unworthy Creatures into the number of Thy Children and Heirs of thy Kingdom we beseech Thee grant us the assistance of Thy Grace that we may reverently worship Thee diligently serve Thee and readily and chearfully obey Thy holy Will here on Earth even as those Blessed Spirits do in Heaven And whereas by reason of our many weaknesses and Frailties we are often hindred and always negligent in the performance of these Duties We beseech Thee continually to relieve and supply us with all Spiritual and Temporal necessaries for our help and furtherance in thy Service And in whatsoever we have hihâ—erto been wanting or have otherwise transgressed Thy Holy Will We beseech Thee mercifully pass by and pardon it even as we our selves do heartily and sincerely forgive all those who have wronged or offended us And that we may not for the future fall again into the like sins We beseech Thee graciously to assist and preserve us in all Temptations and powerfully defend and deliver us from all the assaults of our daily Enemies the World the Flesh and the Devil For Thou O Lord art the Supreme King Thou art able to do All things and to Thee is due the Honour and Glory of All both in this world and that which is to come Amen And thus the very excellency of the Prayer it self both for the Matter and Method beside the dignity and veneration of the Author may sufficiently commend it to our use it serving so properly either for a Beginning or a Conclusion to our other Devotions Of the Parts of Prayer THE several sorts or parts of Prayer are by the Apostle reduced to these four Heads 1 Tim. 2. 1. SUPPLICATION PRAYER INTERCESSION THANKSGIVING I. Supplication is the Confessing of Sins and imploring Pardon and Reconciliation with God II. Prayer is the petitioning for supply of all good things Spiritual and Temporal which we have need or use of for our Souls or Bodies III. Intercession is the praying for others as well as our selves extending to all sorts and states of men in the world IV. Thanksgiving is the returning of Praise to God for all his Mercies and Blessings bestowed on us And this last is the most pleasant and delightful part of all the worship of God according to that saying of the Prophet David It is a good thing to sing Praises unto our God yea a joyful and pleasant thing it is to be thankful Psal 14. 7. 1. Of the Difficulty of Prayer FOR otherwise Prayer in respect of the other parts though as it is ordinarily used or abused it be taken for an ordinary matter yet indeed to perform it rightly and duly is the highest and hardest piece of all the service of God For beside the qualifications required to fit us for the preformance of it Prayer being in it self a Duty wholly Spiritual and requiring a Spiritual intention of the Soul to God it will be found a very difficult and rare thing for us who are continually clogged and incumbered with Flesh and blood so to abstract our thoughts from all bodily and worldly things as to place them freely and purely upon an invisible Object And to this occasion the craft of our old Enemy is no way wanting who as he is always impertinently interposing in every good action so is he never more importunate and impudent than when we are busie at our Devotions Preparatives to Prayer I. THerefore in this as in all other things before you begin sit down and consider with your self what you are about to do II. Resolve that to make any Address to God without a Resolution at least to set your self heartily and wholly to his Service is not only fruitless but hurtful and that which will turn your very Prayer into sin For to hope for any favour at his hands and yet continue in your sinful course is to make him such an one as your self III. Remember your own meanness and the Majesty of Him to whom you speak that he is the Great King sitting in Heaven and you a poor worm creeping on the Earth IV. Consider how unworthy you are to receive the least favour from him whom you have so often and so highly provoked in despight of his continual mercies to you V. Consider how great a favour and benefit you enjoy in this liberty of approaching and speaking to God VI. Be sober and moderate in your Petitions regulating and submitting your desires both for the Matter and Manner and Measure and Season to his Wisdom and Will VII Remember that he is a Spirit and sees into the heart and therefore not only your words and behaviour but also your thoughts and imaginations must be such as may not offend his pure eyes VIII Let your Praying be rather frequent than long that the tediousness of many words may not weary and dull the Devotion of your Mind IX Recollect and take up your thoughts from the world and worldly things that they may be wholly intent upon the business you are about And this you may do by a short Meditation or preparatory Prayer or reading somewhat in the Scripture or some other pious Book X. Now when you have thus brought your gift to the Altar remember the advice of your Saviour first put away all malice and hatred out of your heart and forgive all others before you presume to ask pardon for your self And know that this is a qualification so necessary so essential to the due performance of any Devotions that our Saviour in that very short Prayer of his own thought it worth the mentioning and that as a kind of Condition Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us Preparatory Prayers GIve ear to my words O Lord consider my meditation Hearken to the voice of my cry my King and my God for unto Thee will I Pray Psal 5. 1 2. Thou that hearest the prayer unto Thee shall all flesh come Let not my Lord be angry if I who am but dust and ashes presume to approach and speak unto Thee O Thou that art easie to be intreated and rejoycest in doing good bow down thy gentle ear and hear me and have mercy upon me Raise up my soul and sanctifie my heart and lips that I may ask those things which are most agreeable to thy holy Will Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight O Lord my Strength and my Redeemer A General Form of Prayer HEar my Prayer O Lord and hearken to the voice of my supplication when I cry unto Thee when I lift up my hands toward the Mercy-seat of thy holy Temple O Holy Lord God whose pure eyes will not behold iniquity I the vilest of all thy Creation and most sinful among all the sons of men do yet presume to cast my self down before the foot-stool of thy Throne of Grace humbly beseeching Thee to stretch forth Thy Golden Scepter of Peace that I may touch it and
