not from that conceit excuse your neglect of them I shall hasten to shew you the contrary by proceeding to the fourth motive of care 15. That fourth motive is the liklyhood that our care will not be in vain but that it wilâ— be a means to preserve the thing cared for where this is wanting it disheartens our care A Physician leaves his patient when he sees him past hope as knowing it is then in vain to give him any thing but on the contrary when he sees hopes of recovery he plies him with medicines Nâ—â— in this very respect we have a great deal of reason to take care of our souls for they are not so far gone but they may be recovered nay it is certain they will if we do our parts towards it 16. For though by that sin of Adam alâ— mankind were under the sentence of eternal condemnation yet it 〈◊〉 God so far to pity oâ—r misery as to give us his son and in him to make a new Covenant with us after we had broken the first 17. This SECOND COVENANT was made with Adam us in him presently after his fall is briefly contained in those words Gen. 3. 15. Where God declares that the SEED OF THE WOMAN SHALL BREAK THE SERPENTS HEAD and this was made up as the first was of some mercies to be afforded by God and some duties to be performed by us 18. God therein promises to send his only Son who is God equal with himself to earth to become man like unto us in all things sin only excepted and he to do for us these several things 19. First to make known to us the whole will of his Father in the performance whereof we shall be sure to be accepted and rewarded by him And this was one great part of his business which he performed in those many Sermons and precepts we find set down in the Gospel And herein he is our prophet it being the work of a prophet of old not only to foretel but to teach Our duty in this particular is to hearken diligently to him to be most ready and desirous to learn that will of God which he came from heaven to reveal to us This 2d thing he was to do for us was to satisfie God for our sins not only that one of Adam but all the sins of all mankind that truly repent and amend by this means to obtain for us forgiveness of sins the favour of God and so to redeem us from hell and eternal damnation which was the punishment due to our sin All this he did for us by his death he offered up himself a sacrifice for the sins of all those who heartily bewail and forsake them And in this he is our Priest it being the Priests office to offer sacrifice for the sins of the people Our duty in this particular is first truly and heartily to repent us of and forsake our sins without which they will never be forgiven us though Christ have died Secondly Stedfastly to believe that if we do that we shall have the benefits of that sacrifice of his all our sins how many and great soever shall be forgiven us and we saved from those eternal punishments which were due unto us for them Another part of the Priests office was blessing and praying for the people and this also Christ performs to us It was his especial commission from his Father to bless us as St. Peter tels us Acts 3. 26. God sent his Son Jesus to bless you and the following words shew wherein that blessing consists in turning away every one of you from his iniquity those means which he has used for the turning us from our sins are to be reckoned of all other the greatest blessings and for the other part shat of praying that he not only performed on earth but continues still to do it in Heaven He sits on the right hand of God and makes Request for us Rom. 8 34. Our duty herein is not to resist this unspeakable blessing of his but to be willing to be thus blest in the being turned from our sins and not to make void and fruitless all his prayers and intercessions for us which will never prevail for us whilst we continue in them 21. The third thing that Christ was to do for us was to enable us or give us strength to do what God requires of us This he doth first by taking off from the hardness of the Law given to Adam which was never to commit the least sin upon pain of damnation and requiring of us onely an honest and hearty endeavour to do what we are able and where we fail accepting of sincere repentance Secondly By sending his Holy Spirit into our hearts to govern and rule us to give us strength to overcome temptations to sin and to do all that he now under the Gospel requires of us And in this he is our King it being the office of a King to govern and rule to subdue enemies Our duty in this particular is to give up our selves obedient subjects of his to be governed and ruled by him to obey all his Lawes not to take part with any Rebel that is not to cherish any one sin But diligently to pray for his grace to enable us to subdue all and then carefully to make use of it to that purpose 22. Lastly He has purchased for all that faithfully obey him an eternal glorious inheritance the Kingdom of Heaven whether he is gone before to take possession for us Our duty herein is to be exceeding careful that we forfeit not our parts in it which we shall certainly do if we continue impenitent in any sin Secondly Not to fasten our affections on this world but to raise them up according to the precept of the Apostle Col. 2. 2. Set your affections on things above not on things on the earth continually longing to come to the possession of that blessed inheritance of ours in comparison whereof all things here below should seem vile and mean to us 23. This is the summe of that second Covenant we are now under wherein you see what Christ has done how he executes those three great offices of King Priest and Prophet as also what is required of us without our Faithful performance whereof all that he hath done shall never stand us in any stead For he will never be a Priest to save any who take him not as well for their Prophet to teach and their King to rule them nay if we neglect our part of this Covenant our condition will be yet worse then if it had never been made for we shall then be to answer not for the breach of Law onely as in the first but for the abuse of mercy which is of all sins the most provoking On the other side if 〈◊〉 faithfully perform it That is set our selves heartily to the obeying of every precept of Christ not going on wilfully in any one sin but
his righteousness and all these things that is all outward necessaries shall be added unto you But here t is to be observed that we must first seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness that is make it our first and greatest care to serve and obey him before this promise even of temporal good things belongs to us To the soul there are many and high promises as first that of present ease and refreshment which we find Mat. 11. 29. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me and ye shall find rest to your soules But here it is apparent that before this rest belongs to us we must have taken on us Christs yoke become his servants and disciples Finally there are promises to the soul even of all the benefits of Christ but yet those only to such as perform the condition required that is pardon of sins to those that repent of them increase of grace to those that diligently make use of what they have already and humbly pray for more and eternal salvation to those that continue to their lives end in hearty obedience to his Commands 19. This belief of the promises must therefore stir us up to perform the condition and till it do so we can in no reason expect any good by them and for us to look for the benefit of them on other termes is the same mad presumption that it would be in a Servant to challenge his Master to give him a reward for having done nothing of his work to which alone the reward was promised you can easily resolve what answer were to be given to such a servant and the same are we to expect from God in this case nay further it is sure God hath given these promises to no other end but to invite us to holiness of life yea he gave his Son in whom all his promiseâ— are as it were sum'd up for this end We usually look so much at Christs coming to satisfie for us that we forget this other part of his errand But there is nothing surer than that the main purpose of his coming into the world was to plant good life among men 20. This is so often repeated in Scripture that no man that considers and believes what he reads can doubt of it Christ himself tells us Mat 9. 13. He came to call sinners to repentance and S. Peter Acts. 3. 26. Tell us that God sent his Son Iesus to bless us in turning every one of us from his iniquities for it seems the â—â—rning us from our iniquities was the greatest special blessing which God intended us in Christ. 21. Nay we are taught by S. Paul that this was the end of his very death also Tit. 2. 14. Who gave himself for our sins that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purifie to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works and again Gal. 1. 4. Who gave himself for us that he might deliver us from this present evil world that is from the sins and ill customes of the world Divers other texts there are to this purpose but these I suppose sufficient to assure any man of this one great truth that all that Christ hath done for us was directed to this end the bringing us to live Christianly or in the words of S. Paul to teach us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly righteously and Godly in this present world 22. Now we know Chrâ—st is the foundation of all the promises in him all the promises of God are yea and Amen 2 Cor. 1. 20. And therefore if God gave Christ to this end certainly the promises are to the same also And then how great an abuse of them is it to make them serve for purposes quite contrary to what they were intended viz. to the encouraging us in sins which they will certainly do if we perswade our selves they belong to us how wickedly soever we live The Apostle teaches us another use of them 2 Cor. 7. 1. Having therefore these promises let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God When we do thus we may justly apply the promises to our selves and with comfort expect our parts in them But till then though these promises be of certain truth yet we can reap no benefit from them because we are not the persons to whom they are made that is we perform not the condition required to give us right to them 23. This is the Faith or belief required of us towards the things God hath revealed to us in the Scripture to wit such as may answer the end for which they were so revealed that is the bringing us to good lives the bare believing the truth of them without this is no more then the Divels do as S. James tells us Chap. 2. 19. Only they are not so unreasonable as some of us are for they will tremble as knowing well this Faith will never do them any good But many of us go on confidently and doubt not the sufficiency of our Faith though we have not the least fruit of obedience to approve it by let such hear S. James judgment in the point Chap. 2. 26. As the body without the spirit is dead so Faith if it have not works is dead also 24. A Second duty to God is Hope that is a comfortable expectation of these good things he hath promised But this I told you before of Faith must be such as agrees to the nature of the promises which being such as requires a condition on our part we can hope no further then we make that good or if we do we are so far from performing by it this duty of hope that we commit the great sin of presumption which is nothing else but hoping where God hath given us no ground to hope This every man doth that hopes for pardon of sins and eternal life without that repentance and obedience to which alone they are promised the true hope is that which purifies us S. John saith 1. Ep. 3 5. Every man that hath this hope purifieth himself even as he is pure that is it makes him leave his sins and earnestly endeavour to be holy as Christ is and that which doth not so how confident soever it be may well be concluded to be but that hope of the Hypocrite which Job assures us shall perish 25. But there is another way of transgressing this duty besides that of presuâ—pâ—â—â—â— and that is by Desperation by which 〈◊〉 not that which is ordinarily so calle◠〈◊〉 the despairing of mercy so long as 〈◊〉 in our sins for that is but just for 〈◊〉 But I mean such a desperation as makes us â—e over endeavour that is when a man that sees he is not at the present such a one as the promises belong to concludes he can never become such and therefore neglects all duty and goes on in his sins This is indeed the sinful desperation
