purposes as thou shalt choose for me or imploy me in Releive me in all my sadnesses make my bed in my sicknesse give me patience in my sorrows confidence in thee and grace to call upon thee in all temptations O be thou my guide in all my actions my Protector in all dangers give me a healthful body and a clear understanding a sanctified and just a charitable and humble a religious and a contented spirit let not my life be miserable and wretched nor my name stained with sin and shame nor my condition lifted up to a tempting and dangerous fortune but let my condition be blessed my conversation usefull to my Neighbours and pleasing to thee that when my body shall lie down in its bed of darkness my soul may passe into the Regions of light and live with thee for ever through Jesus Christ. Amen VI. An act of intercession or prayer for others to be added to this or any other office as our devotion or duty or their needs shall determine us O GOD of infinite mercy who hast compassion on all men and relievest the necessities of all that call to thee for help hear the prayers of thy servant who is unworthy to ask any petition for himself yet in humility and duty is bound to pray for others For the Church O let thy mercy descend upon the whole Church preserve her in truth and peace in unity and safety in all stormes and against â—ll temptations and enemies that she offering to thy glory the never ceasing sacrifice of prayer and thanksgiving may advance the honour of her Lord and be filled with his Spirit and partake of his glory Amen For the King In mercy remember the King preserve his person in health and honour his crown in wealth and dignity his kingdoms in peace and plenty and Churches under his protection in piety and knowledge and a strict and holy religion keep him perpetually in thy fear and favour and crown him with glory and immortality Amen For the Clergy Remember them that minister about holy things let them be clothed with righteousness and sing with joyfulness Amen For Wife or Husband Blesse thy servant my Wife or Husband with health of body and of spirit O let the hand of thy blessing be upon his or her head night and day and support him in all necessities strengthen him in all temptations comfort him in all his sorrows and let him be thy servant in all changes and make us both to dwell with thee for ever in thy favour in the light of thy countenance and in thy glories Amen For our Children Blesse my children with healthful bodies with good understandings with the graces and gifts of thy Spirit with sweet dispositions and holy habits and sanctifie them throughout in their bodies and souls and spirits and keep them unblameable to the comming of the â—ord Jesus Amen For Freinds and Benefactors Be pleased O Lord to remember my friends all that have prayed for me and all that have done me good here name such whom you would specially recommend Doe thou good to them and return all their kindness double into their own bosome rewarding them with blessings and sanctifying them with thy graces and bringing them to glory For our Family Let all my family and kindred my neighbours and acquaintance here name what other relation you please receive the benefit of my prayers and the blessings of God the comforts and supports of thy providence and the sanctification of thy spirit For all in misery Relieve and comfort all the persecuted and afflicted speak peace to troubled consciences strengthen the weak confirm the strong i◠〈◊〉 the ignorant deliver the oppressed 1. 〈◊〉 that spoileth him and relieve the needy that hath no helper and brings us all by the waters of comfort and in the waies of righteousness to the kingdom of rest and glory through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen To God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ To the eternal Son that was incarnate and born of a Virgin To the Spirit of the Father and the Son be all honour and glory worship and thanksgiving now and for ever Amen Another form of prayer for the Morning In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Our Father c. I MOst glorious and eternal God Father of mercy and God of all comfort I worship and adore thee with the lowest humility of my soul and body and give thee all thanks and praise for thy infinite and essential gâ—â—ries and perfections and for the continual demonstration of thy mercies upon me upon all mine and upon thy holy Catholick Church II. I Acknowledge dear God that I have deserved the greatest of thy wrath and indignation and that if thou hadst dealt with me according to my deserving I had now at this instant been desperately bewailing my miseries in the sorrows and horrors of a sad eternity But thy mercy triumphing over thy justice and my sins thou hast still continued to me life and time of repentance thou hast opened to me the gates of grace and mercy and perpetually callest upon me to enter in and to walk in the paths of a holy life that I might glorifie thee and be glorified of thee eternally III. BEhold O God for this thy great and unspeakable goodness for the preservation of me this night and for all other thy graces and blessings I offer up my soul and body all that I am and all that I have as a Sacrifice to thee and thy service humbly begging of thee to pardon all my sins to defend me from all evil to lead me into all good and let my portion be amongst thy redeemed ones in the gathering together of the Saints in the Kingdom of grace and glory IV. GUide me O Lord in all the changes and varities of the world that in all things that shall happen I may have an evenness 〈◊〉 â—â—anquility of spirit that my soule may be wholly resigned to thy Divinest will and pleasure never murmuring at thy gentle chastisements and fatherly correction never waxing proud and insolent though I feel a torrent of comforts and prosperous successes V. FIx my thoughts my hopes and my desires upon Heaven and heavenly things teach me to despise the world to repent me deeply for my sins give me holy purposes of amendment and ghostly strength and assistances to perform faithfully whatsoever I shall intend piously Enrich my understanding with an eternal treasure of Divine truths that I may know thy will and thou who workest in us to will and to doe of thy good pleasure teach me to obey all thy Commandments to believe all thy Revelations and make me partaker of all thy gracious promises VI. TEach me to watch over all my waies that I may never be surprised by sudden temtations or a careless spirit nor ever return to folly and vanity Set a watch O Lord before my mouth and keep the
in mind and will to dye for the testimony of Jesus and to suffer any affliction or calamity that shall offer to hinder my duty or tempt me to shame or sin or apostasie and let my faith be the parent of a good life a strong shield to repell the fiery darts of the Devil and the Author of a holy hope of modest desires of confidence in God and of a never failing charity to thee my God and to all the world that I may never have my portion with the unbelievers or uncharitable and desperate persons but may be supported by the strengths of faith in all temptations and may be refreshed with the comforts of a holy hope in all my sorrows and may bear the burden of the Lord and the infirmities of my neighbour by the support of charity that the yoak of Jesus may become easie to me and my love may do all the miracles of grace till from grace it swell to glory from earth to heaven from duty to reward from the imperfections of a beginning and little growing love it may arrive to the consummation of an enternall never ceasing charity through Jesus Christ the Son of thy love the Anchor of our hope and the Author and finisher of our faith to whom with thee O Lord God Father of Heaven and Earth and with thy holy Spirit be all glory and love and obedience and dominion now and for ever Amen Acts of love by way of prayer and ejaculation to be used in private O God thou art my God eaâ—ly will I seek thee my soul tâ—iâ—steâ—h for thee my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is to see thy power and thy glory so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary because thy loving kindness is better then life my lips shall praise thee Psal. 63. I am ready not only to be bound but to dye for the name of the Lord Jesus Acts. 23. How amiable are thy tabernacles thou Lord of Hosts my soul longeth yea even fainteth for the courts of the Lord my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God Blessed are they that dwell in thy house they will still be praising thee Psal. 84. O blessed Jesu thou art worthy of all adoration and all honour and all love Thou art the Wonderfull the Counsellor the mighty God the Everlasting Father the Prince of peace of thy goverment and peace there shall be no end thou art the brightness of thy Fathers glory the express image of his person the appointed Heir of all things Thou upholdest all things by the word of thy power Thou didst by thy self purg our sins Thou art set on the right hand of the Majesty on high Thou art made better then the Angels thou hast by inheritance obtained a more excellent name then they Thou O dearest Jesus art the head of the Church the beginning and the first-born from the 〈◊〉 in all things thou hast the preheminence and it pleased the Father that in thee should all fulness dwell Kingdomes are in love with thee Kings lay their Crowns and Scepters at thy feet and Queens are thy handmaids and wash the feet of thy servants A Prayer to be said in any affliction as death of children of husband or wife in great poverty in imprisonment in a sad and disconsolate spirit and in temptations to despair O Eternall God Father of Mercies and God of all comfort with much mercy look upon the sadnesses and sorrows of thy servant My sins lye heavy upon me and press me sore and there is no health in my bones by reason of thy displeasure and my sin The waters are gone over me and I stick fast in the deep mire and my miseries are without comfort because they are punishments of my sin and I am so evill and unworthy a person that though I have great desires yet I have no dispositions or worthiness towards receiving comfort My sins have caused my sorrow and my sorrow does not cure my sins and unless for thy own sake and meerly because thou art good thou shalt pity me and relieve me I am as much without remedy as now I am without comfort Lord pity me Lord let thy grace refresh my spirit Let thy comforts support me thy mercy pardon me and never let my portion be amongst hopeless and accursed spirits for thou art good and gracious and I throw my self upon thy mercy Let me never let my hold go and do thou with me what seems good in thy own eyes I cannot suffer more then I have deserved and yet I can need no relief so great as thy mercy is for thou art infinitely more mercifull then I can be miserable and thy mercy which is above all thy own works must needs be far above all my sin and al my misery Dearest Jesus let me trust in thee for ever and let me never be confounded Amen Ejaculations and â—ort meditations to be used in time of sickness and sorrow or danger of Death HEar my Prayer O Lord and let my crying come unto thee * Hide not thy face from me in the time of my trouble incline thine ear unto me when I call O â—eâ—r me that right soon For my dayes are consumed like smoak and my bones are burnt up as it were a fire brand My heart is smitten down and withered like grass so that I forget to eat my bread and that because of tâ—ine indignation and wrath for thou hast taken me up and cast me down * Thine arrows stick fast in me and thy hand presseth me sore There is â—o health in my flesh because of thy displeasure neither is there any rest in my bonâ—s by reason of my sin * My wicked esses are gone over my head and are a sore burden too heavy for me to bear But I will confess my wickedness and be sorry for my sin O Lord rebuke me not in thy indignation neither chasten me in thy displeasure Lord be mercifull unto me heal my soul for I have sinned against thee Have mercy upon me O God after thy great goodness according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences O remember not the sins and offences of my youth but according to thy mercy think thou upon me O Lord for thy goodness * Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin * Make me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me * Cast me not away from thy presence from thy all-hallowing and life-giving presence and take not thy holy Spirit thy sanctifying thy guiding thy comforting thy supporting and confirming Spirit from me O God thou art my God for ever and ever thou shalt be my guide unto death * Lord comfort me now that I lye sick upon my bed make thou my bed in all my sickness * O deliver my soul from the place of Hell and do thou receive me * My heart is disquieted within me and the fear of death is
against me but thy rod gently correct my follies and guide me in thy waies and thy staffe support me in all sufferings and changes Preserve me from fracture of bones from noisâ—me infectious and sharp sicknesses from great violences of Fortune and sudden surprises keep all my senses intire till the day of my death and let my death be neither sudden untimely nor unprovided let it be after the common manner of men having in it nothing extraordinary but an extraordinary piety and the manifestation of thy great and miraculous mercy IV. LEt no riches make me ever forget my self no poverty ever make me to forget thee Let no hope or fear no pleasure or pain no accident without no weakness within hinder or discompose my duty or turn me from the waies of thy Commandements O let thy spirit dwell with me for ever and make my soul just and charitable full oâ— honesty full of religion resolute and constant in holy purposes but inflexible to evil Make me humble and obedient peaceable and pious let me never envy any mans good nor deserve to be despised my self and if I be teach me to bear it with meekness and charity V. GIve me a tender conscience a conversation discreet and affable modest and patient liberal and obliging a body chaste and healthful compitency of living according to my condition contentedness in all estates a resigned will and mortified affections that I may be as thou wouldest have me and my portion may be in the lot of the righteous in the brightness of thy countenance and the glories of eternity Amen Holy is our God Holy is the Almighty * Holy is the immortal Holy holy holy Lord God of Sabaoth have mercy upon me A form of Prayer for the Evening to be said by such who have not time or opportunity to say the publick Prayers appointed for this office I. Evening Prayer O Eternal God Great Father of Men and Angels who hast established the Heavens and the Earth in a wonderful order making day and night to exceed each other I make my humble addresse to thy Divine Majestie begging of thee mercy and protection this night and ever O Lord pardon all my sins my light and rash words the vanity and impiety of my thoughts my unjust and uncharitable actions and whatsoever I have transgressed against thee this day or at any time before Behold O God my soul is troubled in the remembrance of my sins in the frailty and sinfulness of my flesh exposed to every temptation and of it self not able to resist any Lord God of mercy I earnestly beg of thee to give me a great portion of thy grace such as may be sufficient and effectual for the mortification of all my sins and vanities and disorders that as I have formerly served my lust and unworthy desires so now I may give my self up wholly to thy service and the studies of a holy life II. BLessed Lord teach me frequently and sadly to remember my sins and be thou pleased to remember them no more let me never forget thy mercies and doe thou still remember to doe me good Teach me to walk alwaies as in thy presence Ennoble my soule with great degrees of love to thee and consigne my spirit with great fear religion and veneration of thy holy Name and laws that it may become the great imployment of my whole life to serve thee to advance thy glory to root out all the accursed habits of sin that in holiness of life in humility in charity in chastity and all the ornaments of grace I may by patience wait for the coming of our Lord Jesus Amen III. TEach me O Lord to number my daies that I may apply my heart unto wisdom ever to remember my last end that I may not dare to sin against thee Let thy holy Angels be ever present with me to keep me in all my waies from the malice and violence of the spirits of darkness from evil company and the occasions and opportunities of evil from perishing in popular judgments from all the waies of sinfull shame from the hands of all mine enemies from a sinful life and from despair in the day of my death Then O brightest Jesu shine gloriously upon me let thy mercies and the light of thy countenance sustain me in all my agonies weaknesses and temptations Give me opportunity of a prudent and spiritual Guide and of receiving the holy Sacrament and let thy loving Spirit so guide me in the waies of peace and safety that with the testimony of a good conscience and the sense of thy mercies and refreshment I may depart this life in the unity of the Church in the love of God and a certain hope of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord and most blessed Saviour Amen Our Father c. Another form of Evening Prayer which may also be used at bed-time Our Father c. Psal. 121. I Will lift up my eyes unto the hils from whence cometh my help My help cometh of the Lord which made heaven and earth He will not suffer thy foot to be moved he that keepeth thee will not slumber Behold he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep The Lord is thy keeper the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand The sun shall not smite thee by day neither the moon by night The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth for evermore Glory be to the Father c. I. VIsit I beseech thee O Lord this habitation with thy mercy and me with thy grace and salvation Let thy holy Angels pitch their tents round about and dwel here that no illusion of the night may abuse me the spirits of darkness may not come neer to hurt me no evil or sad accident oppresse me and let the eternall spirit of the father dwell in my soul and body filling every corner of my heart with light and grace Let no deed of darkness overtake me and thy blessing most blessed GOD be upon me for ever through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen II. INto thy hands most blessed Jesu I commend my soul and body for thou hast redeemed both with thy most precious blood So blesse and sanctifie my sleep unto me that it may be temperate holy and safe a refreshment to my wearied body to enable it so to serve my soul that both may serve thee with a never failing duty O let me never sleep in sin or death eternal but give me a watchfull and a prudent spirit that I may omit no opportunity of serving thee that whether I sleep or wake live or die I may be thy servant and thy childe that when the work of my life is done I may rest in the bosome of my Lord till by the voice of the Archangel the tâ—ump of God I shall be awakened and called to sit down and feast in the eternal supper of
