keep them in these troublesom times defend their Bodies from Death and danger and their Souls from Error and Vice preserve the King's Majesty and all the Royal Family in Health and happiness And send to all this Nation a continuance of Peace and Prosperity with a real Reformation of their Lives Grant these and all other Mercies necessary for them and thy whole Church through and by the Mediation and glorious intercession of my Blessed Saviour who hath thus taught me to sum up all my imperfect Prayers OUR Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from all Evil. For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen Let thy merciful kindness O Lord be upon me like as I do put my trust in thee Psal 33.21 A Morning Prayer for a younger Person O Almighty God who hast saved me alive till this time preserved me from my Mothers Womb and guarded me from the dangers of the last Night thy Holy Name be praised for this and all other expressions of thy Mercy and Goodness to me give me grace to employ this Life which thou sparest me to thy Honour and Glory keep me from Sin and Temptations and whatsoever might prejudice my Soul or my Body I recommend my self into thy hands and protection save me from the Dangers and inconveniencies of this Life grant me thy Wisdom and thy Fear increase in my Soul all knowledge give me a right understanding of thy Will and Grace to practise it Preserve me from the Vices of the Age from the Allurements of Sin and the Corruptions of the Times Season my tender Soul with a Love for thee my God and a sincere dread of thy Power and Divine Majesty Protect me in the Profession of thy true Religion and Bless me with Spiritual and Temporal Blessings and grant me that holy Resolution and Temper that I may so live in this Life and so spend my days that I may attain at last to Everlasting Life Preserve my Parents Relations and those whom thou hast placed over me in Health and Prosperity send them an increase of all thy Blessings save the King's Majesty from all his Enemies grant him Health and Prosperity and the whole Nation peace and happiness for Jesus Christ his sake OUR Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from all Evil. For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen The Lord preserve my going out and my Coming in from this time forth and for evermore Amen Psal 121.8 A Morning Prayer for a Child UNto thee lift I up mine Eyes O thou that dwellest in the Heavens Psal 123.1 Thy Holy Name be praised for the last Nights Rest and Preservation protect me also this day from all dangers Bodily and Spiritual keep me from sin teach me thy Ways grant me thy true Wisdom increase my abilities to serve thee bless me in my endeavours and actions sanctifie my Soul and Body give me the understanding of thy Word and Laws and a Heart to practise them keep me in the Profession of thy true Religion and from the Wicked designs of Schism and Idolatry imprint thy fear in my tender Soul and a sense of thine infinite Presence that I may glorifie thee here on Earth O my Creator and Heavenly Father and at last attain to that Glory which thou hast promised to those that shall obey thy sacred Commands Bless and preserve my Parents Kindred and Relations save the King's Majesty and grant him Health and Prosperity All this I beg from thine infinite goodness for Jesus Christ his sake my only Saviour and Mediator who hath taught me thus to Pray OUR Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from all Evil. For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen Blessed be the Lord God of our Israel from everlasting and World without End Amen An Evening Prayer for a private Family according to the Book of Common-Prayer with some Collects for the Times O Lord correct us but with judgment not in thine Anger lest thou bring us to nothing Hide thy Face from our Sins and blot out all our Iniquities Jer. 10.24 Psal 51.9 ALmighty and most Merciful Father we have erred and strayed from thy Ways like lost Sheep We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own Hearts We have offended against thy Holy Laws We have left undone those things which we ought to have done and we have done those things which we ought not to have done and there is no Health in us But thou O Lord have mercy upon us miserable Offenders Spare thou them O God which confess their faults Restore thou them that are penitent according to thy Promises declared unto Mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant O most merciful Father for his sake That we may hereafter live a godly righteous and sober life to the glory of thy holy Name Amen Lord Let this be repeated by all the Family have mercy upon us Christ have mercy upon us And forgive us all our Sins OUR Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this Day our daily Bread And forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from all Evil. For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen O Lord shew thy mercy upon us And grant us thy Salvation O Lord save the King and Queen And mereifully hear us when we call upon thee Endue thy Ministers with Righteousness And make thy chosen People joyful O Lord save thy People And bless thine Inheritance Give peace in our time O Lord. Because there is none other that fighteth for us but only thou O God O God make clean our Hearts within us And take not thy Holy Spirit from us ALmighty and everlasting God who hatest nothing that thou hast made and dost forgive the sins of all them that are penitent create and make in us new and contrite Hearts that we worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness may obtain of thee the God of all Mercy perfect remission
