is able to succor them that are Tempted Heb. 2. 17 18. He can have compassion on or reasonably bear as in the Margin with the Ignorant and those that are out of the way Heb. 5. 2. He will not break the bruised Reed nor quench the Smoaking Flax. Isa. 42. 3. 3. The acceptableness of an Humble Spirit THe humble Publican stood afar off would not so much as lift up his Eyes to Heaven but smote upon his Breast saying God be mercyful to me a Sinner I tell you this Man went down to his House justified rather than the other for every one that Exalteth himself shall be abased and he that Humbleth himself shall be Exalted Luke 18. 13 14. To this Man will I look even to him that is Poor and of a Contrite Spirit and Trembleth at my word Isa. 66. 2. I dwell with him that is of a Conâ—rite and humble Spirit to revive the Spirit of the humble and to revive the Heart of the Contriâ—e ones Isa. 57. 15. He healeth the Broken in Heart and bindeth up their Wounds Psal. 147. 3. 4. Of Peace and Hope and Joy in God PEace I leave with you my Peace I give unto you John 14. 27. These things have I spoken unto you that in me you might have Peace John â—6 33. Herein is our Love made Perfect that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment Perfect Love casteth out fear because â—ear hath Torment 1 Jo. 4. 17 18. Let all those that seek thce rejoyce and be glad in thee Psal. 40. 16. The fruit of the Spirit is Joy Peace Gal. 5. 22. The Kingdom of God is Righteousness and Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost Rom. 14. 17. Finally my Brethren rejoyce in the Lord. Phil. 3. 1. Rejoyce in the Lord always and again I say Rejoyce In every thing by Prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God And the Peace of God which Passeth all understanding shall keep your Hearts and Minds through Christ Jesus Phil. 4. 6. 7. Now the God of hope fill you with all Joy and Peace in Believing that ye may abound in Hope through the Power of the Holy Ghost Rom. 15. 13. Shew the same Diligence every one of you to the full Assurance of Hope unto the end Which Hope have as an Anchor of the Soul both sure and Stedfast Heb. 6. 11. 19. Rejoyce in Hope Rom. 12. 12. Be sober and Hope to the End 1 Pet. 1. 13. Love his appearing 2 Tim. 4. 8. Looking for and hastening unto the comeing of the Day of God 2. Pet. 3. 12. Come Lord Jesus come quickly Rev. 22. 20. Glory be to the Father and to the Son c. As it was in the Begining c. 5. An Hymn of Thanksgiving after one is Delivered from Trouble of Mind The bruised Reed O! Lord thou haste not broke nor quenched the smoaking Flax Mat. 12. 20. Thou hast restored unto me the Joy of of thy Salvation and upheld me with thy free Spirit Thou hast made me to hear of Joy and Gladness that the Bones which thou hadst broken Rejoyce Psal. 51. 8. 12. I said I will confess my Transgresions unto the Lord and thou forgavest the Iniquity of my Sin For this shall every one that is Godly pray unto thee in a Time when thou mayest be found Psal. 32. 5. 6. Depart from me all ye Workers of Iniquity for the Lord hath heard the Voyce of my weeping The Lord hath heard my supplication the Lord will recieve my Prayer Psal. 6. 8. 9. He will regard the Prayer of the destitute and not despise their Prayer And this shall be written from the Generation to come and the People which shall be created shall Praise the Lord. Psal. 102. 17 18. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be World without end Amen PRAYERS 1. A general Prayer for one troubled in mind O! Righteous Lord thy Justice hath brought me to reap the bitter fruits of my own evil ways and to possess mine iniquities My sins at length have taken hold upon me and thou writest bitter things against me and thy fierce wrath goeth over me Thy Terrors do even distract my thoughts my Spirit is quite broken within me by reason thereof and my Heart faileth me But O! Gracious God tho I be troubled and cast down let me not fall I humbly intreat thee into utter despair Whilst I live let me not forgoe the hopes of thy Mercy nor the care of my own Returne to my Duty When I groan under my Burdens make me to flee unto thee for ease When I am terrified with my former Sins let me make haste to forsake the same and labour diligently to set my Soul safe by new Obedience When I am struck with the sting of my own Guilts enable me O! Jesu to look up to thy Cross and to the merits thereof and to rest my Heart upon the same by true Repentance When I am most mistrustful of my self let me not mistrust thee nor call in Question any Comfortable Promises of thy free Grace and Mercy O! Father let thy smiteing reclaim and amend me and then let thy comforts revive me Let thy Dear Sons most Pretious Blood Expiate all my Sins and let his Grace cure them And instead of these most just and deserved Terrors wherewith thou now takest Vengeance for the same Lord let me have thy Mercy to forgive my Sins and cause me to hear the Voice of Peace to quiet and Comfort my amazed Conscience for my only Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ's sake Amen A Prayer for the same out of the Office of the Visitation of the Sick O! Blessed Lord the Father of Mercys and the God of all Comforts I beseech thee look down in pity and compassion upon me thy afflicted Servant Thou writest bitter things against me and makest me to possess my former in iquities thy wrath lyeth hard upon me and my Soul is full of Trouble But O! merciful God who hast written thy Holy word for our Learning that we through Patience and Comfort of thy Holy Scriptures might have hope give me a right understanding of my Self and of thy Threats and Promises that I may neither cast away my Confidence in thee nor place it any where but in thee Give me Strength against all my Temptations and Heal all my Distempers Break not the bruised Reed nor quench the smoaking Flax. Shut not up thy tender Mercys in Displeasure but make me to hear of joy and gladness that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoyce Deliver me from fear of the Enemy and lift up the light of thy Countenance upon me and give me Peace through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord Amen Collect for 21. Sunday after Trinity GRant I beseech thee Merciful Lord to me and all thy faithfull People Pardon and Peace that we may
