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A69499 Devotions in the ancient way of offices with psalms, hymns, and prayers for every day in the week and every holiday in the year. Birchley, William, 1613-1669. 1668 (1668) Wing A4248A; ESTC R8861 220,254 576

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thou hast made us nothing have we but what thou hast given us Only our sins are entirely our own which O may thy grace extinguish for ever O may all self-presumption dy in us and our whole confidence live only in Thee May even our frailties make us more strong and our being nothing teach us to be humble So shall thy power O God be magnify'd in our weaknes and thy mercy triumph in relief of our misery Glory be c. Antiph If we receive all we have of God why do we boast as if we had it of our selvs Antiph God is my Saviour whom shall I fear God is my Protector of what shall I be afraid Psal XXIX THus we depend and happy we in this dependance did we but know our own true interest We and our whole Concerns are deposited with God and where can we find a better hand to ensure them Is he not wise enough to chuse safely for us who disposes all nature in such admirable order Has he not power to go through with his purpose who commands the wills of men and Angels Wants he perhaps an inclination to favor us who desires our felicity more than our own harts He feeds the fowls of the air and cloths the lillys of the field Without his providence not a sparrow falls to the ground and shall we mistrust his care for his children Under his government we have liv'd all this while and can we now suspect he 'l forsake us He has shewn his bounty in extraordinary graces and will he deny us his lesser blessings He has freely bestow'd on us his dearest Son how shall He not with Him give us all things else All that are truly useful to carry us on our way and bring us at length to his eternal rest If our necessities be the effects of our folly we must not presume he 'l maintain us in our sins Rather we should strive to moderate our appetites and correct the vices that have bred these myserys But if our wants be innocent and pressing he 'l sooner do a miracle then break his word His word which he so often has solemnly engaged so often prov'd by a thousand experiments Ask but the former ages and they will tell you * the wonders he wrought in favour of his servants He multiply'd the oyl in the poor widows Cruse and fed his Prophet by the service of a Raven He dry'd the Sea into a path for his People and melted the rocks to refresh their thirst He made his Angels stewards of their provision and nourisht them in the wilderness with the bread of heav'n Still O my God thy eternal charity retains * the same affections for them that rely on Thee Still thy all-seeing Wisdom governs the world with the same immense unalterable goodnes Nay surely now the streams of thy mercy run more strong and have wrought to themselvs a larger channel Since thou brought'st down the waters from above the heav'ns and openedst in thine own body a spring of life A spring of joy and blyss to revive our harts and overflow them with a torrent of everlasting pleasures Glory be c. Antiph God is my Saviour whom shall I fear God is my Protector of what shall I be afraid Antiph Seek first the Kingdom of God and all things else shall be added to you Psal XXX LEt us then sit down in peace O my soul and rest secure in the bosom of providence Let us not disturb the order of those mercys * which our God has design'd us in his eternal counsels Every accident may be turn'd into vertue and every vertue is a step to our glorious end If our affairs succeed let us praise our great Benefactor and think what he 'l give us herafter who so favours us here If they miscarry let us yield to the will of heav'n and learn by our crosses in this world to betake us to the other What ever happens let this be our constant rule to provide for the future life and be contented with the present Shall we not patiently accept a litle evil * from Him that has given us so much good Shall the being without some one thing we need not * more sensibly affect us then the having all we need Ingrateful we the common benefits we all enjoy * deserve the thanksgiving of a whole life The air we breath in and the Sun that shines on us the water and the earth that so faithfully serve us The exercise of our senses and the use of our wits if not in excellence at least to some degree All these O Lord thou generally giv'st to the Good and to the Bad and for the least of these none can praise thee enough What shall we say to those high supernatural blessings a Son of God to redeem us and a Heav'n to reward us What shall we say can we yet complain * because some few perhaps are more prosperous then we Should we not rather look down on the many below us and be thankful to see our selvs more favor'd then they Should we not reckon o're the miserys of mankind and bless our God that has so far preserv'd us Had we some desperate canker breeding on our face or noysom leprosy spreading o're our skin These we must all confess are incident to our nature and more then these due to our sins What would we give to be as now we are how gladly change for a moderate affliction 'T is but interpreting our worst condition well to find motives enough for our gratitude to God 'T is but interpreting our best condition frowardly and find defects enough to think our selvs miserable Did we adore as we ought the Wisdom of our God we should easily trust Him to rule his own world Could we understand the secret character of his Decrees we should read in each syllable a perfect harmony Teach us O Thou blest Enlightner of our minds teach us to expound thy actions in a fair sense Suffer us not to follow our private spirit lest we create to our selvs a voluntary misery Still let us construe the afflictions thou sendst us * as meant to correct and not to destroy us To prevent some sin or practise some vertue and when we need our crosses no longer thou'lt take them away Meanwhile O gracious Lord make us wait thy time and not impatiently prescribe limits to thee Make us rejoyce that our lots are in thy hands but O let thy mercy chuse favourably for us Dispose as thou pleasest our condition here only our portion hereafter let it be with thy Blessed Glory be c. Antiph Seek first the Kingdom of God and all things else shall be added to you Our Father c. First Lesson HAve confidence in our Lord with all thy hart and rely not on thine own prudence in all thy ways think on Him and he will direct thy steps Be not wise in thine own conceit fear God and depart from evil The greater thou
tender care hast contriv'd such means * that nothing can undo us but our own perversnes How easie hast thou made the way to heav'n how light is the burthen thou lay'st on thy followers 'T is but to love Thee our greatest Benefactor and we perfectly fulfil every branch of thy Law 'T is but desiring to see Thee our supream Beatitude and we are sure to possess an eternity of joy Blessed O my God be the wisdom of thy Providence that alone knows the way to draw good out of evil That not only restores us to our first degree but makes even our fall rebound us to a greater hight Lord as thy goodnes turns all things to the advantage of thy Elect O may the Elect praise thy goodnes in all things Glory be c. Psal XXXII ADmirable wert thou O Lord in thy merciful promise but infinitely more in thy wonderful performance Thou deputedst not an Angel to supply thy place nor entrustedst so tender a work to the manage of a Seraphin But Thy self bow'dst the heav'ns and cam'st down and with thy own blest hands wroughtst our redemption Thy self took'st upon thee our frail nature and vouchsaf'dst to be born of an humble Virgin Thou condescendedst to the weaknesses of a child a child whose parents were poor and unesteem'd in the world Thou declinedst not the mean entertainment of a stable O how unfit for the birth of the King of Heav'n Thou contentedst thy self with the cradle of a manger and the uneasy lodging on a bed of straw Thou refusedst the soft accomodations of the rich to undergo the inconveniencies of a poor stranger Only the faithful Ioseph stood waiting on Thee and provided as he was able for his helples family Only thy pious Mother dearly embrac't Thee and wrapt thy tender limbs in litle clouts Wonder O heavens and be amaz'd O earth and every creature humbly bow your heads Bow and adore this incomprehensible mystery The VVORD was made flesh dwelt among us But most of all we who are most concern'd the banisht children of unfortunate Adam Let us bow down our faces to the dust and prostrate adore so unspeakable a mercy Behold thus low my Saviour stoopt for me * to check the pride of my corrupted nature Behold thus low He stoopt to take me from the ground and raise me to the felicitys of his own Kingdom Lift up thy voice with joy O my soul and sing Hosanna to the new born JESUS Call all the blessed Angels to celebrate his birth and repeat afresh that heav'nly Antheme Glory be to God on high * in earth peace towards men of good will Lift up thy voice aloud O my soul and to the Quires of heav'n ioyn the musick of the Church Glory be c. Psal XXXIII REjoyce all you faithful Nations of the earth * when you hear the sweet Name of our dear Redeemer Rejoyce and with your bended knees and harts * adore the blessed JESUS He is the Son of the everliving God equally participating the glorys of his Father He is that great Messias whom the Prophets foretold * and all the ancient Saints so long expected At length in the fulnes of time he came to visit in person our miserable world He came with his hands full of miracles and every miracle full of mercy He made the crooked become straight and the lame to walk and leap for joy He open'd the ears of the deaf to hear and gave sight to them that were born blind He loosen'd the tongues of the dumb to speak O may he govern ours to sing his praise He clens'd the leprous by the word of his mouth and heal'd their diseases who but toucht his garment To the poor he reveal'd the treasures of his Gospel and taught the simple the mysterys of his Kingdom He cast out Devils by the command of his Will and forc't them to confess and adore his Person He rais'd the dead from the grave to life the dead that were four days buryed and corrupted Nay even Himself being slain for us on the Cross * and his tomb made fast and secur'd with a guard He rais'd again by his own victorious power and carry'd up our nature into the highest