Grace that I have not to my Knowledge boldly provok'd thee in any respect this day for to thy Grace alone is this Honour due I know nothing of my self yet am I not hereby justify'd 'T is thy Sentence must make or undo me for ever O God thou art greater than our Hearts and knowest all things if therefore my State is still dangerous if any pestilential Habit still cleaves to my Soul if any Mortal Act or Word or Thought hath escap'd my Memory in my Examination enlighten me I beseech thee and suggest it to my remembrance that I may mingle my Tears with thy Mercy and Christ his Blood before I dare to slumber O suffer me not to lean on a delusive Peace But if it be otherwise praised be thy Goodness as for all thy Mercies so especially for this Gift of Innocence Keep me from being high-minded on this or any other account and give me true Sobriety of Mind that I may not through Giddiness and future Neglects fall after all from Favour 3. Glory be to thy Grace and the Merits of Christ that those many latent Deficiencies from thy Law which cleave even to the sanctified in this state will not shut me out of thy Kingdom may by degrees be lessen'd more and more here and will be wholly remov'd hereafter O cleanse me from all my secret Faults be they blotted out by the Blood of thy Son and grant that by great Advances in Grace an entrance may be vouchsaf'd me into the glorious Kingdom of God 4. With this comfortable Faith I rely this Night on thy Providence for convenient Repose and Defence both of Mind and Body In the Name of Christ I beseech thee do thou accept this imperfect Sacrifice of Prayer and Praise in his comprehensive Form I also crave pardon for the Wandrings and Imperfections thereof and do testifie my Charity to thy Creation Our Father c. THE Midnight Office OF ABSTRACTION 1. O My Soul now thou art secret unto Men but thou art not so unto God nor for all that thou knowest unto many good and bad Angels who often behold thee as well as thy Creator when thou neither seest nor thinkest of them Now therefore that thy Eyes are bound by the Darkness of the Night let thy Mind also be turn'd inwards by the profound silence of thy internal Powers that the Darkness of external Sense may encrease the Vigour of my intellectual Sight 2. Commune now with thine own Spirit O search and see whether it be fit for Communion with God which may be easily known if thou know'st whether Light or Darkness be the predominant Principle therein Call to remembrance thy Sins call to remembrance the Mercies of God dive deep into thy self and then say if thou canst that there is not something in the centre of thy Frame which is not perishable like the Efforts of thy Blood Do not be like the captive Multitude of Sense who thro' neglect of Abstraction are a secret to themselves Turn thy Nature over and over in thy Thoughts and especially view the better part thereof and observe wherein thou hast defac'd or improv'd it 3. Think 'till thou art thoroughly convinc'd and when thou art so do thou frequently consider that thou carry'st Immortality in Embrio always within thee 'T is true the Soul rather believes than sees whilst 't is thus imprison'd in the Womb. But when its Mortal Part is ripe for the Grave which may be long before even the Autumn of Man's life 't will make its entrance upon the immortal Stage 4. Think therefore of thy great Change in time before thou art forc'd to launch into the Ocean of Eternity lest the unexpected and unprepar'd-for sight of the invisible World surprize thee with another-guess Dread than that which the Faithful do find then Remember that the State of Man here on Earth is like the old Probationary State of Fallen Angels before they degenerated into Devils and like the State which all the Impenitent who are gone before thee once enjoy'd a State of Time and Opportunity a State of Work and Preparation for that State which is unalterable But the State of Saints and Fiends the State of Loyal and Apostate Angels the State of Angels and Men who have been acquitted and condemn'd before the last Tribunal is a State of exact Judgment Reward and Eternity 5. Then be thy Recompence Glory or Vengeance it will never expire there will be no escape from the one or loss of the other it will indeed have a beginning but its end will never be found Since therefore Eternity will find and keep thee such as Time leaves thee and Eternity is inestimable how canst thou value Time at too high a Rate Let the Time past suffice thee to have serv'd Pride Envy and Concupiscence Now be thou entirely a Servant of Christ and a Subject of Divine Zeal and Charity that an ample Prospect of Heaven may ennoble and enlarge thee 6. Make the Agonies of the Tormented in Hell and the Joys of the Bless'd above familiar to the Mind by Meditation that it may supplant the inchanting intimacy which sense will otherwise find in thy Soul as it does mostly in the Souls of the MANY Fancy thy Spirit to be taking leave of this