85. 8. I said I will confess my Transgressions to the Lord and thou forgavest the â—iquity of my Sin For this shall every one that is Godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found Ps. 32. 5 6. Depart from me all ye workers of Iâ—quity for the Lord hath heared the â—oice of my weeping The Lord hath heard my Supplicatiâ—n the Lord will receive my Prayer â—alm 6. 8 9. PRAYERS 1. Prayers upon the Several Parts of Repentance in particular and distinct Forms 1. A Confession of Sins I. O! Almighty and most Gracious Lord look in Mercy upon me the meanest of thy Servants Who am less than the least of all thy Mercys and have deserved the heaviest of thy Judgments and am not worthy to lift up mine Eyes to the place where thine Honour Dwelleth I am a Sinner O! Lord yea a Sinner altogether and one of the chief among Sinners I was born in Sin and ever since have lead a Life suitable to that beginning For to the shame of my Face and to the praise of thy long Suffering O! Almighty God I do here with a truly humble and contrite Heart confess to thee that I have shamefully neglected and let alone those good things which I ought to have done and have done those Evil things which I ought to have forborn Of both these I am heinously guilty both in Thought Word and Deed. And have wickedly incurr'd the same against the innumerable Endearments of thy Mercys and Terrors of thy Judgments against all the good Motions of thy Grace and against the many seasonable admonitions which I have had from Spiritual Advisers and against the voice and struglings of my own Conscience I have done these things O! Lord and have continued to do them repeating the same many times yea alass too many of them in ordinary course yea and that after my own manifold and solemn Promises and Engagements that I would offend therein no more Lord be merciful to me a miserable Sinner II. ANd in all these Transgressions O! Righteous Father I have acted as a most impudent Sinner flying in the Face of an infinite Majesty and passing all these heinous Affronts where I owe the utmost Love and Reverence And as a most presumptuously venturous and daring Sinner provoking that Power which can Torment and utterly destroy me at its Pleasure Lord be merciful unto me a bold and presumptuous Sinner III. I Have therein dealt most disingenuously and ungratefully O! Merciful Lord rising up against thee the Author of all my Blessings and flying in the face of that Mercy which fosters and sustains me even whilst I am thus basely affâ—onting and despising it and which is heaping new Obligations upon me every Moment Under all these grievous Offences I have first begged thy Patience and then fallen to abuse it I have first prayed to be spared and then turned basely to provoke thee after thou hast spared me and have abused all thy Mercys to an opportunity of committing more Offences and of rereturning hatred where I have received the greatest and most endearing Love Lord be merciful unto me a base and ungrateful Sinner IV. YEA O! Holy Father I have therein dealt falsly and deceitfully with thee promising Obedience whilst I am in need of thy Mercies but practising none after once I have received them In the midst of all my pretences to Honour and Honesty and regard to my word amongst Men I have been wretchedly careless of dealing Honourably or Justly with thy Divine Majesty and of keeping my word with thee tho' thou art always faithful and canst not fail in the least tittle of thy word with me Lord be merciful to me a false and faithfless Sinner V. ANd in all this O! My Dear God I have done most foolishly all this while madly hindering and resisting my own everlasting Mercies Peace and Safety And instead thereof making a Covenant with Hell and securing and hasting on mine own Eternal Misery and heaping up sorrows which never can be born and which admit of no Remedy Lord be merciful unto me a blind and desperately foolish Sinner VI. SO that in my self O! Most Righteous Lord I am nothing but Sin and Misery My past Life can shew nothing for which thou shouldest accept me Nor can I reasonably expect that thou shouldest give heed to my word or trust me when I promise to do better having so frequently and shamefully broke my word with thee already But O! Almighty and most Gracious Father thou hast Mercy enough to pardon all my Wickedness and Grace enough to establish all my Promises and to keep me true to them and to thee alone do I fly for both I do not justifie nor excuse my Wickedness but utterly condemn it and condemn my Self for the same 'T is Forgiveness O! Father that I seek and 't is merely from thine abundant Mercys and for my dear Saviour's infinite Merits that I hope for it Oh! Thou who forgivest Sinners forgive me a great Sinner The greatest of Sinners Oh! thou great Physician of Souls who curest Sinners cure me who seek to thee alone for Remedy against all my Sins Rescue me from the Power and Bondage of my own corrupt Lusts by the greater power of thy Grace and deliver me good Lord from doing ill and from all tormenting Fears of suffering thine Eternal Wrath and Vengeance for the same through the Merits and Mediation of thine only Son and my only Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ. Amen Other Forms of Confession are added afterwards whereof the Penitent may serve himself and wherewith he may suit his Spirit as he sees Cause 2. A Profession of Godly sorrow for Sins and of Resolutions of new Obedience I. I call my ways to remembrance O! Lord wherein I have defiled my Self and remember them with a troubled Heart My evil doings are daily before mine Eyes and have made me vile and loathsome in my own sight as they have done in thine They are a burthen upon my Spirit a sore burden and too heavy for me to bear But now O! My God with a penitent Heart I turn from them and resolve by thy Grace to cast away all my Transgressions which are are most highly displeasing both to thee and to my self From this Day forward I am fully purposed to forsake them O! then let them not be my ruine God be merciful to me a returning Sinner II. ANd from them O! Holy Father which are the shame and sorrow of my Life I turn to thee who art the Glory and Comfort and shalt ever be the Guide and Governour thereof I turn to thee with a broken and contrite Heart O! Receive and Comfort it and despise it not I return too thee with my whole Heart and make no reserves nor will retain any allowance of any of my former Sins no not of those which seemed most delightful or serviceable unto me and are hardest to part with I remember O! Lord from
whence I am faln and resolve by thy help to do my vows I will make bast to do 〈◊〉 and not delay to keep thy Comâ—â—dments I beg no greater Mercy than to be fouâ—d stedfast in thy ways nor shall account any things to be so great favours to me as those which serve to keep me in the same I will most heartily thank thee O! Thou Faithful Guide and Keeper of returning Souls if thou wilt be pleased to hedge up my way with Thorns or with any worldly Difficulties that may keep me from finding my way to my former Vanities For 't is the unfeigned Desire of my Heart and shall be the great Endeavour of my Life above all things to keep true to thee and my chiefest prayer to thee is to keep me from falling any more from the way of thy Fear or from forfeiting thy Mercy God be merciful to me a Returning Sinner III. ANd having â—â—w by thy Grace these holâ—â—houghts and Purposes in my Heâ—â—â— I earnestly beg of thee O! Blessed Author and finisher of all Grace that I may never loose them I give my Heart to thee and humbly pray that it may always be in thy hands since it is so unconstant in what is good and prone to turn aside to what is evil when it is in mine own keeping O! Father keep it stedfast and unalterable in thy ways Let it not be inclined to any Evil thing nor lean towards any of my former Vanitys Keep mine Eyes from beholding wickedness and mine Ears from listning thereto Let not my Lips utter any thing that is Ill nor my feet move a step in any of the Paths of Death But hold my whole Spirit Soul and Body in ways of thy Fear and continue me under the Comfortable hopes of thy favour through Jesus Christ my Blessed Lord and only Saviour Amen 3. A Profession of the Fruits of Repentance