and Seraphin If therefore every one be a debtor for that which he hath received and that with the Philosopher Dii Parentibus nunquam reddatur aequivalens A Man can never render that which is equivalent to that which he receives from GOD or his Parents Man ought to remember his Creator with thankfulness as often and as long as he breaths If I be a Father where is my honour Hac conditione gignimur ut generanti nos Deo justa debita obsequia praebeamus We are begotten upon this condition to behave our selves in all due respect and observance to God who begat us II. By his Providence and Conservation Thou O Man hast no more power to subsist without him being made than to be created before thou wert made Thou wert but once made but oftentimes preserved from Fire from Water from Sickness from Enemies c. He defends us under the shadow of his wings He giveth his Angels charge over us as in the example of Elizeus He is as careful over us as a Father over his Children a Mother over hers a Shepheard over his Flock He governeth all things by his Providence Not a Sparrow falleth on the ground He feedeth the young Ravens He giveth us meat in due season Cast your care on him for he careth for you In him we live move and have our being To end this with St. Ambrose If thou art sick he is thy Physician If thou art weak he is thy strength If thou fearest death he is thy life If thou desirest Heaven he is the way If thou shunnest darkness he is the light If thou wantest food he is thy nutriment Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord. III. By his Love Delighting in the works of his hands Loving them that love him Nay when we loved not him he first loved us I am found of them which sought me not Nay when we were his enemies And that with a perpetual and everlasting love especially manifested in our Redemption Which degree of his Love and the benefit arising by it no tongue or pen is able to express Saint Bernard saith If I owe to God all that I am for my Creation what shall I give further for my Redemption In my Creation he gave me to my self in my Redemption he gave himself to me and restored me to my self 1. And not only in respect of the Act it self 2. But in regard of the Manner 1. Man being fallen from blessedness by our first Parents sin God in mercy had pitty on his estate and was reconciled to him was content that he should be redeemed from the bondage and penalty of sin from everlasting death of body and soul and this was the Act it self 2. The Manner of it was extraordinary Even by his Son his only Son God from all eternity taking ours and not the Angels nature upon him Suffering death the worst the most accursedst of the Cross even when we were his enemies Whereby we were not only freed from what we deserved Punishment eternal death of Body and Soul But made capable of what we could not expect everlasting felicity and life of both Is not this love without parallel That we that were enemies children of wrath and eternal perdition should now be called the Sons of GOD. This is a greater act of love this manifesteth Gods love to us more than our Creation For by his word he created us without weariness But our Redemption cost more his only Sons dearest blood Who suffered for our sins the just for the unjust And poured out his soul unto death Was made a curse for us Humbled himself to the death of the Cross. To redeem us from the death and curse of the Law He sent Redemption unto his people He redeemeth Israel from all his sins He gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity IV. By his Patience toward Men daily provoking him in all ages In the dayes of Noah The Amorites The Israelites forty years The Ninivites and many others He is Long suffering He is Slow to anger V. By his Mildness Lenity in Correcting Not utterly consuming those whom he correcteth And it is of his mercy that we are not consumed In his anger remembring mercy Not delighting in punishment Not utterly taking away his mercy Not dealing with us after our sins VI. By his Mercy and Grace to Sinners Be merciful as your Heavenly Father is merciful The Father of mercy He was ever so He is tender and compassionate rich and not sparing in his mercy Bringing many benefits with it Begetting us again by it Preserving us from dangers and sickness Preserving their souls Saving us by it which is the chief and greatest benefit mankind can desire And as he is rich in mercy by pardoning sinners so in his favour too promising good to his Servants I will love them that love me I will inrich them The Lord will preserve the souls of his Saints The Children of his Saints shall continue and their seed stand fast in his sight No man that hath forsaken house c. for my sake but he shall receive an hundred fold A hundred fold here by inward graces if not by outward dignity For deceivable things they shall receive true For doubtful things they shall receive certain For corporal things they shall receive spiritual For transitory things they shall receive permanent Their cares shall be turned into security Their tears into joy Their trouble into quiet Their perturbations into inward peace The righteous cry and the Lord heareth them and delivereth them out of all their troubles He that toucheth them toucheth the apple of his eye Not a bone of them shall be broken For God rewardeth secundum though not propter opera And reward maketh all works seem easie to the Husbandman in his toyl to the Merchant in his danger The reward of the good shall not fail The Lord is good to them that trust in him He sendeth health and wealth to his servants He never faileth them that seek him His reward is plentiful to them that fear him Now let us take a view of all these benefits 1. Of our Creation and in that of all things for our use 2. Of Gods preservation and providence over us 3. His love to us Before we loved him Loving him While we were his enemies With an everlasting love In such a large extent by Our Redemption In the act when we were in bondage of the Devil Sin In the manner by his only Son by his death most ignominious and cruel To free us from deserved death To estate us in undeserved happiness even life
the better conceiving of the drift and scope of these Commandements we are to take notice of two things 1. Whereas In every Commandement the grossest sin tending to the breach of that Commandement is only forbidden by name yet we are to conceive that all sins of that nature though lesser in degree and not named together with the provocations thereunto are likewise inclusively contained in that prohibition 2. And where any Vertue is commanded to be observed there all the Vices and Sins contrary to that Vertue are forbidden And where any Vice is prohibited there all opposite Vertues to it are enjoyned Meditations of Death THat all men must dye being long since Enacted by Statute in the Parliament of Heaven unrepealed and the knowledge of the day of death being by God kept from us lest we should promise to our selves any thing for future time I shall not need to spend many words to prove either the absolute necessity of the one or the uncertainty of the other Onely give me leave to conclude this work with a few Meditations and Prayers which may serve as well for those who feel the hand of God by sickness as for those which are in perfect health to meditate and think upon that they be not taken unprovided And it is exercise of Meditation of Death and resolution to dye ought not to seem strange or hard to Christians For the Philosopher in his time accounted all dayes spent without serious consideration of our end to be but fondly consumed and affirmed That the whole life of a Wise man was nothing but a Meditation of Death And therefore it hath been observed that Abraham when he was in the Land of Canaan purchased no more Land than would serve to bury his Dead To teach us that we should not fix or fasten our minds upon the transitory things of this World but have our affections bent upon another and meditate upon the day of our Death which bringeth two benefits with it First It delivereth us out of many cares and troubles And Secondly It leadeth us to joyes unspeakable The First of these benefits the Heathen man could see by the light of Nature when he said That No man lived in so flourishing estate who if not often yet once in his life did not desire rather to dye than to live For the unavoidable calamity and grievous diseases incident to this life do so often disquiet and vex a man that notwithstanding our life is naturally short yet sometime it seemeth over-long unto him And therefore saith he Death is the most acceptable and wished-for sanctuary and place of refuge for a life full of misery and grief And for the Second take amongst many that of Saint Cyprian We pass by Death to immortality neither can we come or attain to eternal life but by leaving this life Nor is our corporal death to be accounted an end or period of life but a passage to a better for by this temporal journey we pass to Eternity For this separation of the Soul and Body commonly called Death if we consider the true scope and aim of God in it is not inflicted by him as a severe Judge to punish the Elect but as a most merciful Father who only calleth his Children from a Dungeon of Misery to a Place of all Felicity and Happiness And this is that which hath alwayes made the Godly to leave this life with such willingness and joy and to endure with so great courage and constancy all their greatest agonies Meditations for the Sick Set thy House in order for thou shalt Dye I Know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the Earth And that I shall be again cloathed with this skin and in my flesh I shall see God whom I my self shall see and mine eyes shall behold This hope is laid up in my breast Lord let me know mine end and the number of my dayes that I may be certified how long I have to live Behold Thou hast made my dayes as it were a span long and mine age is as nothing in respect of thee and verily every man living is altogether vanity For man walketh in a vain shadow and disquieteth himself in vain he heapeth up riches and cannot tell who shall gather them And now Lord what is my hope truly my hope is even in thee Deliver me from all mine offences and make me not a rebuke to the foolish Take away thy stroke from me for I am consumed by the means of thy heavy hand When thou with rebukes dost chasten man for sin thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth fretting a garment every man therefore is but vanity Hear my Prayer O Lord and with thine ears consider my calling hold not thy peace at my tears For I am a stranger with thee and a sojourner as all my Fathers were O spare me a little that I may recover my strength before I go hence and be no more seen Answer me O Lord How many are mine iniquities and sins Make me to know my transgressions and my sinnes Wherefore hidest thou thy face from me and holdest me for thine Enemy Wilt thou break a leaf driven too and fro and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble O cast me not away in my weakness forsake me not when my strength faileth me Though I be afflicted yet let me not be distressed Though in want of some of thy comforts yet not of all Though chastned yet not forsaken Blessed is the man whom thou chastnest O Lord and teachest him in thy Law that thou mayest give him rest in the dayes of evil Before I was troubled I went astray but now I shall learn thy Word O Lord Remember not the sins and offences of my youth Nor judge me according to my works For I have done nothing worthy of thy sight but of eternal death Wherefore I pray thee Blot out all my offences and wash me throughly from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin I have sinned what shall I do unto thee O thou preserver of men Why hast thou set me as a mark against thee so that I am a burden unto my self And why dost thou not pardon my transgressions and take away mine iniquity For now I shall sleep in the dust and thou shalt seek me in the morning but I shall not be Are not my dayes few Cease then and let me alone that I may take comfort a little Before I go whence I shall not return even to the land of darkness and shadow of death A land of darkness as darkness it self and of the shadow of death without any order and where the light is as darkness What man is he that liveth and shall not see death shall he deliver his Soul from the hand of the grave The fear of death overwhelmeth me and my heart is disquieted within me For that I have
my vain cogitations and head-strong desires and order thou I beseech thee my words and rectifie all my actions O Lord as thou hast of thy bounty raised up my Body from sleep so stir up my drowzy Soul from the sleep of sin and carnal security Let my Body be ever assistant to my Soul in all good actions in this life that they may both be partakers of life everlasting Thou O Lord hast promised to those which shall faithfully ask all things necessary for this life give me I beseech thee if it seem good unto thee such a competent estate as shall be expedient to support my life in a civil modest and religious manner Give unto me that which shall be convenient but especially O Lord a heart and mind contented with whatsoever thou shalt be pleased to allot unto me Grant O Lord that in thy Name I may cast forth my Net into the Sea of this World and diligently carefully and with an upright Conscience follow that vocation in which thou hast placed me that by thine aid and assistance I may prosper and have good success in all my affairs Bless O Lord the Kings Majesty govern his heart in thy fear and guide his understanding to do those things which shall be acceptable to thee and profitable to his Kingdomes Give him loving and loyal Subjects and suppress his open and secret Enemies And together with him bless his Queen and Royal Issue make her as the fruitful Vine on the House-top Bless all the State Ecclesiastical and Civil from the highest to the lowest Comfort the comfortless and helpless Bring all Travellers to their own beings in safety and direct all upon the Seas to their safe Ports Shew the light of thy Truth to those which wander out of the right way Give to all sinnen true and hearty repentance strengthen those which have begun well and give thy assisting grace that they may persevere in goodness To all my Friends Kindred and Enemies and to those which pray for me give all thy good blessings Keep us all from all evil and make us to continue in thy Service to our lives end and after the course of this miserable life ended bring us to thine everlasting Kingdom through Iesus Christ our Lord. Or thus ALmighty and everlasting GOD I praise and bless thee from the bottom of my heart that of thy infinite goodness thou hast preserved me this night past and hast with the impregnable defence of thy Providence defended me from the power and malice of the Devil and kept me both in Soul and Body from all his devices and snares and raised me from sleep the image of death and not left me to be stifled in the darkness of my sins but hast given me a longer space to repent me of them I humbly intreat thee that thou wouldst not withdraw thy hand of Protection from me but take me into thy Tuition Watch over me with the eyes of thy mercy and direct me in the way of thy Commandements Endue me with those graces of thy Holy Spirit whereby I may pass this day and the rest of my life to the praise and glory of thy Name the benefit of my Neighbour and the salvation of my sinful Soul Keep me O Lord from all sin bridle and mortifie my flesh that I offend not nor fall into any transgressions which may provoke thy wrath against me Direct my Soul and Body my words and actions according to the rule of thy Will. Divert my heart from fastning too much upon transitory pleasures and convert it to the delight of eternal joyes And because I am not worthy O Lord that thou shouldst hear me poor wretched sinner for any worth in me behold I set before the merits of thy only Son who is the propitiation for our sins look upon him and for his Righteousness pardon the offences of me thy servant and grant to me those things by thy mercy which by the strict Rule of thy justice are not due to me Defend me O Lord from all mine Enemies Arm me with thy Spiritual Weapons put on me the Cloathing of Wisdom and Strength the Brestplate of Righteousness the Helmet of Salvation the Shield of Faith and the Sword of the Spirit that in this earthly Pilgrimage I may manfully oppose the Enemies of my Soul the Concupiscence of the Flesh the Tentations of the World and Malice of the Devil that so having finished valiently the course of this Terrestial Warfare I may hereafter praise thee in thy Celestial Kingdom And thou O Lord who givest food to every living Creature and feedest the young Ravens which call upon thee be merciful unto me in the supply of those necessaries which I daily want Preserve me in health give me food and raiment and sufficient to maintain me in that course of life to which it hath pleased thee to call me that having sufficient in all things I may abound in good work And grant that I may lead a quiet life in all godly conversation That having and using thy blessings worthily I may pass this life with joy and comfort till it please thee to call me to a better Give thy blessings to the Kings Majesty the Queen the Royal Issue and the whole Estate of this Kingdom and grant that we may all bend our thoughts and studies to please thee that at the last by the merits and intercession of Iesus Christ we may be received to thy Heavenly Kingdom Amen Or thus O Almighty Lord God which day after day dost minister to sinful man infinite occasions whereby we may be stirred up to praise thy holy Name and art most plentiful in pitty and favourable to those which with pure hearts and unfeigned faith call upon thee behold me thy poor unworthy servant with the eyes of compassion that at this time am bold to offer up unto thee a Morning Sacrifice of praise and thanks for all thy blessings and amongst the rest for that thou hast vouchsafed after a sufficient and quiet sleep to raise me safe from my bed again which favour thou hast not afforded to many others who in far greater measure have deserved it than my self for which mercy of thine I am not able through my insufficiency and weakness to give unto thee due praise and thanksgiving I pray thee therefore in thy dear Sons Name in whom thou art well pleased to accept these poor and weak thanks and for his sake also to be further aiding and assisting unto me this day following in whatsoever I shall take in hand For thou knowest O Lord how feeble mans nature is insomuch that if he trust to his own strength of necessity he must fall into many miseries errors and dangers Have mercy therefore upon mine infirmities and be propitions and helping to me that by thy illumination I may discern and perceive good from evil and by thy leading and direction may follow the one and avoid the other Lord
Comforter If I go not away the Comforter will not come to you but if I depart I will send him to you He sitteth at the right hand of the Father Instantly to intercede for us to shew himself head of the Church And sate at the right hand of the Father Seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth at the right hand of the Father Who is at the right hand of God He ever liveth to make intercession for them to appear in the presence of God for us Where I am there you may be also CHRIST is Head of the Church He set him at his own right hand far above all principalities and powers He shall come to judge both the quick and dead To receive us with power glory even to the consummation of all things I will come near to you in judgement Behold the Lord cometh c. The Father hath committed all judgement to the Son Ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of Heaven He hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained The dead shall arise first c. In the Holy Ghost I consider An hypostatical power sanctifying from above quickning to immortality working powerfully and invisibly in us By the illumination of knowledge Infusion of grace Regenerating us Reprehending things evil in us Teaching us the truth Joh. 14. 26. 1 Cor. 2. 13. With-holding us from doing evil Encouraging us to do good striving for our good Comforting us in our necessities Adopting us Helping our infirmities Sealing to us our inheritance Assuring us our inheritance The Holy Catholique Church Which is the mystical Body of the Head Christ Iesus composed of all people of the World which are called by the Spirit to the belief of Divine Truth and Holiness of Conversation Holy By imitation of Christs Righteousness Sanctification of the Holy Ghost Of all these Members of his Body there is a reciprocal participation to the Communion of Saints In the union of the Church with Christ. In the participation of his benefits Forgiveness of sins For the present To the hope of The Resurrection of the Body To be united with the Soul And Life Everlasting hereafter And that after this life there shall be a life wherein the Church shall be glorified and God by the members thereof praised for ever Of which I believe my self to be one Lord I believe Help the defects of my Faith 1. That I may love thee as a Father Reverence thee as Almighty Commend my self to thee as to a Faithful Creator 2. That I may be mindful to give thanks to Thy only Son As to the Purger of our Nature in his Conception and Birth As to our Deliverer In his Passion Cross and Death As to the Triumpher over Hell In his Descension Over Death In his Resurrection As to our Fore-rnner In his Ascension As to our Advocate In his Session As to the Establisher of our Faith In his Second Coming That he may be fashioned in me That I may be made conformable to him In Works To his Conception In Faith To his Nativity In Humility That for his Passions 1. I may sympathize with him as with one that suffered for me and be ready to suffer of him and for him when it shall be his good pleasure 2. I may have an Antipathy with Sin as being the cause of his Sufferings and be Revenged of Sin in my self Crucifie Sin in my self Morsifie Sin in my self Bury Sin in my self 3. I may conform my self 1. To his Descension into Hell By often descending thither in meditation 2. To his Resurrection By rising to newness of life 3. To his Ascension By savouring and seeking those things which are above and nearer to my Salvation 4. To his Iudgement By judging my self lest I be condemned with the world That when I am cold in Prayer and want any Spiritual Grace or Comfort I may remember thy Session and Intercession And when I am fervent in any evil Affection or Concupiscence I may not forget thy fearful and terrible Iudgement-Seat and the sound of the last Trump That for thy only Son Christs sake I may also receive thy Uiction even thy Saving Grace the unspeakable Gift of the Holy Ghost and never extinguish grieve resist or reproach it That so I may be called into thy Catholick Church where I may be partaker of the Persons Actions Prayers and Examples of Saints To the assured belief of Remission of Sins To the hope of Resurrection and Translation to Life Everlasting Lord increase my Faith as a grain of mustard-seed Not Dead Temporary or Hypocritical But pure and unfeigned most holy lively and working by charity Confession of Faith O Almighty and Eternal Lord God I poor unworthy and wretched sinner am bold to renew that Covenant of Faith which in my Baptism I made unto thee I believe and confess that all those things which thy most beloved Son Christ Iesus did suffered and taught while he was conversant in the Flesh here upon the Earth are most true and certain I profess that I believe all the Articles of the Apostles Creed and the Holy Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ which is preached through all the World To this Faith I bind my self and purpose Gods grace assisting me never to depart from it and acknowledge that without believing thus I cannot be saved I am heartily glad O Heavenly Father even in my Soul and give thee all possible thanks that into this Faith I was baptized and doe most humbly pray thee O Lord that this Faith may not fail me during this life nor at the hour of death And if I shall at any time hereafter either by the temptation of the Devil imperfection of my senses pain of any disease weakness or any other means speak any thing in any other manner than shall be agreeable to this Faith I renounce all such words as none of mine and desire thee O Lord to forgive them and pray all those which shall hear them if any such shall be to account them as none of mine This I protest thy Grace aiding me To thee be all honour and praise from this time forth forevermore Amen Confession of Gods Glory and Praise FOR his Great and wonderfull works Of Creation Preservation Governance For his Goodness The excellency of his Glory His Highness His Eternity His Omnipotence His Omnipresence His Omniscience The height of his Wisdom His Truth His Exquisite Iustice. His Great Mercy His Plentifull Mercy His Wonderfull Mercy His Everlasting Mercy For his Promise of the
