every Communion c. to a particular confession and bewayling of them Thou maist set them downe in a paper Qu. 2. What would I desire God to doe for me if I were sure to obtaine my wish of him Thy heart will answer O that God would please to forgive my sinnes such and such O that hee would give unto me stedfast faith in the Lord Iesus the grace of Perseverance Health c. Set downe the particulars 3. Qu. What speciall favours and blessings hath God bestowed on mee from my infancie till now for which I owe him all possible thankesgiving Thy heart will make answer such and such a time hee delivered mee from danger from death c. made such a man to be my friend gave mee a husband a wife preferment c. Thus if thou signifie to God thy hatred of those sinnes want and hearty desire of those graces thankesgiving for those blessings Exercise will make this easie and Christs spirit that great master of requests will be ready to draw thy petitions for thee prompting thee with sit words and holy affections thou shalt make thy prayers unto him and hee shall heare thee and if thou seeke him hee will be found Iob 22. 27. Doe this daily it will bee no hinderance to thy worldly employments No man ever lost by serving God Meat and Mattens hinder no mans thrift Godlinesse hath the Promise for as hee rideth not furthest that goes early out on a bad horse c. or hee that is early up at his busines with blunt and dull-edged tooles but weaâ—ies himselfe and mars his worke so he prospers not best that goes about his calling before he hath seasoned his heart with holy meditations reading and prayer to God Exod. 40. 5. Thou shalt set the Altar of Gold for the Incense before the Arke of the Testimonie Exod. 30. 7. Aaron shall burne thereon sweet Incense every morning vers 8 and at Even hee shall burne incense upon it a perpetuall incense before the Lord. Levit. 16. 12. He shall take a censer full of burning coales of fire from off the Altar before the Lord and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small and bring it within the veile vers 13. And hee shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord that the cloud of the incense may cover the Mercie-seat that is upon the Testimonie Holy Incense for the the Censers of the Saints Or Selected Sentences of holy Scripture furnâ—shing with materialls and serving as Formes of Prayer according to the heads of the former Method PREPARATION LEt us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens Unto thee lift I up mine eyes O thou that dwellest in the heavens DESCRIPTIONS of GOD. O God the God of the Spirits of all flesh Thou art a God ready to pardon gracious and mercifull slow to anger and of great kindenesse O thou that hearest prayers Thou Lord that createdst the heavens and stretchedst them out that spreadest foorth the earth and that which commeth out of it that givest breath unto the people upon it and spirit to them that walke therein The God in whose hand our breath is and whose are all our wayes The high and lofty One that inhabitest eternity whose name is holy who dwellest in the high and holy place c. The living God and the everlasting King Who hast made the earth by thy power and hast established the world by thy wisedome and stretched out the heavens by thy discretion That formest the mountaines and createst the wind declarest unto man what is his thought that makest the morning darkenesse and treadest upon the high places of the earth The blessed and onely Potentate the King of Kings and Lord of Lords Who onely hast immortality dwelling in the light which no man can approch unto whom no man hath seene or can see The Lord of Hoasts which dwelleth betweene the Cheâ—uâ—ims Behold the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot containe thee Thine is the Kingdome O Lord and thou art exalted as head above all Both riches and honour come of thee and thou reignest over all and in thine hand is power and might and in thine hand it is to make great and to give strength unto all Behold even to the Moone and it shineth not yea the Stars are not pure in his sight O Lord my God thou art very great thou art cloathed with honour and Majesty Who coverest thy selfe with light as with a garment who stretchest out the heavens like a curtaine The nations are as a drop of a bucket and are counted as the small dust of the ballance hee taketh up the Isles as a very little thing All nations before him are as nothing and they are counted to him lesse than nothing and vanity It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the Earth and the inhabitants thereof are as grashoppers that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtaine and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in O Lord of Hoasts that trieth the righteous and seest the reines and the heart The Lord which giveth the Sunne for a light by day and the ordinances of the Moone and of the Stars for a light by night which divideth the Sea when the waves thereof roare the Lord of Hoasts is his name Lord God behold thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arme and there is nothing too hard for thee Thou shewest loving kindnesse unto thousands and recompencest the iniquity of the Fathers into the bosome of their children after them the great the mighty God the Lord of hoasts is his name Great in Councell and mighty in worke for thine eyes are open upon all the wayes of the Sonnes of men to give every one according to his wayes and according to the fruit of his doings The King whose name is the Lord of Hoasts Him that maketh the seaven Stars and Orion and turneth the shaddow of death into the morning and maketh the day darke with night that calleth for the waters of the Sea and powreth them out upon the face of the earth the Lord is his name He that buildeth his stories in the heaven and hath founded his troupe in the earth Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage he retaineth not his anger for ever because hee delighteth in mercie He rebuketh the Sea and maketh it dry and drieth up all the Rivers I hou art of purer eyes then to behold evill and canst not looke on iniquity Descriptions of God from his Mercie and long-suffering Exod 34. 6. 2 Pet. 3. 9. 2 Chron. 30. 9. Nehem. 9. 31. Psal 103. 8. 11. 13. 17. Mic. 7. 18. 19. Rom. 2. 4. Gracious Promises Gen. 3
