strangers as acquaintance but more particularly those to whom we have any especial Relation either publick as our Governours both in Church and State or private as Parents Husband Wife Children Friends c. We are also to pray for all that are in affliction and such particular persons as we discern especially to be so Yea we are to pray for those that have done us injury those that despightfully use us and persecute us for it is expresly the command of Christ Mat. 5 44. And that whereof he hath likewise given us the highest example in praying even for his very crucifiers Luk. 23. 34. Father forgive them For all these sorts of persons we are to pray and that for the very same good things we beg of God for our selves that God would give them in their several places and callings all spiritual and temporal blessings which he sees wanting to them and turn away from them all evil whether of sin or punishment 8. The fifth part of Prayer is Thanksgiving that is the Praising and Blessing God for all his mercies whether to our own persons and those that immediately relate to us or to the Church and Nation whereof we are members or yet more general to all mankind and this for all his mercies both spiritual and temporal In the Spiritual first for those wherein we are all in common concerned as the giving of his Son the sending of his Spirit and all those means he hath used to bring sinful men unto himself Then secondly for those mercies we have in our own particulars received such are the having been born within the pale of the Church and so brought up in Christian Religion by which we have been partakers of those precious advantages of the Word and Sacraments and so have had without any care or pains of ours the means of eternal life put into our hands But besides these there is none of us but have received other spiritual mercies from God 9. As first Gods patience and long-suffering waiting for our Repentance and not cutting us off in our sins Secondly his calls and invitations of us to that repentance not only outward in the ministry of the Word but also inward by the motions of his Spirit But then if thou be one that hath by the help of Gods grace been wrought upon by these calls and brought from a profane or worldly to a Christian course of life thou art surely in the highest degree tyed to magnifie and praise his goodness as having received from him the greatest of mercies 10. We are likewise to give thanks for Temporal blessings whether such as concern the publick as the prosperity of the Church or Nation and all remarkable deliverances afforded to either or else such as concern our particulars such are all the good things of this life which we enjoy as Health Friends Food Raiment and the like also for those minutely preservations whereby we are by Gods gracious providence kept from danger and the especial deliverances which God hath given us in time of greatest perils It will be impossible to set down the several mercies which every man receives from God because they differ in kind and degree between one man and another But it is sure that he which receives least hath yet enough to imploy his whole life in praises to God And it will be very fit for every man to consider the several passages of this life and the mercies he hath in each received and so to gather a kind of List or Catalogue of them at least the principal of them which he may alwayes have in his memory and often with a thankful heart repeat before God 11. These are the several parts of Prayer and all of them to be used both publickly and privately The publick use of them is first that in the Church where all meet to joyn in those prayers wherein they are in common concerned And this where the prayers are such as they ought to be we should be very constant at there being an especial blessing promised to the joynt requests of the faithful and he that without a necessary cause absents himself from such publick prayers cuts himself off from the Church which hath alwayes been thought so unhappy a thing that it is the greatest punishment the Governours of the Church can lay upon the worst offender and therefore it is a strange madness for men to inflict it upon themselves 12. A second sort of Publick Prayer is that in a Family where all that are members of it joyn in their common supplications and this also ought to be very carefully attended to first by the Master of the Family who is to look that there be such prayers it being as much his part thus to provide for the Souls of his Children and Servants as to provide food for their Bodies Therefore there is none even the meanest housholder but ought to take this care If either himself or any of his Family can read he may use some prayers out of some good book if it be the Service Book of the Church he makes a good choice if they cannot read it will then be necessary they should be taught without Book some form of prayer which they may use in the Family for which purpose again some of the Prayers of the Church will be very fit as being most easie for their memories by reason of their shortness and yet containing a great deal of matter But what choice soever they make of prayers let them be sure to have some and let no man that professes himself a Christian keep so heat henish a Family as not to see God be daily worshipped in it But when the Master of a Family hath done his duty in this providing it is the duty of every member of it to make use of that provision by being constant and diligent at those Family-Prayers 13. Private or secret Prayer is that which is used by a man alone apart from all others wherein we are to be more particular according to our particular needs then in publick it is fit to be And this of private Prayer is a duty which will not be excused by the performance of the other of publick They are both required and one must not be taken in exchange for the other And whoever is diligent in publick prayers and yet negligent in private it is much to be feared he rather seeks to approve himself to men then to God contrary to the command of our Saviour Mat. 6. who enjoynes this private prayer this praying to our Father in secret from whom alone we are to expect our reward and not from the vain praises of men 14. Now this duty of Prayer is to be often performed by none seldomer then Evening and Morning it being most necessary that we should thus begin and end all our works with God and that not only in respect of the duty we owe him but also in respect of
Sacrifice acceptable to thee by Jesus Christ. A THANKSGIVING O Gracious Lord whose mercies endure for e-ever I thy unworthy servant who have so deeply tasted of them desire to render thee the tribute of my humblest praises for them In thee O Lord I live and move and have my being thou first madest me to be and then that I might not be miserable but happy thou sendest thy Son out of thy bosâ—me to redeem me from the power of my sins by his Grace and from the punishment of them by his Blood and by both to bring me to his glory Thou hast by thy mercy caused me to be born within thy peculiar fold the Christian Church where I was early consecrated to thee in Baptism and have been partaker of all those spiritual helps which might aid me to perform that Vow I there made to thee and when by my own wilfulness or negligence I have failed to do it yet thou in thy manifold mercies hast not forsaken me but hast graciously invited me to repentance afforded me all means both outward and inward for it and with much patience hast attended and not cut me off in the acts of those many damning sins I have committed as I have most justly deserved It is O Lord thy restraining grace alone by which I have been kept back from any the greatest sins and it is thy inciting and assisting grace alone by which I have been enabled to do any the least good therefore not unto me not unto me but unto thy name be the praises For these and all other thy spiritual blessings my soul doth magnifie the Lord and all that is within me praise his holy Name I likewise praise thee for those many outward blessings I enjoy as health friends food and raiment the comforts as well as the necessaries of this life for those continual protections of thy hand by which I and mine are kept from dangers and those gracious deliverances thou hast often afforded out of such as have befallen me and for that mercy of thine whereby thou hast sweetned and allâ—yed those troubles thou hast not seen sit wholly to remove for thy particular preservation of me this night and all other thy goodness towards me Lord grant that I may render thee not only the fruit of my lips but the obedience of my life that so these blessings here may be an earnest of those richer blessings thou hast prepared for those that love thee and that for his sake whom thou hast made the Author of Eternal Salvation to all that obey him even Jesus Christ. A CONFESSION O Righteous Lord who hatest iniquity I thy sinful creature cast my self at thy feet acknowledging that I most justly deserve to be utterly abhorred and forsaken by thee for I have drunk iniquity like water gone on in a continued course of sin and rebellion against thee dayly committing those things thou forbiddest and leaving undone those things thou commandest mine heart which should be an habitation for thy spirit is become a cage of unclean birds of foul and disordered affections and out of this abundance of the heart my mouth speaketh my hands act so that in thought word and deed I continually transgress against thee Here mention the greatest of thy sins Nay O Lord I have despised that goodness of thine which should lead me to Repentance hardning my heart against all those means thou hast used for my amendment And now Lord what can I expect from thee but judgment and fiery indignation that is indeed the due reward of my sins But O Lord there is mercy with thee that thou may est be feared O fit me for that mercy by giving me a deep and hearty Repentance and then according to thy goodness let thy anger and thy wrath be turned away from me look upon me in thy Son my blessed Saviour and for the merit of his sufferings pardon all my sins And Lord I beseech thee by the power of thy grace so to renew and purifie my heart that I may become a new creature utterly forsaking every evil way and living in constant sincere universal obedience to thee all the rest of my days that behaving my self as a good and faithful servant I may by thy mercy at the last be received into the joy of my Lord Grant this for Jesus Christ his sake A PRAYER for GRACE O Most gracious God from whom every good and perfect gift cometh I wretched creature that am not able of my self so much as to think a good thought beseech thee to work in me both to will and do according to thy good pleasure inlighten â—◠〈◊〉 that I may know thee and let me not be barren or unfruitful in that knowledg Lord work in my heart a true faith a purifying hope and an unfeigned love towards thee give me a full trust on thee zeal for thee reverence of all things that relate to thee make me fearful to offend thee thankful for thy mercies humble under thy corrections devout in thy service sorrowful for my sins and grant that in all things I may behave my self so as befits a creature to his Creator a servant to his Lord enable me likewise to perform that duty I owe to my self give me that meekness humility and contentedness whereby I may always possess my soul in patience and thankfulness make me diligent in all my duties watchful against all temptations perfectly pure and temperate and so moderate in my most lawful injoyments that they never become a snare to me make me also O Lord to be so affected towards my neighbour that I never transgress that royal Law of thine of loving him as my self grant me exactly to perform all parts of justice yielding to all whatsoever by any kinde of right becomes their due and give me such bowels of mercy and compassion that I may never fail to do all acts of charity to all men whether friends or enemies according to thy command and example Finally I beseech thee O Lord to sanctifie me throughout that my whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory for ever Amen INTERCESSION OBlessed Lord whose mercy is over all thy works I beseech thee to have mercy upon all men and grant that the precious ransome which was paid by thy Son for all may be effectuall to the saving of all Give thy inlightning grace to those that are in darkness and thy converting grace to those that are in sin look with thy tenderest compassions upon the Universal Church O be favourable and gracious unto Sion build thou the walls of Jerusalem unite all those that profess thy Name to thee by Purity and Holiness and to each other by Brotherly love Have mercy on this desolate Church and sinful Nation thou hast moved the Land and divided it heal the sores thereof for it shaketh make us so truly to repent