evil amounts to which you then charge upon your self Look not upon them as scatter'd in the course of a long life now an intemperate anger then too full a meal now idle talking and another time impatience but unite them into one continued representation and remember that he whose life seems fair by reason that his faults are scattered at large distances in the several parts of his life yet if all his errors and follies were articled against him the man would seem vitious and miserable and possibly this exercise really applied upon thy spirit may be useful 2. Remember that we usually disparage others upon slight grounds and little instances and towards them one flie is enough to spoil a whole box of ointment and if a man be highly commended we think him sufficiently lessened if we clap one sinne or solly or infirmity into this account Let us therefore be just to our selves since we are so severe to others and consider that whatsoever good any one can think or say of us we can tell him of hundreds of base and unworthy and foolish actions any one of which were enough we hope to destroy anothers reputation Therefore let so many be sufficient to destroy our over-high thoughts of our selves 3. When thy Neighbour is cryed up by publick fame and popular noises that we may disparage and lessen him we cry out that the people is a Heard of unlearned and ignorant persons 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arrian l 4. c 23. ill judges loud trumpets but which never give certain sound let us use the same art to humble our selves and never take delight and pleasure in publick reports and acclamations of assemblies and please our selves with their judgment of whom in other the like cases we affirm that they are mad 4. We change our opinion of others by their kindness or unkindness towards us If he be my Patron and bounteous he is wise he is noble his faults are but warts his virtues are mountanous but if he proves unkinde or rejects our importunate suit then he is ill-natured covetous and his free meal is called gluttony that which before we called civility is now very drunkenness and all he speakes is flat and dull and ignorant as a swine This indeed is unjust towards others but a good instrument if we turn the edge of it upon our selves we use our selves ill abusing our selves with false principles cheating our selves with lies and pretences stealing the choice and election from our wils placing voluntary ignorance in our understandings denying the desires of the Spirit setting up a faction against every noble and just desire the lest of which because we should resent up to reviling the injurious person it is but reason we should at least not flatter our selves with fond and too kinde opinions 5. Every day call to minde some one of thy foulest sins or the most shameful of thy disgraces or the indiscreetest of thy actions or any thing that did then most trouble thee and apply it to the present swelling of thy spirit and opinion and it may help to allay it 6. Pray often for his grace with all humility of gesture and passion of desire and in thy devotion interpose many acts of humility by way of confession and addresse to God and reflection upon thy self 7. Avoid great Offices and imployments and the noises of wordly honour For in those states many times so many ceremonies and circumstances will seem necessary as will destroy the sobriety of thy thoughts If the number of thy servants be fewer and their observances lesse and their reverences lesse solemn possibly they will seem lesse then thy dignity and if they be so much and so many it is likely they will be too big for thy spirit Fabis abstine dixit Pythagoras Olimâ—n Magistratus per suffragia fabis lata creabantur Plut. And here be thou very careful lest thou be abused by a pretence that thou wouldest use thy great Dignity as an opportunity of doing great good For supposing it might be good for others yet it is not good for thee they may have encouragement in noble things from thee and by the same instrument thou mayest thy self be tempted to pride and vanity And certain it is GOD is as much glorified by thy example of humility in a low or temperate condition as by thy bounty in a great and dangerous 8. Make no reflex acts upon thy own humility nor upon any other grace with which GOD hath enriched thy soul. For since GOD oftentimes hides from his Saints and Servants the sight of those excellent things by which they shine to others though the dark side of the Lantern be toward themselves that he may secure the grace of humility it is good that thou doe so thy self and if thou beholdest a grace of GOD in thee remember to give him thanks for it that thou may not boast in that which is none of thy own and consider how thou hast sullied it by handling it with dirty fingers with thy own imperfections and with mixture of unhandsome circumstances Spiritual pride is very dangerous not only by reason it spoils so many graces by which we drew nigh unto the Kingdome of GOD but also because it so frequently creeps upon the spirit of holy persons For it is no wonder for a Begger to call himself poor or a drunkard to confesse that he is no sober person But for a holy person to be humble for one whom all men esteem a Saint to fear lâ—st himself become a Devil and to observe his own danger and to discern his own infirmities and make discovery of his bad adherencies is as hard as for a Prince to submit himself to be guided by Tutors and make himself subject to discipline like the meanest of his servants 9. Often meditate upon the effects of Pride on one side and Humility on the other 1. That Pride is like a Canker and destroyes the beauty of the fairest flowers the most excellent gifts and graces but Humility crowns them all Secondly Mat. 11.25 That Pride is a great hindrance to the perceiving the things of GOD and Humility is an excellent preparative and instrument of spiritual wisdome Thirdly That Pride hinders the acceptation of our prayers but Humility pierâ—eth the clouds and will not depart till the most High shall regard Fourthly That Humility is but a speaking truth and all Pride is a lie Fifthly That Humility is the most certain way to real honour and Pride is ever affronted or despised Sixthly That Pride turned Lucifer into a Devil and Humility exalted the Son of God above every Name and placed him eternally at the right hand of his Father Seventhly That GOD resisteth the proud professing open defiance and hostility against such persons Iames 4.6 but giveth grace to the humble * Grace and pardon * remedy and relief against misery and oppression * content in all conditions * tranquillity of spirit * patience in afflictions *
they are excellent in order to certain ends And the second cannot be cause of sorrow because he hath no need to use them as the case now stands being provided for with the provisions of an Angel and the manner of Eternity However the sons and the parents friends and relatives are in the world like hours and minutes to a day The hour comes must pass and some stay but minutes and they also pass shall never return again But let it be considered that from the time in which a man is conceived from that time forward to Eternity he shall never cease to be and let him die young or old still he hath an immortal soul and hath laid down his body only for a time as that which was the instrument of his trouble and sorrow and the scene of sicknesses and disease But he is in a more noble manner of being after death then he can be here and the childe may with more reason be allowed to crie for leaving his mothers womb for this world then a man can for changing this world for another Sudden death or violent Others are yet troubled at the manner of their childes or friends death He was drowned or lost his head or died of the plague and this is a new spring of sorrow but no man can give a sensible account how it shall be worse for a childe to die with drowning in half an hour then to endure a feaver of one and twenty daies And if my friend lost his head so he did not lose his constancy and his religion he died with huge advantage Being Childelesse But by this means I am left without an Heir Well suppose that Thou hast no Heir and I have no inheritance and there are many Kings and Emperours that have died childlesse many Royal lines are extinguished And Augustus Caesar was forced to adopt his wives son to inherit all the Roman greatness And there are many wise persons that never married and we read no where that any of the children of the Apostles did survive their Fathers and all that inherit any thing of Christs kingdom come to it by Adoption not by natural inheritance and to die without a natural heir is no intolerable evil since it was sanctified in the person of Jesus who died a Virgin Evil or unfortunate Children And by this means we are freed from the greater sorrows of having a fool a swine or a goat to rule after us in our families and yet even this condition admits of comfort For all the wilde â—mericans are supposed to be the sons of Dodanim 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epict. and the sons of Jacob are now the most scattered and despised people in the whole world The son of Solomon was but a silly weak man and the son of Hâ—zekiah was wicked and all the fools and barbarous people all the thieves and pirates all the slaves and miserable men and women of the world are the sons and daughters of Noah and we must not look to be exempted from that portion of sorrow which God gave to Noah and Adam to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob I pray God send us into the lot of Abraham But if any thing happens worse to us it is enough for us that we bear it evenly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Our own death And how if you were to die your self you know you must Only be ready for it Ad sines cum pervanâ—reâ— ne reveâ—tilo Pythag by the preparations of a good life and then it is the greatest good that ever happened to thee else there is nothing that can comfort you But if you have served God in a holy life send away the women and the weepers tell them it is as much intemperance to weep too much as to laugh too much and when thou art alone or with fitting company die as thou shouldest but doe not die impatiently and like a fox catched in a trap For if you fear death you shall never the more avoid it but you make it miserable Faunius that kill'd himself for fear of death died as certainly as Portia that eat burning coals or Cato that cut his own throat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To die is necessary and natural and it may be honourable but to die poorly and basely and sinfully that alone is it that can make a man unfortunate No man can be a slave but he that fears pain or fears to die To such a man nothing but chance peaceable times can secure his duty and he depends upon things without for his felicity and so is well but during the pleasure of his enemy or a Thief or a Tyrant or it may be of a dog or a wilde bull Prayers for the several Graces and parts of Christian Sobriety A prayer against sensuality O Eternal Father thou that sittest in Heaven invested with essential Glories and Divine perfections fill my soul with so deep a sence of the excellencies of spiritual and heavenly things that my affections being weaned from the pleasures of the world and the false allurements of sin I may with great severity and the prudence of a holy discipline and strict desires with clear resolutions and a free spirit have my conversation in Heaven and heavenly imployments that being in affections as in my condition a Pilgrim and a stranger here I may covet after and labour for an abiding city and at last may enter into and for ever dwell in the Celestial Jerusalem which is the mother of us all through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen For Temperance O Almighty God and gracious Father of men and Angels who openest thy hand and fillest all things with plenty and hast provided for thy servant sufficient to satisfie all my needs teach me to use thy creatures soberly and temperately that I may not with loads of meat or drink make the temptations of my enemy to prevail upon me or my spirit unapt for the performance of my duty or my body healthless or my affections sensual and unholy O my God never suffer that the blessings which thou givest me may either minister to sin or sickness but to health and holiness and thanksgiving that in the strength of thy provisions I may cheerfully and actively and diligently serve thee that I may worthily feast at thy table here and be accounted worthy through thy grace to be admitted to thy table hereafter at the Eternal supper of the Lamb to sing an Allelujah to God the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost for ever and ever Amen For Chastity to be said especially by unmarried persons ALmighty God our most holy and eternal Father who art of pure eyes and canst behold no uncleanness let thy gracious and holy Spirit descend upon thy servant and reprove the spirit of Fornication and Uncleannesse and cast him out that my body may be a holy Temple and my soul a Sanctuary to entertain the PRINCE of purities the holy and eternal Spirit of God O let
no impure thoughts pollute that soul which God hath sanctified no unclean words pollute that tongue which God hath commanded to be an Organ of his praises no unholy and unchaste action rend the vail of that Temple where the holy JESUS hath been pleased to enter and hath chosen for his habitation but seal up all my senses from all vain objects and let them be intirely possessed with Religion and fortified with prudence watchfulness and mortification that I possessing my vessel in holiness may lay it down with a holy hope and receive it again in a joyful resurrection through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Prayer for the love of God to be said by Virgins and Widows professed or resolved so to live and may be used by any one O Holy and purest Jesus who wert pleased to espouse every holy soul and joyn it to thee with a holy union and mysterious instruments of religious society and communications O fill my soul with Religion and desires holy as the thoughts of Cherubim passionate beyond the love of women that I may love thee as much as ever any creature loved thee even with all my soul and all my faculties and all the degrees of every faculty let me know no loves but those of duty and charity obedience and devotion that I may for ever run after thee who art the King of Virgins and with whom whole kingdoms are in love and for whose sake Queens have died and at whose feet Kings with joy have laid their Crowns and Scepters My soul is thine O dearest Jesu thou art my Lord and hast bound up my eyes and heart from all strange affections give me for my dowry purity and humility modesty and devotion charity and patience and at last bring me into the Bride-chamber to partake of the felicities and to lie in the bosome of the Bride-groom to eternal ages O holy and sweetest Saviour Jesus Amen A Prayer to be said by married persons in behalf of themselves and each other O Eternal and gracious Father who hast consecrated the holy estate of marriage to become mysterious and to represent the union of Christ and his church let thy holy Spirit so guide me in the doing the duties of this state that it may not became a sin unto me nor that liberty which thou hast hallowed by the holy Jesus become an occasion of licentiousness by my own weakness and sensuality and doe thou forgive all those irregularities and too sensual applications which may have in any degree discomposed my spirit and the severity of a Christian. Let me in all accidents and circumstances be severe in my duty towards thee affectionate and dear to my Wife or Husband a guide and good example to my family and in all quietness sobriety prudence and peace a follower of those holy pairs who have served thee with godliness and a good testimony and the blessings of the eternal God blessings of the right hand and of the left be upon the body and soul of thy servant my Wife or Husband and abide upon her or him till the end of a holy and happy life and grant that both of us may live together for ever in the embraces of the holy and eternal Jesus our Lord and saviour Amen A prayer for the grace of Humility O Holy and most gracious Master and Saviour Jesus who by thy example and by thy precept by the practise of a whole life and frequent discourses didst command us to be meek and humble in imitation of thy incomparable sweetness and great humility be pleased to give me the grace as thou hast given me the commandment enable me to doe whatsoever thou commandest and command whatsoever thou pleasest O mortifie in me all proud thoughts and vain opinions of my self let me return to thee acknowledgment and the fruits of all those good things thou hast given me that by confessing I am wholly in debt to thee for them I may not boast my self for what I have received and for what I am highly accountable and for what is my own teach me to be ashamed and humbled it being nothing but sin and misery weakness and uncleanness Let me go before my brethren in nothing but in striving to doe them honour and thee glory never to seek my own praise never to delight in it when it is offered that despising my self I may be accepted by thee in the honours with which thou shalt crown thy humble and despised servants for Jesus his sake in the kingdome of eternal glory Amen Acts of Humility and Modesty by way of prayer and meditation I. Lord I know that my spirit is light and thorny my body is brutish and exposed to sickness I am constant to folly and inconstant in holy purposes My labours are vain and fruitless my fortune full of change and trouble seldom pleasing never perfect My wisdom is holly being ignorant even of the parts and passions of my own body and what am I O Lord before thee but a miserable person hugely in debt not able to pay II. Lord I am nothing and I have nothing of my self I am lesse then the least of all thy mercies III. What was I before my birth First nothing and then uncleanness What during my childehood weakness and folly What in my youth folly still and passion lust and wildness What in my whole life a great sinner a deceived and an abused person Lord pity me for it is thy goodness that I am kept from confusion and amazement when I consider the misery and shame of my person and the defilements of my nature IV. Lord what am I and Lord what art thou What is man that thou art mindful of him and the son of man that thou so regardest him V. How can Man be justified with God or how can he be clean that is born of a Woman Behold even to the Moon and it shineth not yea the Starres are not pure in his sight How much lesse Man that is a Worm and the son of Man which is a Worm Job 25. A Prayer for a contented spirit and the grace of moderation and patience O Almighty God Father and Lord of all the creatures who hast disposed al things and all chances so as may best glorifie thy wisdom and serve the ends of thy justice and magnifie thy mercy by secret and undiscernible waies bringing good out of evil I most humbly beseech thee to give me wisdome from above that I may adore thee and admire thy waies and footsteps which are in the great Deep and not to be searched out teach me to submit to thy providence in all things to be content in all changes of person and condition to be temperate in prosperity and to read my duty in the lines of thy mercy and in adversity to be meek patient and resigned and to look through the cloud that I may wait for the consolation of the Lord and the day of redemption in the mean time doing my duty with an
