mercy upon me By all thine anguish thou didst feel in the suspension of the divine aid have mercy upon me By the immensity of thy love in this thy most copious Redemption have mercy upon me and fill my Soul with the love of thee By all the barbarous outrages which thou didst endure for me deliver me from all mine Enemies visible and invisible My dearest Lord be thou the only supream love of my heart and the life of my Soul Let thy Virtues be in all my Actions and be thy honour the sole end of all my intentions Let me live in thy Wounds and for ever remain in thy love O my dear Lord Jesus thou heavenly Physitian of all humane nature thou great and glorious and eternal King remember I beseech thee all the bitter pains thou didst endure in all thy sacred members when thou wert hoised up on the Cross for me And let not my Soul be lost which cost thee all those inexplicable pains Make me feelingly and thankfully to remember how all thy precious body was rent and torn thy sacred limbs tortur'd and rackt thy head pierced thy bones disjoynted and all thy body broken for me Let me never forget this love of thine or ever offend thee more From the crown of the head to the soal of the foot thou hadst no part left whole in thee Never suffering like thine Never dolor like thine Never love like thy love Yet wert thou unmindful of all thine own Sufferings and didst pray to thy Father for thy cruel enemies O by this mercy of thine give me love and mercy to all that offend me and do thou now have mercy upon me Grant that I may always have such a devout memory and feeling of thy Passion that it may be a most powerful protection of my Soul against all temptation O thou who hanging on the Tree didst there make satisfaction for the sins of the world have mercy upon all Men. Convert the Obdurate Convince Hereticks Reduce Schismaticks Call in the Jews Bring in the fulness of the Gentiles Make all the Profane to tremble at thy Word Enflame all luke-warm Christians with an holy zeal unto thee Take pity on those who do not pity themselves Bring us all into obedience unto thee O holy Father accept of this propitiatory Sacrifice of thine only eternal Son for the full pacification of thy wrath and for the satisfaction and salvation of all returning sinful penitent and believing Souls Bring all that are ignorant of this thy Sons redeeming love to the knowledg of it and thee Since it is life eternal to know thee O holy Father and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent Make all those who are ignorant of the terms of the Gospel to know and embrace the same Bring in all who are out of the Covenant of Grace by sincere faith and unfeigned Repentance into Covenant with thee Convert those in particular whom I am obliged to pray for effectually Keep my Soul for ever from offending thee Let this sweet peace my Saviour hath purchased with his own blood never more be broken between me and thee Let none of my rebellions break it keep me from sin that it never be disturbed O blessed Jesus as there was darkness at the hour of thy Passion over all the Earth untill the Ninth hour deliver me from all the works and from the place of everlasting darkness by thy holy sufferings in this hour Amen O soveraign Lord and blessed Saviour Jesus our only Redeemer Saviour of the World who by the sole motive of thy mercy didst humble thy Soul to the death for our Redemption and ascend to thy Father for the full accomplishment of our peace graciously apply to our Souls the infinite Merits of thy sacred Passion and with thy precious blood cleanse us from all our sins nail them to thy Cross hide them in thy Wounds bury them in thy Grave that they may die in us and we live in thee the life of Grace here and the life of Glory hereafter wherewith the Father and the Holy Ghost thou livest and reignest in the Unity of the Glorious Trinity ever blessed World without end Amen Prayers for the Ninth Hour O Blessed Jesus I come now to commemorate thy holy Death which after all thy pains hanging so tedious a time on the Cross thou didst suffer at the Ninth Hour in full satisfaction for all our sins O by this death of thine have mercy upon me let it kill crucifie and destroy all sin in me let me die unto the World and live henceforth only unto thee At the Ninth Hour was thy Heart pierced with a Spear O transfix my Heart unto thee By that precious Water and Blood shed for me have mercy upon me wash cleanse purifie heal my wounded and defiled Soul Then blessed Jesus did the virtue of the Holy Sacraments flow from thy sacred side the Water by which we are regenerated the Blood by which we are redeemed give me evermore the virtue and benefit thereof Then was thy sacred Soul separated from thy Holy Body O separate me from this evil World and unite me wholly unto thee Then didst thou admit the Thief into Paradise O admit me into thy Heavenly Kingdom For all these stupendious Mercies I praise and magnifie thy Name for ever I beseech thee that the power and effect of all thou hast done for me may be saving to me Make me now to feel the horror of Sin and the sorrow due unto it that hath cost thee thy life and the very last drop of Blood to make atonement for it O that I could comprehend the immense love of my dying Saviour that I might make some grateful return of love unto thee Why should not the sense of thy Weeping make mine eyes to overflow with tears for offending Why should not the Blood which thou didst shed for me make me desirous to shed mine for the love of thee O my dear Lord let thy thirsting brest make mine to thirst and languish after thee inebriate me with the delicious viands of thy grace and love since my Soul can take no satisfaction in any thing but thee O fountain of living Waters to thee I come let me by faith drink up the Water and Blood which flowed from thee As thy Heart was broken for me break mine with sorrow for offending thee proceeding purely from the love I owe unto thee Hide me in thy wounded side till thy Fathers indignation be over past By thy precious Blood save me By thy holy Water cleanse me By thy prevailing death give me life and By thy Resurrection Glory O blessed Jesus what a bill of payment hast thou here discharged what an acquittance hast thou made for me The Rocks did rent the Graves open the Heavens mourn the Earth did shake at thy Passion and shall I evermore make leight of any transgression more O strike the Rock of my hard Heart that it may kindly flow forth in tears for thee as thou didst overflow
in tears of blood to ransome me Open the grave of my dull and earthly Soul with thy Almighty power and enliven the dead therein even all my powers and affections that abundance of holy thoughts may rise out of it in thankfulness for thy Passion with multitudes of praises for my Redemption Shake the earth of my Heart with terror at the approach of every sin that I may die rather than commit one known wilful sin against thee more Blessed Lord enclose my Soul now in that Heart of thine which was opened with the Spear for me There I delight to dwell for I have desired it There will I live and suck life and draw Salvation from thee Thy wounded Heart is my Sanctuary my comfort in sorrow my refuge in trouble here let me live and die and be secure for ever I desire nothing but thee I languish after none but thee all satisfaction lies in thee I desire to creep into this hole of the Rock and there to lie close with intimate individual adhaesion to thee with fulness of love and obedience O nourish me in it fill me with that love which made it and I will return it all in thanksgiving and love unto thee Additional Devotions for the Evening O Blessed Jesus by the eye of faith I now behold thee dead upon the Cross for me and see good Joseph of Arimathea thy holy Mother and Saint John coming to take thee down from the same Among whom I also by faith desire to come upon the Ladder of holy Thoughts with the shroud of my Heart to receive thee O give me the myrrh of Mortification The bitter Aloes of sorrow for my sin And the odour of divine Virtues to present and embalm thee with O that I had tears to wash thy sacred body all begored with blood and spittle for me O that I were but gratefully sensible of thine unspeakable love in all thy sufferings As these good men did draw out the Nails all begored with blood be pleased to draw out all the nails of Sin which lie in my body corrupting my poor Soul Fetch out all my corruptions though thou rent and tear me in the cure Thy wounded shoulders and rented hands were ript from the