of danger thou hast not the less but the greater cause to magnify God who hath by his protection so guarded thee that not so much as the fear of evil hatâ— assaulted thee And therefore omit not to pay him the tribute of humble thankfulness as well for his usual and daily preservations as his more extraordinary deliverances And above all endeavour still by the considerations of his mercies to have thy heart the more closely knit to him remembring that every favour received from him is a new engagement upon thee to love and obey him PRAYERS for NIGHT. O Holy blessed and glorious Trinity three persons and one God have mercy upon me a miserable sinner Lord I know not what to pray for as I ought O let thy Spirit help my infirmities and enable me to offer up a spiritual Sacrifice acceptable unto thee by Jesus Christ. A CONFESSION O MOST Holy Lord God who are of purer eyes then to behold iniquity now shall I abominable wretch dare to appear before thee who am nothing but pollution I am defiled in my very nature having a backwardness to all good and a readiness to all evil but I have defiled my self yet much worse by my own actual sins and wicked customes I have transgrest my duty to thee my neighbour and my self and that both in thought in word in deed by doing those things which thou hast expresly forbidden and by neglecting to do those things thou hast commanded me And this not onely through ignorance and frailty but knowingly and wilfully against the motions of thy Spirit and the checks of my own conscience to the contrary And to make all these out of measure sinful I have gone on in a daily course of repeating these provocations against thee notwithstanding all thy calls to and my own purposes and â—owes of amendmeut yea this very day I have not ceased to add new sins to all my former guilts Here name the Particulars And now O Lord what shall I say or how shall I open my mouth seeing I have done these things I know that the wages of these sins is death but O thou who willest not the death of a sinner have mercy upon me work in me I beseech thee a sincere contrition and a perfect hatred of my sins and let me not daily confess and yet as daily renew them but grant O Lord that from this instant I may give a bill of divorce to all my most beloved â—lusts and then be thou pleased to marry me to thy self in truth in righteousness and holiness And for all my past sins O Lord receive a reconciliation accept of that ransom thy blessed Son hath paid for me and for his sake whom thou hast set forth as a propitiation pardon all my offences and receive me to thy favour And when thou hast thus spoken peace to my soul Lord keep me that I turn not any more to folly but so establish me with thy grace that no temptation of the world the Divel or my own flesh may ever draw me to offend thee that being made free from sin and becoming a servant unto God I may have my fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord. A THANKSGIVING O Thou Father of mercies who art kind even to the unthankful I acknowledg my self to have abundantly experimented that gracious property of thine for notwithstanding my daily provocations against thee thou still heapest mercies and loving kindness upon me All my contempts and despisings of thy spiritual favours have not yet made thee withdraw them but in the riches of thy goodness and long-suffering thou still continuest to me the offers of grace and life in thy Son And all my abuses of thy temporal blessings thou hast not punished with an utter deprivation of them but art still pleased to afford me a liberal portion of them The sins of this day thou hast not repayed as justly thou might'st by sweeping me away with a swift destruction but hast spared and preserved me according to the greatness of thy mercy Here mention the particular mercies of that day What shall I render unto the Lord for all these benefits he hath done unto me Lord let this goodness of thine lead me to repentance and grant that I may not only offer thee thanks and praise but may also order my conversation aright that so I may at the last see the salvation of God through Jesus Christ. Here use the Prayer for Grace and that of Intercession appointed for the Morning For PRESERVATION O Blessed Lord the Keeper of Israel that neither slumbrest nor sleepest be pleased in thy mercy to watch over me this night keep me by thy grace from all works of darkness and defend me by thy power from all dangers grant me moderate and refreshing sleep such as may fit me for the duties of the day following And Lord make me ever mindful of that time when I shall lye down in the dust and because I know neither the day nor the hour of my Masters coming grant me grace that I may be always ready that I may never live in such a state as I shall fear to dye in but that whether I live I may live unto the Lord or whether I dye I may dye unto the Lord so that living and dying I may be thine through Jesus Christ. Vse the same concluding prayer as in the Morning As thou art putting off thy clothes thiâ—k with thy self that the time approaches that thou must put off thy body also and then thy soul must appear naked before Gods judgment feat and therefore thou hadst need be careful to make it so clean and pure by repentance and holiness that he who will not look on iniquity may graciously behold and accept it Let thy bed put thee in mind of thy grave and when thou lyest down say O Blessed Saviour who by thy precious death and burial didst take away the sting of death and power of the grave grant me the joyful fruits of that thy victory and be thou to me in life and death advantage I will lay me down in peace and take my rest for it is thou Lord only that makest me dwell in safety Into thy hands I commend my spirit for thou hast redeemed it O Lord thou God of truth IN the ANCIENT CHURCH there were besides morning and night Four other times every day which were called HOURS OF PRAYER and the zeal of thosâ— first Christians was such as made them constantly observed It would be thought too great a strictness now in this lukewarm age to enjâ—yn the like frequency yet I cannot but mention the example and say that for those who are not by very necessary business prevented it will be but reasonable to imitate it and make up in publick and private those FOUR TIMES of PRAYER besides the OFFICES already set down for MORNING and NIGHT and that none may be to seek how to exer I se their devotions at these