ties you to this so Mercy doth likewise you know the poor Soul will fall into Endless and unspeakable Miseries if you continue to neglect it and then it will be too late to consider it The Last Refuge you can hope for is Gods mercy but that you have despised and abused And with what face can you in your greatest need beg for his mercy to your Souls when you would not afford them your own No not that common Charity of considering them of bestowing a few of those idle Hours you know not scarce how to pass away upon them 29. Lay this to your hearts and as ever you hope for Gods pity when you most want it be sure in time to Pity your selves by taking that due Care of your precious Souls which belongs to them 30. If what hath been said have perswaded you to this so necessary a Duty my next work will be to tell you how this Care must be imployed and that in a word is in the Doing of all those things which tend to the making the Soul Happy which is the end of our Care and what those are I come now to show you PARTITION I. Of the DUTY of MAN by the Light of Nature by the Light of Scripture Of FAITH the Promises of Hope of Love c. THE Benefits purchased for us by Christ are such as will undoubtedly make the Soul Happy for Eternal Happiness it self is one of them but because these Benefits belong not to us till we perform the Condition required of us whoever desires the happiness of his Soul must set himself to the performing of that Condition what that is I have already mentioned in the General That it is the hearty honest endeavour of obeying the whole Will of God But then that Will of God containing under it many particulars it is necessary we should also know what those are that is what are the several things that God now requires of us our performance whereof will bring us to everlasting happiness and the neglect to endless misery 2. Of these things there are some which God hath so stamp'd upon our souls that we Naturally knew them that is we should have known them to be our Duty though we had never been told so by the Scripture That this is so we may see by those Heathens who having never heard of either Old or New Testament do yet acknowledge themselves bound to some General Duties as to Worship God to be Just to Honour their Parents and the like And as S. Paul saith Rom. 2. 15. Their consciences do in those things accuse or excuse them That is tell them whether they have done what they should in those particulars or no. 3. Now though Christ have brought greater Light into the world yet he never meant by it to put out any of that Natural light which God hath set up in our Souls Therefore let me here by the way advise you not to walk contrary even to this lesser light I mean not to venture on any of those Acts which meer Natural Conscience will tell you are Sins 4. It is just matter of sadness to any Christian heart to see some in these dayes who profess much of Religion and yet live in such sins as a meer heathen would abhor men that pretending to higher degrees of Light and holiness then their brethren do yet practice contrary to all Rules of common honesty and make it part of their Christian liberty so to do of whose Seducement it concerns all that love their Souls to beware and for that purpose let this be laid as a Foundation That that Religion or Opinion cannot be of God which allows men in any wickedness 5. But though we must not put out this light which God hath thus put into our Souls yet this is not the onely way whereby God hath revealed his will and therefore we are not to rest here but proceed to the knowledg of those other things which God hath by other means revealed 6. The way for us to come to know them is by the SCRIPTURES wherein are set down those several commands of God which he hath given to be the Rule of our Duty 7. Of those some were given before Christ came into the world such are those precepts we finde scattered throughout the Old Testament but especially contained in the Ten Commandements and that excellent book of Deuteronomy others were given by Christ who added much both to the Law implanted in us by Nature and that of the Old Testament and those you shall find in the New Testament in the several precepts given by him and his Apostles but especially in that Divine Sermon on the Mount set down in the fifth sixth and seventh Chapters of S. Matthews Gospel 8. All these should be severally spoke to but because that would make the discourse very long and so lesse fit for the meaner sort of men for whose use alone it is intended I chuse to proceed in another manner By summing all these together and so as plainly as I can to lay down what is now the duty of every Christian. 9. This I find briefly contain'd in the words of the Apostle Tit. 2. 12. That we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present world where the word Soberly contains our duty to our selves Righteously our duty to our neghbour and Godly our duty to God These therfore shall be the Heads of my discourse our DUTY to GOD our SELVES and our NEIGHBOUR I begin with that to God that being the best ground-work whereon to build both the other 10. There are many parts of our DUTY to GOD The two chief are these First to acknowledge him to be God Secondly to have no other under these are contained all those particulars which make up our whole duty to God which shall be shewed in their order 11. To acknowledge him to be God is to believe him to be an infinite glorious Spirit that was from everlasting without beginning and shall be to everlasting without end That he is our Creator Redeemer Sanctifier Father Son and Holy-Ghost one God blessed for ever That he is subject to no alterations but is Unchangeable that he is no bodily substance such as our eyes may behold but spiritual and invisible whom no man hath seen nor can see as the Apostle tells us 1 Tim. 3. 16. That He is Infinitely Great and Excellent beyond all that our wit or conceit can imagine that he hath received his being from none and gives being to all things 12. All this we are to believe of him in regard of his Essence and being But besides this he is set forth to us in the Scripture by several Excellencies as that he is of Infinite Goodness and Mercy Truth Justice Wisdom Power All-sufficiency Majesty That he disposes and governes all things by his Providence that he Knowes all things and is Present in all places these are by Divines called the Attributes of God
and heartily that no man can miss of enjoying them but by his own default For he doth most really and affectionately desire we should embrace them and live as appears by that solemn Oath of his Eze. 33. 11. As I live saith the Lord I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from his ways and live whereto he adds this passionate expression turn ye turn ye from your evil ways for why will ye die To the same purpose you may read Ezek. 18. Consider this I say and then surely you cannot but say He hath great kindness to our souls Nay let every man but remember with himself the many calls he hath had to repentance and amendment sometimes outward by the Word sometimes inward by the secret whispers of Gods Spirit in his heart which were only to woe and intreat him to avoid Eternal misery and to accept of Eternal happiness let him I say remember these together with those many other means God hath used towards him for the same end and he will have reason to confess Gods kindness not only to mens souls in general but to his own in particular 31. Neither hath he been wanting to our Bodies all the good things they enjoy as health strength food raiment and what ever else concernes them are meerly his gifts so that indeed it is impossible we should be ignorant of his mercies to them all those outward comforts and refreshments we daily enjoy being continual effects and witnesses of it and though some enjoy more of these then others yet there is no person but enjoyes so much in one kinde or other as abundantly shews Gods mercy and kindness to him in respect of his Body 32. And now surely you will think it but reasonable we should Love him who is in all respects thus Lovely Indeed this is a duty so generally acknowledged that if you should ask any man the question whether he loved God or no he would think you did him great wrong to doubt of it yet for all this it is too plain that there are vey few that do indeed love him and this will soon be proved to you by examining a little what are the common effects of love which we bear to men like our selves and then trying whether we can shew any such fruits of our love to God 33. Of that sort there are divers but for shortness I will name but two The first is a Desire of pleasing the second a Desire of enjoying These are constantly the Fruits of Love For the first 't is known by all that he that loves any person is very desirous to approve himself to him to do whatsoever he thinks will be pleasing to him and according to the degree of love so is this desire more or less where we love earnestly we are very earnest and careful to please Now if we have indeed that love to God we pretend to it will bring forth this fruit we shall be careful to please him in all things Therefore as you judge of the tree by its fruits so may you judg of your love of God by this fruit of it nay indeed this is the way of tryal which Christ himself hath given us Jo. 14. 15. If ye love me keep my commandements and S. John tell us 1 Ep. 5. 3. That this is the love of God that we walk after his commandements and where this one proof is wanting it will be impossible to testifie our loue to God 34. But it must yet be farther considered that this love of God must not be in a low or weak degree for besides that the Motives to it his excellency and his kindness are in the highest the same Commandment which bids us love God bids us love him with all our heart and with all our strength that is as much as is possible for us and above any thing else And therefore to the fulfilling of this Commandement it is necessary we love him in that degree and if we do so then certainly we shall have not onely some slight and faint endeavours of pleasing but such as are most diligent and earnest such as will put us upon the most painful and costly duties make us willing to forsake our own ease goods friends yea life it self when we cannot keep them without disobeying God 35. Now examine thy self by this hast thou this fruit of love to shew doest thou make it thy constant and greatest care to keep Gods Commandments to obey him in all things earnestly labouring to please him to the utmost of thy power even to the forsakeing of what is dearest to thee in this world if thou dost thou maist then truly say thou lovest God But on the contrary if thou wilfully continuest in the breach of many nay but of any one command of his never deceive thy self for the love of God abides not in thee This will be made plain to you if you consider what the Scripture saith of such as that they are enemies to God by their wicked works Col. 1. 21. That the carnal minde and such is every one that continues wilfully in sin is enmity with ' God Rom. 8. 7. That he that sins wilfuly tramples under foot the Son of God and doth despight unto the Spirit of Grace Heb. 10. 29. and many the like And therefore unless you can think enmity and trampling and despight to be fruits of love you must not believe you love God whilest you go on in any wilful disobedience to him 36. A Second fruit of Love I told you was desire of Enjoying This is constantly to be seen in our love to one another If you have a friend whom you intirely love you desire his conversation wish to be alwayes in his company and thus will it also be in our love to God if that be as great and hearty as this 37. There is a two fold Enjoying of God the one Imperfect in this life the other more Perfect and compleat in the life to come that in this life is that conversation as I may call it which we have with God in his Ordinances in Praying and Meditating in Hearing his Word in Receiving the Sacrament which are all intended for this purpose to bring us into an intimacy and familiarity with God by speaking to him and hearing him speak to us 38. Now if we do indeed love God we shall certainly hugely value and desire these wayes of conversing with him it being all that we can have in this life it will make us with David esteem one day in Gods Courts better then a thousand Psal. 84. 10. We shall be glad to have these opportunities of approaching to him as often as it is possible be careful to use them diligently to that end of uniting us still more to him yea we shall come to these Spiritual exercises with the same chearfulness we would go to our dearest friend And if indeed we do thus it is a good proof of
