this night and for the time to come give me grace to fly all youthful lusts and to remember Thee my Creatour in the days of my youth Shower down Thy graces and blessings on me and on all my Relations on my Father and Mother on my Brethren and Sisters on all my Friends on all my Governours in this place and on all my Fellow-Scholars and give Thy Angels charge over us to protect us all from sin and danger Lord bless me in my Learning this day that I may every day grow more fit for Thy service O pardon my failings and do more for me then I can ask or think for the merits of Jesus my Saviour in whose holy words I sum up all my wants Our Father which art in heaven c Evening Prayer GLory be to Thee O Lord God for all the blessings I dayly receive from Thee and for Thy particular preservation of me this day O Lord have mercy uâ—on me and forgive whatsoever Thou hast seen amiss in me this day past and for the timk to come give me grace to fly all youthful lusts and to remember Thee my Creatour in the days of my youth Lord receive me and all my Relations and all that belong to this Colledge into Thy gracious protection this night and send me such seasonable rest that I may rise the next morning more fit for thy service Lord hear my prayers and pardon my failings for the merits of my blessed Saviour in whose holy words I sum up all my wants Our Father which art in Heaven c. This good Pbil. is the lowest degree of duty and it should be your dayly endeavour to improve in your devotion as well as in your learning and the more effectually to move you to so happy an improvement I advise you on Sundays and Holy-days attentively to read over this following Meditation and to propose to your self the Holy Child Jesus for your example A Meditation on the Holy â—hild Jesus GLory be to Thee O Lord Jesus Glory be to Thee who when Thou wert twelve years old didst go up to Jerusalem with Thy Parents after the custom of the Feast to eat the Passover and to worship Thy Heavenly Father O blessed Saviour give me grace like Thee to make Religion my first and chiefest care and devoutly to observe all solemn times and all holy Rites which relate to Thy worship Glory be to Thee O Lord Jesus Glory be to Thee who when Thy Parents returned home didst stay behind in Jerusalem and after three days wast found of them in the Temple sitting in the midst of the Doctors both hearing them and asking them questions O blessed Saviour who in Thy very Childhood didst triumph over all the vain delights of youth and wouldst choose no place but the Temple to reside in Mortifie in me all inordinate love of sensual pleasure which may pervert me from my duty raise in me an awful reverence of Thy House an early devotion in my Prayers and a delight in Thy Praises O blessed Jesu who didst choose before all others the company of the Doctors and didst both hcar them and ask them Questions give me grace to abhor all lewd company and all filthy communication give me grace to love wise and sober and profitable and religious conversation and to be diligent and inquisitive after learning and whatsoever is good Glory be to Thee O Lord Jesus Glory be to Thee who when Thy Father and Mother had sought Thee sorrowing didst reply to them How is it that ye sought me wist ye not that I must be about my Fathers business O blessed Jesu who from Thy infancie didst make it Thy whole imployment to do Thy Fathers will kindle in me a forward zeal for Thy Glory that I may consecrate my youth to Thy service and make it the great business of my life to know and fear to love and obey my Heavenly Father Glory be to Thee O Lord Jesus Glory be to Thee who didst at last return home with Thy Parents and wert subject to them O blessed Jesu give me grace to honour my Parents and Governours and readily to obey all their lawful commands Glory be to Thee O Lord Jesus Glory be to Thee who in those tender years wert blessed with such Heavenly wisdom that all that heard Thee were astonished at Thy understanding and answers who didst dayly increase in this Heavenly wisdom and in favour with God and Man O Lord Jesu bless me with all abilities of mind and body that may make me daâ—ly increase in my Learning but above all bless me with Wisdom from above and give me Thy Holy Spirit to assist and enlighten me that as I grow in Age I may dayly grow in Grace and in the knowledge of Thee and in favour with God and Man and every day more and more conformable to Thy Unsinning and Divine example Amen Lord Jesus Amen Directions for those that are more grown in years WHen you have attained to more knowledge and proficiencie in grace and are of an Age capable of receiving the Holy Sacrament God then expects more from you and 't is high time for you good Philotheus to lengthen your prayers and to begin to add some ejaculations over and above such as these are which follow Ejaculations at waking or rising AWake O my Soul and Sing praises to God Glory be to Thee O God for watching over me this night Lord raise me up at the last day to life everlasting Morning Prayer