if you can get time and convenience say them all and I dare assure you that all the three Forms of Prayer which I commend to you will not in all take up a quarter of an hour and certainly that Person has very little sense of his Duty very little concern for his immortal Soul very little Honour for God or value for Heaven who will not spend one quarter of an hour in the space of four and twenty hours in the Service of God and the Salvation of his own Soul I do by all means exhort you to give your Servants a few Minutes leisure at Noon to Pray after your Example and to use your Children to do the same for they will soon be able to say the Lords Prayer and two or three Ejaculations and teach them to say these at Noon as well as at Morning and at Night and 't is incredible to think how much good this Practice will do them and what great comfort you your selves will reap from the early Devotion of your Children To further this Devotion in your Children instead of Idle Tales and Songs which pollute their Souls and when they come to be serious will cost them great pains to unlearn You must teach them short Psalms by heart which will exercise their Memories and Piety both together and as you teach the Psalms to your Children I exhort you to learn them your selves You cannot imagine the great benefit of learning Psalms by heart for when you are under any Temptation or are in any Affliction or when you lye waking in the Night or when you are Sick these Psalms will come into your mind and the Devout repeating them will yield you most seasonable Consolations The very Common People in the first and purest Ages of the Church were so sensible of the Spiritual advantages of learning Psalms that they learn'd the whole Psalter by heart and sang or said the Psalms in their Shops and at the Plow insomuch that St. Iames makes it the proper expression of Christian mirth Iamâ— 5.13 If any be merry let him sâ—â—g Psalms This is the way to store your own and your Childrens minds with Ejaculations or short Prayers for all Occasions which I advise both Old and Young to accustom themselves to because it is the true way of Praying without ceasing and it is a kind of Prayer most easie and may be used at any time of the day or in any place and is one of the most efficacious means in the World to keep us in Gods favour 〈◊〉 is of all things most desirable Ejaculations At going out or coming in Lord bless my going out and my coming in from this time forth for evermore Psal. 121.8 At Meals Lord grant that whether I eat or drink or whatever I do I may do all to thy Glory 1 Cor. 10.31 At Work Prosper thou the work of my hands O Lord O prosper thou my handy work Psal. 90.17 In the Shop or Market Lord give me grace to use this World so as not to abuse it 1 Cor. 7.31 Lord grant that I may never go beyond or defraud my brother in any matter for thou art the Avenger of all such 1 Thess. 4.6 In temptation or danger O God make speed to save me O Lord make haste to help me At any time of the day Wherever I am whatever I do Thou Lord seest me O keep me in thy fear all the day long Prov. 23.17 Lord give me grace to keep always a conscience void of offence towards thee and towards men Acts 24.16 Lord teach me so to number my days that I may apply my heart to Wisdom Psal. 90.12 O let my mouth be filled with thy Praise that I may sing of thy Glory and Honor all the day long Psal. 71.7 All love all glory be to thee O God who didst first love me Unto him that lov'd us and wash'd us from our â—â—ns in his own Blood be glory and dominion for ever and ever Amen Rev. 1.5 O blessed Spirit shed abroad the love of God in my heart Praise the Lord O my soul and all that is within me Praise his holy Name Psal. 103.1 Praise the Lord O my soul while I live will I praise the Lord yea as long as I have any being I will sing Praises unto my God Psal. 146.1 You that have Families I do further exhort that besides your private Prayers you would offer up to God a Morning and Evening Sacrifice in your Families and that every one of you would take up the Holy Resolution of Ioshua As for me and my House we will serve the Lord Iosh. 24.15 And the Prayers I advise you to use are taken out of the Common Prayer as being most familiar and of greatest Authority withall If any of your Family are gone abroad to their Work before the rest can be ready call that little Congregation about you that is at home and you that are present pray for those that are absent and by this means those that are absent upon necessary Employments will share in the blessings for which you pray Morning Prayer for a Family Let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be alway acceptable in thy sight O Lord our Strength and our Redeemer O God the Father of Heaven have mercy upon us miserable sinners O God the Son Redeemer of the World have mercy upon us miserable sinners O God the Holy Ghost proceeding from the Father and the Son have mercy upon us miserable sinners O Holy Blessed and Glorious Trinity three Persons and one God have mercy upon us miserable sinners O Lord we beseech thee mercifully hear our Prayers and spare all those who confess their sins unto thee that they whose consciences by sin are accused by thy merciful pardon may be absolved through Christ our Lord. Amen Almighty God who seest that we have no power of our selves to help our selves we give thee humble thanks for thy preservation of us this day past or this night past and for all the blessings thou daily vouchsafest us and we beseech thee to keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul through Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen Almighty God whose Kingdom is everlasting and power Infinite have mercy upon the whole Church and so rule the heart of thy chosen Servant James our King and Governor that he knowing whose Minister he is may above all things seek thy Honor and Glory and that we and all his Subjects duly considering whose Authority he hath may faithfully serve honor and humbly obey him in thee and for thee according to thy blessed Word and Ordinance through Iesus Christ our Lord who liveth and reigneth ever one God World without end Amen Unto thy gracious mercy and protection O Lord do we commit our selves this day or this night and all our