I come before with an importunity and earnestness answerable to those pressing wants I have to be supplied and with such a fixedness and attention of mind as no wandring thoughts may interrupt that I may no more incur the guilt of drawing neer to thee with my lips when my heart is far from thee or have my prayers turned into sin but may so ask that I may receive seek that I may find knock that it may be opened unto me that from praying to thee here I may be translated to the praising thee eternally in thy glory through the merits and intercession of Jesus Christ. For HUMILITY O Thou High and Lofty one that inhabitest Eternity yet art pleased to dwell with the humble spirit pour into my heart I beseech thee that excellent grace of Humility which may utterly work out all those vain conceits I have of my self Lord convince me powerfully of my own wretchedness make me to see that I am miserable and poor and blind and naked and not onely dust but sin that so in all thy dispensations towards me I may lay my hand upon my mouth and heartily acknowledge that I am less then the least of thy mercies and greater then the greatest of thy Judgements And O Lord grant me not onely to walk humbly with my God but even with men also that I may not onely submit my self to thy rebukes but even to those of my fellow Christians and with meekness receive and obey their admonitions And make me so to behave my self towards all that I never do any thing through strife or vain-glory and to that end grant that in lowliness of mind I may esteem every other man better then my self and be willing that others should esteem them so also that I neither nourish any high opinion of my self nor covet one among others but that despising the vain praise of men I may seek that praise which cometh from thee onely That so in stead of those mean servile Arts I have used to recommend me to the esteem of men I may now imploy all my industry and care to approve my self to thee who resistest the proud and giveth grace to the humble grant this O Lord for his sake who humbled himself unto the death of the Corss Jesus Christ. For the FEAR of GOD. O Glorious Majesty who onely art high and to be feared possess my Soul with a Holy awe and reverence of thee that I may give thee the honour due unto thy Name and may bear such a respect to all things which relate to thee that I may never prophane any Holy thing or sacrilegiously invade what thou hast set apart to thy self And O Lord since thou art a God that wilt not clear the guilty let the dread of thy justice make me tremble to provoke thee in any thing O let me not so misplace my fear as to be afraid of a man that shall die and of the Son of mâ—n who shall be made as grass and forget the Lord my Maker But replenish my Soul with that fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom which may be as a bridle to all my brutish appetites and keep me in a constant conformity to thy Holy will Hear me O Lord I beseech thee and put this fear in my heart that I may not depart from thee but may with fear and trembling work out my own Salvation through Jesus Christ. For TRUST on GOD. O Almighty Lord who never failest them that trust on thee give me grace I beseech thee in all my difficulties and distresses to have recourse to thee to rest and depend on thee thou shalt keep him O Lord in perfect peace whose mind is staid on thee O let me alwayes rest on this firm Pillar and never exchange it for the broken reeds of worldly succours suffer not my heart to be overcharged with cares of this life taking thought what I shall eat or drink or wherewithall I shall be clothed but grant that having by honest labour and industry done my part I may cheerfully commit my self to thy providence casting all my care upon thee and being careful for nothing but to be of the number of those whom thou ownest and carest for even such as keep thy Testimonies and think upon thy Commandments to do them That seeking first thy Kingdom and the righteousness thereof all these outward things may be added unto me in such a measure as thy wisdom knowest best for me grant this O Lord for Jesus Christ his sake For THANKFULNES O Most Gracious and Bountiful Lord who fillest all things living with good and expectest no other return but praise and thanksgiving let me O Lord never defraud thee of that so easy tribute but let my heart be ever filled with the sense and my mouth with the acknowledgment of thy mercies It is a joyful and a pleasant thing to be thankful O suffer me not I beseech thee to loose my part in that Divine pleasure but grant that as I daily receive blessings from thee so I may daily from an affectionate and devout heart offer up thanks to thee and grant that not onely my lips but my life may shew forth thy praise by consecrating my self to thy service and walking in Holiness and Righteousness before thee all the dayes of my life through Jesus