all unrighteousnesse Secondly to Petition for 1 Pardon of Sinne. Though your sinnes be as scarlet they shall bee as white as snow though they be red like crimson they shall be as wooll I even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine owne sake and will not remember thy sinnes I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more I have seene his wayes and will heale him I will lead him also and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners If the wicked will turne from all his sinnes that he hath committed and keep all my statutes and doe that which is lawfull and right hee shall surely live he shall not dye All his transgressions which he hath committed they shall not be mentioned unto him in his righteousnesse that he hath done he shall live Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should dye saith the Lord God not that he should returne from his wayes and live Come unto mee all ye that labour and are heavie laden and I will give you rest 2 Power against Sins Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgressions of his heritage c. He will turne againe he will have compassion on us he will subdue our iniquities and thou wilt cast all their sinnes into the depths of the Sea The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly Sin shall not have dominion over you Though he fall he shall not be utterly cast downe for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand 3 Grace conferred continued and encreased I will sprinkle clean water upon you and you shall be cleane A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put into you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh I will give you a heart of flesh And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walke in my statutes and ye shall keep my judgements and doe them And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart and the heart of thy seede to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soule that thou mayst live I will poure upon him that is thirstie and flouds upon the dry ground I will poure my spirit upon thy seed and my blessing upon thine off-spring A bruised reede shall he not breake and the smoking flax shall he not quench he shal bring forth judgement unto truth Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousnesse for they shall be filled He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it untill the day of Iesus Christ Fourthly the Meanes of Grace With joy shall ye draw waters out of the wels of salvation Ho every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters In all places where I record my name I will come unto thee and I will blesse thee 5 Personall concernements in our particular calling Commit thy works unto the Lord and thy thoughts shall be established In all thy wayes acknowledge him and he shal direct thy paths thy eares shall heare a word behind thee saying this is the way walke ye in it when ye turne to the right hand and when yee turne to the left The Lord shall preserve thy going out thy cōming in from this time forth for evermore Blessed shalt thou bee when thou commest in blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out The Lord thy God will make thee plenteous in every worke of thy hand The Lord he is he that goeth before thee he wil be with thee he wil not faile thee neither forsake thee feare not neither bee dismayed Hee shall give his Angels charge over thee to keepe thee in all thy wayes Thou may est in the reading of the Scriptures find out and adde hereunto promises made to thy more particular occasions Thirdly Thansgiving The tongue of the dumb shall sing for in the wildernes shal waters break out the ransomed of the Lord shall return come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads they shall obtain joy gladnes and sorrow and sighing shall flye away Ye shall eate in plenty and be satisfied and praise the name of the Lord your God that hath dealt wondrously with you Ye shall go forth with joy and be led forth with peace the mountaines the hils shall break forth before you into singing and al the trees of the fields shall clap their hands A METHOD of PRAYER PRayer is a lifting up of the Soule to God Wherein there is to bee considered the Preface to it and the Parts of it The Preface to it consists 1 In a description or compellation of God by his glorious inajesty terrible names holy nature incommunicable attributes strict justice consuming wrath gracious promises c. 2 In a craving of audience assistance and accceptance wee may conclude also herewith as Dan. 9. 17. 18. The Parts of Prayer are usually three 1 Confession 2 Petition 3 Thanksgiving Though in exactnes of speech Confession and Thankesgiuing be not Prayers formally but commonly prefixed or annexed therunto as Dan. 9. Ezr. 9. 1 Confession is an humble hearty and feeling acknowledgment of the evill of Sinne and of punishment done to or due for Sinne. 1 Confession of the euill of Sinne both in the Habits Acts Kindes thereof Which that it may bee done effectually and to purpose we must 1 Labour for the particular knowledge and discovery of Sin in our owne soules which must be by looking our selves in the glasse of the Law whereby we shall discover our Sinnes in each Commandement viz. 1 Comandement Atheisine Epicurisme Idolatry c Atheism in want of the Knowledge Love Feare of God Zeale Faith Epicurisme in mis-placing our affections Idolatry in neglect of Gods mercies in neglect of Gods works of Iustice in neglect of Gods Saints and communion with them c 2 Command Not worshipping God by praying reading Will-worship Idol-worship 3 Command Serving God hypocritically when his Word is preached read and prayer When his Sacraments are administred not examining our selves not reconciling our selves to our brethren not discerning the Lords body Luke warmenesse Uncheerefulnesse Unteachablenesse Incorrigiblenesse Security 4 Command Not remembring the Lords day longing to have it past Idlenesse omitting duties publike or private 5 Command In the Family Wife Husband Children Parents Master Servants In the Common-wealth Subjects Magistrates c. In the Church Ministers People c 6 Command Not pittying or relieving the afflicted Envying Anger Hatred Worldly sorrow Cursing Murthering of Soule or Body 7 Command Uncleannesse Wantonnesse Whoredome Drunkennesse Gluttony 8 Command Discontentednesse Sloth Unthriftinesse Oppression Sacriledge 9 Command Disgracing and speaking evill of others Censuring Lying Slandering Vaine-boasting Flattering False-witnesse 10 Command Not desiring
