he may dispose and qualifie 'em for his Kingdom of glory Which Government over his Church is yet more particularly display'd and manifested in these two remarkable Instances 1 In the Guidance and Preservation of his and the Church's Friends 2 In the Confusion and Destruction of his and her Enemies And First He exercises his Power in and over his Church 1. In the Guidance and Protection of his Church Rom. 2.16 1 Cor. 4 5 in the Guidance and Protection of his loyal and obedient Subjects And tho he sits at the right Hand of his Father in Heaven yet he forgets not the Poor afflicted Members of his Church here on Earth He rules Mens Hearts and sets up his Empire there exciting 'em by his holy Spirit to be and to do good to avoid all things evil in themselves and of evil Report whereby they may escape all the Mischiefs both of Sin and Punishment He exercises his Power and Authority in making and repealing Laws and passes Judgement upon what 's expedient and lawful or unnecessary and unlawful as seems best to his uncontroulable yet unerring Wisdom Acts 17.31 He remits and retains Sins and has an absolute Power to execute Judgement upon all Creatures before whose impartial Tribunal we must all shortly appear to receive our final Doom when neither the Secrets of Men nor the Counsel of the Heart shall escape his Scrutiny 1 Cor. 3.13 15. He rules his people by his holy and just Laws and enables them by his Grace and Spirit to comply with and obey them He protects his Votaries from the Tyranny of their domineering Lusts and Passions and preserves 'em from the conquering Power and Prevalence of all Temptations He supports them under and comforts 'em in all the Pressures and Afflictions of this Life and at the last crowneth them with an absolute Conquest over all his and their Enemies Yet here we must note That his Church and People have their tristia as well as lucida Intervalla For by his Counsel and Providence the Tyrants of this World as the proud Assyrian c. become Ministers of his Justice Rods and Scourges to chastise his People and reduce 'em to Obedience And this is most signally remarkable from the Annals of the Church For there was never any Religion in the World so severely persecuted as the Christian nor did the Devil and wicked Men ever confederate so strongly against any Sect of religious Professors as they have done against those who professed the Doctrine of Christ And if all the Engins and Methods of Cruelty as Fire Faggot the Teeth of wild Beasts Racks Wheels Gibbets Grid-irons c. could have destroy'd all the Primitive Christians our Religion had long ere this been banisht out of the World But Christ has always hitherto and ever will interpose his Power and Goodness in the Rescue and Defence of his Church and People Psa 2.4 He that sits in Heaven will laugh his Enemies to scorn and protect his obedient Subjects so Mat. 16.18 that neither the Gates of Hell nor all the Atheists Apostates and Hereticks on Earth shall be able to prevail against 'em For he will ever bless the righteous and with his loving kindness will he compass them as with a Shield And whom Christ is thus pleas'd to rule and protect on them he bestoweth infinite Rewards For the Lord giveth Grace and Glory and no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly Psal 84.11 Thus Christ our King governs us here by the wisest and best Laws and protects and defends us from all our Enemies of all sorts And he will in his own good Time raise us from a mortal to an immortal State full of Glory and Blessedness But as he manifests and administers his Kingly Power in the safe Conduct and sure Defence of his loyal and loving Subjects So Secondly 2. In the Confusion and Destruction of his and her Enemies He administreth and dispenses it to the Confusion and Destruction of his and his Church's Enemies This is a most evident matter of Fact and we may be confirm'd in the Belief of it if we consider the Plagues of Egypt the Destruction of Pharaoh and Amalek the Subversion of the five Kings who were slain with Hailstones the blindness and Destruction of the Sodomites and the total Subversion of the Jews tho formerly so dear to him when they turn'd Rebels against him Besides we have an account of the most infamous Deaths of Herod Alexander Judas Simon Magus Julian the Apostate and many other notorious Idolaters and Heretics who being profest Enemies to his Religion and Government were most miserably destroy'd And tho' the Kings and Tyrants of the Earth be never so high and mighty yet Christ our King is greater and more powerful then they and his Dominion superiour to all the Princes of the World Rev. 1.5 and 17.14 For as he has hitherto and ever will infatuate the Counsels and baffle all the Plots and Hostilities of all his and our temporal Enemies so he will countermine and defeat all the Projects Stratagems and Conspiracies of the Devil Sin and Death our Spiritual Adversaries For he will reign till he hath put all the Enemies of his Kingdom under his Feet 1 Cor. 15.25 Yet