my Sin III. O Lord be merciful unto me heal my Soul for I have sinned against thee Call to remembrance O Lord thy tender mercy and thy loving kindness which hath been ever of Old O remember not the Sins of my Youth nor the Offences of riper years but according to thy mercy think thou upon me IV. Cast me not away in the time of Age forsake me not now that my strength faileth me Go not far from me O God my God haste thee to help me Thou O God hast taught me from my youth up until now Forsake me not therefore in my old Age when I am Gray-headed V. The days of our Age are Threescore years and ten and though some be so strong that they come to Fourscore which is a mercy wherewith thou hast Crowned me thy unworthy Servant yet is their strength then but Labour and Sorrow so soon passeth it away and we are gone But Lord suffer me not to go hence in thy Displeasure O suffer not my Sun to go down in thy wrath nor my days to be shut up in the darkness of thine Anger VI. But as thou art pleased to bring me to my Grave in a full Age like as a shock of Corn cometh in his Season so let me be gathered at last like Wheat into thy Heavenly Granary And let mine Age be renewed as the Eagles in thy Kingdom of Glory 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 VII Thou in whose hands are the Keys of the Grave and the issues of Life and Death Thou in whose Power alone it is to kill and to make alive and to bring down to the Grave and to raise up again Thou who hadst Compassion upon Peter's Wives Mother by recovering her out of a Fever Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me whole VIII Thou who didst shew thy mercy to those Daughters of Abraham the Woman that for twelve years together was diseased with an Issue of Blood and another who by the space of eighteen years was so bowed together that she could in no wise lift up her self thou didst loose both these and many more from their long infirmities Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me whole IX Thou who didst restore to Life the young Maiden that was dead Lord if thou wilt thou canst restore me to my Health who am an aged Sinner and a sick feeble Creature Thou canst mitigate my Pains and renew my Strength and lengthen my days For thou makest our Beds in our Sickness and art the Lord of Life and Health and Strength even thou art the Almighty God and the Horn of my Salvation O thou ancient of days X. But Lord as for these outward Blessings I wholly submit my self and them unto thy good Pleasure If it be thy Blessed Will to have the days of my Pilgrimage prolonged upon Earth make me to live always to thy Glory and to my own Souls Comfort as thou dost add days to my years so do thou likewise add Repentance to my days XI But if thou thinkest it more expedient for me that I should die than live then welcome my Death and Dissolution without which there is no entring into Life eternal nor hopes of being with Christ Welcome Jesus who by thy Death hast taken away the Sting of Death Welcome that Cup whereof thou my dear Saviour hast drank before me and which even to the very Dregs thou hast drank off for me XII And therefore I will readily take this Cup of Death which thou hast begun unto me and Praise the Name of the Lord. I will Praise thy Name O sweet Saviour who givest me this Cup of Death the Cup of Salvation I will Praise thy Name who hast born all our Sicknesses for us and all our infirmities XIII I will Praise thy Name who art the Physician of Souls and callest all such unto thee as are weary and heavy Laden that thou mayst refresh them Amongst which great number behold me O Lord thy poor and aged thy weak and sick Servant weary in my Bones and laden with my Sins But Lord I come unto thee in obedience to thy Call and of those that come near unto thee thou castest none out Lord I come unto thee for ease and refreshment XIV O my beloved Saviour Jesus in the midst of the weariness of my Body in the midst of the load and burthen of my Sins in the midst of the Sorrows which are in my Heart O let thy Comforts and Consolations refresh my Soul XV. And when the snares of Death compass me round about let not the Pains of Hell take hold upon me But by all the Merits of thy Nativity Death Resurrection and Ascension I beseech thee to seal unto me in thine own precious Blood and by thy most Holy Spirit the full-Pardon of all my Sins and to admit me who am thy own Purchace to a Participation of thy Glory A Prayer for a Happy End in time of Sickness O Most glorious Jesus Lamb of God Fountain of eternal mercy Life of the Soul and Conqueror over Sin and Death I humbly beseech thee of thy Goodness and Compassion to give me Grace so to employ this transitory Life in vertuous and pious Exercises that when the Day of my Death shall come in the midst of all my Pains of Body I may feel the sweet refreshings of thy Holy Spirit Comforting my Soul and relieving all my spiritual necessities II. Lay no more upon me than thou shalt enable me to bear and let thy gentle Correction in this Life prevent the insupportable Stripes in the World to come give me Patience and Humility and the Grace of Repentance and an absolute renouncing of my self and a Resignation to thy Pleasure and Providence with a Power to perform thy Will in all things and then do what thou pleasest to me only in Health or Sickness in Life or Death let me feel thy Comforts refreshing my Soul and let thy Grace pardon all my Sins Amen Meditation XXIII Thanksgiving for Ease in Sickness or Recovery out of it BLessed by thy Name O Lord for blessing the means which are applyed unto me It is thy hand and the help of thy mercy that thou hast relieved me The Waters of affliction had long since drowned me and the Stream of Death had gone over my Soul if the Spirit of the Lord had not moved upon these Waters and led me forth besides the waters of Comfort II. O spread most gracious God according to thy mercy thy hand upon me for a Covering and also enlarge my Heart with Thanksgivings and fill my Mouth with thy Praise Praise the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me Praise his Holy Name who hath saved thy Life from Destruction and Crowned thee with mercy and loving kindness III. Grant Lord that what thou hast sown in Mercy may spring up in Duty Let my Duty and
