made to understand thy most adorable excellencies which are far beyond the highest of all our thoughts And we have yet a more particular obligation to thee for thy marvailous love in Christ Jesus whom thou hast sent in great humility to visit us who are but dust and ashes to make his abode among us to testifie thy great love to us and assure us of thy good will notwithstanding our many offences and to make us exceeding great and precious promises to invite us to approach thee and to incourage our obedience to thee We thank thee that he hath sealed them with his bloud and thou hast confirmed them by his Resurrection and Ascension and the coming of the holy Ghost that thou hast given us so many happy opportunities to acquaint our selves with the truth and purity of the Christian Religion which comforts us in this state of mortality and misery with the blessed hope of eternal life Blessed be thy goodness for that great consolation and that thou hast shown us the way to it by his doctrine and example and assured us of the assistance of thy holy Spirit to inable us to follow after him to that glory which he possesses Blessed be thy goodness that we have felt it so often in our minds and hearts inspiring us with holy thoughts exciting in us devout affections and godly resolutions filling us with Divine Joys and with comfortable expectations of the glory that shall be revealed We thank thee that thou hast permitted us this day to attend upon thee together with our Christian Brethren in the publick Duties of thy Worship and Service And that there we have received any good instructions any holy exhortations and Christian incouragements to proceed and go forward in the course of well doing and have begun in any measure that eternal rest which we wait for with all the faithful when we shall praise and thank and love thee our heavenly Father better than we can do now whilst we are in these frail bodies and absent from the Lord. We can do no less than offer up again our souls and bodies to thee to be order'd and govern'd by thy blessed Will and not our own that so we may be every day more prepared for that happy state and draw nearer and nearer in the disposition and temper of our spirits to that immortal blessedness It is our satisfaction our security the ease and joy of our hearts to be under the conduct of thy unerring wisdom to follow thy counsels and to be determined in all things by thy holy Will who art so good and hast given us such large demonstrations of thy abundant kindness and good will to us as will not let us distrust thy tender care of us whatsoever it is thou wouldest have us do or suffer in this world O God purifie our minds and thoughts more perfectly that we may never conceive amiss of thee but have right apprehensions in all things and all our passions and affections likewise that we may intirely love thee and rejoyce in being beloved of thee and humbly confide in thee and absolutely resign our selves to thee and be filled with constant devotion towards thee our Almighty Creator and most merciful Redeemer Possess our hearts with such a lively sense of our relation to thee in both respects and of the honour thou hast done us in preferring us so much above the rest of our fellow creatures that we may ever behave our selves suitably to the dignity of our Nature and of our Religion O that we may never degenerate into a base and unworthy love of any thing here below nor be oppressed with the burden of the cares of this life nor sink under the weight of any affliction nor be vainly puffed up with the greatest fulness of earthly goods if thou art pleased to bestow them on us But assist us with thy grace to Rom. 12.9 abhor that which is evil and cleave to that which is good Dispose us to a discreet and temperate use of all the pleasures of this world Indue us with true modesty and humility of spirit that we may Rom. 12.3,10,16 not think of our selves more highly than we ought to think but think soberly according to the measure which thou hast dealt unto us Keep us from being wise in our own conceits and inable us so to order our selves that Phil. 4.5 our moderation may be known to all men Make us kindly affectioned one to another in brotherly love To delight in doing good Tit. 3.2 to shew all meekness to all men Rom. 13.7,8 To render to all their dues Tribute to whom tribute is due custom to whom custom fear to whom fear honour to whom honour and to owe no man anything but to love one another Make us so happy that we may be able to Matth. 5.44 love our enemies to bless those that curse us to do good to them that hate us Rom. 12.15 to rejoyce with them that do rejoyce and weep with them that weep Compose our spirits to a quiet and steady dependence on thy good providence that we may not Matth. 6.25 take too much thought for our life nor be careful for any thing Phil. 4.6 but by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving still make known our requests to thee our God And help us Luk. 18.1 to pray alway and not faint 1 Thess 5.18 In every thing to give thanks Heb. 13.15 and offer up the sacrifice of praise continually 1 Pet. 1.17 To pass the time of our sojourning here in fear Rom. 5.2 To believe those things which we do not see and to rejoyce in hope of thy glory Luk. 21.19 To possess our souls in patience Phil. 4.11,12 And to learn in whatsoever state we are therewith to be content Make us know both how to be abased and how to abound every where and in all things instruct us both to be full and to be hungry both to abound and to suffer need being inabled to do all things through Christ which strengtheneth us That we feeling the joys of uprightness and integrity of heart our Religion may be the greatest comfort and pleasure to us and we our selves an ornament to our Religion O that we could alway by an innocent good and useful life commend the Doctrine of God our Saviour to those who converse with us And that the light of all Christians did so shine before men that others beholding their good works might be moved to glorifie thee and heartily to believe on the Lord Jesus Send forth thy Light and thy Truth into all the dark corners of the Earth That Psal 72.11,12,13,14 all kings may fall down before him and all nations serve him And indue them whom thou hast placed in such high Authority over others with that divine Spirit which was in him that they may deliver the needy when he cryeth the poor also and him that hath no helper That
to us Though we are not worthy we confess of the least regard from thee whom we have so much neglected and whose love and clemency we have too often abused yet we hope thou wilt accept of this small oblation which we make of our selves our souls and bodies with unfeigned devotion to thee Pardon and forgive us we most humbly beseech thee all our past offences the remembrance of which is grievous and bitter to us and vouchsafe us the grace of thy holy Spirit to enable us to do thy will with greater care and diligence for the time to come Let it ever accompany and assist us according as thou seest us sincerely desirous and studious to please thee in all the actions of an holy life in chastity and temperance justice and fidelity mercy and charity meekness and humility patience and contentedness â—nnocency and peace and in contiâ—ual prayers praises and thanksgiâ—ings to thee the Father of mercies in Christ Jesus our Lord. We see how frail and weak our bodies and all their enjoyments are and therefore we the more earnestly desire to have our souls inriched with those immortal treasures of thy Divine Grace O that we may never cease most zealously to seek and pursue them and that we may think our selves happy enough in the possession of them and may rejoyce in nothing so much as in Rom. 6.22 having our fruit unto holiness that in the end we may attain eternal life Suffer not our spirits to sink too deep into the love of any the dearest good that we have in this world But rather by all these earthly things which thy goodness affords to us for our support ease and delight raise our minds and hearts to those Celestial enjoyments which will yield us eternal pleasure and satisfaction Set our affections principally on things above Make us so wise as to provide our selves friends that never dye and to be still preparing our selves by all divine qualities for their company and society that so they may Luk. 16.9 receivs us when we remove hence into their everlasting habitations Thus now we commend our selves this day to thy most gracious protection guidance and blessing hoping that the same good providence which preserved us and our habitations the last night from fire and innumerable other dangers for which we thank thee will guard us this day from all evil and mischief and bring us in safety of soul and body to praise thee in the Evening Help us thankfully to receive and soberly to use all thy mercies quietly to do our own business and bear our several burdens to be just in our dealings innocent and harmless â—n our conversation well pleased â—ith the prosperity of our neighâ—ours desirous of the good of all â—he world especially that they may all love and honour and joyn â—ogether in magnifying and praising â—hee our Lord and Governour whose name is excellent in all the earth More particularly we implore thy mercies towards these Kingdoms wherein we live Remember not against us our high provocations Spare us good Lord and have patience with us if perhaps we may bring forth better fruit becoming thy holy Gospel and all the care thou hast taken about us Indue our Soveraign with much Wisdom from above that he may always discern what is most profitable for us and earnestly pursue it to the utmost of his power Bless him in his Relations in his Councellors in his Judges and all other Officers in all the Nobility Clergy Gentry and Commonal y of the Realm that every one of them may uprightly and zealously do their duty to the maintenance of thy true Religion and the increase of Piety Honesty and Brotherly love among us Comfort and relieve all those that are in any distress trouble or anguish either of body or of mind And give us tender and pitiful hearts towards them ready to help and ease them according to our abilities That we following the example of our merciful and compassionate High-Priest Christ Jesus may have now the benefit of his intercession for us and at last be admitted into the high and holy place where he is In whose blessed Name and words we conclude our Prayers Our Father c. At Night WE fall down before thee O Lord of heaven and earth and worship thee in the deepest humility of our souls acknowledging â—hat we are thy creatures who stand infinitely bound unto thee by innumerable blessings and favours which thou hast conferred upon us out of thy mere bounty and goodness We owe our lives to that alone and all the comforts of them together with all the hopes we have hereafter either in this world or the other And blessed for ever blessed be thy merciful kindness for giving such glorious hopes by the Lord Jesus By his Death and Resurrection by his Ascension and being inthroned at thy right hand and by the coming of the Holy Ghost to be a witness of his Majesty and Glory We rejoyce O Lord in that great salvation which thou hast sent unto us and cannot but be still praising thee whose love hath so abounded towards us beyond all our thoughts and desires Pardon we most humbly beseech thee out of the same grace and mercy all our past neglects of thee our insensibleness of thy benefits our carelesness or inconstancy in our obedience and particularly whatsoever we have done or omitted this day contrary to those holy purposes and resolutions wherein we stand ingaged to thee And vouchsafe us the assistance of thy holy Spirit to inable us to perform those vows better which here we renew of greater gratitude and more chearful and steadfast obedience to thy divine Majesty for the time to come Awaken our minds to frequent and serious reflections upon thy undeserved and most bountiful mercies towards us Touch our hearts with such an ingenuous and dutiful sense of them that our wills may be overcome to yield themselves wholly and absolutely to thee And that we may feel them constantly provoked to love and good works help us ever to set our Lord and Master by whose name we are called before our eyes and to admire his unspotted purity his condescending humility his tender-hearted charity his meekness of wisdom his hearty trust in thee and resignation to thee his forgiveness of injuries his patience under reproaches and cruel torments his peaceable and contented spirit his acknowledging thee in all things and ever seeking thy Honour and Glory That being in love with all these and valuing them more than life it self we may never cease our indeavours till this Image of our dear Lord and Master be formed in our hearts O Lord Jesus favourably behold these holy desires wherewith our souls aspire towards thee Preserve and maintain them incourage and increase them make them restless and unwearied till they be accomplished in the injoyment of this great blessedness Thou who hast begun a good work in us finish and compleat it we most humbly and earnestly beseech
will O Lord be done I commend both my body and my spirit into thy hands who art able to make the Sea give up her dead by thine Almighty Word Help me always to hold fast that hope of eternal life as an anchor of my soul both sure and stedfast Heb. 6.19,20 which may preserve me in unshaken comfort and joy at the hour of death it self And looking up to that quiet place whither Jesus our fore-runner is entred for us I may begin those Praises and Thanksgivings which I hope shall have no end but be continued for ever in the company of the blessed in the other world Unto which I beseech thee of thine infinite mercies to bring me through Christ Jesus who is made an high priest for ever Amen A Thanksgiving after it is finished and the party returned home again O Blessed Lord Thou art great and greatly to be praised for by thy word the heavens were made Psal 48.1 33.6,7 and all the host of them by the breath of thy mouth 135.6 107.24 c. Thou didst gather the waters of the Sea together as an heap and laidst them up in the store-houses of the deeps They are all at thy command and whatsoever thou pleasest that dost thou in heaven and in earth in the Seas and all deep places I have seen thy works O Lord and thy wonders in the deep For thou spakest the word and the stormy wind arose which lifted up the waves thereof And again when we cryed unto thee thou madest the storm a calm so that the waves thereof were still Blessed be thy Almighty Goodness which carried me safe through such great and dreadful dangers Blessed be thy goodness that the deep hath not swallowed me up and that I am not gone down into silence Blessed be thy goodness that neither my body nor my goods became a prey to unreasonable men but that thou broughtest me to the haven where I would be and hast now returned me home in safety O God that I may never forget the vows which I was forward to make when I was in trouble Preserve in me for ever an awful sense and apprehension of thy great power who bringest the wind out of thy treasuries Psal 135.7 89.9 and rulest the raging of the Sea Jer. 5.22 and stillest the noise of its waves Psal 120.11 Who would not fear thee O Lord who would not tremble at thy presence who hast placed the sand for the bound of the Sea by a perpetual decree that it cannot pass it and though the waves thereof toss themselves yet can they not prevail though they roar yet can they not pass over it O possess my heart with a greater reverence of thy divine Majesty that I may ever serve thee with fear and rejoyce before thee with trembling Especially make me fearful of offending thee who art so great and powerful and hast done such great things for me and canst do greater and wilt do them as thou hast promised by Christ Jesus Philip. 3.20 who hath power to subdue all things to himself Heb. 2.3 Blessed be thy infinite grace which hath wrought such a marvellous redemption for us by him How shall I escape if I neglect so great salvation How miserable shall I be if after all the dangers from which I have now been rescued I should for my ingratitude and disobedience be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone O God that all thy mercies and deliverances here may by a thankful remembrance and careful improvement of them only prepare me for that glorious deliverance at the day of the Lord Jesus And as by thy good providence thou hast saved me from the violence of storms and tempests and other hazards so by thy grace deliver me from the power and violence of all temptations and enable me stedfastly to persist in well doing and patient suffering unto the end Endue me with such a right sense of my Religion as may make it to be my delight that so I may be out of all danger of being prevailed withal to forsake that which is so sweet and pleasant to my soul O that it may be my guide in prosperity and my comfort in adversity the rule of my life and my great satisfaction in death Sanctifie every condition unto me that sickness or health poverty or riches honour or disgrace may prove real blessings to me and make me profit in piety and vertue And let a great sense of thee and of Religion intermix it self with all my employments Teach me so to behave my self that I may be acceptable in thy sight not only when I make such addresses as these unto thee But whether I eat or drink or whatsoever I do else I may abide in thy love and be approved by thee for a good and faithful servant All which I most humbly beg of thee and whatsoever thou seest good for me in the name of the Lord Jesus by whom and with whom in the unity of the holy Ghost all honour and glory be unto thee O Father Almighty world without end Amen A Prayer to be used by a woman with Child O God the Author of our being the Fountain of life and all other good who hast begun an excellent work in me which no eye but thine sees and no hand but thy Almighty power can finish I adore thy great and glorious Majesty in this and in all other thy works of wonder Thou dost great things without number but art more particularly to be acknowledged in the formation of mankind who are fearfully and wonderfully made after thy own image and likeness Be pleased O Lord in thy infinite goodness to perfect and compleat that which thou hast begun Preserve the smallest degree of life which thou hast inspired Bestow upon it intireness of all its parts and prepare a convenient habitation for an understanding spirit capable of the best wisdom and inclinable to vertue and goodness Prevent good Lord the miscarriage of my hopes and ripen them to a good issue And the nearer they come to their full growth strengthen the more my humble trust in thee and submission to thee and hearty desires to encrease the number of thy faithful people together with my own Family That ought to be the chiefest desire of my soul to be formed my self in all things according to the mind and will of thee my God that so I may be an instrument of doing good to others O thou who hast wrought many holy purposes and resolutions in my heart preserve and confirm them that they may not prove abortive but bring forth continually the fruit of good living Perfect me in Knowledge in Faith in Love and in Obedience Enable me so discreetly and carefully to discharge the duties of all the Relations wherein I at present or shall hereafter stand that I may be a comfort to them and a credit to Religion And howsoever thou disposest of me or them Lord make me well