more than rudely describe it It is the general inclination and tendency of the whole man of all his heart and soul and strength of all his powers and affections and of the utmost strength of them all to God as his chief and onely and perfect and infinite Good Q. Is this love of God taught in the Catechism A. The Catechism having in the entrance of it presented to our choice the happiness of a Christian does throughout all the remaining parts of it instruct us in the duties of a Christian by which that happiness is to be attain'd which are all sum'd up in the love of God which is here most methodically taught Q. In what method does the Catechism teach the love of God A. In a method so excellent and natural that if by God's help I can but faithfully observe it I shall not fail of the love of God Q. Explain this method to me A. It teaches me how the love of God is produc'd how practis'd and how preserved Q. Shew me more distinctly in what parts of the Catechism each of these particulars is coucht A. If I seriously desire the love God I must first expell all contrary loves out of my heart and then consider the motives and causes that excite it the former is taught in the Vow of Baptism the latter in the Creed When divine love is once produc'd my next care is to put it in practice and that is by bringing forth the fruits or effects of Love which are all contain'd in the Ten Commandments When the love of God is produc'd in my heart and is set on work my last concern is to preserve and ensure and quicken it It is preserv'd by Prayer the pattern of which is the Lord's Prayer It is ensured to us by the Sacraments which are the Pledges of Love and more particularly it is quickned by the Holy Eucharist which is the feast of Love So that the plain order of the Catechism teaches me the rise the progress and the perfection of Divine love which God of his great mercy give me grace to follow Q. I beseech God to give you the grace you pray for that you may prosecute this method with your heart as well as with your words A. It is the full purpose of my Soul so to doe and I trust in God I shall doe it Q. You are to begin with the vow you made at your Baptism Tell me What did your Godfathers and Godmothers then for you A. They did promise and vow three things in my name First That I should renounce the Devil and all his works the pomps and vanities of this wicked World and all the sinfull lusts of the flesh Secondly That I should believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith And thirdly That I should keep God's holy Will and Commandments and walk in the same all the days of my life Q. Dost thou not think thou art bound to believe and to doe as they have promised for thee A. Yes verily and by God's help so I will and I heartily thank our Heavenly Father that he hath call'd me to this state of Salvation through Iesus Christ our Saviour And I pray unto God to give me his grace that I may continue in the same unto my lives end Q. The promises of faith and obedience which you made in your baptism will be mention'd in their proper places when you come to the Creed and to the Decalogue that which now lies before you is to shew how your Abrenunciation is preparatory to the love of God A. As all particular graces are but the love of God varied by different instances and relations so all particular sins are nothing but concupiscence or the love of one Creature or other in competition with or opposition to the love of God Now all the Creatures on which we set our love are reducible to these three the Devil the World and the Flesh and my heart must be emptied of these impure Loves before it is capable of entertaining the pure love of God Q. If you are conscious to your self that you have entertained these impure Loves and have violated your baptismal Vow and have in your heart renounc'd God instead of renouncing his Enemies what must you doe to recover that favour of God you have lost and to be deliver'd from the wrath to come A. I must throughly repent of all the breaches of my vow and I must seriously renew it Q. Express your repentance for breaking it A. I express it thus O Lord God with shame and sorrow and confusion of Face I confess and acknowledge thy infinite mercy and goodness to me my infinite vileness and ingratitude to thee Thou Lord infinitely good and gratious wast pleas'd out of thy own free mercy first to love me to excite me to love again glory be to thee Thou Lord didst vouchsafe of a miserable Sinner to make me a Member of my Saviour thy own Child and an Heir of Heaven glory be to thee I infinitely wicked and unworthy have despis'd and rejected and forfeited all the inestimable Blessings to which I was intitled by my Baptism Lord have mercy upon me Woe is me wretch that I am I have cut my self off by my sins from being a true Member of Christ's Mystical Body and from all the gratious influences I might have deriv'd from my union to him Lord have mercy upon me Woe is me wretch that I am I have by my numerous provocations lost that holy Spirit of Adoption whereby I might become thy Child O God and call thee Father and am become a Child of wrath Lord have mercy upon me Woe is me wretch that I am I have by my own willfull impiety disclaimed my being an Inheritour of the Kingdom of Heaven and am become an Heir to the Kingdom of Darkness Lord have mercy upon me Woe is me I have easily yielded to the temptations of Satan and have wrought the works of my Father the Devil Lord have mercy upon me Woe is me I have greedily coveted and pursued the pomps and vanity of this wicked World Lord have mercy upon me Woe is me I have often indulg'd the sinfull lusts of the Flesh Lord have mercy upon me Woe is me I have lov'd all things which thou Lord hatest and am my self become odious in thy sight Lord have mercy upon me Woe is me I have neither believ'd in thee O my God nor obey'd thee nor lov'd thee as I ought and as I solemnly vow'd I would Lord have mercy upon me O Lord God most gratious and reconcileable Pitty and pardon me I lament O Lord God my detestable impiety for having so long and so often and so obstinately offended thee In the bitterness of my Soul O Father of mercy I bewail and abhor my unworthiness and the hardness of my heart that has despis'd the riches of thy goodness and forbearance and long-suffering which should have lead me to repentance O Lord God whatever thou