the law but that which is through the faith of Christ the righteousnesse which is of God by faith For REPENTANCE Oh that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountaine of teares that I might weepe day and night for O that all the night I could make my bed to swim that I could water my couch with my teares that I might repent in sacke-cloth and ashes and grant us repentance unto life Thou hast in love to our soules vouchsafed unto us space and time to repent in O that thou wouldst also give us grace to repent O that there were such an heart in us that wee might repent and recover our selues out of the snare of the Devill who have beene hither to taken captive by him at his will Doe thou melt our stonie hearts into godly sorow which worketh repentance unto salvation not to bee repented of SANCTIFYING GRACE Sprinkle cleane water upon us that we may bee cleane from all our filthinesse and from all our a new heart also doe thou give us and a new spirit doe thou put within us and take away the stony heart out of the middest of us and give thou unto us an heart of flesh and put thy Spirit within us and cause thou us to walke in thy statutes and keepe thy judgements and doe them KNOWLEDGE That the God of our Lord Iesus Christ the father of glory would give unto us the spirit of wisedome and â—evelation in the knowledge of him The eyes of our understanding being inlightned that we may know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints that the earth may bee filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the Sea that all may know thee from the least to the greatest of us That Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith that we being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth and length and depth and heighth And to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge that wee might be filled with all the fulnesse of God That I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death And because it is not good that the soule bee without knowledge incline our eares to wisedome and apply our hearts to understanding that we may cry after knowledge and lift up our voice for understanding that wee may understand the feare of the Lord and find the knowledge of God That wee may be enabled to cry unto thee Our God wee know thee Vid. Ier. 31. 33. 34. LOVE of GOD c. That wee may love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soule and with all our mind that because our sinnes which are many are forgiven us therefore we may love thee much That wee may love one another as Christ hath loved us that our love may abound yet more and more towards all men especially them that are of the houshold of faith That wee may love our enemies blesse them that curse us doe good unto them that hate us and pray for them that dispitefully use and persecute us ZEALE Make us to bee zealous of good workes that we may not rest contented with a luke-warme profession being neither cold nor hot but that our soule may breake for the longing that it hath to thy judgements at all times that the zeale of thine house may eate us up that so our zeale may provoke very many SINCERITIE Behold thou desirest truth in the inward parts O therefore make us Israelites indeed in whom there is no guile That in simplicitie and godly purenesse wee may have our conversation in the world because thine eyes are upon all our wayes and thou understandest our thoughts a farre off and art acquainted with all our wayes for there is not a word in our tongue but loe O Lord thou knowest it altogether And thou wilt bring to light the hidden things of darknesse and wilt make manifest the counsels of the heart Though they dig into hell thence shall my hand take them though they climbe up to heaven thence will I bring them downe And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel I will search and take them out thence and though they be hid from my sight in the bottome of the Sea thence will I command the Serpent and hee shall bite them If thou sayest behold wee knew it not doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it and that keepeth thy soule doth not he know it and shall not he render to every man according to his workes God shall bring every worke into judgement with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evill the Lord seeth not as man seeth for man looketh on the outward appearance but the Lord looketh on the heart I beseech thee O Lord remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that which is good in thy sight the Lord searcheth all hearts and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts Can any hide himselfe in secret places that I shall not see him sayeth the Lord doe not I fill heaven and earth sayeth the Lord. Shall not God know this for he knoweth the secrets of the heart The darknesse hideth not from thee but the night shineth as the day the darknesse and the light are both alike to thee The Spirit of man is the candle of the Lord searching all the inward parts of the belly thou even thou knowest the hearts of all the children of men Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight but all things are naked and opened to the eyes of him with whom they have to doe BOLDNES the Profession of the GOSPEL That we may not be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that beleeveth Grant unto thy servants that with all boldnesse we may speak of and professe thy word Considering that if we shall bee ashamed of Our Lord Iesus Christ and of his words in this adulterous and sinfull generation the Sonne of man also will be ashamed of us when he commeth in the glory of his Father with the holy Angels PERSEVERANCE O that there were such an heart in us that we might feare thee and keepe thy commandements alway that it might be well with us and with our children after us for ever Give us our heart and our way that we may feare thee for ever and make thou an everlasting covenant with vs that thou wilt not turne away from us to doe us good and put
to come out of it yea though with Lazarus I stinke already yet roll away the stone and speake thou by thy all-powerfull word and I shall come forth and live O purge my conscience from dead workes redeeme mee from death ransome me from power of the grave and though I be lesse than the least of all Saints lesse than the least of all thy mercies yet make me a prisoner of hope and by the bloud of thy covenant send forth my soule out of the pit wherein is no water Wash my robes and make them white in the bloud of the Lambe Create in me a cleane heart O God and renew a right spirit within me Make thy word to be unto me like a refiners fire and like fullers sope cleansing me from all filthinesse of flesh and spirit that so I may be meete to be a partaker of the inheritance of the Saints in light not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing but holy and without blemish the sonne of thy love through Christ Thou hast promised that if I returne unto thee thou wilt receive me and that if I seek thee early I shall finde thee that thou wilt have mercie upon me and wilt abundantly pardon all my sinnes heale my backeslidings and love me freely O Lord it is not sinne in the highest degree when it is out of measure sinfull and is come to the full that can hinder the Sunne of righteousnesse from arising with healing in his wings on any humbled soule no for where Sinne abounded Grace doth much more superabound and where shall or can the skill of thee our heavenly Physician be so much seene so much adored and magnified as in healing a poore soule weltring and wallowing in its bloud and desperately wounded unto everlasting death O speake thou the word and my soule shall live Subdue