the law but that which is through the faith of Christ the righteousnesse which is of God by faith For REPENTANCE Oh that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountaine of teares that I might weepe day and night for O that all the night I could make my bed to swim that I could water my couch with my teares that I might repent in sacke-cloth and ashes and grant us repentance unto life Thou hast in love to our soules vouchsafed unto us space and time to repent in O that thou wouldst also give us grace to repent O that there were such an heart in us that wee might repent and recover our selues out of the snare of the Devill who have beene hither to taken captive by him at his will Doe thou melt our stonie hearts into godly sorow which worketh repentance unto salvation not to bee repented of SANCTIFYING GRACE Sprinkle cleane water upon us that we may bee cleane from all our filthinesse and from all our a new heart also doe thou give us and a new spirit doe thou put within us and take away the stony heart out of the middest of us and give thou unto us an heart of flesh and put thy Spirit within us and cause thou us to walke in thy statutes and keepe thy judgements and doe them KNOWLEDGE That the God of our Lord Iesus Christ the father of glory would give unto us the spirit of wisedome and â—evelation in the knowledge of him The eyes of our understanding being inlightned that we may know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints that the earth may bee filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the Sea that all may know thee from the least to the greatest of us That Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith that we being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth and length and depth and heighth And to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge that wee might be filled with all the fulnesse of God That I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death And because it is not good that the soule bee without knowledge incline our eares to wisedome and apply our hearts to understanding that we may cry after knowledge and lift up our voice for understanding that wee may understand the feare of the Lord and find the knowledge of God That wee may be enabled to cry unto thee Our God wee know thee Vid. Ier. 31. 33. 34. LOVE of GOD c. That wee may love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soule and with all our mind that because our sinnes which are many are forgiven us therefore we may love thee much That wee may love one another as Christ hath loved us that our love may abound yet more and more towards all men especially them that are of the houshold of faith That wee may love our enemies blesse them that curse us doe good unto them that hate us and pray for them that dispitefully use and persecute us ZEALE Make us to bee zealous of good workes that we may not rest contented with a luke-warme profession being neither cold nor hot but that our soule may breake for the longing that it hath to thy judgements at all times that the zeale of thine house may eate us up that so our zeale may provoke very many SINCERITIE Behold thou desirest truth in the inward parts O therefore make us Israelites indeed in whom there is no guile That in simplicitie and godly purenesse wee may have our conversation in the world because thine eyes are upon all our wayes and thou understandest our thoughts a farre off and art acquainted with all our wayes for there is not a word in our tongue but loe O Lord thou knowest it altogether And thou wilt bring to light the hidden things of darknesse and wilt make manifest the counsels of the heart Though they dig into hell thence shall my hand take them though they climbe up to heaven thence will I bring them downe And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel I will search and take them out thence and though they be hid from my sight in the bottome of the Sea thence will I command the Serpent and hee shall bite them If thou sayest behold wee knew it not doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it and that keepeth thy soule doth not he know it and shall not he render to every man according to his workes God shall bring every worke into judgement with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evill the Lord seeth not as man seeth for man looketh on the outward appearance but the Lord looketh on the heart I beseech thee O Lord remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that which is good in thy sight the Lord searcheth all hearts and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts Can any hide himselfe in secret places that I shall not see him sayeth the Lord