Comforter Thou art the King of Glory O Christ Thou art the Everlasting Son of the Father When thou tookest upon Thee to deliver man Thou dist not abhor the Virgins womb When Thou hadst overcome the sharpness of Death Thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers Thou sittest at the right hand of God in the Glory of the Father We believe that thou shalt come to be our Judge We therefore pray Thee help thy servants whom Thou hast redeemed deemed with thy precious blood Make them to be numbred with thy Saints in Glory everlasting O Lord save thy people and bless thine heritage Govern them and lift them up for ever Day by day we magnifie Thee And worship thy Name ever world without end Vouchsafe O Lord to keep us this day without sin O Lord have mercy upon us have mercy upon us O Lord let thy mercy lighten upon us as our Trust is in thee O Lord in the have I trusted let me never be confounded WE humbly beseech Thee O Father mercifully to look upon our infirmities and for the glory of thy Names sake turn from us all those evils that we most justly have deserved and grant that in all our troubles we may put our whole trust and confidence in thy mercy and evermore serve Thee in holiness and pureness of living to thy Honour and Glory through our only Mediator and advocate Jesus Christ our Lord Amen NOW the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus that great Shepherd of the Sheep through the bloud of the everlasting Covenant make us perfect in every good work to do his will working in us that which is well-pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom be Glory for ever and ever Amen THE FIFTH HOUR OF PRAYER AT THE Ninth Hour of the Day About III. After-Noon Preparative to the Publick 1 Thess 5. 2 3. 4. The day of the Lord so cometh as a Thief in the night For when they shall say Peace and Safety then sudden destruction cometh upon them as Travail upon a woman with child and they shall not escape But ye brethren are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief ENter not into judgment with thy servant O Lord for in thy fight shall no man living be justified Psal 143. 2. OUR Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread and forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from Evil. For Thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen O Lord open thou my lips And my mouth shall shew forth thy praise Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end Amen Psal 39. I Said I will take heed to my ways that I offend not in my tongue I will keep my mouth as it were with a bridle while the ungodly is in my sight I held my tongue and spake nothing I kept silence yea even from good words but it was pain and grief to me My heart was hot within me and while I was thus musing the fire kindled and at last I spake with my tougue Lord let me know mine end and the number of my days that I may be certified how long I have to live Behold Thou hast made my days as it were a span long and mine age is even as nothing in respect of Thee and verily every man living is altogether vanity For man walketh in a vain shadow and disquieteth himself in vain he heapeth up riches and cannot tell who shall gather them And now Lord what is my hope truly my hope is even in Thee Deliver me from all mine offences and make me not a rebuke unto the foolish I became dumb and opened not my mouth for it was thy doing Take thy plague away from me I am even consumed by the means of thy heavy hand When thou with rebukes dost chasten man for sin Thou makest his beauty to consume away like as it were a Moth fretting a garment every man therefore is but vanity Hear my prayer O God and with thine ears consider my calling hold not thy peace at my tears For I am a stranger with Thee and a sojourner as all my fathers were O spare me a little that I may recover my strength before I go hence and be no more seen Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the begininng is now and ever shall be world without end Amen O God from whom all holy desires all good counsels and all just works do proceed work in us thy unprofitable servants both to will and to do that the Glory of both may return to Thee the giver of every good and perfect gift through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen NOW unto Him that is able to keep us from falling and to present us faultless before the presence of his Glory with exceeding joy to the only wise God our Saviour be Glory and Majesty Dominion and Power now and for ever Amen THE SIXTH HOUR OF PRAYER AT THE Twelfth or Last Hour of the Day About VI. in the Evening Deut. 32. 29. O that they were wise that they understood this that they would consider their latter end Job 14. 1 2. Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble he cometh forth like a flower and is cut down he fleeth also as a shadow and continueth not PRaise the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me praise his holy Name Praise the Lord O my Soul and forget not all his benefits Which forgiveth all thy sin and healeth all thy infirmities Which saveth thy life from destruction and crowneth thee with mercy and loving kindness OUR Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread and forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from Evil. For Thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen O Lord open thou my lips And my mouth shall shew forth thy praise Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end Amen Psal 90. LOrd Thou hast been our refuge from one generation to another Before the mountains were brought forth or ever the earth and the world were made Thou art God from everlasting and world without end Thou turnest man to destruction again thou sayest come again ye children of men For a thousand years in thy sight are