Christ my Lord and blessed Saviour For CONTRITION O Holy Lord who art a merciful embracer of true penitents but yet a consuming fire towards obstinate sinners how shall I approach thee who have so many provoking sins to inflame thy wrath and â—o little sincere repentance to incline thy mercy O be thou pleased to soften and melt this hard obdurate heart of mine that I may heartily bewail the iniquities of my life strike this rock O Lord that the waters may flow out even flouds of tears of wash my polluted conscience My drowzy Soul hath too long slept securely in sin Lord awake it though it be with thunder and let me rather feel thy terrours then not feel my sin Thou sentest thy blessed Son to heal the broken hearted but Lord what will that avail me if my heart be whole O break it that it may be capable of his healing vertue and grant I beseech thee that having once tasted the bitterness of sin I may flye from it as from the face of a serpent and bring forth fruits of repentance in amendment of life to the praise and glory of thy grace in Jesus Christ our blessed Redeemer For MEEKNES O Blessed Jesu who wert led as a sheep to the slaughter Let I beseech thee that admirable example of Meekness quench in me all sparks of anger and revenge and work in me such a gentleness and calmness of spirit as no provocations may ever be able to disturb Lord grant I may be so far from offering the least injury that I may never return the greatest any otherwise then with prayers and kindness that I who have so many talents to be
whereas now there is a constant diet provided for them every Sunday if we will conscionably imploy it may be a festival day to them may bring them in such spiritual food as may nourish them to eternal life We are not to look on this day with grudging like those in Amos 8. 5. Who ask When will the Sabbath be gone that we may set forth wheat As if that time were utterly lost which were taken from our worldly business But we are to consider it as the gainfullest as tâ—e joyfullest day of the week a day of harvest wherein we are to lay up in store for the whole week nay for our whole lives 19. But besides this of the weekly Lords day there are other times which the Church hath set apart for the remembrance of some special mercies of God such as the Birth and Resurrectoon of Christ the Descent of the Holy Ghost and the like and these dayes we are to keep in that manner which the Church hath ordered to wit in the solemn worship of God and in particular thanksgiving for that special blessing we then remember And surely whoever is truely thankful for those rich mercies cannot think it too much to set apart some few dayes in a year for that purpose But then we are to look that our Feasts be truly spiritual by imploying the day thus holily and not make it an occasion of intemperance and discords as too many do who consider nothing in Christmas and other good times but the good cheers and jollity of them For that is doing despight in stead of honour to Christ who came to bring all purity and soberness in the world and therefore must not have that coming of his remembred in any other manner 20. Other dayes there are also set a part in memory of the Apostles and other Saints wherein we are to give hearty thanks to God for his graces in them particularly that they were made instruments of revealing to us Christ Iesus and the way of salvation as you know the Apostles were by their Preaching throughout the world And then farther we are to meditate on those Examples of holy life they have given us and stir up our selves to the imitation thereof And whoever does uprightly set himself to make these uses of these several holy dayes will have cause by the benefit he shall find from them to thank and not to blame the Church for ordering them 21. Another sort of dayes there are which we are likewise to observe and those are dayes of fasting and humiliation and whatever of this kind the Church injoynes whether constantly at set times of the year or upon any special and more sudden occasion we are to observe in such a manner as she directs that is not only in a bare abstaining from meat which is only the bodies punishment but in afflicting our soules humbling them deeply before God in a hearty confessing and bewailing of our own and the nations sins in earnest Prayers for Gods pardon and forgiveness and for the turning away of those judgments which those sins have called for But above all in turning our selves from our sins loosing the bands of wickedness as Isaiah speaks Chap. 58. 6. And exercising our selves in works of mercy dealing our bread to the hungry and the like as it there followes 22. Fourthly we are to express our reverence to God by honouring his Word and this we must certainly do if we do indeed honour him there being no surer sign of our dispising any person then the setting light by what he sayes to us as on the contrary if we value one every word he speaks will be of weight with us Now this word of God is expresly contained in the holy Scriptures the Old and New Testament where he speaks to us to shew us his Will and our duty And therefore to this Word of his we are to beare a wonderful respect to look upon it as the rules by which we must frame all the actions of our life and to that end to study it much to read in it as often as we can if it may be never to let a day pass us without reading or hearing some part of it read 23. But then that is not all We must not only read but we must mark what we read we must diligently observe what duties there are which God commands us to perform what faults they are which God there charges us not to commit together with the rewards promised