World Heavenly-mindedness gratious Condescention ardent Zeal for thy Father's Glory and unbounded Love and that for the sake of that dearest Love which inclined thee to become incarnate for me Under Pontius Pilate I believe O my Lord and my God that though thou didst suffer all thy life long yet thy greatest sufferings were under the Roman Governour of Iudea Pontius Pilate I believe all those mighty sufferings but am as little able to express the greatness of them as I am the greatness of thy love which mov'd thee to suffer All I can doe is to love and to praise thee How great were thy sufferings O Saviour of the World when the very apprehension of them made thy Soul very heavy exceeding sorrowfull even to death made thee offer up prayers with strong crying and tears that if it were thy Father's will the Cup might pass from thee threw thee into an agony and bloudy sweat insomuch that there was an Angel sent from Heaven on purpose to strengthen thee O thou agonising Love impress on my heart so tender a sense of thy sufferings for me that I may agonise with thee that I may feel all thy sorrows that though I cannot sweat bloud like thee I may dissolve into tears for thee that I may love and suffer with thee throughout every part of thy Passion O suffering Jesus when my Meditations follow thee from the Garden to Mount Calvary I grieve and I love all the way I grieve and I love when I see thee O Incarnate God who couldst command more than twelve legions of Angels for thy rescue out of love to Sinners and in particular to me one of the vilest of all that number humbling thy self to be apprehended and bound by the rude Souldiers as a Malefactour I grieve and I love when I see thee O gratious Lord for my sake betray'd by the treacherous kiss of Iudas deny'd by Peter and forsaken of all thy Disciples I grieve and I love when I see thee O spotless innocence out of love to me dragg'd to Annas and Caiaphas the High-priest when I see thee accus'd by â—alse Witnesses arraign'd and condemn'd I grieve and I love when I see thee O divine Majesty out of love to me spit upon and blindfolded and buffeted and mockt sent to Pilate an Infidel Judge then to wicked Herod who with his men of war set thee at naught array'd thee in a white Robe of Mockery and sent thee again to Pilate I grieve and I love O injur'd Goodness when I see thee though declar'd innocent by the very Traytour Iudas who out of horrour for his Crime went and hang'd himself though declar'd innocent by Pilate himself the Judge to whom thine Enemies appeal'd yet worried to death by the clamours of the Rabble that cry'd out Crucify Crucify when I see Barabbas a Traytour and a Murtherer preferr'd before thee I grieve and I love when I see thee O lover of Souls for my sake most unjustly given up into the hands of infidel Souldiers to be stript naked and tied to a Pillar and scourg'd to see the Plowers plowing on thy back and making long furrows I grieve and I love O King of Heaven when I see thee out of love to me humbling thy self to be array'd in Purple with a Reed in thy hand when I see thee crown'd with Thorns to multiply thy torments when I see thee mockt by barbarous Wretches with their bended knee and with hail King of the Iews I grieve and I love when I see thee O Lord God whom the Angels worship spit upon again and buffeted and for my sake made the exâ—treme scorn and contempt and sport of thy insolent and insulting Enemies and though still declar'd innocent by Pilate yet surrender'd to the unrelenting Cruelty of the multitude to be crucified My Lord my God my Saviour with all my heart I love and adore thy infinite love and benignity to Sinners with all my heart I lament and detest the hatred and outrage of Sinners to thee Was crucifyed I grieve and I love O sorrowfull Jesus when I see thee for my sake opprest with the weight of thy own Cross till thy tender Body quite spent with sufferings sank under it I grieve and I love O thou great Martyr of Love when for my sake I see thy virgin Body stript naked thy Hands and thy Feet nail'd to the Cross when I see thee crucified between two Thieves and numbred with the Transgressours when I see Gall given thee to eat and Vinegar to drink I grieve and I love when I see thee O incarnate Deity hanging on the Cross and for my sake by thy own People in the height of thy anguish derided reproacht and blasphem'd with wagging of their heads mockt by the Souldiers and by the impenitent Thief I grieve and I love when I see thee O God blessed for evermore O Fountain of all blessing hang bleeding on the Cross and made a curse for me How does my indignation swell against the injustice and ingratitude and inhumanity of the Iews who could thus cruelly treat so unreproachable an Innocence so amiable a Charity so compassionate a Saviour Alas alas it was the Sinner O Love incarnate rather than the Jew that betray'd and derided and blasphemed and tortur'd and crucify'd thee the sins of lapst mankind and particularly my sins they were thy Tormentours and therefore from my heart I bewail detest and abjure them My Lord and my God instill penitential love into my Soul that I may grieve for my sins which griev'd thee that I may love thee for suffering for us Sinners who occasion'd all thy griefs O may I always love thee O may I never grieve thee more Dead I grieve and I love O bleeding Love when I see thee on the Cross quite spent with pain and anguish when I see thee in thy dying pangs commending thy Spirit into the hands of thy heavenly Father bowing thy head and giving up the Ghost Thou O Lord of life didst for us Sinners humble thy self to death even to the death of the Cross a death of utmost shame and ignominy and of torment insupportable all love all glory be to thee Was ever any sorrow O crucify'd Lord like that sorrow my sins created thee Was ever any love O outrag'd Mercy like that love thou didst shew in dying for Sinners All the frame of Nature O dying Saviour fell into convulsions at the crucifixion of their great Creatour The Sun was darkned the veil of the Temple was rent from the top to the bottom the Earth quak't the Rocks clave asunder the Bodies of dead Saints rose out of their Graves insomuch that the Centurion and infidel Souldiers acknowledg'd thee to be the Son of God thou wast lovely and glorious and adorable in thy lowest humiliation all love all praise be to thee Thy
