my Soul pure and clean may make his abode in it and adorn it with his manifold graces and Be merciful to me O Blessed Saviour Who when thou shalt at the last day come to judge the quick and dead wilt render to every one according to his works either reward or punishment Give me grace so to pass this Earthly Pilgrimage according to thy Holy Will that at that Day I may be through thy merits thought worthy to be received into thy Heavenly Mansion there to praise and bless thee with the Holy Company of blessed Saints and Angels for evermore and Be merciful to me Amen Prayers for several Persons For a Married Man O Gracious Father Maker and Preserver of Heaven and Earth who in the beginning didst institute Matrimony foretelling the mystical union of the Church with our Saviour Christ Who also in the time of his being upon Earth did honour Marriage with his first Miracle And hast appointed it also for a means whereby Mankind is propagated for a remedy to avoid unlawful Lust and for the mutual Comfort and Consolation of thy Children I humbly intreat thee to give me the assistance of thy Divine Grace that I may live according to thy Commandements with my Wife whom thou hast given for my help and comfort in this World Mortifie in me all unclean dishonest and fleshly Lusts let not the heat of unlawful Concupiscence take hold of me but make me to be fully pleased and satisfied with her love and to love her as Christ loved his Church to cherish and comfort her as mine own body and to have as great a care of her health as of mine own Grant that we may live in peace without debate in unity without discord like the members of one body equally desirous to praise thy holy Name And as thou hast O Lord bestowed many Children upon us give us discreet hearts and understanding minds to bring them up in thy Faith and Fear in a religious honest and civil manner Give them obedient hearts to thee and to thy Commandements and to all that thou requirest of them to be performed in duty towards us their Parents Keep them from those which are ready to seduce them and so lead them in thy Faith Fear and Knowledge that they prove not a curse but a blessing unto us and thereby attain to that blessing which thou hast promised to those which honour and obey their Parents Grant likewise O Lord that I may guide and instruct the Family which is under me in thy fear and in honest and careful manner provide as well for their bodies as their souls And give them the like Grace O Lord to perform their duties in fear and obedience not as eye-servers but in simplicity of heart as in thy sight And give us O Lord a competency of Estate to maintain our Selves Children and Family according to that Rank or Calling wherein thou of thy goodness hast placed us without excess riot or vain-glory and in singleness and pureness of heart with all humility relying upon thy blessed will who knowest better than we our selves what is needful for us To thee be all Honour and Glory now and for ever For a Married Woman O Merciful and Loving Lord God who in the beginning for the propagation of Mankind didst take Eve out of the side of Adam and gave her to him as an helper I give thee humble thanks that thou hast vouchsafed to call me to the honourable estate of Matrimony Give me grace O Lord that I may lead a life worthy thereof that I may love my Husband with a pure and chast love acknowledge him for my Head and truly reverence and obey him in all good things that thereby I may please him and live quietly with him Grant that I be not carried away with the vain fashions of this World but may put on such habits as shall be agreeable and suitable with the estate of my Husband and may become a modest Woman to wear Help me O Lord that I may under him prudently and discreetly guide and govern his Houshold and Family and carefully look that nothing be either carelesly lost or wickedly committed in my House Fit me with those good Graces which the Wise Man described in a Good Woman and Saint Peter in Holy and Sanctified Matrons Give me such care concerning the Education of my Children as belongeth to my part that I may live to see them prosper in this life and afterwards we may all be received to thy Eternal Kingdom through Iesus Christ c. For a Child O Almighty Lord God to whom the Obedience of Children to their Parents is most acceptable and all Disobedience most displeasing who hast promised a Blessing to the Dutiful and threatned a Curse to the Disobedient Children I beseech thee to put away from me the detestable Sin of Disobedience and Rebellion against my Parents and give me grace to observe them with all kind of Duty to obey them in all their just Commands and to be ayding and helpful to them at all time of their need Give me grace to bear all their reproofs and errours patiently and not to grieve them by stubborn and evil courses Let me not be so far deprived of thy Grace that I scoff or deride them though by age or infirmity they shall fail in their Iudgement or Reason but cause me to supply their wants lest that I having plenty and they being in any need or distress I not supplying it or not succouring them their lives to whom I owe mine may be in danger to be shortned Lord forgive all the Offences which I have heretofore committed against them Increase the number of their dayes keep them safe in body and mind let them see their Childrens Children to their Comfort and thy Glory Let them govern us and the rest of their Family with wholesome Discipline and good Example that at the last they may in their due time depart this life in peace and come to thy Kingdom unspotted through Iesus Christ. For a Woman with Child O Blessed Lord God who for the Offence of the first Woman didst denounce and impose an inevitable Curse upon all her posterity namely that they should conceive in sin and be subject to many grievous pains and should bring forth their Children with great danger Asswage I beseech thee of thy goodness the sharpness of that Decree and preserve me that I may overcome and escape this great danger and be delivered of the fruit of my body without peril of death and that it may safely be brought to the Sacred Font of Baptism and be regenerated and ingrafted into the mystical Body of Christ and made partaker of his Death and Passion And as thou hast of thy bounty given bodily life to it and me so grant us both life spiritual and so sanctifie our Bodies and Souls here that hereafter we may live among thy blessed Saints for ever in the
God and our Neighbour Humility of body and soul Perseverance Fervency of Spirit our souls and bodies attending to what we pray for and in due Time and Place praying aright both for temporal and spiritual blessings we shall no doubt by the mercy of God through the mediation intercession and merits of Iesus Christ obtain in his good time all things which shall be needful and expedient for us Prayer divided into parts DEvotions and Prayers are either publick or private 1. Private prayers are whereby every particular Man prayeth to God for those things which he wanteth In which kind of devotion we ought at all times to exercise our selves because at all times we stand in need of Gods particular assistance and therefore we are tyed or limited herein neither to time nor place for whether it be in the night or morning mid-day or evening at home or abroad in the City or Country in our beds or at our work if we call upon him faithfully he will hear us 2. Publick Prayers are whereby the whole Congregation meet in a place Dedicated to Gods honour as well to praise his Name as to pray for those things which shall be needful For although Christians ought to pray privately yet ought they not in the mean time to neglect the publick worship and service of God in the Church For from the beginning it was held and observed as a duty required and therefore before the erection and dedication of Temples and Churches the Patriarchs and holymen erected Altars in certain places where at set times of the day they might offer Sacrifices and publick Prayer to God In the second of Ioel you shall find a set and prescribed Form of Prayer for the Minister to use together with the place and the Congregation that were to assist In the New Testament also our Saviour Christ himself to encourage this holy duty of publick Prayer hath promised his presence amongst those that shall be assembled and gathered together after this manner Therefore whosoever shall neglect these publick Assemblies sheweth and discovereth thereby how little he regardeth Christs company or presence These Prayers are also distinguished into these parts 1. Invocation 2. Confession 3. Thanksgiving Invocation