to the one and the punishments threatned to the other When we have thus marked we must lay them up in our memory not so loosely and carelesly that they shall presently drop out again but we must so fasten them there by often thinking and meditating on them that we may have them ready for our use Now that use is the directing of our lives and therefore whenever we are tempted to the committing of any evil we are then to call to mind this is the thing which in such a Scripture is forbidden by God and all his vengeances threatned against it and so in like manner when any opportunity is offered us of doing good to remember this is the duty which I was exhorted to in such a Scripture and such glorious rewards promised to the doing of it and by these considerations strengthen our selves for resisting of the evil and performance of the good 24. But besides this of the written Word it hath pleased God to provide yet further for our instruction by his Ministers whose office it is to teach us Gods Will not by saying any thing contrary to the written word for whatsoever is so can never be Gods Will but by explaining it and making it easier to our understandings and then applying it to our particular occasions and exhorting and stirring us up to the practice of it all which is the end at which first their Catechizing and then their preaching aimeth And to this we are to bear also a due respect by giving diligent heed thereto not only being present at Catechizings and Sermons and either sleep out the time or think of somewhat else but carefully marking what is said to us And surely if we did but rightly consider how much it concern us we should conclude it very reasonable for us to do so 25. For First as to that of Catechizing it is the laying the foundation upon which all Christian Practice must be built for that is the teaching us our duty without which it is impossible for us to perform it And though it is true that the Sriptures are the Fountains from whence this knowledg of duty must be fetched yet there are many who are not able to draw it from this fountain themselves and therefore it is absolutely necessary it should be thus brought to them by others 26 This Catechizing is generally look't on as a thing belonging only to the youth and so indeed it ought not because the oldest are not to learn
intreaty no perswasion can prevail with them to make this so reasonable so necessary a change not but that they acknowledge it needful to be done but they are unwilling to do it yet they would enjoy all the pleasures of sin as long as they live and then they hope at their death or some little time before it to do all the business of their Souls But alas Heaven is too high to be thus jumped into the way to it is a long and leasurely ascent which requires time to walk The hazards of such deferring are more largely spoken of in the discourse of Repentance I shall not here repeat them but desire the Reader seriously to lay them to heart and then surely he will think it seasonable counsel that is given by the wise man Ecclus 5. 7. Make no tarrying to turn to the Lord and put not off from day to day PRIVATE DEVOTIONS For Several OCCASIONS London Printed for T. Garthwait at the little North Door of St. Pauls CHRISTIAN READER I Have for the help of thy devotions set down some FORMS of PRIVATE-PRAYER upon several occasions If it be thought an omission that there are none for Families I must answer for my self that it was not from any opinion that God is not as well to be worship'd in the Family as in the Closet but because the providence of God and the Church hath already furnish'd thee for that purpose infinitely beyond what my utmost care could do I mean the PUBLICK LITURGY or COMMON-PRAYER which for all publick addresses to God and such are family-Prayers are so excellent and useful that we may say of it as David did of Goliah's sword 1 Sam. 21. 9. There is none like it DIRECTIONS for the MORNING As soon as ever thou awakest in the morning lift up thy heart to God in this or the like short Prayer LORD As thou hast awaked my body from sleep so by thy grace awaken my soul from sin and make me so to walk before thee this day and all the rest of my life that when the last trumpet shall awake me out of my grave I may rise to the life immortal through Jesus Christ. WHEN thou hast thus begun suffer not without some urgent necessity any worldly thoughts to fill thy mind till thou have also payd thy more solemn devotions to Almighty God and therefore during the time thou art dressing thy self which should be no longer then common decency requires exercise thy mind in some spiritual thoughts As for example Consider to what temptations thy business or company that day are most like to lay thee open and arm thy self with resolutions against them or again consider what occasions of doing service to God or good to thy neighbour are that day most likely to present themselves and resolve to embrace them and also contrive hoâ— thou maist improve them to the uttermost But especially it will be fit for thee to examine whether there have any sin escaped thee since thy last nights examination If after these considerations any farther leisure remain thou maist profitably imploy it in meditating on the general resurrection whereof our rising from our beds is a representation and of that dreadful judgment which shall follow it and then think with thy self in what preparation thou art for it and resolve to husband carefully every minute of thy time towards the fitting thee for that great account As soon as thou art ready retire to some private place and there offer up to God thy Morning Sacrifice of Praise and Prayer