evermore let no appalements disturb me keep me from Fire Storms Tempests Thieves sudden Death and Danger cause thine Angels to pitch their Tents round about me my House and Habitation and preserve all that is near and dear unto me Here name your particular Friends REMEMBER thy Church and every Member of it have pity on the poor afflicted Protestants in all parts beyond the Seas who suffer for the Testimony of their Faith and a good Conscience send them help from thy Holy place and evermore mightily defend them be unto them a Sun and a Shield a Sun to Comfort and a Shield to defend them to all Dangers and Tribulations put a period unto all their afflictions and in â—hy good time vouchsafe them a happy Deliverance Lord receive them and me and all that appertain unto me this Night and for ever into thy Gracious protection through the Mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Meditations for Saturday THE great Creator this day rested from all his Work which he had made and blessed it O Lord grant that after this painful life is ended I may enjoy a comfortable rest with thee in Heaven where I may keep an eternal Sabbath and hold a perpetual Feast there will be rest without Labour tranquillity without Molestation and joys without End There my Soul wilt thou behold a Glorious City the Streets of Gold the Gates of Pearl and the Foundations garnished with all sorts of precious Stones I SHALL behold thee the Father in thy Majesty Christ thy Son in his Glory the Spirit in his Sanctity the Arch-Angels and Angels in their Exceilency and the Saints in their Felicity then shall I no more hunger labour nor travel I shall no more fear grieve nor desire I shall want no more an earthly House for the Heaven of Heavens shall be my Habitation God will be my Temple and the Lamb that shineth for ever shall enlighten me LORD let the hope and expectation of this eternal rest and felicity sweeten all my labours and ease my torments let it mitigate my afflictions and comfort my spirits that I faint not in my Journey nor be depressed under my burden but hold on cheerfully and valiantly till I arrive at the Land of Promise and there receive the Lot of mine Inheritance with the Saints in light for evermore Amen A Prayer for Saturday Morning MOST Gracious God sanctifie I humbly beseech thee this day unto me and my self now and ever unto thy service thy Mercies O Lord they are new every Morning and therefore my Thanks ought every day to be a new repeated I praise thy holy Name for keeping me this Night past unto this present hour and moment and hast now brought me unto the last day of the Week grant that I may spend the same soberly righteously and holily BRING me to the knowledge of thy Blessed Will in all things that I may endeavour to perform the same to thy Glory the peace of my Conscience and the preservation of my own Soul purge and cleanse my Heart and Conscience from all dead Works that I may serve thee the living God for evermore Be thou my Guide in all my ways my stay and support in all my necessities put an end to the motions of the Flesh enlarge my Heart for all pious Duties and habitual Graces of thy Spirit that I may bring forth the Fruits of them in my Life and Conversation BLESS the Kingdom wherein I inhabit and thy holy Catholick Church whereof I am an unworthy Member bless thy Servants and our dear Lord and Lady King William and Queen Mary as thou hast Crowned them with a Temporal Crown here so in thy due time give them a Crown of Glory hereafter Bless Katherine the Queen Dowager her Royal Highness the Princess Ann of Denmark with the rest of the Royal Family Bless all persons whether dignified or distinguished from the swayer of the Scepter to the drawer of Water have mercy upon all sick persons Women travelling with Child and those who are troubled in Body Mind or Estate O Lord speak peace unto their Consciences and as thou hast laid laid them down with the one hand so raise them up with the other if not to this life to life eternal for the Merits and Mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord Amen A Prayer for Saturday Evening O GOD the maker and preserver of all things look down with thy eye of pity and compassion upon me a miserable sinner I here prostrate my self Soul and Body before thy Divine Majesty beseeching thee in much mercy to pardon my sins to Sanctifie me with thy grace and to bring me to thy glory That so my Soul may be refreshed with such things as Eye hath not seen Ear hath not heard nor hath it entered into the heart of Man to conceive ENTER not into Judgment with thy Servant O Lord for in thy sight shall no Flesh living be justified Examine not my wayes this Week past by the strickt rule of thy Law neither reward me in the severity of thy Justice But have Mercy upon me a miserable offender that have deserved the sharpest of thy Judgments but as the Heavens are higher than the Earth so is thy Mert cy over all thy Works of and great exten to poor Sinners SATISFIE my Soul with thy Mercy and that right soon so shall I rejoyce and be-glad in thee and learn to praise thee Evermore And now O Lord as this Week is ended so let my Sins be ended and never be repeated