn in my heart surely it would break forth more clearly into the spirituall incense of prayers to be made for the salvation of my neighâ—ours For a man to pray for himself it is a duty of necessity But to pray for the salvation of his neighbour it is a deed of charity As often therefore as I neglect to pray for the salvation of my neighbour so often I condemne my self for the breach of the commandment of the love of my neighbour My neighbour dies the death of the body and sorrow fills all with lamentation and mourning when as yet the death of the body brings no hurt to a godly man but rather gives him a passage into a celestiall countrey My neighbour dies the death of the soul and behold I am nothing troubled at it I see him die and grieve not at all when as yet sinne is the true death of the soul and brings with it the losse of the inestimable grace of God and eternall life My neighbour delinquisheth against the king who can onely kill the body and behold I seek by all means his reconciliation but he sinneth against the King of all kings that can cast both body and soul into hell-fire and yet I behold it in security and consider not that this offence is an infinite evil My neighbour stumbles at a stone and I runne presently to save him from a fall or otherwise to raise him up if he be fallen He stumbles at the corner-stone of our salvation and behold I securely passe by it and labour noâ— with care and diligence to lift him up again Mine own sinnes are grievous enough And yet I have not been afraid to participate in other mens sinnes Be propitious O God unto me great sinner and overburdened To thy mercy I flee in Christ and through Christ promised unto me I come unto this Life being dead in sinne I come unto this Way having gone astray in the path of sinne I come unto this Salvation being by reason of my sinne guilty of damnation Quicken me guide me and save me thou which art my Life my Way and my Salvation for ever and ever Amen PRAYER VII He sheweth that we are many wayes convinced of sinne HOly God and just Judge If I look up to heaven I think with my self that I have many wayes offended thee my God and Father I have sinned against heaven and before thee I am not worthy to be called thy sonne If I look down upon the earth I think with my self how I have abused thy creatures by my sinnes I have infinitely abused not onely the darknesse of the night but also the light of the day to work works of darknesse If I look upon the examples of sinners upon whom thou in thy just judgement hast inflicted punishment I finde that the weight of my sins will counterpoise theirs If I look upon the examples of the saints I finde that I come farre short of them in my holy service of thee If I think upon the angel my keeper I finde that often I put him to flight by my sinnes If I think of the devils I finde that I have often given place to their suggestions If I weigh with my self the rigour of thy law I finde that my life is many wayes irregular If I look upon my self I finde that the very cogitations of my heart do accuse me before thy judgement If I think upon the houre of death to come I finde that it is the just reward of my sinnes and unlesse thou of thy meere mercie for Christ his sake shalt receive me the gate and entrance into everlasting death If I think upon the judgement to come I finde my deserts such that thou mayst justly call me to the most exact account and punish my sinnes according to the strict severitie of thy law If I think upon hell I finde that I have deserved by my sinnes the most just punishment there If I think upon eternall life I finde that I have by my sinnes justly fallen away from all hope of attainment All things therefore convince me of my sinnes Onely thou O my God be not thou extreme against me To Christ thy beloved Sonne my onely Mediatour I betake my self By him I most firmly beleeve I shall obtain thy
and troubled for other mens sinnes What cause hath the undutifull and disobedient servant to fear in regard of his own sinnes The wounds of my soul must needs be great indeed and mortall when as thy onely begotten Sonne is so miserably smitten for to cure them The disease of my soul must needs be great indeed and mortall when as the heavenly Physician and life it self doth die upon the crosse to cure it I see the torment of his most holy soul I heare the miserable exclamation of my most holy Saviour upon the crosse For me it is he is so vexed it is for my sinnes that he complaineth that he is forsaken of God If the weight of other mens sinnes doth so exceedingly presse the Almighty Sonne of God that it wrings from him a bloudy sweat How intolerable shall the anger of God be and how unmeasurable shall be his wrath against the unprofitable servant O thou drie and unhappy wood that hast alwayes served as a slave the everlasting fire of hell What must thou fear when thou seest these things come to passe in the green wood Christ is the green tree In the root of his divinitie in the love of his humanitie in the boughs of his vertues in the leaves of his holy words and in the fruit of his good works He is the cedar of chastitie the vine of joyfulnesse the palm of patience and the olive of mercie But if the fire of the divine anger inflames this green tree of life How much more shall it consume the sinner like dry wood for his unfruitfull works In what capitall and bloudy letters are my sinnes ingraveâ— in the bodie of Christ How conspicuous O thou most just God is thine anger against mine iniquities How strait must that captivity needs be in which my soul was held when so precious a ransome was paid for her delivery How great must the stains of my sinnes needs be when rivers of bloud flow down from the bodie of Christ to wash them away O thou most just God and yet most mercifull Father consider what indignities thy Sonne hath suffered for me and forget the wicked works of me thy unworthy servant Behold the profunditie of his wounds and overwhelm my sinnes in the profound sea of thy mercie Amen The second part ¶ Of thanksgiving for benefits The Argument The meditation of Gods benefits doth gather out of the garden of nature and of the Church sundry and those most fragrant flowers of divine gifts and recreating it 〈◊〉 with the odour thereof offereth again to God the sacrifices of the lips for a savour of sweet smell Now the immense and innumerable benefits of God may be divided according to three articles of our Christian faith God hath created redeemed and sanctified us He heapeth his benefits on us in this life and hath promised greater unto us in the life that is everlasting He conferres upon us the gifts of the minde of the body and of fortune which we call externall goods He preserveth us from evil and conserveth â—s in good That which is past he covereth that which is to come he governeth His privative blessings are more then his positive In brief we can neither in word expresse nor in thought conceive the number and dignitie of Gods benefits which will afford unto us hereafter in the world to come most plentifull matter of eternall praise and thanksgiving PRAYER I. He giveth thanks for our forming in the wombe and for our nativity ALmighty eternall God Father Sonne and holy Ghost I give thanks to thee I praise thee I glorifie thee because thy hands have fashioned me and made me wholly round about Thou formedst me like clay in my mothers wombe Thou didst draw me like milk Thou didst curdle me like cheese With flesh and skinne hast thou covered me and compacted me together with bones and sinews Thou hast given me life and mercy and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit This thy great mercy bestowed upon me I will celebrate with perpetuall praises Thy goodnesse I will sing of in continuall songs Thou didst protect me in my mothers wombe I will confesse unto thee For I am wonderfully formed Marvellous are thy works and that my soul knoweth right well My bones are not hid from thee which thou didst make in secret and deckedst me with divers members in the lower parts of the earth Thy eyes saw me yet being imperfect and in thy book were all my members written which day by day were fashioned when as yet there were none of them How precious unto me are thy thoughts O God! how great is the summe of them If I go about to reckon them I finde them multiplied above the sands of the sea Thou didst shew thy mercy unto me before I understood it Thou didst prevent me with thy blessings before I did desire them Thy bounty did embrace me on every side before I could give thanks for it Thou art he who not onely didst form me wonderfully in the wombe but also didst take me out Thou art my hope even from my mothers breast Out of my mothers wombe I was cast upon thee Thou art my God from my mothers wombe As often as I think upon many that have been extinct and never came to the light of this life So often I admire and praise thee for thy mercy which brought me out of that prison into the theatre of this world safe and sound How many yeares are past in which I was not and yet thou didst erect for me this house of my body and didst bring me out of that bottomlesse pit and the darknesse of my mothers wombe Thou gavest unto me a reasonable soul Thou madest me a man not a stone or a serpent To thee O my God for this thy mercy be honour and glory for ever Amen PRAYER II. He renders thanks for our sustentation I Render thanks unto thee Almighty and mercifull God for that thou hast sustained me from the very first dayes of my life Naked I came into this world and thou coveredst me most graciously Hungry I entred into this world and thou hast hitherto fed me most bountifully In thee I live move and have my being Without thee I fall again into nothing and die Through thee I bowe and move my members Without thee I can neither be partaker of life or motion Thine is the sunne that giveth me light which I see daily with mine eyes Thine is the aire which I draw in with continuall breath The night is thine and the day is thine whose intercourses serve for my labour and rest Thine is the earth whose fruits do nourish me most plentifully Every creature in heaven aire earth and sea is thine and is appointed for my use and service Silver is thine and gold is thine Whatsoever is necessary for the sustentation of this my present life all that I receive from thy most liberall and bountifull