grievously rebelled Abroad the Sword bereaveth at home there is as death They have heard that I sigh there is none to comfort me All mine Enemies have heard of my trouble they are glad that thou hast done it II. How hath the Lord covered the Daughter of Zion with a Cloud in his anger and cast down from Heaven unto the Earth the Beauty of Israel and remembred not his footstool in the day of his anger He hath cut off in his fierce anger all the Srength of Israel He hath polluted the Kingdom and the Princes thereof Her King and her Princes are among the Gentiles they are become like Harts that find no Pasture and they are gone without strength before the Pursuer Chap. 1. 6. The Law is no more her Prophets also find no Vision from the Lord. The Lord hath cast off his Alter he hath abhorred his Sanctuary and violently taken away his Tabernacle and destroyed his places of the Assembly The Lord hath caused the Solemn Feasts and Sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion and hath despised in the indignation of his anger the King and the Priest All that pass by clap their hands at thee they hiss and wag their head at the Daughter of Jerusalem Is this the City that men call the perfection of Beauty the Joy of the whole Earth Behold O Lord and consider to whom thou hast done this Vers 20. III. Remember mine affliction and my misery and the wormwood and the gall My Soul hath them still in remembrance and is humbled in me This I recal to mind therefore have I hope It is of the Lords mercies that we are not consumed because his Compassions fail not They are new every morning Great is thy faithfulness For the Lord will not cast off for ever but though he cause grief yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies for he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the Children of men Wherefore doth a living man complain a man for the punishment of his sins Let us search and try our ways and turn again to the Lord. IV. The Lord hath accomplished his fury he hath poured out his fierce anger and hath kindled a fire in Zion and it hath devoured the foundations thereof The Kings of the Earth and all the Inhabitants of the World would not have beleived that the Adversary and the Enemy should have entered into the Gates of Jerusalem The anger of the Lord hath divided them he will no more regard them They respected not the persons of the Priests they favoured not the Elders As for us our eyes as yet failed for our vain help in our watching we have watched for a Nation that could not save us They hunt our steps that we cannot go into the streets Our Persecutors are swifter than the Eagles of the Heavens they pursued us upon the Mountains they laid wait for us in the wilderness The Breath of our nostrils the Anointed of the Lord was taken in their pits of whom we said Under his shadow we shall live among the Heathen V. Remember O Lord what is come upon us consider and behold our reproach Our Inheritance is turned to strangers our houses to aliens We are Orphans and Fatherless our Mothers are as Widows Servants have ruled over us there is none that doth deliver us out of their hand Princes are hanged up by their hand The Faces of the Elders were not honoured The Joy of our Heart is ceased our Dance is turned into Mourning The Crown is fallen from our head Wo unto us that we have sinned For this our Heart is faint for these things our eyes are dim Thou O Lord remainest for ever thy Throne from generation to generation Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever and forsake us so long time Turn thou us unto thee O Lord and we shall be turned renew our days as of old PSALMS I. O God wherefore art thou absent from us so long Why is thy Wrath so hot against the Sheep of thy pasture Remember the congregation which thou hast purchased of old the lot of thine Inheritance and this Mount Sion wherein thou hast dwelt O God the Heathen are come into thine Inheritance thy holy Temple have they defiled and laid Jerusalem on heaps They have cast fire into thy Sanctuary they have defiled the dwelling place of thy Name unto the ground We are become a reproach to our Neighbours a scorn and derision to them that are round about us Lord how long wilt thou be angry shall thy jealousie burn like fire for ever O remember not our old sins let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us for we are brought very low Help us O God of our Salvation for the glory of thy Name deliver us and purge away our sins for thy Names sake Wherefore should the Heathen say whereis their God Remember this O Lord that the Enemy hath reproached and the Foolish people have blasphemed thy Name O deliver not the Soul of thy Turtle Dove unto the multitude of the wicked forget not the Congregation of thy poor for ever Have respect unto the Covenant for the dark places of the Earth are full of the habitations of Cruelty O let not the Oppressed return ashamed let the poor and needy praise thy Name Arise O God plead thine own cause remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily Forget not the voice of thine Enemies the noise of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually II. HEar O thou Shepherd of Israel thou that leadest Joseph like a flock thou that dwellest between the Cherubims shew thy self O Lord God of Hosts how long wilt thou be angry against the Prayer of thy people Thou feedest them with the bread of weeping and givest them plenty of tears to drink Thou makest us a strife unto our Neighbours and our Enemies laugh among themselves Turn us again O God of Hosts and cause thy face to shine and we shall be saved Thou hast brought a Vine out of Egypt thou hast cast out the Heathen and planted it Thou preparedst the Soil before it and didst cause it to take root and it filled the Land The Hills were covered with the shadow of it and the goodly Cedars with the branches thereof She sent out her Boughs into the Sea and her Branches upon the River Why hast thou then broken down her Hedges so that all they that pass by the way do spoil her The Boar out of the Wood doth waste it and the Wild Beast of the Feild doth devour it Return we beseech thee O Lord of Hosts look down from Heaven behold and visit this Vine And the Root which thy Right Hand hath planted and the Branch which thou madest strong for thy self Let thy Hand be upon the Man of thy Right Hand upon the Son of Man whom thou madest strong for thy self So will not we go back from thee