Memory as the Christian use of them may prepare thee before Death summon thee and in this vale of Misery fit thee for thy Heavenly Voyage to Eternity IV. And yet whilst I entertain thee with these Precepts I find thy Condition to be dangerous For if thou seriously ponder them in thy mind and lay them home to thy Heart the very thoughts of them cannot chuse but startle thee and if thou neglect them which are so useful for thy Salvation thou wilt stand amazed when they encounter thee The Prayer O Lord remember me in thy Mercy and so prepare my Memory that these four necessary Remembrances may never depart from me Let me be prepar'd for Death before it come that it may never surprize me unprovided whensoever it shall come Let me think of that dreadful day of Judgment and judge my self before I am judged that I may not when I am weighed in the Ballance be found wanting II. Let not me forget there is a Hell for the damned and consider that it is better by timely fearing to avoid it than by never dreaming of it to fall headlong into it Lastly let me think of Heaven that it is the Habitation of the Blessed and that none but those that are of a clean Heart shall dwell in it O cleanse thou my Heart that I may be prepared for it and with piritual Joy be received into it Meditation XII On Death IT is strange that Death should be such a Stranger to thee when he so daily visits thy Neighbours Thou hast been familiarly acquainted with many whose Habitations are not now to be found which have enjoyed the Pleasures of Sin freely others who have inlarged their Barns and Store-houses carefully others who have in a splendid manner arrived to Honours highest Pinacle and could deliver their Commands with Grandeur and Magnificence And now behold All these have endured Death's Arrest and were forced to obey his grim Command II. And now consider having made their Beds in the dark They have left their Houses unto others they are gone unto their Graves and must not return again their Substance they have left unto others and Strangers are become their Heirs They are rooted out from the Face of the Earth and now they consider the Vanity of their Desires How they who laid Land to Land while they were here are now content with a small scantling in their return to their last home III. Poor Shell of Corruption what dost thou think of these things I am certain that great Revenues swelling Honours smiling Pleasures are dangerous and pernicious Eye-sores to a dying Man He looks back upon his Honours and enquires of them if they can relieve him but like false hearted retainers they fly from him and present their Service to another so quickly have they forgot their dying Master IV. He looks back then upon his Revenues those Goods of Fortune his inchested Treasures and asks of them if they cannot Ransome him But alas they have no such Commission they reserve themselves for his Prodigal Successor or succeeding Rioter for they were so poorly used and employed by him that they have quickly forgot their dying Master At last he looks back upon his unhappy Pleasures which now torment him more than ever they did delight him and he would be inform'd of them if they can allay or any ways mitigate his Pain But alas they soon leave him for they find nothing near him that can give them Entertainment V. An easie farewel then have these taken of their dying Master But thou poor Sinner hast no Honours to transport thee no Fortunes to detain thee no Pleasures to ensnare thee For the first the Countenance of Greatness never shone upon thee for the second Worldly Wealth could never yet so burden thee And for the last though thy Youth might affect them the infirmities of Age have now estranged them from thee VI. And yet the voice of Death is more terrible to thee than the loud Report of a roaring Cannon No Note more doleful or Summons more fearful in this thou art in some measure excusable because Death is fearful to all Flesh Plant not thy hopes so upon Earth as if thou intendedst never to go from Earth or to return to it from whence thou wast taken If thou canst find nothing on Earth worthy to entertain thee thou art in the unhappiest Condition that may befall thee VII O think then of that time even now while thou hast time when thy poor languishing Soul finding thy Eyes shut thy Mouth closed and all those Senses of thy Body perished by which she used to pass forth and be delighted in these outward things wherewith she was affected shall return unto her self and seeing her self all alone and naked as one afflicted and affrighted with exceeding Horror shall through Despair fail and fall under her self O whither wilt thou fly in hope of Succour to comfort thy poor Soul in such a time of Danger The Prayer EVen to thee will I fly O God of my Salvation for thou wilt not suffer my Soul to descend to Corruption such is thy loving kindness as thou hast promised to make all my Bed in my Sickness And because nothing is more certain than Death nothing more uncertain than the hour and that