bodily Sufferings O almighty Love were intolerable but yet thy inward were far greater I grieve I love I melt all o'er when I hear thee on the Cross crying out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Ah sinfull Wretch that I am how infinite and unconceivable were the inward Dolours and Agonies thou didst undergo for us Sinners when thou didst tread the Winepress of thy Father's wrath alone when it pleas'd thy own most beloved Father to bruise thee and to put thee to grief when the iniquities of the whole World were laid on thee and my numerous sins increast thy load and heightned thy torment when thy own Deity withdrew all consolation from thee when God offended by our sins did afflict thee in the day of his fierce anger no sufferings no love was ever like unto thine for me no grief no love but thy own should exceed mine for thee For whom O unutterable goodness didst thou suffer the extreme bitterness oâ— sorrow but for the vilest of all thy Creatures sinfull man and for me one of the worst of Sinners and therefore I praise and love thee For what end didst thou suffer O most ardent Charity but to save Sinners from all things that were destructive the Curse of the Law the Terrours of Death the Tyranny of Sin the Powers of Darkness and Torments Eternal to purchase for us all things conducible to our Happiness Pardon and Grace Consolation and Acceptance and the everlasting Joys and Glories of the Kingdom of Heaven and therefore I praise and love thee Out of what motive didst thou suffer O boundless Benignity but out of thy own preventing love free mercy and pure compassion and therefore I praise and love thee When no other Sacrifice could attone thy Father's Anger O thou the beloved Son of God and reconcile Divine Justice and Mercy together but the Sacrifice of God incarnate who as man was to die and to suffer in our stead as God was to merit and make satisfaction for our sins 't was then that thou O God the Son didst become Man the very meanest of Men didst take upon thee the form of a Servant and didst on the Cross shew us the mystery and the Miracle of Love God crucified for Sinners and Sinners redeem'd by the bloud of God O thou propitious Wonder God incarnate on the Cross by what Names shall I adore thee all are too short too scanty to express thee Love onely nothing but Love will reach thee thou art Love O Jesu thou art all love O tenderest O sweetest O purest O dearest Love soften sweeten refine love me into all Love like thee By the love of thy Cross O Jesu I live in that I will onely glory that above all things will I study that before all things will I value by the love of thy Cross I will take up my Cross daily and follow thee I will persecute and torment and crucify my sinfull Affections and Lusts which persecuted tormented and crucify'd thee and if thy love calls me to it I will suffer on the Cross for thee as thou hast done for me How illustrious and amiable were thy Graces amidst all thy Sufferings O thou afflicted Jesu I admire and I love thy profound Humility unwearied Patience Lamb-like Meekness immaculate Innocence invincible Courage absolute Resignation compassionate love of Souls and perfect Charity to thy Enemies O my Love I cannot love thee but I must desire above all things to be like my Beloved O give me grace to tread in thy steps and conform me to thy Divine Image that the more I grow like thee the more I may love thee and the more I may be lov'd by thee And Buried He descended into Hell I believe O crucified Lord that thou wast really dead and that there was a separation of thy Body and Soul That thy side was mortally wounded and pierced with a Spear on the Cross and thy sacred Body was buried to assure us of thy death All love all glory be to thee I believe O pierced O wounded Love that thy Soul in the state of separation did descend into Hell to vanquish Death and all the Spirits of darkness in their own Dominions and therefore I adore and love thee Glory be to thee O thou great Champion of Love who didst for our sakes singly encounter all our ghostly Enemies who didst thy self taste of death that thou mightst take away the sting of death who didst wrestle with principalities and powers and all the force of Hell that we might share in thy Victory for which wonderfull Salvation I will always praise and love thee The third day he rose again from the dead I believe O Almighty Love that according to the Types and Prophecies which went before of thee and according to thy own infallible predictions thou didst by thy own power rise from the dead the third day All love all glory be to thee Glory be to thee who didst lie so long in the Grave to undergo the full condition of the dead and to convince all the world thou wert dead and didst rise so soon that thou mightst not see corruption or retard our joy All love all glory be to thee He ascended into Heaven I believe O Victorious Love that thou after thy conquest over Death and Hell didst ascend in triumph to Heaven that thou mightst prepare Mansions for us and from thencâ— as Conquerour bestow the gifts of thy conquest on us and above all the gift of thy Holy Spirit that thou mightst enter into the Holy of Holies as our great High-priest to present to thy Father the sweet-smelling Sacrifice of his crucified Son the sole propitiation for Sinners and therefore all Love all glory be to thee Glory be to thee O Jesu who didst leave the world and ascend to Heaven about the 33 d year of thy age to teach us in the prime of our years to despise this world when we are best able to enjoy it and to reserve our full vigour for Heaven and for thy Love O thou whom my Soul loveth since thou hast left the world what was there ever in it worthy of our Love O let all my affections ascend after thee and never return to the earth more for whom have I in heaven but thee and there is none â—pon earth that I desire in comparison of thee And sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty I believe O Triumphant Love that thou now sittest in full and peacefull possession of bliss and at the right hand of God that thy humane Nature is exalted to the most honourable place in Heaven where thou sittest on thy throne of glory ador'd by Angels and interceding for Sinners and therefore all love all glory be to thee Glory be