and the Conditions of Forgiveness I. I Have sinned grievously O! Lord but I am angry at my self for my Sins and desire to prevent thy Justice and to take Revenge upon my own Head for my Transgressions And however disposed and easie I was to be drawn aside before yet now thou hast filled my Heart with such a Godly Sorrow and Compunction for my Sins as begets in me a Vehement Desire and Godly Care to sin no more By the help of thy Grace O! Merciful God I am ready now to walk in those Statutes which I have formerly transgressed and to give again whatsoever I have at any time unjustly taken away and to make full amends to the uttermost of my Power for all the Wrong and Damage which I have ever done to any And where either by my Example or by my Counsel and Perswasion or by my Importunities I have tempted others and drawn them into Sin It shall be the Study and Care of my Life to make them sensible of the Heinousness and extream Danger thereof as thro' the Blessing of thy Grace I am to recover them out of the same God be merciful to me a Returning Sinner II. I Am contented O! Holy Father to submit my self to those who have just cause to be offended with me and to use all fair ways of Reconciling my self to them before I hope for Reconciliation and Peace with thee I freely forgive all those that have Trespassed against me and with good Will offer them my Pardon as I most heartily desire thine And my Hearty Desire and Purpose is to study doing Good to my Brethren in their Needs that I may not be held unworthy to receive it from thee in mine own and to shew Mercy unto others that I may not be ashamed to ask it for my self and that the Rigorousness and Unrelenting hardness of my own Dealings towards them may not deprive me of the favourable Indulgence and Mercifulness of thy Dealings towards me God be merciful to me and forgive me a Merciful and Forgiving Sinner III. I Have no Hope in my self O! Gracious Lord but only in thy Mercy Nor any expectation of the same thro' my Deservings but meerly thro` thy Blessed Son's Infinite Merits Nor rest my Soul upon any other Name given among Men whereby thy Justice may be satisfied and my Sins expiated but on his alone God be merciful to me a Great but an Humble and Believing Sinner IV. I Am heartily sorry for all the Sins which I can call to Mind and do yet know my self to have been guilty of and am fully purposed by thy Grace as far as I can to amend them And I am truly desirous to discover all the rest which are yet hid from me that I may be as particularly sorry for the same and amend them too And I humbly and earnestly pray thee O! Father of Mercies that for Jesus Christ's sake thou would'st be pleased to accept this my Repentance Receive it O! Lord according to the Riches of thy Mercies and supply whatsoever is wanting therein by the Power of thy Grace And place me among the number of those who are truly contrite for all their evil ways and whose Repentance has prepared them for the free and full Remission of all their Offences through the Merits and Mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord Amen 4. A Prayer for Pardon of Sins O! Holy and most merciful Father spare me thy poor Sinful but Repenting Creature Spare me good Lord spare me and let me not perish in my Sins now I am heartily troubled and sorry for them but thro' thine infinite Mercies find pardon of the same I am a Sinful Person O! Lord But thou Blessed Jesus art the Saviour of Sinners And thy coming into the World was to call Sinners to Repentance Lord I come and Repent at thy Call cast not me and my Repentance away from thy Presence I have gone astray and am very defective in my return home thro' the frailty of my Flesh. But thou Gracious Lord considerest our frailties Thou knowest our frame and considerest whereof we are made Oh! be not extream to mark mine Offences nor to exact Rigors in my Repentance of the same but for Christ's sake make me all needful and favourable Allowances Now I have found the way to thy Fear let me find the Comforts of thy Mercy I have a truly Contrite Heart O! Lord despise it not My Spirit is broken and trembleth at thy word O! Lord revive it It is heavy laden and wearied with my Sins O! my God give it ease from the same Pity me O! Father as a Father pitieth his own Children Receive me as the offended Father did the returning Prodigal Tho' I was lost yet now by the Blessing of thy Grace I am found again Oh! welcome thy lost Sheep when it returns home and let there he joy in Heaven on the Repentance of me a lost Sinner Oh! let the Blood of Jesus cleanse me from all my
and in regard to the Merits of his Death who by his dying on the Cross for our Sins purchased all this Mercy for all truly Penitent Believers 3. Are you truly sensible of his Exceeding Great Love therein and from the Bottom of your Heart are you Thankful to him for the same After which questions the Guide of Souls if he is the asker of them in visiting the Sick and Dispensing Absolution or the Penitent himself when he is his own Examiner may go on to this effect Now know therefore Brother or Sister that altho you are a Sinner yet Jesus Christ came into the World to save sinners Altho you have been a lost sinner yet he is come to save and seek after that which was lost Altho you have sind yet you do not cover your Sins or Justifie them but with grief of Heart confess them and condemn your self for the same And if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our Sins You confess them to him with a resolved aversion and turn away from the same having by the help of his Grace already forsaken some and studying and being resolved in Heart to forsake all And who so Confesseth and forsaketh his Sins shall find mercy If you have sinned against your Brethren you are ready to submit your self and seek to reconcile your self to them and to the utmost of your Power to make them any reasonable satisfaction And if a Man has first reconciled himself to his Brother he may come to God with a good heart and offer his gift If he hath Repented and given again what he hath Robbed his Sin shall not be mentioned Whilst with an Humble a Contrite and a returning Heart you are thus seeking to the Father of mercys to forgive you your trespasses you do from your heart forgive all other persons who have sinned against you their Trespasses And †if we forgive men their trespasses our Heavenly Father will also forgive us As you earnestly seek mercy â—ou are ready to show it and according to your ability to give Alms to the needy And blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy and mercy rejoyceth against judgment Upon such Faith and Repentance and Satisfaction for Injuries and shewing Mercy and forgiveness of others when they are sincere and right our most merciful God and Saviour will most graciously forgive us at the great Day of Judgment And he he has committed the Ministry of reconciliation to his Ministers that upon appearance of the same they may declare and deal it out for for the Comfort of such truly faithful and Penitent Persons here in this world And now upon this profession which you have here made of this Christian Faith and Repentance and reparation of injuries and of forgiveness of others and having charity towards all persons and of shewing mercy to the