doth acknowledge himself to be thy Servant even CHARLES our King and Soveraign Liege Help him so to defend Religion execute Justice and subdue his Enemies that under him we and all his Subjects may be religiously and godly peaceably and quietly Governed and accordingly be obedient unto as well as happy in so gracious a Prince And that his excellent Laws may not be perverted in their Administration O Lord Grant such grace unto his whole Council with whom he adviseth in making Laws and to all Magistrates and Officers that are put in Authority to execute them under him That they may deliberately weigh every cause and truly and indifferently determine it so as to make it appear they do minister Iustice and imploy their Power To the punishment of wickedness and greater Crimes the correction of lesser enormities and Vice And the maintenancâ— and defence of the Profession of thy true Religion together with the Practice of all Equity and Vertue which is the endeavour of all Righteous Magistrates But that Piety and Justice may be taught by the Ministers as well as outwardly incouraged â—iâ—e grace O Heavenly Father for the same thy Son Jesus Christs sake to all whom thou hast made Bishops and Governours or Pastors and Curates over thy Flock Assist them so in those sacred offices that they may both by the holiness of their life and the purity of their Doctrine declare and set forth the excellencies of thy true quickening and lively Wâ—rd so that many may be won to live according to it And grant that they may also orderly and rightly frequently and duly Administer both Baptism and the Lords Supper which are thy Holy Sacraments And let them be particularly assisted in the Celebration of the present mystery And that all their labours be not in vain Do thou to all thy People throughout the Christian World â—ive thy Heavenly Grace to dispose their hearts rightly to receive divine things Especially grant to this Congregation and every person here present before thee that with meek hearts from a sense of their own ignorance and due reverence from the apprehension of thy Authority they may hear attentively and receive by Faith the directions of thy Holy Word O Lord let them be converted by it and become real Christians truly serving thee in all the duties of Piety and Holiness Charity and Righteousness and continue in this Obedience all the days of their life especially after this solemn renewing of their Covenant with thee And further reflecting upon thy pitty towards all afflicted persons for the sufferings-sake of thy dear Son We that yet are spared do most humbly beseech thee that though we and our Brethren deserve to suffer yet of thy goodness thou wilt be pleased O Lord effectually at present to comfort and speedily to deliver and succour not those distressed Creatures alone which we particularly love or know but all them who are capable of the benefit of our Prayers even all who in this transitory life the Scene of sorrows are in trouble and fear of some approaching Evil or in sorrow for some Calamity already sustained All that are in need and want as to their outward Estate or in pain and sickness as to their body Or who are visited with some or all of these or any other Adversity Oh pitty and relieve them all And Finally as we praise thee for all the Mercies which thou minglest with the Miseries of this life so we also bless and chiefly praise thy holy Name for those who have no mixtures of sin or sorrow in their Cup of pure and perfect joy even for all thy Saints and holy Servants who were once as frail as we but by thy grace are now departed out of this life but who did live in thy Faith and die in thy fear never forsaking Religion nor a good Conscience We rejoice in their happiness and though we need not pray for them yet we cannot forbear beseeching thee for our selves who are yet upon the Waves that thou wilt please to give us also the same grace which thou gavest them That we may be able so to follow their good Examples in all Piety and Charity while we live that with them and in that glorious Society we may when we die be Partakers by the like Mercy of thy Heavenly Kingdom and its unspeakable felicities Hear us we beseech thee and Grant this and all the rest O Father to thy poor Children who make not our Requests in our own Name or trusting in our own merits but for Iesus Christ his sake and through the most prevailing Sacrifice of his Death here Commemorated Nor do we need or desire to use any other name since he is Our only Mediator to make our peace and Advocate to plead our cause who also joins with us in these Petitions and therefore we hope thou wilt say to him and to us Amen and then it shall be so SECT VIII Of the warning before the Communion § 1. IT is fit that great Mysteries should be ushered in with the solemnities of a great preparation for which cause God gave the Israelites three days warning of his design to publish the Law Exod. 19.15 and ordered their Festivals to be proclaimed by the sound of a Trumpet some time before Levit. 