EArly in the morning will I cry unto Thee Lord hear my Prayer Glory be to Thee Lord God Almighty Glory be to Thee for renewing Thy mercies to me every morning Glory be to Thee for refreshing me this night with sleep and for preserving me from the perils of darkness O do away as the night so my transgressions scatter my sins as the Morning Cloud Lord forgive whatever Thou hast seen amiss in me this night my Here if you are conscious to your self of any sin committed in the night confess it O Father of Mercies wash me throughly from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin And let Thy Holy Spirit so prevent and accompany and follow me this day that I may believe in Thee and love Thee and keep Thy Commandments and continue in Thy fear all the day long Lord make me chaste and temperate humble and adviseable diligent in my studies obedient to my Superiours and charitable to all men Lord deliver me from sloth and idleness from youthful lusts and ill company from all dangers bodily and ghostly and give me grace to remember Thee my Creatour in the days of my youth Bless and defend and save the King and all the Royal Family and all Orders of men amongst us Ecclesiastical or Civil Lord give them all grace in their several stations to be instrumental to Thy glory and the publick good Together with them I commend to Thy Divine Providence my Father and Mother my Brethren and Sisters all
Hear the voice of my humble Petition O Lord now I cry unto Thee and lift up my hands towards Thy Mercy Seat Behold Lord I am now about to search into my own heart but alas alas my heart is dâ—ceitful and desperately wicked How can I know it O Thou therefore that searchest the heart and triest the reins Discover to me all the evil and deceits of my own heart that I may confess and bewail and forsake them and obtain mercy Lord hear me Lord help me for the Merits of Jesus my Saviour Amen Amen Rules to be observed in Examination Having prayed for Gods assistance doubt not Phil. but he will vouchsafe it you and to guide you in your examination the better observe these following directions When you examine your self either by the following Catalogue or by that in the Whole Duty of Man or by any other Pause a while on every particular and if you find your self not guilty then say Glory be to Thee O Lord for preserving me from this sin and so go on When your Conscience answers guilty then it will be your best way having said Lord have mercy upon me and forgive me this sin to write down that sin in a Paper that you may have it ready to confess to God when your Examination is done You are to consider Phil. that there are several degrees of young Penitents and some are more some less sinful For instance Some tâ—re are who either through want of conscienâ—ous Parents or through often stiâ—ling good motioâ—s or through Inconstancy or Heedlessness or Unadvisableness or Vitious Company or Ill Nature or Youthful Lusts and the like have been from their Infancy very negligent of Learning or at least of practising their Duty Again Some there are amongst these whose sins are more heinous then ordinary in regard they are accompanied with several aggravations For any sin is Much aggravated if it be committed Knowingly or Deliberately or Frequently More then that if it be committed Obstinately or presumptuously or on slight or no temptations or against Checks of Conscience or against Reproofs or Admonitions or Chastisements or Vows to the contrary but most of all If it be committed so long and so often till it becomes habitual till the sinner does take delight in it or boast of it or make a Mock at it or tempt others also to commit it All these and the like Circumstances do very much heighten the guilt of any sin You may easily from hence guess what progress you have made in wickedness and if you find your self in the number of any of these by all means good Phil. Resolve to repent immediately and to confess your sins with all their aggravations for be sure of this that every other step you run farther from Heaven every other hour you continue longer in a sinful course makes your sins the more hard to be mastered and your repentance the more difficult On the other side some there are though I fear but few who having been brought up in the Nurture and admonition of the Lord have been by the goodness of God secured from violent temptations and enormous sins who have like Josiah while they were yet young sought the Lord and have in a great measure kept their baptismal vow and preserved a sense of their duty Such as these have fewer sins to confess and those sins less aggravated and therefore have greater obligations to Magnifie Gods Mercy then others but if you are in this number have a care of growing careless in your examination or of presuming on your own Innocence for if we say or think we have no sin we miserably deceive our selves O Phil. the best of men God knows have very much evil in them to detest and bewail and have infinite need of a Saviour and therefore let him that standeth