thy grace but because my ignorance and imperfections doe carrie mee far from such wisdome and fulfilling of righteousnesse beeing a poore sinner weake in faith slowe in hope colde in charitie and polluted with many offences that make mee worthie of death and of hell I beseech thee my God in thy fatherly loue to bear with these my defects and to forgiue mee my trespasses in the name of thy Sonne our Mediator and Sauiour accepting his sacrifice as a full satisfaction for my sinnes and imputing vnto mee his righteousnesse to life euerlasting Yea and to the same end also vouchsafe to encrease in my soule the giftes of thy Spirite so as I may from better to better prosecute my life in the path of thine elect being through thy power freed from the temptations of the Diuell the worlde and my owne flesh and by thy blessing preserued from the dangers and miseries of this poore life alwayes notwithstanding content with whatsoeuer it shall please thee to bestow on me Sith thou art my Father I cannot but expect a happy end of all my estates hauing alredy receued of thy mercy the assured pledge of saluation forgiuenesse of sinnes But Lord graunt especially that this thy grace in Iesus Christ may be vnto mee a comforte and light all the dayes of my life especiallie in the darkenesse of my death to retaine and holde me fast in the hope of my saluation that with a liuelie faith at my last gaspe I may speake these words of my Sauior vpon the crosse Into thy handes O Father I commend my spirite whereby my soule also inwardly may heare the same Christ saying vnto mee as vnto the poore penitent theefe Sonne reioyce this day thou shalt be with me in Paradice so that full of peace by the effects of thy spirit I may cheerfully leaue my body to the earth assured of the resurrection and that my soule may by the angels be guided to the rest of the blessed and vouchsafe O Lord to do the like fauor to all men euen as I craue these thinges in the prayer which thy Sonne hath taught me Our father which art in heauen hallowed be thy name Thy Kingdome come Thy will be done in earth as it is in heauen Giue vs this daie our dayly bread and forgiue vs our trespasses as wee forgiue them that trespasse against vs. And leade vs not into temptation but deliuer vs from euill For thine is the Kingdome the power and the glory world without end Amen Likewise my God encrease in me faith working euerie good worke and giue me grace constantly to perseuere and therof to make confession euen to my last gaspe saying I beleeue in God the father almightie maker of heauen and earth And in Iesus Christ his only Sonne our Lord who was conceiued by the holie Ghost borne of the Virgin Marie suffered vnder Ponce Pilate was crucified dead and buried hee descended into hell the third day hee rose againe from the dead he ascended into heauen and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father almightie From thence hee shall come to iudge the quicke and the dead I beleeue in the Holy-Ghost the holy Catholike Church The communion of Saints the forgiuenesse of sinnes The resurrection of the flesh and the life euerlasting This is my faith O Lord wherin I will liue and die as also in the obseruation of thy holy commandements comprized in these two That wee loue thee with all our hart with all our soule with all our strength and with all our thoughtes and our neighbours as our selues Thus thy grace O my God and Father be with me and thy blessing vpon all the workes of my hands So be it The two and twentieth Prayer Among the Family At noone at night in the morning will I crie vnto God and the Eternal shall deliuer me I wil make a noise and hee shall heare my voyce saide Dauid and Daniel kneeled down three times a day in his house prayed vnto and magnified his God Psal 55. 18. Dan. 6. Our help and beginning be in the name of God O LORD our GOD and our Father onelie great in glorie of infinit power It hath pleased thee so far forth to honour men poore Wormes of the Earth that they may in ful confidence in thy loue and bountie present themselues before thy face to magnifie thy name to talke of thy beneficence and to craue thy mercy Wee humblie beseech thee therfore by thy spirit to dispose of our souls our hearts and our lips to glorifie thee and so to call vppon thee that our vowes may be acceptable vnto thee and our prayers heard wee confesse our selues in thy presence to bee so great sinners that our vnworthinesse will not suffer vs to look vp vnto heauen without feare that thou shouldest in thy iust wrath thunder vpon vs neither can wee cast our eyes vpon the earth but we shall see as it were hel open for the reward of our wickednesse for we are not only as the children of Adam conceiued and borne in sinne worthy of thy curse but also by our owne faults lusts vncleanenesse bad thoughtes and wicked works whereinto throgh our corruption and frailtie wee doe daily fall which also in our consciences are so many witnesses to condemne vs and as it were heraultes that doe denounce vnto vs death and hel But O Lord thy mercies do infinitely exceede our malice and thy eternall compassions are vppon sinners that conuert and turne vnto thee Thou art that pittifull Father that gladly receiued his prodigall and vnthriftie Son That louing shepheard that carefully seeketh the lost sheepe that charitable phisition that freely commeth to the sicke to cure them Wee therefore the children of thy loue the sheepe of thy folde and the poore in spirit doe most humbly beseech thee in the name of thy welbeloued Sonne our mediator Iesus Christ to vouchsafe to take away all our calamities in pardoning our sinnes because thou hast giuen vs this great Sauiour in the worlde to the end that whosoeuer beleeueth in him should not perish but haue life euerlasting We are baptized in his name wee haue receiued his gospell and he giueth vs his body in thy church for spirituall foode that we may liue in him and of him for euer blessed Giue vs grace therefore O our God with a true and liuely faith vphelde by hope and doing euery good worke to apprehend to the glorie of thy name and the peace of our soules these great benefits that are purchased for vs in the death and passion of the same our redeemer that wee may incessantly yeelde praysings vnto thee and liue in holinesse according to thy worde For the performance hereof vouchsafe to encrease the giftes of thy spirit in our hearts whereby the desires of the flesh and vanities of the worlde may bee mortified and the pure fire of thy loue so kindled that we may loue honour and serue thee with all our soules with all our