to live among us to dye for us and to give us an assured hope of immortal life I love thee O Lord. I renew the oblation which I have often made of my soul and body to thee I wait upon thee still for what thou seest good for both I hope in thy everlasting mercies that thou wilt pardon all my forgetfulness of thee and ingratitude unto thee And I most earnestly implore the grace of thy holy Spirit to preserve in my mind a powerful sense of thee an ardent love to thee and an holy care to please and obey thee in all things That the very same mind and spirit may be in me which was in Christ Jesus our Lord the Spirit of wisdom and understanding and the fear of thee the spirit of meekness humility purity and charity and that I may do thy will with such chearfulness zeal constancy patience and perseverance as he did I thank thee O Lord for all helps and assistances of that good Spirit which thou hast already favoured me withal That thou hast so frequently made good motions to my soul inspired me with holy thoughts and devout affections and inclined and disposed my will many ways to the choice of that which is good I thank thee for the many seasonable admonitions which thou hast given me for the happy opportunities which have been afforded me for wisdom and vertue for a good education pious examples faithful friends and all other furtherances in the way of salvation I remember likewise with my most grateful acknowledgements what abundance of good things thou hast bestowed on me from time to time for my better accommodation in this present life Blessed be thy name for my continued health and food and raiment Blessed be thy name that my bones are not broken that I am not groaning under the sorest pains that I dwell in safety night and day and that I still see my friends and acquaintance and many other comforts round about me I thank thee O Lord for these and all blessings whatsoever that thou hast conveyed to me by the Ministry of thy holy Angels unto whom thou hast given the charge of me O bless the Lord together with me ye his angels which excel in strength that do his commandments hearkening to the voice of his word And enable me every day I most humbly beseech thee O Father of mercies to bless thee better with a purer heart and a more lively sense of all thy love and a greater delight in thy divine Service and a forwardness to every good work And as thou hast preserved me hitherto this day so bless me the remaining part of it That indeavouring sincerely in all my designs words desires and actions to approve my self to thee as thy good and faithful servant I may with a good conscience present my self before thee in the conclusion of it and with the greater confidence of thy gracious acceptance renew my praises and acknowledgements and commend my self to thy blessing and hope for the continued protection of thy holy Angels through Christ Jesus To whom be glory for ever Amen A shorter to the same purpose I Prostrate my self before thee O Lord of heaven earth in all humility of soul and body I acknowledge my dependance upon thee and thy constant care and providence over me ever since I was born particularly this day in keeping me hitherto from many dangers and providing for me many good things as well for the comfort and pleasure as for the necessary support of this present life Especially I thank thee for thy exceeding great love in the Lord Jesus through whom thou hast given me good hope of better enjoyments in the life to come by following that blessed example which he hath set us of all well doing and contented suffering It is all reason O Lord that I should love thee and intirely trust in thee and most willingly serve and obey thee Accordingly I here again dedicate my self both soul and body to thee I vow my self ever to thy service I hope still in thy great mercies which have been so tender and so abundant towards me I depend upon thee for what thou seest to be profitable for me I refer my self absolutely to thy wise Will resolving to rest contented and satisfied in that condition wherein thou placest me I believe thou orderest all things in heaven and in earth and takest the greatest care of those that wait upon thee and commit themselves unto thee as I now do in confidence of thy goodness and submission to thy pleasure Especially I rely upon thee for thy holy Spirit to preserve in me these holy purposes and inspire me continually with good thoughts and stir up in me heavenly affections and increase and strengthen my faith and hope in thee and assist my indeavours to do according to my pious resolutions Blessed be thy great goodness for what I have felt already I thank thee for thy many illuminations from above for thy grace so early preventing me for the assistance and furtherance thou hast given me and the happy opportunities I have met withal of improving my self in true wisdom and goodness It is the earnest desire of my soul to grow more in both and to be made perfectly like to my blessed Lord and Saviour By whom all honour and glory be given to thee O Father Almighty world without end Amen A Grace before meat WE acknowledge thy goodness O Lord in making this plentiful provision for us Pardon our ingratitude for thy former mercies And bless us with such a discreet and thankful use of these thy good creatures that they may not hinder us in our duty but better dispose us to do thee all faithful service in our several places through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Amen Or this WE look up unto thee O Lord who givest us life and breath and all things beseeching thee to forgive us all our sins and to make us such thankful partakers of these thy good creatures that by a moderate use of them our bodies may be refreshed and made more fit to accompany our souls in hearty endeavours to do thee all faithful service through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Or this WE renew our thankful acknowledgements unto thee O Lord for making again this merciful provision for us who are unworthy of the least of thy favours Add thy gracious pardon likewise and bless the sober use of these thy creatures to the strengthning of our frail bodies And endue our souls with the grace of thy holy Spirit that we may return back unto thee the strength we receive from them in well doing and it may be as delightful as our meat and drink to do the will of thee our heavenly Father through Jesus Christ c. Amen After Meat WE return unto thee O Lord our hearty thanks for these and all other the like mercies bestowed upon us ever since we had a being especially for the promises thou hast given us of eternal
who hath taught us when we pray to say Our Father c. Another short Prayer for the Morning O Blessed God be thou acknowledged praised and loved by us and all the children of men on whom thou pourest continually thy benefits They are great and many we know not the summe nor understand the value of them The Angels themselves admired thy love to us in Christ Jesus and are become ministring Spirits to them who are heirs of Salvation We enjoy the continual fruits of thy watchful providence by which we have been kept in peace and safety the last night and are raised this morning in health and strength both of body and mind beholding all things belonging to us just as we left them with thee when we went to sleep Accept we most humbly beseech thee of this poor tribute of praise and thanks together with the hearty oblation of our souls and bodies which we here dedicate again to thy service Vouchsafe us the continued assistance of the grace of thy holy Spirit to inable us to make good those vows that are upon us of obediently keeping thy holy will and commandments and walking in the same all the days of our life Pardon good Lord all our breaches of this Sacred Covenant Deal not with us according to our sins neither reward us after our iniquities But in the multitude of thy tender mercies pitty our errors and wandrings and help us against our infirmities Give us leave this day to put our selves into thy powerful protection and to depend on thee for thy merciful guidance and assistance that we may be more faithful to thee in the discharge of our duties and never swerve from the rules of Sobriety Righteousness Charity and Godliness So shall we return with joyful hearts to praise thee in the Evening and teach those who shall come after us to continue thy praises in the next generation Amen for thy mercies sake in Christ Jesus in whose words we present the earnest desires of our hearts for our selves and all our Brethren saying Our Father c. A short Prayer for the Evening when there is not time for the longer O God we thy creatures who have tasted liberally of thy bounty many ways and been blessed in our several imployments and mercifully preserved from several dangers this day are here met to joyn together in most hearty thanksgivings to thy divine Majesty which with one accord we offer up unto thee It is the greatest happiness of all we acknowledge that we have any sense of thee in our minds any love to thee in our hearts any remembrance of thy benefits any holy dispositions to obey thee and any hopes that thou wilt pardon our sins and make us partakers of eternal life All that we desire of thee O Lord is the continuance and increase of this happiness that we may be possessed with a stronger sense of thy Majesty thy Soveraign Power thy unsearchable Wisdom Goodness and Truth and be filled with a more ardent love to thee and to all righteousness and delight to do thy Will in every thing and rejoyce in hope of thy immortal Glory As for all the things of this life in a grateful remembrance of thy many past mercies we intirely trust thee for the time to come referring our selves to thy Wisdom and resolving to be content with that portion which thy good providence is pleased to assign us Help us but to be steadfast and unmoveable in the work of our Lord to bring forth all the fruits of the Spirit love joy peace long-suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness and temperance and we shall think our selves rich enough and well provided for in every state and condition of life In these holy thoughts and desires we commend our selves to thy gracious protection this night hoping to find them fresh and lively in our souls when we awake in the Morning and desiring withal the happiness of the rest of the world that they may know thee and acknowledge thee and be guided unto and walk in the way that leads to everlasting life through Christ Jesus our blessed Redeemer In whose powerful name and comprehensive words we continue to pray as he hath taught us saying Our Father c. Another for the Evening IN an humble and thankful sense O Lord of heaven and earth of our intire dependence on thee and of the duty we owe thee and the many promises and vows wherein we stand ingaged to thee we fall down before thee this Evening and with all reverence worship thy divine Majesty Giving thee the glory that is due unto thy Name and acknowledging thy multiplied mercies to us particularly those of this day to the conclusion of which thou hast now safely brought us with new resolutions in our hearts to continue for ever in thy faith and fear and love and obedience It is but just and reasonable and we feel likewise by daily experience that it is our happiness to keep thy Commandments and to maintain chearful thoughts of thee and an hearty friendship with thee by complying in all things with thy holy Will O pardon our folly most gracious God in forsaking at any time that perfect Rule to follow our own unruly desires Pardon us we beseech thee for we know not how to pardon our selves such ingratitude to thee and cruelty to our selves It is the grief of our hearts that we have in the least offended thee and our most earnest unfeigned desire to be preserved hereafter in an exact conformity to our Rule in every thing Yea we would delight to do thy Will O God and take such a pleasure in all the acts of righteousness mercy meekness and gentleness to our Neighbours and in praising and acknowledging thee the God of all grace and in living in an humble sense of thy bounty and our own undeservings and in a temperate and thankful use of all thy blessings that we may have the continual feast of a good conscience and the constant comfort and satisfaction of having thee alway for our friend and our gracious Father in Christ Jesus O thou who art the Inspirer of such holy counsels desires and purposes keep them for ever in our hearts Incourage strengthen and increase them that after the refreshment of a quiet sleep this night we may feel them lively and powerful in the Morning and with renewed joy we may still devote our selves to thy faithful service O that our friends and all thy people in every place may partake of the same mercies we desire for our selves and howsoever we are severed one from another in this world grant us an happy meeting at the day of our Lord in whose words we pray thee to hear us Our Father which art in heaven hallowed be thy Name Thy kingdom come Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into temptation but
O God for the good hope which thy infinite charity hath given us by thy great grace in Christ Jesus and the plentiful communication of the holy Ghost O let thy mercy be upon me according as I hope in thee Preserve me alway in thy love through that abundant grace in thy Son Christ and the powerful presence of thy holy Spirit working in me mightily this day and ever Or after The peace of God which passeth all understanding c. you may say as the Apostle St. Paul 2 Thess 3.16 and the Psalmist 115.12,13,18 NOw the Lord of peace himself give me peace always by all means The Lord be with us all The Lord hath been mindful of us he will bless us He will bless them that fear him both small and great And we will bless the Lord from this time forth and for evermore Amen A short Prayer for the Lords-day or any other to be used at home before Morning Service O Lord the Almighty Creator of the world and the merciful Saviour of mankind who art above all our thoughts and excellest the praises of the highest Angels Thou art greatly to be feared in the assembly of thy Saints and to be had in reverence of all those that are about thee I most humbly desire leave to joyn my self with all those holy ones to worship thy most glorious Majesty to express the due sense I have of all thy benefits by paying thee my most thankful acknowledgements for them to make thee the best oblation I am able and devote my self intirely to thy obedience Since thou hast graciously inclined me to go into thy house and there to set forth thy praise to declare thy loving kindness to resign my self to thy Will to recommend my self to thy Wisdom to submit to thy Government to approve the justice and goodness of all thy Laws to profess that I am thy servant to renounce all thy enemies and to testifie my continued purpose to follow thee against all the temptations of the world the flesh and the Devil be pleased good Lord to pardon all my former failings and at this present to accept my holy intentions and to inspire me from above that I may chearfully perform all these acts of devotion to thy Divine Majesty And vouchsafe more fully to inform me in my duty to correct and amend what is amiss in me to incourage and strengthen my good resolutions and to assist me in all well doing Fill me with a great love to thee and to my blessed Saviour to thy holy Word and to all holy duties to Christian people every where and to all mankind Perfect me in Wisdom in Holiness and in Goodness By all thy instructions by all thy mercies by all thy chastisements and by all my prayers praises and thanksgivings to thee the Father of mercies make me such as thou canst love and delight in and reward at the great day of the Lord Jesus Amen A short Prayer at home after we are come from Church before Dinner I Adore thee again O Lord of Life and glory I acknowledge my dependence on thee I thank thee for thy mercies which thou never ceasest to heap upon me Accept I beseech thee of that dedication I have made of soul and body with praises and thanksgivings unto thee in the publick Congregation Be merciful to all my sins and indue me with the grace of thy holy Spirit to inable me to present my self when I appear again before thee a more holy and devout Sacrifice unto thee steadfastly resolved and chearfully disposed in every thing to be ordered by thy Will For which end be pleased to settle and root in my heart a stronger belief of thy holy Gospel and to fix my thoughts and affections upon that unseen happiness and bliss where our Saviour is That nothing here below may either allure or affright me from my duty nor ever make me remiss or negligent in it but I may be zealous of good works fervent in spirit serving my Lord from whom I expect the reward of an immortal inheritance Preserve in me always a Religious sense of thee And make me now so thankful and sober a partaker of the refreshments of my body that they may not damp the devotion of my soul But I may rather return to worship thee with greater chearfulness and gladness of heart after thou hast added the good things of this world to those of the other according to thy abundant love in Christ Jesus Amen A Prayer in private before the Evening Service O God who art rich in mercy to all that call upon thee and hast bid us 1 Thess 5. pray without ceasing and rejoyce evermore In obedience to thy command and incouraged by the goodness of thy Nature thy gracious invitations thy most precious promises and the long experience that I and others have had of thy bounty I am bold again to approach into thy presence to renew my requests unto thee to bless thy holy name to make profession of my love to thee and readiness in all things to obey thee Quicken my thoughts and affections O Lord to a free and joyful attendance on thee in all holy duties that no dulness nor weariness may seize upon my spirit but such a fervent love to thee may possess my heart as may render all the imployments of Religion my delight and the doing thy Will both now and alway my greatest pleasure And pass by I most humbly beseech thee all my unwilling indispositions Accept of such service as I am able to render thee And dispose me by all my addresses to thee to be more circumspect and watchful more diligent and industrious more forward and zealous in the performance of every part of my duty That being led by thy Counsel governed by thy Spirit and preserved by thy gracious Providence I may at last be admitted into the company of the blessed there to perfect my praises and acknowledgements and to receive the reward of patient continuance in well doing through Christ Jesus Whose grace be with my spirit Amen Another after the Evening Service is done as soon as there is opportunity to retire alone I Acknowledge thy manifold blessings O Lord which are renewed upon me every moment I owe my life continually to thee with all the comforts of it If I had no more to thank thee for but the mercies of this day they are so many so great that I could never thank thee enough for them Thou takest care of my body and of my soul Thou feedest me at thy house and at my own Thou lettest me taste the bread of Life which came down from Heaven besides the many supports and refreshments which thou affordest for this natural life Several of thy creatures lose their lives to preserve mine and thy dear Son hath not thought it too much to lay down his precious Life for my sake Thou speakest to me and givest me leave to speak to thee Thou instructest me in my duty and
and I will praise thy name for ever and ever for those exceeding great and precious promises which thou hast given us to support and comfort us in all the troubles of this life Increase my faith strengthen and confirm my hope lift up my spirit continually to that blessed place where Jesus is that I may rejoyce in hope of that immortal life when all tears shall be wiped from our eyes and there shall be no sighing nor sorrow any more but we * This clause to be used only in the loss of Friends or Relations who are now parted asunder shall meet together to acknowledge with eternal praises thy wise and merciful providence which by ways most contrary to our desires hath brought us to endless and undisturbed bliss Thou knowest O Lord the weakness and frailty of our nature and therefore vouchsafe me the constant assistance of thy good Spirit for which I depend upon thee to inable me to continue in this humble quiet and dutiful submission to thee waiting for that peaceable and joyful repose in the eternal rest which thou hast prepared for thy people through thy mercies in Christ Jesus By whom all glory honour love and obedience be rendred to thee by me and all mankind both now and for ever Amen A Prayer which a pious soul may use that is full of doubts and much troubled in mind O Lord 2 Cor. 1.3 the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort I acknowledge and adore thy eternal Power Wisdom and Goodness I render thee my most hearty thanks for all the benefits thou hast freely bestowed on me from my first coming into the world until this time Many O Lord my God are thy wonderful works which thou hast done and thy thoughts which are to us ward they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee Psal 40.5 if I would declare and speak of them they are more than can be numbred Above all I bless thee for that great demonstration of thy love and good will to mankind by Christ Jesus whom thou hast sent into the world to save sinners and for bringing me to the clear knowledge of him faith in him and some love I hope towards him and unfeigned affection to thy holy will declared to us in his blessed Gospel O God thou hast taught me from my youth up and hitherto been marvailously gracious to me Hide not I beseech thee thy face now from me and put not thy servant away in displeasure Thou hast been my help leave me not neither forsake me O God of my salvation But for Jesus Christ his sake I humbly intreat thee to pardon and pass by all my neglects of thee and unthankfulness to thee and offences against thee And as I here sincerely devote and dedicate my whole self soul and body to thy service so help me O my God and further me in the performance of my duty by the grace of thy holy Spirit To thee all hearts are open and from thee no secrets are hid deal with me according to the earnest desire and full purpose of my soul to conform my self in all things to thy holy Will Settle in me an unmoveable faith in thy infinite Mercies a constant love and chearful affection to my duty and a readiness of heart to obey thee and to submit to thy wise appointments in every condition The whole earth is full of thy Mercy thou openest thy hand and satisfiest the desire of every living thing O refuse not the humble desires of my poor soul which gaspeth after thee even as the thirsty land Thou who givest to the Beasts their food and to the young Ravens when they cry O satisfie me early with thy Mercies that I may rejoyce and be glad all my days Compose my broken and disturbed thoughts quiet my troubled and disordered spirit and appease all the ragings and tumults there by a sweet sense of thy most tender mercies which have been ever of old and endure continually Banish from me all causless fears and jealousies deliver me from all unprofitable sadness and dejection of spirit keep me from rash judging of my self and much more from charging thee foolishly Bestow upon me a chearful spirit by an humble hope in thee and by referring my self wholly to thee Endue me with such wisdom and uprightness that I may neither neglect my duty nor suspect thy gracious acceptance of me Give me an hearty zeal to do the best that I am able and a setled perswasion that thou requirest no more of me Defend me O my gracious God from dishonouring thee and my Religion by distrusting thy goodness and calling thy loving kindness in question towards those that are sincerely bent to please thee Remove all troublesome imaginations from me and give me a clear understanding of thee and of my self Or when I am in darkness and confusion of thoughts grant me so much light and judgement as not to conclude my self forsaken by thee but to reflect upon thy long continued favours to me and many deliverances of me that so I may resolve still to hope in thee to bear my present trouble patiently and to resign my will absolutely to thy good pleasure And good Lord enable me to look beyond these clouds to that blessed state whither my Saviour is gone in which there is no darkness at all and in an humble hope of coming to the same place where he is to content my self with any condition whilst I am here so far remote from that Region of light and glory Hear me most loving and merciful Father I most humbly beseech thee Pitty my great dulness and deadness of heart Strengthen my weak and feeble endeavours Support my fainting spirit and cause it humbly to hope in thee for ever Confirm and establish every good thought desire and purpose which thou hast wrought in me Perfect that which thou hast begun Make me to grow in wisdom faith love and willing obedience Conduct me hereafter so evenly and steadily so peaceably and quietly so chearfully and securely in thy ways that I may glorifie thee whilst I live by incouraging others to accompany me in thy service And when I come to dye may resign my soul unto thee with an undisturbed mind and in an holy hope also of a joyful resurrection of the body at the great day of the Lord Jesus to whom be glory and dominion for ever Amen A Prayer to be said by others for one that is troubled in mind O God the only Hope the Refuge the Comfort and satisfaction of our souls Of whose Goodness and tender mercy all the world hath so many testimonies and we our selves have had such long experience that we are incouraged thereby though most unworthy to make this humble address to thy Divine Majesty Thou seest we know and pittiest the misery and torment of this afflicted spirit none of his * Or her sighs or groanings are hid from thee But to express also our charity and compassionate
