yea even for the living God When shall I come and appear before God My heart is fixed O God my heart is fixed I will sing and give praise Truly my soul waiteth upon God from him cometh my Salvation He only is my Rock and Salvation my soul wait thou only upon God For my expectation is from him he only is my Rock and my Salvation He is my defence I shall not be moved In God is my Salvation and my Glory the Rock of my strength and my refuge is in God Trust in him at all times pour out your heart before him He is our refuge O God thou art my God early will I seek thee my soul thirsteth for thee my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty Land where no water is To see thy power and thy glory so as I have seen thee in the Sanctuary Because thy loving kindness is better than life my lips shall praise thee Thus will I bless thee while I live I will lift up my hands in thy name My Soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips I will praise God in the great Congregations I will enter into thy gates with thanksgiving and into thy Courts with praise Open to me the gates of Righteousness I will go into them and I will praise the Lord. This is the day that the Lord hath made we will rejoyce and be glad in it Give Israel thine Oracles and fill Zion with thine unspeakable Glory O magnifie the Lord our God and fall down before his footstool for he is holy O worship the Lord in the beauty of Holiness O come let us fall down and kneel before the Lord our Maker In thy fear do I worship thee in this thy holy Temple desiring to praise thee in the great Congregation before much people Here O Lord in the beauty of Holiness I approach to worship thee among thy Saints in the great Assembly I adore thine infinite Bounty that notwithstanding all my sins thou permittest me to tread thy Courts to attend thy Majesty in thy holy Temple For I have profaned thy Sabbaths Defiled thy Sanctuary Polluted thine holy Ordinances Dishonoured my Profession Been cold in my Prayers Dull in my Praises Careless and censorious in my Hearing Extreamly negligent in my Meditation Miserably distracted in all So that I have deserved a curse rather than a blessing from thee But O merciful Father Tender and compassionate Lord. Jesus my Saviour Most blessed and holy Spirit By thy Grace I return unto my heart and with all my heart I return unto thee Hear O Lord and have mercy upon me Pardon all my sins and let them not hinder the ascending of my prayers and praises unto thee nor the descending of thy mercies and graces now upon me My Soul breaketh for the longing it hath to thy Judgments The Law of thy mouth is dearer unto me than thousands of Gold and Silver Thy Testimonies are my delight and my counsellers O now in the accepted time make them so to thy servant Open thou mine eyes that I may see the wonderful things of thy law Make me to understand the way of thy precepts Order my steps in thy Word and let not any iniquity have dominion over me Teach me thy way O God and I will walk in thy paths O knit my heart fast unto thee that I may fear thy name It is my joy to see these Temples erected in the Land To see all Nations adoring and offering prayers and praises unto thee O that thou wouldst fill my heart with all the love of all the Souls that ever were are or shall be that I might offer it up now unto thee with all the love of Angels and glorified Saints for thou hast shewed more mercy to me than to them For I have offended thee more than all Give me therefore the love and obedience of them all to offer it up now unto thee Amen Devotions in the Church O Most holy God who art glorious in Holiness fearful in praises doing wonders give me great and dreadful apprehensions of thee that all the words of my mouth and thoughts of my heart may now and ever be acceptable in thy sight O Lord my strength and my Redeemer Bless all thine holy Ordinances at this time and at all times unto me Give me understanding in thy Word both read and preached Grant that it may be so mixt with faith and obedience that it may be the savour of life unto life to me and to every one here before thee and not the savour of death unto death Direct I beseech thee and assist thy Minister that he may rightly divide and utter thy Word that what in his Studies he hath conceived and composed of thy holy Oracles he may now powerfully preach to thy Glory Fill him with the Holy Ghost that he by thy Spirit may minister grace to the Hearers Make him to speak Knowledg and Instruction to the ignorant Comfort to the afflicted Terror to the profane That he may melt the hard hearted and make the proud to tremble at thy Word Lord enable him to correct all my errors to search out and eradicat all all my sins And then and not till then let him speak peace to my Conscience So guide the sword of the Spirit in his hand that it may meet with and smite all our corruptions and bosom sins who are now before thee known or unknown to us but all known to thee discover them all by this thy holy Minister that we may be purged purified and cleansed before thee Endue me and all that are here with wisdom to understand thy Word With serious attention to it With holy veneration of it With love and delight in it With all obedience to it And give us the grace of perfect amendment by it O let thy word drop as heavenly dew upon me and make my barren heart fruitful in the fruits of the same What I beg for my self I beg for all thy people for all my friends in special for all mankind in general and for all thine all the world over humbly beseeching thee to make thine holy Ordinances profitable unto all Amen After Church I Praise and magnifie thy great and Glorious Name that notwithstanding all my sins and great unworthinesses thou hast again admitted me into thy Holy Temple to make my prayers and supplications unto thee and to offer up my Praises in the Songs of Zion to thy great and Glorious Name I humbly thank thee for thy most holy Word read and Preached That Treasury of thy Graces That dispensation of thy Mercies That word of Life and Comfort That Helmet and Shield of Salvation Make it to have mighty operation upon me Let it make a deep impression in me Write it in my heart Record it in my Memory Make it familiar pleasant and present to my understanding The only subject of my Study And the sole object of my Love Let it
thou hast done me by thy self or others Angels and Men the Ministers of thy providence to me for the good of my soul and body and for all the good thou hast wrought in me and for giving me grace and strength in the discharge of my duty to thee and my neighbour for all and every of thy blessings in every kind which are infinite for number and for worth invaluable and every way unspeakable whatsoever from thy bounteous hand I have received I thankfully return my heart and soul in a most grateful acknowledgment of thy infinite Bounty and my unworthiness with the tribute of all possible love honour and praise beseeching thee to the vast heap of all thy unspeakable blessings to add this one more of a thankful heart that with joyful lips and a glad heart I may praise and bless thee all the days of my life whilest I have any being here and in the land of the living in Heaven hereafter everlastingly Amen III. After Thanksgiving for all Benefits it will do well to make a confession and beg pardon for all our sins and to do it as if it were to be our last LOrd God who didst make me for nothing else but to serve thee and love thee who art most worthy of all love and service and to whom I have infinite obligations so to do With shame and blushing I confess I have not loved nor served thee as I ought nay I have dishonour'd thee and offended