shalt shew me the Path of Life in thy presence is the fulness of joy and at thy right hand there are pleasures for Evermore WE have had Fathers of the Flesh which corrected us and we gave them reverence shall we not much rather be in Subjection to the Father of Spirits and live he draweth the mighty with his power he riseth up and no Man is sure of Life WE have received good at the hands of God and shall we not receive Evil Affliction cometh not forth of the dust neither doth Travail come forth of the Ground Let us search and try our wayes and turn again to the Lord for though our outward Man decay our inward Man is renewed WE are chastened of the Lord that we should not be Condemned with the World For we had the sentence of death in our selves that we should not trust in our selves but in God that raised the dead who hath delivered us from so great a death and doth deliver And in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us BUT we know that all things work together for good to them that love God Let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their Souls to him in well doing as unto ae Faithful Creator We that are in this Tabernacle do groan being burdened I KNOW O Lord that thy judgments are just and that thou of very faithfulness hast caused me to be troubled O let this lightaffliction which will quickly pass away cause unto me afterward a more excellent and eternal weight of Glory REMEMBER I beseech thee that thou hast made me as the Clay and wilt thou bring me into the Dust again Deliver me O Lord from Eternal Death in that day wherein Heaven and Earth shall be dissolved when thou comest to judge the Earth I know thou wilt bring me to Death and to the House appointed for all Living A Prayer to be used by a sick Person O GOD my Creator and Preserver thou hast made me after thine own Image in Knowledge Holiness and Righteousness but I have sinned most holy Father against Heaven and against thee and am no more worthy to be called or reckoned amongst thy Children for this Image of thine I have defaced I have filled my Understanding with Ignorance my Will with Stubbornness my Affections with Perverseness my Heart with Deceitfulness and my whole Life with Disobedience ever since I drew my Breath I have drank Iniquity like Water so that I can expect nothing but Death and to be Arraigned at the Bar of thy Justice there to receive an irrevocable Doom BUT O most merciful God for thy dear Sons sake blot out all my Offences and receive me Graciously enlarge my patience to endure thy Tryal and lay no more upon me than I am able to bear give a happy issue unto all Temptations and make a way for me to escape and in the end grant me a full Deliverance As thou hast made me of Dust so thou canst take from me my breath and cast me forth again to that Earth from whence I was taken but I humbly beseech thee for to spare me a little that I may recover my health and strength before I go hence and be no more seen I CONFESS O Lord there is no soundness in my Flesh because of thy Displeasure nor any rest in my Bones by reason of my sin my heart panteth my strength faileth and my beauty consumeth away like a Moth fretting a Garment O Lord if it be thy holy Will ease my Agonies mitigate my Extremities be mindful of my Sorrows and be merciful unto my Sins redeem my Life from Destruction strengthen my Weakness heal my Malady and cause me again to walk before thee in the Land of the Living but if thou hast determined to call me hence thy Will be done grant me patience under thy Correction and a lively Faith in the All-sufficient and Efficacious Merit of Christ my Saviour seal unto me a free and a full pardon of all my sins in the Blood of thy dear Son and say unto my Soul that thou wilt be my Salvation IN assiance of thy merciful Absolution cause me to confess mine Iniquities and fill my heart with such a Godly sorrow as may work my Repentance unto Salvation never to be repented of sprinkle me with the Blood of Jesus and purifie me from my daily Pollutions that being washed justified and sanctified I may be presented unto thee without spot or wrinkle let nothing separate me from the love of thee grant me thy preserving Grace that dying thine Angels may convey my Soul into Abrahams Bosom there to reign with thee World without end Amen A Prayer to be said by the Friends of the Sick O LORD our God and great Creator thou madest us innocent but by sin we have brought Death and Destruction upon our selves for we have profaned thy Sabbaths contemned thine Ordinances cast thy Word behind our backs lived in all sin and sensuality spiritual slumber and security so that thou mightest justly cut us off from the Land of the Living and give us our Portion with Hypocrites where there is weeping and gnashing of Teeth BUT O Lord for thy Mercy sake and for the Merits of thy Son spare us a little and give us space of amendment before we go hence and be no more seen correct us in thy Mercy and not in thy Justice lest we should be consumed and brought to nothing whilst we live teach us to die daily to mortifie the deeds of the Flesh and to contemn the World with the Vanities thereof wean us from inordinate Self-love that we may not endear our selves too much to these Transitory lives of ours but may be ready and willing to depart when it shall stand with thy good pleasure to call for us take away from us the bitterness of Death and sweeten by the Cross of Christ these Waters of Marah that we may sigh and lament in our selves desiring to be delivered from the Bondage of Corruption into the Glorious Liberty of the Sons of God LET our lives and the life of this thy sick Servant be now and ever precious in thy sight look mercifully upon him that is grieved with sickness Lord if thou wilt thou canst make him whole send him therefore help and health from thy holy place and evermore mightily defend him let the Enemy have no advantage against him nor the Wicked approach to hurt him but be thou present with him strengthen his Faith increase his patience under thy Correcting-hand raise him up from his sorrowful Bed and if thou art pleased longer to exercise him lend him strength to endure thy Tryal BUT if thou hast determined to take him hence Lord certifie unto him how long he hath to live make him to know his end and the measure of his days that by Prayer and Repentance he may provide wisely for his last end and be found of thee in peace and enjoy everlasting happiness dispose his