Cottage of Flesh for this Custom tends greatly to the purgation of the Heart and the weaning of thy Affections from all its darling Idols It makes bare the Vanity of the World stabs the Love of an Earthly Life to the Heart and cherishes divine Love in the Soul Awake therefore O my Soul strive to be cloath'd with new Strength and to regain Paradise Meditate and abstract thy self whilst Sense is tame and quiet and does not hinder the orderly Peace of the Mind check every wanton Sally of Imagination be-aw'd with a sense of the Divine Omnipresence prostrate thy Thoughts of thy self and consider and say Great was the Rebellion and the Overthrow of the Apostate Inhabitants of Heaven Great was and is their Envy against us and the Fall of all Mankind in Adam Great is the Mercy of our affronted God and the Redemption that is tender'd by the Lord Jesus Great is our Blindness and Obstinacy deep and strong are our ill Habits mighty indeed are our Ghostly Enemies Mightier and more are the Angels that are for us wonderful is the Courtesie powerful are the strivings of the supreme Spirit with Man Sharp is the Edge of Conscience even sharper than a Two edged Sword and so great is the Peace of a good Man that it alone might satisfie and every one but himself is a stranger to his Joy Amazingly great is the change of Death so terrible also is the Day of the Lord and the Universal Judgment of Angels and Men. Who can dwell in Everlasting Burnings Are we stronger than God Who can conceive the Pleasures of Heaven What Mortal hath ever feasted upon God 7. And cannot all this provoke that aspiring Principle within me which was made
my Soul the Lord and his Strength seek his Face evermore All other things when weigh'd in the Balance are found wanting God alone can be the Marrow and real Plenitude of a Spirit whose are infinite Worlds and all the Fulnesses of the same He and He alone can be an Enjoyment adaequate to a Will 3. O theresore Love the Lord who is the Heaven of Angels He is my stony Rock and my Defence my Saviour my God and my Might in whom I will trust my Buckler the Horn also of my Salvation I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised so wall I be safe from mine Enemies For whoso dwelleth under his Defence doth abide under the Shadow of the Almighty CLASS III. An Address to God for Spiritual Strength and Christian Violence in general GReat Creator of the Vniverse Benefactor of Angels Humbler of Devils and Restorer of Man Marvellous for Strength marvellous for Wisdom and marvellous for Goodness Thou hast promis'd to hear them that call upon thee faithfully in time of Trouble O do thou now say unto my Soul in this state of Difficulty I am thy Salvation Pity O Lord my darkned Mind cleanse a Heart stain'd with Sin Terrible Hosts thou seest O Lord do encompass my poor Soul Thousands fall beside me and thousands behind me and ten thousands round about me Thrones and Principalities plot against us and those whom we are too apt because of Sense to reckon our Best Friends do ensnare and betray us But alas tho' we are beleper'd with Guilt tho' we are near the Portals of Death and the Talons of Hell how apt are we to put the evil Day far from us Wherefore I beseech thee do thou by a Divine Power make me constantly sensible of Death and Judgment and the Tortures of the Damn'd invest my Soul with that Noble Violence wherewith the Kingdom of Heaven must be taken O my God I know thy Grace and that only is sufficient for me work in me therefore I beseech thee effectually in the inner Man by thy Spirit that I may habitually will and do according to thy gooâ— Pleasure so shall I be strong indeed even in the Lord and thâ— Power of his Might and be morâ— than Conqueror thro' Christ anâ— hold out to the end so shall I noâ— be dismay'd for any Terror by Night nor for the Pestilence thaâ— invisibly wounds at Noon so shalâ— I triumph the Triumphs of thy Saints and trample upon Dangers Death and Devils and keep a perpetual Jubilee with my God and his Christ CLASS IV. Prayers for particular Graces collected out of our Blessed Lord's Sermon on the Mount and St. Paul AND to the end O Lord I may be found in the Blessed Number of those who are Christ's Disciples indeed make me I beseech thee poor in Spirit a godly Mourner meek hungry and thirsty after Righteousness merciful pure in Heart dispos'd to promote Peace and Vnity ready to be persecuted for Righteousness sake and to rejoice when I am revil'd instead of reviling again O suffer no worldly Emulation to sway in my Heart and to taint my Fastings and Prayers Give me a Heavenly Prudence that my Light may shine before Men and I may nevertheless do many Good Works secretly looking for my Praise and Reward from thee Give me courage to pluck out my scandalous Eye and to cut off the scandalous Hand of my corrupt Nature and all Superfluity of Tongue and Thought for the mean Concerns of this Life O may thy Name never be utter'd without Reverence by