graciously accept such holy resolutions and certainly further and succeed them as the effect of thine own inspirations Suffer not his spirit to be oppressed under the sense of his great weakness or discouraged though he fall short of his present holy desires purposes and endeavours But bear him up in a strong perswasion that by sincere constant and unwearied diligence in well doing he shall at last obtain the victory through the power of thy holy Spirit assisting of him Make him see how reasonable it is most gratefully to acknowledge thy infinite Mercies if after much pains many conflicts and long patience he may recover a state of friendship with thee That so he may not spend his time in dejected complaints nor ever faint in his mind or despond in the Christian course but still pursue the compleat mastery over himself in assured hope that thou wilt be with him and never leave him or forsake him We bless thee for that instance of thy exceeding grace to the chiefest of sinners which thou gavest in thy holy Apostle of us Gentiles Who was a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious 1 Tim. 1.13,16 but for this cause obtained mercy that in him Christ Jesus might show forth all long-suffering for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting Above all we bless thee for our Lord Jesus himself whom thou sentest in our flesh that he might save sinners We bless thee for all the miraculous cures which he wrought on miserable creatures whereby he demonstrated his great charity towards us For the gracious proclamation he hath made of thy pardoning mercy and for the Universal invitation which he hath given to every one Rev. 22.17 that is a thirst to come and take the waters of life freely 1 Joh. 2.2 We thank thee for his death upon the Cross Luk. 23.34 that he might make a propitiation for the sins of the whole world Act. 5.31 2 Cor. 5.18 for his great love in praying then for his bitterest enemies Matth. 26.28 Heb. 7.25 that they might be forgiven 2.17 4.15 for his resurrection and exaltation at thy right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance and forgiveness of sins And that he hath given to his Apostles the Ministry of reconciliation and admitted us into a Covenant of mercy and forgiveness by Baptism into his Name and hatâ— left us the cup of blessing whicâ— is the New Covenant in his blouâ— for the remission of sins and given power and authority to his Mâ—nisters to absolve all those who heartily repent and unfeignedly believâ— his holy Gospel We thank thee O Lord for the assurance we havâ— that he lives for ever to make interceâ—sion for us and is able to save to thâ— uttermost all those that come to thâ— by him and that he is a merciful and faithful High-priest to make reconciliation for the sins of the people being touched with a feeling of all our miseries We cannot doubt O blessed God of thy gracious intentions and desires to pardon us and to make us better when we seriously meditate on all these testimonies of thy Divine love and on that easie and gentle yoke which thou layest on us to love thee with all our heart and our neighbour as our selves and on the promised assistance which we have hopes of from above to inspire inliven and strengthen us to all well doing and patient suffering O that this languishing soul may likewise feel the comfortable influence of all these heavenly Truths reviving and chearing his spirit into a good hope in thee that thou wilt mercifully accept the oblation which he is willing to make of himself to thee and also constantly inable him to offer himself with greater affection and more pure devotion to thy service Scatter all the clouds that darken his mind and lift upon him the light of thy countenance O give him the comfort of thy help again Psal 51.12 and stablish him with thy free spirit 143.11 Quicken him 4.7 O Lord for thy names sake 85.6 for thy righteousness sake bring his soul out of trouble 2 Thess 1.11 Put gladness into his heart 1 Tim. 1.14 and revive him again that he and we may rejoyce in thee Amen Amen O God of all grace fulfill in him all the good pleasure of thy goodness and the work of faith with power that the name of our Lord may be glorified in him according to that grace which was exceeding ahundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus To whom be glory and praise for ever and ever Amen WHen sickness arrests any person it is time for him presently in the very beginning of it to search and try his ways sorrowfully to confess the sins of which he finds himself guilty with a full purpose of amendment to advise with his Spiritual Guide and before his spirit be feeble and broken to recommend himself heartily to our blessed Saviour by receiving the Communion of his body and bloud thereing making a commemoration of his wonderful love and devoting himself again to his service And having set his house in order as thâ— Prophet said to Hezekiah Isa 38.1 and setled his estate to acknowledge Gods great goodness to him hitherto and to submit himself wholly to his good pleasure in such manner as followeth A Prayer in the beginning of a Sickness O Lord the Soveraign of the world who doest what thou pleasest in heaven and in earth Psal 135.6 and delightest most in acts of bounty as all thy works every where declare and art full of compassion and mercy Ecclus 2.11 long-suffering and very pittiful and forgivest sins and savest in time of affliction I acknowledge my self among the rest of thy creatures to be most deeply indebted to thee whose life thou hast prolonged to this time in much health plenty and peace together with the enjoyment of spiritual blessings in the Lord Jesus I thank thee and praise thee all that is within me blesses thy holy name to whose wise and good Providence I wholly refer my self for the time to come placing my intire trust and confidence in thy almighty Goodness Faithfulness and Truth which endures for ever I ought to receive with all thankfulness whatsoever comes from thy hand and believe that to be good for me which thy infinite wisdom and kindness orders and allots for my portion Accordingly I accept with all humble and dutiful affection this thy Fatherly chastisement I acknowledge thy care of me and submit to what thou wilt be pleased to lay upon me If thou thinkest good to exercise me with a longer sickness and to let the present indisposition of my body proceed to a greater disorder not my will but thine O heavenly Father be done I only wait on thee for the comfortable presence of thy holy Spirit to support my soul by faith and hope and patience under all the
they may spare the poor and needy and save and redeem their soul from deceit and violence and their bloud may be precious in their sight Bless these Kingdoms wherein we live and as thou hast long continued to us the knowledge of thy Truth so give us grace to bring forth fruit becoming the Gospel that thou mayst not cut us down as barren trees which cumber the ground Lord save the King and establish his Throne in righteousness that we may see many happy days under his government and be Psal 90.15 comforted now after the time that thou hast plagued us and for the years wherein we have suffered adversity Prosper the pious endeavours of all those that faithfully feed and instruct thy people and increase the number of them O that the seed which hath been sown this day may take deep root in all our hearts and bring forth fruit abundantly that being not Jam. 1.25,26 forgetful hearers but doers of the work we may be all blessed in our deed Help us in all the week following to Psal 141.3,4 set a watch before our mouth and to keep the door of our lips Preserve us that our heart incline not to any evil thing to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity but we may be always 1 Pet. 3.13 followers of that which is good 1 Thess 4.1 and as we have received how we ought to walk and please thee our God so we may abound more and more Protect us we beseech thee and all our friends every where this night Grant us quiet and undisturbed rest and sleep and awaken in the morning these good thoughts and desires again in our hearts Joh. 15.7 that the words of our Saviour may abide in us and we in him till we come to endless life together with him by whom we are incouraged thus to address our selves unto thee and to continue to pray as he hath taught us in his holy Gospel saying Our Father c. A shorter form of Prayer for the Lords day Morning O Most holy eternally Blessed Deut. 10.14 The heaven and the heaven of heavens is thine the earth also with all that therein is Thou art every where and canst not be excluded from any place but art present to the greatest secrets of our souls and seest the closest and most retired thoughts of our hearts Thou knowest very well with what designs and affections we now bow our selves before thee and canst not be deceived by any words that we are able to speak in thy praise whilst our hearts are far from thy fear and love Behold O Lord our hearts are full with desires to be possessed with a mighty reverend sense of thee and all the benefits thou hast bestowed on us and to be lifted up to heaven in love to thee and joy in thee whilst we bless and praise thee and speak good of thy Name We here remember with all humility and thankfulness that thou art our Creator And acknowledge thy care and providence over thy ancient people in blessing and sanctifying a day wherein thou thy self restedst from thy works that they might cease from all other imployments and admire thy wonderful works extol thy power bless thy goodness and be astonished at thy wisdom in making preserving adorning and governing this excellent frame of the world The heavens declare thy glory O God and the firmament sheweth thy handy-work The Sun the Moon and all the host of Heaven proclaim the greatness and splendor of thy Majesty The Psal 104.24 whole earth is full of thy rich goodness so is the great and wide sea wherein are things moving innumerable both small and great living creatures There is nothing but what speaks of thee and above all the children of men whom thou hast wonderfully made and curiously wrought and impressed with thine own Image that they might understand thee and love thee in all and above all things The variety the order the stedfastness of all thy works in this great world abundantly utter thy adorable perfections But thou O Lord by thy goodness in giving thy Son for us and then raising him up from the dead and setting him at thy right hand hast given us new matter of wonder and praise and consecrated a better rest and holy-day of rejoycing wherein we should behold the glories of another world and have before our eyes the happiness thou intendest for us there together with all the excellent means which lead unto it Thou givest us occasion not only to reflect upon all the good things thou hast provided for our bodies which we can never acknowledge enough the very health and ease of one day deserving the thankfulness of many but we must also remember that we are thy redeemed ones and that thou hast done great things for our souls in thy Son Jesus who is entred into the heavens for us and gone to prepare a resting place for all those that follow him This exceeding riches of thy grace infinitely surpasses all our acknowledgements since all the praises we are able to render thee are less than is due for thy temporal blessings To this love we â—owe the knowledge of thee the true and only God our freedom from Idolatry and a vain conversation the true principles of holy living the benefit of repentance the promise of a pardon the assistance of thy holy Spirit the ministry of thy Angels the hope of immortal life and the pledges our Lord hath left us of his endless love To this we owe thy forbearance in the days of our ignorance thy unwearied patience towards us in a continued rebellion and thy earnest intreaties of us when we were passionately bent upon our own destruction Thou hast sent us in much love many holy Instructors and guides to blessedness We have had the benefit of sundry pious Sermons good Examples wholesome admonitions and serious counsels of the power of the Holy Ghost and divers restraints of fear and shame and love and thou still pursuest us with thy merciful kindness and beseechest us to attend to thy call and receive thy blessings and make thee our choice and be eternally happy in thy Divine favour and likeness What shall we render to the Lord for all his benefits towards us O help us to manifest our real and unfeigned desires to make some worthy returns to thee by our careful improvement of the holy opportunity which thou this day puttest into our hands O that our minds may be more inlightned to understand the truth as it is in Jesus that our wills may be more steadfastly resolved to cleave unto it that our affections may be excited to a stronger and more ardent love to thee and to a greater delight in thee and all the powers of our souls disposed to serve thee at all other times more cheerfully and readily in all the Duties of Piety Soberness Righteousness and Mercy So that every day may become an holy rest to the Lord by
hearts rejoyce that we may spend a day in thy Courts are invited to a longer attendance on thy divine Majesty in the duties of thy worship and service We are ashamed that any weariness should seize on our spirits and that it should be irksome to us to renew our thoughts and acknowledgements of thy infinite goodness Behold O Lord we are resolved again to address our selves unto thee with praise and thanksgiving for giving us such opportunities to look back to thee the Author of our being to lift up our souls towards our heavenly Country and unite them to the first and chiefest good from whence we derive whatsoever we have or hope to enjoy Beseeching thee to help us to draw near unto thee with hearts full of wonder at thy incomprehensible Majesty full of love to thy most wise and Almighty goodness full of thankfulness for thy benefits full of desires to be what thou wouldst have us and full of joy that thou wouldst have us be so happy in being made thy children partakers of a Divine Nature and heirs of immortal life We admire thy glory O great Lord of heaven and earth which shines in the whole Creation thy greater glory in the work of our redemption by the miraculous Birth Life Death and Resurrection of Christ Jesus and the greatest of all which we hope and wait for at his appearing when he shall come to be admired in his Saints and glorified in all them that believe Thou hast done great things for us already thou hast promised to do greater and thou art daily performing thy promises and preparing us for the accomplishment of them all in the highest blessedness O God of all grace make us wiser Stewards than we have been of thy manifold gifts and graces which we are intrusted withal Help us carefully to husband this sacred opportunity which thou continuest to us to the best advantage of our immortal souls Gather in our thoughts from our ordinary business Fix them on thy self and hold them in the contemplation of thy infinite mercies and of those divine Truths which represent our duty and thy exceeding love and kindness towards us Chase away all worldly affections and over-awe our spirits with a sense of thy divine presence that by serving thee with a religious reverence this day we may be disposed to walk in thy fear all the rest of our lives Having a grateful remembrance of thy benefits a deep and serious reflection upon our own resolutions and thy gracious promises an holy jealousie over our selves lest we should be unfaithful to them and a pious care in all things to approve our selves the constant and diligent servants of the Lord Jesus O that our thankfulness and good affections and zealous desires may not end with our prayers nor conclude with this day But we may be possessed with such a strong and habitual sense of thee and of our obligations to thee that we may every day earnestly and heartily serve thee in all the actions of Christian piety and be unwearied in well doing unto the conclusion of our lives Another O Most holy great and glorious Majesty of heaven and earth To whom all the blessed company above do with the highest admiration and love give continual praise and thanks and honour and worship and obedience acknowledging thou art above all that they are able to speak of thee or ascribe and render to thee Much more art thou exalted above the thoughts of such poor mortals as we who are clothed with flesh and live far remote from the throne of thy glory And yet such is thy goodness thou condescendest to admit nay to draw us to a fellowship with those holy spirits that we may thereby be made happy and called thy servants though when we have done the best we can very unprofitable What is man that thou art mindful of him what are the sons of men that thou dost at all consider them Thou hast crowned us with glory and honour here below and raised us to a Dominion over the works of thy hands Thou hast indued us with understandings to know thee and with wills to love thee whose most excellent wisdom Almighty power and surpassing goodness we discover in all thy works of wonder But what is sinful man that thou shouldest so much regard him as to send after him to seek and save him when he was lost Lord what grace was this that thou shouldest vouchsafe to speak with us and communicate any thing of thy mind to such forgetful and ungrateful wretches But that thou shouldst speak to us by thy Son and declare thy mind in such words of grace and favour and publish such kind intentions towards us and recover us with so much cost and purchase us to thy self with the precious bloud of thy Son Jesus and send thy holy Spirit to purifie us that we might have thy Image renewed in us and be made fit society for thy self again and restored to immortal life Lord how much doth it exceed all belief hadst thou not given us in tender mercy such abundance assurance of it We have those reasons to bless thee which the Angels have not We must admire thee not only as the great Creator and Preserver of all things which we heartily do and give thee the glory of all thy marvailous works but also as the Redeemer of mankind out of a forlorn condition by the manifestation of thy self in our flesh by the bloud of thy Son the constant breathings of the holy Ghost the light of thy Gospel and an unwearied patience which hath waited on us and propounded to us no less happiness than to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus who is advanced far above all principalities and powers and every name that is named not only in this world but in that also which is to come We praise thee O God we magnifie thy most holy Name we confess our selves bound to thee above all other creatures that we have any knowledge of for we are twice thy creatures and thou hast a double title to all we have O stir up all that is within us to bless thee and love thee and offer up the sacrifice of thanksgiving to thee Fill our hearts with joy and gladness that we have another opportunity wherein to recount thy mercies to us to be further instructed in thy mind and will declared by our Saviour and to be under the comfortable influences of heaven to cherish those holy thoughts affections and resolutions which are begun in us and to promote our growth and increase in all wisdom goodness and vertue Possess us with such a strong sense of thy continued love towards us that we may testifie our true and hearty thankfulness for it by attentive consideration of all that we hear out of thy holy Word and by laying it up in our hearts and esteeming it more than the greatest treasures of this World and endeavouring every day to have our conversation as becometh the