Noâ—trils can drive us like Chaff before the face of the Wind and chase us into the bottomless Pit from whence there is no Redemption BUT thine Eye O Lord hath spared us and we are yet alive O make us living Monuments of thy Mercy that we may work out our Repentance unto Salvation and let it be such a Repentance never to be repented of possess my heart with such a fear and a love of thee that I may tremble at thy Word and melt at the sight of thy Judgments deliver me I humbly beseech thee in that great day of thy appearance and let me not be in the number of Depart ye Cursed but among those whom thou callest Come you blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you This I humbly beg for thy Sons sake our only Lord and Saviour Amen The Marriners Prayer O GOD the great Creator of Heaven and Earth thou dost whatsoever thou pleaseâ—t in the Sea and in all deep places I the most unworthiest of all thy Servants am at this time called upon to behold thy Wonders in the Deep and to perform my Duty in great Waters Guide me I beseech thee in all times and in all places be thou our skilful Pilot to steer us and protect us from all Dangers and rebuke the Winds and the Seas when they molest us preserve our Vessel from being rent by the loud cracks of Thunder or from being burnt by Lightning or any other accident keep us and save us from tempestuous Weather from bitter Frosts Hail Ice Snow or Whirlwinds and from Captivity and Slavery TEACH me O God to remember thee my Creator in the days of my Youth to continually think upon thee and to praise thy Name for all thy Mercies bless all our Friends I beseech thee that are on Land and let their Prayers for us be acceptable in thy sight and grant that our next meeting together may be for the better and not for the worse even to the praising and magnifying of thy holy Name and the Salvation of our own Souls in the great day of the Lord Jesus to whom with thee and thy blessed Spirit be ascribed all Honour Power and Glory Adoration and Subjection now and for evermore Amen The Soldiers Prayer O MOST Omnipotent Lord God Heaven is thy Throne and Earth is thy Footstool and the whole Host of Heaven continually pays obedience to thee O Lord I present my self before thee acknowledging my own vileness but thy infinite goodness my own weakness but thy infinite Power and Majesty O thou that teaches our hands to War and our fingers to Fight endue me with a courage and resolution to run through those difficulties I may meet withal and when any engagement presents it self for the publick good of my King and Country then O my God animate me with that vigour and Christian fortitude that I may overcome all those which oppose thee and thy people PRESERVE me I beseech thee and bless me in all my Enterprises save me from Death and cover my head in our day of Battel prosper our Arms with good success make our Religion and Country like the House of David grow stronger and stronger but let the Enemy like the House of Saul grow weaker and weaker let no covetous desires greediness of spoil ambition vain-glory hatred malice uncharitableness or any thing that exalts it self against thee and thy Kingdom ever take hold of me keep me from all Atheism Infidelity Blasphemy and Prophaneness from all Rioting Chambering and Wantonness grant that I may do no violence to any man nor accuse no man falsly but be content with my Wages that when ever Death approaches I may joyfully giving up the Ghost pronounce this saying I have fought a good fight I have finish'd my course I have kept the faith henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness which the Lord the Righteous Iudge shall give unto all those which love and fear him and put their trust in his mercy Amen The Magistrates Prayer O GOD thou Supreme Judge of the World thou didit ordain Man through thy Wisdom and gavest him dominion over thy Creatures and authority to govern the World according to equity and righteousness and to execute Judgment with all uprightness thou hast appointed me a Minister O Lord and a Judge of thy Sons and Daughters but none can discharge so great a trust without thy divine power and assiâ—tance TO thee therefore O Lord do I humbly address my self thou art the Fountain from whence every good and perfect gift cometh and none can rule without thy Wisdom guides them Endue me O Lord with that wisdom which is from above which is first pure and then peaceable inspire me with an understanding Spirit that I may discern between Good and Evil between Light and Darkness that I may be always ready to pronounce a just sentence in all Causes let the Scales of Justice be ever even and let my Eyes be blind and my Ears deaf to all gifts or popular applause amongst men suffer me not to bear thy Sword in vain but fill me with that Zeal and Courage that I may be ready to punish Wickedness and Vice but encourage true Religion and Vertue so that at the last when thou shalt be pleased to call me hence I may give up my accounts with joy and not with grief and receive those blessed Words which thou hast pronounced of Well done thou good and faithful Servant enter into the joy of thy Lord. Amen A Prayer of a Debtor in Prison O GOD the helper of the poor and needy and all those who are in adversity look down I beseech thee with an Eye of Pity and Compassion upon thy afflicted Servant the place I am in is miserable disconsolate and comfortless but withdraw not the light of thy countenance from me O Lord I confess I have abused all those mercies I have enjoyed I have not employed that precious time thou hast given me to improve but on the contrary I have been negligent and guilty of all profuseness I have been worse than an Infidel in not making that provision for my Family which I was obliged in Justice to perform neither have I paid those due Debts which I became bound to do therefore aâ— I plunged into this depth of misery Divers ways I am apprehensive I have highly offended thy Divine Majesty both in thought word and deed for which I earnestly implore thy gracious pardon and forgiveness I acknowledge thy Divine Goodness and Mercy that thou hast not snatched me hence and sent me into everlasting burnings amongst the damned but thou hast preserved me unto this moment that I might live and praise thy great Name My Body O Lord is now confin'd but I beseech thee enlarge my Spirit whereby I may offer up the Sacrifice of Prayer and Thanksgiving with all cheerfulness for all thy innumerable benefits which I have from time to time received from thee dispose the hearts of my