consisteth of 1. Petitions for the good of our own Souls in Spiritual things Bodies in Temporal things 2. Intercessions either in praying for the good of others or against the evil of others 3. Deprecations against evils Spiritual Temporal Confession is threesold 1. Of our Faith 2. Of the Glory of God 3. Of our own Sins Thanksgiving is either 1. For deliverance from evil 2. For benefits received To these may be added Imprecation either 1. Against the enemies of God incorrigible and irreconcileable 2. Against the enemies of our Souls incorrigible and irreconcileable So that these Rules be observed 1. That it be not used for private hate or revenge 2. That we rejoyce not in any mans Destruction 3. That we aim at their Correction The use of the Lords Prayer BEcause that our Saviour Christ hath taught us how to pray and hath put the very words as it were into our mouths which we should use in praying I think it necessary to begin with the same which he hath left unto us 1. In respect of the Excellency of the Author of it who was no less than God 2. In respect of the Perfection of the work it self the Prayer for it comprehendeth in it Petitions for all things which we stand in need of 3. In respect of the Efficacy of this Prayer in working for it cannot choose but prevail and work much with God for none knew the mind and disposition of God better than he which composed it which was God And let it not lose any part of the due praise which belongeth to it in regard of the compendiousness or shortness of it for it deserveth the more honour because though it be short yet it is also copious and plentiful in matter and therefore the more absolute and perfect It is not therefore without cause that the Antients have given so many excellent Attributes to it As the Abridgement of the Gospel and our Faith The Interpretation of our Desires and Hopes The very Bond of Charity And an inexhaustible Treasury Yet let not any Man think that our Saviour prescribed us this Prayer as that we should use no other but be tyed to the very words contained in it but this we must conceive that he made it to bridle our desires that though we make our Petitions and frame them according to our several necessities yet to keep us in compass that we exceed not the limits nor vary from the extent and bounds of this Prayer The Use of it is twofold 1. That we might be instructed by it what is necessary in general to require of God and not without need seeing we being naturally blind in spiritual things know not what is fit to ask and many times we crave those things as Zebedees Children did which are unworthy both of God and our selves and might prove hurtful also to us if they should be granted And therefore under certain general heads he hath bounded the desires of the flesh and taught us after what manner and rule we should square all our Petitions For whatsoever we shall desire against the directions therein contained dis-a-greeth from the will of God and therefore is neither good holy nor profitable 2. That we may be able thereby to conceive frame and make all our Prayers according to our several necessities and after that Petition which sitteth us as our occasions shall alter The Lords Prayer Analysed A Father not a Lord. One being a name of love The other of dignity A Father not a Iudge One being a name of Goodness Comfortable O 〈◊〉 sub quo nomini desperandum The â—â—her of Power Terrible Who is able to resist his Power It is too proud a salutation For how much are we By Nature Dust and Ashes By Sin Bond-slaves to Satan So much are we below him Who then durst be so bold as to call the Father but that Christ did command it For exceeding great is thy Majesty And exceeding great is our Poverty He is exalted above the Heavens and his glory is above all the Earth He humbleth himself when he beholdeth the things in Heaven And we are but worms and leaves driven to and fro with the wind A wind that passeth away and commeth not again Yet we are bold to call thee Father for we come not of our selves thy Son Christ hath taught us the form Take notice of the words they are thy Sons 1. Father of all Creatures In their Creation Preservation Governing 2. Of Mankind which he formed after his own Image Other Creatures are but as a shadow to Man For he endued him with understanding And the Creatures not so To him he gave precepts to order his life To the Creatures only by blind
instinct He was Created in the condition of a Son The rest but as bondslaves 3. Of Christians more especially by Grace Regeneration and Adoption by Iesus Christ his Son A Father but what Father There is no Father like unto thee When my Father and Mother forsake me then the Lord taketh me up Thou art our Father though Abraham be ignorant of us Can a Woman forget the fruit of her womb c. Yea they may forget yet will I not forget thee A most indulgent Father to whom the Prodigal Son arose and went Whom the insolvent servant besought Though thou be a displeased Father yet a Father thou art Though I be a wastful and disobedient Son yet a Son I am Though I have lost the ingenuity of a Son yet thou hast not lost the compassion and love of a Father A Father of Mercies Whom we find so to be By his inciting us to good Confirming us in it Pardoning our sins Delivering us from tentations Reclaiming us from sin Crowning us with blessings 1. If then thou be our Father in are thy Sons How great what manner of Lord hast thou bestowed upon us that we should be called the Sons of God 2. If thou be our Father and we the Sons of God how great is the honour that we are as it were Gods 3. If thou be our Father then are we Brethren to Angels as also to Men. to Saints as also to Mean to Christ as also to men to Himself as also to Poor men And how great ought our love to be Let no man therefore extoll himself above his brethren nor be ashamed to call any man his Brother whom God hath vouchsafed to call Son 4. If thou be our Father how great is our Hope what are we to expect from thee Even all things which a Father giveth to his Children What are we to render unto thee Even all duty and obedience belonging to Children that thou mayest not repent thee nor we be unworthy either of our Creation or Adoption It is not without some reason from our Saviour that the words Mine or I are not to be found in this Prayer Our is a word of charity and unity It is not My Father as if God were any mans peculiar but our Father the Father of all as he properly is through and in Christ. Our prayers are most powerful with God when we express in them a fellow-feeling of the Necessities of our Neighbours and Sympathize with them in their misery This is Charity Let every one of us therefore be as willing and careful to pray for others as well and as heartily as for himself considering that in so doing he prayeth for him whom Charity hath made as himself Christ bare us and all our sins in his body Let us do the like to one another in word and deed For our Selves Necessity compelleth us to pray My Father For our Brethren Charity inviteth us to pray Our Father In these two words Our and Father the Law and Prophets are comprehended In Father the Love of God In Our the Love of our Neighbour And in these two words the sum of the Gospel is contained In Father our Faith In Our our Charity In these words we have a rule and direction to whom to frame our prayers Unto thee shall all flesh come Who have I in Heaven but thee saith King David He is only able to hear us and to grant our desires It is true we have Earthly Fathers but these leave and forsake us Their hands are shortned We call not to them but to thee which art in Heaven Heaven is thy Throne The Heavens declare thy Glory Not that thou art included in the Heavens only for as Solomon said The Heaven of Heavens cannot contain thee but as if that were thy Royal Palace where the Elect shall enjoy thy blessed presence Thou art Every where by thy Presence Thou art In Heaven by thy Excellence Thou art in Earth also But they which come to thee must be lifted up higher I have lifted up mine eyes Ultra montes expectare Sursum Corda A word of Hope For if thou be our Father and Lord and King of Heaven then our Hope is that our Inheritance is there also that thou wilt not deny us an Inheritance that hast vouchsafed us the Title of Sons Let us therefore take the wings of the Eagle and be lifted up in our Meditations to Heaven being made heirs thereof Let us look up to Heaven while we are upon Earth Unto thee O Lord do I lift up my soul. I will lift up mine eyes to the hills whence cometh my help Out of the deep have I called to thee O Lord. A word of Power For thou art in that place from whence