again any more Be pleased to be my merciful protector and preserver from all perils and dangers this Night Refresh my Body with quiet rest that my mind may be chearful and be fit to serve thee in Sanctifying thy Sabbath and keeping it as a glorious day unto thee through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Meditations on the Lords Supper HOW can I approach so divine a banquet and not by an humble confession wash my hands in innocency holy things must not be given to Dogs nor Pearls cast before Swine What is so holy as the Body and blood of Christ and what Pearl so precious as this Sacrament There is no Dog so filthy or Sow so unclean as I am by Nature but with great detestation of my Rebellious Corruptions I confess that never Dog so often returned to his Vomit nor Sow to her wallowing in the mire as I have to the sink of Sin and mire of sensual filthiness O WASH my hands in purity cleanse my Mouth and purge my Heart that I may take with a pure Hand eat with an undefileth mouth and keep in a faithfull heart this bread of life and food of Angels give me grace throughly and sincerely to examine my self and grant that after Examination I may find my desire fervent my knowledge Competent my Sorrow for Sin unfeigned my purpose of amendment sled fait my love sincere and my Faith lively AND finding my self thus apparelled in a wedding garment let me be found of thee
Days Grace and Vertue and guide my Feet in the way of peace Amen A Prayer for a Young Man or Maid MOST gracious God vouchsafe to me thy Heavenly Grace now and at all times more especially in this most dangerous part of my Life when the heat of Youth and many temptations do surround me O preserve me I beseech thee as the apple of thine Eye and though the flesh strives against the Spirit yet do thou exercise thy power and strengthen my imbecillity Stifle Sin in me at the beginning that it arise not up to a habit and prevent in me all evil and unworthy thoughts against thy Divine Majesty O LORD I recommend unto thee my Soul as a Child that can of it self do nothing defend me from all enemies Spiritual and Temporal keep my Soul and Body pure chast and undefiled that I offend not either in thought word or deed Give me grace O Lord to obey my Parents and those to whose tuition I am committed and grant that if thou shalt be pleased to call me to the honourable estate of Matrimony I may be joyned with one with whom I may serve thee in peace and holiness all the dayes of my Life Amen A Prayer for a Servant O HOLY and blessed Lord God who tookest upon thee the form of a Servant and wast obedient unto death even the death of the Cross that thou mightest work the Salvation of all people as well bond as free thou hast been pleased to call me to the State and Condition of a Servant below many others in the world O make me humbly submit to it and alwayes praise and magnifie thy holy Name that thou hast given me Health and strength of Body to perfrom my Duty LORD cast forth all murmurings and repinings in me and all Envy at the prosperity of others Endue me with meekness and humility and deliver me from the slavery of Sin that I may be made a Servant of Righteousness teach me to understand my duty and to reverence those whom I serve accounting them worthy of that honour which appertains to them Preserve me from Pride unseemly passions or disrespectfull behaviour towards my Superiors quicken my diligence in businesse and grant that whatever I shall take in hand I may not do it with Eye Service but in singleness of heart and obtain thy Grace and favour for Evermore Amen A Prayer for the fruits of the Earth MOST gracious God thy Works are to be wondered at through the World thou makest the grass to grow for the Cattel and Herb for the service of Man Thou bringest forth food out of the Earth and blessest the encrease of it look down O Lord I beseech thee upon all the dwellers upon earth wherein we inhabit That our Land may become fruitful and yield forth plenty in its proper Season And O thou who openest thy hand and fillest all things Living with good things fill our hearts with wisdome and all Christian vertues that we may bring forth abundantly the fruit of good works to the honour and glory of thy holy Name And as thou Crownest the Year with thy goodness and thy Clouds drop fatness So grant that we may evermore praise thee for all thy Mercies from whom cometh every good and perfect gift to whom be ascribed all honour power and glory now and forever Amen A Praier for Seasonable Weather O LORD God who for our sins art justly displeased at us and dost now chastise us by keeping back thy rain from watering the Earth whereby we are in danger of losing the diligent labour of our hands Pardon O Lord we humbly beseech our high provocations and accept of our hearty and true Repentance and favourably and Mercifully forgive all our transgressions committed against thee SHOWER down again thy blessings of Rain upon the Earth and water it O Lord that it may be softened and replenished But let not immoderately the Floods overflow us nor the Seed be spoiled under the Clod But let thy loving kindness renw the face of the Earth ' and make the green Pastures