of thy mercy I here prostrate my Self before thee begging leave of thee that I may once more worship and adore thee and be admitted into thy Service which is perfect Freedome It is the unfeigned desire of my soul now wholly to attend upon thee and to devote my self entirely to thy Service I am come into thy presence to call my self to an Account for my Sins with Sorrow to bewail them most earnestly to deprecate thy displeasure for them and to renew my Vows and Obligations to thee against them for the time to come to acknowledg my dependance on thee to praise thee for thy Mercies and to make an absolute surrender of my self all the daies of my Life unto thy Service But alas O Lord what am I and what can I do without thee I do not attempt this great Work trusting in any power or strength of my own but in the gracious assistance of thy most holy and blessed Spirit O Gracious God who hast promised to give thy Holy Spirit unto them that ask it send it now down into my Soul and let him bring into my remembrance and convince me of every Sin and every Evil way What I see not teach thou me Search me O God and know my heart O try me and know my thoughts and see what way of Wickedness there is in me and lead me in the way everlasting Make the 〈◊〉 remembrance of my former sins bitter unto my soul Work in me a compleat repentance for them a loathing and abhorrence of them stedfast purposes and resolutions of forsaking them for the time to come and of making an entire resignation of my Self to thy service that so I may obtain the pardon of them in and through Jesus Christ O let not O Lord any of my former great and crying Sins the breach of former vows and promises my impenitency or obduracy or want of suitable Affections for this holy Exercise or any other thing interpose between me and thee this day to stop the current of thy mercy or cause thee to hide thy Face from me in displeasure But gracious God scatter all my Sins which may be as a cloud to hinder my prayers from coming up towards thee and thy mercies from coming down upon me that so in the end of this my Duty I may have an assurance of thy favour which is better than life and all the comforts of it I may have peace with thee and peace in my own Conscience and joy in the Holy Ghost and receiving Power and Strength from thee may run with chearfulness the ways of thy Commandments and serve thee by 〈◊〉 sincere impartial uniform obedience all the days of my Life through Jesuâ— Christ Amen Those whose Piety may inlarge their Devotions may here also fitly use thâ— two Prayers of the Author of the wholâ— Duty of Man for Sincerity and Contrition which because all those perhapâ— into whose hands this Manual may fall may not have by them I shall anon insert towards the end of it Then betake your self to a Seriouâ— and Impartial Examination of your seâ—â— concerning your Sins and if you be a person who use your self to those periodical Returns every Week your inquisition need go no farther than the preceding Week unless it be before every Sacrament when it may be necessary to renew your Repentance for the Capital Sins of your whole Life you may begin with reflecting upon the spending every day of the week where you were in what Company and what your Business or the like which will be apt to afford you fresh remembrances of your Sins and then if you please you may first consider and examine what your thoughts have been wherein they have been exorbitant and sinful what the bent and inclinations of your heart have been and how you have endeavoured to suppress the evil and to cherish the good and when you have found them humbly confess them and lift up your Soul to God in this Ejaculation Lord be merciful to me a Sinner Consider next your Words Whether they have been Vain Idle Corrupt Lying Detracting Uncharitable Passionate or the like Whether they have been mix'd with that Grave Discretion tending to Reprehension and Edification c And then after Confession annex the former Ejaculation God be merciful c. Last of all Examine thy self strictly also concerning all thy Actions thy Violations of the First and Second Table thy Sins of Omission and Comission towards God thy Neighbour and thy Self Examine how thou hast spent thy time resisted Temptations or compli'd with them and what the circumstances of aggravation have been then humbly confess them Endeavour to Work your heart to a true Sorrow and Contrition for them Be angry with your self that you should be so basely led away by the corruptions of your Nature and the pleasures of Sin which are but for a Moment by Evil company or the like Temptations then lift up thy Soul in this manner Thus thus O Lord have I sinned against thee yea I know not O Lord how often I have offended many a times more I am sure I have which I have either forgot or not adverted to O clâ—anse cleanse thou me from my secret faults Here make serious Resolutions against every Sin and especially those thou hast