evermore let no appalements disturb me keep me from Fire Storms Tempests Thieves sudden Death and Danger cause thine Angels to pitch their Tents round about me my House and Habitation and preserve all that is near and dear unto me Here name your particular Friends REMEMBER thy Church and every Member of it have pity on the poor afflicted Protestants in all parts beyond the Seas who suffer for the Testimony of their Faith and a good Conscience send them help from thy Holy place and evermore mightily defend them be unto them a Sun and a Shield a Sun to Comfort and a Shield to defend them to all Dangers and Tribulations put a period unto all their afflictions and in â—hy good time vouchsafe them a happy Deliverance Lord receive them and me and all that appertain unto me this Night and for ever into thy Gracious protection through the Mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Meditations for Saturday THE great Creator this day rested from all his Work which he had made and blessed it O Lord grant that after this painful life is ended I may enjoy a comfortable rest with thee in Heaven where I may keep an eternal Sabbath and hold a perpetual Feast there will be rest without Labour tranquillity without Molestation and joys without End There my Soul wilt thou behold a Glorious City the Streets of Gold the Gates of Pearl and the Foundations garnished with all sorts of precious Stones I SHALL behold thee the Father in thy Majesty Christ thy Son in his Glory the Spirit in his Sanctity the Arch-Angels and Angels in their Exceilency and the Saints in their Felicity then shall I no more hunger labour nor travel I shall no more fear grieve nor desire I shall want no more an earthly House for the Heaven of Heavens shall be my Habitation God will be my Temple and the Lamb that shineth for ever shall enlighten me LORD let the hope and expectation of this eternal rest and felicity sweeten all my labours and ease my torments let it mitigate my afflictions and comfort my spirits that I faint not in my Journey nor be depressed under my burden but hold on cheerfully and valiantly till I arrive at the Land of Promise and there receive the Lot of mine Inheritance with the Saints in light for evermore Amen A Prayer for Saturday Morning MOST Gracious God sanctifie I humbly beseech thee this day unto me and my self now and ever unto thy service thy Mercies O Lord they are new every Morning and therefore my Thanks ought every day to be a new repeated I praise thy holy Name for keeping me this Night past unto this present hour and moment and hast now brought me unto the last day of the Week grant that I may spend the same soberly righteously and holily BRING me to the knowledge of thy Blessed Will in all things that I may endeavour to perform the same to thy Glory the peace of my Conscience and the preservation of my own Soul purge and cleanse my Heart and Conscience from all dead Works that I may serve thee the living God for evermore Be thou my Guide in all my ways my stay and support in all my necessities put an end to the motions of the Flesh enlarge my Heart for all pious Duties and habitual Graces of thy Spirit that I may bring forth the Fruits of them in my Life and Conversation BLESS the Kingdom wherein I inhabit and thy holy Catholick Church whereof I am an unworthy Member bless thy Servants and our dear Lord and Lady King William and Queen Mary as thou hast Crowned them with a Temporal Crown here so in thy due time give them a Crown of Glory hereafter Bless Katherine the Queen Dowager her Royal Highness the Princess Ann of Denmark with the rest of the Royal Family Bless all persons whether dignified or distinguished from the swayer of the Scepter to the drawer of Water have mercy upon all sick persons Women travelling with Child and those who are troubled in Body Mind or Estate O Lord speak peace unto their Consciences and as thou hast laid laid them down with the one hand so raise them up with the other if not to this life to life eternal for the Merits and Mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord Amen A Prayer for Saturday Evening O GOD the maker and preserver of all things look down with thy eye of pity and compassion upon me a miserable sinner I here prostrate my self Soul and Body before thy Divine Majesty beseeching thee in much mercy to pardon my sins to Sanctifie me with thy grace and to bring me to thy glory That so my Soul may be refreshed with such things as Eye hath not seen Ear hath not heard nor hath it entered into the heart of Man to conceive ENTER not into Judgment with thy Servant O Lord for in thy sight shall no Flesh living be justified Examine not my wayes this Week past by the strickt rule of thy Law neither reward me in the severity of thy Justice But have Mercy upon me a miserable offender that have deserved the sharpest of thy Judgments but as the Heavens are higher than the Earth so is thy Mert cy over all thy Works of and great exten to poor Sinners SATISFIE my Soul with thy Mercy and that right soon so shall I rejoyce and be-glad in thee and learn to praise thee Evermore And now O Lord as this Week is ended so let my Sins be ended and never be repeated again any more Be pleased to be my merciful protector and preserver from all perils and dangers this Night Refresh my Body with quiet rest that my mind may be chearful and be fit to serve thee in Sanctifying thy Sabbath and keeping it as a glorious day unto thee through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Meditations on the Lords Supper HOW can I approach so divine a banquet and not by an humble confession wash my hands in innocency holy things must not be given to Dogs nor Pearls cast before Swine What is so holy as the Body and blood of Christ and what Pearl so precious as this Sacrament There is no Dog so filthy or Sow so unclean as I am by Nature but with great detestation of my Rebellious Corruptions I confess that never Dog so often returned to his Vomit nor Sow to her wallowing in the mire as I have to the sink of Sin and mire of sensual filthiness O WASH my hands in purity cleanse my Mouth and purge my Heart that I may take with a pure Hand eat with an undefileth mouth and keep in a faithfull heart this bread of life and food of Angels give me grace throughly and sincerely to examine my self and grant that after Examination I may find my desire fervent my knowledge Competent my Sorrow for Sin unfeigned my purpose of amendment sled fait my love sincere and my Faith lively AND finding my self thus apparelled in a wedding garment let me be found of thee