mine iniquities and cast all my sinnes into the depths of the Sea O redeeme me from my former vaine conversation that I may renounce the hidden things of dishonesty turne thou mee and I shall be turned betroth my soule unto thee in faithfulnesse make with me a covenant of peace And because no man can come to thee except the father which sent thee draw him O draw me and I will run after thee open my blinde eyes say Epphata to my deafe eares touch my lips with a coale from thy Altar that my iniquity may bee taken away and my sinne purged then shall my lame feet leape as an Hart and my dumbe tongue shall sing forth thy praise A new heart doe thou also give me and a new spirit doe thou put within me and take away the stony heart out of the midst of me and bestow upon me an heart of flesh and put thy spirit within mee as thou hast promised and cause me to walke in thy statutes and to keepe thy judgements and doe them And for the time to come Lord make me more zealous of thy glory more profitable in wayes of my calling more carefull to doe and receive all possible good that I can Alas I have beene a barren tree thou hast planted mee neere the rivers of water hast digged about me and taken much paines with me but I am still unfruitfull thy glory is not so deare unto me as it ought to be nor is my owne salvation or the edification of others so sincerely indevoured by me as was meet O turne me into another man circumcise the foreskinne of my heart let the time past of my life suffice to have served and live in sinne Give mee grace now in this my day to know the things that belong to my peace to make use of this time of my visitation to lay hold on eternall life to take the kingdome of heaven by violence now thou standest at the doore and knockest O let me open unto thee that thou mayest enter in and sup with me Give mee grace to worke out my salvation with feare and trembling to bee often in calling upon thee in prayer and lifting mine eyes up to the hills from whence both pardon of sinne and power over sinne must bee expected Make mee often search and trye my wayes and examine my selfe whether I be in the faith or no. Now I beseech thee to heare me and helpe me doe away the iniquity of thy servant cover my transgressions and let my sinnes bee blotted out from before thee for the Lord Iesus Christs sake Amen Amen Some particular formes of PRAYER For the English Colonies and Plantations in New-England Virginia c. O Most high God Possessor of heaven and earth the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the habitation of thy holinesse and of thy glory by thee the Mountaines were brought forth and thou hast formed the earth and the would and hast given it to the children of men for a possession And by thy word of blessing hast commanded man to encrease and multiply and replenish the face of the earth We in this nation have found thy gracious Providence over us in thy continuall protection and preservation for thou hast strengthned the bars of our gates and blessed our children within us thou hast set peace in our borders and hast abundantly given us blessings of the brest and of the wombe insomuch that wee are exceedingly multiplyed so that the place where wee dwell is too narrow for us for our seed is become as the sand and the offspring of our bowels as the gravell thereof And now O Lord thou of thy good providence hast espied out for us an exceeding good land watred with the dew of heaven from above blessed with the farnesse of the earth from beneath and hast made roome for us to bee planted therein that wee who are growne into so great a nation and are thronged at home may swarme out and bee gathered thither for the glory of thy great name the honour of this Kingdome and the further enlargement of our Kings dominions O let their designe be holinesse to the Lord honour and wealth to our nation and enlargement also to the kingdome of thy Christ who are transplanted into those remoter parts of the world Build a place of rest for thy tabernacle among them that the heathen that have not knowne thee and the families that have not called on thy name may by this meanes bee delivered from the power of darkenesse and translated into the kingdome of thy deare sonne Bee thou a wall of fire round about our people and a little Sanctuary unto them Let no sonne of wickednesse approach neere to hurt them build them up into a nation there plant them and make them to dwell in safety Let no seditious Sheba be author of faction or schisme among them And as thou causest the Sun to arise upon all the earth so that nothing is hid from the heate thereof so leâ— there bee no speech nor language where the voyce
and formes of prayer That which I here undertake is but to gather into heapes and heads some graines of sweet gummes myrrh aloes cassia and frankincense more precious than all the perfumes and pouders of the Merchant out of the Spouses garden of spices which thou maist scatter on the burning coals of thy zâ—alous Devotions If any even the meanest that calleth God Father can make use hereof in framing his petitions to bee put up and presented to the high Court of Heaven I have my ends and desires how ever they shall be taken or take others I prescribe no man a way the spirit of God is not limited by me Private prayers may bee framed as the holy spirit gives us utterance and it is a vaine thing when the heart is full and boyles upward to quench and restraine its free operations No poure out thy heart in prayer as thou feelest enlargement Publike prayers would bee more composed and set to that exact and heavenly platforme and prayer of our Saviour that others who pray with us may perceive the orderly passing from one part to another and so bee helped edified and affected thereby For the Common-prayers in our Church Liturgie it were to be wished that in great and noble families which are more than a modell of a little Church they would use the Common-prayer-booke there they may have most excellent prayers for almost-any occasion incident and imaginable such as both Martyrs and all other peaceable and sober-minded Christians have ever honoured extolled vindicated and practised Pitie it is to see some out of I know not what humour to cavill carpe at and cry downe not onely formes of private Devotion such as these but that which all antiquitie hath so much magnified and hath under so gracious and pious Princes a by publike authority so long beene established in the Church Certes Publike Prayers of the people of God in Churches throughly setled did never use to be voluntary Dictates proceeding from any mans private spirit gift or extemporall wit God himselfe framed to his Priests the very speech wherewith they were charged to blesse the people And our Lord even of purpose to prevent this fancie of extemporall and voluntary Prayers hath left us of his owne framing one which might both remaine as a part of the Church-Liturgie and serve as a paterne whereby to frame all other Prayers with efficacie yet without superfluitie of words Prayers doubtlesse are accepted of God otherwise than being coÌ„ceived alwayes anew according to the