we may all praise and love thee O my God amidst the deplorable divisions of thy Church O let me never widen its breaches but give me catholick Charity to all that are baptis'd in thy Name and catholick Communion with all Christians in desire O deliver me from the Sins and Errours from the Schisms and Heresies of the Age. O give me grace to pray daily for the peace of thy Church and earnestly to seek it and to excite all I can to praise and to love thee I believe O most holy Jesu that thy Saints here below have communion with thy Saints above that they pray for us while we celebrate their memories congratulate their bliss give thanks for their labours of love and imitate their examples for which all love all glory be to thee I believe O gratious Redeemer that thy Saints here on Earth have Communion with the holy Angels above that they are ministring Spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of Salvation and watch over us and we give thanks to thee for their protection and emulate their incessant praises and ready obedience for which all love all glory be to thee I believe O my Lord and my God that the Saints in this life have Communion with the three Persons of the most adorable Trinity in the same most benign influences of love in which all three conspire for which all love all glory be to thee O Father Son and Holy Ghost world without end Glory be to thee O Goodness infinitely diffusive for all the Graces and blessings in which the Saints communicate for breathing thy love as the very Soul into thy mystical Body that all that believe in thee may love one another and all join in loving thee The Forgiveness of Sins I believe O my God that none can forgive Sins but thou alone and that in thy Church forgiveness is always to be had and for so inestimable a blessing all love all glory be to thee I believe O thou lover of Souls that without true repentance we cannot hope for pardon that our repentance is at the best imperfect that it is out of thy mere mercy O heavenly Father and for the merits and passion of thy crucified Son that thou dost accept our imperfect repentance and art pleas'd to forgive us and therefore all love all glory be to thee Glory be to thee O most adorable Trinity for thy infinite love in our forgiveness Glory be to thee O Father forgiving O Son propitiating O Holy Ghost purifying I miserable sinner who sigh and pant and languish for thy forgiveness and to be at peace with thee praise and adore and love that most sweet and liberal and tender and amiable mercy that delights in forgiving sinners The Resurrection of the Body I believe O victorious Jesu that by the virtue of thy Resurrection all the dead shall rise bad as well as good all love all glory be to thee by whom death is swallowed up in victory I believe O Almighty Jesu that by thy power all shall rise with the same bodies they had on earth that thou wilt recollect their scattered dust into the same form again that our Souls shall be re-united to our Bodies that we shall be judged both in Body and Soul for the sins committed by both that the Bodies of the wicked shall be fitted for torment and the Bodies of the Saints chang'd in quality and made glorify'd Bodies immortal and incorruptible fitted for heaven and eternally to love and enjoy thee for which glorious vouchsafement I will always praise and love thee And the Life everlasting I believe O great Judge of Heaven and Earth that after all the Quick and Dead have appear'd before thy Judgment-seat then the most just and unrepealable Sentence shall pass and be executed to all eternity joyfull onely to those that love thee and therefore all love all glory be to thee I believe O righteous Jesu that the wicked shall be set on thy left hand and be damn'd to Hell to be tormented with everlasting and unconceivable anguish and despair by the Devil and his Angels and their own Conscience both in Soul and Body in the lake of fire and brimstone from which there never can be any redemption O just reward of those that do not love thee O mercifull Jesu how desirous art thou that we should be happy in loving thee when thou hast created Hell on purpose to deter us from hating thee and Heaven to compell us to love thee and therefore all love all glory be to thee I believe O my Lord and my God that the righteous shall be rewarded with joys unspeakable and full of glory with the beatifick Vision and love of thy self in Heaven with a happiness of Body and Soul which shall be in all respects most perfect eternal and unchangeable that they shall never sorrow nor sin more which is all the free gift of thy infinite love O heavenly Father and the purchase of thy bloud O God incarnate for which I will ever to the utmost of my power adore and love thee O boundless love when shall I love thee in heaven without either coldness or interruption which alas too often seise me here below When O my God O when shall I have the transporting vision of thy most amiable goodness that I may unalterably love thee that I may never more offend thee O thou whom my Soul loveth I would not desire heaven but because thou art there for thou makest heaven wherever thou art I would not O Jesu desire life everlasting but that I may there everlastingly love thee O inexhaustible love do thou eternally breath love into me that my love to thee may be eternally increasing and tending towards infinity since a love less than infinite is not worthy of thee Amen O thou great authour and finisher of our Faith do thou daily increase my Faith and heighten my love O grant that in holy ardours of love to love crucify'd my love may at last ascend to the region of love that I may have nothing to doe to all eternity but to praise and to love thee Amen O infinite Love Amen Amen This Office may be divided into several parts and used on the Lord's days or on Holy-days especially on the great Festivals of Christmas Easter Pentecost in Lent also and particularly on Good-friday and before the reception of the blessed Sacrament as is most sutable to the occasion or to the state temper and disposition of every devout Soul Q. You said your Godfathers and Godmothers did promise for you that you should keep God's Commandments Tell me how many there be A. Ten. Q. Which be they A. The same which God spake in the twentieth Chapter of Exodus saying I am the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the Land of Egypt out of the House of
