Nourish me in all Goodness and of thy Great Mercy keep me in the same through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen V. O Lord who hast taught us that all our Doings without Charity are nothing worth Send thy Holy Spirit I beseech Thee and pour into my Heart that most Excellent Gift of Charity the very Bond of Peace and of all Vertues without which whosoever liveth is Dead before Thee Grant this for thy Onely Son Jesus Christ's sake Amen VI. ALmighty God who hast given thy Onely Son to be unto us both a Sacrifice for Sin and also an Example of Godly Life Give me Grace that I may always most Thankfully accept that his Inestimable Benefit and also daily endeavour my self to follow the Blessed Steps of his most Holy Life through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen VII GRant I beseech Thee Almighty God that like as I do believe thy Onely-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to have Ascended into the Heavens so I may also in Heart and Mind thither ascend and with Him continually dwell who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost One God World without End Amen VIII MAy 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 be upon me and remain with me always Amen IX GLory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the Beginning is now and ever shall be World without End Amen SECT XXII A PRAYER of Recollection THIS contains the Sum of this Book and is made fit to be used after the reading any parts of it in the Family or Closet O Most Great and Glorious God! Lord of Heaven and Earth Infinite in Majesty and Glory and in thy Greatness unsearchable All things that are do derive from Thee the Fountain of Beings all their Excellency and all their Power Thou art worthy of the greatest Reverence from the Highest Angels worthy of our Godly Fear and most Awfull Adorations art Exalted in thy Greatness above all our Blessing and Praise And as thy Greatness is Infinite so is also thy Goodness which Thou hast exercised in a manner suitable to thy Excellent Greatness For Thou art in all things like thy self and there is none besides Thee like unto Thee In wondrous Wisdom and Goodness hast Thou made the World bounteously communicating Being and Happiness among thy Creatures But thy Goodness has peculiarly shown it self in thy dealing with Mankind and appear'd in amazing Glories It appears within us and in all things that are round about us Thou hast made Man a Noble Creature little lower than the Angels Thou didst Endow Him with thy Glorious Image in Righteousness and true Holiness Thou Crowned'st Him with Honour and Dignity giving Him Dominion over the Works of thy Hands Thou hast built this Beautious World for his Habitation and plentifully furnish'd it with all things necessary and delightfull to Him All our Sences present us with many Instances of thy Goodness to us the Earth is full of it Day unto Day uttereth Speech and Night unto Night sheweth the Knowledge of This. We cannot without the greatest and the most wilfull Blindness fail to see it nor without the most unworthy and disingenuous Ingratitude forget or neglect to Acknowledge it But this O Lord is that which we must with Shame and Self-abhorrence accuse our selves of All thy Goodness and the Obligations of it were soon forgotten by our First Parents and they rebell'd against Thee And we are their true and vile Off-spring going astray from the Womb living in Enmity against Thee and despising thy Commandments All the Wickedness of the World and the Affronts Thou hast receiv'd from it Thou didst foresee and yet of thy great Patience and Forbearance didst spare our First Parents and permit Them to propagate their base and corrupt Nature And this gives us occasion O Lord to reflect upon the greatest and most glorious Exercise of thy Goodness to Mankind When we were all guilty before Thee and Obnoxious to thy Eternal Wrath And thy Honour and thy Justice did require our utter Rejection and Perdition Yet even then did thy Wisdom and Goodness contrive and afford us a Way and Means of Salvation And thy Infinite Greatness though so exceedingly Affronted did condescend to a Concern to save us And a way was found out suitable to thy Greatness and our Necessity Even then did God the Father so love the World that He gave his Onely-begotten Son that whosoever Believes in Him should not Perish but have Everlasting Life And then did God the Son in his Infinite Compassion to Mankind offer Himself to be our Mediatour And He undertook to purchase for us the Divine Favour which we had lost at the Cost of his own Abasement in taking our Nature and of dying a Sacrifice for the Sins of Men. Oh how unwearied Lord has thy Kindness and Mercy been towards us And how odious and detestable are all our Transgressions against Thee When we consider Thee O Lord and the Obligations which Thou hast laid upon us we are even confounded to think of the exceeding Vileness and Enormity of our Sins We are therefore forced O Lord to abhorr our selves We humble we abase our selves before Thee We acknowledge thy greatest Displeasure against us to be Just and Righteous and must own that we have deserv'd Thou should'st throw us into the Everlasting Fire which is prepar'd for the Devil and his Angels But Blessed be thy Name there is Mercy with Thee and Thou art through the Undertaking of our Blessed Mediatour a God forgiving Iniquity Transgression and Sin We praise Thee we magnifie Thee O Lord for thine Inestimable Love in the Redemption of the World by our Lord Jesus Christ Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost for this wonderfull Favour and Relief in our low and desperate Condition Encouraged O Father by the Sacrifice of thy Son and relying upon the Merits of it we return unto Thee We desire to return to our Duty We gladly and thankfully accept of the new Offers of Grace and Favour with Thee which Thou art pleased to make us We submit to the gentle and easie Terms thou requirest of us and we humbly seek thy Favour upon those Conditions We were O Lord by the kind Dispensation of thy Providence in our early Infancy dedicated to Thee and engag'd in that Happy Covenant which Thou affordest us as the Way of our Salvation But we must with shame confess that we have broken this Covenant and liv'd in too great Neglect of it and have added to the other Heinousness and Wickedness of our vile Sins the great Guilt of breaking our Vows and Promises to Thee As sensible of our unworthy Behaviour again O Lord we desire to renew those Bonds and we earnestly desire they may