the Apostle saith Rom. 1. 31. We do not only do the things but take pleasure in them that do them and therefore intice and draw as many as we can into the same sins with us Then it is risen to the highest step of wickedness and is to be look't on as the utmost degree both of sin and danger Thus you see how you are to examine your selves concerning your sins in each of which you are to consider how many of these heightning circumstances there have been that so you may aright measure the hainousness of them 7. Now the end of this Examination is to bring you to such a sight of your sins as may truly humble you make you sensible of your own danger that have provoked so great a Majesty who is able so sadly to revenge himself upon you And that will surely even to the most carnal heart appear a reasonable ground of sorrow But that is not all it must likewise bring you to a sense and abhorrence of your basenesse and ingratitude that have thus offended so good and graecious a God that have made such unworthy and unkind returnes to those tender and rich mercies of his And this consideration especially must melt your hearts into a deep sorrow and contrition the degree whereof must be in some measure answerable to the degree of your sinnes And the greater it is provided it be not such as shuts up the hope of Gods Mercy the more acceptable it is to God who hath promised not to despise a broken and contriâ—e heart Psalm 51. 17. And the more likely it will be also to bring us to amendment For if we have once felt what the smart of a wounded Spirit is wee shall have the lesse minde to venture upon sin again 8. For when wee are tempted with any of the short pleasures of sinne wee may then out of our owne experience set against them the sharp pains and terrors of an accusing conscience which will to any that hath felt them be able infinitely to outweigh them Endeavour therefore to bring your souls to this melting temper to this deep unfeigned sorrow and that not only for the danger you have brought upon your self for though that be a consideration which may ought to work sadnesse in us yet where that alone is the motive of our sorrow it is not that sorrow which will avail us for pardon and the reason of it is clear for that sorrow proceeds only from the love of our selves we are sorry because we are like to smart But the sorrow of a true penitent must be joyned also with the love of God and that will make us grieve for having offended him though there were no punishment to fall upon our selves The way then to stir up this sorrow in us is first to stir up our love of God by repeating to our selves the many gracious acts of his mercy towards us particularly that of his sparing us and not cutting us off in our sins Consider with thy self how many and how great provocations thou hast offered him perhaps in a continued course of many years wilful disobedience for which thou mightest with perfect justice have been ere this sent quick into hell Nay possibly thou hast before thee many examples of less sinners then thou art who have been suddenly snatcht away in the midst of their sins And what cause canst thou give why thou hast thus long escaped but only because his eye hath spared thee And what cause of that sparing but his tender compassions towards thee his unwillingness that thou should'st perish This consideration if it be prest home upon thy soul cannot chuse if thy heart be not as hard as the nether Milstone but awake somewhat of love in thee towards this gracious this long suffering God and that love will certainly make it appear to thee that it is an evil thing and bitter that thou hast forsaken the Lord Jer. 2. 19. That thou hast made such wretched requitals of so great mercy it will make thee both ashamed and angry at thy self that thou hast been such an unthankful creature But if the consideration of this one sort of mercy Gods forbearance onely be such an engagement and help to this godly sorrow what will then be the multitude of those other mercies which every man is able to reckon up to himself and therefore let every man be as particular in it as he can call to minde as many of them as he is able that so he may attain to the greater degree of true contrition 9. And to all these endeavours must be added earnest prayers to God that he by his holy Spirit would shew you your sins and soften your hearts that you may throughly bewail and lament them 10. To this must be joyned an humble consession of sins to God and that not only in general but also in particular as far as your memory of them will reach and that with all those heightning circumstances of them which you have by the forementioned examination discovered Yea even secret and forgotten sins must in general be acknowledged for it is certain there are multitudes of such so that it is necessary for every one of us to say with David Psal. 19. 12. Who can understand his errors cleanse thou me from my secret faulâ—s When you have thus confest your sins with this hearty sorrow and sincere hatred of them you may then and not before be concluded to feel so much of your disease that it will be seasonable to apply the remedy 11. In the next place therefore you are to look on him whom God hath set forth to be the propitiation of our sins Rom. 3. 25. Even Jesus Christ that Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world John 1. 29. And earnestly beg of God that by his most precious blood your sins may be washed away and that God would for his sake be reconciled to you And this you are to believe will surely be done if you do for the rest of your time forsake your sins and give your selves up sincerely to obey God in all his commands But without that it is vain to hope any benefit from Christ or his sufferings And therefore the next part of your preparation must be the setting those resolutions of obedience which I told you was the third thing you were to examine your selves of before your approach to the holy Sacrament 12. Concerning the particulars of this resolution I need say no more but that it must answer every part and branch of our duty that is we must not only in general resolve that wee will observe Gods Commandments but we must resolve it for every Commandment by itself and especially where we have found our selves most to have failed heretofore there especially to renew our resolutions And herein it neerly concerns us to look that these resolutions be sincere and unfeigned and not only such slight ones as people use
out of custome to put on at their coming to the Sacrament which they never think of keeping afterwards For this is a certain truth that whosoever comes to this holy Table without an entire hatred of every sin comes unworthily and it is as sure that he that doth entirely hate all sin will resolve to forsake it for you know forsaking naturally follows hatred no man willingly abides with a thing or person he hates And therefore he that doth not so resolve as that God the searcher of hearts may approve it as sincere cannot be supposed to hate sin and so cannot be a worthy receiver of that holy Sacrament Therefore try your resolutions throughly that you deceive not your selves in them it is your own great danger if you do for it is certain you cannot deceive God nor gain acceptation from him by any thing which is not perfectly hearty and unfeigned 13. Now as you are to resolve on this new obedience so you are likewise to resolve on the meanes which may assist you in the performance of it And therefore consider in every duty what are the means that may help you in it and resolve to make use of them how uneasie soever they be to your flesh so on the other side consider what things they are that are likely to lead you to sin and resolve to shun and avoid them this you are to do in respect of all sias whatever but especially in those whereof you have formerly been guilty For there it will not be hard for you to finde by what steps and degrees you were drawn into it what company what occasion it was that ensnared you as also to what sort of temptations you are aptest to yield And therefore you must particularly fence your self against the sin by avoiding those occasions of it 14. But it is not enough that you resolve you will do all this hereafter but you must instantly set to it and begin the course by doing at the present whatsoever you have opportunity of doing And there are several things which you may nay must do at the present before you come to the Sacrament 15. As first you must cast off every sin not bring any one unmortified lust with you to that Table for it is not enough to purpose to cast them off afterwards but you must then actually do it by with-drawing all degrees of love and affection from them you must then give a bill of divorce to all your old beloved sins or else you are no fit way to be married to Christ. The reason of this is clear For this Sacrament is our spiritual nourishment now before we can receive spiritual nourishment we must have spiritual life for no man gives food to a dead person But whosoever continues not only in the act but in the love of any one known sin hath no spiritual life but is in Gods account no better then a dead carkass and therefore cannot receive that spiritual food It is true he may eat the bread and drink the wine but he receives not Christ but in stead of him that which is most dreadful the Apostle will tell you what 1 Cor. 11. 29. He eats and drinks his own damnation Therefore you see how great a necessity lies on you thus actually to put off every sin before you come to this Table 16. And the same necessity lies on you for a second thing to be done at this time and that is the putting your soul into a heavenly and Christian temper by possessing it with all those graces which may render it acceptable in the eyes of God For when you have turned out Satan and his accursed train you must not let your soul lie empty if you do Christ tells you Luke 11. 26. He will quickly return again and your last estate shall be worse then your first But you must by earnest prayer invite into it the holy Spirit with his graces or if they be in some degree there already you must pray that he will yet more fully possess it and you must quicken and stir them up 17. As for example you must quicken your humility by considering your many and great sins your Faith by meditating on Gods promises to all penitent sinners your love to God by considering his mercies especially those remembred in the Sacrament his giving Christ to die for us and your love to your neighbour nay to your enemies by considering that great example of his suffering for us that were enemies to him And it is most particularly required of us when we come to this Table that we copy out this patern of his in a perfect forgivenesse of all that have offended us and not only forgivenesse but such a kindnesse also as will express it self in all offices of love and friendship to them 18. And if you have formerly so quite forgot that blessed example of his as to do the direct contrary if you have done any unkindnesse or injury to any person then you are to seek forgivenesse from him and to that end first acknowledge your fault secondly Restore to him to the utmost of your power whatsoever you have deprived him of either in goods or credit This Reconciliation with our brethren is absolutely necessary towards the making any of our services acceptable with God as appears by that precept of Christ Matth. 5. 23 24. If thou bring thy gift to the Altar and there remembrest that thy brother hath ought against thee leave there thy gift before the Altar and go thy way first be reconciled to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift Where you see that though the gift be already at the Altar it must rather be left there unoffered then be offered by a man that is not at perfect peace with his neighbour And if this charity be so necessary in all our services much more in this where by a joynt partaking in the same holy mysteries we signifie our being united and knit not only to Christ our head but also to each other as fellow members And therefore if we come with any malice in our hearts we commit an act of the highest Hypocrisie by making a solemn profession in the Sacrament of that charity and brotherly love whereof our hearts are quite void 19. Another most necessary grace at this time is that of devotion for the raising whereof we must allow our selves some time to withdraw from our worldly affairs and wholly to set our selves to this business of preparation one very speciall part of which preparation lyes in raising up our souls to a devout and heavenly temper And to that it is most necessary that we cast off all thoughts of the world for they will be sure as so many clogs to hinder our souls in their mounting towards heaven A special exercise of this devotion is Prayer wherein we must be very frequent and earnest at our coming to the Sacrament this being one great instrument