here it must be consider'd The Enemies of Christ's Kingdom destroy'd by Degrees that the Temporal and Spiritual Enemies of Christ's Kingdom must not be destroy'd all at once but successively and by Degrees The Church of God is but now in her Progress to the highest State of Perfection and Christianity is yet in her Travel towards our heavenly Canaan in expectation only and not fully entred into its eternal Rest We read and do believe that many wonderful Works and Miracles were done by our blessed Saviour whilst he sojourn'd on Earth but he has accomplished far greater since his Departure For he is daily bringing more Sheep into his Fold and sending out more Labourers into his Vineyard to make the Harvest of the Gospel still more and more plenteous Our Religion ever since its first Plantation has been in its Pilgrimage travelling from one Country to another from Asia to Africa from Africa to Europe from Europe to America And he still leads Captivity captive and sooner or later he will conquer the whole World with the invisible Power of his Word and Spirit and all the Nations of the Earth shall submit by degrees to the Scepter and Authority of his Kingdom Psal 2.8 In a Word he will and does defend and protect us from the Power of Satan and Prevalence of our own Lusts unless we desire to become their voluntary Slaves and Vassals They may indeed now and then tempt us to Sin for the Probation and Improvement of our Graces but we are all free Agents and Christ has put us into a capacity if we please not only to resist but to conquer and subdue them And therefore if Sin and the Devil
this Nation especially have been most signally happy in the enjoyment of public Peace and Plenty for several years Our Lot is cast in a good ground We have the Advantages of a fruitful and generous Soil which affords all things necessary and convenient for Food and Raiment for Physick and Delight We are blest with a temperate Air fruitful Seasons Conveniencies for Traffick yet secure and free from Invasion a well constituted Government a wise and merciful Prince whom God long preserve good Laws and duly administred for the Peace and Benefit of the Subject But then Secondly And our Souls We are far more transcendently happy in our precious and immortal Souls if we consider those admirable Facuities of Understanding Will Memory Affections c. and all their excellent Tempers and Dispositions which God Almighty has stampt with the Signature and Impressions of his own Divinity the love of Goodness and the knowledge of the Truth And tho' our Faculties were extremely obscur'd and deprav'd by our miserable Fall in Adam yet God has been wonderfully gracious to us in sending his dearly beloved Son into the World as we have seen at large before thereby repairing all our Defects and making up the Breach between God and us upon the gentle and easie Conditions of Faith and Repentance And to enforce all the saving Methods of Grace and Mercy he is pleas'd to vouchsafe unto us the bountiful Assistance of his holy Spirit by whose Operation and Influence we are preserv'd in a great Measure from Sin and Temptation and enabl'd to perform all our Duties to God's Glory and for the mutual Comfort and Benefit of our selves and others We have all the blessed Advantages of his holy Word and Sacraments and he has instituted and appointed an Order of Men to minister in Christ's stead and to be Ambassadors to solicite our Peace and reconcile us unto his Grace and Favour And besides all this we are certain if we be good Christians that we shall not only live comfortably here but our Souls thâ—ll be kept in safe Custody after Deaâ—â—â— that our Bodies united to our Souls and that God will bestow on us that glorious Kingdom which he has prepar'd and purchased for us where we shall perfectly enjoy all those never failing Pleasures without the least Allay or Discomposure which our Hearts can desire or hope for Thus the Divine Providence has made a wonderful Provision for our Souls and Bodies that we may live comfortably here and if we be not wanting to our selves be happy for ever And what could our gracious God have done more for his Vineyard then he has done for us Isai 1.4 Can any heart then be so callous and impenetrable as not to be influenc'd and affected with such admirable Endearments and Charms of Beauty Love and Mercy as these are How should we study therefore and endeavour as we are most strictly oblig'd in Duty and 〈◊〉 to please him in all things and conform the whole Man to his gracious and reasonable Commands How should we love him with the greatest fervency of Affection so as to desire above all things to enjoy him in all the Dispensations of his Grace and Glory Especially if we consider that there can be no Duty nor Vertue nor Grace acceptable to God unless it be founded in and flow from a Principle of Love Since then The sincerity of this Duty examin'd our Love to God is a Duty of so great Importance let us a little examine the Sincerity of it which may be understood by such