the three persons of thy most simple Deitie or separating the onelie and indiuisible substance thereof each person retaineth that which is proper to it selfe in the workes of thy hands especiallie in that which concerneth our saluation So the beginning of all and euery action is properly attributed vnto thee O Father of the whole world and to Iesus Christ the wisdome the counsel and the order to dispose all things and to the Holy-ghost the virtue and supporter of all thy workes According whereunto we also doe acknowledge from thy loue and from thy eternall decree that which thou hast prouided for vs in thy sonne very God made very man such a mediatour and sauiour as was necessary for vs and we do render vnto him the honour of the fulnesse of thy loue towards vs and of that perfect obedience which he hath yeelded to thy ordinance euen to the death of the crosse for vs in most bitter anguish as also from the vertue of the Holy-ghost wee doe confesse the efficacie and healthfull application of this great principal worke-manship of our redemption But thy wisdome O Lord resteth wholy in mysterie that is to say it is hidden except vnto those to whom thy spirit giueth sight For true it is that Christ calleth all men vnto him by his Gospel spreading forth to that effect his light throughout the whole world Whoso followeth him shall not walke in darkenesse for hee is the Sunne of righteousnesse and the way to go to heauen But his sheep only do heare his voice and follow him as also hee knoweth them and giueth vnto them life euerlasting euen by the meere efficacie of his spirit which quickeneth lighteneth all thy elect O God to make them in thy word to behold the onely lampe of thy kingdome the knowledge of saluation the stedfast good of the soule and the sure and only means to obtaine the same all people may reade thy sacred writings only they can gather the sence to the peace of their soules whom it pleaseth thee as a Father to illuminate from aboue For so may they see howe in the crosse of Iesus they doe obtaine their triumph in his shame their glory in his paine their peace in his teares their ioy in his sorrowe their comfort in his death their life in his resurrection the fulnes of their hope I beseech thee therefore my God to powre vpon me this thy spirit of wisdome and reuelation and grace and mercie through the force of his beames to scatter the darkenesse of my vnderstanding and with the propertie of his fire to purifie my peruerse affections with his celestiall lamp to kindle in my hart the true zeale of his glorie with his holie oyntment to enbaulme my conscience with his sacred oyle to reioyce and refresh my bowells and with his vertue to renew in me an vpright spirit to the end that my soule thus cleansed from the dead workes of the flesh may be replenished with faith working all righteousnesse whereby to ouercome all the enemies of my peace Sathan the flesh the world and my owne lusts But aboue al things O Lord make that by the efficacy of thy holy spirit I may obtaine the true and firme consolation of the faithful soule the height of his ioy of his quiet and content and the infallible direction to his perfection namely the assurance that thou my heauenly Father hast adopted mee into the number of thy children by that grace that thou hast giuen vs in Christ who was made our wisdome righteousnesse sanctification and redemption And that being so ouershadowed with the hope of Christians which neuer at all confoundeth I may bee supported euen to the end of my dayes by thy holy spirite which then especially may help my weakenesse that I may yeeld vnto thee O my God my last groanes to thee acceptable and to me salutiferous as being in the throne of thy glorie approoued capable of the contemplation thereof in the heauenly Ierusalem through thy goodnesse and mercy in Iesus Christ our Lord To whom with thee O Father and the holy spirit one onely God bee all honor glory and dominion for euermore So be it The seuenth Prayer To craue of God the light of his word God hauing at sundrie times and in diuers manners spoken to our Fathers by the Prophets In these last dayes hee hath spoken vnto vs by his Sonne All Scripture is giuen from aboue by inspiration and is profitable to teach to conuince to correct and to instruct in righteousnesse that the man of God may be accomplished and perfectly instructed to al good workes Heb. 1. Tim. 3. LOrd GOD eternall who knowest that euerie man is but flesh and that flesh is but corruption so that although thou hast endued him with a reasonable soule which doth distinguish him from other creatures yet his light is notwithstanding conuerted into darknes when therby he seeketh to penetrate into the glorie of thy kingdome and the mysteries of thy grace who knowst that this poore blind borne destitute of thy supernaturall light doeth in lieu of his God forge to him selfe an idol and instead of truth taketh lies for thy worde his owne inuentions for goodnesse vanitie and for the path to life