25.9 Numb 10.2 The Paschal Lamb the Type of Christ in this Sacrament was to be chosen and kept by them four days to mind them to prepare for the Celebration of the Passover Exod. 12.3.6 And Christians having more and higher duties in order to this Holy Feast must not have less time or shorter warning whereupon as good Hezekiah published by particular expresses his intended Passover long before 2 Chron. 30. so hath our Church prudently ordered this timely notice to be given that none might pretend to stay away out of ignorance of the time or unfitness for the duty but that all might come and come prepared also It is needless to expect a President for this in the antient Church their daily or Weekly Communions made it known that there was then no solemn Assembly of Christians without it and every one not under censure was expected to Communicate But now when the time is somewhat uncertain and our long omissions have made some of us ignorant and others forgetful of this duty most of us unwilling and all of us more or less indisposed for it it was both prudent and necessary to provide these large Warnings and Exhortations Cautions and Instructions For the Composures themselves they are exact and rarely fitted to be the Harbingers to this blessed Sacâ—ament and if we duly weigh and carefully improve them they will exceedingly help towards our Preparation as will be evident enough without a Paraphrase in the succeeding Analysis and Discourse The Analysis of the Warning before the Communion § 2. This Warning consisteth of three principal Parts 1. Information concerning 1. The Time Dearly beloved on next I purpose c. 2. The Persons to administer to all
need be and never desert his interest either for cost or peril which Prayer we must not only make with respect to our temporal felicity but as duly considering that the Almighty and invisible Governour of the World doth not Rule us immediately by himself but by Kings to whom he hath delegated his Authority So that they bear his Name and act by his Power g Exod. 22.28 Psal 82.1.6 Dii i. e. Judices qui potestatem Dei exercent Ab. Ez. And such as Rebell h Quicunque obfirmat faciem suaem contra Regem perinde est ac si obfirmaret faciem contra Divinam Majestatem Midr. Cohel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Clem. Const do fight against God Act. 5.39 oppose his word and resist his Ordinance Rom. 13.2 Wherefore we desire grace to obey not only for fear of wrath but for the Lords sake 1 Pet. 11.13 that is for Conscience sake Rom. 13.5 And this will produce the firmest and readiest obedience to all the Commands of our Governours when we observe them as subordinate to the Laws of God Eph. 6.1 in the Lord i Sed intra limites Disciplinae Tertul. Quia poterant aliquid imperare perversum ideo adjunxit in Domino Hieron in Eph. 6. Superiorum imperia Dura Declinanda sensim relinquenda magis sunt quam Respuenda Aul. Gell. Noct. At. l. 2. c. 7. as far as they do not contradict the plain will of the Almighty and for the Lord Rom. 13.1 that is because of his Authority vested in them And thus the best Christian will be the best Subject Let us therefore most fervently beg that we may all be conscientiously obedient and if we desire that heartily we shall not only obtain grace from God to be so but this Petition is an evidence we are already loyal And were it sincerely put up by all there could be no Treason nor Rebellion harboured in our Breasts but we should live in peace and please God adorn the Gospel Tit. 11.10 oblige the King and declare to all the World that it is not only the Duty but the Interest of Princes to defend the Religion of this Church which makes the best men and loyallest Subjects in the World § 6. Through Iesus Christ our Lord who with thee and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth ever one God World without end Amen It was a false and malicious calumny of the Jews that the Kingdom of Iesus was inconsistent with the Empire of Caesar for Obedience to Kings was never so enjoined and asserted before as it was by Christ and his Apostles And he himself hath told us that he is a King but no Rival to the Monarchs of this Earth For his Throne is in Heaven And his proper Subjects Saints and Angels k John 18.36 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Euseb He reigns but it is with the Father and the Holy Ghost for ever For his sake therefore we may pray for the welfare of Temporal Kingdoms who hath power both to dispense them on Earth Math. 28.18 and to command blessings from Heaven on them especially on such Princes who are the Guardians of his beloved Church who own his Supremacy and daily confess and praise Him that liveth and Reigneth for ever The Paraphrase of the first Collect. § 7. Almighty God who art always ready to help us since thou art that King whose Kingdom is Everlasting and All sufficient to