wicked men the shame of the world be so terrible as the just reproof of thine own conscience at the present and that eternal confusion of face that shall befal all those that go on in this sin at the last day Weigh all these I say I need not say in the balance of the Sanctuary but even in the scales of common reason and sure thou wilt be forced to pronounce that the motives to temperance infinitely out-weigh those against it When thou hast thus advisedly judged then fix thy resolution accordingly and when ever any of these temptations come to stagger thee remember thou hast formerly weighed them knowest the just value of them and that they are a most unworthy price for those precious advantages thou must give in exchange for them And therefore hold fast thy resolution and with indignation reject all motions to the contrary 19. But be sure thou thus reject them at their very first tender and do not yield in the least degree For if once thou givest ground thou art lost the sin will by little and little pervail upon thee Thus we see many who have profest to be resolved upon great temperance yet for want of this care have adventured into the company of good fellowes when they have been there they have at the first been over intreated to take a cup after that another till at last they have taken their rounds as freely as any of them and in that floud of drink drowned all their sober resolutions Therefore whoever thou art that dost really desire to forsake the sin take care to avoid the occasions and beginnings of it To wâ—â—ch end it wâ—ll be good openly to declare and own thy purpose of sobriety that so thou mayest discourage men from assaulting thee But if either thou art ashamed to own it or seemest to be so they will quickly make use of that shame to bring thee to break it 20. If thou be thus wary to keep thee from the first beginnings thou art then sure never to be overtaken with this sin For it is like the keeping the out-works of a besieged City which so long as they are stoutly defended there is no danger but if they be either surprized or yielded the City cannot long hold out The advice therefore of the wise man is very agreeable to this matter Eccles. 19. 1. He that despiseth small things shall perish by little and little But because as the Psalmist saith Psa. 127. 1. Except the Lord keep the City the watch-man waketh but in vain therefore to this guard of thy self add thy most earnest prayers to God that he will also watch over thee and by the strength of his grace enable thee to resist all temptations to this sin 21. If thou do in the sincerity of thy hâ—art use these means there is no doubt but thou wilt be able to overcome this vice how long soever thou hast been accustomed to it therefore if thou do still remain under the power of it never excuse thy self by the impossibility of the task but rather accuse the falseness of thy own heart that hath still such a love to this sin that thou wilt not set roundly to the means of subduing it 22. Perhaps the great commonness of the sin and thy particular custome of it may have made it so much thy familiar thy bosome acquaintance that thou art loth to entertaâ—n hard thoughts of it very unwilling thou art to tâ—ink that it means thee any hurt and therefore art aâ—t to speak peace to thy self to hope that either this is no sin or at most but a frailty such as will not bar thee out of Heaven But deceive not thy self for thou mayest as well say there is no Heaven as that drunkenness shall not keep thee thence I am sure the same word of God which tels us there is such a place of happiness tels us also that drunkards are of the number of those that shall not inherit it 1 Cor. 6. 10. and again Gal. 5. 21. Drunkenness is reckoned among those works of the flesh which they that do shall not inherit the Kingdom of God And indeed had not these plain texts yet meer reason would tell us the same That is a place of infinite purity such that flesh and blood till it be refined and purified is not capable of as the Apostle tels us 1 Cor. 15. 53. and if as we are meer men we are too gross and impure for it we must sure be more so when we are changed our selves into swine the foulest of beasts we are then prepared for the devils to enter into as they did into the herd Mark 5. 13. and that not onely some one or two but a Legion a troop and multitude of them And of this we daily see examples for where this sin of drunkenness hath taken possession it usually comes as an harbinger to abundance of others each act of drunkenness prepares a man not onely for another of the same sin but of others lust and rage and all brutish appetites are then let loose and so a man brings himself under that curse which was the sadest David knew how to foretel to any Psa. 69. 28. The falling from one wickedness to another If all this be not enough to affright thee out of this drunken fit thou must still wallow in thy vomit continue in this sottish senseless condition till the flames of Hell rowse thee then thou wilt by sad experience find what now thou wilt not believe that the end of these things as the Apostle sayeth Rom. 6. 21. is Death God in his infinite mercy timely awake the hearts of all that are in this sin that by a timely forsaking it they may flye from that wrath to come I have now done with this second part of temperance concerning drinking PARTITION IX Temperance in SLEEP The rule of it c. Of RECREATION Of APPAREL § 1 THE third part of Temperance concerns sleep And temperance in that also must be measured by the end for which sleep was ordained by God which was onely the refreshing and supporting of our frail bodies which being of such a temper that continual labour and toil tires and wearies them out sleep comes as a Medicine to that weariness as a repairer of that decay that so we may be enabled to such labours as the duties of Religion or works of our calling require of us Sleep was intended to make us more profitable not more idle as we give rest to our beasts not that we are pleased with their doing nothing but that they may do us the better service 2. By this therefore you may judge what is temperate sleeping to wit that which tends to the refreshing and making us more lively and fit for action And to that end a moderate degree serves best It will be impossible to set down just how many hours is that moderate degree because as in eating so in sleep some constiâ—utions
negative justice layes a restraint on us in every of these That we do no wrong to any man in respect either of his Soul his body his possessions or credit 3. First This justice tyes us to do no hurt to his Soul and here my first work must be to examine what harm it is that the soul can receive it is we know an invisible substance which we cannot reach with our eye much less with our swords and weapons yet for all that it is capable of being hurt and wounded and that even to death 4. Now the soul may be considered either in a natural or spiritual sence in the natural it signifies that which we usually call the mind of a man and this we all know may be wounded with grief or sadness as Solomon saith Pro. 15. 13. By sorrow of heart the spirit is broken Therefore whoever does causlesly afflict or grieve his neighbour he transgresses this part of justice hurts wrongâ— his soul. This sort of injury malicious and spiteful men are very often guilty of they will do things by which themselves reap no good nay often much harm onely that they may vex and grâ—eve another This is a most savage inhumane humour thus to take pleasure in the sadness and afflictions of others and whoever harbours it in his heart may truly be said to bâ— possest with a Devil for it is the nature onely of those accursed spirits to delight in the miseries of men and till that be cast out they are fit onely to dwell as the possest person did Mar. 5. 2. Among graves and tombs where there are none capable of receiving affliction by them 5. But the Soul may be considered also in the spiritual sense and so it signifies that immortal part of us which must live eternally either in bliss or woe in another world And the Soul thus understood is capable of two sorts of harm first that of sin secondly that of punishment the latter whereof is certainly the consequent of the former and therefore though God be the inflicter of punishment yet since it is but the effect of sin we may justly reckon that he that drâ—wes a man to sin is likewise the betrayer of him to punishment as he that gives a man a mortal wound is the cause of his death therefore under the evil of sin both are contained so that I need speak onely of that 6. And sure there cannot be a hâ—gher sort of wrong then the bringing this great evil upon the Soul sin is the disease and wound of the Soul as being the direct contrary to grace which is the health and soundness of it Now this wound we give to every Soul whom we do by any means whatsoever draw into sin 7. The ways of doing that are divers I shall mention some of them whereof though some are more direct then others yet all tend to the same end Of the more direct ones there is first the commanding of sin that is when a person that hath power over another shall require him to do something which is unlawful An example of this we have in Nebuchadnezzars commanding the worship of the golden Image Dan. 3 4 and his copy is imitated by any parent or master who shall require of his child or servant to do any unlawful act Secondly there is counselling of sin when men advise and perswade others to any wickedness Thus Jobs wife counselled her husband to curse God Job 2. 7. And Achitophel advised Absolom to go into his Fathers concubines 2 Sam. 16. 21. Thirdly there is enticing and alluring to sin by setting before men the pleasures or profits they shall reap by it Of this sort of enticement Solomon gives warning Prov. 1. 