his advantage since even thus it is not invocated by but on them and thence would fain perswade his Readers that Jacob here exhorts his Sons to pray to him when dead and to their forefathers Though I can hardly think this Author himself was so perswaded but offerred as much violence to his conscience as to the Text when he alledged it as a proof of that to which it hath not the least reference being spoke onely of his taking Ephraim and Manasseh into the number of his Sons according to ver 5. of that Chap. and so they were afterwards reckoned with the rest as Heads of their respective Tribes Is it any wonder by the way if this sort of men have such a low esteem of Scripture when they can have no more service from it at their greatest needs Upon this occasion it was that before the Exposition of the Lords Prayer I have in an Answer or two shewn to whom it is we ought to direct our prayers viz. to God onely through Jesus Christ of which I have there I hope given sufficient evidence So plain and justifiable is the doctrine and practice of our Church in this and all other matters of moment in controversie betwixt us and the Church of Rome they themselves not daring to disapprove of what we doe whilst we justly reject and sufficiently disprove their additions to Christianity wherewith they have loaded and corrupted it Throughout the explication of the Creed there being seldome any need under the other Heads I have been careful to annex Scripture-Proofs to all those points which might in the least seem to need them and were capable of that way of Proof In the end I have added two Forms of prayer useful for families that have no better helps two also for the younger sort together with two graces to be used before and after meat In the drawing up of which I have been so careful that I hope there lies no considerable objection against the matter of them And then as for those who think a Form it self unlawful I shall not stand to concern my self with their objections or censure May but these weak endeavours conduce any thing to the promoting of the knowledge and practice of that Doctrine which is according to Godliness that is of our Christian Religion all whose doctrines and Precepts are every way sitted to make men godly here and blessed hereafter I shall then have my end and let God have the praise AN EXPLICATION OF THE CREED Q. SInce by your Baptism you have taken upon you the profession of Christianity what is required of you to make good this profession A. I must believe all that God by Jesus Christ hath revealed and do all that he hath commanded Q. What brief Summary have you of the Christian Faith A. The Creed commonly called the Apostles Q. Rehearse the Articles of your Creed A. I believe in God the Father Almighty maker of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ his onely Son our Lord who was conceived by the Holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified dead and buried he descended into hell the third day he rose again from the dead he ascended into heaven sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty from thence he shall come to judg the quick and the dead I believe in the Holy-Ghost the holy Catholick Church the communion of Saints the Forgiveness of Sins the Resurrection of the Body and the life everlasting Amen Q. What mean you by saying you believe in God c A. I believe there is one first and most glorious Being without beginning or end the Maker of all things who is infinite in wisdom power goodness and all perfections Q. What reason have you to believe there is such a Being since you cannot see him A. Because I see those things which can come from no other cause Q. What be those A. This great world and all the Creatures in it which arè made and governed in so wonderful a manner Q. How was the world made A. Out of nothing by the word of God in the space of six days Q. Are there more Gods than one A. No there is but one Q. Why do you call God Father A. Principally as he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ in a peculiar and unspeakable manner Q. Have you any other reason A. Yes as also he is the Father of Spirits both Angels and men and especially of those who love and serve him as dear children Q. What mean you by saying God is Almighty A. I thereby mean that God hath power to do all things that contradict not his wisdome and goodness and hath right and authority to dispose of all things as he pleaseth Q. How is Iesus Christ the Son of God A. As he was begotten by the Father before all worlds in a manner peculiar to himself alone and by us not to be declared or understood Q. What do you apprehend of Christ by this eternal generation A. That he is true God one with the Father being the Second person of the blessed Trinity Q. But is he not man as well as God A. Yes he is both God and man in one person the humane nature being united to his Divine person Q. How did the Son of God become man A. He was conceived by the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Virgin Mary and in this respect also he is styled the Son of God Q. Wherefore was this wonderful conception A. One reason was that he might be pure from all sin wherewith the nature of others is polluted Q. Why should so glorious a person stoop solow as to become man A. That he might be fit to obtain Redemption and salvation for mankind Q. What is signified by his names Jesus and Christ A. Iesus signifies Saviour and Christ Anointed to let us understand that he is anointed or set apart to be our Saviour and Redeemer Q. How came man to stand in need of a Redeemer A. By reason of that sinful and miserable estate into which he fell Q. How came sin and misery first into the world A. By the disobedience of our first Parents Adam and Eve Q. In what estate were they created A. In an holy and happy estate Q. What was the particular Sin by which they fell A. Their eating of the fruit of a certain tree in the Garden of Eden of which God had commanded them not to eat called the Tree of knowledge of good and evil Q. What mischief did this their sin and fall bring upon us A. By one mans disobedience many were made sinners and the Fountain being unclean so are the streams Q. And what is our danger by reason of this our sinful condition A. We are liable to the wrath of God and to whatever miseries it shall please him to inflict either here or for ever hereafter Q.