relieve us since thou art in Power infinite We beg not single or small Mercies of so great a Majesty but beseech thee to Have mercy upon all the Members of thy whole Church And especially that part thereof planted in these Nations which will be truly happy if it may please thee so graciously to direct the Counsels and so constantly to rule the heart of thy chosen and anointed Servant CHARLES by thy Providence and his undoubted right our King and Governour That He always remembring his Authority to flow from thee and knowing whose Minister and Vicegerent he is even the Deputy of thy Heavenly Majesty may above and before all things seek by defending Religion executing Justice and shewing mercy to advance thy honour and glory for he in so doing will ingage us all to praise thee for setting so wise and gracious a Prince over us And to compleat his and our happiness Grant that we and all others whom thou hast placed in the condition of his Subjects seriously and duly considering that for thy sake whose Authority he hath we owe him all duty and Allegiance may faithfully serve him with our Prayers Lives and Fortunes and also honour him in his person with our hearts and humbly obey him in his Laws by our whole Conversation so far as is possible in thee by the help of thy grace and for thee and for thy sake by a conscientious and exact Obedience according to the Commands of thy blessed word the appointment and Ordinance of thy Supream Providence O Lord let us be so happy to obtain this through the Merits of our great High Priest Iesus Christ who hath enjoined this Obedience and is our Lord who sets up Christian Princes on Earth to rule under him who with thee the Father and the Holy Ghost most gloriously liveth and reigneth in Heaven ever one God in that World which is without end and yet not forgetting us that are his Members in this changeable and uncertain World for his sake be it so Amen Of the second Collect for the King § 8. This Prayer is only added to help our Devotion with a greater variety but being as to the main so little different from the former it shall suffice to remark that the Petitions are here grounded on a never failing l Matth. 24.35 Foundation the word of God viz. Prov. 21.1 The Kings heart is in the hand of the Lord as the Rivers of Waters he turneth it whithersoever he will Although the Kings heart be unsearchable to men Prov. 25.3 and his purposes seldom to be alter'd by any of his Inferiors Yet Almighty God hath shewed many instances m Ezra 1.1 7.28 9.9 Neh. 1.11 Dan. 3.28 Rev. 17.17 that he can change the Decrees of the greatest Monarchs and as the Gardener n See Hammond on Psal 1.3 by opening certain Sluces can direct the streams of his Water-courses to which part of his Plantation he pleaseth So can the King of Kings direct the Counsels and turn the designs of all mortal Princes to his own glory and the prosperity of his Church To increase our wealth at home to secure us against foreign Enemies and defend us in the Exercise of the true Religion is the care of our gracious King the Prayer of all good Subjects and the end of government it self o See 1 Tim. 2.2 Vt placidam quietam vitam degamus cum omni pietate honestate Quid enim aliud est imperium nisi cura salutis alienae Ammian Mercellin and therefore let us rejoice that we have
For is it not as sure as God is true that if I persist in them I shall lose all my interest in my only Saviour forfeit all my hopes of Heaven and sell my title to the glorious Kingdom which is full of ravishing and endless pleasures and all abundance of whatsoever heart can wish And besides this insupportable loss shall not my Soul be condemned in the last dreadful judgment and cast into the Region of horror and darkness anguish and torments that have no abatement nor no end Why then Oh my Soul wilt thou buy these vanities so dear and be so abused by thy Enemies so ungrateful to thy dying Redeemer and so mischievous and cruel to thy self Wilt thou ever be so foolish and so desperate to commit the like again Say then O my Soul I abhor and renounce these accursed delusions being almost enraged at my self that I have been cheated with them so long My reason is convinced and my will perswaded that thy ways are the Right Therefore O Lord encline c. § 10. Secondly To engage our minds to all the Duties of Religion and Piety Justice and Charity that we may unalterably chuse them Let every one of us meditate First Why should I be backward to vow my obedience to the Laws of God Are they any thing else but a method of living well and wisely free from fears and injury Do they not teach me to bear my self so that I may win the favour of God and good men and be safe in the best and happy in the worst condition Can I wish my dearest Friend or my own Soul a greater felicity than to be meek and patient grateful and contented temperate and industrious just and bountiful to converse with God rejoice with Angels to imitate the Saints