heav'ns All these stupendious signs O glorious JESU were done by the hand of Thy Almighty mercy To witness thy truth with the seal of heav'n and endear thy precepts with obliging miracles That thus engag'd we might believe in Thee and obeying thy Law be eternally sav'd O Let not all this love dear Lord be lost be so many Tokens so kindly exprest One miracle more we humbly beg but one as strange and hard as any of the rest Soften our stony harts into a tender sense * of thy great goodnes and their own true duty Raise our dead spirits from this heavy earth to dwell with Thee in the land of the Living That as we here admire thy bounteous Power and daily sing the wonders of thy Grace We may herafter adore thy Blessed Self and sing eternally the wonders of thy Glory Glory be c. Antiph Praise our Lord O my soul and forget not all his benefits Capit. Jude v. 24 25. TO Him who is able to preserve you without sin and set you immaculate before the sight of his glory in exultation at the coming of our Lord JESUS Christ to the only God our Saviour by JESUS Christ our Lord be glory and magnificence Empire and Power before all ages and now and to all ages for ever Amen Hymn X. LEt others take their course And sing what Name they please Let wealth or beauty be their Theme Such empty sounds as these For me I 'le ne're admire A lump of burnisht clay Howe're it shines it is but dust And shall to dust decay Sweet JESUS is the Name My song shall still adore Sweet JESUS is the charming word That does my life restore When I am dead in grief Or which is worse in sin I call on JESUS and he hears And I to live begin Wherefore to thee bright Name Behold thus low I bow And thus again yet is all this Far less then what I ow. Down then down both my knees Still lower to the ground While with mine eys and voice lift up Aloud these lines I sound Live glorious King of heav'n By all the heav'n ador'd Live gracious Saviour of the world Our chief and only Lord. Live and for ever may Thy throne establisht be For ever may all harts and tongues Sing hyms of praise to Thee Amen Antiph I saw the bright Sun shew his flaming eys and behold a thousand rays fill'd the ayr and beauteously guilded the earth his glorious face but maskt it self in a cloud and immediately they vanisht away and their place was to be found no more I said such O my God just such is the stability of every creature V. Even the line we now repeat must beg its breath of Thee R. And stop if Thou deny'st it O Lord hear our
that day the root of Jesse which stands for a sign to the People him shal the Nations beseech and his Sepulcher shal be glorious R. Thus holy JESU did the antient Prophets foretel thy perfections and the blessed changes thy doctrin should produce the cruelty of the proud should be soften'd into meeknes and the innocence of the weak be protected by the strong and peace and charity flourish o're the world * This was thy wise and gracious design to make us happy by making us holy Thou hast planted the seeds of all these effects O give the increase that we may gather the fruit defend the good and rebuke the wicked and fill the earth with thy knowledg that all discord and animosity may utterly cease and justice and equity govern our lives * This was Second Lesson Heb. 1. GOd who in time past diversly and many ways spake to our Fathers in the Prophets has last of all in these days spoken to us in his Son whom he has appointed heir of all by whom also he made the worlds who being the brightnes of his glory and the figure of his substance and sustaining all things by the word of his power having made purgation of sins sits at the right hand of Majesty on high being so much better then Angels as he has inherited a more excellent name above them For to which of his Angels has he at any time said Thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee and again I wil be to Him a Father and He shal be to me a Son and again when he brings in the First-begotten into the world he says And let all the Angels of God adore him To the Angels indeed he says He makes his Angels Spirits and his Ministers a flame of fire but to the Son Thy throne O God shall be for ever and ever the Scepter of thy Kingdom is a Scepter of equity thou hast loved justice and hated iniquity therfore has God thy God annointed thee with the oyl of gladnes above thy fellows Thou in the begining O Lord didst found the earth and the heav'ns are the works of thy hands they shall perish but thou shalt continue and they all shall wax old as a garment and as a vesture shalt thou change them and they shall be changed but thou art the self-same and thy years shall not fail R. Live glorious Jesu and reign for ever eternal King of heav'n and earth may all thy Blessed above perpetually adore thee and all thy servants here continually praise thee * And every tongue confes that thou O Lord art most high in the glory of thy Father Alleluja Thou wert for us obedient to death even the death of the cross wherefore God has exalted thee and given thee a Name above every name that at the Name of JESUS every knee bow of things in heav'n of things on earth and of things under the earth * And every tongue Third Lesson Ephes 1. BLessed be God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all spiritual benedictions in celestial things in Christ as he has chosen us in him before the constitution of the world that we should be holy and immaculate in his sight in charity who has predestinated us into the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the purpose of his will to the praise of the glory of his grace by which he has made us gracious in his beloved Son in whom we have redemption through his blood the remission of sins according to the riches of his grace which has exceedingly abounded in us in all wisdom and prudence that he might make known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he purpos'd in him that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might restore all things in Christ which are in heav'n and earth R. Lord what are we that thou shouldst thus regard us thou hast chosen us in thy Son before the world began and freely predestinated us into the adoption of thy children thou hast made us heirs of thy kingdom and co-heirs with Christ * O happy we if we forfeit not these mercys but labour by good works to make sure our election Thou hast redeem'd us by the blood of Jesus and given us in him remission of our sins thou hast by him reveal'd to us the secrets of heav'n and promis'd to restore us here to holines and replenish with our souls the vacant seats among thy glorious Angels * O happy we Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the holy Ghost * O happy we if Te Deum as page 16. Lauds for our B. Saviour O God incline c. as page 18. Antiph Bless our Lord O my soul and all that is within me praise his holy Name Psal XCVI PRaise our Lord all you Nations of the earth praise him with the voice of joy and thanksgiving Praise him with the well-tun'd strings of your hart praise him with the sweetest instrument obedience Let every one that pretends to felicity * sing immortal praises to the God of our salvation He is our full and all-sufficient Redeemer he has perfectly finisht what he graciously undertook For all our trespasses he has made satisfaction for all our forfeitures he has paid the ransom We by disobedience were banisht from Paradise and he has receiv'd us into his own kingdom We wandred up and down in the wildernes of error and he has guided us into the ways of truth We were by nature the children of wrath and he has mediated our peace with his offended Father We were become the slaves of sin and he has bought our freedom with his own blood We were in bondage to the dominion of Satan and he has overcome and confin'd his power We were in danger of sinking into hell and he has sav'd us from that bottomles pit The gates of heav'n were shut against us and he went up himself and open'd them to all Believers Dissolving for ever the terrors of death and rendring it now but a passage into life O dearest Lord who mad'st us first of nothing and restor'dst us again when we had made our selvs nothing Who wouldst at any rate redeem us from misery at any rate procure our felicity How came we wretches to be so consider'd how came we sinners to obtain such favour That thou shouldst leave thy Throne where Scraphins ador'd thee and descend on our earth where slaves affronted thee That thou shouldst lead a life of poverty and labour and dy a death of shame and sorrow That thou shouldst do all this for such worms as we without the least concern or benefit to thy self Only to raise us up from our humble dust and set us to shine with thy glorious Angels O infinite Goodnes the bounteous Author of all our hopes and strong Deliverer from all our fears What shall we say to this thy excessive charity what shall we render for
your selvs also in the body Let your conversation be without covetousness contented with what you have for he has said I will not leave thee nor forsake thee so that we may confidently say our Lord is my help I will not fear what man can do to me And the God of Peace who brought again from the Dead the great Pastor of the Sheep in the blood of the eternal Testament our Lord Jesus Christ make you perfect in all goodness that you may do his Will working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight thorough Jesus Christ to whom be glory for ever and ever Amen Resp Thither O my Soul let us still be going where once to arrive is always to be at rest there let us dwell already in hope where once to enjoy is always to be happy * Since whate're we desire we are sure to have and whate're we have can never be taken from us Let us believe and obey and suffer let us read and meditate and pray Heaven 's a reward worth all our pains * Since what e're we desire we are sure to have and whate're we have can never be taken from us Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost * Since whate're we desire we are sure to have and whate're we have can never be taken from us Te Deum WE praise thee our God we acknowledge thee our Lord All the Earth adores thee thou Father Eternal To Thee the blessed Angels to Thee the Heavens and all their Powers To Thee the Cherubims and Seraphims perpetually sing Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Sabaoth The heavens and the earth are full of the Majesty of thy glory The glorious Quire of Apostles praise Thee The renown'd society of Prophets bless Thee The noble Army of Martyrs