Evening Prayer for a single Person O Being of Beings the great Creator of the World and preserver of Mankind by whose gracious goodness I am now alive and brought safe through the many dangers and inconveniencies of this mortal Life to the close of this day I humbly acknowledge thy Providence and merciful Protection Thou hast fed me with thy Creatures defended me by thy Power instructed me in thy Truth admitted me into thy Church for these and all other Mercies received from thy Bountiful hand I return thee my homage and Thanks and confess my self unworthy of the meanest of thy Favours by reason of the many Provocations that I am guilty of O Lord I have sinned against Heaven and against thee and am no more worthy to be called thy Son my Transgressions are multiplyed every day and mine Iniquities are without number How easily have I yielded to the Power of Temptations how often have I broken thy sacred Laws Gracious God be merciful be merciful to me a Sinner blot out all mine Iniquities and forgive me for the sake of my dear and only Saviour who is dead and intercedes for me Accept his Sacrifice and Mediation for my poor Soul grieved with the sense of Sin Give me true Repentance and that Frame of Spirit and Holy Resolution unto which thou hast promised in thy Holy Word mercy and forgiveness As thou hast begun the Work of Reformation in me perfect it I beseech thee by the continual influences of thy Holy Spirit forsake me not good God nor leave me to my wretched self but let thy Truth and Wisdom direct my Understanding and thy grace govern my Will in the practice of Piety Suffer me not to be overcome by the mistakes and inticements of Sin and Satan defend my Soul from all wicked impressions and infections of the World As thou hast redeemed me for thy self let not Vice nor Error draw me from thee nor the dangerous Allurements of Earthly Vanities but as my dependency is upon thy Power let my expectation of Happiness be from thy Bounty and my delight be in fulfilling thy holy Will Strengthen and increase in me all goodness Let every day bring me nearer to thee and to that Purity and Holiness without which no Man shall see thy Face Time that carries me apace to my cold Tomb minds me of an Eternity of a Resurrection and the last Judgment Prepare me I beseech thee for this last Account and that terrible Day wherein every Man shall give up an account of his Actions before a Righteous and Impartial Judge Grant that I may find Mercy and Favour at the hands of my great Redeemer and be admitted into the Joys of his Paradise And as I am now going to lye me down to refresh my weary Body with rest blessed God be merciful to me this Night protect me from all dangers and Evils Suffer not the Malice of the Devils nor of Wicked Men to hurt this outward Tabernacle nor the precious Soul that is within keep from me all troublesom Dreams and Thoughts and whether sleeping or waking let my Soul be armed with a reliance upon thy Goodness and Power grant me a moderate Rest that I may be better enabled to serve thee in my Generation and proceed on in the Employment unto which thy Providence hath called me In which let my chief aim be to advance thy glory rather than my own fordid Interest and to mind the careful management of all the Talents which thou hast put into my hands that I may as a good Servant and Steward improve and increase them Look in mercy upon all my Relations wheresoever they be let thy Grace thy Truth and Goodness accompany and protect them during their abode here below Crown with the choicest of thy Blessings our Religious King and Queen shield them from the wicked attempts of all their Enemies and give them long Life Health and Prosperity now and at last receive them into everlasting happiness Bless all their Royal Relations give them all Grace to be instrumental in promoting the Interest of thy Truth Godliness and Virtue that they may answer the good ends for which thou hast put much into their Hands Bless all Governours and Magistrates give them Grace to prefer thine Honour and Glory to all other Corrupt purposes whatsoever Defend this Nation from all Plots and Conspiracies defeat the Designs of all our Enemies and disappoint all Combinations against it If thou wilt afflict us good God let it be for a time take not thy Truth and Gospel from us and our Posterity and sanctifie all thy Judgments and Mercies to us that they may effect and produce in us that Reformation and those Graces for which they are intended Spread thy Gospel and Truth all over the World pull down Antichrist let all Nations understand thy Will and readily submit unto it Be merciful unto all Sons and Daughters of Affliction comfort and succour all sick Persons and such as are grieved with the loss of Goods Friends or Relations Be thou their good God and Saviour in thy due time giving them grace to submit to thee to trust upon thee and to expect from thy mercy alone a seasonable and proper Remedy to all their pressures and troubles And now blessed Lord I recommend my self again into thy merciful hands and conclude these my imperfect Prayers with that most perfect Form recommended to us by my good Saviour in whose Name I beg aâ—â— for whose sake I intreat thee O merciful Father grant me these my Requests and all other Mercies which thou knowest needful for my Soul and Body 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 Tespasses as we forgive them that Trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from Evil For thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen An Evening Prayer for young Persons and Children O God who hast received me amongst thy Children instructed me in thy Truth and called me to be a Professor of thy Holy Religion Great and merciful Creator who hast been my Proteor and Defender from all dangers look down in mercy upon me and continue thy Favours to me the remaining part of my Life I see and experience every day the manifold expressions of thy goodness Thy Holy Name be praised for them all Give me more and more a Sense of thy mercifulness and a grateful heart that in these tender Years I may learn my great Duty to serve and glorifie thee on Earth and prepare my self for an Eternity for this purpose increase my knowledge and the graces thou hast been pleased to bestow upon me through a good Education of my Religious Parents Bless all my endeavours and theirs imprint thy holy Fear in my tender Soul preserve me from ill Company from the Vices and Errors of