rejoyce Hearken unto the Cry of the Poor and Needy and though we eat our Bread in the sweat of our Face yet punish us not with the Scarcity of it which is the Staff and Support of our Lives Lord prosper all our labours and let us with moderation enjoy the fruit of it this we beg for thy Sons sake our blessed Lord and Saviour Amen A Thanksgiving after a good Havest WE Bless and praise thy holy Name O Lord for sending us Rain from Heaven and fruitful Seasons whereby thou hast filled our hearts with Food and gladness Thou hast made the Grass to grow upon the Mountains and given Food to the Beasts of the field and hast filled us with the finest of the Wheat flower thou hast given Seed to the Sower and Bread to the Eater and hast loaded the Earth with thy bounty that our Barns might be filled BLESSED for ever art thou O Lord and magnified be thy Name for these and all others this benefits which thou from time to time hast bestowed upon us O that our hearts may overflow with love and our Tongues with expressions of thankfulness to thee grant that we may never forget nor abuse thy loving kindness towards us but by a sober and charitable use of these thy Mercies we may be made fit for a continual supply of them and at the last be made heirs of thy glorious Kingdom Amen A Prayer for a Woman with Child O GOD the Creatour and preserver of all things who in the beginning didst place mankind in unspeakable happiness and had there continued had not our first Parents broke thy Divine precepts given them in Paradise So that the Earth for their sakes was accursed and unto us the Daughters of Eve for our transgressions thou hast alotted most grievous pains and torments of Body in bringing forth Children LORD extend unto me and to all Women thy Mercy mitigate the torments thereof that we may be able patiently to endure the pains of our travell at the hour appointed And make that easie and light to us which our defects have made heavy and burdensome and that wherewith I am now laden may graciously be delivered from my frail Body and send us all good Lord a safe deliverance that we may be made joyful and happy Mothers VOUCHSAFE unto me and to all that have conceived with child strength to bring forth that which thine omnipotency hath so wonderfully wrought in us in our greatest perils O Lord help us and mightily deliver us let thy powâ—r might and Love be no less manifest en the delivery then in the forming of thiy Creature that being through thy goodness made a joyfull Mother I may obtain my perfect strength again and live to praise thee for evermore Amen A Prayer for a Woman near the time of her Travel O GOD most holy the speedy helper of all those who relie upon thee by thy almighty power I
and Lightning Storms and Tempestuous Weather or any other danger that may dismay me To thee O Lord I commend my Body and Spirit to dispose of me according to thy holy Will and Pleasure if thou art pleased to call for my life upon the surface of the Waters I know thy Almighty Word can command the Sea to give up her Dead at the last and great audit BUT if thou hast determined to bring me safe to my desired Haven give me thy Grace which is sufficient for me to walk according to thy holy Will in all things make me to lay hold of eternal Life which as the Anchor of Hope is both sure and stedfast keep me from all temptations Ghostly and Bodily and from sudden Death and in thy good time bring me to the Land of the Living there to reign with thee for evermore Amen A Thanksgiving after a Voyage O IMMORTAL God I have seen thy Works O Lord and thy Wonders in the Deep thou spakest the Word and the stormy Wind arose which lifted up the Waves thereof but when we cried unto thee thou madest the Storm to cease so that the Waves thereof were still then did we rejoyce because we were at rest and thou broughtest us safe to that Haven where we would be O that men would therefore praise thee O Lord for thy Goodness and declare the Wonders thou dost continually for them I BLESS thy holy Name for conducting me through those many dangers which encompassed me and praise thy Mercy that the Deep hath not swalloyed me up and that I am not gone down into the place of Silence I also praise thy holy Name and admire thy loving Kindness towards me that thou hast not delivered up my Body and Goods as a prey into the hands of unreasonable Men but hast brought me to my desired Haven and at last hath returned me back in safety to my Habitation O LET me never forget to pay those vows I made to thee when I was in trouble but give me an awful sense and apprehension of thy great power and possess my Soul with a true reverence of thy Divine Majesâ—y that I may evermore serve thee in holiness and Righteousness all the dayes of my Life Endue me with thy holy Spirit that I may become acceptable in thy sight and may be fitted at lenght for future Glories this I beg for thy Son Jesus Christ sake my only Saviour Amen A Prayer in a Storm O LORD our God thou hast commanded us in the day of Calamity to call upon thy Name and thou hast promised to hear us Lord I fly unto thee who art a sure refuge thy Flood-gates are opened and the Floods lift up their lofty waves But