the pale Messenger may appear less fearful unto me send thy Holy Spirit to Comfort me that being inwardly armed by thee against the Assaults of Death and fury of my Ghostly Enemy I may fight a good Fight and with Fortitude cry out O Death where is thy Sting O Hell where is thy Victory Meditation XIII Upon Judgment I Tremble to think of that dreadful day and yet know not how to avoid it Judged I must be and who will answer for me An infallible Witness I have within to accuse me Sins of Omission and of Commission to impeach me Sins of Ignorance Knowledge and of Malice to convict me though any one of these were sufficient to condemn me II. But perhaps thou wilt be upon the Enquiry to know for what thou art to be brought to Account for And the occasion of thy appearing before the great Tribunal Seat of Judgment Solomon will furnish thee with a ready Answer and informs thee it is even for all thy Thoughts Words and Works For God will bring every Work into Judgment with every secret thing whether it be Good or whether it be Evil Eccles 12.12 III. And that it may appear that thou shalt be accountable for all these First touching thy Thoughts of these thou shalt be judged For froward Thoughts separate from God Wisd 1. and He shall judge the secrets of Men. Their Conscience also bearing Witness and their Thoughts the mean while accusing or excusing one another Rom. 2.15 IV. Next thou shalt give an Account of all thy Words Of every idle Word that Men shall speak they shall give Account in the Day of Judgment Mat. 12.36 Thirdly thou shalt be accountable for all thy Works For
trembling Heart shall I poor Sinner stand expecting the supream Judge when I shall be banished from that blessed Countrey of Paradise to be devoured in the gaping bottomless Pit where I must never have the Prospect of a Glimpse of light nor feel the least drop of Refreshment but be tormented for Millions of years and so tormented as never to be from thence deliver'd where neither the Tormentors become wearied nor they die who are tormented The Prayer O My dear Lord look upon the price of thine own Blood Thou hast bought me with a great Price O deliver thy Darling from the Power of the Dogs remember me in Mercy whom thou hast bought O let me not go down into the Pit neither let the Deep swallow me up II. For who shall Praise thy Name in the Deep or declare thy Power in the Grave of Silence O thou who art a God of infinite Majesty though the Terrors of Death and Torments of Hell encompass me yet art thou my Saviour my Succour and wilt deliver me and my Soul shall live to Praise thee evermore Meditation XV. Upon Heaven O How should I look up to thee that have so provok'd thee O thou Mansion of the Saints thou Portion of the Just thou City of the great King thou Heavenly and most happy Kingdom where thy blessed Inhabitants are ever living and never dying where thy glorious State is ever flourishing and never declining II. I must Confess to my great Grief and Shame that I have no Interest in thee I have unhappily lost thee in losing my Soul by selling it to Vanity I sometimes resolv'd to Play the part of a wise Merchant and to sell all I had for the purchace of one Pearl But I held the Purchace at too dear a Rate and therefore I have deservingly lost the Jewel III. Foolish Sinner couldst thou find any thing of greater weight to entertain thy best thoughts or bestow thy Care than the Salvation of thy Soul Didst thou think it so easie a Task to get Heaven by an earthly Purchace yet hadst thou but taken half so much Pains to deserve Heaven as thou hast done to win Hell Thou mightest have challenged more Interest to Heaven than now thou canst IV. Many Summer Days and long Winter Nights have thy Follies taken thee up And these seem'd short unto thee because thou tookest delight in those short Pleasures of Vanity but to bestow one short hour upon Devotion how many Distractions did that meet withal and how long and tedious seem'd that hour because the Task was wearisome and thy wandring mind was not inclin'd to so serious a work V. And canst thou now think that so Rich a Kingdom would reserve it self for thee when thou wouldst neither knock to be admitted entrance nor seek after so great a Happiness Health thou art well inform'd comes not from the Clouds without seeking nor Wealth from the Ground without digging and yet Heaven thou thinkest is got by sloth but great Prizes are not so purchased VI. For as the Gate of the Blessed is strait and few there be that enter so are our Tribulations many that we may be of that few which may gain Admittance But I hear thee now cry out as one that had some Sense of his Misery and of the loss he has incurred by Sins committed Thou dost now bewail thy past Follies and correct thy self for so great a neglect thou knowest not how to allay thy Passion till Reason inclines thee to this Meditation VII Miserable Sinner I cannot behold this Earth I tread on without blushing nor can I think upon Death without sorrowing the Day of Judgment without trembling Hell without shaking nor of the Joys of Heaven without Astonishment For Earth I loved it so well as the remembrance of Death became sorrowful For by it I understood I was to be brought to Judgment and from thence having no defensive Answer to be hurried down to the place of torment and consequently to forfeit all my Title and interest in Heaven VIII These Meditations ought to make a deep impression upon our Minds for to acknowledge our Infirmities may make us the speedier look for a Remedy and by degrees find a happy Recovery joyn then all thy Faculties and offer up thy Prayer to the Throne of Grace that God in his