at all times thou canst send us Help in danger Good things in need Plagues for our offences And though thou art a Father by thy Love yet art thou in Heaven by thy Majesty and Power Let us not therefore presume upon too much familiarity with him as with a Father but let his word in Heaven keep us in a submiss Reverence For though Father and Son be of near Relation yet a Son of the Earth and a Father in Heaven are of great distance And let us be respective of his awful Majesty and make our petitions to him in fear and trembling in all Humility and Reverence And Let us not be rash with our mouths nor our hearts hasty to utter any thing before him For GOD is in Heaven and we poor Creatures upon Earth which is but his footstool This Petition justly challengeth the first place For being thus intituled and dignified with the honour of Sons we ought primarily to consider our duties what we should render back And what should a Son desire more than the honour of his Father By this word we understand all the Attributes by which God hath manifested himself as his Majesty Iustice Power Truth Mercy Goodness c. Blessed be thou our Lord who hast given this power to men To Hallow Thy Name To Magnifie Thy Name To Glorifie Thy Name Which in it self is Holy Which all thy works in general do sanctifie Which all the unreasonable Creatures do hallow and praise in their kinds Which all reasonable Creatures as Angels and Men do glorifie The Angels and Hosts of Heaven Men that are in Heaven already though In Earth by their works In the Congregations In Afflictions Let us therefore glorifie it also and that not carelesly or slightly but zealously and holily in Thought Word and Profession For the whole scope of our Actions ought to tend to the Glory of GOD only And Lord let thy Name be sanctified by others besides us Dilate this power of sanctifying thy Name communicate it more and more to the Gentiles Make thy Gospel to spread to
lives end Give me O Lord true compunction of heart and so water it with the dew of thy Heavenly Grace that I may in the bitterness of my Soul with abundance of tears sighs and groans bewail and lament all my hainous and grievous transgressions against thee Give me grace O Lord that I may not boast in any merits or works of mine own or have any confidence in them but let me glory in this alone that I am a Member of that Body of thine which was crucified for me and did sufficiently satisfie for all the Sins of the World If thou O Lord look or expect any merits from me behold I tender unto thee thine own merits the merits of thy Death and Passion which thou hast vouchsafed to make me partaker of by vertue whereof alone I dare boldly appear before thy Tribunal These merits I set between my sins and thy Iustice and otherwise or in any other manner I dare not I will not contend with thee O sweet Iesu I desire thee to offer them to the Father as a propitiatory Sacrifice for all my great and grievous Offences that when my Soul shall depart from this Body it may by the same be freed and delivered from all the judgements and punishments which are due unto it for sin and be carried to that blessed place where there is no sorrow but endless felicity where thou together with the Father and the blessed Spirit livest and reignest for ever Before Prayer O Almighty and everliving GOD Heavenly Father to whom it is manifestly known how inconstant and wandring the minds of men are in any good actions and how easily we suffer our selves to be carried away from the contemplation of thee by diversity of distractions and unseasonable thoughts which take hold of us in the time of our Devotions and Prayers unto thee who also by thine only begotten Son Christ Iesus didst prescribe unto his Disciples a Form of Prayer to be offered up to thee and hast derived the same from them to us Behold me most wretched sinner wholly depraved and corrupt intreating thee by the same Son that for his sake thou wouldst infuse thy Holy Spirit into me which may adopt me into the number of thine Elect that it may teach me how I ought to pray according to thy Holy Will that it may allay all troublesome and wandring thoughts in me while I offer up my prayers and praises unto thee Suffer me not to serve thee with my lips and be absent in heart from thee but create a right Spirit within me that I being sensible of all thy graces and comforts may with joyful and holy zeal perform my duty to thee that so my prayers and desires may appear before thee and in thy Sons Name I may effectually be heard and my petitions may be granted to the glory and honour of thy most holy Name and the endless comfort of mine own Soul through the same our only Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ. Before a Sermon O Most loving SAVIOUR I most humbly intreat thee that thou wouldst be pleased at this time to enlighten my understanding and to open my inward ears with the grace of thy Holy Spirit that I may hear that sacred Word with an humble heart and rejoyce in it in the obedience of the Spirit That I may be fully instructed thereby how to do good and avoid evil and bring forth the fruit thereof in my life and conversation That thy Honour and Glory may be thereby increased the Devil and all other the Enemies of my Soul may be vanquished my Soul may be saved and at the last I may appear with boldness before thy Tribunal and receive the reward of a good and faithful servant even his Masters joy everlasting blessedness and that by thy merits only O blessed Saviour Petitions for Temporal Blessings in which we are to desire of God THat he would be pleased to continue unto us The blessing of a good King just and religious To give unto us Magistrates and Iustices upright and careful to see good Laws duly executed Teachers to direct us in the Truth That he would bless us with Length and Goodness of Dayes Health of Body Contentedness of Mind Competency of Estate Food and Rayment Conveniency of Dwelling Wholesomeness of Air. Fruitfulness of Cartel Fruitfulness of Soyl. That he would make us happy In Wedlock In Children In Faithful Friends In Peaceable loving Neighbours In Honest Servants In Skilful Physicians That he would preserve our Goods Good Name Our Senses and Understanding That he would protect us From Trouble From Enemies From Dangers From Losses From Sicknesses That he would give Peace To all Nations Peace To our Land Peace In our private Dwellings Rules to be observed in the Morning WHen thou awakest in the Morning shut and close up the entrance to thy heart from all unclean prophane and evil thoughts and let the consideration of God and goodness enter in When thou art risen and art ready retire thy self to thy Closet or other private place and offer to God the first fruits of the Day and in praying to him and praising him remember 1. To give him Thanks for thy quiet rest received for delivering thee from all dangers ghostly and bodily and for all other his benefits to thee 2. Offer unto him thy self and all things that thou dost possess and desire him to dispose of thee and them according to his good pleasure 3. Crave his Grace to guide thee and to strengthen thee from and against all Tentations that so thou mayest do nothing the day following contrary to his will 4. And Lastly Beg of him according to the Rules before prescribed all things needful for the Soul and Body To which purpose pray as followeth Morning Prayer I Thank thee O Heavenly Father Lord of Heaven and Earth for all thy Blessings which I underservedly have received from thee that thou gavest a being from honest Parents and in that part of the World where thy Son Christ Iesus is purely professed that thou didst endue me with Reason and Understanding and didst also give me perfect Members and Senses that thou hast preserved me ever since my birth vouchsafed me health and liberty and a competency of means to maintain me and those whom thou hast placed under me That thou hast Elected me in thy Love Redeemed me by thy Son Sanctified me by thy Spirit and kept me this night past from all perils of Body and Soul and given me a sweet and comfortable rest O Lord I commend into thy hands my Soul and Body thoughts words and actions and humbly beseech thee that thou wouldst guide and order them all to thy honour and glory and my endless and eternal happiness Enlighten my mind that the darkness and cloudy mists of mine offences being dispelled I may walk before thee in my vocation without offence as in the day clean unspotted and unblameable Give unto me thy Holy Spirit which may bridle
