my Neighbour for the sake of Iesus my Saviour Amen Amen It grieves me O merciful God that I should daily offend thee But I repent O pitty and pardon me for the sake of Iesus thy Beloved Amen Amen O my God keep and protect and bless me this Night and preserve me from sin and danger for the sake of Iesus Amen Amen Lord refresh me this Night with seasonable Sleep that I may rise the next Morning more fit and able to serve thee in my Calling for the sake of Iesus thy Beloved Amen Amen I believe in God the Father c. All love all glory be to thee our God the Father who c. as in the Morning I desire thee O Lord God O Heavenly Father who art the giver of all Goodness to send thy Grace unto me and to my Wife and Children to my Husband and Children Father and Mother Brethren and Sisters Kindred and Friends Master and Mistriss you must name these Relations according as you stand related and to all People that we may worship thee serve thee and obey thee as we ought to do And I pray unto thee that thou would st send us all things that be needful both for our Souls and Bodies and that thou wilt be merciful unto us and forgive us our sins and that it will please thee to save and defend us in all dangers ghostly and bodily and that thou wilt keep us from all sin and wickedness and from our ghostly Enemy and from everlasting Death And this I trust thou wilt do of thy mercy and goodness through our Lord Iesus Christ Amen Lord so be it Lord hear me help me pardon my Failings supply all my Wants and the Wants of all for whom I pray which I sum up in the words of thy own beloved Son Our Father which art in Heaven c. As you are going to Bed say I will lay me down in peace and take my rest for it is thou Lord only that makest me dwell in safty Psal 4. 9. As you began the Day so end it with glorifying God and when you are in Bed say Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost three Persons and one God blessed for evermore All praise all love be to thee I earnestly beg of God to make you sensible your selves and to give you grace to make your Children and Servants sensible also how Necessary and Happy and Heavenly a Duty Prayer is and how many exceeding great and precious Promises God has made to them that devoutly pray to him and if you are thus sensible you will not content your selves with Morning and Evening Prayer only but you will be desirous if you have Opportunity to retire about Mid-day for a few Minutes that you may imitate the Devotion of holy David and of Daniel and pray three times a Day Dan. 6. 10. and that you may not want a help for Noon-tide Prayer the Catechism shall supply you Prayer at Noon At Evening and at Morning and at Noon-day will I pray and that instantly Lord hear my voice Psal 55. 19. 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 All love all glory be to thee O God the Father who hast first loved us and hast given thy beloved Son to die for our Sins and to rise again for our Iustification Have mercy upon me O God after thy great Goodness according to the multitude of thy Mercies do away mine Offences Wash me throughly from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin Make me a clean Heart O God and renew a right Spirit within me for the sake of Iesus thy Beloved Amen O Lord God who seest I am not able of my self to walk in thy commandments and to serve thee be pleased to help and strengthen me by thy special Grace that I may daily and sincerely perform my Duty towards thee and my Duty towards my Neighbour for the sake of Iesus my Saviour Amen O my God give me grace to believe in thee and to love thee with all my Heart with all my Mind with all my Soul and with all my Strength to worship thee to give thee thanks to put my whole trust in thee to call upon thee to honour thy Holy Name and thy Word and to serve thee truly all the Days of my Life for the sake of Iesus thy Beleved Amen O my God give me Grace to love my Neighbour as my self to do to all Men as I would they should do to me to love honor and succor my Father and Mother this clause must be left out if your Father and Mother be dead to honor and obey the King and all that are put in Authority under him to submit my self to all my Governors Teachers Spiritual Pastors and Masters to order my self lowly and reverently to all my Betters to hurt no Body by Word or Deed to be true and just in all my Dealing to bear no malice nor hatred in my Heart to keep my Hands from picking and stealing and my Tongue from evil speaking lying and slandering to keey my Body in temperance soberness and chastity nor to covet or desire other Mens Goods but to learn and labour truly to get mine own Living and to do my Duty in that state of Life unto which it has pleased thee to call me for the sake of Iesus thy Beloved Amen Lord hear me help me pardon my Failings supply all my Wants which I sum up in the words of thy Beloved Son Our Father which art in Heaven c. Instead of these two last Prayers you may sometimes say the Ten Commandments which you may turn into a very good Prayer by saying after every one Lord have Mercy upon me and incline my Heart to keep this Law Where you not only beg pardon for the sins you have committed against each Commandment but you also beg Grace to keep it At the end of them you may say Lord have Mercy upon me and write all these thy Laws in my Heart I beseech thee And so conclude with the Lord's Prayer Do not think that this Practice of Prayer will be too hard or too long for young Persons or for labouring People for if you cannot say them all say as much as you can or if you are at Day Labour or have not time or convenience to say them offer up to God two or three hearty Ejaculations in their place But if you can get time and convenience say them all and I dare assure you that all the three Forms of Prayer which I commend to you will not in all take up a quarter of an hour and certainly that Person has very little sence of his Duty very little concern for his immortal Soul very little Honour for God or value for Heaven who will not spend one quarter of an hour in the space of four and twenty hours in the Service