seest thy Table covered with God's good Creatures appointed to strengthen thy Body and tastest the sweetness of his Mercies at a distance thou can'st do no less than lift up thy hands and thine Eyes in prayer to this bountiful Creator as well to praise him for such a fresh expression of his liberality at that time before thee as to implore his Blessing needful to accompany the means used to recruit thy strength and preserve thy weak Body In the Evening when the Curtains of the Night are spreading about thee when thou art lying down to refresh thy wearied Body with rest when thou knowest not the dangers that hang over thine head and hast no other means to avoid them but God's gracious protection should'st thou not for thine own safety desire his favourable providence and all-seeing eye to watch over thee shelter and defend thee from all spiritual and corporal Enemies Were we but sensible of the mischievous temper of some of those airy Spirts that fly about us those many and subtle Devils that plot our destruction did we but understand their Power Malice and their unavoidable Assaults and propinquity we should need no other Arguments to perswade us to arm our Selves with God's merciful protection when we lay our Heads down upon our Pillows How soon should we perish if God and his Holy Angels were not as watchful to keep us as those Enemies of Mankind are watchful to destroy us They wait continually for an opportunity to vent their Natural displeasure against us and by the Evil Thoughts filthy Dreams unusual and unnatural disturbances of the Mind they discover themselves in our sleep and their hatred against us Who knows but that God who holds them fast in Chains as so many furious Beasts will let them loose to punish thy contempt of his Power and Providence and neglect of this Duty if thou forgettest to call upon thy God Remember therefore O Man thy weak thy frail and perillous Condition Thy Life is but a Breath thy Riches uncertain thy Glory but a shadow thy Power but for a time thy Prosperity but like a Dream thy Beauty but a fancy and thy Health always besieged with many Diseases thy Body and Soul surrounded with Enemies and thy present Estate let it be ne-never so flourishing is in a continual want of God's favour protection and Blessings whether thou risest or layest thy self down lift up therefore thine Eyes and Hands in Prayer to this good God to supply thee with those things that thou standest in need of but chiefly in the Morning and in the Evening Let these be the Solemn and constant times of thine Addresses to God Offer up unto him the Morning Sacrifice of Prayer and the Evening of Praise In the Church of the Jews these were the appointed times to call upon God 1 Chron. 16.40 2 Kings 16.15 And Christ our Saviour whose Example the Name and Profession of Christianity call upon us to follow was wont to consecrate these hours to Prayer and Devotion Mat. 14.23 Luke 6.12 Mark 6.46 Seeing therefore that Reason and Religion binds us to this Duty of Prayer in the beginning and close of the Day and oblige us then to renew our Correspondency with God too often interrupted by our daily miscarriages let not the multiplicity of Business the Cares and Troubles of the World the frightful apprehensions of Sin discourage or hinder thee from this constant and necessary Familiarity with thy God When a sudden occasion calls thee away so that thou art not able to offer up thy desires in such a solemn manner as is required at these usual times make use at least of the shorter Prayers of the compendious Ejaculations of the mind Let thy Soul be with God tho' the World hurry away thy Body Spare a thought unto that merciful God who hath spared thee to attend upon thy necessary Occasions and who can render thine undertakings either prosperous or unhappy as he sees convenient Venture not out into the wide and troublesom World without the safeguard of God's Protection And enter not into the shadows of the Night this Cousin and remembrancer of Death without his merciful allowance who hath the Keys of Death and of Hell The third Interpretation of the Apostles Advice To Pray without ceasing Is to be always in a disposition sit for Prayer to shake off all Impediments all incumbrances of Sin which hinder us that the Soul may still be in a readiness with the Wings of Faith and Love stretched towards Heaven always ready to take its Flight The troubles and vexations of the World should rather animate thee and inflame thy Devotion with an expectation and certain assurance to find more favour in him than in all inferior enjoyments His Holy Spirit can convey comfort into thy Soul when the World fills thee with Sorrow He can send thee delights and sweetness to qualify all other bitterness for by the means of Prayer a Christian can keep himself in such an excellent Temper that will not suffer him to be sensible of many misfortunes and Crosses and so secure his Soul that all outward Accidents shall do him no harm I know that the sense and conscience of Guilt is wont to estrange us from God and interrupt all correspondency between his mercy and our Souls And Reason seems to forbid us together with the respect we owe to so holy a Being when our hands are reeking with Blood or our Body comes from the commission of any other grievous Offence wilfully acted to presume to present our selves before the Throne of God's Grace immediately without any delay I confess that such unhappy Criminals ought to pause a while upon their woful Condition and the sense of their Guilt ought to move them to Repentance and Sorrow before they offer up their Prayers to God for otherwise this Sacrifice will meet with no better acceptance than that of Cain or that of Hophni and Phineas or that of Corah and his Rebellious Company whose Offerings were so much the more distasteful because they were encouraged by disobedience to God and to his Servant Moses But yet I would advise a Christian to spend and delay no more time but only to prepare himself the better for this sacred Duty Suffer not thy Sin to grow old nor this Burden to lye too long upon thy Soul for fear it should leave an Impression that thou wilt not be able to remove in haste In such a case tho' Guilt ought and will interrupt and break off our continued Prayers to God yet it ought not to drive us further from him but rather cast us into the Publicans Disposition in the Gospel He would not lift up so much as his Eyes to Heaven but smote upon his Breast saying God be merciful to me a Sinner Or into the Blessed temper of the Prodigal Son I will arise and go to my Father and say unto him Father I have sinned against Heaven and before thee and am no more worthy to be