us to pray that we continue and increase in it 4. It puts us in mind of our vow in Baptism to believe in the Trinity Lord I believe Help thou my unbelief In God the Father Wherein I consider First His personal Relation to his natural Son and gracious affection to us in him That in Christ we are all his Sons by grace and adoption As many as received him to them he gave power to become the Sons of God The Spirit beareth witness with out spirit that we are the Sons of God No more a Servant but a Son Having predestinated us unto the adoption of Children by Jesus Christ. Almighty Secondly His Saving Power That as he is a Father willing to do us good so he is Omnipatent and able to do us good Even to your old age I am he c. I will bear I will carry and deliver you I am the Lord and none else He is Lord over all Upholding all things Almighty Able to subdue all things unto himself Maker of Heaven and Earth Thirdly His Providence in disposing preserving and governing all things 1. By the Word of the Lord were the Heavens made He laid the Foundations of the Earth Thou Lord which hast made Heaven and Earth the Sea and all that in them is I form the Light and create the Darkness He layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters The Spirit of the Lord hath made me and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life 2. He provideth for the Raven his food c. Thou Lord shalt save both Man and Beast They shall be satisfied with the plenteousness c. Over Sparrows He careth for us In him we live move and have our being 3. He ordereth the world according to equity He judgeth the folk righteously and governeth the Nations upon the earth Thy providence O Father governeth all things He ordereth all things sweetly In Jesus A Saviour He shall save his people from their sins He that beleeveth not in him is condemned Neither is there Salvation in any other By the obedience of one shall many be made righteous Christ. Annointed With the Oyl of gladness above his fellows The Lord hath annointed me His onely Son Of God the Father The only begotten of the Father His only begotten Son Our Lord. In right of 1 Creation 2 Redemption 1. By whom he made the World By him were all things created 2. In whom we have redemption Redeemed with his precious Blood Bought with a price Conceived by the Holy Ghost Without the help of Man to help the uncleanness of our conception She was found with Child of the Holy Ghost The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee Angelo nunciante Spiritu adveniente mox verbum in utero mox intraverbum Caro. Upon the Annuntiation or message of an Angel and the Overshadowing of the Holy Ghost the word presently entred into the VVomb and with the word the flesh Born of the Virgin Mary Made the Sonne of Man that we might be the Sonnes of God To purge the uncleanness of our birth He did not abhor the Virgins womb A Virgin shall conceive She shall bring forth a Son And she brought forth her first born Son c. The word was made flesh And when the fulness of time was come God sent forth his Son made of a woman c. S. Bernard saith That God in the assumption of our nature made three mixtures so wonderfull without comparison that never the like were or should be to the end of the world God and Man a Mother and a Virgin Faith and Mans heart Suffered under Pontius Pilate Those things which we should have suffered That we might not suffer them He powred out his soul unto death c. He bare our sins in his own body on the tree He once suffered for sins Was Crucified To take away the Curse of the Law Christ hath redeemed us from the Curse of the Law being made a Curse for us as it is written Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree He humbled himself and became obedient to death even the death of the Cross. Dead To take away the sharpness and bondage of death To satisfie Gods justice for us The wages of sin is death That he by the grace of God should taste death for every one That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death that is the Devil And deliver them who through the fear of death were all their life time subject to bondage O Death where is thy sting Buried To take away the corruption of the grave that we might be assured of his death All agree that he was buried in a Sepulcher They took him from a Tree and laid him in a Sepulcher Descended into Hell Whither we ought to have gone that we might not go thither at all Thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell Non immerito creditur It is not without cause that we believe saith Saint Augustine upon this Article And Christ according to his Soul was in Hell the Scripture is plain for it being foretold by the Prophet David and evidently expounded by the Apostles Application of that Text Thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell And he concludeth peremptorily with this Question Quis ergo nisi infidelis negaverit fuisse apud inferos Christum Who therefore but an Infidel will deny that Christ was in Hell The third day he rose again from the dead That he might raise with him our nature being the first fruits of them which sleep He is risen He is not here Christ being raised from the dead c. And was raised again for our justification By the Trinity 1. By the Father Acts 2. 24. 3. 15. 4. 10. 5. 30. 10. 40. Ephes. â— 20. 1 Pet. 1. 21. 2. By the Son Joh. 10. 17 18. Rom. 14. 3. By the Spirit Rom. 8. 11. 1 Pet. 3. 18. He ascended into Heaven To prepare us a place whereto we had no right To assure us that our flesh is gone before To send us the Holy Spirit He was received up into Heaven He was parted from them and carried up to Heaven We have a High Priest that is Passed into the Heavens He that descended is the same which ascended far above all Heavens I go to prepare a place for you Having boldness to enter into the Holiest by the blood of Iesus And hath raised us up together and made us sit in Heavenly places together I will pray the Father and he shall give you another
iu my Mothers womb that I might come safe into this world and receive the mark and badge of all thine even the Sacrament of Baptism whereby I was cleansed from the guilt of Original sin Amongst a multitude of Infidels dispersed over the face of the Earth thou wouldest have me in the number of the Faithfal even of those to whom so happy a lot hath fallen to be thine regenerated with the water of Baptism From which time I was taken to be thine and that admirable and happy Contract was made between us that thou shouldest be my Lord and I thy Servant thou my Father and I thy Son that thou shouldest perform and shew to me the love of a Father and I to thee the duty of a Son Further O Lord thou didst descend from Heaven to Earth for my sake seeking me in all the ways wherein I had lost my self With thy humanity thou didst ennoble my nature and by thy bonds didst deliver me from bondage Thou didst challenge me from the power of the Devil by delivering thy self into the hands of sinners and didst destroy sin by taking upon thee the form of a sinner With what reverence shall I speak of that other blessed Sacrament which Thou also O Lord hast instituted and ordained for a remedy of all the miseries which have befallen me and the many sins I have committed since my Baptism and for a salve and cure for all my spiritual diseases even the Sacrament of thy most precious Body and Blood And as thou hast bestowed on me all these divine and heavenly blessings so likewise in plentiful manner hast thou heaped on me temporal favours Thou hast from my birth to this hour preserved nourished cloathed and fed me in most abundant manner giving to me the use of all thy creatures for my sustentation Nay what couldest thou have done more for me than thou hast done Or what couldest thou have given me more than thou hast bestowed upon me either of blessings of this world or of the world to come Now having received all these mercies and favours from thee how have I on my part behaved my self in thankfulness to thee for them Have I returned due praise unto thy Majesty for them or carried my self and ordered my life like to one that might any way deserve them O Lord I confess that I have not for such hath been the malice of my heart that instead of shewing my self conformable to thy will I dayly adde sin to sin and iniquity to iniquity heaping up wrath for my self against the day of wrath How can I without tears remember how often thou mightest justly have slain me and yet notwithstanding my sins which call for vengeance no evil hath happened unto me How many souls burn in Hell fire which have sinned far less than I and yet I remain alive What had become of me if thou hadst taken me away with those at the same time How strict had my Iudgement been if thy Iustice had laid hold on me laden with