from all immodest looks unchast thoughts and discourses from wanton songs books and pictures from lascivious dalliance light carriage and attire from idleness and intemperance the usual occasions of farther wickedness Q. What is the eighth Commandment A. Thou shalt not steal Q. What is forbidden in the eighth Commandment A. The eighth Commandment forbiddeth our doing any thing unjustly to the lessening of our neighbours estate whether by stealing from him or by cozenage and cheating in our bargains by wilful neglect to pay our debts or by oppression and extortion Q. Is this all that is required of us not to rob others of their wealth A. No But we must moreover be ready to lend or give to those that need according to our ability Q. What especially is to be done by us that we may avoid the breach of this Commandment A. We ought diligently to follow our several honest callings and employments and to live in such a sober and thrifty manner suitable to our estates and conditions that we may be able to pay our debts and relieve the poor and so shall not be put upon stealing gaming cheating or any wicked course for our livelihood Q. What is the ninth Commandment A. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour Q. What are we especially enjoyned in this ninth Commandment A. That when in any case we are called to be witnesses we speak nothing but the truth Q. What farther ought we to abstain from A. We ought to abstain from raising receiving or spreading false reports of our neighbour and from doing any thing to lessen his just esteem from rash and uncharitable censures from tale-bearing and tatling of other mens matters and from all lying in our communication one with another Q. What is the tenth Commandment A. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbours house thou shalt not covet thy neighbours wife nor his man servant nor his maid-servant nor his ox nor his asse nor any thing that is thy neighbours Q. What are we enjoyned in this Commandment A. The tenth Commandment enjoyneth us to be so thoroughly well content with our own condition that we should not envy or repine at any thing our neighbour enjoys nor covetously desire it from him Q. What are those general rules in the Gospel which include the whole of our duty to one another A. That we should love our neighbour as our selves and deal with all others as we our selves desire to be dealt with were we in their case Q. Give me some particular instances of this last Rule A. Masters ought to deal with their Servants as they themselves were they servants would in reason desire to be dealt with we must not give that ill language to others nor raise or entertain such stories of them as we our selves cannot bear when we are so us'd The Seller must deal as honestly and justly as he desires to be dealt with when he comes to buy c. Q. Can you by your own power perform these duties required of you A. No but we need the assistance of Gods grace which we are to seek for by prayer Q. To whom ought our prayers to be made A. To God only in the name of Iesus Christ. Q. May we not then pray to Angels and Saints A. No for we have no warrant for it from Scripture which in so weighty a matter of religion is necessary but very much against it Q. Name to me some one Text of Scripture where we are commanded to worship God only A. Mat. 4. 10. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve Q. Where are we expresly forbidden the worship of Angels A. In Rev. 22. 9. when St. Iohn being about to worship the Angel he said to him see thou do it not for I am thy sellow-servant worship God Q. But may we not pray to Saints and Angels as our Mediatours that they would pray to God for us as when we put up a petition to the King we make use of some Courtier to present it for us A No for there is no likeness in the case God himself being most gracious and always near to us and moreover it tends to the great dishonour of the Lord Jesus who is our only Mediatour by whom we are to offer up our prayers to God Q. Name me some one Text to prove that Christ is our onely Mediatour A. 1 Tim. 2. 5. There is one God and one Mediatour betwixt God and Men the Man Christ Iesus Q. What farther reason can you alledge against praying to Saints and Angels A. It is in vain to pray to them because we have no reason to believe that they can hear the prayers that are made to them from several parts of the world it being proper to God only to be in all places at once Q. Is it lawful before hand to know the words we intend to use in prayer that is to use a form of our own or others making A. Yes it is lawful since it is no where forbidden in Scripture and the directions there given concerning prayer may be practised either with or without a form Q. But we are taught in Scripture to pray with or in the Script and does not that forbid the use of a Form A. No not at all since we may pray with the Spirit even then when we use a Form Q. When therefore may a man be said to pray with the Spirit A. When in his prayers he is hearty and serious his soul being filled with those holy desire and affections which are wrought in him by the Spirit of God Q. Is there in the Gospel any Form given us for our direction in prayer A. Yes that which Christ taught his Disciples and therefore called the Lords prayer Q. Let me hear you repeat it A. Our Father which art in heaven Hallowed be thy name 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 those that trespass against us and Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the Kingdom the power and the glory for ever and ever Amen Q. Into what parts may this prayer fitly be divided A. The Preface six petitions and the Conclusion Q. What learn you from the Preface Our Father which art in heaven A. That in all our addresses to God we ought to come before him with humility and reverence and yet with a firm confidence in his fatherly mercy and goodness Q. What do you pray for in the first Petition Hallowed be thy name A. That God may be known honoured and worshiped aright both by us and the whole world Q. What do you pray for in the second Petition Thy kingdom come A. That God may rule in the hearts and lives of men by his Spirit and laws that the Church may be enlarged by the conversion of