that thou hast received me into the covenant of grace and made me an heir of everlasting life I acknowledge it is thy gift that I was born of Christian parents and by them brought unto this heavenly fount How many thousands of infants are born in Gentilisme and without this sacrament do die in their sinnes There is no difference in nature between me them Onely thy superabundant grace hath made a difference I was joyned with them in communion of sinne But I was separated from them by participation of thy grace How great is this thy goodnesse that thou diddest finde me when I sought thee not that thou didst heare me before I asked that thou didst open unto me before I knockt This thy mercie exceeds all praise yea and all admiration I was baptized in thy holy name thy name for me was called upon Therefore I am received into the heavenly family being made the sonne of my heavenly Father the brother of Christ and the temple of the holy Ghost This is an holy and heavenly laver In it therefore I am washed and purged from all my uncleannesse It is the laver of regeneration and renovation By it therefore I am regenerated renewed by the grace of the holy Ghost Whatsoever Christ my Saviour merited by his most holy obedience by the effusion of his most precious bloud of all that he hath left the saving fount of baptisme as a pledge Therefore the conferring of baptisme is the besprinkling of the bloud of Christ. That precious bloud of Christ doth make me clean from all my sinnes and makes me whiter then snow in the sight of God O eternall God thou hast made an eternall covenant with me in baptisme unto which I have alwayes recourse by true and serious repentance Thou hast betrothed me unto thee for ever in judgement and righteousnesse in grace and mercy Thou hast given me an earnest and pledge of thy Spirit in baptisme Therefore thou wilt not cast me away from thy face but being mindefull of thy promise thou wilt lead me into the joyes of the celestiall marriage As at the baptisme of Christ my Mediatour and head the heavens were opened So by the communion of the same baptisme thou hast opened unto me the gate of paradise As at the baptisme of Christ the holy Ghost descended upon him and a voice from heaven did testifie that he was the beloved Sonne of God So by the same communion of the same baptisme I am made a partaker of the holy Ghost and adopted to be a sonne of God For which inestimable benefit I will give thanks unto thee my God for ever Amen PRAYER XIII He renders thanks for the sacrament of the Lords supper HOw great thanks do I ow unto thee most high God for that in the most sacred mystery of the supper thou dost feed me with the bodie and bloud of thy Sonne What is there in heaven or in earth of more price and excellency then that body which is united to thy Sonne personally What more certain testimonie and pledge of thy grace can there be then the precious bloud of thy Sonne poured out for my sinnes on the altar of the crosse The very price of my redemption thou bestowest upon me that I may have a most certain testimony of thy grace towards me As often as I fall through my sinnes from the covenant of baptisme So often by true repentance and the saving use of this supper I am restored unto it again It is a sacrament of the new Testament and it alwayes enriches me with new gifts of the Spirit In this body life it self dwells and therefore it refresheth me and quickneth me unto everlasting life By the effusion of this bloud satisfaction is made for our sinnes And therefore by the drinking thereof the remission of my sinnes is confirmed unto me Christ saith it Truth it self saith it Whosoever shall eat my flesh and drink my bloud hath eternall life and I will raise him up at the last day that is to the life of glory For this is the bread of life which descended from heaven that whosoever shall eat thereof may not die but have everlasting life It is the eating by faith that Christ so commends which must needs be added unto the sacramentall eating that so that which was appointed to life may be received by us unto life I come therefore with true faith unto this heavenly banquet being firmly perswaded that the body which I eat was delivered unto death for me and the bloud which I drink was poured forth for my sinnes I cannot in any wise doubt of the remission of my sinnes when as it is confirmed by the participation of the price which was offered for my sinnes I cannot in any wise doubt of Christ his dwelling in me when he seals unto me the same by the communion of his body and bloud I cannot in any wise doubt of the assistance of the holy Spirit when my infirmity is strengthened with such safegard I am not afraid of Satans assaults when as this angelicall food doth make me strong to fight I am not afraid of the allurements of the flesh when as this quickning and spirituall food doth corroborate me by the vertue of the Spirit These taken and drunk do make Christ to dwell in me and me in Christ. The good shepherd will not suffer the sheep that is fed with his own body and bloud to be devoured by the infernall wolf Neither will the power of the Spirit suffer me to be overcome by the weaknesse of the flesh To thee O Saviour most benigne be praise honour and thanksgiving for ever and ever Amen PRAYER XIIII He renders thanks to God for preserving us from sundry evils TO thee O eternall and mercifull God I render eternall thanks for that thou hast hitherto preserved me from infinite evils and dangers and hast kept me safe by the guard of thy holy angels Thy privative blessings by which thou dost keep me from evil are more in number then thy positive by which thou dost conferre good upon me As many evils of soul and bodie as I see in others so many tokens do I see of thy mercie toward me For my deliverance from those evils is to be attributed as due onely to thy goodnesse How great is the power of the devil How great is his subtiltie As often therefore as that malignant and most subtile spirit and our most potent adversarie doth labour to do us any mischief so often by the buckler of thy benignity and by the guard of thy holy angels being protected I have been able to escape his nets But who can reckon up the treacherous assaults and invasions of the devil Who can therefore reckon up the riches of thy bounty When I sleep by night the eye of thy providence doth watch over me that the infernall enemy which goeth about like a roaring lion may not be able by his
he hath already punished in his Sonne The truth of the Lord endureth for ever As I live saith the Lord I will not the death of a sinner but rather that he turn from his wickednesse and live Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will refresh you saith our Saviour Shall we make God a liar and labour by the weight of our sinnes to bear down his mercy To make God a liar and to denie his mercy is a greater sinne then all the sinnes of the whole world and therefore Judas sinned more in despairing then the Jews in crucifying Christ. But rather where sinne hath abounded there also grace hath abounded much more and overweigheth our sinnes by infinite degrees For sinnes are but the sinnes of men but grace is the grace of God Sinnes are temporall but the grace of our Lord is from eternitie to eternitie Satisfaction hath been made for our sinnes and the grace of God is repaired by the death of Christ and is established for ever unto which I betake my self as a devout suppliant Meditat. XI Of the satisfaction made for our sinnes The death of Christ is life to thee If thou a Christian truly be COme unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will refresh you they are the words of our Saviour It is true indeed Lord Jesus I am burdened overmuch and I sigh under the weight of my sinne But I make haste unto thee the fountain of living water Come unto me Lord Jesus that so I may come unto thee I come unto thee Lord because thou first camest unto me I come unto thee Lord Jesus and with anxietie I desire thee for I finde no goodnesse in my self But if I found any goodnesse in my self I should not with such anxietie desire thee True Lord Jesus I labour and am heavy laden neither can I compare my self with any of the saints or penitent sinners unlesse it be with the thief upon the crosse Lord have mercy upon me thou which hadst mercy on the thief upon the crosse I have lived wickedly I have lived iâ— sinne but I desire to die the death of the holy and righteous But holinesse and