so many sins Who then O Lord hath bound the hands of thy Iustice who hath deprecated for me when I lay thus lulled asleep in the security of my sins What hath pleased thee in me that thou shouldst deal more mercifully with me than with those who in the midst of their dayes in the heat of their youth are taken away from amongst us My sins cryed out against me and thou stoppedst thine ears my offences dayly increased against thee yet thy mercy dayly abounded towards me I sinned thou didst expect me I fled from thee and thou followedst me I was weary in offending thee and thou not weary in expecting me And in the midst of all my sins I ever received many good inspirations and goodly reproofs from thy holy Spirit which checked me in the dissolute course of my life How often hast thou called me with the voice of Love How often hast thou terrified me with threats and fears laying before me the peril of death and the rigour of thy divine Iustice How often hast thou followed me with thy Word preached invited me with thy blessings chastened me with thy scourges compassing me about that I could by no means slee from thee And lastly which is not the least of thy mercies with what patience hast thou waited for my serious Repentance What then O Lord shall I render back to thee for all that thou hast done unto me In that thou hast created me I owe thee all that I am created in that thou hast preserved me and thus long expected my return to thee I owe thee life and all that I am But in that thou hast regenerated sanctified and redeemed me and left those excellent pledges for my salvation I know not what to render unto thee For if the lives of all men and Angels were in my power and that I could offer them unto thee for a sacrifice of praise and thanks yet were it nothing being compared to the least of all thy spiritual blessings bestowed on me VVho therefore will give a fountain of tears to mine eyes that I may lament my great ingratitude and unjust retribution for all these thy manifold blessings heaped upon me Help me thou O Lord and give me grace that I may heartily confess and grievously bewail my hainous offences and transgressions against thee that thou mayest be reconciled to me and in thy abundant mercies shew some pity to me for them I am thy creature O Lord made after thine own Likeness and Image acknowledge thy workmanship for it is thine own In taking away the soyl and filth wherewith it is defiled and stained thou shalt soon perceive it to be thine own handy-work Art not thou a Father of mercies which have neither number end nor measure Although I have shaken off the duty and obedience of a child towards thee yet cast not thou off the love of a Father toward me I beseech thee Although I have done many things whereby thou mightest justly condemn me yet thou hast not lost the means whereby thou mayest mercifully save me If thou forsake me to whom shall I flee who is there to help me besides thy self Acknowledge G Lord a straying sheep Behold I come to thee all wounded thou canst heal me blind thou canst enlighten me full of leprosie thou canst cleanse me and spiritually dead yet thou canst revive me Thy mercy is greater than my sin thy clemency more than my wickedness and thou canst remit more than I can commit Do not then O Lord put me back from thee look not so much upon my sins as upon thy infinite meocies who livest and reignest God of all mercies world without end Another O Almighty Lord God great in thy power and terrible in thy judgements who madest the Heaven the Earth the Sea and all things in them by thy Word whose Power cannot be resisted and whose Mercy is over all thy works All things are under
and sorrow encline thine ear of pity unto me and that right soon and speedily 3 For my dayes which I have mis-spent are consumed away like smoke which for want of substance dissolveth to nothing and my bones which by my broken spirit are dryed up are burnt up as a fire-brand 4 My heart is dejected and smitten with the thought of thy Justice and it is withered with remembrance of thy Judgements like grass without juyce or sap so that in this anguish of Soul I forget and loath to eat my bread 5 By reason of the grievous voice of my groaning sighs and tears I am so consumed away that my bones for want of flesh cleave to my skin and I am nothing but skin and bone 6 I am for shame that I have offended thee become in condition like a Pelican that liveth solitarily in the Wilderness and I am like an Owl not daring to be seen but that avoideth the light and is continually in the Desert shunning the company of other Birds 7 I watch and sleep not for the thought of my sins and am as a Sparrow that caring for no company sitteth alone making grievous lamentation in a mournful note upon the house-top 8 Mine Enemies seeing me thus penitent reproach me with opprobrious speeches all the day continually deriding me and they that while I was their companion in sin applauded me are upon my conversion mad against me and do combine and are sworn to do me mischief and to that end set themselves against me 9 For this cause taking no pleasure in this world I have eaten ashes and fed upon course meat like as it were fine bread and dainty fare and I have mingled my drink with tears weeping and lamenting for my sinnes 10 Because of thine indignation against me for them and thy wrath for my bad life past all this evil and more hath befallen me for thou hast lifted me up very high and from thence hast cast me down that my fall might be the greater 11 My dayes few and evil are passed like a shadow upon a Sun-Dyal that declineth toward the Evening and I that lately seemed to flourish am withered and dryed up like grass without sap for want of thy comfort 12 But thou O Lord which wert and art shalt continue immutable and shalt endure for ever while all transitory things pass and come to nothing and thy glorious works shall be had in remembrance unto all generations even unto the end of the world 13 Thou O Lord who seemest to men to sleep shalt arise in thy strength and have mercy and compassion upon Sion thy Church militant now oppressed with the tyranny of Antichrist for the time to look upon her and favour her is at hand yea the set time which thou hast decreed for her deliverance is or will not be long ere it come 14 For they which be thy true and faithfull Servants take pleasure and delight in her stones their fellow Servants and are glad when they see them prosper and favour and pity the very dust and ruines thereof when they see them under persecution 15 So that when they shall be delivered from their misery the very heathen shall fear and tremble at the Name of the Lord and be converted to him and all the Kings and Potentates on earth which now oppose the truth shall acknowledge thee O Lord to be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and be afraid at the greatness of thy glory and Majesty 16 When the Lord by his almighty power shall build up Sion and repair the ruines of his Church he shall then to the confusion of his enemies appear in his glory which they shall not be able to endure 17 He will then in mercy regard and hearken to the prayer of his poor servants and the destitute of his help and not any longer seem to turn away his face from them nor despise their prayer and earnest supplications 18 This mercy of his shall then be recorded and written as a remembrance for the generations to come even to the end of the world which shall attempt the like against his Church and the people yet unborn that shall succeed and be created in ages to come shall praise and magnifie the Lord which only doth marvellous things 19 For he hath in mercy by sending his Son Christ Jesus looked down from the height of his Sanctuary his holy place even from Heaven his Fathers bosom did the Lord Jesus behold the Earth and had compassion upon all the Sons of men 20 To hear and pity the groaning of the Prisoners such as did groan under the burden of the Law and to loose and set at liberty by his passion and intercession those of the posterity of Adam that are appointed to suffer death for not fullfiling the same 21 To the end that they being so delivered may declare and shew the power and the Name of the Lord which is Jesus the Saviour in Sion his Church and magnifie and extol his praise in Ierusalem his holy habitation 22 When the faithful people which are yet dispersed over the face of the Earth are gathered together and made one Congregation and the Kingdoms of the Earth which are yet in darkness are instructed to serve thee the only Lord of Heaven and Earth 23 He even the Lord in the time of this expectation hath weakned and abated my