1 Jo. 1. 19. I will arise therefore and go to my Father and will say unto him Father I have sinned against Heaven and before thee and am no more worthy to be called thy Son Luk. 15. 18 19. Behold I was shapen in Iniquity and in Sin did my Mother conceive me Psal. 51. 5. And since I was born I have gone astray like a lost Sheep Ps. 119. 176. Mine Iniquities are increased over my Head and my Trespasses are grown unto the Heavens Ezr. 9. 6. But Lord I acknowledge my Sins unto thee and mine Iniquities have I not hid Psal. 32. 5. I acknowledge my Transgressions and my Sins are ever before me Against thee have I sinned and done these Evils in thy Sight that thou migbtest be Justified when thou speakest and clear when thou judgest Psal. 51. 3 4. God be merciful to me a Sinner Luk. 18. 3. To me the chief among Sinners 1 Tim. 1. 15. To me that have been at agreement with Hell and made a Covenant with Death Isa. 28. 15. And whose Destruction is of my self Hos. 13. 9. 3. For Resolution of Amendment I. IF I regard Iniquity in my Heart the Lord will not hear me Psal. 66. 18. Goe therefore and sin no more Jo. 8. 11. Sin no more lest a worse thing come unto thee Jo. 5. 14. And Remember from whence thou art fallen and repent and do the first works or else I will come unto thee quickly Rev. 2. 5. Repent and turn your selves from all your Transgressions so Iniquity shall not be your Ruin Cast away from you all your Transgressions whereby ye have transgressed and make you a new Heart and a new Spirit for why will ye dye O! House of Israel Ezek. 18. 30 31. Wash you make you clean put away the Evil of your Doings from before mine Eyes cease to do Evil learn to do well seek Judgment relieve the Oppressed judge the Fatherless and plead for the Widow Come now and let us reason together saith the Lord tho' your Sins be as Scarlet they shall be as white as Snow tho' they be red like Crimson they shall be as Wool Isa. 1. 15 16 17 18. II. CReate in me a new Heart O! God and renew a right Spirit within me Psal. 51. 10. I thought on my ways and turned my Feet unto thy Testimonies I made haste and delayed not to keep thy Commandments Psal. 1 19. 59 60. Lord Incline not my Heart to any evil thing Psal. 141. 4. Turn away mine Eyes from behold Vanity Psal. 119. 37. I have made a Covenant with mine Eyes Job 31. 1. Set a Watch before my Mouth and keep the Door of my Lips Psal. 141. 3. Remove my Foot from Evil Prov. 4. 27. Hedge up my way with Thorns and make a Wall that I may not find my former Paths to Evil Hos. 2. 6. Keep back thy Servant from Presumptuous Sins let them not have Dominion over me then shall I be upright and innocent from the great Transgression Let the words of my Mouth and the Meditation of my Heart be acceptable in thy Sight O! Lord my Strength and my Redeemer Ps. 19. 13 14. 4. For Fruits worthy of Repentance BRing forth Fruits meet for Repentance Mat. 3. 8. This self same thing that ye sorrowed after a Godly sort Behold what carefulness it wrought in you yea what clearing of your selves yea what Indignation yea what Fear yea what Vehement Desire yea what Zeal yea what Revenge or punishing of your selves 2 Cor. 7. 11 If the Wicked restore the Pledge give again that he hath Robbed and walk in the Statutes of Life without Committing Iniquity none of his Sins shall be mentioned to him he shall surely Live he shall not Dye Ezek. 33. 15 16. If thou bring thy Gift to the Altar and there remembrest that thy Brother hath ought against thee Leave there thy Gift before the Altar and go thy way fâ— st be reconciled to thy Brother and then come and offer thy Gift Mat. 5. 23 24 Forgive and you shall be forgiven Luk. 6. 37. If ye forgive Men their Trospasses your Heavenly Father will also forgive you But if ye forgive not Men their Trespasses neither will your Father forgive your Trespasses Mat. 6. 14 15. Break off thy Sins by Righteousness and thine Iniquities by shewing Mercy to the Poor Dan. 4. 27. Thine Alms are come up for a Memorial before God Acts 10. 4. They lay up in Store for us a good Foundation against the time to come that we may lay hold on Eternal Life 1 Tim. 6. 18 19. Blessed are the Merciful for they shalâ— obtain Mercy Mat. 5. 7. He shall have Judgment without Mercy who hath shewed no Mercy but Mercy rejoyceth against Judgment James 2. 13. 5. For Pardon of Sins and Ground for the Hopes thereof ENter not into Judgment with the Servant for in thy sight shall nâ—â— Man living be Justified Psal. 143. â— If thou Lord shouldest mark Iniquities O! Lord who shall stand But there is Forgiveness with thus that thou mayest be feared With the Lord is Mercy and plentious Redemption Ps. 130. 3 4 7. He knoweth our frame he remembreth that we are but Dust and pitieth those that fear him as a Father pitieth his own Children Ps. 103. 13 14. Likewise the Blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all Sins 1 John 1. 7. The Chastisement of our Peace was upon him and through his stripes we are healed Isa. 5. 3 5. And if any Man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous and he is the Propitiation for our Sins 1 John 2. 1 2. For him hath God exalted to give Repentance and forgiveness of Sins Acts 5. 31. And that Repentance and Remission of Sins should be preached in his Name among all Nations beginning at Jerusalem Luke 24. 47. This is a faithful Saying and worthy of all Acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the World to save Sinners 1 Tim. 1. 15. He came not to call the Righteous but Siâ—ners to Repentance Mat. 9. 13. And there is Joy in Heaven over one Sinner that repenteth more than over Ninety and nine just Persons which need no Repentance Luke 15. 7. Create in me a clean Heart therefore O! God and renew a right Spirit with â—n me And hide thy Face from my Sins and blot out all mine Iniquities Ps. 51. 9 10 6. For Comfort in the same PUrge me with Hysop and I shall be clean wash me and I shall be whiter than Snow Make me to hear of Joy and Gladness that the Bones which thou has broken may rejoyce Restore unto me the Joy of thy Salvation and uphold me with thy freâ— Spirit Then will I teach Transgressors thy ways and Sinners shall be converteâ— unto thee Ps. 51. 7 8 12 13. Blessed are they that Mourn for they shall be comforted Mat. 5. 4. He will speak Peace to his People and to his Saints but let them not turn again to folly Ps.