Gospel of Christ That so our praises being not meerly words but real deeds and all the fruits of righteousness we may be blessed in our deed and at last hear our Lord speaking to us in those gracious words Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world Amen A Prayer for the Morning when there is a Communion O Most holy holy holy Lord God Almighty the Father of mercies the God of peace and comfort by whose power we and all things else were created and by whose good providence we are all preserved and maintain'd Be thou eternally blessed and praised worshipped and served with the most ardent love who hast made mankind so like to thy self and ordered so many of thy creatures to serve us and chosen rather to make us anew and create us again Ephes 2.10 in Christ Jesus unto good works than let us be undone by our shameful disobedience to thee For thou Joh. 3.16 hast sent thy only begotten Son into the world adored be thy inconceiveable love that whosoever believeth in him might not perish but have everlasting life And he hath laid down his life for that end and redeemed us by his bloud from the hands of our enemies and triumphed over them all most gloriously and in token thereof ascended into heaven and possessed the Crown of immortal Life and sat down at thy right hand and obtained dominion over Angels and Men and all Creatures We have felt the blessed fruits of his Death and Resurrection and Royal Power whereby Heb. 7.25 he is able to save to the uttermost all them that come to thee by him Thy holy Spirit hath breathed often into our hearts we have been instructed in the Gospel of thy grace and thy Servants the Ministers of thy Word have not ceased to call upon us yea to importune us to follow after our Saviour to that heavenly bliss in which he lives And now again thou vouchsafest to us an happy opportunity to improve our selves in Christian Wisdom Devotion and holiness and we have received thy kind invitations to the nearest approaches to thy divine Majesty O fill us we pray thee with a lively and strong sense of thy bounteous goodness which hath been so many ways expressed towards us Fill us with pious dispositions to receive more of it according to thy precious promises in Christ Jesus Stirr up in us such thankful acknowledgements to thee such hearty resolutions to obey thee such earnest desires and longings to partake more and more of thy divine Nature such love delight and joy in well doing that our souls may be lifted up above to that glorious place where our dear Saviour is and we may comfortably expect and be truly prepared for a blessed translation thither at the great day of his appearing Our great unfruitfulness we confess in the knowledge of Christ may justly make thee deny thy gratious influences from heaven upon us But O God of all grace who multiplyest mercy and delightest in doing good pardon us and make us better both at once Quicken our souls to hear thy holy Word with greater fear and reverence to sing thy praises with greater cheerfulness and gladness to pray to thee with more earnest affection and steadiness of mind to approach to thy holy Table with the deepest humility and devotion of spirit and to receive the renewed pledges of thy love to our very great increase in Faith and Hope and Love to thee and to all the world That so this may be a good day to our souls and we may be disposed and enabled to spend the rest of our days better as becomes the redeemed of the Lord who have tasted how gracious he is and who have received the earnest of eternal life O that our conversation may be in heaven by the constant love and exercise of purity righteousness mercy and godliness That we ever studying to glorifie thee our heavenly Father by bearing much of this good fruit may have the more assured hope that thou wilt glorifie us with thy self And inspire we beseech thee the hearts of all others that meet together this day to magnifie thy great and glorious Name with the like religious affections towards thee That we may all Rom. 12.1 present our selves a living sacrifice holy acceptable unto thee which is our reasonable service Help us all to Coloss 3.10,11 c. put on as thy elect children holy and beloved bowels of mercies kindness humbleness of mind meekness long-suffering forbearing one another and forgiving one another if any man have a quarrel against any even as Christ forgave us so incline us also to do And above all these things to put on charity which is the â—ond of perfectness And let the peace â—f thee our God rule in our hearts â—o which we are called in one body and â—ake us ever truly thankful Hear â—s we beseech thee O most merciâ—ul Father and after we have perâ—ected holiness here in thy fear bring â—s all to compleat our praises and â—hanksgivings to thee in the great â—ssembly of Saints and Angels through Christ Jesus our blessed Lord and Saviour 2 Pet. 3. ult To whom be glory both now and for ever Amen Our Father c. A Prayer at Night when there hath been a Communion O Eternally blessed Lord God the Creator of the world the Father of Angels and men the King of infinite Majesty and Power who canst do what thou pleasest every where 2 Chron. 6.18 Thâ—… heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee who art inthroned only in thy own greatness and crowned with the glory of thy own uncommunicated perfections There is nothing can be added to thee by us or any other creatures of whose services thou hast no need seeing thou art absolutely happy in thy self Act. 17.25 and givest to all life and breath and all things But it is our perfection and happiness to admire and praise thee whom we cannot comprehend to love thee as much as we know thee and to obey thee as much as we love thee 1 Chron. 28.9 with a perfect heart and with a willing mind for the Lord searcheth all hearts and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts We praise thee therefore O God we acknowledge thee to be the Lord. We give thee the glory that is due unto thy name and with hearty â—ove offer up our selves again intireâ—y unto thee whose we are and for whom we were made Justice and gratitude fear and love hope and interest whatsoever hath any power to move our hearts do all press and mightily urge us constantly to devote and consecreate our souls and bodies to thy faithful service We cannot neglect thee unless we will cast away our selves nor sin against thee unless we will be our own accusers judges and tormentors and throw our selves into the greatest miseries Thou hast been so good to us that if we should not become
good likewise we must hate and abhorr our selves who cannot but love and delight in those who show us any kindness and bestow any benefits upon us though they are but thy Ministers and Servants that have nothing and can do nothing but what thou hast given them and inclinest them to do By thee we were formed and brought out of our Mothers Womb. And by a greater mercy were early born again and made thy children in Christ Jesus We have been thy care ever since and been instructed in that Covenant of Grace into which at our Baptism we were received by the knowledge thou hast given us of thy blessed Gospel Wherein we read the great love of our Saviour in dying for us and have the promise of his Spirit to sanctifie and govern us his holy Precepts for the rule of our actions his glorious Example to excite and quicken us and the hope of eternal bliss by his Resurrection from the dead to incourage and comfort us in well doing And in the mean time we injoy the society of thy Saints the ministry of thy Angels and the direction and assistance of thy faithful servants the Embassadors of peace and reconciliation with thee All which fruits of thy wonderful love we have long enjoyed and thou hast this day entertained us at thy Table where thou hast refreshed us with the Communion of the body and bloud of Christ Jesus the earnest of a blessed resurrection and the pledge of immortality Besides innumerable good things which thy most tender mercy hath been pleased to bestow upon our bodies to make our passage to that blessedness through all the troubles and dangers of this life the more easie and delightful to us And all this thou hast done for those who have been too idle and useless cold and dull inconstant and soon weary of their duty forgetful of benefits and unfaithful to their own promises But thy infinite goodness still continues to do it to make us more diligent more zealous more steadfast and immoveable more mindful of thee and of our own holy purposes that we may be abundant as there is reason in the work of our Lord knowing that our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. And that is the most sincere and fervent desire of our souls likewise who here most humbly beseech thee by the power of thy holy Spirit to preserve in us a perpetual and affectionate remembrance of all thy undeserved kindness to us Stir up all that is within us every morning to bless and praise thy holy Name That by a renewed serious acknowledgement of thy benefits we may be more and more stirred up to love and to all good works O that the Lord Jesus may be always in our thoughts and in our hearts that we may make him our pattern as he is our hope O that nothing may be so dear unto us in this world as his holiness his humility his goodness and charity his meekness and patience his intire trust in thee and resignation to thee his delight to do thy will O God in hope of that Tit. 1.1 eternal life which thou who canst not lye hast promised to us Fix our minds and affections more steadfastly on that glory wherewith he is crowned by his obedient suffering of death that we may never be weary nor faint in our minds under any sufferings for well doing but continuing faithful to the death may also receive the Crown of Life Accept we pray thee of this our bounden duty and service pitty our great weaknesses pardon all our sins and negligences and deny us not the grace of thy holy Spirit which we have implored to inable us to amend our lives according to thy holy Word But after thou hast refreshed us with quiet sleep this night let us feel it moving our hearts to the same holy thoughts acknowledgements desires and resolutions which it now works in us through thy mercy declared to us in Christ Jesus In whose words we conclude our Prayers saying as he hath taught us Our Father which art in heaven hallowed be thy Name Thy kingdom come Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil c. PRAYERS FOR FAMILIES MVNDAY MORNING WE humble our selves O Lord of heaven and earth before thy glorious Majesty we heartily acknowledge thy Sovereign Dominion over us all creatures we praise and magnifie thy eternal Power Wisdom Goodness and Truth and we render thee our most unfeigned thanks for the innumerable benefits which thou in thy bounty hast loaded us withal Above all for the gracious declaration thou hast made of thy good will to us in Christ Jesus by whom thou hast invited and incouraged sinners to return to thee and directed them in the way to everlasting bliss We blush to think of our shameful forgetfulness of thee and ingratitude to thee to whom we owe all that we have in this world and all our hopes in the next We most humbly implore thy tender mercies in the forgiveness of all our sins whereby we have offended either in thought word or deed against thy just and holy Laws For we are truly sorry for all our mis-doings we utterly renounce whatsoever is contrary to thy will and here devote our selves intirely to the obedience thereof Accept O most merciful Father of this renewed Dedication which we make of our whole man body soul and spirit to thee And as thou dost inspire us with holy resolutions so accompany them always with the assistance of thy grace that we may be able every day to offer up our selves more sincerely and more cheerfully to thee with more pure affection and hearty devotion and ready disposition to thy service We adore thy great grace which hath brought salvation to us and Tit. 2.11,12 teaches us that denying all ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present world We will indeavour O Lord to preserve a grateful sense of thy mighty love in our mind and to follow the doctrine and example of thy Son Christ Jesus as becomes those who have such a blessed hope and look for so great Salvation at the day of his glorious appearing We desire above all things to be so pure and undefiled so meek and gentle so humble and lowly so just and merciful so peaceable and patient contented and thankful as our blessed Lord and Master was And we hope that thou wilt fulfil all the gracious promises he hath made to us which we esteem far greater treasure than thousands of gold and silver They are the support the comfort the satisfaction of our hearts We ask nothing but that it may be to thy servants according to his Word Thou hast mercifully kept us the last night blessed be thy continued goodness and raised us again to see
thee Give us thy grace continually for our seasonable relief and succour that we persevering in well doing may have a solid and lively hope in our death of coming to see thee in that high and holy place where thou livest and reignest for evermore As for all the things of this life we most heartily refer our selves to thy Fatherly Wisdom and Goodness O Lord God Almighty trusting thou wilt order for us that which is most convenient and bless our honest diligence with such a competent portion of them that we may have the more leisure to give continual praise honour blessing and thanksgiving to thee whose mercies endure for ever Accept we pray thee of our thankful acknowledgements at this time for those which this day hath added to the rest of thy benefits which thou hast been continually heaping upon us ever since we were born And let all the people of the earth praise the name of the Lord which is highly exalted above all blessing and praise O that all the Kingdoms of the World would become the Kingdoms of our Saviour Christ and that all they who acknowledge his authority would religiously obey his holy Laws that all wars oppression and cruelty may cease among Christian people and they may live together in brotherly love and unity Make our Soveraign and all his Realms happy by a great increase of true knowledge godliness and vertue every where Bless all our friends forgive our enemies requite all the kindness of our benefactors comfort every one of thy desolate and afflicted servants and turn their mourning and heaviness into joy and gladness at the last And now that we are going to repose our selves keep us we beseech thee and all belonging to us in safety Refresh our wearied spirits with comfortable rest and sleep and when we awaken again in the morning direct our thoughts immediately to thee our merciful preserver and help us to imploy all our renewed strength to thy honour and glory according to thy will declared by Christ Jesus in whose blessed Name and Words we commend our selves to thy infinite Mercies Our Father c. PRAYERS FOR FAMILIES WEDNESDAY MORNING O Most great and mighty Lord the Possessor of heaven and earth All the Angels worship and adore thy incomprehensible Majesty with the humblest reverence and rejoyce in rendring praise blessing and thanksgiving to thee the Father of spirits For thou hast created all things and in wisdom hast thou made them all and spread thy tender mercies over all thy works It is no less our happiness than our duty to joyn our hearts and voices with that heavenly host most gratefully to acknowledge thy bounty to us among the rest of thy creatures and thy particular grace and favour in our Lord Jesus Christ our most merciful Saviour and Redeemer We can never sufficiently admire that love which gave him to dye for us and hath made him the Lord of life and glory that he may be the Author of eternal Salvation to all those that obey him All the love we have is too little to give thee to whom all our services are due by a former title Our highest praises fall infinitely short of thy most excellent Majesty and we are ashamed of the most affectionate thanks we can render to thee for those inestimable benefits which thou hast conferred on us and so long continued to us How much greater reason then have we to be abashed at our shameful ingratitude and disobedience to thy divine Majesty for which we are heartily sorry and do now most earnestly repent our selves of it unfeignedly resolving and protesting to be more faithful to thee for the time to come Pardon us therefore Good Lord and receive us unto thy mercy Accept of our renewed vows to study and do our duties conscientiously towards thee and towards all men And as thou hast excited these holy desires and purposes in our hearts so inable us to perform them constantly in the whole course of our life Our blessed Saviour hath told us thou wilt as readily give thy holy Spirit to them that ask it as a Parent will give bread to his hungry children O Father of mercies let it be unto us according to his Word Cherish these little beginnings of goodness which thou seest in our souls and prosper all our endeavours to attain a greater measure of it And since at the best we are but unprofitable servants and can do no more than was our duty to do inable us to do every thing which thou hast commanded us heartily with good will and true love to thy service We know this is all that can in the least commend us to thy free grace and favour and therefore we most humbly again dovote our selves to do thy Will with a cordial affection to it We would ever approach unto thee with delight and pleasure and feel it the joy of our hearts to think of thee to praise thee to give thee thanks and to offer our selves with absolute resignation to thee O that Mercy may always please us as it pleaseth thee that we may be strictly just and righteous may chearfully pass by injuries freely deny all desires of sinful pleasures willingly submit to thy fatherly corrections and perform the duties of our several relations with singleness of heart Render us so mindful of the great love of our Lord and Master Christ that we may be zealously concerned for his glory and use our utmost diligence to do Him and his Religion some honour in the world delighting to commemorate his Death and Passion making a joyful sacrifice of our souls and bodies to him and desiring most earnestly that his kingdom may come and all mankind submit themselves to his Government Fulfil most merciful Lord all our petitions and as thou hast mightily protected us and our dwellings this last night from fire and thieves and whatsoever might disturb our repose blessed be thy goodness so accompany us all this day with thy blessing that we may please thee in body and soul and be safe under thy defence who art nigh to all those that call upon thee that call upon thee in truth And O that all those who are forgetful of their duty to thee may be awakened to a lively sense of all thy benefits and fill the whole world with thy praises Stir up especially the minds of all Christian people to inquire after and follow the Truth as it is in Jesus abandoning all vice and wickedness and exercising themselves to have consciences void of offence towards thee and towards all men And dispose the hearts of all their Kings and Princes to make themselves the greatest examples of Christian Piety to all others Bless these Kingdoms and indue our Soveraign with such excellent Wisdom and holy Zeal for thy honour and glory that we may see many good days under his Government O that true Religion Justice Mercy Brotherly kindness and all things else that are praise-worthy may so flourish among us that we