me Suffer me not so to be angry with my Brother as to sin or to be a Judge but rather a Doer of thy Law Make me so mindful of my own Ingratitude and of that great Goodness which has nevertheless been continu'd by thee to me that in imitation of this thy great Perfection I may forgive bless and pray for mine Enemies Drive earthly Solicitude out of my Mind that my Distributions to the Necessities of the Saints laying up for me a Treasure in Heaven my Heart may be there also O illuminate my Mind that that Faculty which thou hast planted in me to be my Light may not by being dark it self overwhelm me all over with horrible Darkness I earnestly entreat thee to lay a deep Foundation of Faith within me that like a wise Builder I may build upon the Rock and be proof against Storms and Waves and Tempests always striving more and more earnestly to enter in at the strait Gate that I may bring forth the excellent Fruits of a Mind thoroughly chang'd and with diligence and trembling do those things which my Lord commands O that when my Lord comes when Death seizes me I may be found so doing O subject my Body to my Soul and my Soul entirely unto thee and erect and enlarge the Kingdom of God in it that it may be fill'd with an equitable Disposition of behaving it self so towards God and God Man Angels and Devils its Fellow Creatures and the whole subordinatâ— Creation as becomes a Christian and so be fill'd with Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost Finally O Lord since thou hast promis'd it to those who ask it of thee with Faith and Purity Importunateness and Humility give me I beseech thee all Celestial Favours and truly valuable Bounties in that inestimable Gift of Gifts thy Holy Spirit Lord how shall our Souls be nurs'd for Heaven without the support of this Manna of the Seraphim Give me therefore thy Spirit I do again and again beseech thee else I perish to all Eternity Lord I trust in thee O let me not be confounded 2. O my God thy Mercies towards me are ineffable wherefore I present my Body which is daily fed and preserv'd by thy Bounty before thee O do thou so renew my Mind that it may be transform'd from the World to thy Likeness and make my Body and all my Actions in their Station wherein I am or hereafter may be plac'd by thy Providence a living Sacrifice holy acceptable unto thee and I may experimentally prove what is that good and acceptable Will of God 3. Awe me I beseech thee with a sense of thy Greatness and my own Meanness that I may not think of my self more highly than I ought to think supply me with Grace to have my Conversation in Heaven anâ— with all Men in all godly simplicity to love without dissimulation to abhor that which is evil and to stand fast in the Lord to prefer others in Honour before my self not to be slothful in Business to be fervent in Spirit to rejoice in the Hope to be patient in Tribulation and instant in Prayer to rejoice with them that rejoice to weep with them that weep in indifferent things to be of the same mind with others not to minâ— high things but to condescend not to be wise in my own Conceit not be overcome of evil but to overcome eviâ— with good For Christ his sake O my Father
the Dedicatory of the Third Class and dedicates it self without the least reserve to God's Spirit whose Temples St. Paul hath told us good Christians are This Custom obliges us daily to remember our Baptismal Vow and 'till we have renounc'd this I do not see why this may not be an ordinary practise For our Baptismal Vow is not made the less Obligatory by our neglect of the laudable practise of the daily recognition of it Therefore I desire the Reader to say daily This Day I again dedicate c. This being done it immediately resigns it self to Providence which is another essential part of Gratitude to God And now it says I am thine O save me 't is but fitting that the Soul being wholly God's it should quite abandon the World the Flesh and the Devil as it does in the Second Section of this Class and long for the Victory over its predominant Constitution-Corruptions which is the main Victory of a Christian And because he is suppos'd the Night before to have made his Peace with God a prudent Glance upon this need not hinder but rather enhance its Gratitude by the consideration of his Compassion and Long-suffering with such noisom Creatures The third and last Section is a modest Dependance upon God for his Grace And indeed if we can rely on God for our Bodies much more should we for our Souls In the Fourth Class the Soul having discharg'd its part of Gratitude to God assumes the Boldness of Petition for spiritual Favours and vents its holy trembling and solicitude to perform its Vows The Fifth Class minds us that the Lord's Prayer is a sufficient joining of the Will with the Choir of Heaven in their Praises of the Divine Majesty and an expression of our sympathy with all who are yet left in a state of Trial and therefore 't is call'd a Catholick