be so confirm'd by this renewal of them as that they may never be broken any more We renounce this wicked World our own corrupt Nature and thine Adversary the Devil We purpose not to suffer our selves to follow nor be led by them We will receive O Lord what Thou requirest us to believe And we devote our selves to keep and obey thy Holy Just and Good Commandments through the whole Course of our Lives To be always under the Influence and Power of Love to Thee and to our Neighbours To love Thee with all our Heart with all our Soul and with all our Might and our Neighbour as our selves O Father of Mercies graciously accept of our Repentance and return unto Thee Look upon the Death of thy Son and turn from us all thy Wrath Justifie us freely by thy Grace Pardon all our Sins upon the account of it take us into thy Service and grant that we may ever hereafter please Thee in Newness and Holiness of Life Jesus Thou Son of God have Mercy upon us O Christ hear us be Thou our Advocate with thy Father By thy Holy Nativity and Circumcision by thy Meritorious Cross and Passion by thy Precious Death and Burial by thy Glorious Resurrection and Ascension take us into thy Care and Protection Thou that hast done all these things for us have Mercy upon us O be Thou Jesus to us and save us from our Sins Give us according to thy promise to them that receive Thee the Glorious Priviledge to become the Sons of God We accept of Thee O Lord as a King to Rule us and will study to know and endeavour to Obey thy Commands We earnestly desire thy Teaching as our Great Prophet and will receive and comply with thy Divine Instructions however contrary they are to the corrupt Byass of our Nature and our Love of this World Lord we purpose to conform our selves to them by the Direction of thy Excellent Example and not to be conformed to this World And we will always acknowledge our utter unworthiness of the least Good and place all our Hopes in thy Merits and Intercession as our Great High Priest O let us find by the good success of all our Humble Addresses that Thou hast Compassion on our Miseries and dost ever live to make Intercession for us But alas we have promised and resolv'd more than we are able to perform without the Influence and Assistance of thy Good Spirit We therefore Address our selves to Thee O Blessed Spirit Come down we beseech Thee into our Hearts replenish us abundantly with thy Grace let us become thy Sacred Consecrated Temples and do thou evermore dwell in us Banish and purge out of us for ever all that is contrary and displeasing to Thee Teach us that denying all ungodliness and worldly Lusts we may live soberly and righteously and godly in this present World Write thy Law in our Hearts that we may never depart from it Increase and maintain our Faith Increase and continue our Love Cherish all Grace in us and cause us to persevere in Holiness and Vertue and Well-doing to the End of our Lives Keep us in the Knowledge and Love of God and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. We purpose O Holy Spirit duly to wait for thy Blessed saving Influences in a diligent attendance on thy Sacred Ordinances the Word and Sacraments Oh let us be always in due fitness to attend them when the happy Opportunities of doing so are afforded us and let them be always blest to us and be effectual to promote our Sanctification and Salvation Insert this when this Prayer is used in the Morning We give Thanks to the God of all Mercies for the safe Protection the quiet and comfortable Rest of the last Night We devote this Day and all our Lives to thy Service in the Duties which Thou givest us to do Assist us mercifully O Lord in all and Accept us in Jesus Christ Insert this when this Prayer is used at Night Enlighten our dark Souls we beseech Thee O Lord with all the Knowledge that is necessary to our Salvation Fill us with Devout Affections and let thy Love always possess and rule us Be Thou we pray our Protection this Night from all the Perils and Dangers of it May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the Love of God the Father and the Communion of the Holy Ghost be with us all henceforth for evermore Amen Our Father which c. FINIS Books printed for B. Aylmer SIX Sermons One of Stedfastness in Religion Two of Family Religion Three of the Education of Children and One of the Advantages of an Early Piety A Perswasive to Frequent Communion in the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper In Octavo Price 3 d. Both by his Grace John late Lord Archbishop of Canterbury The Four Last Things viz. Death Judgment Heaven and Hell Practically Consider'd and Apply'd in several Discourses By William Bates D. D. Recommended as proper to be given at Funerals Books Publisht by the Author of this Reform'd Devotions in Meditations Hymns and Petitions for Every day in the Week and every Holy-day in the Year The Excellent Woman describ'd by her True Characters and their Opposites being part of a Translation out of French Family Devotions for Sunday-Evenings throughout the Year being Practical Discourses with Suitable Prayers Vol. I. II. containing each Thirteen Sermons The other Two intended to make a Sett for the whole Year are almost finisht and design'd to be committed to the Press soon after Christmass to be Publisht together Printed for John Wyat at the Rose in St. Paul's Church-Yard