excellent Prayers will avail us nothing they will not be accepted if they proceed from a Soul bewitched with the deceitful Allurements of Sin The Devil's Slave can never be fit to appear before the God of liberty till the Bolts and Chains of Hell be shaken off He shall never meet with acceptance with a Jealous God who is already betroathed and inseparable from sin the great Enemy of his Glory How unseasonable and odious were the Devotions of Zimri when in the publick Congregations of the Children of Israel humbling themselves for their Sins in God's presence he had a Midianitish Woman at his side How unwelcome were the Addresses of a proud Pharisee whose Prayers were the expressions of his Pride and Vanity Cain's Sacrifices were not pleasing to God because there was a mixture of Wickedness amongst his Offerings therefore such Prayers as proceed from impenitency and vice are odious to God Likewise in such a Case the Petitioner is not in a disposition fit to receive God's Mercies for sin discomposeth us and while we retain it in our Assections both the Action and the Habit of sin conspire together to intercept and deprive us of all gracious returns of our Prayers from God It sills the Soul full of jealousies fears apprehensions suspicions and instead of Love it begets an hatred of and an aversion to God which will never suffer us to draw near in that manner as his infinite goodness and unlimited liberality require so that unless true repentance intervene between our Sins and our Prayers to our Maker they will rather provoke his Justice than prevail with his Mercy Thirdly If you will have your Prayers acceptable to God you must offer them with that attention and intention of the mind that so weighty an action and the greatness of God's Majesty require For to what purpose is it to attend and be present in a praying Congregation if we be no more concerned in the Devotion than the Timber and the Stones of the Fabrick if our Bodies â—e present without our Souls God demands from his People spiritual Sacrifices and Services which are not to be performed with the outward part alone the Mind and the Understanding must be active and the Soul and all its faculculties ought to be concerned in this Spiritual worshipping of our great God As God is an Unity without Division whatsoever is offered to him must express this Unity by a total Consecration of it self chiefly in that Christian Service where all the divine Attributes are acknowledged and wherein the Soul as well as the Body is to resign it self over to God Dead Sacrifices under the Law were abominable and bodily Devotions alone under the Gospel are disrespectful to God and injurious to our selves for they commonly proceed from the multiplicity of Worldly business that possess the Soul from an unmindfulness of God and a want of an Holy fear of his Divine Majesty from a carelesness of our Duty or from the disturbances and lusts of the Flesh that steal away our Thoughts as well as our Affections from God's Holy Worship and deprive us of the advantages that we might expect from a due performance of our Duty To prevent such ill consequences the Christian in Prayer ought to mind the weighty Business in hand and not only at the close of every Petition in imitation of the Primitive Church of Christ to subscribe and declare his ascent and consent to the Requests offered up to God by the universal Amen but also to express inwardly in the Soul what is outwardly pronounced and spoken and to be seriously attentive to every Petition for as the rational Soul is able to express it self as well as the animal part doth with the Tongue and that by an internal Word and Faculty proper to it that must speak or else God will not hear for that intent it is necessary to hearken with a Religious attention to the Prayers which proceed from our own or others Lips and endeavour to hear that part in the Devotion which is appointed for us It is necessary to set aside all other Worldy business to disengage our selves and our minds from all other incumbrances to six them to the Duty they are employed in and to tye and settle them with the dread of God's presence so that our thoughts may not take the liberty to wander up and down from this holy exercise And when we are in Prayers we must set a watch at the door of our Senses forbid entrance to all sudden Accidents and in a word summon all the thoughts of the Mind and faculties of the Soul to render their homage to God's Divine Majesty and not to suffer them to straggle from the weighty business in hand Remarkable is the Example of that Noble and Couragious Youth of Macedon whose Office it was to burn Frankincense before King Alexander when he sacrific'd to his Gods tho' a burning Coal was casually fal'n into his open sleeve Val Max. l. 3. c. 3. and did there consume both his Vestment and his Flesh lest he should ominously and unhappily interrupt the publick Sacrifice of his Prince he persisted in his business to the end through all the Torments and would not so much as complain How religious were such and other Heathens in the publick Worship of their false Gods Nothing was able to cause them to interrupt their Sacrifice And shall we Christians mingle in our Devotions to the true Lord of Heaven and Earth vain idle wanton and lascivious thoughts and actions Shall every accident and casualty be able to take us off from the Service we are about Yet this we see most commonly happens both in our publick and in our private Addresses to God for want of a due respect and dread of God's presence of which we should at such times be really and most sensible Fourthly The Affections of the Soul ought to be moved and concerned in the offering up our Requests and our Petitions ought to receive that qualification from them as is suitable to the reasons cause and intent of our Address Our praising of God must be performed with an holy and reverend freedom and a real sense of our Obligations Our requests must be sent up to God with humility and an acknowledgment of our undeservings Our Confessions of sin must be seasoned with sorrow and a resolution of amendment Our Promises Vows and Engagements must proceed from an hearty resolution and a sense of our miscarriages and weaknesses In short all our Prayers must be the outward expressions of the inward affections of the Soul which ought to qualifie and animate them for unless our Hearts be thus concerned the Prayer is but from the Tongue the Soul hath no part in it 't is but the Effect and production of our Imagination but no real Devotion of the mind 't is a Worship in jest and not in earnest visible to an Allseeing Eye Such heartless services are so full of Imperfections that in reason we can