loose to thy worldly cares and business But spend all that day either in meditating praying reading good conferences or the like so as may best keep up that holy flame that is enkindled in thy heart Afterwards when thy calling requires thee to fall to thy usual affairs do it but yet still remember that thou hast a greater business then that upon thy hands that is the performing of all those promises thou so lately madest to God and therefore whatever thy outward imployments are let thy heart be set on that keep all the particulars of thy resolution in memory and whenever thou art tempted to any of thy old sins then consider this is the thing thou so solemnly vowedst against and withal remember what a horrible guilt it will be if thou shouldst now wilfully do any thing contrary to that vow Yea and what a horrible mischief also it will be to thy self For at thy receiving God and thou entredst into Covenant into a league of friendship and kindness And as long as thou keepest in that friendship with God thou art safe all the malice of men or devils can do thee no harm For as the Apostle saith Rom. 8. 31. If God be for us who can be against us But if thou breakest this league as thou certainly dost if thou yield to any wilful sin then God and thou are enemies and if all the world then were for thee it could not avail thee 32. Nay thou wilt get an enemy with in thine own bosome thy conscience accusing and upbraiding thee and when God and thine own conscience are thus against thee thou canst not but be extremely miserable even in this life besides that fearful expectation of wrâ—â—h which awaits thee in the next Remember all this when thou art set upon by any temptation and then sure thou canst not but look upon that temptation as a cheat that comes to rob thee of thy Peace thy God thy very Soul And then surely it will appear as unfit to entertain it as thou wouldst think it to harbour one in thy house who thou knowest came to rob thee of what is dearest to thee 33. And let not any experience of Gods mercy in pardoning thee heretofore encourage thee again to provoke him for besides that it is the highest degree of wickedness and unthankfulness to make that goodness of his which should lead thee to repentance an encouragement in thy sin Besides this I say the oftner thou hast been pardonâ—d the less reason thou hast to expect it again because thy sin is so much the greater for having been committed against so much mercy If a King have several times pardoned an offender yet if he still return to commission of the same fault the King will at last be forced if he have any love to Justice to give him up to it Now so it is here God is as well just as merciful and his Justice will at last surely and heavily avenge the abuse of his Mercy and there cannot be a greater abuse of his mercy then to sin in hope of it so that it will prove a miÌ„serable deceiving of thy self thus to presume upon it 34. Now this care of making good thy vow must not abide with thee some few days onely and then be cast aside but it must continue with thee all thy days For if thou break thy vow it matters not whether sooner or later Nay perhaps the guilt may in some respects be more if it be late for if thou have for a good while gone on in the observance of it that shews the thing is possible to thee and so thy after breaches are not of insirmity because thou canst not avoid them but of perverseness because thou wilt not Besides the use of Christian-Walking must needs make it more easie to thee For indeed all the difficulty of it is but from the custome of the contrary And therefore if after some acquaintance with it when thou hast overcome somewhat of the hardness thou shalt then give it over it will be most inexcusable Therefore be careful all the days of thy life to keep such a Watch over thy self and so to avoid all occasions of temptations as may preserve thee from all Wilful breaches of this vow 35. But though the obligation of every such single vow reach to the utmost day of our lives yet are we often to renew it that is we are often to receive the holy Saecrament for that being the means of conveighing to us so great and unvaluable benefits and it being also a command of Christ That we should do this in remembrance of him we are in respect both of reason and duty to omit no fit opportunity of partaking of that holy Table I have now shewed you what that reverence is which we are to pay to God in his Sacrament PARTITION IV. HONOUR due to Gods Name Of Sinning against it Blasphemy Swearing Assertory Oaths Promissory Oaths Unlawful Oaths Of Perjury Of vain Oaths and the Sin of them c. § 1. THe last thing wherein we are to express our Reverence to him is the Honouring his Name Now what this Honouring of his Name is we shall best understand by considering what are the things by which it is dishonoured the avoiding of which will be our way of honouring it The first is all Blasphemies or speaking any evil thing of God the highest degree whereof is cursing him or if we do not speak it with our mouths yet if we do it in our hearts by thinking any unworâ—hy thing of Him it is lookt on by God who sees the heart as the vilest dishonour But there is also a blasphemy of the actions that is when men who profess to be the servants of God live so wickedly that they bring up an evil report on him whom they own as their Master and Lord. This Blasphemy the Apostle takes notice of Rom. 2. 24. Where he tells those who profess to be observers of the Law That by their wicked actions the Name of God was blasphemed among the Gentiles Those Gentiles were moved to think ill of God as the favourer of sin when they saw those who called themselves his servants commit it A second way of Dishonouring Gods Name is by swearing and that is of two sorts either by false Oathes or else by rash and light ones A false Oath may also be of two kinds as first that by which I affirm somewhat or secondly that by which I promise The first is when I say such or such a thing was done so or so and confirm this saying of mine with an Oath if then I know there be not perfect truth in what I say this is a flat perjury a downright being forsworn Nay if I swear to the truth of that whereof I am only doubtful though the thing should happen to be true yet it brings upon me the guilt of Perjury for I swear at a venture and
Parent the child had then no strength to support no understanding to guide it self the care of the Parents was fain to supply both these to it and therefore in common gratitude whenever either of these becomes the Parents case as sometimes by great age or some accident both do the childe is to perform the same offices back again to them As for that of Relieving their poverty there is the very same Obligation to that with the former it being but just to sustain thy Parent who has formerly sustained thee but besides this Christ himself teaches us that this is contained within the precept of honouring their Parents for when Mar. 7. 13. he accuses the Pharisees of rejecting the Commandement of God to cleave to their own traditions he instances in this particular concerning the relieving of Parents whereby 't is manifest that this is a part of that duty which is injoyned in the fifth Commandement as you may see at large in the Text and such a duty it is that no pretence can absolve or acquit us of it How then shall those answer it that deny relief to their poor Parents that cannot part with their own excesses and superfluities which are indeed their sins to satisfie the necessities of those to whom they owe their being Na some there are yet worse who out of pride scorn to own their parents in their poverty Thus it often happens when the Child is advanced to dignity or wealth they think it a disparagement to them to look on their Parents that remain in a low condition it being the betraying as they think to the world the meanness of their birth and so the poor Parent fares the worse for the prosperity of his child This is such a pride and unnaturalness together as will surely finde a sharp vengeance from God for if Solomon observe of Pride alone that it is the fore-runner of destruction Prov. 16. 18. we may much rather conclude so of it when it is thus accompanied 17. To this that hath been said of the duty of Children to their Parents I shall adde only this That no unkindness no fault of the Parent can acquit the childe of this duty but as S. Peter tells servants 1 Peter 2. 18. that they must be subject not onely to the good and gentle Masters but also to the froward so certainly it belongs to children to perform duty not only to the kinde and vertuous but even to the harshest and wicked'st Parent For though the gratitude due to a kinde Parent be a very forcible motive to make the child pay his duty yet that is not the only nor chiefest ground of it That is laid in the Command of God who requires us thus to honour our Parents and therefore though we should suppose a Parent so unnatural as never to have done any thing to oblige the childe which can hardly be imagined yet still the Command of God continues in force and we are in conscience of that to perform that duty to our Parents thouâ—h none of the other tye of gratitude should lye on us But as this is due from the childe to the Parents so on the other side there are other things also due from the Parents to the Childe and that throughout the several states and Ages of it 18. First There is the care of nourishing and sustaining it which begins from the very birth and continues a duty from the Parent till the child be able to perform it to himself This is a duty which nature teaches even the savage beasts have a great care and tendernesse in nourishing their young and therefore may serve to reproach and condemn all Parents who shall be so unnatural as to neglect this I shall not here enter into the question Whether the Mother be obliged to give the Childe its first nourishment by giving it Suck her self because 't will not be possible to affirm universally in the Case there being many circumstances which may alter it and make it not only lawful but best not to do it all I shall say is that where no impediment of sickness weakness or the like does happen 't is surely best for the Mother her self to perform this office there being many advantages to the childe by it which a good Mother ought so far to consider as not to sell them to her own sloth or niceness or any such unworthy motive for where such only are the grounds of â—oâ—bearing it they will never be able to justifie the omission they being themselves unjustifiable But besides this first care which belongs to the body of the childe there is another which should begin near as early which belongs to their Souls and that is the bringing them to the Sacrament of Baptism thereby to procure them an early right to all those precious advantages which that Sacrament conveyes to them This is a duty the Parents ought not to delay it being most reasonable that they who have been instruments to convey the stain and pollution of sin to the poor Infant should be very earnest and industrious to have it washt off as soon as may be Besides the life of so tender a creature is but a blast and many times gone in a moment and though we are not to despair of Gods mercy to those poor children who dye without Baptism yet surely those Parents commit a great fault by whose neglect it is that they want it 19. Secondly The Parents must provide for the education of the childe they must as Solomon speaks Proverbs 22. 6. Train up the childe in the way he should go As soon therefore as children come to the use of reason they are to be instructed and that first in those things which concern their eternal well-being they are by little and little to be taught all those things which God hath commanded them as their duty to perform as also what glorious rewards he hath provided for them if they do it and what grievous and eternal punishments if they do it not These things ought as early as is possible to be instilled into the minds of children which like new vessels do usually keep the favour of that which is first put into them and therefore it neerly concerns all Parents to look they be at first thus seasoned with Vertue and Religion 'T is sure if this be neglected there is one ready at hand to fill them with the contrary the Devil will be diligent enough to instil into them all wickedness and vice even from their cradles and there being also in all our natures so much the greater aptness to evil then to good there is need of great care and watchfulness to prevent those endeavours of that enemy of Souls which can no way be but by possessing them at first with good things breeding in them a love to vertue and a hatred of vice that so when the temptations come they may be armed against them This surely is above all things the duty