strength so that I can do no good of my self in the way of this my earthly pilgrimage he hath shortned and cut off my dayes by afflicting me for my sin 24 I said yet in this weakness and anguish of my Soul O my God with-draw not now thy mercy from me and take me not away out of this world in the midst of my dayes the chief time of my strength as for thy years as they are from all eternity so shall they endure throughout all generations even for ever 25 Of old at the beginning of time hast thou of thine own power laid and created the Foundations of the Earth the visible World and all things in it and the Heavens and Firmament thereof are the only work of thy Almighty hands and power 26 They even Heaven and Earth and all things in them shall pass away and perish from the form they now have but thou O Lord the Creator of them shalt endure immutable Yea without all doubt all of them as thou hast decreed shall wax old and consume with age like a garment long worn and as a vesture or garment shalt thou by the sound of the last Trump change and dissolve them and they shall yield to thy power and be changed 27 But thou O Lord art the same alwayes unchangeable and thy years being from all Eternity shall have no end but continue for ever 28 The Children and posterity of thy faithful Servants begotten by the seeds-men of thy Word shall continue in grace in this life and their righteous seed shall stand fast and be established for ever together with
Name Praise the Lord O my Soul and forget not all his benefits Which forgiveth all thy sin and healeth all thine infirmities Which saveth thy life from destruction and crowneth hee with mercy and living kindness Which satisfieth thy mouth with good things c. Motives to Thanksgiving IT is not the least part of the Duty of a Christian in the sight of God to be thankful to him for the benefits he daily bestoweth upon us For as God is kind merciful and loving to us so he expecteth that we should render back thanks to him for those blessings which we receive from him For we have nothing else to retribute to him but a thankful memorial of his blessings And this King David well understood when he said What shall I render to the Lord for all the benefits he hath done unto me I will offer to thee the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving c. As therefore we ought to be diligent in Prayer for those things we want so ought we also to be perpetually thankful for them when we have obtained what we desire And when we have done al that we can we cannot give him due praise and thanks for the least part of that which we daily receive For if we respect that which is past present or to come we shall still meet with matter enough which expresseth his goodness and love to us and exacteth this Duty from us If we consider that which is past then we shall soon perceive that but for him we had not been at all nor been preserved hitherto amongst so many dangers without his protection If that which is present we cannot but acknowledge that by his alone goodness we live and enjoy those blessings wherewith we are loaded beyond desert If that which is to come he is our hope of all good things which we desire or expect either for this life or for the life to come And as God accounteth Thanksgiving a Duty so he taketh it for an Honour done unto him if we perform it He hath so much esteemed of it alwayes even from the beginning that he reputed and accounted it above the rest of the Sacrifices offered unto him Besides we may consider that in the Law God himself instituted a peculiar and special Sacrifice of oblation of thanks For the Feast of the Paschal Lamb was no other thing but an Eucharistical or thankful service in remembrance of the wonderfull deliverance of the Jews from their servitude Our Saviour also instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist for a perpetual remembrance and memorial of all his benefits to Mankind especially of our Redemption by his death Hester established a Feast to preserve a thankfull memory of the Jews deliverance from the plots of Haman And in brief it was generally evermore the practice of Gods Saints to express this Duty as may be seen by many Songs Hymnes Psalms and Prayers of Thanksgiving which are left unto us in the Scriptures as patterns for us to imitate Of Moses and Miriam Of Moses alone Of Deborah Of Hanna Of David in divers places of the Psalms Of good King Ezechias Of Jonas Of the Prophet Habakkuk Of the three Chirldren Of the Angels Of Zachary Of the Blessed Virgin Mary Of the Church And of the Elders And after those examples of necessity we must frame our selves for be sure of this That whensoever praise and thanks shall sail and be wantiug on our parts towards God then presently God will withdraw his hand of mercy and bounty from us Thanksgiving I Thank thee O merciful Father Lord of Heaven and Earth for all thy mercies and favours continually heaped upon me for that thou hast not only created me after thine own Image and likeness and given to me a body with all the parts and members thereof and a soul with all the powers and faculties thereof that with them and by them I might know love and serve thee but that thou hast so graciously preserved both body and soul from time to time from all dangers Thou hast alwayes been my refuge in tribulations and my defence and succour in adversities When I went astray thou didst reduce me into the right away when I offended thee thou didst gently correct me when I was sad thou didst comfort me and when for the grievousness of my sins I was ready to despair thou of thy mercy and compassion didst strengthen me and keep me from utter ruine I acknowledge O Lord thy more than fatherly indulgence toward me from my birth to this present time for unless thou of thy goodness hadst upheld me I had long ere this time been drowned and overwhelmed in the bottomless gulf of my sins But thou hast delivered me from the jawes of the roaring Lyon who hath daily sought to devour me and hast defended me from all his snares and assaults And as thou hast of thy mercy preserved my soul from destruction so thou hast oftentimes delivered my body from the gates of death when many sicknesses and infirmities took hold of me I thank thee also O Lord for all other thy temporal blessings which thou in plentiful manner hast heaped on me as Food Rayment Wealth Possessions and Children For my health and liberty for the prerogative which thou hast given me over all thy creatures in their subjection to my service and use I thank thee also O sweet Saviour for the infinite work of my Redemption and for thy exceeding great love in accomplishing that great work that thou wouldest suffer so many torments sorrows labours and griefs yea so bitter and disgraceful a death even the death of Malefactors to redeem me from a most desperate and certain state of damnation which I most justly have fallen into to a state of glory and immortality which I by no means could have deserved I thank thee also O Lord most holy for all other thy spiritual graces and blessings as my Regeneration Vocation Sanctification for thy blessed Sacraments for my Preservation and hope of Glorification O Lord I am not sufficient to render unto thee condign thanks and praises for all these thy mercies yet accept I humbly pray thee these poor and weak thanks which I offer unto thee according to my bounden duty and service For as there is no hour of my life wherein I do not enjoy thy favours and taste of thy goodness so if my frailty would permit I should spend no time of my life without remembring them and praising and blessing thee for the same Glory be therefore to thee O Lord my Creator Glory be to thee O Iesus my Redeemer Glory be to thee O Holy Ghost my Sanctifier Glory to the high and undivided Trinity whose works are inseparable and whose dominion endureth world without end Another ALmighty and everliving God I humbly thank thy Heavenly Majesty for all thy blessings which thou hast vouchsafed to me poor and sinful
