Courts of the Lord my heart and my flesh cryeth for the living God One day in thy Courts is better than a thousand I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the Tents of wickedness For the Lord God is a Sun and a shield the Lord will give grace and glory and no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly O come let us worship and bow down before the Lord our Maker For he is our God and we are the People of his Pasture and the sheep of his hand To day if ye will hear his voice harden not your hearts ALmighty God who art great and glorious infinite in all perfections and of incomprehensible Majesty in comparison of whom the Princes of the earth are but vile Worms and all the Nations of the World less than nothing and vanity Thou deservest to be feared and magnified to be adored and praised and 't is our greatest honour to wait upon thee thy service is the most perfect freedom and we cannot but think it very meet and reasonable that a good part of our time should be devoted to thee and thine honour yea our whole life is too little to celebrate as we ought the excellence of thy divine Nature and of thy great Works O Lord this admirable Fabrick of the World is of thy making for in six days were all things Created by thee and the Seventh day in which thou didst cease from thy Work thou didst set apart for an holy Sabbath in which the Sons of men might remember thy Creation and honour thee for it Wherefore on this day of our religious rest we desire to meditate and admire that wonderful workmanship which doth appear in thy Creatures By the Word of the Lord were the Heavens made with all that glorious Host of Sun Moon and Stars thou hast founded the earth beneath and given life and breath to all things living We acknowledge thy signal kindness to our selves above the rest of thy Creatures in that thou didst Create man after thine own Image making him little lower than the Angels that thou hast given him dominion over the works of thine hands and made him capable of eternal happiness in the service and enjoyment of thy self O Lord how manifold are thy works in wisdom hast thou made them all the earth is full of thy riches and what is man that thou shouldest magnifie him That thou shouldest set thine heart upon him We do likewise extol thy love to mankind which hath been further shewn in the great work of our Redemption That after we had broken the Laws of our Creation by sinning against thee had faln short of the glory of God and were become liable to Death and Hell thou wert pleas'd to send thine only begotten Son out of thine own bosom to save us from destruction and restore us again to thy love and favour who took on him the form of a Servant liv'd a persecuted life dy'd a painful and ignominious death for us men and for our Salvation he did alone thy justice by the Sacrifice of himself overcame Death and the Grave and finished our Redemption by rising to life the third day when he was declar'd to be the Son of God with power by his wonderful Resurrection which we and all thy Church do this day commemorate O God thine acts of favour have been thus great and admirable to us-ward we do therefore offer up our hearty praise and thanksgiving for the discoveries of thy Wisdom Power and Goodness in the Creation of us and the whole World for thy compassion and rich grace in and through our blessed Saviour Jesus Christ And we do here with deep Repentance humble our selves for that our lives have not better answered such obligations of thine to duty and obedience for we have sinn'd against thee as thou art our Creatour by not loving and fearing thee as thou hast deserv'd by neglecting thy service and employing our souls and bodies which thou hast made in actions displeasing to thee and which thou hast forbidden We have offended thee as the Author of our Redemption by not receiving the Gospel with a due love and esteem thereof nor conforming our lives to its holy precepts nor walking suitably to that abundant grace which hath therein appeared teaching us to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts But O thou Father of Mercies who delightest not in the death of sinners be thou pleas'd to pardon and justifie to do away our iniquities and receive us graciously bless unto us all the means of grace and the opportunities of receiving instruction from thine holy Word When we appear before thee in the Congregation of thy people help us to be serious and devout as in thy presence to join in Prayer with an intent and fervent mind and to hear thy Word with reverence and submission that by an attendance on thine holy Ordinances we may encrease in Piety and all the Graces of Christian Holiness for the righteousness and merits of that holy One who died for our sins and rose again for our Justification And we do also humbly beg for his sake that thou wouldest grant unto us thine holy Spirit and Heavenly Grace whereby thine Image may be renewed in us that we may from henceforth honour and serve thee from whom we have received our being and help us more and more to conform our selves to the death of Christ by dying to sin and to his Resurrection by rising to holiness and newness of life To this good end we pray thee to grant that on this thine holy Day we may sanctifie thine holy Name that our thoughts may be heavenly and our affections set on things above that we may take delight in the exercises of religion and may be in thy fear all the day long Bless thy Church and be thou graciously present in all Christian Assemblies throughout the World to hear the Prayers they shall this day put up and to prosper thy Word which shall be Preached that it may become effectual for pulling down the Kingdom of Satan and for edifying the body of Christ in sound Faith and real Godliness Let the light of thy glorious Gospel be spread abroad and the borders of thy Sons kingdom daily enlarg'd Call home thine ancient people the Jews and bring in the fulness of the Gentiles that all the Nations of the earth may be one sheepfold under the one great shepherd of Souls We implore thy particular kindness for this Church and Kingdom and more especially for the Kings Majesty that he may have Wisdom Justice Piety and all princely vertues to govern according to thy Will for thy glory and the good of thy people And let thy true religion be continued to us for all generations We present unto thee our hearty thanks for thy many and great benefits vouchsafed to us for our excellent being our preservation hitherto and all temporal enjoyments for our birth and education in a