to keep our Faith and a good Conscience void of offence we may now and in the hour of death be and remain alwayes thine Defend us from all evil and sence us against the assaluts of Satan watch over us by the Eye of thy good providence and cause thy Angels to pitch their tents about us for our safety and continual preservation INTO thy hands we now commit our Souls and Bodies guide our thoughts words and actions and if we forget thee our God at any time O! do thou in mercy remember us and forgive us our trespasses make us to see our Sins in the glass of thy Law to mourn for them in the Closet of our hearts and Confess them in the bitterness of our Souls teach us to cast off the rags of iniquity and by Faith put on the Robes of Righteousness Help us to manage the Sword of the Spirit and the Helmet of Salvation that we may be able to fight against the Wiles of the Devil the vanitics of the World the Lusts of the flesh and the pride of Life BE favourable to Sion build up the walls of Ierusalem more particularly preserve and enlarge these Churches of great Britain and Ireland feed them as thy flock and Family Dress them as thy Vineyard and adorn them as thy Spouse Defend our Soveraign Lord and Lady King William and Queen Mary from all Enemies at home and abroad preserve their Bodies in Health the Hearts and Souls in soundness and truth their lives in honour and their honour from underminers Bless Katherine the Queen Dowager her Royal Highness the Princess Ann of Denmark with the rest of the Royal Family Bless those which rule in Church and State all Schools of good Education and sound Learning all thy Ministers and Magistrates with all our Relations in the Flesh and Friends in the Spirit to whom thou hast any ways made us bounden O Lord enable us to requite them or lay it on thine own account to restore it unto them and their Posterities And here we yield thee all laud and praise for Creating us when we were nothing for Predestinating us unto the Adoption and choosing us in Christ before the Foundation of the World We thank thee for our Preservation this Night past and for bringing of us this day to behold thy glorious light Lord awake our Souls from Sin and Carnal Security that we may be prepared like wise Virgins with Oyl in our Lamps to meet the sweet Bridegroom of our Souls whether at the hour of Death or the Day of Judgment These and all other Graces which for blindness we cannot and for our unworthiness we dare not ask we beseech thee to give us for the worthiness of thy dear Son Jesus Christ our Lord in whose most holy Name and Words we conclude these our imperfect Prayers in that most perfect Form of Prayer which he himself hath further taught us in his holy Gospel saying Our Father c. A Collect for the Day LORD bless us and make thy Face to shine upon us keep us from Sin and Satan sickness and sorrow shame and servitude loss of Goods and good Names or of any thing more near and dear unto us if it be thy good pleasure preserve us evermore in thy Faith and holy Fear guide us constantly by thy Councel and after that receive us to Glory Amen An Evening Prayer for a Family O GOD the God of the Spirits of all Flesh the high and lofty one that Inhabitest Eternity who hast made the Earth by thy power Establish'd the World by thy Wisdom and stretched out the Heavens by thy discretion the Father of Eternity and Fountain of Mercy the giver of all good things the forgiver of all sins and the comforter of all such as fly unto thee Lord we are here present before thee be thou present with us and President amongst us we appeal from the Seat of thy Justice to the Throne of thy Mercy beseeching thee to give us a sense of our own Miseries and an assurance of thy Mercies let us not be possess'd with over much fear but that with a holy confidence of thy goodness we may with joy appear in thy presence in an humble acknowledgment of our sins TO this end we confess that we have sinned against Heaven and before thee and are no more worthy to be called thy Children we have transgressed thy holy Laws and Commandments not only by our Thoughts and Words but by our Deeds and Actions our Iniquities are more in number than the hairs of our Head and make us seem vile in our own Eyes but much more in thy sight Lord unto thee we confess our sins O grant us Pardon and Absolution for them open unto us Penitents that ever streaming Fountain of thy Sons Blood that our sins being Bathed therein we may appear without blemish in thy sight by his Death mortifie our sinful Corruptions hide them in his Wounds and bury them in his Grave that they may neither rise in this life to shame us nor in the World to come to condemn us GIVE us thy holy Spirit let him purge our Consciences heal our Corruptions illuminate our Understandings confirm our Memories and consecrate our Souls and Bodies that they may be fit Temples for thy holy Ghost to dwell in Be merciful to thy Church and enlarge her borders shower down the choicest of thy blessings upon the heads and hearts of thy Servants our Soveraign Lord and Lady King William and Queen Mary bless them with length of days here and with a Crown of Glory hereafter bless Katherine the Queen Dowager her Royal Highness the Princess Ann of Denmark with all the rest of the Royal Family Bless the Nobility Gentry Ministry Magistracy and Commonalty our Relations in the Flesh and Friends in the Spirit protect all that stand up for thy Truth but as for thy Foes let them be ashamed and confounded AND now seeing thou hast brought the Night upon us wherein thou hast ordained man to rest in we humbly beseech thee who art the Keeper of Israel who never slumberest nor sleepest to watch over us by thy Providence cause thy holy Angels to pitch their Tents round about us that being freed from the terrors of the Night and refreshed with moderate rest and sleep we may the better be enabled to praise thy Name and to walk before thee in all good Works and holiness of Conversation all the days of our lives Let our Bed O Lord put us in mind of our Grave and our rising from thence of our Resurrection that whether we wake or sleep we may be always thine AND knowing that thy Name O Lord is a strong To ver of Defence we here commend our selves this Night to thy most holy protection if it be thy Divine Will to call any of us hence in our sleep O Lord for thy Sons sake have mercy upon us and receive our Souls into thy most blessed Kingdom but if it be thy heavenly pleasure