Sins Let his Intercession for me in thy Presence make my Peace and appease thy Wrath. Shut not thine Ears against the Voice of his Blood nor be deaf to his Meditation but hear him my Advocate for my Pardon And let me find the Forgiveness of all my Sins that thy troubled and trembling Servant may have Peace and that thou may'st be sought unto and feared and served by Sinners who will return unto thee in hopes of thy Grace and pardoning Mercy thro' Jesus Christ our Lord and only Saviour Amen Two Collects in the Office of Commination I. 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 an accused by thy merciful Pardon may be absolv'd thro' Christ our Lord Amen II. O! Most mighty God and Merciful Father who hast Compassion upon all Men and hatest nothing that thou hast made who wouldest not the Death of a Sinner but that he should rather turn from his Sin and be saved mercifully forgive me my Trespasses receive and comfort me who am grieved and wearied with the Burthen of my Sins Thy property is always to have Mercy to thee only it appertaineth to forgive Sins Spare me therefore good Lord spare me whom thou hast redeemed enter not into Jugdment with thy Servant who am vile Earth and a miserable Sinner but so turn thine Anger from me who meekly acknowledge my Vileness and truly repent me of my faults and so make haste to help me in this World that I may ever live with thee in the World to come thro' Jesus Christ my Lord Amen 5. A Prayer for Peace of Mind and Comfort upon the same LET me have thy Peace O! Gracious Father and comfort my trembling and broken Heart with the Hopes thereof Cause me to hear the Voice of Joy and Gladness and revive me with the Assurance of thy Love O! that I may be able from my own Experience to speak great things of thy readiness to receive and comfort returning Sinners and thereby draw back others to thy Service who are still running astray from the same O! that by seeing thy Goodness upon me every one that is Godly may seek to thee in their Distress and find Mercy as I have done But Lord having found thy Mercy to poor Sinners let me not abuse it or presume upon it Let me not take Heart to repeat my Sins because thou art ready and glad to grant Forgiveness When thou hast spoke comfortably to me make me carefull to sin no more lest a worse thing come upon me but to keep on in all holy and thankful Obedience unto thee and never more to return to folly Let the Sence of thy Mercies O! My God serve no other use in me but to encourage my Repentance and to support me in thy Fear till I come at length to enjoy thy Eternal Favour through Jesus Christ my Lord Amen For Peace of Mind and favourable Allowances and hopes of Mercy the Penitent may have more particular Provisions if he is desirous thereof in the Office for one troubled in Mind 2. Prayers for Confession Sin and Repentance of the same in one continued Form 1. A Form and Confession of Sins and of Repentance for the same I. O! Almighty and most Righteous Lord I do here with grief of Heart and with shame and deep Humility confess unto thy dreadful Majesty that my Sins are exceeding many and great and have been frequently Repeated I have oft-times transgressed out of Ignorance O! that I could not say careless Ignorance under Opportunities of Knowledge yea or affected Ignorance espoused for Earthly ends against Light and clear Evidence which was enough to shame and silence me tho' not to gain and convince me But I have transgressed oftner out of Negligence Worldly Fear or Desire yea alass too oft out of presumptuous Wilfulness condemning the Evil while I was a doing it and offending wiâ—tingly and with Checks and Convictions to the contrary And these Sins I have been draw to against all the Endearments of thâ— Mercies and all the Alarms and louder Warnings of thy Punishments against all the Rebukes and Strivings of thy Grace and of my own Conscience and of other faithful and seasonable Admonishers And against all mine own Purposes and Engagements Deliberately made and solemnly profess'd and frequently Repeated that I would offend therein no more Lord be merciful to me a Great and Wretched Sinner II. BUT thou O! Blessed Jesus by making thy self a Sin-Offering for us art come to take away the Sins of all who truly Repent thereof And O! merciful Lord thoâ— my Sins are many and grievous yet 〈…〉 desire to overlook them but would gladly see and discover them â—l that I may penitently bewail and forsake them And Oh! That so corrupt Passions nor love of Worldly or Carnal Interests may â—ver byass me or blind my Eyes â—rom seeing of the same whilst â—here is space left me to repent of them And as for those Sins which do know my self to be guilty of I do not cover but with shame coness them I do not justifie nor excuse but condemn my self for the same I stand thereby Guilty O! Lord of highest Disobedience against the strictest Obligations of wretched Disingenuity and unthankfulness against the most endearing Mercys and of most stupid Folly against my own clearest highest and most lasting Interests throwing away thy favour and future Joys for empty shows and shadows and a blessed Eternity for moments of Vanity I reflect on all this O! Merciful God with bitterness and with a Spirit wearied with mine own ways I see and lament my oâ—folly and abhor mine own vilent on account thereof I wish wiâ—â— all my Soul that those Sins had nâ—ver been done and would take anâ— way to undoe them and most eaâ—nestly desire and fully propose bâ— thy Grace that I may doe so nâ— more God be merciful to me a self condemning and repenting Sinner III. LOrd I am burden'd and heavy laden with my Sins Oh! Dâ— thou who callest out to the heavy laden to seek refeshment at thinâ— Hands give me ease I confess them and desire above all things else that I may utterly forsake them Let me according to my Promise find Mercy From mine Heart â— forgive all Persons who have offended me even my bitterest Enemies and most earnestly entreat thee that thou would 't forgive them Oh! Do thou who offerest forgiveness to those who are ready to grant it for Jesus Christ's sake forgive me I repent unfeignedly of all my Sins and am ready to make all just amends at least as far as I am able to any whom I have ever â—njured whether they be of low or â—f high Degree or even the highest of all O! God of all Grace perfect my Repentance and accept it and blot out all my misdeeds as thou engagest to do unto all those who sincerely repent of the
and in regard to the Merits of his Death who by his dying on the Cross for our Sins purchased all this Mercy for all truly Penitent Believers 3. Are you truly sensible of his Exceeding Great Love therein and from the Bottom of your Heart are you Thankful to him for the same After which questions the Guide of Souls if he is the asker of them in visiting the Sick and Dispensing Absolution or the Penitent himself when he is his own Examiner may go on to this effect Now know therefore Brother or Sister that altho you are a Sinner yet Jesus Christ came into the World to save sinners Altho you have been a lost sinner yet he is come to save and seek after that which was lost Altho you have sind yet you do not cover your Sins or Justifie them but with grief of Heart confess them and condemn your self for the same And if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our Sins You confess them to him with a resolved aversion and turn away from the same having by the help of his Grace already forsaken some and studying and being resolved in Heart to forsake all And who so Confesseth and forsaketh his Sins shall find mercy If you have sinned against your Brethren you are ready to submit your self and seek to reconcile your self to them and to the utmost of your Power to make them any reasonable satisfaction And if a Man has first reconciled himself to his Brother he may come to God with a good heart and offer his gift If he hath Repented and given again what he hath Robbed his Sin shall not be mentioned Whilst with an Humble a Contrite and a returning Heart you are thus seeking to the Father of mercys to forgive you your trespasses you do from your heart forgive all other persons who have sinned against you their Trespasses And †if we forgive men their trespasses our Heavenly Father will also forgive us As you earnestly seek mercy â—ou are ready to show it and according to your ability to give Alms to the needy And blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy and mercy rejoyceth against judgment Upon such Faith and Repentance and Satisfaction for Injuries and shewing Mercy and forgiveness of others when they are sincere and right our most merciful God and Saviour will most graciously forgive us at the great Day of Judgment And he he has committed the Ministry of reconciliation to his Ministers that upon appearance of the same they may declare and deal it out for for the Comfort of such truly faithful and Penitent Persons here in this world And now upon this profession which you have here made of this Christian Faith and Repentance and reparation of injuries and of forgiveness of others and having charity towards all persons and of shewing mercy to the miserable all which you declare is unfeigned and from the Bottom of your Heart do you desire from the mouth of Christ's Minister to receive the benefit of Absolution Then may the Minister proceed as he sees fit to lead the Penitent on in this form of Confession taken out of the Office for the Communion ALLmighty God Father of our Lord Jesus Christ maker of of all things Judge of all Men we humbly acknowledge and bewail and especially this humble Penitent doth hereby acknowledge and bewail his manifold sins and wickedness which he from time to time most grieviously hath comitted by thought word and deed against thy Divine Majesty Provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against him He doth earnestly repent and is heartily sorry for these his misdoings The remembrance of them is grievious unto him The burden of them is intolerable Have mercy upon him have mercy upon him most merciful Father For thy Son Lord Jesus Christ's sake forgive him all that is past