Mary ever Virgin-pure Behold us prostrate at thy feet And by thy pow'rful pray'rs procure That an unweary'd close persuit Of life may bring us so to dy We may on JESUS thy blest Fruit Feast our glad eys eternally V. Pray for us O holy Mother of God! R. That we may be made worthy the promises of Christ Let us Pray ALmighty and everliving God who by the Co-operation of the Holy Ghost vouchsafedst to prepare the Body and Soul of the glorious Virgin-Mother Mary that she might become the worthy habitation of thy Son Grant that as with joy we celebrate her memory we may by her pious intercession be deliver'd from all temporal evils and from eternal death through the same JESUS Christ our Lord Amen May the divine assistance remain with us for ever Amen Pause then The Blessing of God Almighty Father Son and Holy Ghost descend upon us and dwel in our harts for ever Amen MONDAY MATINS Introduction as page 1. Invitatory Come let 's adore our God that made us Come let 's adore our God that made us Psal XIIII LEt us with reverence appear before Him and humble our selvs in the presence of his glory Let us all bring forth our Psalms of Praise and sing with joy to our great Creator Come let 's adore our God that made us He made us not we our selvs and freely bestow'd on us all the rest of his creatures to engage our harts to love his goodnes and admire the riches of his infinite bounty Come let 's adore our God that made us Our bodys he fram'd of the dust of the earth and gave us a soul after his own likenes a soul which all created nature cannot fill nor any thing below his own Immensity Come let 's adore our God that made us For himself he made us and for his glorious Kingdom that we might dwel with him in perfect blyss and sing his praises for ever Come let 's adore our God that made us Glory be c. As it was Come let 's adore our God that made us Come let 's adore our God that made us Hymn V. WAke now my Soul and humbly hear What thy mild Lord commands Each word of his wil charm thine ear Each word wil guide thy hands Hark how his sweet and tender care Complys with our weak minds What e're our state and temper are Stil some fit work he finds They that are merry let them sing And let the sad harts pray Let those stil ply their cheerfnl wing And these their sober way So mounts the early chirping Lark Stil upward to the Skys So sits the Turtle in the dark Among her groans and crys And yet the Lark and yet the Dove Both sing though several parts And so should we how e're we move With light or heavy harts Or rather Both should both assay And their cross-notes unite Both grief and joy should sing and pray Since both such hopes invite Hopes that all present sorrow heal All present joy transcend Hopes to possess and tast and feel Delights that never end All glory to the sacred Three All honor power and praise As at the first may ever be Beyond the end of days Amen Antiph All things ly open to the eys of God all things are naked to Him with whom we speak Psal XV. HAppy are they O glorious Lord * who every where adore thy Presence Happy who live on earth as in the sight of the King of heaven and every moment say in their hart Our God is here Here in the Center of our souls to witnes all our thoughts and judg exactly our most secret intents Though his Throne of state be establisht above and the splendors of his glory shine only on the Blessed Yet his unlimited Ey looks down to this lower world and beholds all the ways of the children of Adam If we go out he marks our steps and when we retire our Closet excludes not him While we are alone He minds our contrivings and the ends we aim at in all our studys When we converse with others He observs our deportment and the good or ill we do them or our selvs In our devotions he notes our carriage and regards with what attention we recite our pray'rs All the day long He considers how we spend our time and our darkest night conceals not our works from Him If we deceive our Neighbor He spys the fraud and hears the least whisper of a slandering tongue If we in secret oppress the Poor or by private alms relieve their wants If in our harts we murmur at the Rich or live contented with our litle portion What e're we do He perfectly sees us wher e're we are he is sure to be with us Why O thou Soveraign Lord of heav'n why dost thou stoop thus low thy glorious Ey What canst thou find that here deservs thy sight among the trifles of our empty world What canst thou find alas that should not fear thy sight among the follys of our vicious lives 'T is not thy self O Lord thou seekst to satisfy but all thy design is for our advantage Thou graciously stand'st by to see as work that thine awful ey may quicken our diligence Thou art still at hand to relieve our wants that so friendly a nearnes may increase our confidence Thou appear'st still ready to punish our sins that the shake of thy rod may prevent our miserys Sure O my God thy favours must needs be sweet since even thy threatnings have so much mercy Sure we must needs be worse then blind if to the face of heav'n we dare be wicked Henceforth O gracious Lord as children freely play * in the indulgent presence of their tender father So make us still with humble boldnes * rejoyce before Thee our merciful Creator And as new pardon'd subjects justly fear * the angry brow of their offended Prince So let our oft-forgiven souls continually tremble * to provoke the wrath of thy dread Majesty O temper thus our love with reverence and thus allay our fear with hope Glory be c. Antiph All things ly open to the eys of our God all things are naked to Him with whom we speak Antiph Happy we who have our God so near us happy if our pious lives keep us near Him Psal XVI MY God! since Thou art never absent from us let us be always present with Thee Let us go up to thy Throne above and there contemplate and admire thy glory Let us attend on thy holy Altars and there adore and praise thy mercy Every where let us seek to meet Thee every where let us delight to find Thee All our wants let us spread before Thee all our petitions let us offer to Thee Thou willingly inclin'st thy gracious ear * to the pray'rs that come from a fervent hart Thou lov'st to hear us so treat of Heav'n as if we made it our business indeed to go thither All other things we must ask with submission to
their birth and the unfortunate companions that inveagled them to sin They shall curse this vain deceitful world and cry out with a desperate enraged fury Are these the effects of those found desires whose enjoyment we made our chief felicity Alas what avail us now our wanton liberties aud the fugitive pleasures we so eagerly persu'd What comfort receive we from those empty honours * and faithles riches we so highly esteem'd They all are vanisht away like a shadow and as a cloud of smoke that 's scater'd with the wind But the remorse and punishment endure for ever and torture our spirits with perpetual anguish Thus shal they cry and none regard to hear them thus shal they mourn and none be found to pity them O sad expectance of a dissolute life O dreadful consequence of an impenitent death Eternally to long for what they never can enjoy eternally to suffer what they never can avoid Blessed be thy gracious Providence O God that with such tender care forewarns us of our dangers O save us too dear Lord from all those dangers save us for thy mercys sake Save us and make us fearful to do * what when we have done will make us miserable to suffer Quicken our apprehensions of the ruinous effects of Sin and with thy terrible threatnings check our unbridled passions That if thy glorious promises move not our harts the fear at least of hell may fright us into heav'n Glory be c. Antiph The day will come it will infallibly come when God will destroy all that work iniquity Antiph The day will come it will infallibly come when God will Crown all that love his glory Psal XLII VVHy do you mourn you children of the light to whom belong the promises of Blyss Who feed on the pleasant fruits of piety and the continual feast of a good conscience Who tast already the sweetnes of hope and herafter shal be satisfied with the fulnes of fruition What can molest your happy state whom the God of Glory has chosen for himself Whom he has adopted into his own Family and design'd for heirs of the Kingdom of heaven That Blessed Kingdom where all delights abound and sorrow and tears are banisht away Where none are sick or grow old or dy but flourish in health and youth and immortal life Where none are perplext with cares or fears but dwel secure and free for ever Where we no more shal be subject to chance no more expos'd to the danger of tentation Where we no more shal be crost by others no more disquieted by our own passions But a serene tranquillity perpetually within us and innumerable joys all round about us Joy in the excellencys of our glorifyd bodys joy in the perfections of our enlarged souls Joy in the sweet society of Saints joy in the glorious company of Angels Joy in the ravishing sight of our beloved JESUS joy in the blisful union with the adored Deity All shal be joy and love and peace and all endure for eternal ages Let then the impenitent sinner be frighted with fear and the obdurate hart break asunder with grief But for the hopeful Innocent let them always be glad and the servants of JESUS rejoyce and sing Sweet is the yoke of thy love O Lord and light the burthen of thy commands But O how far more rich are thy faithful promises how infinitely greater thy glorious rewards When every vertue shal wear its proper crown and shine with a Diadem fit for its own head The humble there shal be highly exalted and the poor in spirit prefer'd to be Kings The meek shal posses that holy land and the mourners be comforted with eternal refreshments The clean of hart shal see the God of purity and the lovers of peace have the priviledg of his Children They who hunger and thirst after heav'n shal be fill'd and the merciful entertain'd with the embraces of mercy They who suffer persecution shal abundantly be rewarded and the enlightners of others shine bright as the stars They who relinquish any thing for God shal receive a hundred fold and all the Just be in glory for ever Then shal they bless the true friend that reprov'd them and the charitable hand that assisted to their happines They shal bless the provident mercys of their God and sing aloud the victorys of his grace Is this the effect of those litle pains we took are these the repairs for those petty losses we suffer'd Happy we who deny'd our selvs toys and now are advanc't to these high felicities Millions of years shal pass away and our glory shal seem but then to begin Millions of Millions shal pass away and our glory shal be no nearer its end Thus shal they all rejoyce and none disturb them thus shal they sing and all the heav'ns joyn with them O sweet expectance of a pious life O happy consequence of a holy death Eternally to be free from whatever can afflict eternally to enjoy whatever can â—â—elight Blest be thy gracious Providence O God that with so large a bounty woos us to our happines Woos us in a way we are so apt to be taken the love of our selvs and our own great interest As thou hast prepar'd such felicitys for us O may thy grace prepare us for them O may this best of works take up all our time at least take up the best of our time At least every morning let us renew our hope and close the evening with the same sweet thoughts Let us not faint and we surely shall see a prosperous issue out of all our sorrows Still let us labour still let us suffer our troubles are short and our joys eternal Glory be c. Antiph The day will come it will infallibly come when God will crown all that love his glory Antiph What will it profit us to gain the whole world and lose our own Souls or what shal we give in exchange for our souls Psal XLIII COme now my soul and chuse for life and death are set before thee Chuse while thy gracious Lord allows thee day lest the night of darknes overtake thy neglect Chuse but remember thy eternity is concern'd and examine well ere thou mak'st thy resolve Call all the pleasures of the world before thee and ask if any of them be worth such pains Ask if to satisfy some irregular passion * can recompence the forfeiture of such felicitys Ask if the vain forbidden things thou lov'st * deserve thy affection better than thy Maker Are they more worthy in themselvs or beneficial to Thee that thou canst prefer them before thy Redeemer Dost thou expect to be quiet by enjoying them or everlastingly happy by their procurement Will they protect thee at the hour of thy death or plead thy caus at the day of Judgment O 〈◊〉 they but deceive me with a smiling look which I too often have prov'd by dear experience 'T is heav'n alone that yeilds a true content 't is heav'n alone
the hands of God At first endow'd with dominion o're the Earth and which was more with dominion o're thy self At first not only made sole Lord of Paradise but heir apparent of the Heav'n of heav'ns All this thou lost by one rash act * disobeying the Law of thy wise Creator All this alas we lost by thy transgression which brought in sin and death and universal misery Our bodys were deprav'd by thy distemper and our souls made fit for such depraved bodys Our senses quickly rebel'd against reason and both together conspir'd against grace Dulnes and ignorance o'respred the world error and vice possest mankind The Law they observ'd was their own unruly appetites and the Deity they worship'd the work of their own hands Even the selected people of the true God the favourite Nation of the Almighty Providence They who were brought out of Egypt with so many wonders and seated in a Country flowing with Milk and Honey They who had seen the sea divide before them and stand on each side as a wall to defend them They who had tasted the quails and manna from heavâ—â—n and drunk of the streams that came gushing from the Rock Even they forgot their great Deliverer and set up for their God a Golden Calf They could not worship what they did not see they must have Gods to go before them Thus lay the miserable world all cover'd with darknes and the thickest mists of gross Idolatry Thus had poor man quite lost his way and all he could do was to wander up and down a while Til when his few vain years were spent * he suddenly descended to everlasting sorrows This mov'd thy pity gracious Lord who often art found by those that seek thee not VVho never withdraw'st thy hand in time of need but constantly supply'st us in all our distresses This mov'd thy pity to undertake our relief and come down thy self and dwel among us That as our nature us'd to worship what it saw we now should see what we might safely worship But thou again dear Lord must leave our world and though it be good for us 't is hard to part from Thee Thou must again ascend into thy Fathers bosom to prepare a place for thy faithful Followers Yet even then O thou wise and infinite Goodnes thou didst not wholly forsake our earth Only thy usual cloaths and shape were chang'd but thy former Self stil dwels among us Stil thou art really here to move us by thy presence * and entertain our devotions without fear of excess VVe know 't is impossible to adore our God too much O that 't were possible to adore him enough Glory be c. Antiph VVhether O my God should we wander if left to our selvs where should we fix our harts if not directed by Thee Antiph Blessed be thy Providence O God that so tenderly nurses up the world stil growing on to new degrees of perfection Psal LXI LOrd what a happy change has thy coming wrought what glorious effects has thy Doctrin produced Narrow was once the gate and strait the path to bliss and few there were that found it Once in a populous City not ten that were just and on the whole earth but eight that were sav'd Now we see thousands with a strong and generous love * run swiftly after Thee in the ways of thy Counsels Now we see millions with a fair degree of hope * walk constantly towards Thee in the ways of thy Commands Now we see Kings and mighty Nations submit to Thee and hope all the world will ere long adore Thee Whence O my God could this strange improvement come but that JESUS ascending left himself on our Altars Whence could this blessing spring but from his holy life and the infinit merits of his painful death Both which are here miraculously united and the fruits of both abridg'd into this one Mystery This is the Mystery that gives life and spirit to the Church and works all the wonders that adorn the world This builds our great and sumptuous Temples to bestow on our God the best house we have This with our richest treasures beautifys our altars to entertain our Lord in the best way we can This breeds the reverence we pay to Priests and excellently disposes us to believe and obey them This keeps alive our dear Redeemers death and applies to our souls all the vertue of his Passion This fills our hearts with heroick courage * to do and suffer for the Name of JESUS This is in fine the food of faith and hope and love and these 3 fit us for eternal happines O blest memorial of my Saviours love and faithful Seal of all his promises If I forget to sing of thee * let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth If I forget to meditate on Thee * let my head forfeit its power to think All the short time I remain in thy presence * I will wholly employ to adore thy Majesty Thee will I bless for all thy mercys to Thee will I open all my necessitys Beging thy pardon for my past offences * and thy gracious assistance for the time to come Imploring thy peace for the souls departed and thy blessing for all the world O spotles Lamb once slain for us on the Cross and dayly sacrificed on the holy Altar Be thou our powerful Advocate with thy heav'nly Father and solicite by thy Merits his mercy for us Offer thy sacred Self before his Throne and turn away the wrath we deserve for our sins So slaves are rescu'd from their chains * and prisoners from the doom of death While they appease their offended King * with the pleasing remembrance of his beloved Son And so hope we and infinitely more from the infinitely greater Mediation of JESUS If Thou O Lord shalt thus restore our liberty and cloath thy servants in the robes of innocence Then shall we all delight to be still in thy presence and follow thee where're thou goest In thy Processions we 'l wait on thy triumph in thy visiting the sick we 'l attend thy charity When thou art lifted up we 'l bow before Thee when solemnly expos'd we 'l publickly adore thee Where e're Thou art we 'l never forsake Thee where e're we are our harts shall be with Thee Glory be c. Antiph Blessed be thy Providence O God that so tenderly nurses up the world still growing on to new degrees of perfection Antiph This is the greatest charity that God himself can bestow since God can bestow nothing greater then himself Psal LXII ANd does our glorious God not only visit but dwelt perpetually with us men upon earth He whom the heav'n of heav'ns cannot contain does he make his residence in our litle Tabernacles Where are you holy Angels that you fly not swiftly down and in your whitest robes attend your Lord Where are you careles men that you run not quickly hither and with your lowliest homage bow to your King Who though