Mercy would look upon thee The Prayer GRacious God though I am altogether unworthy to lift up my Eyes unto Heaven or to offer up my Prayers unto thee much less to be heard by thee yet for his Merits and Mercies sake who sitteth at thy right hand and maketh intercession for me reserve a place in thy Heavenly Kingdom for me II. Dear Lord in thy House are many Mansions O bring me thither that I may joyn my voice with those voices of the Angels and sing Praises to thy Holy Name who sittest in the highest Heavens for ever World without end Amen Meditation XVI The remembrance of the four last things reduced to Practice I Find my Soul like a dry ground where no water is and wheresoever I turn my self I find Affliction and Misery on all sides surrounding me What shall I do or where shall I fly When I repose my self from the World in some with-drawing Room intending to forget this lower Orb and prepare my self for the Joys of a better Life while I begin to commune with my own thoughts in the secret Chamber of my Heart I become so affrighted with the Representment of those four last Remembrances as I wholly forget what I intended to speak II. My Tongue begins to cleave to the Roof of my Mouth my Moisture is dryed within me those Active Faculties of my Soul leave me And my understanding departs from me O Death how bitter is the Remembrance of thee with Terror thou summonest me and like a surly Guest thou rushest upon me and resolvest to lodge with me then immediately I feel my self wounded and so mortally as not to be cured III. O how my Divine Eye-sight grows dim my panting Breast beats my hoarse Throat ratleth my Teeth grow black and rusty my Countenance grows pale all my Members stiff every Sense and Faculty fails and my wasted Body threatens a speedy Dissolution yet desires my poor Soul to be a Guest though there is cold Comfort to be found in such a forlorn Inn. IV. But what are all these Terrors of Death to the dreadful Day of Judgment when at the voice of the Arch-Angel and sound of the Trumpet all the little heaps of Dust shall rise where none shall be exempted but all judged How terrible in Majesty will that great Judge appear to such as in this Life would neither be allured by his Promises nor awakened by his Judgments V. How doleful will that Echoing voice sound in their Ear Depart from me I know you not And how ready will that officious Jaylor be upon the delivery of this heavy Sentence to cast them into utter darkness a place of endless Torments where
Returns to thee be so great as my necessities of thy Mercies are O Let thy Grace so strengthen my purposes of amendment that I may sin no more lest thy threatning return upon me in Anger and thy sore Displeasure break me in pieces IV. What am I O Lord what is the Life and what are the Capacities of thy Servant that thou shouldst do thus unto me Praised be the Lord daily even the Lord that helpeth us and poureth his Benefits upon us He is our God even the God from whom cometh Salvation God is the Lord by whom we escape Death V. In the midst of the Sorrows which were in my Heart thy Comforts O Lord have refreshed my Soul It is thou O Lord who hast made my Flesh and my Bones to rejoyce Behold happy is the Man whom God Correcteth therefore despise not the chastising of the Almighty VI. For he maketh sore and bindeth up he woundeth and his hands make whole In the midst of Judgment he remembreth Mercy Lord thou hast lifted up the light of thy Countenance upon me Yea Lord thou hast put gladness into my Heart O be thou pleased graciously to add Thankfulness to it VII I will lay me down in Peace and take my Rest for it is thou Lord only which makest me dwell in safety O Lord I give thee humble and hearty thanks for thy great and almost miraculous bringing me back from the bottom of my Grave what thou hast further for me to do or suffer thou alone knowest VIII Lord give me Patience and Courage and all Christian resolution to do thee Service replenish me evermore with thy Grace to submit to thy Holy Will and let me not live longer than to Honour thee through Jesus Christ Lord I have been sick and feeble and thou hast recovered my strength I am very aged and greatly stricken in years yet thou art still pleased to add unto my days sanctifie therefore good Lord the remainder of my Life and sweeten unto me the approaches of my Death A Prayer of Thanksgiving MOst Gracious God whose mercy is as high as the Heavens and whose truth reaches unto the Clouds thy Mercies are as great and many as the moments of Eternity thou hast opened wide thy hand of Providence to fill me with Blessings and the sweet Effects of thy loving kindness fill my Soul with great apprehensions and impresses of thy unspeakable Mercies that my Thankfulness may be as great as my necessity of Mercies are II. O Lord thou hast heard my Prayers and hast broken in sunder the Bonds of Sickness and hast delivered my Soul from trouble and heaviness thou hast snatched me from the snares of Death and saved me from the Pains of Hell O let my Soul rest in thee and be satisfied in the Pleasures of thy mercy that when thou shalt call all the whole Universe to judgment from the rising of the Sun to the going down thereof I may in thy Heavenly Kingdom sing Praises to thee for evermore Amen Meditation XXIV Comfortable refreshments at the hour of Death to be used by those who are present GOd so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting Life John 3.16 If any Man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the Propitiation for our Sins and not for ours only but for the Sins of the whole World 1 John 2.1 2. II. Verily verily I say unto you he