by Examination found thy self guilty of After this fall down up on thy knees or perhaps if the Sins be great and thy humility so too thou may'st think it more proper to prostrate thy self on the ground and Petition the Throne of Grace in this or the like Form following O God the Father of Heaven have Mercy upon me a miserable Sinner O God the Son Redeemer of the World have Mercy c. O God the Holy Ghost proceeding from the Father and the Son have Mercy c. O Holy Blessed and Glorious Trinity Three Persons and one God have Mercy c. The Prayer taken out of the Whole Duty of Man magna ex parte O Most holy holy holy Lord God who art of purer Eyes than to behold Iniquity how shall I who am nothing but Iniquity dare to appear before thee Or take so Sacred a Name into my unhallowed lips but yet O Lord whom shall I invoke but thee whom I have offended Against thee thee only have I sinned and done these evils in thy sight I know that thou alone canst forgive sin and that we might not be discouraged to come unto thee thou hast publish'd thy self to be the Lord gracious and merciful slow to anger and of great goodness a God forgiving Iniquity Transgression and Sin yea thou hast promised That if we confess our Sins thou wilt be faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness Relying therefore on this thy gracious promise I am now emboldened to postrate my self before thee in all Humility of Soul and Body desiring to be ashamed and to blush when I lift up mine Eyes unto thee for my Iniquities are increased over
my head and my Trespass is grown up even unto Heaven All the thoughts and imaginations of my heart have been Evil and only Evil and that continually I have wrought many and great provocations in thy sight especially O Lord c. Here enumerate thy old capital Sins and that in the mosâ— provoking manner They have not been only single but repeated acts of sin for O Lord of this black Cataloguâ— which I have now brought forth before thee how few are there which I have not often times committed nay which are not become even habitual and customary unto me And to this frequency I have added both agreediness and obstinacy in sinning turning into my course as the Horse rusheth into the Battel doing evil with both hands earnestly yea hating to be reformed and casting thy words behind me quenching thy Spirit within me which testified against me to turn me from my evil ways and frustrating all those outward means whether of Judgment or Mercy which thou hast used to draw me to thy self Nay O Lord even my Repentances may be numbred amongst my greatest Sins they have sometimes been feigned and hppocritical always so slight and ineffectual that they have brought forh no Fruit in amendment of Life but I have still return'd with the Dog to his vomit and the Sow to the mire again and have added the breach of many resolutions and vows both at thy Table and in private to all my former Guilts Yea O Lord I desire to confess to my own shame and confusion that since the last time that I humbled my self in thy sight and so solemnly vowed and purposed to forsake every Sin and not to regard any iniquity in my heart I have returned unto the same if not worse Sins than I then came to confess before thee and to beg pardon at thy hands for for my thoughts O Lord have been vain c. Here enumerate the sins My Words have been inconsiderate c. my Actions have been unweighed c. And besides all this O Lord I have still the same proneness to that which is evil aversness and obstinacy towards what is good I have still an impenitent hard heart which is not sufficiently mollified with the sense of my Sins or thy wrath due unto me for them O God! God be merciful to me a Sinner yea I know not how often I have offended O cleanse cleanse thou me from my secret faults Thus thus O Lord am I become out of measure sinful and since I have thus chosen death I am most worthy to take part in it even in the second death the lake of Fire and Brimstone which burneth for evermore This this O Lord is in Justice to be the portion of my Cup to me belongs nothing but shame and confusion of face and that eternally But to thee O Lord God belongeth mercy and forgiveness though I have â—â—belled against thee O remember not my Sins and Offences but according to thy mercy think thou upon me O Lord for thy goodness Thou sentest thy Son to seek and to save that which was lost be hold O Lord I have gone astray like a Sheep that is lost O seek thy servant and bring me back again to the Shepherd and Bishop of my Soul Let thy Spirit work in me a hearty sense and detestation of all my abominations that true contrition of heart which thou hast promised not to despise And then be thou pleased to look upon me in mercy to take away all my iniquity and to receive me graciously into thy favour and for his sake who hath done nothing amiss be thou reconciled to me who have done nothing well Wash away the guilt of all my Sins in his Blood