miserable all which you declare is unfeigned and from the Bottom of your Heart do you desire from the mouth of Christ's Minister to receive the benefit of Absolution Then may the Minister proceed as he sees fit to lead the Penitent on in this form of Confession taken out of the Office for the Communion ALLmighty God Father of our Lord Jesus Christ maker of of all things Judge of all Men we humbly acknowledge and bewail and especially this humble Penitent doth hereby acknowledge and bewail his manifold sins and wickedness which he from time to time most grieviously hath comitted by thought word and deed against thy Divine Majesty Provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against him He doth earnestly repent and is heartily sorry for these his misdoings The remembrance of them is grievious unto him The burden of them is intolerable Have mercy upon him have mercy upon him most merciful Father For thy Son Lord Jesus Christ's sake forgive him all that is past and grant that he may ever hereafter serve and please thee in newness of life to honour and glory of thy name through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen And then Pronounce the Absolution following ALmighty God our heavenly Father who of his great mercy hath promised forgiveness of sins to all them that with hearty Repentance and true Faith turn unto him have mercy upon you Pardon and deliver you from all your sins confirm and strengthen you in all Goodness and bring you to everlasting Life through Jefus Christ our Lord Amen Or instead of this Form of Absolution if he think that fitter he may use the form in the Visitation of the Sick Our Lord Jesus Christ who hath left power to his Church to Absolve all Sinners who truely repent and believe in him of his great mercy forgive thee thine Offences And by his Authority committed to me I absolve thee from all thy sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Amen After which the Minister may go on with the Collect that follows the Absolution in the Office of the Visitation of the Sick O! most Mercyful God who according to the multitude of thy mercies dost so put away the sins of those who truly repent that thou rememberest them no more open thine Eye of Mercy upon this thy Servant who most earnestly desireth Pardon and Forgiveness Renew in him most loving Father whatsoever hath been decayed by the fraud and malice of the Devil or by his own carnal will and frailness Preseve and continue this Sick member in the Unity of the Church consider his Contrition accept his Tears asswage his Pain as shall seem to thee most expedient for him And for as much as he putteth his full trust in thy mercy impute not unto him his former sins but strengthen him with thy Blessed Spirit and when thou art pleased to take him hence take him unto thy Favour through the merits of thy most Dearly Beloved Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen And if the Penitent is visited as a sick Person he may then use the Psalm after it In thee O! Lord have I put my trust let me never be put to Confusion but rid me c. But else instead thereof he may use these Sentences and Prayers Sentences after the Absolution in the Communion Service Hear what comfortable words our Saviour Christ saith unto all that truly turn unto him Come unto me all that travel and are heavy laden and I will refresh you Mat. 11. 28. So God loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son to the end that all that believe on him should not perish but have everlasting life Jo. 3. 16. Hear also what St. Paul saith This a true saying and worthy of all men to be received that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners 1 Tim. 1. 15. Hear also what St. John saith If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous and he is the
Reconciliation with God Wherein I have all along interwoven instructions with their Devotions and set their Work before them that they may see what they have to amend and what they are to doe to work out their Pardon as well as how they are to petition for it I have sought to make the Soul acquainted with its Disease without which it would neither know what it has for God to forgive or for his Grace and its own Care to Remedy And I have been very particular in some Forms of Confession to affect it with a more distinct and effectual Sense of the several maladys which it lyes sick of and which as it must beg Mercy for so in the Course of its Daily Care it must both diligently and designedly set its self by God's help to Cure Where Sin is the Disease the great Gospel way of Cure is true Repentance And this I endeavour to set out in all the necessary parts and great and worthy Fruits thereof I lead the Penitent to express the same in such Acts as through the Merits of Christ are the truest atonement for Sins and have the most express promises of Mercy and Forgiveness made to them And then I instruct him to comfort up himself with an humble claim and application of those Expressions of the Divine Mercy and Condescention which are given to us for our Confidence and Consolation in performance of those Acts And if he takes care to say all that I have here put into his Mouth with Sincerity and is really affected as these forms express he is a true Penitent and may be a comfortable one he has thereby secured his Everlasting Peace and may quiet and revive his Spirit with the joyful Sence thereof In the Tryal or Judgment of the Soul for discovering the safety of their Spiritual Estate I have given them as clear and full and withall as brief a view as I can of the final account which will be exacted of them I have run through the several Heads of Tryal and Examination and raised such questions upon them as I take to be most pertinent and decisive of their future Condition and fittest to settle their present Peace and then give them the Benefit thereof by setting their Answers and God's Promises together and applying all to themselves My Desire is so far as my Skill would reach to omit no question which is necessary to their Safety and my care has been as I am able so to word all as that they may serve to clear their doubts and uncertainties upon the several parts of their account but beget none in them And this part will be of chief account and use to both the other Offices For it is the truest Tryal of Penitents and the truest Direction for them in carrying on and compleating their Repentance And it is the surest Ground of Peace of Conscience For containing the full Draught of settling our Peace with God it must give the best Light and Direction for Peace in our Selves which lyes in seeing that God is at peace with us Tho' the business of these Papers is not to prove and argue but briefly to Direct yet to the several Heads which I have made the Articles of the Penitents Tryal I have prefixed Texts of Scripture to shew that God has made them the Terms of his Mercy But 't is not unlikely that some who will not be perswaded to be so good as they should will think that I am stricter about this account than I need And if they doe I cannot help it but they may My Part is to deal faithfully both by my Blessed Lord and by them and to represent things to them as he has left them and as in the end they will find them So that if my Discourse has more strictness