and holy Spirit my Comfort and Consolation THE peace of God which passeth all Understanding keep my Heart and Mind in the love of God and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord and the blessing of God Almighty the Father Son and Holy Ghost be with me and remain with me and mine and with the whole Church of God from this time forth and for evermore GOD be merciful unto me and bless me the Lord lift up the light of his Countenance upon me and be merciful unto me and grant me his everlasting peace Amen A Prayer for one afflicted in Mind O FATHER of Mercy and God of all Consolation vouchsafe I beseech thee relief and succour unto me a wretched Sinner who am much tormented in Mind and afflicted in Conscience Lord I am afraid of thy Judgments and the severe Threatnings written in thy Law against those sins I have committed but O Lord break not the bruised Reed nor quench the smoaking Flax wound not my humble and contrite Heart but revive my Spirit that goes mourning all the day long though Satan thinks thou hast smitten and forsaken me yet frustrate his hopes and expectations leave me not destitute of thy Grace as a prey unto the Enemy of my Soul but mightily preserve and evermore defend me AND though my Conscience accuses me my Memory witnesses against me and my Reason condemns me though I am overwhelmed in discomfort and have lost the voice of joy and gladness and have neither worth to appease thy wrath nor patience to endure thy tryal yet send me O Lord the comfort of thy holy Spirit into my heart that I may not be swallowed up with overmuch heaviness but may rejoyce in thee with joy unspeakable and full of Glory Open and set open the Gate of thy Mercy to the greatness of my Misery for my mind is sorrowful my heart heavy my spirit is oppressed my words are stopt with sighs and my complaints watered with tears IN executing thy Judgments Lord remember Mercy try me not least I be condemned weigh not my offences but pardon my offences sanctifie all those means unto me which may afford me relief as Prayer Conference Meditation reading and hearing of thy Word and receiving the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of thy Son and my alone Saviour and Redeemer mitigate my extremities abate my fears and moderate my afflictions let not Night Visions like Nebuchadnezzar's make me affraid but when I awake stay me with Flaggons and comfort me with Apples thy precious promises which are pleasant to the Soul RECTIFIE my Understanding as in the days of Old and Drink no longer unto me in the Cup of Affliction but in the Chalice of refreshing that I may pay my Vows unto thee and call upon thy Name in the sight of all thy Congregation but if it be thy good pleasure to try me and not take away this Cup from me confirm my Faith and continue unto me that Hope which is to be revealed to this end cause me with the Eye of Faith to look up to thee who chastisest me and wait for the appointed time of my delivery out of all my Troubles LORD suffer me not to be swallowed up with despair but vouchsafe me a full assurance of thy Mercy that thou wilt never leave me nor forsake me but wilt be in life my God in death my Deliverer and after death my Eternal Rewarder Lord hearken and incline thine Ear unto these my Requests for thy Sons sake my only Lord and Saviour Our Father c. THE Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the love of God the Father and the most comfortable Fellowship of God the holy Ghost be with me bless preserve and keep me both in Soul and Body in Goods and good Name in Life Health Peace and Godliness together with thy whole Church and all that appertain unto me now and for evermore Amen A Prayer to be used in behalf of one troubled in Mind ALMIGHTY God the only Guide and Comfort of our Souls and to whom alone we fly for succour in all afflictions O Lord we presume now to appear before thee in behalf of this thy afflicted Servant Support him I beseech thee in his greatest conflicts silence and appease his troubled Spirit that he may quietly hearken to thy blessed Words of Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest THOU hast solemnly proclaimed O Lord in thy holy Scripture that thou dost not delight in the death of a Sinner but rather that he should turn from his Wickedness and live O make him with joy feel his Soul turning to thee since no satisfactory Comfort can be acquired but only in thy love and favour which to all thy Servants is better than life it self We beseech thee speak peace to his Conscience and say unto him and all that are here present that thou art our Salvation ENDUE him with thy Grace give him peace of Conscience and joy in the Holy Ghost O give him the Comfort of thy help again and Establish him with thy free Spirit quicken him O Lord for thy Names sake and for thy Righteousness sake bring his Soul out of this trouble Put gladness into his heart and restore him again if it be thy Blessed will that he and we may Evermore rejoyce in thee who art the Father of all Mercies and the God of all Consolation to whom be Glory and Praise now and for Evermore Amen Meditations for the Sick O GOD thou dost what thou pleasest in Heaven and in Earth in the Sea and in all deep places thou art full of Compassion and tender Mercy long suffering and aboundest in goodness and truth thou alone forgivest Sins and savest all those that trust in thee in time of affliction I KNOW that all Flesh is Grass and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field the grass withereth the flower fadeth but the Word of thee our God shall stand for Ever In thy word therefore and gracious promises is my hope which is my greatest Comfort in my affliction IN the multitude of thy thoughts within me thy Comforts shall delight my Soul I will rejoyce even in the midst of my tribulation and glory in thy Holy Name who makest all things work together for good to them that love thee Though I walk through the vally of the shadow of Death I will fear no evil for thou art with me thy rod and thy staff doth Comfort me WE are but of Yesterday and know nothing because our dayes upon Earth are as a shadow When thou with rebukes dost correct Man for iniquity thou makest his beauty to Consume away like a Moth Surely every Man is vanity my time is in thy hand Make thy face to shine upon thy Servant Save me for thy Mercies sake HIDE not thy face from me put not thy Servant away in thine anger Thou hadst been my help leave me not neither forsake me O God my of salvation Thou