10. My son if sinners entice thee consent thou not if they say come with us let us lay wait for blood let us lâ—rke privily for the innocent without cause c. and verse the 13. you may see what is the bait by which they seek to alure them we shall find all precious substance we shall fill our souls with spoile cast in thy lot among us let us all have one purse Fourthly there is assistance in sin that is when men aid and help others either in contriving or acting a sin Thus Jonadab helpt Amnon in plotting the ravishing of his sister 2 Sam. 13. all these are direct means of bringing this great evil of sin upon our brethren 8. There are also others which though they seem more indirect may yet be as effectual towards that ill end As first example in sin he that sets others an ill pattern does his part to make them imitate it and too often it hath that effect there being generally nothing more forcible to bring men into any sinful practice then the seeing it used by others as might be instanced in many sins to which there is no other temptation but their being in fashion Secondly there is incouragement in sin when either by approving or else at least by not shewing a dislike we give others confidence to go on in their wickedness A third means is by justifying and defending any sinful act of anothers for by that we do not only confirm him in his eviâ— but endanger the drawing others to the like who may be the more inclinable to it when they shall hear it so pleaded for Lastly the bringing up any reproach upon strict and Christian living as those do who have the ways of God in derision this is a means to affright men from the practice of duty when they see it will bring them to be scorned and despised this is worse then all the former not only in respect of the man who is guilty of it as it is an evidence of the great profaneness of his own heart but also in regard of others it having a more general ill effect then any of the former can have it being the betraying men not only to some single acts of disobedience to Christ but even to the casting off all subjection to him By all these means we may draw on our selves this great guilt of injuring and wounding the souls of our brethren 9. It would be too long for me to instance in all the several sins in which it is usual for men to ensnare others as drunkenness uncleanness rebellion and a multitude more But it will concern every man for his own particular to consider sadly what mischiefs of this kind he hath done to any by all or any of these means and to weigh well the greatness of the injury Men are apt to boast of their innocency towards their neighbours that they have done wrong to no man but God knows many that thus brag are of all others the most injurious persons perhaps they have not maimed his body nor stolen his goods but alas the body is but the case and cover of the man and the goods some appurtenances to that 't is the soul is the man and that
land cannot be purged of blood but by the blood â—f him that shed it and therefore though in other cases the flying to the Altar secured a man yet in this of wilful murder no such refuge was allowed but such a one was to be taken even thence and delivered up to justice Exod. 21. 14. Thou shalt take him from my Altar that he may dye And it is yet farther observable that the onely two precepts which the Scripture mentions as given to Noah after the floud were both in relation to this sin that of not eating blood Gen. 9. 4. being a ceremony to beget in men a greater horror of this sin of murder and so intended for the preventing of it The other was for the punishment of it Gen. 9. 6. He that sheddeth mans blood by man shall his blood be shed and the reason of this strickness is added in the next words For in the Image of God made be man where you see that this sin is not onely an injury to our brother but even the highest contempt and despight towards God himself for it is the defacing of his Image which he hath stamped upon man Nay yet further it is the usurping of Gods proper right and authority For it is God alone that hath right to dispose of the life of man 't was he alone that gave it and it is he alone that hath power to take it away but he that murders a man does as it were wrest this power out of Gods hand which is the highest pitch of rebellious presumption 15. And as the sin is great so likewise is the punishment we see it frequently very great and remarkable even in this world besides those most fearful effects of it in the next blood not onely cryes but it cryes for vengeance and the great God of recompences as he stiles himself will not fail to hear it very many examples the Scripture gives us of this Ahab and Jezabeel that murdered innocent Naboth for greediness of his vineyard were themselves slain and the dogs licked their blood in the place where they had shed his as you may read in that Story so Absalom that slew his brother Amnon after he had committed that sin fell into another that of rebellion against his King and Father and in it miserably perished Rechab and Baanah that slew Ishbosheth were themselves put to death and that by the very person they thought to endear by it many more instances might be given of this out of the Sacred Story and many also out of Humane there having been no age but hath yielded multitudes of exampleâ— of this kind so that every man may furnish himself out of the observations of his own time 16. And it is worth our notice what strange and even miraculous means it hath often pleased God to use for the discovery of this sin the very bruit creatures have often been made instruments of it nay often the extreme horrour of a mans own conscience has made him betray himself so that it is not any closeness a man uses in the acting of this sin that can secure him from the vengeance of it for he can never shut out his own conscâ—ence that will in spite of him be privy to the fact and that very often proves the means of discovering it to the world or if it should not do that yet it will sure act revenge on him it will be such a hell within him as will be worse then death this we have seen in many who after the commission of this sin have never been able to enjoy a minutes rest but have had that intolerable anguish of mind that they have chosen to be their own murderers rather then live in it These are the usual effects of this sin even in this world but those in another are yet more dreadful where surely the highest degrees of torment belong to this high pitch of wickedness for if as our Saviour tels us Mat. 5. 22. Hell fire be the portion of him that shall but call his brother fool what degreeâ— of those burnings can we think proportionable to this so much greater an injury 17. The consideration of all this ought to possess us with the greatest horrour and abomination of this sin and to make us extremely watchful of our selves that we never fall into it and to that end to prevent all those occasions which may insensibly draw us into this pit I mentioned at first severall things which are wont to be originals of it and at those we must begin if we will surely guard our selves If therefore thou wilt be sure never to kill a man in thy rage be sure never to be in that rage for if thou permittest thy self to that thou canst have no security against the other anger being a madness that suffers us not to consider or know what we do when it has once possest us Therefore when thou findest thy self begin to be inflamed think betimes whether this may lead thee if thou lettest loose to it and immediately put the bridle upon this head-strong passion so again if thou wilt be sure thy malice shall not draw thee to it be sure never to harbour one malicious thought in thy heart for if it once settle there it will gather such strength that within a while thou wilt be perfectly under the power of it so that it may lead thee even to this horrible sin at its pleasure be therefore careful at the very first approach of this treacherous gift to shut the doors against it never to let it enter thy mind so also if thou wilt be sure thy covetousness thy ambition thy lust or any other sinful desire shall not betray thee to it be sure thou never permit any of them to bear any sway with thee for if they get the dominion as they will soon do if they be once entertained in the heart they will be past thy controul and hurry thee to this or any other sin that may serve their ends In like manner if thou wouldst not be guilty of any of the mortal effects of thy neighbours drunkenness be sure not to entice him to it nor accompany him at it and to that purpose do not allow thy self in the same practice for if thou do thou wilt be labouring to get company at it Lastly if thou wilt not be guilty of the murder committed by another take heed thou never give any incouragement to it or contribute any thing to that hatred or contention that may be the cause of it For when thou hast either kindled or blowed the fire what knowest thou whom it may consume bring alwayes as much water as thou canst to quench but never bring one drop of oil to increase the flame The like may be said of all other occasions of this sin not here mentioned and this careful preserving our selves from these is the only sure way to keep us from this sin therefore as ever thou wouldst keep thy self innocent
seeing and therefore since he hath pronounced death to be the reward of that sin 't is not unreasonable to expect he may himself inflict it that they who watch for the death of their Parents may untimely meet with their own The fifth Commandment promiseth long life as the reward of honouring the Parent to which 't is very agreeable that untimely death be the punishment of the contrary and sure there is nothing more highly contrary to that duty then this we are now speaking of the cursing our Parents 14. The third duty we owe to them is obedience This is not onely contained in the fifth Commandment but expresly injoined in other places of Scripture Eph. 6. 1. Children obey your Parents in the Lord for this is right and again Col. 3. 20. Children obey your Parents in all things for this is well pleasing to the Lord. We owe them an obedience in all things unless where their commands are contrary to the commands of God for in that case our duty to God must be preferred and therefore if any Parent shall be so wicked as to require his child to steal to lye or to do any unlawful thing the child then offends not against his duty though he disobey that command nay he must disobey or else he offend against a higher duty even that he owes to God his Heavenly Father Yet when 't is thus necessary to refuse obedience he should take care to do it in such a modest and respectful manner that it may appear 't is conscience onely and not stubborness moves him to it But in case of all lawful commands that is when the thing commanded is either good or not evil when it hath nothing in it contrary to our duty to God there the child is bound to obey be the command in a weightier or lighter matter How little this duty is regarded is too manifest every where in the world where Parents generally have their children no longer under command then they are under the rod when they are once grown up they think themselves free from all obedience to them or if some do continue to pay it yet let the motive of it be examined and 't will in too many be found onely worldly prudence They fear to displease their Parents lest they should shorten their hand toward them and so they shall loose somewhat by it but how few are there that obey purely upon conscience of duty This sin of disobedience to Parents was by the Law of Moses punishable with death as you may read Deut 21. 