thee as I ought not doing what thou hast forbidden and not doing what thou hast commanded In my thoughts in my words in my actions by all the senses of my body and all the powers of my soul and all the Creatures which thou hast given to serve me in thy service transgressing thy Commandments infinite ways by numberless Transgressions O my sins my many sins my grievous sins my ingratitudes my unfaithfulness O that my soul were all sorrow my heart full of Contrition my eyes of Tears and if it might be tears of blood to blot out my offences against a God so glorious so gracious whom having all the reason in the world to love honour and to please I have so little loved so much dishonour'd and offended if all the torments and martyrdoms in the world all the violent and voluntary sufferings that such a wretch could endure were sufficient to expiate my faults sure I would at least I should undergo them to make amends for my Injuries against my God my dear God But alas they cannot repair the least injury nor satisfie for the least of my offences But this is my comfort thy Son my Saviour hath done it for me he hath honoured and pleased thee in all holy obedience in all his thoughts words and actions by all his senses the powers of his soul and members of his body and by all the Creatures of the world he made use of yielding exact obedience to thy holy will for me and by the sorrows and sufferings of his soul and body made full satisfaction for all my sins Him therefore I offer up to thee and all that he hath done and suffer'd for me that as thou hast promised I may be accepted to pardon grace and favour through him in whom thou canst not but be well pleased Holy Father look upon thy Son thy beloved Son and pardon thy ungracious servant Lord set thy sorrows and sufferings between my Sins and thy Fathers wrath that his justice being satisfied I may be received to mercy and as to God so to all Men and Angels and all Creatures whom I have injured do thou satisfie all my injuries and offences that none of them come in against me to accuse me at that day but that I may have a clear and full acquittance through thy blood O my dear Redeemer whereby thou hast fully purchased me that I may be wholly thine Amen IV. A Prayer to die to Sin LOrd Jesus Christ who didst die for me to the end I should no longer live to my self but unto thee who diedst for me and that so I might reckon my self dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God in righteousness and true holiness mortifie in me wholly the life of sin and of the old Adam that all my sins and even the affections and lusts thereof may die before me that I may be perfectly dead to the world and to my self and to all things else but thee Mortifie in such a manner my eyes mine ears my tongue my hands my feet my heart and every member of my body and all the powers of my Soul that I may no more see hear or speak or do or walk or think or wish or make any use of any Member of my body or faculty of my Soul to the service of 〈…〉 service of 〈…〉 may retain 〈…〉 â—…ctions 〈…〉 such 〈…〉 and 〈…〉 course 〈…〉 thy servant in this world to 〈◊〉 when death comes it find me not unprepared but that I may receive and welcome it as my summons to a better life where there is no sin nor temptation nor misery nor want nor pains nor death but bliss and happiness and joy and fulness of pleasure and life for evermore Amen V. A Petition for the Virtues of the Dying Jesus LOrd Jesus teach me when the time of my dissolution shall come to depart this life as thou didst with the like holy affections and dispositions of soul that thou hadst that I may loose hold not only of my sins and all that is sinful but even of all that is in the world the chiefest of the allowed comforts of it my dearest Friends and even my self to be ready at thy call as thou wast at thy Fathers Teach me as thou didst earnestly to commend to thy Father the care of the Catholick Church and especially of this of England my dear Mother to keep her in unity and purity to the end Teach me then and even now and till then to give good spiritual counsels and instructions to those about me as thou didst to thy followers Teach me from my heart to pardon all mine enemies as thou didst thine and to pity and pray for them with all other high and holy lessons of the Cross of submission to the hand of God his heavy hand of patience in pains of body and sorrows and heaviness in soul contempt of the world obedience to the death and all other those virtues which in the last act of thy life thou didst in a most eminent manner practise in thy self leaving the pattern for an example to all and to me in particular that I might practise them in my last Act and leave them as a Legacy to all mine Particularly teach me the art of true love to and of a right care for all mine that I leave behind me that as thou didst commend thy blessed Mother to the care of thy beloved Disciple so may I all my nearest Relations my my Friends to such as St. John was if such be to be had beloved of God and faithful in their trust that they may be so carefully instructed and bred up in piety and virtue as to live in holiness and righteousness all their days that when they come to depart this world as I am now a doing we may meet and enjoy one another in thee in bliss everlasting But if no such there be to whose hands I may leave them or if there be there is none to thee I consign them over unto thee the only friend of the friendless that thou conducting them either by thy self or by the Ministry of such faithful friends of their Souls as thou shalt raise them they may so pass with innocency through the things temporal that finally they lose not the things eternal And that I may not be ingrateful to all other my Benefactors whom thou hast used as thy instruments to convey thy Blessings Spiritual and Temporal to me for what I can make no return to them of I earnestly recommend them to thee to the riches of thy bounty and mercy to reward them sevenfold into their bosom humbly beseeching that they may find mercy in that day and abundant recompence in the day of recompence for all the good they have done to me in thy name and for thy sake Amen And now my God and my all as having nothing in the world left me but my self my sins I have renounced and all my affections to them as none of mine and the dearest pledges of my love which I have past over to thee as no longer mine but thine I cast off from me all the care of my self and cast all the care of me upon thee put off this earthly tabernacle of flesh when and as it pleaseth thee and return it to its ancient dust and commend my Spirit deliver'd from this burden of flesh by the Ministry of thy holy Angels to be presented to thy Father as pure and spotless as thy Divine Blood can make it that among those he hath given thee according as thou hast prayed and thy Father granted it may ever be where thou art And now what have I to do having taken leave of earth and sent my thoughts and desires and hopes and in them my soul to Heaven but to languish and call and cry and not to cease till I breath out my soul into thy hands Come Lord Jesus come quickly Amen and Amen DEus vitae meae quam vane consumpta sunt quam infructuose elapsa sunt tempora mea quae dedisti mihi ut facerem voluntatem tuam in eis non feci quanti Anni quot Dies quot Horae perierunt apud me in quibus sine fructu vixi coram te Quomodo subsistam quomodo levare potero oculos meos in faciem tuam in illo magno examine tuo si omnia peccata mea vel tempora mea fructus requisiveris singulorum Patientissime pater non fiat hoc sed sint in oblivione coram te Et quae perdidi tempora heu multa sunt nimis si quae te juvante utiliter servavi quorum O domine numerus brevis est in memoria aeterna fac permanere Fiat amande Pater saltem hoc residuum temporis mei fructuosum sanctificatum in Gratia tua ut in diebus Aeternitatis inveniat locum computabile sit ante te Amen FINIS