exigent of present occasions being not actions which ought to waste away themselves in the making they may bee resumed and used againe as Prayers and yet no instruments of superstition Moses hath left a prayer for that admirable victorie given them against Pharaoh cast into a Poeticall mould which grew afterward to be a part of the ordinary Iewish Liturgie c. The Lord grant unitie and concord to all that call upon his name that they may agree in the truth of his holy Word and live in Godly love one with another that all unhappy differences in opinion may bee composed and those swellings and great thoughts of heart layed downe That wee may all mind one thing to serve our God out of a pure heart without evill surmisings or making things worse by jealous and suspicious censurings which exasperate rather than heale our breach Let us pray and labour hereunto The prayers of the Christian Souldiers brought raine to the fainting armies of the heathen Emperours Elias a man subject to passions as others bee by Prayer shut opened heaven Est quaedam precum omnipotentia one calls it the wonder-working power of Prayer able to beate backe the very Ord'nance of Hell a spirituall Engine able to batter downe all the Bull warks of the Devill the most precious and almost if not altogether omnipotent Grace and great Master of miracles wrought both in heaven and earth Beleeve it if then wert in a state more dangerous than Death in a place worse than Hell yet if thou couldst but thence pray truly thou shouldst find comfort Out of the belly of hell cried I Iona. 2. Hereby thou mayst have accesse to God on all occasions for Prayer beares about the privie Keyes of heaven yea forceth entrance when all is locked Be in love with this so heavenly a grace f and that time breath and spirits which others spend in prating of and censuring the actions of superiours doe thou in praying to God for thy selfe for the Church for our gracious King and all in authority under him that wee may still lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godlinesse and honestie which is the Prayer of thy fellow servant in Christ Iesus Promises made to Prayer EXceeding great and precious Promises are made by God to his Elect and yet how often doth the poore soule lag and droope for not Knowing or not Vsing them as need requires living like some Misers besides their hopes besides their meanes They deserve to want who lack supply for want of fetching 'T is not the having of wealth meate or cloathing but the Vsing applying digesting and putting on that does us good Spirits and life may bee in the heart and blood may bee in the liver yet unlesse these flow kindly to every part the body is not healthfull beautifull or vigorous The Promises therefore should be often chewed sucked and meditared on God must be humbly and holily remembred of them not as if he were not faithfull and just but because we are distrustfull he cannot lye and though we be weak in Faith our unbeliefe cannot make his promise of none effect He will not falsifie his covenant nor alter the thing that is gone out of his lips hath he said and shall he not doe it hath he spoken and will hee not bring it to passe Now as wee would receive of his fulnesse so the promises must enlarge our hearts Promises made to Prayer in Generall Before they call I vvill answer and whilst they are yet speaking I will heare Aske and it shall be given seeke and ye shall find knocke and it shall be opened unto you And yee shall bee unto mee a kingdome of Priests In every place incense shall be offered in my name and a pure offering Wee know not what to pray for as we ought but the spirit it self maketh intercession for us with groning which cannot be uttered Lord thou hast heard the desire of the humble thou wilt prepare their heart thou wilt cause thine eare to heare Whatsoever things ye desire when ye pray beleeve that ye receive them ye shal have them Secondly the Parts of Prayer 1. Confession of Sinne. Hee that covereth his sinnes shall not prosper but who so Confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercie If we Confesse our sinnes he is faithfull and just to forgive us our sinnes and to cleanse us from
he may And thou who preservest the way of thy Saints hold up my goings in thy paths that my foote steps slip not Give thine Angels charge over us to keepe us in all our wayes that they may beare us up in their handes lest at any time we dash our foot O be thou with us and keepe us in all places whither we goe and bring us againe and leave us not untill thou hast done that which thou hast spoken to us of O that thou wouldst blesse mee indeed and enlarge my coast and that thine hand might bee with me and that thou wouldest keepe me from evill that it may not grieve me Prosper now I pray thee thy servant this day and grant him mercy in the sight of the man and let the beauty of the Lord our God bee upon us and establish thou the worke of our hands upon us yea the worke of our hands establish thou it We know not what to doe but our eyes are upon thee thou also must worke all our workes in us It is in vaine for us to rise up early to sit up late to eat the bread of sorrowes O Lord I know that the way of man is not in himselfe it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps neither is hee that planteth any thing neither hee that watereth but God that giveth the increase Deliverance from Evill 1. Of SINNE Let not sinne raigne in our mortall bodies that wee should obey it in the lusts thereof neither suffer us to yeeld our members as instruments of unrighteousnesse unto sinne but unto God as those that are aliue from the deast and our members as instruments of righteousnesse unto God looking diligently lest any man faile of the grace of God lest any root of bitternesse springing up trouble us and thereby we be deluded that being now made free from sinne and become the servants of God wee may have our fruit unto holinesse and the end everlasting life But I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind and bringing mee into captivity to the law of Sinne which is in my members O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death Cleanse thou mee from secret faults Keepe backe thy servant also from presumptuous sinnes let them not have dominion over me then shall I bee upright and I shall be innocent from the great transgression Subdue the pride of our nature cast downe every imagination and every high thing that exalteth it selfe against thee and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ Let not my heart be haughty nor my eyes lofty neither suffer me to exercise my selfe in great matters or in things too high for me but behave and quiet my selfe as a child that is weaned by his mother Order my steps in thy word and let none inâ—quity have donion over me make me also to be upright before thee and to keepe my selfe from mine inâ—quity Let us lay aside every weight and the sinne that doth so easily beset us that we may run with patience the race that is set before us that we may not love the world nor the things in the world because all that is in the world