18. but if Parents now a dayes should proceed so with their children many might soon make themselves chidless 15. But of all acts of disobedience that of marrying against the consent of the Parent is one of the highest Children are so much the goods the possessions of the Parent that they cannot without a kind of theft give away themselves without the allowance of those that have the right in them and therefore we see under the Law the Maid that had made any vow was not suffered to perform it without the consent of the Parent Num. 30. 5. the right of the Parent was thought of force enough to cancel and make void the Obligation even of a vow and therefore surely it ought to be so much considered by us as to keep us from making any such whereby that right is infringed 16. A fourth duty to the Parent is to assist and minister to them in all their wants of what kind soever whether weakness and sickness of body decayedness of understanding or poverty and lowness of estate in all these the child is bound according to his ability to relieve and assist them for the two former weakness of body and infirmity of mind none can doubt of the duty when they remember how every child did in his infancy receive the very same benefit from the Parent the child had then no strength to support no understanding to guide it self the care of the Parents was fain to supply both these to it and therefore in common gratitude whenever either of these becomes the Parents case as sometimes by great age or some accident both do the child is to perform the same offices back again to them As for that of relieving their poverty there is the very same Obligation to that with the former it being but just to sustain thy Parent who has formerly sustained thee but besides this Christ himself teaches us that thâ—s is contained within their precept of honouring the Parents for when Mar. 7. 13. he accuses the Pharisees of rejecting the Commandment of God to cleave to their own traditions he instances in this particular concerning the relieving of Parents whereby 't is manifest that this is a part of that duty which is injoined in the fifth Commandment as you may see at large in the Text and such a duty it is that no pretence can absolve or acquit us of it How then shall those answer it that deny relief to their poor Parents that cannot part with their own excesses and superfluities which are indeed their sins to satisfie the necessities of those to whom they owe their being Nay some there are yet worse who out of pride scorn to own their Parents in ther poverty Thus it often happens when the child is advanced to dignity or wealth they think it a disparagement to them to look on their Parents that remain in a low condition it being the betraying as they think to the world the meanness of their birth and so the poor Parent fares the worse for the prosperity of his child This is such a pride and unnaturalness together as will surely find a sharp vengeance from God for if Solomon observe of pride alone that it is the fore-runner of destruction Prov. 16. 18. we may much rather conclude so of it when it is thus accompanied 17. To this that hath been said of the duty of children to theâ—r Parents I shall add onely this That no unkindness no fault of the Parent can acquit the child of this duty but as St. Peter tels servants 1 Pet. 2. 18. that they must be subject not onely to the good and gentle masters but also to the froward so certainly it belongs to children to perform duty not onely to the kind and vertuous but even to the harshest and wicked'st Parent For though the gratitude due to a kind Parent be a very forcible motive to make the child pay his duty yet that is not the onely nor chiefest ground of it That is laid in the Command of God who requires us thus to honour our Parents and therefore though we should suppose a Parent so unnatural as never to have done any thing to oblige the child which can hardly be imagined yet still the Command of God continues in force and we are in conscience of that to perform that duty to our Parents though none of the other tye of gratitude should lye on
self-love set by the Apostle in the head of a whole troop of sins 2 Tim. 3. 2. as if it were some principal officer in Satans camp and certainly not without reason for it never goes without an accursed train of many other sins which like the Dragons tail Rev. 12. 4. sweeps away all care of duty to others We are by it made so vehement and intent upon the pleasing our selves that we have no regard to any body else contrary to the direction of St. Paul Rom. 15. 2. Which is not to please our selves but every man to please his neighbour for his good to edification which he backs with the example of Christ ver 3. For even Christ pleased not himself If therefore we have any sincere desire to have this vertue of charity rooted in our hearts we must be careful to weed out this sin of self-love for 't is impossible they can prosper together 19. But when we have removed this hindrance we must remember that this as all other graces proceeds not from our selves it is the gift of God and therefore we must earnestly pray to him to work it in us to send his holy Spirit which once appeared in the form of a dove a meek and a gâ—ll-lesse creature to frame our hearts to the same temper and enable us rightly to perform this duty 20. I have now past through those several branches I at first proposed and shewed you what is our duty to God our selves and our neighbour Of which I may say as it is Luk. 10 28. This do and thou shalt live And surely it is no impossible task to perform this in such a measure as God will graciously accept that is in sincerity though not in perfection for God is not that austere Master Lu. 19. 21. That reapâ— where he has not sowed he requires nothing of us which he is not ready by his grace to enable us to perform if we be not wanting to our selves either in asking it by prayer or in using it by diligence And as it is not an impossible so neither is it such a sad melancholly task as men are apt to think it 'T is a special policy of Satans to do as the spies did Num 23. 28. bring up an ill report upon this good land this state of Christian life thereby to discourage us from entering into it to fright us with I know not what â—yants we shall meet with but let us not thus be cheated let us but take the courage to trye and we shall indeed find it a Canaan a land flâ—wing with milk and honey God is not in this respect to his people a wilderâ—ess a land of darkness Ier. 2. 31. His service does not bereave men of any true joy but helps them to a great deal Christs yoke is an easy nay a pleasant yoke his burden a light yea a gracious burde There is in the practice of Christian duties a great deal of present pleasure and if we feel it not it is because of the resistance our vicious and sinful customes make which by the contention raises an uneasinesse But then first that is to be charged only on our selves for having got those ill customes and thereby made that hard to us which in it self is most pleasant the duties are not to be accused for it And then secondly even there the pleasure of subduing those ill habits overcoming those corrupt customes is such as hugely outweigheth all the trouble of the combate 21. But it will perhaps be said that some parts of piety are of such a nature as will be very apt to expose us to persecutions and sufferings in the world and that those are not joyous but grievous I answer that even in those there is matter of joy we see the Apostles thought it so they rejoyced that they were counted worthy to suffer for Christs name Acts 4. 41. and St. Peter tels us that if any suffer as a Christian he is to glorifie God for it 1 Pet. 4. 16. There is such a force and vertue in the testimony of a good conscience as is able to change the greatest suffering into the joyfullest triumph and that testimony we can never have more clear and lively then when we suffer for righteousnesse sake so that you see Christianity is very amiable even in its saddest dresse the inward comforts of it do fat surpasse all the outward tribulations that attend it and that even in the instant while we are in the state of warfare upon earth But then if we look forward to the crown of our victories those eternal rewards in heaven we can never think those tasks sad though we had nothing at present to sweeten them that have such recompences await them at the end were our labours never so heavy we could have no cause to faint under them Let us therefore whenever we meet with any discouragements in our course fix our eye on this rich prize and then run with patience the race which is set before us Heb. 12. 2 Follow the Captain of our salvation through the greatest sufferings yea even through the same red Sea of blood which he hath waded whenever our obedience to him shall require it for though our fidelity to him should bring us to death it self we are sure to be no losers by it for to such he hath promised a Crown of life the very expectation whereof is able to keep a Christian more cheerful in his fetters and dungeon then a worldling can be in the midst of his greatest prosperities 22. All that remains for me farther to add is earnestly to intreat and beseech the Reader that without delay he puts himself into this so pleasant so gainful a course by setting sincerely to the practice of all those things which either by this book or by any other means he discerns to be his and the further he hath formerly gone out of his way the more haste it concerns him to make to get into it and to use the more diligence in walking in it He that hath a long journey to go and finds he hath lost a great part of his day in a wrong way will not need much intreaty either to turn into the right or to quicken his pace in it And this is the case of all those that have lived in any course of sin they are in a wrong road which will never bring them to the place they aim at Nay which will certainly bring them to the place they most fear and abhor much of their day is spent how much will be left to finish their journey in none knowes perhaps the next hour the next minute the night of death may overtake them what a madness is it then for them to defer one moment to turn out of that path which leads to certain destruction and to put themselves in that which will bring them to bliss and glory Yet so are men bewitched and enchanted with the deceitfulness of sin that no
