O Lord have mercy upon me for my sin is great If every moment we offend thee and can do nothing as we ought then how long must my Accusation be who have so many years repeated so many transgressions How dreadful must the thoughts of the Process of the Day of Judgment be unto me who have been so long an experienced sinner I faint at my own unworthiness and yet otherwise I cannot appear before thee O Lord I have no other qualification for thy mercy but my extream misery I am now brought very low to a vale of misery and tears surrounded with all the Chambers and Instruments of Death This dear Brother just deceased only shews the way that I must soon follow e're long I must repair to the House of mourning I must bid my last farewel to the world but wo and eternal sorrow will be my Portion if I dye in my sins and depart in thy displeasure Therefore out of the abundance of thy love pardon cleanse and reform my poor and sinful Soul send me thy sanctifying thy guiding and supporting Spirit that I may pass safely through the valley of Death in the lively sense of thy mercies and the refreshments of thy love in the hopes of pardon and the expectation of glory O thou ancient of days at whose voice the pillars of Heaven shake and the whole Creation trembles thou art my strength and defence in whom is my sole trust deliver my Soul from death mine eyes from tears and my feet from falling cleanse me from all my iniquities and purge me from my secret sins for Heaven is so holy a place that no impure thing can inhabit there teach me so to number the rest of my days that I may apply my heart unto Wisdom Here length of days is in her right hand and her ways lead to those rivers of joy which are at Gods right hand for evermore O Lord who art touched with a sense of my Infirmities let me not be afraid of the thoughts of Death that King of Terrours but soften its severity by a mild Commission sweeten its bitterness with the most pleasant relishes of joy and immortality My life I had of thee and all the blessings I have enjoyed ever since I came into the World O Lord make me willing to render them back again into thy hands Whom have I in Heaven but thee and I desire no other Saviour but thee Teach me often to meditate on Heaven that I may wish for it of Hell that I may abhorr it of Death that I may expect it and of the Day of Judgment that I may be prepared for it To thy mercy I appeal I fly unto thee for succour my sole dependance is on thy love I fear love reverence and adore thy goodness which is thy glory Blessed is the man whom thou choosest for though he seemeth to decay and perish to be a companion of death though the body wax feeble and impotent yet he lives the life of Faith he lives in the secure Courts of thy protection and the Guardian Angels pitch their Tents round about him Let not this be a short heat and suddain fit of Devotion raised by this late instance of mortality and the amazing thoughts of Death but may these exercises of piety continue and endure to my lives end For I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the Earth and though after my skin worms destroy this body yet in my flesh shall I see God Amen In the Morning before he stirs abroad O Lord God Almighty who makest the out-goings of the Morning and Evening to praise Thee I cannot but reverence and adore thy Divine Majesty for the Blessings of the last Night for my Preservation from all evils both of Body and Soul I laid me down and slept and rose up again for the Lord hath sustained me For I am a weak and aged Creature surrounded with Infirmities of Nature and seldom free from the assault of Temptations night and day Though my Limbs wax stiff and cold yet let my Soul be vigorous and fervent that like Jacob I may seem to wrestle with thee for thou delightest in the earnest and importunate Solicitations of thy people Now I am risen from my place of slumber teach me to look upwards to found my hopes on Thee to fix my eye upon that holy place from whence the day does break Bless me in all my endeavours and duties of this day that in every action I may have a regard to thy glory and the salvation of my own Soul Unto thee O Lord have I cryed and early in the morning shall my Prayer come before thee As long as I live will I magnifie thee on this manner and lift up my hands in thy Name O let me hear of thy loving kindness in the morning betimes for in thee is my trust Shew me the way I should walk in for I lift up my Soul unto thee I desire to dedicate the powers of my Soul the Affections of my heart and the Faculties of my Body to be thy Faithful Loyal and Obedient Servants Extend O merciful Father thy loving kindness over all the World especially this sinful Land of my Nativity Herein bless his most Excellent Majesty his Royal Consort and the Illustrious Prince let the Sons of Violence do them no harm Let Mercy and Truth preserve him and his Throne be establish't for ever before thee O thou who art the wonderful Counsellor and Prince of Peace Be gracious to thine Inheritance for the glory of thy Name let not thine Enemies devour the Church and lay waste her dwelling places Defend it with the Custody of Angels