Name Praise the Lord O my Soul and forget not all his benefits Which forgiveth all thy sin and healeth all thine infirmities Which saveth thy life from destruction and crowneth hee with mercy and living kindness Which satisfieth thy mouth with good things c. Motives to Thanksgiving IT is not the least part of the Duty of a Christian in the sight of God to be thankful to him for the benefits he daily bestoweth upon us For as God is kind merciful and loving to us so he expecteth that we should render back thanks to him for those blessings which we receive from him For we have nothing else to retribute to him but a thankful memorial of his blessings And this King David well understood when he said What shall I render to the Lord for all the benefits he hath done unto me I will offer to thee the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving c. As therefore we ought to be diligent in Prayer for those things we want so ought we also to be perpetually thankful for them when we have obtained what we desire And when we have done al that we can we cannot give him due praise and thanks for the least part of that which we daily receive For if we respect that which is past present or to come we shall still meet with matter enough which expresseth his goodness and love to us and exacteth this Duty from us If we consider that which is past then we shall soon perceive that but for him we had not been at all nor been preserved hitherto amongst so many dangers without his protection If that which is present we cannot but acknowledge that by his alone goodness we live and enjoy those blessings wherewith we are loaded beyond desert If that which is to come he is our hope of all good things which we desire or expect either for this life or for the life to come And as God accounteth Thanksgiving a Duty so he taketh it for an Honour done unto him if we perform it He hath so much esteemed of it alwayes even from the beginning that he reputed and accounted it above the rest of the Sacrifices offered unto him Besides we may consider that in the Law God himself instituted a peculiar and special Sacrifice of oblation of thanks For the Feast of the Paschal Lamb was no other thing but an Eucharistical or thankful service in remembrance of the wonderfull deliverance of the Jews from their servitude Our Saviour also instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist for a perpetual remembrance and memorial of all his benefits to Mankind especially of our Redemption by his death Hester established a Feast to preserve a thankfull memory of the Jews deliverance from the plots of Haman And in brief it was generally evermore the practice of Gods Saints to express this Duty as may be seen by many Songs Hymnes Psalms and Prayers of Thanksgiving which are left unto us in the Scriptures as patterns for us to imitate Of Moses and Miriam Of Moses alone Of Deborah Of Hanna Of David in divers places of the Psalms Of good King Ezechias Of Jonas Of the Prophet Habakkuk Of the three Chirldren Of the Angels Of Zachary Of the Blessed Virgin Mary Of the Church And of the Elders And after those examples of necessity we must frame our selves for be sure of this That whensoever praise and thanks shall sail and be wantiug on our parts towards God then presently God will withdraw his hand of mercy and bounty from us Thanksgiving I Thank thee O merciful Father Lord of Heaven and Earth for all thy mercies and favours continually heaped upon me for that thou hast not only created me after thine own Image and likeness and given to me a body with all the parts and members thereof and a soul with all the powers and faculties thereof that with them and by them I might know love and serve thee but that thou hast so graciously preserved both body and soul from time to time from all dangers Thou hast alwayes been my refuge in tribulations and my defence and succour in adversities When I went astray thou didst reduce me into the right away when I offended thee thou didst gently correct me when I was sad thou didst comfort me and when for the grievousness of my sins I was ready to despair thou of thy mercy and compassion didst strengthen me and keep me from utter ruine I acknowledge O Lord thy more than fatherly indulgence toward me from my birth to this present time for unless thou of thy goodness hadst upheld me I had long ere this time been drowned and overwhelmed in the bottomless gulf of my sins But thou hast delivered me from the jawes of the roaring Lyon who hath daily sought to devour me and hast defended me from all his snares and assaults And as thou hast of thy mercy preserved my soul from destruction so thou hast oftentimes delivered my body from the gates of death when many sicknesses and infirmities took hold of me I thank thee also O Lord for all other thy temporal blessings which thou in plentiful manner hast heaped on me as Food Rayment Wealth Possessions and Children For my health and liberty for the prerogative which thou hast given me over all thy creatures in their subjection to my service and use I thank thee also O sweet Saviour for the infinite work of my Redemption and for thy exceeding great love in accomplishing that great work that thou wouldest suffer so many torments sorrows labours and griefs yea so bitter and disgraceful a death even the death of Malefactors to redeem me from a most desperate and certain state of damnation which I most justly have fallen into to a state of glory and immortality which I by no means could have deserved I thank thee also O Lord most holy for all other thy spiritual graces and blessings as my Regeneration Vocation Sanctification for thy blessed Sacraments for my Preservation and hope of Glorification O Lord I am not sufficient to render unto thee condign thanks and praises for all these thy mercies yet accept I humbly pray thee these poor and weak thanks which I offer unto thee according to my bounden duty and service For as there is no hour of my life wherein I do not enjoy thy favours and taste of thy goodness so if my frailty would permit I should spend no time of my life without remembring them and praising and blessing thee for the same Glory be therefore to thee O Lord my Creator Glory be to thee O Iesus my Redeemer Glory be to thee O Holy Ghost my Sanctifier Glory to the high and undivided Trinity whose works are inseparable and whose dominion endureth world without end Another ALmighty and everliving God I humbly thank thy Heavenly Majesty for all thy blessings which thou hast vouchsafed to me poor and sinful
forsaking the confidence or strength of all other things I may flee wholly to thy mercy in Christ Iesus whereby I may be protected from the terrours of thy Iudgement Grant unto me distressed sinner these graces even for the same Iesus Christ his sake who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth for ever Or thus ALmighty and everlasting God whose years fail not and who hast determined the dayes of man which he cannot pass yet thy self endurest for ever and thy Throne from generation to generation Remember that I am but dust like grass and my dayes as the flower of the field which flourisheth in the morning and in the evening is dryed up and withered O let me know my end make me mindful of my mortality I am a stranger with thee and a sojourner as all my Fathers were and cannot promise my self one hour much less any dayes or years in this my Pilgrimage I am like a tottering wall and a broken fence give me grace therefore that I trust not in the uncertainty of this life like the rich Fool in the Gospel but I may every hour prepare my self in thy fear to pass out of this frail mansion and to expect thee with a solid Faith and firm Hope waiting chearfully for the day and time of my dissolution And looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of our Saviour Iesus Christ. Make me like the faithful and wise servant ever ready and prepared for the coming of my Lord lest being suddenly prevented I be taken like a Bird in the snare of the Fowler O Lord thou hast by this gentle correction put me in mind of my mortality give me also grace that I may make good use of it that I may cast off all the cares of this world and wholly betake my self to make my peace with thee And I humbly pray thee that thou wouldest not forget me in my pains and miseries in all my infirmities be not far from me when by reason of the terrors of Death and assaults of the Enemy I have most need of thy help but strengthen my soul with thy holy grace against all sensations that my faith fail me not but that thy holy Spirit assisting me I may overcome my spiritual Enemies and at the hour of death Lord I beseech thee let thy servant depart in peace according to thy word Or thus BLessed Lord Iesus Christ the only comfort of the living and the eternal life of those which dye in thee I wholly submit to thy blessed Will whether it please thee to suffer my Soul any longer to live in this Earthly Tabernacle to serve thee or to have it depart out of this transitory world being certainly assured that it cannot perish if committed to thy keeping O Lord I put off this frail Flesh with a willing mind in hope of the Resurrection of it at the last day together with my Soul when it will become much more glorious and happy than now it is I beseech thee O Lord Iesu strengthen me with thy grace against all temptations and defend me with the shield of thy mercy against all the assaults of the Devil I know that of my self I have no strength wherefore my whole confidence is in thee I have no merits of mine own to allege for I see many yea too many of my sins to stand up against me but by thy mercy I trust that thou wilt repute me amongst the just Thou wert born for me didst hunger thirst fast and pray for me thou didst many good works and sufferedst many bitter things for my sake Let thy Blood wash away the spots of my Offences let thy Iustice cover my Unrighteousness and thy Merits plead for me before the great and severe Iudge And as many sickness increaseth let thy grace increase that my faith fail not my hope waver not nor my love to thee wax cold Let me not be cast down or dejected with the terror of death but when death shall seize on the eyes of my body let the eyes of my soul look to thee and when the use of my tongue shall fail me let my heart cry unto thee I commend my spirit into thy hands O Lord who livest and reignest c. Although thou kill me yet will I trust in thee and though I walk in the midst of the shadow of death yet will I not fear because thou Lord art with me FINIS A short Table of the chief Heads contained in this Book A General Exhortation to Gods Service Pag. 1 To Prayer 50 In regard of Gods Precept 51 Promise Ibid. Christs Example 52 The Necessity ib. The Dignity 54 The Benefit ib. Directions how to Pray 1. To God only 58 In Christ. 60 2. Faith ib. 3. In Hope 61 4. In Charity 62 5. In Humility 64 Of Spirit 65 Of Body ib. 6. In Perseverance 68 With Fervency Diligence and Attention 70 The Time for Prayer 74 The Place for Prayer 75 How to Pray Ariight 76 Prayer divided into Parts 78 The Use of the Lords Prayer 82 The Lords Prayer Analysed 85 Prayers for Spiritual Graces 142 A Prayer before Prayer 145 Before a Sermon 147 Petitions for Temporal Blessings 148 Rules for the Morning 150 Morning Prayer private 151 For a Family 160 Rules for the Evening and Night 165 Evening Prayers private 167 For a Family 176 Prayers upon the Life and Death of Iesus Christ. 180 Prayers for several Persons For a Married Man 196 For a Married Woman 198 For a Child 200 For a Woman with Child 201 For a Young Man or Maid 202 For a Servant 205 Before a Iourney 206 After a Iourney 207 Intercession 209 Deprecation 211 In Affliction 216 In Time of Pestilence 218 The Creed Analysed 221 Confession of Gods Glory 242 Motives to Repentance 246 The Duty of Repentance 284 Confession of Sins 287 Seven Penitential Psalms Paraphrased 318 Direction before the Sacrament 362 Meditations and Prayers Before the Sacrament 365 Meditations and Prayers After the Sacrament 376 Motives to Thanksgiving 383 Thanksgivings 386 Seven Psalms of Thanksgiving Paraphrased 399 Imprecation 432 The Ten Commandementts Paraphrased 438 Meditations of Death 469 Meditations for the Sick 472 Prayers for the Sick 479 FINIS Cicero Esa. 55.6 Job 37. 16.11.17 Mat. 5.48 Tert. 1. Psal. 139. 6 c. Esa. 66 1. Jer. 23. 24. Wisd. 1.7 S. Hier. S. Aug. Deut. 31.4 Dan. 4 34. Apoc. 4 9 1 Tim. 6. 16. S. Hier. Ps. 90. 2. 102. 27. Dan. 7.13 Ps. 102.26 Mal. 3. 6. Jam. 1. 17. Pro. 19. 21 Esa. 46. 10 Heb. 6. 17. Tit. 1. 2. S. Hier. Psal. 1. 7 94. 11. 147 5. Esa. 40 28 Joh. 21. 17 Act. 15 18 Rom. 11. 33. 1 Co. 2. 10 Heb. 4. 13 1 Joh. 3. 20 Ex 15. 11. 1 Sam. 2. 2 Esa. 29. 23 40. 25. Abac. 1.13 Esa. 6. 3. Apoc. 4. 8. Josh. 24. 19. Lev 11. 44. Jer. 10.10 Joh. 17.3 Rom. 3.4 1 Thes. 1.9 Apoc. 15. 3. 16. 7.
will unhear them God will not hear their cry when trouble cometh upon them If I encline my heart unto wickedness the Lord will not hear me They shall cry but he heareth not He that turneth his ear from hearing the Law even his prayer shall be abominable Your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear Thou hast covered thy self with a cloud that our prayers should not pass through Though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice yet will I not hear them And therefore the hope of the wicked in Gods Mercy is vain seeing he refuseth to hear them Their hope is but like the dust blown away with the wind Or a thin froth driven away with a storm Or a smoke dispersed with a tempest Or a guest that tarrieth but a day Because the wicked live in bondage in slavery to sin For sin is a Tyrant tyrannizeth over his followers He that committeth sin is a servant to sin To the Instigators of it The World The Flesh. The Devil And the flesh serveth the two other by sensuality Appetitus Sensitivus By which the wicked as the Apostle saith are sold under sin as slaves in a Fair. And this made Solomon infatuated with his Concubines It infatuates the Adulterer with his Adultery The Covetous with his Riches The Ambitious with his Honour The Voluptuous with his Pleasures It made Amnon commit Incest And this cometh by privation of Grace which should bridle their Affections and by letting loose their Appetites which are like Devouring Beasts like Blood-Suckers like The Pit unsatiable Because they are in continual trouble like the raging Sea that cannot rest whose waters cast up mire and dirt There is no peace to them 1. Their passions are concupiscible and Irascible If the first cannot obtain what it would the other is troubled And by these two the whole man is disquieted From whence are warrs and contentions amongst you are they not hence even of your own concupiscences which fight in your members for ye lust and have not 2. No peace in their Consciences Conscientia Improborum improbis ipsis adversatur The Conscience of the wicked is even an adversary to the wicked himself An evil Conscience makes men fear shadows where no fear is Mala Conscientia terret vel audadissimum An evil Conscience is terrible even to the boldest and hardest man The witked flee where none pursueth The sound of fear is in his ears Timor Divina dispensatione malos comitatur They have five thornes pricking them 1. The enormity of their sin 2. The offence done to others crying like Abels blood 3. The infamy which followeth sin 4. The offence to God 5. The fear of punishment Tell me not saith a Father of a wicked man which fareth deliciously is apparelled costly is wealthy in substance but discover his Conscience and there thou shalt find fears tempests and troubles arraigning and executing himself when none but God and his own Conscience know his own deeds Who hath resisted God and hath peace Thou O Lord saith another hast so appointed that the disordered soul should be his own tormentor What greater punishment saith third than the wound of Conscience which is more to be shunned that death or banishment A Man may avoid all things saith a fourth but his own heart from himself he cannot slee wheresoever he goeth the guilt of Conscience followeth His Conscience is ever in pain 3. No peace in this world In regard of the terror of Conscience as is said Of the infamy they receive by it Of the fear of the pains deserved Of the loss of temporal blessings 4. They are without aid or comfort from God Afflictions find them unarmed unprovided to withstand them They have no footing to stay them no hand to help them nor no Pilot to guide them But they are swallowed in the Sea of tribulations So that while the good rejoyce they mourn While they walk dry these are drowned And while they praise God these blaspheme By the same fire of tribulation the gold the just is tryed and the stubble the wicked is consumed The Red Sea drowned the AEgyptians and saved the Israelites Lastly The end of the wicked is miserable Their miseries do but begin in this world And in their death they are Heirs to Serpents Beasts and Worms They perish as if they had never been Horrible is the end of the wicked Evil in loss of the world their delight Worse in the separation of body and soul. Worst in the Iudgement of both Evil in the pains of the body in the fears of the mind in the afflictions for loss of temporal things in the afflictions for want of internal grace in the horror of the grave in the remembrance of sin committed in the fear to render an account in the terror in conscience in the terror for the sentence in the grief for loss of time of repentance and evil in the grief for ill-spending it When they look back they consider a short life ill spent When forward a long time to suffer for it They grieve for losing the joy of eternity for mispending that time they had to get it for changing such unspeakable joyes for such transitory pleasures Their worm never dyeth but gnaweth and vexeth for ever Dost thou desire then never to be sad Live well for a secure Conscience passeth over sorrow lightly and a good life hath joy ever attending it To sum up all Consider the Motives which perswade us to his Service in doing that which is good 1. Whereby we have peace with God our Selves our Consciences 2. The Comforts in the Holy Ghost who assisteth the good with faith to adhere to Gods promises With Hope to expect the reward Love to GOD. Obedience to his precepts Humility in their actions Patience in tribulation 3. Gods readiness to hear their Prayers 4. Their comfortable end Then the facility profit and pleasure to do well By a love to goodness and hate to the world Because it is Transitory Because it is Miserable Because it is Sinful Because it is Deceitful Et servite Domino in laetitia Draw near to him with a pure heart in assurance of Faith our hearts being pure from an evil Conscience And consider the Reasons why we should detest sin 1. For Gods hate to the wicked 2. For Gods rejecting their Prayers 3. The bondage of the ungodly 4. Their troubles in the passions of the mind their consciences in this world without comfort from GOD. 5. Their miserable end Et Servite Domino in Timore Walk after God and fear him That thou mayest go boldly to the Throne of Grace Find mercy and receive help in time of need A general Exhortation to Prayer OF all the parts of Gods service Prayer justly challengeth the first place For in as much as the best of Gods children are subject to
Womans Daughter were delivered from the Devil The Mans Son were delivered from the Devil The sick were made whole The Widow of Sarepthas Son were revived The Shunamites Son were revived The Rulers Daughter were revived Dorcas were revived The Publican obtained Remission of sins The Thief obtained Paradise S. Stephen obtained Heaven And lastly That it is the surest remedy to the godly in time of affliction appeareth by our Saviours example who when he was in such straits that he said Undequaque trist is anima mea usque ad mortem My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death went aside and fell thrice on his face and prayed warning his sleepy Disciples to do the like Now Seeing that for these respects pray we must in the next place we are to consider How Prayer is to be made that it turn not to sin 1. Prayer must be made to God and to none other 1. Because God hath so commanded For Prayer is a part of his Service and Worship and his Service and Glory he will impart to none else Him only shalt thou serve And Whatsoever you shall ask of my Father not of Angels Saints or the like 2. In regard of his Glory and Majesty wherein he excelleth all others and ought therefore above all to be prayed unto 3. In regard of his singular Knowledge for he knoweth our necessities better than we our selves 4. In regard of his Power and Ability to help us 5. In regard of his willingness and readiness to relieve us 6. In respect of the practice of all the Saints and of Christ himself Of Hanna of David of the Saints of Christ. 7. In regard of the absurdity in praying to those which cannot help themselves much less us For to which of the Saints or Angels can be properly said Our Father which art in Heaven or Hallowed be thy Name c. But to GOD alone is this service to be done for he only saveth us and besides him is no Saviour And all this must be done in Christ Iesus without whom though Moses and Samuel should intercede yet GOD would not pardon but destroy for as no work of devotion can be acceptable to God without Him so our sins are so odious that except our prayes be offered by the mediation of Christ Iesus they will never be accepted by God We have an High Priest that is passed into the Heavens Iesus the Son of God c. Secondly Our Prayes ought to be made in Faith for whatsoever is not of Faith is sin and whosoever desireth to have good success in his Prayers ought to believe and not to pray waveringly This Faith makes our Prayers acceptable For Prayer being the testimony of our Faith how will our Faith appear if we doubt in our Prayers Si Fides deficit oratio perit Our Saviour said to the Petitioner for his deaf and dumb Son If thou canst believe all things are possible to him that believeth And to his Disciples All things whatsoever you shall ask in Prayers believing you shall receive Which lesson St. Iames also teacheth If any man lack wisdom let him ask of God c. But let him ask in Faith Saint Iohn saith This is the confidence we have in him that if we ask any thing according to his will he heareth us Saint Paul also biddeth us Come with the same confidence that we may obtain mercy Again As Faith is the foundation of all Vertues required in Prayer so Hope certain and assured is to be fixed and setled in us when we pray that God will perform the promises which he hath made and that he will hear and grant those things which we shall desire according to his will for the Devil is apt to perswade us that our Prayers are in vain either because God regardeth them not or that it is needless to pray to Him who knoweth before what we want or that whether we pray or not all things shall come to pass as God hath decreed and in these respects that there is no profit in our Prayers All which are but illusions and clearly against the rule of truth and practice of the Saints In te speraverunt saith David Our Fathers hoped in thee they trusted in thee and thou didst deliver them The Reubenites cryed to God in battel and he was intreated of them because they put their trust in him Indeed as Saint Bernard saith a sinners prayers are hindered two ways either with too little or too much light He hath no light which neither seeth nor confesseth his sins and he hath too much which seeing them despaireth of Gods mercy Neither of these can be said to pray How then The sinner ought so to temper his light that he may not only see and confess his sins but pray that they may and hope that they will be forgiven For it is in Prayer as in Repentance Nemo potest agere poenitentiam qui non speravit indulgentiam No man can truly repent that hath no hope of pardon for that he repenteth of And none can be said to pray well who hopeth not of Gods favour in that for which he petitioneth And that our Prayers may the better ascend they are to put on the wings of Charity which is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit For without this quality our Prayers will prove cold heavy and lumpish and will return empty unto us This Charity is two-fold First towards God Secondly towards our Neighbour 1. Towards God in keeping his Commandements for our Saviour saith He that keepeth my Commandements is he that loveth me And the Apostle saith We receive of him because we keep his Commandements that is we love him so that we are both to offend him 2. Towards our Neighbour which Charity is also manifested two ways 1. In forgiving all injuries received from him or by his means after our Saviours rule When you stand praying forgive if you have ought against any that your Father also which is in Heaven may forgive you our trespasses And again If you forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you But if you forgive not men their trespasses either will your Father forgive your trespasses 2. Secondly In praying for his wants and supplying them to oâ—â— powers according to Saint Iames direction Pray for one another And to Saint Paul's I exhort that first Prayers c. be made for all men And to encourage us to relieve them our Saviour pronounceth a blessing â—â— all that are charitable in that kind Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy So that by this we may plainly see that if we be uncharitable our Prayer will be barren and unfruitful Fifthly Humility must accompany these former Vertues We must acknowledge our selves