Properties as these For if our Love be sincere we shall hate every thing that he hates and make it our chief Business and Delight to have a holy Entercourse with him in all the Duties and Offices of Religion and we shall study to avoid all those Sins and Temprations as the very Plague and Firebrands of Hell which shall at any time interrupt or hinder us in our Duty We shall be more zealous for God's Glory then our own Interest and be careful in all our Ways to do the Will and the Work of our Heavenly Father We shall be ready and dispos'd to forsake all things that are most dear to us in this World for his sake and the whole Bent and Tendency of our Lives will be a full Demonstration of the sincerity of our Affection to him A Mistake herein would prove of infinite Consequence to us which has caus'd me to be more express in the handling of this Point so that we are highly concern'd to be very inquilitive about the Nature and 〈◊〉 of our Love to God in Christ which to the natural and necessary Effect or a 〈◊〉 Faith and the very Source and Foundation of all Religion For if we have these worthy thoughts in our Minds concerning the Essence and Artributes of God and his Benefits to us which become the Perfection of the Divine Nature his Soveraignty over us and our Dependance upon him if we love him as the Author of all that Happiness which we enjoy and hope for then 3 We shall esteem and Honour him 2. By the 〈…〉 we 〈◊〉 to him for his Majesty and Mercy his Power and Goodness c. not only inwardly in our Hearts by conceiving always worthy Troughts of him in our Minds where all true Love is grounded 〈◊〉 also outwardly in our Demeanour and Carriage towords him in all our Words and Actionse viz. By acknowledging our whole Dependance upon him and Praying unto him for the supply of all our Temooral and Spiritual Wants by paying him the just Fribure of Thankfulness for his manifold 〈◊〉 and blessings bellow'd upon our Souis and Bodies in Hearing Reading and Meditating on his Word with a serious 〈◊〉 of Mind and fervency of Affection in receiving the holy Sacraments with a Disposition of Soul and a Posture of Body correspondent to those stupendous Mysteries in Sanctifying his Sabbaths and keeping with due Observance the Festivals of the Church in allowing a competent Maintainance a dutiful Respect and Obedience to all his Ministers and Viregerents in promoting holy Conferences with his Children and Servants for the mutual Edification and Comfort of one another And in a Word by being zealous in the whole Course of our Lives for the Enlargement of the Boundaries of his Kingdom of Grace and Righteousness as it becomes his dutiful and Obedient Children 4 This Temper of Mind will oblige us to depend upon him 3. By our Trust in Dependance upon him and to repose our whole Trust and Confidence in his All-sufficiency in general and in his Wisdom Power Goodness and Mercy in particular Always praying unto him earnestly and devoutly for the supply of all our Wants as before and depending entirely on him for protection in and deliverance from all Temptations Sin and Danger and humbly submitting our selves to the determination of his VVisdom and Providence for the disposing of us and our Concernments to his own Glory and our
then that he swear great Lumps of Bloud Luk. 22.44 and well might he cry out in the great Bitterness of his Soul God having also withdrawn the Beams of his gracious Presence for a time Eli Eli c. Upon which Jeremiah prophetically complain'd that there was never any Sorrow either of Men or Martyrs like unto his Sorrow But because 't is impossible to recount the Number and express the Quality of those Torments which he suffer'd both in Body and Soul We will conclude this Point with that rapturous Petition inserted into the Litany of the Greek Church 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 By thine unknown Sorrows and Tortures felt by thee but imperceptible to us have mercy upon us and save us O Lord our God Hitherto of the real Sacrifice which our faithful and most merciful High-priest offer'd up for our Sins and of the Means and Methods which he us'd both by his active and passive Obedience to perfect the great Work and Business of our Redemption We shall consider in the next Place the Benefits resulting from this great Propitiation and then deduce some Inferences from it by way of Application And 1 Christ our High-priest Benefits of this Propitiation by the infinite Merits of his Obedience and sufferings has purchas'd the Remission of our Sins the Sanctification of our Nature the Justification of our Persons and upon the tolerable and easie Conditions of Faith and Repentance we shall be restor'd to that Holiness and Freedom which we lost by the Fall and Defection of our first Parents But then we must be careful to perform the Conditions on our Part ere we can expect the Benefits of Christ's Mediatorship And if we seriously consider the sad Effects and mischievous Consequences of our original Apostacy we shall be more truly apprehensive