righteousnes are farre from my heart Therefore to thy holinesse and righteousnesse do I flie Let thy soul Lord Jesus succour me let it succour me seeing that thou layedst it down for a price of redemption for many Let thy most sacred body which was afflicted with rods spittings buffetings and thorns and fastened to the crosse for me let that succour me Let thy sacred and holy bloud O Jesus let that bloud succour me which ran out of thy side at thy death and passion which cleanseth us from all our sinnes Let thy most holy divinitie succour me thy divinitie which upheld thy humanitie at thy passion which also resting and not shewing it self the great mysterie of our redemption was finished which added infinite strength and weight unto thy passion Insomuch that God by his own bloud hath purchased unto himself me miserable man Let thy wounds succour me in which all my cure consisteth Let thy most holy passion succour me Let thy merit succour me as being my last refuge and a remedie against my sinnes For in that thou sufferedst thou sufferedst for me Therefore in that thou meritedst thou meritedst for me and for mine unworthinesse Therefore God commendeth his love towards us and proveth it by a testimonie surpassing the understanding of all men yea of the angels themselves in that Christ died for us when as yet we were sinners and the enemies of God Who can choose but admire this Who can choose but be astonished at it The Sonne of God intreated by no man yea hated of all men in great mercy intreated for us who were sinners and his enemies Neither intreated he onely but also satisfied Gods justice for us by his most poore nativitie by his most holy life by his most bitter passion by his most cruel death O Lord Jesus Thou that intreatedst for me sufferedst for me and diedst for me before I could desire thy merit and passion or move thee by my prayers to pay the ransome for me how canst thou cast me away from thy face How canst thou denie unto me the fruit of thy most holy passion when as now out of the deeps I cry unto thee and beg the fruit of thy merit with tears and sighs I was an enemie by nature when thou diedst for me but I am made by grace thy friend thy brother and thy sonne Thou heardst an enemie before he prayed unto thee and how canst thou despise thy friend which comes unto thee with prayers and tears Thou wilt not cast out him that cometh unto thee because thy word is truth Thou hast spoken unto us in spirit and truth and we have received from thee the words oâ— eternall life Attend and raise up thy self O my soul Before we were sinners by nature but now we are just by grace Before we were enemies but now we are friends and kinsfolks Before our help was in the death of Christ but now it is in Christ his life Before we were dead in sinnes but now we are quickned in Christ Oh the exceeding love of God wherewith he loved us Oh the superabundant riches of his grace whereby he hath in heaven provided a place for us Oh the tender mercie of our God whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us But if the death of Christ hath brought unto us righteousnesse and life what shall his life do If our Saviour dying paid the price unto his Father what shall he do now being alive and interceding for us For Christ liveth and dwells in our heart if the remembrance of his most holy merit live and flourish in it Draw me Lord Jesus that I may possesse in the truth of the thing that which here I expect by the firmnesse of hope Let thy servant I pray thee be with thee and let him behold the glorie which the Father hath given to thee and let him inhabit the mansion which thou hast prepared in thy Fathers house Blessed are they that dwell in thy house O Lord They shall praise thee for ever and ever Meditat. XII Of the nature and properties of true faith Faith is not faith or if it be Faith is but dead wants charity O Thou beloved soul consider the power of faith and give thanks unto God who is the onely giver thereof It is faith alone that doth in such manner ingraft us into Christ that as vine-branches do draw their sap from the vine so we also from him do draw life righteousnesse and salvation Adam fell from the grace of God and lost the divine image by his incredulitie But we are again received to grace and the image of God begins to be renewed in us by faith By faith Christ becomes
Because she despiseth earthly things that are subject to sundry changes Consider thou devout soul the exceeding great dignitie of the church and render due thanks unto God Great are the benefits which are in the church of God but all do not meet with them It is a garden enclosed and a fountain sealed up No man sees the beautie of this enclosed garden but he that is in it Neither doth any one know the benefits that are in the church but he that is himself in it This spouse of Christ is black without but beautifull within For the kings daughter is all glorious within This ship is tossed with many tempests of persecutions This vineyard being bound doth rise up and being cut down groweth up For this woman the infernall Dragon lieth in wait after diverse manners The church is a fair lilie But yet among thorns The church is a most beautifull garden But when the North-winde of tribulations doth blow upon it the spices thereof fall The church is Gods daughter But she is exceedingly hated of the world She looks for an heavenly inheritance and therefore she is compelled to be a pilgrime in this world In this pilgrimage she is oppressed in her pressure she is silent in her silence she is strong in her strength she overcometh The church is a spirituall mother But she is compelled to stand under the crosse with Mary the mother of Christ. The church is a palm-tree Because under the weight of tribulations and tentations she grows most Consider thou devout soul the dignitie of the church And beware thou commit nothing to her dishonour The church is thy mother Take heed therefore that thou contemn not her voice She is thy mother Therefore thou must alwayes hang upon her breasts The breasts of the church are the Word and the Sacraments The church is a virgin If therefore thou art her true sonne abstain from the worlds embracements Thou art a member of the virgin the church See therefore that thou prostitute not the virgins members and so commit fornication with the devil by sinne The church is the spouse of Christ and so is every devout soul Let her beware therefore that she cleave not unto Satan Thou art the spouse of Christ See thou lose not the earnest of the holy Spirit which he hath given thee Thou art the spouse of Christ Pray continually that the bridegroom would make haste and lead thee in unto the celestiall marriage But the bridegroom will come in the night of securitie Watch therefore lest when he cometh he finde thee sleeping and so shut thee out of the gate of eternall salvation Let the oyl of thy faith shine lest at the coming of the bridegroom thou beest constrained to desire it in vain Thou art carried in the ship See therefore that thou dost not throw thy self headlong into the sea of the world before thou comest to the haven Thou art carried in the ship pray that thou beest not swallowed up by the tempests of afflictions and waves of tentations Thou art called into the Lords vineyard See that thou labourest stoutly Think upon the penie and not upon the dayes labour Thou art the Lords vineyard Cast away all unprofitable branches that is the unfruitfull works of the flesh and think the whole time of thy life to be the time of pruning Thou art a vine-branch in Christ the true vine See that thou dost remain in him and bring forth much fruit Because the heavenly husbandman will take away every branch that bringeth not forth fruit and purge that which bringeth forth fruit that it may bring forth more fruit Thou hast put on Christ by faith and art clothed with this sunne of righteousnesse See then that thou treadest the moon that is all earthly things under thy feet And esteem all other things little worth in respect of eternall goods O good Jesus thou that hast brought us into the church militant bring us at length also into the church triumphant Meditat. XXIIII Of Predestination In Christ we are by God elect Without Christ God doth all reject O Devout soul as often as thou wilt meditate upon thy predestination behold Christ hanging upon the crosse dying for the sinnes of the whole world and rising again for our justification Begin from Christ lying in the manger and so thy disputation of predestination shall proceed orderly God elected us before the foundations of the world were laid but yet he elected us in Christ If therefore thou art in Christ by faith do not doubt but that election belongeth unto thee If with a firm confidence of heart thou adherest unto Christ do not doubt but that thou art in the number of the elect But if thou goest further beyond the limits of the word and wilt search into the profunditie of predestination it is greatly to be feared that thou wilt fall into the profunditie of desperation Without Christ God is a consuming fire Take heed therefore of coming too neare this fire lest thou beest consumed Without Christs satisfaction God by the voice of his law accuseth all and condemneth all Take heed therefore that thou drawest not the mysterie of predestination out of the law Search not into the reasons of Gods counsels lest thy cogitations do much seduce thee God