and Vertuous with a greater Portion of Grace and bring all Sinners to Repentance Preserve all that travel by Land or by Water and give thy blessing to those that labour in their several Callings O prosper thou their handy work O good God be gracious to all my Relations and Friends convert and pardon my Enemies Deal to all degrees and conditions of Men what is most useful and profitable for them Finally I bless and praise thy holy Name for all the Mercies vouchsafed to me and to all Mankind for the sake of thy dear Son Christ Jesus I glorifie thee for his miraculous Birth Life Death Resurrection and Ascension and for his Intercession at thy right Hand for us and for the sending of the Holy Ghost for the wonderful Preservation of thy Church in all Ages for the good Examples of all Holy Men and Women that have gone before us for the means of Grace and for the hope of Glory I likewise magnifie Thee for my Health Strength Food and Rayment for the Preservation of my Self my Friends and Relations and for all the Comforts of this Life humbly beseeching Thee to give us all Grace to live so godly soberly and righteously in this present World that at the end of our Days we may come to those everlasting Joys which thou hast prepared for those that love thee through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen When this Prayer is used in the Morning add that which follows O God who by thy good Providence hast watched over me the Night that is pass'd be Thou pleas'd also to preserve me this Day defend me by thy mighty power from all things hurtful and grant me all things needful both for my Soul and Body and prosper what I shall go about through Jesus Christ Amen When in the Evening add this BE thou pleased this Night to protect and defend me and all that Thou in thy good Providence hast given me from all dangers and grant me such a comfortable and refreshing Sleep as may enable me to serve Thee better the Day following through Christ Amen End these Prayers as follows 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 Mat. 6.9 Luke 11.2 The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the Love of God and the Followship of the Holy Ghost be with me now and evermore Amen 2 Cor. 13 14. A Brief Paraphrase on the Lord's Prayer to be used at any time as a Prayer Preface O Lord the Creator and Preserver of all Men Heaven is thy Throne and the Earth thy Footstool Petition 1. We entirely desire that thy Name may be glorified by us and by all the World who have had so many Experiences how great how wise and how merciful thou art 2. Rule thou in the hearts of all Mankind by thy Grace and so prepare them for thy Kingdom of Glory 3. And since thy Will is holy and just and wise may we on Earth yield as ready and chearful an obedience to it in all things as the blessed Angels themselves do who stand in thy Presence and do whatever thou commandest them 4. Unless Thou preservest us we all perish We therefore humbly beseech Thee that Thou wouldest give us all things needful both for our Souls and Bodies and bless us in the due use of them We are indeed unworthy of such Mercies by reason of our manifold Transgressions But 5. We humbly hope Thou wilt in tender compassion to us pardon all our Offences against Thee as we do sincerely forgive all those who have offended against us and we beseech Thee to encrease this Charity in us 6. And together with thy Pardon for all that is past we implore thy Grace to preserve us continually from offending Thee for the time to come And to that end do Thou by thy Providence either prevent us from falling into Temptations or by thy Grace so assist us that we may overcome them Deliver us from the Snares and Malice of the evil one and from all sin and wickedness and from the Miseries of this Life so far as thou seest fit for us and above all from everlasting Death Conclusion Hear us and graciously answer our Petitions for thou art the great King whose power is infinite and to thee shall all the glory of thâ— goodness and mercy be returned for ever and ever Amen So be it On the Lord's Day before Church add this to the general Prayer IN an humble and thankful sense of thy infinite goodness O Lord who art pleased to admit us thy unworthy Creatures to tread thy Courts I am going to thine House there to present my Soul and Body to thee in the Assembly of thy Saints O do thou draw nigh to me who am drawing nigh to thee in a holy Fellowship with those who profess the Christian Faith Let thy Holy Spirit compose my Mind to a serious and devout attention in all the parts of thy Divine Service Let me praise thy Name with Chearfulness pray unto thee with Earnestness and hear thy word with Reverence And vouchsafe more fully to inform me of my Duty to correct and amend what is amiss in me to encourage and strengthen my good Resolutions