thou O Lord most high art mightier than the noise of many Waters yea than the mighty Waves of the Sea Thou canst in a moment if it stand with thy Divine will and pleasure rebuke the Winds and the Sea and this Storm into a Calm I KNOW I justly deserve to be cast away and utterly to be rejected by thee but Lord save us or else we perish accept of my unfeigned Sorrow for all my sins and trangressions and endue me with a stedfast resolution to forsake them be merciful unto us O God be merciful unto us and save us from perishing in these deep Waters O refresh us with thy Mercy and that soon lest we go down into the place of silence O comfort us in this great distress that though the Sea rage and swell our hearts may be quiet and still in this time of our disconsolation AND as I earnestly desire to be protected from this great Peril and danger which now terrifies us so I earnestly beseech thee that thou wilt for ever fill my heart with such an awful dread of thy Majesty that I may fear thy Name and praise thy power in the great Congregation awake my dull and drousie Soul from the sloth of Sin and renew a right Spirit within me fill me with the gifts and Graces of thy holy Spirit that I may live the life of the Righteous and never forget thy loving kindness save us now from death I beseech thee from the merciless Waves who are now ready to swallow us up and bring us home in safety for thy Son Jesus Christ his sake our only Lord and Saviour Amen A Thanksgiving after a Storm I PRAISE and glorifie thy holy Name O Lord for all thy mercies and blessings vouchsafed unto me especially for this thy last great Deliverance wherein I was encompassed in that wide Ocean whom thou hast set bounds and limits to if thou O Lord hadst not been on my side the Sea had swallowed me up quick and I had gone down into the deep of silence but thou hast been my God and my deliverer and hast put a new Song into my Mouth even a Song of Praise and Thanksgiving unto my God I ACKNOWLEDG O Lord that thou art the God of all the Earth and of them that remain in the broad Sea Blessed for ever and magnified be thy Name that thou hast not cast me out of thy sight nor turned thy Mercy from me I have escaped thy raging Sea and the noise of the proud Waves have done me no harm if thy Almighty providence had not protected me the Streams had gone over my Soul But the stormy wind and Tempest I have narrowly escaped the storm is ceased and I am safely delivered AND now what shall I render to thee O Lord for this and all other thy great benefits I will offer up unto thee the Sacrifice of thanksgiving and will pay those vows I so solemnly made unto thee when I was in trouble I will evermore remember that my help is in the Lord who made Heaven and Earth and that thou art that God that can and will deliver me let this thy mercy and loving-kindness never depart my memory but let me praise thy goodness and sing of thy power unto my lives end Amen A Prayer in time of Thunder and lightning O MOST mighty and terrible Lord God before whom the Earth shakes and the Heavens drop at thy presence thou overturnest the mountains by the roots and removest them in thy anger thou dost great things and thy wayes are past finding out yea thou dost wonders without number Thy voice O Lord is very powerful full of Majesty that it rends the Air and casts forth flames of Fire Thou canst O Lord at this time tear us in pieces and none can be able to deliver us for there is none but thee alone that delivers after this sort O WHO would not dread thy All-glorious Name O Lord Who would not stand in awe of thy Majesty Who would not fear thy Judgments when thou shoots forth thy Arrows of Thunder and Lightning It is of thy meer Mercy O Lord that we are not at this time consumed but that thy tender compassions fail not toward us poor but miserable Sinners the blast of the breath of thy
the Children of Men thou hast provided all Creatures the Fowls of the Air Fish in the Sea and Beasts of the Field to furnish his Table cloath his Nakedness and serve his Necessities The Earth thou Createdst to sustain him the Waters to wash and cool him the Air to breath him the Fire to warm him the Flowers to refresh him the Herbs to cure him the Fruits to nourish him the Mines to enrich him the precious Stones to adorn him and the glorious Luminaries of Heaven the Sun and the Moon to light him the one in the Day and the other in the Night and both to measure his time to direct his Husbandry to divert him in his Peregrinations to ripen his Fruits and to encrease his Stores I CANNOT plead Ignorance of thy Deity for the Heavens declare thy Glory and the Firmament sheweth thy Handy-work I cannot pretend Ignorance of thy Law for thou hast put thy Word into my Mouth and written thy Law in my Heart nor I cannot affirm that I never heard of the Light of thy Gospel for the Light came into the World and shined in the Darkness and the Darkness comprehended it not but Men love darkness rather than light because their Deeds are evil FOR which thou mightest most justly have cast us into utter Darkness where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of Teeth but there is mercy with thee that thou