dwelleth in light that no man can attain unto Presume not therefore to come unto it rashly But God hath revealed unto us the light of his gospel and in this thou mayest safely inquire into the doctrine of this secret and in this light thou shalt see true light Leave the profunditie of this eternall decree made from eternitie and convert thy self to the clearnesse of the manifestation which was made in time Justification made in time is the glasse of election made without time Out of the law take notice of the wrath of God for sinne and repent out of the gospel take notice of the mercie of God through Christ his merit and apply that unto thy self by faith Take notice of the nature of faith and shew it by thy godly conversation Take notice of Gods fatherly castigation in crosses and endure through patience And then at length begin to handle the doctrine of predestination This method the apostle teacheth This method let him that is the apostles disciple follow There are three things alwayes to be observed in this mysterie The mercie of God loving us the merit of Christ suffering for us and the grace of the holy Ghost by the gospel sanctifying us Gods mercie is universall because he loved the whole world The earth is full of the Lords mercy yea his mercy is greater then heaven and earth For it is as great as God is For God is love He hath witnessed by his word that he will not the death of a sinner And if this be too little he hath confirmed it with an oath If thou canst not beleeve him
for his promise beleeve him for his oath He is called the Father of mercies because it is his property to spare and to have mercy The cause and originall of shewing mercie he hath from himself of condemning and punishing from another Insomuch that it may appear that mercie and punishment proceed from him after a farre different manner The merit of Christ also is universall because he died for the sinnes of the whole world What can then more plainly prove his mercie then that he loved us when as yet we were not For it was his love that he created us Moreover he loved us when we were turned away from him For he sent his Sonne to be our redeemer To the sinner adjudged to eternall torments and not having wherewithall to redeem himself the Father saith Take my onely begotten Sonne and give him for thee The Sonne himself saith Take away me and redeem thy self Christ was a flower of the field not a flower of the garden because the odour of his grace is not shut up to some few but laid open to all Doubt not of the universalitie of Christs merit Christ suffering prayed for them that crucified him and poured forth his bloud for them by whom it was poured forth The promises of the gospel are universall because Christ saith unto all Come unto me all ye that labour That which was performed for all is also offered to all As farre as thou travellest amongst these goods by the foot of trust and confidence so much also shalt thou obtain God denies his grace unto no man but unto him that thinks himself unworthy of it Consider therefore thou faithfull soul these three props of predestination and rest upon them with the firm confidence of thy heart Consider the benefits of Gods mercie that are past and thou wilt not doubt of finall perseverance When as yet thou wast not God created thee When by the fall of Adam thou wast condemned he redeemed thee When thou livedst in the world out of the church he called thee When thou wast ignorant he instructed thee When thou wentst astray he redeemed thee When thou sinnedst he corrected thee When thou stoodst he upheld thee When thou wast fallen he lifted thee up When thou wentst he led thee When thou camest unto him he received thee His long-suffering appeared in that he expected thee and his mercie in that he pardoned thee Gods mercie prevented thee Hope firmly that it will also follow thee Gods mercie prevented thee that thou mightest be healed and it shall also follow thee that thou mayest be glorified It prevented thee that thou mightest live godly it shall also follow thee that thou mayest live with him for ever How came it to passe that in thy fall thou wast not ground to pieces Who put his hand under thee Was it not the Lord Be confident therefore hereafter in Gods mercie and hope assuredly for the end of perfect faith that is eternall salvation In whose hands doth thy salvation consist more safe and certain then in those which made both heaven and earth those hands that are never shortned those hands that do abound with the bowels of mercie and those hands that have holes in them by which mercie may flow forth But consider O devout soul that we were elected of God that we might be holy and blamelesse Whosoever therefore studie not to live an holy life to them belongs not the benefit of election We were elected in Christ In Christ we are by faith Faith shews it self by love Therefore where there is not love neither is there faith where there is not faith neither is there Christ where there is not Christ neither is there election The foundation of God standeth sure having this seal The Lord knoweth who are his But let him depart from unrighteousnesse whosoever calleth upon the name of the Lord The sheep of Christ shall no man take out of his hand but yet let the sheep of Christ heare his voice We are Gods house But let us retain our confidence and the glory of hope firm even unto the end O Lord thou that hast given us to will give us also to perfect Meditat. XXV Of the saving efficacie of prayer Our prayers do pierce the starrie skie And fetch down blessings from on high IT is an exceeding great benefit of God towards us in that he requires us to conferre with him familiarly by pious prayer He bestoweth upon us the gift of prayer and the fruit of prayer Great is the force of prayer which is poured forth on earth but hath its operation in heaven The prayer of the righteous is the key of heaven Prayer ascendeth and deliverance descendeth from God Prayer is a saving buckler by which we repell all our adversaries darts When Moses stretched forth his hands Israel prevailed against the Amalekites If thou stretchest forth thy hands towards heaven Satan shall not prevail against thee As the enemie is kept off by the wall So the anger of God is repelled by the prayers of the saints Our Saviour himself prayed not that he had any need but to commend unto us the dignitie thereof Prayer is the tribute of our subjection Because God hath commanded that we should every day offer unto him our prayers as a spirituall tribute It is the ladder of our ascension unto God For prayer is nothing else but the souls travelling unto God It is the buckler of our defence For the soul of him that continueth in prayer is secure and safe from the assaults of the devil It is our faithfull messenger unto God For it goeth up unto his throne and solicits him to aid us This messenger never returns in vain For God alwayes heares our prayers if not according to our will yet to our profit and salvation We may assuredly hope for one of these two Either he will give us that we ask or else that which he knoweth to be more profitable for us God gave his own Sonne that most excellent gift being not intreated What will he do then if he be intreated We cannot doubt of the Fathers hearing or the Sonnes interceding Upon all occasions thou mayest with Moses by prayer enter into the tabernacle and consult with God the Lord And thou shalt speedily heare his divine answer Christ was transfigured when he prayed So in the time of prayer there are many changes wrought in the soul For prayer is the light of the soul and oftentimes leaves him in joy whom she found in despair With what face canst thou behold the sunne unlesse thou dost first worship him who sends that most pleasant light for thee to look upon How canst thou at thy table fall to thy meat unlesse thou dost first worship him who in his bounty bestows it upon thee With what hope darest thou commit thy self unto the darknesse of
onely the persecution but the reward also is increased Consider the happy condition of the crosse It plucks the love of the world out of us by the roots but it sows in our hearts the seed of the love of God The crosse begets in us an hate of worldly things and lifts up our minde unto heavenly things When the flesh is mortified the spirit is quickened and when the world waxeth bitter Christ becometh sweet unto us Great is the mysterie of the crosse for by it God calls us to contrition to true fear and to the exercise of our patience Let us open to him when he knocketh and we shall heare what the Lord will say within us The sight of the crosse is contemptible in the sight of the world and in the carnall eyes of the outward man But it is glorious in the sight of God and in the spirituall eyes of the inward man What was reputed by the Jews more base and vile then the passion of Christ And what was more glorious and precious in the sight of God For it was the price paid for the sinnes of the whole world Even so the just man is afflicted the just man dies and no man considereth it But precious is the crosse and precious is the death of the Saints in the sight of the Lord. The church which is the spouse of Christ is black without by reason of calamities and persecutions But she is beautifull within by reason of divine consolation The Church and every faithfull soul is as a garden enclosed and none knows the beauty thereof but he