and grant that he may ever hereafter serve and please thee in newness of life to honour and glory of thy name through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen And then Pronounce the Absolution following ALmighty God our heavenly Father who of his great mercy hath promised forgiveness of sins to all them that with hearty Repentance and true Faith turn unto him have mercy upon you Pardon and deliver you from all your sins confirm and strengthen you in all Goodness and bring you to everlasting Life through Jefus Christ our Lord Amen Or instead of this Form of Absolution if he think that fitter he may use the form in the Visitation of the Sick Our Lord Jesus Christ who hath left power to his Church to Absolve all Sinners who truely repent and believe in him of his great mercy forgive thee thine Offences And by his Authority committed to me I absolve thee from all thy sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Amen After which the Minister may go on with the Collect that follows the Absolution in the Office of the Visitation of the Sick O! most Mercyful God who according to the multitude of thy mercies dost so put away the sins of those who truly repent that thou rememberest them no more open thine Eye of Mercy upon this thy Servant who most earnestly desireth Pardon and Forgiveness Renew in him most loving Father whatsoever hath been decayed by the fraud and malice of the Devil or by his own carnal will and frailness Preseve and continue this Sick member in the Unity of the Church consider his Contrition accept his Tears asswage his Pain as shall seem to thee most expedient for him And for as much as he putteth his full trust in thy mercy impute not unto him his former sins but strengthen him with thy Blessed Spirit and when thou art pleased to take him hence take him unto thy Favour through the merits of thy most Dearly Beloved Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen And if the Penitent is visited as a sick Person he may then use the Psalm after it In thee O! Lord have I put my trust let me never be put to Confusion but rid me c. But else instead thereof he may use these Sentences and Prayers Sentences after the Absolution in the Communion Service Hear what comfortable words our Saviour Christ saith unto all that truly turn unto him Come unto me all that travel and are heavy laden and I will refresh you Mat. 11. 28. So God loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son to the end that all that believe on him should not perish but have everlasting life Jo. 3. 16. Hear also what St. Paul saith This a true saying and worthy of all men to be received that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners 1 Tim. 1. 15. Hear also what St. John saith If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous and he is the
dissembled things which I ought openly to have professed for all my unjust and hard censures and for all my detracting Speeches against any of my Brethren For all the Advantage which I have ever taken of the Ignorance and and for all the sport and pastime which I have ever made with the folly and weakness of my Neighbours For all my covetous desires and all my wrongful Gripings or hard dealings towards any whom I have at any time been concerned withall For all the over reaching which I may have been guilty of in gaming or other ways and for all the excesses and offences of my Recreations I lament O! Lord for all the countenance which I have given to other Mens Sins or complyance with them or neglect to reprove the same when I had an obliging call so to do For all the Provocation which I have ever given others and for all the sinful Passion which I have ever shewn and opprobrious Speeches which I have ever used and ill will which I have ever retained towards them when at any time they have provoked me For all the ungrounded Jealousies and evil and uncandid surmises and for all the Back-bitings and Evil-speakings which I stand guilty of towards any For all my Deafness to the cries or narrowness of Heart in Relieving the wants of the poor and needy For all which and all my other offences of the like sort which either I can remember or have forgotten Lord be merciful to me a contrite Sinner IV. I Humble my Self before thee O! Almighty God for all my irreverence Disloyalty or Breach of Faith and due Obedience whereby I have trespassed against those who have had the Right to reign over me For having ever offered a deaf or disobedient Ear to my Ghostly Rulers for all my undutyfulness to my Parents or unkindness to my Wife or Husband or remissness in governing my Dependants and training up all that serve or are any way subject unto me to fear and serve thee For all the Evil thoughts of my Heart and sinful words of my Mouth and unrighteous Actions of my Life wherein I have grievously offended thee either this Day or at any other times For all these and all other Sins O! Almighty and most Righteous Lord which either mine own Heart or thou who knowest better than my Heart seest me to be guilty of I am sorry at my very Soul and here humbly confess them before thee with shame and a broken Spirit and with stedfast Resolution by thy Grace to watch and strive against them for the time to come Where I have wickedly broken thy Statutes my Study shall be religiously to keep them And where I have done wrong to any Person I am ready and willing according to the utmost of my Power to repair the same Lord I Repent encrease my Repentance And for Jesus Christ's Sake pardon me a poor repenting Sinner Oh! Let his Blood wash me from all my Sins and let his peace rid me of all my Fears and let his Spirit preserve me from all Relapses Oh! That having utterly abandoned all my former evil ways I may eveâ—hence forward be fixt in thy Fear and be duly disposed for thine Eternal Mercy and favour though the Merits of my only Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ. Amen Short Prapers and Ejaculations for the Penitent to use at any time as he sees cause EJACULATIONS I Am a Sinful Man O! Lord Luke 5. 8. And mine Iniquities are gone over my Head as an heavy Burden they are too heavy for me Psal. 38. 4. Lord carest thou not that I perish Mar. 4. 38. Jesus Master have Mercy upon me Luke 17. 13. Thou that camest into the World to save Sinners 1 Tim. 1. 15. Be merciful to me a Sinner Luke 18. 13. Thou that takest away the Sins of the World Jo. 1. 29. And hast abolished and overcome Death 2 Tim. 1. 10. 1 Cor. 15. 54 57. And destroyed him that had the Power of it Heb. 2. 14. Deliver me from the Body of Sin and Death Ro. 7. 24. Short Prayers I. LOrd I am not worthy to lift up my polluted Eyes unto thee But whither should a Wretch Guilt and Misery look but unto the Fountain of Mercy Whither â—â— to a God whose Mercy is greater than our Wickedness To a God whose property it is to be kind â—â— his Enemies and whose patience â—â— bear our Sins is as great as his power to punish them and who has much rather be reconciled to us than take Vengeance on us Whither indeed but to thee O! God of all Grace and Comfort who shewest mercy on the unworthy and who art most Graciously pleas'd to fit and qualifie them for thy Mercy that so thou mayest bountifully confer it on them for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake Amen II. LOrd under my heavy load oâ— Guilt and Misery I address my Self unto thee But I make no Plea but for thy Mercy Nor have any pretence to claim it O! Father of Mercies but only because I infinitely need it and because thou lovest to shew it and art more ready to look at our needs which move thy Pity and Tenderness than at our Deserts which cry aloud to thee for Wrath and Vengeance upon our Heads And because unworthy as I am yet through thine inexpressible Love and his I have a most mercyful Saviour who has born all the punishment of my Sins to purchase Mercy for me a Sinner and who now powerfully intercedes with thee for Mercy for me if being weary of my Sins I turn to seek and serve thee through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen III. AND my Soul O! Gracious God is wearied out and filed with the bitterness of mine own ways I accuse my Self and need â—o Witnesses I condemn my Self and need no other Judge to proâ—ounce me Guilty I punish and afâ—ict my Self for all my Sins that I â—ay prevent thy Justice for the same And by thy Grace I am resolved to â—rn from them all that they may â—o longer provoke thee and as far as I am able to repair the harm which my Brethren have sustained thereby that they may no longer damnifie or disturb them Father forgive me for I am heartily sorry for all the Evils which I have done Forgive all my Sins for I am fully resolved by thy Grace to forsake them Forgive me O! Dear God for I forgive others yea I forgive all Do not go to exact punishment of me for my Sins but extend thy Mercy and Pardon to my true Repentance for my dearest Lord and only Saviour Jesus Christ's sake Amen IV. AND having thus utterly renounced my Sins O! Holy Father I desire above all things to partake of thy Righteousness Having utterly defaced and corrupted my self I would gladly be new made by thee Having hitherto miscarryed whilst I would be in mine own Hands I desire now to be altogether in thine I loath my self O! My dear God whilst I am without thee and whatever else I loose my earnest