glorify Thee The holy Church throughout the world confesses Thee Father of immense Majesty Thy adorable true and only Son Also the holy Spirit the Comforter Thou art the King of glory O Christ Thou art the eternal Son of the Father Thou being to undertake the delivery of Man did'st not disdain the Virgins Womb. Thou having overcom the sting of death opend'st to Believers the Kingdom of heav'n Thou sittest at the right hand of God in the glory of thy Father We believe thou shalt com to be our Judg. Help therfore we beseech Thee thy servants whom thou hast redeem'd with thy precious blood Make them be numbred with thy Saints in glory everlasting Lord save thy People and bless thy Inheritance And govern them and raise them up even to eternity Every day we glorify Thee and praise thy Name for ever and ever Vouchsafe O Lord to keep us this day without sin Have mercy on us O Lord have mercy on us Let thy mercy O Lord be on us as our hope is in Thee In Thee O Lord have I plac't my hope let me not be confounded for ever Pause a while to reflect on what you have said and to renew your attention then begin Lauds Sunday Lauds O God incline unto our ayd O Lord make hast to help us Glory be to the Father and to the Son * and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning both now and ever world without end Amen Alleluia Antiph O how adorable are thy counsels O Lord how strangely indearing the ways of thy love Alleluia Psal V. SIng to our Lord a Psalm of Joy sing praises to the God of our Salvation Sing with a loud and chearful voice sing with a glad and thankful hart Say to the weak of Spirit be strong and to the sorrowful be of good comfort Tel all the world this soul-reviving truth and may their harts within them leap to hear it Tel them the Lord of life is risen again and has cloth'd himself with immortal glory He made the Angels messengers of his victory and vouchsaf't even himself to bring us the joyful news How many ways did thy mercy invent O Thou wise contriver of all our happines To convince thy followers into this blest belief and settle in their harts a firm ground of hope Thou appeard'st in the Garden to the holy women that sought Thee and open'dst their eys to know and adore Thee Thou overtook'st in the way the Two that discour'st of thee and mad'st their harts burn within them to hear thee Thou shewd'st thy self on the stedfast shore to thy weary Disciples labouring at Sea Labouring alas all night in vain without the blessing of their beloved JESUS Thou shew'dst thy self and told'st them who thou wert in the kind known token of a beneficial miracle Thorow the doors though shut thou swiftly passed'st to carry peace to thy comfortles friends To encourage their fears with thy powerful presence and secure their faith by thy charitable arguments How did'st thou condescend to eat before them and invite them to touch thy impassible body How didst thou sweetly constrain that incredulous servant to thrust his hand into thy wounded side Actions we know unfit for thy glorify'd state but absolutely necessary for our slow belief How often O my gracious Lord in those blessed forty days * did thy charity cast to meet with thy Disciples That thou might'st teach them stil some excellent truth and imprint still deeper thy love in their harts Discoursing perpetually of the Kingdom of heav'n and establishing means to bring us thither At last when all thy glorious task was done and thy parting hour from this earth approacht Thou tenderly gather'dst thy Children about thee and in their full sight wentst up into heaven Leaving thy dearest blessing on their heads and promising them a Comforter to supply thine absence O how adorable are thy counsels O Lord how strangely endearing the ways of thy love Say now my Soul is not this evidence clear enough * to answer all our darkest doubts Is not this hope abundantly sufficient to sweeten all our bitterst sorrows What though we mourn and be afflicted here and sigh under the miseries of this world for a time We 're sure our tears shal one day rejoyce and that joy none shal take from us What though our bodies be crumbled into dust and that dust blown about o're the face of the Earth Yet we undoubtedly know our Redeemer lives and shal appear in brightnes at the last great Day He shal appear in the midst of innumerable Angels and with these very eys we shal see Him We shal see him in whom we have so long believ'd we shal find him whom we have so often sought We shal possess him whom our souls have lov'd and be united to him for ever who is the only end of our Being Glory be c. Psal VI. RAise thy head O my soul and look up and behold the glory of thy crucify'd Saviour He that was dead and layd in the grave * low enough to prove himself Man Is risen again and ascended into heaven * high enough to prove himself God He is risen and
the hands of God At first endow'd with dominion o're the Earth and which was more with dominion o're thy self At first not only made sole Lord of Paradise but heir apparent of the Heav'n of heav'ns All this thou lost by one rash act * disobeying the Law of thy wise Creator All this alas we lost by thy transgression which brought in sin and death and universal misery Our bodys were deprav'd by thy distemper and our souls made fit for such depraved bodys Our senses quickly rebel'd against reason and both together conspir'd against grace Dulnes and ignorance o'respred the world error and vice possest mankind The Law they observ'd was their own unruly appetites and the Deity they worship'd the work of their own hands Even the selected people of the true God the favourite Nation of the Almighty Providence They who were brought out of Egypt with so many wonders and seated in a Country flowing with Milk and Honey They who had seen the sea divide before them and stand on each side as a wall to defend them They who had tasted the quails and manna from heav●●n and drunk of the streams that came gushing from the Rock Even they forgot their great Deliverer and set up for their God a Golden Calf They could not worship what they did not see they must have Gods to go before them Thus lay the miserable world all cover'd with darknes and the thickest mists of gross Idolatry Thus had poor man quite lost his way and all he could do was to wander up and down a while Til when his few vain years were spent * he suddenly descended to everlasting sorrows This mov'd thy pity gracious Lord who often art found by those that seek thee not VVho never withdraw'st thy hand in time of need but constantly supply'st us in all our distresses This mov'd thy pity to undertake our relief and come down thy self and dwel among us That as our nature us'd to worship what it saw we now should see what we might safely worship But thou again dear Lord must leave our world and though it be good for us 't is hard to part from Thee Thou must again ascend into thy Fathers bosom to prepare a place for thy faithful Followers Yet even then O thou wise and infinite Goodnes thou didst not wholly forsake our earth Only thy usual cloaths and shape were chang'd but thy former Self stil dwels among us Stil thou art really here to move us by thy presence * and entertain our devotions without fear of excess VVe know 't is impossible to adore our God too much O that 't were possible to adore him enough Glory be c. Antiph VVhether O my God should we wander if left to our selvs where should we fix our harts if not directed by Thee Antiph Blessed be thy Providence O God that so tenderly nurses up the world stil growing on to new degrees of perfection Psal LXI LOrd what a happy change has thy coming wrought what glorious effects has thy Doctrin produced Narrow was once the gate and strait the path to bliss and few there were that found it Once in a populous City not ten that were just and on the whole earth but eight that were sav'd Now we see thousands with a strong and generous love * run swiftly after Thee in the ways of thy Counsels Now we see millions with a fair degree of hope * walk constantly towards Thee in the ways of thy Commands Now we see Kings and mighty Nations submit to Thee and hope all the world will ere long adore Thee Whence O my God could this strange improvement come but that JESUS ascending left himself on our Altars Whence could this blessing spring but from his holy life and the infinit merits of his painful death Both which are here miraculously united and the fruits of both abridg'd into this one Mystery This is the Mystery that gives life and spirit to the Church and works all the wonders that adorn the world This builds our great and sumptuous Temples to bestow on our God the best house we have This with our richest treasures beautifys our altars to entertain our Lord in the best way we can This breeds the reverence we pay to Priests and excellently disposes us to believe and obey them This keeps alive our dear Redeemers death and applies to our souls all the vertue of his Passion This fills our hearts with heroick courage * to do and suffer for the Name of JESUS This is in fine the food of faith and hope and love and these 3 fit us for eternal happines O blest memorial of my Saviours love and faithful Seal of all his promises If I forget to sing of thee * let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth If I forget to meditate on Thee * let my head forfeit its power to think All the short time I remain in thy presence * I will wholly employ to adore thy Majesty Thee will I bless for all thy mercys to Thee will I open all my necessitys Beging thy pardon for my past offences * and thy gracious assistance for the time to come Imploring thy peace for the souls departed and thy blessing for all the world O spotles Lamb once slain for us on the Cross and dayly sacrificed on the holy Altar Be thou our powerful Advocate with thy heav'nly Father and solicite by thy Merits his mercy for us Offer thy sacred Self before his Throne and turn away the wrath we deserve for our sins So slaves are rescu'd from their chains * and prisoners from the doom of death While they appease their offended King * with the pleasing remembrance of his beloved Son And so hope we and infinitely more from the infinitely greater Mediation of JESUS If Thou O Lord shalt thus restore our liberty and cloath thy servants in the robes of innocence Then shall we all delight to be still in thy presence and follow thee where're thou goest In thy Processions we 'l wait on thy triumph in thy visiting the sick we 'l attend thy charity When thou art lifted up we 'l bow before Thee when solemnly expos'd we 'l publickly adore thee Where e're Thou art we 'l never forsake Thee where e're we are our harts shall be with Thee Glory be c. Antiph Blessed be thy Providence O God that so tenderly nurses up the world still growing on to new degrees of perfection Antiph This is the greatest charity that God himself can bestow since God can bestow nothing greater then himself Psal LXII ANd does our glorious God not only visit but dwelt perpetually with us men upon earth He whom the heav'n of heav'ns cannot contain does he make his residence in our litle Tabernacles Where are you holy Angels that you fly not swiftly down and in your whitest robes attend your Lord Where are you careles men that you run not quickly hither and with your lowliest homage bow to your King Who though