that is in it We shall never fully and perfectly feel the consolation of the spirit unlesse our flesh be afflicted without If the love of the world dwelleth in us the love of God cannot enter in A full vessel cannot be filled with new liquour unlesse the first be emptied Let us therefore poure out the love of the world that we may be filled with the love of God Therefore God by the crosse doth extinguish in us the love of the world that there may be room for the love of God Besides the crosse drives us to our prayers and is an occasion of vertue When the North-winde blows upon the garden that is when persecutions assault the Church then the spices thereof are scattered abroad and the vertues thereof are increased and they cast forth an odour pleasing unto God The beloved bridegroom of my soul is white and ruddy white for his innocency and ruddie for his passion And so is also the beloved spouse of Christ white for her vertues and ruddie for her sufferings And thus the grace of God can produce oyl and hony out of the most hard rock of afflictions And so out of the bitter root of calamities God knows how to bring forth the most pleasant fruit of eternall glory Unto which he bring us and admit us Amen Meditat. XLII How we must overcome tentations by perseverance Let not tentations cast thee down For perseverance shall thee crown HOly Lord Jesus the most loving bridegroom of my soul when will the time come that thou wilt lead me to the solemnitie of thy marriage I am a pilgrim and a banished man from thee But yet I most firmly beleeve and nothing doubt but that I shall be shortly set at libertie out of the prison of my bodie and appear before thy face Fear and trembling are come upon me because I carry my treasure in vessels of clay My minde is prone to errour and my will is prone to sinne and therefore my spirit within me is not alwayes ready but the flesh is alwayes weak Sinne leadeth me captive and the law of my members is repugnant to the law of my minde Fear and trembling are come upon me because Satan lieth in wait for my treasure His subtiltie is great his desire to hurt is most earnest and his power is exceeding great He deceived Adam in paradise and Judas in our Saviours school And how then shall I be safe from his treacheries Fear and trembling are come upon me because I am still in the world which is altogether set upon wickednesse The delights of the world entice me adversities in the way of the Lord affright me sometimes the enticements of the world are pleasing unto me and all the world is full of snares Miserable man that I am how shall I be able to escape them Joyes do assault me and sorrows do assault me Miserable man how shall I be able to stand Fear and trembling are come upon me because it is God that worketh in me both to will and to perfect I am afraid lest I should force God by my negligence and want of care to take from me that good will which he hath given me I make not a right use of remission of sinnes and I refuse the first grace which was given freely And therefore I have cause to fear lest God in his secret and just judgement justly take from me that which I have unjustly abused I am afraid lest I be forsaken of him whom after my first conversion I have so often forsaken How grievously am I vexed when I consider that the heavie and severe judgement of God shall follow after his benefits if I make not a right use of them But the infinite mercie of God raiseth me up because as he hath given me to will he will also give unto me to perfect for he is God and is not changed His mercy also is confirmed towards me and shall not be changed The foundation of God is sure sure indeed because it is in God in whom there is no change Sure indeed because it is confirmed by the bloud of Christ which alwayes speaketh loud before the throne of God Sure indeed because it is signed with the sure seals of the Sacraments If I should seek never so little salvation in my self I must needs doubt of my salvation But as all my righteousnesse is in Christ so in him also is all the hope of my salvation If I had apprehended and laid hold upon Christ of mine own free will I might yet fear lest my will should change and so I should loose Christ But he that was found of him that sought him not will not assuredly withdraw himself again after he is once found He that hath translated me out of the shadow of death unto the participation of light will not suffer me to return again unto my former darknesse The gifts of God are without repentance and our vocation by God as concerning the will of God But I could wish that even I also were unchangeable in that which is good That treasure is alwayes present but the hand that should apprehend it doth sometimes languish But I shall be able to apprehend Christ because as he hath revealed himself unto me in his word and promises so likewise he will
the old man Page 72 Prayer 2 For conservation and increase of faith Page 74 Prayer 2 For conservation and increase of faith Page 74 Prayer 3 For conservation and increase of hope Page 77 Prayer 4 For conservation and increase of charitie Page 80 Prayer 5 For conservation and increase of humility Page 83 Prayer 6 For the gift and increase of patience Page 86 Prayer 7 For the gift and increase of meeknesse and gentlenesse Page 89 Prayer 8 For the gift and increase of chastitie Page 91 Prayer 9 For contempt of all earthly things Page 94 Prayer 10 For deniall of himself Page 97 Prayer 11 For victorie over the world Page 100 Prayer 12 For consolation in adversity and true rest of the soul. Page 103 Prayer 13 For victory in tentations for deliverance from the snares and treacheries of the devil Page 106 14 For a blessed departure out of this life and a blessed resurrection unto life everlasting Page 109 IIII. Supplications for others Prayer 1 HE prayes for the conservation of the word and increase of the Church Page 114 Prayer 2 He prayes for pastours and hearers Page 117 Prayer 3 He prayes for Magistrates and subjects Page 121 Prayer 4 He prayes for houshold-government and private families Page 124 Prayer 5 He prayes for parents brethren sisters kinsfolk and benefactours Page 128 Prayer 6 He prayes for enemies and persecutours Page 131 Prayer 7 He prayes for those that are afflicted and in miserie Page 134 The disposition and method of this daily Practise of pietie THis Practise of piety is reduced to foure heads according to the number of the objects about which it is employed For we must every day weigh and consider with our selves 1 The grievousnesse of our sinnes and ask pardon thereof for Christs sake 2 GODS benefits for which we must offer humble and heartie thanksgiving 3 Our own necessities where we must pray for conservation and increase of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and for a spirituall victory in all tentations 4 Our neighbours necessities where we must pray for all things needfull for them for this life and that which is to come The first Part. Of Confession of sinnes The Argument The meditation of our sinnes comprehendeth in it these two heads of originall and actuall sinnes Actuall sinnes are committed in thought word and deed By the committing of evil and by the omitting of good Against GOD our neighbour and our selves The offences of our youth aâ—e many and our daily infirmities many We are often tempted of the flesh and we do often yeeld unto it We partake many times in other mens sinnes and in many things we are defective our selves We are convicted of our sinnes by all the creatures and we behold the severitie of GODS anger against our sinnes in the passion and death of CHRIST PRAYER I. He weigheth and considereth the grievousnesse of originall sinne HOly God and just Judge I know that I was conceived and born in sinne I know that I was formed of unclean seed in the wombe of my mother That poyson of sinne hath so corrupted and putrified my whole nature that no facultie of my soul is free from the contagion thereof That holy pledge of the divine image which was committed unto me in our first father is perished in me There is no power at all in me to begin to come unto the saving knowledge of thee the fear of thee confidence in thee and love of thee There remains no sufficiencie in me to perform obedience unto thy commandments My will is averse from thy law and the law of sinne in my members being repugnant to the law of my minde makes my whole nature become corrupt and perverse I wretched and miserable man do feel the power of sinne cleaving fast to my members I do feel the yoke of wicked concupiscence grievously pressing me For although I am regenerate and renewed by the spirit of grace in the laver of baptisme yet am I not as yet wholly free from the yoke and captivitie of sinne For that root of bitternesse which lieth hidden in me doth alwayes desire to put forth new branches The law of sinne reigning in my flesh doth strive to captivate me I am full of doubts distrust and desire of mine own honour Out of my heart proceed wicked cogitations Filthy thoughts defile me throughout in thy sight Out of that poysoned fountain flow forth rivers of poyson Enter not therefore into judgement with thy servant O Lord but be propitious unto me according to thy great mercie The deep of my miserie calleth upon the deep of thy mercy For this uncleannesse and filthinesse of my polluted nature I offer unto thee the most sacred conception of thy Sonne For me