unworthy to receive any thing we are not to arrogate any thing for any merit of our own but confess that we are nought but dust pollution and a masse of corrupption that we brought nothing into this world nor have gathered any therein but uncleanness We must say with Iacob Minor sum Domine omnibus tu is beneficiis I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies And with the Publican whom our Saviour commended to us for a pattern deny our own unworthy 〈◊〉 deserve any favour Which Humility of his as appeareth by that Story or Parable made his prayer more acceptable to God than the vaunting and boasting of the proud Pharisee And with David saith A broken and contrite heart O God thou wilt not despise And the Son of Syrach The Prayer of the Humble pierceth the Clouds And lastly the Virgin Mary He hath exalted the Humble and Meek This Humility is likewise two-fold 1. Of the Spirit 2. Of the Body 1. For by the First we acknowledge the impurity of our souls and confess our selves wicked miserable and wretched in our own eyes and that our strength is not worth the coasting of which kind or manner of prayer hath ever wrought effectually with God The Prophet Esay witnesseth it To this man I look even to him that is of a poor and of a contrite spirit And the Psalmist testifieth how propense and propitious GOD is to such kind of Petitioners The Lord is nigh to them that are of a contrite heart and will save such as are of an humble spirit And the blessed Virgin acknowledgeth that she found the fruits of her Humility He hath regarded the lowsiness of his Hand-maiden Secondly We are to use an outward gesture answerable to our inward devotion We must manifest our Humility by a reverend posture of the body too God is as well Creator of the body which is the souls temple as of the soul and therefore expecteth to be honoured by both And as it is not to be denyed that the inward affections are to be regarded in the prime place yet it will not be unnecessary to observe with what postures the holy men in sacred Story powred out their petitions Abraham speaking to God fell on his face and bowed to the ground Solomon at the Dedication of the Temple stood before the Lord and spread forth his hands to Heaven The Publican stood and smote his breast Moses held up his hands to Heaven Daniel Stephen Peter and Paul kneeled David kneeled and lifted up his eyes Lastly our Saviour Christ every one of whose actions ought to be a rule to us sometimes fell on his face sometimes kneeled and sometimes lifted up his eyes when he prayed Not that Gods worship is absolutely or universally tyed to these outward Ceremonies but that they serve to stir up the inward intentions and affections for while we kneel and lift up our eyes and hands to Heaven we shew our humility and declare our ardent desire and confidence that all our aid and help we expect from God and none else Therefore the acts of humiliation of casting dust on their heads putting on sack-cloath rending of garments mentioned in holy Writ are there set down to no other purpose but to make their Humility that used them appear and to be a pattern for us in after times Neither is it without reason that Man being a creature consisting of body and soul should serve his Creator with both which makes us a perfect Holocaust or Sacrifice And as we have yielded our members servants to uncleaness and to iniquity unto iniquity so we should yield our members servants to righteousness unto holiness And to this reverend gesture of the body must be added the uncovering of the head Our heads must be bare and we must not pray so familiarly as if we were speaking to our equals For the higher and more eminent the person is whom we petition the more reverend and submiss ought our behaviour be to him in our petitions In the next place We must resolve with our selves not to be impatient of delayes as we call them if God seem not to hear us presently But we must pray with Perseverance Our Saviour himself immediately after he had prescribed to his Disciples that absolute form of prayer taught them also and us in them the effects of this vertue by the Example of the Friend which came in the night to borrow Loaves And shortly after by that of the Importunate Widow Which effects also David and the Woman of Canaan felt Wherefore not without good reason did St. Paul so often counsel this assiduity and servency in prayer And though we make our conclusions by events which we usually take notice only by that God is not moved by our prayers nor we bettered by them we must resolve that the fault is ours and not Gods For either we ask things not to be prayed for Or coldly not intending what we desire Or not with due reverence and patience Or else GOD yieldeth not either to inflame our zeal Or to set an edge on our desires Or to humble us Or to prove us by adversity as well as by prosperity Or to try whether we serve him for our own ends or his glory Or else the time is not come which he knoweth meetest to grant what we pray for Elias being persecuted by Iezabel prayed that GOD would take away his life which GOD granted not presently yet afterward took him into Heaven Deus multos non jam exaudiat ad voluntatem sed paulo post ad salutem God hears not many men presently according to their desire but after a while he gives ear to them to their good and salvation Therefore we must not give over at the first second or third time For no doubt but he which said Ask and ye shall have will also give what he promised when he thinketh expedient that we should receive it O tarry thou the Lords leisure saith David And let not us prescribe to God either time place or manner but in all modesty humility patience and perseverance attend his good pleasure Three other Qualities there are which seem to depend upon this last Vertue of Perseverance for as the difficulty to pray aright ariseth of three causes 1. The Corruption of our Nature depraved by sin 2. Evil custom or habit in suffering our hearts to wander when we are at our Devotions 3. The malice of Satan who out of his inveterate hate to mankind intangles our thoughts with other matters when we should intend this act The Remedies therefore fit to oppose these are 1. A fervent desire to the action for what we zealously affect we soonest compass 2. That we be diligeut and couragious to overcome all difficulties for as all Creatures have a concupiscible nature to obtain things necessary to preservation so
have they an irascible to resist all obstacles which may be to their detriment It must not be with us as with the sluggard Vult non vult have a desire to it for the excellency but give it over for the difficulty 3. That we be attentive to what we are doing and keep our hearts from vain and wandring cogitations Omni custodia serva cor tuum quia ex ipso vita procedit Keep thy heart with all diligence for there-out cometh life for as our heart is so will all the actions be which proceed from it For it is not a chill and cold Perseverance or Expectation that will serve our turns to prevail with God but a fervent spirit to pursue the same For God heareth not at least regardeth not as not loud crying long babling or many tautologies or repetitions so neither cold faint and drowzy prayers not intending or minding what we pray for which proceed only from the lips but it is the affection and zealous desire of the devout mixed with sighs tears and groans not to be uttered which move and prevail with him For God being a Spirit looketh to be worshipped in spirit To which purpose it is that our Saviour Christ adviseth us when we pray to enter into our Closets and to shut the door intimating to us thereby that we being alone and private should cast away all publique wandering and worldly thoughts which trouble our devotions and hinder us from lifting up our hearts unto God and wholly fervently and considerately bend our thoughts and desires unto him And these retired Soliloquies and private Meditations and Conferences between God our souls and between our selves and our souls have ever been much approved by the Antients Our Prayer saith an antient Father ought to be in such manner as Hanna's was She wept and prayed and her lips only were perceived to move Let every one hear this and imitate it especially they who with extream babling without all modesty yet with loudness of voice make their prayers Let us therefore pray with sighs and groans But withall taking heed as much as we can with Gods assistance and our own endeavours that in the time of our prayers no extravagant thought steal upon us lest happily we have one thing in our hearts and another in our tongues And to this purpose also speaketh S. Basil All our prayers ought to be made not in syllables but in the hearty affection of the soul. For how do or can we think that God will give us that for which we pray when by our behaviour and gesture our faint and weak sollicitation we seem to him that either we do not want what we pray for or that he will upon every slight and cold motion be perswaded to give us what we desire Or how can we expect to be heard of God when we our selves not being serious in our devotions but diverted with other phantasies hear not nor know what we do petition for The wise man therefore giveth us good and wholsom counsel in this matter Before thou prayest prepare thy self and be not as one that tempteth the Lord. Our prayers therefore must not proceed from the lips only for no man can assure himself that God heareth his prayers who is so careless and his thoughts so wandring that he knoweth not himself what he prayeth for Of the Time and Place for PRAYER TAke a little taste of the Time when and the Place where our Prayers are to be offered up to GOD. For the Time in general the Places before-named do and may direct us Pray without ceasing Continue in Prayer And pray alwayes More particularly Twice a day that is Morning Evening the Sacrifices were to be made David prayed thrice In the Evening Morning and at Noon-day And seven times in a day Daniel prayed thrice In the morning before day Christ prayed David prayed early The Apostles at the third hour of the day At the sixth hour The ninth hour And David at midnight For the Place In all places saith God Every where saith S. Paul Christ prayed in the Desert On a Mountain In the Garden Isaac in the Field Peter prayed on the House-top or Tarris In the Congregation saith David To the Temple went S. Peter S. Iohn and S. Paul And Christ bids us when we would be private in prayer and not be molested to go to our Closets So that it appeareth that there is no Time nor Place unseasonable to offer up our Prayers unto God as occasion shall be offered though the chief Place for private Prayer is our Closet and for publick the Temple where one may stir up another by example and where we ought to make publick confession of our Faith and give publick thanks for Gods benefits How to pray aright BUt it may come to pass though we be prepared and fitted with all the former circumstances that we may pray and not be heard if in the last place we do not carefully consider to pray for those things which are fit and requisite for God to give and for us to receive For as Saint Iames saith Many time we ask and receive not because we ask amiss For our better instruction therefore we are to consider that there be two sorts of Blessings to be required of God First Spiritual Secondly Temporal 1. The first part pertains to Gods own honour and the good of our own souls as Faith Hope Charity Thankful Hearts Remission of Sins and other of the same kind which are meerly spiritual and heavenly And these Blessings we may without doubt safely and confidently beg at GODS hands and he will not deny them 2. The Second are temporal and indifferent as Riches Honour Health Peace Seasonable times Children and the like And these are not to be prayed for but according to Christs pattern of prayer with thy Will be done or according to Christs practice with a Not as I will but as thou wilt Or with the Leaper in the Gospel Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me clean Saint Bernard disposeth these into three heads Two for blessings of this life for the body and soul and the third for the life to come And in praying for these he giveth three Cautions with his Reasons First That our prayer for Temporal blessings which the body wanteth be restrained to things needful because many times we pray for things superfluous to satisfie our pleasures Secondly That our petition for the graces of the soul be free from impurity because we oftentimes desire to have them for Ostentation Thirdly That our request for the blessing of Eternal Life be in all Humility because many require it at Gods hands as presuming upon their own merits Our Prayers being thus qualified being preferred only to God in Faith Hope Charity with
God and our Neighbour Humility of body and soul Perseverance Fervency of Spirit our souls and bodies attending to what we pray for and in due Time and Place praying aright both for temporal and spiritual blessings we shall no doubt by the mercy of God through the mediation intercession and merits of Iesus Christ obtain in his good time all things which shall be needful and expedient for us Prayer divided into parts DEvotions and Prayers are either publick or private 1. Private prayers are whereby every particular Man prayeth to God for those things which he wanteth In which kind of devotion we ought at all times to exercise our selves because at all times we stand in need of Gods particular assistance and therefore we are tyed or limited herein neither to time nor place for whether it be in the night or morning mid-day or evening at home or abroad in the City or Country in our beds or at our work if we call upon him faithfully he will hear us 2. Publick Prayers are whereby the whole Congregation meet in a place Dedicated to Gods honour as well to praise his Name as to pray for those things which shall be needful For although Christians ought to pray privately yet ought they not in the mean time to neglect the publick worship and service of God in the Church For from the beginning it was held and observed as a duty required and therefore before the erection and dedication of Temples and Churches the Patriarchs and holymen erected Altars in certain places where at set times of the day they might offer Sacrifices and publick Prayer to God In the second of Ioel you shall find a set and prescribed Form of Prayer for the Minister to use together with the place and the Congregation that were to assist In the New Testament also our Saviour Christ himself to encourage this holy duty of publick Prayer hath promised his presence amongst those that shall be assembled and gathered together after this manner Therefore whosoever shall neglect these publick Assemblies sheweth and discovereth thereby how little he regardeth Christs company or presence These Prayers are also distinguished into these parts 1. Invocation 2. Confession 3. Thanksgiving Invocation consisteth of 1. Petitions for the good of our own Souls in Spiritual things Bodies in Temporal things 2. Intercessions either in praying for the good of others or against the evil of others 3. Deprecations against evils Spiritual Temporal Confession is threesold 1. Of our Faith 2. Of the Glory of God 3. Of our own Sins Thanksgiving is either 1. For deliverance from evil 2. For benefits received To these may be added Imprecation either 1. Against the enemies of God incorrigible and irreconcileable 2. Against the enemies of our Souls incorrigible and irreconcileable So that these Rules be observed 1. That it be not used for private hate or revenge 2. That we rejoyce not in any mans Destruction 3. That we aim at their Correction The use of the Lords Prayer BEcause that our Saviour Christ hath taught us how to pray and hath put the very words as it were into our mouths which we should use in praying I think it necessary to begin with the same which he hath left unto us 1. In respect of the Excellency of the Author of it who was no less than God 2. In respect of the Perfection of the work it self the Prayer for it comprehendeth in it Petitions for all things which we stand in need of 3. In respect of the Efficacy of this Prayer in working for it cannot choose but prevail and work much with God for none knew the mind and disposition of God better than he which composed it which was God And let it not lose any part of the due praise which belongeth to it in regard of the compendiousness or shortness of it for it deserveth the more honour because though it be short yet it is also copious and plentiful in matter and therefore the more absolute and perfect It is not therefore without cause that the Antients have given so many excellent Attributes to it As the Abridgement of the Gospel and our Faith The Interpretation of our Desires and Hopes The very Bond of Charity And an inexhaustible Treasury Yet let not any Man think that our Saviour prescribed us this Prayer as that we should use no other but be tyed to the very words contained in it but this we must conceive that he made it to bridle our desires that though we make our Petitions and frame them according to our several necessities yet to keep us in compass that we exceed not the limits nor vary from the extent and bounds of this Prayer The Use of it is twofold 1. That we might be instructed by it what is necessary in general to require of God and not without need seeing we being naturally blind in spiritual things know not what is fit to ask and many times we crave those things as Zebedees Children did which are unworthy both of God and our selves and might prove hurtful also to us if they should be granted And therefore under certain general heads he hath bounded the desires of the flesh and taught us after what manner and rule we should square all our Petitions For whatsoever we shall desire against the directions therein contained dis-a-greeth from the will of God and therefore is neither good holy nor profitable 2. That we may be able thereby to conceive frame and make all our Prayers according to our several necessities and after that Petition which sitteth us as our occasions shall alter The Lords Prayer Analysed A Father not a Lord. One being a name of love The other of dignity A Father not a Iudge One being a name of Goodness Comfortable O 〈◊〉 sub quo nomini desperandum The â—â—her of Power Terrible Who is able to resist his Power It is too proud a salutation For how much are we By Nature Dust and Ashes By Sin Bond-slaves to Satan So much are we below him Who then durst be so bold as to call the Father but that Christ did command it For exceeding great is thy Majesty And exceeding great is our Poverty He is exalted above the Heavens and his glory is above all the Earth He humbleth himself when he beholdeth the things in Heaven And we are but worms and leaves driven to and fro with the wind A wind that passeth away and commeth not again Yet we are bold to call thee Father for we come not of our selves thy Son Christ hath taught us the form Take notice of the words they are thy Sons 1. Father of all Creatures In their Creation Preservation Governing 2. Of Mankind which he formed after his own Image Other Creatures are but as a shadow to Man For he endued him with understanding And the Creatures not so To him he gave precepts to order his life To the Creatures only by blind
root out dissipate ours and establish thine let thy will over-master ours conform our wills to thine Turn our Nill into thy Will In Earth as in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name In Earth as in Heaven Thy Kingdom come In Earth as in Heaven Thy Will be done Let Heaven be the Pattern and Rule to Earth in all things Let us begin to be on Earth as we would be in Heaven hereafter 1. As by thy blessed Angels Oh that we might do thy will and no less thy will now than they that hope to be like them hereafter 2. As thy Saints Who are Heavenly even Heaven upon Earth 3. As the inward Man The Spirit which is from Heaven that professeth it self delighted in doing thy will that complaineth that it is hindred from doing it Oh that the old Adam made of the Earth had been so ready to do it In Earth in all the Earth But especially in this part of the Earth where we live We are Earth and of the Earth let thy will be done in us As in Heaven not as much or as well Nor with equal proportion but likeness Nor in as great measure but with like affectinn willingly readily faithfully Let us imitate though we cannot equal We beg thy grace to do thy will as thy Angels and Saints do it But because many things hinder us we say with Saint Augustine Give us power and ability to do thy commands and then command us what thou pleasest And if our condition in this life will not admit so much yet Lord accept our desires which cry to thee Thy will be done And if our desires be unperfect also yet hear our cry in the Prophets words Our souls have longed to desire thy Laws and Commandements alwayes Here we may consider 1. First The excellent order and method of this Prayer For what ought a Son before all things and with more fervency desire than the Honour of his Father the Prosperity of his Kingdom and Obedience to his Will 2. And in the next place what is more proper to Children than to ask Bread of their Father or what more necessary for them And in this Petition we are 1. To depend wholly upon his Providence 2. To acknowledge him the Giver of it only 3. Lastly We are Patiently to expect it from him In it we consider also 1. What he is to give Bread 2. What manner of Bread Our Bread Daily Bread 3. To whom he is to give it To us 4. When to give it To day There is in us a double Nature or Substance which requires two sorts of Bread 1. The Soul hath her viands to be provided The Bread of Angels The Bread of Heaven the Word the Bread of Life Christ Iesus in the Flesh. Lord give us of this Bread evermore 2. The Body also craveth its sustenance its Bread that is all the necessaries of this life Our Belly is a troublesome Clyent and except it be satisfied likewise it draweth our minds from thee Thou O Father hast promised to add all things if we first seek thy Kingdom Behold we have sought it give us therefore Bread either fine middle sort or course which of them shall seem good to thee And give us that which may feed and not choak us either with the care of them or neglect of Thee Give us frugal sober Bread not dainty fare Bread necessary not superfluous For we are not to take thought for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof In this word Bread are contained all things necessary and conducing to the maintenance and preservation of our lives As Breathing it self Vescitur aura aetherea Sleep to refresh our weary bodies Honest hearts by which we get our maintenance And a competency of estate are all particulars of that which is contained in the word Bread And with Bread give us O Lord The Staff of Bread Health of Body Wholesome Air. Content of Mind Convenient Dwelling Peace in our Dayes and the like Ours as proper to Children by a double right of Prayer Labour Yet so ours as first Thine Thine by gift because thou wilt not because thou art our Debtor Ours for use For neither Thou nor thy Angels need this Bread But we being of corporeal substance need corporeal sustenance We being Travellers need our Viands For our necessity not for superfluity which may profit the soul not hurt the body which may nourish the soul not destroy the body If the LORD will be with me and will keep me in the way that I shall go and will give me Bread to eat and Rayment to put on so that I return in peace then the Lord shall be my God Two things have I required of thee deny me not them before I dye Remove far from me vanity and lies Give me neither poverty nor riches feed me with food convenient for me Lest I be full and deny thee and say who is the Lord Or lest I be poor and steal and take the Name of my God in vain When we say Ours we speak not as if it were due to us but of thy bounty given to us and gotten and acquired by our labour according to thine institution Ours by labour For if we be droans if unprofitable burthens to the Earth it is not ours it belongs to others If it be gotten by fraud violence or constraint it is not ours It is surreptitious And that Bread is full of gravel Let us therefore follow our vocations and not make thee associate in our sin by requiring Bread being our selves idle and sloathful or fraudulent and deceitful So ours as if we have more than we need and any thing remain more than is necessary for our estate and condition we impart and communicate it to those which want And if we shall with-hold that which is superfluous from the poor and needy we shall be thieves of that which is our own It is therefore ours so that it may be other mens by and through our hands Give it thou Bless thou the labours of our hands for there are which labour and yet want But when it comes of thy gift a blessing come with it and without thy providence our labours are in vain the rather because we are too prone to sacrifice to our own nets and ascribe the enjoying it to our own labours Therefore open thou thy Barnes open thou thy Treasury For when thou openest thy hand every thing is filled with thy good Except thou give it we shall have no benefit by it it will nourish no more than a stone Give it thou for on thee we depend to day and to morrow and all our life Give it thou not retribute or pay It is no Debt Bread and all other thy blessings are Donatives Give it Thou Break it thou and give it let not us take it our selves For if thou