the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father but of the world that denying ungodlines and worldly lusts wee may live soberly righteously and godly in this present world That we may walke circumspectly not as fooles but as wise giving none occasion to the adversary to speake reproachfully Mortifying our members which are on the earth fornication uncleannesse the inordinate affection evill concupiscence and covetousnesse which is idolatry Putting off all these anger wrath malice blasphemie filthy communication That wee may resist unto blood striving against sinne taking heed lest there bee in any of us an evill heart of unbeliefe in departing from the living God taking heed to our selves lest at any time our hearts bee over-charged with suffering and drunkennesse and cares of this life That wee may bee sober and vigilant because our adversary the devill as a roaring Lyon walketh about seeking whom hee may devoure whom that wee may resist stedfast in the faith let us take unto us the whole armour of God that we may bee able to stand against all his wiles being strong in the Lord and in the power of his might 2. PVNISHMENT Let no evill befall us neither let any plague come nigh our dwelling Send from heaven and save mee from the reproach of him that would swallow me up My soule is among Lyons and I lye even among them that are set on fire even the sonnes of men whose teeth are speares and arrowes and their tongue a sharpe sword Plead my cause O Lord with them that strive with me fight thou against them that fight against me Have mercy upon me O Lord for I am weake O Lord heale me for my bones are vexed My soule also is sore vexed c. Returne O Lord deliver my soule O save me for thy mercies sake For in death there is no remembrance of thee in the grave who shall give thee thankes I am weary with my groaning all the night make I my bed to swimme I water my couch with my teares Mine eye is consumed because of griefe it waxeth old because of all mine enemies Turne thee unto mee and have mercie upon me for I am desolate and afflicted The troubles of my heart are enlarged O bring thou me out of my distresses Looke upon mine affliction and my paine and forgive all my sinnes O my Father if it be possible let this affliction passe from me neverthelesse not as I will but as thou wilt Lord make mee to know mine end and the measure of my dayes what it is that I may know how fraile I am Behold thou hast made my dayes as an hand-breadth and mine age is as nothing before thee verely every man at his best state is altogether vanity So teach us to number our dayes that wee may apply our hearts unto wisedome The HOLY CATHOLIKE CHVRCH of IESVS CHRIST Preserve that little flocke to whom thou hast promised and reserved the Kingdome Be unto it a wall of fire round about Let thy delight be to Mount Sion grave her on the palmes of thy hands let her walls bee continually before thee Let her builders make haste and cause her destroyers and such as would lay her wast to depart from her Feed them that oppresse her with their owne flesh and make them drunken with their owne blood as with sweet wine Looke downe from heaven and behold from the habitation of thy holinesse
thy holy spirit from mee make mee one with Christ my head flesh of his flesh bone of his bone make mee one with the mysticall body of thine Elect that I may have my part in the prayers of the Church in the Communion of Saints here on earth in the kingdome of grace and may enjoy thee and them face to face and sit downe and eat and drinke with thee in thy kingdome of glory Amen For the Sacrament of Baptisme O Lord our God the great the mighty and the terrible God who keepest covenant and mercy with all them that feare thy name and trust upon thee even to a thousand generations thou hast promised to bee our God and the God of our seed to enter into covenant with us that wee should bee thine O Lord I come to thy throne of grace at this time to lay claime to my interest in that new covenant sealed unto thy Church in the blood of Iesus that thou wouldst performe the same unto mee and mine also hast not thou said thou wilt circumcise mine heart and the heart of my seed to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soule that thou wilt put thy Law in our inward parts and write it in our hearts and that thou wilt bee our God and wee shall bee thy people that thou wilt forgive our injquity and wilt remember our sinne no more O Lord hast thou said it and wilt not thou also doe it By faith I plead my interest thereunto not for my selfe alone but for mine also with whom I beseech thee to make an everlasting covenant of life and peace that being baptized into Iesus Christ they may bee sanctified and cleansed with the washing of water by the word O Lord wee are all borne the children of wrath and there is no way for us to escape the damnation of hell except wee bee borne againe of water and of the Spirit O Lord doe thou sprinkle cleane water upon us wash away the filth of Zion and purge the blood of Ierusalem from the midst thereof Baptize us with the Holy Ghost that having our hearts sprinkled from an evill conscience and our bodies washed with pure water wee may bee new creatures fit to bee an habitation of God through the spirit O blessed be thy goodnesse for ever which hast given us this seale of thy rich promise this is that Arke in and through which thou savest thine Elect thou dalliest not with us herein it is no idle ceremonie thou art present in thy own ordinance to fulfill that which thou hast promised O wash our soules with the baptisme of Repentance as thou doest our bodies with the outward element of water Let the vertue of Christs death kill sinne in us for how shall wee that are buried with Christ by baptisme and thereby dead to sinne live yet therein Doe not wee herein vow to forsake the Devill the Pomps and vanities of this wicked world and all the sinfull lusts of the flesh and shal we break our vow transgresse the covenant O let this be far from us teach us therefore to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts deliver us from every evill worke that we may serve the living God Sprinkle cleane water upon us that we may bee cleane from our naturall filthinesse and from all our uncleannesses Wash us O wash us throughly from our iniquities and cleanse us from our sinnes Make our hearts to be stedfast in thy love and never to forget this covenant of our God thy mercie doe thou keepe for us and ours for evermore and let thy covenant stand fast with us and bee established for ever as the Moone and as a faithfull witnesse in heaven And as thou hast thus brought us into the bond of the covenant so let us never depart from thee Bee thou unto us a God and let us be thy people for evermore even till thou bringest us unto Mount Sion and to the Citie of the living God the heavenly Ierusalem and to an inumerable company of Angels to the generall assembly and Church of the first borne which are written in heaven and to God the judge of all and to the spirits of just men made perfect and to Iesus the Mediatour of the new covenant and to the bloud of sprinkling