Reconciliation with God Wherein I have all along interwoven instructions with their Devotions and set their Work before them that they may see what they have to amend and what they are to doe to work out their Pardon as well as how they are to petition for it I have sought to make the Soul acquainted with its Disease without which it would neither know what it has for God to forgive or for his Grace and its own Care to Remedy And I have been very particular in some Forms of Confession to affect it with a more distinct and effectual Sense of the several maladys which it lyes sick of and which as it must beg Mercy for so in the Course of its Daily Care it must both diligently and designedly set its self by God's help to Cure Where Sin is the Disease the great Gospel way of Cure is true Repentance And this I endeavour to set out in all the necessary parts and great and worthy Fruits thereof I lead the Penitent to express the same in such Acts as through the Merits of Christ are the truest atonement for Sins and have the most express promises of Mercy and Forgiveness made to them And then I instruct him to comfort up himself with an humble claim and application of those Expressions of the Divine Mercy and Condescention which are given to us for our Confidence and Consolation in performance of those Acts And if he takes care to say all that I have here put into his Mouth with Sincerity and is really affected as these forms express he is a true Penitent and may be a comfortable one he has thereby secured his Everlasting Peace and may quiet and revive his Spirit with the joyful Sence thereof In the Tryal or Judgment of the Soul for discovering the safety of their Spiritual Estate I have given them as clear and full and withall as brief a view as I can of the final account which will be exacted of them I have run through the several Heads of Tryal and Examination and raised such questions upon them as I take to be most pertinent and decisive of their future Condition and fittest to settle their present Peace and then give them the Benefit thereof by setting their Answers and God's Promises together and applying all to themselves My Desire is so far as my Skill would reach to omit no question which is necessary to their Safety and my care has been as I am able so to word all as that they may serve to clear their doubts and uncertainties upon the several parts of their account but beget none in them And this part will be of chief account and use to both the other Offices For it is the truest Tryal of Penitents and the truest Direction for them in carrying on and compleating their Repentance And it is the surest Ground of Peace of Conscience For containing the full Draught of settling our Peace with God it must give the best Light and Direction for Peace in our Selves which lyes in seeing that God is at peace with us Tho' the business of these Papers is not to prove and argue but briefly to Direct yet to the several Heads which I have made the Articles of the Penitents Tryal I have prefixed Texts of Scripture to shew that God has made them the Terms of his Mercy But 't is not unlikely that some who will not be perswaded to be so good as they should will think that I am stricter about this account than I need And if they doe I cannot help it but they may My Part is to deal faithfully both by my Blessed Lord and by them and to represent things to them as he has left them and as in the end they will find them So that if my Discourse has more strictness than they could wish to hear from it it is because I look not how to suit their carnal wishes but how to serve their Everlasting happiness And because I would rather have them offended with me for telling them unpleasing Truths whilst they may serve themselves by them than flatter them with pleasing Errors till it is too late for them to rectifie the same and prevent their own everlasting Ruine and Destruction thereby In the Office for Persons troubled in Mind I am careful to have them fully sensible of that Holy Obedience which is needfull to keep them safe as well as to free them from those unnecessary mistrusts and Fears which render them uneasie I seek to give them a just sense of the Things which trouble them and to keep them from over-valuing them And to make them acquainted with the true allowances of Favour which God is ready to make to their Infirmityes and with the several Grounds which they have to hope and look for them and lead them on in their Devotions both humbly to plead with God and to comfort up their own Hearts with the same To the Offices I have prefixed Collections of Pertinent and proper Scriptures And these will serve the devout Minds to express their Devotion in or to support their Spirits withall yea and to guide and direct their Practice too For they mark out their Duty upon the several Points which they refer to and teach them not only how they may address to God but how they ought to imploy themselves and what the Work and Business is which Gods Favour and their own Eternal wellfare or which his Peace and their own require at their Hands AN OFFICE FOR THE PENITENT SCRIPTURES Psal. 32. Psal. 38. Ezek. 18. Psal. 51. Luk. 15. 1. For Godly Sorrow for Sins TO him will I look that is poor and of a contâ—â—te Spirit and trembleth at my word Isa. 66. 2. The Sacrifices of God are a broken Spirit a broken and a contrite Heart O! God thou wilt not dispise Psal. 51. 17. Turn ye therefore to me with all your Heart and with fasting and with weeping and with Mourning And rent your Hearts and not your Garments and turn unto the Lord your God Joel 2. 12 13. Remember your ways and all your Doings wherein ye have been defiled and ye shall loath your selves in your own sight for all your Evils that ye have committed Ezek. 20. 43. Lord Mine Iniquities are gone over mine Head as an heavy Burthen they are too heavy for me I am ready to halt and my Sorrow is continually before me I will declare mine Iniquity I will be sorry for my Sin Psal. 38. 4 17 18. 2. For Penitential Confession of the same IF our Heart condemn us God is greater than our Heart and knoweth all things 1 Jo. 3. 20. Our Iniquities are all before him yea our secret Sins are set in the Light of his Countenance Psa. 90. 8. And therefore He that covereth his Sins shall not prosper but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have Mercy Prov. 28. 13. If we confess our Sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our Sins and to cleanse us from all Unrighteousness
whence I am faln and resolve by thy help to do my vows I will make bast to do 〈◊〉 and not delay to keep thy Comâ—â—dments I beg no greater Mercy than to be fouâ—d stedfast in thy ways nor shall account any things to be so great favours to me as those which serve to keep me in the same I will most heartily thank thee O! Thou Faithful Guide and Keeper of returning Souls if thou wilt be pleased to hedge up my way with Thorns or with any worldly Difficulties that may keep me from finding my way to my former Vanities For 't is the unfeigned Desire of my Heart and shall be the great Endeavour of my Life above all things to keep true to thee and my chiefest prayer to thee is to keep me from falling any more from the way of thy Fear or from forfeiting thy Mercy God be merciful to me a Returning Sinner III. ANd having â—â—w by thy Grace these holâ—â—houghts and Purposes in my Heâ—â—â— I earnestly beg of thee O! Blessed Author and finisher of all Grace that I may never loose them I give my Heart to thee and humbly pray that it may always be in thy hands since it is so unconstant in what is good and prone to turn aside to what is evil when it is in mine own keeping O! Father keep it stedfast and unalterable in thy ways Let it not be inclined to any Evil thing nor lean towards any of my former Vanitys Keep mine Eyes from beholding wickedness and mine Ears from listning thereto Let not my Lips utter any thing that is Ill nor my feet move a step in any of the Paths of Death But hold my whole Spirit Soul and Body in ways of thy Fear and continue me under the Comfortable hopes of thy favour through Jesus Christ my Blessed Lord and only Saviour Amen 3. A Profession of the Fruits of Repentance and the Conditions of Forgiveness I. I Have sinned grievously O! Lord but I am angry at my self for my Sins and desire to prevent thy Justice and to take Revenge upon my own Head for my Transgressions And however disposed and easie I was to be drawn aside before yet now thou hast filled my Heart with such a Godly Sorrow and Compunction for my Sins as begets in me a Vehement Desire and Godly Care to sin no more By the help of thy Grace O! Merciful God I am ready now to walk in those Statutes which I have formerly transgressed and to give again whatsoever I have at any time unjustly taken away and to make full amends to the uttermost of my Power for all the Wrong and Damage which I have ever done to any And where either by my Example or by my Counsel and Perswasion or by my Importunities I have tempted others and drawn them into Sin It shall be the Study and Care of my Life to make them sensible of the Heinousness and extream Danger thereof as thro' the Blessing of thy Grace I am to recover them out of the same God be merciful to me a Returning Sinner II. I Am contented O! Holy Father to submit my self to those who have just cause to be offended with me and to use all fair ways of Reconciling my self to them before I hope for Reconciliation and Peace with thee I freely forgive all those that have Trespassed against me and with good Will offer them my Pardon as I most heartily desire thine And my Hearty Desire and Purpose is to study doing Good to my Brethren in their Needs that I may not be held unworthy to receive it from thee in mine own and to shew Mercy unto others that I may not be ashamed to ask it for my self and that the Rigorousness and Unrelenting hardness of my own Dealings towards them may not deprive me of the favourable Indulgence and Mercifulness of thy Dealings towards me God be merciful to me and forgive me a Merciful and Forgiving Sinner III. I Have no Hope in my self O! Gracious Lord but only in thy Mercy Nor any expectation of the same thro' my Deservings but meerly thro` thy Blessed Son's Infinite Merits Nor rest my Soul upon any other Name given among Men whereby thy Justice may be satisfied and my Sins expiated but on his alone God be merciful to me a Great but an Humble and Believing Sinner IV. I Am heartily sorry for all the Sins which I can call to Mind and do yet know my self to have been guilty of and am fully purposed by thy Grace as far as I can to amend them And I am truly desirous to discover all the rest which are yet hid from me that I may be as particularly sorry for the same and amend them too And I humbly and earnestly pray thee O! Father of Mercies that for Jesus Christ's sake thou would'st be pleased to accept this my Repentance Receive it O! Lord according to the Riches of