of the Benefit and Necessity of a Redeemer and use all possible Endeavours to be Sharers in that Pardon and Peace which he has purchas'd for us as we 've seen at so dear a Price 2 By the infinite Merits of his Obedience and Sufferings he has raz'd out the Hand-writing and deliver'd us from the Curse and Condemnation of the Law We cannot be insensible of our manifold Transgressions both original and actual and that we have been guilty of the Breach of God's holy just and reasonable Commands in many thousand Instances both by Thought Word and Deed For all which 't is impossible that we should make our Atonement either by satisfying of Gods Justice for the Offences of our Lives past or by our perfect and unsinning Obedience to his Laws for the future And therefore 't would be but just with God to inflict the severest Punishments upon us and judge us according to those Laws which we have so wickedly and wilfully violated But our gracious God was pleas'd in great Mercy and Compassion to undone Sinners to send his own Son as we 've seen in the fulness of time Gal. 4. ◠to satisfie the Law for us and has thereby purchas'd Indemnity and Impunity for the Transgressors of it And we are hereby deliver'd not only from the burdensome Yoke of all the Mosaic Performances by nailing 'em to his Cross but he has so mitigated the Penalties and limited the Obligations of the moral Law that tho' we fail in our Duties and Obedience to it yet if we do not wilfully continue in a State of Impenitency but be truly sensible of and heartily sorrowful for the Offences of our Lives past if we exercise a true Faith in Christ our Redeemer and be watchful over our selves in the more pious and prudent Conduct of our Lives for the future Then I say upon our sincere Endeavours and hearty Compliance with these Conditions he will make up all our Defects and by his imputative Righteousness satisfie the Law for us For there 's now no Condemnation to those which are in Christ Jesus Rom. 8.1 who walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit 3 By the efficacious Merits of Christ's Obedience and Sufferings we are deliver'd from the Sting and Terrours of Death Now Death is the Stipend and Wages of Sin which is due to every Man since the Fall of the first Adam and he that labours the whole day diligently and painfully in his Calling has not a more just Title to his Wages then the wilful and impenitent Sinner hath to temporal and eternal Death But the second Adam has conquer'd the Grave pull'd out the Sting of Death and given us a certain Title to a blissful Immortality So that tho' the Dissolution of our Bodies may be above all terrible Things most dreadful to Flesh and Bloud yet thro' the Merits of Christ's Death 't will be sanctified and made easie to us And the worst Office that Death can do to a sincere Believer is only to send his Body to the Grave a Place of Ease and Silence and his Soul to eternal Bliss Besides all its Harbingers and Concomitants as Afflictions Infirmities Diseases c. will not only prove tolerable and easie for a good man to bear but will turn to Advantage and become Matter of our greatest Triumph and Exaltation 4 Christ our High-priest has conquer'd the Devil and all his infernal Powers by the wonderful Efficacy of his Obedience and Sufferings This politic potent and malicious Enemy was such from the beginning and all the Sons and Daughters of Adam must expect the same Measures from him to the end of the World He knows that Christ the Seed of the Woman shall pronounce and execute that dreadful Sentence against him and therefore so many of his Friends and Relatives as come within his Clutches shall smart for it But the Son of God and High-priest of our Profession tho' he has not absolutely destroy'd yet very much limited his Power and Authority Those idolatrous Religions which he so much gloried in heretofore are since his Coming crept into some private Corners of the World His Oracles are silenc't and he seldom possesses the Bodies of Men or appears in their Shapes as formerly But seeing he is not yet bound up in those Chains of Darkness which shall eternally confine him he will lose no Opportunity in setting all his Engins and Instruments on Work to entrap and ensnare poor Sinners that he may make us if possible as unhappy and miserable as himself But this is our Comfort and Happiness that tho' the Devil may now and then tempt us to Sin yet our blessed Lord's so exceeding tender of our Welfare that he will cither countermine his Stratagems if we be good Christians or furnish us with a Sufficiency of Grace and Power to resist and repel them We have indeed some Instances in Sacred History of those who 've been yielded a Prey to him for a time yet for that very End and Purpose that their Victories over him might become more illustrious And their Examples are left us on Record as in the Case of holy Job c. that they might be