Cross so fast did the bloody nails and thy love above all fix thee thereunto O dear Lord loosen me quite from the World and from every vain affection that would withdraw my Heart from thee O fix the memory of thy Sufferings in my Heart and my Heart fast unto thee As thy Servants took thee down in their Arms vouchsafe to receive me into thine Methinks I see thee laid in thy Mothers lap while they shroud thee Dear Lord I lay down all my affairs in the lap of thy divine Providence desiring to rest sweetly thankfully and most contentedly in all thy dispensations towards me I resign my self my Soul my Estate my Friends and all that I am or have unto thee Thou hast bought and redeemed me to be thine and thine only will I be for ever Make me to spend hours and days in contemplating thee and thy miraculous sweetness to vapor away in acts of Love Adoration and Thankfulness to thee for this thy redeeming love unto me And now dear Lord I see thee taken away to thy burial also and laid in a new Sepulchre O make me a new Heart and take thy repose in the same I see thee buried for me O bury all my sins in the Grave with thee And thou who wert in that night of sorrow before thy death in thine Agony at Prayer for me in the morning condemned the Third hour crucified the Sixth dead and pierced the Ninth hour and taken down from the Cross at Even-song who wast now buried for me have mercy upon me give me grace daily and duly to apply the same unto my Soul as being my only Help Health and Remedy for in thy Merits Death and Passion is my only hope of Salvation Therefore let my life be hid with Christ in God Let me count all things but dung to gain thee For whom have I in Heaven but thee O Lord and there is none upon Earth that I desire in comparison of thee Compline HAving now dearest Lord passed this day in health and safety by thy divine Providence I give thanks unto thee Blessed by thy holy Name for any good I have done or for any evil I have left undone since it was by thy Grace only that I performed any good or did forbear any evil Blessed be thy Name for thy Mercies received for thy Judgments escaped and thy goodness enjoyed this day O let not my days consume in vanity nor my years in trouble but let every day add some knowledg some practice and some virtue to yesterday Holy Father I beseech thee by the Merits of thine only Son to pardon me the sins of this day and take me now and ever into thine Almighty protection O that thou wouldst visit me with the visitation of thy Saints O that thou wouldst shew me the felicity of thy chosen O that thou wouldst open mine eyes in the Visitations of the night O that thou wouldst give me Songs in the night that I might never cease day nor night from praising thee O that while mine Eyes sleep my Heart might always wake unto thee O fill me with love fill me O Lord with the most enflamed love that ever any of thine had unto thee O that I had all the love of all thy Saints and Angels comprised in my Soul to pour it out unto thee Lord thou hast not denied thy blood to redeem my Soul do not O do not deny me thy love to replenish it I desire to empty it of every thing else fill it with thy self for ever That as of thy fulness we have all received of the fulness of my love thou mayst receive such a full obedience and duty that I may be thine and only thine for ever O make me to think upon thee in my Bed and to remember thee when I am waking Let my first and last thoughts yea let all my thoughts be of thee and let thy blessing most blessed God be now and evermore upon me O make me to be early up at my Prayers and Praises unto thee Amen A Prayer for Lent MOst Holy and ever Blessed Lord Jesus who didst fast forty days and fortynights for me and all thine to teach us that Prayer and Fasting were necessary fortifications against the assaults of the Devil and all his Temptations as also to satisfie for all our excesses by Intemperance and for all deficiencies in our Retirements and Prayers I adore thy goodness and humbly implore thy grace and acceptance of my Humiliation before thee these forty days which I now enter into and continue in in memory of and conformity to thee I offer up this holy time in honour and love of thee in imitation of thy Saints in obedience to thy Church in sorrow for my sins as an act of
Printed for Ionathan Edwin in Ludgate Street DAILY DEVOTIONS Consisting of Thanksgivings Confessions and Prayers In Two Parts For the Benefit of the more Devout and the assistance of weaker Christians By an Humble Penitent LONDON Printed by A. Maxwell for Jonathan Edwin at the Three Roses in Ludgate-street 1673. The Preface to the READER THe following Meditations Praises Prayers and Confessions were the Devotions of a learned and pious Christian humbly offered up in due order to the Divine Majesty as their nature and the time to which they were fitted required being very Rational Comprehensive and Emphatical are offered now to the most sacred Consideration and practice of all those holy and humble Votaries that may in any sort be assisted by or delighted in the same In the Meditations suggested to the Readers use as he is going to Church sitting there and coming thence the best and most opposite Reflections and Resentments of holy David that Royal Pattern which God himself hath set before our Eyes are so collected and digested that they may easily pass into the apprehensions and affections of the Peruser The Praises contain the great and manifold effects of Gods goodness the Demonstrations of his Love the causes of our Joy and the Incentives that feed and enflame our Love and Gratitude The Prayers for the third sixt and ninth hour are every day to be used in memory of our Saviors Passion for the more effectual application of the merits of his bitter Death the more lively exercise of our Faith therein aswel as for our daily Communion with him in the sight and sense of all his love sufferings on the Cross for us after the manner of the ancient Christians in the best most pure Primitive Times The residue are Devotions adapted some to the use of Sinners for the bewailing of their sins at all times others for the use of Christians in our most eminent Fasts and Festivals and some by way of Preparation for Death that meditating upon it wisely fitting our selvs for it here it may be a blessed change unto us 〈◊〉 bring us to the life of â—…nal Glory hereafter I shall not speak more in praise of the Devotions which several learned and holy men have seen and approved but leave them to the experience of all the intelligent and pious that shall use them praying for a Blessing upon their Exercises in the same The Contents 1. DEvotions and Meditations to be us'd as we go to Church 2. Devotions in the Church 3. After Church 4. Devotion comprising all our Duties 5. A Paraphrase upon the Objective Hymn of Praise 6. Thanksgivings for all persons and times 7. An Hymn to Jesus wherein the Soul may expatiate it self with delight in him 8. A Prayer to the Holy Ghost out of St. Augustine 9. A Prayer for the Sixth hour 10. A Prayer for the Ninth hour 11. Additional Devotions for the Evening 12. A Prayer for Lent 13. Daily Thanksgiving 14. A Prayer for Christmas-day 15. A Prayer for Easter-day 16. A confession of sin out of Bishop Andrews 17. Deprecations of Bishop Andrews 18. Intercessions for all Mankind 19. A Christian Dedication of himself unto God 20. A Prayer for acceptation of Acts of Humiliation or abstinence on fasting-days 21. Evening thoughts and exercises to Bed-ward The Advice 22. A Prayer against Afflictions 23. An Exercise preparative to a good death consisting of several Acts of Piety 1. A brief Soliloquy by way of Admonition 2. Submition to the sentence of death 3. Thanksgiving for all benefits of your life past 4. Confession of our sins 5. A Prayer to die to sin 6. A petition for the virtues of the dying Jesus Devotions and Meditations to be used as we go to Church I Was glad when they said unto me let us go to the House of the Lord. Our feet stand within thy gates O Jerusalem Jerusalem is built as a City that is compact together Whither the Tribes go up the Tribes of the Lord unto the Testimony of Israel to give thanks unto the name of the Lord. For there are set Thrones of Judgment the Thrones of the House of David O pray for the peace of Jerusalem they shall prosper that love thee Peace be within thy walls and prosperity within thy Palaces For my Brethren and Companions sake I will now say peace be within thee Because of the House of the Lord our God I will seek thy good