there and part with life it self to dy and go thither Alas how short are we of these perfections how slowly do we follow those excellent Guides O that we liv'd I dare not say blest Souls like you * whose aim was high and a generous heat bet in your brests But that our harts desire were to live like you and what you really did we really wisht to do O that we liv'd in some degree like you and lov'd to think and read and speak of you To sign and publish your heroick Acts and where we cannot imitate at least admire At least let us learn to humble our selvs and check the vanity of our proud conceits Let us mourn and blush at our many infirmitys and so much the louder call to heav'n for releef Hear us you blessed Saints who dwel secure above and turn your eys of pity towards us below Look down with tendernes on our world of miserys and bow your charitable knees to the God of mercys That what our own unworthines cannot obtain we may hope to receive by your holy prayers Glory be c. Antiph Help us you blessed Citizens of heav'n direct our way you who have attain'd your end Antiph Fear not my soul our God has a blessing too for us if we have a love and obedience for Him Psal CXXVI LEt us humble our selvs but not grow faint * at the sight of others so far before us Rather let us quicken our sloth by their swift pace and encourage our fears with their happy success We who profess the Religion of all these Saints who liv'd and dy'd in the same Church with us We who partake of the same holy Sacraments and eat the same celestial Food Why should we fear one day to shine above and rejoyce together with you glorious Saints Are we not all redeem'd by the same rich price the same eternal crowns propos'd to us all Are we not bred in the same Apostolick faith and nurst at the brests of the same Catholick Church The Lessons I see and Teacher is the same but the hand is dul and instrument out of tune You liv'd indeed in a dangerous world like this and were ty'd to bodys frail as ours But by a constant vigilance you o'recame the world and subdu'd your bodys to the service of your minds You overcame with a joyful hart * and we thus congratulate the triumph of your victorys You overcame but not by your own strong hand you now triumph but 't is by the bounty of your God Chear then thy self my soul raise thy head * and open thy bosom to the hopes of heaven Fear not our God has a blessing too for us if we have a love and obedience for Him If we delight in the ways of piety and diligently attend the Offices of devotion If we refrain from the libertys of the world and curb the loose suggestions of the flesh If we can look on gold and honor and their flaming beams not dazle our eys If we perform with them the part of faithful servants * we shal surely with them have the portion of children Glory be c. Antiph Fear not my soul our God has a blessing too for us if we have a love and obedience for Him Antiph Precious in thy sight O Lord is the death of thy Saints precious to thee and themselvs and us Psal CXXVII PRecious in thy fight O Lord is the death of thy Saints which finishes thy greatest work the perfecting of Souls Whom Thou esteem'st as the jewels of heav'n and choicely gather'st into thine own Treasury Precious to themselvs O Lord is the death of thy Saints which takes off the dusky cover that hides their brightnes Which shapes and polishes them to a beauteous luster and sets them as stars round about thy Throne Precious to us O Lord is the death of thy Saints which makes us heirs of so great a welth Which leaves us furnisht with so rich variety that every kind of want is abundantly supply'd Some teach us courage to encounter dangers and not for fear make Shipwrack of our conscience Others instruct us to converse with meeknes and patiently bear neglects and injurys From some we learn how wisely to use this world and make it serve us in our way to the next From others how more generously to renounce it and pass our time in peace and prayer From all we learn this best of arts to live and dy like Saints and in the best of methods their own example O gracious Lord whose love still looks about and searches every way to save us siners Who cam'st thy self bright Sun of glory * to inlighten our darknes and warm our frozen harts Who with thy fruitful beams stil kindlest others to burn as tapers in thy Churches hand And by their near proportionate distance stand fit to shine into every corner of our lives O make us bless thy Name for all these mercys and let not one be lost by our ingratitude Let us not see in vain the crown at the races end and sit down lazily in the shades of ease Let us not keep in vain these sacred memorys to be only a reproach to our unprofitable lives But let us stretch our selvs and pursue to the mark for the glorious prizeis that set before us Stil with our utmost speed let us follow Them whose travails ended in so sweet a rest And when our life's last day begins to fal and bids us hasten to prepare for night Then come you holy Angels and watch about 〈◊〉 and suffer not the enemy to disturb our â—â—ssage Come and receive in peace our departing souls and bear them safely to the presence of our Lord. Then O Thou blessed Virgin-Mother protect us with thy favor and all you glorious Saints assist us with your pray'rs Then O Thou dear Redeemer of the world and Soveraign King of life and death Thou who despisest not the tears of the penitent nor turnest away from the sighs of the afflicted Thou who preserv'dst all that rely on Thee and fulfilst their desires that long to be with Thee Hear Thou our cryes and pardon our sins and graciously deliver us from all our fears Cal us to thy self with thine own blest voice cal us O dearest JESU in thine own sweet words Come you Blessed of my Father possess the kingdom * prepared for you from the foundation of the world Then O my happy soul immediately obey and go forth with gladnes to meet the Lord To live with Him and behold his glory to rejoyce with Him and sing his Praise Glory be c. Antiph Precious in thy sight O Lord is the death of thy Saints precious to Thee and themselvs and us Hymn XXXIX NIght forbear alas our Praise And our young begining hope Set to grow on these blest days Faint and dull requires more scope 'T will not hear but sullen flys Summons all the world to sleep Bids us close our books and eys What
Magnificence of our God Heav'n and earth are full of his greatnes heav'n and earth were created by his power From him all the hosts of Angels receiv'd their Being from him they have the honour to assist in his presence He kindled warmth and brightnes in the Sun and beauteously garnisht the Firmament with stars He spred the Ayr and stor'd it with flocks of birds He gather'd the waters and replenisht them with shoals of fishes He establisht the Earth on a firm foundation and richly adorn'd it with innumerable varietys Every Element is fill'd with his blessings and all the world with his liberal Miracles He spake the word and they were made he commands and they are still preserv'd He governs their motions in perfect order and distributes to each its proper Office Contriving the Whole into one vast Machin a spacious Theater of his own unlimited Greatnes O glorious Architect of universal nature who disposest all things in number weight and measure How does thy wisdom engage us to admire Thee How does thy Goodnes oblige us to love Thee Not for themselvs alone O gracious God did thy hand produce those happy Spirits But to receive in charge thy litle flock and safe conduct them to the folds of Blyss Not for themselvs at all O bounteous Lord were the Rest of this huge Creation fram'd But to sustain our lives in the way and carry us on to our eternal home O may our souls first praise Thee for themselves and employ their whole powers to improve in thy service May we praise Thee O Lord for all thy gifts but infinitely above all still value the Giver May every blessing be a motive of gratitude and every creature a step of approach towards Thee So shall we faithfully observe their end and happily arrive at ours Using them only to entertain us here till our souls be prepar'd for the life of heav'n Till they become full ripe for Thee and then fly away to thy holy presence Glory be c. Psal XX. HOw admirable is thy Name O Lord over all the earth how wise and gracious the counsels of thy Providence After Thou had'st thus prepar'd the world as a house ready furnisht for man to inhabit Thy mighty hand fram'd our bodys of the dust and built them in a shape of use and beauty Thou breath'dst into us the spirit of Life and fittedst us with facultys proportion'd to our end Thou gav'st us a soul to govern our bodies and reason to command in our soul Thou reveal'dst to us a Law for the improvement of our reason and enablest us by thy grace to observe that Law Thou mad'st us Lords over all thy creatures but little inferior to thy glorious Angels Thou compellest whole Nature to serve us without reward and invitest us to love Thee for our own happiness Thou design'dst us an age of pure delights * in that sweet and fruitful Garden Where having led a long and pleasant life thou promisedst to transplant us to thine own Paradise All this thou didst O glorious God the full Possessor of universal blys Not for any need thou hadst of us or the least advantage thou could'st derive from our being All this thou didst O infinite Goodnes the liberal bestower of what e're we possess Not for any merit alas of ours or the least motive we could offer to induce Thee But for thine own excessive charity and the mere inclination of thine own rich nature That empty we might receive of thy fulnes and be partakers of thy overflowing bounty So sheds the generous Sun his beams and freely scatters them on every side Guilding all the world with his beauteous light and kindly cherishing it with his fruitful heat And so dost Thou and infinitely more O thou God of infinite more perfections So we confess thou dost to us but we what return have we made to Thee Have we consider'd well the end of our being and faithfully comply'd with thy purpose to save us Ah wretched we we neglect thy holy rules and govern our actions by chance and humour We quite forget our God that made us and fill our heads with thoughts that undo us Pardon O gracious Lord our past ingratitude and mercifully direct our time to come Teach every passage of our yet remaining life to express an acknowledgment fit for thy mercys O make our senses subject to our reason and our reason entirely obedient to thee O make the whole Creation conspire to thy honour and all that depend on thee joyn together in thy praise This is the only praise thou expectest from us and the whole honour thou requirest of thy Creatures That by observing the orders thou appointest here in this lower region of change and motion We may all grow up to be happy herafter in that state of permanency and eternal rest Glory be c. Antiph Bless our Lord O my soul and all that is within me praise his holy Name Capit. 4. Apoc. WOrthy art Thou O Lord our God to receive glory and honor and power because Thou hast created all things and for thy will they are and were created Hymn VI. HArk my soul how every thing Strives to serve our bounteous King Each a double tribute pays Sings it part and then obeys Nature's chief and sweetest Quire Him with cheerful notes admire Chanting every day their Lauds While the grove their song applauds Though their voices lower be Streams have too their melody Night and day they warbling run Never pause but stil sing on All the flow'rs that guild the spring Hither their still-musick bring If Heav'n bless them thankful they Smell more sweet and look more gay Only we can scarce afford This short Office to our Lord We on whom his bounty flows All things gives and nothing ows Wake for shame my sluggish hart Wake and gladly sing thy part Learn of birds and springs and flow'rs How to use thy nobler pow'rs Call whole nature to thy aid Since 't was He whole nature made Join in one eternal song Who to one God all belong Live for ever glorious Lord Live by all thy works ador'd One in Three and Three in One Thrice we bow to Thee alone Amen Antiph The boundless Ocean of Being could not contain his streams but overflow'd upon pure nothing and behold a beauteous world appear'd Heav'n and earth and all therein from the highest Angel to the least grain of dust all together the most perfect participation of his Essence V. He spake the word and they were made R. He but commanded and they were created O Lord hear our prayers And let our supplications come to Thee Let us pray O Almighty Lord the only wise and good Creator of the Universe who mad'st all corporeal nature for the use of Man and Man for his own felicity enlarge our souls we beseech Thee humbly to admire and adore thy infinite fulnes of Being in Thy self and thy immense liberality of it to us and mercifully carry on the whole
sin and a shame that brings glory and grace Accept no person against thy soul not let the respect of any cause thee to fall Reverence not thy neighbour in his offence nor refrain from speaking when there is occasion to do good By no means contradict the truth nor be asham'd to confess thy sins Be not hasty in thy words and remiss and unprofitable in thy deeds Let not thy hand be stretcht out to receive and clos'd to give Be not as a lyon in thy house nor oppress those that are under thee Fear our Lord and the King and with detracters meddle not for their perdition shall suddenly come upon them He that swears much shall be fill'd with iniquity and mischief shall not depart from his house if he deceive his brother his sin shall be upon him if he dissemble he doubles his offence and if he swear in vain he shall not be acquitted Turn away thy face from a woman trimly drest and gaze not at anothers beauty for by the beauty of a woman many have perisht and it inflames concupiscence as a fire Be not at the feast of great drinkers nor at the riotous banquets of those who bring their dishes together to eat for the drunkard and the glutton shall be consum'd and the drowsy cloth'd with rags I past by the field of a slothful man and by the vinyard of a fool and behold it was run over with netles and thorns cover'd its face and the stone wall was destroy'd which when I saw I laid it in my hart and by the example learnt discipline By what things a man sins by the same he shall be tormented R. Blessed O my God be thy Providence for ever which so plentifully furnishes us with rules of vertue and so safely guides all those sould to happines who chuse to live under thy sweet government * As thou hast shewn us the way Lord give us strength to walk in it and bring us in the end to thy eternal rest Make us seriously reflect on every line we read and love the truth when it most reproves us Make us labour to correct every error of our lives and always humbly implore thy gracious assistance * As thou hast Glory be c. * As thou hast Pause As page 17. VVednesday Lauds O God incline c. as page 18. Antiph All my life long will I praise my God and lift up my hands to his holy Throne Psal XLIV LEt them neglect thy praises O Lord who never consider thy mercys Let them be silent to thee O gracious God whose mouths are full of themselves But as for us who subsist by thy gifts * and thankfully acknowledg the riches of thy goodnes Our harts shal continually meditate on Thee and our lips delight to sing thy glory Blessed for ever be thy name O JESU and blessed be the sweetnes of thy Wisdom Whose infinite Charity has vouchsaft our earth * such excellent Rules to guide it to heaven Thou taughtst us that happy skil of finding our lives by a generous losing them to follow Thee Thou taught'st us to love our true selvs best by wisely hating our mistaken selvs Thou taught'st us to trample this world under our feet and use it as a step to climb up to the next From Thee we learn those glorious Mysterys * that exalt our faith so high above reason From thee we derive those Heroick Counsels * that raise our souls so far above nature From thee alone and from thy school of grace * all we know we learn and all we do we receive How long alas might we have wandred here * in the midst of darknes and error Had not thy love and pity O merciful Lord brought down thy very self to become our light Never should we else have learnt to deny our selvs and take up our Cross and follow Thee Never should we have known that great secret of peace to forgive our enemys and do good to those who despitefully use us On the unsatisfying things of this low earth * should we blindly have set our whole affections Hadst thou not told us of the Kingdom of Heav'n and bid us lay up our treasures there Hadst thou not terrify'd us to fear thy wrath by declaring the miserys that attend our sins Hadst thou not invited us to obey thy Commands by proposing the felicitys of a pious life What hast thou promised gracious Lord * to the meek and poor in spirit What hast thou promised to the Weepers here to those that hunger and thirst after holines How many joys has thy bounty prepar'd for the lovers of mercy and the makers of peace How many blessings for the pure of hart and those who with patience bear their Crosses O thou all-seeing Wisdom of the eternal Father * and Soveraign King of Men and Angels Who left'st thy glorious Throne to come down on our earth and familiarly teach us the Oracles of heav'n Write thou these sacred words in the tables of our harts and suffer not at any time our passions to break them Make us stil study Thee our heav'nly Master and continually admire the beauty of thy Law A Law that so clearly shews us our end and so plenteously furnishes means to attain it A Law that so safely cures our infirmitys and so fitly supplys all our defects A Law so exactly conform to true reason and so highly perfective of humane nature A blessed Law that makes even here our life more sweet and leads us herafter to everlasting felicity Glory be c. Psal XLV NEver will we cease to exalt thy Goodnes O JESU since thou never ceasest to oblige us with new Blessings Thy generous charity could not thus be satisfyd to have only spoken to us the words of lif 'T was not enough for thy excessive love that thy heav'nly Sermons told us our duty But thou must urge and provoke our obedience by the sweet inforcement of thine own example Thou forbad'st thy followers to affect superfluitys and thine own provision was a few barly loavs Thou command'st the rich to give alms with cheerfulnes and bestow'st on the poorest wretch even thy precious self Thou bid'st us not fear them that kill the body and yeildest up thine own to the death on the Cross Thou injoyn'st us to love our fiercest Enemys and thy dying breath pray'd for thy Crucifiers Thy perfect Soul needed not as our weak natures * the outward forms and discipline of Religion Yet thou vouchsafed'st to observe the common Feasts and assist at the publique Offices of the Temple To watch and pray and fast with so fervent a zeal that thy practice outdid thine own precepts This life and even death it self our merciful Lord undertook to mark out for us the way to heav'n To beat it plain by his own sacred steps and render our passage thither easy and secure Shal we not then O my Soul rejoycingly follow that path * which we see our Saviour trod before us Which we see though