not be given up to idleness gaming nor the excessive love of any sports or pleasures nor may venture amongst such wicked companions as would entice me to ungodly courses neither let their jeers and scorns ever make me ashamed of a strict and holy life Make me ever careful to hearken to the reproofs and instructions of godly friends and to keep my self employed in honest and lawful labours or in the duties of religion And whilst I shall continue in this dangerous world be thou oh God my upholder and my guide I desire heartily to give up my self to thee to be disposed of as seems good in thy sight begging only that in every condition through my whole life I may be kept faithful to thee and diligent in thy service that so at length I may be brought safe through all difficulties and dangers into that everlasting rest which remains for thy people Be merciful to the whole world fill the same with the knowledge of thy Gospel and let the coming of Christ in glory be hastned Be gracious to these nations to our King with all his royal Relations and all Magistrates under him Bless the Ministers of thy holy word with all thy people and my kindred and friends Shew mercy to all them that are in affliction and let thy blessing be upon this Family to which I belong I praise thy name for the mercies of this last night and beg thy presence with me this day that I may not do any thing which is displeasing to thee but may ever so live in thy fear that I may be sure of thy favour both here and to all eternity And all I humbly beg for thy dear Son Jesus sake who hath taught us to pray saying Our Father which art in heaven Hallowed c. EVENING PRAYER MOst great and glorious Lord God Thou dwellest in the highest heavens and yet thou regardest the meanest of thy creatures here on this earth and art ever ready to shew mercy to such as do humbly and earnestly seek to thee for the same Wherefore I do now most humbly beseech thee to take pity on me a weak and worthless creature and to deal with me not after my deserts but according to the multitude of thy tender compassions I cannot alas plead any deserts of my own for though I am thy creature yet am I a vile sinner one that deserves not the least of all thy mercies I was born into this world with a sinful and corrupt nature which is prone to wickedness and very backward and listless to any thing that is good And I have already shewn forth the sinfulness of my nature in those sins which I have committed against thee Though my years have been but few yet my sins have been many and very grievous Of that little time which I have lived in the world I have wasted much in folly and idleness in sports and pleasures seldom thinking what I was sent into the world for or how I might do to make my self happy for ever I have indeed been often taught that I was made on purpose to serve thee oh God in obeying thy commandments that so I might live with thee for ever in heaven yet have I grievously neglected thy service and have not made it my business to get acquainted with thy holy laws and those plain commands which I have known I have often wilfully broken Little delight have I had in praying to thee in reading or hearing thy holy word but have greatly neglected these duties and have oft spent the Lords day in idleness and playing Yea with shame I must confess I have taken pleasure in reading any foolish book rather than in the holy Bible And though I could well enough remember idle stories vain and wanton songs yet have I soon forgotten thy blessed word after I have read or heard the same Many times have I been disobedient to my Parents and to those who have had rule over me and when I have committed faults I have been presently ready to tell lies for the excusing my self though I knew I did ill therein Very easily have I been drawn into ill company and to joyn with them in doing evil and though I have seen many of my companions as young as I die before me yet have I seldome thought with my self how I should do to get fitted for death or what would become of me after death in another world Now oh Lord I beseech thee to open my eyes and soften my heart and work in me a true sorrow and repentance for these and all other the sins which I have at any time committed against thee that so I may find mercy and forgiveness from thee Have mercy upon me oh thou God of mercy and for the Lord Jesus sake be at peace with me Let his precious blood wash me from all my sins and procure thy favour that I may escape those eternal torments which I have most justly deserved Through the Lord Jesus do thou become my gracious loving Father owning me as thy dutiful child And help me to shew that I am so by living in a careful obedience to all thy holy laws Oh that the time past of my life may suffice to have spent so vainly and carelesly Lord make me for the time to come diligent and careful in serving thee and in working out my own salvation Make me so wise for my own good that I may put off the amending of my ways and leading a godly life till hereafter Let me not think it too soon to set about that work for which all my life was given me and is all little enough Justly then maist thou shorten my days if I should wilfully defer my repentance and reformation Yea justly maist thou refuse to accept of me in old age if now I spend my youth and the best of my days in serving the Devil and satisfying my own lusts Wherefore oh Lord I beseech thee now betimes to encline my heart to thy fear and service that when I am old I may never depart from thee Make me always sensible of the shortness and uncertainty of my life that numbring my days I may apply my heart to wisdome and through my whole life may make this my great study and care to get an everlasting happiness in the world to come Oh never suffer me good God to become so foolish as for any pleasures of sin to part with the hopes of eternal glory and to sell my soul into the hands of Satan to be tormented with him for ever But do thou oh Lord strengthen me by thy grace against all his temptations and against the allurements of the world and the flesh that they may not prevail over me Help me to flee all youthful lusts and to follow after sobriety chastity and all manner of purity virtue and godliness When-ever I am ready to run into sin oh then fill my mind with the thoughts of that Hell to which sin leads and let the hopes of