that thou wilt deliberately choose death thou wilt surely practice according to that sentence of thy understanding I shall add no more on this first part of Charity that of the Affections I proceed now to that of the Actions And this endeed is it whereby the former must be approved we may pretend great charity within but if none break forth in the Actions we may say of that Love as Saâ—nt James does of the Faith he speaks of that it is dead Jam. 2. 20. It is the loving in deed that must approve our bearts before God 1 Jo. 3. 18. Now this love in the Actions may likewise fitly be distributed as the former was in relation to the four distinct capacities of our brethren their Souls their Bodies their Goods and Credit The Soul I formerly told you may be considered either in a naturall or spirituall sense in both of them Charity binds us to do all the good we can As the Soul signifies the mind of a man so we are to endeavour the comfort and refreshment of our brethren desire to give them all true cause of joy cheerfulnes especially when we see any under any sadness or heaviness then to bring out all the cordialls we can procure that is to labour by all Christian and fit means to chear the troubled spirits of our brethren to comfort them that are in any heaviness as the Apostle speakes 2. Cor. 1. 4. But the Soul in the spirituall sence is yet of greater concernment and the securing of that is a matter of much greater moment then the refreshing of the mind only in as much as the eternall sorrows and sadnesses of Hell exceed the deepest sorrows of this life and therefore though we must not omit the former yet on this we are to employ our most zealous charities Wherein we are not to content our selves with a bare wishing well to the Souls of our brethren this alone is a sluggish sort of kindness unworthy of those who are to imitate the great Redeemer of Souls who did and suffered so much in that purchase No we must add also our endeavour to make them what we wish them to this purpose 't were very reasonable to propound to our selves in all our conversings with others that one great designe of doing some good to their souls If this purpose were fixt in our minds we should then discern perhaps many opportunities which now we overlook of doing something towards it The brutish ignorance of one would call upon thee to endeavour his instruction the open sin of another to reprehend admonish him the faint and weak vertue of another to confirm and incourage him Every spirituall want of thy brother may give thee some occasion of exercising some part of this Charity or if the circumstances be such that upon sober judging thou think it vain to attempt any thing thy self as if either thy meanness or thy unacquaintedness or any the like impediment be like to render thy exhortations fruitless yet if thou art industrious in thy Charity thou mayest probably find out some other instrument by whom to do it more successfully There cannot be a nobler study then how to benefit mens Souls and therefore where the direct means are improper 't is fit we should whet our wits for attaining of others Indeed 't is a shame we should not as industriously contrive for this great spirituall concernment of others as we do for every worldly trifling interest of our own yet in them we are unwearied and trye one means after another till we compass our end But if after all our serious endeavours the obstinacy of men do not suffer us or themselves rather to reap any fruit from them if all our wooings and intreatings of men to have mercy on their own Souls will not work on them yet be sure to continue still to exhort by thy example Let thy great care and tenderness of thy own Soul preach to them the value of theirs and give not over thy compassions to them but with the Prophet Jer. 13. 17. Let thy Soul weep in secret for them and with the Psalmist Let rivers of waters run down thy eyes because they kept not Gods Law Psal. 119. 136. Yea with Christ himself weep over them who will not know the things that belong to their peace Luk 11. 42. And when no importunities with them will work yet even then cease not to importune God for them that he will draw them to himself Thus we see Samuel when he could not diswade the people from that sinful purpose they were upon yet he professes notwithstanding that he will not cease praying for them nay he lookt on it as so much a duty that it would be sin to him to omit it God forbid sayes he that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you 1 Sam. 12. 23. Nor shall we need to fear that our prayers will be quite lost for if they prevail not for those for whom we pour them out yet however they will return into our own bosomes Psal. 35. 13 we shall be sure not to miss of the reward of that Charity In the second place we are to exercise this Active Charity towards the bodies of our Neighbours we are not only to compassionate their pains and miseries but also to do what we can for their ease and relief The good Samaritan Luke 10. had never been proposed as our pattern had he not as well helped as pitied the wounded man 'T is not good wishes no nor good words neither that avail in such cases as St. James tells us If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food and one of you say unto them Depart in peace be ye warmed and filled notwithstanding ye give him not those things that are needful for the body what doth it profit Jam. 2. 15. 16. No sure it profits them nothing in respect of their bodies and it will profit thee as little in respect of thy Soul it will never be reckoned to thee as a Charity This releeving of the bodily wants of our brethren is a thing so strictly required of us that we find it set down Mat. 25. as the especiall thing we shall be tried by at the Last Day on the omission whereof is grounded that dreadful sentence ver 41. Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels And if it shall now be asked what are the particular acts of this kind which we are to perform I think we cannot better inform our selves for the frequent and ordinary ones then from this Chapter where are set down these severals the giving meat to the hungry and drink to the thirtty harbouring the stranger clothing the naked and visiting the sick and imprisoned By which visiting is meant not a bare coming to see them but so coming as to comfort and relieve them for otherwise it will be but like the Levite in the
of those sins which have provoked thy Judgements that thou also mayest turn and repent and leave a blessing behinde thee Bless those whom thou hast appointed our Governours whether in Church or State so rule their hearts and strengthen their hands that they may neither want will nor power to punish wickedness and vice and to maintain Gods true Religion and Vertue Have pity O Lord on all that are in affliction be a Father to the fatherless and plead the cause of the widow comfort the feeble minded support the weak heal the sick relieve the needy defend the oppressed and administer to every one according to their several necessities let thy blessings rest upon all that are near and dear to me and grant them whatsoever thou seest necessary either to their bodies or their Souls Here name thy neerest Relations Reward all those that have done me good and pardon all those that have done or wisht me evil and work in them and me all that good which may make us acceptable in thy sight through Jesus Christ. For PRESERVATION OMerciful God by whose bounty alone it is that I have this day added to my life I beseech thee so to guide me in it by thy grace that I may do nothing which may dishonour thee or wound my own soul but that I may deligently apply my self to do all such good works as thou hast prepared for me to walk in and Lord I beseech thee give thy Angels charge over me to keep me in all my wayes that no evil happen unto me nor any plague come nigh my dwelling but that I and mine may be safe under thy gracious protection through Jesus Christ. O Lord pardon the wandrings and coldness of these petitions and dâ—al with me not according either to my prayers or deserts but according to my needs and thine own rich mercies in Jesus Christ in whose blessed Name and Words I conclude these my imperfect Prayers saying Our Father c. DIRECTIONS for NIGHT. AT NIGHT when it draws towards the time of rest bethink thy self how thou hast passed the day examine thine own heart what sin either of Thought Word or Deed thou hast committed what opportunity of doing good thou hast omitted and what soever thou sindest to accuse thy self of confess humbly and penitently to God renew thy purposes and resolutions of amendment and beg his pardon in Christ and this not slightly and only as of course but with all devout earnestness and heartiness as thou wouldest do if thou were sure thy death were as near approaching as thy sleep which for ought thou knowest may be so indeed and therefore thou shouldest no more venture to sleep unreconciled to God then thou wouldest dare to die so In the next place consider what special and extraordinary mercies thou hast that day received as if thou hast had any great deliverance either in thy inward man from some dangerous temptations or in thy outward from any great and apparent danger and offer to God thy hearty and devout praise for the same or if nothing extraordinary have so happened and thou hast been kept even from the approach of danger thou hast not the less but the greater cause to magnifie God who hath by his protection so guarded thee that not so much as the fear of evil hath assaulted thee And therefore omit not to pay him the tribute of humble thankfulness as well for his usual and dayly preservations as his more extraordinary deliverances And above all endeavour still by the considerations of his mercies to have thy heart the more closely knit to him remembring that every favour received from him is a new engagement upon thee to love and obey him PRAYERS for NIGHT. O Holy blessed and glorious Trinity three persons and one God have mercy upon me a miserable sinner Lord I know not what to pray for as I ought O let thy Spirit help my infirmities and enable me to offer up a spiritual Sacrifice acceptable unto thee by Jesus Christ. A CONFESSION O MOST Holy Lord God who art of purer eyes then to behold iniquity how shall I abominable wretch dare to appear before thee who am nothing but pollution I am defiled in my very nature having a backwardness to all good and a readiness to all evil but I have defiled my self yet much worse by my own actual sins and wicked customes I have transgrest my duty to thee my neighbour and my self and that both in thought in word in deed by doing those things which thou hast expresly forbidden and by neglecting to do those things thou hast commanded me And this not only through ignorance and frailty but knowingly and wilfully against the motions of thy Spirit and the checks of my own conscience to the contrary And to make all these out of measure sinful I have gone on in a dayly course of repeating these provocations against thee notwithstanding all thy calls to and my own purposes and vows of amendment yea this very day I have not ceased to adde new sins to all my former guilts Here name the Particulars And now O Lord what shall I say or how shall I open my mouth seeing I have done these things I know that the wages of these sins is death but O thou who willest not the death of a sinner have mercy upon me work in me I beseech thee a sincere contrition and a perfect hatred of my sins and let me not dayly confess and yet as dayly renew them but grant O Lord that from this instant I may give a bill of Divorce to all my most beloved lusts and then be thou pleased to marry me to thy self in truth in righteousness and holiness And for all my past sins O Lord receive a reconciliation accept of that ransome thy blessed Son hath paid for me and for his sake whom thou hast set forth as a propitiation pardon all my offences and receive me to thy favour And when thou hast thus spoken peace to my soul Lord keep me that I turn not any more to folly but so establish me with thy grace that no temptation of the world the Divel or my own flesh may ever draw me to offend thee that being made free from sin and becoming a servant unto God I may have my fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord. A THANKSGIVING O Thou Father of Mercies who art kind even to the unthankful I acknowledge my self to have abundantly experimented that gracious propertie of thine for notwithstanding my dayly provocations against thee thou still heapest mercy and loving kindness upon me All my contempts and despisings of thy spiritual favours have not yet made thee withdraw them but in the riches of thy goodness and long suffering thou still continuest to me the offers of grace and life in thy Son And all my abuses of thy temporal blessings thou hast not punished with an utter deprivation of them but art still pleased to afford me