than they could wish to hear from it it is because I look not how to suit their carnal wishes but how to serve their Everlasting happiness And because I would rather have them offended with me for telling them unpleasing Truths whilst they may serve themselves by them than flatter them with pleasing Errors till it is too late for them to rectifie the same and prevent their own everlasting Ruine and Destruction thereby In the Office for Persons troubled in Mind I am careful to have them fully sensible of that Holy Obedience which is needfull to keep them safe as well as to free them from those unnecessary mistrusts and Fears which render them uneasie I seek to give them a just sense of the Things which trouble them and to keep them from over-valuing them And to make them acquainted with the true allowances of Favour which God is ready to make to their Infirmityes and with the several Grounds which they have to hope and look for them and lead them on in their Devotions both humbly to plead with God and to comfort up their own Hearts with the same To the Offices I have prefixed Collections of Pertinent and proper Scriptures And these will serve the devout Minds to express their Devotion in or to support their Spirits withall yea and to guide and direct their Practice too For they mark out their Duty upon the several Points which they refer to and teach them not only how they may address to God but how they ought to imploy themselves and what the Work and Business is which Gods Favour and their own Eternal wellfare or which his Peace and their own require at their Hands AN OFFICE FOR THE PENITENT SCRIPTURES Psal. 32. Psal. 38. Ezek. 18. Psal. 51. Luk. 15. 1. For Godly Sorrow for Sins TO him will I look that is poor and of a contâ—â—te Spirit and trembleth at my word Isa. 66. 2. The Sacrifices of God are a broken Spirit a broken and a contrite Heart O! God thou wilt not dispise Psal. 51. 17. Turn ye therefore to me with all your Heart and with fasting and with weeping and with Mourning And rent your Hearts and not your Garments and turn unto the Lord your God Joel 2. 12 13. Remember your ways and all your Doings wherein ye have been defiled and ye shall loath your selves in your own sight for all your Evils that ye have committed Ezek. 20. 43. Lord Mine Iniquities are gone over mine Head as an heavy Burthen they are too heavy for me I am ready to halt and my Sorrow is continually before me I will declare mine Iniquity I will be sorry for my Sin Psal. 38. 4 17 18. 2. For Penitential Confession of the same IF our Heart condemn us God is greater than our Heart and knoweth all things 1 Jo. 3. 20. Our Iniquities are all before him yea our secret Sins are set in the Light of his Countenance Psa. 90. 8. And therefore He that covereth his Sins shall not prosper but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have Mercy Prov. 28. 13. If we confess our Sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our Sins and to cleanse us from all Unrighteousness
Sins Let his Intercession for me in thy Presence make my Peace and appease thy Wrath. Shut not thine Ears against the Voice of his Blood nor be deaf to his Meditation but hear him my Advocate for my Pardon And let me find the Forgiveness of all my Sins that thy troubled and trembling Servant may have Peace and that thou may'st be sought unto and feared and served by Sinners who will return unto thee in hopes of thy Grace and pardoning Mercy thro' Jesus Christ our Lord and only Saviour Amen Two Collects in the Office of Commination I. O! Lord we beseech thee mercifully hear our Prayers and spare all those who confess their Sins unto thee that they whose Consciences by Sin an accused by thy merciful Pardon may be absolv'd thro' Christ our Lord Amen II. O! Most mighty God and Merciful Father who hast Compassion upon all Men and hatest nothing that thou hast made who wouldest not the Death of a Sinner but that he should rather turn from his Sin and be saved mercifully forgive me my Trespasses receive and comfort me who am grieved and wearied with the Burthen of my Sins Thy property is always to have Mercy to thee only it appertaineth to forgive Sins Spare me therefore good Lord spare me whom thou hast redeemed enter not into Jugdment with thy Servant who am vile Earth and a miserable Sinner but so turn thine Anger from me who meekly acknowledge my Vileness and truly repent me of my faults and so make haste to help me in this World that I may ever live with thee in the World to come thro' Jesus Christ my Lord Amen 5. A Prayer for Peace of Mind and Comfort upon the same LET me have thy Peace O! Gracious Father and comfort my trembling and broken Heart with the Hopes thereof Cause me to hear the Voice of Joy and Gladness and revive me with the Assurance of thy Love O! that I may be able from my own Experience to speak great things of thy readiness to receive and comfort returning Sinners and thereby draw back others to thy Service who are still running astray from the same O! that by seeing thy Goodness upon me every one that is Godly may seek to thee in their Distress and find Mercy as I have done But Lord having found thy Mercy to poor Sinners let me not abuse it or presume upon it Let me not take Heart to repeat my Sins because thou art ready and glad to grant Forgiveness When thou hast spoke comfortably to me make me carefull to sin no more lest a worse thing come upon me but to keep on in all holy and thankful Obedience unto thee and never more to return to folly Let the Sence of thy Mercies O! My God serve no other use in me but to encourage my Repentance and to support me in thy Fear till I come at length to enjoy thy Eternal Favour through Jesus Christ my Lord Amen For Peace of Mind and favourable Allowances and hopes of Mercy the Penitent may have more particular Provisions if he is desirous thereof in the Office for one troubled in Mind 2. Prayers for Confession Sin and Repentance of the same in one continued Form 1. A Form and Confession of Sins and of Repentance for the same I. O! Almighty and most Righteous Lord I do here with grief of Heart and with shame and deep Humility confess unto thy dreadful Majesty that my Sins are exceeding many and great and have been frequently Repeated I have oft-times transgressed out of Ignorance O! that I could not say careless Ignorance under Opportunities of Knowledge yea or affected Ignorance espoused for Earthly ends against Light and clear Evidence which was enough to shame and silence me tho' not to gain and convince me But I have transgressed oftner out of Negligence Worldly Fear or Desire yea alass too oft out of presumptuous Wilfulness condemning the Evil while I was a doing it and offending wiâ—tingly and with Checks and Convictions to the contrary And these Sins I have been draw to against all the Endearments of thâ— Mercies and all the Alarms and louder Warnings of thy Punishments against all the Rebukes and Strivings of thy Grace and of my own Conscience and of other faithful and seasonable Admonishers And against all mine own Purposes and Engagements Deliberately made and solemnly profess'd and frequently Repeated that I would offend therein no more Lord be merciful to me a Great and Wretched Sinner II. BUT thou O! Blessed Jesus by making thy self a Sin-Offering