mouth with praises that my duty and returns to thee may be great as my needs of mercy are and let thy gracious favours and loving kindness endure for ever and ever upon thy servant and grant that what thou hast sown in mercy may spring up in duty and let thy grace so strengthen my purposes that I may sin no more lest thy threatning return upon me in anger and thy anger break me into pieces but let me walk in the light of thy favour and in the paths of thy Commandments that I living here to the glory of thy name may at last enter into the glory of my Lord to spend a whole eternity in giving praise to thy exalted and ever glorious name Amen We praise thee O God we knowledge thee to be the Lord. All the earth doth worship thee the Father Everlasting To thee all Angels cry aloud the heauens all the powers therein To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Sabaoth Heaven and Earth are full of the Majesty of thy glory * Thâ— glorious company of the Apostles praise thee * The goodly fellowship of the Prophets praise thee * The noble army of Martyrs praise thee * The holy Church throughout all the world doth knowledg thee * The Father of an infinite Majesty * Thy honourable true and only Son * Also the Holy Ghost the Comforter * Thou art the King of glory O Christ. * Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father * When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man thou didst not abhor the Virgins womb * Wheâ— thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all Believers * Thou sittest at the right hand of God in the glory of the Father * We believe that thou shalt come to be our Judge * We therefore pray thee help thy servants whom thou hast redeem'd with thy precious blood * Make them to be number'd with thy Saints in glory everlasting O Lord save thy people and bless thine heritage Govern them and lift them up for ever Day by day we magnifie thee and we worship thy name ever world without end Vouchsafe O Lord to keep us this day without sin O Lord have mercy upon us have mercy upon us O Lord let thy mercy lighten upon us as or trust is in thee O Lord in thee have trusted let me never be confounded Amen A Prayer of thanksgiving after the receiving some great blessing as the birth of an Heir the success of an honest designe a victory a good harvest c. O Lord God Father of mercies the fountain of comfort and blessing of life and peace o plenty and pardon who fillest Heaven with thy glory and earth with thy goodness I give thee the most earnest most humble and most enlarged returns of my glad and thankfull heart for thou hast refreshed me with thy comforts and enlarged me with thy blessing thou hast made my flesh and my bones to rejoyce for besides the blessings of all mankinde the blessings of nature and the blessings of grace the support of every minute and the comforts of every day thou hast opened thy bosom and at this time hast powred out an excellent expression of thy loving kindness here name the blessing What am I O Lord and what is my Fathers house what is the life and what are the capacities of thy servant that thou shoul'd do this unto me * that the great God 〈…〉 and Angels should make a speciall decree in Heaven for me and send out an Angel of blessing and in stead of condemning and ruining me as I miserably have deserved to distinguish me from many my equals and my betters by this and many other speciall acts of Grace and favour Praised be the Lord daily even the Lord that helpeth us and powreth his benefits upon us He is our God even the God of whom cometh salvation God is the Lord by whom we escape death Thou hast brought me to great honour and comforted me on every side Thou Lord hast made me glad through thy works I will rejoyce in giving praise for the operation of thy hands O give thanks unto the Lord and call upon his name tell the people what things he hath done As for me I will give great thanks unto the Lord praise him among the multitude Blessed be the Lord God even the Lord God of Israel which only doth wondrous and gracious things And blessed be the name of his Majesty for ever and all the earth shall be filled with his Majesty Amen Amen Glory be to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c. A prayer to be said on the Feast of Christmas or the birth of our blessed Saviour Jesus the same also may be said upon the feast of the Annunciation and Purification of the B. Virgin Mary O Holy and Almighty God Father of mercies Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the Son of thy love and Eternal mercies I adore and praise and glorifie thy infinite and unspeakable love and wisdom who hast sent thy Son from the bosom of felicities to take upon him our nature and our misery and our guilt and hast made the Son of God to become the Son of Man that we might become the Sons of God and partakers of the divine nature since thou hast so exalted humane nature be pleased also to sanctifie my person that by a conformity to the humility and laws and sufferings of my dearest Saviour I may be united to his spirit and be made all one with the most Holy Jesus Amen O holy and Eternal Jesus who didst pity mankinde lying in his blood and sin and misery and didst choose our sadnesses and sorrows that thou mightest make us to partake of thy felicities Let thine eyes pity me thy hands support me thy holy â—eet tread down all the difficulties in my way to Heaven let me dwell in thy heart be instructed with thy wisdom moved by thy affections choose with thy will and be clothed with thy righteousness that in the day of Judgment I may be found having on thy garments sealed with thy impression and that bearing upon every faculty and member the character of my elder brother I may not be cast out with strangers and unbleivers Amen O Holy and ever blessed spirit who didst overshadow the holy Virgin Mother of our Lord and causedst her to conceive by a miraculous and mysterious manner be pleased to overshadow my soul and enlighten my spirit that I may conceive the holy Jesus in my heart and may bear him in my minde and may grow up to the fulness of the stature of Christ to be a perfect man in Christ Jesus Amen To God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. To the eternall Son that was incarnate and born of a virgin To the spirit of the Father and the Son be all honour and glory worship and adoration now and for ever Amen The same Form of Prayer
case is so with us that we are reduced to that Religion which no man can forbid which we can keep in the midst of a persecution by which the Martyrs in the daies of our Fathers went to Heaven that by which we can be servants of God and receive the Spirit of Christ and make use of his comforts and live in his love and in charity with all men and they that doe so cannot perish My Lord I have now described some general lines and features of that Religion which I have more particularly set down in the following pages in which I have neither served nor desserved the interest of any party of Christians as they are divided by uncharitable names from the rest of their brethren and no man will have reason to be angry with me for refusing to mingle in his unnecessary or vitious quarrels especially while I study to doe him good by conducting him in the narrow way to Heaven without intricating him in the Labyrinths and wilde turnings of Questions and uncertain talkings I have told what men ought to doe and by what means they may be assisted and in most cases I have also told them why and yet with as much quickness as I could think necessary to establish a Rule and not to ingage in Homily or Discourse In the use of which Rules although they are plain useful and fitted for the best and worst understandings and for the needs of all men yet I shall desire the Reader to proceed with the following advises 1. They that will with profit make use of the proper instruments of virtue must so live as if they were alwaies under the Physicians hand For the Counsels of Religion are not to be applied to the distempers of the soul as men use to take Hellebore but they must dwell together with the Spirit of a man and be twisted about his understanding for ever They must be used like nourishment that is by a daily care and meditation not like a single medicine and upon the actual pressure of a present necessity For counsels and wise discourses applied to an actuall distemper at the best are but like strong smels to an Epileptick person sometimes they may raise him but they never cure him The following rules if they be made familiar to our natures and the thoughts of every day may make Virtue and Religion become easie and habitual but when the temptation is present and hath already seised upon some portions of our consent we are not so apt to be counsell'd and we finde no gust or relish in the Precept the Lessons are the same but the Instrument is unstrung or out of tune 2. In using the instruments of virtue we must be curious to distinguish instruments from duties and prudent advices from necessary injunctions and if by any other means the duty can be secured let there be no scruples stirred concerning any other helps onely if they can in that case strengthen and secure the duty or helpe towards perseverance let them serve in that station in which they can be placed For there are some persons in whom the Spirit of God hath breathed so bright a flame of love that they doe all their acts of virtue by perfect choice and without objection and their zeal is warmer then that it will be allayed by temptation and to such persons mortification by Philosophical instruments as fasting sackcloth and other rudenesses to the body is wholly uselesse It is alwaies a more uncertain means to acquire any virtue or secure any duty and if love hath filled all the corners of our soul it alone is able to doe all the work of God 3. Be not nice in stating the obligations of Religion but where the duty is necessary and the means very reasonable in it self dispute not too busily whether in all Circumstances it can fit thy particular but super totam materiam upon the whole make use of it For it is a good signe of a great Religion and no imprudence when we have sufficiently considered the substance of affairs then to be easie humble obedient apt and credulous in the circumstances which are appointed to us in particular by our spiritual Guides or in general by all wise men in cases not unlike He that gives Alms does best not alwaies to consider the minutes and strict measures of his ability but to give freely incuriously and abundantly A man must not weigh grains in the accounts of his repentance but for a great sin have a great sorrow and a great severity and in this take the ordinary advices though it may be a lesse rigour might not be insufficient 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Arithmetical measures especially of our own proportioning are but arguments of want of Love and of forwardness in Religion or else are instruments of scruple and then become dangerous Use the rule heartily and enough and there will be no harm in thy errour if any should happen 4. If thou intendest heartily to serve God and avoid sin in any one instance refuse not the hardest and most severe advice that is prescribed in order to it though possibly it be a stranger to thee for whatsoever it be custome will make it easie 5. When many instruments for the obtaining any virtue or restraining any vice are propounded observe which of them fits thy person or the circumstances of thy need and use it rather then the other that by this means thou may'st be engaged to watch and use spiritual arts and observation about thy soule Concerning the managing of which as the interest is greater so the necessities are more and the cases more intricate and the accidents and dangers greater and more importunate and there is greater skill required then in the securing an estate or restoring health to an infirm body I wish all men in the world did heartily beleive so much of this as is true it would very much help to doe the work of God Thus My Lord I have made bold by your hand to reach out this little scroll of cautions to all those who by seeing your honour'd name set before my Book shall by the faireness of such a Frontispice be invited to look into it I must confesse it cannot but look like a design in me to borrow your name and beg your Patronage to my book that if there be no other worth in it yet at least it may have the splendor and warmth of a burning-glasse w th borrowing a flame from the Eye of Heaven shines burns by the rayes of the Sun its patron I will not quit my self from the suspicion for I cannot pretend it to be a present either of it self fit to be offer'd to such a personage or any part of a just return but I humbly desire you would own it for an acknowledgment of those great endearments and noblest usages you have past upon me But so men in their Religion give a piece of Gum or the fat of a cheap Lamb in Sacrifice
1 King 5 9. Psal 138.1 2. Gods usual way is to be present in those places where his servants are appointed ordinarily to meet But his presence there signifies nothing but in readiness to hear their prayers to blesse their persons to accept their offices and to like even the circumstance of orderly and publick meeting For thither the prayers of consecration the publick authority separating it and Gods love of order and the reasonable customs of Religion have in ordinary and in a certain degree fixed this manner of his presence and he loves to have it so 5. God is especially present in the hearts of his people by his holy Spirit and indeed the hearts of holy men are Temples in the truth of things and in type and shadow they are Heaven it self For God reigns in the hearts of his servants There is his Kingdom The power of grace hath subdued all his enemies There is his power They serve him night and day and give him thanks and praise that is his glory This is the religion and worship of God in the Temple The Temple it self is the heart of man Christ is the High Priest who from thence sends up the incense of prayers and joyns them to his own intercession and presents all together to his Father and the Holy Ghost by his dwelling there hath also consecrated it into a Temple 1 Cor. 3.16 2 Cor. 6.16 and God dwels in our hearts by faith and Christ by his Spirit and the Spirit by his purities so that we are also Cabinets of the Mysterious Trinity and and what is this short of Heaven it self but as infancy is short of manhood and letters of words The same state of life it is but not the same age It is Heaven in a Looking glasse dark but yet true representing the beauties of the soul and the graces of God and the images of his eternal glory by the reality of a special presence 6. God is especially present in the consciences of all persons good and bad by way of testimony and â—udgment that is he is there a remembrancer to call our actions to minde a witness to bring them to judgment and a Judge to acquit or to condemne And although this manner of presence is in this life after the manner of this life that is imperfect and we forget many actions of our lives yet the greatest changes of our state of grace or sin our most considerable actions are alwaies present like Capital Letters to an aged and dim eye and at the day of judgment God shall draw aside the cloud and manifest this manner of his presence more notoriously and make it appear that he was an observer of our very thoughts and that he onely laid those things by which because we covered with dust and negligence they were not then discerned But when we are risen from our dust and imperfection they all appear plain and legible Now the consideration of this great truth is of a very universal use in the whole course of the life of a Christian. All the consequents and effects of it are universal He that remembers that God stands a witness and a judge beholding every secrecy besides his impiety must have put on impudence if he be not much restrained in his temptation to sin For the greatest part of sins is taken away if a man have a witness of his conversation And he is a great despiser of God who sends a Boy away when he is going to commit fornication and yet will dare to doe it though he knows God is present and cannot be sent off as if the eye of a little Boy were more awful then the all seeing eye of God S. Aug. de verbis Dom. c. 3. He is to be feared in publick he is to be feared in private if you go forth he spies you if you go in he sees you when you light the candle he observes you when you put it out then also God marks you Be sure that while you are in his sight you behave your self as becomes so holy a presence But if you will sin retire your self wisely and go where God cannot see For no where else can you be safe And certainly if men would alwaies actually consider and really esteem this truth that God is the great Eye of the World alwaies watching over our actions and an ever open Ear to hear all our words and an unwearied Arm ever lifted up to crush a sinner into ruine it would be the readiest way in the world to make sin to cease from amongst the children of men and for men to approach to the blessed estate of the Saints in Heaven who cannot sin for they alwaies walk in the presence and behold the face of God * This instrument is to be reduced to practise according to the following Rules Rules of exercising this consideration 1. Let this actual thought often return that God is omnipresent filling every place and say with David Whither shall I go from thy Spirit Psal. 13.7 8. or whither shall I flee from thy presence If I ascend up into heaven thou art there If I make my bed in hell thou art there c. This thought by being frequent will make an habitual dread and reverence towards God and fear in all thy actions For it is a great necessity and ingagement to doe unblameably when we act before the Judge Boeth 15. de consel who is infallible in his sentence all knowing in his information severe in his anger powerfull in his providence and intolerable in his wrath and indignation 2. In the beginning of actions of religion make an act of adoration that is solemnly worship God and place thy self in Gods presence and behold him with the eye of faith and let thy desires actually fix on him as the object of thy worship and the reason of thy hope and the fountain of thy blessing For when thou hast placed thy self before him and kneelest in his presence it is most likely all the following parts of thy devotion will be answerable to the wisdome of such an apprehension and the glory of such a presence 3. Let every thing you see represent to your spirit the presence the excellency and the power of God and let your conversation with the creatures lead you unto the Creator for so shall your actions be done more frequently with an actual eye to Gods presence by your often seeing him in the glasse of the creation In the face of the Sun you may see Gods beauty in the fire you may feel his heat warming in the water his gentleness to refresh you he it is that comforts your spirit when you have taken Cordials it is the dew of Heaven that makes your field give you bread and the breasts of God are the bottles that ministers drink to your necessities This Philosophy which is obvious to every mans experience is a good advantage to our piety and by this act of understanding our wills