vanities hath seized it and like a strong man armed keeps possession O thou who art stronger come upon him and take this unworthy heart of mine as thine own spoil refine it with that purifying fire of thy love that it may be a fit habitation for thy Spirit Lord if thou see it fit be pleased to let me taste of those joys those ravishments of thy love wherewith thy Saints have been so transported But if in this I know not what I ask if I may not chuse my place in thy Kingdom yet O Lord deny me not to drink of thy cup let me have such a sincerity degree of love as may make me endure any thing for thy sake such a perfect love as may cast out all fear all sloth too that nothing may seem to me too grievous to suffer or too difficult to do in obedience to thee that so expressing my loue by keeping thy Commandments I may by thy mercy at last obtain that Crown of life which thou hast promised to those that love thee through Jesus Christ our Lord. For SINCERITY O Holy Lord who requirest truth in the inward parts I humbly beseech thee to purge me from all hypocrisie and unsincerity The heart O Lord is deceitful above all things and my heart is deceitful above all hearts O thou who searchest the heart and reins try me and seek the ground of my heart and suffer not any accursed thing to lurk within me but purifie me even with fire so thou consume my dross O Lord I cannot deceive thee but I may most easily deceive my self I beseech thee let me not rest in any such deceit but bring me to a sight and hatred of my most hidden corruptions that I may not cherish any darling lust but make an utter destruction of every Amalekite O suffer me not to speak peace to my self when there is no peace but grant I may judge of my self as thou judgest of me that I may never be at peace with my self till I am at perfect peace with thee and by purity of heart be qualified to see thee in thy Kingdom through Jesus Christ. For DEVOTION in PRAYER O Gracious Lord God who not only permittest but invitest us miserable and needy creatures to present our petitions to thee grant I beseech thee that the frequency of my prayer may be some what proportionable to those continual needs I have of thy mercy Lord I confess it is the greatest honour and greatest advantage thus to be allowed access to thee yet so sottish and stupid is my profane heart that it shuns or frustrates the opportunities of it My Soul O Lord is possest with a spirit of infirmity it is bowed together and can in no wise lift up it self to thee O be thou pleased to cure this sad this miserable disease to inspirit and inliven this earthy drosly heart that it may freely mount towards thee that I may set a true value on this most valuable priviledge and take delight in approaching to thee and that my approaches may be with a reverence some way answerable to that awful Majesty I come before with an importunity and earnestness answerable to those pressing wants I have to be supplied and with such a fixedness and attention of mind as no wandring thoughts may interrupt that I may no more incur the guilt of drawing neer to thee with my lips when my heart is far from thee or have my prayers turned into sin but may so ask that I may receive seek that I may finde knock that it may be opened unto me that from praying to thee here I may be translated to the praising thee eternally in thy glory through the merits and intercession of Jesus Christ. For HUMILITY O Thou High and Lofty one that inhabitest Eternity yet art pleased to dwell with the humble spirit pour into my heart I beseech thee that excellent grace of Humility which may utterly work out all those vain conceits I have of my self Lord convince me powerfully of my own wretchedness make me to see that I am miserable and poor and blinde and naked and not only dust but sin that so in all thy dispensations towards me I may lay my hand upon my mouth and heartily acknowledge that I am less then the least of thy mercies and greater then the greatest of thy judgements And O Lord grant me not only to walk humbly with my God but even with men also that I may not only submit my self to thy rebukes but even to those of my fellow Christians and with weekness receive and obey their admonitions And make me so to behave my self towards all that I never do any thing through strife or vain glory and to that end grant that in low liness of mind I may esteem every other man better then my self and be wiling that others should esteem them so also that I neither nourish any high opinion of my self nor covet one among others but that despising the vain praise of men I may seek that praise which cometh from thee onely That so in stead of those mean servile Arts I have used to recommend me to the esteem of men I may now imploy all my industry and care to approve my self to thee who resistest the proud and givest grace to the humble grant this O Lord for his sake who humbled himself unto the death of the Cross Jesus Christ. For the FEAR of GOD. O Glorious Majesty who only art high and to be feared possess my soul with a Holy awe and reverence of thee that I may give thee the honour due unto thy Name and may bear such a respect to all things which relate to thee that I may never prophane any Holy thing or sacrilegiously invade what thou hast set apart to thy self And O Lord since thou art a God that wilt not clear the guilty let the dread of thy justice make me tremble to provoke thee in any thing O let me not so misplace my fear as to be afraid of a man that shall die and of the Son of man who shall be made as grass and forget the Lord my Maker but replenish my Soul with that fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom which may be as a bridle to all my brutish appetites and keep me in a constant conformity to thy Holy will Hear me O Lord I beseech thee and put this fear in my heart that I may not depart from thee but may with fear and trembling work out my own Salvation through Jesus Christ. For TRUST on GOD. O Almighty Lord who never failest them that must on thee give me grace I beseech thee in all my difficulties and distresses to have recourse to thee to rest and depend on thee thou shalt keep him O Lord in perfect peace whose mind is staid on thee O let me always rest on this firm Pâ—llar and never exchange it for the broken â—eeds of worldly succours suffer not my heart to be overcharged with the
state of triumph and bliss in thy Kingdome through Jesus Christ. For JUSTICE O Thou King of righteousness who hast Commanded us to keep judgment and do Justice be pleased by thy grace to cleanse my heart and hands from all fraud and injustice and give me a perfect integrity and uprightness in all my dealings O make me ever abhor to use my power to oppress or my skill to deceive my brother and grant I may most strictly observe that sacred rule of doing as I would be done to that I may not dishonour my Christian profâ—ssion by an unjust or fraudulent life but in simplicity and godly sincerity have my conversation in this life never seeking to heap up treasures of wickedness but preferring a little with righteousness before great revenues without right Lord make me exactly careful to render to every man what by any sort of obligation becomes his due that I may never break the bond of any of those relations that thou hast placed me in but may so behave my self towards all that none may have any evil thing to say of me that so if it be possible I may have peace with all men or however I may by keeping innocency and taking heed to the thing that is right have peace at the last even peace with thee through Jesus Christ our Lord. For CHARITY O Merciful Lord who hast made of one blood and redeemed by one ransome all Nations of men let me never harden my bowels against any that partake of the same nature and redemption with me but grant me an universal charity towards all men Give me O thou father of compassions such a tenderness and meltingness of heart that I may be deeply affected with all the miseries and calamities outward or inward of my brethren and diligently imploy all my abilities for their succour and relief O let not an unchristian self love possess my heart but drive out that accursed spirit and let thy Spirit of love enter and dwell there and make me seek not to please my self but my neighbour for his good to edification even as Christ pleased not himself Lord make me a faithful steward of all those talents thou hast committed to me for the benefit of others that so when thou shalt call me to give an account of my stewardship I may do it with joy and not with grief Grant this merciful Lord I beseech thee for Jesus Christ his sake For PERSEVERANCE O Eternal and unchangeable Lord God who art the same yesterday and to day and for ever Be thou pleased to communicate some small Ray of that excellence some degree of that stability to me thy wretched creature who am light and unconstant turned about with every blast my understanding is very deceivable O establish it in thy truth keep it from the snares of seducing spirits that I may not be led away with the error of the wicked and fall from my own stedfastness my will also O Lord is irresolute and wavering and doth not cleave stedfastly unto God my goodness is but as the morning cloud and as the early dew it passeth away O strengthen and confirm me and whatever good work thou hast wrought in me be pleased to accomplish and perform it until the day of Christ. Lord thou seest my weakness and thou knowest the number and strength of those temptations I have to struggle with O leave me not to my self but cover thou my head in the day of battel and in all spiritual combates make me more then conquerour through him that loved me O let no terrors or slatteries either of the world or my own flesh ever draw me from my obedience to thee but grant that I may continue stedfast unmoveable always abounding in the work of the Lord by patient continuance in well doing seek at last obtain glory and honour and Immortality and eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. A Brief Paraphrase of the LORDS PRAYER To be used as a Prayer Our Father which art in Heaven O LORD who dwellest in the highest heavens thou art the Author of our being thou hast also begotten us again unto a lively hope and carriest towards us the tenderness and bowels of a compassionate father O make us to render to thee the love and obedience of children and that we may resemble thee our father in heaven that place of true delight and purity give us a holy disdain of all the deceitful pleasures and foul pollutions of this world and so raise up our minds that we may always have our conversation in heaven from whence we look for our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ. 1. Hallowed be thy Name STRIKE such an awe into our hearts that we may humbly reverence thee in thy Name which is great wonderful and holy and carry such a sacred respect to all things that relate to thee and thy worship as may express our reverence of thy great Majesty Let all the people praise thee O God let all the people praise thee 2. Thy Kingdome come Establish thy Throne and rule for ever in our souls and by the power of thy grace subdue all those rebellious corruptions that exalt themselves against thee they are those enemies of thine which would not that thou shouldst reign over them O let them be brought forth and slain before thee and make us such faithful subjects of this thy Kingdome of Grace that we may be capable of the Kingdom of Glory and then Lord Jesus come quickly 3. Thy will be done in earth c. ENABLE us by thy grace chearfully to suffer thy will in all thy inflictions and readily to perform it in all thy commands give us of that heavenly zeal to thy service wherewith the blessed Angels of thy presence are inspired that we may obey thee with the like fervor and alacrity and that following them in their obedience we may be joyned with them to sing eternal praises in thy Kingdom to God and to the Lamb for ever 4. Give us this day our dayly bread GIVE us that continual supply of thy grace which may sustain and nourish our souls unto eternal life And be thou pleased also to provide for our bodies all those things which thou seest fit for their support through this our earthly pilgrimage and make us cheerfully to rest on thee for them first seeking thy Kingdome and the righteousness thereof and then not doubting but all these things shall be added unto us 5. Forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them c. HEAL our souls O Lord for we have sinned against thee let thy tender mercies abound towards us in the forgiveness of all our offences And grant O Lord that we may never forfeit this pardon of thine by denying ours to our brethren but give us those bowels of compassion to others which we stand in so much greater need of from thee that we may forgive as fully and finally upon Christs command as we desire to be forgiven for his merits