Printed for Ionathan Edwin in Ludgate Street DAILY DEVOTIONS Consisting of Thanksgivings Confessions and Prayers In Two Parts For the Benefit of the more Devout and the assistance of weaker Christians By an Humble Penitent LONDON Printed by A. Maxwell for Jonathan Edwin at the Three Roses in Ludgate-street 1673. The Preface to the READER THe following Meditations Praises Prayers and Confessions were the Devotions of a learned and pious Christian humbly offered up in due order to the Divine Majesty as their nature and the time to which they were fitted required being very Rational Comprehensive and Emphatical are offered now to the most sacred Consideration and practice of all those holy and humble Votaries that may in any sort be assisted by or delighted in the same In the Meditations suggested to the Readers use as he is going to Church sitting there and coming thence the best and most opposite Reflections and Resentments of holy David that Royal Pattern which God himself hath set before our Eyes are so collected and digested that they may easily pass into the apprehensions and affections of the Peruser The Praises contain the great and manifold effects of Gods goodness the Demonstrations of his Love the causes of our Joy and the Incentives that feed and enflame our Love and Gratitude The Prayers for the third sixt and ninth hour are every day to be used in memory of our Saviors Passion for the more effectual application of the merits of his bitter Death the more lively exercise of our Faith therein aswel as for our daily Communion with him in the sight and sense of all his love sufferings on the Cross for us after the manner of the ancient Christians in the best most pure Primitive Times The residue are Devotions adapted some to the use of Sinners for the bewailing of their sins at all times others for the use of Christians in our most eminent Fasts and Festivals and some by way of Preparation for Death that meditating upon it wisely fitting our selvs for it here it may be a blessed change unto us 〈◊〉 bring us to the life of â—…nal Glory hereafter I shall not speak more in praise of the Devotions which several learned and holy men have seen and approved but leave them to the experience of all the intelligent and pious that shall use them praying for a Blessing upon their Exercises in the same The Contents 1. DEvotions and Meditations to be us'd as we go to Church 2. Devotions in the Church 3. After Church 4. Devotion comprising all our Duties 5. A Paraphrase upon the Objective Hymn of Praise 6. Thanksgivings for all persons and times 7. An Hymn to Jesus wherein the Soul may expatiate it self with delight in him 8. A Prayer to the Holy Ghost out of St. Augustine 9. A Prayer for the Sixth hour 10. A Prayer for the Ninth hour 11. Additional Devotions for the Evening 12. A Prayer for Lent 13. Daily Thanksgiving 14. A Prayer for Christmas-day 15. A Prayer for Easter-day 16. A confession of sin out of Bishop Andrews 17. Deprecations of Bishop Andrews 18. Intercessions for all Mankind 19. A Christian Dedication of himself unto God 20. A Prayer for acceptation of Acts of Humiliation or abstinence on fasting-days 21. Evening thoughts and exercises to Bed-ward The Advice 22. A Prayer against Afflictions 23. An Exercise preparative to a good death consisting of several Acts of Piety 1. A brief Soliloquy by way of Admonition 2. Submition to the sentence of death 3. Thanksgiving for all benefits of your life past 4. Confession of our sins 5. A Prayer to die to sin 6. A petition for the virtues of the dying Jesus Devotions and Meditations to be used as we go to Church I Was glad when they said unto me let us go to the House of the Lord. Our feet stand within thy gates O Jerusalem Jerusalem is built as a City that is compact together Whither the Tribes go up the Tribes of the Lord unto the Testimony of Israel to give thanks unto the name of the Lord. For there are set Thrones of Judgment the Thrones of the House of David O pray for the peace of Jerusalem they shall prosper that love thee Peace be within thy walls and prosperity within thy Palaces For my Brethren and Companions sake I will now say peace be within thee Because of the House of the Lord our God I will seek thy good Glory be to the Father c. O how amiable are thy Tabernacles O Lord of Hosts My soul longeth yea even fainteth for the Courts of the Lord my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God Blessed are they that dwell in thy House they will be still praising thee They go from strength to strength every one of them in Zion appeareth before God O Lord of Hosts hear my prayer give ear O God of Jacob. For a day in thy Courts is better than a thousand I had rather be a door-keeper in the House of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness For the Lord God is a Sun and Shield the Lord will give Grace and Glory and no good thing will he with-hold from him that walketh uprightly O Lord God of Hosts blessed is the man that trusteth in thee Glory be to the Father c. Praise waiteth for thee in Zion and to thee shall the vow be performed in Jerusalem O thou that hearest prayer unto thee shall all flesh come Blessed is the man whom thou chusest and causest to approach unto thee that he may dwell in thy Courts We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy House even of thy holy Temple The Lord loveth the Gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Therefore I will come into thy House in the multitude of thy mercies and in thy fear will I worship towards thy holy Temple Lead me O Lord in thy righteousness make thy way strait before my face One thing have I desired of the Lord that will I seek after that I may dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to enquire in his Temple I will wash mine hands in innocency so will I compass thine Altar about Lord I have loved the habitation of thy House and the place where thine honour dwelleth Thou art my my hiding place thou shalt preserve me from trouble thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance O Lord instruct me in the way that I should go guide me with thine eye I will wait for thy loving kindness in the midst of thine holy Temple O send out thy Light and thy Truth let them lead me and bring me to thy holy Hill and to thy Tabernacles Then will I go unto the Altar of God unto God my exceeding joy I will praise thee O God my God As the Hart panteth after the water-brooks so panteth my soul after thee O God My soul thirsteth for God