Meditations aright for Mortality and at that last hour make him to deny himself in renouncing his Justification by any inherent worth or righteousness and in all sorrows and sufferings let thy comforts rejoyce his Soul TO this end mortifie in him the Corruption of Nature quicken him with the Soul of new life and establish him with thy free Spirit purge his heart from all worldly thoughts and his mind from carnal desires motions and affections wash his Soul and Body with the Blood of Christ and sanctifie him throughout in Spirit Soul and Body with the Grace of thy holy Spirit that departing in the true Faith not casting away his confidence nor hope of rejoycing in full assurance of a blessed Resurrection he may have boldness in the day of the Lord Jesus and so pass from Death to Life and be ever with thee to behold thy Glory grant this for the sake of thy dear Son our Lord and Saviour Amen Another Prayer to be used by those that are about the Sick O LORD our God thou art the Judge of all the Earth we Dust and Ashes vile and miserable Sinners do here in all humility cast down our selves before thee for our Sins which are the occasion of all the evil of punishment thou inflictest on the Sons and Daughters of Men. Lord hear us and forgive whatsoever is past and grant that we may for ever hereafter serve and please thee through newness of life walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days and because the days are evil give us Grace to redeem the time that numbring our days aright we may apply our hearts unto true Wisdom make us constantly to eschew evil and do good to seek peace and ensue it LOOK with thine Eye of Mercy and Compassion upon this thy Servant who is grieved with Sickness sanctifie this thy Visitation unto him that those Graces which thou hast begun to work in him may be strengthened increased and by degrees perfected restore unto him the voice of joy and health that the Bones which thou hast broken may rejoyce And seeing we have need of patience send this thy Servant such a degree of patience and consiancy that he may continue thy Faithful Soldier and Servant unto his lives end work in him a sense and seeling of sin and true sorrow for the same which may cause repentance unto Salvation never to be repented of O LORD if it be not thy good pleasure to raise him up from his Bed of languishing prepare his heart for Death and his Soul for Heaven and wash away his Sins in the Blood of Jesus wean his affections from the love of this World and set them on those things which are above that being absent from the Body he may be present with thee O Lord. Repair in this thy Servant thine own Image and renew it in knowledge holiness and righteousness that thou mayest acknowledge him for thine raise him up from the Grave unto the Resurrection of Life and for ever satisfie him with thy likeness and transform him into the same from Glory to Glory Amen A Prayer to recommend the Soul to God when it is departing the Body O MOST Gracious God we commend into thy holy hands the Soul of this thy Servant beseeching thee to defend it from all evil and from thy wrath which he hath deserved let thy holy Angels receive this Soul from this ruinous habitation of Clay and carry it unto the bosom of thy dear Son O say unto this Soul this day shalt thou be with me in Paradise and fear not for it is my Fathers pleasure to give you a Kingdom GIVE unto his decaying Body a blessed and a glorious Resurrection to his weary and afflicted his penitent and redeemed Soul a portion in the blessed sentence of the right hand amongst the happy Children of thy Father who shall receive the Kingdom prepared for them from the beginning of the World let his Soul dwell in heavenly Mansions be supported with thy hope comforted with a holy conscience rejoyce in a confirm'd pardon be recreated with the visitation of Angels and be arrayed in white to follow after the Lamb whither soever he goeth A Prayer for a Soul departing O LORD remember the good things which by thy Grace and by the Inspiration of thy holy Spirit thy Servant hath performed and remember not his evil Deeds nor the frailties of his Youth which by the weakness of the Flesh and the temptations of Satan and the vain contingencies of this World have afflicted and humbled his poor but penitent Soul O God remember thy only Son did die for these and thy blessed Spirit occasioned the other and for whom thou hast given thy Son and to whom thou hast vouchsafed to give thy Spirit give thy eternal Pardon and thy everlasting Glories through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen An Act of Resignation when a Friend is deceas'd O ETERNAL God who bringest good out of evil comfort out of sorrow and after a gentle visitation dost refresh thy Children have mercy upon us and return to us with thy loving kindness exchanging our present sorrow into the advantages of holiness and blessing Thy Judgments O Lord are unsearchable and thy ways past finding out but we will bless thy holy Name at all times for thou O Lord hast given and hast taken away blessed be the Name of the Lord. BE thou now and for ever what thou hast so graciously promised a Father of the Fatherless a Husband to the Widow and a God of Comfort to them that mourn in secret Grant that we thy Servants may not weep as them without hope neither murmur at thy dispensation nor complain of any thing but our selves nor desire any thing but that thy Will may be done nor do any thing but what is agreeable to thy holy Word and Commandment GRANT O Lord that when thou smitest any of us it may encrease thy fear in us and when thou dost good to any of us in smiting or forbearing in chastising or Comforting it may encrease thy love in us And let thy holy Spirit so prevail over all our wills and understandings our Affections and the outward Man our interests and our hopes that we may live in this World pleasing to thee and may depart out of this World with the peace of a good Conscience and may attain to a joyful Resurrection in the last day and to a participation of thy Glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Meditation after Recovery from Sickness O COME hither and behold the Works of the Lord how wonderful he is in his doings towards the Children of Men O come hither and hearken all ye that fear God and I will tell you what he hath done for my Soul I called unto him with my mouth and gave him praises with my Tongue O Lord my God I cried unto thee and thou hast healed me THOU Lord hast brought my Soul out of Hell Thou hast kept my Life from them that