are check'd from violence and misdemeanour 4. In your retirement make frequent Colloquies or short discoursings between GOD and thy own soul. Seven times a day doe I praise thee and in the night season also I thought upon thee when I was waking So did David and every act of complaint or thanksgiving every act of rejoicing or of mourning every petition and every returne of the heart in these entercourses is a going to GOD an appearing in his presence and a representing him present to thy spirit and to thy necessity And this was long since by a spiritual person called a building to GOD a Chappel in our heart It reconciles Martha's imployment with Mary's Devotion Charity and Religion the necessities of our calling and the imployments of devotion For thus in the midst of the works of your Trade you may retire into your Chappel your Heart and converse with GOD by frequent addresses and returnes 5. Represent and offer to GOD acts of love and fear which are the proper effects of this apprehension and the proper exercise of this consideration For as GOD is every where present by his power he calls for reverence and godly fear As he is present to thee in all thy needs and relieves them he deserves thy love and since in every accident of our lives we finde one or other of these apparent and in most things we see both it is a proper and proportionate return that to every such demonstration of GOD we expresse our selves sensible of it by admiring the divine goodness or trembling at his presence ever obeying him because we love him and ever obeying him because we fear to offend him This is that which Enoch did who thus walked with God 6. Let us remember that God is in us and that we are in him we are his workmanship let us not deface it we are in his presence let us not pollute it by unholy and impure actions Isa 26.12 God hath also wrought all our works in us and because he rejoices in his own works if we defile them and make them unpleasant to him we walk perversly with God and he will walk crookedly toward us 7. God is in the bowels of thy brother refresh them when he needs it and then you give your alms in the presence of God and to God and he feels the relief which thou prouidest for thy brother 8. God is in every place suppose it therefore to be a Church and that decency of deportment and piety of carriage which you are taught by religion or by custome or by civility and publick manners to use in Churches the same use in all places with this difference only that in churches let your deportment be religious in external forms and circumstances also but there and every where let it be religious in abstaining from spiritual undecencies and in readiness to doe good actions Jer. 11.15 secund vulg Edit that it may not be said of us as God once complained of his people Why hath my beloved done wickedness in my house 9. God is in every creature be cruel towards none neither abuse any by intemperance Remember that the creatures and every member of thy own body is one of the lesser cabinets and receptacles of God They are such which God hath blessed with his presence hallowed by his touch and separated from unholy use by making them to belong to his dwelling 10. He walks as in the presence of God that converses with him in frequent prayer and frequent communion that runs to him in all his necessities that asks counsel of him in all his doubtings that opens all his wants to him that weeps before him for his sins that asks remedy and support for his weakness that fears him as a Judge reverences him as a Lord obeys him as a Father and loves him as a Patron The Benefits of this exercise The benefit of this consideration and exercise being universal upon all the parts of piety I shall lesse need to specifie any particulars but yet most properly this exercise of considering the divine presence is 1. an excellent help to prayer producing in us reverence and awfulness to the divine Majesty of God and actual devotion in our offices 2. It produces a confidence in God and fearlesness of our enemies patience in trouble and hope of remedy since God is so nigh in all our sad accidents he is a disposer of the hearts of men and the events of things he proportions out our trials and supplies us with remedy and where his rod strikes us his staf supports us To which we may adde this that God who is alwaies with us is especially by promise with us in tribulation to turn the misery into a mercy and that our greatest trouble may become our advantage by intitling us to a new manner of the Divine presence 3. It is apt to produce joy and rejoicing in God we being more apt to delight in the partners and witnesses of our conversation every degree of mutuall abiding and conversing being a relation and an endearment we are of the same houshold with God he is with us in our natural actions to preserve us in our recreations to restrain us in our publick actions to applaud or reprove us in our private to observe us in our sleeps to watch by us in our watchings to refresh us and if we walk with God in all his waies as he walks with us in all ours we shall find perpetual reasons to enable us to keep that rule of God Rejoice in the Lord alwaies and again I say rejoyce And this puts me in minde of a saying of an old religious person In vitam S. Antho. There is one way of overcoming our ghostly enemies spiritual mirth and a perpetual bearing of GOD in our mindes This effectively resists the Devil and suffers us ro receive no hurt from him 4. This exercise is apt also to enkindle holy desires of the enjoyment of God because it produces joy when we doe enjoy him The same desires that a weak man hath for a Defender the sick man for a Physician the poor for a Patron the childe for his Father the espoused Lover for her betrothed 5 From the same fountain are apt to issue humility of spirit apprehensions of our great distance and our great needs our daily wants and houâ—ly supplies admiration of Gods unspeakable mercies It is the cause of great modesty and decency in our actions it helps to recollection of minde and restrains the scatterings and loosness of wandring thoughts it establishes the heart in good purposes and leadeth on to perseverance it gains purity perfection according to the saying of God to Abraham Walk before me and be perfect holy fear and holy love and indeed every thing that pertains to holy living when we see our selves placed in the Eye of God who sets us on work and will reward us plentiously to serve him with an Eye service iâ—â—ery pleasing for he also sees
the Lamb. Grant this O Lamb of God for the honour of thy mercies and the glory of thy name O most merciful Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Amen III. BLessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus who hath sent his Angels and kept me this day from the destruction that walketh at noon and the arrow that flieth by dry and hath given me his Spirit to restrain me from those evils to which my own weaknesses and my evil habits and my unquie◠enemies would easily betray me Blessed and for ever hallowed be thy name for that never ceasing showre of blessing by which I live and am content and blessed and provided for in all necessities and set forward in my duty and way to heaven * Blessing honour glory and power be unto him that sitteth on the throne and to the Lamb for ever and ever Amen Holy is our God Holy is the Almighty Holy is the Immortal Holy holy holy Lord God of Sabaoth have mercy upon me Ejaculations and short meditations to be used in the Night when we wake Stand in awe and sin not commune with your own heart upon your bed and be still I will lay me down in peace and sleep for thou Lord only makest me to dwell in safety O Father of Spirits and the God of all flesh have mercy and pity upon all sick and dying Christians and receive the souls which thou hast redeemed returning unto thee Blessed are they that dwell in the heavenly Jerusalem where there is no need of the Sun neither of the Moon to shine in it for the glory of God does lighten it and the Lamb is the light thereof And there shall be no night there and they need no candle for the Lord God giveth them light and they shall reign for ever and ever Rev. 21.23 Meditate on Jacobs wrastling with the Angel all night be thou also importunate with God for a blessing and give not over till he hath blessed thee Meditate on the Angel passing over the children of Israel and destroying the Egyptians for disobedience and opression Pray for the grace of obedience and charity and for the divine protection Meditate on the Angel who destroyed in a night the whole army of the Assyrians for fornication Call to minde the sins of thy youth the sins of thy bed and say with David My reins chasten me in the night season and my soul refuseth comfort Pray for pardon and the grace of chastity Meditate on the agonies of Christ in the garden his sadnes and affliction all that night and thank and adore him for his love that made him suffer so much for thee and hate thy sins which made it necessary for the Son of God to suffer so much Meditate on the four last things 1. The certainty of death 2. The terrors of the day of Judgment 3. The joyes of Heaven 4. The pains of Hell and the eternity of both Thinke upon all thy friends which are gone before thee and pray that God would grant to thee to meet them in a joyful resurrection The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in the which the heavens shall passe away with a great noise and the elements shall melt with fervent heat the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness looking for and hastning unto the coming of the day of God 2 Pet. 3.10 11. Lord in mercy remember thy servant in the day of judgement Thou shalt answer for me O Lord my God In thee O Lord have I trusted let me never be confounded Amen I Desire the Christian Reader to observe that all these offices or forms of Prayer if they should be used every day would not spend above an hour and a half but because some of them are double and so but one of them to be used in one day it is much lesse and by affording to God one hour in 24 thou mayest have the comforts and rewards of devotion But he that thinks this is too much either is very busie in the world or very carelesse of heaven However I have parted the Prayers into smaller portions that he may use which and how many he please in any one of the forms Ad Sect. 2◠A Prayer for holy intention in the beginning and pursuit of any considerable action as Study Preaching c. O Eternall God who hast made all things for man and man for thy glory sanctifie my body and soul my thoughts and my intentions my words and actions that whatsoever I shall think or speak or doe may be by me designed to the glorification of thy Name and by thy blessing it may be effective and successful in the work of God according as it can be capable Lord turn my necessities into virtue the works of nature into the works of grace by making them orderly regular temperate subordinate and profitable to ends beyond their own proper efficacy and let no pride or self-seeking no covetousness or revenge no impure mixture or unhandsome purposes no little ends and low imaginations pollute my spirit and unhallow any of my words and actions but let my body be a servant of my spirit and both body and spirit servants of Jesus that doing all things for thy glory here I may be partaker of thy glory hereafter through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Ad Sect. 3. A Prayer meditating and referring to the Divine presence ¶ This Prayer is specially to be used in temptation to private sins O Almighty God infinite and eternal thou fillest all things with my presence thou art every where by thy essence and by thy power in heaven by Glory in holy places by thy grace and favour in the hearts of thy servants by thy Spirit in the consciences of all men by thy testimony and observation of us Teach me to walk alwaies as in thy presence to fear thy Majestie to reverence thy wisdom and omniscience that I may never dare to commit any undecency in the eye of my Lord and my Judge but that I may with so much care and reverence demean my self that my Judge may not be my accuser but my advocate that I expressing the belief of thy presence here by careful walking may feel the effects of it in the participation of eternal glory through Jesus Christ. Amen CHAP. II. Of Christian Sobriety Sect. I. Of sobriety in the general sense CHristian Religion in all its moral parts is nothing else but the Law of Nature and great Reason complying with the great necessities of all the world and promoting the great profit of all relations and carrying us through all accidents of variety of chances to that end which God hath from eternal ages purposed for all that live according to it and which he hath revealed in Jesus Christ and according to the Apostles Arithmetick hath but these three
and violence but easiness and softness and smooth temptations creep in and like the Sun make a maiden lay by her vail and robe which persecution like the Northern winde made her hold fast and clap close about her 6. He that will secure his chastity must first cure his pride and his rage For oftentimes lust is the punishment of a proud man to tame the vanity of his pride by the shame and affronts of unchastity and the same intemperate heat that makes anger does enkindle lust nunâ— quid ego à te Magno pâ—ugnatant dâ—poseâ— conside Vâ—â—â— a su◠〈◊〉 mea cum confeâ—bâ—â—â— iâ—a Hoâ—at seâ—m l. Sat 2. 7. If thou beest assaulted with an unclean Spirit trust not thy â—elfe alone but run forth into company whose reverence and modesty may suppresse or whose society may divert thy thoughts and a perpetual witness of thy conversation is of especiall use against this vice which evaporates in the open air like Camphire being impatient of light and wiitnesses 8. Use frequent and earnest-prayer to the King of Purities the first of Virgins the eternal GOD who is of an essential purity that he would be pleased to reprove and cast out the unclean Spirit For besides the blessings of prayer by way of reward it hath a naturall virtue to restrain this vice because a prayer against it is an unwillingness to act it and so long as we heartily pray against it our desires are secured and then this Devil hath no power This was Saint Pauls other remedy For this cause I besought the Lord thrice And there is much reason and much advantage in the use of this instrument because the main thing that in this affair is to be secured is a mans minde He that goes about to cure lust by bodily exercises alone as Saint Pauls phrase is or mortifications Mens impudicam fâ—ceâ—â— non corpus sâ—leâ— shall finde them sometimes instrumental to it and incitations of sudden desires but alwaies insufficient and of little profit but he that hath a chaste minde shall finde his body apt enough to take laws and let it doe its worst it cannot make a sinne and in its greatest violence can but produce a little natural uneasiness not so much trouble as a severe fasting day or a hard nights lodging upon boords If a man be hungry he must eat and if he be thirsty he must drink in some convenient time or else â—e dies but if the body be rebellions so the minde be chaste let it doe its worst if you resolve perfectly not to satisfie it you can receive no great evil by it Therefore the proper cure is by applications to the Spirit and securities of the minde which can no way so well be secured as by frequent and servent prayers and sober resolutions and severe discourses Therefore 9. Hither bring in succor from consideration of the Divine presence and of his holy Angels meditation of Death and the passions of CHRIST upon the Crosse imitation of his purities and of the Virgin Mary his unspotted and holy Mother and of such eminent Saints who in their generations were burning and shining lights unmingled with such uncleannesses which defile the soul and who now follow the Lamb whithersoevâ—r he goes Danda est opera ut matrimonio deviâ—ciantur quod est tutissimum juâ—entutis vinculum Plut de educ lib. 10. These remedies are of universal efficacy in all cases extraordinary and violent but in ordinary and common the remedy which GOD hath provided that is Honourable marriage hath a natural efficacy besides a virtue by Divine blessing to cure the inconveniences which otherwise might afflict persons temperate and sober SECT IV. Of Humility HUmility is the great Ornament Jewel of Christian Religion that whereby it is distinguished from all the wisdome of the world it not having been taught by the wise men of the Gentiles but first put into a discipline and made part of a religion by our Lord Jesus Christ who propounded himself imitable by his Disciples so signally in nothing as in the twinne sisters of Meekness and Humility Learn of me for I am meek and humble and ye shall finde rest unto your souls For all the World all that we are and all that we have our bodies and our souls our actions and our sufferings our conditions at home our accidents abroad our many sins and our seldome virtues are as so many arguments to make our souls dwell low in the deep valleys of Humility Arguments against Pride by way of Consideration 1. Our Body is weak and impure sending out more uncleannesses from its several sinks then could be endured if they were not necessary and natural and we are forced to passe that through our mouths which as soon as we see upon the ground we loathe like rottenness and vomiting 2. Our strength is inferiour to that of many Beasts and our infirmities so many that we are forced to dresse and tend Horses and Asses that they may help our needs and relieve our wants 3. Our beauty is in colour inferiour to many flowers and in proportion of parts it is better then nothing For even a Dog hath parts as well proportioned and fitted to his purposes and the designs of his nature as we have and when it is most florid and gay three sits of an ague can change it into yellowness and leanness and the hollowness and wrinkles of deformity 4. Our learning is then best when it teaches most humility but to be proud of Learning is the greatest ignorance in the World For our learning is so long in getting and so very imperfect that the greatest Clerk knows not the thousand part of what he is ignorant and knows so uncertainly what he seems to know and knows no otherwise then a Fool or a Childe even what is told him or what he guesses at that except those things which concern his duty and which God hath revealed to him which also every Woman knows so farre as is necessary the most Learned Man hath nothing to be proud of unlesse this be a sufficient argument to exalt him that he uncertainly guesses at some more unnecessary things then many others who yet know all that concerns them and minde other things more necessary for the needs of life and Common-wealths 6. He that is proud of riches is a fool For if he be exalted above his Neighbours because he hath more gold how much inferiour is he to a Gold Mine How much is he to give place to a chain of Pearl or a knot of Diamonds For certainly that hath the greatest excellence from whence he derives all his gallantry and preheminence over his Neighbours 5 If a man be exalted by reason of any excellence in his soul he may please to remember that all souls are equal and their differing operations are because their instrument is in better tune their body is more healthful or better tempered which is no more praise to him then it