take heed lest he fall Whatever you do then be sure to keep your heart with all diligence and to pray for constant supplies of Gods grace for perhaps the Devil defers his tempting you till you are grown up and become your own Master and have not that tenderness of offending or that awe of Parents or Superiors which you now have Be not over scrupulous Phil. either to make your self guilty of more sins then really you are or to reckon up all your infirmities or dayly failings or sins of Omission which would render your Examination endless and impossible but examine your self chiefly about your wilful sins or sins of Commission and know there be many sins even of Commission that you may doubt whether you have committed or no many that you have quite forgot but be not disheartned at it for Holy David hath taught you that a general Confession for such sins is enough when he prays to God to cleanse him from his secret faults That you may gain a true sense of your sins by your examination Labour to imprint in your mind awsul apprehensions of the day of Judgment and of God the great Judge in whose presence you now are and to raise such apprehensions Dwell a while on such Meditations as these Motives to Examination O My soul Thou art now in the Presence of the great Judge of Heaven and Earth before whose dreadful Tribunal thou must certainly appear at the day of Judgment to give a strict account of all thy Actions of every idle word of every evil thought and thy own Conscience will then be thy accuser Think O my Soul think if thou canst what unâ—maginable Horrours will seize an impenitent sinâ—er when the last trump calls him out of his Grave and the Devils begin to drag him to Gods Judgment Seat what would such a Wretch give to purchase one such opportunity of Repentance as God now in great mercy gives thee If ever thou hopest to escape those horrours O my soul Make thy peace with God Judge thy self here lest thou be condemned hereafter The Examination it self I Adjure thee O my soul in the presence of the great Judge who knows all the secrets of thy heart I adjure thee as thou wilt answer before Gods Judgment Seat at the last day to tell me Does not thy dayly experience teach thee that thy whole Nature is corrupt Prone to all that is evil and averse to all that is good How hast thou spent thy time from thy Childhood to this very moment How hast thou kept the solemn Vow of thy Baptism What good duties hast thou Omitted What sins hast thou Committed In particular What sins art thou guilty of more immediately Against God Art thou guilty of Any Infidelity or Atheism Any distrust in or Presumption on or despair of Gods Mercy Art thou guilty of any Wilful Ignorance of God or of any Idolatry in Worshiping any Creature Hast thou loved any thing more then God or feared any one Above him Hast thou been guilty of Hypocrisie in Gods service or of forsaking God and of resorting to the Devil to Witches or Wizards Art thou
time to come Deliver me fâ—om all frowardness and impatience and give me an entire Resignation to Thy divine Will O suffer not the disease to take away my senses and do Thou continually supply my Thoughts with Holy Ejaculations Lord Bless all means that are used for my Recovery and restore me to my Health in Thy good time But if otherwise Thou hast appointed for me Thy blessed will be done O wean my affections from all things below and fill me with ardent des res after Heaven Lord fit me for Thy self and then call me to those joys Unspeakable and full of Glory when Thou pleasest and that for the sake of Thy onely Son Jesus my Saviour In whose Holy Words I sum up all my wants Our Father c. Ejaculations in time of Sickness FAther if it he possible Remove this Cup from me Nevertheless not my Will but Thine â—e done Trouble and heaviness have taken hold on me but my sure Trust is in Thee O Lord Forsake me not O my God when my strength faileth me Haste Thee to help me O Lord God of my salvation Lord teach me so to number my days that I may apply my Heart to wisdom Deal Thou with me O Lord according to Thy Name for sweet is Thy Mercy Lord what is my Hope truly My Hope is even in Thee O my Soul Tarry thou the Lords leisure be strong and He shall comfort thy heart and put thou thy trust in the Lord Into Thy Hands I commend my spirit for Thou hast redeemed me O Lord Thou God of Truth In my Fathers house are many Mansions and Thou Lord Jesus art gone before to prepare a place for uâ— that where Thou art we may be also Lord be merciful to me Miserable siâ—ner O Lord God we must all at the last day appear before Thy Judgment Seat O Cleanse me from my sâ—ns that I may be found blameless at the Coming of the Lord Jesus As the day goeth away and the shadows of the Evening are stretched out so paâ—ieth away my life even like a vapour that appeareth for a little time and vanisheth away Eye hath not seen nor ear heard nor the heart of man conceived the good things which God has laid up for those that love Him Lord do Thou therefore enâ—ame my soul with Thy Love I know Lord