the way to death And albeit thou hast euen from the beginning made thy selfe as it were visible to man in the table of the Vniuersall worlde that thou hast many times reuealed thy selfe vnto him in a liuely voyce by thy eternall worde in Heden Horeb in the burning bush and elsewhere afterward by thy prophets insinuating thy selfe by thy spirit into their harts thoghts to the end by their ministrie to instruct thy people and finally that thou hast also manifested thy selfe in greater light by thy owne worde made flesh for our redemption and speaking vnto vs by his mouth Yea which is more that thou hast so farre graced vs that this thy word of life hath beene and stil remaineth among vs faithfully collected in the sacred registers of the holy scripture so to be vnto vs the image of thy glory the Lawe of thy Kingdome the ladder to Heauen the gate to paradice the trumpet of saluation to be briefe the treasury of piety vertue wisdome consolation and perfection Yet the flesh neuerthelesse ignorant rash and peruerse hath neither eyes to perceiue these spirituall riches nor eares to heare the wholsome doctrine but dooth rather disdaine it as it were some deuised discourse vnprofitable voice or howsoeuer it be suffering it self to be carried away with it owne feeble imaginations taketh in this verely the thorne for the rose the leafe for the fruite and the huske for the kernell And thus are wee all borne in this error in this calamitie in this waie to mortall ruine vntill that thou O mercifull God makest vs to be borne againe of the spirite and in will to make our thoughts capaof the light of thy word through true faith to apprehend the mysteries of thy kingdome
Disciples spake vnto them saying All power is giuen vnto me both in heauen in earth Goe yee therefore and teach all nations Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy-ghost and teaching them to obserue all that I haue commaunded you Mat. 28. O Eternall God only good wise thou hast vouchsafed by thy Sonne that great prophet to teach vs that whosoeuer is not borne of water and the spirite cannot enter into thy kingdome and that flesh and blood are not capable of the sight of thy glorie Thou O Lord art essentially holinesse and righteousnes How then can vncleanenesse and iniustice approach neere vnto thee So it is that wee are by our nature corrupted and by sinne polluted wherby the Sentence of death both first and second hath ouertaken all men howbeit of thy infinite mercy thou hast vouchsafed to saue from a gulph of miseries those that in thy vnsearchable counsaile are predestinate to life redeeming them from hell and making them to bee borne againe in Iesus Christ thy eternall woorde by the which thou haddest first giuen them beeing And these are they that are borne of water and the spirit into thy church through the efficacie of the sacred mysteries of thy grace specially of holie Baptisme that being clothed anew in the nature and righteousnes of Christ their Sauiour they may become new creatures pure and pretious before thee Nowe through thy great mercy O my God I haue in thy holy Temple receiued this sacred pledge of thy couenant and of our new birth in thy name and in the name of thy Sonne and of the Holy-ghost according to thy ordinance as it hath pleased thee in the renewing of thy Church by the preaching of the Gospel to manifest thy selfe farre more cleerely in three persons of thy deitie then vnder the figures and shadowes of the Law For in Christ replenished with grace and trueth thou hast made thy selfe visible who hath reuealed himselfe and the Holy Ghost also by plentifully spreading the beames of his glory vpon vs through the brightnesse of his works altogether diuine and miraculous Wee cannot so much as apprehend the vertue and efficacy of the sacrament of baptisme vnlesse wee begin by the meditation of thy free mercie in thy Sonne and so doe proceede in the contemplation of him performing his office euen so farre forth as to die for vs and with him wee doe conioyne the Holy-Ghost through whome Christ dooth wash vs in his blood regenerateth vs and maketh vs partakers of all his benefits This O Lord I knowe by thy word that like as the sacrament of baptisme is vnto mee a certaine earnest penie of my saluation so must it in my own conscience and before men be vnto mee a perpetuall testimonie of my faith and of my hope So onely dooth this sacrament obtaine his perfection and fulnes namely when that shadowed in the washing of my body with the signe of water is effectually wrought within my soule throughout the whole course of my life For in like manner was the shadow of the couenant fulfilled in cutting awaie the fore-skinne from the Children of Israel when by the circumcision of their harts they became carefull to walke in the statutes of Gods Lawe I beseech thee therefore O my God as I carrie in my forehead the holy marke of Christians so vouchsafe with thy finger to graue in my hart this diuine Character to the ende that I may euermore beare and bring forth such fruite and effects as may be acceptable in thy sight and profitable to my selfe that as my Lord Iesus by his spirite working in mee washeth away my sinnes and regenerateth my soule so I may likewise by the efficacie of his owne vertue and receiuing from him grace perseuere in the faith of my Baptisme readie to euery good worke And that as I was baptised into his death so likewise to be buried with him by being dead vnto sin so that I may bee grafted with him to the similitude of his resurrection in glory liuing no longer to sinne but to righteousnes whereby thy name O eternall God may be sanctified and I crowned in my latter day with the crowne of immortalitie amongest the company of thy blessed ones So be it The tenth Prayer ¶ For the Communion in the holy