the particular Law to be most prudent But in this our rule is plain enough Our understanding ought to be inquisitive whether the civil constitution agree with our duty to God but we are bound to inquire no further And therefore beyond this although he who having no obligation to it as Counsellours have inquires not at all into the wisdome or reasonableness of the Law be not alwaies the wisest Man yet he is ever the best subject For when he hath given up his understanding to his Prince and Prelate provided that his duty to God be secured by a precedent search hath also with the best and with all the instruments in the world secured his obedience to Man SECT II. Of Provision or that part of Justice which is due from Superiours to Inferiours AS God hath imprinted his authority in several parts upon several estates of Men as Princes Parents Spiritual Guides so he hath also delegated and committed parts of his care and providence unto them that they may be instrumental in the conveying such blessings which God knows we need and which he intends should be the effects of Government For since GOD governs all the World as a King provides for us as a Father and is the great Guide and Conductor of our spirits as the Head of the Church and the great Shepherd and Bishop of our souls they who have portions of these dignities have also their share of the administration the summe of all which is usually signified in these two words Governing and Feeding and is particularly recited in the following rules Duties of Kings and all the Supreme power as Lawgivers 1. Princes of the people and all that have Legislative power must provide useful and good Laws for the defence of propriety for the encouragement of labour for the safeguard of their persons for determining controversies for reward of noble actions and excellent arts and rare inventions for promoting trade and enriching their people Omittenda potius praevalida adulta vitia quà m hoc adsequi ut palam fiat quibus flagiâ—us impares fâ—mus Tacit. 2. In the making Laws Princes must have regard to the publick dispositions to the affections and disaffections of the people and must not introduce a Law with publick scandal and displeasure but consider the publick benefit and the present capacity of affairs and general inclinations of mens mindes For he that enforces a Law upon a people against their first and publick apprehensions tempts them to disobedience and makes Laws to become snares and hooks to catch the people and to enrich the treasury with the spoil and tears and curses of the Communalty and to multiply their mutiny and their sin 3. Princes must provide that the Laws be duly executed for a good Law without execution is like an unperformed promise and therefore they must be severe exactors of accounts from their Delegates and Ministers of Justice 4. The severity of Laws must be tempered with dispensations pardons and remissions according as the case shall alter and new necessities be introduced or some singular accident shall happen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eâ—h 5. c. 19. in which the Law would be unreasonable or intolerable as to that particular And thus the people with their importunity prevailed against Saul in the case of Jonathan and obtained his pardon for breaking the Law which his Father made because his necessity forced him to taste honey and his breaking the Law in that case did promote that service whose promotion was intended by the Law 5. Princes must be Fathers of the people and provide such instances of gentleness ease wealth and advantages as may make mutual confidence between them and must fix their security under God in the love of the people which therefore they must with all arts of sweetness remission popularity nobleness and sincerity endeavour to secure to themselves 6. Princes must not multiply publick Oaths without great eminent and violent necessity lest the security of the King become a snare to the people and they become false when they see themselves suspected or impatient when they are violently held fast but the greater and more useful caution is upon things then upon persons and if security of Kings can be obtained otherwise it is better that Oaths should be the last refuge and when nothing else can be sufficient 7. Let not the people be tempted with arguments to disobey 〈…〉 by the imposition of great and unnecessary taxes for that lost to the son of Solomon the dominion of the ten Tribes of Israel 8. Princes must in a special manner be Guardians of Pupils and Widows not suffering their persons to be oppressed or their states imbezâ—ll'd or in any sense be exposed to the rapine of covetous persons but be provided for by just Laws and provident Judges and good Guardians ever having an ear ready open to their just complaints and a heart full of pity and one hand to support them and the other to aveng them 9. Princes must provide that the Laws may be so administred that they be truly really and ease to the people not an instrument of vexation and therefore must be careful that the shortest and most equal waies of trials be appointed fees moderated and intricacies and windings as much cut off as may be lest injured persons be forced to perish under the oppression or under the Law in the injury or in the suit Laws are like Princes the best and most beloved who are most easie of accesse Chi compra il magistrato foâ—za è â—he venda â—a gâ—ustoâ—ia 13. Places of judicature ought at no hand to be sold by pious Princes who remember themselves to be Fathers of the people For they that buy the Office will sell the act and they that at any rate will be Judges will not at an easie rate doe justice and their bribery is lesse punishable when bribery opened the door by which they entred 14. Ancient priviledges favours customs and Acts of grace indulged by former Kings to their people must not without high reason and great necessities be revoked by their successors nor forfeitures be exacted violently nor penal Laws urged rigorously nor in light cases nor Laws be multiplied without great need nor virious persons which are publickly and deservedly hated be kept in defiance of popular desires nor any thing that may unnecessarily make the yoke heavy the affection light that may increase murmures and lessen charity alwaies remembring that the interest of the Prince and the People is so infolded in a mutual embrace that they cannot be untwisted without pulling a limb off or dissolving the bands and conjunction of the whole body 12. All Princes must esteem themselves as much bound by their word by their grants Nulla lex civilâ—â— sibi soâ—â— conscientiâ—m juâ—tâ—ie sâ—ae debet sed eis a quibus obsequium expectaâ— Tertull. Apologeâ— and by their promises as the meanest of their Subjects are by the
Laws of Religion and the Common-wealth O Lord I am but an infirm man and know not how to decree certain sentences without erring in judgment but doe thou give to thy servant an understanding heart to judge this people that I may discern between good and evil Cause me to walk before thee and all the people in truth and righteousness and in sincerity of heart that I may not regard the person of the mighty nor be afraid of his terrour nor despise the person of the poor and reject his petition but that doing justice to all men I and my people may receive mercy of thee peace and plenty in our daies and mutual love duty and correspondence that there be no leading into captivity no complaining in our streets but we may see the Church in prosperity all our daies and religion established and increasing Doe thou establish the house of thy servant and bring me to a participation of the glories of thy kingdom for his sake who is my Lord and King the holy and ever blessed Saviour of the world our Redeemer Jesus Amen A Prayer to be said by Parents for their Children O Almighty and most merciful Father who hast pâ—omised children as a reward to the righteous 〈◊〉 hast given them to me as a testimony of thy mercy and an ingagement of my duty be pleased to be a Father unto them give them healthful bodies understanding souls and sanctified spirits that they may be thy servants and thy children all their daies Let a great mercy and providence lead them through the dangers and temptations and ignorances of their youth that they may never run into folly and the evils of an unbridled appetite So order the accidents of their livâ—s that by good education careful Tutors holy example innocent company prudent counsel and thy restraining grace their duty to thee may be secured in the midst of a crooked and untoward generation and if it seem good in thy eyes let me be enabled to provide conveniently for the support of their persons that they may not be destitute and miserable in my death or if thou shalt call me off from this World by a more timely summons let their portion be thy care mercy and providence over their bodies and souls and may they never live vitious lives nor die violent or untimely deaths but let them glorifie thee here with a free obedience and the duties of a whole life that when they have served thee in their generations and have profited the Christian Common-wealth they may be coheirs with Jesus in the glories of thy eternal Kingdom through the same our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen A prayer to be said by Masters of Families Curats Tutors or other obliged persons for their charger O Almighty God merciful and gracious have mercy upon my Family or Pupils or Parishioners c. and all committed to my charge sanctifie them with thy grace preserve them with thy providence guard them from all evil by the custody of Angels direct them in the waies of peace and holy Religion by my Ministery and the conduct of thy most holy Spirit and consigne them all with the participation of thy blessings and graces in this World with healthful bodies with good understandings and sanctified spirits to a full fruition of thy glories hereafter through Jesus Christ our Lord. A Prayer to be said by Merchants Tradesmen and Handicrafts men O Eternal God thou Fountain of justice mercy and benediction who by my education and other effects of thy Providence hast called me to this profession that by my industry I may in my small proportion work together for the good of my self and others I humbly beg thy grace to guâ—de me in my intention and in the transaction of my affairs that I may be diligent just and faithful and give me thy favour that this my labour may be accepted by thee as a part of my necessary duty and give me thy blessing to assist and prosper me in my Calling to such measures as thou shalt in mercy choose for me and be pleased to let thy holy Spirit be for ever present with me that I may never be given to covetousness and sordid appetites to lying and falshood or any other base indirect and beggerly arts but give me prudence honesty and Christian sinceâ—ity that my trade may be sanctified by my Religion my labour by my intention and thy blessing that when I have done my portion of work thou hast â—llotted me and improved the talent thou hast instrusted to me and served the Common-wealth in my capacity I may receive the mighty price of my high calling which I expect and beg in the portion and inheritance of the ever blessed Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Amen A Prayer to be said by Debtors and all persons obliged whether by crime or contract O Almighty God who art rich unto all the treasurie and fountain of all good of all justice and all mercy and all bounty to whom we owe all that we are and all that we have being thy Debtors by reason of our sins and by thy own gracious contract made with us in Jesus Christ teach me in the first place to perform all my Obligations to thee both of duty and thankfulness and next enable me to pay my duty to all my friends and my debts to all my Creditors that none be made miserable or lessened in his estate by his kindness to me or traffick with me Forgive me all those sins and irregular actions by which I entred into debt further then my necessity required or by which such necessity was brought upon me but let not them suffer by occasion of my sin Lord reward all their kindness into their bosoms make them recompense where I cannot and make me very willing in all that I can and able for all that I am obliged to or if it seem good in thine eyes to afflict me by the continuance of this condition yet make it up by some means to them that the prayer of thy servant may obtain of thee at least to pay my debt in blessings Amen V. LOrd sanctifie and forgive all that I have tempted to evil by my discourse or my example instruct them in the right way whom I have led to errour and let me never run further on the score of sin but doe thou blot out all the evils I have done by the spunge of thy passion and the blood of thy Crosse and give me a deep and an excellent repentance and a free and a gracious pardon that thou may est answer for me O Lord and enable me to stand upright in judgment for in thee O Lord have I trusted let me never be confounded Pity me and instruct me guide me and support me pardon me and save me for my sweet Saviour Jesus Christ his sake Amen A Prayer for Patron and Benefactors O Almighty GOD thou Fountain of all good of all excellâ—ncy both to Men and Aâ—gels exâ—end thine abundant favour and
loving kindness to my Patron to all my friends and Benefactors Reward them and make them plentiful recompense for all the good which from tâ—y merciful providence they have conveyed unto me Let the light of thy countenance shine upon them and let them never come into any affliction or sadness but such as may be an instrument of thy 〈◊〉 their eternal comfort Forgive them all 〈◊〉 sins let thy Divined Spirit preserve them from all deeds of Darkness Let thy ministring Angels guard their persons from the violence of â—hy spirits of Darkness And thou wâ—o knowest every degree of their necessity by thy infinite wisdom give supply to all tâ—eiâ— needs by â—he glorious mercy preserving 〈◊〉 persons sanctifying their hearts and leading them in the waies of righteousness by the waters of comfort to the land of etâ—râ—al â—eâ—t and glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen CHAP. IV. Of Christian Religion REligion â—n a large sense doth signifie the whole duty of Man comprehending in it Justice Charity and Sobriety because all these being commanded by God they become a part of that honour and worship which we are bound to pay to him And thus the word is used in S. James Pure Religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this Iam. 1.27 To visit the fatherlesse and Widows in their â—ffliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world But in a more restrained sense it is taken for that part of duty which particularly relates to God in our worshippings and adoration of him in confessing his excellencies loving his person admitting his goodness believing his Word and doing all that which may in a proper and direct manner doe him honour It contains the duties of the first Table only and so it is called Godliness Tit. 2.12 and is by S. Paul distinguished from Justice and Sobriety In this sense I am now to explicate the parts of it Of the internal actions of Religion Those I call the internal actions of Religion in which the soul only is imployed and ministers to God in the special actions of Faith Hope and Charity Faith believes the revâ—lations of God Hope expects his promises and Charity loves his excellencies and mercies Faith gives our understanding to God Hope gives up all the passions and affections to Heaven and heavenly things and Charity gives the will to the service of God Faith is opposed to infidelity Hope to Despair Charity to Enmity and Hostility and these three sanctifie the whole Man and make our duty to God and obedience to his Commandments to be chosen reasonable and delightful and therefore to be intire persevering and universal SECT IV. Of Faith The Acts and Offices of Faith are 1. TO believe every thing which God hath revealed to us Demus Deie aliquâ—d posse quod noâ— fateamuâ— investâ—gare noâ— possâ— S. Aug. l. 21. c 7. de Civitat and when once we are