whole Nature and dispose me for the moderate use of all thy Creatures Inform my Judgement with the useful Knowledge of those Truths which are necessary to be believed and practic'd rectifie my Will and sanctifie my Affections that I may so love and fear trust and hope desire and delight in thee above all Things that all my Thoughts Words and Works may shew forth thy praise who hast call'd me from the dark Regions of Sin and Ignorance to the marvellous Light of thy pure and undefiled Religion Give me Grace to improve every Opportunity and Blessing thy good Providence has intrusted me with that when thy Messengers Death or Judgement shall put an end to all the tedious Cares and troublesome Concernments of this mortal Life I may be clothed upon with a glorious and blissful Immortality Bless thy holy Catholic Church but more especially the Churches of these Kingdoms Bless the King's Majesty the Royal Family the Clergy Nobility Gentry and Commonalty of this Realm Let all my Friends Relations and Benefactors particularly * As Father Mother Husband Wife Children c. the Family wherein I live c. receive the Benefit of my Prayers Bless them in their Bodies with the Comforts of Health and Peace Liberty and Safety and in their Souls with sound Judgements holy Affections and heavenly Dispositions that their Lives and Practices may be unblameable before thee in the sight of all men And now O Lord I beseech thee accept of the Tender of my most humble and hearty Thanks for those innumerable Blessings by which I live and am provided for Thou hast given me Food and Raiment Liberty and Friends †Here mention the temporal Blessings God's Bounty has bestow'd on thee and thine c. and by thy merciful Providence hast wonderfully preserved me yet alive amidst the innumerable Assaults of my bitter and malicious Enemies But chiefly O Lord I praise and magnifie thy holy Name with all my Soul and all my Strength for the miraculous Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ for the Revelation of thy Will the Satisfaction which he made and the Ransom which he paid not only for mine but the Sins of the whole World for the sanctification of my Nature by the Grace of his holy Spirit the admirable Comforts and Refreshments of his Body and Bloud the conquest over all his and mine Enemies for his powerful Intercession and the gracious acceptance of my Prayers and Person before God c. * Spiritual Mercies For which and all other temporal and spiritual Mercies my Soul shall magnifie the Lord and with the best Faculties I have I will bless and praise him for ever Finally O Lord I beseech thee preserve me in a perpetual Remembrance of those manifold and undeserved Favours thy Bounty has bestowed upon me and mine And as thou hast wonderfully preserv'd me hitherto and particularly from the dangers of the Night past so keep me this Day and for ever from all Sin and Mischief Let the Love of Christ be always in my heart and in my thoughts and as he is my hope so let him be for ever my rule and pattern to walk by That by by a sincere and faithful Discharge of the several Duties of my Calling and Religion both to God and Man I may enjoy a comfortable and prosperous well-Being in this Life and in the World to come Life everlasting To which the Lord of his infinite Mercies bring me and all his People thro' the Merits of Jesus Christ In whose Name and Words I continue to pray unto thee Our Father c. An Evening Prayer for a private Person OH eternal God! the Father of Men and Angels whose Glory is far above the Heavens and by whom the lower World is establisht in a Wonderful Order making the Day and Night to succeed each other Thou excellest the praises of all thy Creatures and hast no need of our Services neither can any thing be added to thy infinite Perfection yet in great Mercy thou hearest Prayer and thy Power and Goodness are abundantly manifested to the meanest of thy Servants who call upon thee in Faith and Sincerity In confidence whereof I most humbly implore the gracious Assistance of thy holy Spirit and be pleased to accept of such Prayer and Service as thy Bounty shall enable me to perform But the sense of my sinful Estate and Condition might justly make me afraid to speak of thy holy name since I have so wilfully and wickedly abused thy Goodness affronted thy Clemency resisted thy Power undervalued thy Wisdom trespassed upon thy Patience and stopt mine Ears against all the charitable tenders of Mercy and Salvation In somuch that thro' this senseless Stupidity and unreasonable Folly my heart is become proud and unmortified pievish and disobedient lustful and intemperate so wholly intangled in the snares of Sin Wickedness that I am utterly unable to resist or flie from 'em For I am daily prevailed with by my buitish Appetites and Passions to commit those Sins which thou hast forbidden * Here confess thy particular Sins committed as c. and to ommit those Duties which thou hast commanded †And the Duties omitted even contrary to the most convincing Attestations of rectified Reason and Religion For which beinous and innumerable Offences thou mightest justly long ere this have given me