lives end Give me O Lord true compunction of heart and so water it with the dew of thy Heavenly Grace that I may in the bitterness of my Soul with abundance of tears sighs and groans bewail and lament all my hainous and grievous transgressions against thee Give me grace O Lord that I may not boast in any merits or works of mine own or have any confidence in them but let me glory in this alone that I am a Member of that Body of thine which was crucified for me and did sufficiently satisfie for all the Sins of the World If thou O Lord look or expect any merits from me behold I tender unto thee thine own merits the merits of thy Death and Passion which thou hast vouchsafed to make me partaker of by vertue whereof alone I dare boldly appear before thy Tribunal These merits I set between my sins and thy Iustice and otherwise or in any other manner I dare not I will not contend with thee O sweet Iesu I desire thee to offer them to the Father as a propitiatory Sacrifice for all my great and grievous Offences that when my Soul shall depart from this Body it may by the same be freed and delivered from all the judgements and punishments which are due unto it for sin and be carried to that blessed place where there is no sorrow but endless felicity where thou together with the Father and the blessed Spirit livest and reignest for ever Before Prayer O Almighty and everliving GOD Heavenly Father to whom it is manifestly known how inconstant and wandring the minds of men are in any good actions and how easily we suffer our selves to be carried away from the contemplation of thee by diversity of distractions and unseasonable thoughts which take hold of us in the time of our Devotions and Prayers unto thee who also by thine only begotten Son Christ Iesus didst prescribe unto his Disciples a Form of Prayer to be offered up to thee and hast derived the same from them to us Behold me most wretched sinner wholly depraved and corrupt intreating thee by the same Son that for his sake thou wouldst infuse thy Holy Spirit into me which may adopt me into the number of thine Elect that it may teach me how I ought to pray according to thy Holy Will that it may allay all troublesome and wandring thoughts in me while I offer up my prayers and praises unto thee Suffer me not to serve thee with my lips and be absent in heart from thee but create a right Spirit within me that I being sensible of all thy graces and comforts may with joyful and holy zeal perform my duty to thee that so my prayers and desires may appear before thee and in thy Sons Name I may effectually be heard and my petitions may be granted to the glory and honour of thy most holy Name and the endless comfort of mine own Soul through the same our only Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ. Before a Sermon O Most loving SAVIOUR I most humbly intreat thee that thou wouldst be pleased at this time to enlighten my understanding and to open my inward ears with the grace of thy Holy Spirit that I may hear that sacred Word with an humble heart and rejoyce in it in the obedience of the Spirit That I may be fully instructed thereby how to do good and avoid evil and bring forth the fruit thereof in my life and conversation That thy Honour and Glory may be thereby increased the Devil and all other the Enemies of my Soul may be vanquished my Soul may be saved and at the last I may appear with boldness before thy Tribunal and receive the reward of a good and faithful servant even his Masters joy everlasting blessedness and that by thy merits only O blessed Saviour Petitions for Temporal Blessings in which we are to desire of God THat he would be pleased to continue unto us The blessing of a good King just and religious To give unto us Magistrates and Iustices upright and careful to see good Laws duly executed Teachers to direct us in the Truth That he would bless us with Length and Goodness of Dayes Health of Body Contentedness of Mind Competency of Estate Food and Rayment Conveniency of Dwelling Wholesomeness of Air. Fruitfulness of Cartel Fruitfulness of Soyl. That he would make us happy In Wedlock In Children In Faithful Friends In Peaceable loving Neighbours In Honest Servants In Skilful Physicians That he would preserve our Goods Good Name Our Senses and Understanding That he would protect us From Trouble From Enemies From Dangers From Losses From Sicknesses That he would give Peace To all Nations Peace To our Land Peace In our private Dwellings Rules to be observed in the Morning WHen thou awakest in the Morning shut and close up the entrance to thy heart from all unclean prophane and evil thoughts and let the consideration of God and goodness enter in When thou art risen and art ready retire thy self to thy Closet or other private place and offer to God the first fruits of the Day and in praying to him and praising him remember 1. To give him Thanks for thy quiet rest received for delivering thee from all dangers ghostly and bodily and for all other his benefits to thee 2. Offer unto him thy self and all things that thou dost possess and desire him to dispose of thee and them according to his good pleasure 3. Crave his Grace to guide thee and to strengthen thee from and against all Tentations that so thou mayest do nothing the day following contrary to his will 4. And Lastly Beg of him according to the Rules before prescribed all things needful for the Soul and Body To which purpose pray as followeth Morning Prayer I Thank thee O Heavenly Father Lord of Heaven and Earth for all thy Blessings which I underservedly have received from thee that thou gavest a being from honest Parents and in that part of the World where thy Son Christ Iesus is purely professed that thou didst endue me with Reason and Understanding and didst also give me perfect Members and Senses that thou hast preserved me ever since my birth vouchsafed me health and liberty and a competency of means to maintain me and those whom thou hast placed under me That thou hast Elected me in thy Love Redeemed me by thy Son Sanctified me by thy Spirit and kept me this night past from all perils of Body and Soul and given me a sweet and comfortable rest O Lord I commend into thy hands my Soul and Body thoughts words and actions and humbly beseech thee that thou wouldst guide and order them all to thy honour and glory and my endless and eternal happiness Enlighten my mind that the darkness and cloudy mists of mine offences being dispelled I may walk before thee in my vocation without offence as in the day clean unspotted and unblameable Give unto me thy Holy Spirit which may bridle
chearful heart And because O Lord that this life hath not one certain hour I beseech thee to Enlighten mine eyes that I sleep not in death and grant that after I have rested quietly I may by thy grace and mercy arise to serve thee in singleness of heart Lighten O Saviour my darkness and mercifully keep me from all dangers of this night Save me waking and keep me sleeping that I may watch in thee and rest in peace There is nothing that more resembleth our Life than the Day nor the Grave than our Beds O Lord therefore when I am laid down and by sleep made unable to help my self being like unto a dead man defend me then by thy power from the crafts and assaults of the Enemy that he do me no harm so that though my Body sleep my Soul may watch unto thee and contemplate of the life to come And grant that having passed the night quietly I may arise as well from the sleep of sin as from my natural sleep and with all alacrity pass the day following in thy service and in the end of my pilgrimage by thy merits receive the Crown which thou hast promised to those that love thee in that day which no night shall follow and in that Heavenly Kingdom where thou reignest together with the Father and the blessed Spirit world without end Evening Prayer LEt my prayer O Lord be set forth in thy sight as the Incense and let the lifting up of my hands be an Evening Sacrifice In the Evening Morning and at Noon-day will I pray and that instantly and thou Lord shalt hear my prayer Blessed be thou O Lord Who hast preserved me from the Arrow that flyeth by day and from the Sickness that destroyeth in the noon-day Who hast not cut off my life like a Weaver nor made an end of me O Lord I confess that as my dayes have increased so hath my sin multiplied The just man falleth seven times a day But I miserable sinner seventy times seven times But I return to thee O Lord and repent Let not the Sun go down in thy wrath O Lord whatsoever good I have done this day I acknowledge that thou hast wrought it in me and desire thee graciously to accept of me for it as thy Instrument only O Lord whatsoever evil I have committed this day I confess it to be the work of mine own hands and heartily pray thee to pardon it O Lord which givest the sleep of health to them that love and causest those that fear thee to sleep confidently Lighten mine eyes that I sleep not in death Keep me from the terrours of the night aud from the works of darkness Lord though I sleep yet let my heart watch to thee and when I wake let me be present before thee let my thoughts ascend to thee Grant that I may alwayes remember that the night is no night with thee and that darkness and light are to thee alike Grant that I may alwayes meditate upon the long and last sleep the sleep of Death the Bed of my Grave and the Covering of Worms and Dust. Let my sleep be a cessation from sin and let me not in my sleep do or think any thing that may offend thee or defile my self And grant that after the sleep shall depart from mine eyes I may remember thee search my reines and try my heart O Lord I commend my self and all that of thy bounty is mine to thee In thee I put all my trust and confidence Thou seest in what dangers we are what snares the Devil layeth for us I humbly therefore pray thee to defend me from him And grant me so to order and end my life that I may sleep in peace and take my rest with thee for the merits of Iesus Christ c. I will lay me down in peace and take my rest for it is thou Lord only that makest me dwell in safety Evening Prayer for a Family O Almighty and everlasting God who hast appointed all times and seasons to succeed in their due course and hast ordained the day for the works of the day and bodily labour and the night to take our quiet rest refreshing by whose providence and mercy we have been preserved this day from all dangers have been furnished with all things necessary for this life we humbly pray and beseech thee that now in this time of night and darkness wherein we poor and miserable sinners stand in most need of thy help and aid thou wouldst be pleased to keep us from all dangers spiritual and temporal O Lord we confess that we have not deserved the least of thy favours nay if thou shouldst with strict eye examine our actions how we have spent this day and the rest of our dayes past we should not be able to stand in thy sight much less beg any further blessings of thee For notwithstanding thy manifold and daily favours we have in all things been rebellious and repugnant to thy blessed Will and obedient and conformable to the command of our Enemies the Flesh the World and the Devil Insomuch as we have lost our liberties and are become servants and slaves unto them For we have wholly given ourselves to serve the pleasures of the Flesh in Concupiscences and other carnal Acts We have hearkned too much to the delights of the World in covetous desiring that which is not our own in abusing the Creatures thereof which were created for our necessary use and not for our wanton and insatiable desires And we are become the servants of Satan in not opposing and resisting his unclean and wicked Tentations Our sins are infinite and our iniquities are numberless so that we cannot nor are any way able to recount them unto thee We have fled from thee seeking us neglected thee loving us stopped our ears to thee speaking to us turned our backs to thee reaching thy hand to us forgotten thee doing good to us and despised thee correcting us Yet O Lord we humbly intreat thee to shew thy accustomed mercy to us poor and miserable sinners who in grief and anguish of soul confess these our offences and earnestly and bitterly bewail them Look upon us with the eyes of compassion not for any thing in us but for the love and respect which thou bearest to thy Son CHRIST JESUS in whom we verily believe that thou art fully reconciled unto us Take away our sins and the punishment due unto us for them Let thy wrath be turned from us and destroy us not together with our manifold transgressions Lord thou seest our wickedness and withall how and in whose name we crave thy mercy Turn thee O Lord from thine anger which thou mightest justly pour upon us and be gracious unto us according to thy wonted goodness who abhorrest nothing which thou hast made Create also we beseech thee in us new hearts hearts fit to serve thee and write
my Soul pure and clean may make his abode in it and adorn it with his manifold graces and Be merciful to me O Blessed Saviour Who when thou shalt at the last day come to judge the quick and dead wilt render to every one according to his works either reward or punishment Give me grace so to pass this Earthly Pilgrimage according to thy Holy Will that at that Day I may be through thy merits thought worthy to be received into thy Heavenly Mansion there to praise and bless thee with the Holy Company of blessed Saints and Angels for evermore and Be merciful to me Amen Prayers for several Persons For a Married Man O Gracious Father Maker and Preserver of Heaven and Earth who in the beginning didst institute Matrimony foretelling the mystical union of the Church with our Saviour Christ Who also in the time of his being upon Earth did honour Marriage with his first Miracle And hast appointed it also for a means whereby Mankind is propagated for a remedy to avoid unlawful Lust and for the mutual Comfort and Consolation of thy Children I humbly intreat thee to give me the assistance of thy Divine Grace that I may live according to thy Commandements with my Wife whom thou hast given for my help and comfort in this World Mortifie in me all unclean dishonest and fleshly Lusts let not the heat of unlawful Concupiscence take hold of me but make me to be fully pleased and satisfied with her love and to love her as Christ loved his Church to cherish and comfort her as mine own body and to have as great a care of her health as of mine own Grant that we may live in peace without debate in unity without discord like the members of one body equally desirous to praise thy holy Name And as thou hast O Lord bestowed many Children upon us give us discreet hearts and understanding minds to bring them up in thy Faith and Fear in a religious honest and civil manner Give them obedient hearts to thee and to thy Commandements and to all that thou requirest of them to be performed in duty towards us their Parents Keep them from those which are ready to seduce them and so lead them in thy Faith Fear and Knowledge that they prove not a curse but a blessing unto us and thereby attain to that blessing which thou hast promised to those which honour and obey their Parents Grant likewise O Lord that I may guide and instruct the Family which is under me in thy fear and in honest and careful manner provide as well for their bodies as their souls And give them the like Grace O Lord to perform their duties in fear and obedience not as eye-servers but in simplicity of heart as in thy sight And give us O Lord a competency of Estate to maintain our Selves Children and Family according to that Rank or Calling wherein thou of thy goodness hast placed us without excess riot or vain-glory and in singleness and pureness of heart with all humility relying upon thy blessed will who knowest better than we our selves what is needful for us To thee be all Honour and Glory now and for ever For a Married Woman O Merciful and Loving Lord God who in the beginning for the propagation of Mankind didst take Eve out of the side of Adam and gave her to him as an helper I give thee humble thanks that thou hast vouchsafed to call me to the honourable estate of Matrimony Give me grace O Lord that I may lead a life worthy thereof that I may love my Husband with a pure and chast love acknowledge him for my Head and truly reverence and obey him in all good things that thereby I may please him and live quietly with him Grant that I be not carried away with the vain fashions of this World but may put on such habits as shall be agreeable and suitable with the estate of my Husband and may become a modest Woman to wear Help me O Lord that I may under him prudently and discreetly guide and govern his Houshold and Family and carefully look that nothing be either carelesly lost or wickedly committed in my House Fit me with those good Graces which the Wise Man described in a Good Woman and Saint Peter in Holy and Sanctified Matrons Give me such care concerning the Education of my Children as belongeth to my part that I may live to see them prosper in this life and afterwards we may all be received to thy Eternal Kingdom through Iesus Christ c. For a Child O Almighty Lord God to whom the Obedience of Children to their Parents is most acceptable and all Disobedience most displeasing who hast promised a Blessing to the Dutiful and threatned a Curse to the Disobedient Children I beseech thee to put away from me the detestable Sin of Disobedience and Rebellion against my Parents and give me grace to observe them with all kind of Duty to obey them in all their just Commands and to be ayding and helpful to them at all time of their need Give me grace to bear all their reproofs and errours patiently and not to grieve them by stubborn and evil courses Let me not be so far deprived of thy Grace that I scoff or deride them though by age or infirmity they shall fail in their Iudgement or Reason but cause me to supply their wants lest that I having plenty and they being in any need or distress I not supplying it or not succouring them their lives to whom I owe mine may be in danger to be shortned Lord forgive all the Offences which I have heretofore committed against them Increase the number of their dayes keep them safe in body and mind let them see their Childrens Children to their Comfort and thy Glory Let them govern us and the rest of their Family with wholesome Discipline and good Example that at the last they may in their due time depart this life in peace and come to thy Kingdom unspotted through Iesus Christ. For a Woman with Child O Blessed Lord God who for the Offence of the first Woman didst denounce and impose an inevitable Curse upon all her posterity namely that they should conceive in sin and be subject to many grievous pains and should bring forth their Children with great danger Asswage I beseech thee of thy goodness the sharpness of that Decree and preserve me that I may overcome and escape this great danger and be delivered of the fruit of my body without peril of death and that it may safely be brought to the Sacred Font of Baptism and be regenerated and ingrafted into the mystical Body of Christ and made partaker of his Death and Passion And as thou hast of thy bounty given bodily life to it and me so grant us both life spiritual and so sanctifie our Bodies and Souls here that hereafter we may live among thy blessed Saints for ever in the
life to come For a Young Man or Maid O Lord forasmuch as I am at these years in the heat of the flesh and in the most dangerous time of my life I beseech thee take not thy Mercy and Fatherly Providence from me but by how much the greater danger of Tentations I am in with so much the more care let thy Grace preserve me lest happily I become a Prey to mine Enemies who go about to load me with so many sins that if they prevail I shall never of my self get from under the burthen of them But O merciful Father distrusting in mine own strength I betake my self wholly to thy protection and desire thee both now and ever to keep me Let me not get that habit of sinning in my younger years that I be forced in my age if I be not stifled before in my Offences to bewail the sins of my youth and to say with David Remember not O Lord the sins of my youth But rather accustome me from this time forward to all goodness that I may daily more and more profit therein And that serving thee with a pure heart now I may in mine age say with good King Ezechias O Lord remember I beseech thee how I have walked before thee in truth with a perfect heart and have done that which is good in thy sight Most loving Father who takest care of all men I commend unto thee my Soul as a Child that can of himself do nothing Defend me I pray thee from all mine Enemies spiritual and temporal keep my Body and Soul pure chast and undefiled that I offend not either in obscene speech impure thought or unclean act My Chastity is a more precious Iewel than I can keep without thy help I therefore beseech thee who hast pronounced a blessing to the pure heart to keep my heart pure be thou my guide and preserver lest in the heat of Concupiscence I forget thee Give me grace O Lord to serve and obey my Parents and those to whose Government I am committed and that in all humility And grant that if thou shalt be pleased to call me to the honourable estate of Wedlock I may be matched with one with whom I may serve thee in peace and holiness all the dayes of my life and at the last rest with thee in thy Heavenly Kingdom through Iesus Christ our Lord. For a Servant BLessed Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ who when thou wert the Son of God and Lord of all the World didst take upon thee the form of a Servant that by thy obedience thou mightest work the salvation of all people as well bond as free I pray thee that since thou hast been pleased to call me to the state of a Servant thou wouldst give me an humble and obedient heart and make me contented with this condition of life as alotted to me by thy providence Grant that I may with gentleness of spirit and singleness of heart and willingness of mind serve those under whom I am placed and that I may not either murmure against them or envy those that are seated in a higher estate that I may obey them in all their honest commands in all fear and true respect not with Eye-service as Men-pleasers but with all my heart and the rather because thy commandement bindeth me so to doe Grant that serving them diligently faithfully and carefully I may avoid their displeasure and obtain thy favour and blessing and at the end of my dayes come to that blessed place where Thou with the Father and blessed Spirit dost raign world without end Before a Iourney ALmighty and everlasting God who art the Way the Life and the Truth behold I beseech thee to how many dangers of the World Flesh and Devil I am subject so that without thy aid I cannot safely pass through this Vale of Misery Lead guide and direct me therefore O Lord in the high and right way whither I would go that I turn neither to the right hand or the left nor become a Prey to mine Enemies O Lord thou hast a general care over thy Creatures I therefore in this my Iourney commend unto thee my Soul and Body Defend me from all perils I beseech thee O Lord which didst send thy Angel as a Companion or Fellow-Traveller with the Son of Tobias and didst preserve Abraham and all other thy Servants in their travels vouchsafe thy blessed Angel to guide and conduct me Be thou my comfort in the way and a defence in all dangers Prosper the business which I go about and make this enterprise successful to me And grant that my affairs being dispatched I may return home safe in body and mind Preserve in my absence my Family and all I possess that I being returned in safety and they securely preserved we may altogether give thanks to thy glorious Name through Iesus c. After a Iourney I Give thee thanks O gracious Lord for thy great mercies to me all the dayes of my Life Thou art he which created me and thou art also he that preservest that which thou hast created How often O Lord hast thou turned thine eyes from my sins and made as though thou didst not see them How often and that justly mightest thou have withheld thy hand of preservation from me And yet thy patience hath been so great towards me that thou hast suffered no harm to befall me And as I owe thee many thanks for thy former preservations so now I am further obliged to thee in that thou hast at this time not only guided me to the place whither I intended to go but hast also brought me back in safety and in my absence hast preserved all things unto me Good Lord give me grace to be alwayes mindful of these and all other thy benefits to me and to be truly thankful to thee for them And grant that as by thy mercy I have well ended my affairs abroad and am safely returned to this Temporal Habitation so my Spirit after this Pilgrimage may return to thy Heavenly Mansion and there abide with thee for ever and that even for the merits of our only Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ Amen Intercession IN which we are to pray For all Mankind For the conversion of Iews to the Truth For the conversion of Turks to the Truth For the conversion of Heathen to the Truth For all Christians That they may be strengthned that stand That they may be converted that are in errour For the Churches throughout the World that they may be united in Religion For our Church that whatsoever is amiss in it may be amended For the Kings Majesty and his prosperity For all Kingdoms Christian. For Ours and each part of it that it may flourish in peace For the Clergy That they may Teach well That they may Live well For Wisdom in the Council Integrity in the Iudges Strength in our Armies Discretion in the Magistrates Obedience in the People For