and Lightning Storms and Tempestuous Weather or any other danger that may dismay me To thee O Lord I commend my Body and Spirit to dispose of me according to thy holy Will and Pleasure if thou art pleased to call for my life upon the surface of the Waters I know thy Almighty Word can command the Sea to give up her Dead at the last and great audit BUT if thou hast determined to bring me safe to my desired Haven give me thy Grace which is sufficient for me to walk according to thy holy Will in all things make me to lay hold of eternal Life which as the Anchor of Hope is both sure and stedfast keep me from all temptations Ghostly and Bodily and from sudden Death and in thy good time bring me to the Land of the Living there to reign with thee for evermore Amen A Thanksgiving after a Voyage O IMMORTAL God I have seen thy Works O Lord and thy Wonders in the Deep thou spakest the Word and the stormy Wind arose which lifted up the Waves thereof but when we cried unto thee thou madest the Storm to cease so that the Waves thereof were still then did we rejoyce because we were at rest and thou broughtest us safe to that Haven where we would be O that men would therefore praise thee O Lord for thy Goodness and declare the Wonders thou dost continually for them I BLESS thy holy Name for conducting me through those many dangers which encompassed me and praise thy Mercy that the Deep hath not swalloyed me up and that I am not gone down into the place of Silence I also praise thy holy Name and admire thy loving Kindness towards me that thou hast not delivered up my Body and Goods as a prey into the hands of unreasonable Men but hast brought me to my desired Haven and at last hath returned me back in safety to my Habitation O LET me never forget to pay those vows I made to thee when I was in trouble but give me an awful sense and apprehension of thy great power and possess my Soul with a true reverence of thy Divine Majesâ—y that I may evermore serve thee in holiness and Righteousness all the dayes of my Life Endue me with thy holy Spirit that I may become acceptable in thy sight and may be fitted at lenght for future Glories this I beg for thy Son Jesus Christ sake my only Saviour Amen A Prayer in a Storm O LORD our God thou hast commanded us in the day of Calamity to call upon thy Name and thou hast promised to hear us Lord I fly unto thee who art a sure refuge thy Flood-gates are opened and the Floods lift up their lofty waves But thou O Lord most high art mightier than the noise of many Waters yea than the mighty Waves of the Sea Thou canst in a moment if it stand with thy Divine will and pleasure rebuke the Winds and the Sea and this Storm into a Calm I KNOW I justly deserve to be cast away and utterly to be rejected by thee but Lord save us or else we perish accept of my unfeigned Sorrow for all my sins and trangressions and endue me with a stedfast resolution to forsake them be merciful unto us O God be merciful unto us and save us from perishing in these deep Waters O refresh us with thy Mercy and that soon lest we go down into the place of silence O comfort us in this great distress that though the Sea rage and swell our hearts may be quiet and still in this time of our disconsolation AND as I earnestly desire to be protected from this great Peril and danger which now terrifies us so I earnestly beseech thee that thou wilt for ever fill my heart with such an awful dread of thy Majesty that I may fear thy Name and praise thy power in the great Congregation awake my dull and drousie Soul from the sloth of Sin and renew a right Spirit within me fill me with the gifts and Graces of thy holy Spirit that I may live the life of the Righteous and never forget thy loving kindness save us now from death I beseech thee from the merciless Waves who are now ready to swallow us up and bring us home in safety for thy Son Jesus Christ his sake our only Lord and Saviour Amen A Thanksgiving after a Storm I PRAISE and glorifie thy holy Name O Lord for all thy mercies and blessings vouchsafed unto me especially for this thy last great Deliverance wherein I was encompassed in that wide Ocean whom thou hast set bounds and limits to if thou O Lord hadst not been on my side the Sea had swallowed me up quick and I had gone down into the deep of silence but thou hast been my God and my deliverer and hast put a new Song into my Mouth even a Song of Praise and Thanksgiving unto my God I ACKNOWLEDG O Lord that thou art the God of all the Earth and of them that remain in the broad Sea Blessed for ever and magnified be thy Name that thou hast not cast me out of thy sight nor turned thy Mercy from me I have escaped thy raging Sea and the noise of the proud Waves have done me no harm if thy Almighty providence had not protected me the Streams had gone over my Soul But the stormy wind and Tempest I have narrowly escaped the storm is ceased and I am safely delivered AND now what shall I render to thee O Lord for this and all other thy great benefits I will offer up unto thee the Sacrifice of thanksgiving and will pay those vows I so solemnly made unto thee when I was in trouble I will evermore remember that my help is in the Lord who made Heaven and Earth and that thou art that God that can and will deliver me let this thy mercy and loving-kindness never depart my memory but let me praise thy goodness and sing of thy power unto my lives end Amen A Prayer in time of Thunder and lightning O MOST mighty and terrible Lord God before whom the Earth shakes and the Heavens drop at thy presence thou overturnest the mountains by the roots and removest them in thy anger thou dost great things and thy wayes are past finding out yea thou dost wonders without number Thy voice O Lord is very powerful full of Majesty that it rends the Air and casts forth flames of Fire Thou canst O Lord at this time tear us in pieces and none can be able to deliver us for there is none but thee alone that delivers after this sort O WHO would not dread thy All-glorious Name O Lord Who would not stand in awe of thy Majesty Who would not fear thy Judgments when thou shoots forth thy Arrows of Thunder and Lightning It is of thy meer Mercy O Lord that we are not at this time consumed but that thy tender compassions fail not toward us poor but miserable Sinners the blast of the breath of thy