and the Patronage of Kings and Princes that She may flourish under the Beams of thy Favour and Providence take root and spread and fill all Lands that the whole Nation may be blessed with thy health and salvation Bless our Noble Governours under whose care and protection we live and are sustained Let thy Truth and Mercy be ever with them and when they have happily finish't their Course in this Life crown their Wisdom and Fidelity with Immortality and Glory Hear me for all those whom I am obliged to by the bonds of Duty Charity or Affection Pity all those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death preserve them in the midst of an untoward and sinful Generation Avert thy Judgments from us and soften the hearts of all our Enemies O Lord whom my Soul does desire and my Spirit seeks early in the morning How excellent is thy Name in all the World Grant me a pure intention of mind and a stedfast regard of thy glory in all my Actions Create in me sorrow for my sins thankfulness for thy benefits fear of thy Judgments and love of thy mercies that I may have a continual reverence for thy Name and be mindful of thy presence for evermore Every morning I draw nearer the last Stage of my Life therefore
They shall not undertake the following of others mens Causes and Suits nor procure the molestation of trouble or expence of other the Kings Subjects by their suggestions or informations upon pain of paying what Mulct the Master by the Ordinances can impose upon them and abiding the Governours further Censure 21 Junii 1627. All other Duties to be performed after their Admission as daily frequenting the Chappel Reverent behaviour at Prayers Civil fashion of Feeding Cleanly and decent Cloathing Neat and wholsom Lodging Friendly and Brotherly Conversing and Living together shall be referred to the Masters discretion to direct and to the power given him to correct 21 Junii 1627. At an Assembly of the Governours 27 February 1656. It is Ordered That whensoever any Pensioner or poor Man of this Hospital shall with leave or without leave go into the Country and be absent from the Hospital or shall live in or about the City of London Westminster or elsewhere and shall not be Abiding Lodging and Resident at and in the Hospital he shall have no allowance at all in mony or otherwise for his Commons or Diet during any such time as he shall be absent from the Hospital And those that are now absent are at their perils to take notice of this Order and to return home to the Hospital by the Feast of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary now next ensuing Neither shall any Pensioner or poor Man that lodgeth in the Hospital and goeth abroad into the Town be suffered to be out of Commons nor be paid any mony for or in lieu of his Commons but shall take and eat his Commons in kind in the common Dining-Hall of the Hospital according to the Orders of the House and shall carry none of it away uneaten and what he cannot eat there shall be there left and given to the poor women that are appointed to do service in the Hospital And We the Governours do charge the Receiver not to pay any of them any mony or allowance contrary to the intent of this our Order upon pain not to be allowed the same upon his Accompt besides incurring our further Censure Provided always that if any of the said Pensioners shall be sent or go away out of the Hospital upon the Dismission of the House in the Sickness time in respect of the danger of the Plague then in such case during such time of Dismission and Absence he shall have his full Allowance in mony for Commons and Diet as hath been formerly given in such case There are divers other Orders made by the Governours concerning the poor Men and Brothers of this Hospital which are not so proper to be comprehended in this Table but are with these herein mentioned transcribed into a Book remaining in the Vestry whereunto any Pensioner or poor Man of this Hospital may at convenient times repair to see and read for his better knowledge and observation My House shall be called THE HOUSE OF PRAYER Mark 11. â— Spare the People 〈…〉 Let the Priests the Ministers of the Lord Weep between the 〈◊〉 and the Altar and let them say Spare thy People O LORD Ioel. 1.17 London Printed for Henry Bromâ—â— 1677. PRAYERS UPON Several Occasions Fitted for the PRIVATE DEVOTIONS OF THE Ancient Gentlemen IN THE CHARTER-HOVSE c Vpon their Admission into the House O Thou Lord of Hosts and God of Battels The great Preserver of Men I adore reverence and magnifie thy holy Name that after the skirmishes of a tedious and uneasie life I have the blessed Opportunity of retiring and making my peace with thee O God my Life has been a real warfare I have been exposed to the dangers of Night and the discoveries of Day to the fury of unkind Weather and the rage of Enemies but yet thou wast my defence and shield the support of my Soul and my great Deliverer Therefore blessed be the God of Heaven I will take the Cup of Salvation and praise thy glorious Name I will never cease to cry out Holy holy holy Lord God of Hosts Blessed be thy Name for ever and ever O Father who hast looked upon me in the