THE Daily Practice OF DEVOTION OR The Hours of Prayer FITTED To the main Uses of a CHRISTIAN LIFE Also Lamentations and Prayers for the Peaceful re-settlement of this Church and State By the late Pious and Reverend H. H. D. D. Cum clamore valido lachrymis preces offerens exauditus est pro sua reverentia LONDON Printed for R. Royston Bookseller to His most Sacred Majesty MDCLXXXIV The Introduction ALL things tend naturally toward some certain End and desire some Good the attainment of which is the Perfection of their Nature and the enjoyment of it their Supreme Happiness The highest Perfection and Happiness of Mankind consists in their nearest approach unto God the supreme End and only Good The only means of thus approaching and applying our selves to God is a sincere Love of him the Natural effect and expression of which is our keeping his Commandments 1 John 3. 5. Now the whole Service of God which is that we call Religion being in the Holy Scriptures largely and plainly declared to the meanest understandings may seem to be all comprehended under these three Heads Faith Works and Prayer I. By Faith we nnderstand the hearty Belief of whatsoever is revealed by God II. By Works the diligent Observing of whatsoever is commanded by God III. By Prayer the humble Petitioning for all requisites to that end Of the First we have a short Summary in the Apostles Creed Of the Second in the Two Tables of the Law Of the Third we have an excellent Pattern in the Lords Prayer Of which though the last be the only Subject of our present Discourse yet the First and the Second were to be mentioned being the natural Introductions to it The Apostles Creed I Believe in God the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord which was conceived by the Holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified dead and buried he descended into Hell the third day he rose again from the dead he ascended into Heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead I believe in the Holy Ghost the Holy Catholick Church the Communion of Saints the Forgiveness of Sins the Resurrection of the Body and the Life everlasting Amen The two Tables of the Law I. THou shalt have none other Gods but Me. II. Thou shalt not Worship any kind of Image III. Thou shalt not take the Name of God in vain IV. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day V. Honour thy Father and thy Mother VI. Thou shalt do no Murder VII Thou shalt not commit Adultery VIII Thou shalt not Steal IX Thou shalt not bear False Witness X. Thou shalt not Covet any thing that is thy neighbours The Lords Prayer OUR Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from evil For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen The Contents OF the daily practice of Devotion Pag. 1 Of set Forms of Prayer 2 Of the Lords Prayer 3 The Lords Prayer 4 The Paraphrase 5 Of the parts of Prayer 7 Of the Difficulty of Prayer 9 Preparatives to Prayer 10 Preparatory Prayers 14 A General Form of Prayer 15 The Seven Hours of Prayer for every day 31 The First Hour 35 The Second Hour 43 Of Publick Prayer the third hour 59 The Third Hour 63 The Fourth Hour 69 The Fifth Hour 79 The Sixth Hour 85 The Seventh Hour 93 Of Solemn Repentance 109 A General form of Confession 115 Of the Lords Supper 129 Of Frequent Receiving 133 Of Preparation 137 Prayers before the Sacrament 141 Before the Bread 146 After the Bread 147 Before the Cup. 148 After the Cup. ibid. An Hymn 149 After the Sacrament 151 An Admonition after Receiving 153 Of Death 157 A Prayer Preparatory to Death 160 Lamentations and Devotions for Times of Captivity 163 Psalms 172 Prayers 183 A Prayer for the Church 190 A Prayer for the King and State 195 A Prayer for all Christian Princes and the Ecclesiastical State 202 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Clem. Alexander Stromat lib. 7. p. 728. OF THE DAILY PRACTICE OF DEVOTION Micah 6. 8. He hath shewed thee O Man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do Justly and to love Mercy and to walk Humbly with thy God Of Prayer AS Religion is the Life of the Soul so Prayer is the Soul of Religion and the Breath by which it lives and moves without which it is stifled up and dies It is a piece of Service as most acceptable to God so most useful to us for as in it we make our daily acknowledgment and do homage as it were to the Great King so in it we have continual access into his high Court to offer up our Petitions to Him to make known our Wants and implore his gracious Relief Of set Forms of Prayer AND although the perpetual changeableness of all things in this transitory Life do every day alter our occasions and create to us new necessities yet our great and common wants and interests remaining still the same in all reason we may still use the same words to express them to God Our extraordinary Necessities may be added and inserted in their proper places in our ordinary Prayers as our daily occasions shall require Otherwise being comprehended under the general heads expressed in our usual Form it will not always be necessary to mention them particularly to Him that knows what things we have need of before we ask and neither hears us the sooner nor understands us the better for our many words Of the Lords Prayer AND indeed any sober Christian may abundantly satisfie himself both of the Lawfulness of Set Forms and the Usefulness of Short ones from the Direction and Example of our Lord who Himself prescribed to His Disciples a Brief Form of Prayer still remaining upon record in the Holy History and daily used in the Catholick Church Which excellent Pattern doubtless we may do well to imitate in our Devotions as that which in a fit method and few words comprehends and summs up all necessaries as may appear by this Short Paraphrase The LORD's PRAYER OUR Father which art in Heaven hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation but deliver us from Evil. For thine is the Kingdom the Power and Glory for ever and ever Amen The Paraphrase O Mercifnl Lord God who hast vouchsafed to adopt and receive us Thy