bury them so deep in his grave and hide them in his Wounds that they may never rise up in Judgment against me either here to shame me or hereafter to condemn me and subdue the power of them by his grace and grant O Lord that I may from this hour bid a final adieu to all Vngodliness and Worldly Lusts that I may never once more cast a look toward Sodom or long after the Flesh Pots of Egypt but consecrate my self intirely to thee to serve thee in righteousness and true holiness all the days of my life reckoning my self to be dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our blessed Lord and Saviour Amen After this go on with your Devotions and pray over the One and fiftieth Psalm HAve mercy upon me O God after thy great goodness according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences Wash me throughly from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sins For I acknowledg my faults and my sin is ever before me Against thee thee only have I sinned and done these Evils in thy sight that thou mightest be justified in thy saying and clear when thou art judged Behold I was shapen in Wickedness and in sin hath my Mother conceived me But lo thou requirest Truth in the inward parts and shalt make me to understand Wisdom secretly Thou shalt purge we with Hysop and I shall be clean thou shalt wash me and I shall be whither than Snow Thou shalt make me hear of joy and gladness that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoyce Turn thy face from my sins and put out all my misdeeds Make me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy holy Spirit from me O take away this stony this hard heart of mine and give me a heart of flesh O give me the comfort of thy help again and stablish me with thy free Spirit Then shall I teach thy ways unto the wicked and sinners shall be converted unto thee Deliver me from blood-guiltiness O God thou that art the God of my health and my tongue shall sing of thy righteousness Thou shalt open my lips O Lord and my mouth shall shew thy praise For thou desirest no Sacrifice else would I give it thee but thou delightest not in burnt Offering The Sacrifice of God is a troubled Spirit a broken and contrite Heart O God shalt thou not despise O be savourable and gracious unto Sion build thou the Walls of Jerusalem Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifice of Righteousness with the burnt Offerings and Oblations then shall they offer Young Bullocks upon thine Altar 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 Conclude your Penitentials with the following Collects ALmighty and everlasting God who hatest nothing that thou hast made and do'st forgive the sins of all them that are penitent create and make in me a new and contrite heart that I worthily lamenting my sins and acknowledging my wretchedness may obtain of thee the God of all mercy perfect remission and forgiveness through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O
certainly if we are dutiful Children we shall not suffer the remembrance of them to be buried in ungrateful silence but as the Heart will be filled with the sense so will the mouth with the acknowledgment of his Mercies Who can express the noble Acts of the Lord or shew forth all his praise Psal 106.2 Oh how great is the Sum of them If we tell them they are more in number than the Sand Psal 139.17 18. Praise the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me praise his Holy Name Praise the Lord O my Soul and forget not all his benefits 3. And is God so merciful Then this O my Soul should teach thee humility and to have low thoughts of thy self If thou wert not miserable thou hadst no need of Mercy If thou wert righteous 't were but justice to receive good from the hands of God not mercy Every particular blessing I enjoy is the fruit and effect of the mercy of God and ought to each me a Lesson of Humility Many Stripes many Judgments indeed have I deserved but I must confess with holy Jacob That I am not worthy of the least of all his Mercies Gen. 32.10 4. Is God a God of such infinite Mercies This then should teach thee O my Soul in all thy difficulties and distresses in all thy wants and necessities to have recourse unto him to rest and depend upon him The Angel of the Lord saith holy David tarrieth round about them that fear him Psal 34.7 and delivereth them And Psal 34.22 The Lord delivereth the Souls of his Saints and all that put their trust in him shall not be destitute And as in temporal dangers so in temporal wants we must cast all our care upon him for he careth for us 1 Pet. 5.7 They that fear the Lordlack nothing Psal 34.9 and v. the 10. They that seek the Lord shall want no manner of thing that is good God is a God all-sufficient and able to help me in my greatest necessities He is a God rich in Mercy and will not suffer me to want therefore I will cast my burden upon him I will put my trust in him 5. Is God so Merciful This should teach