times of hazard and sear mou'd and frame my mind into acknowledgment and thankfulness Thou who art absolute in thy Providence hast wonderfully raised means to succour and relieve thy Servant in danger may thy grace and goodness never forsake me but continue to be my loving God Helper and Saviour unto the worlds end How many are in â—onds and Distress when I am Free and provided for How many are in wars and necessity when I am in peace and encompas't with plenty Though I have justly deserved many years ago to have been cut off from the Land of the Living and by reason of my sins to have been sent early to the House of Mourning yet thou hast drawn out my life to a great length thy mercy has saved and protected me all the time of my Pilgrimage and now I remain as a signal Monument of thy loving kindness O grant that the remainder of my time may be spent in Thanksgiving and Repentance that all the days of my appointed time I may patiently wait until my change come Let my Admission into this Religious house be an Emblem of my Entrance into Heaven above that my Life may be a continual walking with Thee that the main tendency of my thoughts may be heaven-wards and my conversation there also Grant O Lord that my entring into this Society of Grey-hairs below may be an Earnest of my joyning with the Elders that are before thy Throne above That when I first put on these Garments of Charity I may resolve to endeavour that my Soul may be cloathed with humility and gratitude and the robes of Righteousness I am sensible O Lord of the weakness of my Body and the decays of Nature but our Souls are of another frame and complexion Therefore be pleased to quicken and revive my thoughts to awaken the powers faculties of my Soul that the feebleness of my Body may be recompenced with the strength of my mind that the declination of my outward man may be in order to the Ascension of my Soul into the Heaven of Heavens Not long since the sorrows of my heart were enlarged but now thou hast graciously brought me out of all my trouble I have nothing now to do in this place of Retirement but to live well and love thee from whom I receive my daily bread who art the Fountain of all I drink Therefore O my Soul praise that God who is so great a lover of the sons of men Thou hast not dealt so with every man neither have the wicked a desire to praise thee Thou hast plentifully prepared all things for me thy aged and infirm Servant so that I must confess I want nothing but thankfulness to Thee What Reward shall I give unto thee or what Sacrifice shall I pay for all thy benefits Now I am setled in this Religious
place O Lord grant that by my life I may answer the ends of my admission and the purposes of our Noble Founder's Charity Sanctify my memory to treasure up good things purifie my conscience to have peace in thee and reform my will to do thy pleasure Teach me to be humble and meek to be patient full of content and thankfulness for the riches of thy mercy For how poor must that man be who is not content with a God so rich as thou art Let the remainder of my time be spent in the thoughts of eternity and the ravishing joys of another life that while I carry about with me this decay'd and wither'd body which will soon moulder into dust and ashes while I have time and opportunity I may endeavour to live in thy fear that I may dye in thy favour O thou Strength and Redeemer of Israel Amen On the Founder's Day BLessed be thy Name O God and this happy Morn wherein the Foundation of my present Comfort of this Life was laid wherein this Noble Benefaction was given by Thomas Sutton a great Lover of Souls and Bodies who has so plentifully provided for the repair and support of my aged Body and the heavenly entertainment of my Soul O my Soul give thanks unto the Lord for he is good and his mercy endureth for ever This Day let us worship him in the beauty of holiness let us come before his Presence with Thanksgiving and make a joyful noise unto him with Psalms Blow the Trumpet at the time appointed at our Solemn Feast-day Be pleased O Lord to send the Influence of thy Grace upon me that I may answer the intent and purposes of our Noble Founder in my Life and Conversation that my years and department may be exemplary for Piety and Devotion that I may sanctifie this Earth with a blameless and angelick Life and that at my last hour I may be reconciled unto Thee or else all these Benefits will rather become a Curse than a Blessing unto me Teach me O dearest Saviour to live a life worthy of the name I bear as a Member of thy Church worthy of the Blessings I have received of the Food I eat and the Ease I take of the Love my gracious God hath shewed to me and the Glory he has reserved for me I live in the abundance of thy Favours and within the influence of thy Goodness I thank thee O Lord for the fixedness and condition of my Life for many corporal and earthly comforts which I now enjoy nay thy blessings exceed far the number of my sins which are more than the hairs upon my head In this House is God known and his Name is great in our Israel for his mercy reacheth unto the Heavens and his truth unto the Clouds O Lord thou