thy Creation Thou wert yet pleased to find out a means of Redemption and Reconciliation by the death and satisfaction of thine own only Son And hast farther vouchsafed in some measure to shed abroad in our hearts the good gifts and graces of thy holy Spirit to excite inable and incourage us in the performance of thy Service here and to seal to us the good hope of eternal happiness with Thee hereafter That Thou hast vouchsafed me to be born of Christian Parents and brought up in the bosom of thy Church and nourished with the sincere milk of thy word and to live under the glorious Sun-shine of thy Gospel That Thou hast bestowed on me sufficient endowments and abilities of Nature as soundness of mind and health of body and withal a competence of means comfort of friends and other conveniences and contentments of life That Thou hast preserved me from my Childhood until now from all mischiefs and dangers and hast not cut me off in the midst of my sins but allowed me space of Repentance and brought me safe thus far of my life to this present day These and all other thine innumerable and inestimable mercies O Lord as we had nothing in us to deserve them so have we nothing to return for them but an acknowledgment of our extreme unworthiness of any the least of them We therefore offer up our selves unto Thee beseeching thee graciously to receive us and sanctifie thy mercies to us and us to thy service that we may make use of them to the honour and glory of thy Name and the eternal good of our own Souls O Holy Lord God that knowest our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking have mercy upon our infirmities pass by and pardon the imperfections of our Prayers bow down thy gentle ear and hear and grant these our requests as shall seem good to Thee And whatsoever else thou knowest more useful or expedient for me or any of thy servants Thou that knowest to give good gifts we beseech Thee chuse for us and give us those things And all for His sake who hath given us confidence to come unto Thee and ask in His name and hath taught us to summ up all our Prayers in his own words saying OUR Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread and forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into temptation but diliver us from Evil. For Thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen Numb 6. 24. The Lord bless us and keep us The Lord make his face to shine upon us and be gracious unto us The Lord lift up his countenance upon us and give us Peace 2 Cor. 13. 14. The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the Communion of the Holy Ghost be with us all Amen THE SEVEN HOURS OF PRAYER FOR EVERY DAY Psal 119. 164. Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgements Psal 119. 62. At midnight will I rise to give thanks unto thee NOW for the Times of Prayer our Saviours Counsel is that men ought always to pray and not to faint adding a Parable to shew us the virtue of Importunity S. Paul's is agreeable Praying always and without ceasing that is frequently and constantly Among the Ancients it was no less than seven times a day Nay David and S. Paul add the eighth at Midnight so that every third hour of the Night as well as of the Day was begun with the solemnity of Prayer And this Pattern I have thought worthy to be commended to the practice of all pious Christians For the having so often recourse to Heaven must need make us more careful of our conversation on Earth Yet this without any design of laying a burthen upon those whose Occasions or Devotion will not so often serve them only wishing that they who cannot afford so many though so small portions of the day to their Maker would yet joyn with David and Daniel at least three times a day or at the least of leasts twice that the outgoings of the Morning and Evening may praise him The rest may be supplied by lifting up the eyes of their Souls to Heaven with some short and hearty Ejaculation though in midst of any Employment of any Company THE FIRST HOUR OF PRAYER AT THE Morning Watch or Cock-Crowing About III. in the Morning Ephes 5. 14. Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light Rom. 13. 12. The night is far spent the day is at hand let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armour of light Ephes 5. 11. Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness O God thou art my God early will I seek thee Psal 63. 1. My soul flieth unto the Lord before the Morning Watch I say before the Morning Watch Psal 130. 6. Have I not remembred thee in my bed and thought upon thee when I was waking Psal 63. 7. Mine eyes prevent the Night Watches that I might meditate in thy word Psal 119. 148. OUR Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name thy Kingdom come thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen O Lord open thou my lips And my mouth shall shew forth thy praise Psal 51. 15. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end Amen Psal 139. O Lord thou hast searched me out and known me thou knowest my down-sitting and mine up-rising thou understandest my thoughts long before Thou art about my path and about my bed and spiest out all my ways For lo there is not a word in my tongue but thou O Lord knowest it altogether Thou hast fashioned me behind and before and laid thine hand upon me Such knowledge is too wonderful and excellent for me I cannot attain unto it Whither shall I go then from thy Spirit or whither shall I go then from thy Presence If I climb up into Heaven thou art there if I go down to Hell thou art there also If I take the wings of the morning and remain in the uttermost parts of the Sea Even there also shall thy Hand lead me and thy Right Hand shall hold me If I say peradventure the darkness shall cover me then shall my night be turned to day Yea the darkness is no darkness with thee but the night is as clear as the day the darkness and light to
and the Glory for ever and ever Amen O Lord open thou my lips And my mouth shall shew forth thy praise Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end Amen Psal 25. UNto thee O Lord will I lift up my Soul My God I have put my trust in thee O let me not be confounded neither let mine enemies triumph over me For all they that hope in thee shall not be ashamed but such as trangress without a cause shall be put to confusion Shew me thy ways O Lord and teach me thy paths Lead me forth in thy Truth and learn me for thou art the God of my Salvation In thee hath been my hope all the day long Call to remembrance O Lord thy tender mercies and thy loving kindness which hath been ever of old O remember not the sins and offences of my Youth but according to thy mercy think thou upon me O Lord for thy goodness Gracious and righteous is the Lord therefore will we teach sinners in the way Them that be meek shall he guide in judgment and such as be gentle them shall he learn his way All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his Covenant and his Testimonies For thy Names sake O Lord be merciful unto my sin for it is great What man is he that feareth the Lord Him shall he teach in the way that he shall chuse His Soul shall dwell at ease and his Seed shall