that speaketh better than that of Abel Make me to be thine my self be thou my Father and make me to be thy Sonne for if the first fruit be holy the lumpe also shall be holy and if the roote be holy so also shall the branches bee This mercie I beg of thee in his name merits and mediation out of whose pierced side issued forth water and bloud for the sanctifying and justifying of thine Elect. To whom with thee and the Holy Spirit be all glory service thanksgiving and dominion through all the Churches of the Saints for ever Amen For Regeneration Sanctification and grace to serve God O Lord thou God of truth who hast sworne in thy faithfulnesse that as thou livest thou hast no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that hee should turne from his way and live and therefore commandest thy people saying Turne ye turne ye from your evill wayes for why will ye dye O house of Israel and hast enjoyned that I should wash me and make me cleane put away the evill of my doings from before thine eyes promising moreover that though my sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as Snow though they bee red like crimson they shall be as wooll I that am a wicked and miserable caitiffe a sinner before the Lord exceedingly even as the men of Sodome that have done abominable workes and denied the God that is above wilfully sinning after I had received the knowledge of the truth and treading under foote the Sonne of God counting the bloud of the covenant wherewith I was sanctified an unholy thing and having done deâ—piâ—e to the spirit of grace O Lord even out of the deepes doe I call unto thee for helpe yea out of the belly of hell doe I earnestly cry for thy mercie O cast not out my prayer Though mine iniquities be more than the haires of my head my transgressions heavier than the sand yet is there forgivenesse with thee and although my sinnes have reached up to heaven yet thy mercie is above the heavens mine are at the most but the sinnes of a man but thine at the least are the mercies of an infinite God yea thou hast the relenting bowells of a most tender Father O spread the robe of thy Sonnes righteousnesse over me that so thou mayest not behold my nakednesse cloath me with the garments of his salvation say unto my soule Live cause breath to enter into my dry bones lay sinewes upon them and bring flesh upon them and cover them with skinne that I may know that thou art the Lord. And albeit I be dead in trespasses and sinnes yet open my grave and cause me
to come Amen A Prayer for a Trades-man Merchant c. O Lord the righteous God that triest the reines and the heart thou lovest truth in the inward parts and hast commanded all those that call upon thy name to depart from iniquity and to put away lying speaking the truth from his heart every man unto his neighbour not using false weights deceitfull ballances or unjust measures and wouldest that no man should goe beyond and defraud his brother in any matter because that the Lord is the avenger of all such O Lord the heart of man is deceitfull above all things and desperately wicked and in nothing more discovers it selfe than in the gaine of unrighteousnesse The love of money is the roote of all evill which while some have coveted after they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrowes Thus in buying and selling and trading with each other so they may lade themselves with thicke clay they care not to load their consciences with heavie Sinne. Thus it often is as with the buyer so with the seller 'T is naught 't is naught saith the buyer but when he is gone his way he boasteth and how many severall tricks of deceit and sleights there are practised by the cunning craftinesse of men that lye in waite to deceive which the false and dissembling heart of man is guilty of thou onely knowest who searchest the heart and tryest the reines and wilt one day bring to light the hidden things of dishonesty and darknesse so that as a naile sticketh fast betweene the joyning of stones so doth Sinne sticke close betweene buying and selling O Lord what shall it profit me to win the whole world and to lose mine owne soule could I rejoyce because my wealth was great or because my hand had gotten much If I should get my house full of silver and gold heaping up silver as dust and fine gold as the mire in the streets or prepare rayment as the clay being filled with all precious and pleasant riches yet thou that hatest false ballances and the bag of deceitfull weights canst blow upon all my substance that it shall melt away by thy blast it would perish a fire not blowne should consume it suddenly thou couldst make my riches to take them wings and fly away as an Eagle towards heaven to vanish as a dreame and not bee found or chased away as a vision of the night And thou hast in thy assured mee that hee that getteth riches and not by right shall leave them in the midst of his dayes and at his end shall bee a foole and howsoever bread of deceit may bee sweet to a man yet afterwards his mouth shall bee filled with gravell O let mee never be given over to that reprobate mind supposing that gaine iâ— godlinesse Let mee not grind the face of my brother or pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poore making the Ephah small and the shekell great and falsifying the ballances by deceit Never let me bee so greedy of gaine that in the seeking thereof I should enlarge my desire as hell or as death that cannot be satisfied O make me to hate and take heed of guile Let not my soule bee poysoned with the mammon of unrighteousnesse that I should by lying and fraud obtrude bad wares on the men I trade withall for hereby I should take the name of my God in vaine and cause thy Gospell to bee evill spoken of Wicked ballances and the bag of deceitfull weights are an abomination unto thee and much better will a dry morsell be or a dinner of greene herbes gotten by honest dealing then a stalled Oxe by coozening and deceit Godlinesse with contentment is great gaine but they that will bee rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtfull lusts which drowne men in destruction and perdition O Lord faith and a good conscience are speciall jewels a precious treasure Let not mee make shipwracke of them for every trifle how ever prophane and godlesse men may disesteeme them they are not to bee valued with the gold of Ophir with the precious Onyx or the Saphire Let mee ever remember that golden rule to doe unto other men as I would they should doe unto me And if by my industry thou doest please to blesse my estate that my riches doe encrease O let me not set my heart upon them making gold my hope or saying to fine gold thou art my confidence or if I shall wax poore and fall into decay through crosses and losses by thy hand of providence and not by mine owne negligence sloth or ill husbandry yet make mee to learne in whatsoever state I am therewith to bee content and may know both how to be abased and how to abound to be full and to bee hungry which grace I beseech thee to grant me for Christ Iesus sake Amen A Servants Prayer MOst holy and great God thou hast commanded servants to