maist be feared there is Balm in Gilead to cure our deadly Wounds there is Unction in Christ and Salvation in Jesus out of his precious side he opened to all the Inhabitants of the Earth a Fountain for Sin and all Uncleanness whereby we might be Purified even as he is pure A Prayer for Wednesday Morning O ETERNAL God who art of Infinite Majesty look down from Heaven the Habitation of thy Holiness upon me thy unworthy Servant thou art a God of Power and canst relieve me of Goodness and wilt in thy good time mercifully help me O Lord the Fountain of thy Mercy can never be dryed up nor the Merits of my Saviour diminished O therefore Bath my Soul in them that being Sanctified and Justified I may appear in thy sight more pure and white than the Snow in Salmon I BLESS thy Name for keeping me this Night past and bringing me to the beginning of this Day let thy Eyes always attend upon me prosper preserve cherish guide and govern me in all my Studies Actions and Employments so that I may spend this day and the remainder of my life according to thy blessed Will Grant O Lord that whatever I do it may be acceptable in thy sight to the Glory of thy most Holy Name the peace of my Conscience and the Salvation of my own Soul TO this end be thou O Lord my God and my Guide my Protector and Defender Keep me unspotted of the World teach me to deny Ungodliness and Worldly Lusts and to live Soberly towards my self Righteously towards my Neighbour and Piously towards thee my God repenting truly of my Sins and serving thee in holiness and righteousness all my daies that in life thou mayst be my God in death my deliverer and after death my Eternal rewarder Amen A Prayer for Wednseday Night O MOST glorious God I do here at this time with the good Samaritan return to give thee thanks for all thy Mercies and Blessings bestowed on my soul and body in things Spiritual and temporal for my Election before all time my Creation in the beginning of time and my Redemption in the fulness of time I praise and glorifie thee for thy preservation of me this day and that thou hast yet spared me and hast given me Liberty and a gracious opportunity once more to call upon thee LORD I acknowledge and confess that thou mightest have taken me away in the midst of my Sins and in the very act of Committing them but thou hast dealt more merciful with me Keep me O Lord this Night from fear and danger and from all noysome Dreams and from all hinderances of sweet repose which thou hast appointed for the refreshing of wearied Nature SEAL unto me a full and a free Pardon of all my Sins of what Nature or quality soever they be whether they be Sins of omission or Commssion of knowledg ignorance weakness or wilfulness O Lord deal not with me according to the magnitude and multitude of them but for thine infinite Mercies blot them out of thy Book of remembrance and Cast them out of thy sight into the bottomless Sea of thy Compassion that they may never rise in this Life to shame me nor in the Life to come to Condemn me Amen Meditations for Thursday LOrd Teach me of what Spirit I am or should be even of that which descended upon thy Son in the likeness of a Dove without gall By this Spirit mortifie in me the Lusts and affections of the Flesh such as envy wrath and revenge by the still small voice in which thou discoursest with Elias let me obâ—erve that thou art not in the fire of my rage nor in the storm of my Passion but in the soft gale of Grace Thou didst on this day replenish the Sea and Rivers with Fish and the Ayr with Fowls in Shapes admirably various and in number almost infinite stir me up by this Consideration to admire thy power and Wisdom in thus enriching this vast and seeming solitude BLESSED Lord who this day madest the Waters fruitful let thy Spirit move upon the waters of my Tears that they may abound in the fruits of Repentance and be blessed in the encrease of Spiritual Consolation This day thou Commandest the Fowls to fly through the Ayre lift up my Soul from ths Earth with the wings of Faith and hope that She may mount up towards Heavenâ— Make me light and cheerful after my heavy Sorrows and afflictions and though I have been as if I had layen among the Pots yet I may be by the Grace of thy Spirit like that Dove whose wings are Silver and her feathers like Gold FOR my light and momentary Afflictions are no way worthy the Glory that shall be revealed unto me hereafter And for the present what are Afflictions or Crosses or Persecutions but the common lot of thy Children when I am thus chastned I am Judged of thee that I may not be Condemned of the World How can I ever forget thee who rememberest me at all times and in all places Amen A Prayer for Thursday Morning O LORD God who dwellest in that light which no mortal Eye can approach yet beholdest in Mercie the Sons and Daughters of Men thou makest the outgoings of the Morning full of thy Glory and causest the Sun to shine upon the just and the unjust mercifully chasing away the darkness of the Night and shadow of Death I praise thy holy Name that thou hast vouchsafed me to pass this Night in rest and quietness and hast brought me safe to the beginning of this day I HUMBLY beseech