me to fear him This may perhaps seem strange What shall I fear him because of his Mercifulness I have great reason to trust him indeed and to love him but shall I fear him for it Yes certainly we ought to fear him even for his Mercy There is forgiveness with thee saith David therefore thou may'st be feared Psal 130.4 and 67. ult God shall bless us and all the ends of the Earth shall fear him Though he forgives though he blesses though he shews us mercy yet we must fear him Yea I must needs say that of all Gods Attributes Mercy is the dreadfullest for where-ever his Mercy lights and is neglected or returns empty without answering Gods Designs he will certainly recompense his abused Mercy with double Severity Laesa patientia furor fit 6. Is God thus Merciful This should teach us to imitate his Mercy by being merciful to our poor necessitous Brethren Let us imitate it in its universality it is over all his works Who is there under the Sun that hath not tasted of it in its reality He giveth liberally and upbraideth not It is far from God to do any thing seemingly 't is not enough to profess Compassion and to say as those in St. James ch 2.16 Depart in peace be ye warmed be ye filled and yet give nothing to cloath or to feed them But thou shall do according to the Precept in Deuteronomy ch 15.10 Thou shalt surely give him and thy heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him And to encourage thee take Gods own promise annex'd to it Because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy Works and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto Thus we must imitate God in being merciful unto all and in being really merciful All our acts of mercy to our poor Brethren Christ takes as done to him Matth. 25.40 In as much as ye have done it unto the least of these my Brethren ye have done it unto me The miseries of my Brethren are my own miseries and therfore your mercies to them are in a sense mercies to me Lastly Is God thus merciful This should teach thee O my Soul to be continually praising him for his Mercies Praise is a Duty incumbent on all the Sons of Men because that all have tasted of his goodness and his mercy Give the Lord saith David the honour due unto his Name Psal 29.2 Shewing that it is not an arbritrary or voluntary act but a just debt which we owe to God God not only supplieth but even daily loadeth us with his benefits as the Psalmist observes and as he expects no other so we can make no other retribution unto him but our Praises and Thanksgivings O let us never then defraud him of that so easie Tribute but let our Hearts be continually filled with the sense and our Mouths with the acknowledgment of his Mercies We confess O Lord that we are not worthy of the least of all thy Mercies and therefore the less we deserve them the more thou deservest our Praises O let us not by our ingratitude provoke thee to discontinue thy Mercies or to shut up thy tender Mercies in displeasure and so teach us to value them by making us feel the want of them Alelujah Of the certainty of Death and Judgment Hebrew 9.27 And as it it appointed unto Men once to die but after this the Judgment GOD at first Created Man in a state of Innocency and appointed him Laws to observe and gave him withal a power to keep them and to the keeping of which he annexed the continuation of a happy life and immunity from death and lest his credulous Nature might be too easily imposed upon to his own and his posterities ruin lest the ties of Love and promise of a Reward were not strong enough to bind him to his Duty and Allegiance God was pleased to hedg in his way with a denunciation of threatnings and judgments in case he should any way disobey those Laws set and tells him Gen. 2.17 In the day that thou eatest thereof transgressest my commands for I have told thee positively thou shalt not eat of it thou shalt surely die but Man degenerate Man soon cast off his primitive Innocence violates those Laws and thereby renders himself and all his posterity obnoxious to that Judgment of Death before threatned And now God ratifies his former denunciation establishes it by a perpetual Decree That unto dust he shall return Gen. 3.19 So that now we see whence Death had its first beginning Rom. 5.12 It is but the product and birth of Sin Sin having once conceived never prove abortive but brings forth Death James 1.15 It is now appointed unto Men once to die and as certain as the Decree of God is