now and argue with me saith our Lord though your sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow and though they be red as vermillion they shall be white as wool R. Who will give water to my head and a fountain of tears to my eys that day and night I may continually weep and mourn and lament for my own sins and for my Saviours sufferings * O my ador'd Redeemer make us hartily sorry to have offended Thee make us speedily mend least we ruine our selvs Thou hast given us these holy rules to guide our lives and enforc't them on us by thine own example fasting and praying and weeping and humbling thy self to death even the death of the Cross * O my Third Lesson BEhold in the day of your fast you find pleasure and exact of all your debtors you fast to debates and contentions and strike with the first impiously Is this such a fast as I have chosen a man to afflict his soul for a day is this it to wind his head about like a circle and spread sackcloath and ashes Is not this rather the fast I have chosen dissolve the bands of impiety unlose the heavy burthens break in pieces every yoak and let the opprest go free deal thy bread to the hungry and bring the poor and harbourles into thy house when thou seest the naked cover him and despise not thine own flesh Then shal thy light break forth as the morning and thy helth speedily arise and thy justice go before thy face and the glory of our Lord compass thee round about Then shalt thou call and our Lord will answer thou shalt cry and he will say behold I am here I am he who blot out thy iniquitys for my own sake and thy sins I will remember no more I am the Lord thy God who teach thee profitable things and govern thee in the way where thou walkest I am the Lord thy God who take thee by the hand and say to thee fear not I will help thee fear not for I am with thee shrink not aside for I am thy God R. My God never let me so rely on any outward performances that I neglect the improvement of my mind lest my fasting becom an unprofitable trouble and my prayer a vain lip labor * The soul and the body make a man and the spirit and discipline make a Christian Never let me so pretend to inward perfection that I slight the outward observances of Religion lest my thoughts grow proud and phantastick and all my arguments be but a cover for licenciousnes * The Soul Glory be c. * The Soul Pause as Pag. 17. Friday Lauds O God incline as Pag. 18. Antiph Come let us glory in the Cross of our Lord JESVS Christ in whom is our life and helth and resurrection Psal LXX SHal we rejoyce my soul to day Shal we not mourn at the Funeral of our dear Redeemer Such O my Lord was the excess of thy goodnes to derive joys for us from thine own sorrows Thou forbadst thy followers to weep for Thee and reserved'st to thy self alone the shame and grief Thou invitest all the world to glory in thy Cross and command'st us to delight in the memory of thy passion Sing then all you dear-bought Nations of the Earth sing hymns of glory to the holy JESUS Sing every one who pretends to felicity sing immortal praises to the God of our Salvation To Him who for us indur'd so much scorn and patiently receiv'd so many injurys To Him who for us swet drops of blood and drank off the dregs of his Fathers wrath To the eternal Lord of heav'n and earth who for us was slain by the hands of the wicked Who for us was led away as a Sheep to the slaughter and as a meek Lamb open'd not his mouth Whither O my God did thy compassion carry thee how did thy charity too far prevail with Thee Was it not enough to becom man for us but thou must expose thy self to all our miserys Was it not enough to labor all thy life but thou must suffer for us even the pains of death No gracious Lord thy mercy stil observ'd * some wants in our nature as yet unsupplyd Thou saw'st our too much fondnes of life * needed thy parting with it to reconcile us to death Thou saw'st our fear of sufferings could no way be abated but by freely undergoing them in thine own person O blessed JESU whose grace alone * begins and perfects all our hopes How are we bound to praise thy love how infinitely oblig'd to adore thy goodnes At any rate thou would'st stil go on to heal our weak and wounded nature Even at the price of thine own dear blood thou would'st finish for us the purchase of heav'n Glory be c. Psal LXXI AWake my soul and speedily prepare * thy richest sacrifice of humble praise Awake and summon all thy thoughts * to make hast and adore our great Redeemer For now 't is time we should reverently go and offer our harts at the foot of his Cross Thither let us fly from the troubles of the world there let us dwel among the mercys of heav'n Under the shade of that happy tree let us kneel and often look up to our dearest Lord Let us remember every passage of his love and be sure that none escape our thanks Let us compassionate every stroak of his death and one by one salute his sacred wounds Blest be the hands that wrought so many miracles and were bor'd with cruel nails Blest be the feet that so often travail'd for us and at last were unmercifully fastned to the Cross Blest be the head which was crown'd with thorns the head that so industriously studied our happines Blest be the hart which was pierced with a spear the hart that so passionately lov'd our peace Blest be the entire person of our Crucifyd Lord and may all our powers joyn in his praise In thy eternal praise O gracious JESU and the ravishing thoughts of thy incomparable sweetnes O what excess of kindnes was this what strange extremity of love and pity The Lord is sold that the slave may be free the Innocent condemn'd that the guilty may be sav'd The Phisician is sick that the Patient may be cur'd and God himself dys that man may live Tell me my Soul when first thou hast well consider'd * and lookt about among all we know Tell me who ever wisht us so much good who ever lov'd us with so much tendernes What have our nearest friends done for us or even our Parents in comparison of this Charity No less then the Son of God came down to redeem us no less then his own dear life was the price he paid for us What can the favour of the whole world promise us compar'd to this miraculous bounty No less then the joys of Angels are become our hope no less then the Kingdom of heav'n is made our inheritance Glory be
my gracious God Vouchsafe to grant it Cast me not away from thy presence for ever nor wipe my name out of the book of life But my eternal hopes let them remain and stil grow quicker as they approach their end Glory be c. Psal LXXVIII MY thoughts run o're the passages you have met to day or rather forget such impertinent things What have we seen but distracting vanitys and what brought home but unprofitable fancys How often have we felt our minds disturb'd how often endanger'd by unhappy accidents Somtimes we frowardly throw our selvs down and like sullen children will not stand Somtimes the tempest throws us down and like weak children we cannot stand Yet are we venturing stil among the snares entic'd by the appearance of some present delight We weary our selvs with running after flyes which are hard to catch and trifles when they are caught This we pursue and follow that but nothing we meeâ—â— can fill our harts Til we have found out Thee O gracious Lord our only full all-satisfying Good Til we have found out Thee not by a dark beleef but clearly as thou art in thine own bright Self Remember O my soul this truth of the world we live in which our own experience too evidently proves The ey is not fill'd with seeing its varietys nor the ear with hearing all its harmony Remember this truth of the world we hope made sure to our faith by the word of JESUS The ey has not seen such beauteous glorys nor has the ear heard such ravishing charms Nor can the hart it self conceive such incredible joys as our God has provided for them that love him As our Blessed JESUS has purchas'd for his servants and even for Thee my soul to crown thy patience Wherfore in peace lay down thy head and rest secure in the protection of thy God Whose mercy so graciously has singled Thee out and so strongly establisht on himself thy hope Glory be c. Antiph In peace will we sleep and take our rest for thou O Lord hast particularly establisht us in hope Hymn XXIV T Is not for us and our proud harts O mighty Lord to chuse our parts But act wel what Thou giv'st 'T is not in our weak pow'r to make One step o' th way we undertake Unless Thou us releev'st What Thou hast given Thou canst take And when Thou wilt new gifts canst make All flows from Thee alone When Thou didst give it it was Thine When thou retookst it 't was not mine Thy will in all be done It might perhaps too pleasant prove Too much attractive of my love So make me less love Thee Some things there are thy Scriptures say And reason proves that heav'n and they Do seldom wel agree Lord let me then sit calmly down And rest contented with my own That is what Thou allow'st Keep thou my mind ferene and free Often to think on heav'n and Thee And what thou there bestow'st There let me have my portion Lord There all my losses be restor'd No matter what falls here Is 't not enough that we shall sing And love for ever our blest King Whose goodnes brought us there Great God as Thou art One may we With one another all agree And in thy praise conspire May Men and Angels joyn and sing Eternal Hymns to Thee their King And make up all one Quire Capit. 6 Galat. GOd forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord JESVS Christ by whom the world is crucifyd to me and I to the world For in Christ JESVS neither circumcision avails any thing nor uncircumcision but a new Creature and whoever shal follow this rule peace on them and mercy and on the Israel of God Antiph Consider O my soul and see that nothing can happen unprofitable to those who know how to use it and realâ—â—y seek by tempering right their minds to build them up in true Vertue V. Day to day utters words of instruction R. And night to night affords Science O Lord hear our prayers And let our Supplications come to thee Let us pray O God whose provident mercy makes every day a new branch of the tree of Knowledge to us whence the Evening may gather fresh variety of wholsom fruit for the nourishment of souls whose digestion by grace has sanctifyd by feeding on the tree of life the Cross of JESUS Grant we humbly beseech Thee that no experience of good or evil which this day has afforded may be lost on us but what e're of moment has happen'd to our selvs or others may by seasonable and minute rumination be fitted to render us more skilful in discerning the true value and use of this state in all its postures and stronger to sacrifice up with our Saviour our whole Concerns and Being here to thy Will and the sole advance of thy glory which at length will surely crown thy Servants with immortal Blyss through our Lord Vouchsafe as Pag 54 to the end Saturday MATINS Introduction as page 1. Invitatory Come let 's adore our Victorious Redeemer Come let 's adore our Victorious Redeemer Psal LXXIX COme all you Powers of my deliver'd soul and pay your homage to the Prince of our salvation cast your unworthy selvs at his sacred feet and renew your vows of following his steps Come let 's adore our Victorious Redeemer He triumpht over death in his own body and enables us to conquer it in ours imparting to us his heav'nly skill and provoking our courage with infinite rewards Come let 's adore our Victorious Redeemer He chang'd the corrupted government of the world and establisht a new and holy Law that as we were vassals to sin before we might now become the free subjects of grace Come let 's adore our victorious Redeemer Let us live and dy in his blest obedience and no temptation ever separate us from him who if we resist will make us overcome and when we have overcome will crown us with peace Come let 's adore our victorious Redeemer Glory be c. As it was c. Come let 's adore our victorious Redeemer Come let 's adore our victorious Redeemer Hymn XXV LOrd we again lift up our eys And leave our slugish beds But why we wake or why we rise Comes seldom in our heads Is it to sweat and toyl for welth Or sport our time away That thou preserv'st us stil in helth And giv'st us this new day No no unskilful soul not so Be not deceiv'd with toys Thy Lords commands more wisely go And aim at higher joys They bid us wake to seek new grace And some fresh vertue gain They call us up to mend our pace Till we the prize attain That glorious prize for which all run Who wisely spend their breath VVho when this weary life is done Are sure of rest in death Not such a rest as here we prove Disturb'd with cares and fears But endless joy and peace and love Unmixt with grief and tears
Glory to Thee O bounteous Lord Who giv'st to all things breath Glory to Thee Eternal VVord VVho sav'st us by thy death Glory O blessed Spirit to Thee Who fill'st our souls with love Glory to all the mystick Three Who reign one God above Antiph This is alas the land of the Dying but we hope to see the glory of God in the land of the Living Psal LXXX PRostrate before thy Tomb O Lord behold we freely confess our misery And in the lowliest posture of afflicted Pilgrims humbly implore thy mercy Peacefully in the grave thy body repos'd and thy soul went triumphing to redeem thy Captives But we alas thy helpless orphans how are we left in the midst of our enemys To how many dangers is our life expos'd with how many tentations are we round besieg'd Tentations in meat tentations in drink tentations in conversing tentations in solitude Tentations in business tentations in leisure tentations in riches tentations in poverty All our ways are strew'd with snares and even our own senses conspire against us Whether O my God shall our poor souls go encompast with a body so frail and a world so corrupt Whether but to Thee the Justifier of sinners and to thy grace the Sustainer of the weak Thy grace instructs us what we ought to do and breeds in us the will to endeavour what we know Thy grace enables us to perform our resolvs and when all 's done thy grace must give the success Govern us with this thy grace O Eternal Wisdom and direct our steps in the safe way Order every chance to prevent our falling and still lead us on towards our happy end Give us the ey and wing of an eagle to see our danger and fly swiftly away If we must needs engage our Enemy and no means left to escape the encounter Strengthen us O Lord to persevere with courage that we never be wanting in our fidelity to Thee Convince us Blessed JESU into this firm judgment and may our memorys faithfully retain it What ever our senses say to deceive us or the world to obscure so beauteous a truth That Thy self alone art our chiefest good and the sight of thy glory our supream felicity Glory be c. Antiph This is alas the land of the Dying but we hope to see the glory of God in the land of the Living Antiph Well done thou good and faithful servant I gave thee two talents and thou hast gain'd two more enter into thy Masters joy Psal LXXXI HAppy are they O Lord who have so much employment that there remains no room for idle thoughts Happy are they who have so litle business that they want not space to attend their souls Happy yet more are they who in the midst of their work * can think somtimes of the wages above Whom nothing diverts from that chief concern * of seeking to make their election sure But while their backs are bow'd down with labor they freely can raise up their minds to heav'n And while they are tyed to their beds with sicknes can yet move on towards their eternal rest Often they rejoyce with themselvs alone and silently say in their contented harts Here we alas are narrowly confin'd and our time entertain'd with trivial affairs But herafter we expect an unbounded enlargement and the same glorious office with the blessed Angels Here we are subject to a thousand miserys and the most prosperous life is vain and short But herafter we expect an infinity of joy and the solid pleasures of heav'n for ever We too O gracious Lord who now adore Thee and in thy presence sing these holy words We humbly pray thee guide us in the middle path that we never decline to any vicious extreme Deliver us from the stormy sea of busines and the dead water of a slothful life Lest we be cast away by forgetting thee or becom corrupted by neglecting our selvs Make us somtimes at least recollect our thoughts how much soever our condition distract us Make us look up with confidence in our God how low soever our afflictions depress us Make us look up to the eternal mountains and feed our souls on this sweet hope The day wil come when out of this dark world * we shal joyfully ascend to that beauteous light The day will come and cannot be far off when we shal rest for ever in the bosom of blyss Glory be c. Antiph Well done thou good and faithful servant I gave thee two talents and thou hast gain'd two more enter into thy Masters joy Antiph Well done thou good and faithful servant I gave thee five talents and thou hast gain'd five more enter into thy Masters joy Psal LXXXII HAppiest of all O Lord are they * whose very business is thy service Who not only bestow an interrupted glance but stedily fix their eys on Thee Who not only visit thy house somtimes but night and day dwel in thy presence If the Sun rise it finds them at their prayers and when it sets leaves them at the same sweet task Every place is a Church to them and every day a holy Sabaoth Every object an occasion of Piety and every accident an exercise of vertue Do they behold the beauteous stars they presently adore their great Creator Do they look down on the fruitful earth they instantly begin to praise his bounty Let War or Peace do what they will and the inconstant world reel up and down They pass through all as unconcern'd and smoothly go on their regular course Looking stil up to that glorious life above and entertaining this present in hope and solitude If they depart somtimes from their proper center and forsake a while their belov'd retirement 'T is to approach and give light to others and enflame some cold or â—â—ukewarm hart While they are thus abroad their minds are at home with Thee and nothing can divide them from thy dear presence Yet do they wisely make hast to return and injoy Thee alone in their litle Cell There Thou receiv'st them as familiar friends and freely admit'st them to thy secret sweetnes Thou giv'st them a tast from thine own full board and overflow'st their harts with the wine of gladnes Often they feel a litle beam from heav'n * strike gently and fill their brests with light Often that gentle light is kindled into a flame and chastly burns with pure desires Desires that stil mount up and aim at Thee * the supernatural center of all their hopes O happy state of reverend Discipline free from the cares and tumults of this world Free from the dangerous allurements of sin and perpetually solicited with engagements to vertue Where they seldom fall and quickly rise and make swift advances in the way to heav'n Where they live in purity and dy with confidence and go to sing among the Quires of Angels Blest Providence who govern'st all things in perfect wisdom and assign'st to every one his proper place If Thou hast pleas'd to