never dye nor languish in our hearts but be kept alive in their vigour and force by the perpetual inspirations of the holy Ghost We wait upon thee for that promise of our Saviour to assist and promote our sincere indeavours to preserve our souls unblameable in the love of thee our God and of all mankind We heartily desire the prosperity and welfare of every one of them as well as our own O that they were all so wise and happy as to acknowledge and submit themselves to thee by obeying thy holy Laws Especially we desire that all Kings and Princes may become our Saviours Subjects and conforming themselves to his will may be rendred thereby most excellent examples to all other men Indue our Soveraign with abundance of the Spirit of counsel and judgement and the fear of our Lord. Make him happy in wise and faithful Ministers in loyal and peaceable Subjects and in the good success of all his enterprises for the honour of Religion and his peoples tranquillity We commend to thy mercies all our friends relations and benefactors desiring that all who have done us good may be requited an hundred fold here and obtain at last eternal life And all that have done evil to us as we heartily forgive them so we earnestly desire they may obtain thy gracious pardon Together with these we remember likewise all that are in affliction whatsoever it be either of soul or body to whom we wish ease and comfort and seasonable relief that they may rejoyce in the end for the days wherein they have seen adversity In these holy thoughts and desires we now are bold to commend our selves to thy protection this night who hast preserved and blessed us we most thankfully acknowledge all the day past We repose our selves in the belief of thy good providence with which we intrust our selves and all belonging to us We would lay down our selves to sleep with hearts full of love to thee and humble faith and hope in thee Desiring we may awake again in the same manner and find that we are still with thee Dispose us good Lord by the rest thou givest us always to serve thee more zealously with our renewed spirits that after the few days and nights we have to pass in this world we may come to thy eternal rest together with Christ Jesus In whose blessed name and words we still recommend our selves to thy mercies Our Father which art in heaven hallowed be thy Name Thy kingdom â—ome Thy will be done in earth as it â—s in heaven Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our â—respasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from â—vil c. PRAYERS FOR FAMILIES FRIDAY MORNING O God most blessed for ever whose the world is and the fulness thereof who needest not any thing that we can give thee for thou givest us whatsoever we injoy We prostrate our selves before thee to make such poor expressions as we are able of the sense we have of thine infinite bounty to us It is but fit and meet that we should acknowledge and praise thee though we can thereby add nothing unto thee It is our happiness to have a grateful remembrance of thy goodness to us and to be knit unto thee in hearty love and dutiful affection all the days of our life We thank thee therefore O Lord of heaven and earth who hast loaded us continually with thy benefits They are great and many more than we can number both towards our bodies and towards our souls for the comfort of this life and our everlasting Salvation in the Life to come For ever adored be thy love in Christ Jesus who hath given us an undoubted testimony of thy fatherly care and providence over us and incouraged us though we have offended thee to address our selves to thee with good hope of thy gracious acceptance of us into friendship with thee again We love thee O Lord above all things We freely offer our spirits souls and bodies to thee with most sincere devotion and the heartiest affection to thy service There is nothing we desire and long for so much as to have a lively sense of thy marvailous love always possessing our hearts that may still constrain us to love thee to obey thee to trust in thee to be content with the portion thy love allots unto us and to rejoyce even in the midst of all the troubles of this life We cannot chuse O Lord when we seriously think of what thou hast done for us but absolutely commit our selves to thee intirely confide in thee for the time to come Since thou hast Rom. 8.32 not spared thy own Son but delivered him up for us all how shalt thou not with him also freely give us all things We depend upon thee especially for the grace of thy holy Spirit for the power of which in our hearts exciting these holy desires and godly resolutions we most humbly thank thy divine Majesty O that we may feel it perpetually bearing us up by the strength of our most holy faith and by the power of love and hope above all the temptations which at any time assault us That we may keep our selves unspotted from the world and no appetite of pleasure of glory or of riches may ever carry us from our duty but we may still cleave to thee in Righteousness Purity Humility Charity and all other divine vertues of which our Lord hath given us so great an example For his sake we hope for a favourable acceptance of these our praises acknowledgements and prayers For we must be still beholden to thine infinite goodness for the least regard to any thing that we can do who are but unprofitable servants And we wait upon the same goodness for thy blessing to accompany us all this day that we may do nothing but what we know is pleasing to thee and may be so prospered protected and assisted by thine Almighty power that we may return with our hearts full of love and thankfulness to thee in the evening again to praise and magnifie thy continued kindness to us Unto which we commend most heartily the rest of mankind desiring that they may all know thee the true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent whom to know is eternal life And O that all Christians would walk worthy of thy high and heavenly Calling that others seeing their good works may be invited thereby to acknowledge and glorifie thee our heavenly Father More particularly we desire the increase of wisdom and goodness to all Christian Kings and Princes and a plentiful portion of the Spirit of thy Grace to all Christian Bishops Priests and Deacons that they may be eminent instruments of thy honour and their peoples good by the authority of their Doctrine and godly Example Make our Soveraign and us all happy in each other by the faithful discharge of our several duties in the places wherein thy
most high and most willingly joyn our hearts and voices this Morning together with all the host of heaven and earth to laud and praise thy glorious Name and give thanks unto thee whose mercy endureth for ever We think our selves happy that we know thee and that we live under the care and providence of thine Almighty and most wise goodness and that we have a good hope not only of thy blessing and favour here but of life for evermore Blessed be thy Name for sending thy Son Jesus to give us these hopes by his Death and Resurrection and Ascension to heaven and the coming of the holy Ghost Blessed be thy Name who hast trained us up in his Religion and given us the means and opportunities to know that love of thine which passes knowledge We thank thee for all the blessed operations and motions of thy holy Spirit in our hearts and that thou hast so early inclined us to fear thee and love thee and place our contentment and satisfaction in thy love and favour which is better than life it self And that thou hast also added a number of other mercies for our comfortable subsistence in this world having granted us so long health peace and plenty a great many friends loving relations and acquaintance and continued the enjoyment of them to this day though we be so unworthy of the least of thy favours We thank thee O God that now thou hast graciously renewed thy kindness unto us in protecting us the last night from all the powers of darkness and every evil accident and raising us up this morning in health and safety to praise thy goodness More especially we praise thee for any sense we have of these thy mercies humbly waiting on thee for the increase of it and for thy gracious pardon of all our unthankfulness and undutiful behaviour towards thee which we most heartily bewail and desire and will endeavour to amend And for that end we implore the help of thy holy Spirit which our Lord hath incouraged us to ask of thee and told us thou wilt not deny to those that earnestly seek it and continue to knock importunately at the gate of Mercy for it We believe all his promises to be faithful and true and therefore humbly depend on thy mighty Power to strengthen and inable us to do our duty towards thee and towards all men with care and diligence and zeal and perseverance to the end Indue us good Lord with a spirit of true and servent devotion to thee our Creator and Redeemer with upright just and charitable hearts to all our Neighbours and with temperate contented and humble minds in every condition and state of life unto which thou shalt please to call us Help us to be meek and gentle in our conversation prudent and discreet in ordering all our affairs good and useful in every relation observant of thy fatherly providence in every thing that befals us grateful for thy benefits patient under thy chastisements and readily disposed to every good word and work Preserve in us a constant remembrance of thine all-seeing eye of the many promises and vows we have made of fidelity to thee of thine inestimable love in Christ Jesus whereof thou hast given us so many pledges and of the great account we must give to him the Judge of all at the day of his appearing That so we may continue steadfast and unmoveable and be abundant in the work of the Lord knowing that our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. Deliver us we beseech thee from all inordinate cares and desires from vain hopes and causeless fears and so dispose our hearts that death it self may not be dreadful to us but we may welcome it with a chearful countenance when and howsoever it shall approach O that our hearts may be so firmly settled and established in the true Religion and our minds kept so free from all delusions that nothing may afright us or shake our constancie But we may rather chuse to dye than dishonour our Saviour who dyed for us We resign our selves to thy wisdom and goodness who knowest what is best for us hoping thou wilt 1 Corinth 10.13 never suffer us to be tempted above what we are able and wilt with the temptation also make a way to escape that we may be able to bear it We commend unto thee likewise all mankind especially thy Church and chosen people these Kingdoms more particularly of which we are members that we may be all faithful to our Lord Christ and zealous of good works Bless our Soveraign his Councellors his Ministers and all imployed in publick business whether Spiritual or Civil that they may be conscientiously industrious and whatsoever they do may prosper for the good of all those who are committed to their charge Be gracious to all our friends and those who are dear unto us Keep us all in thy fear and love and obedience while we live and make us willing to dye and to be with Christ which is best of all Guide us good Lord and govern us by the same spirit of wisdom and goodness that we may be so united to thee here as not to be eternally separated when thou art pleased to order our departure hence But that we all at last may have an happy meeting in the other and better world to dwell with thee in love and joy that shall never dye through Christ Jesus our blessed Lord and Saviour in whose words we still beseech thee to hear us Our Father c. At Night ALL honour and glory thanks and praise love and service be rendred by us and all other reasonable creatures to thy great and glorious Majesty O Lord who hast brought us into the world and preserved our life most tenderly to this moment and made it easie and comfortable to us by more mercies than we can number And to all the former hast added those of this day which we have passed in peace and health and safety blessed be thy never-ceasing goodness Above all we acknowledge thy unconceiveable love in Christ Jesus by whom thou hast made a gracious provision for our souls and their everlasting happiness in the other world Having sent him to us with the promises of eternal life and to be the Way and Director to it and given him to dye that he might seal his promises with his bloud and raised him again from the dead that our faith and hope might be in thee O God 1 Cor. 2.9 Eye had not seen nor ear heard neither did enter into the heart of man the things which thou hast prepared for them that love thee We love thee O Lord and give our selves both souls and bodies to thee most earnestly desiring to be inspired with such a sense of thy infinite goodness that we may love thee more and serve thee better with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our strength We confess we have not walked worthy of the great
benefits we have received and therefore may justly fear thou shouldest withhold thy tender mercies and shut up thy loving kindness in displeasure But the desires and holy resolutions thou hast wrought and continuest in our souls to amend and become still more fruitful in all good works incourage us to hope in thee for pardon through the bloud of Jesus Christ and for the assistance of thy holy Spirit to inable us to accomplish that which we intend and purpose to grow more and more in wisdom and knowledge and in righteousness and true holiness O that this Image of thine may appear every day fairer and more beautiful before thee and in the sight of all men That so we may adorn the Religion we profess and be a good Example unto others and have a solid foundation of peace and comfort in our own hearts and be able to hope in thee for thy future mercy in Christ Jesus even unto eternal life We commend our selves to thy wonted grace and in a sense of what thou hast done already for us and what thou hast promised to do depend on thy goodness for what thou seest profitable and conducing to our chiefest good referring our selves wholly to thy wise will and pleasure and resolved contentedly to submit to thy appointments thankfully to receive thy mercies and to rest satisfied with our portion whatsoever it be that thou orderest for us Make us but steadfast in thy faith and love unwearied in well doing patient and constant under all sufferings full of a lively hope in thy mercy and willing to dye when and as thou pleasest and we have enough In confidence that thou hearest us and art every where and never slumberest nor sleepest we commit our selves to the custody of thy watchful providence this night to be secured and protected by thee when we cannot at all attend to our own preservation May it please thy goodness to give this whole family a comfortable rest and repose to defend this habitation and all about us from fire and such like sad accidents to deliver us from the power of evil spirits and of evil men and to raise us in health and chearfulness to praise thee and to glorifie thee both in soul and body the next day Psal 59.16,17 Then will we sing of thy power yea we will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning because thou hast been our defence and our refuge at all times Vnto thee O our strength will we sing for God is our defence and the God of our mercy 111.1 We will praise the Lord with our whole heart in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation 92.1,2 For it is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord and to sing praises unto thy name O most High to shew forth thy loving kindness in the morning and thy faithfulness every night 24.1 The earth is thine and the fulness thereof the world and they that dwell therein 22.27,28 Let all the people praise thee O God let all the people praise thee O that all the ends of the world would remember and turn unto the Lord and all the kindreds of the Nations worship before him For the kingdom is the Lords and he is the governour among the Nations Bless especially all Christian Kings and Princes that it may Prov. 16.12 be an abomination to them to commit wickedness and their thrones may be established by righteousness And incline the hearts of all those who have any authority in these Kingdoms to love and hold fast thy true Religion and to live according to to it that 20.28 by mercy and truth the king may be preserved and his throne be upholden by mercy We heartily desire the ease peace and satisfaction of all those who are in pain trouble and perplexity and that all poor miserable people may find supply of their wants from thy bounty and the charity of those on whom thou hast bestowed plenty and abundance We humbly also wait for thy blessing upon all our Relations and Friends trusting in thee for such a measure of health and all other good things as thou judgest useful for us and especially that the Lord Jesus 1 Tim. 4.8 will deliver us from every evil work and preserve us to his heavenly kingdom To whom be glory for ever and ever Amen Our Father c. A shorter Morning Prayer for any day in the week when there is not time by reason of some extraordinary occasions for the other O Most great and glorious God the Soveraign of the World Upon whom we continually depend to whom we owe all the love the service and the praise that we are able to render to all eternity We adore thy infinite mercy from whence we have received so many blessings for the comfort of this life and by which we have a sure Hope of good things in the life to come Blessed be thy goodness which hath not suffered us to wander without instruction after the foolish desires of our own hearts but hath clearly shown us where our happiness lyes We receive with all thankfulness those holy words which teach us the blessedness of poverty and contentedness of spirit of meekness and humility of mind of hungering and thirsting after righteousness of mercifulness and purity of heart of peaceableness and patient suffering for doing the will of our Lord Christ O that we may have grace to labour alway to be in the number of those blessed Souls that never set their hearts on any thing so much as these heavenly vertues O that we may ever think and feel our selves happy in the comfort of those great and precious promises of being made the children of the highest the heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven and at last of seeing thee our God It suffices O Lord that we have these glorious hopes hereafter which make us believe thou wilt not let us want what is necessary for us whilst we continue here We commend our selves with an humble confidence to thy watchful providence this day beseeching thee to guide and assist us that in all our desires words and actions we may keep our selves innocent and undefiled before thee and be disposed to do all good as we have opportunity And we heartily desire that all mankind may be filled with the same devotion to thee and especially that all Christian people may glorifie thy Name and be joyful in thee And the greater any are in Dignity and Power raise their spirits to the greater pitch of Wisdom Mercy and Piety that they may right those that suffer wrong and defend those that have no helper and provide for the ease and comfort of all miserable creatures to the utmost of their power In this ardent charity we commit both souls and bodies to thee beseeching thee to increase our love to thee and to all men till we be fit to be translated to the region of love and joy and perfect satisfaction through Christ Jesus
redemption that the Lord Jesus obtained for us by his bloud and the power and dominion which thou hast given him at thy right hand after his Resurrection from the dead and his compassionate intercession on our behalf So for all those gifts which he gave unto men whereby he made some Apostles some Prophets some Evangelists some Pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the ministry and the edifying of his body Blessing honour glory and praise be to thee O Father of mercies for all those great instruments of the holy Ghost the illustrious Ministers of thy grace the Embassadors for Christ and the blessed Champions of his holy Truth who have communicated the light of thy glorious Gospel to the world and overcome the kingdom of darkness by the bloud of the Lamb Rev. 12.11 and the word of their testimony not loving their lives unto the death Adored be the mightiness of that Grace Psal 8.2 which out of the mouths of babes and sucklings ordained strength Glory be to thee O Christ 2 Cor. 2.9 whose strength was made perfect in weakness Glory be unto thee who didst commit this heavenly treasure unto earthen vessels 2 Cor. 4.7 who approved themselves the ministers of God in much patience 6.4,5 in afflictions in necessities in distresses in stripes in imprisonments in tossings to and fro in labours in watchings in fastings that the excellency of the power might be of God and not of men I heartily submit to the power of that Divine Truth for which they suffered the loss of all things Phil. 3.8 and counted them but dung that they might win Christ and be found in him And I rejoyce that thou hast had so many faithful servants who have loved thee O Lord thou lover of souls more than their own lives most earnestly desiring to be inspired with the very same spirit which was in them that I may leave some example though never so small of hearty and universal obedience to those that shall come after Accept good Lord of my sincere resolution to be a follower of them even as they were of Christ in pureness in knowledge in long-suffering in kindness 1 Cor. 11.1 in love unfeigned That my rejoycing may be this 2 Cor. 6.6,7 the testimony of my conscience 2 Cor. 1.12 that in simplicity and godly sincerity 8.21 not with fleshly wisdom but by thy grace I have had my conversation in the world 1.5 providing for honest things not only in the sight of our Lord but also in the sight of all men Make me constant and couragious in the profession of thy holy Truth and to be willing to pass through honour or dishonour through good report or evil report for the Lords sake hoping that if the sufferings of Christ abound in me my consolation also shall abound by Christ Stir me up I beseech thee and quicken me that I may show the same diligence that thy Saints have done to the full assurance of hope unto the end that I may not be slothful Heb. 6.11,12 but a follower of them who through faith and patience inherited the promises 2.3,4,5 How shall I escape if I neglect so great salvation which at first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed by them that heard him God also bearing them witness with signs and wonders and with divers miracles of the holy Ghost according to his own will O continue the mighty assistance of that divine power with me that behaving my self so holily justly and unblameably as they did 1 Thess 2.10 I may rest at last together with them 2.1,7,9 when our Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty Angels to be glorified in his Saints and admired in all them that believe And now preserve me this day from dishonouring thaâ— worthy name Jam. 2.7 whereby wâ— are called knowing how we ought to follow them 2 Thess 3.7,13 who behaved not themselves disorderly among those that believed That by this rest from my ordinary labours I may not learn idleness nor grow weary of well doing but be better disposed in my mind by all the refreshments of my body to do my duty in the place and relations wherein thou hast set me with greater chearfulness fidelity and diligence to the end of my days O that it may be my highest pleasure to attend on thee and praise thee in the assemblies of thy Saints Give me such a sensible delight and joy in reading and meditating of thy holy Word and in the remembrance of all thy mercies that nothing in this world may make me forget the sweetness of it but every thing may excite me more to praise extol and magnifie thy loving-kindness to me and to express my thankfulness in a free and ready obedience to thy commands till I be made fit to be admitted into the company of the blessed there to praise thee world without end Amen A PRAYER Upon the day of ones BIRTH O Most mighty Lord the Former and Preserver of all things All thy works praise thee and do declare thy infinite greatness wisdom and bounty and do call upon us likewise to magnifie thy Name with our continual praises and thanksgivings I humbly bow my self before thy glorious Majesty who inhabitest eternity acknowledging that it is but a little time since I was not and that I am not gone down again into silence is to be ascribed only to thy Omnipotent goodness which brought me into being to praise theâ— among the rest of thy creatures I thank thee O Lord by whom I was fearfully and wonderfully made Psal 139.14,15 and curiously wrought in my mothers womb 22.9 Thou art he that took me thence thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mothers breast 71.6 By thee I have been holden up ever since and most carefully provided for when I could not think at all of thy tender mercies towards me And therefore now that I am grown to the use of my reason my praise ought to be continually of thee O bless the Lord my soul 103.1,2 and all that is within me bless his holy Name Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all his benefits While I live will I praise the Lord Psal 146.2 I will sing praises to my God while I have any being Pardon I beseech thee my ingratitude in that I lâ—…e no earlier remembred thee my Creator in whom I live and move and who givest me all things richly to enjoy Accept of my unfeigned resolutions to preserve hereafter a more grateful sense of thy great goodness to me and to glorifie thee with my body and with my spirit which are thine Vouchsafe me the assistance of thy heavenly grace that I may return them back unto thee pure and undefiled full of wisdom and spiritual understanding full of love and devout affection to thee full of all good works and