Father Almighty though thou fillest all places yet thy Glory is most manifested in Heaven and there thy Majesty does most Illustriously dwell and to thy Throne there are we to lift up our hearts when we Pray O let my soul fly up to thee when I pray in Heavenly Thoughts and Desires and Love O let me savour nothing of the earth whenever I treat with thee in Heaven Glory be to thee O Gratious Lord who in the Petitions of thy most Divine Prayer hast taught us for what we are to Pray for all blessings Temporal and Eternal for all things lawful and acording to thy will Glory be to thee O Jesu who in ranking the Petitions for Spiritual blessings first hast taught us to seek Heaven in the first place grant Lord that I may always beg thy blessings in their due order that I may pray for blessings Spiritual with holy violence with importunity and resolution not to be denyed as being the proper ingredients of thy Love and absolutely necessary to my eternal welfare and for Temporal with Indifference and Resignation to thy will since I may Love thee and be eternally happy without them Hallowed be thy Name O Lord God may Thy Name thy own Glorious and Amiable self have a Love and Honour separate and incommunicable May thy infinite Goodness and Greatness be for ever by all Men and all Angels Confest and Admired and Adored and Magnified both in Private and Publick in our Hearts our Mouths and our Lives All Creatures share in thy Goodness O God O let all Creatures help us to Glorifie thy Name O may every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Thy Kingdom come O thou King of Kings may Thy Kingdom of Grace the Church Militant the Catholick Seminary of Divine Love come to its utmost Evangelical perfection in this life O may thy Gospel Lord be dayly propagated Unbelieving Nations Converted and the number of thy Saints augmented Grant O Lord God that thy true Religion thy Word thy Conveyances of Grace all the Holy Institutions Laws and Governours fixt by thee in thy Spiritual Kingdom may be Loved and Honoured and Obeyed and that thy faithful Subjects may be protected against all the malice of wicked men or the powers of darkness O my God let it be thy good Pleasure to put a period to sin and misery to infirmity and death to compleat the number of thine Elect and to hasten thy Kingdom of Glory that s and all that wait for thy Salvation may in the Church Triumphant eternally Love and I Praise thee Thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven O my God thy Will and thy Commands are most Holy Iust and Good and condescending to our weakness and by no means grievous O give me Grace Conscientiously to observe them Thy blessed Angels O Lord always behold thy Face in Heaven They have the Beatifick Vision of thy incomparable Amiableness they cannot but unalterably choose thee they must needs to their utmost capacity Praise and Love thee they cannot possibly offend thee they ever perfectly obey thee and are always upon the Wing at thy Command Lord give me Grace in imitation of the blessed spirits above to set thee always before me O six my serious Contemplation on thee Ravish my soul with a lively sense of thy infinite Amâ—ableness O vouchsafe me one short glimps of thy Goodness O may I once tast and see how Gratious Thou art that all things besides thee may be tastless to me that my desires may be always flying up towards thee that I may render thee Love and Praise and Obedience Pure and Chearful Constant and Zealous Universal and Uniform like that the Holy Angels render thee in Heaven Give us this day our dayly Bread Glory be to thee O Heavenly Benefactor who openest thy hand and fillest all things living with plenteousness O let it be thy good pleasure to give me and all the wait on thy Beneficent Love our food in due season Give us Bread and all that is comprehended by it Health Food Raiment and all the necessaries of Life Give us O Heavenly Father Dayly Bread nothing to gratifie our Luxury but such a competence as thy Divine wisdom sees fittest for us Give us O bountiful Creatour Dayly Bread this day Teach us to live without covetous anxiety for to morrow with a fiducial dependance on thy Fatherly Goodness and to be content and thankful for the present portion thy Love has indulged us O merciful Lord give us Our Bread that which is our own Bread by honest Labour or a lawful Title and grant that we may never eat the Bread of Idleness or of deceit Do Thou Lord Give us our Bread for unless thou givest it we cannot have it and together with our Bread give us thy blessing otherwise our very Bread will not nourish us Above all O Lord God give us the Bread of Life the Bread that came down from Heaven the Body and Blood of thy most Blessed Son to feed our Souls to Life eternal Blessed Jesus O that it might be my meat as it was thine to do the will of thy Heavenly Father And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us For thy own inâ—inite mercies sake and for the Merits of the Son of thy Love Forgive me and all penitent sinners Our trespasses our sins Known or Secret of Omission or Commission which are the vast debts we owe to thy vindictive justice Forgive us O Lord as we forgive all them even our greatest Enemies that tâ—â—esâ—â—ss against us their trespasses which are infinitely inconsiderable in comparison of our trespasses against thee Glory be to thee O Lord who to teach us Charity hast made our forgiveness the condition of obtaining Thine O Easie O Gratious condition of Pardon who would not forgive his Brother a few pence in this Life to have ten Thousand Talents forgiven in the next O let my love Lord learn from thine not only to forgive my Enemies but to be Zealous also to do them good And lead us not into temptation O Lord God thou seest how our Ghostly Enemies the World the Flesh and the Devil are every moment soliciting inticing alluring or tempting us to evil O be merciful to us save and help and deliver us Thou seest O my God how infirm I am and how ready my own deceitful heart is to surrender it self to the Tempter and I know that Satan cannot tempt me without thy permission O lead me not if it be thy good pleasure suffer me not to fall into violent or lasting Temptations that may endanger my perseverance I know O heavenly Father that to be tempted is no sin for thy own beloved Son God incarnate was tempted to the most horrid of all Sins to fall down and worship the very