dispose our lives * in circumstances less favourable then these O let thy powerful hand supply our wants * and lead us on in our low path That at least afar off we may follow them * who strive to tread so near thy steps So shal we too though slowly arrive * at the rich inheritance of that holy Land So shal we gladly enter those Blysful gates and dwel for ever in the City of peace Glory be c. Antiph Well done thou good and faithful servant I gave thee five talents and thou hast gain'd five more enter into thy Masters joy Our Father First Lesson HAve thy thoughts in the precepts of God and let thy chief busines be his Commandments Deliver him that suffers injury out of the hands of the proud and be not faint-harted when thou sittest in judgement Be merciful to Orphans as a father and as a husband to their mother and thou shalt be as the obedient Son of the Highest and he will have mercy on thee more then a mother He that calumniates the poor upbraids his Maker but he honours Him that pitys the necessitous The wicked shal be cast out in his malice but the just has hope in his death Our Lord will not accept any person against the poor and will hear the prayer of him that is injur'd He will not despise the prayer of the Fatherles nor the widow when she pow'rs out her words of complaint Do not the Widows tears run down her cheeks and is not her cry against him that causes themâ—â— but from the cheek they go up to heav'n and our Lord who hears them will not be pleased Turn not away thine eys in anger from the poor nor give him occasion to curse thee behind thy back for the prayer of him that curses thee in the bitternes of his soul shal be heard He that made him shal hear him Remember not every wrong of thy neighbour nor do any thing by injurious practises If thine enemy be hungey give him bread to eat and if he thirst give him water to drink for thou shalt heap â—â—ot coals on his head and our Lord will reward thee Contemn not the just man that is poor nor magnify the sinful that is rich The Great and the Judg and the mighty are in honor but there 's none greater then he that fears God R. Lord with what admirable wisdom dost thou govern the world Thou mak'st the poor and appoint'st them their task of innocent work Thou mak'st the rich and giv'st them leasure for their better improvement and both poor and rich to need and help one another * O give us harts to comply with this thy blest design that every one may strive for the good of all One God created us one Saviour redeemed us one holy spirit sanctify'd us that we all may live in love and unity mutual assistance * O give us Second Lesson BE not eager to grow rich but use moderation in thy endeavours Welth hastily gotten shal be diminish't but that which is gather'd with the hand by litle and litle shal be multiply'd Lift not thine eys to the riches which thou canst not have for they make themselvs wings as of an Eagle and fly into the Ayr. Let not thy hart envy siners but be always in the fear of our Lord then shalt thou hope in the later end and thy expectation shal not be disappointed A deceitful ballance is an abomination to God and an equal weight is his delight There 's nothing more wicked then to love mony for he that does so will set even his soul to sale Riches will not profit in the day of wrath but justice shall deliver from death The jâ—â—stice of the righteous shall deliver them and the unjust shall be caught in their deceitful practises the justice of the simple shall guide his way and the wicked shall fall in his own impiety Better is a dry morsel with joy then a house full of victims with brawling Better is a poor man walking in his simplicity then the rich in crooked ways Sweet is the laborers sleep whether he eat much or litle but the satiety of the rich suffers him not to sleep Some who have nothing are as if they were rich and others who abound in wealth are as if they were poor Some give of their own and become richer others take what 's not their own and are always in want The sincerity of the just shal direct them and the deceitfulnes of the perverse shall destroy them R. Give me O thou sweet Disposer of all things give me neither beggary nor riches but only things necessary for my sustenance * Lest perhaps being full I be allur'd to deny thee and say who is the Lord or compel'd by want steal and forswear the name of my God or rather dearest Lord give me what thou pleasest since Thy self hast taught me now a more perfect Lesson to submit intirely my will to Thine only I still may beg that in all my ways thy Providence govern me and in all my temptations thy grace preserve me * Lest Third Lesson 'T Is better to go to the house of mourning then to the house of banqueting for in that the end of all men is signified and he that is alive thinks what herafter he shall be All flesh shall wax old as grass and as leavs growing on a green tree some bud forth and others fall off so is the generation of flesh and blood one is buried and another is born If a man live many years and rejoyce in them all he must remember the darksom time and those many days which when they come the things that are past shall be reprov'd of vanity Rejoyce therefore O young man in thy youth and let thy mind be chearful walk in the ways of thine hart and in the sight of thine eys but know for all these God will bring thee to Judgment Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth before the time of affâ—â—ction come and the years approach of which thou shalt say They please me not Before the dust return to its earâ—â—h from whence it came and the spirit to God who gave it Of making many books there is no end and much study is wearines to the flesh Let us hear the Conclusion of all Fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man R. In all thy works remember thy last end when thou must bid a long farewel to all this world remember that dreadful day of the universal Judgment when thou must give account for every idle word * And thou shalt not sin for ever Remember the joys prepar'd for the innocent and the miserys that attend the wicked Remember how nearly it concerns thy soul to have a good or bad eternity * And Thou Glory be c. * And thou Pause a while to refâ—â—ect and renew Then Saturday Lauds O God incline c. as page 18. Antiph When thou hadst overcome the sting
of death thou open'dst the kingdom of heav'n to all Believers Psal LXXXIII IF we rejoyc'd for our selvs in the sufferings of our Lord let us now rejoyce for Him that his sufferings are ended Now that the fowlers net is broken and the meek and innocent Dove escap't Now that the cup of bitternes is past away and never possible to return again Never again O dearest JESU shall those blest eys weep nor thy holy soul be sorrowful to death Never shall thy precious life be subject any more * to the bloody malice of ambitious hypocrites Never shall thy innocence any more be expos'd * to the barbarous fury of an ingrateful multitude But thou shalt live and reign for ever and all created nature perpetually adore Thee O happy end of well indur'd afflictions O blessed fruits that spring from the Cross of JESUS Look up my soul and see thy crucify'd Lord * sit gloriously inthron'd at the right hand of his Father Behold the ragged purple now turn'd into a robe of light and the scornful reed into a royal Scepter The wreath of thorns is grown into a sparkling diadem and all his scars polisht into brightnes His tears are all now chang'd into joy and the laughter of his persecuters into sad despair Herod long since perisht in miserable contempt and Pilate still trembles with everlasting fears The impenitent Jews are scatter'd o're the world to attest his truth and their own obdurate blindness But Himself is crown'd with eternal Triumphs and the souls he has redeem'd shall sing his victories for ever Live glorious King of men and Angels live happy Conqueror of sin and death Our praises shall always attend thy Cross and our patience endeavour to bear our own Through fiercest dangers our faith shall follow Thee and nothing wrest from us our hope at last to see Thee We 'l fear no more the sting of death nor be frighted at the darkness of the grave Since thou hast chang'd our grave into a bed of rest and made death it self but a passage into life We 'l love no more the pleasures of vanity nor set our harts on unsatisfying riches Since Thou hast open'd Paradise again and purchas'd for us the kingdom of heav'n Glory be c. Psal LXXXIV BLessed be thy Name O holy JESU and blessed be the mercy of thy Providence Who hast cast our lot in these times of grace and design'd our birth in the days of light When we may clearly see our ready way and directly go on to our glorious end Till Thou appear'dst O Thou only light of the world our miserable earth lay cover'd with darknes Till thou went'st away O thou soveraign Lord of life thy Saints sate expecting in the shades of death The kingdom of heav'n was close shut up and none permitted to behold thy glory Soon as thine own afflictions were ended thou communicatedst thy joys to all the world All that esteem'd so blest a sight and stood prepar'd to entertain thy coming As for the rest whose eys are shut or turn'd away by their own malice Thy presence alas yields no more joy then light to those who will not see But the harts that love Thee Thou fill'st with gladnes and overflow'st them with an ocean of heav'nly delights Come happy souls to whom belongs * so fair a title to all these mercys Come let us now raise up our thoughts and continually mediâ—â—ate our future beatitude Let us comfort our labours with the hope of rest and our sufferings with the expectance of a quick reward Now that the hand of our gracious Lord * has unlockt the gates of everlasting blyss Now that they stand wide open to admit * such as press on with their utmost strength Such as have wisely made choice of heav'n * for the only end and business of their life Rejecting all these false allurements to attend the pursute of true felicity O Blessed JESU our hope our strength and the full rewarder of all thy servants As thou hast freely prepar'd for us ready wages so Lord let thy grace enable us to work Make us direct our whole life to Thee and undervalue all things compar'd with thy love Seal thou our eys to the illusions of this world and open them upwards to thy solid glorys That when our earthly tabernacle shal be dissolv'd and this house of clay fall down into the dust We may ascend to Thee and dwel above in that Building not made with hands eternal in the heav'ns Glory be c. Psal LXXXV PRaise our Lord O you children of men praise Him as the Author of all your hopes Praise our Lord O you Blessed of heav'n praise Him as the Finisher of all your joys Sing O you reverend Patriarks and holy Prophets sing Hymns of glory to the great Messias Sing and rejoyce all you Ancient Saints who so long repos'd in the bosom of Abraham Bring forth your best and purest incense and humbly offer it at the Throne of the Lamb The Lamb that was slain from the begining of the world by the sprinkling of whose blood you all were saved O still sing on the praises of the King of peace and bless for ever his victorious mercy 'T was he dissolv'd the power of darknes and brake asunder the bars of death 'T was He came down to visit your prisons and lead you away out of the shades of sorrow How did your glad eys sparkle with joy to see at last your Desir'd Redeemer How were your spirits transported with delight to behold the splendors of his glorious presence His presence that can quickly turn * the sadest night into a chearful day That can change a dungeon into a house of mirth and make every place a Paradise O glorious Presence when shall our souls be fill'd * with strong and constant desires of enjoying Thee When dearest JESU shal our desires be fil'd * with the everlasting fruition of thy Blessed self Henceforth for Thee and for thy sacred love O Thou great and only Comfort of our souls May all afflictions be welcom to us as wholsom phisick to correct our follyes May the pleasures of the world be rejected by us as dangerous fruits that fill us with diseases May we by thy example neither feare to dy nor refuse the labours of this life But while we live obey thy grace that when we dy we may injoy thy glory Glory be c. Antiph When thou hadst overcom the sting of death Thou opend'st the Kingdom of heav'n to all believers Capit. 2. Pet. 3. TAke heed lest being led aside by the error of the unwise you fall away from your own stedfastnes But grow in grace and the knowledg of our Lord JESUS Christ to Him be glory both now and to the day of Eternity Amen Hymn XXVI MY God to Thee our selvs we ow And to Thy bounty all we have Behold to Thee our praises bow And humbly thy acceptance crave If we are happy in a friend That very friend
't is Thou bestow'st His pow'r his will to help our end Is just so much as thou allow'st If we enjoy a free estate Our only Title is from Thee Thou mad'st our lot to bear that rate Which else an empty blank would be If we have hâ—â—lth that wel-tun'd grownd Which gives the Musick to the rest It is by Thee our ayr is sound Our food secur'd our physick blest If we have hope one day to view The glorys of thy blysful face Each drop of that refreshing dew Must fall from heav'n and thy free grace Thus then to Thee our praises bow And humbly thy acceptance crave Since 't is to Thee our selvs we ow And to thy bounty all we have Glory to Thee great God alone Three persons in one Deity As it has been in ages gone May now and stil for ever be Antiph 'T is consummated Thou hast O JESU overcom in thy Body all the Powers of darknes their hour is past but thy souls eternal blyss remains and Behold That of thy triumphant Resurrection approaches V. Be not afraid of those who kill the body R. And after that have no more they can do O Lord hear our Prayers And let our Supplications come to Thee Let us pray O God who hast submitted thy only Son our Saviour JESUS to expire on the Cross and descend into the grave that he might destroy the life of sin and bury the terrors of death grant we beseech Thee they may never revive or rise again to tempt or fright us from the ways of vertue nor shake this sure and fundamental truth which thy grace has laid in our harts That the greatest mischiefs our salvation can cost us here are but momentary and work above measure exceedingly in us an eternal weight of glory through the same our Lord Commemorations as Page 29. to the end Saturday Vespers OUr Father c. as Page 33. Antiph They who use this world let them be as if they â—â—s'd it not for the figure of this world passes away Psal LXXXVI WHy do we stil pursue this world and so eagerly seek its fond enjoyments A world of vanity and false deceits a world of misery and sad disasters Whose crosses are solid and comforts empty whose sorrows are permanent and delights pass quickly away A world where the innocent are condemn'd with shame and the guilty freed with applause Where often the wicked are advanc'd to honour and the vertuous opprest with disgrace Where friends fall off and kindred forget and every one minds his private interest Yet are we taken with this crooked world and blindly court its painted face We make some ugly passion mistress of our hart and neglect the pure and amiable love of JESUS Whose goodnes to us gives us all we have whose perfections in himself are more then we can conceive Thou art O glorious JESU the beauty of Angels and the everlasting joy of all thy Saints Thou art the heay'n of heav'n it self and in thy sight alone is the fulnes of Blyss All this thou art and infinitely more and yet alas how few esteeem thee The world we dearly know too often has deceiv'd us and our rashnes cares not to be undone again Thou never O JESU hast fail'd our hope and our dulnes fears to rely on Thee The world distracts and embroils our spirits and wretched we delight in our misery Thou always O JESU fil'st our harts with peace and sensles we are weary of thy happines The world calls and we faint in following it thou cal'st and we are stil reliev'd by Thee Yet is our nature so ingratefully perverse we run after that which tires and abandon that which refreshes Somtimes our lips speak gloriously of Thee O Thou living fountain of eternal Blyss Some happy times we relish thy sweetnes and decry aloud the poyson of the world But we are soon enticed by its guilded cup and easily forsake the waters of life O Blessed JESU who took'st upon thee all our frailtys to bestow on us thine own perfections Teach us to prize the joys of heav'n and part with all things else to purchase Thee Make all the pleasures of this life seem bâ—â—tter to our tasts as they are indeed pernitious to our helths Let not their flatterys any more delude us nor superfluous cares perplex our minds But may our chief delight be to think on Thee and all our study to grow in thy love Glory be c. Antiph They who use this world let them be as if they us'd it not for the figure of this world passes away Antiph We by a fond self-love blame every thing but our selvs while nothing can hurt us but our own misplac't affections Psal LXXXVII ALl this is true and yet the world is lov'd and our nature inclines to affect its vanitys 'T is lov'd and so it justly deservs did we understand its real value Our life indeed seems mean and trivial and all things about us troublesom and dangerous Yet O my God is their consequence excellent in this that they are our only way of coming to Thee This world and this alone 's the womb that breeds us and brings us forth to see thy light This is alone the proper Machine wherein thy hand has set our lives To learn the art of managing it right and wind up our selves to thy glorious heav'n O that we had that happy skill how soon would every thing help forward to advance us Whether we eat or drink or what ever else * an innocent hand can undertake If we regard our faithful end and order all to the improvement of our minds They instantly change their secular name and deservedly are prefer'd to become religious Riches themselves and imperious honour * have not so perverse and fixt a malice But a prudent use converts them to piety and makes them fit instruments of highest Blyss Our very delights O the Goodnes of our God! may so be temper'd with a wise alloy That his mercy accounts them as parts of our duty and fails not to give them their full reward While they are entertain'd for the health of our bodys or the just refreshement of our wearyed spirits And both our bodys and spirits constantly apply'd * to gain new degrees of the love of heav'n Thus gracious Lord every moment of our lives * may still be climbing up towards Thee Thus may we still proceed in thy service even then when we most of all serve our selvs And then indeed it is we best serve our selvs when we are busiest in what we call thy service Thou sweetly vouchsaf'st to stile thâ—â—t thy glory which in very truth is nothing but our interest Thou kindly complain'st we dishonour thy Name when we only mischief our own souls O Blesses JESU King of clemency and great Rewarder of every little grace Thou who by all we can do pretendest no gain but bestow'st on us all thy self hast done Thou who cam'st down from heav'n to shew us a