for us art come to take away the Sins of all who truly Repent thereof And O! merciful Lord thoâ— my Sins are many and grievous yet 〈…〉 desire to overlook them but would gladly see and discover them â—l that I may penitently bewail and forsake them And Oh! That so corrupt Passions nor love of Worldly or Carnal Interests may â—ver byass me or blind my Eyes â—rom seeing of the same whilst â—here is space left me to repent of them And as for those Sins which do know my self to be guilty of I do not cover but with shame coness them I do not justifie nor excuse but condemn my self for the same I stand thereby Guilty O! Lord of highest Disobedience against the strictest Obligations of wretched Disingenuity and unthankfulness against the most endearing Mercys and of most stupid Folly against my own clearest highest and most lasting Interests throwing away thy favour and future Joys for empty shows and shadows and a blessed Eternity for moments of Vanity I reflect on all this O! Merciful God with bitterness and with a Spirit wearied with mine own ways I see and lament my oâ—folly and abhor mine own vilent on account thereof I wish wiâ—â— all my Soul that those Sins had nâ—ver been done and would take anâ— way to undoe them and most eaâ—nestly desire and fully propose bâ— thy Grace that I may doe so nâ— more God be merciful to me a self condemning and repenting Sinner III. LOrd I am burden'd and heavy laden with my Sins Oh! Dâ— thou who callest out to the heavy laden to seek refeshment at thinâ— Hands give me ease I confess them and desire above all things else that I may utterly forsake them Let me according to my Promise find Mercy From mine Heart â— forgive all Persons who have offended me even my bitterest Enemies and most earnestly entreat thee that thou would 't forgive them Oh! Do thou who offerest forgiveness to those who are ready to grant it for Jesus Christ's sake forgive me I repent unfeignedly of all my Sins and am ready to make all just amends at least as far as I am able to any whom I have ever â—njured whether they be of low or â—f high Degree or even the highest of all O! God of all Grace perfect my Repentance and accept it and blot out all my misdeeds as thou engagest to do unto all those who sincerely repent of the
my own Praise and of detracting from the praise of others How liable is my Heart to give way to Discontents To harbour uncharitable surmises yea sometimes of those who are the proper Objects of Charity and stand in need of my Relief or Assistance To grow impatient and angry upon any â—â—ovocation and in such Anger to utâ—â—â— some indecent bitter or reproachâ—â—â— words especially to my inferiours and to retain such resentment of their Offences as renders me either prone â—o return ill Offices or at least backward to shew kindness to them on any fit occasion afterwards I am still offending O! Almighty Lord either by uncharitable Provocations or sinful Complyances or by Negligence and Remissness in governing my Self or my Dependants or by Irreverence and undutifulness to my Superiours or by want of Affection Fidelity or due regard to my Relations or by proud Thoughts or vain glorious Speeches or harsh Censures or by Lust Anger Envy Peevishness sinful Fear mistrustful Care covetous Desire or some other inordinate or unlawful Passions or by being guilty of some Thoughts Words or Actions which are contrary to thy Laws and to that excellent pattern of all Virtue which my dearest Lord has set me to walk by Lord be merciful to me an unrighteous Selfish proud and impatient Creature V. THese O! Most great and jusâ— God and many others which I am not able to recount are mine Offences Which I have committed several of them ordinarily others frequently and all of them even those which most seldom yet alass too often either by the frailty and violence of my Passions or by my Ignorance Negligence or Wilfulness against all the endearments of thy Mercys and the Terror of thy Judgments and all the warnings of thy Providence and the Suggestions of thy Spirit and the Bonds of my own most solemn Vows and Promises and against all other Methods of thy preventing assisting and recovering Grace which should have kept me from them All these my Transgressions testifie against me and my own Conscience accuseth me and thou Holy Lord art an upright judge who wilt doe Justice and not justifie a Sinner in any Wickedness and whither then shall my guilty and fearful Soul flye But thine own Dearly Beloved on O Gracious God hath paid his Life a Ransome for my Sins and through the Merits of his Blood thou art most ready to embrace a Returning Penitent and to make thy Mercy glory over Judgment O! Lord I repent of all these my Sins from my very Heart and freely forgive all who have trespassed against me as I now desire that thou wouldest freely forgive me O! suffer me not to be swallowed up either in Death or Despair but in the multitude of thy Mercys do away all mine Offences and give me comfort and peace of Conscience that being cleansed from all my Sins I may serve thee with a quiet mind Consider my Weakness O! Father of Mercies and how frail my Nature is And that frail and sinful as I am I am still the work of thine own Hands and am called upon by thy Name And how I am heartily ashamed and sorry for what I have done and for Jesus Christ's sake the Son of thy Love do earnestly Implore thy Pardon And how the Saviour of the World dyed to save Sinners and how thou anâ— my Father and I thy Son in Christ Jesus Accept me therefore good Lord in thy beloved Forgive mè freely all that is past and keep up in me by thySpirit such vigour of holy Resolution and such watchfulness and circumspection for the time to come that I may never return to them again I know O Gracious Father the falseness of my own Heart and the instability of my Spirit But it is not in my self but in thee that I trust My Faith is in thine Almighty Aid which thou hast bountifully promised and which thy Son has dearly purchased for us with his most precious Blood Oh! Let that always be my Guard and then my Sins shall no more prevail over me but I shall finish my days in thy Righteousness and rest at last in thine Everlasting Peace through Jesus Christ my only Saviour and Redeemer Amen 4. Another particular Enumeration of Sins and Repentance of the same in a short Form I. O! Almighty Lord I thy poor Creature who am a vile and miserable Sinner do here in great Humility lament before thee and am most heartily ashamed and troubled for my having lived so long in the World as through thy Mercy I have done and yet having done so little good in it and being still so unfit to leave it and so little qualified for a better I am grieved O! Blessed God for having lived so long a stranger to thee and for my loving and obeying thee no better and having no greater Zeal for thee since by thy Grace I have been brought to know and fear thee For all my neglects of thy Service and for my insincerity and unaffectedness in performing it For all the Lightness and evil wandrings of my Thoughts in my Prayers and my great and daily unthankfulness forthy great and innumerable Mercys for my solicitude about wordly things and mydistrust of thy Paternal Care and sure Promises For all my negligence yea and averseness in studying and learning thy