to swallow therefore you may hear him desire that it may pass away and that he may be excused to drink it but immediately after he adds not my will but thy will be done The fulfilling of this will we must prefer to the things that we most passionately desire on Earth As it ought to be our chief aim it should be our most zealous request and most earnest petition to be placed at the close of all our Prayers which we offer up for these pleasant glorious and useful things on Earth that draw away too much of our Affections Likewise when we beg from God for the good things of this Life we must take heed of two other intentions or affections of our corrupt Nature that are able to render our requests most sinful and abominable in God's Presence The first may proceed from an unjust principle of Covetousness when the Soul is possessed with an insatiable spirit that craves more than is needful and forces it to desire what is not really ours to the prejudice of others or from ambition vain-glory and immoderate care of the World that may cause us to petition too passionately for its Vanities as it may proceed from some Lust that governs the Soul All these and other Principles of the like nature as they are irregular the Devotions that proceed from them can never be good for all our requests in such like Cases tend to procure to our selves those good things that we purpose to abuse in the satisfying of our unruly and base affections Such Prayers are Sacrifices of the Devil and not of God His Blessings never so mean are too good to be prostituted to our shameful Lusts We must not think to feed the Devil's Brats with the Milk and Mercies of Heaven It is an ungrateful Conversion indeed to convert that to God's dishonour that proceeds from his Bounty And it is the mark of a great indiscretion and want of Piety to seek from God the means to dishonour his holy Name and to employ the chief part of Religion for such a prophane and unworthy purpose The second Affection is a Spirit of Envy Anger Revenge and Hatred which if we discover in that part of God's Service where we are to implore his Bounty we cannot probably expect any great success or any favourable return we cannot expect that the God of Mercy and Love should be favourable to inhumanity and revenge that he will grant such Petitions as proceed from that affection which is direct contrary to his Divine Nature and Commands God must not nor will not be made the Executioner of our vengeance nor receive the Commissions from us to punish our wrongs Vengeance belongs to God it is a bold presumption to prescribe to his Wisdom either the method time or measure of inflicting iâ— upon the greatest Offendors Therefore let us always cast our selves upon him and his Justice with a disposition ready to forgive the greatest Enemies Let us leave all our wilful Interests entirely to the disposal of his Wisdom and not venture nor suffer our corrupt Nature to give him directions how and where to execute his wrath chiefly in that part of his Service where our Business is to intreat him to suspend the execution of his Justice from us justly due for our Offences committed against his continued goodness If he shews so much favour to us he expects that we should do the like to such as have offended us and deserved our displeasure Our Prayers therefore must not be Imprecations and Curses all Gall and bitterness must be cast away and separated from this Sacrifice to the God of Heaven as the Gaul of the Heathen Victims was when they offered them up to the superior Gods I confess that self preservation God's glory common justice and the safety of our Friends of the Church and Publick may oblige us to petition Heaven for the disappointment of the unjust designs of Wicked Men tho' it be to their utter overthrow David in his Divine Psalms affords us many Examples to this purpose Pour out thy Wrath upon the Ideathen saith he that have not known thee and upon the Kingdoms that have not called upon thy Name Psal 79.6 Let them be blotted out of the Pook of the Living and not be written with the Righteous Psal 69.28 Consume them in thy Wrath consume them that they may not be and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the Earth Selah Psal 59.13 These and such like Prayers have an intent chiefly to prevent the future Mischiefs which the Malice of God's Enemies and of his Church was likely to draw upon his Servants They are intended to disarm them and take from them the ability or power which they would infallibly abuse oft to God's dishonour and the Prejudice of God's People and innocent Persons They are intended to Petition God that he would be pleased to vindicate his own Cause and declare his Justice in the punishment of vile Contemners of his Power and Authority For such intents as these we may sometimes beseech God to send down his Judgments upon our Enemies as well as his Mercies but out of a meer Principle of Revenge or of an implacable hatred to desire the ruin of any that we disaffect is to concern God too much in our frivolous quarrels and to cause him to withhold the favours which otherwise he might be willing to grant us For with the same measure that we mete it shall be measured to us again Let therefore Men be never so much alienated from us and separated in judgments designs or Interests let them purpose never so much our Ruin if they be Christians or but Men that Christian disposition which Christ our Saviour recommends to us both by his Commands and Example teacheth us to pray for their amendment and the prosperity of their Souls and Bodies so that it may be without any notable prejudice to God his Church the publick or our private happiness The Sacrifices of an implacable Spirit will never find acceptance at the Throne of Grace That good Saviour that prayed for his Murderers teacheth us to suppress the sense of all personal Wrongs and not suffer our displeasures to be vented in our Addresses to God In this particular as well as in the former Nature will speak when it is oppressed and complain for the Evils that burden us it will petition for help and justice when it is grieved and I cannot think but that this natural motion may be allowable if it be kept within the bounds of Christian Charity and be accompanied with a disposition ready to forgive the Injuries received in case of amendment and our Enemies become fit Objects of our Mercy and Forgiveness But in such Cases we must take heed that we suffer not our Resentment of former wrongs to speak too loud in Prayer and that we desire not from God that which neither becomes God's Wisdom to grant nor our modesty and Christian Charity to ask