hast brought up my Soul from the grave thou hast kept me alive that I should not go down unto the Pit Thou art my Shepherd and I shall never want yea though I walk through the Valley of the shadow of Death I will fear no evil for thou art with me thy Rod and thy Staff they comfort me This day thou preparedst a full Table for me surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and afterwards I hope to dwell in the House of the Lord for ever When I looked round about and saw no hand to help me thy Providence relieved my fears and all my wants and led me to this Habitation of Comfort When I was weak and stooped for Age thou wast my strength and the lifter up of my head when my eyes waxed dim and I was almost banished from the sense of the pleasures of this life thou didst recompense that loss with the joyful prospect of those Blessings which are in the Kingdom above Though my hands and the Pillars of my House tremble yet I rejoyce because my hope is founded upon the Rock of Ages which cannot be removed but abideth stedfast for ever My Passions decay and all things prove insipid unto me I have but a small relish of mortal Joys because the sense of them is swallowed up in the unexpressible thoughts of Heaven and Happiness what I am capable of partaking of in this life I heartily thank the Great Preserver of Men that he has plenteously afforded it me I had perisht long ago if I had not been sustained by his protecting Hand Therefore will I pour forth his deserved Praises with a joyful and thankful heart hoping in God's due time to sing Eternal Hallelujahs with the Blessed Saints above O thou first born of the Dead put me always in mind of the Resurrection now I am full of years let me be full of Grace and full of Faith I am heartily sensible of all the Miscarriages of a long and sinful Life yet thy mercy is over all thy Works though my Sins are as Scarlet yet thou canst make me all over as white as Snow As I have tasted of thy benefits here so let me partake of thy Salvation hereafter I consult not with Flesh and Blood but rely upon thy Providence desiring thee to bestow upon me Wisdom and Patience and Thanksgiving to know thy Will to suffer what I deserved and to extoll and praise my Guide to everlasting Glory This is the glorious Day of Relief and Consolation therefore from the rising up of the Sun to the going down of the same the Lord's Name be praised The Dead praise not the Lord nor any that go down into the Pit but we that are alive and in health who live in the Enjoyment of his peculiar Blessings will bless the Lord from this time forth for evermore Glory be to God on high on Earth peace and good will towards men Amen Vpon the Decease of a Pensioner O Thou who art the Spring and Original of all Comfort the Hope of them that live and the Resurrection of the Dead Sanctifie this mournful occasion to me thy Servant that I may seasonably prepare for my latter end and wisely provide for the journey to my long Home Spare me a little before I go hence and be no more seen I am daily sensible of the near approaches of death every moment I receive some warnings of mortality and I know within a few days I must depart and render an account of all my life Therefore teach me rightly to state the Accounts of my Soul and to improve the precious minutes of my stay in this life for on the least of them depends Eternity My Soul longeth and waiteth for the living God I desire in thy due time to appear before thy glorious Presence that I may see the good things thou hast laid up in Heaven for them that are thine Confirm my hope and make it perfect until I enjoy the lively Fruits of thy assured Salvation Bear me upon thy saving wings through the miseries of this life and let not the mire and clay wherein I stick fast detain me for ever For thy Names sake
instrument of my eternal Happiness that from this temporal Commemoration I may rise to the blessed Vision of my sweet Redeemer I am now almost in the Suburbs of Death grant that it may be in order to my entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem 't is not long before I shall try the Grand Experiment for now my Pulse beats about threescore and much further the strength of man cannot go Therefore I desire to settle the affairs of my Soul before I go hence and be no more seen I cannot tell whither I shall have another opportunity to partake of thy holy Table Therefore let this present participation of the holy Sacrament be a Seal and Testimony for the Remission of my Sins Though I have not long to live yet I will enter into covenant with my Soul to serve and obey thee to love the Lord my God with all my heart and with all my strength for the Righteousness of thy Testimonies is everlasting give me understanding and I shall live O thou who art the appointed Heir of all things the express Image of thy Fathers Person let thy Grace comfort and refresh me who hunger and thirst after eternal life let my Soul never faint in the Courts of the Lord as long as my heart and my flesh cryeth out for the living God Let Satan never find an opportunity to tempt and ensnare my Soul may I ever be diligent to prevent a surprize and abstain