and to assist me in all well-doing for the time to come That so growing every Day better and better by my Communion with Thee I may become such as thou canst love and delight in now and wilt reward at the great Day of the Lord Jesus Amen When you come from Church pray thus I adore thee again O Lord of Life and Glory and do most humbly beseech thee to accept of that dedication I have made of my Soul and Body to thee with Prayers and Praises in the publick Congregation Pardon all the wandring and evil Thoughts and all the unfit Actions I may have been guilty of in my attendance upon thee Be merciful to me in pardoning all my sins and endue me with the grace of thy Holy Spirit Preserve in me always a Religious sense of thee whereever I am or whatsoever I do O Blessed Jesus I beseech thee that thy holy Laws may be more deeply engraven on my heart O that every truth I have learnt this day may be so faithfully remembred by me as may make me more diligent in my Calling more useful in my Conversation more dutiful in all my Relations and more contented in all Conditions that so running the way of thy Commandments I may at length attain thy gracious Promises and be made Partaker of thy everlasting Kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen A Prayer before Confirmation O Almighty God and Merciful Father through whose gracious Providence over me I have been admitted into thy
he thinks most necessary to be believed And it is Resolved in the following Section CHAP. I. Section 2. The Summ of Things necessary to be believed by a Christian Artic. I. I believe in God the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth I do believe that there is a God an Infinite 1 King 8.27 Eternal Ps 90.2 Spirit Joh. 4.24 absolutely perfect Ps 147.5 Rom. 1.20 and that this God is the Father of whom are all things 1 Cor. 8.6 and who is in a more eminent manner the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Mat. 17.5 Joh. 1.14 Rom. 8.32 And I do believe that Power belongeth unto him Psal 62.11 so that he is able to do whatsoever he pleaseth Eccles 8.3 who did at first create the World and all things contained therein Gen. 1.1 and has preserv'd them ever since by His Divine Providence Neb. 9.6 Art II. And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord. I do believe that that Man who was born of the Virgin Mary Luk. 2.7 in the days of Herod Mat. 2.1 and who before his birth was by an Angel from Heaven named Jesus Mat. 1.21 was the True Messias the Anointed of the Lord Joh. 1.41 and 11.27 whom God had so long and so often promised to send into the world to be the Saviour of Mankind Gen. 3.15 and 21.12 and 49.10 Deut. 18.15 And I do also believe that this Holy Person was neither Angel nor Arch-Angel nor any other Creature whatsoever but the Son of God by an unspeakable Generation begotten of God from all Eternity Colos 1.15 17. Heb. 1.5 6 10 13. God of God and together with the Father and Holy Ghost one God John 5.18 blessed for ever Rom. 9.5 and that he is rightly called our Lord in respect of that Right that belongs to him as having first Created us Colos 1.16 and then redeemed us 1 Pet. 1.18 19. and being made Lord of all things Acts 2.36 Art III. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary I do believe that Jesus Christ was not conceived after the ordinary way but by the wonderful Operation of the Holy Ghost overshadowing his Virgin Mother Luke 1.35 that he might assume our Nature without the Depravation of it Luk. 1.35 And I do moreover believe that though being conceived in that wonderful manner he had no Man to his Father yet deriving his bodily substance from his Mother he is rightly said to be the Seed of the Woman Gen. 3.15 of the House and Family of David Ps 132.11 Mat. 15.22 Acts 2.30 And so being descended from Adam Luk. 3. he is truly call'd the Son of Man Mat. 8.20 Mar. 9.12 Luk. 9.22 John 5.27 Art IV. Suffered under Pontius Pilate was Crucified Dead and Buried he descended into Hell I do believe that the only begotten Son of God did in our Nature which he had assumed not only really and truly suffer both in his body by tormenting pains Mat. 27.26 29 35. and in his Soul by unspeakable sorrows Mat. 26.38 Luk. 22.44 for the Redemption of Mankind Gal. 3.13 1 Pet. 2.24 but even in the most shameful and ignominious manner also having his Hands and Feet nail'd to a Cross as Thieves and the vilest Malefactors were used Luk. 23.33 there he hung some Hours Luk. 23.44 till he was Really dead Luk. 23.46 and then for the greater certainty of it like other dead Men was embalmed and laid in the Grave Luk. 23.53 his Soul being departed into those unknown Regions where Souls separated from their Bodies are Ps 16.10 Acts 2.31 And I am verily perswaded that all this was done when Pontius Pilate was Governour of Judea under