Seventhly Faith must likewise be an ingredient in this part of God's Worship as well as in the rest This Grace is the Life and Soul of Devotion without which all our Addresses are to no purpose For he that comes unto God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that seek him Now there is a double Duty that our Faith is bound to perform in Prayer First it must make us sensible of God's presence and all-seeing Eye it must cast the Soul into a dread of that divine Majesty who hears and sees every Petitioner all over the World it must awaken all our abilities and quicken us with the consideration of God's glorious Being unto whom we offer up our Requests it must represent him present and as he is a God a just a powerful and a merciful Creator to our imagination but let the good Christian take heed that he suffer not his fancy to give any visible shape to God's incomprehensible Being Our minds are too apt to be extravagant in this Case and to commit that Spiritual Idolatry which the Heathens were outwardly guilty of This infinite Spirit is to be represented inwardly to Souls without any such contemptible appearance unto which our imagination instructed by our Senses is wont to confine him His incomprehensible Being must not be disgraced by our weak and shallow apprehensions Therefore in all our Addresses to him our busie imagination ought to be entertain'd with the Thoughts of the things we want and desire from God and our Minds stopt with the notion of his Immensity and our belief ought to make us as sensible of his Presence as if he were visible before our Eyes this will banish all careless idle and wandering thoughts and negligence and quicken us in the performance of this important Duty The sense of God's presence will cause us to summon all our abilities and rid us of all those things that might be an impediment to our Prayers And for want of it Men are commonly sloathful and careless in their Addresses to God's Divine Majesty But there is another Duty that our Faith must perform in Prayer that is it must keep the Soul in an expectation of the grant of our requests and assure us that God is both willing and able to fulfil our desires in his due time that he hath Goodness and Power enough in store to reward us and satisfie all our Wishes nay that he will give us the good things that we petition for if they be convenient for us and likely to be instrumental in the promotion of his Glory on Earth For that purpose Christ hath encouraged us with this promise Math 21.22 All things whatsoever ye shall ask in Prayer believing ye shall receive And elsewhere he calls upon the sloathful to ask and assures them Math. 7.7 that they shall have seek and ye shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you And immediately before his Crucifixion he reproved his Disciples for their backwardness in Prayer John 16.24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my Name ask and ye shall receive that your Joy may be full By these and such like Promises Christ offers us God's assistances and mercies and desires us to send up our Prayers to him with a lively Faith and a strong perswasion that he will grant us our requests or so much of them as is needful for us This Faith or Perswasion must not be grounded upon such a deceitful Foundation as our Vertues good Qualities and Excellency Men are too apt to flatter themselves with such proud mistakes and to look upon their persons as deserving the favours that they petition for and that in consideration of their own Piety and Holiness God will infallibly hear their Prayers Though our innocency may be a means to draw the Blessings of Heaven upon our Heads it becomes not our Christian Humility to rely upon our Merits and claim God's mercies as due for our Services If God is a Debtor to us it is in regard of his Promises and not of our deservings which cannot be in any wise proportionable to his Blessings God may reward our Piety with the good things of this Life and with a prosperous success in all our undertakings according to our desires he may vouchsafe his mercies to his faithful Servants as well as keep them from the smart and fury of his judgments and that because of their Virtues and abstinence from the publick Sins but it becomes not the Humility of a Beggar when he comes to the Throne of God's undeserved Grace either to expect or claim more gracious returns because of our former services due to his Soveraignty over us Besides Men are commonly mistaken and we are apt to think too well of our selves but tho' our Virtues should be never so Heroick and our lives never so exemplary I would not advise any Petitioner to settle thereupon his Faith and Confidence of acceptance of and success to his Prayers because that perswasion claims God's Mercies as Debts and deserves as severe a repulse as that boasting Pharisee in the Gospel whose Prayer was but a provocation of God's displeasure against him whereas the Publican's Humility obtain'd a gracious forgiveness Self-conceitedness in Prayer is the worst disposition that we can bring and discover in our Addresses to him who knows the very bottom of our Souls sooner will the scandalous Sinner who is sensible of having render'd himself unworthy of Heavens Mercies receive the effects of the tenderness of his Fatherly Love rather than an over-confident and a proud Saint that is ready to upbraid God with his continual Services But as our confidence in Prayer must not proceed from an high Opinion that we have conceived of our selves of our perfections or actions so it should be setled upon the Merits and satisfaction of Christ our blessed Saviour and our real Interest in him our faith and assurance of God's acceptance must eye his Promises and infallible Truth and look upon the deservings of an alsufficient Redeemer in whom and by whom we are welcome to a bountiful God it must trust upon Christ's intercession that sanctifies our imperfect Prayers and offers them up for us to our Heavenly Father Let his Mediation procure us admittance and his Excellency purchase unto us a favourable return then only we may expect success when our Petitions are recommended by the Merits of a Crucified Christ All such requests as our Saviour promiseth shall meet with acceptance if we can be perswaded of an assured success or if we believe By which words he seems to encourage us to believe that whatsoever we ask the Father in his name we shall obtain it Experience teacheth us that this promise is not to be understood in as large a Sense as the words seem to intimate without any exception or restriction for many things we may ask of God which becomes not his Wisdom and Fatherly care over us to grant and our ignorance is such that we may