Glory be to the Father c. O how amiable are thy Tabernacles O Lord of Hosts My soul longeth yea even fainteth for the Courts of the Lord my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God Blessed are they that dwell in thy House they will be still praising thee They go from strength to strength every one of them in Zion appeareth before God O Lord of Hosts hear my prayer give ear O God of Jacob. For a day in thy Courts is better than a thousand I had rather be a door-keeper in the House of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness For the Lord God is a Sun and Shield the Lord will give Grace and Glory and no good thing will he with-hold from him that walketh uprightly O Lord God of Hosts blessed is the man that trusteth in thee Glory be to the Father c. Praise waiteth for thee in Zion and to thee shall the vow be performed in Jerusalem O thou that hearest prayer unto thee shall all flesh come Blessed is the man whom thou chusest and causest to approach unto thee that he may dwell in thy Courts We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy House even of thy holy Temple The Lord loveth the Gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Therefore I will come into thy House in the multitude of thy mercies and in thy fear will I worship towards thy holy Temple Lead me O Lord in thy righteousness make thy way strait before my face One thing have I desired of the Lord that will I seek after that I may dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to enquire in his Temple I will wash mine hands in innocency so will I compass thine Altar about Lord I have loved the habitation of thy House and the place where thine honour dwelleth Thou art my my hiding place thou shalt preserve me from trouble thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance O Lord instruct me in the way that I should go guide me with thine eye I will wait for thy loving kindness in the midst of thine holy Temple O send out thy Light and thy Truth let them lead me and bring me to thy holy Hill and to thy Tabernacles Then will I go unto the Altar of God unto God my exceeding joy I will praise thee O God my God As the Hart panteth after the water-brooks so panteth my soul after thee O God My soul thirsteth for God
of the Righteous for all holy and humble men of heart Those Incarnate Cherubims Inflamed Seraphims Strong Powers against Devils Principalities in the midst of contumelies Dominions reigning over all enticements Those Virtues in a miraculous life Those Angels of the Churches and Arch-Angels who by close Communion with thee illuminate and encourage us to serve thee For Ananias Azarias and Misael their courage and miraculous deliverance I praise bless and magnifie thy Name for ever Saying Glory be to the Father c. Thanksgivings for all Persons and Times BLessed art thou O Lord God who sustainest all things by the word of thy Power For by thine Ordinance all things are and do continue Thou givest us Rain and fruitful Seasons and fillest our Hearts with food and gladness With admirable Wisdom didst thou create and dost still govern all things But above all I admire thy Wisdom Power and Goodness shewed unto Man Thou madest him of the mould of the Earth and didst breath into his Nostrils the breath of Life Thou didst honour him and create him after thine own Image giving him a capacious Soul sound Judgment clear Understanding ready Apprehension useful Memory clear Reason a ready and obedient Will so that with these faculties we can by thy Divine aid walk at large in the liberty of our thoughts into all the Regions of Heaven and Earth see thee in all times and before all time in that Eternity wherein thou didst live before Time began to be and in that Eternity also which shall be when Time shall be no more By these powers and faculties of our immortal Souls we can see thee also by thy divine Illumination In all thy works of Grace In thy Government of all Ages And in that most stupendious work of Redemption promised in the beginning and performed in the fulness of time for our Salvation O Lord our God how excellent is thy name in all the World It is thou who givest us well order'd Passions sound Sences Health of Body strength of Limbs and useful Members Thou givest us peace of Mind and tranquillity of Spirit by which only we can happily enjoy thee and all things in thee It is thou alone who givest thine Angels charge over us to keep us from falls fractures of Bones Dislocations Epidemical and noisome Diseases from the hands of the violent and wicked man Having placed Man in Paradise when he fell from thee even then thou didst not despise him but didst open the gate of Life in the promised seed unto him Thou didst write thy Laws in his Heart and instruct him in the service of Sacrifices Strengthen our faith by the Oracles of the Prophets Enliven our Hearts with the Melody of the Psalms Teach us by the Wisdom of the Proverbs Evidently point out the coming of thy Son by Types and Figures And at last recompence all their long waitings and expectations by sending him unto us Who took our nature upon him and sanctified it in his Incarnation Birth and Life Redeemed us by his Death and Passion Quickened us by his Resurrection Exalted us by his Ascension Intercedeth for us in his Session at the right hand of the Father Sent down his holy Spirit for our Illumination Sanctification and hope of Glory O blessed be thy Name for giving this Lord of Life and this Son of thy Love unto us For thy glorious Gospel Evangelizing him For the prospect and benefit of his Life and Death It is thou most holy Father who with thine only Son freely givest us all things By thee Kings reign and Princes decree Justice Thou instructest all our Rulers and teachest our Senators wisdom Thou givest us Pastors after thine own heart to fill us with the knowledg of thee and feed us with true faith and obedience unto thee Thou bringest down our hearts for sin so that we sometimes fall before our enemies and there is none to help us Again upon our Repentance thou raisest us up and breakest our bonds in sunder For it is thou who castest our cords from us Thou dost not leave us in the hardness of our hearts but givest us preventing grace with which if we co-operate O how sweet and heavenly are the glorious effects thereof Then we feel compunction for our sins shame of them hearty indignation against them and our selves for them then the sense of thy Love of thy Mercies and of our moâ—t base and vile ingrateful abuse of thy mercies throws down all the strong holds of sin in us and fortifies us against them Nay sometimes thou dost send thy grace so forcibly upon us that thou dost even compell us to come in unto thee Though thou delightest O thou lover of men to see thy Voluntary goodness shine in our Souls O would we draw nigh unto thee with what infinite joy dost thou draw nigh unto us But thou wilt not always force us because thou desirest a free obedience and lovest to save us in the best of all possible manners The glory of a sinner voluntarily returning being greater than that of Adams Innocence and causing greater joy in Heaven then there is over ninety and nine just persons that need no repentance Blessed magnified highly exalted and honoured be thy Name for putting such a power into our hands of turning unto thee such desires into our Hearts such powerful workings in our Souls that every true penitent is always turning more and more unto thee ever moving to thee and aspiring after thee till by thy grace he be wholly throughly and effectually turned unto thee Finding no true satisfaction but in thee no rest no comfort no peace but in thee Thus by degrees dost thou wean us from the world and wed us unto thee Till at last we are fully accepted pardoned and in Jesus Christ justified and by thy Spirit wholly united unto thee So thirsting for and drinking in thy grace that at last thou givest us full satisfaction in all thy Glories Dearest Lord it is thine own self that workest all our works in us And therefore well mayest thou require all good works from us Thou makest that good ours which first was thine That so in us thy whole goodness might shine For thou alone enablest us to do good and to resist evil Thou teachest us how to abound without abusing thy mercy and how to want without repining at thy justice Thou dost help us to overcome yet crownest us for overcoming O wonder of Mercy miracle of Grace It is thou only dost comfort us in our sorrows support us in our trials and take care of our welfare in all estates Thou givest us Songs in the night of affliction and victory in the day of temptation It is only thou canst qualifie our turbulent tempestuous spirits and give us calmness and serenity therein Who could make our impatient natures contented in the midst of all the storms and tempests of a raging world but only thou It is thou alone dost establish our fickle hearts and fix them fast on