the prosperity and good success Of Merchants Husbandmen Artificers Trades-men And that they may live carefully and honestly in their vocations For the prosperous Education of Youth either in Universities Schools or Other parts of the Kingdom For our Parents Kindred Friends Neighbours and Benefactors For those of whom we have the charge committed to us either in Church Common-Wealth or Families For our Enemies especially those that hate us without cause that God would convert them For those that commend themselves to our prayers and those whose affairs and troubles will not suffer them to pray as they ought For those who are in affliction of body or mind Who are in danger or want in Prison or condemned to Death For those that Excell In qualities of the mind Strength of body Abundance of wealth That they exalt not themselves above their brethren For those who undertake any notable Action which may redound To the Glory of God The Peace of the Church The Honour of the Kingdom Deprecation O Lord rebuke me not in thy wrath Cast me not off for ever Cast me not away from thy presence Hide not thy face from me With-hold not thy mercy from me Forsake me not O Lord. Put me not to shame Turn away reproach from me Let not mine Enemies triumph over me Deliver me not over to their will Preserve my life from them Deliver me O Lord From hardness of heart to impenitence Grossness of heart Impudence of countenance Hardness of countenance From a seared conscience A reprobate mind Sin unto death Viz. Against the Holy Ghost From all superfluity of naughtiness The weight of sin The lusts of the flesh and eyes and pride of life All wicked and vain desires Hurtful and unclean thoughts Desire of vain-glory From a deceitful tongue Unpure lips Hands stretched out to covetousness Feet swift to evil Eyes open to Toyes Ears open to Vanity From blindness of heart Inconstancy of mind Scurrility of speech Intemperance of the belly From desire of riches Reproach of my neighbours Contempt of the poor Oppression of the weak Rancor of mind Root out of me O Lord. Prophaneness and Superstition Pride and Undecency Anger and Contention Swearing and Cursing Passion and Corruption Fraud and Rapine Lying and Slander Envy and Malice Take from me the Sin of Gluttony Give to me the Vertue of Abstinence Take from me the Spirit of Uncleanness Give to me the Love of Chistity Take from me the Desire of the World Give to me Content of Mind Take from me the Heat of Anger Give to me the Spirit of Meekness Take from me the Care of this Life Give to me thy SPIRITUAL Ioy. Take from me Haughtiness of Mind Give to me Compunction of Heart Deliver me O Lord From all evil and mischief All noysome Diseases All things hurtful to My Soul My Health My Estate My Quiet From all Scandal From all Grief From all Infamy From all Enemies Secret From all Enemies Open From all Enemies Crafty From all Enemies Potent From Sudden Death From Violent Death In all my Prayers and Petitions Distresses and Dangers Infirmities and Need. Tentations and Tribulations Good Lord deliver me and help me From the Terrors of Hell Eternal Damnation The angry Countenance of the Iudge The fearful Sentence Depart from me into Utter Darkness The Chains of Everlasting Darkness The Lake of Fire and Brimstone The Smoke of the Torment which ascends for ever Good Lord of thy great mercy deliver me In Affliction MOst merciful Redeemer always loving to us whether thou sendest us heaviness or joy for thy mercy is great whilst by outward afflictions as by bitter pills thou curest the inward diseased man and by temporary troubles thou preparest us and makest us fit for joyes eternal Grant O sweet Saviour that I may drink of this Cup of adversity and all others as reached to me by thy hand Thou knowest O Lord that they are bitter to flesh and blood yet withall I know that thou didst endure far greater things for me and that I have deserved to suffer much more than thou hast laid upon me O Lord thou knowest also the weakness and frailty of mans nature and therefore I do assuredly believe that thou the good Samaritan wilt not only cleanse the wounds of my sins with the sharp wine of thy justice but wilt also add the oyl of thy mercy and comfort whereby I may be strengthned again If thou thinkest not yet sufficient or that enough which thou hast laid upon me yet add patience I beseech thee to my further grief and grant that that these thy punishments may provoke me to true repentance whereby I may by thy merits obtain remission of my sins But if thy Fatherly Clemency shall be contented with this gentle and mild chastisement take off thy corrections and heavy hand from me that so I may for both thy mercies to me praise thy holy Name as well that thou hast so gently dealt with me in amending me so unprofitable a Servant as that thou hast in time taken off the bitterness of affliction and not utterly confounded me in the first of thy works of mercy respecting my necessity and in the last not forgetting my infirmity To thee O Saviour with the Father and Holy Spirit be all Praise Laud and Glory now and evermore Amen In time of Pestilence O Lord God who rejectest none that trusting in thy goodness and believing in thy promises come to thee for succour and help Behold we beseech thee with the eyes of compassion and mercy thy poor sinful and miserable people who now are much afflicted and visited with the Plague of Pestilence with the scourge of thine angry hand Our streets are full of grief and our houses are filled with heaviness and all our joy is turned into mourning by reason of thy heavy wrath and hot displeasure which now is gone out to destroy and consume us from the face of the Earth We confess O Lord it is but just that all thy Creatures should rebell against Man and oppose themselves against him who hath so desperately rebelled against thee his Creator For they are all obedient to thee only Man sinful and wretched Man is continually stubborn and rebellious daily abusing thy Blessings and hourly transgressing thy Commandments got leaving his evil wayes for fear of thy threats nor being allured to goodness with the hope of thy promises We daily hear by thy Messengers and read in thy Sacred Word what thou hast threatned of old to thy rebellious people and in them to us How that if they kept not thy Commandements Thou wouldst send upon them the Sword to avenge the quarrel of thy Covenant and when they should be gathered in their Cities thou wouldst send the Pestilence among them and they should be delivered into the hands of the Enemy And
us to pray that we continue and increase in it 4. It puts us in mind of our vow in Baptism to believe in the Trinity Lord I believe Help thou my unbelief In God the Father Wherein I consider First His personal Relation to his natural Son and gracious affection to us in him That in Christ we are all his Sons by grace and adoption As many as received him to them he gave power to become the Sons of God The Spirit beareth witness with out spirit that we are the Sons of God No more a Servant but a Son Having predestinated us unto the adoption of Children by Jesus Christ. Almighty Secondly His Saving Power That as he is a Father willing to do us good so he is Omnipatent and able to do us good Even to your old age I am he c. I will bear I will carry and deliver you I am the Lord and none else He is Lord over all Upholding all things Almighty Able to subdue all things unto himself Maker of Heaven and Earth Thirdly His Providence in disposing preserving and governing all things 1. By the Word of the Lord were the Heavens made He laid the Foundations of the Earth Thou Lord which hast made Heaven and Earth the Sea and all that in them is I form the Light and create the Darkness He layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters The Spirit of the Lord hath made me and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life 2. He provideth for the Raven his food c. Thou Lord shalt save both Man and Beast They shall be satisfied with the plenteousness c. Over Sparrows He careth for us In him we live move and have our being 3. He ordereth the world according to equity He judgeth the folk righteously and governeth the Nations upon the earth Thy providence O Father governeth all things He ordereth all things sweetly In Jesus A Saviour He shall save his people from their sins He that beleeveth not in him is condemned Neither is there Salvation in any other By the obedience of one shall many be made righteous Christ. Annointed With the Oyl of gladness above his fellows The Lord hath annointed me His onely Son Of God the Father The only begotten of the Father His only begotten Son Our Lord. In right of 1 Creation 2 Redemption 1. By whom he made the World By him were all things created 2. In whom we have redemption Redeemed with his precious Blood Bought with a price Conceived by the Holy Ghost Without the help of Man to help the uncleanness of our conception She was found with Child of the Holy Ghost The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee Angelo nunciante Spiritu adveniente mox verbum in utero mox intraverbum Caro. Upon the Annuntiation or message of an Angel and the Overshadowing of the Holy Ghost the word presently entred into the VVomb and with the word the flesh Born of the Virgin Mary Made the Sonne of Man that we might be the Sonnes of God To purge the uncleanness of our birth He did not abhor the Virgins womb A Virgin shall conceive She shall bring forth a Son And she brought forth her first born Son c. The word was made flesh And when the fulness of time was come God sent forth his Son made of a woman c. S. Bernard saith That God in the assumption of our nature made three mixtures so wonderfull without comparison that never the like were or should be to the end of the world God and Man a Mother and a Virgin Faith and Mans heart Suffered under Pontius Pilate Those things which we should have suffered That we might not suffer them He powred out his soul unto death c. He bare our sins in his own body on the tree He once suffered for sins Was Crucified To take away the Curse of the Law Christ hath redeemed us from the Curse of the Law being made a Curse for us as it is written Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree He humbled himself and became obedient to death even the death of the Cross. Dead To take away the sharpness and bondage of death To satisfie Gods justice for us The wages of sin is death That he by the grace of God should taste death for every one That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death that is the Devil And deliver them who through the fear of death were all their life time subject to bondage O Death where is thy sting Buried To take away the corruption of the grave that we might be assured of his death All agree that he was buried in a Sepulcher They took him from a Tree and laid him in a Sepulcher Descended into Hell Whither we ought to have gone that we might not go thither at all Thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell Non immerito creditur It is not without cause that we believe saith Saint Augustine upon this Article And Christ according to his Soul was in Hell the Scripture is plain for it being foretold by the Prophet David and evidently expounded by the Apostles Application of that Text Thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell And he concludeth peremptorily with this Question Quis ergo nisi infidelis negaverit fuisse apud inferos Christum Who therefore but an Infidel will deny that Christ was in Hell The third day he rose again from the dead That he might raise with him our nature being the first fruits of them which sleep He is risen He is not here Christ being raised from the dead c. And was raised again for our justification By the Trinity 1. By the Father Acts 2. 24. 3. 15. 4. 10. 5. 30. 10. 40. Ephes. â— 20. 1 Pet. 1. 21. 2. By the Son Joh. 10. 17 18. Rom. 14. 3. By the Spirit Rom. 8. 11. 1 Pet. 3. 18. He ascended into Heaven To prepare us a place whereto we had no right To assure us that our flesh is gone before To send us the Holy Spirit He was received up into Heaven He was parted from them and carried up to Heaven We have a High Priest that is Passed into the Heavens He that descended is the same which ascended far above all Heavens I go to prepare a place for you Having boldness to enter into the Holiest by the blood of Iesus And hath raised us up together and made us sit in Heavenly places together I will pray the Father and he shall give you another
man escape unpunished God will neither be made flexible by favour nor corrupt by gifts Riches profit not in the day of wrath And therefore say not I have sinned what harm hath happened to me For though God be long suffering he will in no wise let thee go unpunished Concerning propitiation be not without fear to add sin to sin And say not His mercy is great he will be pacified for the multitude of my sins for mercy and wrath come from him and his indignation resteth upon sinners We must all appear before his Tribunal and receive according to the thing which every one hath done His Sentence will be so Iust that though in this World we may say Veniet qui malè judicata rejudicabit dies The day will come when there will be a re-view of things ill carried Yet in the case between God and Man then it will not be not be so 3. Being Wise Omniscient Nothing is hid from his all-seeing eyes He beholdeth all our actions He is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart All things are naked and open to his eyes He knoweth our thoughts long before our manifold transgressions and our mighty sins Therefore no hope of Evasion by hiding any thing from him 4. Being Good He will expect our Thankfulness He hath ever been gracious to us heaped many benefits on us And by how much the more beneficial he hath been to us the longer expected our conversion and the oftner admonished us by so much the more rigorously will he deal with us for neglecting these benefits Unto whom much is given of him much shall be required An accompt will be exacted of our Talents received Every man shall be rewarded according to his works He will exact an accompt from us How we have used the Body and Soul given unto us How we have employed our Natural Gifts Temporal Blessings and the rest The signes of his Goodness to us And can we answer one for a thousand Our Iudgement therefore the greater for abusing his Goodness Again If we consider this Iudgement in respect of the Parties lyable to it we shall have greater cause to betake our selves to a more serious consideration of our estates 1. In regard of the Nature and condition of Man A flower Of short continuance A leaf Dry stabble His substance but dust His life but a wind a shadow of no continuance Format us de terra Conceptus in culpa Natus ad poenam Made of earth Conceived in sin Born to suffer punishment In regard that he is sinful and wretched Composed of vanity Every man living altogether vanity Lighter than vanity Shaped in wickedness Conceived in sin Born in uncleanness A child of wrath A vessel of perdition dishonour Unclean like a silthy clout Drinking iniquity like water All have erred Agunt mala quae non licent vana quae non expediunt Faciles ad seducendum Debiles ad operandum Fragiles ad resistendum They do evil which is unlawful and are vain which is not meet Easie to deceive Weak to work Frail to resist So that our entrance into the world is miserable Conversation in it Culpable Dissolution from it Damnable The Consideration of this unworthiness hath terrified all the Saints and Servants of God lest they should fall under this judgement I have sinned what shall I doe saith Iob. How shall I answer O Lord correct me not in thine indignation saith David Correct me O Lord but yet not in thy fury lest I be brought to nothing saith Ieremy In respect of the sentence it self which will be to the good Venite Benedicti Come ye blessed to the bad Discedite Maledicti Depart ye cursed which last sentence is terrible 1. They are cast into eternal torments a punishment sensible for the pain and misery felt 2. They are deprived of the Beatifical vision of God a punishment prejudicial for the Glory lost The first is terrible 1. In regard of the Suddenness and Horrour At the time of the Iudges appearance A consuming fire shall goe before him and a mighty tempest shall be stirred up about him Their visitation shall be in Thunder Earthquake and great noise storm and Tempests and the flame of devouring fire The day of the Lord is very terrible who may abide it A day of wrath a day of trouble and distress c. It shall burn as an Oven and the proud and all that do wickedly shall be stubble They shall behold Above them The Angry Iudge disdaining them Under them The Horrible Pit gaping for them Within them The Worm of Conscience gnawing them About them The World burning Near to them The Devils accusing them Whither then shall a sinner flee It is impossible to be hidden and insufferable to abide If it were terrible for the Israelites to hear Gods voice delivered by an Angel who brought no ill news Insomuch as they said If we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more we shall die And to Moses Talk thou with us let not God lest we die What will it be for sinners to hear the Iudge pronounce this heavy sentence Discedite Maledicti 2. In regard of the Accusers 1. The Heaven and the Earth 2. Christ as Iudge Witness I will reprove thee and set before thee the things that thou hast done I will shew thy filthiness I was hungry and ye gave me no meat c. 3. The Angels Their attendants in this life 4. The Devils who attend them for future torments 5. The Books of their Consciences Thine own wickedness shall correct thee and thy turnings back shall reprove thee 6. The Creatures whom they have abused Consider this lest ye howl and weep in your misery In regard of the intollerable paines which follow the Sentence 1. Everlasting Chains of Darkness Vermis corum non morietur They shall weep for ever 2. Sharp Beyond the Fornace seven times heated 3. Various of divers sorts According to the diversity of sinners offences 4. Stinking In the Lake which burneth with fire and brimstone 5. Affrighting Tormented by Devils 6. In Bonds not able to stir Bind him hand and foot Held with Cords of his own sin Bind the Tares c. Gathered as Prisoners into a pit Chains of darkness 7. In horrid darkness Prefigured by that of AEgypt A Land of darkness 8. With Company detestable In regard that Hell is a Place of no Order Dilatavit Infernus animam suam aperuit os suum absque ullo termino Hell hath enlarged it self and hath opened his mouth without measure Of no Rest or Comfort But cries vexation weeping and gnashing of teeth Not a drop of cool water to the thirsty Continual mourning sorrow without
4. For the corruptions of the Soul The longer we sin the obscurer the understanding The weaker the Will the more disordered the desires Who then is so void of understanding or reason that will think he can repent after many years when his sins are multiplyed and grown into a habit and that God is farther from us When the Devil encroacheth on us and our faculties are corrupted And cannot doe it in his better strength That sins encreasing the pardon will be easilier obtained for them That the infirmity prevailing the medicine will cure the easilier knowing that Languor prolixior gravat medicum brevem languorem recidit medicus A long sickness or languishing disease puts the Physician to his Books while a short grief is soon cured by him Who can carry a great burden in his age that groans under a little weight in his chief strength It was a harder and more difficult act in mans consideration to revive Lazarus being four dayes in the grave than the Rulers daughter newly dead Grant that thou canst repent in thine age 1. Yet consider the time lost which might have been spent in doing good and avoiding evil Why spendest thou thy time in sowing that of which thou shalt reap nought but tears The heathen man could say Hee that desires to doe good while he is old makes a plain demonstration that he hath no mind to goodness till that time which is unfit for all things And it is too late to begin to live when we are ready to dye S. Gregory saith That he is little better than an Infidel that forbeareth to repent till he is old And it is to be feared that while such a one hopeth for mercy he shall fall into judgement Can the infinite Majesty of God offended be satisfied with a little a small repentance If thou canst not satisfie him for the sins of a day why heapest thou the sins of many years and protractest to give satisfaction till thine age If thou hast gathered nothing in thy youth how canst thou find any thing in thine age 2. Besides Repentance is the gift of God to whom he pleaseth and when Every one ought to fear that it will not be given him at the hour of death and is therefore to work out his salvation in the time of his life with fear and trembling Saint Augustine saith That seldom or never a full conversion is seen in the end of a mans dayes and that much doubt may be made of a late penitent Of him that repents at the last gasp and is reconciled that is by the Minister to God I am not certain whether he be secure or not Saint Augustine is not confident of his salvation though he be absolved by the Priest Therefore let every one that would be out of doubt repent while he is lusty and strong and in his perfect health for he that hath lived ill all his life and repenteth not till the last is certainly in great danger Wilt thou be secure say two Fathers wilt thou avoid all doubt Repent while thou art well And why art thou then secure Because thou repentest when thou mightest have sinned 3. There are many impediments in age and sickness Men are then troubled with many infirmities Cumbred with many affairs Grieved with many thoughts for wife and children estate and pleasure to be left And what kind of penitence can be expected from man in this estate Poenitentia quae fit in extremis raro vera est ob magnam difficultaetem in hoc articulo It is seldom true being deferred till our end 1. For the great perturbations arising by the extremity of sorrow anguish thought of death all most violent in a dying man They suffer him to think of nothing but that with which he is vexed 2. True repentance ought to be voluntary not of necessity And a dying man is forced Like to that of Shimei to David Like to that of Mariners in a storm 3. If he thinks not of it himself as it is very doubtful his Friends seldom or never send for those who should put him in mind of it till it be too late till he be past all sense of it And this is a just punishment saith S. Gregory for not thinking on God while he was in ability to do it So that one negligence is punished with another Lastly let not the examples of a sew cause protraction in thee For though God forbare his threatned judgements on the Ninivites it was for their forty dayes repentance And if thou canst repent forty dayes as they did thou hast the better hope And though the Thief in articulo mortis ready to dye was saved Yet this example ought not to give liberty to any to defer so long Besides his salvation was no less admirable than any other of Christs miracles And his conversion no less wonderful than his salvation For when Christs own Disciples had denied and forsaken him The Thief confessed him Credidit Reus quod negavit Electus But trust to thy timely preparations by the example of the Wise Virgins And consider and think of thine own estate while thou hast time Make no tarrying to turn to the Lord and put not off from day to day for suddenly shall the wrath of God come forth and in thy security thou shalt be destroyed Remember thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth while the evil dayes come not Defer not Repentance unto years unapt testy weak when sin leaveth thee and not thou it Now the time is when thou mayst find the Iudge propitious Seek the Lord while he may be found and call upon him while he is near Repent and be converted that your sins may be blotted out Now our Repentance prevaileth chiefly by 1. Prayer 2. Fasting 3. Alms. 4. Tears The prayer of humble peirceth he clouds It was the practice of David after his fall as may appear by the 1 Psalm It was the counsel of Saint Peter to Simon Magus Repent of thy wickedness and pray to God if perhaps 〈◊〉 thought of thine heart may be s 〈◊〉 thee For God is properly 〈◊〉 if we neglect not this duty The Lord is nigh to all them that call upon him He never forsakes them that call upon him But of this point more at large elsewhere Though the best fast be the fast of the soul in abstaining from sin yet other fast of the body is necessary for us as a salve for a wound It asswageth the intemperance of the body represseth inordinate affections and allayeth the passions of the soul which arise by fulness Let not your hearts be over-charged saith our Saviour All the servants of God by this humbled themselves when they set themselves to repentance or to obtain any thing at his hands David humbled and chastened himself by fasting It was an antient Precept Saint Augustine out of Saint Basil saith that it was