made the light his Garment and commanded the Clouds to be the chariot of his triumph The gates of heaven obey'd their Lord and the everlasting doors opened to the King of glory Enter bright King attended with thy beauteous Angels and the glad train of thy new deliver'd Captives Enter and repossess thy antient Throne and reign eternally at the right hand of thy Father May every knee bow low to thy exalted Name and every tongue confess thy glory May all created nature adore thy Power and the Church of thy Redeem'd exult in thy goodnes Whom have we in heav'n O Lord but Thee who expresly wentst thither to make way for thy followers What have we on earth but our hope by following Thee * to arrive at last where Thou art gon before us O glorious JESU our strength our Joy and the immortal life of all our Souls Be Thou the principal subject of our studyes and dayly entertainment of our most serious thoughts Draw us O dearest Lord from the World and our selvs that we be not entangled with any earthly desires Draw us after Thee and the odours of thy sweetnes that we may run with delight the ways of thy Commands Draw us up to Thee on thy Throne of blyss that we may see thy face and rejoyce with Thee for ever in thy Kingdom Glory be c. Psal VII WHy should our harts stil dwel upon earth since the treasure of our harts is return'd to heav'n Since our glorify'd Jesus is ascended above to prepare us a place in his own Kingdom A place of rest and secure peace where we shal see and praise and adore Him for ever A place of joy and everlasting fruition where we shal love and possess and delight in Him for ever O happy we and our poor souls if once admited to that blisful Vision If once those heav'nly portals unfold their gates and let us in to the joys of our Lord How wil our spirits be ravisht within themselvs to reflect on the fulness of their own beatitude How shal we all rejoyce in one anothers felicity but infinitely more in the infinitely greater felicity of God! O heav'n towards thee we lift up our languishing heads and with stretcht-out hands reach at thy gloryes When O Thou Finisher of all our hopes when shal we once behold that incomparable light That light which illuminates the eys of Angels and renews the youth of Saints That light which is thy very self O Lord our God! whom we shal there see face to face Whom we shal there know as we are known we shal know thee in thine own clear light O light shine thou perpetually in our eys that thy brightnes may darken the false lustre of this world O Light shed thou thy flames in our harts that thy heat may consume all other desires That we may burn continually with the chast love of thee til thine own bright day appear Til we be cal'd from this vale of darknes into the glorious presence of the living God To see Him that made the heav'ns and the earth and disposes all creatures in so beauteous order To see him that first gave us our being then govern'd us in our way * and brought us at length to so blest an end Meanwhile O gracious Lord the Crown of all thy Saints and only expectation of thy faithful servants Make us entertain our life with the comfort of this hope and our hope with the assurance of thy promises Make us still every day more perfectly understand * our own great duty thy infinite love Make us continually meditate the advancement of Thy glory and invite all the World to sing thy praises Praise our Lord O you holy Angels Praise him O you happy Saints Praise him O you Faithful departed in his grace Praise him O you Living who subsist by his mercy Praise him in the vast immensity of his power Praise him in the admirable wisdom of his Providence Praise him in the blest effects of his goodnes Praise him in the infinitenes of all his Attributes Praise thy Eternal Self O glorious God! and to all the felicities Thou essentially possessest may every creature say Amen Glory be Antiph O how adorable are thy Counsels O Lord how strangely endearing the ways of thy love Alleluia Capit. 1 Pet. 1. Blessed be God and the Father of our Lord JESUS Christ who according to his great mercy has regenerated us to a lively hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible and pure and which cannot fade conserv'd for you in the heav'ns Hymn II. VVAke my Soul rise from this Bed Of dull and slugish earth Quickly rise lift up thy head And see thy Lords new birth Once He cam O blessed He Born of a Virgin-Womb Now He comes both times for thee Sprung from a Virgin tomb Lo he rises fresh and bright Incircled round with Stars Which from Him take all their light And from his glorious Scars Stil as He his progress makes Up to his heav'n again Each blest Saint his musick takes And follows in his train Thus together They ascend Til at heav'n gates they come Where the Angels all attend To bid them welcome home Soon they know again their King Soon they his Call obey All the Quires come forth to sing And crown with mirth the Day Come my soul let us rejoyce Let us our Concert bring Up to heav'n le ts lift our voice And with the Angels sing Glory honor pow'r and praise To the mysterious Three As at first begining was May now and ever be Antiph Why seek you the Living among the the Dead He is risen He is not here He is gloriously ascended and the heav'ns have receiv'd Him Alleluia Alleluia Benedictus BLessed be our Lord the God of Israel for he has visited and redeem'd his People And rais'd up a Kingdom of Salvation to us in the house of David his Servant As he spake by the mouth of his holy Prophets who have been since the world began Salvation from our Enemies and from the hands of all that hate us To shew mercy to our Fathers and to remember his holy Testament The Oath which he sware to Abraham our Father that he would give us Himself That being deliver'd from the hand of our enemys we may serve him without fear In holines and Justice before him * all the days of our life And Thou Child shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest for thou shalt go before the face of our Lord to prepare his ways To give Knowledg of salvation to his people for remission of their sins Through the tender mercy of our God wherby the Day-spring from on High has visited us To give light to them that sit in darknes and in the shadow of death to direct our feet into the way of Peace Glory be c. Antiph Why seek you the Living among the dead He is risen He is not here He is gloriously ascended and
the Heavens have received Him Alleluja Alleluja O Lord hear our prayers And let our supplications come to thee Let us Pray O God who hast glorify'd our Victorious Saviour with a visibly triumphant Resurrection from the dead and Ascension into Heaven where he sits at thy right hand the Worlds supream Governour and final Judg Grant we humbly beseech thee his Triumphs and Glorys may ever shine in our eyes to make us more clearly and couragiously look thorow his sufferings and assure by his Example our hopes on his promises that if by thy grace we endeavour to live and dye like Him purely for the advance of thy love in our selvs and others Thou wilt raise again our bodies too and conforming them to his glorious body call us up above the clouds and give us possession of thy everlasting Kingdom Through the same our Lord JESUS CHRIST thy Son who with thee and the Holy Ghost lives and reigns One God world without end Amen COMMEMORATIONS For the B. Virgin Antiph And the King sate on his Throne and a Throne was plac'd for the Kings Mother and She sate on his right hand And the King said to her ask on my Mother for I will not deny thee V. Ask thou all Blessings for us O Blessed among Women R. Of thy wombs Blessed Fruit our Lord JESUS O God who hast endow'd the ever Blessed Virgin MARY with all the graces on earth and all the gloryes in heaven worthy the Mother of thy son the Worlds great Redeemer Grant we beseech thee that as we praise and magnifie thy Name for so highly exalting the lowliness of thy Handmaid we may be encourag'd by the confidence of her intercession to hope still more in thy mercy both for pardon of our sins and conduct of our lives and joyful reception into thy everlasting Kingdom through the same our Lord JESUS CHRIST thy Son who with thee and the Holy Ghost lives and reigns One God world without end Amen For the Saints Antiph They seem in the eys of the foolish dead to themselves and all the world but they rest with God in immortal peace and exercise towards us a far greater charity V. Hear thou O Lord their Prayers for us in Heaven R. Who on Earth have taught us to pray O Eternal Father whose holy Spirit by thy blessed Apostles has planted in the world the saving Doctrine of thy Son and water'd it with so much sweat blood of Them and their Followers that it has o'respread the earth and born much fruit to heav'n Most thankfully we praise Thee for the gracious Lives and Deaths of all thy Saints here and the glorious Crowns with which they are rewarded in thy Kingdom where we humbly beseech Thee accept their intercession for us siners applying so home to our harts their Memorys and Merits that we too by thy grace may in some measure live and dy like Them and be crown'd at length with the same blisful rewards through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who with Thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns One God world without end Amen For the Church Antiph Let us in all things grow in Him who is our head Christ from whom the whole body being compact and knit together by every joynt of subministration increases to the edifying it self in charity V. We all are Members of the same Body R. Let us serve and love and pray for one another O God who gatherest thy Flock out of all Nations into the saving Fold of one Catholik Church where thy Providence has