follow the blessed Jesus and to seek Everlasting Joy Secondly Doth God require any thing impossible unjust or unreasonable Am I to bind my self to any more than that which my Judgment and my Conscience when I am serious tell me it is fit and expedient for me to do although it had never been commanded Is it any more than that which all the wisest and best men the friends of God and the Darlings of Heaven have done with the greatest delight and pleasure and therefore it is the only proof of a generous and noble Spirit Thirdly Is not my God the best of all Masters who covers the infirmities and strengthens the weaknesses of his Servants Can I fail to please him who begets the desire and enables for the performance and makes the way familiar and easie pleasant and inviting and yet where there is a hearty endeavour doth make many abatements and accept the will for the deed d Quia voluit etiamsi non valuit adimplere 2 Cor. 8.12 and who begins his assistances early and continues them till he hath perfected this excellent work Fourthly Finally shall I not be rewarded with a glorious Crown in Heaven for being so wise as to chuse to be happy on Earth Is not this the sure way to the enjoyment of God the Society of Jesus and the Fellowship of glorified Saints and blessed Souls to Eternal Peace never-ceasing Joy to the most perfect and compleat felicity which shall last for ever though the trouble of gaining it be but short and transitory Be wise therefore Oh my Soul and easily perswaded to chuse thine own happiness And say I desire and long to be acquainted with these paths of pleasantness I chuse and love them all O Lord encline our hearts to keep these Laws And now I hope it may be time to bend your knees again and with a fresh bewailing of your transgressions and many acknowledgments of your Conviction to renounce and protest against all iniquity especially that by which you have been most apt to fall and also to vow and engage that you will lead a holy life which you must do most seriously as in the presence of God And finally looking unto Jesus the purchaser of Pardon and the giver of all Grace most humbly beg the holy Spirit that you may be enabled to keep this pious resolution since it is your wisdom and happiness never to break it more to which purpose say Lord write all these thy Laws in our hearts we beseech thee That is in our memories and on our affections that we might not offend against them Psal 119.11 For if his Spirit ingrave them on our Souls we shall with ease and pleasure keep and do them Ezek. 36.26 Wherefore let us beg this favour most earnestly and let us not doubt of being heard For this is the first and greatest part of the new Covenant God hath ingaged He will put his laws in our minds and on our hearts will he write them Jerem. 31.33 Heb. 8.10 And further if we so sincerely pray for this grace of Obedience it will ingage our Heavenly Father still more effectually to grant the last clause viz. that our Sins and iniquities he will remember no more SECT IV. Of the two Collects for the King § 1. THE Kings Majesty is fitly prayed for after the Commandments because he is Custos utriusque Tabulae and his Example is a great encouragement to the good and his Power a terror to the evil and so may be a great furtherance to the Observation of the Laws of God And it doth as conveniently precede the daily Collect for therein we beg all inward grace and herein all outward prosperity for the Church which is always prosperous under good and happy Princes And although we had prayed for the King before a Comp. to the Temple yet we are enjoined to do it here again for these Reasons First Because the welfare of the Kings Majesty is of so great and universal concernment to Religion and the Laws to Ministers and People that no one Earthly blessing is so necessary to be asked or so advantageous when obtained Secondly Because this is a distinct Office anciently used some hours after Morning Prayer b Vid. Spar. Rational p. 239. and S. Paul seems to Command that we should pray for Kings in all our Prayers and that first of all 1 Tim. 11.1 2. as we in this Service do Thirdly Because it was ever the Custom not only of the Jews c Ezra 6.10 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Joseph lib. 12. cap 17. in the time of the Oblation but also of the Christians d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theoph. in 1 Tim. 2. Oratio pramittitur pro populo pro Regibus pro caeteris Ambr. de Sacr. l. 4. c. 4. Vid. Aug. Epist 59. ad Paulin. Chrys in 1 Tim. 2. in the time of the Celebration of these Mysteries to supplicate for their Princes as all Ancient Liturgies do attest With unbloody Sacrifices and Mystical Rites saith Eusebius we endeavour to obtain the Divine mercy in order to the common peace offering up then to God supplications for the Church of God and his Vicegerent the King for