indignation against my self in hearty confession that I am not worthy of the least of thy mercies to deplore my weakness to implore thy assistance to lay before thee all my wants to beg thy supplies to meditate upon thy life death and passion and to be thankful for the admirable work of our Redemption to shew thee my wounds and to creep into thine for cure to judg condemn and deny my self that I may not be judged condemned and denied by thee I correct my self that thou mayest spare me I abhor my self that thou maist pity me and I desire to die to the world to live with thee I desire not only to fast for sin but above all from sin so to meditate upon thy Life Death and Passion as to make most grateful returns of love and obedience In serious care to imitate all thy Virtues truly conforming my self to all thy imitable perfections Since if our Humiliations produce not these effects it may well be suspected they have more of formality humour or hypocrisie than true sorrow and integrity Therefore I earnestly crave thine Almighty aid and grace for my sincere performance Help me dear Lord to search and try my heart to discover discern and eradicate all my sins to empty my self of all vanity and do thou plant in me true sanctifying grace and constant piety Help me to overcome all my Infirmities and especially those which by my corrupt nature careless and evil customs inadvertency or condition of life I am most subject unto Help me also dear Lord to make worthy preparations for the holy Sacrament that having chastised my self in this time of willing and obediential Humiliation I may come out so cleansed healed and restored by thy Death and Passion that I may partake of all the joys of thy glorious Resurrection Give me therefore I beseech thee blessed and happy opportunities of Retirement and Introversion with the grace of profitable Meditation and a lively faith for effectual Application Give me the blessing of health and strength to perform the same make me so earnestly to implore all thy Graces as to attain them so to deprecate thy Judgments that thou maist ever withhold them deliver me from all vain and sinful company from great disturbances and from all destraction that may impede my duty to thee Give me a discerning Spirit that I may know the duties of my calling that I may neither be negligent of it nor too solicitous in it Give me opportunities of doing good to all but especially to those of the Houshold of Faith for both the Will and power comes from thee Make me a comfort to the afflicted a help to the poor and needy an encourager and example of virtue a discountenancer of Vice a meet help for my individual Relation in all things but especially in the best Help me to bear injuries patiently to take contradictions easily to forgive all freely Make me a true a prudent and a faithful friend a kind neighbour a good Master or Mistress in my Family liberal to the poor and truly loving to my Relations Tender and compassionate meek humble and courteous to all Make me as much to honour thee as ever I have dishonoured thee as much to please thee as ever I have displeased thee O that thou wouldst make me a great instrument of thy glory and though without thy grace I can do nothing enable me so that I may experimentally say and evidence to all the world that through thy grace I can do all things That thy strength may be seen in my weakness and that from the greatness of my sin and misery the greater glory may arise to thine infinite goodness and mercy Lord do thy work of Grace speedily and mightily upon me and make thy servant unalterably constant in thy faith and service to which end bless all the means of grace unto me Let my private devotions so fit and prepare me for thy publick Worship that all thine Ordinances may be profitable to me that so by thy Grace derived from them my whole life may be acceptable in and through my blessed Lord and Saviour A Daily Thanksgiving I Praise thee for electing me before all time For creating me in time For redeeming me in the fulness of time For all the parts and mysteries in my Redemption For thy patient forbearance of me so long a time For giving me a time to repent and repentance in that time For justifying me in thy good time For my Sanctification at all times And for my hope of Glorification when time shall be no more I praise thee for thy wonderful mercy in preserving me from a thousandfold dangers miseries diseases falls and troubles which without thy mercy had befaln me For delivering me from those calamities I have so particularly feared and so much deserved For delivering me out of all the mire of iniquity and those sinks of sin in this evil world which without thy grace and mercy I had faln into and perisht in if thou hadst not snatched me as a firebrand pluckt out of the fire For all the blessings of thy bounty which we daily receive from thy mercy For thy supply to me in all my wants Thy relief in all my necessities My comforts in all my sadness For the kindness affection ability support and comfort of my dear H. For preserving him in health and safety For thy miraculous preservation of us from the late Plague in time of eminent danger For keeping us from drowning and from all hurt and loss by fire For preserving us from Falls Fractures of Bones Dislocations Hurt or loss of any of our members or senses Above all I praise thee for making me a member of thy Holy Catholick Church and the satisfaction I enjoy therein For the miraculous preservation of the King and thy wonderful Restauration of thy Church To some degree of its wonted glory To a full degree of thy saving Truth And to a peaceable possession of our ancient Priviledges For the joy of thy Courts in the beauty of Holiness For the comforts of all our solemn Assemblies For an able pious and learned Clergy For a willing obedient and conformable Laity For the glory of our Festivals and all the glorious mysteries contained commemorated and reduc'd to practice in them For our Weekly Monthly Quarterly and yearly Fasts in our Fridays Eves Embers and Lent For the excellent uses designed in them For the unspeakable benefits derived from them By giving us in holy abstinence Life to our Prayers Light to our Understandings Vigor to our Affections Wings to our Devotions Examination of our Consciences Sorrow for our Sins Acts of penitence for them and charity against them I praise thee for our excellent Liturgy containing penitential Confessions Effectual Absolutions Charitable Intercessions for all Invocating thy Mercies Deprecating thy Judgments I praise thee for the Tears sighs and groans of our Hearts Souls and Spirits at our Prayers to the delight of God and the joy of Angels
and in all lowly devotion and devout obedience here casting my Soul and Body prostrate before the dreadful Throne of his Justice I acknowledg and confess and I yield my self a most miserable wretched sinner guilty of that Death and Passion which Christ once suffer'd for me upon the tormenting Cross But turning my self to the Throne of his infinite Mercy and with all my might from the very bowels of my heart detesting the iniquities of my fore-passed life I most humbly beg and crave pardon for the same with an entire absolution from all my sins even for the precious Death and Passions sake of my Lord and Saviour upon whom as upon the only foundation of my hope I repose all my confidence and unto whom I promise and confirm again I vow and solemnly renew the sacred profession of loyal service and fidelity which was made in my name and in my behalf unto him in my holy Baptism renouncing unfeignedly the vanities of this wicked world the lusts of my sinful flesh and the suggestions of the Devil and converting my self to my most gracious and most merciful God I desire deliberate purpose and fully resolve to honour him serve him love him and obey him now and for ever hereafter giving and dedicating to him for this end the powers of my Soul the affections of my Heart and the faculties of my Body to be his faithful loyal and obedient servant for ever without unsaving revoking or repenting me of this my holy and sacred promise or any part thereof And I most humbly beseech Almighty God the Father Son and Holy Ghost to confirm me in this constant resolution and to accept of this my broken and contrite Heart which he hath promised not to despise entirely desiring his fatherly goodness that as he hath given me a will to purpose so he would give me strength and grace to perform all holy actions through Jesus Christ A Prayer for acceptation of acts of Humiliation or Abstinence on fasting-Fasting-Days