Eucharist Iesus tooke bread and when he had giuen thanks he brake it and gaue it to his disciples and said Take eate this is my body Then taking the cup and giuing thankes hee gaue it them saying Drinke yee all for this is my blood the blood of the Newe Testament which is shed for many to the remission of sinnes Ma. 26. ALmightie euerlasting god according to thy loue and infinite goodnesse it hath plesaed thee that not onely to redeeme vs from sinne from death and from hell and in all points to make vs blessed thy onely sonne the brightnesse and fulnesse of thy glory should take vpon him humane flesh and after hee had taught vs the way to heauen should die vppon the crosse for the accomplishment of his office but also that this great benefite might still bee present to our perpetuall comfort and for the encrease and support of our faith that his body risen againe in glory for our righteousnesse and perfection ascended into heauen and sitting at thy right hand should also bee communicated vnto vs here beneath in thy Church in the mystery of the Eucharist to bee our foode and nourishment vnto holy and eternall life Thus is there sealed in our hearts that promise that hee hath made vnto vs in the gospel that hee will at all times make vs partakers of his flesh and of his blood and in this Communion giue vnto vs the true and sound foode of our soules that in him who is the liuing bread discended from heauen wee may obtaine our peace and felicitie O mightie prouidence of the Lord who called vs to communicate in his body before his death to the end to shew vs that by death he should not be destroyed and that he would neuer leaue his Church O what a refreshing is this in this our earthly pilgrimage and what a delicious banquet in the bread and wine consecrated by the word of Christ to eate his glorious flesh and to drinke his precious blood when by faith in his promises and by the vertue of his holy spirit hauing our hearts cleansed and lifted vp on high his life together with all his graces and blessings is made ours O infinite blessed is that flocke that hath so liberal a shepheard that will norish it with his bloud to the end it may liue in him and of him free from all languishing and miserie O what a comfort is it in this vally of teares to finde meanes to feede vpon such food as will not perish but reioyce all our sences and make vs to liue eternally For so and with such efficacie O Lord doe wee communicate in the bodie
bread of affliction doeth nourish and strengthen the faithfull soule that the cup of bitternesse is therunto a sweet and wholesome drinke and all tribulation a spirituall medecine to purge it from the leauen of sinne and so to forme euery true Christian to godlinesse and holinesse of life For indeede the sundry temptations thy Children do endure are not properly a punishment for sinne but profitable corrections of thy hand to make the triall of their faith to redound to their commendation profit that their hope may encrease in the expectation of the beatitude to come that their loue may kindle through the Fatherly care that thou takest of them in holding them vnder the bridle of thy discipline and that they may bee the more pricked forward to pray vnto thee feruently and more and more to reuerence thy power But principally that they comfort themselues in this lesson of the Apostle that the easie afflictions of thine which doe but euen passe ouer them do bring forth an eternall weight of most excellent glorie True it is that by the miseries of this world the outward man declineth but on the other side the inwarde man reneweth himselfe with grace in the goods of the soule so long vntill by degree hee be accomplished and obtaine his perfection So that if our bodies doe languish our soules doe quicken if wee sustaine losse of terrestiall things thou O Lord dost present vnto vs thy Kingdome of heauen and if this affliction befall that any man put vs to death he doth but hasten our passage to the true eternall and blessed being I beseech thee therefore O mercifull Father to giue mee grace to acknowledge and well to taste so many sweete and profitable fruits as these thy Fatherly corrections doe bring with them constantly meditating that the eyes of those that looke vnto thee in a christian hope doe neuer faile that their expectation hath not confounded them that the number of thy consolations haue surmounted their sorrowes and that the end of thy visitation hath alwayes beene profitable and happy vnto them For thou delightest in mercy and thy compassion is vppon all those that call vpon thee in their distresse Let therefore the inuocation of thy name be vnto me a strong tower to defend me against all feare and temptation as being assured that hauing reposed my confidence in thy grace which is purchased for mee in Christ I shall in my necessitie find thy fauorable hand by thy vertue to ouercome all the enemies of my peace But especially graunt O Lord that I may attaine to this reason of true wisedome alwayes to bee content with thy will the soueraigne and iust cause of all things namely in that it pleaseth thee that the liuery of thy houshold should consist in carying their crosse after thy son to the end that I should neuer but be seasoned to drinke the wholesome myrrhe which purgeth the soule from the lusts of the flesh and replenisheth the same with the desires of eternall life Also that I learn in whatsoeuer my estate cherefully to submit my selfe to the conduct of thy prouidence as beeing wel assured that whatsoeuer I suffer all the crosses of my life shal be vnto me so many blessings helpes from thee my Father to make me goe the right way into thy kingdome and increase vnto me the price of glory in the same For it is very true that euery one shall freely receiue his reward according to the burthen that hee hath borne here below Amen The sixteenth Prayer For obtaining the Vertue of Patience Al things written are for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might haue hope patient in tribulation perseuering in praier Rom. 4. 