Tiberius the Roman Emperour Luk. 3.1 Art V. The Third Day he rose again from the Dead I do believe that Jesus Christ the Third Day after he died according to his own Promise Joh 2.19 and as the Scripture had foretold Ps 16.10 had his Soul by the Power of the Godhead reunited to his Body Acts 2.31 32. so that he was really and truly alive again Luk. 24.39 Acts 1.3 and is never to return to Death any more Rom. 6.9 Art VI. He Ascended into Heaven and sitteth at the Right Hand of God I believe that after he was risen from the Dead and had conversed with his Disciples Forty Days Acts 1.3 while he was Talking with them he was taken up in a Cloud and went into Heaven Angels attending and ministring unto him Acts 1.9 10. where being exalted far above all Principalities and Powers Eph. 1.20 21. and placed in full Possession of the highest Power Dignity and Dominion he always appears in the Presence of God making Intercession for us by vertue of that Sacrifice which he had before offered upon the Cross Col. 2.16 to 22. Heb. 7.25 and 9.24 Art VII From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead I believe that Christ in his Humane Nature shall continue in Heaven till the end of the World Acts 3.21 and that then he shall come from thence in the Clouds attended with millions of Angels and with the Voice of the Arch-angel and with the Trump of God and shall call all Mankind before him Mat. 24.30 31. as well those that shall be then alive at his coming 1 Thess 4.17 as those that shall have been dead from the beginning of the World Joh. 5.28 and there shall Judge them all according to their Deeds whether they have been good or whether they have been evil 2 Cor. 5.10 Art VIII I believe in the Holy Ghost I believe that there is a Third Person 1 Joh. 5.7 proceeding from the Father and the Son Joh. 15.26 Gal. 4.6 who also is God Acts 5.4 called in sacred Scripture the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost not only upon the account of his own most perfect Holiness and in Opposition to that Vnclean Spirit the Devil but also as he is the cause of all Holiness in us by his Graces sancrifying our Sculs and Bodies to the obedience of God 1 Pet. 1.2 and so making us acceptable to him in Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 6.11 Art IX The holy Catholick Church I believe that Christ by the Preaching of the Gospel has called not only out of Judea but out of all Nations a Society of Men Mat. 28.19 Acts 2.41 42. and 4.32 and 5.14 into which every one is admitted by Baptism 1 Cor. 12.13 and all are united to and under him as their Head Col. 1.18 And that this Catholick or Vniversal Church or whole Society of Christians dispersed over the world containeth in it as its parts many particular Churches such as were those of Jerusalem the first Church planted by the Apostles Luk. 24.47 Antioch Corinth Ephesus c. And that there is no One Governour on Earth whom Christ hath appointed Head of the whole Church or all particular Churches nor any who is sufficient for such a Charge I further believe that this Church is set apart for Holy Services and that the Calling and Profession of the
Their Bodies We are likewise to rely upon God for such a measure of these outward things as He in his great Wisdom sees fit for us and so to learn the true Art of Contentedness Would'st thou be greater then thou art And does not thy Rank and Quality please thee 1. Why should Dust and Ashes be proud Or why should not God do what He will with that which is his own Friend he does thee no wrong Mat. 20.13 15. The Clay may with more Justice quarrel with the Potter for being formed into a Vessel of dishonour Rom. 9.21 Or the small Rafter with the Master Carpenter for not being made a main Post or a Beam Why should not the great Architect of the Universe have Skill enough to dispose of so small a Material as Man is Or He who stretcht forth the Heavens not know how to place a little lump of Earth 2. Consider that Men in great Offices stand in high and slippery Places whilest those below them take aim and shoot at them and though they may miss their Honours and Preferments they are sure to hit their Failings and Infirmities Think also that the Cares and Temptations of worldly Greatness are more than the Felicities of it The very Thoughts of them made Saul the Son of Kish hide himself among the stuff 1 Sam. 10.22 He had rather have been feeding his Father's Asses than be made King of the Israelites Dost thou covet Riches Or art thou troubled that others have a greater share than thou of this Worlds Goods Consider 1. That the World and all that is therein is wholly and solely at God's dispose The Fowls of the Air the Fish of the Sea the Beasts of the Field and the Cattle upon a Thousand Hills the Corn and the Wine the Gold and the Silver the Wooll and the Flax Psal 