his Interest and his Children beloved of God De vitâ Constant l. 4. c. 45. And sure it is prudent to ask our greatest mercies often and especially then when by the commemoration of this All powerful Sacrifice we may be most likely to prevail Yet it is not necessary to disturb the Prayer of Consecration with this and the following General Intercession as the Roman Missals do but is much more conveniently set here in the first place I shall only add that these Reasons are given not so much to satisfie inquiring Curiosity as to shew how reasonable and fit it is that we should again fall upon this Duty with a fresh Devotion To stir us up whereunto here is new fewel in these varieties of Forms laid upon the Altar which will help us to break forth into holy Flames if the good Spirit but please to blow upon us The Analysis of the first Collect for the King Sect. 2. This Collect hath three Parts 1. Of whom we ask God dedescribed by 1. His Name Almighty God 2. His Supremacy Whose Kingdom is everlasting 3. His Might and Power infinite 2. For whom we ask 1. In general for the Church Have mercy upon the whole Church 2. In particular for 1. The King that he may be Pious intimating 1. The Cause And so rule the heart of thy chosen Servant CHARLES our King and Gouernour 2. The Effect that he knowing whose Minister he is may above all things seek thy honour and glory 2. The People that they may be loyal shewing 1. The Branches 1. Fidelity And that we and all his Subjects duly 2. Honour considering whose Authority he hath may 3. Obedience faithfully serve honour and humbly obey him 2. The ground of it in thee and for thee according to thy Blessed word and Ordinance 3. In whose name we ask Through Iesus Christ our Lord who with thee the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth ever one God World without end Amen A Practical Discourse on this Collect. § 3. Almighty God whose Kingdom is Everlasting and Power infinite have mercy upon the whole Church The entrance into this Prayer is a Confession of Gods Eternal Supremacy and Omnipotence in the very words of Scripture Psal 145.13 Dan. 4.34 Psal 147.5 thereby to lift up our hearts above the mutable glory and limited power of all Earthly Kingdoms to him that reigneth for ever and doth whatsoever he pleaseth Our Princes are many and not suffered to continue by reason of death Heb. 7.23 Be they never so great or so good so dear or so useful they must be taken from us But our Supream King is always one and Reigns throughout all Ages So that Gods Church can never want a Patron to secure it in all the changes of this World especially since his power is as infinite as his Dominion is endless and his might hath no limits but his will e Deo non posse nolle est posse velle Tertul. in Prax. Upon the serious meditation whereof we may with hope and chearful expectations ask for the Kings Majesty who is the Head of this Church and for all the Members of the same For this Everlasting and Almighty King is able to furnish them all § 4. And so rule the Heart of thy chosen Servant CHARLES our King and Governour that he knowing whose Minister he is may above all things seek thy honour and glory The blessings which are bestowed on the single members of a Church are the comfort and advantage only of a few but if it may please God to direct the King always to seek his glory herein he shews mercy to the whole Church and blesseth all the Nation at once For the Princes Piety doth put such discouragement upon Vice and cast so great a reputation and lustre upon Religion that good men out of love will follow and evil men for fear will pretend to comply with so excellent an example And thus vertue becomes publick encouraged and prevailing but wickedness infamous and obscure and loseth many of its followers which is curiously expressed in the 72. Psalm Nor is there any one Earthly thing that the truly pious Christian doth more heartily desire We beg with daily Supplications saith Lanctantius concerning the most Excellent Emperour Constantine that the Divine Majesty will always preserve you whom he hath chosen to preserve us all and that he will inspire you with a heart always to persevere in the love of God which will be advantageous and salutary to all and will procure your endless happiness and the peace of all your Subjects Lact. instit in fine Kings are the choicest of Gods Servants and in Scripture peculiarly stiled his chosen Psal 89.3.19 So that we may presume to beseech him to bestow more than ordinary Grace upon our dear Soveraign whom God hath so wonderfully restored to us and so mercifully preserved over us that no Prince in the World hath had such signal testimonies of the favours of Heaven to him We may pray therefore with much hope and we ought to beg with great Devotion that God would rule over him who governs us and guide him by whose Counsels we are ordered in such wise that he may ever have in his Eye the Power and Goodness of his great Master and always know that is consider f 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 13.4 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. 