of danger thou hast not the less but the greater cause to magnify God who hath by his protection so guarded thee that not so much as the fear of evil hatâ— assaulted thee And therefore omit not to pay him the tribute of humble thankfulness as well for his usual and daily preservations as his more extraordinary deliverances And above all endeavour still by the considerations of his mercies to have thy heart the more closely knit to him remembring that every favour received from him is a new engagement upon thee to love and obey him PRAYERS for NIGHT. O Holy blessed and glorious Trinity three persons and one God have mercy upon me a miserable sinner Lord I know not what to pray for as I ought O let thy Spirit help my infirmities and enable me to offer up a spiritual Sacrifice acceptable unto thee by Jesus Christ. A CONFESSION O MOST Holy Lord God who are of purer eyes then to behold iniquity now shall I abominable wretch dare to appear before thee who am nothing but pollution I am defiled in my very nature having a backwardness to all good and a readiness to all evil but I have defiled my self yet much worse by my own actual sins and wicked customes I have transgrest my duty to thee my neighbour and my self and that both in thought in word in deed by doing those things which thou hast expresly forbidden and by neglecting to do those things thou hast commanded me And this not onely through ignorance and frailty but knowingly and wilfully against the motions of thy Spirit and the checks of my own conscience to the contrary And to make all these out of measure sinful I have gone on in a daily course of repeating these provocations against thee notwithstanding all thy calls to and my own purposes and â—owes of amendmeut yea this very day I have not ceased to add new sins to all my former guilts Here name the Particulars And now O Lord what shall I say or how shall I open my mouth seeing I have done these things I know that the wages of these sins is death but O thou who willest not the death of a sinner have mercy upon me work in me I beseech thee a sincere contrition and a perfect hatred of my sins and let me not daily confess and yet as daily renew them but grant O Lord that from this instant I may give a bill of divorce to all my most beloved â—lusts and then be thou pleased to marry me to thy self in truth in righteousness and holiness And for all my past sins O Lord receive a reconciliation accept of that ransom thy blessed Son hath paid for me and for his sake whom thou hast set forth as a propitiation pardon all my offences and receive me to thy favour And when thou hast thus spoken peace to my soul Lord keep me that I turn not any more to folly but so establish me with thy grace that no temptation of the world the Divel or my own flesh may ever draw me to offend thee that being made free from sin and becoming a servant unto God I may have my fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord. A THANKSGIVING O Thou Father of mercies who art kind even to the unthankful I acknowledg my self to have abundantly experimented that gracious property of thine for notwithstanding my daily provocations against thee thou still heapest mercies and loving kindness upon me All my contempts and despisings of thy spiritual favours have not yet made thee withdraw them but in the riches of thy goodness and long-suffering thou still continuest to me the offers of grace and life in thy Son And all my abuses of thy temporal blessings thou hast not punished with an utter deprivation of them but art still pleased to afford me a liberal portion of them The sins of this day thou hast not repayed as justly thou might'st by sweeping me away with a swift destruction but hast spared and preserved me according to the greatness of thy mercy Here mention the particular mercies of that day What shall I render unto the Lord for all these benefits he hath done unto me Lord let this goodness of thine lead me to repentance and grant that I may not only offer thee thanks and praise but may also order my conversation aright that so I may at the last see the salvation of God through Jesus Christ. Here use the Prayer for Grace and that of Intercession appointed for the Morning For PRESERVATION O Blessed Lord the Keeper of Israel that neither slumbrest nor sleepest be pleased in thy mercy to watch over me this night keep me by thy grace from all works of darkness and defend me by thy power from all dangers grant me moderate and refreshing sleep such as may fit me for the duties of the day following And Lord make me ever mindful of that time when I shall lye down in the dust and because I know neither the day nor the hour of my Masters coming grant me grace that I may be always ready that I may never live in such a state as I shall fear to dye in but that whether I live I may live unto the Lord or whether I dye I may dye unto the Lord so that living and dying I may be thine through Jesus Christ. Vse the same concluding prayer as in the Morning As thou art putting off thy clothes thiâ—k with thy self that the time approaches that thou must put off thy body also and then thy soul must appear naked before Gods judgment feat and therefore thou hadst need be careful to make it so clean and pure by repentance and holiness that he who will not look on iniquity may graciously behold and accept it Let thy bed put thee in mind of thy grave and when thou lyest down say O Blessed Saviour who by thy precious death and burial didst take away the sting of death and power of the grave grant me the joyful fruits of that thy victory and be thou to me in life and death advantage I will lay me down in peace and take my rest for it is thou Lord only that makest me dwell in safety Into thy hands I commend my spirit for thou hast redeemed it O Lord thou God of truth IN the ANCIENT CHURCH there were besides morning and night Four other times every day which were called HOURS OF PRAYER and the zeal of thosâ— first Christians was such as made them constantly observed It would be thought too great a strictness now in this lukewarm age to enjâ—yn the like frequency yet I cannot but mention the example and say that for those who are not by very necessary business prevented it will be but reasonable to imitate it and make up in publick and private those FOUR TIMES of PRAYER besides the OFFICES already set down for MORNING and NIGHT and that none may be to seek how to exer I se their devotions at these
God and bewâ—â—â— of Asa's sin who sought to the Physicions and not to the Lord 2 Chr. 6. 12. Dispose also betimes of thy temporal affaires by making thy will and setting all things in such order as thou meanest finally to leave them in and defer it not till thy sickness grow more violent for then perhaps thou shalt not have such use of thy reason as may fiâ— thee for it or if thou have it will be thâ—n much more seasonable to imploy thy thoughts on higher things on the world thou art going to rather then that thou art about to leave we cannot carry the things of this world with us when we go hence and it is not fit we should carry the thoughts of them Therefore let those be early dispatched that they may not disturb thee â—t last A Prayer for a sick Person O MERCIFUL and Righteous Lord the God of health and of â—â—ckness of life and of death I most unfeignedly acknowledg that my great abuse of those many days of strength and wellfare which thou hast afforded me hath most justly deserved thy present visitation I desire O Lord humbly to accept of this punishment of mine iniquity and to bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him And O thou merciful Father who designest not the ruine but the amendment of those whom thou scourgest I beseech thee by thy grace so to sanctifie this correction of thine to me that this sickness of my body may be a means of health to my soul make me dâ—ligent to search my heart and do thou O Lord enable me to discover every accursed thing how closely soever concealed there that by the removal thereof I may make way for the removal of this punishment Heal my soul O Lord which hath sinned against thee and then if it be thy blessed will heal my body also restore the voice of joy and health unto my dwelling that I may live to praise thee and to bring forth fruits of repentance But if in thy wisdome thou hast otherwise disposed if thou have determined that this sickness shall be unto death I beseech thee to fit and prepare me for it give me that sincere and earnest repentance to which thou hast promised mercy and pardon weane my heart from the world and all its fading vanities and make me to gasp and pant after those more excellent and durable joyes which are at thy right hand for ever Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me and in all the pains of my body in all the agonies of my spirit let thy comforts refresh my soul and enable me patiently to waite till my change come And grant O Lord that when my earthly house of this Tabernacle is dissolved I may have a building of God an house not made with hands eternal in the heavens And that for his sake who by his precious blood hath purchased it for me even Jesus Christ. A THANKSGIVING for RECOVERY O GRACIOUS Lord the God of the spirits of all flâ—sh in whose hand my time is I praise and magnifie thee that thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption and restored me to health again it is thou alone O Lord that hast preserved my life from destruction thou hast chastned and corrected me but thou hast not given me over unto death O let this life which thou hast thus graciously spared be wholy consecrated to thee Behold O Lord I am by thy mercy made wâ—ole O make me strictly careful to sin no more least a worse thing come unto me Lord let not this reprieve thou hast now given me make me secure as thinking that my Lord delayeth his coming but grant me I beseech thee to make a right use of this long suffering of thine and so to imploy every minute of that time thou shalt allow me that when thou shalt appear I may have confidence and not be ashamed before thee at thy coming Lord I have found by this approach towards death how dreadful a thing it is to be taken unprepared O let it be a perpetual admonition to me to watch for my Masters coming And when the pleasures of sin shal present themselvs to entice me O make me to remember how bitter they will be at the last O Lord hear me and as thou hast in much mercy afforded me time so grant me also grace to work out my own salvation to provide oyl in my lamp that when the Bridgroom cometh I may go in with him to the marriage Grant this I beseech thee for thy dear Sons sake A Prayer at the approach of death O ETERNAL and everliving God who first breathedst into man the breath of life and when thou takest away that breath he dyes and is turned again to his dust look with compassion on me thy poor creature who am now drawing neer the gates of death and which is infinitely more terrible the bar of judgment Lord my own heart condemns me and thou art infinitely greater then my heart and knowest all things The sins I know and remember fill me with horrour but there are also multitudes of others which I either observed not at the time or have since carelesly forgot which are all present to thee Thou settest my misdeeds before thee and my secret sins in the light of thy countenance and to what a mountainous heap must the minutely provocations of so many years arise How shall one so ungodly stand in thy Judgment or such a sinner in the Congregation of the Righteous And to add yet more to my terrour my very repentance I fear will not abide the tryal my frequent relapses heretofore have sufficiently witnessed the unsincerity of my past resolutions And then O Lord what can secure me that my present dislikes of my sins are not rather the effects of my amazing danger then of any reall change and O Lord I know thou art not moâ—ked nor wilt accept of any thing that is not perfectly sincere O Lord when I consider this fearfulness and trembling comes upon me and an horrible dread overwhelmeth me my flesh trembleth for fear of thee and my heart is wounded within me But O Lord one deep calleth upon another the depth of my misery upon the depth of thy mercy Lord save now or I perish eternally O thou who willest not that any should perish but that all should come to Repentance bring me I beseech thee though thus late to a sincere Repentance such as thou wilt accept who tryest the heart Create in me O God a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me Lord one day is with thee as a thousand years O let thy mighty Spirit work in me now in this my last day whatsoever thou seest wanting to fit me for thy mercy and acceptation Give me a perfect and entire hatred of my sins and enable me to present thee with that sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart which thou hast promised not