doe not I fill heaven and earth sayeth the Lord. Shall not God know this for he knoweth the secrets of the heart The darknesse hideth not from thee but the night shineth as the day the darknesse and the light are both alike to thee The Spirit of man is the candle of the Lord searching all the inward parts of the belly thou even thou knowest the hearts of all the children of men Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight but all things are naked and opened to the eyes of him with whom they have to doe BOLDNES the Profession of the GOSPEL That we may not be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that beleeveth Grant unto thy servants that with all boldnesse we may speak of and professe thy word Considering that if we shall bee ashamed of Our Lord Iesus Christ and of his words in this adulterous and sinfull generation the Sonne of man also will be ashamed of us when he commeth in the glory of his Father with the holy Angels PERSEVERANCE O that there were such an heart in us that we might feare thee and keepe thy commandements alway that it might be well with us and with our children after us for ever Give us our heart and our way that we may feare thee for ever and make thou an everlasting covenant with vs that thou wilt not turne away from us to doe us good and put
rise not againe Make them like Iohn burning and shining lights that they may bee holinesse to the Lord Whom thou hast set as watch-men over thy people make them instant in season and out of season that they may give warning from thee that they may cry aloud and not spare lifting up their voyce like a trumpet and shew thy people their transgressions COMMONALTIE Blesse all Israel from Dan to Beershebah make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowles of heaven breake the bow and the sword and the battell out of the earth and make them to lye downe safely For the AFFLICTED And thou Lord who givest power to the faint and to them that have no might encreasest strength comfort them that lie upon beds of languishing make all their beds in their sicknesse for unto thee Lord belong the issues from death Behold the teares of such as are oppressed and have no comforter Lord remember them that are in bonds that are tryed in the furnace of affliction Bind up the breach of thy people heale the stroke of their wound Let the sighing of the prisoners come before thee according to the greatnesse of thy power preserve thou those that are appoynted to dye Bee thou a strength to the poore a strength to the needy in their distresse a refuge from the storme a shadow from the heat when the blast of the terrible Ones is a storme against the wall His place of defence shall bee the munition of rockes bread shall be given him his waters shall be sure THANKS GIVING for Blessings Spirituall and Eternall And now our God we thanke thee and praise thy glorious name for blessing us with all spirituall blessings in heavenly places in Christ for delivering us from the power of darknesse and translating us into the Kingdome of thy deare Sonne Blessed be God even the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort who when we were sometimes aliens and enemies in our mind by wicked workes and were by nature the children of wrath as well as others out of his rich mercy for the great love where with hee loved us even when we were dead in trespasses and sinnes and the uncircumcision of our flesh hath quickned us together with Christ having forgiven us all trespasses Blotting out the hand-writing of Ordinances that was against us which was contrary unto us and tooke it out of the way nayling it to his Crosse Blessed bee thy glorious Name which is exalted above all blessing and praise for great is thy mercie towards us and thou hast delivered our soule from the lowest hell and hast made us meet to bee partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light 3. For TEMPORALL blessings of Creation and Providence I thanke thee Father Lord of heaven and earth that Blesse the Lord O my soule and all that is within mee blesse his holy name c. For thou art he that tookest me out of the wombe thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mothers breasts I was cast upon thee from the wombe thou art my God from my mothers belly We have beene borne by thee from the belly and are carried from the wombe And even to our old age be thou hee and even to hoarie haires doe thou carry us Thou hast covered me in my mothers wombe I will praise thee for I am fearefully and wonderfully made marveilous are thy workes and that my soule knoweth right well How precious are thy thoughts unto me O God how great is the summe of them If I should count them they are moe in number than the sand Thy hands have made me and fashioned me I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies and of all the truth which thou hast shewed nuto thy servant Thus will I blesse thee while I live I will lift up my hands in thy name My soule shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatnesse and my mouth shall praise thee with joyfull lips when I remember thee upon my bed and meditate on thee in the night watches c I know Lord that thy judgements are right and that thou in faithfulnesse hast afflicted me Before I was afflicted I went astry but now I have kept thy word O Lord my God I cryed unto thee and thou hast healed me O Lord thou hast brought up my soule from the grave thou hast kept me alive that I should not goe downe to the pit c. Thou hast delivered mee