an immortal Nature to continue for ever as thy self and I am going apace to this boundless Eternity and as I am thine Image and Creature O that I may live with thee for ever cast me not away into endless Torments make me an Eternal Monument of thy Mercy and goodness receive me into thine everlasting Rest for Jesus Christ his sake Amen A Meditation and Prayer upon God's Almighty Power O Dreadful Majesty of Heaven where-ever I cast my Eyes thy Power shines before me clearer than the Sun at Noon-day In the make of this great Fabrick of the World and in the disposal and continuance of all the several Parts how visibly doth thine extraordinary Power appear the Heavens and all the Elements are Witnesses and Trumpeters of thy glorious Power which nothing can oppose or stop The Devils that are revolted from thee do yet own and are subject to thine Omnipotency they are held fast in Chains and are so restrained by thine Almighty Hand that they cannot possibly move without thy permission When I cast mine Eyes upon the Seas and consider the vastness and fury of the Waves When I look up to Heaven and see the many glorious and large Globes of Light some settleed and fixed others rowling in their several Spheres O my God how wonderfully doth thy Power appear to me in all these things And as thou art the only Original of all Virtue and Power I have reason to conclude that all Creatures together cannot stop thine hand and that there is nothing impossible with thee as thou hast been able to Create all things thou art able to govern and rule their unruliness and greatest Fury to the setting forth of thy Glory and whatsoever thou hast promised thou wilt surely perform and art fully able to accomplish O Almighty Creator give me a real sense of thy Power that I may stand in awe of it that I may trust upon it in time of need that I may believe in thy Word and Promises that my Soul may rest and rely upon thee alone and never doubt of thy Protection and of thy Power to save me Amen A Meditation and Prayer upon the Wisdom of God and his infinite Knowledge O Infinite Being thy Wisdom is answerable to thine Almighty Power and hath the same Creatures to manifest and set it forth Wherever I see the one I must needs take notice of the other that is obvious to every Eye in the disposition of all things that are made in their fashion and composition in their Inclinations and tendencies in the design and purpose of their Creation in their mutual Correspondencies and Government and in the Laws and Rules that they observe Is there any of so dull an apprehension that cannot observe a more than ordinary Wisdom in all these particulars Can we see the Sun Moon and Stars observe their appointed and annual Motions and Stations without variation and not think upon thy Wisdom O Almighty God who hast stretched forth the Heavens like a Curtain and rulest over all Well may I cry out with the Blessed David in admiration of all these Blessed Wonders In Wisdom hast thou made them all But what need have I to look at such a distance for the Foot-steps and Evidences of Divine Wisdom In my Body and Soul and in every Member wherein the Great World is Epitomized and the Incomprehensible Attributes of the Unity and Trinity shadowed out here are wonderful and surprising expressions of thy Wisdom that I carry about me Wherefore O my God hast thou opened mine Eyes and bestowed upon me an understanding Nature to observe all these things but that I should meditate and admire thy great Wisdom that shines before me brighter than the Sun O Eternal Wisdom of Heaven as I am thine Image grant me a share of this Wisdom imprint in my Soul such Habits of Wisdom and Knowledge that I may fear and admire thy Divine Majesty and the rather because thine all-seeing Eye is every where to take notice of my behaviour and actions There is no darkness nor shadow of Death where Iniquity may hide or retreat from thy Knowledge All things are naked and open before thee thou hast a perfect insight into all the Inclinations of my Heart and Soul and fore-seest what shall happen in this great World with the several Causes O wonderful Knowledge that comprehends the Sparrows in the Market and the Lillies of the Field and the meanest Beings that owe all to thee a subsistence O wonderful Wisdom and Knowledge that extends it self over all the parts of this great Fabrick and nothing is exempted from the benefits that are procured thereby Give me O my God such an understanding of this infinite Knowledge and of thine All seeing Eye that I may stand in awe of thy Divine Presence that I may fear to displease thee that my Soul may be always in such a disposition as becomes a Creature and a Servant of so Holy so Powerful and such an All-seeing Majesty Amen A Meditation and Prayer UPON THE Goodness of God Manifested in Nature and Providence O Universal Goodness that opens thy Hand to all things that have a Being and furnishest so many Sorts of Creatures out of thine overslowing abundance with so much sweetness and variety of Pleasures How full must be the Stores out of which so many Millions are continually supplyed From what overflowing Ocean of Delight and Joy proceed so many Streams that yield a sufficiency to all and yet there is an overplus left for more O wonderful Goodness that knowest how to supply every Creature with that which is most suitable to its Appetite and Nature and givest a contentment to the several species according to their Capacities and Tempers Through how many differing Channels does this inexhaustible Goodness convey to us the necessaries and conveniencies of Life Man of all sublunary subsistencies seems to be the chief Favourite of the Divine Goodness other things and Creatures have their short allowances in comparison of Man It is upon him that thou dost heap the Riches and Satisfactions of the Earth It is to him thou hast granted thy most signal Favours It is in his Bosom that thou dost empty all varieties of sweetness and Earthly Comforts without any regard to his deservings O Impartial and disinterested Goodness that expects no returns but such as may give thee the Glory and us the Benefit and may be a means to sanctifie and increase our Blessings How ready should we be to comply with this inexpressible Goodness and answer the Expressions of thy Favours with such easie cheap and profitable returns Should we be backward to acknowledge that which every moment we may be sensible of and when the bare acknowledgment will produce unto us fresh Recruits and greater tokens of Love from thine unwearied Bounty O let me never forget thy goodness my good God expressed and experienced in my Creation thy Providence in making me a rational Creature and giving me an immortal Soul with