ordain'd Bishops and Pastors immediately to feed thy Sheep and Lambs and one Supreme Governour to secure Unity among the rest Bless we beseech thee thy Servant N. who at present sits in the known Chair of St. Peter with all the graces necessary to that highest Office on earth Bless all Bishops and their Clergy with courage and skil and fatherly care to edify and guard their several Charges Bless all the Faithful with a filial love and due obedience to their Superiours that the clearnes of truth and beauty of holines dayly increasing in thy Church through every ones devout pursuance of their dutys all Heresies and Schisms may at length vanish among Christians and all Pagans and Jews be happily won into her sacred bosom the sole Ark of Salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who with Thee and the Holy Ghost lives and reigns one God world without end Amen For the King Antiph Be subject to all in Autority to the King as most excellent and to the Rulers as sent by Him for punishment of the Bad and reward of the Good Be subject for so is the Will of God that by doing well you may stop the mouths of the ignorant and malicious V. Be subject not only for fear R. But for Conscience sake O God by whom alone Kings reign and all kinds and degrees of lawful Magistracy are substituted to provide for the publik Peace among such infinite varieties of humours and interests and by restraining private injurys to remove the impediments of true Charity that so the whole State and each Member may be built up together to their greatest fitness for thy heav'nly Kingdom Preserve we humbly beseech thee and govern by thy grace our Soveraign Lord King Charles endow his royal Person with Wisdom and Courage and all qualities befitting his weighty Office Bless him with fidedelity and diligence in his Ministers and with reverence and obedience in all his Subject that the sword of Justice in his Hand may establish us in peace and plenty to our freer improvement under the Discipline of true vertue and the higher exalting his own Crown in the Kingdom of Eternity through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who with Thee and the Holy Ghost lives and reigns one God world without end Amen O Lord hear our Prayers And let our Supplications come to Thee Bless we our Lord. Thanks be to God May the Souls of the Faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace Amen Pause and meditate a while according to your devotion Then say The Blessing of God Almighty Father Son and holy Ghost descend upon us and dwell in our harts for ever Amen Pause a while then rise And so ends the Morning Office These four Conmemorations are said every day at the end of Lauds Sunday Vespers IN the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Ghost Amen Blessed be the holy and undivided Trinity now and for ever Amen Our Father Hail Mary O God incline unto our aid O Lord make hast to help us Glory be to As it was Alleluja Antiph Glorious things are said of Thee thou 〈◊〉 City of the King of Heav'n Alleluja Psal VIII LEt them O Lord seek other delights who expect no felicity from thee Let them fill up their time with other imployments who think thy rewards not worth their labour As for thy servants our chief content shall be to meditate
sin and a shame that brings glory and grace Accept no person against thy soul not let the respect of any cause thee to fall Reverence not thy neighbour in his offence nor refrain from speaking when there is occasion to do good By no means contradict the truth nor be asham'd to confess thy sins Be not hasty in thy words and remiss and unprofitable in thy deeds Let not thy hand be stretcht out to receive and clos'd to give Be not as a lyon in thy house nor oppress those that are under thee Fear our Lord and the King and with detracters meddle not for their perdition shall suddenly come upon them He that swears much shall be fill'd with iniquity and mischief shall not depart from his house if he deceive his brother his sin shall be upon him if he dissemble he doubles his offence and if he swear in vain he shall not be acquitted Turn away thy face from a woman trimly drest and gaze not at anothers beauty for by the beauty of a woman many have perisht and it inflames concupiscence as a fire Be not at the feast of great drinkers nor at the riotous banquets of those who bring their dishes together to eat for the drunkard and the glutton shall be consum'd and the drowsy cloth'd with rags I past by the field of a slothful man and by the vinyard of a fool and behold it was run over with netles and thorns cover'd its face and the stone wall was destroy'd which when I saw I laid it in my hart and by the example learnt discipline By what things a man sins by the same he shall be tormented R. Blessed O my God be thy Providence for ever which so plentifully furnishes us with rules of vertue and so safely guides all those sould to happines who chuse to live under thy sweet government * As thou hast shewn us the way Lord give us strength to walk in it and bring us in the end to thy eternal rest Make us seriously reflect on every line we read and love the truth when it most reproves us Make us labour to correct every error of our lives and always humbly implore thy gracious assistance * As thou hast Glory be c. * As thou hast Pause As page 17. VVednesday Lauds O God incline c. as page 18. Antiph All my life long will I praise my God and lift up my hands to his holy Throne Psal XLIV LEt them neglect thy praises O Lord who never consider thy mercys Let them be silent to thee O gracious God whose mouths are full of themselves But as for us who subsist by thy gifts * and thankfully acknowledg the riches of thy goodnes Our harts shal continually meditate on Thee and our lips delight to sing thy glory Blessed for ever be thy name O JESU and blessed be the sweetnes of thy Wisdom Whose infinite Charity has vouchsaft our earth * such excellent Rules to guide it to heaven Thou taughtst us that happy skil of finding our lives by a generous losing them to follow Thee Thou taught'st us to love our true selvs best by wisely hating our mistaken selvs Thou taught'st us to trample this world under our feet and use it as a step to climb up to the next From Thee we learn those glorious Mysterys * that exalt our faith so high above reason From thee we derive those Heroick Counsels * that raise our souls so far above nature From thee alone and from thy school of grace * all we know we learn and all we do we receive How long alas might we have wandred here * in the midst of darknes and error Had not thy love and pity O merciful Lord brought down thy very self to become our light Never should we else have learnt to deny our selvs and take up our Cross and follow Thee Never should we have known that great secret of peace to forgive our enemys and do good to those who despitefully use us On the unsatisfying things of this low earth * should we blindly have set our whole affections Hadst thou not told us of the Kingdom of Heav'n and bid us lay up our treasures there Hadst thou not terrify'd us to fear thy wrath by declaring the miserys that attend our sins Hadst thou not invited us to obey thy Commands by proposing the felicitys of a pious life What hast thou promised gracious Lord * to the meek and poor in spirit What hast thou promised to the Weepers here to those that hunger and thirst after holines How many joys has thy bounty prepar'd for the lovers of mercy and the makers of peace How many blessings for the pure of hart and those who with patience bear their Crosses O thou all-seeing Wisdom of the eternal Father * and Soveraign King of Men and Angels Who left'st thy glorious Throne to come down on our earth and familiarly teach us the Oracles of heav'n Write thou these sacred words in the tables of our harts and suffer not at any time our passions to break them Make us stil study Thee our heav'nly Master and continually admire the beauty of thy Law A Law that so clearly shews us our end and so plenteously furnishes means to attain it A Law that so safely cures our infirmitys and so fitly supplys all our defects A Law so exactly conform to true reason and so highly perfective of humane nature A blessed Law that makes even here our life more sweet and leads us herafter to everlasting felicity Glory be c. Psal XLV NEver will we cease to exalt thy Goodnes O JESU since thou never ceasest to oblige us with new Blessings Thy generous charity could not thus be satisfyd to have only spoken to us the words of lif 'T was not enough for thy excessive love that thy heav'nly Sermons told us our duty But thou must urge and provoke our obedience by the sweet inforcement of thine own example Thou forbad'st thy followers to affect superfluitys and thine own provision was a few barly loavs Thou command'st the rich to give alms with cheerfulnes and bestow'st on the poorest wretch even thy precious self Thou bid'st us not fear them that kill the body and yeildest up thine own to the death on the Cross Thou injoyn'st us to love our fiercest Enemys and thy dying breath pray'd for thy Crucifiers Thy perfect Soul needed not as our weak natures * the outward forms and discipline of Religion Yet thou vouchsafed'st to observe the common Feasts and assist at the publique Offices of the Temple To watch and pray and fast with so fervent a zeal that thy practice outdid thine own precepts This life and even death it self our merciful Lord undertook to mark out for us the way to heav'n To beat it plain by his own sacred steps and render our passage thither easy and secure Shal we not then O my Soul rejoycingly follow that path * which we see our Saviour trod before us Which we see though