that Thy Judgments are right and Thou of very faithfulness hast caused me to be troubled O Heavenly Father my Hope is wholly in Thy Mercy and in the merits and sufferings of my Saviour O for his sake forgive and save me To these and the like Ejaculations Phil. which thou mayest gather thy self thou mayest now and then either read a Psalm your self or have one read to you as particularly the 23. or 25. or 27. or 51. or any other that does best suit with thy Condition I need give you no further directions for the time of sickness because I presume Phil. that when you feel your sickness prevailing on you you will then send for a spiritual guide who will give you more particular Advice and minister to all the necessities of your soul and therefore I shall only add this form of Thanksgiving A Thanksgiving for Recovery GLory be to Thee O Heavenly Father for the sickness Thou hast in mercy sent me Lord the stripes Thou didst lay on me were the stripes of Love Glory be to Thee Before I was troubled I went wrong but now will I keep Thy Word It is good for me that I have been in trouble that I might learn Thy Statutes Glory be to Thee O Lord Glory be to Thee for delivering me from the terrours of death and restoring me to my health again Glory be to Thee I called upon the Lord in my trouble and the Lord heard me at large I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord Praise the Lord therefore O my soul as long as I have my life which at first God gave thee and which he has now restored me I will sing praises unto my God! O Lord God Who hast in Thy tender mercy prolonged my days in this World give me grace to spend that life Thou hast now lengthened in Thy service O give me grace to perform all my Resolutions of new Obedience and so to live in the filial fear of Thee all the Remainder of my time that I may at last die at peace with my self at peace with the whole World and at peace with Thee and that for the sake of Thy well-beloved Son and my Saviour in whose Holy words I sum up all my wants Our Father c. To this you may add if you think fit the 103 Psalm To conclude good Phil. if you have reapt any good from these Prayers and Instructions be sure to give God hearty thanks for it and let this encourage you to make the more frequent use of them and God of his Infinite mercy bless them every day more and more to your growth in grace and to his Own Glory Amen FINIS Eccles. 12. 1. 2 Tim. 2. 22. Psal. 25. 7 1 San. 3. 1. John 13. 23. â—rov 8. 17. 1 King 18 12. 〈◊〉 92. 1. Exâ— 29. 38 Luke 2 41. 2 Tim. 〈◊〉 Psal. 119 â—l 119. 〈◊〉 119. â—sal 121. Psal. 103 Mark 12. 42. Psal. 115. 1. Psal. 14â— Psal. 4â— Psal. 41. 8. Rev. 7. 15 Mark 13 3â— Luâ— 8. 15. Jamâ—s 1. 22. Cor. 11. â—r 17. 9. Chron. 4. 3. Joh. 1. Cor. 10 â—2 Psal. 19. 12. Maâ— 5. 23 Prov. 〈◊〉 8. Psal. 〈◊〉 Job 4. Rom. 7. Psal. 40. 12. Psal. 51. Eph. 4. 22 〈◊〉 6. 〈◊〉 19 〈◊〉 119 Luke 7. 38. Luke 22. 61. â—om 8. â—6 â—sa 26. 〈◊〉 Tim. 2. â—m 6. 1 Co◠〈◊〉 1. â—k 18. â—im 2. â—ke 15. â—n 3. â—n 8. 1 Joh. 〈◊〉 Joh. 〈◊〉 Hos. 1â— Mâ— 1â— 29. 〈◊〉 19 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 11. â—n 5 1 Pet. 4. 19. Psal. 119. 〈◊〉 6. 1 Cor. 10. 〈…〉 〈…〉 〈…〉 5. Isa 53. John 6. 52. 1 Câ—r 11. Lukâ— 16. Joâ—n 〈◊〉 Chron. â—9 â—hil 4. Psal. 73. â—sal 〈◊〉 1 Cor. 〈◊〉 Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pâ—l 3â— Heb. 10. 10. â—v 1. â—al 31. Acts 20. 1 â—t 1â— 12. Ephâ—s 10. 1 Cor. 1â— Rev. 4. 8. Neh. 9. 6. Acts 14. 1 Timâ— Acts 10. â—an 6. 〈◊〉 â—al 55. 〈◊〉 2 Cor. 8. 12. 〈◊〉 12. 〈◊〉 40. â—b 2. 20 4. 15. Psâ—l 42. 1 Câ—r 1â— Maâ— Psal. Psal. â—sal Joâ— Jâ— Jâ— 1 〈◊〉 â—al 119 â—l 119 â—l 118
that your heart is little affected with it and that you fall very much short of the Rules here laid down and therefore are ready to Conclude that all you have done is in vain and displeasing to God Be not disheartned at this Phil. 't is a good sign to be so much grieved for your failings in your duty 't is an argument of a filial tenderness and desire to serve God better that your spirit is willing though your flesh is weak and if you still continue your endeavours and prayers pâ—tiently relying on Gods infinite goodness and on his gracious promises of Hearing you He will assuredly Hear you in His good time Know good Phil. that this is the case of thousands as well as of your self the very best of Christians sigh under the pervcrsness and impotence of their corrupt nature and even the Just man falls seven times a day through sins of Ignorance or Infirmity or sudden surreption or inadvertency or the like though it is true he riseth again by an Habitual repentance and therefore be not discouraged but dayly beg pardon for your daily failings To ease you in such indispositions or when you are also streightned in time or diverted by any Unavoidable avocations I advise you to shorten your prayers and for the longer Morning and Evening prayer say the shorter and as for the other parts of Devotion throughout this whole Manual they are cut into so many breaks and divisions on purpose that you may lengthen or shorten your