thy Mercies and supply whatsoever is wanting therein by the Power of thy Grace And place me among the number of those who are truly contrite for all their evil ways and whose Repentance has prepared them for the free and full Remission of all their Offences through the Merits and Mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord Amen 4. A Prayer for Pardon of Sins O! Holy and most merciful Father spare me thy poor Sinful but Repenting Creature Spare me good Lord spare me and let me not perish in my Sins now I am heartily troubled and sorry for them but thro' thine infinite Mercies find pardon of the same I am a Sinful Person O! Lord But thou Blessed Jesus art the Saviour of Sinners And thy coming into the World was to call Sinners to Repentance Lord I come and Repent at thy Call cast not me and my Repentance away from thy Presence I have gone astray and am very defective in my return home thro' the frailty of my Flesh. But thou Gracious Lord considerest our frailties Thou knowest our frame and considerest whereof we are made Oh! be not extream to mark mine Offences nor to exact Rigors in my Repentance of the same but for Christ's sake make me all needful and favourable Allowances Now I have found the way to thy Fear let me find the Comforts of thy Mercy I have a truly Contrite Heart O! Lord despise it not My Spirit is broken and trembleth at thy word O! Lord revive it It is heavy laden and wearied with my Sins O! my God give it ease from the same Pity me O! Father as a Father pitieth his own Children Receive me as the offended Father did the returning Prodigal Tho' I was lost yet now by the Blessing of thy Grace I am found again Oh! welcome thy lost Sheep when it returns home and let there he joy in Heaven on the Repentance of me a lost Sinner Oh! let the Blood of Jesus cleanse me from all my
same I know O! Blessed Jesus that there is no name but thine whereby I can obtain Pardon And I trust only to the fulness of thy Merits and to the faithfulness of thy gracious Promises and to the abundance of my Heavenly Fathers Mercy and loving Kindness to me a great and miserable but an Humble Contrite Penitent Sinner Forgive them all O! Blessed Father Remembring not my Deservings but the pytyableness of my Weakness and thy Dear Sons infinite Merits and thine own boundless Mercyes and most precious Promises Let me here have thy Peace and be admitted hereafter to stand for ever in thy Presence for our Lord Jesus Christ Sake Amen 2. A shorter form of Confession and Repentance of the same O! Almighty and ever living God I thy sinful wretched Creature do here with shame and grief of Heart bewail and confess my manifold Sins which either this day or at any times heretofore I have been guilty of against thy Divine Majesty either in Thought Word or Deed by omitting what I ought to have done or by committing what I ought not to have done against thee my Neighbour or my Self Sinning in all these kinds against thy Mercies and thy Judgments thy Spirit and thy awakening Providences against my own Vows and Resolutions yea and oft times against the checks and calls of my own Conscience oft times without any pretence to palliate them to my self and always without any to excuse and justifie me at thy righteous Bar. And by these ways O! Great and Dreadful God am I who at best am nothing become far worse than nothing an object of thy most deserved Wrath and Eternal Damnation But thou O! Merciful Father hast sent thine'own only Son into the World to seek and save that which was lost and when once he returns back thou art ready not only to receive the Prodigal Son but to run out and meet him and Rejoyce over him Lord I repent of all my Sins from my very Heart and am ashamed of my self and grieved that ever I committed them I earnestly desire to do better for the time to come and firmly purpose by thy help to labour in the same And I most humbly and heartily implore thy Grace to keep me always in this Mind and never to suffer me wilfully to relapse into the ways of wickedness again I am heartily offended with my Self be thou no longer offended with me Cleanse away the Guilt of all my Sins O! Gracious God by thy dear Son's most precious Blood and slay the power and Dominion of them by his Spirit that being made whole I may sin no more nor return after I am washed as the Dog to his Vomit or the Sow to her wallowing in the Mire Grant this O! Merciful Father for thy dear Son and my only Saviour Jesus Christ's sake Amen 3. A particular Enumeration of Sins in a large Form of Confession and Repentance of the same I. O Lord Most Holy and Terrible who art most pure in all thy ways and a consuming fire â—o all unrelenting Sinners my manifold and great Transgressions make me both ashamed and afraid to appear before so holy and just a Majesty Lord How unlike am I to that Image of thine wherein at first thou madest Man and how far have all the powers of my Soul faln from what they should be My Mind is overspread with Blindness and Ignorance Folly and false Reasonings and spends it self upon vanity and unprofitable Thoughts It is loath to fix upon good things and very apt to forget them and to loose that tenderness and quick sense of Duty which should make thy Laws to reign in me My Heart is so averse to what is good and so stubborn and refractory that it is hardly brought to resolve upon those ways which my Conscience tells me are my Duty and so wavering and inconstant withall that when it doth resolve well it doth not stick to it with any certainty My Affections are forward and violent in pursuit of earthly things but very slow to be engaged in thy Service and when once ingaged therein soon weary of the same Lord be mercyful to me a miserably corrupt and depraved Creature II. AND besides this proneness of my Nature O! Righteous God to what is bad to make me still more lowly in my own Sight I have little Strength of Holy Inclination or obedient Dispositions which should restrain me from following and giving way to the same Oh! how little is there in my Heart of that Holy Fear which should withhold me from giving thee any offence of that Love which should make me imitate thy Glorious Excellencies of that Thankfulness which should make me return answerably for all thy Mercies or of that Joy in God which should turn Religion into a Delight and make me take all Opportunities of conversing in that place whilst I live where I desire to be when I come to die I am not duly provident to prevent Temptations nay alass I am too oft delighted in them and pleased to dwell with them and love the near approaches of Sin and to be put into Opportunities yea and sometimes almost the necessity of evil doing And when at any time thou hast thought fiâ— to cast me upon Tryals I have not been sufficiently watchful active and unwearied in withstanding them I am easier O! most Righteous Lord in hearkning to my own wicked Lusts than to the good motions of thy holy Spirit and to the Dictates of a pious Conscience and hereby have omitted many Duties and have been led into many sinful Thoughts and evil or indecent Speeches and unrighteous Actions which now I do with grief lament and am utterly ashamed of Lord be merciful to me a frail naked sinful Creature III. HOW seldom have I been O! Holy Father in devout Reflections How Irreverent Insincere and liveless in my Prayers How careless in observing thy manifold and great Mercies How hard sometimes to be reconciled to thy Will and to own the Wisdom and Goodness of thy Orderings How faint and languid in believing and relying on thy Promises when I have stood most in need thereof and Danger has threatned any Duties How fearfull to exposemy self in owning of thy Injured Name or cause and in shewing a concern and Zeal for thy Service Nay how faithless to my own Vows when I have promised to make up defects and to shew greater care and watchfulness in amending these or any other Offences Lord be merciful unto me an unbelieving indevout and ungodly Creature IV. AND besides all these Offences against thee my God how many ways have I trespassed against my Brethren also In bargaining and Acts of Justice how apt am I to lean to my own profit and to press upon my Neighbours In opportunities of Charity and good Offices how is my affection in doing good streightned by too quick an Eye to mine own ease and interest In Conversation how prone am I to take opportunities of instilling
Prayer is that I may recover thy likeness through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen V. I Know O! Gracious Lord that I cannot receive this but from thy Self Oh! therefore be thou both the Blessed giver and the Gift I know also alass that I am utterly unworthy to have thy Divine Image stamped upon my Soul But I extreamly need it and I extreamly value it and such thou art pleased to account worthy of it And I dearly love thee O! God or else I should not be thus desirous to be like thee And thou lovest to communicate thy Goodness and whom shouldst thou imprint and display it upon but on those who love thee and are earnestly desirous of the same Hear me therefore O! My God and breath iâ—to mine Heart that Spirit which renews us after thine own Image in Righteousness and true Holiness Oh! thou who seekest out Sinners to make them Good do not reject me now when I seek thee out to make me better I am poor and naked Oh! fill me with thy Righteousness My Good Thoughts are unconstant and Changeable O! fix them by thy Grace Set up thy Kingdom O! Jesu in my Heart for to become thy Faithful Servant is more to me then to have the Empire of this World Keep me stedfast O! Lord in serving thee till thou takest me finally to enjoy thee through Jesus Christ my Blessed Saviour and Redeemer Amen VI. LOrd grant that at all times I may account my Sins yea all my Sins to be my shame and make thy Laws yea all thy Laws to be my Rule and thy Blessed Will to be in every thing my choice and satisfaction And let â—â— Promises be my Hope thy Providence my Guard thy Grace my Strength and thy blessed Self my Portion both now and in the end through Jesus Christ my Saviour and Redeemer Amen THE TRYAL AND JUDGMENT OF THE SOUL OR Certain