he was born For me therefore he was conceived For me he was made sanctification and righteousnesse For me therefore he is become purification and cleannesse Through him and for him thy Sonne have mercy on me O thou most highest and set not in the light of thy countenance that hidden corruption that cleaveth to my nature but look upon thy beloved Sonne my Mediatour and let his most holy and immaculate conception succour my miserie Amen PRAYER II. He recalls to our memorie the sinnes of our youth HOly God and just Judge Remember not the offences of my youth and call to minde no more my sinnes that are past How many venemous fruits hath the vicious root of concupiscence that is inherent in me brought forth In my childhood what an innumerable brood of actuall transgressions hath the evil of originall sinne hatched The very thoughts of my heart are wicked and perverse even from my childhood yea even from my tender infancie For when I was an infant but of one day I was in no wise innocent before thee As many as the dayes of my life are so many offences do burden me yea many more by farre in number seeing that the just man falls seven times in one day But if the just fall seven times in one day then I wretched and unjust man without doubt have fallen seventy times seven times As my life hath increased so hath the web of my sinnes increased and as much as hath been added to my life by thy bounty so much hath been added to the course of my sinnes by the wickednesse of my corrupt nature I examine my life that is past and what else do I behold but a filthy stinking cloke of sinne I attend unto the light of thy precepts and what do I finde in the course of my yeares that are past but darknesse and blindnesse The tender flower of my youth ought to have been crowned with vertues and offered to thee for a sweet savour The best part of my age past did ow it self unto thee the best Creatour of nature But the dirty filth of my sinnes hath most foully polluted the flower of my age and the stinking
God for the expectation of our conversion I Render unto thee most mercifull Father immortall thanks for that thou wouldest with so great patience and long-suffering expect my conversion and hast brought me out of the path of sinne unto the fellowship of thy kingdome How great is thy long-suffering that thou hast not cast me away from thy face and thrust me down into everlasting torments whereas I have deserved it a thousand times How many thousands hath death prevented before they could attain unto true repentance How many sinners hath the devil made obstinate that they might not obtain forgivenesse of their sinnes There was no distinction in nature between me and them onely thy goodnesse and long-suffering My offence was no lesse then theirs but thy grace did abound Thy mercie strove with my miserie I went on in my sinne and thou didst go on in thy mercy I deferred my conversion and thou didst deferre my punishment I went astray and thou didst call me I refused to come and still thou didst expect me This thy goodnesse most indulgent Father I cannot extoll with sufficient praises This thy long patience most mercifull God I cannot recompense with any merits Thou didst preserve me from many sinnes whereinto the corruption of the flesh the deceit of the world and the perswasion of the devil would have thrown me headlong as well as others Neither hast thou onely kept me from falling into sinne but also hast most graciously expected my conversion from sinne into which I had fallen I finde thee more mercifull then I am sinfull I sinned and thou madest as if thou didst not see it I contained not my self from wickednesse and yet thou didst abstain from punishment I did long time prolong my iniquity and thou didst prolong thy pitie What were then my deserts Surely evil and the worst of evils to wit my sinnes many in number most grievous for weight and detestable for varietie Therefore to thy grace and bountie alone do I attribute it that thou hast so long expected my conversion and delivered my soul out of the snares of â—â—nne To thee O Lord be praise hoâ—our and glory for ever and ever Amen PRAYER VIII He renders thanks for our conversion I Render thanks unto thee my God for that thou hast converted my heart that was hard and knew not how to repent and for that thou hast taken from me my stony heart and given me an heart of flesh I had of my self power to sinne But I had not of my self power to rise again to repentance I could go astray of my self But I could not return again into the way without thee For even as he that is born crooked from his mothers wombe cannot be made straight by naturall means but onely by divine and supernaturall power So my soul being by nature crooked and prone to sinne and the love of earthly things could by no humane power but thy grace onely be rectified and lifted up to the love of thee and heavenly things I could deform my self by my sinnes most foully But thou onely couldst reform me As the Ethiopian cannot change his skinne nor the leopard his spots Sâ— neither can I do that which is good being by nature addicted unto the love of that which is evil Thou my God didst convert me and I was converted and when I was converted then I repented and when I was instructed then I smote my thigh I was dead in sinne And thou didst quicken me As much power as a dead man hath to raise himself So much had I to convert my self Unlesse thou hadst drawn me I had never come unto thee unlesse thou hadst stirred me up I had never watched unto thee unlesse thou hadst illuminated me I had never seen thee My sinnes were more sweet unto me then hony and the hony-combe But I am to thank thee that now they are sharp and bitter unto me for thou hast given me a spirituall taste The works of vertue were more bitter unto me then gall and aloes But I am to thank thee that now they are become pleasant and sweet for thou hast by thy Spirit changed the corrupt judgement of my flesh I went astray as a sheep that is lost and declined to the way of iniquitie But thou which art the good shepherd hast found me out and brought me again unto the flock of thy saints It was late ere I knew thee for there was a great and darksome cloud of vanitie before mine eyes which would not suffer me to see the light of the truth It was late ere I saw the true light because I was blinde and loved blindnesse and walked through the darknesse of sinne into the darknesse of hell But thou hast illuminated me thou soughtest me when I sought not thee thou calledst me when I called not upon thee thou convertedst me when I was not converted unto thee and thou saidst with a most powerfull voice Let there be light in the inward parts of his heart and there was a light and I saw thy light and I knew mine own blindnesse For this thy immense and infinite benefit I will praise thy name for ever and ever Amen PRAYER IX He renders thanks for the forgivenesse of sinnes I Ow and render unto thee eternall and mercifull God great thanks for that thou hast not rejected me when I came unto thee but diddest most readily receive me and most mercifully forgive me all my sinnes I was that prodigall sonne most indulgent Father I was that prodigall sonne that by living riotously wasted his Fathers substance For I have defiled the gifts of nature I have refused the gifts of grace I have deprived my self of the gifts of glory I was naked and destitute of all good things and thou coveredst and enrichedst me with the robe of righteousnesse I was lost and condemned and thou of thy free grace hast bestowed upon me eternall salvation Thou of thine ardent mercy didst embrace me and kisse me in sending thy most beloved Sonne that is in thy bosome and thy holy Spirit which is the kisse of thy mouth as ample witnesses of thine infinite love Thou clothedst me with my first robe in restoring me my former innocencie Thou gavest me a ring for my hand by sealing me with thy Spirit of grace Thou didst put shoes upon my feet by arming me with the Gospel of peace Thou killedst the fat calf for me by delivering thy most deare Sonne to death for me Thou didst cause me to feast and make merrie by restoring the joy of heart and the true peace of conscience unto me I was dead and through thee I was restored to life I went astray and through thee I came again into the way I was consumed with povertie and through thee I entred again into my former possession Thou mightest in thy just judgement have rejected me seeing that I was polluted with so many sinnes covered with so