5. 13. and I must look on you as Lambs of my Flock which I am to use tenderly and these following Directions which I give to Parents for the training up their Children in Piety I do equally design for the training up of you God of his Infinite Goodness bless them to you both I exhort all you who are Parents to instil good things into your Children as soon as ever they begin to speak let the first words they utter if it be possible be these Glory be to God Accustom them to repeat these words on their knees as soon as they rise and when they go to Bed and oftimes in the Day and let them not eat or drink without saying Glory be to God As their Speech grows more plain and easie to them teach them who Made and Redeem'd and sanctified them and for what end namely to glorifie and to love God and withal teach them some of the shortest Ejaculations you can such as these Lord help me Lord save me Lord have mercy upon me All love all glory be to God who first lov'd me Lord keep me in thy love Within a little time you may teach them the Lord's Prayer and hear them say it every Day Morning and Evening on their Knees with some one or more of the fore-going Ejaculations and by degrees as they grow up they will learn the Creed and the whole Catechism Be sure to teach your Children with all the sweetness and gentleness you can lest if you should be severe or should over-task them Religion should seem to them rather a Burden than a Blessing As their Knowledge increases so let their Prayers increase also and teach them as they go to turn their Catechism into Prayers after the manner which I shall shew you and to confirm and improve their knowledge bring them duly to the Church to be Catechised by the Parish Priest that by his familiar and devout Explications of the Catechism they may learn to understand it and may be capable of reading the Exposition on it and other Books of Piety Take consciencious care to season your Children as early as you can with the Love of God which is the first and great Commandment Matth. 22. 38. and with the fear of God which is the beginning of Wisdom Psal 111. 10. for the awful love and the filial fear of God must always go together The same method you observe in teaching your Children the same you may observe in teaching your Servants according as you see they want teaching and you your selves will reap the benefit of it as well as your Servants for the more devout Servants they are of God the more faithful Servants will they be to you Remember you must teach both your Children and Servants by your Example as well as by your Instruction for they learn best by Example and if they see you give an example of fraud or lying of revenge or calumny of uncleanness or drunkenness of cursing and swearing and irreligion instead of teaching them to obey God you teach them to provoke him instead of teaching them to honour God you teach them to blaspheme him instead of leading them the way to Heaven you lead them the way to Hell and you will increase your own Damnation by furthering theirs which God forbid you should ever do Now that you may the better give a good Example to your Family I will by God's help give you a method of daily Dâ—votion taken for the most part out of the Catechism which will be suitable to all Christians be they never so well instructed and which you may by little and little teach your Children and which those who have been bred up in ignorance and are Children in understanding and yet willing to be taught may learn to say also as the Capacities of either do increase for a Christian must never stand at a stay but must be always growing in Grace and in the Knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 2 Pet. 3. 18. A Method of daily Prayer As soon as ever you awake offer up your first thoughts and words to God saying Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost Three Persons and one God blessed for evermore All love all praise be to thee As you are rising say I laid me down and slept and rose up a again for the Lord sustained me All love all glory be to God Psal 3. 5. As soon as you are drest kneel down as our Saviour himself kneel'd Luke 22. 