the fruits of righteousness Ephes 2.10 to which thou hast created me again by Christ Jesus that I should walk in them Blessed be thy Name who hast sent him to give me a new and better life I thank thee for all the helps and comforts of his Religion O that my heart may be possessed with such a strong belief of it and such a sincere love to it that I may feel indeed that I am born again and made a new creature meditating daily of thy mercies breathing forth my soul to thee in prayers and praises and thanksgivings walking in the Spirit of goodness righteousness and truth Ephes 5.9 and proving what is acceptable to our Lord. All the thanks and services I acknowledge that I am able to render to thee are nothing worth but the longer I live I most earnestly desire the more hearty and the purer they may be and the more I may be inabled to do for thy honour and glory If thou sufferest me to continue in this life another year O that in the conclusion of it I may present my self unto thee again more improved in all that is praise worthy The time past is too much to have mis-spent O that I may suffer no more of my precious hours to run waste but that they may all be taken up and carefully laid out in well doing Help me diligently to husband so great a treasure which thou intrustest me withal and to imploy it in order to a blessed Eternity Let not the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches Mark 4.19 and the lusts of other things entring in choke those good seeds which thou hast sown in my heart so that they become unfruitful but inable me as I grow in years to increase also in love joy peace long-suffering Gal. 5.21 gentleness goodness faith meekness temperance and all other fruits of thy holy Spirit And since I have been thy care so long I will still hope in thee continually Psal 71.14 that I shall yet praise thee more and more 9.17 Cast me not off if I live to the time of old age forsake me not when my strength faileth O God thou hast taught me from my youth and hitherto I have declared thy wondrous works Hold me up still Psal 119.117,133 and I shall be safe Order my steps in thy word and let not any iniquity have dominion over me That so if the evil days come and the years draw nigh Eccles 12.1 when I shall say I have no pleasure in them 7.1 I may rejoyce in the remembrance of a well-spent life and having a good hope in thee the day of my death may be better than the day of my birth O that death may never surprize me nor find me unprepared Help me to walk alway so circumspectly and to be so mindful of my latter end that when death comes it may be no stranger to me but I may entertain it as an acquaintance and a friend and with the same chearfulness put off my body and lay it down in the grave that I put off my clothes and lay my self down in my bed I commit my self intirely to thee both now and ever waiting for thy mercy in Christ Jesus at that great Day when thou shalt awake us out of the dust O that I may then be numbered among the Just and stand at the right hand of my Saviour and hear that joyful voice Come ye blessed of my Father Matth. 25.34 inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world Amen THat we may be stedfast unmoveable always abounding in the work of the Lord here follow particular Prayers for that grace and in case of any failing in our duty for repentance and pardon and an heart sensible of the divine goodness and more considerate and careful for the time to come A PRAYER FOR RESOLVTION IN WELL DOING O Most blessed God the fountain of wisdom power strength and all other perfections from whose bounty I have formerly received and at present enjoy innumerable blessings and have no hope for the future but what arises from the same everlasting spring of all good which is never weary of deriving its benefits unto us I ought in a sense of my intire dependance upon thee to be very humble very thankful exceeding solicitous for thy favour and desirous of thy good will sorrowful for my neglects of thee ashamed of the pitiful returns I have made to thee and most peremptorily resolved and zealously bent to approve my self hereafter to thy Divine Majesty in all well doing Accordingly I am now prostrate before thee to implore the continued powerful presence of that infinite grace to which I owe these holy thoughts that are in my mind and by which alone I can hope to perform and accomplish them Possess me O God with such a full and lively sense of thy undeserved and unwearied love and kindness to me in passing by so much ingratitude and so many transgressions in laying on me such strong and manifold obligations to be happy by obeying thee and in affording me such powerful assistances to attain that happiness that I may love thee proportinably with a more constant and steadfast affection and feel an unalterable will settled in me to do the duty thou requirest of me into whatsoever state and condition of life thou shalt be pleased to dispose me When we have loved thee all that we can I am sensible we have loved thee but a little because we and all that we can do are so inconsiderable How small a thing then is it how poor and contemptible that we return unto thee when we love thee not so much as we are able O blessed God cause such a delightful sense of thy goodness to fall upon my heart and to abide with me that all the powers of my soul may strain themselves to love thee and unite themselves unto thee in an unalterable choice of thy Will to be the sole governour of all my designs and desires and actions throughout the whole course of my life I love my self most I see when I love thee intirely and serve my self by doing thee all faithful service In union with thee I am at rest and peace and in constant adherence to thee consists my eternal safety and security To thee therefore with the deliberate and full consent of my will I devote my self resolving to love and serve thee with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my strength I vow unto thee as I have done often all sincere obedience and protest against every thing that is contrary to thy holy commands as contrary also to my own sense and judgement to my most sober and serious thoughts and to my most advised counsels and resolutions They all acknowledge how just and reasonable how good and pleasant how profitable and beneficial how honourable and glorious it is to be a doer of thy Will which besides the
diligent more earnest and solicitous more humble and distrustful of my self and more fervent to implore the powerful succours of thy divine Grace O that it may be as natural to me to pray to thee as it is to breath And thou who fillest the hungry with good things pour into me life and strength and vigor in a constant dependance on thee and an hearty indeavour to do thy will Ephes 3.16 Strengthen me with might by thy spirit in the â—inner man That notwithstanding the strongest temptations wherewith I may be assaulted and notwithstanding the weakness and feebleness of my own spirit to resist them I may persevere couragiously in well doing unto the end and finish my course with joy and lay my self down to rest in an holy hope that I shall enter into a state of safety and security from all danger and remain for ever in the joy of our Lord. Amen A Prayer for the Divine Grace O Most blessed God the high and mighty One who inhabitest eternity and art what thou always wast and ever wilt be the mosâ— perfect power wisdom goodnesâ— and truth the fountain of all thâ— perfections that are in us We oughâ— to address our selves to thee in the greatest humility of spirit having nothing to present thee withal which we can call our own being unable by all our righteousness to profit thee who standest in need of none of thy creatures But alas O Lord we have robbed thee of that which we have received from thee and are so far from giving thee any thing of ours that we have not returned to thee that which is thine O the miserable condition therefore into which we have brought our selves who are not so much as fit to receive any more from thy divine bounty and which is worse have been too unwilling to partake of thy favours O thy infinite love in Christ Jesus which hath bestowed the richest grace upon us whether we would or â—o Thou hast honoured our naâ—ure with thy divine presence dwelâ—ing in it Thou hast delivered him â—o dye for our sins Thou hast given us 〈◊〉 blessed hope in thee by his Resurâ—ection from the dead Thou hast â—nt him to bless us in turning every one of us from our iniquities Act. 3.26 And given him all power in heaven and earth that he may succour and strengthen us when we are tempted and enable us to overcome I thank thee with all my soul for this abundant grace so freely and undesired conferred upon us Which incourages me to hope in thee now that thou inclinest my heart towards thee and hast given me a thankful sense of thy love and some will to obey thee and holy resolutions to cleave unto thee in well doing that thou wilt not deny me the constant assistance of that good Spirit which our Saviour hath bid us ask of thee to strengthen confirm and settle what thou hast begun to do for me in a perfect love and stedfast obedience to all thy holy commands O God of all grace and might the root of our life and power and strength without whom all good desires and purposes wither and die withdraw not the sweet influences of thy holy Spirit from thy unworthy servant who intirely confides in thee and hath no hope but in thy infinite Mercies Remember not against me former iniquities let not my late back-sliding and return to folly cut me off from the communication of thy grace which is wont to press into those souls that open themselves to receive it and seriously thirst after it My soul thirsteth for thee O God that I may be more firmly united to thee and be made more exactly like thee in unchangeable righteousness purity and goodness Cherish and increase the most faint but sincere motions which thou seest in me towards a more compleat participation of thee And especially preserve in me a full confidence in thy Almighty Love as ready to accomplish the desires and indeavours of all those who yield up themselves unto it in hearty willingness to be governed by it That being born up by this strong hope in thee my helper and exceeding great reward no temptation may be able to prevail over me but I may walk stedfastly and evenly with thee in all conditions and circumstances of life Make me feel so much of the comfort of this faith and love and hope and obedience reviving me to a delightful sense of a blessed immortality that whatsoever allurements or discouragements I meet withal in this world they may only provoke me to give a greater proof of all these in a constant adherence to my duty and occasion the increase of my unspeakable joy and satisfaction And inlarge my heart thereby to such a measure of Christian piety that I may not only be innocent and harmless but forward also to do good and not only be contented with my portion but rejoyce in our Lord alway and rejoyce not only to do thy will but to suffer also for righteousness sake knowing that great shall be my reward in heaven Bless my indeavours to add to faith vertue and to vertue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience 2 Pet. 1.5,6,7,10,11 and to patience godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness charity That doing these things I may never fall But an entrance may be ministred to me abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Amen A short Prayer when any man's occasions call him to a place where he fears danger O Almighty God who art every where and more especially present to those souls that look up unto thee with an high esteem of thy favour and grace and with hearty desires to continue in thy love by patient continuance in well doing In this humble faith in thy Divine goodness and with a due fear and reverence of thy glorious Majesty I prostrate my soul and body before thee to put my self into thy most gracious protection and to beg the powerful assistance of thy holy Spirit to preserve me wheresoever I am in a dutiful observance of all thy holy commands I am sensible O Lord that we live in a world of temptations and that our nature is weak and ready to yield to them and that our affections are apt to wander after vanity and that sudden passions oftentimes transport us from our duty But I know withal that a sense of thy all-seeing eye and of the life to come and of the rewards and punishments which thou wilt render according to our works will certainly overawe all sinful motions in me and break the force of the strongest temptations that assault me And therefore the greater the danger is the more earnestly I sue unto thee to be possessed with a piercing sense and lively remembrance of these things which may abide with me alway and especially this day in every place and company into which I shall come O that I may not be so forgetful
of thee and of my own good as for the small and momentany pleasures of this world to hazard the loss of those great and eternal joys which we expect in the other life But enable me O most gracious God so to behave my self that when I have passed through all the imployments and occasions of this day I may bring my self back again into thy presence so pure and undefiled that I may begin those joys which are to come in chearful praises of thee and in a comfortable sense that thou dwellest in me and art leading me by thy holy Spirit to immortal happiness through Christ Jesus Amen A Prayer for serious and effectual Consideration the better to establish all good resolutions O Most glorious Majesty of heaven and earth who art above the highest of all our thoughts and much more beyond all our words But that thou art great and mighty we know by thy works of wonder which we behold And the admirable disposure and government of all things tell us that thou art infinitely wise and knowest all things We see how good thou art by the large provision which thou hast made for all thy creatures every where Thy Precepts teach us how just and holy thou art and by thy Promises we know that thou art gracious and bountiful and by thy Threatnings that thou hatest iniquity and by thy executing of both that thou art faithful and true and wilt save the godly and punish evil doers When we consider all this we may justly wonder at our selves that we should not fear thee and reverence thee and love thee and seek thy love and favour above all things by studying to please thee in universal obedience to thy blessed will which designs to imploy thy Almighty Power to make us so great so happy and so glorious And there is no other reason I see why we are no better affected towards thee but because our thoughts are exceeding short and light and vain and we so seldom consider and deeply ponder what we confess thou art and in what relation we stand to thy Divine Majesty Vouchsafe therefore O God of all grace to awaken my mind to a more lively and stedfast remembrance of thee my Creator my Redeemer my daily Benefactor and my most loving and tender-hearted Father in Christ Jesus O that no day may pass without some serious and considerate thoughts of those things which so nearly concern my everlasting welfare And by thy powerful presence with me inlighten my mind to a clearer sense of them Quicken and inliven that sense I humbly beseech thee and make it so strong and moving that it may press upon my heart and affections till it overcome me to surrender soul and body absolutely unto thee Pardon all my former neglects of thee and let them not hinder the influences of thy holy Spirit upon me by which I may be changed into thy image and likeness Sanctifie my understanding that I may rightly conceive thy holy Truths and fully apprehend them Sanctifie my memory that I may keep in mind all that I know of thee and of thy blessed will revealed to us in Christ Jesus Sanctifie my will that I may chearfully imbrace and intirely consent to thine in all things And sanctifie all my affections that I may love thee with all my heart and soul and strength and delight in thee more than in all the contentments of this life and hope more for thy glory than all worldly preferments and fear thee more than the greatest potentate upon earth and take more care for my soul and eternal things than for this body and all its momentany pleasures and hate all sin more than my greatest enemies yea help me to love mine enemies to do good to them that do evil to me to bless them that curse me and pray for them that despightfully use me For which end sanctifie all my Passions that I may be angry at nothing so much as that I have displeased thee and in an holy indignation at my self and in revenge of my former negligence and disobedience may be more strict and severe in the performance of all my duty for the time to come Sanctifie me throughout in body as well as spirit that I may possess it in holiness and honour and all my senses may administer occasions to my mind to remember thee to praise thee and to bless thee who every way so liberally providest for me Sanctifie all my conversation with others and all the imployments of this life that I may still be heavenly minded and have a respect to my last end and everlasting good Sanctifie all the blessings of health and strength and peace and plenty and friends yea and all the crosses and afflictions of this life that they may make me more serious and considerate and help more perfectly to purifie my spirit and dispose me for the happiness of the other world Raise me O Lord to such an exceeding great delight in these holy thoughts and meditations and entertain me with such a blissful sense of thee when I address my self unto thee that I may rather be unwilling to depart from thy presence than weary of conversing with thee And when I return to my other imployments again O that my mind may be often looking back towards thee my God my exceeding joy desirous to be always with thee and longing to enjoy thee in unchangeable love and perfect likeness to thee Unto which I most humbly beseech thee to bring me for thy mercies sake declared in Christ Jesus who lives for ever to make intercession for us Amen THe better to preserve a constant sense of God in the mind and pious dispositions in the heart Here follow certain short Ejaculations as we are wont to call them in which upon several occasions any man may lift up his soul to God And if he do it fervently may find it of great effect EJACVLATIONS When he awakes in the morning he may say I Laid me down and slept I awaked for the Lord sustained me Psal 3.5 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me O God how great is the sum of them If I would count them they are more in number than the sand when I awake I am still with thee Psal 139.17,18 When he is dressing himself O how bountiful is the ornament of a pure humble meek patient and charitable spirit Help me O God to put on the Lord Jesus in these and all other vertues When he goes into the Church or his Closet My heart is fixed O God my heart is fixed I will sing and give praise Psal 57.7 When he begins any business My help cometh from the Lord which â—ade heaven and earth Psal 121.2 The Lord Jesus Christ be with my spirit 2. Tim. 4.22 When he goes forth of his doors Hold thou up my goings in thy paths that my foot-steps slip not Psal 17.5 Order my steps in thy word and let not any iniquity have dominion over me 119.133 Give thy