prayers as may best comply with your Occasions and Infirmities Onely let me warn you seriously that under colour of Indulging your infirmities you dò not indulge your sloth Be not then afflicted good Phil. if you cannot come up exactly to the Rules here given you Believe me it was never imagined you would it was onely hoped that you would endeavour it and know that it is a great errour of many devout souls to think all they do signifies nothing because they fall short of the Rules laid down in their Books of Devotion little considering that 't is Sincerity God requires of us and not perfection for if there be a willing mind in us it is accepted according to that which a man hath and not according to that a man hath not so that your Infirmities ought to humble but not to discourage you For instance Suppose you should not be able after all your endeavours and prayers to shed any or but few tears for your sins Be not too much cast down at it for to be troubled for want of tears is one sign of godly sorrow and 't is certain though tears are very desirable yet they are not always signs of true Repentance for Hypocrites may shed them and there may be true godly sorrow without them and perhaps God will at last give them to you when his wisdom sees your Heart in a fit temper for them Whensoever then you are troubled with an afflicting sense of your infirmities and for your many failings I advise you to say this Prayer following and to rest satisfied that He that died for you will both hear and accept and succour you A Prayer against Failings O Thou Compassionate Saviour of sinful man look down from Heaven and have mercy upon me wretched sinner O save me O help me for without Thee I can do Nothing as I ought Miserable man that I am my very Prayers and Repentance are accompanied with so many failings that I am sometimes afraid that Thou Lord wilt not hear such Prayers nor regard such Repentance But O Blessed Saviour my Lord and my God 't is Thy promise not to discourage the least measure of grace Thou wilt not quench the smoaking Flax or break the bruised Reed 'T is Thy practice Lord to comply with the weakness of Thy servants Thou arâ— the good Shepherd who carriest the tender Lambs in Thy very bosome and gently leadest those that be with young Nay Lord 'T is Thy very Nature so to do for Thou Thy self hast felt humane infirmities and canst not but commiserate those that sigh under them Why art thou then so heavy O my Soul and why art thou so disquieted within me O put thy trust in thy Saviour who is the help of my Countenance and my God! O gracious Lord do Thou Pity me and Accept my weak and imperfect performances and supply by Thy boundless mercy all the defects in my duty and if it be Thy pleasure I should serve Thee better O Lord God increase Thy succours of Grace and I shall then increase my obedience O Thou lover of Souls for the sake of that infinite Compassion of Tâ—ine which moved Thee to die for me Hear me and Help me Amen Lord Jesus Amen Amen Directions in time of Sicknâ—ss FAr be it from you good Phil. to Counterfeit your self sick at any time to avoid the School or the like Lest God send you sickness indeed to punish your Idleness and dissimulation But if it please God to visit you with a real disease let it be your first care to make your peace with Heaven for God by taking you off from your usual Studies does give you a Call to Repentance and the exâ—mination of your self in the beginning of your sickness is as seasonable and necessary as before your Communicating besides if your sickness prove dangerous you will then I doubt not desire to Communicate so that to fit you both for the Holy Sacrament and for Heaven examination and Repentance ought to be first in your thoughts Beware Phil. of deferring this duty because you are young and think you may have time enough to repent Hereafter for you see that persons younger then your self die and you are not sure to out-live this distemper and if you should put it off till your sickness grows more on you it may perhaps take away your senses or if it does not be sure it will much more indispose you to Prayer and Recollection In the beginning then of your sickness begin your Repentance and say over this following Prayer and do not only say but practise it A Prayer in the beginning of Sickness O Heavenly Father who in Thy wisdom knowest what is best for me Glory be to Thee Lord if it seem good in Thy sight divert this distemper from me which I now feel seizing on me that I may imploy my health to Thy Glory and Praise Thy Name But if Thou art pleased it should grow on me I willingly submit to Thy affâ—icting hand for Thou art wont to chastise those whom Thou dost love and I am sure Thou wilt lay no more on me then Thou wilt enable me to bear I know O my God Thou sendest this sickness on me for my Good even to Humble and reform me O grant that it may work that saving effect in me Lord crâ—ate in me a true Penitent sorrow for all my sins past A stedfast Faith in Thee and sincere resolutions of amendment for the