Saviour Glory be to thee O adorable Jesus who under the outward and visible part the Breâ—d and Wine things obvious and easily prepared both which thou hast commanded to be received dost communicate to our Souls the Mystery of divine Love the inward and invisible Grace thy own most blessed Body and Blood which are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in thy Supâ—eâ— for which all Love all Glory be to thee O God incarnate how thou canst give us thy Flesh to eat and thy Blood to drink How thy Flesh is Meat indeed and thy Blood is Drink indeed How he that eateth thy Flesh and drinketh thy Blood dwelleth in thee and thou in him How he shall live by thee and shall be raised up by thee to Life Eternal How thou who art in Heaven art present on the Altar I can by no means explain but I firmly believe it all because thou hast said it and I firmly rely on thy Love and on thy Omnipotence to make good thy Word though the manner of doing it I cannot comprehend I believe O Crucified Lord that the Bread which we break in the Celebration of the Holy Mysteries is the Communication of thy Body and the Cup of Blessing which we bless is the Communication of thy Blood and that thou dost as effectually and really conveigh thy Body and Blood to our Souls by the Bread and Wine as thou didst thy holy Spirit by thy Breath to thy Disciples for which all Love all Glory be to thee Lord what need I labour in vain to search out the manner of thy mysterious presence in the Sacrament when my Love assures me thou art there All the faithful who approach thee with prepared hearts they well know thou art there they feel the Vertue of Divine Love going out of thee to heal their infirmities and to enflame their affections for which all Love all Glory be to thee O Holy Jesu when at thy Altar I see the Bread broken and the Wine poured out O Teach me to discern thy Body there O let those Sacred and Significant actions create in me a most lively Remembrance of thy Sufferings how thy most blessed Body was scourged and wounded and bruised and tormented how thy most pretious Blood was shed for my sins and set all my powers on work to Love thee and to celebrate thy Love in thus dying for me Glory be to thee O Jesu who didst institute the Holy Eucharist in both Kinds and hast Commanded both to be received both the Bread and the Wine both thy Body broken and thy Blood shed thy Love O Lord has given me both and both are equally Significative and Productive of thy Love I do as much Thirst after the one as I Hunger after the other I equally want both and it would be grievous to my Love to be deprived of either Ah Lord who is there that truely Loves thee when thou givest him two distinct Pledges of thy Love can be content with one only what Lover can endure to have one half of thy Love withheld from him And therefore all Love all Glory be to thee for giving both O my Lord and my God do thou so dispose my heart to be thy Guest at thy Holy Table that I may feel all the sweet influences of Love Crucified the Strengthning and Refreshing of my soul as our Bodies are by the Bread and Wine for which I will ever Adore and Love thee O merciful Jesu let that immortal food which in the Holy Eucharist thou vouchsaâ—est me instil into my weak and languishing soul new supplies of Grace new Life new Love new Vigour and new Resolution that I may never more faint or droop or tire in my duty O Crucified Love raise in me fresh ardours of Love and Consolation that it may be henceforth the greatest torment I can endure ever to offend thee that it may be my greatest delight to please thee O amiable Jesu when I devoutly receive the outward Elements as sure as I receive them I receive thee I receive the Pledges of thy Love to quicken mine O Indulge me though but for a moment one Beatisick foretast of the deliciousness of thy Love that in the strength of that deliciousness I may perseveringly love thee Glory be to thee my Lord and my God who hast now given me an invitation to thy Heavenly Feast All Love all Glory be to thee Lord give me Grace that I may approach thy awful Mystery with Penitential preparation and with a heart sully disposed to love thee O my God my Judge give me Grace I most humbly beseech thee to Eâ—amine my whole life past by the Rule of thy Commandments before I presume to Eat of that Bread and Drink of that Cup give me Grace sadly to reflect on and deplore all my provocations lest coming to the Holy Eucharist impenitent and unprepared I receive Vnworthily and Eat and drink my own damnation O thou Great Searcher of Hearts thou knowest all the Load of Impiety and Guilt under which I lie O Help me so Impartially to Judge and Condemn my self so humbly to Repent and beg Pardon that I may not be Condemned at thy Tribunal when I shall appear there at the last day that I may be set at thy Right Hand amongst thy Lovers Lord give me Grace to search every secret of my Heart to leave no sin if possible unrepented of â—ill my Eyes full of Tears of Love that with those Tears I may lament all the Indignities I have offered thy Love But alas alas after the most strict examinatinon we can make who can number his impieties who can tell how oft he offendeth Lord therefore cleanse me from my secret faults which in general I renounce and bewail O my God thou who alone changest the Heart O be thou pleased to change 〈◊〉 change my aversion to thee into an intire Lâ—ve of thee O give me a filial Repentance that with a Broken and Contrite Heart I may Grieve and Mourn and Repent for all my â—ormâ—r sins and may for ever forsake them and return to my Obedience Let thy Love O my God so perfectly exhaust my soul that I may for the future stedfastly â—urpose to leâ—d a new life that I may renew my Baptismal Vow that I may hereafter live as a sworn Votary to thy Love O Heavenly Father settle in my soul a Livelâ— Faith in thy Mercy through Christ a steddy belief of all thy Love to sinners and an affectionate Reliance on the Merits and Mediation of thy Crucified Son of my being Accepted in the Beloved for whom I will ever Adore and Love thee O my Crucified God thou Soveraign Inflammative of Love let the Remembrance of thy Death set all the powers of my Soul on work that I may desire and pant after thee that I may Admire and Adore thee that I may