PRAYERS for the MORNING At thy first kneeling down say O Holy Blessed and Glorious Trinity three Persons and one God have mercy upon me a miserable sinner Lord I know not what to pray for as I ought O let thy spirit help my infirmities and enable me to offer up a spiritual sacrifice acceptable to thee by Jesus Christ. A THANKSGIVING O Gracious Lord whose mercies endure for ever I thy unworthy servant who have so deeply tasted of them desire to render thee the tribute of my humblest prayses for them In thee O Lord I live and move and have my being thou first madest me to be and then that I might not be miserable but happy thou sentest thy Son out of thy bosome to redeem me from the power of my sins by his grace and from the punishment of them by his blood and by both to bring me to his glory Thou hast by thy mercy caused me to be born within thy peculiar fold the Christian Church where I was early consecrated to thee in Baptism and have been partaker of all those spiritual helps which might aid me to perform that Vow I there made to thee and when by my own willfulnesse or negligence I have failed to do it yet thou in thy manifold mercies hast not forsaken me but hast graciously invited me to repentance afforded me all means both outward and inward for it and with much patience hast attended and not cut me off in the acts of those many damning sins I have committed as I have most justly deserved It is O Lord thy restraining grace alone by which I have been kept back from any the greatest sins and it is thy inciting and assisting grace alone by which I have been enabled to do any the least good therefore not unto me not unto me but unto thy name be the praises For these all other thy spiritual blessings my Soul doth magnify the Lord all that is within me praise his Holy Name I likewise praise thee for those many outward blessings I enjoy as Health Friends Food and Raiment the comforts as well as the necessaries of this life for those continual protections of thy hand by which I and mine are kept from dangers and those gracious deliverances thou hast often afforded out of such as have befallen me and for that mercy of thine whereby thou hast sweetned and alayed those troubles thou hast not seen fit wholy to remove For thy particular preservation of me this night and all other thy goodness towards me Lord grant that I may render thee not onely the fruit of my lips but the obedience of my life that so these blessings here may be an earnest of those richer blessings thou hast prepared for those that love thee and that for his sake whom thou hast made the Authour of eternal Salvation to all that obey him even Jesus Christ. A CONFESSION O Righteous Lord who hatest iniquity I thy sinful creature cast my self at thy feet acknowledging that I most justly deserve to be utterly abhorred and forsaken by thee for I have drunk iniquity like water gone on in a continued course of sin and rebellion against thee daily committing those things thou forbiddest and leaving undone those things thou commandest mine heart which should be an habitation for thy Spirit is become a cage of unclean birds of foul and disordered affections and out of this abundance of the heart my mouth speaketh my
hands act so that in thought word and deed I continually transgress against thee Here mention the greatest of thy sins Nay O Lord I have despised that goodness of thine which should lead me to Repentance hardning my heart against all those means thou hast used for my amendment And now O Lord what can I expect from thee but judgment and fiery indignation that is indeed the due reward of my sins But O Lord there is mercy with thee that thou mayest be feared O fit me for that mercy by giving me a deep and hearty Repentance and then according to thy goodness let thy anger and thy wrath be turned away from me look upon me in thy Son my blessed Saviour and for the merit of his sufferings pardon all my sins And Lord I beseech thee by the power of thy grace so to renew and purify my heart that I may become a new creature utterly forsaking every evil way and living in constant sincere universal obedience to thee all the rest of my dayes that behaving my self as a good and faithful servant I may by thy mercy at last be received into the joy of my Lord grant this for Jesus Christ his sake A PRAYER for GRACE O Most gracious God from whom every good and perfect gift cometh I wretched creature that am not able of my self so much as to think a good thought beseech thee to work in me both to will and to do according to thy good pleasure inlighten my mind that I may know thee and let me not be barren or unfruitful in that knowledg Lord work in my heart a true faith a purifying hope and an unfeigned love towards thee give me a full trust on thee zeal for thee reverence of all things that relate to thee make me fearful to offend thee thankful for thy mercies humble under thy corrections devout in thy service sorrowful for my sins and grant that in all things I may behave my self so as befits a creature to his Creator a servant to his Lord enable me likewise to perform that duty I owe to my self give me that meekness humility and contentedness whereby I may alwayes possess my soul in patience and thankfulness make me diligent in all my duties watchful against all temptations perfectly pure and temperate and so moderate in my most lawful in joyments that they never become a snare to me make me also O Lord to be so affected towards my neighbour that I never transgress that royall Law of thine of loving him as my self grant me exactly to perform all parts of justice yeâ—lding to all whatsoever by any kind of right becomes their due and give