in sixe troubles yea in seven there hath no evill touched me c. There hath no evill befallen me neither hath any plague come neere my dwelling Thou hast delivered my soule from death my eyes from teares and my feete from falling What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. Thou hast extended peace unto us like a river and prosperity like a flowing streame we drinke waters out of our owne Wells Thou hast strengthened the barres of our gates and blessed our children within us c. Thou hast given us bread to eate and rayment to put on yea our bread like Ashurs is fat and wee have pleasures which even Kings doe want Thou hast not dealt so with any nation O that men would praise the Lord for his goodnesse and for his wonderfull workes to the children of men CONCLVSION with a craving of Audience Two things have I required of thee deny me them not before I depart Thy Sonne our Saviour hath promised that What things soever wee desire when we pray if we beleeve we shall receive them Lord we beleeve helpe thou our unbeliefe Now unto him that is able to doe exceeding abundantly above all that wee aske or thinke according to the power that worketh in us unto him be glory in the Church of Christ throughout all ages world without end Amen Now the God of Peace that brought againe from the dead our Lord Iesus that great Shepheard of the Sheepe through the the bloud of the everlasting covenant Make us perfect in every good worke to doe his will working in us that which is well pleasing in his sight through Iesus Christ to whom be glory for ever and ever Amen REVEL 5 13. Blessing honour glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the Throne and unto the Lambe for ever and ever Reve. 7. 12. Amen Blessing and glory and wisedome and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be unto our God for ever and ever Amen MEDITATIONS for the Morning My soule waiteth on thee O Lord more than the morning watch watcheth
and try my wayes to looke backe upon all the ungodly actions and aberrations of my fore-past life to view my sinne-deformed soule in the cleare glasse of thy undefiled â—aw that so I may judge and abhorre my selfe in dust and ashes and bee still more vile in mine owne esteeme make me to examine my selfe and so eate of that bread and drinke of that cup knowing that if I eate and drinke thereof unworthily I eate and drinke damnation to my selfe because I discerne not the Lords body Teach mee to try my selfe whether I be in the faith or no for without faith it is impossible to please thee in any service T is my faith in the death of my Saviour that is the hand and mouth by which I must apply him and make him mine in this Sacrament Assure me by these broad seales annexed to the covenant of grace and letters patents of thy holy word that thou wilt make good what thou hast promised that as thou hast called Ho every one that thirsteth come to the waters so thou wilt refresh this my gasping and thirsting soule as thou callest all that be weary and heavie laden to come unto thee so thou wilt in no wise send mee empty away that cast my selfe into the bleeding armes of my dying Saviour Perswade my unbeleeving and doubting heart that as thy Minister taketh and blesseth and breaketh and poureth out and giveth and saith Take and eate the bread take and drinke the wine of the Sacrament so thou from everlasting hast separated consecrated and ordained Iesus Christ to be a Sacrifice for my sinnes hast poured out his blood to be a satisfaction to thy offended justice for my sinfull soule and that hereby I shall continue in communion with him my head and his mysticall body my fellow members Thy flesh O sweet Saviour is meate indeed and thy blood is drinke indeed O let me I beseeth thee find it so in my fainting soule that I may bee ravished with thy love that I may taste and see how gracious the Lord is and find thy free promises and pledges of thy grace to bee better than wine sweeter also than the honey and the honey combe Let thy holy spirit set to his privie seale on my heart inwardly by the secret and sweet refreshment of his blessed testimonie that I am my well beloveds and my well beloved is mine establishing my heart in thy love and knitting my soule unto thee for ever O draw me and I shall run after thee shew me the light of thy countenance and I shall bee saved And Lord make mee to love my brethren as thou hast loved me yea to love my very enemies for thy names sake reconciling my selfe to those whom I have offended following peace with all men and forgiving them their hundred pence as thou hast freely forgiven me my ten thousand talents Vouchsafe me this aud all other graces which may fit mee for thy service in thy kingdome of grace and prepare mee for the enjoyment of everlasting glory through my Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ Amen After the receiving of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper O Lord what shall I render unto thee for all the benefits which thou hast bestowed upon mee and daily ladest mee withall a most unworthy sinner how shall I bee sufficiently thankefull unto thee for them when they bee more than I can reckon up unto thee more then my heart is able to conceive or comprehend Should I offer up unto thee thousands of rams or ten thousand rivers of oyle they all would come farre short of thy most free eternall undeserved infinite love Lebanon it selfe is not sufficient for wood nor the beasts upon a thousand hils for a burnt offering What shall