LOrd Jesus who both by thy Word and thine own example hast taught us to deny our selves and by thy Apostle hast councell'd us to judg our selves that we be not judged of the Lord. I offer unto thee this act of Abstinence not out of a proud conceit of satisfying thy justice by it for the least sin or meriting any the least favour at thy hand but in a pure acknowledgment that through my manifold sins I am unworthy of so liberal an use of thy good Creatures and even of the necessary sustenance of life in an holy revenge upon my self for former excesses through heedlesness or wanton appetites in an humble desire of bringing forth some fruits worthy of repentance as also in honour of and conformity to thy hunger and thirst abstinence and austerity voluntarily undergone by thee to expiate the errors of our excesses Beseeching thee graciously to accept of me and mine as thou usest to do to those that love thy name and fear thy wrath and are displeased at themselves for having displeased thee and that judg themselves to prevent being judged of thee Purge and purifie our humiliations and abstinencies from all hypocrisie vain-glory and self-pleasing and offer it to thy holy Father in the Union and through the merits of thy holy Abstinences for the averting of thy Judgments and for procuring of thy grace and favour for my self and others to the beating down of the body and the bringing of it into subjection to the crucifying of the flesh with the affections and lusts for the disposing of my Soul to the more free influences of thy Divine Grace to fit me for Prayer Meditation and all other Blessings wherewith thou usest to crown the worthless service of thy poor Creatures infinitely beyond their deserts in such sort as shall seem good to thee and be expedient for us to thy Glory and to the Glory of the Father and the Holy Ghost Three persons and one God world without end Evening Thoughts and Exercises to Bedward The ADVICE DO not dare to go to Bed in such a state with such a conscience in which you do not dare to die For who can tell whether this night your Soul may not be required of you Having retired therefore and set God before you and your self before God stir up your self to an act of self-examination thus or to this purpose The MEDITATION SEE O my Soul the day is past the time of working is over the night is come and invites us to rest our life is one day shorter than it was in the Morning and what if it be our last Our gracious Lord has given us this day to serve him and what service have we done him to work out our Salvation in and what have we done towards it How have we spent this day how has it past from our down-lying to our uprising to the first hour the third the sixth the ninth to the Evening to this hour where was each hour spent and with whom and in what employment 2. What were the considerable passages of each hour what was done by us what devotions businesses recreations Have we ordered our Conversations aright to Godward in the exercises of Religion Prayer spiritual reading of this Book or other good Books of Devotion looking up to his hand in all things that befell us both the good and the evil directing all our doings to his Glory To our selves in the exercises of prudence ordering all our affairs wisely of Temperance moderating our selves Actions Appetites Affections of Courage both doing the good we had the power and opportunity to do notwithstanding the difficulty or danger and suffering the evil that befell us bearing afflictions pains losses injuries with patience and as much as may be with cheerfulness To others in the common exercises of Respects Justice Charity in our proper duties according to the special obligations of our Relations Callings Offices c. How have our thoughts been busied about wholsom good things or vain impertinent sinful dwelling upon such with delight Our Affections have they been set on things above or altogether on things of the Earth Our Senses how have they been disciplin'd or have they been loose or wanton wandring especially our Eyes Our Words have they been few discreet gracious or have they been light vain offensive boasting censuring And our doings of what worth in themselves or benefit to others or have they been of little worth in themselves or small benefit to others Our carriage how grave harmless affable obliging patient or otherwise How have we kept our Rule our Hours our Measures have we done all we were to do to day our daily tasks our accustomed devotions our proper businesses have we not exceeded for there is the danger in our Refections and Recreations have we done every thing as we ought Have willing distractions and careless indevotions stoln in upon us Our business was it begun with that purity of intention carried on with that diligence and industry and
great in the Kingdom of Heaven Deliver me from the Seven deadly sins Pride Covetousness Luxury Envy Gluttony Anger Sloth Grant me the Seven contrary Virtues Humility Liberality Chastity Gentleness Temperance Patience and Devotion for thy mercy sake Amen A PARAPHRASE upon the Objective Hymn of Praise O My God do all thy works praise thee and shall not I shall not I who am the work of thy hands praise thee whose care over me hath been such as if thou hadst nothing else to care for Yet thy providence is so great over all that it becomes our wonder and joy to see thee so particularly careful over every one and so amiable in thy goodness unto all that the more thou takest care for all thy care is so much the greater over every one All the benefit of thy wisdom goodness and providence being guided to the benefit of every person I praise thee therefore O Lord For the Glory of Angels For the Faith of the Patriarchs For the Inspiration of the Prophets For the labours of the Apostles For the truth of the Evangelists For the Zeal of Confessors For the Blood of Martyrs For the Learning of the Fathers For the Study of Doctors For the Industry of all pious Ministers For the Hope Virtue Faith and Zeal of all thy Saints and Servants For all whom I praise and magnifie thy Name O Lord. I also praise thee for the Heavens and all the Glory of them For the glory of the Sun which comes forth as a Bridegroom out of his Chamber rejoycing as a Giant to run his course I praise thee for its Beams whose light and splendor revives mine eye beautifies and quickens all the Earth digesteth Minerals animates the Air enlivens Trees perfects Flowers excites the influences of the Heavens raiseth exhalations dissolveth Ice causeth the Rivers to flow begetting propagating and cherishing all the Creatures which are the life and beauty of this habitable World By it I am warm'd and refresh'd By it I see all thy works in this glorious World By it I am exhilerated and excited to praise thee O thou eternal Sun of Righteousness who didst rise upon us with healing in thy Wings purchasing this glorious light and restoring it to me when by my sins I had forfeited the same O let not this Sun ever behold me doing any work of darkness O thou Eternal Sun who art the Light of this make me to remember that thine Eye which is ten thousand times brighter than the Sun is ever upon me that I may always walk as a child of the light before thee I praise thee O most blessed Lord for the shady glittering and Majestick Light of the Moon For its weaker and milder Beams For all its Revolutions and wonderful effects By which our Days are refreshed and our Nights enlightened By which we know Times and Seasons By which our Air is tempered our Droughts are moistened and all Productions hastened O blessed be thy Name for the precious things put forth by the Sun and for the precious things put forth