50.10 11. Hos 2.8 9. And a Beggar may as well contend with him who gives him a small piece of Silver to enlarge his Bounty and make it a Talent of Gold or a yearly Stipend as a Creature dispute about any thing with his Creator 2. Thou settest thy Heart upon great uncertainties which the moth and rust doth corrupt and Thieves break in and steal Mat. 6.19 A Tempestuous Sea may sink an able Merchant an ill Season eat up a skilful Husbandman a neglected Brand or Candles-end soon reduce to Ashes Kings Palaces and the stately Buildings of proud Cities with all their Magazines Trophies and Rich Furnitures Thus do Riches make themselves wings and fly away as Eagles Prov. 23.5 3. They are not able to help thee in the Day of thy Distress How can any Treasure ease the torturing Pains of the Body or Grief arising from Shame or Disgrace And much less the Wounds of a Guilty Conscience The whole World cannot Comfort thee when thy Soul is lost or purchase a drop of water to cool thy Tongue when thou shalt be tormented in the Infernal Flames Luke 16.24 4. Plenty of Riches leads Men into a Thousand Snares and the love of Mony pierces them through with many sorrows 1 Tim. 6.9 10. And the strict Accounts they must one Day give of their Stewardships will make to those that trust in them their passage into Heaven more difficult than that of a Camel through the Eye of a Needle Mat. 19.24 Why art thou cast down O weak Christian And why is thy Soul so disquieted within thee because the World Smiles not upon thee Trust still in God Ps 42.5 11. If thou art of low degree and of mean Parentage be content with thy station and diligent in it Remember we are all the Sons of Adam and that Vertuous Actions alone gave the first Rise to Honourable Families and that the Most High God hath regard to the mean and humble Luke 1.51 52. If thou art poor and needy He who cloaths the Lilies and feeds the Ravens will provide for thee to day and let to morrow take care for it self sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof Mat. 6.34 Although the Fig-tree should not blossom nor Fruit be in the Vine the labour of the Olive fail the Fields yield no Meat the Flocks be cut off from the fold and no Herd in the Stalls yet will I rejoyce in the Lord Hab. 3.17 18. If thou labourest under Troubles Crosses and Afflictions or painful Diseases or Distempers Comider 1. That this Life is a state of Tryal and not of Recompence Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upwards Job 5.7 And a heavy yoke is upon the Sons of Adam from the day that they go out of the Womb till the day that they return to the Mother of all things Ecclus 40.1 2. Are not thy Troubles and Afflictions or bodily Pains suited by God to thy Sins to reclaim thee from some evil Course Or are they not sent thee as a tryal and exercise of thy Faith and Patience Or to wean thee from the World and from setting up thy rest here below 3. Are they not Ten Thousand times less than thou hast deserved For when we consider what we have merited every mouth must be stopped and the whole World must become guilty before God Rom. 3.19 4. Make up thy Accompts with God and see if thy Receipts be not greater than thy Disbursements and the Mercies thou enjoyest more in number than the things thou wantest But do not affright thy self with Images of past Calamities or dress up new ones in Imagination and wandring Thoughts 5. God laâ—s upon none of his Children more than they are able to bear neither does He willingly afflict the Children of Men Lam. 3.33 But Fools for their transgressions are afflicted Ps 107.17 and when he sees his time and them fit for Mercies he will put an end to all their Troubles Art thou Oppressed or Persecuted If it be for doing ill thou hast no reason to complain if for doing well happy art thou 1 Pet. 3.14 In short instead of murmuring and complaining thank God Job 1.21 who Correcteth his Children out of Love Heb. 12.6 So shall these light Afflictions which are but for a moment work for thee a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory 2 Cor. 4.17 Neither are the sufferings of this Life worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed Rom. 8.18 Upon this whole Matter argue with thy self in the Words of Jeremiah Lam. 3.39 40. Wherefore doth a living Man complain a Man for the punishment of his sins Let us search and try our ways and turn again unto the Lord. CHAP. II. SECT II. Duties to our selves THese Duties are Consideration Resolution Humility Diligence in our Callings Chastity and Moderateness 1. Consideration Or a serious and careful weighing in our Minds what we are to what end we were born what we think speak or act No Opinion is to be taken up no Word to be spoken no Action to be done at all adventure and without being consider'd If any inconsiderate thing proves well it is