thee Who givest us joy in our reproaches and in all our labours of serving thee peace of Conscience and joy in the Holy Ghost intire love of our enemies and zeal of Souls yet alienated from thee O thou that hast given us such a sense of them hear our prayers for them that they also may see the felicity of thy chosen and rejoyce in thy Salvation That all the Sons of God may shout for joy in the Gates of Jerusalem O thou who hast shewed a miracle of Mercy in converting us who do call upon thee shew the same upon them who do not yet call effectually upon thee O Lord God of Mercy convert all Infidels all dead insensible Souls into a true sense of thee make them and us to yield all obedience to thee And to thy Name be rendered all Honour Praise and Glory for all these and for all other thy abundant mercies shewed unto us from everlasting until now and from this time forth for evermore Amen An Hymn to Jesus wherein the the Soul may expatiate it self with delight in Him JEsus the only thought of thee Fills with delight my memory But when thou dost thy presence shew Heaven into my brest doth flow No Theme for voice so sweet can be Nor to the ear such Melody No Heart can Thought so charming frame As Jesus his most precious Name Our hope when we for sins do grieve Thy mercies all our wants relieve If good to those that seek thy Grace What art thou when they see thy face Jesus in whom we comfort find Life of our Souls light of our Mind Thou dost our Hearts with true joys feed Thy gifts our utmost wish exceed No eloquence of tongue can teach Nor art of Pen this secret reach Only the experienced Soul doth prove What sweets they taste who Jesus love Him then I 'le seek retired apart Shutting the world out of my heart Amidst my business him I 'le strive With fresh pursuits still to retrive Early with Magdalen I 'le come A Pilgrim to my Saviours Tomb Wailing my sins with mournful cries I 'le seek him with my Mind not Eyes My Tears shall on his Grave distill My faithful Sighs the Garden fill Prostrate before him on my face His sacred feet I 'le fast embrace Striving to follow where they lead Jesus in thy blest steps I 'le tread Nor shall my Soul give o're to mourn Till to thy favour it return O Jesus most admired King Who didst triumph ore deaths sharp sting Thy Mystick sweetness first excites Then satisfies all appetites Thy quickening visits life bestow Thy light true good doth clearly shew That they who once have relisht thee Know all the world 's meer vanity Come then dear Lord possess our Hearts Enflame our Love with thy chaste darts All clouds of error drive away And change our night to thy bright day To thee our Hearts and Voices sing To thee our Vows and Prayers we bring That when we end this life 's short race In Heaven with thee we may have place A Prayer upon the third Hour O Blessed Jesus being the third hour was devoted to thee by the ancient Christians in memory of thy Prayer in the Garden thine Agony there suffered before thy Passion and of thy sending the Holy Ghost to thy Disciples accept of me in Communion with them doing honour to thy Name therein Enable me now seriously to consider that in that Garden of sorrow to thee thou didst repair our sin first committed in a Garden Thine Agony there was so great thy Conflict so strong thy Love so forcible thy Fathers wrath so weighty our Sins so hearty that thou didst sweat drops of blood prest out by thine intollerable anguish for our sins I humbly beseech thee to make me in utter abhorrence of all sin to forsake iniquity Give me a deep sense and sorrow for my sins and a thorough conversion to thee from them all Let this suffering of thine make me contented with all sufferings for thy sake And let thine infinite love therein melt my heart into love of thee and fill me with love to all Mankind for thee Great O Lord was this anguish of thine when it urged thee to pray that this Cup might pass from thee But greater was thy Love which did drink it up for me Great was thy dolor in thy prayer but greater was thy obedience Great was thy human suffering but greater was thy divine perfection that therein could make so perfect a Resignation Great was thy love to our Souls that suffered such inexplicable torments in thine own Most deeply fervent were thy prayers when thou didst shed thy very blood for tears O let me ne're refuse to bleed for thee Who shedst this strange prodigious blood for me O thou who didst pray prostrate on the earth and didst repeat the same prayer thrice Grant I beseech thee that by the outward gesture of our bodies we may encrease the inward devotion of our minds and in often repeating the same prayer may still advance to new degrees of pious affections make me in all things resigned unto thee O thou who wert falsly apprehended and betrayed deliver me from the false apprehension and treacheries of Men and grant that neither for reward nor danger I ever withdraw my fidelity from the but learn by thy example to do good with cheerfulness and to suffer evil with patience O blessed Lord thou didst deliver thy self to the violence of thine enemies suffering them to bind scourge deride and abuse thee in most barbarous manner Grant I beseech thee that the sins of our hands may be loosed by the binding of thine that the scourges due for our sins may be acquitted by thine let all our vain affections be confounded by the indecencies cast upon thee Grant that when ever thou callest us thereunto we may not only be bound but be ready to die for the Lord Jesus O by these bindings of thine deliver us from the chains of eternal darkness and bind our Souls and Hearts unto thee in the Chains of a strong obedience and everlasting love and dissolve now all the bonds of my sins O blessed Jesus being bound thus by Annas thou wast sent to Caiphas the high Priest where thou wert yet worse abused buffeted and blindfolded Have mercy upon me and make me to remember that no darkness can hide me from thy sight that so I may ever behave my self as in thy presence and be able to suffer all things rather than offend thee willingly any more Grant also that for thy sake who wert stript mockt spit upon wounded and derided for me I may patiently bear the devesture of all things and the derision of all men for thee hoping that if I be afflicted for thee here I shall by thy mercy and merit be glorified with thee hereafter I furthermore approach thee to commemorate the sending of thine holy Spirit upon thine Apostles humbly beseeching thee not to take it from me but to renew me
World a little before I was by thy Judgments forced to leave it altogether I praise thee for all the Ministry of Angels For my Guardian Angel For all the faithful departed For thy great Graces given to them Their good example given to me For the Suffrages and Prayers of all Saints For my Communion with them and with all those who are at Prayers with me now in this holy hour For the large capacity and extent of my Soul that can be in union with all Ages past present and to come worshipping praising and adoring thee For enabling me so to rejoyce in thy Glories to dilate upon thy Excellencies to delight in thy Service so as if all our affections were united in one holy individual oblation of our Souls and Bodies unto thee As if all Souls were in one and one so in all that we could never more be divided from thee nor cease from the love and service we bear unto thee nor be separated from each other in thee I praise thee for preserving me from all perils and dangers either by day or night For that portion of Health I now enjoy For the contentedness and thankfulness thou givest me in all estates For all the necessaries of this life Healthful dwelling quiet safety plenty of food and raiment For all the retirements and happy opportunities thou givest me of Reading Praying and enjoying thee For assisting me to overcome in any measure any of those great Infirmities I am subject to by nature For all thy gifts of Grace and nature infused or acquired attain'd by study or experience in the world For any good use I make of them For all thy wonderful Mercies to me and mine blessing us in all good things For thy