by the Moon For the blessed Interchanges of our Days to travel and our Nights to rest in for the comfort of our lives continued by their constant Motions and Returns I praise thee for the illustrious Stars in all their order which govern things below by thine appointment while thou governest them in all their ways I praise thee for their powerful and precious influences I praise thee for the Waters above the Firmament and for thy Clouds that drop down fatness For the Coelestial Waters of Repentance which I beseech thee evermore to drop down upon me I praise thee for the winds thou sendest out of thy Treasuries to purifie the Air qualifie the heat and refresh our Spirits by which all living Creatures breathe and live I praise thee for the comfort light and warmth with all other benefits we receive from fire For the blessings of Winter in its healthful Airs wholsome Winds candid Frosts warmer Snows curling Floods and abounding Waters For the verdure life and beauty of the Spring for all the lovely Blossoms knitting Fruits Grain and Grass sweetly growing and springing in the same For the might and beauty of the Summers glory in the fuller growth and increase of all For the blessing of time and happy length of days to contemplate thy Glory and enjoy thy rich blessing in these in all our pleasant Fruits joyful harvests and various delicates of soft Wool Milk Butter Honey Balm and Spices and for all the Refreshments thou givest us in these thy good Creatures I revere thy Majesty which with such terror thou dost manifest to us in the Lightenings I adore thy greatness appearing in the Thunderings Thine Omnipotency in all Thy wonderful Providence over all Thy Goodness to all I praise thee for our Temperate Seasons Autumnal fruits rich and wholsome Wines Oyls and Siders For all the precious things of the Earth For the chief things of the ancient Mountains for the precious things of the lasting Hills For our Stately Woods and lovely Trees which afford us Wine Oyl and Spices fruits both for profit and pleasure yielding Timber also fuel shade and medicine I praise thee for the beauty fragrancy benefit variety and delight of all the curious Flowers the least of them shewing us a God Creator and Preserver For our fruitful Valleys wherein our Corn stands so thick that they laugh and sing thy Praises For the excellent Bread and daily food thou givest us therewith For thy blessings on all our several labours in raising and preparing it For thy continual blessing upon us in our daily use thereof For all the wonders of thy goodness and wisdom comprised in it For all our rich and beautiful Gardens stately Walks fruitful Fields pleasant Pastures rich Meadows Roots and Plants all sorts of Grain for Food Health Pleasure and Medicine I praise thee for all our Mines of Gold Silver Brass Iron Tin Copper Lead and Coal For all the Riches Lustre Virtue Use and Benefit of precious Stones For all our soveraign and wholsome Wells Springs and Fountains marvellous and healing Waters deep Seas and Treasures that lie in the Deep For bounding the Sea by thy Laws which though written in sand stand fast for ever For the magnitude of the Whale and all the wonderful Fishes of the Deep For subduing all things to the service of Man I magnifie thy name for ever For all the Fowls of the Air in all their warbling Melody delightful food pleasure variety and beauty For all the Insects and creeping things that are subject to thy care and providence the provident Ant the industrious and curious Bee in its marvellous working and delicious Honey For all the Beasts and Cattel upon a thousand Hills in all their strength use service food and pleasure But most of all do I praise thee for the Children of Men for the Israel of God for the Priests that serve at thine Altar for all the Spirits and Souls
in tears of blood to ransome me Open the grave of my dull and earthly Soul with thy Almighty power and enliven the dead therein even all my powers and affections that abundance of holy thoughts may rise out of it in thankfulness for thy Passion with multitudes of praises for my Redemption Shake the earth of my Heart with terror at the approach of every sin that I may die rather than commit one known wilful sin against thee more Blessed Lord enclose my Soul now in that Heart of thine which was opened with the Spear for me There I delight to dwell for I have desired it There will I live and suck life and draw Salvation from thee Thy wounded Heart is my Sanctuary my comfort in sorrow my refuge in trouble here let me live and die and be secure for ever I desire nothing but thee I languish after none but thee all satisfaction lies in thee I desire to creep into this hole of the Rock and there to lie close with intimate individual adhaesion to thee with fulness of love and obedience O nourish me in it fill me with that love which made it and I will return it all in thanksgiving and love unto thee Additional Devotions for the Evening O Blessed Jesus by the eye of faith I now behold thee dead upon the Cross for me and see good Joseph of Arimathea thy holy Mother and Saint John coming to take thee down from the same Among whom I also by faith desire to come upon the Ladder of holy Thoughts with the shroud of my Heart to receive thee O give me the myrrh of Mortification The bitter Aloes of sorrow for my sin And the odour of divine Virtues to present and embalm thee with O that I had tears to wash thy sacred body all begored with blood and spittle for me O that I were but gratefully sensible of thine unspeakable love in all thy sufferings As these good men did draw out the Nails all begored with blood be pleased to draw out all the nails of Sin which lie in my body corrupting my poor Soul Fetch out all my corruptions though thou rent and tear me in the cure Thy wounded shoulders and rented hands were ript from the Cross so fast did the bloody nails and thy love above all fix thee thereunto O dear Lord loosen me quite from the World and from every vain affection that would withdraw my Heart from thee O fix the memory of thy Sufferings in my Heart and my Heart fast unto thee As thy Servants took thee down in their Arms vouchsafe to receive me into thine Methinks I see thee laid in thy Mothers lap while they shroud thee Dear Lord I lay down all my affairs in the lap of thy divine Providence desiring to rest sweetly thankfully and most contentedly in all thy dispensations towards me I resign my self my Soul my Estate my Friends and all that I am or have unto thee Thou hast bought and redeemed me to be thine and thine only will I be for ever Make me to spend hours and days in contemplating thee and thy miraculous sweetness to vapor away in acts of Love Adoration and Thankfulness to thee for this thy redeeming love unto me And now dear Lord I see thee taken away to thy burial also and laid in a new Sepulchre O make me a new Heart and take thy repose in the same I see thee buried for me O bury all my sins in the Grave with thee And thou who wert in that night of sorrow before thy death in thine Agony at Prayer for me in the morning condemned the Third hour crucified the Sixth dead and pierced the Ninth hour and taken down from the Cross at Even-song who wast now buried for me have mercy upon me give me grace daily and duly to apply the same unto my Soul as being my only Help Health and Remedy for in thy Merits Death and Passion is my only hope of Salvation Therefore let my life be hid with Christ in God Let me count all things but dung to gain thee For whom have I in Heaven but thee O Lord and there is none upon Earth that I desire in comparison of thee Compline HAving now dearest Lord passed this day in health and safety