to despise that by this I may be made capable of that atonement which thy dear Son hath by the more excellent oblation of himself made for all repenting sinners He is the propitiation for our sins he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was on him O heal me by his stripes and let the cry of his blood drown the clamour of my sins I am indeed a child of wrath but he is the Son of thy love for his sake spare me O Lord spare thy creature whom he hath redeemed with his most precious blood and be not angry with me for ever In his wounds O Lord I take Sanctuary O let not thy vengeance pursue me to this city of refuge my Soul hangeth upon him O let me not perish with a Jesus with a Saviour in my armes But by his Agony and bloody Sweat by his Cross and Passion by all that he did and suffered for sinners good Lord deliver me deliver me I beseech thee from the wages of my sins thy wrath and everlasting damnation in thâ—s time of my tribulation in the hour of death and in the day of Judgment Heaâ— me O Lord hear me and do not now repay my former neglects of thy calls by refusing to answer me in this time of my grâ—atest need Lord there is but a step between me and death O let not my sun go down upon thy wrath but seaâ— my pardon before I go hence and be no more seen Thy loving kindness is better then the life it self O let me have that in exchange and I shall most gladly lay down this mortal life Lord thou knowest all my desire and my groaning is not hid from thee Deal thou with me O Lord according to thy Name for sweet is thy mercy take away the sting of death the guilt of my sins and then though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil I will lay me down in peace and Lord when I awake up let me be satisfied with thy presence in thy glory Grant this merciful God for his sake who is both the Redeemer and Mediator of sinners even Jesus Christ. PSALMES PVT me not to rebuke O Lord in thiâ—â— anger neither chasten me in thy heavy displeasure There is no health in my flesh because of thy displeasure neither is there any rest in my bones by reason of my sins For my wickednesses are gone over my head and are a sore burden too heavy for me to bear My wounds stink and are corrupt through my foolishness Therefore is my spirit vexed within me and my heart within me is desolate My sins have taken such hold upon me that I am not able to look up yea they are more in number then the hairs of my head and my heart hath failed me But thou O Lord God art full of compassion and mercy long suffering plenteous in goodness and truth Turn thee unto me and have mercy upon me for I am desolate and in misery If thou Lord shouldst be extreme to mark what is done amiss O Lord who may abide it O remember not the sins and offences of my youth but according to thy mercy think thou upon me for thy goodness Look upon my adversity and misery and forgive me all my sin Hide not thy face from thy servant for I am in trouble O haste thee and hear me Out of the deep do I call unto thee Lord hear my voice Turn thee O Lord and deliver my Soul O save me for thy mercies sake O go not from me for trouble is hard at hand and there is none to help I stretch forth my hands unto thee my Soul gaspeth unto thee as a thirsty land Draw nigh unto my Soul and save it O deliver me because of my enemies For my Soul is full of trouble and my life draweth nigh unto hell Save me from the Lyons mouth hear me from among the horns of the Vnicorns O set me up upon the rock that is higher then I for thou art my hope and a strong Tower for me against the enemy Why art thou so heavy O my Soul and why art thou so disquieted within me Put thy trust in God for I will yet give him thanks for the help of his countenance The Lord shall make good his loving kindness towards me yea thy Mercy O Lord endureth for ever despise not then the work of of thine own hands O GOD thou art my God early will I seek thee My Soul thirsteth for thee my flesh also longeth after thee in a barren and dry land where no water is Like as the hart desireth the water brooks so longeth my Soul after thee O God My Soul is a thirst for God even for the living God when shall I come to appear before the presence of God How amiable are thy dwellings O Lord of Hosts My Soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the Courts of the Lord my flesh and my heart rejoice in the living God O that I had wings like a Dove for then would I flye away and be at rest O send out thy light and thy truth that they may lead me and bring me unto thy Holy Hill and to thy dwelling For one day in thy Courts is better then a thousand I had rather be a door keeper in the house of my God then to dwell in the tents of wickedness I should utterly have fainted but that I believed verily to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living Thou art my Helper and my Redeemer O Lord make no long tarrying EjACULATIONS O LORD of whom may I seek for succour but of thee who for my sins art justly displeased yet O Lord God most Holy O Lord most mighty O Holy and most Merciful Saviour deliver me not into the bitter pains of eternal death Thou knowest Lord the secrets of my heart shut not up thy merciful eyes to my prayer but hear me O Lord most Holy O God most Mighty O Holy and Merciful Saviour thou most worthy Judg eternal suffer me not at my last hour for any pains of death to fall from thee Father I have sinned against Heaven and before thee and am no worthy to be called thy child yet O Lord do not thou cast off the bowels and compassions of a Father but even as a Father pittieth his own children so bâ— thou merciful unto me Lord the prince of this world cometh Oâ— let â—im have nothing in me but as he accuseth do thou absolve he layes many and grievous things to my charge which he can too well prove I have nothing to say for my self do thou answer for me O Lord my God O Lord I am clothed with filthy garments and Satan stands at my right hand to resist me O be thou pleased to rebuke him and pluck me as a brand out of the fire cause mine iniquities to pass from me and cloth me with the righteousness
of thy Son Behold O God the Devil is coming towards me having great wrath because he knoweth that he hath but a short time O save and deliver me lest he devour my Soul like a Lyon and tear it in pieces while there is none to help O my God I know that no unclean thing can enter into thy Kingdom and I am nothing but pollution my very righteousness are as filthy rags O wash me and make me white in the blood of the Lamb that so I may be fit to stand before thy Throne Lord the snares of death compass me round about O let not the pains of Hell also take hold upon me but though I find trouble and heaviness yet O Lord I beseâ—ch thee deliver my Soul O dear Jesus who hast bought me with the precious price of thine own blood challenge now thy purchase and let not all the malice of hell pluck me out of thy hand O blessed high Priest who art able to save them to the utmost who come unto God by thee saye me I beseech thee who have no hope but on thy merits and intercession O God I confess I have defaced that Image of thine thou didst imprint upon my Soul yet O thou faithful Creatour have pity on thy creature O Jesu I have by my many and grievous sins crucified thee afresh yet thou who prayedst for thy persecutors intercede for me also and suffer not O my Redeemer my soul the price of thy blood to perish O Spirit of grace I have by my horrid impieties done despight to thee yet O blessed comforter though I have often grieved thee be thou pleased to succour and relieve me and say unto my soul I am thy salvation Mine eyes look unto thee O Lord in thee is my trust O cast not out my soul. O Lord in thee have I trusted let me never be confounded O Blessed Lord who scourgest every Son whom thou receivest let me not be weary of thy correction but give me such a perfect subjection to thee the Father of Spirits that this chastisement may be for my profit that I may thereby be partaker of thy holiness O thou Captain of my salvation who wert made perfect by sufferings sanctifie to me all the paines of body all the terrors of mind which thou shalt permit to fall upon me Lord my sins have deserved eternal torments make me cheerfully and thankfully to bear my present pains chasten me as thou pleasest here that I may not be condemned with the world Lord the waters are come in even unto my soul O let thy Spirit move upon these waters and make them like the pool of Bethesda that they may cure whatsoever spiritual disease thou discernest in me O Christ who first sufferedst many and grievous things and then enteredst into thy glory make me so to suffer with thee that I may also be glorified with thee O dear Jesus who humblest thy self to the death of the cross for me let that death of thine sweeten the bitterness of mine When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death thou didst open the Kingdome of heaven to all believers I believe that thou shalt come to be my Judg. I pray thee therefore help thy servant whom thou hast redeemed with thy most precious blood Make me to be numbred with thy Saints in glory everlasting Thou art the resurrection and the life he that believeth in thee though he were dead yet shall he live Lord I believe help thou my unbelief My flesh and my heart faileth but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ which is far better Lord I groan earnestly desiring to be cloathed upon with that house from heaven I desire to put off this my tabernacle O be pleased to receive me into everlasting habitations Bring my soul out of prison that I may give thanks unto thy name Lord I am here to wrestle not onely with flesh and blood but with principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness O take me from these tents of Kedar into the heavenly Jerusalem where Satan shall be utterly trodden under my feet I cannot here attend one minute to thy service without distraction O take me up to stand before thy throne where I shall serve thee day and night I am here in heaviness through many tribulations O receive me into that place of rest where all tears shall be wiped from my eyes where there shall be no more death nor sorrow nor crying nor pain I am here in a state of banishment and absence from the Lord O take me where I shall for ever behold thy face and follow the lamb whither soever he goeth I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness O Blessed Jesu who hath loved me and washed me from my sins in thine own blood receive my soul. Into thy hands I commend my spirit for thou hast redeemed me O Lord thou God of truth Come Lord Jesu come quickly PRAYERS for their use who Mourn in secret for the PUBLICK CALAMITIES c. Psalm 74. O God wherefore art thou absent c. 79. O God the Heathen are come c 80. Hear O thou Shepherd of Israel c. A Prayer to be used in these times of Calamity O Lord God to whom vengeance belongeth I desire humbly to confesse before thee both on my own behalf and that of this nation that these many years of calamity we have groaned under are but the just yea mild returns of those many more years of our provocations against thee and that thy present wrath is but the due punishment of thy abused mercy O Lord thou hast formerly abounded to us in blessings above all people of the earth Thy candle shined upon our heads and we delighted our selves in thy great goodness peace was within our walls and plenteousness within our palaces there was no decay no leading into captivity and no complaining in our streets But we turned this grace into wantonness we abused our peace to security our plenty to riot and Luxury and made those good things which should have endeared our hearts to thee the occasions of estranging them from thee Nay O Lord thou gavest us yet more precious mercies thou wert pleased thy self to pitch thy Tabernacle with us to establish a pure and glorious Church among us and give us thy word to be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths But O Lord we have made no other use of that light then to conduct us to the chambers of death we have dealt proudly and not hearkned to thy commandments and by rebelling against the light have purchased to our selves so much the heavier portion in the outer darkness And now O Lord had the overflowings of thy vengeance been answerable to that of our sins we had long since been swept away with a swift destruction and