great preservation of us in many dangerous Journeys and deliverances out of very many great troubles which my Soul recounteth unto thee For all these and for all other thy Mercies known or not known manifest or secret willingly or unwillingly received I praise thee I bless thee I give thee thanks and I desire to praise bless and give thee thanks all the days of my life What am I that thou shouldst look upon such a dead dog as I am What reward shall I give unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me especially in that he hath spared and forborn me until now Holy holy holy thou art worthy to receive Honour Worship and Praise now and for evermore Amen A Prayer for Christmas-Day HOly Jesus who being infinitely higher than the Heavens didst condescend to look on the Earth to come down and visit us with the saving Presence of thine Eternal Godhead clothed with our Manhood in the Virgins Womb let this miraculous grace of thine effect another miracle in me Let it raise me by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost and change me by a new Birth and exalt me to a Divine and Heavenly life that I may forsake the world and live unto thee O thou who didst assume thy Body and Soul for me that we might be members of thy Body and of thy flesh and of thy bones unite me unto thee make me sensible of thee my head fill me with the joy of thy Nativity and give thy self unto me who wast born for me that I may be thine and my beloved mine for evermore O Eternal Glory of the Father vail'd over with mortal flesh remove the vail from off my heart clarifie my understanding and draw me near unto thee that I may know the mystery which was hid from Ages and Generations but is now revealed for our Glory Receive me to thy self make me one with thee and be thou more dear unto me than all the world O thou who didst vouchsafe to dwell in the dark Cloysters of a Virgins womb thou who didst vouchsafe to close thine infinity within the confines of Humane shape and advance our Humanity to the Throne of God Prepare the Temple of my Soul make it bright with knowledg and wisdom come and dwell in my understanding take possession of my will reign within my heart let thy Scepter of Righteousness be exalted over me and become the rule of my thoughts and actions O reign over all the World and let the Righteousness and true Holiness wherein thou delightest prevail and prosper in the Earth let the Souls be saved which thou hast redeemed Amen Amen A Prayer for Easter-Day ETernal Son of the eternal Father who wast a man of sorrows and art now the Lord of Joys look down from Heaven thy dwelling place upon me thy Servant who rejoyce in thy glorious and blessed Resurrection Thou hast broken the Bars of Death and Hell for it was impossible that he that was innocent should be holden of them Thou hast broken down the gates of the prison of the Grave because thou hast satisfied thy Fathers Justice He knew thy ability and therefore he trusted thee with so great a debt He knew thy Power and therefore did commit so weighty an employment to thy sacred Hands O cause me to know thee my Saviour to be the Son of God by this glorious Resurrection Let it quicken me and raise me up who am dead in sins and trespasses Our Surety has paid the debt and is come abroad let all the Earth rejoyce and be glad in him Sing O Mountains and break forth into singing all the valleys in the World for our Redeemer and our Saviour hath conquered Death Hell and the Grave Let the light of his Resurrection transform the World into Heaven and turn the Wilderness into Eden let it restore a better Paradise than the old one unto us Let the power of his Resurrection quicken all the dead in sins and convert all the Kingdoms upon Earth and make them the Kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ wherein Truth and Peace and Righteousness may reign for evermore O my Soul thy lover and thy friend that was killed dead and buried is alive and he is able to save unto the utmost all them that come to God through him seeing he ever liveth to make Intercession for us He by and for whom the Worlds were made loved thee to the death O let his Love enflame thee and turn thee all into Love and let the love of God which passeth all understanding possess thy Soul and Body for ever Let the Love of Christ constrain thee to forsake iniquity and to esteem nothing easie honourable or delightful but that which is so to him Love all that he loveth hate all that he hateth O Jesus the love and life of my Soul be thou my sovereign Lord and Friend my only treasure and possession be thou my Wisdom and my Glory my Kingdom and my Crown my Life and Blessedness be thou all in all to me Let thy will be my will and thy pleasure mine As thou camest to do the Will of thy Father let it be my meat and drink to do thy Will to glorifie thy Name and finish the work which thou hast given me
are not consumed O how dost thou wait to have mercy upon us with thee is plenteous Redemption And thy mercy and thy pardon extendeth not only to small sins and sinners but those that are great Such as Peter who forswore thee Such as Paul who blasphemed thee To the Thief on the Cross To the Adulteress Mary Magdalen To David and to Manasses Thou biddest those that have plaid the Harlot with many Lovers return unto thee And all those are recapitulated and summed up by thy holy Spirit for comfort and assurance of thy mercy to us also in Jesus Christ In whom thou hast given us great and precious promises and in whom all the promises of God are Yea and Amen Therefore Jesus thou Son of David have mercy upon me And by thy name Jesus be a Saviour to me Lord do not so remember my sins as to forget thine own Name But hear me forgive me intercede for me O reconcile thy Father to me say unto my Soul I am thy Salvation Where sin hath abounded let Grace superabound God hath concluded all under sin that he might have mercy upon all O blessed Lord thy Son my Saviour Christ once suffered for sin the just for the unjust he came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance He bids all that labour and are heavy laden come unto him and therefore most holy God blessed Jesus receive me have mercy on me Justifie me freely Sanctifie me effectually Cleanse me thorowly Receive me graciously into the arms of thy protection and unspeakable mercy and secure me from all mine Enemies visible and invisible Deprecations out of Bishop Andrews O Lord rebuke me not in thy wrath Cast me not off for ever Cast me not away from thy presence Hide not thy face from me Forsake me not put me not to shame O turn away reproach Let not mine enemies triumph over me Deliver me not over to their will preserve my life from them Deliver me O Lord from hardness of heart from impenitence From grossness dulness and deadness of spirit From all impudence or over bold confidence From a sear'd conscience and a dull reprobate mind Form the sin unto death the sin against the Holy Ghost From all superfluity of naughtiness The weight of sin the lusts of the eyes and pride of life From all wicked and vain desires hurtful Vain unprofitable foolish and sinful thoughts From desire of vain glory or enduring it From lying lips and a deceitful heart or tongue From hands stretched out to covetousness From feet swift to do evil from eyes or ears Open to vanity or destruction From errors or blindness of judgment inconstancy of mind sinful words and actions envy hatred rancour malice and revenge Good Lord deliver and preserve me for ever Root out of me all prophaneness and superstition pride and indecency Anger and contention swearing cursing Violent passion inordinate affection And cleanse me from all my corruption deceit fraud lying slandering envy and malice Take from me all gluttony and intemperance Give to me the virtue of Abstinence and Temperance Take from me the spirit of uncleanness Give to me the love of chastity Take from me all love and desire to this vain world Give to me the love and desire of Heaven Take from me all perturbation of mind Give to me a contented mind Take from me the heat and violence of anger Give to me the spirit of meekness and true humility Take from me all immoderate care of this life Give to me the constant care of eternal life Give to me all spiritual joy Take from me all sinful joy Take from me all haughtiness of mind Give to me compunction of heart humility Good Lord deliver me In all my prayers hear me In all my thinkings speaking and writings Inspire instruct and direct me In all my infirmities pity and help me Out