by thy divine Providence I give thanks unto thee Blessed by thy holy Name for any good I have done or for any evil I have left undone since it was by thy Grace only that I performed any good or did forbear any evil Blessed be thy Name for thy Mercies received for thy Judgments escaped and thy goodness enjoyed this day O let not my days consume in vanity nor my years in trouble but let every day add some knowledg some practice and some virtue to yesterday Holy Father I beseech thee by the Merits of thine only Son to pardon me the sins of this day and take me now and ever into thine Almighty protection O that thou wouldst visit me with the visitation of thy Saints O that thou wouldst shew me the felicity of thy chosen O that thou wouldst open mine eyes in the Visitations of the night O that thou wouldst give me Songs in the night that I might never cease day nor night from praising thee O that while mine Eyes sleep my Heart might always wake unto thee O fill me with love fill me O Lord with the most enflamed love that ever any of thine had unto thee O that I had all the love of all thy Saints and Angels comprised in my Soul to pour it out unto thee Lord thou hast not denied thy blood to redeem my Soul do not O do not deny me thy love to replenish it I desire to empty it of every thing else fill it with thy self for ever That as of thy fulness we have all received of the fulness of my love thou mayst receive such a full obedience and duty that I may be thine and only thine for ever O make me to think upon thee in my Bed and to remember thee when I am waking Let my first and last thoughts yea let all my thoughts be of thee and let thy blessing most blessed God be now and evermore upon me O make me to be early up at my Prayers and Praises unto thee Amen A Prayer for Lent MOst Holy and ever Blessed Lord Jesus who didst fast forty days and fortynights for me and all thine to teach us that Prayer and Fasting were necessary fortifications against the assaults of the Devil and all his Temptations as also to satisfie for all our excesses by Intemperance and for all deficiencies in our Retirements and Prayers I adore thy goodness and humbly implore thy grace and acceptance of my Humiliation before thee these forty days which I now enter into and continue in in memory of and conformity to thee I offer up this holy time in honour and love of thee in imitation of thy Saints in obedience to thy Church in sorrow for my sins as an act of
World a little before I was by thy Judgments forced to leave it altogether I praise thee for all the Ministry of Angels For my Guardian Angel For all the faithful departed For thy great Graces given to them Their good example given to me For the Suffrages and Prayers of all Saints For my Communion with them and with all those who are at Prayers with me now in this holy hour For the large capacity and extent of my Soul that can be in union with all Ages past present and to come worshipping praising and adoring thee For enabling me so to rejoyce in thy Glories to dilate upon thy Excellencies to delight in thy Service so as if all our affections were united in one holy individual oblation of our Souls and Bodies unto thee As if all Souls were in one and one so in all that we could never more be divided from thee nor cease from the love and service we bear unto thee nor be separated from each other in thee I praise thee for preserving me from all perils and dangers either by day or night For that portion of Health I now enjoy For the contentedness and thankfulness thou givest me in all estates For all the necessaries of this life Healthful dwelling quiet safety plenty of food and raiment For all the retirements and happy opportunities thou givest me of Reading Praying and enjoying thee For assisting me to overcome in any measure any of those great Infirmities I am subject to by nature For all thy gifts of Grace and nature infused or acquired attain'd by study or experience in the world For any good use I make of them For all thy wonderful Mercies to me and mine blessing us in all good things For thy great preservation of us in many dangerous Journeys and deliverances out of very many great troubles which my Soul recounteth unto thee For all these and for all other thy Mercies known or not known manifest or secret willingly or unwillingly received I praise thee I bless thee I give thee thanks and I desire to praise bless and give thee thanks all the days of my life What am I that thou shouldst look upon such a dead dog as I am What reward shall I give unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me especially in that he hath spared and forborn me until now Holy holy holy thou art worthy to receive Honour Worship and Praise now and for evermore Amen A Prayer for Christmas-Day HOly Jesus who being infinitely higher than the Heavens didst condescend to look on the Earth to come down and visit us with the saving Presence of thine Eternal Godhead clothed with our Manhood in the Virgins Womb let this miraculous grace of thine effect another miracle in me Let it raise me by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost and change me by a new Birth and exalt me to a Divine and Heavenly life that I may forsake the world and live unto thee O thou who didst assume thy Body and Soul for me that we might be members of thy Body and of thy flesh and of thy bones unite me unto thee make me sensible of thee my head fill me with the joy of thy Nativity and give thy self unto me who wast born for me that I may be thine and my beloved mine for evermore O Eternal Glory of the Father vail'd over with mortal flesh remove the vail from off my heart clarifie my understanding and draw me near unto thee that I may know the mystery which was hid from Ages and Generations but is now revealed for our Glory Receive me to thy self make me one with thee and be thou more dear unto me than all the world O thou who didst vouchsafe to dwell in the dark Cloysters of a Virgins womb thou who didst vouchsafe to close thine infinity within the confines of Humane shape and advance our Humanity to the Throne of God Prepare the Temple of my Soul make it bright with knowledg and wisdom come and dwell in my understanding take possession of my will reign within my heart let thy Scepter of Righteousness be exalted over me and become the rule of my thoughts and actions O reign over all the World and let the Righteousness and true Holiness wherein thou delightest prevail and prosper in the Earth let the Souls be saved which thou hast redeemed Amen Amen A Prayer for easter-Easter-Day ETernal Son of the eternal Father who wast a man of sorrows and art now the Lord of Joys look down from Heaven thy dwelling place upon me thy Servant who rejoyce in thy glorious and blessed Resurrection Thou hast broken the Bars of Death and Hell for it was impossible that he that was innocent should be holden of them Thou hast broken down the gates of the prison of the Grave because thou hast satisfied thy Fathers Justice He knew thy ability and therefore he trusted thee with so great a debt He knew thy Power and therefore did commit so weighty an employment to thy sacred Hands O cause me to know thee my Saviour to be the Son of God by this glorious Resurrection Let it quicken me and raise me up who am dead in sins and trespasses Our Surety has paid the debt and is come abroad let all the Earth rejoyce and be glad in him Sing O Mountains and break forth into singing all the valleys in the World for our Redeemer and our Saviour hath conquered Death Hell and the Grave Let the light of his Resurrection transform the World into Heaven and turn the Wilderness into Eden let it restore