those happy ends bless him whom thou hast anointed King over us fill him with sound wisdom and all princely vertues that so he may rule for thee here and be rewarded by thee in thy Kingdom of Glory We crave thy choicest blessings for all to whom we have any particular obligation be thou a friend to our friends to all who have done us good or do wish us well Extend thy fatherly compassion to such as be in any affliction or distress whether of body or mind comfort the sorrowful relieve those that are in want send ease to all that are under any sickness or pain relieve the oppressed give thy consolation and support to all who are persecuted for righteousness sake and in thy due time redeem thine Israel out of all his troubles We do likewise present unto thee our humble thanks for all thy mercies and benefits so plentifully conferr'd upon us for our being and the preservation thereof for all the good things appertaining to the present life But above all we bless thee for giving thy Son to be our Redeemer for revealing to us the way of Life and Salvation by the holy Scriptures for thine Ordinances and all the means of Grace and for any measure of Faith and Holiness thou hast wrought in us We thank thee for thy good providence over us the day past that thou hast suppli'd our necessities preserv'd us from dangers and prolong'd our life hitherto And prais'd be thy wisdom and goodness for appointing the constant successions of day and night that man may go forth to his work until the Evening and then return to his place of rest and sleep O thou Keeper of Israel who doest neither slumber nor sleep watch over us in our lying down and let thine Angels guard our Habitations grant us to be refreshed with quiet and comfortable repose and that we may awake in health and safety the next morning let thy goodness O Lord continually follow us through all the parts and passages of our life till thou shalt bring us to thine everlasting Kingdom through Jesus Christ our blessed Saviour in whose Words we continue to pray unto thee Our Father which art in Heaven hallowed be thy Name thy Kingdom come thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen Thy grace O Lord Jesus Christ thy Love O heavenly Father thy Fellowship and Communion O holy and blessed Spirit be with us and abide with us henceforth and for evermore Another Psalm and Prayer for the Evening BLess the Lord ô my soul O Lord thou art become exceeding glorious thou art cloathed with Honor and Majesty Thou hast appointed the Moon for seasons and the Sun knoweth his going down Thou makest darkness and it is night wherein all the beasts of the Forest do creep forth Man goeth forth to his work and to his labour until the evening O Lord how manifold are thy works in wisdom hast thou made them all the earth is full of thy riches The Lord will command his loving kindness in the day time and in the night his Song shall be with me and my Prayer unto the God of my life My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness and my mouth shall praise him with joyful lips When I remember thee upon my bed and meditate on thee in the night watches Except the Lord build the house they labour in vain that build it except the Lord keep the City the watchman waketh but in vain It is vain to rise early and sit up late to eat the bread of carefulness for so he giveth his beloved sleep Consider and hear me O Lord my God lighten mine eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death ALmighty God our heavenly Father who hast commanded us by Prayers and Supplication to make known our requests unto thee and doest promise thy gracious presence where two or three are gathered together in thy Name we vile Creatures do here present our selves and our Prayers to thy divine Majesty humbly confessing that we are unworthy to lift up our eyes to Heaven the place of thine holy Habitation because we have sinned against Heaven and before thee and do not deserve to be owned for thy Children the inward thoughts and affections of our heart the words and actions of our outward life have been very evil and that continually We have been exceeding careless and defective in our Devotion and Piety towards God in the acts of charity and brotherly kindness we owe to men and in that mortification and self-denial which thy Gospel doth require the inclinations of our own corrupt nature we have more readily obeyed than the righteous commands of thine excellent Laws and our care hath been much greater about the things of this present life which are earthly and perishing then about things heavenly and spiritual belonging to the life immortal We do therefore with shame and repentance humble our selves beseeching thee for the Merits and Mediation of thy blessed Son to pardon all our offences and to receive us into thy love and favour as perfectly reconcil'd let not our former unthankfulness or abuse of mercies withhold from us the gifts of thy bounty but be thou pleas'd to bestow and continue to us all the good things that may be requisite and convenient for our comfortable subsistence in this World and for our eternal happiness in the life to come O Lord our Governour who orderest all things both in Heaven and earth guide and dispose all the affairs and occurrences of our present condition as may be most for thy glory and our real benefit preserve to us the health of our bodies the use of our reason of our senses and other necessary faculties and let thy good providence still watch over us to defend us from evil and to do us good More especially we beg the blessings of thy divine Grace for the sanctification of our hearts and lives enlighten our minds with the saving knowledg of thy self and of Jesus Christ whom to know is life eternal regulate our wills and affections that we may chuse what thou doest approve and refuse whatever thou hast forbidden that our love may be to thy Law and our chief delight in doing thy Commandements and that we may hate every evil work Enrich our souls with all Christian Vertues whereby we may be qualified to honour and serve thee to lead a sober righteous and godly life with a Conscience void of offence both towards thee and towards all men Amidst all the dangers and temptations of this mortal state let thine Almighty power be our shield and support give us minds suitable and prepar'd for every dispensation of thy providence that no events whether prosperous or afflicting may do us any