Holy Will and all my remissness and forgetfulness in doing it and for all the defects and difficulties which I have ever found in suffering and submitting to the same For all my corrupt averesness and shameful refusal to take up thy Cross and preferring World Ease and Interest before a good Conscience and for having chosen at any time rather to part with the way of thy Truth and Righteousness than to follow thee O! Holy Jesu in patient and faithful Suffering for the same For all my prophanations of thy Sacred Name by irreverent use thereof especially by careless and common swearing but most of all by the horrible wickedness of false or faithless Oaths For all which and all other my offences of this kind which either I can remember or have forgotten Lord be merciful to me a contrite Sinner II. I Am troubled O! Lord for all the discontentedness which I have ever shewn with my own Condition and for all the Envy and Evil Eye which I have cast upon the happier Lot of other Men. For all the pride of my Heart and all the sinful lightness of my Spirit and for all my immoderate Love of this World For all my unclean Thoughts and unchaste Carriage and for all the Unthankfulness or Uncharitableness or Intemperance which I have ever shewn in my use of outward enjoyments For all which and all my other like offences which either I can remember or have forgotten Lord be merciful to me a Contrite Sinner III. I Am heartily sorry O! Holy Father for all my deceitful and insincere Expressions and feigned or faithless promises for my having at any time divulged secrets which I ought to have concealed or
be cleansed from all our Sins and serve thee with a quiet mind through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen Prayers for Particular Graces 1. Prayers for a sense of Sins without Despair of Mercy to Pardon them or of Grace to cure them I. O! Almighty Lord make me truly and deeply humble for my sins and fully sensible of my own Vileness Never suffer me so far to loose my fears as to grow conceited of my self or Careless of my Duty nor so far to presume upon thy Mercy and Pardon when I truly repent of the same as to cast off a true Dread and Terror of thy Justice if I should revolt and return to them again But deliver me O! my God from all such abjectness as instead of setting me further off from my Sins is fit only to keep me a surer Prisoner under them And whilst I retain so much fear and lowlyness as will keep up holy care and watchfulness grant that I may retain so much hope too as will encourage and strengthen Holy Endeavours and afford Peace And therefore O! my Dear Lord when I think the worst of my self let me not proceed to a Beleif that I am past all bounds of being pardoned by thy Mercy or of being made better by thy Grace Let me not once imagine when I am fallen either that it is in vain for me to endeavour to rise again or if by thy help I should rise that there is no hope of my being forgiven But when I am most jealous of my self let me be confident of thee And together with an humble sense and fear of my Sins enable me to keep up a sure hope of thy Promises and a strict care of my own Repentance and a Comfortable Persuasion of thy Gracious acceptance thereof for our Lord Jesus Christs sake Amen II. KEEP me always sensible O! God that as thou art most justly angred at my Sins so thou art most easy to be appeased and reconciled by my true Repentance And that thou art not more offended with me whilst I lye down in my folly than thou wilt be delighted with me when with the Penitent Prodigal I shall have come to my self and returned to my Duty Let me never forget that there is joy in Heaven over every Sinner that Repenteth and that whensoever a Sinner turneth away from his iniquity he shall be sure to find mercy with thee through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord Amen 2. A Prayer for Hopes of Mercy and of Grace to encourage Repentance MY Heart O! almighty Lord is full of trouble and ought to be so whilst it is fond of sin But let not my sorrow settle into a neglect of cure nor my fear grow up into Despair When I think ill of my self let me not fall O! most Gracious Father to think ill of thee and after I have grievously affronted thy Majesty as I have alass thro all the course of my life let me not come now at last to affront and exclude thy Mercy My Sins O! Lord are many and great But my sweet Saviours Merits and thy Mercys are infinitely greater And the Guilt thereof is not too great for thy Mercy to Pardon nor my proneness to repeat the same too great for thy Grace to overcome And therefore O! Dear God tho by my former evil life I have thrown off my Innocence give me not up therewith to throw away the thoughts of my own Repentance nor the hopes of thy Gracious acceptance Let me not shut that Gate of Mercy upon my self by Despair which thou hast set open for every truly contrite Sinner nor neglect by true Repentance to enter in at the same There is mercy with thee O God! that thou mayest be appeased And therefore there shall be Repentance with me and in hopes of thy mercy thou shalt be feared Tho I have falen yet by thy Grace I will not rest under my fall nor despair of thy Mercy when I am risen nor of strength by thy Grace to rise up again But setting my heart to fear thee I desire to rest my Soul on the sure hopes of thy Spirit to perfect my sincere Endeavours and on the sure Hopes of thy Mercy to Pardon mine Offences for the merits of thy dear Son and my only Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ Amen 3 A Prayer setting forth the Grounds of Hope thereof O! Father of Mercys be thou my support and stay under all this heavyness and Dejection of my Spirit And let not thy Mercy or my Faith fail me when all things else do Tho at present thou art angry with me yet O Lord thou retainest not anger for ever because thou delightest in Mercy Oh! resâ—ine thy beloved property towards me and laying aside thy fierce wrath shew Pity on me Tho I am a wicked and a wretched Creature yet thou art a Mercyful God Thou art a God forgiving Iniquity forgive that which lyes so heavy upon me †Thou art the Saviour of Sinners save me who am a most Greivous Sinner and let me not Perish in my Sins Thy Mercyes O! Gracious Father have been wonderful towards the greatest offenders such as thy servant David who was guilty of Adultery and Murther and Peter who forsware himself and denyed his â— after and Saul who Persecuted and made havock of the Church yea and even those wicked Jews who murdered and Crucyfied the Son of God himself and they were never shut against any Sinners who turned to thee with true Repentance Oh! then let not me despair of that Pardon which was never yet deny'd to any truly contrite heart in my condition Let not me imagine that thou who art insinite in mercys hast less mercy in store when I need than thou hadst for the needs of others Or that thou who art a tender Father towards all and Judgest without respect of persons wilt deny that mercy to my true repentance which according to thy gracious Promises thou didst extend to theirs I know O! God that I have deserved the severest Punishments But thy mercy dealeth not with us according to our Deserts And as my sins have deserved Punishment So thou O! Blessed Jesus hast deserved my Pardon of the same Thou art the Propitiation for our sins And thy Blood cleanseth us from all sin Oh! let me not mistrust the sufficiency of thy Sacrifice to atone for all mine Offences which expiates the Sins of the whole World If any Man sin thou art his Advocate with the Father And let not me imagine that thou canst ever move in vain or that whilst thou art ready yea sure to intercede in the cause of every other contrite Sinner thou wilt be silent and sit still in mine Holy Father have mercy on me Sweet Jesu cleanse and save me Wash away the stain of my Sins and speak peace to my affrighted conscience and revive and comfort up my broken Heart that I may live a monument of thy mercy and a