inherit the Land The Secret of the Lord is among them that fear him and he will shew them his Covenant Mine eyes are ever looking unto the Lord for he shall pluck my feet out of the Net Turn thee unto me and have mercy upon me for I am desolate and in misery The sorrows of my heart are enlarged O bring thou me out of my troubles Look upon my adversity and misery and forgive me all my sin Consider mine Enemies how many they are and they bear a tyrannous hate against me O keep my Soul and deliver me let me not be confounded for I have put my trust in thee Let perfectness and righteous dealing wait upon me for my hope hath been in thee Deliver Israel O God out of all his troubles Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end Amen ALmighty Lord God who hast created all things for thine own Glory and Service give us grace to direct all our thoughts words and works to that one end that so having served thee faithfully here we may glorifie thee eternally in thy Kingdom hereafter through Jesus Christ our Saviour Amen NOW unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the Power that worketh in us unto him be Glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages world without end Amen THE FOURTH HOUR OF PRAYER AT THE Sixth Hour or Mid-day About XII at Noon Psal 34. 12. What man is he that lusteth to live and would fain see good days Keep thy Tongue from Evil and thy Lips that they speak no Guile Eschew Evil and do Good Seek Peace and ensue it Psal 102. 24. O my God take me not away in the midst of mâ—e Age. As for thy years they indure throughout all Generations HEar me when I call O God of my righteousness have mercy upon me and hearken unto my Prayer Psal 4. 1. OUR Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread and forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation but deliver us from Evil. For Thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen O Lord open thou my lips And my mouth shall shew forth thy Praise Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end Amen Psal 27. THE Lord is my light and my salvation of whom then shall I fear The Lord is the strength of my life of whom then shall I be afraid When the wicked even mine enemies and my foes came upon me to eat my flesh they stumbled and fell Though an host of men were laid against me yet shall not my heart be afraid and though there rose up war against me yet will I put my trust in him One thing I have desired of the Lord which I will require even that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the fair beauty of the Lord and to visit his Temple For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his Tabernable yea in the secret place of his dwelling shall he hide me and set me up upon a rock of stone And now shall he lift up mine head above mine enemies round about me Therefore will I offer in his dwelling an oblation with great gladness I will sing and speak praises unto the Lord. Hearken unto my voice O Lord when I cry unto Thee have mercy upon me and hear me My heart hath talked of thee Seek ye my face thy face Lord will I seek O hide not Thou thy face from me nor cast thy servant away in displeasure Thou hast been my succour leave me not neither forsake me O God of my salvation When my father and mother forsake me the Lord taketh me up Teach me thy way O Lord and lead me in the right way because of mine enemies Deliver me not over into the will of mine adversaries for there are false witnesses risen up against me and such as speak wrong I should utterly have fainted but that I believe verily to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living O tarry thou the Lords leisure be strong and he shall comfort thine heart and put thou thy trust in the Lord. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end Amen The Song of SS Ambrose and Augustine WE praise Thee O Lord we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord. All the Earth doth worship Thee the Father everlasting To thee all Angels cry aloud the Heavens and all the Powers therein To Thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Sabbaoth Heaven and Earth are full of the Majesty of thy Glory The glorious company of the Apostles praise Thee The goodly fellowship of the Prophets praise Thee The noble Army of Martyrs praise Thee The Holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge Thee The Father of an infinite Majesty Thine honourable true and only Son Also the Holy Ghost the
eating of Bread and drinking of Wine are in themselves actions so very ordinary that they are also very inconsiderable yet in this they are made use of to signifie to us the most extraordinary and excellent mercy that ever the Great King of Heaven bestowed upon his poor Subjects and Servants here on earth For I. It is the Commemoration of the death of his own only Son for the redemption of lost Mankind the wounding of his body signified by the breaking of Bread and the shedding of his Bloud by the pouring out of Wine II. Besides this it is also an Evidence of Gods reconciliation and favour to us and demonstration that we are in League and Amity with him in that we are admitted to his own Table to eat of his Bread and drink of his Cup. III. It is a means and instrument of conveying grace and strength to the Souls of Worthy Receivers IV. It is our Sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving for all his mercies and blessings particularly temporal the good things of this World the fruits of the Earth which we here offer unto him under these two Principal of Bread and Wine Of Frequent Receiving THis then being a Service so acceptable to God and so beneficial so necessary for men it were but reason to expect that all good Christians would shew themselves ready and forward to the performance of it And accordingly in the first Age of the Church when Religion and Zeal were in their youth and vigour it was the good custom to celebrate this Sacrament if not every day as it is thought yet at least every Lords day But afterward as Piety began to grow more dull and Love more cold it was by little and little brought down to once a Month. And this Order still remains in the Church of God though now somewhat disturbed by prevailing Sectaries among us And at those times the Supper is appointed to be made ready and the Table furnished for all such as can think fit to spare so much time from their worldly