i. e. an universal Conclusion we do thereby extend our Benevolence to all Creatures that are actually happy or still capable of Happiness and make them Partners of our Petitionary Addresses II. Of the Noon-Office IN the midst of the Day the Soul is surrounded with Temptations and most in danger of being plung'd in the mean Solicitudes and Thoughts of this Life and therefore I cannot but think that at this time Exercises of Vigilance are a very necessary Antidote against the Infections of Darkness This first Part may be us'd before Dinner And lest the pleasing of Sense should abate our Expectation of the noble Enjoyment of Heaven we have allotted a Gratulatory Office to raise our Affections upwards and because the use of Food does naturally suggest to serious and wise Men the close social Dependence of all God's Works one upon the other which Consideration is a great Friend to Charity We have also allotted for after-Dinner an Office of Intercession for the Church Militant In the Office of Vigilance the Soul first complains of the unsatisfactoriness of all earthly Things and in the second Section strives to enlarge it self and reach after God Himself who is a real and really Noble Enjoyment and more than commensurate to the Capacity of a spiritual Nature after this in the other Class Sect. 1. to bring it self to a firm habit of Seriousness through the consideration of the difficulty of being sav'd and the greatness of natural Weakness and the vastness of the Strength and Number of its Enemies it earnestly prays for the Power of being acceptably obedient unto death And because our Saviour has assur'd us that if we seek the Kingdom of God and the Righteousness thereof all things shall be added to us and that God best knows whether Plenty or Poverty Honour or Dishonour in this World be best one for this another for that Person and one at one time and another at another time for the same Christian and therefore that we should equally be prepar'd for both the Soul does not trouble it self to make particular Prayers in the Dark for temporal Uncertainties but goes the next Class to acquaint God particularly with what it unfeignedly desires by turning the great Sermon on the Mount into a Prayer because it knows that Poverty of Spirit and Purity of Heart and the other Dispositions therein inculcated are absolutely necessary for a Man that would be eternally happy Different Circumstances of Life here may be of a very different Nature to different Persons but these are certain and necessary for every wise Petitioner he that gets these and he only is a true Favourite of Heaven Tho' 't is unlawful to Worship Angels yet 't is a great part of Charity which teaches to Rejoice with them that Rejoice to gratulate them and their happy state and helps very much towards the sublimating the Affections In the Intercessive Part of Charity I have offer'd a very long Prayer for the Clergy being very well satisfy'd that if the Laity were mov'd by our great Defects to pray as affectionately and constantly for us as they slight and rail against us not considering that our Office is still as Venerable as ever God would restore Christian Discipline some way or other and raise up many Faithful Pastors amongst us tho' it were at the expence of a second miraculous effusion of his Spirit Good Lord encrease our Faith in the use of this Prayer Of the Structure of the Evening Office The End of the Day being ordinarily the time of the greatest leisure the good Christian takes an opportunity to converse with himself and to see whether he has kept himself unspotted from the World in the pursuit of his Business Perhaps it may be thought improper to use Prayer of such a length daily before this Exercise but if we consider that the Falshood or Soundness of Internal Peace depends upon the right management of this Exercise and what a Mystery of Treachery our Hearts are a Man can never too solemnly set about it or think himself above the need of a peculiar Assistance from God in it 'T is an easie thing to know whether we are externally innocent but not so easie to know according to the true Rules of daily Growth in Grace already laid down whether or no we are in a growing or improving state of Grace which is an internal Habit. The observance of the said Two Rules after we have compar'd our Carriage and examin'd from Hour to Hour with the Sermon on the Mount is the usefullest way of examining our selves that I can prescribe This Method will be tedious to those who are not us'd to abstract themselves but by use it will grow as familiar and compendious as 't is certain and safe The abuse of the same General or Particular Confession of Sins howsoever the Day has been spent is very obvious to Men of but very little Judgment it making Confession it self to be slightly us'd nay sometimes sinful when Men are taught to live always in a tepid state by making the same Confession to our Lives end which can be only proper in