I then doe unto thee O thou Preserver of men or what recompence shall I make thee I will even take the cup of salvation and give thankes to thy name O Lord. I will offer up my soule and body for a holy living and acceptable sacrifice unto thee this will please thee better than bullocke that hath hornes and hoofes Thou O Lord in the beginning didst make mee to bee when I was not before and when I had lost my selfe and forfeited my being and life and happinesse didst in Christ restore mee to a more blessed estate than at my Primitive integrity Thou thy selfe art become my Father thy sonne my Saviour thy holy Spirit my Sanctifier thy word my Instructor thy Sacraments the food to refresh satisfie and feed my poore hungry soule to everlasting life This day thou hast called me to thy holy Mountaine and made me joyfull in thy house of prayer this day hast thou invited me to sit downe at thy table and made unto mee a feast of fat things full of marrow a feast of wines on the lees well refined thou hast abundantly satisfied me with the fâ—â—nesse of thy house and hast made mee to drinke of the river of thy pleasures Blessed bee thy glorious name for ever and ever which is above all thankesgiving and prayse of mine O that I could bee indeed thankefull unto thee as thou art gracious unto me If I should open my mouth never so wide thou wouldest fill it thy favours to my poore soule are more than all tongues of men and Angels can worthily magnifie And now O Lord accept I beseech thee the free will-offering of thy servant that desires to feare thy name and to make a covenant with thee never to bee broken that my soule shall cleave close unto thee and avouch thee this day to bee my God and Saviour for ever more Here I doe resigne myselfe soule and body all that is in me and all that belongs unto me to bee wholly thine and that I will never wickedly depart from thee my God as I have done O that my wayes were so directed that I might keepe thy commandements alway Never let mee with the disgorged dog returne any more to my former vomit nor with the washed sow to wallow in the mire but as I have now washed my feete so suffer mee no more againe to defile them as I have put off the filthy rags of my old conversation so I may never againe put them on but become a new creature That seeing the expiation of my sins cost my Saviour so deare as the shedding of his precious blood and that thy wrath lay so heavie upon him who was our suretie onely being innocent in himselfe I may hence conceive how heinous a thing sinne is how abhorred by thee and so hate it in my selfe with a perfect hatred and resist it even to blood and not crucifie againe hereby the Lord of life and glory O make mee thankefully to remember that bitter passion of his and thy love O Father unto mee in that thou hast accepted mee to life in him and hast brought salvation this day home to my house to my heart Lord enter in abide with and dwell in my soule for ever Take not
of thy Gospell is not heard Let thy way be knowne upon earth and thy saving health among all nations cause the Sunne of righteousnesse to arise with healing in his wings upon all those that sit in darkenesse and the shadow of death to guide their feete into the way of peace Give thy sonne Iesus the heathen for his inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession Make all the Kings of the earth to fall downe before him and all nations to doe him reverence That his dominion may bee from Sea even to Sea and from the rivers even to the ends of the earth That Tarshish Pul and Lud that draw the bow Tuball and Iavan and the Iles afarre off that have not heard thy â—ame neither have seene thy glory may be brought into the houshold of faith and be joyned to the people of the God of Abraham and so bee made one folde under that great shepheard and Bishop of their soules Those sinners of the Gentiles O Lord draw them out of the darkenesse of Paganisme Idolatrie ignorance and superstition and though they now bee wallowing in their blood yet let it bee the time of love with thee and say unto them live spread thy skirt over them Let the light of the glorious Gospell of Iesus Christ shine unto them that they may turne from the service of dumb Idols yea of very Devils to thee the living God Teach them to know thee the onely true God and whom thou hast sent Iesus Christ open the doore of faith unto them that they may beleeve in the name of thy Sonne grant them repentance unto life that they may be saved light up among them some burning and shining lamps to beare thy name among them that the grace of God which bringeth salvation may appeare unto all men that so they which are without Christ being aliens from the Common wealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of Promise that have no hope and are without God in the world may heare the voyce of the Sonne of God and live To this end plant thy grace and feare in their hearts who are of that Colonie and Plantation make them wise to win those poore soules by their unblameable conversation being zealous for thee gentle towards them apt to teach them patient in meeknesse instructing them if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the Devill who are taken captive by him at his will O Lord this is a worthy worke and who is sufficient for these things therefore doe thou make bare thine owne almighty arme bring in the fulnesse of the Gentiles give them where Satans throne is an heart to perceive and eyes to see and eares to heare the word of