41. at his Prayers and remember you are in God's presence and say your Prayers with Reverence and Devotion Morning Prayer Glory be to thee O Lord God for my preservation and refreshment and for all the Blessings of the night past for which all Love all praise be to thee Father forgive me all the evil of the night past for the Merits of Iesus my Saviour Amen O merciful God keep and protect and bless me this day and prosper me in my Calling and preserve me from sin and danger for the merit of Iesus my Saviour Amen I believe in God the Father Almighty c. All love all glory be to thee O God the Father who hast made me and all the World All love all glory be to thee O God the Son who hast redeemed me and all Mankind All love all glory be to thee O God the Holy-Ghost who doest sanctifie me and all the elect People of God All love all glory be to thee O Father of mercy who in my Baptism didst make me a Member of Christ thy own Child and an Inheritor of the Kingdom of Heaven O my God I do this Day dedicate my self to thy Service and do renew the Promise and Vow of my Baptism I do from my heart renounce the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh from all which good Lord deliver me I believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith and I will keep thy Holy Will and commandments and walk in the same all the Days of my Life All this O Lord I am bound to believe and do and by thy help so I will and I heartily thank thee O Heavenly Father who hast call'd me to this state of Salvation through Iesus Christ my Saviour and I pray unto thee to give me thy Grace that I may continue in the same to my Lives end Lord hear me help me pardon my failings supply all my Wants and the Wants of all faithful People which I sum up in the words of thy own beloved Son Our Father which art in Heaven c. After the like manner you may pray at Night Evening Prayer Glory be to thee O Lord for my preservation and for all the Blessings of the Day past for which all love all praise be to thee Father forgive me all the sins I have this Day committed either in thought or word or deed either against thee or against
of God and the Salvation of his own Soul I do by all means exhort you to give your Servants a few Minutes leisure at Noon to pray after your Example and to use your Children to do the same for they will soon be able to say the Lord's Prayer and two or three Ejaculations and teach them to say these at Noon as well as at Morning and at Night and 't is incredible to think how much good this Practice will do them and what great comfort you your selves will reap from the early Devotion of your Children To further this Devotion in your Children instead of Idle Tales and Songs which Pollute their Souls and when they come to be serious will cost them great pains to unlearn You must teach them short Psalms by heart which will exercise their Memories and Piety both together and as you teach the Psalms to your Children I exhort you to learn them your selves You cannot imagine the great benefit of learning Psalms by heart for when you are under any Temptation or are in any Affliction or when you lie Waking in the Night or when you are Sick these Psalms will come into your Mind and the Devout repeating them will yield you most seasonable Consolations The very common People in the first and purest Ages of the Church were so sensible of the Spiritual Advantages of learning Psalms that they learned the whole Psalter by heart and sung or said the Psalms in their Shops and at the Plow insomuch that St. James makes it the proper Expression of Christian Mirth James 5. 13. If any be merry let him sing Psalms This is the way to store your own and your Childrens Minds with Ejaculations or short Prayers for all Occasions which I advise both Old and young to accustom themselves to because it is the true way of Praying without ceasing and it is a kind of Prayer most easie and may be used at any time of the day or in any Place and is one of the most efficacious means in the world to keep us in God's Favour which is of all things most desirable Ejaculations At going out or coming in Lord bless my going out and my coming in from rhis time forth for evermore Psal 121. 8. At Meales Lord grant that whether I eat or drink or whatsoever I do I may do all to thy glory 1 Cor. 19. 31. At Work Prosper thou the Work of my Hands O Lord O prosper thou my Handy-work Psal 90. 17. In the Shop or Market Lord give me grace to use this World so as not to abuse it 1 Cor. 7. 31. Lord grant that I may never go beyond or defraud my Brother in any matter for thou art the Avenger of all such 1 Thess 4. 6. In temptation or danger O God make speed to save me O Lord make haste to help me At any time of the Day Wherever I am whatever I do Thou Lord seest me O keep me in thy fear all the Day long Prov. 23. 17. Lord give me grace to keep always a Conscience void of offence towards thee and towards Men Acts 24. 16. Lord teach me so to number my Days that I may apply my heart to Wisdom Psal 90. 12. O let my Mouth be filled with thy Praise that I may sing of thy Glory and Honour all the Day long Psal 71.7 All love all glory be to thee O God who didst first love me Vnto him that lov'd us and wash'd us from our sins in his own Blood be glory and dominion for ever and ever Amen Rev. 1. 5. O blessed Spirit shed abroad the love of God in my Heart Praise the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me Praise his Holy Name Psal 103. 1. Praise the Lord O my Soul while I live will I praise the Lord Yea as long as I have any Being I will sing Praises unto my God Psal 146. 1. You that have Families I do farther exhort that besides your private Prayers you would offer up to God a Morning and Evening Sacrifice in your Families and that every one of you would take up the Holy Resolution of Joshua as for me and my House we will serve the Lord Josh 24. 