business to come to the Marriage-feast of the great King of Heaven For herein they are yet left to more liberty and not necessarily required to come oftner than thrice a year And truly such is the negligence of many who yet would be accounted Christians that they are not ashamed to stretch this libetty to the utmost Yea and it were well if even then they would come meetly provided and had not more respect to the Shame of the World than to the Honour of God or their own Good Certainly any sober Christian cannot consider without shame and indignation how much Mankind are fallen from their first love But that which is ordinarily brought for an excuse is in it self so unworthy and unreasonable that it makes this Neglect yet more abominable and intolerable And indeed it is somewhat worse than that for which those invited in the Gospel received a severe Censure There it was they were taken up with their several Affairs one had bought a farm or a Yoke of oxen another had married a wife and therefore they could not come But here one is engaged in such a sin which he hath no mind to leave yet another is not in charity and in general they are not prepared and therefore they cannot that is they will not come Such is the ridiculous madness of men in this barbarous and brutish Age that they can think fit to excuse and justifie one fault by pretending more and greater But if you are not prepared to meet your Saviour at his Table to celebrate the memorial of his Mercy how would you appear before him at his Seat of Judgment to which yet you know not but you may be sooner called If therefore you could wish to be always provided for Death which often comes suddenly always uncertainly think not much to bestow a little time in preparing your self for this Sacrament as often as you may have an opportunity of receiving it And those which in these days of Captivity have not that convenience of receiving from the hands of them who have authority to give it may yet do well not to omit the Duty of Preparation Let them do that which they can and for that which they cannot God will accept the will for the deed Of Preparation THE best Preparation to this holy Duty is a continued habit of holy living and frequent meditation upon Heaven and Heavenly things particularly the great mercies of God in the Bloud of Jesus Christ But because the minds of men cannot be always so intent and circumspect but that they need some more solemn Excitations and Exercises it will be requisite to set apart some few days before to be imployed more particularly in this business I. Therefore Examine your self and inquire strictly into the state of your Soul and take a view of your whole Life especially since the time of your last Recieving Observe and consider how you have performed this duty formerly whether worthily or unworthily and what good or ill effect it hath wrought in you what progress you have made in Grace and Goodness or whether you grow worse and worse in sin and what are the Causes and Occasions of either II. Confess and humble your self before God and earnestly intreat and contend for his mercy and pardon and reconciliation and grace and favour in the Merits of Jesus Christ that he will wash you from all your Pollutions in his Bloud and cloath you in the White robe of his Righteousness that so having on a Wedding garment you may be a welcom Guest to his Table And here solemnly renew that Promise and vow which you formerly made in that other Sacrament of Baptism and repeated since every time you have received this That you will forsake Sin and Satan and cleave to the Lord your God with all your heart and by the assistance of his gracious Spirit walk before him uprightly and serve him in holiness and righteousness all the days of your Life III. Consider that you are now to communicate not only with God but also with the congregation of your fellow Christians and that the Rule and Essential Character by which you are to know and declare that you love God is that you love your brother also I John 4. 21. Therefore take care to reconcile your self with the World by freely forgiving and meekly desiring forgiveness and endeavouring to restore and establish peace and charity and brotherly kindness aud right understanding between your self and all with whom you have had any kind of difference IV. Recollect and raise up your thoughts from the earth and worldly things and devoutly meditate on heavenly and spiritual matters such as 1. The Creation and Fall of Mankind and the great Miseries which we were thereby engaged in 2. The inestimable Mercy and Goodness of God in bestowing his own only Son for our redemption and restoring us again to a capacity and hope of his heavenly good things
many years that this Nation hath been in the Furnace and yet our dross wastes not but encreases and it is owing only to thy unspeakable mercy that we who would not be purified are not consumed that we remain a Nation who cease not to be most sinful and provoking Nation O Lord let not this long-suffering of thine serve only to upbraid our obstinacy and inhanse our guilt but let it at last have the proper effect on us melt our hearts and lead us to repentance And Oh that this may be the day for us thus to discern the things that belong to our peace that all who are yea and all who are not cast down this day in an external humiliation may by the operation of thy mighty Spirit have their Souls laid prostrate before thee in a sincere contrition O thou who canst out of the very Stones raise up children unto Abraham work our stony flinty hearts into such a temper as may be malleable into the impressions of thy grace that all the sinners of Sion may tremble that we may not by a persevering obstinacy seal to our selves both temporal and eternal ruine but in stead of our mutinous complaining at the punishments of our sins search and try our ways and turn again to the Lord. O be thou pleased to grant us this one grand fundamental mercy that we who so impatiently thirst after a change without us may render that possible and safe by this better and more necessary change within us that our sins may not as they have so often done interpose and eclipse that light which now begins to break out upon us Lord thy Dove seems to approach us with an olive-branch in her mouth oh let not our filth and noisomness chase her away but grant us that true repentance which may atone thee and