12. O GOD of pacience and of all consolation the iust dispencer both of calamities and benefits and that all to one end euermore happie to those whom thou louest in thy eternall sonne our Lord Iesus Christ as there is nothing in thy worde but serueth to our learning and to the guiding of our temporall life as a meanes to obtaine the possession of heauenly ioyes so doeth it principally insist in this to lift vp our heartes to an earnest meditation and firme expectation of eternall life standing vs in steede in regard of the same among the thorns of this worlde to the attaining of a constant patience and therein confirming vs by holie consolations to the ende that hauing doone thy will O Lorde we may reape thy promise This vertue therefore is the firme piller of our hope and which teacheth vs not to loue the things of the earth as any felicity but constantlie to looke vp into heauen where our peace and ioy dooth remaine But because the effect of so holy a resolution doeth far surmount our owne forces I beseech thee my God to graunt me this true patience of the faithfull which is so necessary for me namely with a meek and moderate heart to beare all aduersitie also that I may learn to humble the pride of my nature which otherwise is excessiue and not to be tamed that so I may acknowledge and knowe howe to contemne the vanitie of the flesh his reasoning which together with the lusts therof is with sweete and delicate thinges nourished vnto death and that contrariwise I may affectionate and strengthen my selfe with goodlie meditations of the spirit which sustaine themselues with hard and sharpe things to a holie and heauenly life That going forwarde I may reioyce and take comfort in these sacred oracles That affliction in the house of the righteous is a secret mercie which thou giuest him as prosperitie with the wicked is a hidden indignation of thy countenance That the present sorrow of thy Children is vnto them the watch of some future ioy at hand and that at all aduentures the last of their most painefull dayes is the first of their eternall rest in the second life If therfore I beare any sicknesse or other miserie in my flesh let it bee borne with patience as knowing very wel that the reward of sinne is death and the sorrows and distemperatures of the bodie are the heraults and necessary fore-runners euen acceptable to all true faithfull people because they call and dispose them to departe from labour to rest from a mortall estate to immortalitie of life If I haue but fewe of these goods and vaine honors of the world that doe so vex worldly men I doe liue in the greater content not subiect to their enuie but taking comfort in the true and only goods of the soule wherof O Lord thou art the liberall giuer as also of grace to those that are thine because thou art their Father O Lorde our Redeemer if I loose some of my friends euen of those that are very neere me yet can I take it peaceably because their felicitie is hastened in that they departe in Christ and that I can loose neither thee nor the consolation of thy spirit for that I shal soon
to bee dissolued and to be with Christ howbeit if notwithstanding in the infirmitie of my flesh the fearefull Image of death trouble me in the straites of my departure If the world that doth alwayes too much bewitch vs maketh my thoughts then bowe to his will If Sathan pitcheth his assaults and snares and vpon the remembrance of my sinnes setteth hell before my face moreouer if my owne perturbations keepe me from apprehending thy eternall consolations in such most necessarie extremities vouchsafe my good God and father in these anguishes to approach vnto me to saue me from the running and swift streame of such brookes that they may not carrie meaway to perdition illuminate my thoughts with thy spirite waken my soule out of the sleep of death renew my hart by the vertue of thy spirit and put into my hands the staffe of thy assured conduct to bring mee out from the laborinth of this sorrowful passage causing me with the eyes of my faith to behold my righteousnes vpon the crosse of my Sauiour the discharge of my debts in his sacrifice my victorie in his combats my life in his death my glorie and ioy in his resurrection that so replenished with peace I may cheerfully resigne my bodie to the earth as assured that it shall rise againe and my soule to heauen with these last words of Christ Into thy hands O Father I commit my spirit So be it The nineteenth Prayer For heauenly life Hee that heareth my worde and beleeueth in him that sent me hath life euerlasting and I wil raise him again at the latter day Father concerning those whome thou hast giuen me my desire is that they may be where I am that they may be with me to beholde my glory Iohn 5. 6. 