many offences and corrupted with so many iniquities But thy mercy did abound above my sinnes thy goodnesse was greater then mine iniquity How often have I shut the gate of my heart when thou diddest knock Therefore when I knocked thou mightest most justly have shut the doore of mercy against me How often have I stopt mine eares that I might not heare thy voice Therefore when I sighed unto thee thou mightest most justly have stopped thine eares and not hearkened unto my voice But thy grace was more abundant then all my sinne and transgression Thou didst receive me with thy hands spread forth and put away mine iniquities as it were a cloud and cast all my sinnes behinde thy back Thou remembrest my sinnes no more but receivest me into the most ample bosome of thy mercy For this thy inestimable benefit I will give thanks unto thee for ever Amen PRAYER X. He renders thanks unto God for conserving us in that which is good TO thee Lord be honour and glorie and blessing and thanksgiving for that thou hast not onely in mercy received me upon my repentance but also hast enabled me to abstain from sinne and live more reformedly What should it profit a man to be free from his sicknesse and presently to fall into a worse relapse What should it profit to be absolved from sinnes past unlesse grace be conferred to lead a godly life Thou God most faithfull hast shewed all the parts and offices of a faithfull and skilfull Physician in the cure of my souls wounds My wounds were deadly and thou didst cure them by the wounds of thy Sonne But there was cause to fear that the wounds that were healed might wax raw again And thou by the grace of thy holy Spirit as it were a fomentation hast hindred it How many be those that after remission of sinnes obtained return again to their former course of life and reiterating their sinnes more grievously offend God! Alas how many do we see that being freed from the yoke of sinne return to their former captivitie and being brought out of the spirituall Egypt look back again to the pots They have fled from the pollutions of the world by the knowledge of Christ and do wallow again in the same by repeating the former conversation of their most wicked life They were freed out of the bonds of Satan by their conversion and again are held entangled in the same by the delusion of wicked spirits Surely their latter end is worse then their beginning And it had been better for them never to have known the way of righteousnesse then having known it to turn away from the path of the holy commandments which were delivered unto them These are the dogs that return again to their vomit and sowes that after their washing wallow again in the mire Whatsoever hath happened unto them might have happened unto me but that it hath pleased thee by the grace of thy power and the efficacie of thy holy Spirit to enable me to continue in that which is good The same wicked spirit that vanquished them assaulted me The same world that seduced them enticed me The same flesh that overcame them allured me Onely thy grace protected me against their assaults and furnished me with power sufficient for victory Thy strength was powerfull in my weaknes From thee the strength of the Spirit descended with which I was enabled to bridle the assaults of the flesh Whatsoever good there is in me it descends all from thee who art the fountain of all good for in me by nature there is nothing but sinne Therefore as many good works as I finde in me which notwithstanding are impure and imperfect by reason of my flesh so many gifts they are of thy grace I must needs confesse For this thine inestimable gift conferred upon me I will give thee thanks for ever Amen PRAYER XI He renders thanks for all the gifts of the soul and bodie and for externall goods I Render unto thee eternall and mercifull God as it is most due eternall thanks for that thou hast not onely made me a bodie and a soul but moreover hast furnished me with sundry gifts of the soul and bodie and also with externall goods Thou which art wisdome it self teachest man all knowledge If therefore I know any good it is a demonstration of thine abundant grace towards me Without thy light my minde is darksome Without thy grace my will is captive If there be in me either any wit or prudence it is all to be attributed to thy clemencie Wisdome is the eye of the soul and divine grace is the eye of wisdome Whatsoever we know we know either by the light of nature or by the revelation of thy word But from thee O thou light of eternall wisdome doth the illumination of nature spring From thee also doth the revelation of the word come Therefore whatsoever we know descendeth unto us as thy gift Thou O indeficient fountain of life art my life and the length of my dayes Thou O eternall health it self art the strength of my body and the vigour of my vertue Man liveth not by bread onely but by every word that proceedeth out of thy mouth So then man is not preserved in health and strength by bread onely neither is he preserved from diseases by physick onely but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God Tranquillitie of the minde preserveth the health of the bodie And true godlinesse begetteth tranquillitie of the conscience From thee O thou chief good all true godlinesse all tranquillitie of the minde without disturbance and all wished-for health of body doth come Moreover whatsoever externall good I do possesse all that I ow unto thy liberality and bounty A crust of bread is not due unto my deserts How much lesse then are all these externall goods which thou dost heap upon me They are called indeed the gifts of fortune But they are in deed and in truth the gifts of thy grace There is nothing more blessed then to do good and to be liberall to others and thou hast made me partaker of this blessednesse by bestowing liberally these outward goods upon me Thou hast sowed in me the seed of thy grace that from thence there may arise to others an harvest of liberality and beneficency Thou hast committed many things unto me as unto a steward that I might have wherewithall to do good to my fellow-servants From thee the fountain of all good there descends upon me streams of goods Whatsoever I am whatsoever I possesse whatsoever I bestow depends all I confesse upon thy bounty For this thine inestimable mercy I will give thee thanks for ever Amen PRAYER XII He renders thanks for the sacrament of Baptisme TO thee O eternall and mercifull God Father Sonne and holy Ghost I render humble thaâ—â—s for that thou hast washed me in the holy laver of baptisme from all my sinnes and for
that the raging madnesse and desire to persecute which they have in their mindes may hereafter cease Let them know O Lord and acknowledge that it is not onely a vain thing but also very dangerous to kick against the pricks Why do they imitate the furie of wolves when as they know that the bloud of Christ the immaculate Lambe was poured 〈◊〉 for us Why do they thirst to shed that innocent bloud for which they know that the bloud of the very Sonne of God was poured â—orth upon the altar of the crosse Convert them O Lord that they may be converted unto thee from their heart and so obtain the fruit of their conversion in this life and in that which is to come Amen PRAYER VII He supplicates for those that are afflicted and in miserie ALmighty eternall and mercifull God which art the Saviour of all men especially of the faithfull and by thy Apostle hast commanded us to make prayers for all men I intreat thee for all those that are afflicted and in miserie that thou wouldest support them by the consolation of thy grace and succour them by the aid of thy power Indue with power and strength from above those that labour and sweat in the most grievous agonie of Satans tentations Make them partakers of thy victory O Christ thou which didst most powerfully overcome Satan Let the cooler of thy heavenly comfort raise up those whose bones are become dry with the fire of grief and sorrow Bear up all those that are ready to fall and raise up those that are already fallen Be mercifull unto those that are sick and diseased and grant that the disease of the body may be unto them the medicine of the soul and the adversities of the flesh the remedies of the spirit Let them know that diseases are the handmaids of sinne and the forerunners of death Give unto them the strength of faith and patience O thou which art the most true Physician both of soul and body Restore them again unto their former health if it be for the everlasting salvation of their souls Protect all those that are great with childe and those that be in labour Thou art he that dost deliver children out of the straits of their mothers wombe and dost propagate mankinde by thy blessing be present with those that be in labour O thou lover and giver of life that they be not oppressed with an immoderate weight of sorrows Nourish those that are orphans and destitute of all help and succour Defend the widows that are subject to the reproches of all men thou which hast called thy self the Father of the fatherlesse and the judge and defender of the widows Let the tears of the widows which flow down from their cheeks break through the clouds and rest not untill they come before thy throne Heare those that be in danger by sea which cry to thee and send up their sighs unto thee seeing before their eyes their neighbours suffer shipwrack Restore libertie unto those that are captive that with a thankfull heart they may sing of thy bounty Confirm those that suffer persecution for righteousnesse sake that they may get the conquest over all their enemies and purchase the everlasting crown of martyrdome Be present with all those that be in danger and calamitie and grant that they may possesse their souls in true patience and denying their own wills take up their crosse Let them follow him under the crosse on whom they beleeve that he died for us upon the crosse And especially I commend unto thee most gracious Father those which are about the gates of death and are between time and eternitie and wrestle with all their strength with that last enemie Confirm them O thou most potent Conquerour of death Deliver them O most glorious Captain and Authour of life that they be not overwhelmed in the waves of tentations but by thy conduct they may be brought