that Christian charity which may reconcile us with one another Lord let not our breach either with thee or among our selves be incurable but by making up the first prepare us for the healing of the latter And because O Lord the way to make us one fold is to have one Shepherd be pleased to put us all under the conduct of him to whom that charge belongs bow the hearts of this people as of one man that the only contention may be who shall most forward in bringing back our David O let none reflect on their past guilts as an argument to persevere but repent and to make their return so sincere as may qualifie them not only for his but thy Mercy And Lord be pleased so to guide the hearts of all who shall be intrusted with that great concernment of setling this Nation that they may weigh all their deliberations in the balance of the Sanctuary that conscience not interest may be the ruling principle and that they may render to Cesar the things that are Cesars and to God the things that are Gods that they may become healers of our breaches and happy repairers of the sad ruines both in Church and State and grant O Lord that as those sins which made them are become National so the repentance may be National also and that evidenced by the proper fruits of it by zeal of restoring of the rights both of thee and thine Anointed And do thou O Lord so dispose all hearts and remove all obstacles that none may have the will much less the power to hinder his peaceable restitution And Lord let him bring with him an heart so entirely devoted to thee that he may wish his own honour only as a means to advance thine O let the precepts and example of his Blessed Father never depart from his mind and as thou wert pleased to perfect the one by suffering so perfect the other by acting thy will that He may be a blessed instrument of replanting the power instead of the form of Godliness among us of restoring Christian vertue in a prophane and almost barbarous Nation And if any wish him for any distant ends if any desire his shadow as a shelter for their riots and licentiousness O let him come a great but happy defeat to all such not bring fewel but cure to their inordinate appetites and by his example as a Christian and his Authority as a King so invite to good and restrain from evil that he may not only release our temporal but our spiritual bondage suppress those foul and scandalous vices which have so long captivated us and by securing our inward provide for the perpetuating our outward peace Lord establish thou his throne in righteousness make him a signal instrument of thy glory and our happiness and let him reap the fruits of it in comfort here and in bliss hereafter that so his earthly Crown may serve to enhanse and inrich his heavenly Grant this O King of Kings for thy sake and intercession of our Blessed Mediator Jesus Christ A Prayer for all Christian Princes and the Ecclesiastical State ALmighty God who rulest in the Kingdoms of men and in all events of the world defend those with thy mercy whom thou hast adorned with thy power lift up the horn advance the just interests of all Christian Kings Princes and States by the power of thy venerable and life-giving passion Give unto all them who serve thee in the ministeries of religion wisdom and holiness the blessings of peace and great abilities to minister prosperously to the good of souls by the power and aids of thy holy Spirit of wisdom Pardon all our sins take away our iniquities from us all and preserve us from all danger and trouble from need and persecution from the temptations of the Devil from the violence and fraud of all our enemies Keep us O God from sinning against thee and from suffering thy wrath through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Postscript THE desolation of Sion being that which every good Christian ought to remember in his Daily Addresses to Heaven I should wrong not only your Charity but even your good Nature to think you forgetful or careless of our Common Mother the Church of England thus despightfully used by those ungrateful and unnatural Children who having formerly sucked her Breasts yet are not ashamed to trample upon her in the day of her Calamity I have therefore thought it not improper to add these foregoing Lamentations and Devotions in her behalf hoping they will not be unacceptable or unuseful to you and such others as shall find it worth their while to have proceeded thus far To the blessing of God I commend them and you Farewell THE END Mat. 6. 7 8. Mat. 6. 9. Luke 11. 2. Mat. 5. 23. Mat. 6. 12 14 15. Psal 19. 14. Psal 27. 8. 28. 2. Esth 5. 2. Psal 51. 5. Ezr. 9. 6 7. 2 Cor. 7. 10. Mat. 6. 33. 1 Tim. 2. 1. Luke 1. 79. Isai Gen 18. 32. Mat. 5. 44. Luk. 18. 1. Eph. 6. 18. 1 Thes 5. 17. Psal 119. 62. Acts 16. 25. Mal. 4. 2. 1 Thes 5. 23. Psal 121. 1. 1 Thes 5. 5. 8. Rom. 13. 13. Psal 119. 18 36 133. Psal 91. 2. Psal 121. 8. Psal 121. 7. Jude 24. Phil. 4. 7. Com. Pr. Mat. 6. 6. Mat. 18. 20. Eph. 3. 20. Com. Pr. Heb. 13. 20. Phil. 2. 13. Jude 24. Psal 103. 1 2 3 4. Luke 1. 46. 2 Cor. 6. 2. Mat. 5. 21. 2 Thess 2. 16. Mat. 24. 44. Psal 27. 23 Psal 84. 28. Eccl. 11. 8. Psal 27. 9 10. Psal 130. 1. Psal 51. 1 2. Psal 121. 4. Cor. 10. 13. Heb. 20. 23. Dan. 9. 4 5. Pri. Form of Prep Psal 130. 3. Isai Psal 103. 10. Rom. 13. 12. 1 Tim. 6. 12. Joh. 4. 24. Mat. 22. Luke 14. 18 19 20. Mat. 22. 12. Zach. 3. 1. Zach. 13. 1. 2 Pet. 2. 22. Psal 5. 7. Mat. 26. 41. 2 Chron. 30. 18 19. 1 Kings 19. 8. B. Andrews Man p. 290. Mat. 15. 27. 2 Pet. 2. 22. Psal Psal 103. 15. Luke 12. 46. Psal 90. 12. Mat. 25. 1 10. Lam. c. 1. v. 12. 14 15 6 17 5. Vers 16. Ver. 18 20 21. C. 2. v. 1 3 2 9. C. 2. v. 9 7 6. Vers 15. C 3. v. 19 20 21. Ver. 22 23 31 32 33. Ver. 39 40. Chap. 4. ver 11 12. Ver. 16 17 18 19. Vers 20. Chap. 5. ver 2 3. Vers 8 12 15 16. Vers 17. Vers 19 20 21. Psal 74. 1 2. 79. Ver. 1. 74. ver 7. 79 ver 4 5 8 9 10. â—4 ver 18 19 20 21 22 23. Psal 80. 1. 4 5 6 7. V. 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15. Ver. 17 18 19. Psal 60. 1 2 3. 89. ver 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46. 84. ver 9. 90. ver 15 16 17. Psal 73. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12. Ver. 13 15 16 17 18 19 20. 37 ver 1 2 35 36 37 38 39. Ezra 9. 6 7 15. Neh. 9. 31 32 33 34 35 36. Dan 9. 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12. Ver. 16 17 18 19. Deut. 9. 26 27 28 29. Mat. 26. 39. Mar. 14. 36.