me such bowels of mercy compassion that I may never fail to do al acts of charity to all men whether friends or enemies according to thy command and example Finally I beseech thee O Lord to sanctifie me throughout that my whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blamelesse unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory for ever Amen INTERCESSION O Blessed Lord whose mercy is over all thy works I beseech thee to have mercy upon all men and grant that the precious ransome which was paid by thy Son for all may be effectual to the saving of all Give thy inlightning grace to those that are in darkness and thy converting grace to those that are in sin look with thy tenderest compassions upon the Universal Church O be favourable and gracious unto Sion build thou the wals of Jerusalem unite all those that profess thy Name to thee by Purity and Holiness and to each other by Brotherly love Have mercy on this desolate Church and sinful Nation thou hast moved the Land and divided it heal the sores thereof for it shaketh make us so truly to repent of those sins which have provoked thy Judgments that thou also mayest turn and repent and leave a blessing behind thee Bless those whom thou hast appointed our Governours whether in Church or State so rule their hearts and strengthen their hands that they may neither want will nor power to punish wickedness and vice and to maintain Gods true Religion and Vertue Have pity O Lord on all that are in affliction Be a Father to the fatherless and plead the cause of the widow comfort the feeble minded support the weak heal the sick releeve the needy defend the oppressed and administer to every one according to their several necessities let thy blessings rest upon all that are near and dear to me and grant them whatsoever thou seest necessary either to their bodies or their Souls Here name thy neerest Relations Reward all those that have done me good and pardon all those that have done or wisht me evil and work in them and me all that good which may make us acceptable in thy sight through Jesus Christ. For PRESERVATION O Merciful God by whose bounty alone it is that I have this Day added to my life I beseech thee so to guide me in it by thy grace that I may do nothing which may dishonour thee or wound my own Soul but that I may diligently apply my self to do all such good works as thou hast prepared for me to walk in and Lord I beseech thee give thy Angels charge over me to keep me in all my wayes that no evil happen unto me nor any plague come nigh my dwelling but that I and mine may be safe under thy gracious protection through Jesus Christ. O Lord pardon the wandrings and coldness of these petitions and deal with me not according either to my prayers or deserts but according to my needs and thine own rich mercies in Jesus Christ in whose blessed Name and Words I conclude these my imperfect prayers saying Our Father c. DIRECTIONS for NIGHT. AT NIGHT when it drawes towards the time of rest bethink thy self how thou hast passed the day examine thine own heart what sin either of Thought Word or Deed thou hast committed what opportunity of doing good thou hast omitted and whatsoever thou findest to accuse thy self of confess humbly and penitently to God renew thy purposes and resolutions of amendment and beg his pardon in Christ and this not slightly and onely as of course but with all devout earnestness and heartiness as thou wouldst do if thou wert sure thy death were as neer approaching as thy sleep which for ought thou knowest may be so indeed and therefore thou shouldest no more venture to sleep unreconciled to God theâ— thou wouldest dare to die so In the next place consider what special and extraordinary mercies thou hast that day received as if thou hast had any great deliverance either in thy inward man from some dangerous temptations or in thy outward from any great and apparent danger and offer to God thy hearty and devout praise for the same Or if nothing extraordinary have so happened and thou hast been kept even from the approach
that the God of all purity should vouchsafe to unite himself to so polluted a wretch O my God suffer me no more I beseech thee to turn thy grace into wantonness to make thy mercy an occasion of security but let this unspeakable love of thine constrain me to obedience that since my blessed Lord hath died for me I may no longer live unto my self but to him O Lord I know there is no concord between Christ and Belial therefore since he hath now been pleased to enter my heart O let me never permit any lust to chace him thence but let him that hath so dearly bought me still keep possession of me and let nothing ever take me out of his hand To this end be thou graciously pleased to watch over me and defend me from all assaults of my spiritual enemies but especially deliver me from my self from the treachery of my own heart which is too willing to yield it self a prey And where thou seest I am either by nature or custome most weak there do thou I beseech thee magnify thy power in my preservation Here name thy most dangerous temptations And Lord let my Saviours sufferings for my sins and the vowes I have now made against them never depart from my mind but let the remembrance of the one enable me to perform the other that I may never make truce with those lusts which nailed his hands pierced his side and made his Soul heavy to the death But that having now a new listed my self under his banner I may fight manfully and follow the Captain of my Salvation even through a Sea of blood Lord lift up my hands that hang down and my feeble knees that I faint not in this warfare O be thou my strength who am not