commanded as a Law by God to Adam in Paradise by prohibiting the Tree And if he had fasted from that Tree we had not needed to have fasted we are sick by sin let us be healed by repentance but repentance without fasting is in vain So he The Flesh had need to be kept under the Soul like a servant left it rebell and to be held in with this bit for let but the reins loose and the flesh will run headlong to perdition Prayer is good with fasting c. And God saith Turn unto me with fasting The Prayer and Alms of Cornelius ascended to Heaven Wilt thou have thy Prayers fly to Heaven make it two wings Fasting and Alms. We are to give alms saith he in this regard that we may be heard when we deprecate Gods anger for our sins past By Mercy and Truth iniquity is purged Who so stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor he also shall cry himself and shall not be heard Give alms of such things as you have and all things shall be clean to you Break off thine iniquities by shewing mercy on the poor saith Daniel to Nebuchadnezzer Lastly The most powerful act of Repentance is godly sorrow accompanied with groans sighs and tears They are the blood of a wounded soul. They ascend unto the nostrils of God as the Odour of a sweet smelling Sacrifice God suffereth them not to be spent in vain but gathereth them David every nighe in thought of his offences washed his bed and watered his couch with them God promiseth that if we come weeping he will lead us in mercy And therefore commandeth it as a chief demonstration of our hearty Repentance Saint Peter after his denial of Christ wept bitterly but said nothing We find that he wept not what he said He made choice to repent rather with tears and no words than with words and no tears Recte flevit tacuit quia quod defleri solet non solet excusari Mary Magdalen wept but said nothing yet Christ said to her thy sins are forgiven thee Ezechias wept sore The Lord said I have heard thy prayers and seen thy tears and added fifteen years to his life Lachrymae tacitae quodammodo preces sunt veniam non postulant merentur Sufficit auribus Domini imber oculorum fletus citius audit quam voces Let the wicked therefore forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord. To day if ye will hear his voice harden not your hearts If we will not hear this voice of his Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand He will stop his ears to us when we cry Lord open unto us though we cry with tears as Esau did for his Fathers blessing who found no way of changing his Fathers mind though he sought it with tears carefully when it was too late For though tears prevail in their due time and happy is he that can shed them Yet when the door is shut God will say to the impenitent sinner as he said to the foolish Virgins I know ye not The Duty of Repentance THis duty of Repentance consisteth of two parts 1. Mortification of the old Man which is the first degree of Regeneration 2. Quickning of the new which is the second 1. Mortification is an act of the Holy Spirit in us who doth by little and little quench and abate in our souls and bodies the natural strength of our corruption which was crept into us partly Originally by Adams fall which is that we mean by the Old man and partly that Sin which we have actually increased by our own frailty It consisteth 1. In our acknowledgement of Sin 2. In our Contrition and Sorrow Both which are set down in one Verse of the Psalmist 1. Our acknowledgement is either 1. Inward 2. Outward 1. Inward acknowledgement is when we feel the burden of our sins pressing us down our Consciences accusing us and our thoughts testifying against us 2. Outward is when we make Confession of them by speech or other outward actions And this Confession of sin is a publication or manifestation of our unworthiness and guilt whereby we testifie and bewail that we have sinned against God and have withall a setled resolution and purpose to offend him no more Confession is either Publick Private Publick Confession is when upon the Lords Day or other dayes appointed for Gods Worship we in the open Congregation together or after the Minister do confesse our sins to God Private is either 1. To God in our Closets or other private places as Ps. 32. 5. 38. 9. 18. 41. 4. 51. 2 Sam. 24. 10. Dan. 9. 2. To men Jam. 5. 16. 2. Contrition is a sorrow and grief of the Conscience and mourning of the Soul because we have offended God having also joyned with it a displeasure against our selves and a true humiliation both of souls and bodies as Iam. 4. 9. Esa. 66. 2. Eze. 36. 1. 41. 10. Ion. 3. 8. 2 Kings 22. 19. Matt. 5. 4. 2 Cor. 7. 9 10 11. Quickning of the new man is when we returning to God live spiritually and have a desire for the time to come to please Him this is also called a Conversion to God And this we do 1. By avoiding evil 2. Following that which is good Both comprehended in Psa. 34.14 Esa. 1. 16 17. The Benefits we receive by Repentance are The deferring of Gods punishments due for sin The mitigation of his displeasure The averting of his judgements The escaping of eternal death The prolonging of our prosperity The attaining of eternal life Confession of Sins VVHo will give water to my head or tears to mins eyes that I may day and night bewail my sins and ingratitude against thee O God my Creator Many things there are which terrifie mens Consciences and bring them to the true sense of their sins but nothing is so available thereunto as the contemplation of the greatness of thy goodness and the multitude of thy benefits That therefore O Lord my poor wretched soul may the better see and consider in what state it stands I will recount thy manifold blessings and the number of my sins that thereby also I may more clearly understand who thou art and what I am how gracious a God thou hast been to me and how rebellious a sinner I have been to thee There was a time O Lord as thy Divine Majesty best knoweth when I was not and thou tookest me out of the dust of the Earth and gavest me a being creating in me a Soul after thine own similitude and made it capable of thy glory Thou didst create my body with all the members and senses thereof and my soul with all the powers and faculties thereof And as thou didst create me so thou didst preserve me
thy power and rule both in Heaven and Earth Thou shewest mercy on whom thou wilt art pitiful to whom thou pleasest and wouldst not the death of a sinner neither delightest in the destruction of any O God rich in mercy who out of thy extraordinary love to Mankind even when we were thine Enemies didst send thine only Son into the world that every one that believed on him might not perish but have life everlasting Have mercy upon me have mercy upon me according to thy mercy and according to the multitude of thy mercies do away my offenses Holy Father I have sinned against Heaven and before thee and am no more worthy to be called thy Son I have turned from thee and have broken all thy Commandements I have not walked aright but have gone after mine own lusts choosing those wayes which thou hast forbidden me to tread in Neither O Lord have I feared thine anger but have been in all things disobedient unto thee and have hardned my heart against thee I have hated instruction and cast thy sayings behind me Truth hath found no place in me and my hands have been the workers of much wickedness I have spoken vainly idlely and wickedly I have brought forth deceit and meditated the way of untruth I have provoked thy wrath against me by accustoming my self to do the work of the flesh and rejecting the good motions of the Spirit Woe unto me rebellious wretch that I have committed these wicked acts against thee so loving so good so gracious a God to the utter destruction of my soul without thy mercy in Christ Iesus In remembrance and confidence whereof O Lord I come to thee and humbly intreat thee that thou wouldest not reject a contrite humble miserable and repentant sinner who at this time earnestly invocateth thy Name Return a little O Lord and be intreated for my manifold sins do not unto me according to the multitude of them neither reward me according to my transgressions Let my humble Prayers sighs and groans come into thy presence and according to thy promises receive me again into thy favour For O Father I am one of those whom thy only Son redeemed with his most precious blood O Lord my soul doth loath my life by reason of my manifold sins and I humble my self under thy mighty hand because I know that in thine anger thou shewest mercy and in time of trouble thou dost forgive offences And behold O Lord that I confess my sins beseeching thee for thy goodness to do unto me according to thy wonted mercy I am confounded and ashamed to lift up mine eyes unto thee because my sins have prevented my prayers and have ascended up to thee before them Against thee O Lord have I sinned and done much evil in thy sight Yet wherefore should I dye in my sins seeing it is not thy pleasure that any sinner should dye but turn unto thee and live For thou art good and gracious and savest those who are altogether unworthy out of the abundance of thy mercy in Christ Iesus the Righteous For although thine anger against sinners is unsufferable and who may abide it Yet thy mercy towards offenders is unsearchable and who can find out the depth thereof or describe it Our Fathers in their troubles cryed unto thee and thou didst deliver them they put their trust in thee and were not confounded And though they by their offences have justly provoked thine anger yet upon their humiliation thou didst remember thy Covenant and ease them of their afflictions O Lord be merciful also unto me for I am miserable and wretched Heal my soul for I have sinned against thee My soul is very much disquieted within me How long Lord will it be ere thou look upon me and deliver it Lighten mine eyes for I have too long slept in death and my sins have too long had dominion over me Return O Lord at the last and be gracious unto me O deliver my soul and have mercy upon me And all my bones shall say Lord who is like unto thee To thee be all Honour Praise and Glory World without end Another O Lord Iesus Christ the only Physician of sick souls who in the fulness of God came into this World not to call the just but sinners to Repentance Behold me the most wretched of all sinners who with as much humility as I am able in the confidence of thy great goodness cast my self before the foot-stool of thy Majesty confessing my great and grievous offences And if the Publican in the Gospel durst not lift up his eyes to heaven but stood a far off and smote his brest saying Lord be merciful to me a sinner what shall I doe whose sins surpass the greatest sinners offences For all my inward and outward parts are wholly depraved and nothing that is good remaineth in me And when I look into the book of my conscience I find that I have abominably polluted the garment of innocency which I received at my Baptism I have put all my strength to offend thee with all the members I have For my feet have been swift to evil and flow to good mine eyes open to vanity and shut to that which is truly amiable My hands stretched to covetousness and closed from the works of mercy mine ears ready to hear evil and stopped to the good motions of the Spirit and my soul the noblest part in me which hath eyes to contemplate the glory of thy Majesty I have turned away from the consideration of thy Excellency to the vain and transitory things of this life I have given liberty to whatsoever mine eyes have desired and have not resisted the unclean passions of my heart so that the whole course of my life hath been a continual warfare against the. How often have I returned as a dog to the vomit and as a sow washed to the myre I am that Fool which hath said in his heart there is no God For I have lived so dissolutely that I have made plain demonstration by my behaviour That I believed thou either wert not at all or else couldst do nothing at all Thou O Lord hast often called me and I have neglected thy voice Thou hast expected me and I have abused thy patience Thou hast given me the treasure of a long time to repent and I have consumed it wastefully Thou hast stricken me and I have not been sensible of thy hand Thou hast afflicted me and I have made no use of thy correction Thou didst sweat to make me clean and I still remain in my pollution I am hardned as well with thy punishments as with thy blessings being rebellious to the one and unthankful for the other And what shall I further say but that my heart soul thoughts and body are all impure and defiled and that of all sinners I am the chief unworthy Earth
should any longer sustain me or that I should expect any thing from thee but thy severest Iudgement For if thou sparedst not Lucifer and his Angels for one only sin Pride but didst cast them from Heaven to be reserved for everlasting chains of darknesse unto the Iudgement of the great Day what can I hope or look for that have offended thee not in one offence alone but in all kind of transgressions For my sins are in number numberless insomuch that I hate my self for my madness that from so noble a liberty I am fallen into so base a servitude and find my self overwhelmed with the horrible dread of thy fearful Iudgements Yet when I behold and consider that infinite mercy of thine which surpasseth all the rest of thy works I am a little refreshed and my Soul is a little comforted and revived For as by the examination of the hainousness of my sins and the strictness of thy Iustice I did almost despair So considering and weighing the testimonies of thy Servants left upon record for the comfort of poor distressed souls I am somewhat again cheared and raised up For besides those places of consolation and many more I find by divers Parables and Similitudes of thine own how ready and propense thou art to receive and pardon the Penitent As by the lost Penny the lost Sheep and by the Prodigal Son whose Image I find in my self and whose life mine doth fully parallel Wherefore O Lord I humbly intreat thee to restore me thy lost Son to thy favour and withall to give me the true sense and knowledge of the innocency I have lost I do not desire that thou shouldest deal so kindly with me as that Father did with his Son but I shall be happy and glad if thou wilt entertain me as one of the meanest of thy hired servants My hope and confidence is that thou wilt pitty me because thou art the fountain of pitty and compassion Behold me therefore with the eyes of pitty look on me and ease me who come unto thee laden with the heavy burden of my sins pardon them and save me for thy infinite mercy and remember not my sins but thine own sufferings think not on me as a proud and rebellious Malefactor but as an humble and penitent Convert Look on me with those eyes of compassion wherewith thou didst sometime behold Mary Magdalen Peter and the good Thief Give me true knowledge of my sins with the first true contrition with the second and receive me with the third into thy Heavenly Paradise Let thy obedience satisfie for my rebellions thy innocency for my guilt thy humility for my arrogancy thy fasting for my intemperance and thy justice for my iniquity Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me whole and restore me to thy former grace Purifie purge and cleanse me from mine offences and open mine eyes that I may clearly see mine own pollution and make me to grieve that I have not grieved for my sins as I ought to have done And as thou hast by thy long-suffering hitherto expected my repentance so of thy infinite mercy and goodness pardon me repenting and grant me grace that I may be afraid to offend thee hereafter Hear me O sweet Saviour make intercession for me to the Father with whom and the Holy Spirit thou dost live and reign coequal and coeternal Lord God world without end Amen Confession of Sins I confess O Lord That I was shaped in wickedness and in sin my Mother conceived me That I was brought forth in uncleanness That I am a root of bitterness A wild vine of Sodom A branch of the wild olive The child of wrath A vessel of dishonour and perdition That my heart is rebellious like a starting bow That my throat is an open sepulcher venting all folly That I am of polluted lips That my tongue talketh nothing but vanity That mine eyes are evil prone to lust That mine ears are uncircumcised and like to the deaf Adder That I have a forhead of brass and a neck of iron That my hands are slow to good That my feet are swift to evil I have sinned against thee O Lord and in thy sight not fearing thy Majesty My Sins are In quantity Large and of a great size Of long continuance From my Mothers breasts Deep Heavy Like a burden Like lead Stretching to Heaven with their cry Many in number Like the Stars More than the hairs of my head The sands of the Sea Oftentimes reiterated As a Fountain casting out water Till they became as a habit As red as scarlet and crimson I am sold under sin Till they become natural to me Like the AEthiopians skin The Leopards spots In quality The worst of sins Strong like cords and cart-ropes Gaining nothing thereby For a handful of barley a little bread Committing sin with greediness Sin upon sin With impudence Not being ashamed Knowing it to be sin Giving offence thereby Unthankfully Like the Dog to the vomit Like the Sow to the mire Therefore O Lord because thou art just and thy judgements true I reap the fruit of my foolishness For what fruit have I in those things whereof I am ashamed My dayes are consumed in vanity and my years in the bitternesse of my soul. And now there is no health in my flesh because of thy displeasure neither is there any rest in my bones by reason of my sin My heart trembleth also with remembrance of thy Iudgements I feel bitterness above the bitterness of death in that I have forsaken thee O God and that thou hast forsaken me Woe unto me rebellious Wretch for thus doing See and consider O Lord how vile I am become for my Soul abhorreth to live I have roared for the disquietness of my heart And what shall I now say or wherein shall I open my mouth What shall I answer seeing I have done these things Miserable man that I am who shall deliver me out of this body of death When I have not what I can further say or do this only remaineth this is my last refuge that I direct mine eyes to thee Out of the deep have I called to thee O Lord Lord hear my voice If thou Lord shouldest be extream to mark what is done amiss O Lord who may abide it Enter not into judgement with thy Servant O Lord for in thy sight shall no man living be justified Wherefore O Lord I appeal from Thee to Thee From Thee a just Iudge To Thee a merciful Father From the Throne of thy Iustice To the Seat of thy Mercy O Lord be pleased to admit of this appeal If thou do not I perish And O Lord carest thou not that I perish
once suffered for sin the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God Let not the third Mercy rejoyceth above judgement Let not the fourth If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Christ Iesus the righteous And he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but for the sins of the whole world Let not thine own words be spoken in vain Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance I came not to judge the world but to save it These things are not cannot be spoken in vain Wherefore in the multitude of the sorrowes that are in my Heart thy comforts O Lord have refreshed my Soul Let us therefore come boldly to the Throne of Grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need Which be pleased to grant For thy great and many Mercies Thy Names sake The Glory of thy Name Thy Promise sake Thy Practice sake My Misery My Infirmity Even for thy Son Iesus Christ's sake The Seven Penitential Psalms Paraphrased Psalm 6. O Lord my God rebuke me not I beseech thee in thy fierce indignation against my sins either in this life or at the day of judgement neither chasten or correct me in thy hot displeasure by condemning me to eternal death 2 Have mercy and compassion upon me according to thy accustomed goodness O Lord for I am weak and frail by nature strengthen me therefore by thy grace O Lord and heal me by curing the infirmities of my Soul for they are multiplied so greatly upon me that my bones and all my inward parts are vexed and disquieted with the remembrance of them 3 My sinful Soul considering my manifold offences and trembling at the thought of thy just anger against them is also like as is my flesh sore troubled and almost at the point of desparation but thou O Lord that desirest not the death of a sinner how long will it be ere thou look upon me and bring me out of this misery 4 Return from the rigour of thy justice O Lord to the sweetness of thy mercy and deliver my Soul from the bondage of sin O Lord save me from the assaults of the Devil not for any merits of mine but for thy mercies sake in Christ Jesus my Saviour 5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee to praise and glorifie thy Name and who surely none there is that shall give thee thanks or celebrate thy goodness in the grave of Hell where nothing is to be heard but weeping gnashing of teeth and blasphemies 6 I am weary and faint with my groaning and sighing for my transgressions every night when I should take my rest I wash my bed weeping for them and I water my couch the place of my rest with my tears of unfeigned repentance 7 Mine eye of reason and understanding is consumed and groweth weak because of the grief I take fearing thy judgements yea it waxeth old and I continue in sin because of the united Forces of all mine Enemies the World the Flesh and the Devil 8 Depart therefore far form me al ye mine Enemies which are and have been the workers and causers of mine iniquity by your tentations and evil examples for henceforth I will have no more to do with you for my Conscience assureth me that the Lord of his infinite goodness hath heard and pitied the voice of my weeping and therefore I should be unthankful to him to return to those sins which he in his mercy hath forgiven 9 The Lord I cannot repeat it too often hath graciously heard my earnest supplication for the pardon of my sins and he the Lord plentiful in pity hath not only now but will also hereafter receive my prayer whensoever I call faithfully upon him 10 Let all mine Enemies therefore who have sought my destruction be ashamed at my Conversion and before vexed and troubled at the consideration os Gods judgements Let them no longer delay but repent and return to the Lord and be ashamed that they have so long deferred their conversion and suddenly without any longer delay make their peace with him by unfeigned repentance Glory be to the Father c. Psalm 32. BLessed is he in this life in assured hope and thrice blessed in full and perfect fruition in the life to come whose transgression by Gods mercy is forgiven in respect of the offence and whose sin by the imputation of Christs righteousness is so covered in this world that it be not laid open at the day of judgement in respect of the punishment 2 Blessed and happy is the man unto whom in regard either of offence or punishment the Lord accepting the merits of Christ imputeth no sin but giveth so ample a remission of them that he taketh no notice of any sin in him and in whose Spirit as well as in outward shew is no guile but penitently without hypocrisie bewaileth his offences 3 When I my self I speak by experience kept silence dissembling and covering my sins wherewith my Conscience was oppressed my bones and inward parts waxed old and feeble through my roaring which God regarded not though I cryed all the day long and that because I confessed not my sins aright unto him 4 For day and night continually thy hard hand of affliction was heavy upon me to punish my obstinacy and to reduce me to repentance and by reason thereof my moisture and vigour which I formerly had is turned like to the drought of Summer and is almost withered and dryed up 5 My sin therefore at the last I being thus handled by thee did I resolve to acknowledge unto thee in contrition of soul and mine iniquity which I formerly concealed I have but any longer hid but humbly confessed unto thee 6 I further said within my self when thy grace began to work in me that I will no longer continue in my rebellion but penitently confess all my transgressions and iniquity unto the Lord gracious and merciful and I had no sooner done it but thou of thy wonted compassion forgavest the iniquity and punishment of my sin committed against thee 7 For this remission of sin as it was necessary for me to pray for it so shall every one of what condition soever that is godly for the just also fall pray unto thee O Lord in a time when thou mayest be found in a fit season But in the greatest danger of floods and swelling of the great waters of afflictions God will so preserve serve the just man that they shall not have power to come nigh unto him to oppose or overwhelm him 8 Thou O God art my hiding place and refuge in all tribulations thou for in none other will I trust shalt preserve me by thy power from trouble and adversity Thou shalt compass me about with thy mercy and I will sing unto thee