about me a Body of Flesh which is ready to shrink at the approach of any thing grievous do thou O Blessed Jesu pray for me that my Faith fail not that no terrors of Death or Pains may ever shake my constancy or cause me to deny that Lord that suffered such bitter Agonies for me but that I may continue faithful unto Death and so receive a Crown of Life 13. Vpon an Epileptick Person falling into the Fire and being thereby Cured of his Disease THis Person had for a long time laboured of his Epilepsie the accessions of which at length were so frequent and violent that it would often precipitate him to the Ground without as much as giving him any warnings of it's approaches where he would lie as incapable of helping himself as he was insensible of his condition The Patient used to have a Servant attending him to prevent danger but was now by God's providence out of the way In the mean time a fit seizes him he falls into the Fire which being fervent scalded and burned the hinder part of his Head and Neck whereby were produced many Blisters and Ulcers which afterwards unexpectedly by Gods blessing effected a Cure of that obstinate Disease which hitherto had eluded the force of all Medicines Good God! what a Providence is this how wonderful art thou in all thy doings what an allay of Mercy with Judgment is here judgment in Afflicting mercy in Relieving The impotent Man which thirty and eight years had been Diseased lay a long time at the Pool Bethesda but could not be cured till our Saviour came when we are all together unable to help our selves and when all outward means do fail then God comes with his seasonable Relief and to our amazement and admiration perfects that which we could not expect He that once brought light out of darkness can still bring good out of evil nothing shall impede or hinder his Designs but even that which in humane Judgment seems contrary shall prove a salutary Remedy This shall teach me even in the mid'st of the heaviest pressures not to despond but to trust in him who is able by ways tho altogether unknown to me to relieve me in the greatest difficulties Ejaculations for several Occasions For Pardon of Sin HAve mercy upon me O God according to thy loving kindness according to the multitude of thy tender Compassions blot out all my Transgressions Wash me throughly from my Iniquity and cleanse me from my Sin For I acknowledg my Transgressions and my Sins are ever before me O God thou knowest my foolishness and my Sins are not hid from thee Purge me with Hyssop and I shall be clean wash me and I shall be whiter than Snow If thou Lord should'st be extream to mark what is done amiss O Lord who could abide it But there is forgiveness with thee therefore thou may'st be feared Hide thy Face from my Sins O Lord and blot out all mine Offences Be Merciful unto me O Lord heal my Soul for I have sinned against thee Remember O Lord thy tender mercies and loving kindness for they have been ever of old For thy Names sake for thy Mercies sake yea for thy dear Son Jesus Christ his sake pardon all my Iniquities for they have been very great For Grace TEach me to do the thing that pleaseth thee for thou art my God Shew me thy way O Lord and I will walk in thy Truth O knit my heart to thee that I may love and fear thy holy Name Lead me in thy Truth and teach me for thou art the God of my Salvation on thee do I wait all the day With my whole heart have I sought thee O let me not wander from thy Commandments Incline my heart unto thy Testimonies and not to Covetousness Make me a clean heart O God and renew a right Spirit within me Search me O God and know my heart try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way Everlasting Set a Watch O Lord before my Mouth and keep the door of my Lips Blessed art thou O Lord teach me thy Statutes So teach me O Lord to number my days that I may apply my heart unto Wisdom Lord make me to know mine end and the measure of my days what it is that I may know how frail I am For the Light of Gods Countenance O Lord hide not thy Face far from me put not thy Servant away in anger thou hast been my help leave me not neither forsake me O God of my Salvation O Lord whatever thou art pleas'd to deny me yet lift up the Light of thy Countenance upon me Thy loving kindness is better than life My Lips shall praise thee Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy holy Spirit from me Give me the comfort of thy help again and stablish me with thy free Spirit Withhold not thy tender Mercies from me O Lord let thy loving kindness and truth continually preserve me Turn me again O God of Hosts and cause thy Face to shine upon me and so shall I be saved Make me to hear of joy and gladness that the Bones which thou hast broken may rejoyce Speak peace unto my Soul and Conscience and say unto my Soul Thou art my Salvation Thanksgiving I Will praise the Lord according to his Righteousness I will sing praise to the Name of the Lord most high I will praise thee O Lord with my whole heart I will shew forth all thy marvellous Works I will freely sacrifice unto thee I will praise thy Name O Lord for it is good Blessed be the Lord God of Israel which only doth wondrous things Morning and Evening and at Noon will I praise thee Seven times a day will I praise thee because of thy Righteous Judgments While I live I will praise the Lord I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being Praise