of all temptations deliver me From all falls fractures of bones Dislocations noisom and grievous diseases Good Lord deliver me From all dangers of Fire and Water From thy wrath and everlasting damnation Good Lord deliver us And let thy grace mercy and blessing be now and evermore upon us Intercessions for all Mankind I Beseech thee O Lord for the Conversion of Turks Jews and Heathens to the Truth For all Christians That they may be strengthened that stand That they may be converted that are in error For the Churches throughout the world That they may be united in Religion For our Church that whatsoever is amiss in it may be amended For the Kings Majesty and his prosperity For all Christian Kingdoms For ours and each part of it That it may flourish in peace For the Clergy that they may teach and live well For wisdom in the Council Integrity in the Judges Strength in our Armies Discretion in the Magistrates Obedience in the People The prosperity and good success of Merchants Husbandmen Artificers and Tradesmen that they may live carefully and honestly in their Vocations For the prosperous education of Youth in our Universities and Schools and other parts of the Kingdom For our Parents Kindred Friends Benefactors and Neighbours For those of whom we have the charge committed to us either in Church Common wealth or Families For our enemies especially those that hate us without cause that God would convert them For those that commend themselves to our prayers and those whose affairs and troubles will not suffer them to pray as they ought For those who are in affliction of body or mind In danger or want in prison or condemned to death For those that excell in qualities of mind in strength of body in abundance of wealth That they exalt not themselves above their Brethren but do good with their gifts and advantages For those which undertake any notable action which may redound To the Glory of God The Peace of the Church The Honour of the Kingdom A Christians Dedication of himself unto God I That am a wretched sinner here personally appearing and prostrate before the presence of the everlasting God having in remembrance the exceeding mercy of his great goodness towards me whom he hath created of nothing preserved sustained and loved when I was most unworthy of any thing whom he hath of his incomprehensible clemency so often invited to repent and whose conversion and amendment he hath so patiently expected as also having in memory that at the day of my Baptism Christning I was so happily and holily vowed and dedicated unto my God to be his child and to live in his continual service grieve that contrary to the profession then made in my name I have often displeased his Glorious Majesty I have so many and sundry ways so execrably and detestably violated my Vows profaned my sacred promises and employed my soul to the service of the world the flesh and the devil that I have thereby despised the graces and contemned the goodness of Gods Divine Majesty and deserved everlasting perdition but now at length recalling my self
and in all lowly devotion and devout obedience here casting my Soul and Body prostrate before the dreadful Throne of his Justice I acknowledg and confess and I yield my self a most miserable wretched sinner guilty of that Death and Passion which Christ once suffer'd for me upon the tormenting Cross But turning my self to the Throne of his infinite Mercy and with all my might from the very bowels of my heart detesting the iniquities of my fore-passed life I most humbly beg and crave pardon for the same with an entire absolution from all my sins even for the precious Death and Passions sake of my Lord and Saviour upon whom as upon the only foundation of my hope I repose all my confidence and unto whom I promise and confirm again I vow and solemnly renew the sacred profession of loyal service and fidelity which was made in my name and in my behalf unto him in my holy Baptism renouncing unfeignedly the vanities of this wicked world the lusts of my sinful flesh and the suggestions of the Devil and converting my self to my most gracious and most merciful God I desire deliberate purpose and fully resolve to honour him serve him love him and obey him now and for ever hereafter giving and dedicating to him for this end the powers of my Soul the affections of my Heart and the faculties of my Body to be his faithful loyal and obedient servant for ever without unsaving revoking or repenting me of this my holy and sacred promise or any part thereof And I most humbly beseech Almighty God the Father Son and Holy Ghost to confirm me in this constant resolution and to accept of this my broken and contrite Heart which he hath promised not to despise entirely desiring his fatherly goodness that as he hath given me a will to purpose so he would give me strength and grace to perform all holy actions through Jesus Christ A Prayer for acceptation of acts of Humiliation or Abstinence on Fasting-Days LOrd Jesus who both by thy Word and thine own example hast taught us to deny our selves and by thy Apostle hast councell'd us to judg our selves that we be not judged of the Lord. I offer unto thee this act of Abstinence not out of a proud conceit of satisfying thy justice by it for the least sin or meriting any the least favour at thy hand but in a pure acknowledgment that through my manifold sins I am unworthy of so liberal an use of thy good Creatures and even of the necessary sustenance of life in an holy revenge upon my self for former excesses through heedlesness or wanton appetites in an humble desire of bringing forth some fruits worthy of repentance as also in honour of and conformity to thy hunger and thirst abstinence and austerity voluntarily undergone by thee to expiate the errors of our excesses Beseeching thee graciously to accept of me and mine as thou usest to do to those that love thy name and fear thy wrath and are displeased at themselves for having displeased thee and that judg themselves to prevent being judged of thee Purge and purifie our humiliations and abstinencies from all hypocrisie vain-glory and self-pleasing and offer it to thy holy Father in the Union and through the merits of thy holy Abstinences for the averting of thy Judgments and for procuring of thy grace and favour for my self and others to the beating down of the body and the bringing of it into subjection to the crucifying of the flesh with the affections and lusts for the disposing of my Soul to the more free influences of thy Divine Grace to fit me for Prayer Meditation and all other Blessings wherewith thou usest to crown the worthless service of thy poor Creatures infinitely beyond their deserts in such sort as shall seem good to thee and be expedient for us to thy Glory and to the Glory of the Father and the Holy Ghost Three persons and one God world without end Evening Thoughts and Exercises to Bedward The ADVICE DO not dare to go to Bed in such a state with such a conscience in which you do not dare to die For who can tell whether this night your Soul may not be required of you Having retired therefore and set God before you and your self before God stir up your self to an act of self-examination thus or to this purpose The MEDITATION SEE O my Soul the day is past the time of working is over the night is come and invites us to rest our life is one day shorter than it was in the Morning and what if it be our last Our gracious Lord has given us this day to serve him and what service have we done him to work out our Salvation in and what have we done towards it How have we spent this day how has it past from our down-lying to our uprising to the first hour the third the sixth the ninth to the Evening to this hour where was each hour spent and with whom and in what employment 2. What were the considerable passages of each hour what was done by us what devotions businesses recreations Have we ordered our Conversations aright to Godward in the exercises of Religion Prayer spiritual reading of this Book or other good Books of Devotion looking up to his hand in all things that befell us both the good and the evil directing all our doings to his Glory To our selves in the exercises of prudence ordering all our affairs wisely of Temperance moderating our selves Actions Appetites Affections of Courage both doing the good we had the power and opportunity to do notwithstanding the difficulty or danger and suffering the evil that befell us bearing afflictions pains losses injuries with patience and as much as may be with cheerfulness To others in the common exercises of Respects Justice Charity in our proper duties according to the special obligations of our Relations Callings Offices c. How have our thoughts been busied about wholsom good things or vain impertinent sinful dwelling upon such with delight Our Affections have they been set on things above or altogether on things of the Earth Our Senses how have they been disciplin'd or have they been loose or wanton wandring especially our Eyes Our Words have they been few discreet gracious or have they been light vain offensive boasting censuring And our doings of what worth in themselves or benefit to others or have they been of little worth in themselves or small benefit to others Our carriage how grave harmless affable obliging patient or otherwise How have we kept our Rule our Hours our Measures have we done all we were to do to day our daily tasks our accustomed devotions our proper businesses have we not exceeded for there is the danger in our Refections and Recreations have we done every thing as we ought Have willing distractions and careless indevotions stoln in upon us Our business was it begun with that purity of intention carried on with that diligence and industry and