Glory to Thee O bounteous Lord Who giv'st to all things breath Glory to Thee Eternal VVord VVho sav'st us by thy death Glory O blessed Spirit to Thee Who fill'st our souls with love Glory to all the mystick Three Who reign one God above Antiph This is alas the land of the Dying but we hope to see the glory of God in the land of the Living Psal LXXX PRostrate before thy Tomb O Lord behold we freely confess our misery And in the lowliest posture of afflicted Pilgrims humbly implore thy mercy Peacefully in the grave thy body repos'd and thy soul went triumphing to redeem thy Captives But we alas thy helpless orphans how are we left in the midst of our enemys To how many dangers is our life expos'd with how many tentations are we round besieg'd Tentations in meat tentations in drink tentations in conversing tentations in solitude Tentations in business tentations in leisure tentations in riches tentations in poverty All our ways are strew'd with snares and even our own senses conspire against us Whether O my God shall our poor souls go encompast with a body so frail and a world so corrupt Whether but to Thee the Justifier of sinners and to thy grace the Sustainer of the weak Thy grace instructs us what we ought to do and breeds in us the will to endeavour what we know Thy grace enables us to perform our resolvs and when all 's done thy grace must give the success Govern us with this thy grace O Eternal Wisdom and direct our steps in the safe way Order every chance to prevent our falling and still lead us on towards our happy end Give us the ey and wing of an eagle to see our danger and fly swiftly away If we must needs engage our Enemy and no means left to escape the encounter Strengthen us O Lord to persevere with courage that we never be wanting in our fidelity to Thee Convince us Blessed JESU into this firm judgment and may our memorys faithfully retain it What ever our senses say to deceive us or the world to obscure so beauteous a truth That Thy self alone art our chiefest good and the sight of thy glory our supream felicity Glory be c. Antiph This is alas the land of the Dying but we hope to see the glory of God in the land of the Living Antiph Well done thou good and faithful servant I gave thee two talents and thou hast gain'd two more enter into thy Masters joy Psal LXXXI HAppy are they O Lord who have so much employment that there remains no room for idle thoughts Happy are they who have so litle business that they want not space to attend their souls Happy yet more are they who in the midst of their work * can think somtimes of the wages above Whom nothing diverts from that chief concern * of seeking to make their election sure But while their backs are bow'd down with labor they freely can raise up their minds to heav'n And while they are tyed to their beds with sicknes can yet move on towards their eternal rest Often they rejoyce with themselvs alone and silently say in their contented harts Here we alas are narrowly confin'd and our time entertain'd with trivial affairs But herafter we expect an unbounded enlargement and the same glorious office with the blessed Angels Here we are subject to a thousand miserys and the most prosperous life is vain and short But herafter we expect an infinity of joy and the solid pleasures of heav'n for ever We too O gracious Lord who now adore Thee and in thy presence sing these holy words We humbly pray thee guide us in the middle path that we never decline to any vicious extreme Deliver us from the stormy sea of busines and the dead water of a slothful life Lest we be cast away by forgetting thee or becom corrupted by neglecting our selvs Make us somtimes at least recollect our thoughts how much soever our condition distract us Make us look up with confidence in our God how low soever our afflictions depress us Make us look up to the eternal mountains and feed our souls on this sweet hope The day wil come when out of this dark world * we shal joyfully ascend to that beauteous light The day will come and cannot be far off when we shal rest for ever in the bosom of blyss Glory be c. Antiph Well done thou good and faithful servant I gave thee two talents and thou hast gain'd two more enter into thy Masters joy Antiph Well done thou good and faithful servant I gave thee five talents and thou hast gain'd five more enter into thy Masters joy Psal LXXXII HAppiest of all O Lord are they * whose very business is thy service Who not only bestow an interrupted glance but stedily fix their eys on Thee Who not only visit thy house somtimes but night and day dwel in thy presence If the Sun rise it finds them at their prayers and when it sets leaves them at the same sweet task Every place is a Church to them and every day a holy Sabaoth Every object an occasion of Piety and every accident an exercise of vertue Do they behold the beauteous stars they presently adore their great Creator Do they look down on the fruitful earth they instantly begin to praise his bounty Let War or Peace do what they will and the inconstant world reel up and down They pass through all as unconcern'd and smoothly go on their regular course Looking stil up to that glorious life above and entertaining this present in hope and solitude If they depart somtimes from their proper center and forsake a while their belov'd retirement 'T is to approach and give light to others and enflame some cold or ●●ukewarm hart While they are thus abroad their minds are at home with Thee and nothing can divide them from thy dear presence Yet do they wisely make hast to return and injoy Thee alone in their litle Cell There Thou receiv'st them as familiar friends and freely admit'st them to thy secret sweetnes Thou giv'st them a tast from thine own full board and overflow'st their harts with the wine of gladnes Often they feel a litle beam from heav'n * strike gently and fill their brests with light Often that gentle light is kindled into a flame and chastly burns with pure desires Desires that stil mount up and aim at Thee * the supernatural center of all their hopes O happy state of reverend Discipline free from the cares and tumults of this world Free from the dangerous allurements of sin and perpetually solicited with engagements to vertue Where they seldom fall and quickly rise and make swift advances in the way to heav'n Where they live in purity and dy with confidence and go to sing among the Quires of Angels Blest Providence who govern'st all things in perfect wisdom and assign'st to every one his proper place If Thou hast pleas'd to
sure he knows What 's best with it to do 'T is for our good that all this ill Is suffer'd here below T is to correct those dangerous sweets That else would poyson grow So storms are rais'd to clear the ayr And chase the clouds away So weeds grow up to cure our wounds And all our pains allay How often Lord do we mistake When we our plots design Rule Thou herafter thine own world Only Thy self be mine Or rather Lord let me be thine Else I am not mine own Give me Thy self or take Thou me Undone if left alone To Thee great God of heav'n and earth Each knee for ever bow May all thy Blessed sing above And we adore below Antiph Thou giv'st us tasts of Good here to beget and feed in us an appetite Thou giv'st us but tasts here to draw our affections up to thy self whose fruition alone can fully satisfy us V. Vain and preposterous it is to expect our Port at Sea R. Or to look for a heav'n on earth but in hope O Lord hear our prayers And let our supplications come to Thee Let us pray O Merciful God whose Providence disparages with shortnesses and crosses all the injoyments of this world to allay their temptatiousnes and slacken their hold on our harts grant us grace we beseech Thee wisely to discern and praise Thee for this their most beneficial nature and since we cannot attain Thee the heav'n of heav'ns but by our sole Fixure on Thy self nor be rais'd to That without a sense of dissatisfyingnes in what ever else we do or can possess make us check and overcome the repinings of flesh and blood with juster adorations of Thy infinite mercy for qualifying so fitly this womb of our souls that by its own uneasines it more easily disposes them for a happy birth into thy blessed eternity through our Lord O Lord hear c. as page 45. Saturday Complin OUr help is in c. as page 46. Antiph Too often are we troubled about many things when the truly necessary is but One. Psal LXXXIX REtire O my soul into thine own bosom and search what thou aim'st at in all thy thoughts Where dost thou place thy chief felicity and whither tend thy strongest desires Go to the Great and Prudent of the world and learn of them to chuse thy interests Do they not there increase their estates where they mean to spend most of their life Do they project their Mansion seat * in a country through which they pass as travellers No more my soul should we build our best hopes * on the sandy foundation of this perishable earth Where sure we are we cannot stay long and are not sure we may stay very litle O Thou eternal Being who changest not yet art the cause and end of all our changes Who still remain'st the same rich fulnes in thy Self * the same bright glory to all thy Blessed Teach us O Lord to use this transitory life as Pilgrims returning to their beloved home That we may take what our journy requires and not think of setling in a forrein country But wisely forecast our treasures so to be happy there where we must always be Glory be c. Psal XC NOw thou hast found thy happy end and found it the only Good that lasts for ever Study O my soul to know still more and still more value those immortal joys Strive for so glorious a prize with thy whole force and the utmost strainings of all thy facultys Purchase at any rate that blest inheritance and wiseley neglect even all things else All that divert thee from thy holy course or but retard the speed of thy advance For though the least in the kingdom of heav'n be happy enough where every Vessel is fil'd to the brim yet to enlarge our capacity to the least higher degree * deservs the busiest diligence of our whole life Shall the industious Bee endure no rest but fly and sing and labour all the day Shall the unwearied Ant be running up and down to fetch and carry a few grains of corn And we for whom all nature so faithfully works and tires it self in a perpetual motion For whom the tender providence of God * commands even his Angels to watch and pray For whom the ador'd JESUS came down from heav'n and spent a whole life in continual labours Shall we sleep on in a drowsy sloth and not stir a finger to help our selvs Awake my soul and chide thy sluggish thoughts and let their stupid folly plainly know We have a store to provide as well as Ants and infinitely richer then their poor hoard We have a work to do as well as Bees and infinitely sweeter then all their hony What can so noby enrich an immortal soul * as still to be gathering a stock for eternity What can so highly delight one that every day improves as daily to see the encrease of his hope O blessed hope be thou my chief delight and the only treasure I covet to lay up Be thou the quick'ning life of all my actions and sweet allay of all my sufferings So shall I ne're refuse any meanest labour while I look to receive such glorious wages So shall I ne're repine at any temporal loss whil●● I hope to gain such eternal rewards Glory be c. Psal XCI BUt O 't is not so much our sloth undoes us as the imprudent choice in applying our diligence Many alas take pains enough many perplex themselvs too much See how the busie toylers of the world * are chain'd perpetually like slaves to their work How early they rise and go late to sleep and eat the bread of care and sorrow See how the hardy soldiers follow their Prince * through a thousand difficulties to meet with dangers See how the ventrous Mariners expose their lives * over stormy Seas into barbarous Nations And why all this poor ill-advised wretches but to fetch perhaps a litle fish or spice To gain a few pence or some petty honour which others often share in more then your selvs O bounteous Lord how easie are thy commands how cheap hast thou made the purchase of heav'n Half these pains would make us Saints half these sufferings canonize us for Martyrs Were they devoutly undertaken for Thee and the higher enjoyment of thy glorious promises Thou bidst us not freez under the Polar star nor burn in the heats of the torrid Zone But proposest a sweet and gentle rule and such as our nature it self would chuse Did not our passions strangely mislead us and the world about us distract our reason Thou bidst us but wisely love our selvs and attend above all things our own true happines Thou bidst us value even this world as much as it deservs since 't is the School that breed us up to the Other Only we are forbidden to be wilful fools and prefer a short vanity before eternal felicity O the mild government of the King of heaven this we can