the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me praise his holy Name Praise the Lord O my Soul and forget not all his benefits Blessed be the Lord God which daily loadeth us with his benefits who is the God of our Salvation and blessed be the Name of his Majesty from everlasting and to everlasting Amen Amen In the time of outward or inward Trouble O Lord rebuke me not in thine Anger neither chasten me in thy heavy displeasure Look upon my Adversity and Misery and forgive me all my sin Be merciful unto me O Lord for my Soul trusteth in thee and under the shadow of thy Wings shall be my refuge until these Calamities be overpast Have Mercy upon me O Lord for I am weak O Lord heal me for my Bones are vexed My Soul also is sore vexed but thou O Lord how long Be not far from me for trouble is near at hand and there is none to help Give me help for I am in trouble and vain is the help of Man Keep me as the
that they may never rise to shame me here or to condemn me hereafter and I pray thee O Lord to give me every day a deeper sense of my sins and a more compleat repentance for them a loathing and detestation of them and let their remembrance be bitter unto my soul Send down thy holy Spirit into my heart and let him root out every accursed unmortified Lust and sinful corruption from my Soul and destroy in me all the remaining affections unto Sins and dispose my Soul to a constant obedience of all thy Commandments and keep me in an habitual frame and temper of Piety all the days of my Life O Lord give me daily a clearer sight of my Duty and incline my heart to walk exactly and so acceptably continually before thee make me sensible of thy exuberent Love and let not all thy mercies longanimity and patience towards me a miserable Sinner prove successless but raise in my heart all grateful acknowledgments Blessed be thy great and glorious Name O Lord God for all the mianfestations of thy love and goodness towards me unto this day for the Mercies of thy right as well as thy left hand but especially for the Fountain and Foundation of all our Mercies Jesus Christ for the means of Grace for the hopes of Glory for thy particular preservation of me and mine this Night past and for all other thy goodness and loving kindness and I pray thee O Lord Give me that due sense of all thy Mercies that my heart may be unfeignedly thankful and that I may shew forth thy praise not only with my lips but in my life by giving up my self to thy Service and by walking before thee in Holiness and Righteousness all my days And now O Lord since thou hast been pleased in thy Mercy to bring me safe to the beginning of another day preserve me I beseech thee in the same by thy mighty power from all sin and from all danger Let thy spirit and providence direct and preside over all my Actions this day and keep me by the power of thy Grace from those Sins to which my wicked and disorderly Nature subjects me to but especially free me from Here mention thy most prevailing Sins or such as thy Nature Business or Company may that day incline thee to Make me exactly watchful over my self to behave my self as in thy presence and to set thee always before my Eyes that so I do nothing which may dishonour thee my God or wound my own Soul and grant that by the conduct of thy Grace I may be directed and assisted in keeping strictly close unto all thy Commandments and in the discharge of my Duty in that place and Calling in which thou hast set me Let thy blessing O Lord attend me in my Studies Labours or Employments this day give me holiness of intention in them and succeed all with thy benediction Let thy Providence signally watch over me and thy Presence secure me from all evil either of Soul or Body this day and for ever Hear me O Lord and answer me graciously and do for me more abuundantly then I can ask or think and all I beg for Jesus Christ his sake for whom my Soul desires to bless thee and in whosemost prevailing name and holy words I farther pray unto thee saying Our Father which art in heaven c. A Prayer for the Morning in publick with thy Family which with little variation may be also used in private It is a good thing to give thanks unto thee O Lord and to sing praise unto thy name O thou most high to shew forth thy loving kindness in the Morning and thy faithfulness every Night Hear our Prayers O Lord and accept of our praises in Jesus Christ O Most Gracious Lord our God whose Mercies endures for ever and thy Remembrance throughout all generations Thou art boundless in thy compassions towards all thy Creatures and art infinitely good unto them not only beyond what they can deserve but what they can wish We the unworthyest of them desire at this time to give glory unto thee in a humble and hearty acknowledgment of those many mercies and favours both Spiritual and Temporal which thou from time to time hast vouchsafed unto us and most liberally heaped upon us We confess O Lord that we are not worthy of the least of all