will I seek thee my soul thirsteth for thee To see thy Power and thy Glory so as I have seen thee in thy Sanctuary Blessed is the man whom thou chusest and causest to approach unto thee that he may dwell in thy Courts we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house even of thy holy Temple The Heavens are thine the Earth also is thine as for the World and the fulness thereof thou hast founded them I will praise thee for I am fearfully and and wonderfully made marvellous are thy works and that my soul knoweth right well My substance was not hid from thee when I was made in secret and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth Thy Eyes did see my substance yet being imperfect and in thy book all my Members were written which in continuance were fashioned when as yet there was none of them Let Israel hope in the Lord for with the Lord there is mercy and with him is plenteous redemption And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities I will praise the Lord with my whole heart in the Assembly of the upright and in the Congregation The works of the Lord are great sought out of all them that have pleasure therein His Work is honourable and glorious and his righteousness endureth for ever He hath made his wonderful Works to be remembred the Lord is gracious and full of compassion I praise the Lord for thou art become my Salvation The Stone which the builders refused is become the head Stone of the Corner This is the Lords doing it is marvellous in our Eyes This is the day which the Lord hath made I will rejoice and be glad in it MOst gracious God blessed be thy name that thou hast brought me to a new day and to another Christian Sabbath That thou doest not only lengthen out my natural life but also the means and opportunities of Grace for obtaining the life eternal Thou alone art worthy to receive adoration and Praise from Men and Angels and 't is the greatest honour I am capable of to be employed in thy Service But I do acknowledge my self very unworthy to approach thy presence or to receive any token of thy favour for I am a polluted Sinner and my whole life hath been a continued disobedience against thee and thy righteous Laws I have neglected the good Duties by thee requir'd but have been very forward to do those evil things which thy Law hath forbidden And my sins are much the more hainous and provoking because committed against the light of thy Gospel the great obligations of thy Mercies and after Vows and Promises of better Obedience Wherefore I do here humble my self at thy Footstool lamenting all the Offences of my former life and earnestly begging thy gracious pardone O Lord I do condemn my self but be thou pleas'd to acquit me for the Merits and Mediation of thine own Son who hath fulfill'd all righteousness and made a perfect Atonement by the Sacrifice of himself And as I pray to be freed from the guilt of sin by Justification so I desire to be deliver'd from the Power and Dominion of it by thy sanctifying Grace Be thou pleas'd to mortifie in me all corrupt lusts and sinful affections and to renew me after thine own Image in righteousness and true holiness To this end bless unto me thine holy Ordinances make them effectual for my spiritual benefit and grant that in the religious Duties of this holy day I may sanctifie thee in my heart and make thee my fear and dread O Lord this is a day set apart for thine honour in remembrance of the Worlds Creation which thou didst complete in six days and of our redemption by Christ which was finished by his Resurrection I do therefore ascribe unto thee Praise Thanksgiving and Worship for this glorious Fabrick of Heaven and Earth and the whole variety of Creatures contain'd in them more especially for that excellent being thou hast given to man whom thou didst make after thine own likeness and advance to an eminence and dominion over the Works of thine hands I do with all humble reverence own and adore thee as the Author of mine own life and being yielding thee due thanks that thou hast placed me in the highest rank of thy Creatures that thou hast endow'd me with a reasonable soul and such noble faculties as do fit me for the Knowledge and Service of thy self and the happy enjoyment of thee for ever And prais'd be thy Name for thy great Mercy and rich Grace in sending thine only begotten Son from thine own bosom to redeem Mankind from Sin and Misery and to direct the World in the right way of Life and Salvation I bless thee for the manifestation of the Gospel by him Preached and for the great confirmation of it by his Resurrection from the dead let the light of this Heavenly Doctrine shine over all the Earth that so all the Kingdoms thereof may become the Kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ Be propitious to that part of the World where thy Gospel is already planted let thy Church be reformed more and more from all corruptions both of Doctrine and Practice remove all the unhappy causes of discord and division that all who profess thy Name may agree in thy Truth and live in Unity and Godly Love More especially be thou gracious to this Church and Kingdom whereof I am a Member pardon our abuse of thy great Mercies and all other our provocations grant that the Inhabitants of the Land may turn from the evil of their ways unto the Lord their God that thou mayest rejoice over us to do us good give us outward peace and prosperity and continue thy Gospel and true Religion to us and the Posterities that shall come after us I beg thy kindness for all who are my particular friends or more nearly related to me that thou wouldest bless them in their persons and in all their concernments both of this life and of that which is to come And ô thou who art the Father of Mercy and God of all consolation shew thy tender pity to all who are under pain sickness want sorrow or any other calamity and wherever there be any that suffer persecution for the sake of righteousness or in defence of thy Truth and Gospel be thou near to them for their comfort and happy deliverance Have respect O God to the Prayers and Supplications of thy people which shall this day be offer'd up in the Christian Assemblies throughout the World assist and bless thy holy Word which shall be preached that men may be edified by it in sound Faith and real Godliness Be merciful O Lord to me thy Servant lift thou upon me the light of thy Countenance and let thy Grace be alwaies present with me grant that on this thy day I may not only abstain from worldly employments but also from all the works of Sin give me a spiritual temper of mind that my