able of my self to struggle with the slightest temptations How often have I turned my back in the day of battel How many of these sacramental vowes have I violated And Lord I have still the saâ—e unconstant deceitful heart to betray me to the breach of this O thou who art Yea and Amen in whom there is no shadow of change communicate to me I beseech thee such a stability of mind that I may no more thus start aside like a broken bow but that having my heart whole with thee I may continue stedfast in thy Covenant That not one good purpose which thy Spirit hath raised in me this day may vanish as so many have formerly done but that they may bring fâ—rth fruit unto life eternal Grant this O merciful Father through the merits and Mediation of my Crucified Saviour A Prayer of Intercession to be used either before or after the receiving of the Sacrament O MOST Gracious Lord who so tenderly lovedst mankind as to give thy dear Son out of thy bosom to become a propitiation for the sins of the whole world grant that the effect of this Redemption may be as Universal as the design of it that it may be to the Salvation of all O let no person by impenitence and wilful sin forfeit his part in it but by the power of thy grace bring all even the most obstinate sinners to Repentance Inlighten all that sit in darkness all Jewes Turks Infidels and Hereticks take from them all blindness hardness of heart and contempt of thy Word and so fetch them home blessed Lord unto thy fold that they may be saved among the number of the true Israelites And for all those upon whom the Name of thy Son is called grant O Lord that their conversations may be such as becometh the Gospel of Christ that his Name be no longer Blasphemed among the Heathen through us O blessed Lord how long shall Christendom continue the vilest part of the world a sink of all those abominable pollutions which even Barbarians detest O let not our profession and our practice be alwayes at so wide a distance Let not the Disciples of the Holy and Immaculate Jesus be of all others the most profane and impure Let not the subjects of the Prince of Peace be of all others the most contentious and bloody but make us Christians indeed as well as in name that we may walk worthy of that Holy Vocation wherewith we are called and may all with one mind and one mouth glorify thee the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Have mercy on this languishing Church look down from Heaven the Habitation of thy Holiness and of thy glory where is thy Zeal and thy strength the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies towards us Are they restrained Be not wroth very sore O Lord neither remember iniquity for ever but though our backslidings are many and we have grievously rebelled yet according to all thy goodness let thy anger thy sury be turned away cause thy face to shine upon thy Sanctuary which is desolate for the Lords sake and so separate between us and our sins that they may no longer separate between us our God Save and defend all Christian Kings Princes Governours especially those to whom we owe subjection plead thou their cause O Lord against those that strive with them and fight thou against those that fight against them and so guide and assist them in the discharge of that office whereunto thou hast appointed them that under them we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty Bless them that wait at thine Altar open thou their lips that their mouth may shew forth thy praise O let not the lights of the world be put under bushels but place them in their candlesticks that they may give light to all that are in the house Let not Jeroboams Priests profane thy service but let the seed of Aaron still minister before thee And O thou Father of mercies and God of all comfort succour and relieve all that are in affliction deliver the out-cast and poor help them to right that suffer wrong let the sorrowful sighing of the prisoners come before thee and according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to dye grant ease to those that are in pain supplies to those that suffer want give to all presumptuous sinners a sense of their sins and to all dispaâ—ring a sight of thy mercies and do thou O Lord for every one abundantly above what they can ask or think Forgive my enemies persecutors and slanderers and turn their hearts Powre down thy blessings on all my friends and benefactors all who have commended themselves to my Prayer Here thou maist name particular persons And grant O merciful father that through this blood of the crosse we may all be presented pure and unblameable and unreprovable in thy sight That so we may be admitted into that place of purity where no unclean thing can enter there to sing eternal praises to Father Son and holy Ghost for ever A Prayer in times of common Persecution O BLESSED Saviour who hast made the crosse the badg of thy Disciples