17. O Soueraign Father of al thinges by a singular priuiledge Father of the children whome it hath pleased thee to adopt in our Lord Iesus Christ to be coheires with him in the celestiall life I learne in thy word that this inheritance blessed estate is acontemplation of the glory of this great Sauiour of the elect in an vnspeakeable beatitude onely worthy to be loued and to bee sought incessantly night and day with the lamp of thy trueth Which is to see him as he is true God and true Man and perfectlie to enioie his presence with communicating of all his goodnesse to be in the ioy of his Lord as a loyall seruant and to beholde him face to face in his diuine essence one with the father and with the holy ghost one onelie God in soueraigne Maiestie which is to be vnited and conioyned with him and by him vnto thee O eternall GOD who art all light and life of the soule at her departure out of her earthly habitation afterward reuested with it flesh in that great day of the glorious comming of the same Christ when hee shall wholy render vppe vnto thee the kingdome of thy grace that thou maist be all in all To be briefe which is both in body and soule to be in him and to liue of his glory And this also is the eternall life a life accomplished in knowledge in loue in righteousnesse in rest in honour in beautie in constancie in ioy felicitie and peace a life wherin the Angels and Saintes incessantly do sound out and celebrate O Lord thy great name in perfect and rauishing melodie replenished both with a desire and a fulnesse of the celestiall bread Iesus Christ God man without this desire breeding any griefe or this fulnesse any molestation In summe a life which by the full view that wee shall haue of thy eternall deitie O almightie GOD shall make vs knowe thee as thou hast knowne vs and as thou art in Trinitie of persons Father Word Spirit and in vnitie of essence likewise to loue thee according to the excellency of thy nature with our whole heartes and thoughts and our whole strength and might and in this loue to obtaine our perfect full contentment To this heauenlie life O Lord my soule directeth her flight this is the marke that shee aymeth at the end whereto shee tendeth and the reward that she by thy grace promiseth her selfe for seeking after thy welbeloued Sonne in whome it pleaseth thee to be my God and my Father Oh! I shall indeede goe and liue in this holy and sacred place of the habitation of thy glorie and there shall contemplate that which neuer eye sawe vnder the heauen neyther eare hath heard nor heart comprehended of the solide Riches whiche thou doost keepe from all eternitie for thy children I shall see I say these diuine wonders in thy sanctuary in thy light inaccessible for all flesh knowing in the brightnesse of thy countenance thy infinite power O Father thy incomprehensible wisedome O Sonne and thy incomparable vertue O Holy-ghost one onely true God A knowledge so singular and pretious that therein resteth all the felicitie of the Angels and saints their only plentiful reward their scepter the diademe of their glory and the full and perpetuall ioy that couereth their heads as with a crowne of victory in a peace durable for euer I beseech thee therfore O Lord to giue mee grace that withdrawing my affection more and more from the darke cloysters of the earth sprinckled with teares I may lift vp my desires to the lightsome habitation of thy deitie where the treasures and incomparable ioyes of thy paradise do remaine in an eternall life So that I may finishe my course in an earnest and perpetuall meditation of this angelical and diuine being and comforting my self incessantly night and day in that the promise is made vnto mee through my sauiour Iesus Christ to the end that in my last hower come out of my misery and entered into my felicitie I may with a happy flight goe take my rest aboue in thy peace O my God which surmounteth all vnderstanding and for to sing Psalmes of thanksgiuing vnto thee without end So be it The twentieth Praier Vpon eternall death Of those that sleepe in the dust of the earth some shall awake to euerlasting life others to rebuke and shame without end Their worme shall not die and their fire shall not be quenched there shal be weeping gnashing of teethe Dan. 12. Esay 66. Mat. 15. ALmighty god for whose glorie all nations are created Thou which art the mightie and the faithfull God keeping thy couenant and free mercy with a thousand generations of those that loue thee and obey thy commandements which giuest againe the very same vnto those that hate thee and rebell against thee with euery of them euen to their face whose will is the iust and soueraigne cause of all that is done in heauen and in earth whose counsailes are vnsearchable and iudgements most profound and admirable O Father and gouernor of all things thou hast euen from the beginning of thy vnspeakable good nesse framed man and reclothed him with such an excellency as did
the Holighost whom thou hast giuen vs and thy Sonne Iesus is the mean and fulnesse according as in him doth remaine all that is beautifull delectable peaceable rich permanent and glorious aboue in Heauen which thou hast promised vs. Of which treasure of inestimable valew thou doest thus euen already graunt mee the vse by the effects of thy diuine vertues which make mee to pierce through the heauens with my imagination and to establish my soule in thy peace as if in my bosome I kept the full fruit of thy promise and did alreadie liue there aboue in like estate as the Angells For O eternall God thy mercy is vpon me as I doe trust in thee And therfore albeit I creepe here vp and downe through manie infirmities Yet will I in patience abide the appearing of thy glorie in the daie of the comming of thy Sonne to iudge the quicke and the dead as being thorowly assured through thy grace in the end of my course to obtain the diadem wherewith thou crownest thine and at the last day and euer in my flesh to behold that great Sauiour of the elect who liueth with thee and the Holyghost one god eternally Amen The fourteenth Prayer To obtaine the vertue of Loue. God is loue and he that dwelleth in loue dwelleth in God and God in him The end of the Law is loue out of a pure heart and a good conscience and faith vnfained 1. Ioh. 4. 