to us Praise him all you Quires of rejoycing Angels whose early grace confirm'd you in glory Praise him you reverend Patriarks whose ways he govern'd and by particular providence led you to felicity Praise him you ancient Prophets whose souls he inspir'd * to teach his chosen People the mind of heav'n Praise him you glorious Apostles whose persons he empowr'd * to be Embassadors of peace betwixt heav'n and earth Praise him you generous Martyrs whose spirits he encourag'd and gave you victory o're the terrors of death Praise him you blessed Confessors whose lives he sanctify'd and gave you victory o're the world and your selvs Praise him you holy Virgins whose souls he espous'd and consecrated your chast bodys into Temples for himself Praise him you faithful departed whose hope he sustains and will at last bring you to full fruition Praise him all you Elect in your several happy states bless him and magnify him for ever Praise him in the power and freedom of his grace praise him in the greatnes and eternity of his glory Praise him O my soul for his mercys to thee praise him for his goodnes to all the world Praise him on thy choicest instrument that of thy hart praise him in thy best words those of the Church Glory be c. Antiph Kindle in our harts O Lord thy holy fire that we may offer to Thee the incense of praise Alleluja Capit. Rom. 8. WE are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh for if you live according to the flesh you shal dy but if by the spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh you shal live For whoever are led by the spirit of God are the sons of God and if sons then heirs heirs truly of God and coheirs of Christ if we suffer with him to be also glorifyed with him Hymn XXXIV COme mild and holy Dove Descend into our brest Do thou in us make us in thee For ever dwel and rest Come and spread o're our heads Thy soft all-cherishing wing That in its shade we safe may sit And to thee praises sing To thee who giv'st us life Our better life of grace Who giv'st us breath and strength and speed To run and win our race If by the way we faint Thou reachest forth thy hand If our own weaknes make us fal Thou mak'st our weaknes stand When we are sliding back Thou dost our danger stop When we again alas are faln Again thou tak'st us up Else there we stil must ly And stil sink lower down Our hope to rise is all from Thee Our ruin's all our own O my ingrateful foul What shal our dulnes do For Him that does all this for us Only our love to woo We 'l love Thee then dear Lord But Thou must give that love We 'l humbly beg it of thy grace But Thou our pray'rs must move O hear thine own self speak For thou in us dost pray Thou can'st as quickly grant as ask Thy grace knows no delay Glory to Thee O Lord One coeternal Three To Father Son and holy Ghost One equal glory be Antiph Come holy Spirit the free Dispenser of all graces visit the harts of thy faithful servants and replenish them with thy sacred inspirations illuminate our understandings and inflame our affections and sanctify all the facultys of our souls that we may know and love and constantly do the things that belong to our peace our everlasting peace Alleluja Alleluja Recite the Canticle Benedictus as page 27. Then repeat this Antiphon c. O Lord hear our prayers And let our supplications come to Thee Let us pray O God who miraculously sent'st down the holy Ghost to supply the absence of thy Son and comfort his hartless Followers and instruct them in all things necessary to their great work the conversion of the world Grant we humbly beseech thee that our devout commemorating those fiery tongues which sate on each of their heads and produced such glorious effects may increase the fervour of our harts to continue and attest by all fruits of grace the same spirits stil abiding with us through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who with Thee in the unity of the same blessed Spirit lives and reigns one God world without end Amen Commemorations c. as page 29. Vespers for the holy Ghost IN the name c. as Pag. 33. Antiph We are not our own but the temples of the holy Ghost let us dedicate our selvs entirely to his service Psal CXII COme let us now again prepare our harts and humbly offer this our evening sacr●●ce Let us clear our heads of all other thoughts that fil us at best with nothing but emptines Let us remember our God is a pure Spirit and delights to dwel in a clean tabernacle He wil not enter a soul that 's subject to ●●in nor stay where he finds his grace neglected If he vouchsafe us the blessing of a visit and O how heav'nly sweet and ravishing is his presence Let us open wide our bosoms to receive him and summon all our powers to come and entertain him Come my understanding and bring all thou know'st all that enlightens thee in the way to felicity Come my Wil and call in all thy loves and contract them into one and setle it here for ever Come my Memory with all thy swarm of notions and forget them all but what concerns thy eternity Come my whole Soul with these thy facultys about thee and prostrate adore the eternal Spirit Behold he now is with us and sits in our harts as on his throne * to receive our petitions and give us his blessings He never will forsake us if we chace him not away but guide and comfort us with his holy inspirations Come then and with devoutest reverence attend and hear what the Lord our God wil say He leads us thus into retirement and silence and there familiarly speaks to our heart Tel me O you design'd for everlasting happines tel me now freely for none shall interrupt us What do you chiefly delight to think on and what do you aim at in all those thoughts Consider wel the question I propose and when you have examined your selvs give me your answer O thou our merciful though offended God! behold thus low we bow our guilty heads Blushing for shame to see our folly and so much the more because we see our duty Happy were we could we still be thinking on Thee and raise all those thoughts into desires to be with thee Happy were we could we always feel those fervours * of which somtimes thou inspirest a litle spark O were that spark kindled into a fire and that fire blown up into a continual flame But we alas are hot and cold by fits and which is worse our cold fit is the longer Some few half hours we spend in pray'r and many whole days in idlenes and vanity Somtimes we bestow a litle on the poor and often throw away a
in peace and go up to dwel among thy Saints and Angels bless us O Lord with a holy life and then our death cannot but be happy * O make Glory be c. O make Te Deum as Page 16. Lauds for Saints O God incline as Page 18. Antiph The Just shal be as lillys planted in Paradise Alleluja and flourish in the presence of God for ever Alleluja Psal CXIX COme le ts all bring forth our Psalms and go together to the house of Praise There let us meet in peace and love and joyn our harts and voices into one glad song Come let us sing but who shal be our theme what worthy subject shal our Musick chuse No 't is not Conquerours we mean to admire nor any of the Great Ones whom the world applauds But You Blest Spirits who bravely overcame your selvs and led in triumph your own passions Who either wisely us'd this world or to be safer us'd it not at all You are the illustrious worthies we desire to praise * and guild our hymus with your bright names Yours are the only Trophys we delight to set up and beautify our Churches with your holy Pictures Sing then aloud my Soul the glorys of the Saints and let their sacred memorys be always in thine Rejoyce thou who feelst these miserys here * and often complain'st of the dangers of this life Rejoyce at their glad delivery from all these sorrows and hartily congratulate their secure felicity Rejoyce and with thy best instructed thoughts admire * the exquisite wisdom of the divine Providence Who from such low beginings can raise so great effects yet every step thrust naturally on the next Behold a litle seed that 's buryed in the earth * shoot gently out its tender leav●● And nourisht on with the clouds and Sun * climb up by degrees into a tall stalk There it displays its full blown hope and crowns its own head with a silver lilly Such is the progres of immortal souls even those who shine now among the highest Seraphins At first shu●● up in their mothers womb where they ly confin'd close prisoners in the d●●rk Thence they come forth to see and h●●ar and slowly begin to walk and spek Next they advance to understand and discourse then learn to fly with the wings of grace Til they get up even beyond themselvs and believe and live above their own nature At last the kindly hand of death gives them a stroke and they instantly become like the glorious Angels Instantly their dark and narrow knowledg unfolds it self and spreads into a clear and spacious view Where they at once shal see all the glorys of heav'n at once possess and for ever injoy them Thus from the humble seed of grace