6. by whom he is deputed and bear himself continually as the Vicegerent of God by whom all Kings Reign and in all his actings and Consultations that he may aim at nothing so much as the advancing of the Divine Glory from whence all his honour is derived And surely herein our gracious King will firmly establish his own Throne and make all his Subjects happy For that Wisdom and Piety Justice and Equity which doth set for Gods glory and make so many join in magnifying him that hath set so excellent a Prince over us will be both his and our extraordinary benefit We will therefore ever Pray that our Soveraign Liege may be above all concern'd to continue his care to defend the Church and execute Justice that we may be happy under his shadow and after-Generations may call him blessed to which every loyal heart and pious Soul will most affectionately say Amen § 5. And that we and all his Subjects duly considering whose Authority he hath may faithfully serve honour and humbly obey him in thee and for thee according to thy blessed word and Ordinance We must not only look at the Kings duty but also be mindful of our own For the happiness of a Nation consisteth not only in a Religious Prince but also in Obedient people And therefore we are taught in the next place to pray that not only we but all that are under his Majesties Dominion may be loyal and faithful humble and obedient revering his Authority observing his Laws and opposing all his and our Enemies That we may serve him with our Estates and Persons if
our Lord Jesus in that rare pattern of his present Intercession in Heaven the last Prayer he made upon Earth for his Church did pray That all of his Religion might be preserved in Truth and Unity John 17.17.21 so that we are assured we beg the same here that he intercedes for above and therefore if it should not be compleatly granted yet he that hath asked this with a great Devotion and endeavoured it to his power shall have satisfaction in the Testimony of a good Conscience and hath testified his unfeigned Charity to the Church and his love to all the Members thereof § 7. We beseech thee also to save and defend all Christian Kings Princes and Governours especially thy Servant CHARLES our King that under him we may be godly and quietly governed We have often prayed for the King already but principally respecting his Authority in the State so we prayed for him alone but now we consider him as a Principal Person in the Church of which he is under Christ i Nutritii patres Ecclesiae Jesai 49.23 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aristot pol. 3. as the Bishops of Rome of old confessed the supream Head and so are other Christian k Christus Imperatori omnia tribuit dominari eum non solum Militibus concessit Greg. Mag. Epist 64. ad Theodor. Princes in their several Countries wnom we therefore here do pray for also as St. Paul commands 1 Tim. 2.2 and as the Antient Church ever did in the time of this Mystery There are now three sorts of Rulers in the Christian World which are here expressed by three words First Kings that is such as have absolute Monarchies Secondly Princes who have Royal Authority in lesser Dominions though not without paying some homages Thirdly Governours who preside in Aristocracies and Common-wealths these and each of these are or ought to be supream Presidents over Ecclesiastical as well as Civil Affairs in the several Jurisdictions and since their Power is imployed to save and l Deus Op. Max. pietatis justae Actionis quoddam quasi vinculum nos esse voluerit Theodos Imp. Ep. ad Cyril defend the Church she is obliged to desire the King of Kings to save and defend them all from Invasions and Rebellions Treasons and all Mischiefs that they may not be hindred in the exercise of their most useful and pious Authority And if we prevail many Millions will receive benefit thereby and every Christian Nation shall have its share in this Blessing It happens I confess sometimes contrary to the wish of all pious Men that even Princes of the same Religion have differences with each other but then we must at this Holy Sacrament forgive our Enemies and with the welfare of the whole Church only we must pray for the safety of other Kings no further than is consistent with the welfare of our natural Liege for whom we must pray especially because under him we enjoy our Liberty and Religion our proprieties and our Peace and if it please God to defend him we doubt not but we shall have under him Quiet and peaceable lives in all Godliness and Honesty 1 Tim. 2.2 that is in two words we shall be godlily and quietly governed and thus our own interest may move us earnestly to intercede for the safety of our Soveraign for the benefit is ours more than his § 8. And grant unto his whole Councel and to all that are put in Authority under him that they may truly and indifferently Minister Iustice to the Punishment of Wickedness and Vice and to the maintenance of thy true Religion and Vertue When Justice is purest in the King the Fountain thereof it is often corrupted in the streams the subordinate Dispensers for Mortal Princes cannot see all with their own Eyes m Numb 10.31 Heb loco oculorum h. e. Confiliarius 70. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ut oculus nobis charus necessarius Fag Grot. in loc nor Act all things with their own hands though they be said to judg the Nation Psal 72.2 yet the Mountains or higher Magistrates and the little Hills that is inferior Officers do bring this Righteousness to the people who can seldom receive judgment immediately from the Princes mouth ver 3. Wherefore since we must be more particular in our desires for the welfare of these Kingdoms it is necessary that we pray for all that advise in the making and assist in the executing of good Laws viz. for the Kings Council at large in Parliament as the old Christians prayed pro Senatu or more strictly for the Lords of his Privy-Council who besides their Examination of Causes in those places and their influence upon the Royal Determinations are usually Persons enjoying the highest Dignities and weightiest Offices of the Nation And because by them and the lower Orders of Magistrates all Causes are decided we are bound to pray heartily for them that they may judge by the Rules of Equity truly and indifferently without mistake or partiality and have before their Eyes the great end of all Laws which is the punishment of evil Doers and the incouragement and reward of them that do well u Leges improbos supplicio afficiunt ac defendunt tuentur bonos Cicer. de leg 2. Pius IV. Pont. R pingebat laures cum Virgis cum hoc lemmate Praemium Poena pro sumbolo suo Nic. Cauâ—sin 1 Pet. 2.14 Rom. 13.3 4. And surely happy are the people that are in such a Case when their Counsellors are faithful and prudent their Judges deliberate and upright their Officers careful and without rigour for then the profession of Religion shall be guarded and the practice of Virtue incouraged Innocence shall be safe and wickedness punished nay all Vices made infamous according to the Will of God the desire of our gracious Soveraign and the wishes of all this people especially those who now at this Sacrament come to dedicate themselves to Piety and Devotion they have peculiar Reason to pray that they may be secured in their rights and encouraged in their holy purposes by the due Administration of Justice and the punishment of all that would harm or hinder them because their innocence doth more expose them to the designs of evil men § 9. Give grace O Heavenly Father to all Bishops and Curates that they mat both by their life and Doctrine set forth thy true and lively Word and rightly and duly Administer thy Holy Sacraments The greatest gifts that the divine goodness hath bestowed upon the Sons of Men saith Justinian in his Authenticks are the Royal Power and the Office of Priesthood Both of which are so contrived that they are necessary not only for the Conservation of the World but for the mutual support of each other o Christus voluit ut Christiani Imperatores pro vitâ aeternâ Pontificibus indigerent Pontifices pro cursu temporalium rerum Imperialibus legibus uterentur Rom. leg c.
and Mountains of difficulties before he can reach that blissful Crown it is little less than Miracle that all men do not sooner or latter fall and fall from the faith and fear of God What prospect in the World can ravish us with greater pleasuâ—es or raise in us higher admirations of the divine goodness than to behold those that were once as frail and sinful as we are now advanced above Satans malice or Deaths Power and placed in the Regions of Joy and the Bosom of Jesus that we might not tremble or think it impossible to come thither also Doth not their felicity give life to our hopes and become a pledge of our own future glory why should we not then rejoice with them and delight our selves with the very news of our Brethrens happiness what other Communion is there between us and those blessed Spirits but that they in general pitty and wish well to us and we praise God with and for them And by thus meditating of their most desirable estate we shall learn to despise Death and long to be with such inviting Company nay languishing after the happy enjoyment of such noble Society for ever and ever Who can look up to these Mansions and not enquire for the path that leads thither and be strongly attracted to follow the steps of those who have so successfully trodden this way before This makes the pious Soul so passionately beg the divine grace that it may do as they have done live as they lived and die as they died so that what they are now it may be hereafter The Scythians as Lucian relates kept the memorials of their brave Men with great joy that so many might strive to become like unto them d Simus inter exempla quare