a better Paradise than the old one unto us Let the power of his Resurrection quicken all the dead in sins and convert all the Kingdoms upon Earth and make them the Kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ wherein Truth and Peace and Righteousness may reign for evermore O my Soul thy lover and thy friend that was killed dead and buried is alive and he is able to save unto the utmost all them that come to God through him seeing he ever liveth to make Intercession for us He by and for whom the Worlds were made loved thee to the death O let his Love enflame thee and turn thee all into Love and let the love of God which passeth all understanding possess thy Soul and Body for ever Let the Love of Christ constrain thee to forsake iniquity and to esteem nothing easie honourable or delightful but that which is so to him Love all that he loveth hate all that he hateth O Jesus the love and life of my Soul be thou my sovereign Lord and Friend my only treasure and possession be thou my Wisdom and my Glory my Kingdom and my Crown my Life and Blessedness be thou all in all to me Let thy will be my will and thy pleasure mine As thou camest to do the Will of thy Father let it be my meat and drink to do thy Will to glorifie thy Name and finish the work which thou hast given me
to do O give me the Image of thy Soul and let the same mind be in me that was in Christ Jesus both towards thine Eternal Father and towards all thy Creatures Let me despise all the vanities which thou didst contemn that I may enter into thy Joys and live in Communion with thee for ever Amen A Prayer upon the Day of Pentecost O Lord my Light my Life and Confidence my Love and my only Happiness I place my whole hope and trust in thee I now expect from thine infinite Bounty thy Holy Spirit which thou hast promised in thy mercy O send out thy Light and thy Truth unto me Thy Word is Truth thy Spirit is Truth thou O God art the God of Truth Inspire me with thy Truth and make me to know the Truth embrace love live in the Truth believe and speak the Truth serve obey and praise thee in Truth now and for evermore O blessed Jesus all the Treasures and Joys thou gavest us in thy Birth all the Mercies and mysteries of thy Life all the Benefits of thy Death and Passion all the Victories and Joys of thy Resurrection all the Triumphs and places thou givest us in thy Ascension all the advantages of thy Session and Intercession are lockt up and seal'd in this promise of sending the Holy Ghost Till he unlock and open these Treasuries to us till he illuminate us in and fit us for them till he reveal and apply them to us we cannot enjoy them O send thy Spirit then into us and seal all thy Mercies by him upon us now and evermore Amen Confession of Sin out of Bishop Andrews I Confess O Lord that I was shapen in wickedness and in sin hath my Mother conceived me That I was brought forth in uncleanness That I am a root of bitterness A wild Vine of Sodom A branch of the wild Olive A child of wrath a vessel of dishonour My heart is rebellious like a starting bow My throat an open sepulchre venting folly My lips so polluted that my tongue talketh nothing but vanity Mine eyes and my tongue uncircumcised I have a forehead of brass and a neck of iron My hand slow to do good and my feet swift to do evil I have sin'd against thee O Lord and trespassed in thy sight not fearing thy Majesty My sins are in quantity large of long continuance from my Mothers womb deep heavy like a burden like lead reaching to Heaven with their cry Many in number like the Starrs More than the hairs of my head or the sands of the Sea oftentimes reiterated as a fountain casting out waters till they become as a habit as red as scarlet and crimson For I am sold under sin I sin till they become natural to me like the Aethiopian's skin and the Leopards spots In quality sins as strong as cords and cart-ropes gaining nothing therby For a handful of Barley and a little Bread Committing sin with greediness sin upon sin with impudence not being ashamed knowing it to be sin Giving offence thereby unthankfully like the dog to the vomit Like the Sow to the mire Therefore O Lord because thou art just and thy Judgments true I do or may reap the fruit of my foolishness For what fruit have I in those things whereof I am now ashamed My days are consumed in vanity and my years in the bitterness of my Soul and now there is no health in me because of thy displeasure nor any rest by reason of my sin My Heart trembleth also for fear of thee and I am afraid of thy Judgments I feel bitterness beyond the bitterness of death for ever forsaking thee or being forsaken by thee Wo unto me rebellious wretch for so doing by which I become so vile I loath and abhor my self I have roar'd for the very disquietness of my heart And what shall I now say or how shall I open my mouth What shall I answer seeing I have done these things Miserable man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death When I have not what I can farther say or do this only remaineth this is my last refuge that I direct mine eyes unto thee Out of the deep have I cried unto thee O Lord Lord hear my vâ—ice If thou Lord shouldst be extream to mark what is done amiss who may abide it Enter not into Judgment with thy servant for in thy sight shall no man living be justified Wherefore O Lord I appeal from thee unto thee From thee a just Judg to thee a merciful Father From the Throne of thy Justice to the seat of thy Mercy O Lord be pleased to admit of this appeal if thou do not I perish and carest thou not that I perish who wouldst have all to be saved and none to perish I am thine O save me Despise not the works of thine own hands who hatest nothing that thou hast made I am thy servant the Son of thine handmaid I am called by thy name I am the price of thy Blood O spare thy workmanship spare thy child Thy name the price of thy Son's Blood But I am a sinner and God beareth with sinners be pleased to bear with me and remember of what I am made Remember that I am but dust Frail flesh light wind loose dust and wilt not thou O Lord break a leaf driven to and fro by the wind wilt thou pursue dry stubble Behold O Lord though I have sinned I humble my self before thee Spare the humble and contrite David spared Shimei that railed on him and David was a man after thine own heart therefore do thou spare me Ahab forgave the King of Assyria his offences upon his humiliation Was there ever King of Israel so merciful as thou art Thou therefore whose very nature is to have mercy have mercy upon me spare me and be not angry with thy servant for ever but for the sake of Jesus Christ turn away thy wrath from me and be reconciled to me Accept the sacrifice of a contrite heart and grieved Soul a wounded spirit a troubled conscience pity me and spare me though I have so grievously sin'd against thee It hath ever been thy practice to be merciful They trusted and were not confounded Thy Mercies have been ever of old When I look at the Generations of old I see never any trusted in thee and was confounded and thou never didst despise those that called upon thee Remember thy word unto thy servant in which thou hast caused me to hope Thou hast blessed the man that trusteth in thee my whole trust is in thee let me never be confounded Thy Mercies O Lord are comfortable better than life many plentiful and tender superabundant wonderful and infinite preventing us following us compassing us pardoning iniquity transgression and â—…n Thou art the Father of Mercies Thou sparest when we deserve punishment and in thy wrath thinkâ—… upon mercy Gently correcting in the midst of wrath remembring mercy It being of thy mercy that we