unto the haven of everlasting rest Have mercy upon all men thou which art the Creatour of all Have mercy upon all men thou which art the Redeemer of all To thee be praise and glory for ever and ever Amen FINIS The summe of Gerards prayers redâ—ced into a form of morning prayer for the use of an English familie The foure capitall words signifie the foure parts of Gerards prayers and the Arithmeticall figures point 〈◊〉 every prayer of those parts HOly God and just Judge Thine eyes are more purâ— then the sunne and cannot behold any thing that is unclear The Cherubims and Seraphims cover their faces before thy glorious majestie The heavens of heavens are not clean in thy sight How theâ— shall earth sinfull earth dust and ashes appear before thee We presume not O Lord to come before thâ— tribunal to plead for our righteousnesse for all our righteousnesse is aâ— filthie rags But we prostrate our selves with all humilitie of body and soul at thy mercy-seat to make CONFESSION of our sinnes Heare Lord and have mercy We confesse that 1 We sinned in the loyns of our first parents we were conceived in sinne we were shapen in iniquitie 2 In our childhood originall sinne brought forth actuall and actuall sinnes have increased in us ever since as our dayes have increased Who can reckon up the sinnes of his youth Who can tell how oft he offendeth The just man sinneth seven times a day But 3 We have sinned seventy times seven times every day â— 5 All thy holy laws and commandments we have broken in thought word and deed 6 We have been partakers of other mens sinnes 7 We are many wayes convinced of our sinnes We are convinced 8 By the contrition of heart and the testimonie of our conscience 9 By the greatnesse of thy mercy and thy benefits bestowed upon us 10 By the severitie of thy â—ustice declared in the death and passion of thy Sonne our Saviour Iesus Christ. Thou art an holy God and nearest not sinners Thou art a just Judge and thy justice must be satisfied We are sinners and the wages of sinne is death Thy justice must be satisfied or else we cannot escape death We have nothing of our own to give for the ransome of our souls Therefore we offer unto thee holy Father that which is not ours but thy Sonnes 1 For our originall sinne we offer unto thee just Judge his originall righteousnesse who is righteousneâ— it self for our conception in sinne we offer unto thee his most sacred conception who was conceived by the holy Ghost for our birth in sinne we offer unto thee his most pure nativitie who was born of a pure virgin 2 For the offences of our youth we offer unto thee his most perfect innocencie in whose mouth was found no guile 3 For our daily slips and falls we offer unto thee his most perfect obedience who made it his meat and drink to do thy will in all things 4 5 For our often breach of thy commandments we offer
clothedst us with innocencie as with a garment thou seatedst us in paradise a place of all delight and pleasure But we have defaced thine image we have cast off our first covering we have thrust our selves out of that pleasant place We ran away from thee and were not obedient unto thy voice We were lost and condemned before we came into this world Our first parents sinned against thee and we sinned in them They were corrupted and we are inheriters of their corruption They were the parents of disobedience and we are by nature the children of wrath Sinfull and unhappie children of sinfull and unhappie parents Thou mightest in thy displeasure after their fall have plunged them into the bottomlesse pit and made them the fewel of hell and sent their posteritie after them And neither they nor we could justly have complained Righteous O Lord art thou in thy judgements And our miserie is from our selves But great was thy mercie unto us We came into this world in a floud of uncleannesse wallowing in our mothers bloud and thou didst set open a fountain for us to wash in We were washed in the laver of Baptisme and we have returned with the swine to our wallowing in the mire We came from a place of darknesse into this world we lived as children of darknesse we sat in darknesse and in the shadow of death Thou gavest us thy word to be a lantern unto our feet and a light unto our paths that in thy light we might see light that so walking in the way of truth we might attain everlasting life But we have loved darknesse more then light and have not been obedient unto thy word We came into this world crooked even from our mothers wombe and thou gavest us thy law to be a glasse wherein we might see our deformitie and a rule whereby to square all our actions words and thoughts But we have shut our eyes that we might not see and we have refused to be ruled by thy law The law of sinne in our flesh doth daily captivate us The root of originall sinne which lieth hidden in us doth every day put forth new branches All the parts and faculties of our bodies and souls are as so many instruments of unrighteousnesse to fight against thy divine Majestie Our hearts imagine wicked things our mouthes utter them and our hands put them in practise Thy mercies every day are renewed unto us and our sinnes are every day multiplied against thee In the day of health and prosperitie we forget thee and we never think upon the day of sicknesse and adversitie Thy benefits heaped upon us do not allure us to obey thee Neither do thy judgements inflicted upon others make us afraid to offend thee What couldest thou O Lord have done more for us or what could we have done more against thee Thou didst send thy Sonne in the fulnesse of time to take our nature upon him to fulfill thy law for us and to be crucified for our sinnes We have not followed the example of his holy life but have every day afresh crucified him by our sinnes And now O Lord if we shall become our own judges we cannot but confesse that we have â—eserved everlasting torments in hellâ—ire But there is mercie with thee O Lord therefore will we not despair Our sinnes are many in number But thy mercies are without number The weight of our sinnes is great But the weight of thy Sonnes crosse was greater Our sinnes presse us down unto hell But thy mercie in Christ Jesus raiseth us up By Satan we are accused But by Jesus Christ we are defended By the law we are convicted But by Jesus Christ we are justified By our own conscience we are condemned But by Jesus Christ we are absolved In us there is nothing but sinne death and damnation In him there is treasured up for us righteousnesse life and salvation We are poore He is our riches We are naked He is our covering We are exposed to thy fury pursuing us He is the buckler of our defence and our refuge He is the rock of our salvation and in him do we trust His wounds are the clefts of the rock Give us we beseech thee the wings of a Dove that by faith we may hide our selves in the clefts of this rock that thine anger wax not hot against us to consume us Let not thy justice triumph in our confusion but let thy mercie rejoyce in our salvation Pardon the sinfull course of our life past and guide us by thy holy Spirit for the time to come Amend what is amisse increase all gifts and graces which thou hast already given and give unto us what thou best knowest to be wanting Be gracious and favourable to thy whole church especially to that part thereof which thou hast committed unto the protection of thy servant and our Sovereigne King Charles Grant that he may see it flourishing in peace and prosperity in the profession and practise of thy Gospel all the dayes of his life and after this life ended crown him we beseech thee with a crown of immortall glorie Let not the sceptre of this kingdome depart from his house neither let there be wanting a man of his race to sit upon his throne so long as the sunne and moon endureth Of this thou hast given us a pledge alreadie in blessing the fruit of the Queens wombe Let the Queen still be like a fruitfull vine And let the Prince grow up like a plant in thine house Let thy mercy be extended to the Ladie Elisabeth our Kings onely sister and her princely issue How long Lord just and true how long shall their enemies prevail and say There there so would we have it It is time for thee to lay to thine hand for they have laid waste their dwelling-place Arise O Lord and let their enemies be scattered and let them that hate them flee before them Carrie them back again into their own countrey if it may be for thy glorie and their good make them glad with the joy of thy countenance and let them rejoyce under their own vines We return home again and beseech thee to be gracious and mercifull to the Kings Counsel the Nobilitie the Magistracie the Ministerie the Gentry and the Commonaltie Give unto those whom thou hast used as instruments for our good rewards temporall and eternall Forgive those that be our enemies and turn their hearts Forget not those that grone under the crosse Clothe the naked feed the hungrie visit the sick deliver the captives defend the fatherlesse and widows relieve the oppressed confirm and strengthen those that suffer persecution for righteousnesse sake cure those that are broken in heart speak peace unto their consciences that are tormented with the sense of their sinnes suffer them not to be swallowed up in despair Stand by those that are ready to depart out of this life When their eyes shall be darkned in the agony of death kindle in their hearts the