its parts Confession Petitions For our Souls Bodiâ—â— Deprâ—cation Of sin Of punishmâ—â—t Intercession Thankâ—â—â—ving Spiritual Mercies Temporal Publick Prayer in the Church In the family Private Prayer Frequency in Prayer The advantages of Prayer Honour Benefit Pleasantness Carnallity one reason of its seeming otherwise Want of one another To ask nothing unlawful To ask in Faith In humility With attention Helps against wandring 〈…〉 〈◊〉 Prayer for Gods aid Watchfulnesse With Zeal With purity To right ends Bodily worship Repentance A turning from sin to God Times for this Duty Daily At set times In the time of affliction At Death The danger of deferring it till then The disadvantages of a death-bed repentance The custom of sin Bodily pains Danger of unsincerity Fasting Fasting a a revenge upon our selves Such revenges acceptable with God Yet no satisfaction for sins Times of fasting Second branâ—h of our dâ—ty to God Inward Idolatry Duty to our selves Humility The great sin of pride The danger Drawing into other sins Frustrating of remedies Betraying to punishment The folly In respect of the goods of Nature The goods of fortune The goods of grace Means of Humility Vain glory The sin The danger The folly â—elps aâ—â—inst vain â—â—â—ry Meekness Advantages of it Means of obtaining it Consideration Of our state The rule by which to trie our state The danger of inconsideration Our actions Before we do them After they are done Frequency of consideration Danger of omitting it Contentedness Contrary to murmuring To ambition To covetâ—usness Covetousness contrary to our duty to God To our selves To our neighbourâ— Contentedness contrary to envy Helps to contentedness Diligence Watchfulness against sin Industry in improving gifts Of Nature Of Grace To improve good motions The dangâ—â— of the contrary Chastity Uncleanness forbidden in the very lowest degrees The mischiefs of it To the Soul To the Body The Iudgments of God against it It shuts out from Heaven Helps to chastity Temperance In Eating Ends of eating Preserving of life Of Health Ru'es of Temperance in eating Means of it Temperancâ— in Drinkâ—ing False ends of drinking Good fellowship Preserving of kindness Cheering the spirits Putting away cares Passing away time Preventing reproach Pleasure of the drink Bargaining Degrees of this sin The great guilt of the strong drinkers The great mischiefs of this sin Exhortation to forsake it The difficulties of doing so considered Seeming nâ—â—â—ssity of drink Want of imployment Perswasions and reproaches of men The means of resisting them Which the advantages 〈◊〉 the hurt Reject the temptationâ— at the veâ—â— beginning The seâ—urity of doing so The efficaâ—y of these means if not hindred by love of the sin That lovâ— makes mâ—â— loth to beâ—lieve it dangerouâ— Sleep The rule of temperance therein The many sins that fâ—â—lâ—w tâ—e transgressing of it Other mischiefs of sloth Temperance in Recreation Cautions tâ—he observeâ— in them Undue end of sports Temperance in Apparel Apparel designed foâ— covering of shame Fencing from cold Distinction of persons Too much sparing a fault as well as excess Duty to our Neighbour Iustice. Negative To the Soul In the natural sence In the spiritual Drawing to sin the greatest injury Direct means of Indirect Men sadly to consider whom they have thus injured Heartily to bewail it Endeavour to repair it Negative justice to the body In respect of the life Several ways of being guilty of murder The Hainousness of the sin The great punishments attending it The strange discoveries of it We must waâ—ch diligently aâ—gainst all approaches of this sin Maiming â— great injury That which every man dreads for himself Yet worse if the man be poor Necessity of making what satisfaction we can Wounds and stripes injuries also This cruelty to others the effect of pride His possession Hâ—s wife The enticing a mans wife the greatest injustice To the woman To the man The most irrepairable His goods Malicious injustice Covetous injustice Oppression Gods vengeance against it Theft Not paying what we borrow What we are bâ—und for What we have promised Stealing the goods of our neighbour Deceit In Trust. In Traffick The sellers concealing the faults of his ware His over-rating it Fraud in the Buyer Many Temptations to deceit in Traffick The commonness of injustiee a reproach to Christianity It is not the way to enrich a man It ruines the Soul Eternally The necessity of Restitution His credit False witness Publick slanders Whispering Several steps towards this sin Despising and scoffing For infirmities For calamities Forsi â— Destroying the credit a great injury And irrepairable Yet every guilty person must do all he can to repaire the injury Iustice in the thoughts Positive Iustice. Speaking Truth a due to all men Lying expresly forbiden in Scripture The great commonness and folly of this sin Courteous behaviour a due to all men Not payed by the proud man Meekness a due to all men Brauling very inâ—ufferable It leads to that great sin of cursing Particular dues A respect due to men of extraordinary gifts We are not to envy them Nor detract from them The folly of both those sins A respect due to men in regard of their râ—nks and qualities Dues to those that are in any sort â—f want To the poor God withdraws those abilities which are not thus imployed Dues in respect of relations Gratitude to Benefactors The contrary too common Duty to Parents Dues to the Supreme Magistrate Honour Tribute Prayers for them Obedience Duties to our Pastors Love Esteem Maintenance Obedience Prayer for them Duties to our natural Parents Reverence Love Obedience Especially in their Marriage Ministring to their wants Duty to be paid even to the worst Parents Duty of Parents to children To Nourish them Bring them to Baptism Educate them Meane towards the educating of children The parent to watch over their souls even when they are grown up To provide for their subsistence To give them good example To bless them To give no unreasonable commands Dues to brethren Natural The necessity of love among brethren Spiritual brotherhood Our duty to hold communion with these brethren To bear with their infirmities To restore them after falls To sympathy with them The wife owes to the husband obedience Fidelity Love The faults of the Husband acquits not from these duties 〈…〉 Faithfulness Maintenance Instruction Husbands and Wâ—ves mutuâ—lly to pray for and assist each other in all good The vertue of the person the chief consideration in Marriage Unlawful Marriages Friendship It s dutiâ—â— Faithfulness Assistance Admonition Prayer Constancy Servantâ— owe to the Masters â—â—bedience Fidelity Submission to rebuke Diligence Masters owe to their Servants Iustice. Admonition Good example Means of Instruction Moderation in commandâ— Encouragement in well-doing Charity In the Affections To mens Souls To their Bodies Goods and Credit Effects of this Charity It casts out Envy Pride Censoriousness Dissembling Self-seeking Revenge Tâ—is charity to be extended even to enemies Motives thereunto Command of Christ. Example of God The disproportion between our offences against God and mens against us Pleasantness of this Duty Compared with the painfulness of the contrary If we forgive not God will not forgive us Gratitude to God The first riâ—ing of rancour to be supprest Charity in the Actions Towards the mind of our Neighbour His Soul Charity in respect of the Body Charity in respect of the Goods Towards the rich Towards the poor Motives of Alms-giving Manner of Alms giving Cheerfully The fear of impoverishing our selves by it vain and impious Give seasonably Of cruâ—lâ—y Prudâ—ntly Liberally Charity in respect of the Credit The acts of Charity in some respects acts of Iustice also The great rulâ— of Charity Peace Making He that undertakes it must be Peaceable himself Of going to Law This Chariâ—y of the Actions must reach to Enemies Self love 〈◊〉 hinderance to this Charity Prayer a means to procure is Christian duties both possible and pleasant Even when they expose us to outward sufferings The danger of delâ—ying our turning to God
Neighbours wife Actually defiling her Spoiling the goods of others upon spight and malâ—ce Coveting to gain them to our selves Oppressing by violence and force or colour of Law Not paying what we borrow Not paying what we have voluntarily promised Keeping back the wages of the servant and hireling Unfaithfulness in trusts whether to the living or dead Using Arts of deceit in buying and selling Exacting upon the necessities of our Neighbours Blasting the credit of our Neighbour By False Witness By Railng By whispering Incouraging others in their slanders Being forward to beleeve ill reports of our Neighbour Causeless suspicions Rash judging of him Despising him for his infirmities Inviting others to do so by scoffing and deriding him Bearing any malice in the heart Secret wishing of death or any kind of hurt to our Neighbour Rejoicing when any evil befalls him Neglecting to make what satisfaction we can for any sort of injury done to our Neighbour Lying Churlish and proud behaviour to others Froward and peevish conversation Bitter and reproachful language Cursing Not paying the respect due to the qualities or gifts of others Proudly overlooking them Seeking to lessen others esteem of them Not imploying our abilities whether of mind or estate in administring to those whose wants require it Unthankfulness to our Benefactours Especially those that admonish us Not amending upon their reproof Being angry at them for it Not reverencing our Civil Parent the lawful Magistrate Judging and speaking evil of him Grudging his just tributes Sowing sedition among the people Refusing to obey his lawful commands Rising up against him or taking part with them that do Despising our Spiritual Fathers Not loving them for their works sake Not obeying those Commands of God they deliver to us Seeking to withold from them their just maintenance Forsaking our lawful Pastors to follow factious teachers Stubborn and irreverent behaviour to our natural Parents Despising and publishing their infirmities Not loving them nor endeavouring to bring them joy and comfort Contemning