Questions or Articles of Examination whereby the Penitent himself may try and discover the Safety of his own Spiritual State On which the Guide of Souls may make Use of as he sees cause in visiting the Sick and in giving Absolution to them WHEN the Person whose Spiritual Estate is to be enquir'd into is sick some Questions may be premised touching his due Reception of his Sickness And these the Minister when he is the Examiner may begin after the Exhortation to the Sick in the Office of Visitation Questions touching the Sick Persons due Reception of their Sickness 1. Are you perswaded that your present Sickness is sent unto you by Almighty God 2. Do you believe and acknowledge not only his Justice but also his Kindness therein as in a Father's Visitation And that all which you now suffer is far less than you have deserved to suffer And that it is all sent for your Good 3. Do you therefore submit to it quietly and without murmuring because he sent it 4. And do you look up to him for Assistance and Deliverance and depend upon him to take it off again 5. And are you willing that he should do this when he pleases and contented to wait his time for it 6. And do you freely resign your self up to his disposal either to continue under your illness or to recover out of the same to live or die as he sees fittest for you 7. Do you study to be as easie as you can to those who attend or minister about you and to receive their well-meant Care and Services kindly and thankfully 8. Do you now plainly see the Vanity of this World and of all the Possessions Pleasures Pomp and Splendor thereof which seemed the most tempting and desirable to you in the time of your Health And are you fully sensible and convinced now how little there is in them and how soon you may be or are like to be taken from them 9. Do you desire therefore to keep your Heart loose and taken off from the same And to fix your Hopes and Desires upon God and Heavenly things which you will always find an Help at hand and a solid comfort in your Need 10. Will you endeavour by God's Grace to hold on in this Mind and still to shew forth the same if having by God's Blessing recovered your former Health you should come to converse again among these worldly Satisfactions and be enabled to relish and enjoy them If that is not done already I must remind you as your case requires I should and as I am directed and ordered to do by the Church to set your Worldly Affairs in order and to take care of a just Payment of all you owe and declare what is owing unto you and to make such clear Disposal of the Worldly Goods you have to leave as may both discharge your own Conscience and prevent Disputes and preserve Peace among your Friends who shall survive you I must also remind you according to your Ability to be liberal to the Poor remembring that what is disposed of this way is laid out upon your own Soul and that this giving to them is laying up Treasures for your self in Heaven And after these the Guide of Souls or the Penitent himself if the Sick Man is his own Examiner may proceed to other Questions for the Tryaâ— of his Estate in manner following Questions for the Penitent whereby to try and discover the Safety of their Spiritual State When you are passed from Death unto Judgment and stand at the great Day to be tried before the dreadful Tribunal of Jesus Christ you will be called to answer to the Searcher of Hearts and to give an Account of such Points as these I. 1. OF your Faith whether you have the Belief or Faith of a Christian. Whosoever believeth on him shall not perish but have Everlasting Life He that believeth on him is not condemned but he that Believeth not is condemned already John 3. 15 18. The Articles or Points of this Belief or Christian Faith are these I Believe in God the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord who was conceived by the Holy Ghost Born of the Virgin Mary suffered under Pontius Pilate was Crucified Dead and Buried he Descended into Hell the third Day he rose again from the Dead he Ascended into Heaven and sitteth on the Right Hand of God the Father Almighty from thence he shall come to judge the Quick and the Dead I Believe in the Holy Ghost the Holy Catholick Church the Communion of Saints the Forgiveness of Sins the Resurrection of the Body and the Life Everlasting Amen Questions about the Belief of them 1. DO you unfeignedly and from your Heart believe the Truth of those things which are pâ—ofessed in this Creed 2. Have you any Scruples about any Points thereof or about any other great Matters of Religion wherein you are desiâ—ous to have Satisfaction 3. Do you thank God from your very Soul that you were born and bred up in this Belief and do
Propiâ—iation for our sins 1 Jo. 2. 1. In the Visitation of the Sick O! Saviour of the World who by thy Cross and precious Blood hast redeemed us save this thy Servant and help him we humbly intreat thee O! Lord. Amen In the Communion SPare him O! Lord who hath confessed his sins unto thee that he whose Conscience by sin was accused by thy merciful Pardon may be absolved through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen The Collect for the 21 Sunday after Trinity GRant we beseech thee merciful Lord to this thy Servant and to all thy faithfull People Pardon and Peace that they may be cleansed from all their sins and serve thee with a quiet mind through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen In the Visitation of the Sick THe Almighty Lord who is a most strong Tower to all them that put their trust in him to whom all things in Heaven and Earth and under the Earth do bow and obey be now and evermore thy defence and make thee know and feel that there is none other Name under Heaven given to man in whom and through whom thou mayest receive Health and Salvation but only the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen Unto Gods gracious Mercy and Protection we commit thee The Lord bless thee and keep thee The Lord make his face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee Peace both now and ever-more Amen And the Peace of God which passeth all understanding keep your heart and mind in the knowledge and love of God and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord and the Blessing of God Almighty the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost be with you and remain in you always Amen After all this is done I would put the Penitent in mind of one thing viz. That the Holy Communion is still a further and Principal means to settle and secure both the Pardon and the Peace of his Soul The receiving it from the hand of God's authorized Minister acting therein by God's appointment and in God's name is the most effectual Absolution and one of the best Assurances and Seals of Pardon The Cup which he gives the Penitent to Drink from God is Christs Blood for the remission of sins or the remission of sins which he purchased by the shedding of his Blood And the method of the Church in the restauration of Penitents was to finish and consummate their Reconciliation by giving them the Holy Communion For as oft as sins are remitted or absolved in the Church they receive Christ's Body that the remission of sins which is granted may be conveyd by his Blood says St. Ambrose And therefore the sick Penitent when he has received the foregoing Absolution would provide well for the Peace and Comfort of his Soul if after some respite to recover his strength or at some convenient time soon after when he sees most fit he would Consumate his Absolution by receiving the Blessed Sacrament And other Penitents after the use of this Office would do well and wisely to do the same as soon after as conveniently they can AN OFFICE FOR One troubled in Mind SCRIPTURES Psalm 103. v. 8 to 19 Ezek. 18. v. 21. to the end Luke 15. Psal. 130. Ezek. 33. v. 11. to v. 20. 1. For Profession of Trouble I Am poor and needy and my heart is wounded within me Psal. 119. 22. Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me so that I am not able to look up they are more than the hairs of my head therefore my heart faileth me Psalm 40. 12. Thou writest bitter things against me and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth Job 13. 26. Lord why castest thou off my Soul why hidest thou thy face from me The Arrows of the Almighty are within me the poyson whereof drinketh up my spirit The terrors of God do set themselves in array against me Job 6. 4. Thy fierce wrath goeth over me thy terrors have cut me off While I suffer thy terrors I am distracted Psal. 88. 14 15 16. 2. Grounds of Comfort 1. From the Mercifulness of God WILT thou break a leaf driven to and fro and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble Job 13. 25. Will the Lord cast off for ever and will he be favourable no more Is his mercy clean gone for ever doth his promise fail for evermore Hath God forgotten to be gracious has he in anger shut up his tender Mercies And I said this is my infirmity but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High I will remember the works of the Lord surely I will remember thy wonders of old Psal. 77. 7 8 9 10 11. Thou hast always been a God forgiving iniquity transgression and sin Ex. 34. 6 7. The Lord is merciful and gracious he will not always chide neither will he keep his anger for ever Psal. 103. 8. 9. Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity He retaineth not his anger for ever because he delighteth in mercy Mat. 7. 18. 2. From Promises to the Penitent WHen the wicked Man turneth away from his Wickedness that he hath Commited and doth that which is Lawful and Right he shall save his Soul alive Because he considereth and turneth away from his Transgressions that he hath Committed he shall surely live he shall not Dye Repent therefore and turn your selves from all your Transgressions so Iniquity shall not be your Ruine Ezek. 18. 27 28 30. As I live saith the Lord God I have no pleasure in the Death of the Wicked but that the wicked turn from his way and live turn ye turn ye from your evil wayes for why will you Dye Ezek. 33. 11. Go and sin no more then will not I condemn thee Jo. 8. 11. Come unto me all ye that Labour and are heavy Laden and I will give you Rest. Mat. 11. 28. This is a faithfull saying and worthy of all acceptation that Jesus Christ came into the World to save Sinners of whom I am Chief 1 Tim. 1. 15. If any Man Sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous and he is the Propitiation for our Sins 1 Jo. 2. 1 2. The Blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all Sin 1 Jo. 1. 7. There is therefore now no Condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit Rom. 8. 1. 3. From the Compassionateness of our High Priest THe Lord Pityeth those that fear him like as a Father Pityeth his own Children For be knows our Infirmityes he remembreth that we are Dust. Psal. 103 13 14. We have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our Infirmities but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without Sin Heb. 4. 15. He was made like unto his Brethren that he might be a Merciful and Faithful High Priest For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted he