in the shades of nothing his mighty hand awak't us into Being Not That of stones or plants or beasts o're which he has made us absolute Lords But an accomplisht body and immortal spirit and litle inferiour to his glorious Angels He printed on our souls his own similitude and promis'd to our obedience his own feliâ—â—ity He endued us with appetites to live well and happy and furnisht us with means to satisfie those appetites Creating a whole world to serve us here and providing a heav'n to glorify us her-after Thus didst thou favour us O infinite Goodness but we what return did we make to Thee Blush O my Soul for shame at so strange a weaknes and weep for grief at so extreme an ingratitude We childishly prefer'd a trivial apple * before the Law of our God and the safety of our own lives We fondly embrac't a litle present satisfaction * before the Pleasures of Paradise and the eternity of heav'n Behold the unhappy source of all our miserys which still increast it streams as they went farther on Till they exacted at last a deluge of justice * to drown their deluge of iniquity And here alas had been an end of Man a sad and fatal end of the whole world Had not our wise Creator foreseen the danger and in time prevented the extremity of the ruâ—â—e Reserving for himself a few choice plants * to replenish the earth with more hopeful fruit Yet they grew quickly wilde and brought forth sowre grapes and their childrens teeth were set on edg Quickly they aspir'd to an intolerable pride * of fortifying their wickedness against the power of heav'n Justice was now provok't to a second deluge and to bring again a cloud o're the earth But mercy discover'd a bow in the cloud and our faithful God remembred his promise Allaying their punishment with a milder sentence and only scattering them from the place of their conspiracy Which yet his Providence turn'd into a blessing * by making it an occasion of peopling the world Stil their rebellious nature disobey'd again and neither fear'd his judgments nor valued his mercys But with a graceles emulation propagated sin * as far as his Goodnes propagated mankind Then he selected a private Family and increast and govern'd them with a particular tendernes Giving them a law by the hands of Angels and ingaging their obedience by a thousand favours But they neglected too their God and heav'n and fel in love with the ways of death When thou hadst thus O dearest Lord try'd every remedy and found our disease beyond all cure When the light of nature prov'd too weak a guide and the general flood too mild a correction When the miracles of Moses could not soften their harts nor the law of Angels bring any to perfection When all was reduc't to this desperate state and no imaginable hope left to recover us Behold the eternal Wisdom finds a strange expedient the last and highest instance of almighty love Himself he resolvs to cloath with our felsh and come down among us and dy to redeem us Wonder O my soul at the mercys of thy Lord how infinitely transcending ev'n our utmost wishes Wonder at the admirable providence of his counsels how exactly fitted to their great design Had he been less then God we could never have believ'd * the sublime Mysterys of his heav'nly Doctrin Had he been other then Man we must needs have wanted * the powerful motive of his holy Example Had He been only God he could never have suffer'd * the least of those afflictions he so gloriously overcame Had He been meerly Man he could never have o'recome those infinite afflictions he so patiently suffer'd O blessed JESU both these Thou art in thy self be Thou both these to us Be thou our God and make us adore Thee be thou our Leader and make us follow Thee Glory be c. Antiph Blessed be the mercy of our God who has left no means untry'd that could possibly recover us Antiph Lord thou not only offer'st us salvation but lay'st in means before hand to make us accept it Psal XCIV SOon as this blest decree was made * of sending the Son of God to redeem mankind Immediately his goodnes was ready to come among us had our ungracious world been ready to receive him But we as yet were too gross and sensual and utterly incapable of so pure a Law We were immerst in cares and pleasures and wholly indispos'd for so perfect an obedience While we were thus unfit for thee O thou God of pure and perfect holines Thou graciously wert pleas'd to stay for us and all that time prepare us for thy presence From the begining entertaining us with hope and through every age confirming our faith How early O my God didst thou engage to relieve us The Seed of the Woman shall break the Serpents head How often didst thou repeat thy promise to Abraham In thy seed shall all the Nations of the earth be blessed How many ways did thy mercy invent * by unquestionable tokens to give notice of thy Coming Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and his name shall be called God with us A branch shall shoot out of the stock of Jesse and from the root of that branch shall spring a Flower The Spirit of our Lord shall rest upon him and the spirit of wisdom and piety and fortitude Our Lord shall raise up a Prophet like Moses and put his words in his mouth and he shall teach us And thou Bethelem who art litle among the thousands of Juda out of thee shall He come that 's to be the Ruler in Israel Whose goings forth are from the beginning even from the days of eternity Hark how the eternal Father introduces his Son commanding first all the Angels to adore Him Thou art my Son this day have I begotten Thee Thou art my Son and I will be thy Father I will give Thee the Gentiles for thine inheritance and the ends of the world for thy possession 'T is too litle that thou raise up the Tribes of Jacob and convert the dregs of Israel Thou art appointed a lght for the Gentiles and a Saviour to the utmost parts of the earth Hark how the antient Prophets rejoyce in the Messias and in soft and gentle words foretel his sweetness He shall come down as rain into a fleece of wool and as drops of dew distilling on the earth He shall feed his flock like a Shepherd and gently lead those that are with young He shall gather his lambs with his arms and carry them in his own bosom The bruised reed he shall not break nor quench the smoking flax Justice and peace shall flourish in his days and sin and death be destroy'd for ever Then shall the eys of the blind be open'd and the ears of the deaf be made to hear Then shall the tongues of the dumb be loosen'd and the lame man leap like a Back Thus did thy holy
to us Praise him all you Quires of rejoycing Angels whose early grace confirm'd you in glory Praise him you reverend Patriarks whose ways he govern'd and by particular providence led you to felicity Praise him you ancient Prophets whose souls he inspir'd * to teach his chosen People the mind of heav'n Praise him you glorious Apostles whose persons he empowr'd * to be Embassadors of peace betwixt heav'n and earth Praise him you generous Martyrs whose spirits he encourag'd and gave you victory o're the terrors of death Praise him you blessed Confessors whose lives he sanctify'd and gave you victory o're the world and your selvs Praise him you holy Virgins whose souls he espous'd and consecrated your chast bodys into Temples for himself Praise him you faithful departed whose hope he sustains and will at last bring you to full fruition Praise him all you Elect in your several happy states bless him and magnify him for ever Praise him in the power and freedom of his grace praise him in the greatnes and eternity of his glory Praise him O my soul for his mercys to thee praise him for his goodnes to all the world Praise him on thy choicest instrument that of thy hart praise him in thy best words those of the Church Glory be c. Antiph Kindle in our harts O Lord thy holy fire that we may offer to Thee the incense of praise Alleluja Capit. Rom. 8. WE are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh for if you live according to the flesh you shal dy but if by the spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh you shal live For whoever are led by the spirit of God are the sons of God and if sons then heirs heirs truly of God and coheirs of Christ if we suffer with him to be also glorifyed with him Hymn XXXIV COme mild and holy Dove Descend into our brest Do thou in us make us in thee For ever dwel and rest Come and spread o're our heads Thy soft all-cherishing wing That in its shade we safe may sit And to thee praises sing To thee who giv'st us life Our better life of grace Who giv'st us breath and strength and speed To run and win our race If by the way we faint Thou reachest forth thy hand If our own weaknes make us fal Thou mak'st our weaknes stand When we are sliding back Thou dost our danger stop When we again alas are faln Again thou tak'st us up Else there we stil must ly And stil sink lower down Our hope to rise is all from Thee Our ruin's all our own O my ingrateful foul What shal our dulnes do For Him that does all this for us Only our love to woo We 'l love Thee then dear Lord But Thou must give that love We 'l humbly beg it of thy grace But Thou our pray'rs must move O hear thine own self speak For thou in us dost pray Thou can'st as quickly grant as ask Thy grace knows no delay Glory to Thee O Lord One coeternal Three To Father Son and holy Ghost One equal glory be Antiph Come holy Spirit the free Dispenser of all graces visit the harts of thy faithful servants and replenish them with thy sacred inspirations illuminate our understandings and inflame our affections and sanctify all the facultys of our souls that we may know and love and constantly do the things that belong to our peace our everlasting peace Alleluja Alleluja Recite the Canticle Benedictus as page 27. Then repeat this Antiphon c. O Lord hear our prayers And let our supplications come to Thee Let us pray O God who miraculously sent'st down the holy Ghost to supply the absence of thy Son and comfort his hartless Followers and instruct them in all things necessary to their great work the conversion of the world Grant we humbly beseech thee that our devout commemorating those fiery tongues which sate on each of their heads and produced such glorious effects may increase the fervour of our harts to continue and attest by all fruits of grace the same spirits stil abiding with us through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who with Thee in the unity of the same blessed Spirit lives and reigns one God world without end Amen Commemorations c. as page 29. Vespers for the holy Ghost IN the name c. as Pag. 33. Antiph We are not our own but the temples of the holy Ghost let us dedicate our selvs entirely to his service Psal CXII COme let us now again prepare our harts and humbly offer this our evening sacrâ—â—ce Let us clear our heads of all other thoughts that fil us at best with nothing but emptines Let us remember our God is a pure Spirit and delights to dwel in a clean tabernacle He wil not enter a soul that 's subject to â—â—in nor stay where he finds his grace neglected If he vouchsafe us the blessing of a visit and O how heav'nly sweet and ravishing is his presence Let us open wide our bosoms to receive him and summon all our powers to come and entertain him Come my understanding and bring all thou know'st all that enlightens thee in the way to felicity Come my Wil and call in all thy loves and contract them into one and setle it here for ever Come my Memory with all thy swarm of notions and forget them all but what concerns thy eternity Come my whole Soul with these thy facultys about thee and prostrate adore the eternal Spirit Behold he now is with us and sits in our harts as on his throne * to receive our petitions and give us his blessings He never will forsake us if we chace him not away but guide and comfort us with his holy inspirations Come then and with devoutest reverence attend and hear what the Lord our God wil say He leads us thus into retirement and silence and there familiarly speaks to our heart Tel me O you design'd for everlasting happines tel me now freely for none shall interrupt us What do you chiefly delight to think on and what do you aim at in all those thoughts Consider wel the question I propose and when you have examined your selvs give me your answer O thou our merciful though offended God! behold thus low we bow our guilty heads Blushing for shame to see our folly and so much the more because we see our duty Happy were we could we still be thinking on Thee and raise all those thoughts into desires to be with thee Happy were we could we always feel those fervours * of which somtimes thou inspirest a litle spark O were that spark kindled into a fire and that fire blown up into a continual flame But we alas are hot and cold by fits and which is worse our cold fit is the longer Some few half hours we spend in pray'r and many whole days in idlenes and vanity Somtimes we bestow a litle on the poor and often throw away a
with the same unruly passions He that made us o'recom can as easily strengthen you He that has crown'd our victorys wil as surely glorify yours Fear not the way is smoother then you are made believe and the time shorter then perhaps you wish 'T is but to love your own true interest which seems no hard command * and that but while you live which you seldom think too long This once well done you have no more to do but to come and sing and rejoyce with us O you blest Saints who now are gladly arriv'd * at the quiet harbor of eternal rest Behold us here below imbarkt on the same Ship and bound with all our interest for the same Port. Behold us strugling yet in this Sea of storms and guide us safely thorow all our dangers Come holy Angels with your swiftest speed and disappoint the enemys that threaten to sink us Bend down thy gracious eys O Queen of clemency and fill them from our woes with soft compassion Then sweetly turn them to thy Son 's mild throne whose love stands always ready to meet thy wishes There represent to Him our needs our fears and favorably obtain for us a happy passage And Thou O soveraign Lord of universal nature on whom the whole celestial court continually waits Command thy vigilant Angels to watch about us and carry us strongly on to the Place of our desires Save us O Thou whom the Sea and winds obey save us O merciful Lord or else we perish Save us who call on Thee in all our distresses save us for whom thy glorious Heaven pours forth their prayers Save us for whom thy immortal self wert pleased to dy and graciously receive us into thine own blest Arms Thou art thy self O Lord the Heaven of repose bring us to thy self and our souls shall be safe Glory be c. Antiph In thee O Lord is all our hope in life and death in time and eternity Our Father c. First Lesson THe souls of the Just are in the hand of God and the torment of death shal not touch them they seem'd to the eys of the unwise to dy and their departure was counted affliction but they are in peace Though before men they suffer'd torments their hope is full of immortality Vext in a few things they shall be well treated in many for God has try'd them and found them worthy Himself as gold in the furnace he has prov'd them and as a burnt-offering receiv'd them and in time there shall be respect of them The Just shall shine and run to and fro like sparks among the stubble they shall judg Nations and have dominion over Peoples and their Lord shall reign for ever They that trust in him shall understand truth and the faithful in love shall remain with him for rest and peace is to his Elect. Resp Rejoyce all you holy Saints rejoyce and sing for ever the mercys of our Lord his blessed hand has wip't away all tears from your eys and now you no more shall weep no more complain * For the evening of sorrow is past and the day of eternal joy is come Alleluja Now you no