be obedient to them which are their masters according to the flesh with feare and trembling in singlenesse of heart as unto Christ not with eye-service as men-pleasers but as the servants of Christ doing the will of God from the heart Therefore as thy good hand of providence hath placed mee in this condition so I beseech thee give me thy grace that with good will I may doe service as to the Lord and not unto men knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth the same shall hee receive of the Lord whether he be bond or free O teach me therefore first to serve and to feare thee for thy service is perfect freedome thus being the Lords free man I shall no more be a Servant but a Sonne and heire of God through Christ To this end make thy face to shine upon thy servant be thou with me in all that I doe and let the beauty of the Lord my God be upon mee and establish thou the worke of my hands upon me that thy blessing may be upon all that my master hath in the house and in the field make thou a hedge about him and about all that he hath on every side and blesse thou the worke of his hands that his substance may be encreased in the Land And as thou blessedst Laban for Iacobs sake Potiphar for Iosephs sake Obed Edom for the Arkes sake Ahab for Obadiahs sake so also I beseech thee to blesse me and all the things that are under my hand cause thy blessing to rest in my masters house prevent him daily with blessings of goodnesse that he may learne by experience that thou Lord hast blessed him since my comming O make mee a faithfull and a wise servant as Eliezer unto Abraham that if my master commit his goods into my hand and make me ruler over his houshold to appoint them their worke to give them their meate in due season I may with all my power serve him therein not eating the bread of
of the Sea though the waters thereof roare and bee troubled though the mountaines shake with the swelling thereof for unto thee O Lord belong the issues from death O make us to cast the anchor of our hope still on thee who hast hitherto mercifully delivered us from so great a death and dost deliver us in whom we trust that thou wilt yet deliver us Let not the depths we pray thee cover us neither let us sink into the bottome as a stone though the flouds compasse us about yet let not the waves and billowes passe over us thou makest a way in the Sea and a path in the mighty waters thou art the God that hast made the Sea and the dry Land doe not thou suffer that there be the losse of any mans life among us let not a hayre of our heads perish Appease the mighty tempest when it ariseth that our Ship may not be broken rebuke the wind and say unto the waves peace and be still O teach every Ship-master and all the company in Ships those that handle the Oare the Marriners and all the Pilots of the Sea and as many as trade by Sea to trust in the saving helpe of thy right hand when we be toyled in rowing and the wind is contrary unto us and not to rely on our owne skill take from us that desperate boldnesse fearelesnesse of thee and danger that Atheisme Swearing and Prophanenesse and notorious Ungodlinesse which is too often found in many of us Make us to be at peace with thee in the blood of thy Sonne that he may be advantage unto us both in life and death There is continually but a step betwixt us and death yea even but an hand-breadth for thou hast made all mens dayes as an hand-breadth and our age is as nothing before thee Be thou our life in death and to trust thee with our bodies and soules knowing that the Sea shall at the last day give up the dead that are in it and our spirits shall returne unto God that gave them If thou please to bring us safely to land O make us to remember our vowes which we uttered with our-lips when wee were in trouble lest otherwise thou shouldst deliver us no more Grant this grace unto us for Iesus sake to whom with thee c. Amen Husbandman in Seed time O Lord doe thou teach me to cast abroad the fitches and scatter the cummin and cast in the principall wheat and the appointed barley and rye in their places and that I may plough and sow in hope make me to breake up the fallow ground of mine owne heart that the earth bring not forth bryars and thornes and thistâ—es unto me when it is tilled neither be cursed for my Sinne. Make me to sow to my selfe in righteousnesse 2 Spring-time BLessed bee thy name that thus renewest the face of the earth that crownest the yeare with thy goodnes and thy steps drop fatnesse the winter is past the raine is over the time of the singing of birds is come and the voyce of the turtle is heard in our Land the pastures are clothed with flocks the valleyes also are covered over with corne they shout for joy and sing O make my barren heart to flourish in grace to abound in the fruits of righteousnesse For Seasonable weather Plentie c. O Lord give us the raine of our seed that we have sowed the ground withall and bread of the encrease of the earth that it may be sat and plenteous Let not the Locust Catterpillar Cankerworme Blasting Mildew or unseasonable weather deprive us of the fruits of the earth but blesse them and bring them to maturity that our garners may be full abounding in all manner of store let our oxen be strong to labour let the mower fill his hand and hee that gathereth up the sheaves his bosome that our barnes may bee filled with plentie and our presses burst with new wine Reserve for us the appointed weeks of harvest and though wee deserve not the least morsell of bread we eate yet thou that art goodnesse it selfe and canst not but put on bowels of pitty wilt fulfill thine owne gracious promise that Seed-time and Harvest summer and winter may not cease true it is Lord we deserve not onely that the fruits of the earth but even that our selves also should be swept away like dung from off the earth for thou art pressed under us as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves thou changest the seasons because we change our obedience our hearts are stony and the heavens weepe for their hardnesse yet we lay not all this to heart teach mee to provide my meate in summer as a Sonne of wisedome and although the fig-tree shall not blossome neither fruit be in the vine though the Labour of the Olive shall faile and the fields shall yield no meate the flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no herd in the stalls yet that I may rejoyce in the Lord and joy in the God of my salvation Amen FINIS Some Choise places taken out of the singing PSALMES Digested into a method of PRAYER And PRAISES Per hujusmodi aurium oblectamenta quae pietatis doctrinam continent saepe infirmior animus in affectum pietatis assurgit Theodoret. Printed at London for Rob. Milbourne 1634. To the Christian READER AThanasius in his Treatise upon the Psalmes to Marcelinus reports that the ancient old Father Philoponus in a learned discourse which he vouchsafed once to make to him did evidently demonstrate that whatsoever was contayned abroad in the whole Scriptures was fully reported in the Booke of Psalmes It conteineth saith he the motions the mutations the alterations of every