that heareth my Word and believeth in him that sent me hath everlasting Life and shall not come into Condemnation but is passed from Death unto Life John 5.24 All that the Father giveth me shall come unto me and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out John 6.37 III. Why art thou so full of heaviness O my Soul and why art thou so disquieted within me put thy trust in God for I will yet give him thanks for the help of his Countenance Psal 42.6 In my Fathers House are many Mansions John 14.2 What things were Gain to me those I counted loss for Christ Phil. 3.7 IV. For our Conversation is in Heaven from whence also we look for the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ Who shall Change our vile Body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious Body according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself Phil. 3.20 21. I press towards the Mark for the price of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus Phil. 3.14 V. Set your Affections on things above not on things of the Earth For ye are dead and your Life is hid with Christ When Christ who is our Life shall appear then shall ye also appear with him in Glory Colos 3.2.3 In whom we have Redemption through his Blood even the forgiveness of our Sins Col. 1.14 VI. If in this Life only we have hope in Christ we are of all Men most miserable 1 Cor. 15.19 For we know that if our earthly House of this Tabernacle were dissolved we have a building of God an House not made with hands eternal in the Heavens For in this we groan earnestly desiring to be cloathed upon with our House which is from Heaven 2 Cor. 5.1 2. For our light Affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding eternal weight of Glory The things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal 1 Cor. 4.17 18. VII I am in a great Strait betwixt two having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better For to me to live is Christ and to die is Gain Phil. 1.21 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus Phil. 2.5 None of us liveth to himself and no Man dieth to himself For whether we live we live unto the Lord and whether we die we die unto the Lord Whether we live therefore or die we are the Lord's Rom. 14.7 8. VIII I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me write from henceforth Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord even so saith the Spirit for they rest from their Labours Rev. 14.13 I am the Resurrection and the Life saith the Lord He that believeth in me though he were dead yet shall he live and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die John 11. I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the Earth And though after my Skin worms destroy this Body yet in my Flesh shall I see God whom I shall see for my self and my Eyes shall behold and not another Job 19.25 26 27. IX We brought nothing into this World and it is certain we can carry nothing out The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away Blessed be the Name of the Lord 1 Tim. 6.7 Job 1.21 O Death where is thy Sting O Grave where is thy Victory The Sting of Death is Sin
this a desperate Patient The Prayer DO thou therefore O Lord elevate our Souls and withdraw them from these beggerly Elements to purer and more Celestial Addresses Let thy Kingdom be not our refuge only but our Choice and the perfect Resolution of our Souls to despise the Flatteries of the World for that Glory which nothing but our Sins can deprive us of II. And as thou hast made us for thy self O Lord enable us so to continue that as we have received all that we have from thy Bounty we may sacrifice all our Desires to thy Glory knowing that as nothing in this Life can make us Happy without thee so nothing can make him miserable that hath thy Kingdom for his Inheritance Meditation X. Of Man's Original being born to die IT is demonstrably prov'd we must one day die because we did one day begin to live All that is Born of a Woman is both mixt and compounded after the Image of the Woman of whom it is born not only mixt of the four Elements but also compounded of Matter and Form and all things compounded must be dissolved into the very same Principles of which at first they were compos'd II. Hence are those pangs and yerning of the Flesh and the Spirit of the Appetite and the Will of the Law in the Members and the Law in the Mind the one inclining towards Earth from whence 't was taken and the other towards Heaven from whence 't was sent III. The truth of this had been apparent if it had been only taken out of Aristotle's School but we have it confirmed out of Solomon's Porch too for in the day when Man goeth to his Long Home when the Grinders cease and the Windows be darkned and all the Daughters of Musick are brought low when the Silver Cord is once loosed and the Golden Bowl broken so as the Mourners are going about the Streets then the Dust shall return to the Earth as it was and the Spirit shall return to God that gave it Eccles 12.3 4 5 6 7. IV. When God himself was pleased to be born of a Woman he submitted to the Conditions of Mortality and had but a short time to live for he expired by Crucifixion before he was full thirty four years of Age. V. Man hath a short time indeed as he is born of a Woman for he cometh forth as a Flower and as a Flower he is cut down He flyeth also as a shadow and continueth not And therefore Epictetus did fitly argue the very great fickleness and frailty of Worldly things First because they were made and therefore had their beginning next because they are made ours and therefore must have a speedy end VI. For if we will be