longer shall sigh to be delivered out of this dark and tedious prison but dwel for ever in that glorious light the light which springs from the face of God * For Second Lesson THe Just if prevented with death shal be in a place of refreshment for venerable age consists not in length of time nor is accounted by number of years but wisdom is the gray hair to a man and an unspotted life old age He pleased God and was belov'd of Him and living among sinners was translated he was taken away lest malice should change his understanding or deceit beguile his soul for the bewitching of vanity obscures good things and the wandring of concupiscence perverts the simple mind Being made perfect in a short space he fulfil'd much time for his soul pleased God therefore he hastned to bring him out of the midst of iniquities This the people saw but did not understand not laying up such things in their harts That the grace of God and mercy is with his Saints and that He has respect to his Chosen Resp O happy they whom our Lord shall honor on the day of his triumph and rising from his Seat of Judgment go gloriously before them and with these sweet and gracious words invite them to follow him Come you blessed of my Father possess the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world * The reward of your labours I will give you I my self will be your reward Alleluja You have firmly beleev'd you have firmly beleev'd you have readily obey'd you have constantly suffer'd Come enter now into your Masters joy * The reward Third Lesson THen shal the Just stand with great confidence before the face of those who have afflicted him and made no account of his labors When they shal see it they shal be troubled with terrible fear and amaz'd at the suddennes of his unexpected salvation and repenting and groaning for anguish of spirit they shal say within themselvs These are they whom heretofore we have had in derision and as a by-word of reproach Sensless we esteem'd their lives a madnes and their end dishonorable behold how they are numbred among the children of God and their lot is among the Saints We therfore have err'd from the way of truth and the light of justice has not shin'd to us we have wearied our selvs in the paths of iniquity and perdition we have walked hard ways but the way of our Lord we have not known What has our pride profited us or what benefit has Vaunting of our riches brought us They all are past away as a shadow and as a Post that runs by in hast or as bird that flys in the sky and no sign of her passage to be found but only a sound of her wings beating the light air so we assoon as we were born began to draw to our end not able to shew any token of vertue but were consum'd in our own wickednes Such things said they in hell who had sin'd for the hope of the impious is as dust blown away with the wind and as a thin froth scatter'd by the storm But the Just shal live for ever and their reward is with our Lord and the care of them is with the Highest therefore shal they receive a glorious Kingdom and a beautiful crown from the hand of our Lord for with his right hand shal he cover them and with his holy arm defend them Resp Deliver us O Lord from that sad deplorable end which thy justice has prepar'd for the wicked deliver us from those vain deceitful ways that lead us to so miserable an End * O make us always fear thy Judgments that we never feel them always hope in thy mercys that we never forfeit them Bless us O Lord with a happy death that our souls may depart
victorys Whom shal we then fear thus safely guarded who can resist so invincible a strength None but our own corrupted nature dare contend and the unlucky accidents that conspire with it against us Somtimes surprizing our unwary negligence somtimes defeating even our strongest resolvs Not that they can compel our wills unles we yeild or make the least wound without our consent Much less prevail against the power of heav'n and frustrate the purpose of the Almighty Wisdom Whose mercy has us'd more arts to save us when the craft of Vice can invent to destroy us Such a redemption so miraculously wrought such holy Sacraments so often repeated Such glorious promises so faithfully assur'd and which revives our hope so easily attain'd O infinite Goodnes how generous is thy love how liberally extended over all the world Thou invitest little children to come to Thee and the lame and the blind to sit down at thy feast None are shut out of heav'n but such as wil not go in none made unhappy but those who care not to be otherwise Cheer then thy self my hart and let no fears molest thee * nor even death it self abate thy courage Death is a passage that was always short and our SAVIOURS Cross has made it safe By the practise of his Saints 't is grown familiar and by their happy success becom desirable Lose not then thy hope in so glorious an enterprise Eternity is at stake and heav'n the reward That heav'n for which the antient Hermits peopled the Desart and so many Religious live bury'd in their Cells That heav'n for which the holy Confessors spent all their time and innumerable Martyrs laid down their dearest lives That heav'n where Millions of Angels continually sing and all the Blessed make one glorious Quire That heav'n where the ador'd JESUS eternally reigns and the immortal Deity shines bright for ever That very heaven is promis'd thee my soul that blest eternity thou art commanded to hope Raise now thy head and see those beauteous Prospects that ravish the harts of all their Beholders Yonder far above the Stars is thy Saviours Kingdom yonder we must dwell when we leave this earth Yonder must our souls remove to rest when the stroak of death shal divide them from their bodys And when the Almighty Power shal joyn them again yonder must we live with our God for ever O bounteous Lord the only Author of all we have the only object of all we hope As thou hast thus prepar'd a heav'n for us O may thy grace prepare us for it O make us live the life of the Just and let our last end be like Theirs That we may dy the death of the Just and live for ever in their blest society Glory be c. Antiph If God be with us who can be against us if He justify us who can condemn us Capit. Apoc. 7. THese are they who are come out of great tribulation have washt their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb therfore they are before the Throne of God and serve him day and night in his Temple and He that sits on the Throne shal dwel over them They shal hunger no more nor thirst the Sun shal not fal upon them nor any heat for the Lamb who is in the midst of the Throne shal rule them and conduct them to the living fountains of waters and God shal wipe away all tears from their eys Hymn XXXVIII TEll me You bright Stars that shine Round about the Lambs high Throne How through bodys once like mine How are you thus glorious grown Hark with one voice they reply This was all our happy skil We on JESUS fixt our ey And his emi'nent followers stil As we clearly saw their mind Set and rul'd we order'd ours Both This state alone design'd Up towards this strem'd all our Powers Taught by Temp'rance we abstain'd From all less for greater Goods Slighting litle drops we gain'd Full and sweet and lasting Floods Arm'd with Fortitude we bare Lesser Evils worse to fly Mortal death we durst outdare Rather then for ever dy Iustice we observ'd by giving Every one their utmost due That in peace and order living All might freely Heav'n pursue Prudence govern'd all the Rest Prudence made us still apply What was fittest what was best To advance great Charity On those golden wheels of grace That loves fiery Chariot bear We ariv'd at this bright place Follow us and never fear O sure truth O blest Attesters O that aâ—â— the world may prove Of both these such strong digesters That both these may feed their love Him who made us all for This Him who made Himself our way Him who leads us in'to Blyss May all praise and all obey Antiph Worthy art Thou O Lord to receive the book and to open the seals thereof for thou wert slain and hast redeem'd us to God with thy blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation and hast made us to our God a Kingdom Alleluja Magnificat as Page 44. Antiph Worthy art Thou c. O Lord hear our prayers And let our supplications come to Thee Let us pray O God whose merciful Providence has stil from the Begining sown the seeds of grace in the harts of thy chosen servants which at the Resurrection of thy Son the first fruit of them that slept sprung up into glory and by his holy doctrin and admirable life and precious death has infinitely encreast the meanâ—â— of salvation and the number of thy Saints Grant we beseech Thee that we whom thoâ—â— hast favour'd with so many advantages may by the powerful intercession of that glorious Comâ—â—pany obtain thy grace to imitate them here and rejoyce with them for ever in thy Kingdom hereafter through the same our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who with thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns one God world without end Amen Commemorations as page 29. Complin for Saints OUr help c. as page 46. Antiph Help us you blessed Citizens of heaven direct our way you who have attain'd your end Psal CXXV THus we have past another day another step towards our long home We have seen the Sun a few hours more and our day is lost in its own night But is it lost O careles we and all the holy words we have read and heard Leave they no mark in our memorys behind them but make a litle sound and vanish in the air Have we not been at a solemn Feast and do we soon forget our entertainment Could we see nothing among all those raritys * that relisht with us and stir'd our appetite Was there no fit provision for some vertue we want no proper remedy for some weaknes we have Are we devout already as the Saints of God and chast and temperate and resign'd as they Do we despise this world with a zeal like theirs and value heav'n at the same rate with Them Would we give all we have just now to be
our own conditions but to manage wel what thou appointest Psal CXXIX WHy do we thus bemoan our selvs and rashly utter such repining words Seems it so hard a fate to tread the path * which all our Ancestors have gone before us Adam the first of men and Abraham the friend of God David the man after God's own hart and the blessed Mary Virgin-Mother of our Lord All these have paid their debt to nature and subscrib'd the law of universal mortality JESUS himself the Eternal Son of God expir'd on the Corss * and went to his glory through the gates of death And shal our fond self-love so blindly flatter us to wish an exception from this general Rule Shal we be murmuring stil our life is but a sapn and that expos'd to innumerable sorrows Does not the very shortnes abate it's miserys do not those many miserys commend its shortnes Should we not rather rejoyce at the sight of death that when e're it comes stil brings us advantage If in our age 't is a haven of repose and ought to be welcome after so long a voyage If in our youth it prevents a thousand calamitys a thousand dangers of ruining our souls If by an ordinary sicknes 't is the course of nature if by an outward violence 't is always the wil of heaven What need we fear how many deaths there are we are sure there can be but one for us Dying is an act to be done but once and once wel done we are happy for ever Lord we confes thy Decrees are just and our selvs the cause of all our miserys We sacrifice our youth to sport and folly and our manly years to lust and pride We spend our old age in craft and avarice and begin not to live til we are ready to dy Then we bewail the shortnes of our time when our selvs have prodigally thrown it all away We lead a loose and negligent life and then complain death takes us unawares Our days are perhaps too few to grow rich or satisfy the ambition of a haughty spirit But to be taught the love of God * and the meek and humble life of JESUS Requires not so much the number of years as the faithful endeavours of a pious mind Could we bestow on the improvement of our souls * the time we so vainly trifle away Our day would be short enough not to seem tedious and long enough to finish our appointed task And what O glotious Lord is our busines here * but to trim our lamps and wait thy coming But to sow the immortal seed of hope and expect herafter to reap the Increase No matter how late the fruit be gather'd if stil it go on in growing better No matter how soon it fal from the tree if not blown down before it be ripe O thou most just but secret Providence who govern'st all things by the counsel of thy Will Whose powerful hand can wound and heal lead down to the grave and bring back again Behold to Thee we bow our heads and freely submit our dearest concerns Strike as thou pleasest our helth our lives we cannot be safer then at thy dispose Only these few requests we humbly beg which O may thy clemency vouchsafe to hear Cut us not off in the midst of our folly nor suffer us to expire with our sins unpardon'd But make us Lord first ready for thy self then take us to thy self in thine own fit time Give them eternal rest O merciful Lord and may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever Glory be c. Antiph 'T is not for us O Lord to chuse our own conditions but to manage wel what thou appointest Antiph Only our earth shal return to earth but our better part shal live for ever Psal CXXX MY Soul all these complaints concern not thee whom thy bounteous God has made immortal Who when this house of clay shal fal into dust * and this narrow cage be broken down Shalt soar aloft on thine own free wings and spread thy boundles ey over all the world If thou hast happily train'd up thy self * to aim stil upwards at the highest heavens Swift as a flash of quickest lightning * shalt thou instantly fly to those blessed Objects But if thy thoughts have flag'd below and delighted to hover too near this earth If above all things thou hast lov'd thy God but not lov'd all things in order to thy God Or if thy tears have been too few to wash away thorowly the remaining stains Unworthy as yet of that blysful light * whose beams endure not the least impurity Thou must sit down in the shades of sorrow and dwel in the vale of tears and darknes There thou must sigh and mourn and wait til the days of thy purifying be fully finisht O the dear price those prisoners pay * for neglecting here to perfect their accounts How are their souls enflam'd with anguish and continually tortur'd with unspeakable pains How do they sadly lament their careles libertys and the litle passions they too much obey'd But alas their repentance comes now too late * to meet with that mercy they so long abus'd Now they must ly in this tedious dungeon til their patience have satisfyd the utmost farthing Only this hope sustains their hart and sweetens a litle their bitter cup That the redeeming Day is stil drawing on and wil infallibly at last appear O may that happy Day make hast to come and chear their darknes with its radient beams O may that Sun of Justice speedily arise and disperse the mist that intercepts their sight Come Lord come quickly dearest JESU and rescue with thy power thine own Inheritance Thou who cam'st humbly once to redeem us sinners come gloriously now to deliver thy Servants Deliver them O Lord from the snare of the enemy and their captive souls out of the hand of the Wicked That they may pass from death to life and dwel with Thee in thy blessed peace Give them eternal rest O merciful Lord and may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever Antiph Only our earth shal return to earth but our better part shal live for ever Our Father c. First Lesson MAn that is born of a woman lives a short time and is fill'd with many miserys He comes forth as a flower and is bruised into dust he flyes away as a shadow and never continues in the same state and thinkest thou fit to open thine eys upon such a one and bring him before thee into Judgment Who can make clean him that is conceiv'd of unclean seed is it not Thou who only art The days of man are short and the number of his months are with thee thou hast appointed his limits which cannot be passed depart a litle from him that he may rest till as a hireling his wisht-for day shal come Who wil grant me this that in Hell thou wouldst protect me and hide me til thy fury pass away and appoint me a