convinced that God hath spoken it to make no further enquiry but humbly to submit ever remembring that there are some things which ouâ— understanding cannot fathom nor search out their depth 2. To believe nothing concerning God but what is honourable and excellent as knowing that belief to be no honouring of God which entertains of him any dishonourable thoughts Faith is the parent of Charity and whatsoever Faith entertains must be apt to produce love to God but he that believes God to be cruel or unmerciful or a rejoicer in the unavoidable damnation of the greatest part of mankinde or that he speaks one thing and privately means another thinks evil thoughts concerning God and such as for which we should hate a man and therefore are great enemies of Faith being apt to destroy Charity Our Faith concerning God must be as himself hath revealed and described his own excellencies and in our discourses we must remove from him all imperfection and attribute to him all excellence 3. To give our selves wholly up to Christ in heart and desire to become Disciples of his doctrine with choice besides conviction being in the presence of God but as Ideots that is without any principles of our own to hinder the truth of God but sucking in greedily all that God hath taught us believing it infinitely and loving to believe it For this is an act of Love reflected upon Faith or an act of Faith leaning upon Love 4. To believe all Gods promises and that whatsoever is promised in Scripture shall on Gods part be as surely performed as if we had it in possession This act makes us to relie upon God with the same confidence as we did on our Parents when we were children when we made no doubt but whatsoever we needed we should have it if it were in their power 5. To believe also the conditions of the promise or that part of the revelation which concerns our duty Many are apt to believe the Article of remission of sins but they believe it without the condition of repentance of the fruits of holy life and that is to believe the Article otherwise then God intended it For the Covenant of the Gospel is the great object of Faith and that supposes our duty to answer his grace that God will be our God so long as we are his people The other is not Faith but Flattery 6. To professe publickly the doctrine of Jesus Christ openly owning whatsoever he hath revealed and commanded not being ashamed of the Word of God or of any practices enjoyned by it and this without complying with any mans interest not regarding favour nor being moved with good words not fearing disgrace or losse or inconvenience or death it self 7. To pray without doubting without weariness without faintness entertaining no jealousies or suspicions of God but being confident of Gods hearing us and of his returns to us whatsoever the manner or the instance be that if we doe our duty it will be gracious and merciful These acts of Faith are in several degrees in the servants of Jesus some have it but as a grain of mustard-seed some grow up to a plant some have the fulness of faith but the least faith that is must be a perswasion so strong as to make us undertake the doing of all that duty which Christ built upon the foundation of believing but we shall best discern the truth of our faith by these following signes S. Hierome reckons three Dâ—aâ—â— adver Lucif Signes of true Faith 1. An earnest and vehement prayer for it is impossible we should heartily believe the things of God and the glories of the Gospel and not most importunately desire them For every thing is desired according to our belief of its excellency and possibility 2. To doe nothing for vain-glory but wholly for the interests of religion and these Articles we believe valuing not at all the rumours of men but the praise of God to whom by faith we have given up all our intellectual faculties 3. To be content with God for our Judge for
our Patron for our Lord for our friend desiring God to be all in all to us as we are in our understanding and affections wholly his Adde to these 4. To be a stranger upon earth in our affections and to have all our thoughts and principal desires fixed upon the matters of Faith the things of Heaven For if a man were adopted heir to Caesar he would if he believed it real and effective despise the present and wholly be at court in his Fathers eye and his desires would outrun his swiftest speed and all his thoughts would spend themselves in creating Idea's and little phantastick images of his future condition Now God hath made us Heirs of his Kingdome and Coheirs with Jesus if we believed this we would think and affect and study accordingly But he that rejoices in gain and his â—eart dwels in the world and is espoused to a fair estate and transported with a light momentany joy and is afflicted with losses and amazed with temporal persequutions and esteems disgrace or poverty in a good cause to be intolerable this man either hath no inheritance in Heaven or believes none and believes not that he is adopted to be the Son of God the Heir of eternal Glory 5. S James's signe is the best Shew me thy faith by thy works Faith makes 〈◊〉 Merchant diligent and venturous and that makes him rich Ferdinando of Arâ—agon believed the story told him by Columbus and therefore he furnished him with ships and got the west Indies by his Faith in the undertaker But Henry the seventh of England believed him not and therefore trusted him not with shipping and lost all the purchase of that Faith It is told us by Christ He that forgives shall be forgiven if we believe this it is certain we shall forgive our enemies for none of us all but need and desire to be forgiven No man can possibly despise or refâ—se to desire such excellent glories as are revealed to them that are servants of Christ and yet we doe nothing that is commanded us as a condition to obtain them No man could work a daies labour without â—aith but because he believes he shall have his wages at the daies or weeks end he does his duty But he only believes who does that thing which other men in the like cases doe when they doe believe He that believes money gotten with danger is better then poverty with safety will venture for it in unknown lands or seas and so will he that believes it better to get Heaven with labour then to go to Hell with pleasure 6. He that believes does not make haste but waits patiently till the times of refreshment come and dares trust God for the morrow and is no more sâ—llicitous for next year then he is for that which is past and it is certain that man wants faith who dares be more confident of being supplied when he hath money in his purse then when he hath it only in bils of exchange from God or that relies more upon his own industry then upon Gods providence when his own industry fails him If you dare trust to God when the case to humane reason seems impossible and trust to God then also out of choice not because you have nothing else to trust to but because he is the only support of a just confidence then you give a good testimony of your faith 7. True Faith is confident and will venture all the world upon the strength of its perswasion Will you lay your life on it your estaâ—e your reputation that the doctrine of JESUS CHRIST is true in every Article Then you have true Faith But he tâ—aâ— fears men more then God believes men more then he believes in God 8. Faith if it be true living and justifying cannot be separated from a good life it wâ—â—ks miracles makes a drunkard become sober a lascivious person becâ—me chaste a covetous man become liberal it overcomes the world it works righteousness and makes us diligently to doe 2 Cor. 13 5. â—om 8 10. and cheerfully to suffer whatsoever God hath placed in our way to Heaven The Means and Instruments to obtain Faith are 1. An humble willing and docible minde or desire tâ— be instructed in the way of God for perswasion enters like a sun-beam gently and without violence and open but the window and draw the curtain and the Sun of righteousness will enlighten your darkness 2. Remove all prejudice and love to every thing which may be contradicted by Faith How can ye believe said Christ that receive praise one of another An unchaâ—te man cannot easily be brought to believe that without purity he shall never see God He that loves riches can hardly believe the doctrine of poverty renunciation of the world and alms Martyrdom and the doctrine of the cross is folly to him that loves his ease and pleasures He that hath within him any principle contrary to the doctrines of Faith cannot easily become a Disciple 3. Prayer which is instrumental to every thing hath a particular promise in this thing He that lacks wisdome let him ask it of God and if you give good things to your children how much more shall your Heavenly Father give his Spirit to them that ask him 4. The consideration of the Divine omnipotence and infinite wisdom and our own ignorance are great instruments of curing all doubting and silencing the murmures of infidelity 5. Avoid all curiosity of inquiry into particulars In rebus miris summa â—â—dendi ratio est omnipotentia creatoâ—is S. Aug. and circumstances and mysteâ—iâ—s for true faith is full 〈◊〉 ingâ—nuity and â—eâ—rty simplicity free from suspicion wise and confident trusting upon generals without watching and pryâ—ng into unnecessary or undiâ—cernible particulars No Man carries his bed into his fiâ—ld to watch how his corn grows but believes upon the general order of Providence and Nature and at Harvest findes himself not deceived 6. In time of temptation be not busie to dispute but relic upon the conclusion and throw your self upon God and contend nor with him but in prayer and in the presence and with the help of a prudent untempted guide and be sure to esteem all changes of belief which offer themselves in the time of your greatest weakness contrary to the perswasions of your best understanding to be temptations and reject them accordingly 7. It is a prudent course that in our health and best advantages we lay up particular arguments and instruments of perswasion and confidence to be brought forth and used in the great day of expence and that especially in such things in which we use to be most tempted and in which we are least confident and which are most necessary and which commonly the Devil uses to assault us withall in the daies of our visitation 8. The wisdom of the Church of God is very remarkable in appointing Festivals or Holidaies whose solemnity and Offices have no other special business but to
For although the coâ—jâ—ctâ—â—â—â— and expectations of Hope are not like the conclusions of Faith yet they are a Helmet against the scorchings of Despair in temporal things and an anchor of the soul sure and stedfast against the fluctuations of the Spirit in matters of the soul. S. Bernard reckons divers principles of Hope by enumerating the instances of the Divine Mercy and we may by them reduce this rule to practise in the following manner 1. GOD hath preserved me from many sins his mercies are infinite I hope he will still preserve me from more and for ever * 2. I have sinned and GOD smote me not his mercies are still over the penitent I hope he will deliver me from all the evils I have deserved He hath forgiven me many sins of malice and therefore surely he will pity my infirmities * 3. God visited my heart and changed it he loves the work of his own hands and so my heart is now become I hope he will love this tâ—o * 4. When I repented he received me graciously and therefore I Hope if I doe my endevour he will totally forgive me * 5. He helped my slow and beginning endevours and therefore I hope he will lead me to perfection * 6. When he had given me something first then he gave me more I hope therefore he will keep me from falling and give me the grace of perseverance * 7. He hath chosen me to be a Disciple of Christs institution he hath elected me to his Kingdom of grace and therefore I hope also to the Kingdom of his glory * 8. He died for me when I was his enemy and therefore I hope he will save me when he hath reconciled me to him and is become my friend * 9. God hath given us his Son how should not he with him give us all things else All these S. Bernard reduces to these three Heads as the instruments of all our hopes 1. The charity of GOD adopting us 2. The truth of his promises 3. The power of his performance which if any truly weighs no infirmity or accident can breake his â—â—pes into undiscernible fragments but some good plâ—â—ks will remain after the greatest storm and shipwrack This was Saint Pauls instrument Experience begets hope and hope maketh not ashamed 10. Doe thou take care only of thy duty of the means and proper instruments of thy purpose and leave the end to GOD lay that up with him and he will take care of all that is intrusted to him and this being an act of confidence in God is also a means of security to thee 11. By special arts of spiritual prudence arguments secure the confident belief of the Resurrection and thou canst not but hope for every thing the which you may reasonably expect or lawfully desire upon the stock of the Divine mercies and promises 12. If â— despair seises you in a particular temporal instance let it not defile thy spirit with impute mixture or mingle in spiritual considerations but rather let it make thee fortifie thy soul in matters of Religion that by being thrown out of your Earthly dwelling and confidence you may retire into the strengths of grace and hope the more strongly in that by how much you are the more defeated in this that despair of a fortune or a success may become the necessity of all virtue SECT III. Of Charity or the love of God LOve is the greatest thing that God can give us for himself is love and it is the greatest thing we can give to God for it will also give our selves and carry with it all that is ours The Apostle calls it the band of perfection it is the Old and it is the New and it is the great Commandement and it is all the Commandements for it is the fulfilling of the Law It does the work of all other graces without any instrument but its own immediate virtue For is the love to sin makes a Man sin against all his own reason and all the discourses of wisdom and all the advices of his friends and without temptation and without opportunity so does the love of God it makes a man chaste without the laborious arts of fasting and exteriour disciplines temperate in the midst of feasts and is active enough to choose it without any intermedial appetites and reaches at Glory through the very heart of Grace without any other arms but those of Love It is a grace that loves God for himself and our Neighbours for God The consideration of Gods goodness and bounty the experience of those profitable and excellent emanations from him may be and most commonly are the first motive of our love but when we are once entred and have tasted the goodness of God we love the spring for its own excellency passing from passion to reason from thanking to adoring from sense to spirit from considering our selves to an union with God and this is the image and little representation of Heaven it is beatitude in picture or rather the infancy and beginnings of glory We need no incentives by way of special enumeration to move us to the love of God for we cannot love any thing for any reason reall or imaginary but that excellence is infinitely more eminent in God There can but two things create love Perfection and Usefulness to which answer on our part 1. admiration and 2. Desire and both these are centred in love For the entertainment of the first there is in God an infinite nature immensity or vastness without extension or limit Immutability Eternity Omnipotence Omniscience Holiness Dominion Providence Bounty Mercy Justice Perfection in himself and the end to which all things and all actions must be directed and will at last arrive The consideration of which may be heightned if we consider our distance from all these glories Our smallness and limited nature our nothing our inconstancy our age like a span our weakness and ignorance our poverty our inadvertency and inconsideration our disabilities and disaffections to doe good our harsh natures and unmerciful inclinations our universal iniquity and our necessities and dependencies not only on God originally and essentially but even our need of the meanest of Gods creatures and our being obnoxious to the weakest and the most contemptible But for the entertainment of the second we may consider that in him is a torrent of pleasure for the voluptuous he is the fountain of honour for the ambitious an inexhaustible treasure for the covetous our vices are in love with phantastick pleasures and images of perfection which are truly and really to be found no where but in God And therefore our virtues have such proper objects that it is but reasonable they should all turn into love for certain it is that this love will turn all into virtue S. Aug l. 2. Confes. â— 6 For in the scrutinies for righteousness and judgment when it is inquired whether such a person be a good man or no the meaning is not