concernment for him we are bold to recommend him to thy favour as a great object of the bowels of thy mercy which are in Christ Jesus We ought indeed above all things to admire thy most wise goodness which hath set forth him to be a propitiation Rom. 3.25 through faith in his bloud and invited even the greatest sinners to return unto thee and live Blessed eternally blessed be thy great and glorious grace which hath sent us such glad tidings of peace and reconciliation and assured hope that if we obediently believe thy holy Gospel thou wilt be merciful to our sins and remember our iniquities no more Heb. 8.12 O Father of mercies who openest the eyes of the blind Psal 146.8 and raisest them that are bowed down open the eyes of this thy servant that he may see thy marvailous love revealed in Christ Jesus Touch his spirit with such a powerful sense of it that he may both heartily and absolutely consent to be governed by thy Laws and likewise be revived with a comfortable belief of the truth of all thy precious promises Free him from all confusion of thoughts and bestow on him a clear and distinct apprehension of all things belonging to his peace And as thou hast wrought in him a fear of thy Divine Majesty and many holy desires after thee and perswaded him we hope to be willing in all things to live godlily So possess him with an humble belief that thou wilt always inable him to do accordingly and never fail to strengthen him against all the power of the enemy till he hath got the victory and triumphs in hope of thy salvation Raise up his spirit most mighty Lord by the power of a most strong faith in thine Omnipotent Goodness which delights to cherish the least gaspings and pantings in us after true righteousness Bear him up by this above all the clouds wherein he is incompassed into a clear heaven of light and joy Quiet and appease all his tumultuous passions that he may silently listen to thy voice in thy holy Gospel saying Come unto me all ye that labour Matth. 11.28 and are heavy laden and I wilâ— give you rest Thou who searchesâ— the hearts knowest that he unfeignedly submits himself to the yoke oâ— thy Laws It is the present grieâ— and affliction of his soul that he is noâ— more perfectly subject to it O refresh him with the belief that thoâ— art more desirous than he that therâ— should be a perfect reconciliation oâ— his very nature and disposition tâ— thee and that therefore thou wilt nâ— deny him the assistance of thy mightâ— grace to help him to fulfil thy whole good will and pleasure O that he may take courage from this hope to begin to do thy will and continuing in well doing and growing more and more in strength and power to perform his duty he may be delivered from all slavish fears and jealousies and distrust of thy divine goodness Especially keep him from despair of thy mercy as the greatest dishonour to thee and to thy abundant grace in the Lord Jesus O thou who didst invite even those great sinners who by wicked hands took and crucified thy dear Son Act. 2.23,38 to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins Lift up this dejected soul to an humble confidence in thee that thou wilt not deny him the same mercy And as thou hast sworn that thou hast no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that he should turn from his evil way and live so be pleased blessed God to make him sensibly feel his soul is turning to thee since he can find no comfort and satisfaction but only in thy love and favour which he esteems better than life it self And that he may obtain thy pardon help him from his heart to forgive every one that hath trespassed against him Matth. 18.35 And if he have taken any thing from any man wrongfully Luk. 19.8 grant him grace to restore it to him 11.41 To give alms likewise of such thing as he hath Dan. 4.27 Job 33.26 and to break off his sins by righteousness his iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor that thou who art rich in mercy mayst be favourable unto him and he may see thy face with joy Hear us good Lord and give every one of us grace to walk exactly and to keep pure consciences void of offence towards thee and towards all men that so we may live and die in peace looking for thy mercy in Christ Jesus unto eternal life Amen Another for a person in the same condition O Lord the Father of spirits the Lover of our souls who â—rt pleased best in our love and hearty affection to thee and wouldst have us delight our selves in the â—houghts of thee and rejoyce conâ—inually in thy holy name Give us â—eave to render our humble thanks â—o thy divine Majesty for this knowâ—edge which thou hast given us of â—hy blessed Nature and in imitation â—f it to recommend with most ferâ—ent charity this desolate and afâ—…icted soul to thy tender Mercies â—…e is filled with trembling thoughts â—…d frightful apprehensions of thee â—he dread and terror of thy displeasure hath overwhelmed his spirit He is troubled Psal 38.6 and bowed down greatly he goeth mourning all the day long O that thou wouldst be pleased so to represent thy self unto him that he may be possessed with the same sense which thou hast wrought in our minds that thou art Love and desirest to be loved and chearfully served by all that worship thee Thou hast graciously wrought in him already a sense of his duty towards thee Great sorrow overflowes his soul for his neglects of thee and offences against thee And out of this depth he sighs and groans and crys unto thee with earnest desires and purposes to live more holily for the time to come Awaken his mind good Lord to very sensible and thankful reflections upon this grace which thou hast begun to show him Bless all the pious counsels instructions which thou likewise vouchsafesâ— unto him to the encouraging of his hope in thee that thou who hast begun a good work in him wilt perfect it even until the day of Jesus Christ Philip. 1.6 Remember him that as thy Majesty is Ecclus 2.18 so is thy mercy and that thy power delights to show it self in doing good unto thy creatures especially to the humble the thankful and the willing persons who are ready to submit themselves to thy blessed Will O that this divine faith may banish all those fears that drive him from thee and that he may rather fear lest he should offend thy Divine Majesty by not confiding in those promises of mercy which thou hast made in thy holy Gospel to all returning sinners O that all his thoughts and care hereafter may only be to make his purpose of pleasing thee in all things serious hearty and unfeigned believing that thou wilt
pains I may endure Lay no more upon me O Father of mercies than I shall be able to bear and lay upon me what thou pleasest Free me for the present from all murmuring and repining thoughts and for the future make the sickness and anguish of my body a blessed instrument to purge my spirit more perfectly from all pride and vanity from all covetousness and worldly-mindedness and from all inordinate love of any of the pleasures of this life I believe O blessed Jesus that thou livest for ever who sufferedst and dyedst for us and that thou hast a great compassion towards those who would gladly follow thee though it be through sufferings Behold Lord I commend my self to thy mighty Love desiring above all things to be made conformable to thee in meekness in humility in patience in intire resignation to Gods holy will and pleasure and in perfect satisfaction in his Fatherly love and kindness whatsoever my condition be I am sensible O God that I have not employed my time to the utmost advantage of my soul and to thy honour glory but have wasted many precious hours and several ways neglected my duty towards thee * Here reckon up the sins you may have committed and been but an unprofitable part of this world so that I am not worthy to continue any longer in it But I hope thou wilt vouchsafe me thy gracious pardon and receive me to mercy if thou callest me hence for into thy hands O Father I commend my spirit who hast redeemed me by the precious bloud of Jesus Christ And that if thou prolongest my days on earth I shall serve thee with greater diligence and strictness and zeal and chearfulness to the end of my life I desire not to live but that I may perfect holiness in thy fear and secure to my self by doing more good an happy entertainment into the society of the blessed in the other world I see already the emptiness and insufficiency of all enjoyments upon earth All flesh is grass and all the goodliness of it as the flower of the field The grass withereth Isa 40.7 the flower fadeth Psal 119.50,81 But thy word standeth fast for ever In thy word therefore O Lord and gracious promises is my hope This is my comfort in my affliction And my perfect contentment I see lyes always in thy love and favour alone which is better than life it self O settle me in a certain and unmoveable possession of it by what means thou pleasest Do but love me and preserve me in a lively sense of thy good will towards me and dispose of me as thou thinkest good In the multitude of my thoughts within me Psal 94.19 thy comforts shall delight my soul Rom. 5.2 8.28 I will rejoyce even in the midst of tribulations Psal 23.3 30.10 and glory in thy holy name who makest all things work together for good to them that love thee Though I walk through the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me thy power and tender care they shall comfort me Accept Good Lord of these my desires and resolutions Hear me O God and have mercy upon me Lord be thou my helper for Christ Jesus his sake my ever blessed Redeemer Amen IT will be seasonable here to put the Devout Reader in mind that when he is in distress and desires Mercy of God it ought to excite his charity to others that are in misery and dispose him to shew mercy to them For though that be not Canonical Scripture which we read Tob. 12.9 Alms doth deliver from death yet this is With the merciful God will shew himself merciful Psal 18.25 Blessed is he that considereth the poor the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble 41.1,2,3 If he do not preserve him and keep him alive yet the Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing he will make all his bed in his sickness Therefore as thou recommendest thy self to God and desirest others to pray with thee so remember that Prayer is good with fasting and alms and righteousness Tob. 12.8 A Prayer to be said by the Family with the Sick person O Lord the Father of our spirits who givest to us and all creatures life and breath and all things We sinful dust and ashes blush to lift up our eyes unto heaven when we consider our vast distance from thee and reflect upon thy unspotted holiness and our impurity thy infinite wisdom and our wretched folly thy power and our weakness thy Eternity of life and our short continuance We are but of yesterday and know nothing Job 8.9 because our days upon earth are a shadow Psal 39.11 When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity Job 25.6 thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth Surely every man is vanity But so great is thy condescending grace that thou hast assured us thou wilt not despise such worms as we are Nay thou hast incouraged us blessed be thy goodness to approach unto thee with some confidence that thou wilt mercifully receive us though we have highly offended thy Divine Majesty Having sent thy dear Son into the world to save sinners to purifie our natures to indue us with a divine understanding to strengthen our weakness and to comfort us with the hope of an immortal life Behold O Lord the oblation which we make to thee of most thankful hearts devoted to thy service whose love and tender mercies have so exceedingly abounded towards us We will praise thee and glorifie thee as long as we have any being for this great salvation which Christ Jesus hath brought to light by his resurrection from the dead to an eternal Kingdom in the heavens We are humbly bold to hope in thee that thou who hast not spared thy own Son Rom. 8.32 but delivered him up for us all wilt with him also freely give us all things O thou Father of mercies and God of all comfort who hast not thought a Crown of everlasting life and glory too much to promise us we believe that thou wilt not deny us what is needful and fit for us both for our souls and our bodies in our passage through this world to that honour glory and immortality In this confidence we more particularly recommend this thy sick servant to thy infinite and most compassionate mercy Settle in his * Or her soul a stedfast faith that thou dost not willingly grieve the children of men but intendest good to him by this affliction And now that other pleasures and enjoyments fail him represent thy self effectually unto him as his true happiness and satisfaction Wherein soever he hath neglected thee or committed any offence against thee make him deeply sensible of and heartily sorrwful for his folly And as he earnestly desires pardon and forgiveness of thee so work in him a serious resolution to live more circumspectly and exactly in time to come Assist him graciously
O Lord that he may give a proof of his sincere intentions hereafter to submit himself in all things to thy will by his patient submission to thy fatherly correction now O that he may so quietly so meekly so humbly and chearfully resign his will unto thee to suffer what thou inflictest that he may be the more disposed readily to deny his own desires in doing whatsoever thou commandest For which end make him throughly apprehensive of thy soveraign power and authority over all creatures Possess him with a great reverence of thy wisdom and justice with an intire confidence in thy goodness and charity and with a thankful remembrance of all thy past mercies to him which have been innumerable That so he may the better endure what thou layest upon him at present and ever chuse to follow thy directions and submit to thy orders and love thy commandments and delight to do thy will O God Bless and succeed those remedies that are used for the restoring him to his former health that he may live to perform his holy purposes Or if thou hast otherwise appointed accept of them graciously and dispose him to return back his spirit willingly unto thee who gavest it and with great humility and deep sense of his own undeservings to expect thy mercy declared in Christ Jesus who hath so highly merited of thee Fix his mind stedfastly upon him who hath led the way through the grave unto heaven that he may not be affrighted with the approaches of death but looking beyond it to that high and holy place where the Lord Jesus is may rejoyce in hope of thy eternal glory And give every one of us in our best estate of health to consider perpetually how frail and weak we are That so we may not abuse our selves by an intemperate use of any of the pleasures of sense nor load our minds with the cares of this life nor spend our days in a vain pursuit of the honour and glory of this world But may pass all the time of our sojourning here in fear 1 Pet. 1.17 Tit. 2.12 and live so soberly righteously and godlily in this present world as becomes those who expect shortly to give an account to thee who wilt judge all men according to their works Hear â—s O Lord we most humbly beseech thee through Christ Jesus our merciful and compassionate High-priest who sits at thy right hand â—nd lives for ever to make intercession for us In whose name we continue to recommend our selves â—nd friends and all thy people to â—hee as he hath taught us saying Our Father which art in heaven hallowed be thy Name Thy kingdom come Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that â—respass against us And lead us not â—nto temptation but deliver us from evil c. If the disease proceed to such an extremity that in all appearance the Soul is ready to depart there is a Commendatory Prayer appointed in the Publique offices of Devotion to be said by the Minister whose assistance then sure will be desired And besides the sick person himself as long as he is able may thus recommend his soul unto Almighty God A Prayer when a person is giving up the Ghost I Resign my spirit O God most chearfully into thy hands hoping to find mercy with thee through Christ Jesus I know no other name under heaven whereby I may be saved but thine alone O blessed Jesus who wast dead and â—rt alive again Rev. 1.18 and livest â—or evermore I come unâ—o thee O Lord confiding in thy â—ost precious promises which I beâ—ieve are faithful and true as thou art â—or pardon and for immortal life Accept I beseech thee of my most â—earty thanks for all thy mercies to â—e from the beginning of my life to â—his moment Pass by all my ingraâ—tude and disobedience Receive â—e into the company of the spirits â—f just men made perfect to give thee â—hanks for ever And as I desire to find mercy with â—…ee so I forgive all my enemies â—eseeching thee likewise to forgive â—em and to bless and comfort all â—y friends and to make thy whole â—hurch glorious and to bring us â—l at last to live together in everlasting love and joy through Christ Jesus Amen IF God be pleased to restore the sick person to a state of health publick Thanksgivings ought to be rendred to Almighty God for it And together with the Sacrifice of praise which is the fruit of our lips Heb. 13.15,16 he ought not to forget to do good and to communicate to them that are in misery for with such sacrifices God is pleased And to preserve a grateful remembrance of Gods mercy here follows a Form of Thanksgiving to be used in private by himself and by his friends that are concerned in his recovery A Thanksgiving after recovery from a Sickness to be said by the person himself who is restored to health O God the fountain of life and of all good who art continually more and more pouring forth thy benefits upon us I thy poor creature whose life thou hast mercifully spared when I deserved to be cut off prostrate my self in an humble sense of thy divine goodness to render thee my most hearty thanks and to renew my vows which I made in the day of my distress Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me Psal 103.1,2,3 c. bless his holy name Bless the Lord O my soul 34.8 118,17,18 and forget not all his benefits Who forgiveth all thine iniquities 111.1 who healeth all thy diseases Who redeemeth thy life from destruction who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things so that thy youth is renewed like the Eagles The Lord is merciful and gracious slow to anger and plenteous in mercy He will not always chide neither will he keep his anger for ever He hath not dealt with me after my sins nor rewarded me according to my iniquities But as far as the East is from the West so far hath he removed my transgressions from me O tast and see my soul how gracious the Lord is blessed is the man that trusteth in him I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord. The Lord hath chastned me sore but he hath not given me over unto death I will give thanks therefore unto the Lord with my whole heart secretly among the faithful and in the congregation I can do no less than dedicate this new life which thou hast bestowed upon me intirely to thy service resolving to employ more vigorously all those powers of soul and body which are so graciously restored unto me unto thy honour and glory For which end I most earnestly desire to have a lively sense preserved in my mind of those things which were most powerful to move my heart towards thee
me with such an hatred of idleness and sloth that I may always be busied about some good or innocent thing Especially dispose me to exercise my self in works of mercy and charity and to take all opportunites of doing good to the bodies or souls of my Neighbours Indue me with prudence and discretion in the choice of my company and friends and give me wisdom to improve their society to the best purposes Make my mind more heavenly and when any thoughts contrary to my inclinations and resolutions arise in me turn them immediately to thy self and my blessed Saviour Open my eyes to behold the things that are not seen And put out the splendor of all those things that dazzle our eyes here by the appearance of a brighter and more glorious good Which may raise my designs higher than this world and make all my passions and affections more equal and moderate my discourse more profitable my behaviour more humble modest and such as becometh Saints and all my actions more conformable to thy will and more exemplary to those whom I converse withal The very God of peace sanctifie me wholly 1 Thess 5.23 and preserve my whole spirit and soul and body blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ O that my love to any thing here may not turn into wantonness and folly nor my joy and chearfulness into lightness and vanity nor my seriousness or sorrow into melancholy and discontent nor my just anger into hatred and contention nor industry in my business into carefulness distrust and earthliness of mind nor my discretion and prudence into craft dissembling and deceit Dispose my heart that I may so mind heavenly things as to be very humble and lowly in my own eyes and be so humble and sensible of my own unworthiness and weakness as to make my addresses to thee continually with the greater earnestness for thy merciful help and supply Teach me so to pray and call upon thee as to labour and strive my self and so to labour and run that I may obtain Let faith in thy good providence and precious promises be my comfort and hope of thy glory make me rejoyce and a great love to thee make me unwearied and fill me with the consolations of the holy Ghost O that my Religion may become my Nature so that it may not be my burden or trouble and help me so to look upon it as my duty as withal to account it my honour priviledge and happiness O that I may never desire any thing but to be so pure as thou wouldst have me and to enjoy those rewards of holiness which thou canst and wilt bestow upon me This is the summe of my desires that whatsoever I do may please thee and whatsoever thou dost may be pleasing to me Lord hear me and answer me graciously And if I shall see any cause hereafter to change my condition preserve in me â—n unchangeable love to thee above â—ll things That still I may please â—hee and be acceptable in thy sight delighting my self in wisdom and â—eposing my self with her Wisd 8.16 â—or her conversation hath â—o bitterness and to live with her hath â—o sorrow but mirth and joy In which happiness the Lord vouchsafe â—o keep me whatever my condition â—e for Jesus his sake To whom with thee O Father and thy blessed â—pirit be everlasting praises Amen A Prayer when there are any thoughts of changing that condition and deliberations about Marriage O Lord my most gracious and merciful Father of whose tender care and good providence I have had so long and abundant experience that I should be extreamly ungrateful if I should not acknowledge thee and love thee and trust in thee and upon all occasions call upon thee and seek thy favour for ever There hath no day passed since I came into the world but it hath brought along with it many tokens of thy love which thou art still renewing in every moment of my life By thee I have been carried through all the dangers of infancy and child-hood unto this age of understanding and reason And thou hast blessed me many ways since that time especially with some remembrance and sense of thy self from whom I came and on whom I depend which I account the greatest benefit of all Blessed be thy goodness that I am not a perfect stranger to thee but that thou hast made me to know something of thee and of thy infinite goodness who alone art able to make me happy both here and eternally I hope in thee O my God that thou wilt never forsake me but be my guide even unto death Pardon I beseech thee all the sins and negligences of which I have been at any time guilty and let them not hinder the continuance of thy mercy and favour towards me on which all the comfort of my life depends Leave me not to my self and the weakness of my own counsels especially now in the greatest turn and change of my life but vouchsafe to direct my thoughts and all the motions of my heart aright to that which will be most profitable for me and conduce every way to my future comfort and satisfaction Lead me in the way wherein I shall go and guide me for thy names sake Indue me with such a serious considerate and discerning spirit that I may not follow the inticements of any fading and perishing good but cleave to that wich is unchangeable and never dies Favour thou hast taught me is deceitful Prov. 31.30 and beauty is vain but one that feareth the Lord shall be praised O possess my heart with an holy fear of thee that nothing may appear so amaible in mine eyes as true Religion Piety and Vertue Make me in love with the beauties of Wisdom for thou lovest none but him that dwelleth with wisdom Wisd 7.28 to be allied unto which is immortality 8.17,18 and great pleasure I know it is to have her friendship and with the beauties of sobriety meekness mercifulness humility and all those things which are the image of thy goodness That being inclined by these in my choice I may find a fit person to be the guide of my youth or an help meet for me the delight of mine eyes in whose society I may enjoy a constant relief ease and pleasure and be set forward thereby in the way to heaven Assist me I beseech thee in all my deliberations about this change that I may soberly weigh every thing which is offered to my thoughts And after all the dangers which by thy goodness I have escaped I may not be so unhappy now as to fall into the saddest of all by the strength of fancy by rashness and unadvisedness of mind or the violence and unruliness of any passion but may dispose of my affections to a person worthy of them Help me blessed Lord to make so wise a choice that I may never repent of it afterward Direct and govern likewise the minds and hearts