time wherin thou wilt remember me All the days in which I now am in warfare I wait til my change Come Thou shalt cal me and I shal answer thee to the work of thy hands thou wilt reach forth thy right hand thou hast indeed numbred my steps but do thou pardon my sins R. Where shal I hide me O Lord from the face of thy wrath where shal I hide me when thou com'st to judg the living and the dead I tremble at my own unworthines I am asham'd thus impure to appear in thy presence * Wash me yet more O Lord from my iniquitys and purge me thorowly from my sins I know the enemy that obstructs my way my sins exclude me from thy Kingdom where no unclean thing can enter nor any clean be deny'd admittance * Wash me Second Lesson SPare me O Lord for my days are nothing I have sinned what shal I do to thee O thou Preserver of men why hast thou set me contrary to thee and I am become burdenous to my self Why dost thou not take away my sin why dost thou not clear me of my iniquity Behold now I shal sleep in the dust and if thou seek me in the morning I shal not be My soul is weary of my life I will let my speech pass against my self I will speak in the bitternes of my soul I will say to God Condemn me not tell me why dost thou judg me so seems it good to thee to overcharge me and oppress the works of thy hands and help the counsel of the wicked hast thou eys of flesh or as man sees shalt thou also see that thou seekest my iniquity and searchest my sin Thy hands have made me and fram'd me wholly round about and dost thou so suddenly cast me down headlong With skin and flesh thou hast cloathed me with bones and sinews thou hast compacted me life and mercy thou hast given me and thy visitation has kept my spirit R. Wo to me wretched sinner what shal I do I have commited evil in the sight of my God I have offended the eys of his Majesty Whither shal I fly from the Justice of my Judg whither but to the mercy of my Saviour * Have mercy on me O Lord have mercy on me when thou com'st in glory to judg the world by fire My corrupt nature has brought forth sin and sin has brought forth sorrow where shal I seek for pardon where shal I find releef but in thee my God my hope and portion in the land of the living * Have mercy on me Third Lesson DEliver me O Lord and set me beside Thee let any mans hand fight against me My days are past and my thoughts dissipated tormenting my hart they have turn'd night into day and again after darknes I hope for light Have pity on me at least you my friends for the hand of our Lord has toucht me he has hedg'd my path round about and I cannot pass and in my way he has put darknes Who wil grant me that my words may be written Who wil give me that they may be drawn in a book with an iron pen and in a plate of lead or graven with steel on a marble stone For I know my Redeemer lives and in the last day I shal rise out of the earth and be compast again with my skin and in my flesh shal see God whom I my self shal see and my eys shal behold and no other This my hope is laid up in my bosom R. My days are declin'd as a shadow and I am wither'd away as grass and nothing remains but the cold grave O let me cal back that uncomfortable word my days indeed are declin'd but my eternity is safe I am wither'd away as grass but the Spring wil come and revive me into a flower of Paradise * This my hope is laid up in my bosom Let then my body be crumbled into dust and my soul detain'd for a time in sorrow I know my Redeemer lives and in the last day I shal rise out of the earth and be compast again with my Skin and in my flesh shal see God and in that blysful sight be for ever happy * This my hope is laid up in my bosom Give them eternal rest O merciful Lord and may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever * This my hope is laid up in my bosom At Lauds O God incline c. is not said but begin immediately with the Antiphon Return Lauds for the Dead Antiph Return O my soul to thy Rest again for thy Lord deals graciously with all that love him Psal CXXXI WHen we have shed our solemn tears and paid our due sighs to the memory of the Dead Let us wipe our eys with the comfort of hope and change our grief into a charitable joy The friends we mourn are deliver'd from this world and all the miserys we so justly deplore Their bodys tremble no more with the Palsy nor burn with the flames of a scorching feaver They cry out no more for want of sleep nor roul up and down their uneasy beds But quietly rest in the silent grave till they rise again to immortal glory Whâ—â—ch while they there expect in peace their souls are enlarg'd to a spacious liberty No longer confin'd to this prison of the body but gone to dwel in the region of spirits No longer expos'd to these stormy Seas but gladly arriv'd at their safe harbour Where though their passage be stopt a while they are free from all fear of being cast away Though for a time they attend with sorrow they are sure to rejoyce at last for all eternity They are sure at last to behold their Redeemer and live for ever with the Blessed JESVS O were it not for this sweet hope who could indure such Killing delays Who that but knows the beauty of God as they all do and sees himself detayn'd from so great a happines Detain'd for affecting some trifle here if such we may cal what deferrs our heav'n O glorious Lord the free Original Source * and final end of universal nature Since by thy grace Thou hast thus begun and sown in their harts the seeds of glory O may the same all-powerful hand * go on to finish it 's own ble'st work Ripen the fruit Thou reserv'st for thy self and hasten the day of their joyful harvest Send forth thy blessed Angels to reap thy grain and lay it up safe in thy heavenly Magazine There to supply the place of those unhappy tares * which thy justice threw down into everlasting fire There to assist among those holy Quires which thy mercy establisht in everlasting blyss Give them eternal rest ' O merciful Lord And may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever Antiph Return O my soul to thy rest again for thy Lord deals graciously with all that love him Antiph Merciful art Thou O Lord in all thy ways and infinitely wise in all thy counsels Psal CXXXII COme
heads V. Thou art always near to relieve the afflicted R. And wilt save the humble of spirit V. Thou raisest those that are faln R. And bindest together the broken harts V. Shew them thy mercy O Lord who call on thy Name R. Make them rejoyce who lift up their souls to thee V. To thee O Lord they lift up their souls R. In thee is their confidence let them not be asham'd V. Let not their enemys triumph over them R. For all that expect thee shal not be confounded V. Though they walk in the midst of the shadow of death R. Let them not fear for thou art with them V. Thou art their God and their Deliverer R. O Lord delay not thy coming V. O Lord hear our prayers R. And let our supplications come to Thee Let us pray O God who in thy mercy hast prepar'd immediate rewards for the Perfect and in thy justice immediate punishments for the wicked and mingling thy mercy and justice together hast ordain'd a middle state for those who depart in a true but weak degree of divine charity Hear we beseech thee our prayers for these thy afflicted servants who look up to Thee and sigh after the times of refreshment from thy glorious presence forgive them their sins and deliver them from their sorrows and bring them to the possession of all their wishes in rest and peace and everlasting joy thorow our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who with Thee and the Holy Ghost lives and reigns one God world without end A Prayer for any particular Person departed BEhold with pity we beseech thee O Lord the soul of thy servant N. for whom we humbly offer our prayers to thy divine Majesty and grant that the offences which humane frailty has inconsiderately committed being by thy clemency mercifully forgiven and all impediments by a perfect cleansing from the stains of sin thorowly remov'd the happy effect of seeing Thee face to face for ever may immediately follow through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who with Thee and the Holy Ghost lives and reigns One God world without end Amen V. Give them eternal rest O merciful Lord R. And may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever V. May they rest in peace R. Amen Pause a while to reflect on what you have said and renew your attention then begin the Complin of the day Our help c. as page 46. PROPER of FESTIVALS c. Sundays in Advent All as in the Office of our Saviour except Invitatory Behold the day of our Lord draws nigh Come let 's adore him Then recite the Psalm Bring to our Lord. page 318. 1. Antiph Behold our Lord wil appear and not fail to make good his promises if he delay a while expect for he surely wil come and deliver us Alleluja 2. Antiph Come O thou Sun of righteousnes and Fountain of eternal light come and illuminate those that sit in darknes and in the shadow of death and guide our feet into the ways of peace Alleluja 3. Antiph Come O Thou hope of the Gentils and the desir'd of all Nations come and redeem us from the vassallage of sin into the only true liberty of serving Thee Alleluja Antiph for Benedictus and Magnificat Prepare now thy ways O my soul before our Lord make thy paths strait before the face of our God for he will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead and blessed all they who are ready to meet him Alleluja Alleluja At Lauds recite Benedictus page 27. and at Vespers Magnificat page 44. Then after each repeat the Antiphon Prepare c. O Lord hear our pray'rs And let our supplications come to thee Let us pray O God by whose providence thy Church has appointed the solemn time or Advent to fore-run the Commemoration of our Saviour's Nativity and prepare its way in our harts Grant us we humbly beseech thee so devoutly to imploy this holy season in meditating on the Prophecys and gracious preparations of the world for the coming of the Messias and on the infinitely greater mercys he brought along with him and has left behind him that our spirits may be rais'd to celebrate the great Feast with due joy and exaltation and thereby better dispos'd to expect his second coming who with Thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns one God world without end Amen S. Andrew All as in the Office of Saints except 1. Antiph Soon as the holy Apostle S. Andrew saw afar off the Cross prepar'd for his Martyrdom he was transported with joy and triumphingly saluted it as the happy instrument of his approaching glory Alleluja 2. Antiph O blessed Cross dearly by me belov'd and earnestly desir'd and often sought and now at length ready to satisfy my longing soul take me up into thy arms the Disciple of Him who was crucify'd on thee Alleluja 3. Antiph Take me up into thy arms O blessed Cross and bear me to my glorious Master that by thee He may receive me who by thee has redeemed me Alleluja Alleluja 3. Antiph Take me up into thy arms O blessed Cross and bear me to my glorious Master that by thee He may receive me who by thee has redeemed me Alleluja Alleluja Antiphon for Benedictus and Magnificat as in the common Office of Saints O Lord hear our prayers And let our supplications come to thee Let us pray O God whose grace kindled in the B. Apostle S. Andrew so ardent a love of his Master that it flam'd out in vehement desires of his Cross Grant we beseech thee that our devout celebrating the Memory of his Course and Crown may quicken thy Charity in our harts and encourage us with confidence and joy to undergo whatever suffrings thy Providence casts in our way towards the glorifying Thee and advancing thy truth and secure attainment of our own eternal salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who with thee and the H. Ghost lives and reigns one God world without end Amen S. Thomas Apostle All as in the Office of Saints except 1. Antiph The merciful and almighty JESUS came in the doors being shut and said to Thomas put in thy finger here and see my hands and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into my side and be no longer faithles but beleeve 2. Antiph O admirable sweetnes of our Saviour's Spirit Thomas was absent and incredulous and peremptory and our Lord forgives him all and restores him to his favor with the easy penance of a gentle reproof 3. Because thou hast seen me Thomas thou hast believ'd blessed are they who have not seen and yet have believ'd Alleluja O Lord hear our prayers And let our supplications come to Thee Let us pray O God whose condescendence to convince the incredulity of thy Apostle S. Thomas has turn'd his hardnes to believe into a means of facilitating more the faith of thy Church Grant we beseech Thee that this festival Memory of his glorious Attestation to our
risen Saviour may quicken our harts not only in words but in life and death like him exemplarily to confes thy Son JESUS our Lord and our God to whom with Thee and the H. Ghost be all honour and glory now and for ever Amen Christmas-day and the fourth and fifth days in the Octave All as in the Office of our Saviour except 1. Antiph O joyful tydings worthy an Angels mouth Behold this day was born to us a Saviour who is Christ our Lord Alleluja 2. Antiph Wonderful signs to seek this new-born King of heav'n and earth you shal find him wrapt in swadling cloths and laid in a manger Alleluja 3. O blessed harmony of the celestial Quires Glory be to God on high in earth peace towards men of good wil Alleluja Alleluja Antiph for Benedictus and Magnificat This is the day which our Lord has made let us be glad and rejoyce therein Alleluja This is the day which made our Lord let us exâ—â—lt and triumph therein Alleluja Alleluja O Lord hear our prayers And let our supplications come to Thee Let us pray O God who every year giv'st a fresh birth to the devotions of thy Church by the welcom Festival of our Saviour's Nativity Grant us we beseech Thee with such tender affections to entertain this first humble Rising of the Sun of righteousnes to us as may better dispose and stronglier engage us to follow Him through the whole painful course which like a Giant he rejoyc't to run inlightening the world with thy truth and inflaming it with thy love til in the end we arrive at his eternal Rest through the same our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who with Thee and the H. Ghost lives and reigns one God world without end Amen S. Stephen All as in the Office of Saints except 1. Antiph Stephen ful of grace and courage wrought great miracles among the people and none could resist the Wisdom and Spirit by which he spake Alleluja 2. Antiph And looking stedfastly up he saw the heav'ns open'd and Jesus standing on the right hand of God he saw and enter'd blessed are they to whom the heav'ns shal be open'd Alleluja 3. Antiph While they ston'd him he cal'd up on God and pray'd Lord Jesu receive my soul and kneeling down cry'd out with a loud voice Lord lay not this sin to their charge Alleluja Prayer O God who in thy first Martyr S. Stephen hast vouchsafed thy Church an eminent example of perfect Christianity Kindle we beseech Thee in our harts a zealous emulation of his graces that imitating here his constancy in asserting thy truth and his charity in praying for our persecuters even to death we may with him herafter receive the crown of eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ c. For Commemoration of Christmas-day recite the four Antiphons and Prayer of Christmas-day S. John Evangelist All as in the Office of Saints except 1. Antiph This is that favorite Disciple who learn'd on our Lord's brest at his last supper and to whom were reveal'd the secrets of Heav'n Alleluja 2. Antiph This is He in whom meet all those glorious Titles of Apostle Evangelist and Prophet of Martyr Confessor and Virgin Alleluja 3. Antiph This is He who above all those glorious Titles delights in this One incomparably greater then them all The Disciple whom JESUS lov'd Alleluja Alleluja Prayer O God by the prerogative of whose special grace the B. Apostle S. John obtain'd that transcendent character of Beloved of his Master and after became the great Doctor of mutual charity over all the world Grant we beseech Thee that his sacred Memory may excite us also and encourage us by the same purity of body and mind and steddy love of Thee and sincere charity one with another to aspire to some share in that blessed Title and its happy consequents thy grace here and thy glory herafter through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who c. For Commemoration of Christmas-day recite its four Antiphons and Prayer SS Innocents All as in the Office of Saints except 1. Antiph God withdrew his only Isaac and left a thousand happy lambs to be sacrific'd in his stead and accepted for his sake Alleluja 2. Antiph A voice was heard in Rama lamentation and great mourning Rachel weeping for her children and would not be comforted because they were not Antiph 3. Weep not for thy children Rachel behold they are be comforted they are Kings and reign with Christ for ever Alleluja Alleluja Prayer O God who by the Martyrdom of the H. Innocents hast taught thy Church that no age or occasion of suffring for our Saviour is exempt from high reward Grant we beseech Thee that our celebrating their Festival may make us adore this gracious Ordination of thy Providence and however severely it may seem at any time to treat us or our relations confirm our harts in a hopeful resignation to thy Will and assured trust that all leads to eternal advantage through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who c. For Commemoration of Christmas-day recite its four Antiphons and Prayer S. Sylvester All as in the Office of Saints except 1. Antiph This is the holy Pope who miraculously heal'd the great Emperor Constantine and by the sacred laver of Baptism cleans'd him at once from the leprosy of his body and the sins of his soul Alleluja 2. Antiph The sign of the Son of man in the heav'ns which copyed on his Banner made him a Conqueror display'd on his forehead did incomparably more made him a Christian Alleluja 3. Antiph O happy times when Paganism was abolisht and Arianism condemn'd when persecution ceas'd and publick liberty was given to profes and practise as Christians and Catholicks Alleluja Alleluja Prayer O God whose bounty crown'd even on earth thy holy servant Pope Sylvester with the glory of baptizing the first Christian Emperor Constantine and the happines of obtaining liberty and incouragement for Christianity over all his Dominions Grant we beseech Thee that our celebrating his Festival may refresh in us the memory of that high mercy to the world and render us more tenacious of that primitive Faith so eminently at length victorious over all persecutions through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who c. For Commemoration of Christmas-day recite its four Antiphons and Prayer New-years-day 1. Antiph To day our B. Saviour who was Lord of the Law and by his perfect purity absolutely exempt undertook for us the smart of Circumcision and dishonour of being reckon'd among siners Alleluja 2. Antiph To day was given Him the Name above every name that at the Name of JESUS every knee should bow of things in heav'n of things on earth and things under the earth Alleluja Alleluja Alleluja 3. Antiph O B. JESU make good to us thy precious Name and save us from our sins that now we may begin a new year of vertue and cancel by repentance all the failings of the old Alleluja Prayer O God who