but so just and so impartial to our selves as to Arraign our Bodies at the Tribunal of our Reason they will be found by Composition no more than well complexion'd Dust Dust thou art said God to Adam Gen. 3.19 Dust and Ashes I am said Abraham to God Gen. 18.27 He knoweth saith the Psalmist Whereof we are made he remembreth we are but Dust Psal 103.14 VII Were it not that the Spirit of Man goeth upward whilst the Spirit of a Beast goeth downward to the Earth there would be no Preheminence of the one over the other for all go unto one place as to the Centre of the Body All are of the Dust and all turn to Dust again Eccles 3.19 20. VIII Which shews the Vanity and Sickness of those Mens Souls who erect such strong and stately Sepulchres for their Bodies for fear the poor Mans Dust should fully their's as if they did not remember that Man is born of a Woman and that his very Foundation is in the Dust Job 4.19 he may have the more Vanity but not the more Understanding for being in Honour and may the sooner be compar'd to the Beasts that perish Psal 49.12 IX The Protoplast was formed of the Dust of the ground Gen. 2.27 and however his Posterity hath been distinguish'd by issuing out from that Fountain through several Chanels yet their Original Extraction must needs be vile if any thing can be vile which is of God's own making for all Men descended out of the very same Eve and so by Her out of the very same Adam and so by Him out of the very same Earth The Prayer WE know O Lord that thou created'st us after thine own Image and designed'st us for to die as soon as we were born but thou hast sweetned the Bitterness of it to us by first tasting of it thy self and hast taken away the Sting of it that when ever it comes it will prove to us an advantage II. Dust we are O Lord and to Dust we must return High and Low Rich and Poor from the Swayer of the Sceptre to the Drawer of Water must one day appear before thee O then in thy tender Mercy and Compassion have Pity upon poor Dust and Ashes Let not those many failings we are guilty of in this World any ways hinder thy Mercy in sealing our Pardon but receive us graciously III. Bring down and subdue in us every vain Thought and every proud Look that exalts its self against thee mortifie in us all sensual Lusts and vile Affections and bring our Souls and Bodies under the Discipline of true Obedience to thee and thy Holy Will that having learned to deny all ungodliness and worldly Lusts we may live Soberly Godly and Righteously in this present evil World and at last arrive to thine Heavenly Kingdom to live for evermore Amen Meditation XI Memorials hourly necessary upon the four last things Death Judgment Hell and Heaven MOst freely went that Blessed Father St. Augustine to work when he expressed himself in this manner I inherit sin from my Father an excuse from my Mother Lying from the Devil Folly from the World and Self-conceit from the Pride and arrogant Opinion of my self Deceitful have been the Imaginations of thy Heart Crooked have been thy ways Malicious thy works And yet hast thou taken the Judgments of God in thy mouth desiring nothing more than to blind the Eye of the World with a counterfeit Zeal II. But all such Hypocrites God will judge and will not be mocked For as the Devil has his Sieve with which the good escape and the bad remain So God hath his Fan which scatters the wicked but retains the Godly And when he shall separate the Goats from the Sheep the Wheat from the Tares when the Just and the Wicked shall appear before him and every Man shall be put in the Ballance I fear O my Soul thou wilt then be found many Grains too light III. Thy only Remedy then is this proper Medicine to prepare thy self against that great and terrible Day and to furnish thee with those Directions that may make thee a true Convert of an impenitent Sinner Recal to mind those four last Remembrances Memorials hourly to be thought and so necessary to be retained in thy
ignorant of your Disease and your Malady relies much upon my Cure therefore be not doubtful of your Recovery if you do but ingenuously discover to me your infirmity II. I am not altogether unacquainted with my Sister Faiths late visit to you whose sound Cordial Comforts would have wrought such powerful Effects in you as you might have had less occasion for any other Receipts had you discreetly applied what was so seasonably and Soveraignly ministred III. But before I begin with you let me so far prevail on your Temper that you would remove from your too much dejected and depressed Spirit all those unbeseeming Thoughts which perplex your quiet and be not so great an Enemy to your self as to reject that which may rectifie your State and of a Faint-hearted Souldier become a Couragious Warrior IV. To prepare you the better for this spiritual Encounter my first Essay must be to remove those scales from your Eyes which by long continuance are grown so thick that they cast a Mist before your knowledge For though I have been long a Stranger to you yet let us now renew our Acquaintance the which you will not repent of for I never yet lodg'd in that Soul which esteem'd me not a welcome Guest V. Many before this time had untimely perished had they not by me been seasonably supported by Land and Water have I offered my self a Friendly Companion and have firmly stuck to them who relyed on me in time of greatest danger or opposition And when no Token of Deliverance appear'd No hope of Liberty approached I with this Anchor brought them to the Haven safely Planting them so securely as no Peril could interpose their Security VI. And now tell me is my Strength so weakened as I