a distance and not lift up so much as my Eyes to Heaven Look upon me who have a contrite Heart and despise it not who am Poor and Tremble at thy word and according to thy Promise dwelâ— with me and receive my Spirit Lord I humble my self before thee do thou take me up I humble my self justly but do thou take me up in mercy And all my comforts will I ever most thankfully ascribe to the praise of thy free bounty and Grace through the merits of my blessed Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ Amen 7. Prayers for Peace and Hope and Joyn in God I. O! Blessed Lord grant that I may both do thy holy will and take delight in doing it and have the Comfort as well as the Guidance of thy Grace Grant me even now to taste the pleasures as well as hereafter to reap the Profits of thy Service that I may both go on therein more cheerfully my self and may also recommend the same unto others by shewing a comfortable and joyful spirit in Performance thereof O! that no hard or unjust thoughts of thee may embitter Religion to me O! that no mistrusts of thy merciful acceptance may either discourage the course of my sincere obedience or deprive me of the comforts of the same Whilst I am labouring sincerely to serve thee give me the comfort of hope that thou dost accept me and let me find the ways of of righteousness to be ways of Peace both now and in the end through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen II. Lord let thy Holy spirit work in me Joy and Peace together with Faith and Righteousness and other of its blessed fruits Set up thy Kingdom in my heart as in righteousness so in Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost Teach me to joyce in the Lord Yea to rejoyce in him always Let perfect love when it increaseth Obedience and chearful Reverence cast out all tormenting fears and let the Peace of God which passeth all understanding keep my heart and mind Yea keep it so sure that doubtfullness or dispair may never be able to possess themselves thereof any more Make my heart to hope in God yea to abound in hope through the Rower of the Holy Ghost To give diligence to the full assurance of hope and that even to the end O! that I may have this comfortable hope of thy mercies as an anchor of the Soul both sure and steadfast and may never be driven from the same by any Storms or troubles of this World Yea grant O! Lord that I may rejoyce in hope and be filled with all joy and peace in believing That I may look for thy glorious appearance and love it and with desire haste it on And that in all my Tryals here I may bear up my self with the comfortable expectation of the same till at length thou shalt mercifully accomplish my Hope and turn it into a blessed and everlasting fruition and enjoyment for my dearest Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ's sake Amen The Person in trouble may likewise use the Prayers in the Office for Penitents intituled A Profession of the fruits of Repentance and the conditions of forgiveness p. 29 for the quieting of his mind And the two Prayers following for Pardon of Sins and for Peace of mind and comfort upon the same as he sees cause 8. A Prayer against perplexing Doubts and Scruples O! Merciful Lord keep me under such an Holy Fear as will make me careful not to trust in false ways nor to swerve from my Duty when I know it But remove from me perplexing doubts and unresolvedness about the same which will either hinder me from doing it at all or make me do it heavily and with a troubled mind Let not me indulge them as true tenderness of spirit and fruits of thy Grace but labour against them as my spiritual diseases or as Satans Temptations Lord let not me be still disputing what thy holy will is when I should be doing it or endlesly doubtful and disturbed to find thy ways when I should be walking in them and ever irresolute and still scrupulously deliberating when I am called out to action Let me not want knowledge of my duty so as to disobey thee blindly and securely Nor true tenderness of Conscience so as to venture on some things which really offend thee without remorse because they seem little to my carnal and corrupt thoughts or are little accounted of by others But after once I have been duely instructed therein and am tenderly sensible of the same cause me to be fixed and firmly settled in what I know and to give up my selfe afterwards chearfully to perform it not scrupulously to debate a new and endlesly examine on every occasion whether I may safely and acceptably do it or no. O! My God let faith and knowledge direct my steps and let Joy and Peace accompany them Whatever else thou leavest me ignorant of let me be clear and well resolved about thy ways and careful with all uprightness to walk therein Let me not miss here of finding and doing my duty nor at last of thy eternal mercy through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen 9. A Prayer against Prophane mistrust of Divine Truths and Blasphemous Thoughts O! Most gracious God who by the Power of thy Spirit art only able to cure the sickness and to overcome the unruliness of mine Protect me I humbly and earnestly intreat thee against all Prophane Doubts and Mistrusts of thy truths and against all Blasphemous Thoughts and suggestions about Divine things which either mine own melancholly fancy or the busie and wicked adversary are ready to represent and suggest to me Never suffer them O! God to stagger or weaken my Faith nor to hinder or clog my Practice nor if thou pleasest by their wearisom conflicts to be a pain and burden to my Life Preserve me not only from the sin but if it may seem good to thy Fatherly Wisdom from the temptation too and from the trouble and sorrow of them But if it be thy blessed will to continue these prophane and terrifying thoughts for my Tryal and Humiliation Lord make me sensible and comfort my disturbed Heart with the sense thereof that it will not be imputed as a sin to me to be tempted therewith but to yield to the Temptation And that in thy sight I am not guilty of the same whilst I neither believe them nor give place to them not altering or abateing either my Faith or my Practice thereupon And that they are the enemies sin who to try and tempt me studiously and wickedly suggests them not mine who instead of hearkning thereto and complying therewith immediately resist them as soon as I perceive them and cast them out with horror and indignation And Oh! that during this tryal I may learn to depend intirely upon thee without whom I can do nothing That as often as these prophane thoughts are thrown into my mind I may find