and intercession 6. Lead us not into Temptation but deliver c. O LORD we have no strength against those multitudes of temptations that dayly assault us only our eyes are upon thee O be thou pleased either to restrain them or assist us and in thy faithfulness suffer us not to be tempted above that we are able but in all our temptations make us a way to escape that we be not overcome by them but may when thou shalt call us to it resist even unto blood striving against sin that being faithful unto death thou mayest give us the crown of life For thine is the Kingdom the Power c. HEAR us graciously answer our petitions for thou art the great King over all the earth whose Power is infinite and art able to do for us above all that we can ask or think and to whom belongeth the Glory of all that good thou workest in us or for us Therefore blessing honour glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne to our God for ever and ever Amen Pious EJACULATIONS Taken out of the Book of PSALMS For PARDON of SIN HAVE mercy on 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 Turn thy face from my sins and put out all my misdeeds My misdeeds prevail against me O be thou merciful unto my sins Enter not into judgement with thy servant for in thy sight shall no man living be justified For thy names sake O Lord be merciful unto my sin for it is great Turn thee O Lord and deliver my soul O save me for thy mercies sake For GRACE TEACH me to do the thing that pleaseth thee for thou art my God Teach me thy way O Lord and I will walk in thy truth O knit my heart to thee that I may fear thy name Make me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me O let my heart be sound in thy statutes that I be not ashamed Incline my heart unto thy I estimonies and not to covetousness Turn away mine eyes lest they behold vanity and quicken thou me in thy way I am a stranger upon earth O hide not thy Commandments from me Lord teach me to number my days that I may apply my heart unto wisdom For the LIGHT of Gods COUNTENANCE LORD why abhorrest thou my soul and hidest thy face from me O hide not thou thy face from me nor cast thy servant away in displeasure Thy loving kindness is better then life it self Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me Comfort the Soul of thy servant for unto thee O Lord do I lift up my soul. THANKSGIVING I WILL always give thanks unto the Lord his praise shall ever be in my mouth Thou art my God and I will thank thee thou art my God and I will praise thee I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live I will praise my God whilest I have my being Praised be God which hath not cast out my prayer nor turned his mercy from me Blessed be the Lord God even the God of Israel which only doth wondrous things And blessed be the Name of his Majesty for ever and all the earth shall be filled with his Majesty Amen Amen For DELIVERANCE from TROUBLE BE merciful unto me O Lord be merciful unto me for my Soul trusteth in thee and under the shadow of thy wings shall be my refuge until these calamities be over-past Deliver me O Lord from mine enemies for I flie unto thee to hide me O keep my Soul and deliver me let me not be confounded for I have put my trust in thee Mine eyes are ever looking unto the Lord for he shall pluck my feet out of the net Turn thee unto me and have mercy upon me for I am desolate and in misery The sorrorws of my heart are enlarged O bring thou me out of my troubles For the CHURCH O BE favourable and gracious unto Sion build thou the walls of Jerusalem O God wherefore art thou absent from us so long Why is thy wrath so hot against the sheep of thy pasture O think upon thy Congregation whom thou hast purchased and Redeemed of old Look upon the Tribe of thine Inheritance and Mount Sion where thou hast dwelt It is time for thee Lord. to lay to thy hand for they have destroyed thy Law Arise O God and maintain thine own cause Deliver Israel O God out of all his troubles Brief Heads of Self-Examination especially before the Sacrament Collected out of the fore-going Treatise concerning the breaches of our Duty To GOD. FAITH NOT BELIEVING there is a God Not believing his Word Not believing it practically so as to live according to our belief HOPE Despairing of Gods mercy so as to neglect duty Presuming groundlesly on it whilst we go on in wilful sin LOVE Not Loving God for his own excellencies Not loving him for his goodness to us Not labouring to please him Not desiring to draw neer to him in his Ordinances Not longing to enjoy him in Heaven FEAR Not Fearing God so as to keep from offending him Fearing man above him by committing sin to shun some outward suffering TRUST Not trusting on God in dangers and disiresses Using unlawful means to bring us out of them Not depending on God for supply of our wants Immoderate care for outward things Neglecting to labour and expecting God should support us in our idleness Not looking up to God for a blessing on our honest endeavours HUMILITY Not having a high esteem of God Not submitting obediently to act his will Not patiently suffering it but murmuring at his corrections Not amending by them Not being thankful to him Not acknowledging his wisdome in choosing for us but having eager and impatient desires of our owe. HONOUR Not Honouring God by a reverend usage of the things that relate to him Behaving our selves irreverently in his house Robbing God by taking things that are consecrated to him Profaning Holy times the Lords Day and the Feasts and Fasts of the Church Neglecting to read the Holy Scriptures not marking when we do read Being careless to get knowledge of our duty chusing rather to continue ignorant then put our selves to the pains or shame of learning Placing Religion in hearing of Sermons without practising them Breaking our Vow made at Baptisme By resorting to Witches and Conjurers i. e. to the Devil By loving the pomps and vanities of the world and followlowing its sinful customes By fulfilling the lusts of the flesh Profaning the Lords Supper By comming to it ignorantly without examination contrition and purposes of new life By behaving our selves irreverently at it without devotion and spiritual affection By neglecting to keep the promises made at it Profaning Gods Name by blasphemous thoughts or discourse Giving others occasion to blaspheme him by our vile wicked lives Taking unlawful OATHS Perjury Swearing in
Flatâ—ering him in his faults Forsaking his friendship upon slight or no cause Making leagues in sin in stead of vertuous friendship SERVANTS Servants disobeying the lawful commands of their Masters Purloining their goods Carelesly wasting them Murmuring at their rebukes Idleness Eye service MASTERS Masters using servants tyrannically and cruelly Being too remiss and suffering them to neglect their duty Having no care of their souls Not providing them means of instruction in Religion Not admonishing them when they commit sins Not allowing them time and opportunity for prayer and the worship of God CHARITY Want of bowels and Charity to our neighbours Not heartily desiring their good spiritual or temporal Not loving and forgiving enemies Taking actual revenges upon them Falseness professing kindness and acting none Not labouring to do all the good we can to the soul of our neighbour Not assisting him to our power in his bodily distresses Not defending his good name when we know or believe him slandered Denying him any neighbourly office to preserve or advance his estate Not defending him from oppression when we have power Not relieving him in his poverty Not giving liberally or chearâ—ully GOING to LAW Not loving PEACE Going to Law upon slight occasions Bearing inward enmity to those we sue Not labouring to make peace among others The use of this Catalogue of sins is this Upon days of Humiliation especially before the Sacrament read them consideringly over and at every particular ask thine own heart Am I guilty of this â— And whatsoever by such Examination thou findest thy self faulty in Confess particularly and humbly to God with all the heightning circumstances which may any way increase their guilt and make serious Resolutions against every such Sin for the future after which thou â—â—ayest use this Form following O LORD I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee for my iniquities are increased over my head and my trespass is grown up even unto Heaven I have wrought all these great provocations and that in the most provoking manner they have not been only single but repeated acts of sin for O Lord of all this black Catalogue which I have now brought forth before thee how few are there which I have not often committed nay which are not become even habitual and customary to me And to this frequency I have added both a greediness and obstinacy in sinning turning into my course as the Horse rusheth into the battel doing evil with both hands earnestly yea hating to be reformed and casting thy words behinde me quenching thy Spirit within me which testified against me to turn me from my evil ways and frustrating all those outward means whether of judgement or mercy which thou hast used to draw me to thy self Nay O Lord even my repentances may be numbred amongst my greatest sins they have sometimes been feigned and hypocritical always so slâ—ght and ineffectual that they have brought forth no fruit in amendment of life but I have still returned with the dog to his vomit and the sow to the mire again and have added the breach of resolutions and vows to all my former guilts Thus O Lord I am become out of measure sinful and since I have thus chosen death I am most worthy to take part in it even in the second death the lake of fire and brimstone This this O Lord is in justice to be the poâ—tion of my cup to me belongs nothing but shame and confusion of face eternally But to thee O Lord God belongeth mercy and forgiveness though I have rebelled against thee O remember not my sins and offences but according to thy mercy think thou upon me O Lord for thy goodness Thou sentest thy Son to seek and to save that which was lost behold O Lord I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost O seek thy servant and bring me back to the Shepherd and Bishop of my Soul let thy Spirit work in me a hearty sense and detestation of all my abominations that true contrition of heart which thou hast promised not to despise And then be thou pleased to look on me to take away all iniquity and receive me graciously and for his sake who hath done nothing amiss be reconciled to me who have done nothing well wash away the guilt of my sins in his blood and subdue the power of them by his grace and grant O Lord that I may from this hour bid a final adieu to all ungodliness and worldly lusts that I may never once more cast a look toward Sodom or long after the flesh-pots of Egypt but consecrate my self intirely to thee to serve thee in Righteousness and true Holiness reckoning my self to be dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord and blessed Saviour This PENITENTIAL PSALM may also fitly be used PSALM 51. 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 For I acknowledge my faults and my sin is ever before me Against thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight that thou mightest be justified in thy saying and clcer when thou art judged Behold I was shapen in wickedness and in sin hath my moâ—her conceived me But lo thou requirest truth in the inward parts and shalt make me to understand wisdom secretly Thou shalt purge me with Hysop and I shall be clean thou shalt wash me and I shall be whiter then snow Thou shalt make me hear of joy and gladness that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoycè Turn thy face from my sins and put out all my misdeeds Make me a clean heart O God and renew a right Spirit within me Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy holy Spirit from me O give me the comfort of thy help again and stablish me with thy free Spirit Then shall I teach thy ways unto the wicked and sinners shall be converted unto thee Deliver me from blood guiltinesâ— O God thou that art the God of my health and my tongue shall sing of thy righteousness Thou shalt open my lips O Lord and my mouth shall shew thy praise For thou desirest no sacrifice else would I give it thee but thou delightest not in burnt offering The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit a broken and contrite heart O God shalt thou not despise O be favourable and gracious unto Sion build thou the walls of Jerusalem Then shalt thou be pleased with the Sacrifice of righteousness with the burnt offerings and oblations then shall they offer young bullocks upon thine altar 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 PRAYERS BEFORE the Receiving of the blessed SACRAMENT OMost merciful God who hast in thy great goodness prepared this spiritual feast for sick