cannot perform what I have formerly so happily effected indeed I must inform your flender Judgment that I am unalterably the same and do find the same Spirit in those to whom I apply my Cure the Accomplishment of which is always my principal Care VII Take then for an Helmet The Hope of Salvation 1 Thes 5.8 Look for the blessed Hope Tit. 2.13 Let thy Flesh rest in Hope Psal 16.9 Be ye of good Courage all ye that hope Psal 31.24 For I must tell you Hope deferred maketh the Heart sick but the righteous hath hope in his Death Prov. 13.12 14. VIII For so well and surely is her Foundation grounded as Hope maketh not ashamed Rom. 5.5 Rejoyce then in Hope be patient in Tribulation Rom. 12.12 So shall the God of Hope fill you with all Joy To whch fulness I recommend you where you may cheerfully say with Holy Job that perfect Pattern of Patience I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the Earth And though after my Skin Worms destroy this Body yet in my Flesh shall I see God whom I shall see for my self and mine eyes shall behold and not anothers Job 19.25 26 27. The Prayer O My Merciful Lord God who bindest up the Wounds of every Contrite and truly penitent Sinner Suffering him not to be tempted more than he can bear but out of the abundance of thy Compassion givest him an issue out of his Temptation make me ever with a Religious fear so to put my trust in thy Mercy as I may never be swallowed up of my Misery II. And seeing we are saved by Hope Give unto me such a saving Hope as neither too much Confidence may make me presume nor the too perplexing Consideration of my many Sins bring me to a Despair of Pardon III. Be near me Dear Lord in the hour of my Visitation let the Enemy have no Power over me but so shadow me under the Wings of thy Mercy that the remembrance of thy Judgments may rouse me sleeping and the Memory of thy Mercies raise me waking to render Praise unto thee as my Hope is in thee my help from thee O Lord everlasting To whom with thee and the Holy Ghost three Persons and one God Lives and Reigns together World without end Amen Meditation XIX The Exercise of Charity CHarity is cold and such Companions are not easily entertained nor such Guests kindly received where the one bids us give that we may receive the other Commands us to bestow all that we have and when all is distributed to expect our reward in Heaven But this sowing of Bread upon the Waters is of too hard a Digestion to be reaped by a foolish Worldling and yet it must be so sown or your Harvest is lost for ever II. You are here planted in a vale of Misery and the true Exercise of Charity will cover all your Scarlet sins with the white Robe of Mercy And to confer on your peaceful Progress the higher Honour if you will resolve to leave the World and receive her who is despised of it she will conduct you safely to the Kingdom of Glory III. St. Paul informs you 1 Cor. 13.13 says he Now abideth Faith Hope and Charity these three but the greatest of these is Charity Hast thou an earnest Desire to be instructed in what most concerns you to be edified in what most imports you It is not knowledge but Charity that must work this good effect in you For Knowledge puffs up but Charity edifieth 1 Cor. 8.1 IV. Would you be perswasive in Oratory or powerful in Prophecy or an useful Almoner for your Souls safety You must necessarily be accompanied by Charity or you are but as sounding Brass or a tinkling Cymbal 1 Cor. 13.1 your Power to remove Mountains shall not remove in you the least Mole-Hill of your sin Your bestowing all your Goods to feed the Poor shall not make your Soul Rich if Charity be wanting V. Seeing then the Tongues of Men and Angels are but Tinklings and very Sounds without Charity Knowledge becomes fruitless without the edifying Help of it Prophecies be they never so Mysterious Sciences be they in their own Nature never so commodious are altogether unprofitable without Charity Let all your things says the Apostle be done with Charity 1 Cor. 16.14 Follow after Charity 1 Cor. 14.1 Above all things put on Charity Col. 3.14 and St. Peter advises us Above all things have fervent Charity for Charity shall cover a multitude of sins 1 Pet. 4.8 and again add to Godliness Brotherly kindness and to Brotherly kindness Charity 2 Pet. 1.7 VI. And now seeing I have here given you a full draught of Charity by a due Examination of your self you will easily find whether she be in your Heart or no for by these Divine Effects you shall find her to be yours For Charity suffereth long and is kind envies not vaunteth not it self is not puffed up 1 Cor. 13.4 You shall likewise know even by your outward Behaviour whether or no you have received Charity or given her Harbour For Charity doth not behave her self unseemly seeketh not her own is not easily provoked thinketh no evil 1 Cor. 13.5 VII You shall