long after is not only meat for those that are in health but Physick also for the sick and doth not only refresh the righteous but cleanseth those that are sinners also If I be weak by it I shall be strengthned If in health in health by it I shall be preserved and if dead in sin by it I shall be revived I humbly therefore intreat thee O Father that as as David did admit Mephibosheth to his Table for his Fathers sake so thou wouldest suffer me to be partaker of thy heavenly Table for thy Sons sake who with so great labour and sorrow did regenerate us by his death on the Cross and liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit for ever Prayers before the Communion O Almighty Lord God Father of all mercie and consolation I humbly beseech thee to behold with the eye of pity my poor and wretched soul which though thou didst create after thine own Image and washedst with the blood of thy dear Son yet I have so abominably defiled and defaced with the stain of sin that it can hardly be known O Father I was thy sonne whom thou didst to lovingly imbrace and load with blessings and who was in thy house in great honour and dignity In the Sacrament of Baptisme thou didst adopt me and gavest me the inheritance of a sonne and heir but I unthankfully and prodigally by my evil life have wasted my Patrimony I have wickedly abused the flower and prime of my youth and the good parts and faculties of my soul and body with the pleasures of the flesh pride surfetting envy lust covetousness ideness rebellion and disobedience and now at the last I find that all the temporal delights of the flesh and the World are altogether vain and vanish like smoak For all flesh is grass and all the Glory of man is but like the flower of the field and is suddenly gone He that is rich to day to morrow becommeth poor and miserable he that walketh in health and strength of body to day to morrow is by sickness made feeble and weak he that liveth to day the next day dieth and he which to day glorieth in the greatest pomp to morrow is laid in his Coffin and carried to his Grave Therefore O Lord consider the weakness and frailty of man and turn away I pray pray thee thy face from my sins and remember not them so in thine anger that thou forget either thine own mercy or my weakness By mine own fault I confess O Lord and by my evil conversation I have made my self unworthy of thy favour and by my evil concupiscences I have grievously wounded my conscience I have often grieved thy holy Spirit by not hearkning to the good motions thereof but yeilding to my sensual lust and beastly appetite Yet O mercifull Father cast me not utterly from thy sight for from the beginning of the world it was not heard that thou didst reject any sinner that with a contrite heart came unto thee Behold I come unto thee in great necessity and cast my self at thy feet confessing the greatness and multitude of my sins They have brought me into that evil state and condition that I am not worthy to be called thy Son yet I pray thee receive me into the number of thy hired Servants Give me grace heartily to repent me of my sins feed and cherish me with the bread and drink of the Body and Blood of thy Son Christ Iesus that by thy mercy I may be received to grace and restored to the former dignity from which I am worthily cast and to the inheritance of thy everlasting Kingdom through the same our Saviour Iesus Christ. Another O Blessed Saviour I poor unworthy sinner have a great desire and earnest longing to come to thy Table but considering my many and grievous sins tremble and fear to approach unto it For when I consider thy words to thy Disciples Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you have no life in you And on the other side the words of the Apostle whosoever shall eat this Bread and drink this Cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord I am in such a streight that I know not what to do For gladly would I receive this Sacrament being desirous to live but fearful I am to take it unworthily trembling at thy Comination I come therefore to thee the Fountain of Mercy hoping that thou wilt wash me I come to thee the good Samaritan hoping that thou wilt cleanse my wounds I open my grief and discover my iniquities to thee I look upon my sins great and grievous and thereupon tremble yet beholding thy mercies great and plentiful I am therewith again refreshed Remember O Lord how many drops of Sweat and Blood thou didst shed how many Pains and Sorrows thou didst sustain to expiate my sins I intreat thee therefore by them to purge and purifie me that I may worthily be incorporated into thy body which is thy Church and may worthily also receive this blessed Sacrament that so together with thy whole Church I may give thee praise everlastingly Or thus O Merciful Lord Iesus I confess my self to be a most grievous and wretched sinner not worthy to approach into thy presence altogether unfit and unmeet to receive thee under the roof of my Soul in respect of the stains and pollutions thereof and that it is not decked and fitted with such good graces as thy Majesty and Presence requireth and therefore am afraid to come near unto thee Yet O Lord considering thy comfortable saying that Thou dost not desire the death of a sinner but that he should turn unto thee and live and thy blessed invitation how lovingly with the armes of thy mercy stretched out thou hast called all that are heavily oppressed with the burden of their sins to come to thee for comfort and ease And lastly thy usual practice in pitying and relieving those which were cast down with the thought of their misdeeds as the Thief on the Cross Mary Magdalen the Woman taken in Adultery the Publican Peter and Paul all of them grievous sinners I am comforted and emboldned to come unto thee assuredly trusting that thou wilt of thy goodness supply my defects and make me a worthy receiver of the high mystery and benefit of thy blessed Sacrament whereof of my self I am altogether unworthy Stretch out thy right hand O sweet Iesu to me thy poor servant and give out of thy rich store-house of mercy what I want that thereby I may be made a living Temple to thee and an acceptable habitation for thine honour to abide in And grant that being cleansed by thy mercy and goodness I may by thy grace and power persevere in all godliness and holiness of conversation to the end of my days and attain to that blessed place where thou reignest with the
Father and Holy Spirit world without end Amen Meditations and Prayers after th Sacrament Received IF all the Creatures in the world should offer themselves together with me to praise thee O Lord yet is it certain that we could not give thee sufficient thanks for the least of thy mercies and if together we cannot sufficiently praise thee for the least how much less can I alone perform so great a duty for such inestimable blessings as I have at this time received for vouchsafing to visit me comfort me and honour me with acceptance and admittance to thy blessed Table If Elizabeth the Mother of Iohn Baptist upon the Virgin Maries entrance to her house said Whence is it that the Mother of my Lord should come to me What shall I say whom the Lord himself hath visited and united to him by his blessed Sacrament being a vessel and receptacle of all impurity who hath so often offended despited and neglected him King David wondred why God should so esteem of or visit man but I wonder much more why he should be made man for man abide with him suffer death for him and give himself to him for spiritual food Solomon after he had built a Temple to God reasoned thus But will God dwell indeed on the Earth Behold the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain thee how much loss this House that I have builded May not I much more marvel that God will not disdain to come and abide in this my poor and wretched Soul What greater benefit of grace what greater argument of his love is there can there be shewed to me Oh my Soul if thou wouldest but throughly conceive the happiness that cometh to thee by this holy Sacrament then consider and well weigh what benefits it bringeth with it By it the Sons of Men are made the Sons of God and all that is earthly or carnal in us is mortified that the Deity may live and abide with us What therefore O my Lord shall I do What thanks shall I render to thee With what fervency shall I love thee For if thou so mighty a Lord hast vouchsafed to love me poor wretched creature how should it be but that I should return love again to thee And how shall I express my love better than in forbearing those things which thou dost abhorr and following those things which thou dost command Give O Lord to this end thy concomitant grace to me whereby I may return a reciprocal love to thee and love those things which are acceptable and avoid those things which are to thee unpleasing Give me a heart which may love thee with so true faithful and constant affection as that nothing under the Sun may separate me from the love of thee Let me not follow the love of the World or delight in the vanities of it any longer but give me power to kill and quench all other love and desires and to love thee only desire thee only and only think of thee and thy Commandements that all my affections and thoughts may be fixed on thee that in all tentations and adversities I may have recourse to thee only and receive all comfort from thee alone who livest and reignest one God world without end Amen Another I Humbly thank thee O sweet Saviour Jesus Christ that thou hast so plentifully refreshed my drie and fainting Soul with the holy Sacrament of thy precious Body and Blood I earnestly intreat thee further that whatsoever is in me vicious or contrary to thy blessed will may by vertue of this blessed Sacrament be rooted out of me that my Soul may become a fit habitation for thy holy Spirit Let it be to me the absolution of my sins the confirmation of my faith and encrease of all thy graces in me the viands of this my peregrination and pilgrimage the only delight of my soul peace and joy in tribulation health and strength in affliction and tentation Let it be a light and guide to my actions and my only comfort in the day of my dissolution Let the Palate of my Soul be so changed thereby that it may relish nothing besides thee Grant also that I may hunger and thirst after this bread of life and cup of salvation and that I may with a pure mind and chast affection receive it often that thereby my soul and body may be preserved to life everlasting to thee be all praise power and dominion ascribed now and for ever Or thus I Yield thee all possible thanks O merciful Lord that of thy own meer goodness and without any merit of mine thou hast so plentifully at this time satisfied me with the extraordinary food of my Soul thy blessed Body and Blood O Lord I heartily repent me of my sins past and am heartily sorry when I consider how unprofitably and wickedly I have spent my life hitherto I desire O Lord to amend what is amiss in me be thou ayding I beseech thee to me that I may not only duly bewail and lament for that which is past but take heed to my wayes for the time to come And to this end O Lord do thou strengthen me with thy spiritual ayd for without thy help and the direction of the Holy Spirit I shall not be able to do any good thing or perform that which is pleasing to thee Grant O Lord that I may hereafter faithfully follow and serve thee who hast at this time so lovingly vouchsafed to come to me And because through my infirmity I cannot follow thee as I would be pleased to assist me with thy power aud draw me after thee Let my Soul be so strengthned by vertue of this Sacrament that it may esteem nothing pleasing or delightful in comparison of thee that it may lust after no transitory thing nor be disquieted with any worldly cross but by thy assisting grace I may overcome all the difficulties of this life and bless thee in the life to come Or thus O Blessed Lord Iesus who of thy unspeakable Love hast condescended to my infirmity and vouchsafed in these mysteries to come unto me and hast made me partaker of thy blessed Body and Blood I humbly intreat thee of thy infinite goodness not to look back upon my sinful life past and to give me grace to obey thy Commandements hereafter and not to return to those former sins as a Dog to his vomit Grant that this most holy Sacrament may be to me life and salvation and not turn to my greater punishment and condemnation Grant that it may cleanse my Soul from sin past and strengthen me against all tentations to come Grant that it may be so wholesome and nourishing to me that I may walk in the strength thereof all the dayes of my life and at last be brought by thy merits to that place of Glory where thou dost reign together with the Father and the Blessed Spirit forever Praise the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me praise his Holy
creature that thou hast created me and given to me a body the workmanship and excellency whereof when I behold and well consider I find so many several benefits received as I have members veins joynts sinews and nerves all which discover and manifest the wisdom and power of the Maker of them The benefit of which several parts none can so well know as they which want any of them or are grieved with the infirmity or weakness of them I therefore bless thee that thou hast not created me blind lame deaf or dumb evil-shaped or weak in my senses but hast given me a sound and right mind in a healthful body I further praise thy Name O Lord for that thou hast infused a soul into this my body a work so glorious and transcendent that if I were not altogether stupid and void of all judgement I would not by my actions account so basely of it as I seem to do nor defile it with such impure contemptible and unclean works as I daily commit I thank thee O Lord that I was not born amongst Infidels and amongst those who do not truly call upon thy Name but in that part of the world where thy Gospel is truly preached and thy Sacraments duly administred I thank thee also for thy gracious preservation of me from my birth to this present hour I confess O Lord that it is of thy mercy and goodness that I am thus preserved for if thou shouldest but withdraw thine hand of preservation from me it could not be but that in the twinkling of an eye I should miserably perish and return to nothing I thank thee that thou hast of thy providence appointed all thy Creatures for my sustenance and service some for health and some for delight Grant O Lord that I may use them to those ends for which thou hast created them and that by them I may be moved truly to meditate on thy goodness and seriously praise thee for them I further thank thee O Father that when as by our first Parents fall all mankind was in the state of damnation it pleased thee not to deal with us as thou didst with Lucifer whom thou utterly expelledst thy presence but to send thy only Son from thy bosom into this world that by his bitter death we might be restored to our former estate I acknowledge O Lord that I owe much unto thee for my Creation but much more for my Redemption For what would it have profited me nay what misery should I not have suffered to have been born and afterward to be condemned for ever I thank thee O Lord that thou hast also vouchsafed to call me out of the depth of darkness and shadow of death wherein I lay by the admirable light of thy justifying grace to the true knowledge and love of thee It is not the least of thy benefits O Lord it sheweth not the least part of thy power that thou hast called me from so vile an estate whereinto I had cast my self after Baptism and in the same had continued many years rebelliously to the estate of Salvation For it must needs be acknowledged that thy mercy is great in pardoning sinners their offences but withall it cannot be denied but that thy power is greater in making sinners righteous and just Great was the benefit of my Creation but by that act I was not only made the Son of man but greater is the benefit of Iustification for thereby in Christ I am made the Son of God Great is the benefit of Redemption and indeed the greatest of all others but without Vocation and Iustification it had availed me nothing Great is the benefit which ariseth by the expectation of Glory and no less is this of Iustification for it is a work of no less power to make a just man of a sinner than to make a just man happy and blessed for as much as the difference between sin and grace is more than between Grace and Glory I acknowledge therefore O Lord that the benefits which arise by these heavenly gifts and graces are so great that my tongue faileth and my heart wanteth ability wherewith sufficiently to praise thee for them I praise thee also O Lord for thy blessed Sacraments for that of Baptism whereby I was cleansed from the guilt of original sins and regenerated and adopted into the number of thy Children and for the other of the blessed body and blood of our Saviour Iesus Christ the Sacrament of Grace Unity Charity and Remission of sins the food of our Souls in this Pilgrimage and the Conduit through which all graces are conveyed to our fainting Souls Lastly I thank thee for thy preservation of me in thy Grace by which I am restrained from returning to the mire with the washed Sow and to the vomit with the Dog and by which I am strengthned to doe something acceptable and pleasing unto thee I confess O Lord that whatsoever good I have done is wrought in me by thee and whatsoever tentation or evil I escape is meerly by thy providence O Lord continue and keep me still in this grace that I may so use all thy blessings and so keep them in mind that they may stir up in me a more ardent desire to magnifie thy blessed Name and a greater care of ordering my wayes hereafter that I may no more grieve thy troubled Spirit who with thee and thy blessed Son our only Saviour liveth and reigneth one God world without end Another ALL praise honour and glory be given to thee O Lord God Father Almighty for all thy inestimable benefits bestowed upon me and all mankind whether private or publick general or particular spiritual or temporal Who is able to reckon up or declare the several kinds or parts of them for creating the world beautifying enriching and making it fruitful for the use of man for giving unto us souls and bodies and adorning them with infinite faculties and gifts and which exceeds the rest of thy blessings for delivering us from the power and servitude of sin and the Devil for forbearing and expecting our repentance so loug preserving us from all dangers and furnishing us with all things necessary for this life What praise shall we render to thee O sweet Iesus for all that thou hast done and suffered for us VVee praise and bless thee for thy Incarnation and Birth for all the labours pains sorrows wounds and disgraces together with the vile and ignominious death which thou didst suffer to reconcile us to thy Fathers favour from which our sins had justly excluded us for which thy great love to the Sons of men blessed be thy holy Name O holy and blessed Spirit who in the beginning of time didst move upon the face of the waters at our Saviours Baptism in the shape of a Dove and on the Apostles in the shape of fiery tongues we praise and worship thee for enlightning our understandings for fitting and making us apt to conceive the
mysteries of life eternal for converting us from evil conversation to newness of life and for sanctifying us to life everlasting for directing us in the works of truth and governing us in our temporal affairs O glorious and sacred Trinity infuse into us we beseech thee such measure of thy grace that we may be dayly mindfull of all these thy blessings Pardon all our former ingratitude and negligence in that we have been no more zealous to love thee nor more carefull to serve thee and so forgetfull to thank thee for all thy benefits and mercies Illuminate our hearts that we may firmly beleeve in thee devoutly call upon thee and obediently execute thy holy Will that at the last we may by the merits and passion of thee O Saviour attain to that heavenly Mansion where thou O blessed Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity abidest world without end I thank thee O Lord For my Creation my being my well being That I am indued with Reason That I am A civil man A Christian. Freeborn Ingenious Of honest Parents That I am sound in mind Senses Body That I am well brought up taught I thank thee For thy gifts of Nature Grace Estate For delivering me from Danger Infamy Trouble For the health of my body A Competency of Estates Friends Children Kindred I thank thee O Lord For thy Redemption Regeneration Instruction Vocation Consolation Illumination Iustification Hope of glorification For thy patience toward me For thy Grace preventing me For Governing me For thy Continual care over me For Strengthning me in tentation For Reproving me in evil For Assisting me in good For the Conjunction of my heart For the hopes of pardon for my sins For the benefits I have received For any good done by me For all those that have done me good by their Writings Sermons Conferences Prayers Examples Reproofs Injuries For all and every of these and for all other known or unknown remembred or forgotten I confess and will confess thee I bless and will bless thee I thank and will thank thee as the Author and Giver of them all Seven Psalms of Thanksgiving Paraphrased Psalm 8. O Lord our God Creator and Preserver of all things how excellent glorious and reverend is thy great and holy Name not in one particular Nation only but in all the Kingdoms of the Earth who as thou hast magnified thy Name in the Earth so hast thou set and extolled thy glory above the Heavens also 2 Out of the mouths and tongues of babes and sucklings even very Infants hast thou because men of riper years and understanding neglect thy glory ordained strength and given little Children ability to praise thee because of the malice of thine Enemies the principalities of this world that thou mightest by this thy great wisdom and power still the tongues suppress the blasphemous speeches of the Enemy and Avenger when he shall see that by such weak means thou canst effect so great matters 3 When I consider and duly weigh thy Heavens and the glorious frame thereof the work of thy fingers made and created only by thee together with the Moon and the Stars and other beautiful Lights of Heaven which thou at the beginning of time hast ordained of nothing I cannot but in the depth of admiration say 4 What is man for whose use and service thou hast made them and all things in this world and him to serve thee That thou so great and glorious a God art mindful of him in so large a manner and what is the Son of man the posterity of sinful Adam that thou in such measure of mercy visitest and regardest him 5 For if I look unto his Creation and consider whose Image he beareth I find that thou hast made him in all respects very little lower in degree than the pure Angels who are honoured with thy presence and hast of thy bounty and especial favour crowned him with glory and honour in making him so glorious a Creature 6 Thou madest and hast appointed him also thy Vicegerent on Earth to have dominion and command over thy Creatures the works of thy hands and Creation thou hast subjected and put all things which thou hast made under his feet to obey and serve him 7 All Sheep and Oxen Beasts for his food and sustentation yea and not those only but the untamed beasts of the field also hast thou made plyable and serviceable to him 8 The Fowl of the Air some for food and some for pleasure and delight and the Fish of the vast Sea which is stored with variety and whatsoever else passeth swimmeth or liveth through the unknown pathes of the Sea are also created by thee to serve him 9 O Lord our Lord when I seriously consider thy power and wisdom in thy work of Creation and the especial honour and favour thou shewest to Mankind in giving him this large Commission over the rest of thy Creatures I cannot but admire and say how excellent and great is thy Name and Power in all the Kingdomes of the World There is none O Lord worthy to be compared to thee Glory be to the Father to the Son and to the Holy Ghost c. Psalm 30. I Will extoll thee and praise thy Name O Lord as long as I live and not without great cause for thou in thy mercy hast lifted me up and endowed me with thy blessings and hast not made no nor suffered my Foes to work their will against me who intended if thou hadst forsaken me to rejoyce and triumph over me 2 O Lord my God and Saviour I cryed and made my humble supplication unto thee in my trouble and adversity and thou of thy accustomed goodness didst graciously hear me and hast healed me of all mine infirmities 3 O Lord thou by the power of thy grace hast brought up and restored to life my sinful soul from the grave of perdition whereinto my sins had well nigh cast me Thou hast in thy love to me kept me alive and preserved me from many dangerous sicknesses that I should not yet go down into the pit of death but live and praise thy holy Name 4 Sing and rejoyce unto the Lord our God O ye Saints and faithful people of his who have with me felt and tasted of his mercy and give thanks together with me at the remembrance and consideration of his holiness 5 For his anger and displeasure endureth towards sinners but a moment and short space if they truly turn unto to him and if we seriously consider his mercies we shall find that in his favour is life to those that lye desparately sick in their sins if he but touch them with his finger of grace as for weeping heaviness and affliction it may and of necessity must sometime befall his servants but yet it shall endure and afflict them for a night a little while only but joy and comfort commeth again to refresh them in the morning by sending the light of his countenance upon them 6 And