and the wants of all faithful People which I 〈◊〉 up in the words of thy own beloved Son Our Father which art in Heaven c. After the like manner you may pray at night Evening Prayer Glory be to thee O Lord for my preservation and for all the Blessings of the day past for which all love all praise be to thee Father forgive me all the sins I have this day committed either in thought or word or deed either against thee or against my neighbor for the sake of Iesus my Saviour Amen Amen It grieves me O merciful God that I should daily offend thee But I repent O pitty and pardon me for the sake of Iesus thy Beloved Amen Amen O my God keep and protect and bless me this night and preserve me from sin and danger for the sake of Iesus Amen Amen Lord refresh me this night with seasonable sleep that I may rise the next morning more fit and able to serve thee in my Calling for the sake of Iesus thy Beloved Amen Amen I believe in God the Father c. All love all glory be to thee our God the Father who c. as in the Morning I desire thee O Lord God O Heavenly Father who art the Giver of all goodness to send thy Grace unto me and to my Wife and Children to my Husband and Children Father and Mother Brethren and Sisters Kindred and Friends Master and Mistris you must name these Relations according as you stand related and to all people that we may worship thee serve thee and obey thee as we ought to do And I pray unto thee that thou would'st send us all things that be needful both for our souls and bodies and that thou wilt be merciful unto us and forgive us our sins and that it will please thee to save and defend us in all dangers ghostly and bodily and that thou wilt keep us from all sin and wickedness and from our ghostly enemy and from everlasting death And this I trust thou wilt do of thy meecy and goodness through our Lord Iesus Christ. Amen Lord so be it Lord hear me help me pardon my failings supply all my wants and the wants of all for whom I pray which I sum up in the words of thy own beloved Son Our Father which art in Heaven c. As you are going to bed say I will lay me down in peace and take my rest for it is thou Lord only that makest me dwell in safety Psal. 4.9 As you began the day so end it with glorifying God and when you are in bed say Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost three Persons and one God blessed for evermore All praise all love be to thee I earnestly beg of God to make you sensible your selves and to give you grace to make your Children and Servants sensible also how Necessary and Happy and Heavenly a Duty Prayer is and how many exceeding great precious Promises God has made to those that devoutly pray to him and if you are thus sensible you will not content your selves with Morning and Evening Prayer onely but you will be desirous if you have Opportunity to retire about Mid-day for a few Minutes that you may imitate the Devotion of Holy David and of Daniel and pray three times a day Dan. 6.10 and that you may not want a help for Noon tide Prayer the Catechism shall supply you Prayer at Noon At evening and at morning and at noon-day will I pray and that instantly Lord hear my voice Psal. 55.19 Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end Amen All love all glory be to thee O God the Father who hast first loved us and hast given thy beloved Son to die for our Sins and to rise again for our Iustification Have mercy upon me O God after thy great goodness according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences Wash me throughly from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin Make me a clean heart O God and renew a right Spirit within me for the sake of Iesus thy Beloved Amen O Lord God who seest I am not able of my self to walk in thy Commandments and to serve thee be pleased to help and strengthen me by thy special Grace that I may daily and sincerely perform my duty towards thee and my duty towards my neighbor for the sake of Iesus my Saviour Amen O my God give me grace to believe in thee and to love thee with all my heart with all my mind with all my soul and with all my strength to worship thee to give thee thanks to put my whole trust in thee to call upon thee to honor thy holy Name and thy Word and to serve thee truly all the days of my life for the sake of Iesus thy Beloved Amen O my God give me grace to love my neighbor as my self to do to all men as I would they should do to me to love honor and succor my Father and Mother this clause must be left out if your Father and Mother be dead to honor and obey the King and all that are put in Authority under him to submit my self to all my Governors Teachers Spiritual Pastors and Masters to order my sâ—â—f lowly and reverently to all my betters to hurt no body by word or deed to be true and just in all my dealing to bear no malice nor hatred in my heart to keep my hands from picking and stealing and my tongue from evil speaking lying and slandering to keep my body in temperance soberness and chastity not to covet or desire other mens goods but to learn and labor truly to get mine own living and to do my duty in that state of life unto which it has pleased thee to call me for the sake of Iesus thy Beloved Amen Lord hear me help me pardon my failings supply all my wants which I sum up in the words of thy Beloved Son Our Father which art in Heaven c. Instead of these two last Prayers you may sometimes say the Ten Commandments which you may turn into a very good Prayer by saying after every one Lord have mercy upon me and incline my heart to keep this Law Where you not onely beg pardon for the sins you have committed against each Commandment but you also beg Grace to keep it At the end of them you may say Lord have mercy upon me and write all these thy Laws in my heart I beseech thee And so conclude with the Lords Prayer Do not think that this Practice of Prayer will be too hard or too long for young persons or for labouring people for if you cannot say them all say as much as you can or if you are at Day Labour or have not time or convenience to say them offer up to God two or three hearty Ejaculations in their place But