with that constancy and unweariedness that was fitting till brought to an end our Refections and Recreations were they used with that sobriety as was meet and broken off with cheerfulness to go fresh to our Masters service again 3. Were all things done in their due and set time or did we fail otherwise than for necessity or charity out of inconstancy in good things or tediousness of our proper business 4. Lastly have we done what we might have done by the means afforded us by the opportunities offer'd us such hints given such impulsions moving such occasions inviting Or have we done contrary have we fail'd in any one kind or more in our duty or manner of doing it by omission not doing what we ought And how often and how deeply and why did we so Then sum up readily what comes to mind in every kind with ordinary intention of mind and without study such hath been our Lords blessings such his provisions for us such his scourges if any such temptations to prove our faithfulness and for return of service thus and thus have we done no better in answer to all his love and care for us All his talents helps means opportunities impulsions restraints upon us and these our rebellions if any gross sin these failings that we know of and for our secret sins who can tell how oft he offendeth and worse than thus we had done had not he upholden us with his hands prevented supported restrained us by his grace Lord I know I have done amiss I have done evil in thy sight thou alone knowest how much how evil Thou seest my Soul wherein thy discharge lies in a peace-offering of Praise a sin-offering of sorrow and contrition for offences committed with a promise of better obedience These make up the Evening Sacrifice and with these prepare to meet thy God A Prayer against Afflictions HEavenly Father seeing thou art willing so to have it let the cup of thy wrath and displeasure pass from us and let the cup of thy blessing be ever amongst us expose us not good Father to those bloody and grievous conflicts with the powers of Hell and darkness which thy Son sustained for us Oh lay no more upon us than thou shalt give us strength and patience through him and for him to undergo and vanquish Make us to triumph as conquerors in this victory over Hell and Satan over all the power of the enemy Amen A Brief Soliloquy by way of Admonition FOrasmuch as the violence of sickness which ordinarily goes before death hinders us often from applying our selves in due manner to God in our last duties suitable to that estate to prevent such hinderances it will be to very good purpose O my Soul to make choice of some solemn time of Retirement every year if not every week or day to do such duties in before-hand which then we should but cannot so well perform An Exercise Preparative to a good Death consisting of several Acts of Piety VIZ. I. Submission to the sentence of Death II. Thanksgiving for all benefits of the life past III. Confession of our Sins IV. A Prayer to die to Sin V. A Petition for the Virtues of the dying Jesus with special recommendation of those of our charge to Gods grace and blessing and of our own spirits into the hand of God I. A Submission to the Sentence of Death O Lord my God in most profound humility of Soul and Body I cast my self at the feet of thy Divine Majesty adoring thee as my Soveraign Judg who hast pronounc'd against me and all sinners in the first man that sinned the sentence of death saying Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return In homage of thy Divine Justice I submit from my Soul to the sentence then pronounced against me acknowledging it most just and due to me both for that and infinite other sins of mine that I have since committed against thee As also in homage of the bloody and shameful death of thy Son Jesus Christ who after that he had suffer'd unspeakable sorrows of his soul in his Agony and bloody sweat offer'd up himself a Sacrifice for mine and the sins of the whole World I resign my self wholly to thy Will touching my death at least I desire so to do for the time and place and manner and all circumstances that all be according to the high pleasure of thy holy Will If thou hast ordained that I die a painful death and even a shameful death or that I should be forsaken and cast off by all humane succours so my God be ever with me I submit If I should be void of reason or sense by the extremity of my disease so as to fall into any idle or even evil words any thing against the Catholick Faith thy house or the purity of the Christian profession I yield my self a living sacrifice to thee to do and to be done with as it shall please thee Only I make this protestation that I abhor from my soul and renounce and hereby revoke all or any such words as may be offensive to Christian ears as none of mine humbly begging this my protestation may be entred in thy Book resolved and ready by thy grace if thou shouldst call me to die for the honour of thy name of the Christian Catholick faith and religion to thy glory and the eternal salvation of my poor soul through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen II. Having accepted the sentence of Death the first thing we are to do is to prepare for an holy Death to be thankful to God for all the benefits of this life GRacious God the fountain of all goodness and all Graces out of the storehouse of whose all-sufficiency Angels and Men and all Creatures have received all the good that is in them that they have and that they can do I bless and adore thy sacred Majesty for all thy goodness to all and especially to me and mine for all thy blessings of my being and well-being from the first hour of my conception to this day from the womb and from the breasts to my riper years to my age of full strength to my gray hairs for all thy blessings in the Ordinances of Nature and Grace and for the hopes of glory for all the Blessings of my Creation Redemption Preservation for all the good things thou hast bestowed upon me and all the evil thou hast saved me from or kept from me bodily or ghostly for the abundant supply of all my necessities of body and soul for all my worldly comforts and ghostly comforts for all thy mercies in forgiving my infinite transgressions for all thy patience in bearing with my follies and for thy long-suffering in my errors and strayings expecting my return and for all thy goodness in receiving thy child thy prodigal Child so graciously for all the gifts of grace for thy holy Spirit and for all the means of Grace and for the good use of it and them For all the good