thy Mercies but most worthy of the greatest and severest of all thy Judgments especially when we consider the sinfulness and wickedness of our lives past for we have drank iniquity like water gone on very Stubbornly and Rebelliously against thee and thy Commandments all the days of our lives continually committing those things thou forbiddest and leaving undone those things which thou commandest yea all the thoughts and imaginations of our hearts have been evil and only evil and that continually and which is worst of all we have still the same proneness to all that is evil but aversness and obstinacy towards that which is good We have still impenitent hard hearts that are not mollified with the sense of our Sins or of thy Wrath due unto us for them But O thou who art a God of infinite Mercies and Compassions manifest the same unto us in the full pardon and forgiveness of all the Sins that ever we have committed against thy Divine Majesty Accept of that satisfaction and attonement made by thy innocent and beloved Son Jesus Christ and for the merits of his suffering pardon all that is past and be thou fully reconciled unto us And so assist us with thy Grace and Holy Spirit that we may be able for the time to come to repel all the temptations of the Devil the World and the Flesh and to live more Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present evil World that so having our fruits unto holiness here we may have our ends everlasting Life O make us stedfastly resolved to despise all the pleasures of sin rather than offend thee our God and to chuse the most difficult parts of Virtue and Piety to obtain and secure thy Love O let us delight in thy Service and desire thy favour above alâ— things which is better than life it self and all the comforts of it Let us love what thou lovest and hate what thou hatest wish nothing so much as to please thee fear nothing so much as to offend thee and in all things be conformable to thy holy Will and walk before thee in all well pleasing O Lord put us in mind of Death and Judgment that every day we draw nearer to our last day and that we shall all shortly give a severe account of all that we have done in the Body and all that we have left undone of all that we have spoken nay of all that we have thought So teach us therefore O Lord to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto Wisdom and continually so to demean our selves as those that must one day appear before the Judgment seat
Counsel and afterwards receive them to thy self in Glory Extend thy Compassions towards all that are in any Want Trouble Sorrow Sickness or other Adversity either of Soul or Body O visit and relieve them according to thine own Mercies Reward those that have done us any good and pardon those that have done or wish'd us any Evil. And now O Lord we desire to mingle praises with our Prayers and to bless and magnifie thy glorious Name for all thy Mercies and Favours from time to time vouchsafed unto us but more especially for the Fountain of all our Mercies Jesus Christ for the means of Grace and the hopes of Glory for all those Temporal Mercies which thou hast given us richly to enjoy For the Mercies of the day past to our Souls and Bodies to our selves and others Blessed be the Lord God which daily loadeth us with his benefits even the God of our Salvation and blessed be the Name of his Majesty for ever and ever Finally we recommend unto thee our good God our Souls and our Bodies all that we have and all that are near and dear unto unto us most humbly beseeching thee to receive us this Night into thine Almighty protection and whensoever it shall please thee that our Souls depart our Bodies receive them O Lord receive them into the Arms of thine Everlasting Mercy in whose presence is fulness of joy and at whose right hand are pleasures for evermore Grant us quiet and comfortable Refreshment by sleep and awaken us again the next Morning with hearts full of the sense and with mouths full of the acknowledgments of thy Mercies that we may all of us return with more cheerfulness to serve thee in the respective places of our calling Hear us O most merciful Father and graciously answer us in these our Requests and not only in these but in whatever else thou knowest more needful and requisite for us Accept we humbly pray thee both of our persons and our Prayers at this time pardon the many frailties and imperfections of our holy things and deal with us not according to their weakness or our demerits but according to the Richness of thy Mercy in and through Jesus Christ for whom we bless thee and in whose Name and Words we farther pray Our Father which art in Heaven c. Thy Grace O Lord Jesus Christ thy Love O heavenly Father thy sweet and comfortable Fellowship O holy and blessed Spirit of Grace be with us remain with us guide defend and comfort us this Night and for evermore Amen A Prayer for Sunday Morning in the Family which with very little