edification of thy spirit in the waies of holy living and esteem that time well accounted for that is prudently and affectionately imployed in hearing or reading good books and pious discourses ever remembring that God by hearing us speak to him in prayer obliges us to hear him speak to us in his word by what instrument soever it be conveyed SECT V. Of Fasting FAsting if it be considered in it self without relation to spiritual ends is a duty no where enjoyned or counselled But Christianity hath to doe with it as it may be made an instrument of the Spirit by subduing the lusts of the flesh or removing any hindrances of religion And it hath been practised by all ages of the Church and advised in order to three ministeries 1. To Prayer 2. To Mortification of bodily lusts 3. To Repentance and is to be practised according to the following measures Rules for Christian Fasting 1. Fasting in order to prayer is to be measured by the proportions of the times of prayer that is it ought to be a totall fast from all things during the solemnity unlesse a probable necessity intervene Thus the Jews eat nothing upon the Sabbath-daies till their great offices were performed that is about the sixth hour and S. Peter used it as an argument that the Apostles in Pentecost were not drunk because it was but the third hour of the day of such a day in which it was not lawful to eat or drink till the sixth hour and the Jews were offended at the Disciples for plucking the ears of corn upon the Sabbath early in the morning because it was before the time in which by their customs they esteemed it lawfull to break their fast In imitation of this custom and in prosecution of the reason of it the Christian Church hath religiously observed fasting before the holy Communion and the more devout persons though without any obligation at all refused to eat or drink till they had finished their morning devotions and further yet upon daies of publick humiliation which are designed to be spent wholly in Devotion and for the averting Gods judgments if they were imminent fasting is commanded together with prayer commanded I say by the Church to this end that the Spirit might be clearer and more Angelical when it is quitted in some proportions from the loads of flesh 2. Fasting when it is in order to Prayer must be a total abstinence from all meat or else an abatement of the quantity for the help which fasting does to prayer cannot be served by changing flesh into flesh or milk-meats into dry diet but by turning much into little or little into none at all during the time of solemn and extraordinary prayer 3. Fasting as it is instrumental to Prayer must be attended with other aids of the like virtue and efficacy such as are removing for the time all worldly care and secular businesses and therefore our blessed Saviour enfolds these parts within the same caution Take heed lest your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and the cares of this world and that day overtake you unawares To which add alms Jeâ—unium sine eleemâ—syna lampas sine oleo S. August for upon the wings of fasting and alms holy prayer infallibly mounts up to Heaven 4. When Fasting is intended to serve the duty of Repentance it is then best chosen when it is short sharp and afflictive that is either a total abstinence from all nourishment according as we shall appoint or be appointed during such a time as is separate for the solemnity and attendance upon the imployment or if we shall extend our feverity beyond the solemn daies and keep our anger against our sin as we are to keep our sorrow that is alwaies in a readiness and often to be called upon then to refuse a pleasant morsel to abstain from the bread of our desires and only to take wholsome and lesse pleasing nourishment vexing our appetite by the refusing a lawful satisfaction since in its petulancy and luxury it preyed upon an unlawfull 5. Fasting designed for repentance must be ever joyned with an extreme care that we fast from sin for there is no greater folly or undecency in the world then to commit that for which I am now judging and condemning my self This is the best fast and the other may serve to promote the interest of this by increasing the disaffection to it and multiplying arguments against it 6. He that fasts for repentance must during that solemnity abstain from all bodily delights and the sensuality of all his senses and his appetites for a man must not when he mourns in his fast be merry in his sport weep at dinner and laugh all day after haue a silence in his kitchin and musick in his chamber judge the stomack and feast the other senses I deny not but a man may in a single instance punish a particular sin with a proper instrument If a man have offended in his palate he may choose to fast only if he have sinned in soâ—tness and in his touch he may choose to lie hard or work hard and use sharp inflictions but although this Discipline be proper and particular yet because the sorrow is of the whole man no sense must rejoice or be with any study or purpose feasted and entertained softly This rule is intended to relate to the solemn daies appointed for repentance publickly or privately besides which in the whole course of our life even in the midst of our most festival and freer joyes we may sprincle some single instances and acts of self-condemning or punishing as to refuse a pleasant morsel or a delicious draught with a tacit remembrance of the sin that now returns to displease my spirit and though these actions be single there is no undecency in them because a man may abate of his ordinary liberty and bold freedom with great prudence so he does it without singularity in himself or trouble to others but he may not abate of his solemn sorrow that may be caution but this would be softness effeminacy and undecency 7. When fasting is an act of mortification that is is intended to subdue a bodily lust as the spirit of fornication or the fondness of strong and impatient appetites it must not be a sudden sharp and violent fast but a state of fasting a dyet of fasting a daily lessening our portion of meat and drink and a choosing such a course dyet which may make the least preparation for the lusts of the body He that fasts three daies without food Digiuna assat chi mal mangia will weaken other parts more then the ministers of fornication and when the meals return as usually they also will be served assoon as any In the mean time they will be supplied and made active by the accidental heat that comes with such violent fastings for this is a kind of aerial Devil the Prince that rules in the air is the Devil of fornication and he
helped by the following rules or instruments Remedies against unmercifulnesse and uncharitablenesse 1. Against Envy by way of consideration Against Envy I shall use the same argument I would use to perswade a man from the Fever or the dropsie 1. Because it is a disease it is so far from having pleasure in it or a temptation to it that it is full of pain a great instrument of vexation it eats the flesh and dâ—â—es up the marrow and makes hollow eyes and lean cheeks and a paleface 2. It is nothing but a direct resolution never to enter into Heaven by the way of noble pleasure taken in the good of others 3. It is most contrary to God 4. And a just contrary state to the felicities and actions of Heaven where every star increases the light of the other and the multitude of guests at the supper of the Lamb makes the eternal meal more festival 5. It is perfectly the state of Hell and the passion of Devils for they do nothing but despâ—ire in themselves * Nemâ— alienâ—e vt â—â—ti mâ—â—dâ—t qui satâ—â— câ—nfidit suae Câ—c coâ—tâ—a M. Anth. and envy others quiet or safety and yet cannot rejoyce either in their good or in their evil although they endeavour to hinder that and procure this with all the devices and arts of malice and of a great understanding 6. Envy can serve no end in the world it cannot please any thing nor do any thing nor hinder any thing but the content and felicity of him that hath it 7. Envy can never pretend to justice as hatred and uncharitablenesse sometimes may for there may be causes of hatred and I may have wrong done me and then hatred hath some pretence though no just argument But no man is unjust or injurious for being prosperous or wise 8. And therefore many men professe to hate another but no man owns envy as being an enmity and displeasure for no cause but goodnesse or felilicity Hemerus Thersitis mâ—les mores descrilens malitiae summam apposuit Pâ—lidae impâ—intis eâ—at atque immicus Vâ—ysâ—i Envious men being like Cantharides and Caterpillars that delight most to devour ripe most excellent fruits 9. It is of all crimes the basest for malice and anger are appeased with benefits but envy is exasperated as envying too fortunate persons both their power and their will to doe good and never leaves murmuring till the envied person be levelled and then only the Vultur leaves to eat the liver for if his Neighbour be made miserable the envious man is apt to be troubled like him that is so long unbuilding the turrets till all the roof is low or flat or that the stones fall upon the lower buildings and doe a mischief that the man repents of 2. Remedies against anger by way of exercise The next enemy to mercifulness and the grace of Almes is anger against which there are proper instruments both in prudence and religion 1. Prayer is the great remedy against anger for it must suppose it in some degree removed before we pray and then it is the more likely it will be finished when the prayer is done We must lay aside the act of anger as a preparatory to prayer and the curing the habit will be the effect and blessing of prayer so that if a man to cure his anger resolves to addresse himself to God by prayer it is first necessary that by his own observation and diligence he lay the anger aside before his prayer can be fit to be presented and when we so pray so endevour we have all the blessings of prayer which God hath promised to it to be our security for successe 2. If Anger arises in thy breast instantly seal up thy lips Ira cùm pectus rapidâ— occâ—pit it Fuâ—iles linguae juâ—eo cavere Vana latratus jaculantit Sapplâ—o Tuâ—batus sum non sum lâ—cutus Psal 7â— and let it not go forth for like fire when it wants vent it will suppresse it self It is good in a fever to have a tender and a smooth tongue but it is better that it be so in anger for if it be tough and distempered there it is an ill sign but here it is an ill cause Angry passion is a fire and angry words are like breath to fan them together they are like steel and flint sending out fire by mutuall collision some men will discourse themselves into passion and if their neighbour be enkindled too together they flame with rage and violence 3. Humility is the most excellent naturall cure for anger in the world for he that by daily considering his own infirmites and failings makes the errour of his neighbour or servant to be his own case and remembers that he daily needs Gods pardon and his brothers charity will not be apt to rage at the levities or misfortunes or indiscretions of another greater then which he considers that he is very frequently and more inexcusably guilty of 4 Consider the example of the ever blessed Jesus who suffered all the contradictions of sinners and received all affronts and reproaches of malicious rash and foolish persons and yet in all them was as dispassionate and gentle as the morning Sun in Autumn and in this also he propounded himself imitable by us For if innocence it self did suffer so great injuries and disgraces it is no great matter for us quietly to receive all the calamities of fortune and indiscretion of servants and mistakes of friends and unkindnesses of kindred and rudenesses of enemies since we have deserved those and worse even Hell it self 5. If we be tempted to anger in the actions of Government and Discipline to our inferiours in which case anger is permitted so far as it is prudently instrumentall to Government and onely is a sin when it is excessive and unreasonable and apt to disturbe our own discourse or to expresse it self in imprudent words or violent actions let us propound to our selves the example of God the Father who at the same time and with the same tranquillity decreed Heaven Hell the joyes of blessed Angels and souls and the torments of devils and accursed spirits and at the day of judgment when all the World shall burn under his feet God shall not be at all inflam'd or shaken in his essential seat and centre of tranquillity and joy And if at first the cause seems reasonable yet defer to execute thy anger till thou mayest better judge For as Phocion told the Athenians who upon the first news of the death of Alexander were ready to revolt Stay a while for if the King be not dead your haste will ruine you but if he be dead your stay cannot prejudice your affairs for he wil be dead to morrow as well as to day so if thy servant or inferiour deserve punishment staying till to morrow will not make him innocent but it may possibly preserve thee so by preventing thy striking a guiltlesse person or being furious
Holy and Eternal Jesus who hast begotten us by thy word renewed us by thy Spirit fed us by thy Sacraments and by the daily ministery of thy word still go on to build us up to life eternall Let thy most holy Spirit be present with me and rest upon me in the reading or hearing thy sacred word that I may do it humbly reverently without prejudice with a minde ready and desirous to learn and to obey that I may be readily furnished and instructed to every good work and may practise all thy holy laws and commandments to the glory of thy holy name O holy and eternall Jesus Amen Ad Act. 5.9.10 A form of confession of sins and repentance to be used upon fasting dayes or dayes of humiliation especially in Lent and before the Holy Sacrament HAve mercy upon me O God after thy great goodness according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences For I will confess my wickedness be sorry for my sin * O my dearest Lord I am not worthy to be accounted amongst the meanest of thy servants not worthy to be sustained by the least fragments of thy mercy but to be shut out of thy presence for ever with dogs and unbelievers But for thy names sake O Lord be mercifull unto my sin for it is great I am the vilest of sinners and the worst of men proud and vain-glorious impatient of scorn or of just reproof not enduring to be slighted and yet extremely deserving it I have been cousened by the colours of humility and when I have truly called my self vitious I could not endure any man else should say or think so I have been disobedient to my superiours churlish and ungentle in my behaviour unchristian and unmanly But for thy names sake c. O Just and dear God how can I expect pity or pardon who am so angry peevish with and without cause envious at good rejoycing in the evil of my neighbours negligent of my charge idle and useless timerous and base jealous and impudent ambitious and hard-hearted soft unmortified and effeminate in my life indevout in my prayers without fancie or affection without attendance to them or perseverance in them but passionate and curious in pleasing my appetite of meat and drink and pleasures making matter both for sin and sickness and I have reaped the cursed fruits of such improvidence entertaining undecent and impure thoughts and I have brought them forth in undecent and impure actions and the spirit of uncleanness hath entered in and unhallowed the temple which thou didst consecrate for the habitation of thy Spirit of love and holiness But for thy names sake O Lord be mercifull unto my sin for it is great Thou hast given me a whole life to serve thee in and to advance my hopes of heaven and this precious time I have thrown away upon my sins and vanities being improvident of my time and of my talent and of thy grace and my own advantages resisting thy Spirit and quenching him I have been a great lover of my self and yet used many wayes to destroy my self I have pursued my temporall ends with greediness and indirect means I am revengfull and unthankfull forgetting benefits but not so soon forgetting injuries curious and murmuring a great breaker of promises I have not loved my neighbours good nor advanced it in all things where I could I have been unlike thee in all things I am unmercifull and unjust a sottish admirer of things below and careless of heaven and the wayes that lead thither But for thy names sake O Lord be merciful unto my sin for it is great All my senses have been windows to let sin in and death by sin Mine eyes have been adulterous and covetous mine eares open to slander and detraction my tongue and palat loose and wanton intemperate and of foul language talkative and lying rash and malicious false and flattering irreligious and irreverent detracting and censorious My hands have been injurious and unclean my passions violent and rebellious my desires impatient and unreasonable all my members and all my faculties have been servants of sin and my very best actions have more matter of pity then of confidence being imperfect in my best and intolerable in most But for thy names sake O Lord c. Unto this and a far bigger heap of sin I have added also the faults of others to my own score by neglecting to hinder them to sin in all that I could and ought but I also have encouraged them in sin have taken off their feares and hardened their consciences and tempted them directly and prevailed in it to my own ruine and theirs unless thy glorious and unspeakable mercy hath prevented so intolerable a calamity Lord I have abused thy mercy despised thy judgments turned thy grace into wantonness I have been unthankfull for thy infinite loving kindness I have sinned and repented and then sinned again and resolved against it and presently broke it and then I tyed my self up with vows and then was tempted then I yeelded by little and little till I was willingly lost again and my vows fell off like cords of vanity Miserable man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of sin And yet O Lord I have another heap of sins to be unloaded My secrets sins O Lord are innumerable sins I noted not sins that I willingly neglected sins that I acted upon wilfull ignorance and voluntary mispersuasion sins that I have forgot and sins which a diligent and a watchful spirit might have prevented but I would not Lord I am confounded with the multitude of them and the horrour of their remembrance though I consider them nakedly in their direct appearance without the deformity of their unhandsome and aggravating circumstances but so dressed they are a sight too ugly an instance of amazement infinite in degrees and insufferable in their load And yet thou hast spared me all this while and hast not throwne me into Hell where I have deserved to have been long since and even now to have been shut up to an eternity of torments with insupportable amazement fearing the revelation of thy day Miserable man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of sin Thou shalt answer for me O Lord my God Thou that prayest for me shalt be my Judge The Prayer THou hast prepared for me a more healthfull sorrow O deny not thy servant when he begs sorrow of thee Give me a deep contrition for my sins a hearty detestation and loathing of them hating them worse then death with torments Give me grace intirely presently and for ever to forsake them to walk with care and prudence with fear and watchfulness all my dayes to doe all my duty with diligence and charity with zeal and a never fainting spirit to redeem the time to trust upon thy mercies to make use of all the instruments of grace to work out my salvation with fear and trembling that thou mayest have