and the Strength of Sin is the Law But thanks be to God which giveth us the Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 15.55 56 57. Lord now let thy Servant depart in Peace according to thy word and receive his Soul into thy Fatherly Protection Amen A Prayer for a sick Person when there appear small hopes of Recovery O Father of Mercies and God of all Comfort our only help in time of need we fly unto thee for Succour in behalf of this thy Servant here lying under thy hand in great weakness of Body Look graciously upon him O Lord and the more the outward Man decayeth strengthen him we beseech thee so much the more continually with thy Grace and Holy Spirit in the inner Man II. Give him unfeigned Repentance for all the Errours of his Life past and stedfast Faith in thy Son Jesus that his Sins may be done away by thy mercy and his Pardon sealed in Heaven before he go hence and be no more seen We know O Lord that there is no word impossible with thee and that if thou wilt thou canst even yet raise him up and grant him a longer continuance amongst us III. Yet forasmuch as in all appearance the time of his Dissolution draweth near so fit and prepare him we beseech thee against the hour of Death that after his Departure hence in Peace and in thy Favour his Soul may be received into thine everlasting Kingdom through the Merits and Mediation of Jesus Christ thine only Son our Lord and Saviour Amen A Commendatery Prayer for a sick Person at the Point of Departure O Almighty God with whom do live the Spirits of just Men made perfect after they are delivered from their earthly Prisons we humbly commend the Soul of this thy Servant our dear Brother into thy hands as into the hands of a faithful Creator and most merciful Saviour most humbly beseeching thee that it may be precious in thy sight II. Wash it we pray thee in the Blood of that immaculate Lamb that was slain to take away the Sins of the World that whatsoever Defilements it may have contracted in the midst of this miserable and naughty World through the Lusts of the Flesh or the Wiles of Satan being purged and done away it may be presented pure and without spot before thee III. And teach us who survive in this and other like daily Spactacles of Mortality to see how frail and uncertain our own Condition is and so to number our days that we may seriously apply our Hearts to that Holy and Heavenly Wisdom whilst we live here which may in the end bring us to Life everlasting through the Merits of Jesus Christ thine only Son our Lord and Saviour Amen Meditation XXV Of the uncertainties of our Lives and that we ought always to be prepared for Death HOw many ways are there whereby to frustrate the intents and ends of Nature How many are there buried before their Birth how many Mens Cradles become their Graves how many rising Suns are set almost as soon as they are risen and overtaken in darkness in the very dawning of their days how many are there like good King Josias like righteous Abel and Enoch who are taken away speedily from amongst the wicked as it were in the Zenith or Vertical Point of their Strength and Lustre II. It is in every Man's Power to be Master of our Lives who is but able to despise his own nay 't is in every ones Power who can but wink to turn our Beauty into darkness and in times of Pestilence how many are there can look as dead by an Arrow shot out of the Eye into the Heart For one single way of coming into the World how many are there to go out of it before our time I mean before Nature is wasted within us Many are sent out of the World by the Difficulties and Hardships of coming in III. We are easily cut off by eating and drinking the very Instruments and Means of Life Not to speak of those greater Slaughters which are commonly committed by Sword and Famine which yet must both give place to surfeit Death may possibly fly to us as once to Aeschylus in an Eagles Wing or we may easily swallow Death as Anacreon did in a Grape IV. We may be murder'd like Homer with a fit of Grief or fall like Pindarus by our Repose we may become a Sacrifice as Philemon of old to a little Jest Or else as Sophecles to a witty Sentence We may be eaten up of Worms like mighty Herod or prove a Feast for the Rats like him of Mentz V. A Man may vomit out his Soul as Sulla did in a fit of Rage or else like Coma may force it backwards He may perish by his Strength as did Polydamas and Milo Or he may die like Thalna by the very excess of his Injoyment He may be Provender for his Horses like Diomedes or Provision for his Hounds like Actaeon and Lucian Or else like Tullus Hostillius he may be burnt up quick with a flash of Lightning VI. Or if there were nothing from without which could violently break off our thread of Life and which being a slender thread is very easily cut asunder we have a thousand intestine Enenemies to dispatch us speedily from within there is hardly any thing in the Body but furnisheth matter for a Disease VII There is not an Artery or Vein but is a Room in Natures Work-house wherein our Humours as so many Cyclops's are forging those Instruments of Mortality which every moment of our Lives are able to sweep us into our Graves an ordinary Apoplexie or a little Impostune in the Brain or a sudden Rising of the Lights is enough to make a Man Die in Health and may Lodge him in Heaven or Hell before he hath the Leisure to cry for Mercy The Prayer THou didst make us for thy self O Lord and when we by our Sins and Follies had for ever lost thee thou didst restore us to thy self again that we might not be eternally deprived of thee our only good O fill us with perpetual Meditations of thy Love Let those Joys which are so much above our thoughts be ever in them let our inability to comprehend the Happiness of thy Kingdom heighten the Piety of our Ambition after it more that we may walk in some measure worthy of so Divine a Purchace II. Prepare us with all those Heavenly Graces that may entitle us to it and with all those spiritual Desires that may make us breath and long after it that so our Hearts being there before we our selves may come after and being transported in our Desires may be also in our Persons to everlasting Enjoyments and as our Lives are uncertain in this World grant that we may be ready prepared that Death comes not upon us unawares Amen Meditation XXVI On the Frailties of our Lives OUr Houses of Clay as Eliphaz the Temanite fitly calls them Job 4.19 seem as false