is able to succor them that are Tempted Heb. 2. 17 18. He can have compassion on or reasonably bear as in the Margin with the Ignorant and those that are out of the way Heb. 5. 2. He will not break the bruised Reed nor quench the Smoaking Flax. Isa. 42. 3. 3. The acceptableness of an Humble Spirit THe humble Publican stood afar off would not so much as lift up his Eyes to Heaven but smote upon his Breast saying God be mercyful to me a Sinner I tell you this Man went down to his House justified rather than the other for every one that Exalteth himself shall be abased and he that Humbleth himself shall be Exalted Luke 18. 13 14. To this Man will I look even to him that is Poor and of a Contrite Spirit and Trembleth at my word Isa. 66. 2. I dwell with him that is of a Conâ—rite and humble Spirit to revive the Spirit of the humble and to revive the Heart of the Contriâ—e ones Isa. 57. 15. He healeth the Broken in Heart and bindeth up their Wounds Psal. 147. 3. 4. Of Peace and Hope and Joy in God PEace I leave with you my Peace I give unto you John 14. 27. These things have I spoken unto you that in me you might have Peace John â—6 33. Herein is our Love made Perfect that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment Perfect Love casteth out fear because â—ear hath Torment 1 Jo. 4. 17 18. Let all those that seek thce rejoyce and be glad in thee Psal. 40. 16. The fruit of the Spirit is Joy Peace Gal. 5. 22. The Kingdom of God is Righteousness and Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost Rom. 14. 17. Finally my Brethren rejoyce in the Lord. Phil. 3. 1. Rejoyce in the Lord always and again I say Rejoyce In every thing by Prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God And the Peace of God which Passeth all understanding shall keep your Hearts and Minds through Christ Jesus Phil. 4. 6. 7. Now the God of hope fill you with all Joy and Peace in Believing that ye may abound in Hope through the Power of the Holy Ghost Rom. 15. 13. Shew the same Diligence every one of you to the full Assurance of Hope unto the end Which Hope have as an Anchor of the Soul both sure and Stedfast Heb. 6. 11. 19. Rejoyce in Hope Rom. 12. 12. Be sober and Hope to the End 1 Pet. 1. 13. Love his appearing 2 Tim. 4. 8. Looking for and hastening unto the comeing of the Day of God 2. Pet. 3. 12. Come Lord Jesus come quickly Rev. 22. 20. Glory be to the Father and to the Son c. As it was in the Begining c. 5. An Hymn of Thanksgiving after one is Delivered from Trouble of Mind The bruised Reed O! Lord thou haste not broke nor quenched the smoaking Flax Mat. 12. 20. Thou hast restored unto me the Joy of of thy Salvation and upheld me with thy free Spirit Thou hast made me to hear of Joy and Gladness that the Bones which thou hadst broken Rejoyce Psal. 51. 8. 12. I said I will confess my Transgresions unto the Lord and thou forgavest the Iniquity of my Sin For this shall every one that is Godly pray unto thee in a Time when thou mayest be found Psal. 32. 5. 6. Depart from me all ye Workers of Iniquity for the Lord hath heard the Voyce of my weeping The Lord hath heard my supplication the Lord will recieve my Prayer Psal. 6. 8. 9. He will regard the Prayer of the destitute and not despise their Prayer And this shall be written from the Generation to come and the People which shall be created shall Praise the Lord. Psal. 102. 17 18. 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 PRAYERS 1. A general Prayer for one troubled in mind O! Righteous Lord thy Justice hath brought me to reap the bitter fruits of my own evil ways and to possess mine iniquities My sins at length have taken hold upon me and thou writest bitter things against me and thy fierce wrath goeth over me Thy Terrors do even distract my thoughts my Spirit is quite broken within me by reason thereof and my Heart faileth me But O! Gracious God tho I be troubled and cast down let me not fall I humbly intreat thee into utter despair Whilst I live let me not forgoe the hopes of thy Mercy nor the care of my own Returne to my Duty When I groan under my Burdens make me to flee unto thee for ease When I am terrified with my former Sins let me make haste to forsake the same and labour diligently to set my Soul safe by new Obedience When I am struck with the sting of my own Guilts enable me O! Jesu to look up to thy Cross and to the merits thereof and to rest my Heart upon the same by true Repentance When I am most mistrustful of my self let me not mistrust thee nor call in Question any Comfortable Promises of thy free Grace and Mercy O! Father let thy smiteing reclaim and amend me and then let thy comforts revive me Let thy Dear Sons most Pretious Blood Expiate all my Sins and let his Grace cure them And instead of these most just and deserved Terrors wherewith thou now takest Vengeance for the same Lord let me have thy Mercy to forgive my Sins and cause me to hear the Voice of Peace to quiet and Comfort my amazed Conscience for my only Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ's sake Amen A Prayer for the same out of the Office of the Visitation of the Sick O! Blessed Lord the Father of Mercys and the God of all Comforts I beseech thee look down in pity and compassion upon me thy afflicted Servant Thou writest bitter things against me and makest me to possess my former in iquities thy wrath lyeth hard upon me and my Soul is full of Trouble But O! merciful God who hast written thy Holy word for our Learning that we through Patience and Comfort of thy Holy Scriptures might have hope give me a right understanding of my Self and of thy Threats and Promises that I may neither cast away my Confidence in thee nor place it any where but in thee Give me Strength against all my Temptations and Heal all my Distempers Break not the bruised Reed nor quench the smoaking Flax. Shut not up thy tender Mercys in Displeasure but make me to hear of joy and gladness that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoyce Deliver me from fear of the Enemy and lift up the light of thy Countenance upon me and give me Peace through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord Amen Collect for 21. Sunday after Trinity GRant I beseech thee Merciful Lord to me and all thy faithfull People Pardon and Peace that we may
be cleansed from all our Sins and serve thee with a quiet mind through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen Prayers for Particular Graces 1. Prayers for a sense of Sins without Despair of Mercy to Pardon them or of Grace to cure them I. O! Almighty Lord make me truly and deeply humble for my sins and fully sensible of my own Vileness Never suffer me so far to loose my fears as to grow conceited of my self or Careless of my Duty nor so far to presume upon thy Mercy and Pardon when I truly repent of the same as to cast off a true Dread and Terror of thy Justice if I should revolt and return to them again But deliver me O! my God from all such abjectness as instead of setting me further off from my Sins is fit only to keep me a surer Prisoner under them And whilst I retain so much fear and lowlyness as will keep up holy care and watchfulness grant that I may retain so much hope too as will encourage and strengthen Holy Endeavours and afford Peace And therefore O! my Dear Lord when I think the worst of my self let me not proceed to a Beleif that I am past all bounds of being pardoned by thy Mercy or of being made better by thy Grace Let me not once imagine when I am fallen either that it is in vain for me to endeavour to rise again or if by thy help I should rise that there is no hope of my being forgiven But when I am most jealous of my self let me be confident of thee And together with an humble sense and fear of my Sins enable me to keep up a sure hope of thy Promises and a strict care of my own Repentance and a Comfortable Persuasion of thy Gracious acceptance thereof for our Lord Jesus Christs sake Amen II. KEEP me always sensible O! God that as thou art most justly angred at my Sins so thou art most easy to be appeased and reconciled by my true Repentance And that thou art not more offended with me whilst I lye down in my folly than thou wilt be delighted with me when with the Penitent Prodigal I shall have come to my self and returned to my Duty Let me never forget that there is joy in Heaven over every Sinner that Repenteth and that whensoever a Sinner turneth away from his iniquity he shall be sure to find mercy with thee through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord Amen 2. A Prayer for Hopes of Mercy and of Grace to encourage Repentance MY Heart O! almighty Lord is full of trouble and ought to be so whilst it is fond of sin But let not my sorrow settle into a neglect of cure nor my fear grow up into Despair When I think ill of my self let me not fall O! most Gracious Father to think ill of thee and after I have grievously affronted thy Majesty as I have alass thro all the course of my life let me not come now at last to affront and exclude thy Mercy My Sins O! Lord are many and great But my sweet Saviours Merits and thy Mercys are