there had been none of us alive at this day to implore thy mercy But thou art a gracious God slow to anger and hast proceeded with us with much patience and long suffering thou hast sent thy judgments to awake us to repentance and hast also allowed us space for it But alas we have perverted this mercy of thine beyond all the former we return not to him that smiteth us neither do we seek the Lord we are slidden back by a perpetual backsliding no man repenteth him of his wickedness or saith what have I done 'T is true indeed we fear the rod we dread every suffering so that we are ready to buy it off with the foulest sin but we fear not him that hath appointed it but by a wretched obstinacy harden our necks against thee and refuse to return And now O God what balm is there in Gilead that can cure us who when thou wouldst heal us will not be healed we know thou hast pronounced that there is no peace to the wicked and how shall we then pray for peace that still retain our wickedness ' This this O Lord is our forest disease O give us medicines to heal this sickness heal our souls and then we know thou canst soon heâ—l our land Lord thou hast long spoken by thy word to our ears by thy judgments even to all our senses but unless thou speak by thy Spirit to our hearts all other cals will still be uneffectual O send out this voice and that a mighty voice such as may awake us out of this Lethargy thou that didst call Lazarus out of the grave O be pleased to call us who are dead yea putrified in trespasses and sins and make us to awake to righteousness And though O Lord our frequent resistances even of these inward calls have justly provoked thee to give us up to the lusts of our own heart yet O thou boundless ocean of mercy who art good not only beyond what we can deserve but what we can wish do not withdraw the influence of thy grace and take not thy holy Spirit from us Thou wert found of those that sought thee not O let that act of mercy be repeated to us who are so desperately yet so insensibly sick that we cannot so much as look after the Physician and by how much our case is the more dangerous so much the more soveraign remedies do thou apply Lord help us and consider not so much our unworthiness of thy aid as our irremediable ruine if we want it save Lord or we perish eternally To this end dispense to us in our temporal interest what thou seest may best secure our spiritual if a greater degree of outward misery will tend to the cureing our inward Lord spare not thy rod but strike yet more sharply Cast out this Devil though with never so much foaming and tearing But if thou seest that some return of mercy may be most likely to melt us O be pleased so far to condescend to our wretchedness as to afford us that and whether by thy sharper or thy gentler methods bring us home to thy self And then O Lord we know thy hand is not shortned that it cannot save when thou hast delivered us from our sins thou canst and wilt deliver us from our troubles O shew us thy mercy and grant us thy salvation that being redeemed both in our bodies and spirits we may glorifie thee in both in a cheerful obedience and praise the name of our God that hath dealt wonderfully with us through Jesus Christ our Lord. A Prayer for This Church O Thou great God of recompences who turnest a fruitful land into barrenness for the wickednesse of theâ— that dwel therein thou hast most justly executed that fatal sentence on this Church which having once been the perfection of beauty the joy of the whole earth is now become a scorn and derision to all that are round about her O Lord what could have been done to thy vineyard that thou 〈◊〉 not done in it and since it hath brought forth nothing but wild grapes it is perfectly just with thee to take away the hedg thereof and let it be eaten up But O Lord though our iniquities testifie against us yet do thou it for thy Names sake for our backslidings are many we have sinned against thee O the hope of Israel the Saviour thereof in time of trouble why shouldst thoâ— be as a stranger in the land as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to carry for a night Why shouldst thou be as a man astonied as a mighty man that cannot save Yet thou O Lord art in the midst of us and we are called by thy name leave us not deprive us of what outward enjoyments thou pleasest take from us the opporâ—unities of our Luxury and it may be a mercy but O take not from us the means of our reformation for that is the most direful expression of thy wrath And though we have hated the light because our deeds were evil yet O Lord do not by withdrawing it condemn â—s to walk on still in darkness but let it continue to shine till it have guided our feet into the way of peace O Lord arise stir up thy strength and come and help us and deliver not the soul of thy turtle dove this disconsolate Church unto the multitude of the enemy but help act O God and that right early But if O Lord our rebellions have so provoked thee that the Ark must wander in the wilderness til all this murmuring generation be consumed yet let not that perish with us but bring it at last into a Canaan and let our more innocent posterity see that which in thy just judgment thou denyest to us In the mean time let us not cease to bewail that desolation our sins have wrought to think upon the stones of Sion and pity to see her in the dust nor ever be ashamed or afraid to own her in her lowest and most persecuted condition but esteem the reproach of Christ greater riches then the treasures of Egypt and so approve our constancy to this our afflicted mother that her blessed Lord and head may own us with mercy when he shall come in the glory of thee his father with the holy Angels Grant this merciful Lord for the same Jesus Christ â—is sake A Prayer for the Peace of the Church LOrd Jesus Christ which of thine almightiness madest all creatures both visible and invisible which of thy godly wisdome governest and settest all things in most goodly order which of thine unspeakable goodness keepest defendest and furtherest all things which of thy deep mercy restorest the decayed renewest the fallen raisest the dead vouchsafe we pray thee at last to cast down thy countenance upon thy well-beloved Spouse the Church but let it be that amiable and merciful countenance wherewith thou pacifiest all things in heaven in earth and whatsoever is above heaven and under the earth vouchsafe to cast upon us those tender