1. Tim. 1. O Eternall who art al loue and who according to the infinite vertue thereof hast loued vs before we wer as also since the time that wee were thy enemies vnthankefull sinners adiudged to death and to the paines of hell thou hast I say freely so loued vs that thou hast giuen thy onely sonne to the world to redeeme vs with the price of his blood and for vs to purchase righteousnesse and a blessed life This being so O Lord the original and fountaine of loue make it with efficacy reflection to shine into al places whither the knowledge of thy grace shall come likewise that where thou doest more neerely communicate thy selfe by making the flames of thy loue to bee more liuely felt graunt also that there by the effects of thy spirit the greater loue towardes thee may appeare I beseech thee make mee more and more to meditate and comprehend this thy admirable loue that I may accordingly frame my selfe to that loue thou requirst of thy children truely faithfull which is also the end of the whole law and precepts of the gospell So that in purenesse of heart with an vpright conscience and with a true and liuely faith I may attaine to the knowledge of thy truth and will to the end in all through al to obey thee with a quiet conscience the same being the chiefest the highest and the most perfect degree of loue that we can testifie vnto thee O our God and that which leadeth vs to the perfection of Christian life which of mortall men maketh vs as it were Angels which albeit wee liue vppon earth maketh vs Cittizens of heauen to bee briefe it is that which in the secret of our hearts giueth vs a sweet feeling of thy peace which surmounteth all the reason of our vnderstanding That also thereby I may learne that there is none that can loue thee perfectly vntill he hath bin preuented by the sweetnesse of thy vnmeasurable loue and kindled with the flame That we loue thee because thou first louedst vs like as also through thy grace thou makest thy selfe thy benefites knowne vnto vs. The more therefore that wee finde our selues disposed to loue thee the more shuld we beleeue that thou makest thy selfe to be felt in the inwarde partes of our soules to bee our God and our Father and that therefore wee haue the greater cause to confirme and comfort our selues in the loue that thou bearest vs. O Lord make me also to vnderstand that as Christian charitie doth especially regard and looke vppon thy holy deitie Father Son and Holy-ghost one onely God that we may loue thee with our whole hearts mindes and strengths so hath shee a like regard to her neighbour that in thee and for thy sake because he beareth thy image we may loue him as our selues for in these conioyned and reciprocall things also Christ teacheth vs the bond of perfection euen that wee shall indeede be his disciples if we loue one another because he so shal fullfill his loue in our hearts But being O Lord very true that the faith which thou giuest vs doth singularly vnite thy familie together graunt me the spirite of loue which leading me to doe well to all men doth teach me principally to loue the houshold of thy Church that I may with a ready will yeelde them all helpe in their necessities In asmuch also as our redeemer the perfect pattern of charitie hath loued his enemies procuring them good for euill and blessing for iniurie I beseech thee my GOD giue me grace to extend my loue to those that hate mee that without hypocrisie or vaine glory I may to my power help forward their good and saluation And so that I may beare an vpright and lowly heart to all men whereby all the faithfull may be edefied and comforted and others seeing my good works rather thine than mine may be constraind to glorifie thee O our father which art in heauen c. The fifteenth Prayer That we may well vse afflictions If any man will follow me let him forsake himselfe and take vp his crosse and follow me By manie tribulations wee must enter into the Kingdome of heauen Hee chastizeth him whom he loueth and scourgeth euerie childe that hee receiueth Mat. 16. Act. 14. Heb. 12. O Lord my GOD and my father I learne in thy worde that none be true Disciples of Iesus Christ but they that followe his steppes wherof he hath deliuered vs a sure marke in these two chief points the renouncing of our selues and the voluntarie enduring of the crosse For naturallie we are inueagled with a disorderly loue to our selues and doe presume too much of our owne persons It is therefore necessarie for vs to renounce our own nature and reason and to abandon our owne affections to suffer thee thy loue O our God to liue raigne in vs. Then must we proceede to the other point that is cheerefully to beare out the afflictions and miseries of this life wherein it pleaseth thee especially to exercise thine vpon diuerse good considerations namely to make them conformeable to the image of thy Sonne to the end that suffering with him they may also raigne in his glory For it is very true that al men by sinne doe eate the fruites of the earth in labour and bread in the sweate of their browes that they all liue in a sea tossed with many stormes crossed with many anguishes But all haue not the gift of thy spirit to learne by his doctrine that the
of the sanctified spirits whereof wee liue and shal liue for euer blessed Besides O heauenly Father it pleaseth thee to giue vs heere belowe in the following of our course a conuenient leisure to meditate vppon the most wonderfull effects of thy spirite in vs the singular woorke of our new birth the progresse of our faith the fruites of our loue the feeling of our peace in the hope of our saluation to come when wee shal by Christ be wholly vnited vnto thee alone I beseech thee therefore my GOD to giue mee grace in these godly and spirituall considerations to acknowlege thy great benignitie in the gift and vse of this humane life and to know how I am to cherish and nourish the same because it is vnto vs as a treasure abounding in al excellencies riches and prerogatiues which it hath pleased thee to impart to our nature the Image of thy glory So that remaining constant