infinitely greater And the Guilt thereof is not too great for thy Mercy to Pardon nor my proneness to repeat the same too great for thy Grace to overcome And therefore O! Dear God tho by my former evil life I have thrown off my Innocence give me not up therewith to throw away the thoughts of my own Repentance nor the hopes of thy Gracious acceptance Let me not shut that Gate of Mercy upon my self by Despair which thou hast set open for every truly contrite Sinner nor neglect by true Repentance to enter in at the same There is mercy with thee O God! that thou mayest be appeased And therefore there shall be Repentance with me and in hopes of thy mercy thou shalt be feared Tho I have falen yet by thy Grace I will not rest under my fall nor despair of thy Mercy when I am risen nor of strength by thy Grace to rise up again But setting my heart to fear thee I desire to rest my Soul on the sure hopes of thy Spirit to perfect my sincere Endeavours and on the sure Hopes of thy Mercy to Pardon mine Offences for the merits of thy dear Son and my only Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ Amen 3 A Prayer setting forth the Grounds of Hope thereof O! Father of Mercys be thou my support and stay under all this heavyness and Dejection of my Spirit And let not thy Mercy or my Faith fail me when all things else do Tho at present thou art angry with me yet O Lord thou retainest not anger for ever because thou delightest in Mercy Oh! resâ—ine thy beloved property towards me and laying aside thy fierce wrath shew Pity on me Tho I am a wicked and a wretched Creature yet thou art a Mercyful God Thou art a God forgiving Iniquity forgive that which lyes so heavy upon me †Thou art the Saviour of Sinners save me who am a most Greivous Sinner and let me not Perish in my Sins Thy Mercyes O! Gracious Father have been wonderful towards the greatest offenders such as thy servant David who was guilty of Adultery and Murther and Peter who forsware himself and denyed his â— after and Saul who Persecuted and made havock of the Church yea and even those wicked Jews who murdered and Crucyfied the Son of God himself and they were never shut against any Sinners who turned to thee with true Repentance Oh! then let not me despair of that Pardon which was never yet deny'd to any truly contrite heart in my condition Let not me imagine that thou who art insinite in mercys hast less mercy in store when I need than thou hadst for the needs of others Or that thou who art a tender Father towards all and Judgest without respect of persons wilt deny that mercy to my true repentance which according to thy gracious Promises thou didst extend to theirs I know O! God that I have deserved the severest Punishments But thy mercy dealeth not with us according to our Deserts And as my sins have deserved Punishment So thou O! Blessed Jesus hast deserved my Pardon of the same Thou art the Propitiation for our sins And thy Blood cleanseth us from all sin Oh! let me not mistrust the sufficiency of thy Sacrifice to atone for all mine Offences which expiates the Sins of the whole World If any Man sin thou art his Advocate with the Father And let not me imagine that thou canst ever move in vain or that whilst thou art ready yea sure to intercede in the cause of every other contrite Sinner thou wilt be silent and sit still in mine Holy Father have mercy on me Sweet Jesu cleanse and save me Wash away the stain of my Sins and speak peace to my affrighted conscience and revive and comfort up my broken Heart that I may live a monument of thy mercy and a
comfort to poor Penitents and Broken Spirits who shall hereafter he upheld thereby and hope for like mercy in their Dejection as thou shalt have graciously shewed to me in mine for my Blessed Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christs sake Amen 4 Prayers for Mercy and favourable allowances in trying our Services I. BE not extream O Lord in marking what I have done amiss nor deal Strictly and Rigorously with me but Judge of all my ways with mercy Thou knowest our frame and considerest how weak and frail it is Oh! make gracious allowances for all the Pityable frailtyes and forgetfullness thereof In pleading my Cause O Blessed Jesu shew thy self a mercyfull High Priest who canst bear in reason with our Ignorance and Errors and canst be touch'd with the secling of our insâ—â—mitys Stand not upon Rigours in discussing my poor Services nor reject any good beginnings of thy Grace in my returning Heart Quench not the smoaking Flax but by the gentle breathings of thy Holy Spirit quicken it into a pure flame Nor break the bruised Reed but in tender care and pity bind it up Examine all my ways and weaknesses Oh! my God with the indulgent and compassionate abatements of a Father Judge me O! Lord with the mercy and gentleness of a Saviour Try me with the favour of one that dyed for me and seeks at any rate if it may be done justly and reasonably to save not to condemn me Be such a Judge O! blessed Jesu as will not strain things to my prejudice but that seeks as far as it may be done with any fairness to make the best of my Cause A Judge that is ready to make the most of my well meant and sincere Services and to supply their wants and imperfections by a gracious acceptance And to make the least of my Errors and Miscarriages admitting and makeing the uttermost of any thing which can with truth and reason be offered in abatement or excuse thereof Judge me O! merciful God with such condescentions of Love and Mercy and with such mixtures of favour and equity as may give poor Sinners who know they labour under manifold defects and frailties cause to hope in thee and comfort to appear before thee With such as may make them look up to thee with Peace and Joy and long for thy coming and support them under all the Trvals and Sorrows of this troublesome World with a comfortable confidence of being received at last into thine everlasting Kingdom through the Merits and Mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord Amen II. LORD tho I am still offending thee yet I dearly love thee I can never take pleasure in my self but when I think I have pleased thee Nay I hate my self for it as often as I find that I have offended thee And I bear thee a Child 's obedient Regard and Reverence tho alass with too much of the alloy and mixture of a Childs folly and forgetfullness Look upon mine offences therefore I humbly intreat thee O! Father as the offences of one who loves thee above all things Look upon them as the slips of one whose Heart nevertheless is bent upon thy fear and devoted to thy Service But who pays thee this Service under a load of Humane Infirmitys and much frailty of the flesh Who at one time is drowsie at another unwary who is forgetful in many things and hasty and inconsiderate in more who naturally grows weary and remiss when tryals return often or continue long and whose unconstant Temper is too often dull and listless when it needs to be most active and vigorous and supine and inadvertent when it should be most circumspect and stand most strictly upon its Guard But through all this Cloud of mine infirmities be thou pleased O! Gracious Lord to look to my Love and Devotedness to thy Laws and mercifully accept my Love and pity my weaknesses Oh! thou who madest me Consider and Pity my frailty Oh! thou who hast bore our infirmities tho without sin in thy self have compassion on them in me Bear with them O! Lord as with the failures and forgetfulnesses of a sincerely affectionate and devoted tho of a very frail and heedless Servant Bear with them O! Father as with the Errors and Oversights of a loving and dutiful tho of a very weak and frail and simple Child And let me have thy Grace to help and guard me against them as well as thy mercy to pity and pardon them for my dearest Lord and Saviour Jesus Christs sake Amen 5. A Prayer for a Clear and settled Judgement of our Selves and of what may establish us in Peace O! God the giver of all wise thoughts and the light of those that sit in darkness send forth the light of thy Spirit into my Heart and scatter those Clouds of Fears and Ignorance which have been gathering and settling themselves upon it Rid me of all confusedness of thoughts and clear up my mind with just and due apprehensions both of thee and of my self And fix and stablish me O! Lord in right Judgements that when by thy Grace I am once well resolved in things belonging to my peace I may not be soon shaken in mind or easily removed from the same by any returns of ill grounded and distempered fears and melancholly suggestions Remove from me if it may please thee O! Merciful Father any disorders of a distempered Body that make me unstable in those just persuasions of thy Grace and Mercy which should do me good or that do any otherways cast a Mist before my troubled Spirit Suffer not my fears for my sins to encrease so far as instead of being a help to carry me out of them to prove a snare to detain me in them and to hinder me from putting forth my self to do my duty by holding me under an unprofitable sorrow and tempting me to despair of mercy Lord fill me plenteously with all those Graces of thy holy Spirit which must recommend my Soul to thee and with such comforts of the same as may sweeten Religion to me and carry me instead of spending my self in fruitless complaints to put forth real endeavours of doing thee Honour and Service and to lay out my self in ways of thy Glory and of mine own everlasting peace through Jesus Christ my Lord Amen 6. A Prayer for Recommendation of our Humble fears to Gods merciful acceptance BUT tho I am afraid yet O! my God I trust in thee My fears and mistrusts are only of my self and of the worthlessness and unacceptableness of mine own Services or of the insufficiency or insincerity of my own Repentance but are not at all a mistrust of thy Promises or of the certainty of thy mercy towards all true Penitent Sinners And let not this lowliness in mine own Eyes O! Merciful Lord hinder me from being acceptable in thine Look graciously upon me as thou didst upon the poor Publican tho I stand afar off and dare only call for mercy at