malice had laid to destroy the King his Nobles and Commons then assembled in Parliament they had contrived by their barbarous Invention to have blown up the Bodies of that great and wise Councel but thou O God didst defeat their Bloody Enterprise whereof we rejoyce WE likewise praise and extol thy great Name for this second and never to be forgotten Deliverance O let after Ages and the Children that are yet unborn when they come to understand this thy wonderful Mercy let it never slip from their memory Thou O Lord didst raise up thy Servant our Soveraign Lord King William who like Moses stood in the Gap between us and Roman Slavery which like a Torrent was pouring upon us O let us never forget thy double Mercy extended towards us this day thou hast plucked us as a Firebrand out of the burning and hast restored to us those good and wholsome Laws and Liberties which our Ancestors have enjoyed inspire our hearts that we may extol thy Name O Lord for these great Mercies and Deliverances and let all the people with one voice say Amen A Thanksgiving for the happy success of Their Majesties Arms in reducing of Ireland and for His Majesties safe return to England O GOD the great Preserver of the Universe I offer up unto thee all Praise and Thanksgiving for putting an end to those troubles and disorders which were in Their Majesties Kingdom of Ireland thou hast done great things for us O Lord whereof I rejoyce thy Servant and our Dear and Dread Soveraign King William did expose his Person to the danger of the Enemy but thou didst protect him from their Malice gavest Success to his Arms and Royal Undertaking and didst cover his Head in the day of Battel and at last thou hast brought him safe home with Joy and Victory Prosper O Lord I beseech thee both Their Majesties with long Life and Happiness and grant that all their Subjects may be furnished with Loyal and Obedient Hearts towards them and Love and Charity one towards another give Peace in our time O Lord and put an end to all differences amongst us for thy Sons sake our only Lord and Saviour Amen A Prayer for Charity GRANT O Lord I beseech thee that I may abound in Charity yeilding up my self first to thy service and then according to thy blessed will to the service and relief of my poor Brethren let me ever remember that thou O Lord madest thy self poor that I might be made rich and he that Soweth sparingly shall also reap sparingly but he that Soweth liberally shall also reap liberally for thou lovest a cheerful giver Make me to abound O Lord with thy Grace that I may be plentiful in every good word and work and never let me hide my Face from the poor and needy Thou O Lord givest seed to the Sower and Bread to the Eater encrease my wealth and augment the revenue of my Righteousness whereby I may be enriched in all frankness of liberality Amen A Prayer to renounce the World and affect Spiritual things O GOD the Father who raised from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ who offered up himself a Sacrifice for the sins of the whole World to the end he might withdraw our affections from Temporal and fix them upon that which is Eternal give us hearts to obey thy truth and infuse into us thy Spirit which may produce thy vertues in us And because we are thy Children send the Spirit of thy Son into our hearts whereby we may cry Abba Father that ' being thy Children we may be heirs through Christ and walk according to the Spirit not fulfilling the Lusts of the flesh knowing that what a Man Soweth that shall he reap for he that Soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap Corruption but he that Soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life Everlasting LET us glory in nothing save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world may be drucified unto us and we unto the World that in him we may become new Creatures not growing weary of well-doing knowing that we shall reap in due season if we faint not Wherefore while we have time let us do good to all Men but especially unto the Houshold of Faith and all they that shall walk according to this rule peace be upon them and upon the Israel of God A Conclusive Prayer O ALMIGHTY God who hast promised to hear the Petitions of them that ask in thy Sons Name I beseech thee mercifully to incline thing Ears unto me who have now made my Prayers and Supplication unto thee and grant that those things which I have faithfully asked according to thy Will may be effectually obtained to the relief of my Necessity and to the setting forth of thy Glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen The Blessing THE Peace of God which passeth all understanding keep my heart and mind in the knowledge and love of God and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord and the blessing of God Almighty the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost with the Virtue of Christs blessed Cross Passion Resurrection and Ascension be with me now at the hour of Death and in the Day of Judgment Amen GRACES A Grace before Meat O GOD who art the giver of every good and perfect Gift sanctifie we beseech thee these thy Creatures now prepared for us maâ—e them wholsome for our Bodies and ouâ— Souls and Bodies serviceable unto thee for them through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Or this MOST merciful Father which openest thy hand and fillest all things with Plenteousness we pray thee sanctifie these thy good Creatures unto us that we may eat to preserve life and living serve thee our God through thine only Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen Or this O LORD our God by whose Providence it is that we live move and have our Being send thy Blessing upon us and our Provision and grant that whether we Eat or Drink or whatsoever we do else we may do all to the Glory of thy Name through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen After Meat THE Lords most holy Name be now and ever blessed and praised for all his Mercies and for his blessings at this time bestowed upon us Lord as thou hast fed our Bodies with corporal Food so feed our Souls likewise with spiritual Food unto life Eternal Save thine Universal Church these Realms the King the Queen and all the Royal Family and grant us thy Grace Mercy and Peace through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Or this THE God of all Grace and Goodness who at this time hath fed and plenteously refreshed us his most holy Name be blessed and praised from this time forth and for evermore God save his Universal Church c. Or this WE laud and praise thy Name O Lord for all thy blessings and favours and for feeding us so plentifully at this time desiring thee of thy Grace that our thankfulness may not be in