of my heart and my portion for ever I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ which is far better Lord I gâ—oan earnestly desiring to be cloathed upon with that house from heaven I desire to put off this my tabernacle O be pleased to receive me into everlasting habitations Bring my soul out of prison that I may give thanks unto thy name Lord I am here to wrestle not only with flesh and blood but with principalities and powers spiritual wickedness O take me from these tents of Kedar into the heavenly Jerusalem where Satan shall be utterly trodden under my feet I cannot here attend one minute to thy service without distraction O take me up â—o stand before thy Throne where I shall serve thee day and night I am here in heaviness through many tribulations O receive me into that place of rest where all tears shall be wiped from my eyes where there shall be no more death nor sorrow nor crying nor pain I am here in a state of banishment and absence from the Lord O take me where I shall for ever behold thy face and follow the Lamb whither soever he goeth I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness OBlessed Jesu who hast loved me and washed me from my sins in thine own blood receive my soul. Into thy hands I commend my Spirit for thou hast redeemed me O Lord thou God of truth Come Lord Jesu come quickly PRAYERS for their use who Mourn in secret for the PUBLICK CALAMITIES c. Psalm 74. O God wherefore art thou absent from us so long why is thy wrath so hot against the sheep of thy pasture c. Psal. 79. O God the Heathen are come into thine inheritance thy holy temple have they defiled and made Jerusalem an heap of stones c. Psal. 80. Hear O thou shepherd of Israel thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep shew thy self also thou that sittest upon the Cherubims c. A Prayer to be used in these times of Calamity O Lord God to whom vengeance belongeth I desire humbly to confess before thee both on my own behalf and that of this Nation that these many years of calamity we have groaned under are but the just yea mild returns of those many more years of our provocations against thee and that thy present which is but the due punishment of thy abused mercy O Lord thou hast formerly abounded to us in blessings above all people of the earth Thy candle shined upon our heads and we delighted our selves in thy great goodness peace was within our walls and plenteousness within our palaces there was no decay no leading into captivity and no complaining in our streets but we turned this grace into wantonness we abused our peace to security our plenty to riot and Luxury and made those good things which should have endeared our hearts to thee the occasions of estranging them from thee Nay O Lord thou gavest us yet more precious mercies thou wert pleased thy self to pitch thy Tabernacle with us to establish a pure and glorious Church among us and give us thy word to be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths but O Lord we have made no other use of that light then to conduct us to the chambers of death we have dealt proudly and not hearkened to thy comandments and by rebelling against the light have purchased to our selves so much the heavier portion in the outer darkness And now O Lord had the overflowings of thy vengeance been answerable to that of our sin we had long since been swept away with a swift destruction and there had been none of us alive at this day to implore thy mercy But thou art a gracious God slow to anger and hast proceeded with us with much patience and long-suffering thou hast sent thy judgements to awake us to repentance and hast also allowed us space for it But alas we have perverted this mercy of thine beyond all the former we return not to him that smiteth us neither do we seek the Lord we are slidden back by a perpetual backfliding no man repenteth him of his wickedness or â—aith what have I done 'T is true indeed we fear the rod we dread every suffering so that we are ready to buy it off with the foulest sin but we fear not him that hath appointed it but by a wretched obstinacy harden our necks against thee and refuse to return And now O God what balm is there in Gilead that can cure us who when thou wouldest heal us will not be healed we know thou hast pronounced that there is no peace to the wicked and how shall we then pray for peace that still retain our wickedness This this O Lord is our sorest disease O Give us Medicines to heal this sickness heal our souls and then we know thou canst soon heal our land Lord thou hast long spoken by thy word to our ears by thy judgments even to all our senses but unless thou speak by thy Spirit to our hearts all other calls will still be uneffectual O send out this voice and that a mighty voice such as may awake us out of this Lethargy thou that didst call Lazarus out of the grave O be pleased to call us who are dead yea putrified in trespasses and sins and make us to awake to righteousness And though O Lord our frequent resistances even of those inward calls have justly provoked thee to give us up to the lusts of our own heart yet O thou boundless ocean of mercy who art good not only beyond what we can deserve but what we can wish do not withdraw the influence of thy grace and take not thy holy spirit from us Thou wert found of those that sought thee not O let that act of mercy be repeated to us who are so desperately yet so insensibly sick that we cannot so much as look after the Physitian and by how much our case is the more dangerous so much the more sovereign remedies do thou apply Lord help us and consider not so much our unworthiness of thy aid as our irremediable ruine if we want it save Lord or we perish eternally To this end dispense to us in our temporal interest what thou seest may best secure our spiritual if a greater degree of outward misery will tend to the curing our inward Lord spare not thy rod but strike yet more sharply cast out this devil though with never so much foaming tearing But if thou seest that some return of mercy may be most likely to melt us O be pleased so far to condescend to our wretchedness as to afford us that and whether by thy sharper or thy gentler methods bring us home to thy self And then O Lord we know thy hand is not shortned that it cannot save when thou hast delivered us from our sins thou canst and wilt deliver
us from our troubles O shew us thy mercy and grant us thy salvation that being redeemed both in our bodies and spirits we may glorifie thee in both in a chearful obedience and praise the Name of our God that hath dealt wonderfully with us through Jesus Christ our Lord. A Prayer for This Church O Thou great God of recompences who turnest a fruitful land into barrenness for the wickedness of them that dwell therein thou hast most justly executed that fatal sentence on this Church which having once been the perfection of beauty the joy of the whole earth is now become a scorn and derision to all that are round about her O Lord what could have been done to thy vineyard that thou hast not done in it and since it hath brought forth nothing but wilde grapes it is perfectly just with thee to take away the hedge thereof and let it be eaten up But O Lord though our iniquities testifie against us yet do thou it for thy Names sake for our backslidings are many we have sinned against thee O the hope of Israel the Saviour thereof in time of trouble why shouldst thou be as a stranger in the land as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night Why shouldst thou be as a man astonied as a mighty man that cannot save Yet thou O Lord art in the midst of us and we are called by thy Name leave us not deprive us of what outward enjoyment thou pleasest take from us the opportunities of our luxury and it may be a mercy but O take not from us the means of our reformation for that is the most direful expression of thy wrath And though we have hated the light because our deeds were evil yet O Lord do not by withdrawing it condemn us to walk on still in darkness but let it continue to shine till it have guided our feet into the way of peace O Lord arise stir up thy strength come help us and deliver not the soul of thy Turtle Dove this disconsolate Church unto the multitude of the enemy but help her O God and that right early But if O Lord our rebellions have so provoked thee that the Ark must wander in the wilderness till all this murmuring generation be consumed yet let not that perish with us but bring it at last into a Canaan and let our more innocent posterity see that which in thy just judgement thou denrest to us In the mean time let us not cease to bewail that desolation our sins have wrought to think upon the stones of Ston and pity to see her in the dust nor ever be ashamed or afraid to own her in her lowest and most persecuted condition but esteem the reproach of Christ greater riches then the treasures of AEgypt and so approve our constancy to this our afflicted Mother that her blessed Lord and Head may own us with mercy when he shall come in the glory of thee his father with the holy Angels Grant this merciful Lord for the same Jesus Christ his sake A Prayer for the Peace of the Church LORD Jesus Christ which of thine Almightiness madest all creatures both visible and invisible which of thy godly wisdome governest and settest all things in most goodly order which of thine unspeakable goodness keepest defendest and furtherest all thing which of thy deep mercy restorest the decayed renewest the fallen raisest the dead vouchsafe we pray thee at last to cast down thy countenance upon thy well beloved Spouse the Church but let it be that amiable and merciful countenance wherewith thou pacifiest all things in heaven in earth and whatsoever is above heaven and under the earth vouchsafe to cast upon us those tender and pitiful eyes with which thou didst once behold Peter that great Shepherd of thy Church and forthwith he remembred himself and repented with which eyes thou once didst view the scattered multitude and wert moved with compassion that for lack of a good Shepherd they wandered as sheep dispersed and strayed a sunder Thou seest O good Shepherd what sundry sorts of Wolves have broken into thy sheep cotes so that if it were possible the very perfect persons should be brought into error thou seest with what winds with what waves with what storms thy silly ship is tosl d thy ship wherein thy little flock is in peril to be drowned And what is now left but that it utterly sink and we all perish Of this tempest and storm we may thank our own wickedness and sinful living we discern it well and confess it we discern thy righteousness and we bewail our unrighteousness but we appeal to thy Mercy which surmounteth all thy works we have now suffered much punishment being scourged with so many wars consumed with such losses of goods shaken with so many floods and yet appears there no where any Haven or Port unto us being thus tired and forlorn among so strange evils but still every day more grievous punishments and more seem to hang over our heads We complain not of thy sharpness most tender Saviour but we discern here also thy mercy forasmuch as much grievouser plagues we have deserved But O most merciful Jesus we beseech thee that thou wilt not consider nor weigh what is due for our deservings but rather what becometh thy mercy without which neither the Angels in heaven can stand sure before thee much less we silly vessels of clay Have mercy on us O Redeemer which art easie to be intreated not that we be worthy of thy mercy but give thou this glory unto thine own Name Suffer not those which either have not known thee or do envy thy glory continually to triumph over us and say Where is their God where is their Redeemer where is their Saviour where is their Bridegroom that they thus boast on These opprobrious words redound unto thee O Lord while by our evils men weigh and esteem thy goodness they think we be forsaken whom they see not amended Once when thou sleptst in the ship and a tempest suddenly arising threatned death to all in the Ship thou awokest at the outcry of a few Disciples and straightway at thine Almighty word the waters couched the winds fell the storm was suddenly turned into a great calm the dumb waters knew their makers voice Now in this far greater tempest wherein not a few mens bodies be in danger but innumerable souls we beseech thee at the cry of thy holy Church which is in danger of drowning that thou wilt awake So many thousands of men do cry Lord save us we perish the tempest is past mans power it is thy word that must do the deed Lord Jesu Only say thou with a word of thy mouth Cease O tempest and forthwith shall the desired calm appear Thou wouldst have spared so many thousands of most wicked men if in the City of Sodom had been found but ten good men Now here be so â—any thousands of men which love the glory of