the glory of pardoning all my sins and I may reap the fruit of all thy mercies and all thy graces of thy patience and long-suffering even to live a holy life here and to reign with thee for ever through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Ad Sect. 6. Special devotions to be used upon the Lords-day and the great Festvals of Christians In the Morning recite the following form of Thanksgiving upon the special Festivals adding the commēoration of the speciall blessings according to the following prayers adding such prayers as you shall choose out of the foregoing Devotions 2. Besides the ordinary publick duties of the day if you retire into your closet to read and meditate after you have performed that duty say the song of Saint Ambrose commonly called the Te Deum or We praise thee c. then adde the prayers for particular graces which are at the end of the former Chapters such and as many of them as shall fit your present needs and affections ending with the Lords prayer This form of devotion may for variety be indifferently used at other times A form of thanksgiving with a recital of publick and private blessings To be used upon Easter-day Whit-sunday Ascension day and all sundayes of the yeare but the middle part of it may be reserved for the more solemn Festivals and the other used upon the ordinary as every mans affections or leisure shall determine 1. Ex Liturgia S. Basilii magna ex parte O Eternal Essence Lord God Father Almighty maker of all things in Heaven and Earth it is a good thing to give thanks to thee O Lord and to pay to thee all reverence worship and devotion from a clean and prepared heart and with an humble spirit to present a living and reasonable sacrifice to thy holiness and Majesty for thou hast given unto us the knowledge of thy truth and who is able to declare thy greatness and to recount all thy mervellous works which thou hast done in all the generations of the world O Great Lord and Governour of all things Lord and Creator of all things visible and invisible who sittest upon the throne of thy glory and beholdest the secrets of the lowest abysse and darkness thou art without beginning uncircumscribed incomprehensible unalterable and seated for ever unmoveable in thy own essentiall happiness and tranquillity Thou art the Father of our Lord JESUS CHRIST who is Our Deerest and most Gracious Saviour our hope the wisdom of the Father the image of thy goodness the Word eternal and the brightness of thy person the power of God from eternal ages the true light that lighteneth every man that cometh into the World the Redemption of Man and the Sanctification of our Spirits By whom the holy Ghost descended upon the Church the holy Spirit of truth the seal of adoption the earnest of the inheritance of the Saints the first fruits of everlasting felicity the life-giving power the fountain of sanctification the comfort of the Church the ease of the afflicted the support of the weak the wealth of the poor the teacher of the doubtfull scrupulous and ignorant the anchor of the fearfull the infinite reward of all faithfull souls by whom all reasonable understanding creatures serve thee and send up a never-ceasing and a never-rejected sacrifice of prayer and praises and adoration All Angels and Archangels all thrones and Dominions all Principalities and Powers the Cherubims with many eyes and the Seraphims covered with wings from the terror and amazement of thy brightest glory These and all the powers of Heaven do perpetually sing praises and never-ceasing Hymns and eternall Anthems to the glory of the eternall God the Almighty Father of Men and Angels Holy is our God Holy is the Almighty Holy is the Immortal Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Sabaoth Heaven and Earth are full of the Majesty of thy glory Amen With these holy and blessed Spirits I also thy servant O thou great lover of souls though I be unworthy to offer praise to such a Majesty yet out of my bounden duty humbly offer up my heart and voice to joyn in this blessed quire and confess the glories of the Lord. * For thou art holy and of thy greatness there is no end and in thy justice and goodness thou hast measured out to us all thy works Thou madest man out of the earth and didst form him after thine own image thou didst place him in a garden of pleasure and gavest him laws of righteousness to be to him a seed of immortality O that men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodness and declare the wonders that he hath done for the children of men For when man sinned and listned to the whispers of a tempting spirit and refused to hear the voice of God thou didst throw him out from Paradise and sentest him to till the Earth but yet left not his condition without remedy but didst provide for him the salvation of a new birth and by the blood of thy Son didst redeem and pay the price to thine own justice for thine own creature lest the work of thine owne hands should perish O that men would therefore praise the Lord c. For thou O Lord in every age didst send testimonies from Heaven blessings and Prophets and fruitfull seasons and preachers of righteousness and miracles of power and mercy thou spakest by thy Prophets and saidst I will help by one that is mighty and in the fulness of time spakest to us by thy Son by whom thou didst make both the Worlds who by the word of his power sustains all things in Heaven and Earth who thought it no robery to be equall to the Father who being before all time was pleased to be born in time to converse with men to be incarnate of a holy Virgin he emptied himself of all his glories took on him the form of a servant in all things being made like unto us in a soul of passions and discourse in a body of humility and sorrow but in all things innocent and in all things afflicted and suffered death for us that we by him might live and be partakers of his nature and his glories of his body and of his Spirit of blessings of earth and of the immortal felicities in Heaven O that men would therefore praise the Lord c. For thou O holy and immortal God O sweetest Saviour Jesus wert made under the Law to condemn sin in the flesh thou who knewest no sin wert made sin for us thou gavest to us righteous Commandements and madest known to us all thy Fathers will thou didst redeem us from our vain conversation and from the vanity of Idols false principles and foolish confidences and broughtest us to the knowledge of the true and onely God and our Father and hast made us to thy self a peculiar people of thy own purchase a royall Priest-hood a holy Nation Thou hast washed our soules in the Laver of Regeneration the Sacrament of
that I also may dwell in the heart of my dearest Lord which was opened for me with a spear and love An act of contrition Lord thou shalt finde my heartfull of cares and worldly desires cheated with love of riches and neglect of holy things proud and unmortified false and crafty to deceive it self intricated and intāgled with difficult cases of conscience with knots which my own wildness and inconsideration and impatience have tied and shuffled together O my dearest Lord if thou canst behold such an impure seat behold the place to which thou art invited is full of passion and prejudice evill principles and evill habits peevish and disobedient lustfull and intemperate and full of sad remembrances that I have often provoked to jealousie and to anger thee my God my dearest Saviour him that dyed for me him that suffered torments for me that is infinitely good to me and infinitely good and perfect in himself This O dearest Saviour is a sad truth and I am heartily ashamed and truly sorrowfull for it and do deeply hate all my sins and am full of indignation against my self for so unworthy so careless so continued so great a folly and humbly beg of thee to increase my sorrow and my care and my hatred against sin and make my love to thee swell up to a great grace and then to glory and immensity An act of Faith This indeed is my condition But I know O blessed Jesus that thou didst take upon thee my nature that thou mightest suffer for my sins and thou didst suffer to deliver me from them and from thy Fathers wrath and I was delivered from this wrath that I might serve thee in holiness righteousness all my daies Lord I am sure thou didst the great work of Redemption for me and all mankinde as that I am alive This is my hope the strength of my spirit my joy and my confidence and do thou never let the spirit of unbelief enter into me and take me from this Rock Here I will dwell for I have a delight therein Here I will live and here I desire to die The Petition Therefore O blessed Jesu who art my Saviour and my God whose body is my food and thy righteousness is my robe thou art the Priest and the Sacrifice the Master of the feast and the feast it self the Physician of my soul the light of my eyes the purifier of my stains enter into my heart and cast out from thence all impurities all the remains of the Old man and grant I may partake of this holy Sacrament with much reverence and holy relish and great effect receiving hence the communication of thy holy body and blood for the establishment of an unreproveable faith of an unfained love for the fulness of wisdom for the healing my soul for the blessing and preservation of my body for the taking out the sting of temporall death and for the assurance of a holy resurrection for the ejection of all evill from within me and the fulfilling all thy righteous Commandements and to procure for me a mercy and a fair reception at the day of judgement through thy mercies O holy and ever blessed Saviour Jesus Amen Here also may be added the prayer after receiving the cup. * Ejaculations to be said before or at the receiving the holy Sacrament Like as the Hart desireth the water brooks so longeth my soul after thee O God My soul is a thirst for God yea even for the living God when shall I come before the presence of God O Lord my God great are thy wonderous works which thou hast done like as be also thy thoughts which are to us-ward and yet there is no man that ordereth them unto thee O send out thy light and thy truth that they may lead me and bring me unto thy holy hill and to thy dwelling And that I may go unto the Altar of God even unto the God of my joy and gladness and with my heart will I give thanks to thee O God my God I will wash my hands in innocency O Lord and so will I go to thine altar that I may shew the voice of thanks-giving and tell of all thy wonderous works Examine me O Lord and prove me try out my reins and my heart For thy loving kindness is now and ever before my eyes and I will walk in thy truth Thou shalt prepare a table before me against them that trouble me thou hast anointed my head with oil and my cup shall be full But thy loving loving kindness and mercy shall follow me all the dayes of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever This is the bread that cometh down from Heaven that a man may eat thereof and not die Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him and hath eternall life abiding in him and I will raise him up at the last day Lord whether shall we go but to thee thou hast the words of eternall life If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink The bread which we break is it not the communication of the body of Christ and the cup which we drink is it not the communication of the blood of Christ What are those wounds in thy hands They are those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends Zech 13.6 Immediately before the receiving say Lord I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof But do thou speak the word onely and thy servant shall be he led Lord open thou my lips and my mouth shall shew thy praise O God make speed to save me O Lord make hast to help me Come Lord Jesus come quickly After receiving the consecrated and blessed bread say O tast and see how gracious the Lord is blessed is the man that trusteth in him * The beasts do lack and suffer hunger but they which seek the Lord shall want no manner of thing that is good Lord what am I that my Saviour should become my food that the Son of God should be the meat of Worms of dust and ashes of a sinner of him that was his enemy But this thou hast done to me because thou art infinitely good wonderfully gracious and lovest to bless every one of us in turning us from the evill of our wayes Enter into me blessed Jesus let no root of bitterness spring up in my heart but be thou Lord of all my faculties O let me feed on thee by faith and grow up by the increase of God to a perfect man in Christ Jesus Amen Lord I believe help mine unbelief Glory be to God the Father Son c. After the receiving the cup of blessing It is finished Blessed be the mercies of God revealed to us in Jesus Christ. O blessed and eternall high Priest let the sacrifice of the Cross which thou didst once offer for the sins of the whole World and which thou doest now and always represent in
Baptisme Thou hast reconciled us by thy death justified us by thy Resurrection sanctified us by thy Spirit sending him upon thy Church in visible formes and giving him in powers and miracles and mighty signes and continuing this incomparable favour in gifts and sanctifying graces and promising that he shall abide with us for ever thou hast led us with thine own broken body and given drink to our soules out of thine own heart and hast ascended upon high and hast overcome all the powers of Death and Hell and redeemed us from the miseries of a sad eternity and sittest at the right hand of God making intercession for us with a never-ceasing charity O that men would therefore praise the Lord c. The grave could not hold thee long O holy eternal Jesus thy body could not see corruption neither could thy soul be left in Hel thou wert fre among the dead and thou brakest the iron gates of Death and the barrs and chains of the lower prisons Thou broughtest comfort to the souls of the Patriarchs who waited for thy coming who long'd for the redemption of Man and the revelation of thy day Abraham Isac and Jacob saw thy day and rejoyced and when thou didst arise from thy bed of darkness and leftest the grave-clothes behinde thee and put on a robe of glory over which for 40 dayes thou didst wear a veil and then entred into a cloud and then into glory then the powers of Hell were confounded then Death lost its power and was swallowed up into victory and though death is not quite destroyed yet it is made harmless and without a sting and the condition of Humane Nature is made an entrance to eternal glory and art become the Prince of life the first-fruits of the resurrection the first-born from the dead having made the way plain before our faces that we may also rise again in the Resurrection of the last day when thou shalt come again unto us to render to every man according to his works O that men would therefore praise the Lord c. O give thanks unto the Lord for he is gracious and his mercy endureth for ever O all ye angels of the Lord praise ye the Lord praise him and magnifie him for ever O ye spirits and souls of the Righteous praise ye the Lord praise him and magnifie him for ever And now O Lord God what shall I render to thy Divine Majesty for all the benefits thou hast done unto thy servant in my personall capacity Thou art my Creator and my Father my Protector and my Guardian thou hast brought me from my Mothers wombe thou hast told all my Joynts and in thy book were all my members written Thou hast given me a comely body Christian and carefull parents holy education Thou hast been my guide and my teacher all my dayes Thou hast given me ready faculties an unloosed tongue a cheerful spirit straight limbs a good reputation and liberty of person a quiet life and a tender conscience a loving wife or husband and hopefull children thou wert my hope from my youth through thee have I been holden up ever since I was born Thou hast clothed me and fed me given me friends and blessed them given me many dayes of comfort and health free from those sad infirmities with which many of thy Saints and dearest servants are afflicted Thou hast sent thy Angel to snatch me from the violence of fire and water to prevent praecipices fracture of bones to rescue me from thunder and lightning plague and pestilentiall diseases murder and robbery violence of chance and enemies and all the spirits of darkness and in the dayes of sorrow thou hast refreshed me in the destitution of provisions thou hast taken care of me and thou hast said unto me I will never leave thee nor forsake thee I will give thanks unto the Lord with my whole heart secretly among the faithfull and in the congregation Thou O my dearest Lord and Father hast taken care of my soul hast pitied my miseries sustained my infirmities relieved and instructed my ignorances and though I have broken thy righteous Laws and Commandements run passionately after vanities and was in love with Death and was dead in sin and was exposed to thousands of temptations and fell foully and continued in it and lov'd to have it so and hated to be reformed yet thou didst call me with the checks of conscience with daily Sermons and precepts of holiness with fear and shame with benefits and the admonitions of thy most holy Spirit by the counsell of my friends by the example of good persons with holy books and thousands of excellent arts and wouldest not suffer me to perish in my folly but didst force me to attend to thy gracious calling and hast put me into a state of repentance and possibilities of pardon being infinitely desirous I should live and recover and make use of thy grace and partake of thy glories I will give thanks unto the Lord with my whole heart secretly among the faithful and in the congregation For salvation belongeth unto the Lord and thy blessing is upon thy servant But as for me I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercies and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple * For of thee and in thee and through and for thee are all things Blessed be the name of God from generation to generation Amen A short Form of thanksgiving to be said upon any special deliverance as from Child-birth from Sickness from battel or imminent danger at Sea or Land c. O most mercifull and gracious God thou fountain of all mercy and blessing thou hast opened the hand of thy mercy to fill me with blessings and the sweet effects of thy loving kindness thou feedest us like a Shepherd thou governest us as a king thou bearest us in thy arms like a nurse thou dost cover us under the shadow of thy wings and shelter us like a hen thou ô Dearest Lord wakest for us as a Watchman thou providest for us like a Husband thou lovest us as a friend and thinkest on us perpetually as a carefull mother on her helpless babe and art exceeding mercifull to all that fear thee and now O Lord thou hast added this great blessing of deliverance from my late danger here name the blessing it was thy hand and the help of thy mercy that relieved me the waters of affliction had drowned me and the stream had gon over my soul if the spirit of the Lord had not moved upon these waters Thou O Lord didst revoke thy angry sentence which I had deserved and which was gone out against me Unto thee O Lord I ascribe the praise and honour of my redemption I will be glad and rejoyce in thy mercy for thou hast considered my trouble and hast known my soul in adversity As thou hast spred thy hand upon me for a covering so also enlarg my heart with thankfulness and fill my