thy grace that the ends of the earth may see the salvation of God and they that dwell in the uttermost parts thereof may be converted unto thee then shall the earth bee filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea and they shall feare the name of the Lord from the West and his glory from the rising of the Sunne Amen A Prayer to bee prepared against Death c. O Thou eternall immortall invisible and onely wise God who stretchedst forth the heavens and laidst the foundations of the earth and formedst the spirit of man within him thou art the former of al things thy spirit did at the first make mee and the breath of the Almighty hath given mee life thou hast clothed mee with skin and flesh and fenced mee with bones and sâ—â—ewes my substance was not hid from thee when I was made in secret and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth thine eyes did see mee when I was yet unperfect and in thy booke all my members were written which in continuance were fashioned when as yet there was none of them before And thou Lord tookest me out of the wombe thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mothers breasts thou hast fed me and led me all my life long unto this day when I have passed through the waters thou hast beene with me and through the rivers they have not overflowed me thou hast carryed mee on Eagles wings and in the time of trouble hast preserved me safely under thy feathers and there hath not one haire of mine head fallen to the ground without thy Providence But what man is hee that liveth and shall not see death our dayes on the earth are as a shadow and there is none abiding we spend our yeares as a tale that is told our life is even as a Vapour that appeares for a little time thâ—n vanisheth away wee build our house as a moth and as a booth that the Keeper maketh We have here no continuing Citie all flesh is grasse and all the goodlinesse thereof as the flower of grasse Man that is borne of a woman is of few dayes and full of trouble he commeth forth like a flower and is cut downe hee fleeth also as a shadow and continueth not O Lord my times are in thy hand all my dayes are determined the number of my months are with thee thou hast appointed my bounds which I cannot passe I must one day returne to the ground for dust I am and to dust I must returne thou wilt bring me to death and to the house appoynted for all living where I shall make my bed in darkenesse and must say to corruption thou art my father and to the wormes thou art my mother and my sisters O that I were wise and did understand this that I could consider my latter end that whether I live I might live unto the Lord or whether I dye I might dye unto the Lord that both living and dying I might bee the Lords then should I use the world as if I used it not then would I not bee conformed to the men of this world who have their portion in this life whose God is their belly who make pleasures and honour and riches their God and mind only earthly things But by that irreversible sentence of thine In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt dye the death it is appoynted unto all men once to dye our fathers where are they and the Prophets doe they live for ever they all are gone downe into the chambers of death there they rest together in their beds till the heavens be no more they shall not wake nor bee raysed out of their sleepe and I my selfe also who am a sonne of Adam and formed out of the same clay I must when my dayes be fulfilled sleepe with my fathers and goe the way whence I shall not returne Truly the light is sweete and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the Sunne and yet thy favour presence and light of thy countenance is better than life whilest I am in the flesh I am absent from thee and thou hast taught
herein Was not thy servant Moses a very meeke man above all the men that were on the earth Doth not my blessed Saviour command mee to learne of â—iâ— who was meeke and lowly in heart he was oppressed and he was afflicted yet he opened not his mouth he was led as a Lamb to the slaughter and as a sheepe before her sherer he was dumb and can all the indignities offered to me be comparable to all those shamefull spittings and revilings that he for my sake was exposed unto alasse no. O teach me therefore to bring downe my swelling and proud heart to suffer patiently for his sake the servant of God must not strive but be patient toward all men why doe I not then rather take wrong and suffer injury why doe I not take up my Crosse daily and follow him that endured such contradiction of sinners Labouring for A meek and quiet spirit which is in the sight of God of great price but hee that is soone angry dealeth foolishly O make mee therefore wise in watching over mine owne heart in keeping downe mine owne unmortified spirit to restraine my mouth with a bridle seeing the discretion of a man deferreth his anger and it is his glory to passe over a transgression vouchsafe mee thy grace for Iesus Christ his sake To whom with thee and c Against Apostacie and Backsliding in religion O Lord my God never I beseech thee let there be in me an evill heart of unbeliefe to depart from thee the living God let mee never be of the number of them that draw back unto perdition leaving my first love casting off my first faith to embrace this present world or to enjoy the pleasures of sin which are but for a season O Lord though some fall away and are already turned after Satan even denying the Lord that