Earth As in Heaven Psal. 119. Give us this day our daily Bread Esa. 55.2 Jer. 15.16 Ps. 65.4 Heb. 5.13 14. Jo. 6. 33. 35. 48. Jo. 6. 3,4 Mat. 6.33 Ro. 13.14 Bread Lu. 26.26 1 Reg. 19. 8. Psal. 6.2 91. 16. Pro. 15. Our Bread Bread Gen. 28. 20. Ps. 30. 7 8 9. Pro. 30. 7 8 9. Our Pro. 20.17 Ours Give Hab. 1. 16. Ps. 104.28 Give Give Give us This day Heb. 3. Gen. 41. Pro. 6. 6. 1 Tim. 5.8 Jo. 16 1◠And forgive us our Trespasses Esa. 27.9 1 Jo. 1.8 1 Jo. 1. 9. Esa. 39.2 Jer. 5. 25. Lam. 3.44 Jo. 9. 31. Forgive Ps. 28.13 Lev. 5. 5. 36. 40. 42. 1 Jo. 1. 9. Ps. 32. 5 2 Sam. 12. 13. Lu. 15.21 18. 10. 7. 48. Jude 6. Our Trespasses or Debts And forgive Deut. 29. 18. Heb. 12. 15. Forgive us Ro. 15.30 Forgive us Act. 7.66 2 Tim. 4. 16. As we forgive c. As we And lead us not into Tentation Gen. 22.1 Job 1. Ex. 15.25.16.4 10. 20. Deut. 8.2 16. 23. 3. 2 Pet. 2.22 1 Pet. 4 2. Mar. 20. 44. 1 Pet. 5.8 1 Cor. 10 33 Jam 1.13 Ecclus. 3. 26. Lead us not Into Tentation But deliver us from evil From evil Ps. 68. 1. 89. 23. 22. 20. 21. 69. 15. 16. From evil From evil Esa. 38.14 Mat. 8. 25 From evil From evil 2 Cor. 11. 14. Deliver us from evil Hos. 7. 16. Esa. 6. 5. Ps. 5. 10. 144. 11. Mat. 7. 22. Ps. 58. 4. Heb. 12. 2. Ro. 3. 15. Jer. 3. 3 Ps. 60. 11. Thine is the Kingdom Ps. 22. 18. 1 Chron. 29. 11. Thine is the Kingdom Ps. 8. 15. Eze. 26.7 1 Tim. 6. 15. Re. 17. 14 Re. 11. 15. Ps. 10.19 Mal. 1. 14 Dan. 2. 21 Ps. 145. 11 Dan. 7. 27 Heb. 1.18 Ps. 10. 16. 1 Tim. 1. 17 Power Ro. 9. 19. Mic. 7. 18. Ps 66. 7. 62. 11. 147. 5. Eph. 1. 19. Exo. 15 6. Col. 1. 11 2 Th. 1.9 And Glory Ps. 138.5 1 Chron. 16. 27. Psal. 8. 1. 113. 4. 148. 13. Ro. 9.23 Ps. 24. 10. Mat. 2. 2 Luc. 2.14 Rev. 5.13 For ever and ever Ps. 10. 16. Rev. 7.12 5. 13. 19. 1. Amen Rev. 1. 5. 2 Cor. 1. 20. Our Father which art in Heaven Psal. 8. Hallowed be thy Name Eph. 1.4 Mat. 5. 16. Thy Kingdom come Thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us Psal. 130. Mat. 18. And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from evil Luc. 1.15 For thine is the Kingdom the Power And Glory For ever and ever Amen Ps. 119 51 94. 12. 119. 18. Rom. 7.18 Ps. 119.52 1 Pet. 5.5 Luc. 8.15 Gen. 6. 8. Heb. 12. 17. 2 Cor. 6.1 Heb. 12. 15. Act. 13.43 2 Pet. 3.18 2 Cor. 7. 11. 2 Pet. 1.5 Luc. 2.21 Phil. 1.23 Ro. 4.16 2 Cor. 1. 10. Mat. 6. 9. Eph. 1. 5. Mat. 25.25 Rom. 13. 13. 1 Tim. 6. 8. Ps. 128.3 Ps. 119 5. 1 Joh. 2.2 Ephes. 6. Ps. 147.9 1 Tim. 6.8 2 Cor. 9.8 Jam. 3.13 Mat. 3.17 Ps. 119.5 Mat. 6.36 Gen. 1.26 Ps. 6. 6. 149. 5. Eph. 5.11 Ps. 10 4◠Repeat the sins thou canst call to mind Ro. 7. 19. Ps. 143.2 2 Cor. 1.3 Eze. 33. 11. Cant. 1.4 2 Pet. 2. 22. Psal. 31.5 Psal. 17.8 Psal. 13.4 Ps. 141.1 55. 10. 〈◊〉 1. Esa. 38.1 Pro. 24.16 Luc. 17.4 Psal. 13.4 Psal. 91.5 Cant. 5. Ps. 139.12 Esa. 14.19 Psal. 71.1 Psal. 4. 9. Psal. 5.5 Jer. 31.33 Psal. 17.8 John 2. Gen. 2. Eph. 6. 6. Col. 3 21. Gen. 2.22 Pro. 31. 1 Pet. 3. Exod. 20. Ps. 128.6 Gen. 3.10 Ps. 124.6 Psal. 25.6 Esa. 38.3 Philip. 7. Col. 3.22 Joh. 14.6 Gen. 28. 20. Tob. 5. Psal. 38. ◠44. 23. 51 11. 69. 18. 40. 14. 38. 21. 119. 31. Psal. 39. 25. 2. 27. 12. 64. 1. Eph. 4.19 Act. 28.27 Pro. 7.13 Esa. 48.4 Tit. 1.16 1 Joh. 5.16 Mat. 12. 32. J◠1. 21. Heb. 12 1. 1 Joh. 2.16 Mat. 6.2 Ecclus. 51 5. Apo. 6.6 Mat. 25. 41. 8. 12. Jude 6. Apo. 20. 10. 14. 11. Luc. 10.33 Levit. 26. 25. Jer. 4.112 Ps. 19.9 1 Chr. 21. 15. Ezech. 9. 2 Chro. 7. 13 14. 1 Kings 8. Dan. 19 8. S. August Heb. 11.1 Joh. 3.16 Acts 4.12 Heb. 5.9 Mar. 1.15 Rp. Latim Ser. 4 7 coram Rege Jam. 2.26 1 Cor. 13. S. Aug. S. Aug. 1 Cor. 13. 2. Heb. 11.6 1 Joh. 3 33 Act. 16.31 Joh. 6.29 S. Greg. S. Aug. Ser. 181. de tempore Heb. 1. 5. Joh. 1.12 Rom. 1.16 Gal. 4. 6. Ephe. 1.5 Esa. 46.4 45.6 Ro. 10.12 Heb. 1. 3. Gen. 17.1 43. 34. 2 Cor. 6. 18. Phil. 3.21 Gen. 1.2 Psal. 33.6 104. 5. Act. 4. 24. Esa. 45.7 Ps. 104.3 Job 33. 4. Job 38. 41. Psal. 36.7 Psal. 8. Mar. 10. 39. 1 Pet. 5 7. Act. 17.28 Sap. 9. 3. Psal. 67.4 Sap. 4. 〈◊〉 81. Mat. 1.21 Heb. 7. 25. Joh. 3.18 Act. 4.12 Act. 5.19 Psal. 45.8 Heb. 1. 9. Esa. 61.1 Joh. 1.14 Heb. 1. 2 Joh. 3.16 Heb. 1. 2. Col. 1. 17. Eph. 1 7. Col. 1.14 1 Pet. 1. 19. 1 Co 6. 20. 7.23 Mat. 1.18 20. Luc. 1.35 S. Greg. Esa. 7.14 Mat. 1.21 Luc. 1.30 Luc. 2. 7. Joh. 1.14 Gal. 4. 4. S. Bern. Esa. 53. 12 1 Pet. 2. 24. 3. 18. Gal. 3. 13 Deut. 21. 23. Phil. 28. Rom. 6.23 Heb. 2. 9. 14. 1 Cor. 15. 55. Mat. 27. 60. Mar. 15. 46. Lu. 23.53 Joh. 19.40 Act. 13.29 Ps. 16.11 S. August Ep. 99. Ps. 16.11 Acts 2.34 1 Cor. 15. 20. Mar. 28.6 Mar. 16.6 Luc. 24.4 Joh. 20. Rom. 6. 3. 4. 25. Ma◠16. 19. Lu. 24.51 Heb. 4.1 Eph. 4 10. Joh. 14.2 Heb. 10. 19. Eph. 2. 6. Joh. 14.16 16. 7. Mar. 16.9 Col. 3.1 Ro. 8.24 Heb. 7.25 9.24 Joh. 14.3 Eph. 5 23. Eph. 1.20 Mat. 24. 30. Mal. 3. 5. Jude 14. Joh. 5.23 Mat. 26. 64. Act. 17.31 1 Thes. 4. 16 17. Lu. 12.12 Joh. 14.26 16. 13 1 Cor. 6. 11. Esa. 11.2 1 Joh. 2.27 Joh. 3. 5. 16. 8. 1 Joh. 2.27 Joh. 16.13 Gen. 20.6 Rom. 8. 26 Joh. 14. 16 Acts 9. 31. Rom. 8. 15 26 2 Cor. 1.22 Eph. 1.13 14. Joh. 14.23 6. 55 56. 1 Joh. 1. 3. 7. Ep. 4. 4. 12. Rom. 8 1 Cor. 1 30. Job 19 25 Joh. 5.28 6. 40. Lu 20.16 Joh. 16 22 17. 3. Apo. 21. 4. 1 Th. 5. 19 Eph. 4 30 Act. 7. 51. Mat. 32.5 Luc. 17.6 Mat. 17. 20. 1 Tim. 1. 5 Eph. 3. 11. Jam. 2.26 Gen. 1. Ecclus 43 Psal. 145. Rom. 1.20 Joh. 17. 5. Gen. 14.18 21. 33. Luc. 1.37 Gen. 18.4 Jer. 23.24 Psal. 13 9. Joh. 21.17 2 Ki. 8.29 Ro. 11.33 Ps. 117.2 Mat. 24. 35. Ps. 111.3 119. 156. 130. 4. 17. 7. 13. 6. Gen. 3. 15 Eus. a. 7. Matthew Mark Luke John Mat. 18. 23. Lu. 18 10 Luc. 15.4 8. Lu. 15.21 Mat. 20 9. Joh. 3.17 12. 47. Luc. 9. 36. Luc. 5. 32. Mat. 9.13 18. 11. Luc. 19.10 Mat. 11.8 Joh. 6.37 Lu. 23. 74 Luc. 43.
it The Transcendency of the Godhead exceeds not only the usual strength of eloquence but of understanding likewise He is Absolute or Simple Without Composition Without Body Spiritual He is all Eye He is all Ear He is all Hand Invisible Because he seeth all things Because he heareth all things Because he worketh all things He is all Foot because he is every where When you hear him named conceive him to be a substance without beginning or end Simple without mixture Infinite Not to be circumscribed to time or place Whither shall I go from thy presence c. Heaven is my Throne c. Where is the place of my rest Do not I fill Heaven and Earth saith the Lord The Spirit of the Lord filleth all the world Deus ubique est totus ubique est AEterna stabilitate in seipso manens totus adesse rebus omnibus potest singulis totus God is every where and wholly every where By eternal stability remaining in himself he is wholly in all things and wholly in every thing Immortal I live for ever I honoured him that liveth for ever He only hath immortality Solus Deus est immortalis quia non est per gratiam sed per naturam Eternal Without beginning Thou art God from everlasting Without end Thou art the same and thy years shall not fail He is called the Ancient of dayes Immutable Not to be changed 1. In his Nature Thou shalt endure I am the Lord I change not Every good and perfect gift cometh from the Father of lights with whom is no variableness neither shadow of changing 2. In his Promises and Decrees The counsel of the Lord shall stand My counsel shall stand The immutability of his counsel saith the Apostle God hath promised who cannot lie Non mutatur Deus qui unus atque idem est mutari non potest God is not changed being one and the same uncapable of change Wise. Nothing hid from him The Lord knoweth the wayes of the righteous The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man His wisdom is infinite No searching of his understanding Loe thou knowest all things Known unto God are all his works O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God The Spirit searcheth all things All things are naked and open to his eyes God knoweth all things Holy No evil or iniquity in him Who is like unto thee O Lord glorious in holiness None holy as the Lord. The holy One of Iacob The holy One Of purer eyes than to behold evil Holy Holy Holy is the Lord of Hosts He is an Holy God I am Holy saith God himself True 1. In himself Whatsoever is in him is Truth The Lord is the true God It is life eternal to know thee true God c. Let God be true and every man a liar Ye turned from Idols to serve the true and living God 2. In his works Iust and true are thy wayes Righteous in all his works Iust art thou O Lord and righteous are thy judgements 3. In his words The words of the Lord are pure The Truth of the Lord endureth for ever Good Absolutely Not participating from any other 1. In himself 1. There is none good but God Thou art Good 2. Author of all good to others 2. Every good and perfect gift commeth from the Father of lights The Earth is full of his goodness Glorious Ye shall see the glory of the Lord. The glory of the Lord appeared The sight of his glory was like consuming fire The glory of the Lord appeared to all the people The glory of the Lord filled the House of God The whole Earth is full of his glory His glory is above the Heavens Powerful Working all things in all Almighty He doth great unsearchable and marvellous things without number The fabrique of the Universe is the work of his hands The Heavens beautified with Stars The Earth spacious and adorned The Sea Full of variety of his riches The Sea Stored with Fish c. All made of nothing but by his word Thou hast prepared the Light and the Sun Thou in the beginning hast laid the foundations of the Earth Through Faith we understaud that the World was ordained by GOD. Mundus hic est veluti magnus liber divinae Majestatis gloria opera explicans This World may be compared to a great Volume wherein are contained and expressed the works of the Divine Majesty and Glory He is King of Kings Lord of Lords Upholding all the Pillars of the Earth Moving the Heavens Changing the Seasons Dividing the Waters Bringing forth the Winds as out of his Treasury But in this and all other his Attributes Verius cogitatur quam dicitur We may better couceive of them than express them And we speak best of his worth when with a silent admiration we hold our peace according to that of the Psalmist Psal. 65. 