thou hast done me by thy self or others Angels and Men the Ministers of thy providence to me for the good of my soul and body and for all the good thou hast wrought in me and for giving me grace and strength in the discharge of my duty to thee and my neighbour for all and every of thy blessings in every kind which are infinite for number and for worth invaluable and every way unspeakable whatsoever from thy bounteous hand I have received I thankfully return my heart and soul in a most grateful acknowledgment of thy infinite Bounty and my unworthiness with the tribute of all possible love honour and praise beseeching thee to the vast heap of all thy unspeakable blessings to add this one more of a thankful heart that with joyful lips and a glad heart I may praise and bless thee all the days of my life whilest I have any being here and in the land of the living in Heaven hereafter everlastingly Amen III. After Thanksgiving for all Benefits it will do well to make a confession and beg pardon for all our sins and to do it as if it were to be our last LOrd God who didst make me for nothing else but to serve thee and love thee who art most worthy of all love and service and to whom I have infinite obligations so to do With shame and blushing I confess I have not loved nor served thee as I ought nay I have dishonour'd thee and offended thee as I ought not doing what thou hast forbidden and not doing what thou hast commanded In my thoughts in my words in my actions by all the senses of my body and all the powers of my soul and all the Creatures which thou hast given to serve me in thy service transgressing thy Commandments infinite ways by numberless Transgressions O my sins my many sins my grievous sins my ingratitudes my unfaithfulness O that my soul were all sorrow my heart full of Contrition my eyes of Tears and if it might be tears of blood to blot out my offences against a God so glorious so gracious whom having all the reason in the world to love honour and to please I have so little loved so much dishonour'd and offended if all the torments and martyrdoms in the world all the violent and voluntary sufferings that such a wretch could endure were sufficient to expiate my faults sure I would at least I should undergo them to make amends for my Injuries against my God my dear God But alas they cannot repair the least injury nor satisfie for the least of my offences But this is my comfort thy Son my Saviour hath done it for me he hath honoured and pleased thee in all holy obedience in all his thoughts words and actions by all his senses the powers of his soul and members of his body and by all the Creatures of the world he made use of yielding exact obedience to thy holy will for me and by the sorrows and sufferings of his soul and body made full satisfaction for all my sins Him therefore I offer up to thee and all that he hath done and suffer'd for me that as thou hast promised I may be accepted to pardon grace and favour through him in whom thou canst not but be well pleased Holy Father look upon thy Son thy beloved Son and pardon thy ungracious servant Lord set thy sorrows and sufferings between my Sins and thy Fathers wrath that his justice being satisfied I may be received to mercy and as to God so to all Men and Angels and all Creatures whom I have injured do thou satisfie all my injuries and offences that none of them come in against me to accuse me at that day but that I may have a clear and full acquittance through thy blood O my dear Redeemer whereby thou hast fully purchased me that I may be wholly thine Amen IV. A Prayer to die to Sin LOrd Jesus Christ who didst die for me to the end I should no longer live to my self but unto thee who diedst for me and that so I might reckon my self dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God in righteousness and true holiness mortifie in me wholly the life of sin and of the old Adam that all my sins and even the affections and lusts thereof may die before me that I may be perfectly dead to the world and to my self and to all things else but thee Mortifie in such a manner my eyes mine ears my tongue my hands my feet my heart and every member of my body and all the powers of my Soul that I may no more see hear or speak or do or walk or think or wish or make any use of any Member of my body or faculty of my Soul to the service of 〈…〉 service of 〈…〉 may retain 〈…〉 â—…ctions 〈…〉 such 〈…〉 and 〈…〉 course 〈…〉 thy servant in this world to 〈◊〉 when death comes it find me not unprepared but that I may receive and welcome it as my summons to a better life where there is no sin nor temptation nor misery nor want nor pains nor death but bliss and happiness and joy and fulness of pleasure and life for evermore Amen V. A Petition for the Virtues of the Dying Jesus LOrd Jesus teach me when the time of my dissolution shall come to depart this life as thou didst with the like holy affections and dispositions of soul that thou hadst that I may loose hold not only of my sins and all that is sinful but even of all that is in the world the chiefest of the allowed comforts of it my dearest Friends and even my self to be ready at thy call as thou wast at thy Fathers Teach me as thou didst earnestly to commend to thy Father the care of the Catholick Church and especially of this of England my dear Mother to keep her in unity and purity to the end Teach me then and even now and till then to give good spiritual counsels and instructions to those about me as thou didst to thy followers Teach me from my heart to pardon all mine enemies as thou didst thine and to pity and pray for them with all other high and holy lessons of the Cross of submission to the hand of God his heavy hand of patience in pains of body and sorrows and heaviness in soul contempt of the world obedience to the death and all other those virtues which in the last act of thy life thou didst in a most eminent manner practise in thy self leaving the pattern for an example to all and to me in particular that I might practise them in my last Act and leave them as a Legacy to all mine Particularly teach me the art of true love to and of a right care for all mine that I leave behind me that as thou didst commend thy blessed Mother to the care of thy beloved Disciple so may I all my nearest Relations my my Friends to such as St. John was if such be to be had beloved of God and faithful in their trust that they may be so carefully instructed and bred up in piety and virtue as to live in holiness and righteousness all their days that when they come to depart this world as I am now a doing we may meet and enjoy one another in thee in bliss everlasting But if no such there be to whose hands I may leave them or if there be there is none to thee I consign them over unto thee the only friend of the friendless that thou conducting them either by thy self or by the Ministry of such faithful friends of their Souls as thou shalt raise them they may so pass with innocency through the things temporal that finally they lose not the things eternal And that I may not be ingrateful to all other my Benefactors whom thou hast used as thy instruments to convey thy Blessings Spiritual and Temporal to me for what I can make no return to them of I earnestly recommend them to thee to the riches of thy bounty and mercy to reward them sevenfold into their bosom humbly beseeching that they may find mercy in that day and abundant recompence in the day of recompence for all the good they have done to me in thy name and for thy sake Amen And now my God and my all as having nothing in the world left me but my self my sins I have renounced and all my affections to them as none of mine and the dearest pledges of my love which I have past over to thee as no longer mine but thine I cast off from me all the care of my self and cast all the care of me upon thee put off this earthly tabernacle of flesh when and as it pleaseth thee and return it to its ancient dust and commend my Spirit deliver'd from this burden of flesh by the Ministry of thy holy Angels to be presented to thy Father as pure and spotless as thy Divine Blood can make it that among those he hath given thee according as thou hast prayed and thy Father granted it may ever be where thou art And now what have I to do having taken leave of earth and sent my thoughts and desires and hopes and in them my soul to Heaven but to languish and call and cry and not to cease till I breath out my soul into thy hands Come Lord Jesus come quickly Amen and Amen DEus vitae meae quam vane consumpta sunt quam infructuose elapsa sunt tempora mea quae dedisti mihi ut facerem voluntatem tuam in eis non feci quanti Anni quot Dies quot Horae perierunt apud me in quibus sine fructu vixi coram te Quomodo subsistam quomodo levare potero oculos meos in faciem tuam in illo magno examine tuo si omnia peccata mea vel tempora mea fructus requisiveris singulorum Patientissime pater non fiat hoc sed sint in oblivione coram te Et quae perdidi tempora heu multa sunt nimis si quae te juvante utiliter servavi quorum O domine numerus brevis est in memoria aeterna fac permanere Fiat amande Pater saltem hoc residuum temporis mei fructuosum sanctificatum in Gratia tua ut in diebus Aeternitatis inveniat locum computabile sit ante te Amen FINIS