O that I may be true and faithful and not alienate to the service of Sin to the gratifying of my Lusts or the pleasing of the Devil what appertains to thee my God As thou hast increased my stores increase in me thy grace and wisdom that I may mannage these Talents to thy honour and service Humble my Soul under such a load of earthly Blessings am I more deserving than so many thousand others who are not so well supplied and furnished what obligations have I laid upon thee my God to lift me up above so many that I see below me to favour me more than thousands who are in want to fill me with all these good things when others are empty how greatly am I indebted to thy Bounty how shall I discharge my self and make suitable returns with these earthly Comforts bestow upon me thy heavenly blessings sanctifie them to me that they may not be an increase to my guilt but rather a a means of Salvation Bestow upon me a contented mind a poverty of Spirit in the midst of all this plenty that I may enjoy it with moderation and dispose of it with discretion Wean mine affections from the World and all these Vanities that they may be a preparation for greater and more lasting Riches which thou hast laid up in thine Heavenly Sanctuary for them that love and fear thee If these things are so sweet and pleasing to us now conveyed to us at such a distance off and attended with much labour and sorrow how sweet and ravishing will that plenty and those riches be which thou wilt grant at a nearer approach when thou shalt wipe away all tears from our eyes and there shall be no more labour to get and preserve them no fear to lose them nor trouble in the enjoyment What a glorious prospect hast thou given us in thy holy Word of greater and more excellent Possessions of an Inheritance far more worthy of mine acquisition if I now render not my self unworthy of so wonderful a bounty by ill actions or too great a fondness of this present World I am certain my good God what thy Truth hath declared thy Power and Liberality will one day perform in us and for us for thou hast created me for happiness If I will accept of it thou hast designed provided and purchased happiness for me Whilst I live in this World there is but a shaddow in the midst of all these good things that I embrace of true felicity The Cares and Incumbrances the Miseries and Calamities the Pains and the Aches and the Fears and Apprehensions are continually disquieting our minds in the greatest plenty of outward enjoyments and the temptations of Sin and the World will not suffer me to be truly happy Neither can my Soul an Immortal and Heavenly Being Created for the Vision of God be content without thee O my Maker The joy that I now feel is in that relation and interest that I have to and in thee for all these possessions and these enjoyments I look upon my self but as a Stranger and a Pilgrim my Country is Heaven When thou shalt call me thither let not these Honours and Dignities these Riches and this outward Splendour these vain and deceitful Pleasures incumber my Soul or cause it to look back upon these deceitful appearances that I may be ready to shake them off and willing to depart to visit thine Eternal Presence where my blessed Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ will receive and welcome my Soul in the Companies of immortal Spirits and Angels and bestow upon me the Heavenly and everlasting Riches and true Honours Things that eye hath never seen ear hath never heard and can never enter into the heart of man Preserve I beseech thee my good God my Soul and Body to thine Eternal Kingdom where all these wonders of thy Power and Bounty are carefully laid up Amen A Meditation and Prayer upon the Consideration and Sense of Poverty and Want O My Creator and Redeemer my God who hast granted me a Being and placed me in this station of Life destitute of all Worldly Comforts I adore thy Divine Wisdom and am content to undergo all the troubles and inconveniencies that thou shalt think sitting to put upon me I doubt not but as I am thy Creature and Servant as my good Lord and Master thou wilt provide for my subsistence and if the allowance be but small it is more than I deserve at thy hands however it is enough if I can have but a satisfied mind Thou hast promised to supply my wants from day to day and give me meat drink and raiment without which I cannot continue in this Life why shall I doubt of the performance of this thy declaration thy stores are full and thou art rich in bounty able and sufficient by various means to recruit all my wants if the supplies come but sparingly and thou dost allow me but a small pittance if I receive from thee by Retail what others have from thee by Wholesale it is thy will and pleasure that my dependance might be more upon thy Goodness and Providence and that I may be always looking up to thee for the Conveniencies and Necessaries of Life Thy Wisdom O my God knowest what is best for me what is most proper to exercise my patience saith reliance upon thee and my submission to thy holy and heavenly will Who knows but if I were placed in the midst of plenty I should abuse thy temporal mercies and employ them in my own Damnation now I have no such debt to answer for Thou hast recommended unto me contentment in this estate by teaching me to pray only for my daily bread if it be but course it is such as proceed from thy liberal hand and fine enough to maintain this Earthly Tabernacle that must shortly become food to the Worms of the Earth O my God by these troubles of Life it is thy pleasure to wean mine affections from the World and that I may place my chief happiness beyond the Grave that I may live in expectation when thou wilt call me out of this painful and laborious Life to mine Eternal Rest where I shall be no more exercised but in the praising of thy Glorious Majesty in the Quires of Heavenly Spirits I am satisfied O my Heavenly Father in thy Love and Goodness which has never been wanting to me since I was in this World I look upon my mean estate and poverty to be an argument of the reality of thy love and kindness seeing a Lazarus upon a Dunghill was as dear unto thee as the richest and noblest of thy Children seeing so many of thy chosen Servants of the Worthies of former Ages have in this present Life wandered about in Sheep Skins and Goat Skins being Destitute Afflicted Tormented and have suffered greater wants and more pressing necessities than I am reduced to But shall I murmur at thy wise and good Providence when I am reduced to the Condition of