the Church may by these kind of Prayers and Gods assistance recover its former Peace and Quiet 2. When a Christian shall perceive that his Enemies aim altogether against the Rules of Charity at the utter subversion both of his Body and Soul In this Case also a man may without breach of Charity use these Imprecations In either of which Cases if the children of Gods or our own enemies shall joyn assist or persist maliciously in the steps of their Parents they are in our estimation to be accounted of no better nay not so well as the very Heathen who have not known the Name of God at all And to this end I have given you a taste only of some of the zealous wishes and earnest desires or Imprecations of some holy men Prophets and Apostles which are set down in sacred Scripture left no doubt for our imitation in the several cases before mentioned Imprecations against the Enemies of God and his Church OF Moses in the rebellion of Korah Dathan and Abiram Respect not thou their Offering Of Ezechiah against Sonacherib the blasphemous King of Assyria Of Asa against Zerah the King of AEthiopia Of Iehosaphat against the Moabites and Ammonites Of Nehemiah against Sanballat and Tobiah Turn their reproach upon their own head and give them for a prey in the land of captivity And cover not their iniquity and let not their sin be blotted out before thee Of David against Gods enemies in many places Destroy thou them O God let them fall by their own Counsels cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions for they have rebelled against thee Break the arm of the wicked Break their teeth O God Let God arise and let his enemies be scattered let them also that hate him flee before him Lift up thy feet that thou mayest utterly destroy every enemy which hath done evil in thy Sanctuary Powr out thine indignation upon the Heathen that have not known thee O my God make them like a wheel and as the stubble before the wind Persecute them with thy tempest Make their faces ashamed Let them be confounded and vexed evermore let them be put to shame and perish Let them be as grass upon the house top which withereth before it groweth up Let not the ungodly have his desire O Lord let not his mischievous imagination prosper lest they be too proud Let the mischief of their own lips fall upon them Let hot burning coals fall upon them let them be cast into the fire and into the pit that they never rise up again Of the Apostles against the High Priests Of Saint Paul If any man love not the Lord Iesus Christ let him be Anathema Maranatha If any man preach any other Gospel c. let him be accursed I would they were even cut off that trouble you Against the Enemies of our Souls LEt them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my Soul Let them be as chaff before the wind Let the Angel of the Lord chase them Let their way be dark and slippery Let the Angel of the Lord persecute them Let destruction come upon them Let them be confounded and ashamed Let them be driven backward Let them be desolate Let Death seize upon them Let them go down quickly to Hell Let them be covered with reproach and dishonour Set a wicked man over him Let Satan stand at his right hand Let his prayer become sin Let his dayes be few Let his Children be Fatherless and his Wife a Widow Let his Children be Vagabonds and Beggars Let the Extortioner catch all he hath Let there be none to extend mercy to him or his Children Let his posterity be cut off Let the iniquity of his Fathers be remembred Cast forth lightening and scalter them shoot out thine arrows and destroy them And it is not to be conceived that these Imprecations arise from a weak affection as though the godly were glad or rejoyced at the destruction of the wicked nor to persecute them out of the malice of humane nature 1. But for as much as the love of God ought to be preferred before the love of our Neighbours and that then our Neighbour is truly loved when that love respecteth the glory of God we worthily prefer his glory before the love of his Enemies who by their wickedness would endeavour to obscure it 2. They used these Imprecations against those Enemies when they were out of hope as is before said of their amendment 3. And Lastly It was done not so much to destroy the persons as to frustrate their Counsels and Imaginations The Ten Commandements Paraphrased THe Law of the Two Tables was written by the Finger of God and delivered and promulgated by the Ministry of Moses and Angels and contained summarily what God commanded the people to observe and what to avoid It is divided into two Parts Our duty toward God Our duty towards our Neighbour The four first Commandements enjoyn the first duty The six last the last And thus follow God spake all these words saying I am the Lord thy God which brought thee out of the Land of AEgypt out of the house of bondage In the Preface by mentioning of Gods Name Jehovah His Majesty Spake By his Word The hearers were prepared to attention The Brevity and Order of the Commandements make them easie to be learned This Preface belongeth to all the Decaloque and containeth a description of the Person who gave the Law Who being God the Creator and Disposer of all things is to be obeyed Neither are we to make any scruple or doubt but that all things which he commandeth us in his Law are just and holy Who only is Omnipotent and was from all Eternity from whom all things that are had their beginning and who hath absolute and sole power to command and prescribe Laws unto us Happy is the people who have the Lord for their God By these words thy God every one of us may receive particular comfort that as he is able so he is willing and ready by making this Covenant to be ours in his particular providence and care to do good to every one of us in our need if we keep his Commandements A God to relieve and aid us not a severe Iudge to condemn us Let us therefore With all reverence serve him as a Lord. With earnest desire repair to him in our need as to a merciful God With hearty zeal love him for his goodness With trembling fear to offend him for his justice And let us be holy as he is holy In this delivery of the Iews from their servitude is his infinite Power described whereby he is declared to be as well able to save his Servants as to confound his Enemies And this deliverance is foretold and parallel'd by the Prophet as a Type of our deliverance
daily sinned and not repented considering that from the Infernal pit there is no redemption Be thou merciful to me O Lord and save me for thy Names sake and in thy strength deliver and comfort me I know O Lord that thy judgements are just and that thou of very faithfulness hast caused me to be troubled Oh let this light affliction which will quickly be gone cause unto me afterward a more excellent and eternal weight of glory In the midst of the sorrows that are in my heart let thy comforts O Lord refresh my soul. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me round about yet thou dost destroy me Remember I beseech thee that thou hast made me as the clay and wilt thou bring me into the dust again Hast thou not powred me out like milk and curdled me like a cheese Thou hast cloathed me with skin and flesh and fenced me with bones and sinews Thou hast granted me life and favour and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit O Lord thou numberest my steps and dost set a watch over my sin My breath is corrupt my dayes are extinct the grave is ready for me I have said to Corruption Thou art my Father and to the Worm Thou art my Mother and Sister Is there not an appointed time to man upon Earth and are not his dayes as the dayes of an hireling My dayes are swifter than a Post they flee away and see no good I know thou wilt bring me to death and to the house appointed for all the living Woe is me therefore O Lord that I have sinned What shall I do Whither shall I flee but to thee O Lord my God Be merciful to me in the last day My Soul is very much disquieted within me But Lord I require thy aid and comfort Be mindful O Lord of thy Word wherein thou hast caused me to put my trust and let thy mercy come unto me according to thy Promise For thou art my Maker and I am the work of thy hands Deliver me O Lord from eternal death in that day wherein Heaven and Earth shall be dissolved when thou comest to judge the Earth I am affrighted when I consider that day the day of thy wrath the day of misery that great and exceeding bitter day O Lord in that day where shall I hide my self from the face of thine anger O Lord when thou comest to Iudgement condemn me not I beseech thee but deliver from the Gates of Hell my poor Soul which I commend unto thee Acknowledge then O Lord thy Creature not made by any strange Gods but by thee the true and living God Make my Soul joyful with thy presence and remember not my sins but according to thy great mercy think upon me in that day for the merits of my blessed Saviour Iesus Christ Amen A Prayer for the Sick ALmighty and most merciful Lord God who by the infirmities of this life dost put us in mind of our mortality and by these outward afflictions dost call us to inward Repentance I cry unto thee with my whole heart Rebuke me not in thine anger neither chasten me in thy displeasure Have mercy upon me O Lord for I am weak O Lord heal me for my bones are vexed Thou art He O Lord That woundest and healest again that killest and revivest that leadest to the Gates of Hell and bringest back again If this my sickness O Lord be not unto death help me on this my bed of infirmity and strengthen me If thou thinkest expedient rather that I should dye than live do with me according to thy good pleasure and receive my spirit to thy peace which I commend into thy hands who livest and reignest God of all mercy world without end AMEN Or thus O Merciful Lord God who of thy great mercy dost forgive the offences of those who truly repent mercifully look upon me thy poor servant and hearken unto me who humbly crave of thee remission of my sins Renew O Lord in me whatsoever is corrupt and decayed by the Devils malice or mine own frailty Pity my sighs pity my tears pity my groans vouchsafe to be reconciled to me that have confidence in nothing but thy meer mercy O Lord it grieveth me that I have offended thy Majesty and it grieveth me much that I can grieve no more than I do And I humbly pray thee by the Death Passion and Intercession of thy Son Christ Iesus to pardon my offences promising that if I recover my former health thy grace assisting me to abstain from displeasing thy Majesty hereafter I willingly O Lord and freely from my heart for thy sake forgive all offenders and offences against me and I heartily desire all those whom I have any way offended to forgive me O Lord though my natural man trembleth at the thought of death yet I profess that I am willing to dye if it be thy good pleasure I. have received life and all the blessings of this life from thee What shall I render back to thee for them I will willingly receive this Cup of Death and praise thy Name I commend into thy hands my Spirit And whether thou disposest of me to live or dye I resign it to thy good will and disposition and humbly pray thee that if thou seest it good for me to prolong my dayes on Earth that thou wouldest renew my conversation by the direction of thy Holy Spirit that I may pass those dayes in thy fear If thou be otherwise pleased to dispose of me take me I beseech thee into the armes of thy mercy for Iesus Christs sake my only Saviour and Redeemer Or Thus. O God of all Consolation who hast promised to hear all those that faithfully call upon thee and not to reject any that with a contrite heart and penitent soul shall humble himself before thee I humbly intreat thee in the Name and Mediation of thy Son Iesus Christ that thou wouldest be pleased to be merciful to me thy poor servant at this time afflicted with sickness O Lord pardon forget and blot out of thy remembrance whatsoever I have committed against thee in the whole course of my life Seal and confirm unto me by thy Spirit a pardon unto me for all my offences that I may thereby receive such comfort in my soul that I may with all joy and willingness depart out of this life unto thee Let me be certified That there is no condemnation to those which are united and ingrafted into Iesus Christ by Faith That I may be confident That neither my Sins Death the Devil nor ought else can draw me away or separate me from thee And that I may be assured that thy Throne will not be to me a Barr of Severity but a Haven of Safety and a sure Sanctuary and Refuge for me to flee unto Strengthen this Faith in me which may serve as a Buckler to defend me from all tentations and that
them in glory hereafter and enjoy everlasting happiness before thee in thy blessed presence Glory be to the Father c. Psalm 130. OUt of the depth of tentations dangers and sorrow for my sins wherein my Spirit is almost overwhelmed have I by fervent prayer cryed and called unto thee O Lord who only art able to give me relief 2 Lord of thy mercy haste thee and hear my voice and petition and deliver me from my misery O my God let thine ears of pity and compassion be attentive to consider and well weigh the lamentable voice of my humble supplications and let not my prayer return unpitied or unheard of thee 3 If thou Lord contrary to thy disposition shouldest be so exact and extreme as in the rigour of thy justice to mark the iniquities which we by our natural corruption daily fall into and punish us accordingly O good Lord who none not the most upright shall be able to answer one for a thousand or stand before thee without much horrour at the Judgement Seat 4 But for the comfort of poor wretched sinners and to keep us from utter desperation we find it recorded by the holy Spirit that there is forgiveness of sins and mercy toward sinners repenting with thee by Jesus Christ who came to save them and yet this mercy of thine is tyed with such conditions that thou who also art just mayest be also feared lest thy lenity be abused 5 I for my part wait and confidently expect for the Lord to receive mercy from him My sinful but repentant Soul waits to receive consolation and in his Word whereby he promiseth mercy to repentant sinners do I hope and place my whole confidence because I know that he which hath promised is just 6 My sinful Soul in this expectation waiteth for the Lord and tarryeth his good pleasure to comfort it more earnestly than they that in a disconsolate long night watch for the morning Yea I say it again more zealously than they that are weary of the night and watch for the light of the morning 7 Let Israel and all Gods faithful people hope still and put their trust in the goodness of the Lord and not without cause for with the Lord though he justly take vengeance on us for our sins yet there is ever was and will be found mercy towards penitent sinners and with him by Jesus Christ is not only forgiveness for a few sins but plenteous redemption from the captivity of the Devil and Sinne. 8 And he even Jesus Christ by his merits and intercession shall redeem and save Israel and each of his faithful servants from all his iniquities and the punishment due for them Glory be to the Father c. Psalm 143. HEar my earnest and humble prayer O Lord which in my misery I make unto thee Give ear and be not deaf to my supplicatious in the time of my distress but in thy faithfulness and truth which endureth for ever answer me and grant my petition which I make not trusting in any merits of mine own but in thy righteousness 2 And my further petition to thee is that thou enter not into the Throne of thy Iudgement by strictly examining my mis-deeds and dealing rigorously with me thy poor servant who hath mis-spent his talent for in thy all-seeing sight shall no man living in this vale of misery be justified or found innocent 3 For the Old Enemy of mankind the Devil hath by his malice persecuted and sought to entrap my Soul to separate it from the love of thee he hath smitten and cast my life and Soul down to the ground and filled me full of earthly desires he hath made and caused me to dwell and take pleasure in the darkness of of my sins as those that are without sense and have been long dead 4 Therefore O Lord considering my desperate estate is my spirit overwhelmed with grief within me and my heart is disquieted within me and is also desolate and sore troubled 5 I yet in the midst of the sorrows that are in my heart do remember what I have read and heard what thou hast done in the dayes of old how that thou hast been gracious to the penitent and severe against the unrepentant sinner I meditate also on all thy works but especially on that of thy mercy and I muse and exercise my self in contemplating on the works of thy hands admiring thy Power and Wisdom in the Creation of all things 6 I stretch forth and lift up my hands in my prayers unto thee O Lord my Soul which is dry for want of the dew of thy grace thirsteth after thee for the water of life as a thirsty land in a time of drought 7 Hear me and answer me speedily delay not O Lord for my spirit waxeth faint and faileth me in my devotion Oh hide not thy face and loving countenance from me miserable sinner lest it come to pass that I be like in condition unto them that go down headlong after their own inventions into the pit of destruction and perdition 8 Cause me by thy Spirit to hear and feel thy loving kindness and mercy in the morning speedily lest I perish for in thee only and not in the help of Men or Angels do I place my whole trust and confidence Cause me by thy grace to know and learn the way of thy testimonies wherein I should and ought to walk without declining to the right hand or the left For I lift up my soul by prayer and repentance unto thee who only canst direct me aright 9 Desiver me O Lord by thy power from all mine Enemies visible and invisible for I flee and make haste for succour unto thee as to my Protector to hide and defend me from their violence 10 Teach and instruct me that am ignorant to do thy Will and those things which thou commandest for thou art thy God and Director Thy Spirit is good and all-sufficient for me Lead me therefore by it into the right way which bringeth into the Land of Righteousness and Truth 11 Quicken me again O Lord and revive me from the death of sin for thy Names sake which is Jesus and for thy Righteousness sake and love to goodness bring my Soul by thy grace out of the trouble and anguish whereinto my sins have brought me 12 And of thy tender mercy and compassion cut off and kill in me mine Enemies the concupiscences of the flesh and destroy and confound all them that with injuries and tentations afflict and disquiet my Soul which is wholy devoted to thee for I am thy servant and Son of thy Handmaid and desire to serve thee in holiness and righteousness all the dayes of my life Glory be to the Father c. Directions before Receiving the Holy Communion AS many as desire to be partakers of the holy Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ as of necessity every one must be that intendeth to receive benefit by him ought before the
taking of it to prepare his Soul and fit it for the due receiving of it and not come to it carelesly without due examination of himself and respective consideration of the excellency and worth thereof And therefore before the time of communicating we ought to spend some hours or dayes the more the better in meditating upon the great and unspeakable love and mercy of God towards us miserable sinners in ordaining so powerful a means to purge and cleanse us and bring us to him in believing all his promises made to us in Christ Iesus in applying them to our selves in performing the works of charity in examining in what estate our Souls do stand in calling to mind our sins and confessing them to God in grieving and repenting for them and that in all humility and godly sorrow in returning with the Prodigal smiteing our breasts with the Publican weeping with Mary Magdalen begging mercy with the Thief on the Cross and lastly in promising to God to lead a better life for the time to come Thus if we do no doubt but we shall be welcome Guests to this Feast as being of that number for whom it was prepared For by how much the more we come prepared to take this Sacrament so much the greater shall be the grace which we shall receive by it There are four Duties required in every Communicant First Faith to believe that Iesus Christ did and suffered all things which are written of him in the Holy Scriptures for the Redemption of Mankind Secondly Repentance by which a man confessing his sins to God with a purpose to lead a new life is reconciled to him Thirdly Reverend Behaviour that in all humility we make our selves fit Guests for such a Feast Fourthly Meditation and Attention that we during tht time of the administration of the Sacrament attend no earthly thoughts but wholly fix our Souls upon our Saviour Christ and meditate on nothing but this great and high benefit and thereby be enflamed with a hearty love and thankful mind to God not only for his infinite love in suffering so great things for us but also for instituting this blessed Sacrament to remain to the end of the World as a sure pledge of his continuance among us and perpetual care over us After we have communicated and are refreshed we ought also to be thankful to God for so great a benefit Thankfulness being not the least Duty of this Service The Sacrament it self being called Eucharistia which is Thanksgiving and to strive to imitate him as well in life as death to live purely and not to defile our Souls again being purged and cleansed by the powerful operation of this blessed Sacrament that so by Examination Meditation Thanksgiving and constant Resolution of Amendment We may worthily receive Christ into our Souls and be made members of his mystical body Meditations and Prayers before the Communion VVHat am I O Lord that I should be so bold as to come near to thee what am I that I should attempt to receive this so great and high mystery what is man by nature but a vessel of corruption unapt to any good propense and most ready to any evil What is man but a creature of all others most wretched blind in judgement inconstant in his actions unclean in his desires and though small in desert yet proud and great in his own conceit Thou seest O Lord what I am But thou O Lord art great good wise and eternal omnipotent in strength wonderfull in wisdom deep in thy counsells terrible in thy judgements and absolutely perfect in all thy works How then dare I that am so base and unclean a creature approach to the Feast of so great a God and a Lord of so great a Majesty Behold the Heavens are not clean in thy sight and the Pillars of Heaven shake and tremble at thy word Saint Iohn the Baptist who was sanctified in his Mothers Womb professed himself not worthy to unloose the latchet of thy shooes Saint Peter cryed out to thee to depart from him a sinfull man How then can I the chief of all sinners but tremble at thy presence O Lord I fear that being thus wretched and unfit I shall not be admitted to this Feast but rather be repelled for want of a wedding garment even the garment of a sanctified Soul For my whole life hath been so wretchedly and lewdly spent and my dayes have been so wickedly wasted that I hourly seem to renew thy passion Many a time I have with Iudas sold thee for a small sum of pleasure or profit and now in coming to receive thee unworthily what doe I else but with him betray thee with a kiss How then shall I dare to receive thee in so desperate and wicked estate How canst thou abide or dwell in so loathsome a Dungeon wherein there is no part room or corner clean O Lord I acknowledge mine unworthiness and yet withall thy mercies are not hid from me and by them I am encouraged to come with confidence unto thee for by how much the unworthier I come unto thee by so much the more will thy mercy be glorified if thou do not reject me Lord thou art not wont to put sinners back but to call and set them forward to repentance Wherefore O Lord animated by thy calling and invitation I come unto thee overburthened with the weight of my sins hoping to find ease and relief of thee Thy custome while thou wert upon earth was to receive sinners and to eat with them and thy delight was to be with the Sons of men If thou O Lord be still pleased with such guests behold one here at this time of that kind a notorious sinner I verily believe thou tookest more pleasure in the tears of the sinfull Woman than in the great feast of the proud Pharisee and for a few tears of hers didst forgive many sins unto her Behold O Lord new matter offered for thy great mercy to work upon Here lyeth a sinner who hath many more sins than she but fewer tears by many who though he hath more grievously offended yet doth more carelesly bewayle his offences than she did She was neither the first nor the last whom thou in thy mercy didst receive to favour O Lord let me also be one of the subjects of this thy mercy and although I have not tears sufficient to wash thy feet yet thou hadst shed drops of blood more than sufficient to cleanse my sins I read O Lord in the Gospel that all that were diseased flocked to thee and by that vertue which came out of thee were healed and I verily perswade my self that thy Nature is not changed for in thee is and will be to the end of the world health and remedy for all griefs and thou art readier to make us whole than we are to ask health of thee I know O Lord that this Sacrament which I so earnestly