from transgressions lest my portion be among sad and accursed Souls As for me I will call upon God and the Lord shall save me Evening and Morning and at noon day will I pray and cry aloud and he shall hear my voice he hath delivered my Soul in peace from the Battel that was against me therefore I will put my trust in him for ever I confess I have omitted much good and am guilty of many Offences of Ignorance Infirmity and Knowledge therefore thy pardon I still beg and assistance of thy Grace that I may bring forth fruits worthy of Repentance Make thy Church happy in a Moses and Aaron in Nursing Fathers to go in and out before thy people and holy Ministers to stand before thee our God Preserve them from the malice of their Enemies and the strivings of the people let their lips preserve knowledge that we may seek the Law at their mouth Spare thy people bless them in their Souls Bodies and Estates that this Nation may be at length as great an instance of thy mercy as it has been of thy wrath and fury Every one of us more or less has contributed to the vast heap of crying sins yet seeing thou hast graciously afforded us a space for repentance and suspended the dreadful execution let our sorrow procure the continuance of thy Favours that Peace and Plenty may be within our Borders and no Invasion in the Land I thank thee O merciful Father for the freedom of thy Gospel the food of the Word the sweet refreshings of thy Sacraments publick Communions in thy Church and for all the benefits which are enjoyed by the society of Saints and good men Pitty all those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of Death who are not acquainted with thy Name or knowing it are nevertheless carried away by strong delusions into the ways of errour and mischief Bless all the sons and daughters of affliction strengthen them in the hour of tryal that neither the love of this world nor the loss of light neither the fear of death nor the terrors of Hell may make them unwilling to depart this life And now at length I humbly desire thee to give me wisdom to order my life aright from henceforth that I may be wary and circumspect in all my actions a careful and an understanding Hearer of thy Word a constant frequenter of thy Courts sober and temperate exercising my self unto all godliness that my whole Spirit Soul and Body may be kept blameless unto the end Plant in my Soul a deep detestation of all evil that when I see my sins I may also behold my Redeemer Bless this Religious Society the pious and aged Brethren that Peace and Love may endear and unite us all together that we may faithfully communicate heavenly things one to another temper our minds with submission and reverence that we may honour our Governours and pay our just duty to all our Superiours and no way carry our selves insolently to our Inferiours O Father Son and Holy Ghost the Blessed Three in One the All in All accept of these and all my hearty Prayers through Jesus Christ my God and Saviour Amen In the time of Sickness O Thou determiner of my days in whose hands are the Issues of Life and Death behold and pity thy aged and sinful Servant diseased in body and distressed in mind turn thy face unto me send down thine aid to comfort me for I am in pain desolate and poor Speak peace unto my Soul and say thou art my Salvation O dearest Jesus the brightness of thy Fathers Glory dispel these Clouds of Darkness and Despair thou who art the Souls Physician arise with healing under thy wings and shew thy skill in my weakness If it be thy Will and uncontroulable Decree by this thy Chastisement to finish my days draw near to my humble and afflicted Soul support it by thy strength in this day of Trial as I have alwaies endeavoured to live so let me now dye the death of the Righteous diminish the fears of death by the hopes of a blessed life hide not thy face from me in the time of my trouble hold not thy peace at my tears now my Soul cleaveth unto the dust but let the last Minute be the best of all my life Many days have I enjoyed the Comforts of Life in this quiet and Religious Sanctuary and all I ascribe to thy particular mercy and gracious instances of Providence But now my spirits faint my eyes wax dim my hands shake and the pillars of my house tremble now I find the time of my dissolution approaches by the regular Course of Nature therefore what is my Hope O Lord truly my hope and affiance is even in Thee O Lord my heart is smitten down and wither'd like Grass so that I forget to eat bread there is no health in my flesh because of thy displeasure and no rest in my bones by reason of my sin Therefore dear Saviour pardon me forgive me all my sins comfort me in this day of sorrow ease my pains and satisfie my doubts strengthen my hopes and relieve my Soul Thou who are the First-born from the dead the appointed Heir of all things uphold my faint and trembling Soul in the conflict and agony of death that I may utter nothing displeasing to thee O God and give me assurance that my portion shall never be among hopeless and accursed Souls in the Regions of Torment and Despair Welcome blessed Hour the period of my Pilgrimage the term of my