my portion in the horrours and sorrows of a sad miserable Eternity But thou delightest in Mercy and thy loving kindness has been abundantly manifested hitherto in sending thy Son and Spirit not to call the Righteous but Sinners to Repentance Come Lord Jesus and say unto my Soul I am thy Salvation and my Leprosie shall be healed Think upon thy Mercies holy Father consider thy Son's Bloud and Obedience and accept of my sincere Contrition and unfeigned Repentance for his Names sake Touch my frozen heart with the Finger of thy Omniporence dissolve it into those Tears which may so wash my polâ—ited Conscience that thy love may refresh me that thy presence may revive me and the Garments of heaviness will be turned into the white Robes of Praise and Exaltation Oh let me hear the joyful News of a merciful Pardon from thy gracious Lips that the Bones which thou hast broken may rejoyce Stretch forth thy hand O Lord to save a poor miserable and sinful Creature from the power of Sin and Satan and the pain and peril of hell torments Keep me unspotted from the World that my Thoughts and Affections may not be drawn away from thee by the deceitful Pleasures unmanly Desires and unworthy Designs of this vain and transitory Life Support me under the many Temptations and Pressures which thy good Providence may order and appoint for the tryal and improvement of my Graces or the punishment of my Sins Teach and enable me to be truly watchful in all my Ways and so keep the door of my lips that I may not offend in Thought Word or Deed either
against the Laws of Piety Temperance or Charity Supply my outward wants with health safety and success in my honest Calling and lawful undertakings give me true Friends and other temporal Blessings so far as thou seest them needful and convenient for my Support and Comfort Guide me with thy Wisdom in the Way wherein I am to walk cloth me with thy Sons Righteousness and seal me with thy holy Spirit unto the Day of Redemption that I may not be cast out of thy gracious presence with Hypocrites and Vnbelievers And since thou hast been pleas'd to enrich my Soul with divine and excellent Faculties so enable me to imploy 'em entirely to thy Service that neither Death nor Judgement may overtake me unawares And seeing thy Mercy O Lord is over all thy Works I beseech thee to be gracious to all Mankind Bless the universal Church especially the Churches of these Kingdoms And herein I intreat thee for all temporal and spiritual Mercies for the guidance and safety of the King 's most excellent Majesty the royal Family and the whole Clergy of this Realm but particularly for the Guide and Pastor of our Souls in this Parish Bless all the Nobility Gentry and Commonality in their several Capacities and Callings Be favourable and gracious to all my Relations Friends and Benefactors and extend thy Mercy and Goodness to all even my most inveterate and malicious Enemies Be propitious to those who want the blessings and comforts which I enjoy strengthen the weak confirm the strong instruct the ignorant deliver the oppressed relieve the needy pity and support the Fatherless and Widow and bring us all by the Waters of Comfort in the Ways of Religion to thy Kingdom of rest Glory The holy Angels and Saints in heaven praise thee O Lord extol thy Power bless thy Goodness and are astonished at thy Wisdom the whole Earth is full of the Riches of thy Grace and Mercy But thou hast blest and oblig'd me more especially by all the endeared Expressions of love and bounty in my Creation Preservation and all the Mercies and Comforts of this Life but above all by the infinite Riches of thy Grace and Goodness in fending thy Son to purchase my Peace and Pardon at so dear a price as the expence of his own bloud And herein I thank thee with all my Soul for his miraculous Birth his most holy and innocent Life for his bitter Agony and Passion his Glorious Resurrection and Ascension and his sovereign Power and Authority over all the Creatures for the sprinkling of his Bloud and his Intercession with the Father for us and for the coming of the holy Ghost for all the blessed Opportunities of Grace and Salvation here and assured hope of eternal Glory hereafter And to all thy other Mercies and Blessings thou hast graciously added the Protection of me and mine in our Persons and Possessions this Day from all Casualties and ill Accidents from the power prevalence of our Enemies and from thine infinite Wrath and Vengeance which might have deservedly faln upon us In like manner I beseech thee preserve my Soul and Body from all the Malice and Violence of the Spirits of Darkness and suffer not any vain Thoughts or Dreams to disturb or ensnare me Bless sanctifie my Sleep that it may be temperate holy and safe and that I and all thine may be refreshed from time to time with wholesome and moderate Rest that both our Souls and Bodies may not only serve thee with a never failing Duty but that whether we wake or sleep live or die we may be thine in Christ Jesus Our Father c. FINIS