bought them and so bring upon themselves swift destruction yet doe thou please so to establish my heart with grace that I may continue to the end in that good way in which I have begun let mee not leave the pathes of righteousnesse to walke againe in the wayes of darkenesse or with the dog returne to my former vomit and with the sow that was washed to my wallowing in the mire O Lord there is in me by nature a revolting and rebellious heart I am bent to backsliding from thee unlesse thou doe draw me I shall settle and lag O teach mee to looke to my selfe to keepe my heart with all diligence that I lose not those things which I have wrought but that I may receive a full reward make mee to run with patience the race that is set before me and to be faithfull unto the death that thou maist give me a crowne of life As thou hast given mee a little strength to keepe thy word and not to deny thy name so establish O God the thing that thou hast wrought in me ' â— is he that continueth to the end that shall be saved not he that beginneth well that putteth his hand to the plough and looketh backe O let me hold Faith and a good conscience that my last workes may bee better moe than at first thou art able to keep mee from falling and to preserve me faultlesse before the presence of thy glory with exceeding joy O doe it I beseech thee for thy names sake Even so Lord Iesus Amen See Apostate Backslide Persevere c. in the Scripture phrases Against distrustfull Cares O Lord hast not thou commanded me to cast all my care upon thee because thou carest for me hast not thou said thou wilt never leave me nor for sake me art not thou God all-sufficient Thy Sonne my Saviour hath also bidden mee to take no thought for my life what I shall eate or what I shall drinke nor yet for my body what I should put on Doest not thou feed the fowles of the ayre which sow not neither reape nor gather into barnes By taking thought I cannot adde one cubit unto my stature and thou my heavenly father knowest what things I want what things are best for me and hast promised rather to starve the Lyons than to let thy children want any thing that is good for them O let me believe thy gracious promise to live by Faith to be content with those things that I have yea to receive evill at thy hands as well as good I am yet in better condition to the world-ward than many of thy dearest Saints and now-glorious Martyrs that wandered up and downe in sheepe-skins and goatâ—-skins being destitute afflicted and tormented of whom the world was not worthy yea I have more worldly riches than the Lord of the whole world my blessed Saviour who had not wheron to rest his head who when he was to pay tribute-money had never a penny but sent his Disciple Peter to the Sea to cast in a hooke and to take up the first Fish and there found to supply his present necessitie O let not me expect to be carved to in a better condition than my Lord and Master But to wait on thee my God continually Teach me first to seeke the Kingdome of heaven and the righneousnesse thereof then hast thou promised that all other things shall be added unto me Amen Vid. Care Providence c. For Marriners or Seafaring men c. O Lord the great and dreadfull God which hast placed the sand from the bound of the Sea by a perpetuall decree that it cannot passe it and though the waves thereof tosse themselves yet can they not prevaile though they roare yet can they not passe over it for thou shuttest up the Sea with doores and barres and sayest to the waves hither shall yee come and no further Thou art the hope of all the ends of the earth and of such as abide in the broad Sea wee O Lord whose imployment and calling is in the deepe in this heape of great waters in the midst of the Seas that go down to the Sea in ships and doe businesse in great waters we see thy works and wonders in the deep For thou commandest and raisest the stormie wind which lifteth up the waves thereof We mount up to the heaven we go downe againe to the depths our soule is melted because of trouble wee reele too and fro and stagger like a drunken man and are at our wits end O teach us to cry unto thee in our trouble and doe thou bring us out of our distresses make thou we beseech thee the storme a calme that the waves therof may be still and so bring us to the desired haven then shall we praise thee Lord for thy goodnesse and for thy wonderfull works towards the children of men Thou art our refuge and strength a very present helpe in trouble therefore will wee not feare though the earth be removed and though the mountaines be carried into the midst
of the Sea though the waters thereof roare and bee troubled though the mountaines shake with the swelling thereof for unto thee O Lord belong the issues from death O make us to cast the anchor of our hope still on thee who hast hitherto mercifully delivered us from so great a death and dost deliver us in whom we trust that thou wilt yet deliver us Let not the depths we pray thee cover us neither let us sink into the bottome as a stone though the flouds compasse us about yet let not the waves and billowes passe over us thou makest a way in the Sea and a path in the mighty waters thou art the God that hast made the Sea and the dry Land doe not thou suffer that there be the losse of any mans life among us let not a hayre of our heads perish Appease the mighty tempest when it ariseth that our Ship may not be broken rebuke the wind and say unto the waves peace and be still O teach every Ship-master and all