in my vocation in the pathes of thy Kingdome and free from the cares of the world and all the vanities therof I may so loue this life that it may bee wholy deare vnto me onely to know worship and serue thee and my neighbours according to the place whereto thou dost call mee and carefully to meditate to the same end how thou doest alwayes minister iustice iudgement and mercy whereby I may learne to liue content in thee onely and of thy goods vsing the same with acknowledgement and alwayes reioycing in well doing alwayes assured that thus fighting a good fight and keeping the faith I shal obtaine the crowne of eternall righteousnesse in the kingdome of glory So be it The eighteenth Prayer Vpon temporall death Our life is but a vapour which appeareth but for a while and then vanisheth away For the reward of sinne is death and the sting thereof is sinne But thanks be to God who hath giuen vs victory through our Lord Iesus Christ. Rom. 6 1. Cor. 15. O eternal god with whom a thousand yeares are as one day one day as a thousand yeres and whose iudgements so diuerse are holy iust and incomprehensible Where is the man so gallant or prowd who thinking vpon the vanitie and shortnesse of his life doeth not easily asswage his pride and presumption euen to the end that hee extend not his temporall cogitations too farre but keepe them bounded within the limits of thy law and referre the euent to the good pleasure of thy will The vertue of our fairest daies is but affliction of minde and miserie of our flesh we fall as by a gushing of waters wee passe away as a dreame or a smoake our eares doe consume like grasse that withereth from night vnto morning and the longest time of our course whereof sleepe nibleth awaie a good part is but threescore and tenne yeares or foure-score for the strongest bodies whilest in euerie moment of life the nearest and sinallest daunger that threatneth vs seemeth to be death which as our shadow followeth vs at the heeles and laugheth at our goodly deuises vntill she hath scattered them in the winde brought vs into ashes But which is worse where is the man so holy and perfect that doth not tremble and quake if there bee represented vnto him O Lord the tribunall seate of thy soueraigne iustice where we all after death must appeare Thy indignation against sinners is manifest and there is none righteous thy vengeance is readie against rebellion whereof wee bee all guiltie which doth also cause that death is vnto vs not only as a temporall ending as concerning the flesh whereat nature is mooued and abashed but also an interior feeling of the curse fallen vppon sinne yea euen an entry into eternall death vnlesse there be for vs with thee our Father Redemption in our Lorde Iesus Christ I beseech thee therfore my God to giue mee grace to knowe how to meditate euerie day of my life vpon this sentence of the holy ghost That it is decreed that al men shal die once and after that shall the iudgement followe to the ende that while I creepe vppe and downe in this earthlie myre I suffer not my selfe to be deceiued with the deceiptfull baites of the pleasures of this worlde neyther with the allurements of the diuell who still seeketh by his suttleties to race out of our hearts the remembrance of death so for to detaine vs in the thoughts of vanitie and to entangle vs in the snares of our Iusts Grant me rather O Lord to knowe the vilenesse and bitternesse of this miserable life to the end that withdrawing my affection from mortall things I may bee able to direct and stay my selfe in things stedfast and eternall And also that therby the remembrance of death may daily be vnto mee as a trumpet to waken and call mee to the pursuite of my life in the path of thy truth to kindle in mee a holie desire soone to departe out of the world wherin the longer a man soiournes the more is hee loaden with infernall Marchandize which is the filthines of sinne and the more he cutteth him selfe off from that portion of soueraign felicitie which is in the life to come Truely he that hath most yeares hath most iniquitie and hee that croucheth most in the mire of the world rotteth most And therfore to the Children of darkenesse the vncleannes of the flesh is a pleasant habitation But to the children of light to the immortall spirites to the regenerate heartes heauen is much more desiderable Grant therfore my God that as I dayly grow towards my end so I may liue the more cheerefully learning in thy schoole to preferre thy eternal life before the light of the Sunne the glory of heauen before the vanitie of the earth the glorious habitation in paradice before the painefull tumults of the worlde the societie of Angells before the fellowshippe of mortall men the onelie blessed and permanent life before the passing shaddowe of this life which is fruitfull in anguishes ryotes and labours the triumph before the combat the present possession of soueraigne good before the hope of enioying and that attending this hauen of health I may know how to prepare my selfe by continuall meditation in these excellent Christian consolations that happy are they that die in the Lord for they rest from their labors That death is to them no death but a sleepe in regard of their bodies then freed from the miseries of life and that as for the soule which findeth it selfe deliuered from the tyrannie of sinne it is to her a change to a better life That this death is to all faithfull the time of receiuing the garlands for their race the crowns of their labours That to them shee is an acceptable issue of a laborious trauell their deliuerie from all terror and feare and the stedfast accomplishment of their vocation to felicitie which made the Apostle to say Alas wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me from this bodie of death I desire