deficimus quare desperamus quicquid fieri potuit potest Sen. ep 98. Magnorum virorum non minus quam praesentia utilis est memoria idem ep 102. And St. Augustine saith when any duty seemed difficult he was wont to think of the Saints of former times and he imagined they derided his sloath saying Tu non poteris c. Canst not thou do what those Men nay those Women once did that which hath been effected is not impossible Would we make this use of our faithful Brethren departed their memory and example would be as profitable as if we had their bodily presence with us and the remembrance of their glory would strongly excite us to follow their good example till we came with them to partake of that Heavenly Kingdom in the mean time we shall never want matter for to praise God in their behalf since his truth and mercy to them is the confirmation of our Faith the encouragement of our duty and gives us in contemplation an antepast of our happiness before we come to the full enjoyment of it § 13. Grant this O Father for Iesus Christ his sake our only Mediator and Advocate Amen This general Conclusion of all our Prayers we should not remark particularly here but that the Mass hath thrust in the names of the B. Virgin and other Saints e Et omnium Sanctorum tuorum quorum meritis precibusque concedas in Canone Missae Rom. into the Supplications through whose Merits and Prayers they intercede even in this place where there is a lively Commemoration of the Death of Christ our only Mediator which is not only the holding a Candle to the Sun but seems to intimate that to plead in the Virtue of our Lords Passion is not sufficient that that intercession by which the Holy Virgin and all other Saints became accepted by God was not alone forceable enough But we desire no other Mediator nor need no other Advocate 1 Tim. 2.5 but our Lord Jesus Christ who is here represented nor do we doubt to ask all these Mercies for all these Persons since we approach our Heavenly Father with his dear and only beloved Son in our Arms wherefore let us bless the name of God who hath chosen such a Master of Requests to present our Prayers and put such an Argument in our Mouths when we approach unto him Let us look to the holy Symbols and remember our great High Priest while we offer up the Intercessions with a great humility and a sprightly devotion because our God will not nay cannot deny those that thus come unto him The Paraphrase of the Prayer for the whole Church § 14. O Almighty and Everliving God who art able to help all Persons always and in all things We are unworthy to ask for our selves and yet we are incouraged to intercede for others since by thy holy Apostle Saint Paul thou hast taught us in our daily Assemblies to make Prayers to obtain good Intercessions and Supplications to remove evil in behalf of all the World And to give thanks for the Mercies received by all men Believing therefore thy willingness to grant these things which thou commandest us to ask We humbly disclaim our own Merits beseech thee for Jesus sake and by the Vertue of his Passion here set forth most mercifully ** This to be omitted when there is no Collection ** to accept this poor acknowledgment of thy bounty and testimony of our love in these our Alms to the Poor and Oblations to thy Ministers intreating thee also to hear and ** This to be omitted when there is no Collection ** to receive all our former Petitions especially these our Prayers for all People which we offer as the evidence of our Universal Charity most heartily to thy Divine Majesty who art all-sufficient to supply the whole World To thy goodness therefore we come Beseeching thee though miraculous gifts are ceased yet to inspire continually with such grace the whole body of the Vniversal Church spread over all the Earth that it may be quickened with the most holy Spirit which teacheth the Principles of truth and produceth Vnity in the Faith and Concord in the affections of thy people And grant that all the Members of thy Church that do profess thy true Religion and confess to believe in thy holy Name laying aside their animosities may agree all their differences and so fully rest in the infallible truth of thy Holy Word and its determinations of all necessary things that notwithstanding some lesser varieties they may have mutual peace And live as Children of the same Father in Vnity without Schism or Heresie in Charity and godly love without Malice or Envy among them And because thy Church cannot well subsist on Earth without temporal Guardians We beseech thee also in order to the common good to save the Souls and defend the Persons and Rights of all Christian Magistrates who in their several Dominions have or ought to have supream governance of the Church whether they be absolute Kings or free Princes or else Rulers and Governours in popular States But as our duty interest and affection do peculiarly oblige us We pray thee Especially to save and defend Him who