connaturally spring the flowers of glory And from this life 's green stem of hope * grow just on the top of the Lillys of Paradise Lillys that never fade but stil shine on and fil the heav'ns with their beauteous sweetnes Lillys that even Salomon in all his glory * was not array'd like one of these Sing then my soul but stil among thy Hymns * mingle resolvs to imitate their lives Those are the Lauds most deligh●●ful to Them whose charity rejoyces at the conversion of a sinner Those are the Feasts most profitable to thee whose weaknes needs the impressions of example Learn but of them to be humble and meek to submit all thy wishes to the Will of heav●● To govern thy senses by a rule of reason and thy reason by the dictates of Religion To design thy whole life in order to thy end and establish for thy end the blyss of eternity These holy Lessons let thy life transcribe and never fear their acceptance of thy praise Saints like our service best when our honoring them * becomes an occa●●ion of benefiting our selvs Glory be c. Antiph The Just shal be as lillys planted in Paradise Alleluja and flourish for ever in the presence of God Alleluja Antiph Rejoyce O you Holy and Just Alleluja for our Lord has chosen you for his own inheritance Alleluja Psal CXX O Praise our Lord all you powers of my soul praise the immortal King of Saints and Angels Praise him as the Author of all their graces praise him as the Finisher of all their glorys Praise him in the admirable priviledges of his Virgin-Mother whom he obeyed on earth and assum'd into heav'n That he might give us hope our petitions will be heard presented by the hand of so powerful an Advocate Praise him in the mighty hosts of Angels whom he sets about us as the Guard of our lives That they may safely keep us in all our ways and carry us at last to their own home Praise him in the sacred Colledg of Apostles to whom he reveal'd the mysterys of his Kingdom That they might teach us too those heavenly truths and shew us the same best way to felicity Praise him in the generous fortitude of Martyrs whom he strengthen'd with courage to resist even to death That we might learn of them to hold fast our faith and rather lose this life then hazard the Other Praise him in the eminent fanctity of Confessors whose whole design was a course of heroick Vertue That we might raise our minds from our usual lazy flight and with a quick and active wing mount up towards heav'n Praise him in the Angelical purity of Virgins whose harts he enflam'd with his divine charity That they might kindle ours with the same chast fire the same fe●●vent love to the spouse of our souls Praise him in the perfect holines of all his Saints whose lives he moulded into so various shapes That every size of ours might readily be furnisht * with a pattern cut out and fitted for it self O praise our Lord all you powers of my soul praise the immortal King of Saints and Angels Praise every Person of the sacred Deity and give a harty joy to the whole court of heaven Blessed for ever be the Eternal Father who has fixt his Angels in so high a happines Triumph bright Angels on your radiant thrones and shine continually in the presence of your God Blessed for be ever the Eternal Son who has crown'd so gloriously his incomparable Mother Live most miraculous Mother of the King of heaven and dwel perpetually in the joys of thy Son Blessed for ever be the Eternal Spirit whose grace prefers all the Saints into glory Rejoyce every happy Saint in your own felicity rejoyce every one in the felicity of All. Blessed for ever be the undivided Trinity whose sight alone is the heaven of heaven Sing all you holy Citizens of heaven sing all together everlasting hymns Sing and among your highest fervours forget not us who thus in our low way remember you Still pray our dear Redeemer to save our souls and still we 'l praise his Name for saving yours Glory be c. Antiph Rejoyce O you Holy and Just Alleluja for our Lord
has chosen you for his inheritance Alleluja Antiph Perpetual light shall shine on thy Saints O Lord Alleluja and joy and glory for ever Alleluja Psal CXXI BUt who are we born here below in the dust and still kept down with the thoughts of this world Lord who are we that our polluted hands * dare offer to Thee the incense of praise We who so often disobey thy commands and so seldom weep for our many follys Forgive great God our boldnes who thus rashly presume forgive our frailtys who thus weakly perform Plead our excuse O you glorified Spiritis and with your flaming charity warm our coldnes O praise our Lord you pure unblemisht Angels * who never displeas'd him with the least offence Praise him O you freely pardon'd Saints who perfectly repented every litle trespass Praise him with the highest Office of all your Feasts praise him with the loudest musick of all your Quires And so they do look up my soul and see * the innumerable multitude of triumphing Spirits See how they stand all cloth'd in white robes with palms in their hands and golden crowns on their heads Behold the glorious Angels fall down before the Throne and prostrate adore Him that lives for ever Behold the blessed Saints lay their Crowns at his feet and on their faces adore Him that lives for ever Hark how they fill that spacious Temple with their Hymns * while night and day they continually sing Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come Alleluja Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Hosts heav'n and earth are full of thy glory Alleluja Glorious art Thou in creating all things glorious in preserving them every moment of their being Glorious in governing them their several ways glorious in appointing them their proper ends Glorious in rewarding thy servants above their hopes glorious in punishing sinners below their demerits Glorious art Thou O Lord in all thy works but infinitely more in thine own self-blessed Essence Thus they rejoyce above thus they triumph and may their joy and triumph last for ever But O were we not made as wel as they ** to serve and glorify our great Creator We ow him all we have and they can ow no more they can but do their best and we should do no less Your pardon blessed spirits if we worms aspire to sing the same bright name which you adore We are ingag'd as deep as You but cannot pay without your charity O in your golden Censers put our prayers and offer them perfum'd with the odours of yours Though we are now alas in this land of banishment and indispos'd for those Songs of Sion Yet 't is our hope one day to dwel above and hear your holy harps and learn to sing of You We hope to walk with you those ways of light and follow the Lamb with you where're He goes Mean while we every day will joyn our Vow●● to Yours and say a glad Amen to all You sing We as Your faithful Ecchoes will every day repeat * these few short Ends of Your Seraphik Hymns Salvation to our God who sits on the Throne and to the Lamb that redeem'd us with his blood Alleluja Blessing and Wisdom and Power be to Him that sits on the Throne and to the Lamb for all eternity Alleluja Glory be c. Antiph Perpetual light 〈◊〉 shine on thy Saints O Lord Alleluja and joy and glory for ever Alleluja Capit. Apoc. 7. AFter these things I saw a great multitude which no man could number of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues standing before the Throne and in the sight of the Lamb cloth'd in white robes and palmes in their hands And they cry'd with a loud voice saying Salvation to our God who sits on the Throne and to the Lamb. And all the Angels stood in the Circuit of the Throne and of the Seniors and of the four Beasts and they fell in the sight of the Throne upon their faces and ador'd God saying Amen Benediction and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving honour and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever Amen Hymn XXXVII WAke all my hopes lift up your eys And crown your heads with mirth See how they shine beyond the skys Who once dwelt on our earth Peace busy thoughts away vain cares That clog us here below Let us go up above the Sphears And to each order bow Hail glorious Angels Heirs of light The high-born Sons of fire Whose heats burn chast whose flames shine bright All joy yet all desire Hail holy Saints who long in hope Long in the shadow sate Til our victorious Lord set ope Heav'ns everlasting gate Hail great Apostles of the Lamb Who brought that early Ray Which from our Sun reflected came And made our first fair day Hail generous Martyrs whose strong harts Bravely rejoyc't to prove How weak pale death are all thy darts Compar'd to those of love Hail Blessed Confessors who dy'd A death too love did give While your own flesh You crucify'd To make your spirit live Hail beauteous Virgins whose chast vows Renounc't all fond desires Who wisely chose your Lord for Spouse And burnt with his pure fires Hail all you happy Spirits above Who make that glorious ring About the sparkling Throne of love And there for ever sing Hail and among your Crowns of praise Present this litle wreath Which while your lofty Notes you raise We humbly sing beneath All glory to the sacred Three One ever-living Lord As at the first stil may he be Belov'd obey'd ador'd Antiph The number of Them was thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and divinity and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and benediction Alleluja Alleluja Alleluja O Lord hear our Prayers And let our Supplications come to Thee Let us pray MOst gracious God the author of all sanctity and Lover of unity whose wisdom has establisht an admirable communion between thy Church Triumphant in heav'n and Militant on earth as members of the same mystical Body wherof thy Son Christ Jesus is the head mercifully grant that as thy Blessed without ceasing pray to Thee for us we may continually praise Thee for them and in correspondence to their perfect charity with pious observance celebrate their Memory till-we all meet before thy glorious throne and with one hart adore the Saviour of us all who with Thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns one God world without end Amen Commemorations c. as page 29. Vespers for Saints IN the Name c. as page 33. Antiph Pity O Lord the infirmitys of thy servants and quicken our slownes by the example of thy Saints Psal CXXII LOrd what a lukewarm life is this of ours compar'd to the zeal and fervor of thy Saints Often and long they fasted to chastize their bodys and bring them under the command of reason On all their senses they set a constant