the company in Ships those that handle the Oare the Marriners and all the Pilots of the Sea and as many as trade by Sea to trust in the saving helpe of thy right hand when we be toyled in rowing and the wind is contrary unto us and not to rely on our owne skill take from us that desperate boldnesse fearelesnesse of thee and danger that Atheisme Swearing and Prophanenesse and notorious Ungodlinesse which is too often found in many of us Make us to be at peace with thee in the blood of thy Sonne that he may be advantage unto us both in life and death There is continually but a step betwixt us and death yea even but an hand-breadth for thou hast made all mens dayes as an hand-breadth and our age is as nothing before thee Be thou our life in death and to trust thee with our bodies and soules knowing that the Sea shall at the last day give up the dead that are in it and our spirits shall returne unto God that gave them If thou please to bring us safely to land O make us to remember our vowes which we uttered with our-lips when wee were in trouble lest otherwise thou shouldst deliver us no more Grant this grace unto us for Iesus sake to whom with thee c. Amen Husbandman in Seed time O Lord doe thou teach me to cast abroad the fitches and scatter the cummin and cast in the principall wheat and the appointed barley and rye in their places and that I may plough and sow in hope make me to breake up the fallow ground of mine owne heart that the earth bring not forth bryars and thornes and thistâ—es unto me when it is tilled neither be cursed for my Sinne. Make me to sow to my selfe in righteousnesse 2 Spring-time BLessed bee thy name that thus renewest the face of the earth that crownest the yeare with thy goodnes and thy steps drop fatnesse the winter is past the raine is over the time of the singing of birds is come and the voyce of the turtle is heard in our Land the pastures are clothed with flocks the valleyes also are covered over with corne they shout for joy and sing O make my barren heart to flourish in grace to abound in the fruits of righteousnesse For Seasonable weather Plentie c. O Lord give us the raine of our seed that we have sowed the ground withall and bread of the encrease of the earth that it may be sat and plenteous Let not the Locust Catterpillar Cankerworme Blasting Mildew or unseasonable weather deprive us of the fruits of the earth but blesse them and bring them to maturity that our garners may be full abounding in all manner of store let our oxen be strong to labour let the mower fill his hand and hee that gathereth up the sheaves his bosome that our barnes may bee filled with plentie and our presses burst with new wine Reserve for us the appointed weeks of harvest and though wee deserve not the least morsell of bread we eate yet thou that art goodnesse it selfe and canst not but put on bowels of pitty wilt fulfill thine owne gracious promise that Seed-time and Harvest summer and winter may not cease true it is Lord we deserve not onely that the fruits of the earth but even that our selves also should be swept away like dung from off the earth for thou art pressed under us as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves thou changest the seasons because we change our obedience our hearts are stony and the heavens weepe for their hardnesse yet we lay not all this to heart teach mee to provide my meate in summer as a Sonne of wisedome and although the fig-tree shall not blossome neither fruit be in the vine though the Labour of the Olive shall faile and the fields shall yield no meate the flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no herd in the stalls yet that I may rejoyce in the Lord and joy in the God of my salvation Amen FINIS Some Choise places taken out of the singing PSALMES Digested into a method of PRAYER And PRAISES Per hujusmodi aurium oblectamenta quae pietatis doctrinam continent saepe infirmior animus in affectum pietatis assurgit Theodoret. Printed at London for Rob. Milbourne 1634. To the Christian READER AThanasius in his Treatise upon the Psalmes to Marcelinus reports that the ancient old Father Philoponus in a learned discourse which he vouchsafed once to make to him did evidently demonstrate that whatsoever was contayned abroad in the whole Scriptures was fully reported in the Booke of Psalmes It conteineth saith he the motions the mutations the alterations of every Christians heart and conscience described and lively painted to his owne sight so that if a man list he may easily gather out thereof certaine considerations of himselfe as out of a bright glasse and plaine patterne set before his face so thereby to reforme himselfe He may have a very good forme of Prayer meet to be sayd and presently at hand in every case and state The words here delivered in the Psalmes are as it were his owne spoken in his owne person and is so affected with them as if they were first by him conceived and pronounced c. Liber Psalmorum est ars ritè precandi Oratorium ut ita dicam divinisssimum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Basil Magn. Veteres vocârunt librum Psalmorum PARVA BIBLIA quia breviter omnia quae in Biblijs habentur continet ut historias legem promissiones fidem consolationes poenitentiam bona opera Antiquitùs hic liber vocatus est Soliloquium quia solius hominis Christiani cum solo Deo colloquium habetur Est anatome conscientiarum Nullum in se affectum quisquam reperiet cujus in hoc speculo non reluceat imago Ab alijs rectè appellatur Panacea