1. which St. Hierom hath translated Tibi silet omnis laus DEUS in Sion Yet though the custom of the world is to respect men and things either for the goodness in them or for the benefit which accreweth by them Yet the latter worketh most For let a thing be never so good if it bring no profit it is the less regarded Let us therefore take a view of some other of Gods Attributes and consider whether we have not sufficient cause to serve him for the benefits we reap by him And first of that which cometh by him by the I. Creation In which he made Man and all things else for his service 1. He made him his chief delight He made him after his own Image He made him little lower than the Angels and crowned him with glory and honour putting all things in subjection under his feet This wrought admiration in David When he was not he made him a Man not a Beast but such a Creature as may enjoy Eternity with Him He made the Heaven and rested not He made the Earth and rested not He made the Sun and rested not He made the Moon and rested not He made the Stars and rested not But when he made Man he rested that he might have one Creature whose sins he might remit 2. He made all things for the service of Man For him The Sun riseth and goeth down For him The Moon increaseth For him The Stars arise For him Beasts Fowl and Fish For him Corn and Hearbs For him Hills and Mountains For him Valleys and Fields For him Rivers and Flowers For him Times and Seasons For him Angels and Archangels For him Principalities and Powers For him Thrones and Dominions For him Cherubim
daily sinned and not repented considering that from the Infernal pit there is no redemption Be thou merciful to me O Lord and save me for thy Names sake and in thy strength deliver and comfort me I know O Lord that thy judgements are just and that thou of very faithfulness hast caused me to be troubled Oh let this light affliction which will quickly be gone cause unto me afterward a more excellent and eternal weight of glory In the midst of the sorrows that are in my heart let thy comforts O Lord refresh my soul. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me round about yet thou dost destroy me Remember I beseech thee that thou hast made me as the clay and wilt thou bring me into the dust again Hast thou not powred me out like milk and curdled me like a cheese Thou hast cloathed me with skin and flesh and fenced me with bones and sinews Thou hast granted me life and favour and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit O Lord thou numberest my steps and dost set a watch over my sin My breath is corrupt my dayes are extinct the grave is ready for me I have said to Corruption Thou art my Father and to the Worm Thou art my Mother and Sister Is there not an appointed time to man upon Earth and are not his dayes as the dayes of an hireling My dayes are swifter than a Post they flee away and see no good I know thou wilt bring me to death and to the house appointed for all the living Woe is me therefore O Lord that I have sinned What shall I do Whither shall I flee but to thee O Lord my God Be merciful to me in the last day My Soul is very much disquieted within me But Lord I require thy aid and comfort Be mindful O Lord of thy Word wherein thou hast caused me to put my trust and let thy mercy come unto me according to thy Promise For thou art my Maker and I am the work of thy hands Deliver me O Lord from eternal death in that day wherein Heaven and Earth shall be dissolved when thou comest to judge the Earth I am affrighted when I consider that day the day of thy wrath the day of misery that great and exceeding bitter day O Lord in that day where shall I hide my self from the face of thine anger O Lord when thou comest to Iudgement condemn me not I beseech thee but deliver from the Gates of Hell my poor Soul which I commend unto thee Acknowledge then O Lord thy Creature not made by any strange Gods but by thee the true and living God Make my Soul joyful with thy presence and remember not my sins but according to thy great mercy think upon me in that day for the merits of my blessed Saviour Iesus Christ Amen A Prayer for the Sick ALmighty and most merciful Lord God who by the infirmities of this life dost put us in mind of our mortality and by these outward afflictions dost call us to inward Repentance I cry unto thee with my whole heart Rebuke me not in thine anger neither chasten me in thy displeasure Have mercy upon me O Lord for I am weak O Lord heal me for my bones are vexed Thou art He O Lord That woundest and healest again that killest and revivest that leadest to the Gates of Hell and bringest back again If this my sickness O Lord be not unto death help me on this my bed of infirmity and strengthen me If thou thinkest expedient rather that I should dye than live do with me according to thy good pleasure and receive my spirit to thy peace which I commend into thy hands who livest and reignest God of all mercy world without end AMEN Or thus O Merciful Lord God who of thy great mercy dost forgive the offences of those who truly repent mercifully look upon me thy poor servant and hearken unto me who humbly crave of thee remission of my sins Renew O Lord in me whatsoever is corrupt and decayed by the Devils malice or mine own frailty Pity my sighs pity my tears pity my groans vouchsafe to be reconciled to me that have confidence in nothing but thy meer mercy O Lord it grieveth me that I have offended thy Majesty and it grieveth me much that I can grieve no more than I do And I humbly pray thee by the Death Passion and Intercession of thy Son Christ Iesus to pardon my offences promising that if I recover my former health thy grace assisting me to abstain from displeasing thy Majesty hereafter I willingly O Lord and freely from my heart for thy sake forgive all offenders and offences against me and I heartily desire all those whom I have any way offended to forgive me O Lord though my natural man trembleth at the thought of death yet I profess that I am willing to dye if it be thy good pleasure I. have received life and all the blessings of this life from thee What shall I render back to thee for them I will willingly receive this Cup of Death and praise thy Name I commend into thy hands my Spirit And whether thou disposest of me to live or dye I resign it to thy good will and disposition and humbly pray thee that if thou seest it good for me to prolong my dayes on Earth that thou wouldest renew my conversation by the direction of thy Holy Spirit that I may pass those dayes in thy fear If thou be otherwise pleased to dispose of me take me I beseech thee into the armes of thy mercy for Iesus Christs sake my only Saviour and Redeemer Or Thus. O God of all Consolation who hast promised to hear all those that faithfully call upon thee and not to reject any that with a contrite heart and penitent soul shall humble himself before thee I humbly intreat thee in the Name and Mediation of thy Son Iesus Christ that thou wouldest be pleased to be merciful to me thy poor servant at this time afflicted with sickness O Lord pardon forget and blot out of thy remembrance whatsoever I have committed against thee in the whole course of my life Seal and confirm unto me by thy Spirit a pardon unto me for all my offences that I may thereby receive such comfort in my soul that I may with all joy and willingness depart out of this life unto thee Let me be certified That there is no condemnation to those which are united and ingrafted into Iesus Christ by Faith That I may be confident That neither my Sins Death the Devil nor ought else can draw me away or separate me from thee And that I may be assured that thy Throne will not be to me a Barr of Severity but a Haven of Safety and a sure Sanctuary and Refuge for me to flee unto Strengthen this Faith in me which may serve as a Buckler to defend me from all tentations and that