of God He will give us Spiritual strength to perform our Duty so far as that we shall be accepted through the Mediation of Jesus Christ If we will not undertake we shall not be able to perform but if we will undertake and bind our selves to do our Duty He will inable us to perform it It might seem a strange thing that God should require of us to bind our selves and undertake to do that which we cannot do of our selves as we do in obliging our selves to all those things fore-mentioned if it were not that the very binding our selves to this does entitle us by the Tenour of this Covenant to Grace sufficient for us In all the Exhortations of the Gospel to any Instance of Duty we may reckon there is comprehended also the Offer of Divine Assistance which shall be afforded to Him who yields in the purpose and desire of his Soul to comply with those Exhortations No Man therefore shall have ground to complain that he would leave his known Sins and do the Duties which he knows he omits but cannot do so For if a Man sincerely desires to leave his Sins devotes himself to his Duty and diligently uses the Means that may inable him to do it That is If he waits on God for this Grace in earnest and persevering Prayer and a due attendance on the Preaching of the Word and the Sacraments that Man shall infallibly come to be able to do what he thus wills and desires For He that hungers and thirsts after Righteousness shall be filled as our Saviour says And God will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him It is the Favour of this New Covenant to help us to do what it requires us to do The last Favour and Blessing of this Covenant is an Everlasting Happiness both of Body and Soul in Heaven We are left by it indeed subject to a natural Death to mind us of our guilty Rebellion against God That we may not forget we are Sinners and do deserve an Eternal Death On purpose that the sence of this might quicken our desire and concern to recover the Divine Favour and make us the more ready and willing to submit to the Terms of recovering it But Death shall not long have Dominion over us God will not leave the Soul in Hell that is it shall not be always separated from the Body nor shall the Body be always subject to the Ignominy and Punishment of its Dissolution Since the Sins are pardon'd which did deserve Death the Creature shall be released from it And our Saviour's Resurrection from the Dead does especially assure the Resurrection of those that believe on Him He has also promised that he will give them Eternal life and raise them up again at the last day The Body then however scatter'd and dispers'd and lost to all knowledge of Men shall be gather'd together by the Wisdom of God and be raised to Life by his Almighty Power And it shall be raised with great advantage It was sown a Natural Body it shall be raised a Spiritual Body It was sown in Corruption but it shall be raised Immortal And the Soul shall be again united to it never to be separated more But both shall be taken up to dwell in a glorious happy place where is fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore To live in the Fellowship and Communion of kind happy and glorious Angels To dwell in the Presence of God and contemplate and praise and love Him and rejoice in his Love for ever This is now the whole Tenour of the New Covenant which was procur'd for us by the precious Blood of Jesus Christ our kind and powerfull Advocate SECT IX The Sacraments of This Covenant AND this Covenant also hath its Sacraments God has appointed sensible Actions and Signs in and by which it is to be made between Him and us In the use of these Sacraments we must testifie our Consent to this Covenant and signifie that we own our selves engag'd in it And in the use of these must we wait for and expect the Blessings and Favours on God's part to be afforded us It is by these that He has determin'd to convey those Favours which we can at present receive which are the Pardon of our Sins and the Sanctification of our Natures and also to assure that which we are to hope for our Everlasting Happiness and Glory These we must necessarily use then if Means and Opportunity be afforded us to do so that we may be partakers of his Favours And in using them we must sincerely purpose and bind our selves to the performance of our Duty The Sacraments appointed to be as we may say The Instruments of this Covenant since the coming of Christ which are all that nearly concern us are Baptism and the Supper of the Lord. These and these only are now generally necessary to Salvation By Baptism we are admitted into this Covenant and make our first solemn acceptance of it By the Lord's Supper we renew it if it has been broken on our part by any wilfull Sin committed since we were Baptized Or else we therein testifie and declare our continuance still in it and our purpose and desire to do so If any of us have liv'd so happily since we were Baptized as never to violate or break this Covenant by any wilfull known Sin It is true when we are Baptized in our Infancy we are not capable expressly to intend and design the performance of our part in this Covenant because we cannot then understand or know it But this Sacrament is in the purpose of God design'd for the Sacrament of our admission into this Covenant since the Appearance of Jesus Christ in the World And as that which was the Sacrament of this admission under the Jewish Dispensation was by God's appointment administred to Children at Eight days old so the Christian Church has been wont even from the Apostles times to administer Baptism to Infants from whence it is not to be doubted but they learnt to do this from the Apostles themselves And our Saviour gives a plain Encouragement to the practice when he says Suffer little Children to come unto me and forbid them not for of such is the Kingdom of God Our Church therefore as without doubt it ought to do administers Baptism to Infants that they may partake of the Blessings of the New Covenant to their Salvation But because there is an engagement on the part of the Baptized person implied in his receiving Baptism the Wisdom and Piety of the Church has thought fit that it should be express'd too That so the Baptized person may be the better convinced afterwards that he did thus engage himself at his Baptism And because the Infant it self cannot express this the Church has provided that some Christian Friends should do it for us who are also Witnesses that the thing is done And they are bound to take care that as we grow up to the Use of our