15. And the Prayers I advise you to use are taken out of the Common Prayer as being most familiar and of greatest Authority withall If any of your Family are gone abroad to their Work before the rest can be ready call that little Congregation about you that is at home and you that are present pray for those that are absent and by this means those that are absent upon necessary Employments will share in the Blessings for which you pray Morning Prayer for a Family Let the Words of our Mouths and the Meditations of our hearts be alway acceptable in thy sight O Lord our Strength and our Redeemer O God the Father of Heaven have mercy upon us miserable Sinners O God the Son Redeemer of the World have mercy upon us miserable Sinners O God the Holy Ghost proceeding from the Father and the Son have mercy upon us mirerable Sinners O Holy Blessed and Glorious Trinity three Persons and one God have mercy upon us miserable Sinners O Lord we beseech thee mercifully hear our Prayers and spare all those who confess their Sins unto thee and they whose Consciences by Sin are accused by thy merciful pardon may be absolved through Christ our Lord. Amen Almighty God who seest that we have no power of our selves to help our selves we give thee humble Thanks for thy preservation of us this Day past or this Night past and for all the Blessings thou daily vouchsafest us and we beseech thee to keep us both outwardly in our Bodies and inwardly in our Souls that we may be defended from all Adversities which may happen to the Body and from all evil Thoughts which may assault and hurt the Soul through Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen Almighty God whose Kingdom is everlasting and power infinite have mercy upon the whole Church and so rule the Heart of thy Servant our King and Governor that he knowing whose Minister he is may above all things seek thy Honour and Glory and that we and all his Subjects duly considering whose Authority he hath may faithfully serve honour and humbly obey him in thee and for thee according to thy blessed Word and Ordinance through Iesus Christ our Lord who liveth and reigneth ever one God World without end Amen Vnto thy gracious Mercy and Protection O Lord do we commit our selves this Day or this Night and all our Relations and Friends Lord prosper us in our Callings Lord bless us and keep us Lord make thy Face to shine upon us and be gracious unto us Lord lift up thy Countenance upon us and give us Peace both now and evermore for the sake of Iesus thy Beloved in whose own blessed Words we sum up all our wants Our Father which art in Heaven c. The same form changing but one word is proper for the Night as well as the Morning to make Family Prayer the more easie to you That Prayer which I have set down wherein you pray for the King and pray for your selves also that you may be good Subjects I exhort you never to omit because you know that the Country wherein you live was the only Seat of the late Rebellion and the Tares of Sedition have been industriously sown among you and you have the greater reason to pray that you may continue firm in your Allegiance besides St. Paul teaches you that to pray for Kings is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour 1 Tim. 2. 2 3. To your Family Prayers you may add as you see occasion one of these following Almighty and everlasting God give unto us the increase of Faith Hope and Charity and that we may obtain war which thou doest promise make us to love that which thou doest command through Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen Lord we beseech thee Grant thy People grace to withstand the Temptations of the World the Flesh and the Devil and with pure Hearts and Minds to follow thee the only God through Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen Prevent us O Lord in all our Doings with thy most gracious favour and further us with thy continual help that in all our Works begun continued and ended in thee we may glorifie thy holy Name and finally by thy mercy obtain everlasting Life through Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen These and the like short Prayers may be said alone in the Closet as well as in the Family by changing only the Number and for we saying all along I and for us saying me As for Example when you read any part of the Holy Scripture either alone by your selves or with your Families both which you should do daily if you have leisure but if you have not see that you do both on the Lord's-Days and on Holy-Days and therefore Reading say this Prayer Blessed Lord who hast caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our Learning Grant that we I may in suchwise hear them read mark learn and inwardly digest them that by patience and comfort of thy Holy Word we I may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting Life which thou hast given us in our Saviour Iesus Christ Amen God of his Infinite Mercy bless these Instructions to his Glory and to the furtherance of your Devotions through Jesus the beloved Amen Amen FINIS
Directions for Prayer for the Diocess of Bath and Wells To the poor Inhabitants within the Diocess of Bath and Wells THOMAS their Unworthy Bishop wisheth the Knowledge and the Love of God Price 2 d. Dearly beloved in our Lord THE Catechism truly teaches all Christians That they are not able of themselves to do those things they have vow'd in their Baptism to do namely To walk in the Commandments of God and to serve him without his special grace or favorable Assistance and this they are to learn at all times to call upon God for by diligent Prayer How good and seasonable this advice is you will all see if you consider what helpless and needy Creatures the very best of Men are Alas our weakness is very great our wants are very many our dependance on God for all things all our lives long is entire and absolute and necessary and there is no way in the World to gain help and supplies from