for our example commandedst thy beloved Son to submit his pure and innocent flesh to the rigour of the Law and for encouragement of our hope madest choice of that sweet and amiable Name JESUS Teach us we beseech Thee with readines and humility to obey thy sacred Laws how cross soever to our unmortify'd passions and in all our necessitys with joy and confidence call on that holy Name in which whate're we ask we are promis'd shal be granted through the same our Lord Jesus Christ c. Twelfth-day and during the Octave 1. Antiph Alleluja Alleluja Alleluja This is the priviledg'd Festival that comes forth adorn'd with the glory of three miracles To day the Wise-men were led by a Star to the cradle of our Lord and falling down ador'd Him and offer'd Him their royal Presents of Gold Frankincense and Myrâ—â— Alleluja 2. Antiph To day our gracious Redeemer vouchsaft his presence at a Marriage-feast and there first publisht to the world his divine power turning water into wine Alleluja 3. Antiph To day our B. Saviour was baptiz'd by S. John and the H. Ghost descended visibly upon Him and a voice was heard from heav'n This is my beloved Son in whom I am wâ—â—l pleâ—â—'d Alleluja Alleluja Antiph for Benâ—â—dictus and Magnificat To day the first fruits of the Gentils were consecrated to our Lord and that sacred Prophesy happily fulfil'd In his light shal the Gentils walk and Kings in the brightnes of his rising Alleluja Alleluja Alleluja Prayer O God who by the guidance of a miraculous Star in the heav'n led'st the Gentils to the sight of the more miraculous Son of righteousnes newly risen to the world in a Stable Grant we humbly beseech Thee that inlighten'd and inflam'd by the memory of this wonderful providence our eys and harts may be more lively fixt on thy goodnes stil as graciously working towards the accomplishment of thy promises to call at length the Jews and all the earth to the saving knowledg and love of thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ who with Thee c. Candlemas All as in the Office of our Saviour except 1. Antiph To day the immaculate Mother humbled her self to the common rites of Purification and presented her first-born JESUS in the temple and for the litle price of a pair of Doves redeem'd the world's inestmable Redeemer Alleluja 2. Antiph To day the devout Simeon took our Lord in his arms and knowing nothing now could make him happier but the joys of heav'n sung aloud this glad farewel to all the world Now let thy servant O Lord depart in peace according to thy word for mine eys have seen thy salvation Alleluja 3. Antiph To day the holy Widow and Prophetes Anna who had spent her life in fasting and prayer and in the service of the Temple came happily in and saw our Lord and spake gloriously of Him to all that expected the redemption of Israel Alleluja Prayer O God who vouchsafest us this day to commemorate the B. Virgin 's presenting in the Temple her self to be purify'd and her Son to be redeem'd according to the Law Give us grace we beseech Thee to adore and praise the condescendence of thy providence that by such great Examples teaches us our evident duty of submitting to thy Discipline though seeming perhaps unnecessary for our selvs and grant that as we bear in our hands these hallowed candles we may confes in our lives our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son to be the light of the Gentils and the Glory of thy people Israel who with Thee and the H. Ghost c. Ash-Wednesday All as in the Office of Wenesday except Invitatory Come let us fast and mourn and pray for our Lord is merciful and just Antiph 1 2 3 Remember O man that dust thou art and into dust thou shalt return Say this one Antiphon before and after every Psalm at Matins Lauds Vespers and Complin Prayer O God whose providence introduces thy Church to the grave discipline of Lent by the mortifying Memento of the vile and frail matter we are made of Grant we humbly beseech thee that the Cross of our Redeemer form'd to day in ashes on our foreheads may lay all our proud conceits in the dust and make flesh and blood feel it self highly honour'd if by whatever crosses or mortifications it may be temper'd and rais'd to become a fit instrument for rip'ning souls in they love the immediate dispâ—â—sition to eternal felicity through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who c. Sundays in Lent All as in the Office of our Saviour except Invitatory Come let us fast and mourn and pray for our Lord is merciful and just 1. Antiph Now is the time of acceptance now are the days of salvation let us not re-receive the grace of God in vain but in all things approve our selvs his servants in labours and watchings and fastings 2. Antiph Now let us take a just and holy revenge on our sins past and strive for the future to bring forth fruits agreeable to our penance in purity meeknes and temperance in charity patience and obedience 3. Antiph Let us follow as we may our divine Master in his forty days retirement and fasting who needed not as we the arts of religion but all he did was for our example that we might learn to fly from the danger of occasions and take away the fewel from our passions and by using to contradict the appetites of sense inure our selvs to obey the commands of reason Antiph for Benedictus and Magnificat Convert us O God of our salvation and turn away thy anger from us hear us in thy mercy and speedily forgive us lest prevented with death we find no time to repent and without repentance eternally perish Prayer O God whose gracious Providence has ordain'd us to lighten the oppressive weight of our corrupt bodys on our souls by the long and solemn Abstinence of Lent Grant us we beseech Thee conscienciously to observe the wholsom discipline now prescrib'd us and with the due mortification of our flesh so tojoyn the quickening of our spirit by frequent devotions that all our carnal appetities may be fitted for burial in our Saviour's grave and all our affections ready to rise with Him to immortality at those sacred Feasts for which this season is to prepare us through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who c. S. Mathias All as in the Office of Saints except 1. Antiph Let them that stand take heed lest they fall Judas was an Apostle yet betray'd his Master and dy'd in despair and another took his Bishoprick 2. Antiph The lot fel on Mathias a continual Follower of JESUS from the baptism of John till the day of His ascension and he was numbred with the eleven Apostles 3. Antiph He liv'd their life and dy'd their death and sits with them in glory to judge the twelve tribes of Israel Prayer O God by whose special grace the B. Mathias was chosen to supply
wherewith her Son has crown'd her in the day of her Espousals in the day of the gladnes of her heart Alleluja Alleluja Prayer O God whose gracious Providence would not suffer the sacred womb that bore thy Holy One to see corrution but raising from the grave the B. Virgins body assum'd it with her soul to the highest Throne in heav'n Grant we humbly beseech thee that devoutly celebrating the memory of this thy grace to her we may inure our minds to raise and fix themselvs there where at lenght we hope also to ascend through our Lord c. S. Bartholomew All as in the Office of Saints except 1. Antiph His skin and all he had and even life it self he freely gave for the testimony of the truth and for the love of JESUS Alleluja 2. Antiph At the last day he shal rise from the earth and be compa'st again with his skin and in his flesh shal he see God Alleluja 3. Antiph His body must expect for a time in hope but his soul went immediatly away to injoy the blysful Vision Alleluja Prayer O God who by the Martyrdom of thy B. Apostle Saint Bartholomew refreshest in our memorys the glorious attestations which thy providence has vouchsaf't the world for câ—â—â—rmation of thy truth Grant us we humbly beseech Thee with such concern to reflect on the excesive pains he took and suffered for propagating the Gospel and the superabundant rewards he now enjoys in thy blysful Presence that our faith may be strengthen'd and more actively apply'd to carry us on in the same race to the same happy end through ous Lord JESUS Christ thy son who Nativity of our Lady All as in the Office of Saints except Invitatory Come le ts adore the King of Saints whose Virgin Mother was born to day Alleluia 1. Antiph To day was born the B. Virgin Mary of the seed of Abraham and tribe of â—â—da and Family of David Alleluja 2. Antiph To day was born the B. Virgin Mary spouse of the H. Ghost and mother of the Son of God and daughter of the eternal Father Alleluja 3. Antiph Let all the world rejoyce in the Nativity of the B. Virgin Mary Alleluja of whom was born the Redeemer of all the world Alleluja Prayer O God who this day cal'st us to celebrate Her Nativity of whom thy only Son vouchsaf't to take our flesh and be born the worlds Redeemer Grant us we beseech Thee so devoutly to rejoyce in the dawn of her immaculate birth as more fitly may dispose us to behold and walk by her light which every moment increasingly shin'd before men through the whole day of her life here and follow it setting hence into eternal glory through our JESUS Christ thy Son who S. Mathew All as in the Office of Saints except 1. Antiph Be not discourag'd O my soul nor make thy past offences unpardonable by dispare 2. Antiph This is he who of a sinner became a Preacher and of a Publican was cal'd to be an Apostle 3. Antiph Fear not the power of the grace of God but take heed of delaying to imbrace it take heed of refusing to obey it Prayer O God whose powerful call drew Matthew the Publican from the very receit of Custom to become an eminent Apostle and Evangelist in thy Church grant us we humbly beseech Thee in celebrating the B. memory of his life and death worthy his high and extraordinary vocation both to advance thy praise for so glorious an example of thy Grace complying readyly and faithfully with thy grace imitate to our utmost capacitys so glorious an example through our Lord JESUS Christ thy Son who S. Michael All as in the Office of Saints except Invitatory Come let 's adore the King of Angels 1. Antiph He has commanded his Angels to keep us in all our ways they shal bear us itâ—â— their hands lest at any time we dash our feet against a stone Alleluja 2. Antiph Take heed you despise not any of my litle Ones says our Lord for their Angels continually behold the face of my Father who is in heav'n Alleluja 3. Antiph In the sight of thy Angels wil I sing to thee O my God Alleluja I will adore at thy holy Temple and confess to thy name Alleluja Antiph for Benedictus and Magnificaâ—â— Praise our Lord all you Angels Archangels and Thrones praise him all you Dominations Principalities and Powers praise him all you heav'nly Vertues Cherubins and Seraphins praise him all you glorious Quires of blessed Spirits praise him and magnify him for ever alleluja alleluja alleluja Prayer O God who by the Feast of S. Michael the Archangel Prince of the Church summonest us to commemorate all the glorious Host of heav'n rang'd under his standard to assist thy Elect against the powers of darknes Grant us we beseech Thee both to admire and praise thy grace for so high a providence and in faith of such Guardians with firmer hope pursue the holy ways of increasing their joy by advancing our own Blys through our Lord SS Simon and Jude 1. Antiph These are they who planted the Church of God with preaching and setled it with miracles and water'd it with their blood alleluja 2. Antiph They ventur'd their lives among barbarous Nations and converted vast Regions to the faith of Christ alleluja 3. Antiph They rejected the flatterys of the world and despised the menaces of their Persecuters and now for all they did and all they sufferd are eternally rewarded alleluja Prayer O God who as this day by a glorious Martyrdom calledst the B. Apostles Simon and Jude from their eminent labours in thy vineyard to blisful rest in thy kingdom Grant us thy grace we beseech Thee to improve this dâ—â—vout opportunity of celebrating their Memorys both by praising thee for such excellent Masters and pressing more lively on our selvs their saving doctrin and examples through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who All-Saints and during the Octave All as in the Office of Saints All-Souls All as in the Office of the Dead A Prayer for a Family at night In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the H. Ghost Amen Blessed be the holy and undivided Trinity now and for ever Amen Our Father Hail Mary I believe O Eternal infinite and almighty God whose gracious wisdom vouchasafes to command such things as are necessary to fit us for everlasting Blyss forbid such as are apt to render us eternally miserable we wretched sinners the frail off-spring of disobedient Adam humbly prostrate our souls and bodys before thy adorable Majesty and with a true and harty sorrow each of us particularly thus accuse and condemn our selvs I confess to almighty God to the B. Virgin Mary to 〈◊〉 B. Saint Michael the Archâ—â—gel to the B. Saint John Baptist to the holy Apostles S. Peter and S. Paul and to all the Saints that I have grievously sin'd in thought word and deed through my fault through my fault through
in peace and go up to dwel among thy Saints and Angels bless us O Lord with a holy life and then our death cannot but be happy * O make Glory be c. O make Te Deum as Page 16. Lauds for Saints O God incline as Page 18. Antiph The Just shal be as lillys planted in Paradise Alleluja and flourish in the presence of God for ever Alleluja Psal CXIX COme le ts all bring forth our Psalms and go together to the house of Praise There let us meet in peace and love and joyn our harts and voices into one glad song Come let us sing but who shal be our theme what worthy subject shal our Musick chuse No 't is not Conquerours we mean to admire nor any of the Great Ones whom the world applauds But You Blest Spirits who bravely overcame your selvs and led in triumph your own passions Who either wisely us'd this world or to be safer us'd it not at all You are the illustrious worthies we desire to praise * and guild our hymus with your bright names Yours are the only Trophys we delight to set up and beautify our Churches with your holy Pictures Sing then aloud my Soul the glorys of the Saints and let their sacred memorys be always in thine Rejoyce thou who feelst these miserys here * and often complain'st of the dangers of this life Rejoyce at their glad delivery from all these sorrows and hartily congratulate their secure felicity Rejoyce and with thy best instructed thoughts admire * the exquisite wisdom of the divine Providence Who from such low beginings can raise so great effects yet every step thrust naturally on the next Behold a litle seed that 's buryed in the earth * shoot gently out its tender leavâ—â— And nourisht on with the clouds and Sun * climb up by degrees into a tall stalk There it displays its full blown hope and crowns its own head with a silver lilly Such is the progres of immortal souls even those who shine now among the highest Seraphins At first shuâ—â— up in their mothers womb where they ly confin'd close prisoners in the dâ—â—rk Thence they come forth to see and hâ—â—ar and slowly begin to walk and spek Next they advance to understand and discourse then learn to fly with the wings of grace Til they get up even beyond themselvs and believe and live above their own nature At last the kindly hand of death gives them a stroke and they instantly become like the glorious Angels Instantly their dark and narrow knowledg unfolds it self and spreads into a clear and spacious view Where they at once shal see all the glorys of heav'n at once possess and for ever injoy them Thus from the humble seed of grace connaturally spring the flowers of glory And from this life 's green stem of hope * grow just on the top of the Lillys of Paradise Lillys that never fade but stil shine on and fil the heav'ns with their beauteous sweetnes Lillys that even Salomon in all his glory * was not array'd like one of these Sing then my soul but stil among thy Hymns * mingle resolvs to imitate their lives Those are the Lauds most delighâ—â—ful to Them whose charity rejoyces at the conversion of a sinner Those are the Feasts most profitable to thee whose weaknes needs the impressions of example Learn but of them to be humble and meek to submit all thy wishes to the Will of heavâ—â— To govern thy senses by a rule of reason and thy reason by the dictates of Religion To design thy whole life in order to thy end and establish for thy end the blyss of eternity These holy Lessons let thy life transcribe and never fear their acceptance of thy praise Saints like our service best when our honoring them * becomes an occaâ—â—ion of benefiting our selvs Glory be c. Antiph The Just shal be as lillys planted in Paradise Alleluja and flourish for ever in the presence of God Alleluja Antiph Rejoyce O you Holy and Just Alleluja for our Lord has chosen you for his own inheritance Alleluja Psal CXX O Praise our Lord all you powers of my soul praise the immortal King of Saints and Angels Praise him as the Author of all their graces praise him as the Finisher of all their glorys Praise him in the admirable priviledges of his Virgin-Mother whom he obeyed on earth and assum'd into heav'n That he might give us hope our petitions will be heard presented by the hand of so powerful an Advocate Praise him in the mighty hosts of Angels whom he sets about us as the Guard of our lives That they may safely keep us in all our ways and carry us at last to their own home Praise him in the sacred Colledg of Apostles to whom he reveal'd the mysterys of his Kingdom That they might teach us too those heavenly truths and shew us the same best way to felicity Praise him in the generous fortitude of Martyrs whom he strengthen'd with courage to resist even to death That we might learn of them to hold fast our faith and rather lose this life then hazard the Other Praise him in the eminent fanctity of Confessors whose whole design was a course of heroick Vertue That we might raise our minds from our usual lazy flight and with a quick and active wing mount up towards heav'n Praise him in the Angelical purity of Virgins whose harts he enflam'd with his divine charity That they might kindle ours with the same chast fire the same feâ—â—vent love to the spouse of our souls Praise him in the perfect holines of all his Saints whose lives he moulded into so various shapes That every size of ours might readily be furnisht * with a pattern cut out and fitted for it self O praise our Lord all you powers of my soul praise the immortal King of Saints and Angels Praise every Person of the sacred Deity and give a harty joy to the whole court of heaven Blessed for ever be the Eternal Father who has fixt his Angels in so high a happines Triumph bright Angels on your radiant thrones and shine continually in the presence of your God Blessed for be ever the Eternal Son who has crown'd so gloriously his incomparable Mother Live most miraculous Mother of the King of heaven and dwel perpetually in the joys of thy Son Blessed for ever be the Eternal Spirit whose grace prefers all the Saints into glory Rejoyce every happy Saint in your own felicity rejoyce every one in the felicity of All. Blessed for ever be the undivided Trinity whose sight alone is the heaven of heaven Sing all you holy Citizens of heaven sing all together everlasting hymns Sing and among your highest fervours forget not us who thus in our low way remember you Still pray our dear Redeemer to save our souls and still we 'l praise his Name for saving yours Glory be c. Antiph Rejoyce O you Holy and Just Alleluja for our Lord