Christians heart and conscience described and lively painted to his owne sight so that if a man list he may easily gather out thereof certaine considerations of himselfe as out of a bright glasse and plaine patterne set before his face so thereby to reforme himselfe He may have a very good forme of Prayer meet to be sayd and presently at hand in every case and state The words here delivered in the Psalmes are as it were his owne spoken in his owne person and is so affected with them as if they were first by him conceived and pronounced c. Liber Psalmorum est ars ritè precandi Oratorium ut ita dicam divinisssimum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Basil Magn. Veteres vocârunt librum Psalmorum PARVA BIBLIA quia breviter omnia quae in Biblijs habentur continet ut historias legem promissiones fidem consolationes poenitentiam bona opera Antiquitùs hic liber vocatus est Soliloquium quia solius hominis Christiani cum solo Deo colloquium habetur Est anatome conscientiarum Nullum in se affectum quisquam reperiet cujus in hoc speculo non reluceat imago Ab alijs rectè appellatur Panacea
thy feare in our hearts that we may not depart from thee Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering CONTENTATION that we may learne in whatsoever state we are there with to be content knowing both how to be abased and to abound every where and in all things being instructed both to bee full and to bee hungry both to abound and to suffer need Because godlinesse with contentment is great gaine for we brought nothing into this world and it is certaine wee can carry nothing ouâ— Having therefore food and rayment let us bee therewith content That our conversation may bee without covetousnesse being content with such things as wee have For thou hast sayd thou wilt never leave us nor forsake us Casting all our care upon thee for thou carest for us What shall we receive good the hands of the Lord and not evill Take no thought for your life what ye shall eate or what ye shall drinke nor yet for your body what you shall put on the foules of the ayre they sow not neither doe they reape nor gather into barnes yet your heavenly father feedeth them Which of you by taking thought can adde one cubite unto his stature Consider the Lillies of the field how they grow they toyle not neither doe they spin If God so cloathe the grasse of the field which to day is and to morrow is cast into the oven shall he not much more cloathe you O ye of little faith take no thought saying what shall we eate or what shall we drinke or where withall shall we be cloathed Your heavenly father knoweth that you have neede of all these things give me neither poverty nor riches feed me with food convenient for me Lest I be full and deny thee and say who is the Lord or lest I be poore and steale and take the name of my God in vaine PATIENCE under the CROSSE Helpe us to deny our selves and to take up our Crosse daily and follow our Saviour Thou hast fore-told us that in the world we shall have tribulation And that through much tribulation we must enter into the Kingdome of God Let us therefore reckon with our selves that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall bee revealed in us That it may be given unto us in the behalfe of Christ not only to beleeve on him but also to suffer for his sake Let us run with patience the way that is set before us Looking unto Iesus the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the crosse Consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himselfe lest you be wearied and faint in your mindes Thinke it not strange concerning the fiery triall which is to try you as though some strange thing happened unto you Rejoyce in as much as yee are partakers of Christs sufferings that when his glory shall be revealed ye may be glad also with exceeding joy If ye be reproched for the name of Christ happy are ye for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you GODS VVORD Let thy word be a lampe unto my feet and a light unto our path O make it unto us a word of power converting the soule quicke and powerfull and sharper than any two edged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soule and spirit and of the joynts and marrow Give us the hearing eare and the seeing eye make thy word like fire and like a hammer that breaketh the rockes in pieces and as the raine commeth downe and the snow from heaven and returneth not thither but watereth the earth and maketh it bring forth and bud that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eaâ—er so let thy word bee that goeth forth out of thy mouth let it not returne unto thee void but accomplish that which thou pleasest and prosper in the thing whither thou sendest it Lord give the Preacher the tongue of the learned that hee may know how to speake a word in season to him that is weary and create the fruit of his lips peace and let the worke of the Lord prosper in his hand They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatnesse of thy house and thou shalt make them drinke of thy pleasures For with thee is the fountain of life in thy light shall we see light We will goe into his tabernacles we will worship at his foot stoole Open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy Law In the way of thy judgements O Lord have I waited for thee the desire of our soule is to thy name and to the remembrance of thee Come let us goe up to the mountaine of the Lord and to the house of the God of Iacob and hee will teach us of his wayes and we will walke in his paths thine eares shall heare a word behind thee saying this is the way walke in it Blessed is the man whom thou chusest and causest to approch unto thee that hee may dwell in thy courts we shall be satisfied with the goodnesse of thy house euen of thy holy Temple And in this mountaine shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things a feast of wines on the lees of fat things full of marrow of wines on the lees well refined Vid. vers 7. 8. Even them will I bring to my holy mountaine and make them joyfull in my house of prayer their burnt offrings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine Altar for mine house shall bee called a house of prayer unto all people SACRAMENTS in Speciall 〈…〉 let a man examine himselfe and so let him eate of that bread and drinke of that cup my father giveth you the true bread from heaven for the bread of God is he which commeth downe from heaven and giveth life unto the world As the Hart panteth after the water-brookes so panteth my soule after thee O God O God thou art my God early will I seeke thee my soule thirsteth for thee my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirstie land where no water is what shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord Personall Concernments and speciall employments in our particular calling Lord be thou with mee and keepe mee in this way that I goe and give me bread to eate and rayment to put on so that I may come againe to my fathers house in peace O Lord God I pray thee send mee good speed this day and shew kindnesse unto God Almighty give you mercie before the man that