God but by Prayer so that it is as easie and as possible to preserve a natural Life without daily Bread as a Christian Life without daily Prayer It was for this reason that our Saviour himself took a particular care to teach his Disciples to pray Luke 11.1 and it is for the same reason and in imitation of our Heavenly Master that I have joyn'd these Directions for Prayer to the Catechism Sure I am the Zeal I ought to have for your Salvation can suggest to me nothing more conducing to the good of your Souls than to exhort and beseech you all of either Sex to learn how to Pray This is the first general Request I shall make to you and I am the more earnest in it because my own sad experience has taught me how strangely ignorant common People usually are of this Duty insomuch that some never Pray at all pretending they was never taught or that their Memories are bad or that they are not Book-learn'd or that they want Money to buy a Book and by this means they live or die rather like Beasts than Men nay their Condition is much worse than that of Beasts for the Misery of a Beast doth end at Death but the Misery of a Wicked Man does then begin and will endure to all Eternity To prevent then as much as lies in me the Damnation of those Souls which God has committed to my care and to cure that lamentable ignorance and forgetfulness of God which is the cause of the Damnation of so very many I do not only incessantly pray for you my self but I beg of you all to pray for your selves and I beseech you to read the following Instructions or if you cannot read your selves to get some honest charitable Neighbours to read them often to you that you may remember them and God of his great Mercy reward the Charity of such Neighbours If any of you either by your own negligence or by the negligence of your Parents or for want of Catechising in your Parish are wholly ignorant of your Duty tho' it be a most shameful and dangerous thing for one who calls himself a Christian to know nothing of Christ or Christianity yet if you are willing to learn and beg pardon of God for your wilful ignorance hitherto and will sincerely do your endeavour to get saving knowledge and heartily pray to God to assist you you shall find that the very entrance of God's Word giveth light that it giveth understanding unto the simple Psal 119 130. I must warn you before-hand that corrupt Nature will be very busie in hindering the learning of your Duty and thoughts will arise in your mind that the Task will be too hard and too tedious for you to undertake but I faithfully promise you to impose no hard or tedious task on you but such as you your selves shall confess to be very complying with your Infirmities for our most compassionate Saviour teaches me to say no more to you than you can bear John 16. 12. All I shall exhort you to is to learn your Catechism which you may do by degrees if you learn but a line or two in a Day you will by God's Blessing in a very short time learn it all over and you will rejoice and thank God for the sudden and happy progress you have made God forbid you should ever think your selves too old to learn to serve God and to be saved both which are taught in the Catechism and therefore the Catechism is of necessity to be learned for how can you go to Heaven if you never learn'd the way thither How can you be saved if you do not know your Saviour 'T is a great Error to think that the Catechism was made for Children only for all Christians are equally concern'd in those saving Truths which are there taught and the Doctrine delivered in the Catechism is as proper for the study and as necessary for the Salvation of a great Doctor as of a weak Christian or a young Child But you will be the more encouraged to learn your Catechism when you see how excellent a help it will be to Prayer for it will at the same time further your Knowledge and your Devotion both together and the Prayers I intend to commend to you are chiefly the very Answers in the Catechism which being daily repeated will be the better fix'd in your Memory and you cannot imagine any advice for Prayer can be more easie and familiar than that which directs you to turn your very Catechism into Prayers You are by this time I hope satisfied that the Duty to which I exhort you is no hard Task and yet I will endeavour by God's assistance to make it more easie by putting you into an easie method to attain it If you are wholly ignorant of your Catechism let it be your first care to learn such Ejaculations such short Prayers as these and say them often and heartily Lord have mercy upon me Christ have mercy upon me Lord have mercy upon me Lord pardon all my wilful ignorance and gross carelessness of my Duty for the sake of Iesus my Saviour Amen O my God assist me in the learning of my Duty Lord help me to know and to love thee Lord pity me Lord save me Father forgive me Glory be to thee O Lord who hast hitherto spared me O that I might at last learn to glorifie and love and serve thee Such short Prayers as these you may easily get by heart and the Method in which I advise you to proceed is that in which Children are commonly taught in regard I am now to look on you as a Child For there are two sorts of Children there are Children in age and Children in understanding 1 Cor. 14. 20. and in this latter respect you are Children and the same method for the most part is proper for you which is proper for those that are Children in Age. I must therefore feed you with Milk before you can be capable of strong Meat Heb.