O how comely a thing is judgement for gray hairs and for ancient men to know counsel Pardon me good Lord that I have made no better improvement of my time and experience for the furnishing of my mind with this wisdom and with those vertues Pardon all my negligences and all my offences * Remember them particularly And fill my heart with a comfortable sense of thy pardoning mercy in Christ Jesus that having no other burden but that of age to oppress my spirit I may rejoyce in thee as long as I live and at last lay my self down to rest in peace and return my soul back unto thee chearfully whensoever thou callest for it in sure and certain hope of the resurrection of the dead and of that glory honour and immortality which thou hast graciously promised us by thy dear Son my most blessed Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus With whom I desire to live to give thee eternal praises Amen A large FORM OF DEVOTION When any person is disposed to spend a day or part of it in Devotion the usual addresses to God in the morning may be continued in this manner O Most High and holy One who inhabitest eternity and art God over all most blessed for evermore Happy are they who stand continually in thy presence and are always admiring praising loving and obeying thee and rejoycing in thy love and favour towards them The highest Angels can desire no greater bliss than to be thus knit unto thee and to live in such constant union and friendship with thee An happiness I am sensible that is above our reach who dwell in houses of clay and groan under the burden of this flesh but which we aspire towards and our uncloathed spirits hope for in the other world And blessed be thy infinite goodness we are incouraged by Christ Jesus to look up unto thee for the beginning and taste of this happiness whilst we remain here below at this great distance from the Throne of thy Glory And accordingly I humbly prostrate my self before thee at this time beseeching thee in the name of my dear Saviour who gave himself for me that thou wilt graciously vouchsafe to inspire me with such delightful thoughts of thee and such a transforming love unto thee as may fill my heart with unspeakable joy and satisfaction whilst I am in thy presence to admire and adore thee to praise thy incomprehensible perfections to acknowledge with all humility my intire dependence on thee thankfully to remember all the benefits thou hast done unto me sorrowfully to bewail my ungrateful behaviour towards thee most earnestly to deprecate thy displeasure to implore thy grace and favour and to make an absolute surrender of my self to thee with most hearty Devotion to thy service It is the unfeigned desire of my soul to spend some time in attending wholly to these duties the better to dispose me to serve thee in the rest of my life But alas O Lord what am I or what can I do unless thou wilt make thy self present to me and send down thy holy Spirit upon me My thoughts and affections are exceeding dull and heavy and they will soon flag and grow weary unless thou wilt be pleased by thy Almighty Power to raise and bear them up towards heaven I most humbly therefore again beseech thee in thy infinite mercy to touch my heart with such a lively sense of thy Divine Majesty as may fix my wandring thoughts and compose my tumultuous affections and stir up my flat and cold desires and may make me feel the power and taste the sweetness of every Divine Truth whilst I read or meditate in thy holy Word and whilst I pray to thee and praise thee and bless thy holy Name O that all other things may be shut out of my soul and that I may be so alone with thee as to be more apprehensive of thy greatness and of thy goodness and of thy purity and of my near relation to thee and the innumerable obligations which I lye under to be thine intirely O that nothing may be so bitter to me as to think that I have in the least offended thee and that nothing may be so marvellous in my eyes as thy exceeding abundant love in the Lord Jesus by whom thou hast incouraged sinners to place their faith and hope in thee Help me O my God through that new and living way which he hath consecrated to draw nigh unto thee and to throw down my self at thy feet waiting for a gracious look from thee resigning my will to thee strongly uniting it in hearty affection to thy holy Will and resolving never to rise up any more in opposition to it but to live in thy love and in sincere obedience to all thy commands So shall my soul bless thee as long as I live I will alway be speaking good of thy Name and will shew forth thy praise as well as I am able to all generations Amen AFter this short address to God for his assistance consider a while who it is to whom you have begun to speak Cast your eyes upon the heaven and the earth and think of the glory of that Majesty which fills all things and cannot be contained in any Then labour to affect your heart with your own mean vile and sinful condition For which end examine what particular sins you have been guilty of Set them down in writing before your eyes that they may be confessed and lamented And likewise consider in the same manner what particular blessings you have received that they may be most thankfully acknowledged In all which you may assist your selves and be much excited by reading some of the Psalms of David and some part of such pious Books as you are acquainted withal After which proceed to express the sense of your heart to God with the greatest deliberation in the manner following pausing a while and ruminating upon what you have said at the end of every part thereof I. O Most glorious Majesty of heaven and earth upon whom all creatures depend for life and breath and all things I most thankfully embrace and desire wisely and faithfully to improve this happy leisure which thou vouchsafest me of retiring from this world and making my resort to thee 2 Cor. 1.3 the Father of mercies Rev. 5.13 and the God of all comfort Psal 48.1 Thou art worthy Rev. 4.8 O Lord to receive from me and from the whole world blessing 1 Sam. 2.2 Psal 145.17 45.7 and honour and glory and power Job 37.23 for thou art great and greatly to be praised Psal 19.1 All the host of heaven continually praiseth thee Job 42.2 Psal 135.6 and so ought all the Church on earth 148.5,6 147.5 saying Holy 104.24,27,28,31 holy holy Lord God almighty which is which was 145.4,13 102 27. 119.89 146.2 111.1 148.13 and which is to come There is none holy as the Lord for there is
ever to be acknowledged * Mention all the particular mercies you can remember and then proceed still to admire his loving kindness in all those you took no notice of or have forgotten III. O my God with what awe and reverence ought I to make mention of thy name who dwellest in eternity whose throne is inestimable whose glory cannot be comprehended 2 Esd 8.20,21 before whom the hosts of angels stand with trembling With what humility of soul ought I to acknowledge thy Divine Grace that thou who art so great and highly exalted wilt humble thy self to take notice of such poor things as we are Thou art to be admired with our highest thoughts thou art to be loved with all our heart and soul and strength We ought to render thee most chearful service and confess that we never serve our selves more than when we even lose all thought of our selves and forget all things here in admiring loving praising and giving thanks to thee All that is within me ought to bless thy holy Name O how great ought my joy to be in thy love and in thy Salvation who art worthy to be praised with all pure and holy praise Tob. 8.16 Therefore let thy Saints praise thee 12.6 with all thy creatures And let all thine angels and thine elect praise thee for ever It is good to praise God and exalt his Name and with honour to shew forth all his works therefore be not slack to praise him Yea to thee O Lord I ought to resign my self with the greatest willingness of heart to trust and hope in thee at all times to excite all others to shew forth thy praise and to study to glorifie thee more and more not only by my words but with my body and soul in all the actions of a sober righteous and godly life I can desire no greater honour in this world than that I may live to the praise of the glory of thy grace in Christ Jesus walking worthy of thee who hast called me to thy Kingdom and Glory and behaving my self in all things as becomes one that hath received such pledges of thy love already and looks for thy mercy unto eternal life All thy Laws I know are just and good Thy ways are ways of pleasantness Prov. 3.17 and all thy paths are peace Psal 19.10,11 More to be desired are thy commandments than gold yea than much fine gold 119.165 sweeter also than hony 84.11,12 and the honey comb By them doth thy servant shine gloriously Ecclus. 4.12 and in keeping of them there is great reward He that loveth them loveth life he that holdeth them fast shall inherit glory and wheresoever they enter the Lord will bless Great peace have they that love thy Law and nothing shall offend them The Lord God is a sun and shield the Lord will give grace and glory no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly O Lord of host blessed is the man that trusteth in thee IV. But the more O Lord I speak in thy praise the more I am sensible I reproach my self who have not given thee that honour and glory that fear and love that hearty service and chearful obedience which is due unto thee so many ways I stand condemned out of my own mouth of most fearful ingratitude to thee from whom I have received so many and such inestimable benefits How seldom have I thought of them Or how little have they affected my heart How loth have I often been to dispose my self to commemorate the greatest love of my dearest Saviour And how soon am I weary even of the most delightful imployment of praising and blessing thee With whom I profess that I desire and hope to live for ever and praise thy Name O the vanity of my mind the looseness of my thoughts the inordinateness of my desires and unruliness of my passions the discontent of my spirit the unstedfastness of my resolutions the breach of my promises the coldness of my prayers and the dulness of my meditations the loss of my precious time and neglect of good opportunities my eagerness after these worldly enjoyments and feeble indeavours after heaven I am astonished to think that ever I should distrust thy providence who hast been so tenderly careful of me or be unthankful for thy benefits which are every moment poured forth so plentifully upon me or be uncharitable to my Neighbours when I stand in so great need of mercy my self and live continually upon thy bounty or abuse any of those blessings which thou canst so easily deprive me of or wholly spoil the comfort of them And yet alas how prone have I been to deceive my self with shadows of Religion and Devotion towards thee and to content my self with the praises of those divine perfections which I have not so zealously studied to imitate O how unlike am I to the humble the meek the pittiful and the patient Jesus Yea how insensible am I of his incomparable love which made him to lay down his life for me How many ways have I injured my Neighbours or neglected to do them good I am conscious to my self of sundry offences not only against the rules of righteousness and mercy but of sobriety and godliness * Here mention the particular acts of intemperance uncharitableness or any else you have been guilty of And thou to whom all things past are present who searchest the hearts and tryest the reins knowest a great deal more My secret sins are no more hid from thee than those which are most open and manifest And they are all the more grievous because a petty temptation hath too oft prevailed to make me neglect my duty towards thee O how shameful is it that a small gain or a momentany pleasure or the good word of men whose breath is in their nostrils should be preferred before that honour which I owe to thee and those infinite treasures of thy grace in Christ Jesus and that immortal life and glory which he hath promised to the faithfull And all this against the clear understanding which thou hast given me of thy will against many holy purposes resolutions and vows of absolute obedience to it in all things and against the tastes I have had how gracious thou art and how good it is to keep thy commandments V. I blush O Lord to lift up mine eyes towards heaven To me belongs nothing but shame and confusion of face in which I ought to lye down before thee if I reflected only upon the baseness and vileness of my descent being the off-spring of disloyal parents who were rebels and traytors against thy divine Majesty This is a just reproach and disgrace to the best of us We were tainted in our first Father who hath left a foul blot and stain upon our Nature and we feel that weakness in our reason that strength and violence in our passions and that forwardness in our wills to follow
even for these things O how vile then and odious are all those sins of injustice or unmercifulness of which I may have been guilty IV. Be merciful unto me O Lord be merciful unto me through the blood of that spotless Lamb which was shed for the sins of the world Remember not against me the vanity of my thoughts the errors and mistakes of my judgement the pride of my spirit the greediness of my sensual desires the violence and disorder of any of my passions the unruliness of my tongue the inconstancy of my purposes or the baseness and unworthiness of any of my ends and intentions O holy God and merciful Father enter not into judgement with me for the mispense of my precious time for letting slip any good opportunites or for my ill husbanding the many Talents which thou hast intrusted me withal Let not the abuse of any of thy creatures the ill example that I have given to any of my Neighbours my unthankfulness for a world of mercies my inobservance or forgetfulness of thy fatherly providences and my insensibleness of others miseries be charged upon me at the day of our Lord or incense thy severe displeasure against me in this present life O remember not my immoderate sorrow for worldly losses my excessive pleasure in the abundance of any worldly enjoyments the deadness of my grief and the scarcity of my tears for my own sins and the sins of others and the heartlesness of my joys in thee and in thy Son Christ and for all the good thou hast done to me and to my Brethren or which they do for thy honour and the comfort of thy people Let not any discontent with my condition provoke thee to make it worse nor my want of love to thee deprive me of the love of others nor the breach of any of my resolutions be punished with an indifferency and carelesness of spirit nor the abuse of any of thy blessings or unthankfulness for them move thine offended goodness to strip me naked of them V. But gracious Lord so pardon me as to give me the grace of thy holy Spirit to change and renew me throughout in spirit soul and body and to enable me daily to amend my life according to thy holy word That 's the hearty desire and purpose of my soul which longs for nothing more than a power from above to possess me with more steady and affectionate thoughts of thee and to fill me with a more inflamed love to thee and to all my Brethren and to dispose my will to resign it self in all things to thee and chearfully to comply with thy providence and zealously to imploy all holy opportunities of doing or receiving good O God deny me not this great grace though unworthy of the least but strengthen me with might by thy Spirit in the inner man Let it teach and direct me in the right way let it assist me to walk in it let it constantly incourage my progress chearing and refreshing me when I am ready to faint upholding me when I am ready to fall recovering me when I slip enabling me with fervent desires to implore thy mercy and with resolved watchfulness to strengthen my self against all temptations for the time to come VI. Preserve in me such a serious and deep sense of the worth of my soul of the weight of all eternity of the certainty and greatness of the glory which shall be revealed that they may prevail more with me than all the honours and riches and pleasures of this life Prepossess me with a clear understanding of the Gospel of our Saviour with a strong saith a fervent charity and a lively hope against all other things that press upon me and sollicite my affections that so nothing may find admittance into my heart but what shall submit to thy laws and live under the government and discipline of our Lord Jesus Instruct me how to make all my pleasures discreet moderate and useful to me that they may never take up the best of my time nor devour the strength of my mind Teach me to use the riches of this world aright and to do good to my self and others with them Dispose me to look upon greatness or honours but as greater opportunities to do thee more honour and the world more service Moderate all my passions and subdue them perfectly to the obedience of Reason and Religion O that all my conversation with others may be innocent and profitable and my private retirements more devout and heavenly and all my imployments without inordinate cares and fears or any distrust of thy good providence Help me to look upon long life as desireable only that I may have more time to root out perfectly all evil habits and dispositions to implant and increase all Divine Vertues to do the more good that I may be better sitted for an happy life world without end Amen The same prayer may be used in time of any publick calamity and some of these following prayers added as there shall be occasion A Prayer in time of Plague GReat and many O Lord are the sins whereby we have provoked thee in these Kingdoms to send all thy sore judgements upon us the sword the famine and the pestilence to cut off from them man and beast It is only of thine infinite mercies that we are not utterly consumed and because thy compassions fail not Blessed be thy goodness that we are not yet delivered into the hand of those that hate us but only corrected by thy own hand who art the Father of mercies To them we flee now in our great distress and beseech thee that thou wilt not shut up the bowels of thy tender mercy and compassion towards us in displeasure But punish us that thou maist pardon us and amend us and make us a more devout sober righteous and charitable people zealous of good works Say to thy destroying Angel Hold thy hand it is enough Or if thou art pleased to have it still stretched out against us give grace to us who are yet in health to spend our time in examining our hearts and lives in bewailing our offences in setling our purposes of repentance and new obedience in inuring our selves to delight in Prayer and holy Meditation in giving thanks to thee for thy merciful preservation of us in preparing our selves for whatsoever change thou art pleased to make in our condition and in doing good with compassionate hearts to those poor people that lye under thy heavy visitation And graciously vouchsafe to bestow upon them intire patience and submission to thy Will and enable them with unfeigned repentance and humble hope in thy mercy to resign themselves and theirs into thy hands that howsoever thou shalt dispose of any of us living or dying we may be the Lords Lord have mercy upon us all for Jesus Christ his sake Amen In time of War O God who hast justly punished our carnal security and abuse of that peace and quietness