their counsels Murmuring at their Government Coveting their estates though by their death Not ministring to them in their wants of all sorts Neglecting to pray for Gods blessing on these several sorts of Parents Want of natural affection to children Mothers refusing to nurse them without a just impediment Not bringing them timely to Baptism Not early instructing them in the wayes of God Suffering them for want of timely correction to get customes of sin Setting them evil examples Discouraging them by harsh cruel usage Not providing for their subsistence according to our ability Consuming their portions in our own riot Reserving all till our death and letting them want in the mean time Not seeking to entail a blessing on them by our Christian lives Nor heartily praying for them Want of affection to our natural brethren Envyings heart-burnings towards them Not loving our spiritual brethren i. e. our fellow Christians Having no fellow-feeling of their sufferings Causelesly forsaking their commnnion in Holy Duties Not taking deeply to heart the desolations of the Church Marrying within the degrees forbidden Marrying for undue ends as covetousness lust c. Unkind froward and unquiet behaviour towards the husband or wife Unfaithfulness to the bed Not bearing with the infirmities of each other Not endeavouring to advance one anothers good spiritual or temporal The wife resisting the lawful command of her husband Her striving for rule and dominion over him Not praying for each other Unfaithfulness to a friend Betraying his secrets Denying him assistance in his needs Neglecting lovingly to admonish him Flattering him in his faults Forsaking his friendship upon flight or no cause Making leagues in sin in stead of vertuous friendships Servants disobeying the lawful commands of their Masters Purloining their goods Carelesly wasting them Murmuring at their rebukes Idleness Eye service Masters using servants tyrannically and cruelly Being too remiss and suffering them to neglect their duty Having no care of their Souls Not providing them means of instruction in Religion Not admonishing them when they commit sins Not allowing them time and opportunity for prayer and the worship of God Want of bowels and Charity to our Neighbours Not heartily desiring their good spiritual or temporal Not loving and forgiving enemies Taking actual revenges upon them Falsenâ—ss professing kindness and acting none Not labouring to do all good we can to the Soul of our Neighbour Not assisting him to our power in his bodily distresses Not defending his good name when we know or beleeve him slandered Denying him any neighbourly office to preserve or advance his estate Not defending him from oppression when we have power Not relieving him in his poverty Not giving liberally or cheerfully Not loving peace Going to Law upon slight occasions Bearing inward enmity to those we sue Not labouring to make peace among others The use of this Catalogue of sins is this Upon dayes of Humiliation especially before the Sacrament read them consideringly over and at every particular ask thine own heart Am I guilty of this And whatsoever by such examination thou findest thy self faulty in confess particularly and humbly to God with all the heightning circumstances which may any way increase their guilt and make serious resolutions against every such sin for the future After which thou mayest use this fâ—rm fâ—llâ—wing O LORD I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee for my iniquities are increased over my head and my trespass is growen up even unto Heaven I have wrought all these great provocations and that in the most provoking manner they have not been onely single but repeated acts of sin for O Lord of all this black Catalogue which I have now brought forth before thee how few are there which I have not often committed nay which are not become even habitual and customary to me And to this frequency I have added both a greediness and obstinacy in sinning turning into my course as the horse rusheth into the battel doing evil with both hands earnestly yea hating to be reformed and casting thy words behind me quenching thy Spirit within me which testified against me to turn me from my evil wayes and frustrating all those outward means whether of judgment or mercy which thou hast used to draw me to thy self Nay O Lord even my repentances may be numbred amongst my greatest sins they have sometimes been feigned and hypocritical alwayes so slight and ineffectual that they have brought forth no fruit in amendment of life but I have still returned with the dog to his vomit and the sow to the mire again and have added the breach of resolutions and vowes to all my former guilts Thus O Lord. I am become out of measure sinful and since I have thus chosen death I am most worthy to take part in it even in the second death the lake of fire and brimstone This this O Lord is in justice to be the portion of my cup to me belongs nothing but shame and
confusion of face eternally But to thee O Lord God belongeth mercy and forgiveness though I have rebelled against thee O remember not my sins and offences but according to thy mercy think thou upon me O Lord for thy goodness Thou sentest thy Son to seek and to save that which was lost behold O Lord I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost O seek thy servant and bring me back to the Shepherd and Bishop of my Soul let thy Spirit work in me a hearty sense and detestation of all my abominations that true contrition of heart which thou hast promised not to despise And then be thou pleased to look on me to take away all iniquity and receive me graciously and for his sake who hath done nothing amiss be reconciled to me who have done nothing well wash away the guilt of my sins in his blood and subdue the power of them by his grace and grant O Lord that I may from this hour bid a final adieu to all ungodliness and worldly lusts that I may never once more cast a look toward Sodom or long after the flesh pots of Egypt but consecrate my self intirely to thee to serve thee in Righteousness and true Holiness reckoning my self to be dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord and blessed Saviour This PENITENTIAL PSALM May also fitly be used PSAL. 51. HAve mercy upon me O God after thy great goodness according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences Wash me throughly from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin For I knowledg my faults and my sin is ever before me Against thee onely have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight that thou mightest be justisted in thy saying and clear when thou art judged Behold I was shapen in wickedness and in sin hath my mother conceived me But loe thou requirest truth in the inward parts and shalt make me to understand wisdom secretly Thou shalt purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean thou shalt wash me and I shall be whiter then snow Thou shalt make me hear of joy and gladness that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice Turn thy face from my sins and put out all my misdeeds Make me a clean heart O God and renew a right Spirit within me Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy Holy Spirit from me O give me the comfort of thy help again and stablish me with thy free Spirit Then shall I teach thy wayes unto the wicked and sinners shall be converted unto thee Deliver me from blood guiltiness O God thou that art the God of my health and my tongue shall sing of thy righteousness Thou shalt open my lips O Lord and my mouth shall shew thy praise For thou desirest no sacrifice else would I give it thee but thou delightest not in burnt-ofâ—ering The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit a broken and contrite heart O God shalt thou not despise O be favourable and gracious unto Sion build thou the walls of Ierusalem Then shalt thou be pleased with the Sacrifice of righteousness with the burnâ—-â—fferings and oblations then shall they offer young bullocks upon thine altar Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end Amen PRAYERS BEFORE the receiving of the blessed SACRAMENT O Most merciful God who hast in thy great goodness prepared this spiritual feast for sick and famished Souls make my desires and gaspings after it answerable to my needs of it I have with the prodigal wasted that portion of grace thou bestowedst upon me and therefore do infinitely want a supply out of this treasury But O Lord how shall such a wretch as I dare to approach this holy table I am a dog how shall I presume to take the childrens bread or how shall this spiritual Manna this food of Angels be given to one who hath chosen to feed on husks with swine nay to one who hath already so often trampled these precious things under foot either carelesly neglecting or unworthily receiving these holy mysteries O Lord my horrible guiltiness makes me tremble to come and yet makes me not dare to keep away for where O Lord shall my polluted Soul be washed if not in this fountain which thou hast opened for sin and for uncleanness Hither therefore I come and thou hast promised that him that cometh to thee thou wilt in no wise cast out This is O Lord the blood of the New Testament grant me so to receive it that it may be to me for remission of sins And though I have so often and so wretchedly broken my part of that Covenant whereof this Sacrament is a seal yet be thou graciously pleased to make good thine to be merciful to my unrighteousness and to remember my sins and mine iniquities no more and not onely so but to put thy lawes into my heart and write them in my mind and by the power of thy grace dispose my soul to such a sincere and constant obedience that I may never again provoke thee Lord grant that in these holy mysteries I may not only commemorate but effectually receive my blessed Saviour and all the benefits of his passion And to that end give me such a preparation of soul as may qualify me for it give me a deep sense of my sins and unworthiness that being weary and heavy laden I may be capable of his refreshings and by being suppled in my own tears I may be the fitter to be washed in his blood raise up my dull and earthly mind from groveling here below and inspire it with a holy zeal that I may with spiritual affection approach this spiritual feast and let O Lord that infinite love of Christ in dying for so wretched a sinner inflame my frozen benummed soul and kindle in me that sacred fire of love to him and that so vehement that no waters may quench no floods drown it such as may burn up all my dross not leave one unmortified lust in my soul and such as may also extend it self to all whom thou hast given me command and example to love even enemies as well as friends Finally O Lord I beseech thee to cloth me in the wedding garment and make me though of my self a most unworthy yet by thy mercy an acceptable guest at this holy tabâ—e that I may not eat and drink my own condemnation but may have my pardon sealed my weaknesses repaired my corruptions subdued and my soul so inseparably united to thee that no temptations may ever be able to dissolve the union but that being begun here in grace it may be consummated in glory Grant this O Lord for thy dear Sons sake Jesus Christ. ANOTHER O BLESSED Jesus who once offeredst up thy self for me upon the Cross and now offerest thy self to me in the Sacrament let not I beseech thee my