variation may be used by any single person in his Closet Hear our Prayer O Lord give Ear to our Supplications In thy faithfulness answer us and in thy righteousness O Thou high and lofty One that inhabitest Eternity Thy Name is great wonderful and holy and thou dwellest in the high and holy place with them also that are of a contrite and humble Spirit howshall we then sinful Dust and Ashes who dwell in Houses of Clay and are very far from that Humility and Contrition which should render us fit for thy Co-habitation dare to appear before thee or approach the place where thine honour dwelleth But though thou art high yet hast thou respect unto the lowly and art pleas'd to humble thy self to behold the things that are done by us poor wretched Mortals here on Earth Thou art pleased not only to permit but to invite and command us miserable and needy Creatures to make known our Requests unto thee and it is our interest as well as our duty so to do In obedience therefore unto thy Commands in a sense of our Duâ—y and in a sense of our own Necessities which can no where else be supplied but from the riches of thy Bounty we are now emboldened at this time to present our Petitions unto thee And because thou hast said that if we confess our sins thou wilt be faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness relying an thy Mercies and gracious Promises we desire in the first place most humbly to confess before thee that we were not only conceived in Sin and brought forth in Iniquity but as if that had been but a small matter we have proceeded on to the commission of many actual Transgressions To Sins of omission we have daily added sins of commission To sins of weakness and surprize sins of wiljulness and obstinacy To sins of ignorance sins of presumption Yea O Lord if we reflect upon the actions of our lives past and seriously consider how we have behaved our selves even from the first use of our Reason to this very moment we can scarcely find that sin which we have not committed that Commandment of thine which we have not often broken although to the keeping of it thou hast annexed a great reward Thou hast not been wanting unto us in any thing that might invite or incourage us to promote the welfare of our precious and immortal Souls Thou hast given us the knowledg of our duty and instructed us in it and followed it with the inward work of thy Grace whereby we might be enabled to perform it and to conquer our sinful Lusts and Desires But O Lord we still retain a darkness in our Vnderstandings an unruliness in our Affections and a crookedness in our Wills bending down towards the carnal part and great proneness to gratifie it Thou hast deterred us also by thy menaces and denunciation of Judgments saying Thou wilt by no means clear the guilty Tribulation and Anguish Indignation and Wrath upon every Soul that sinneth and yet neither have thy Mercies allured us nor thy Threats affrighted us from following the dictates of our own sinful Inclinations but we have gone on in a continual Rebellion against thee as if we meant speedily to fill up the measure of our Iniquity and to hasten our own destruction And now O Lord what can we say for our selves But that we have deserved the severest of thy wrath and displeasure and that it is purely of the Lords Mercy that we are not consumed And now Lord what is our hope Truly our hope is even in thee Thou hast revealed thy self to be a God gracious and merciful slow to Anger and of great kindness repenting thee of the evil We Appeal therefore from the Bar of thy Justice to the Throne of thy Mercy humbly beseeching thee not to deal with us after our sins nor to reward us according to our Iniquities but for thy Names sake for thy Mercies sake yea for thy dear Son Jesus Christ his sake in whom thou hast said thou art well plsased blot out the multitude of our Transgressions pardon all our sins and receive us graciously yet once more into thy favour And as we destre thee to free us from the guilt and punishment of our sins so we pray thee also to free us from the power of them too
Give us grace to apply it to our selves and to reduce it into practice that thy word may be unto us the savour of life unto life and not unto any Soul of us the savour of death unto death These Mercies O most merciful Father for our selves or any of thine and whatever else thou knowest fitting for us together with the acceptance of our praises we humbly beg at thy hands though not for any worthiness that is in our selves for we utterly disclaim all but for the Merits of him who alone is worthy Jesus Christ the Righteous in whose endearing Name and holy Words we continue to pray unto thee saying Our Father c. Thy Grace O Lord Jesus Christ c. A Prayer for Sunday Evening in the Family Open thou our Lips O Lord and our Mouths shall shew forth thy praise O Most blessed and glorious Lord God Father of Mercies and of our Lord Jesus Christ Thou fillest Heaven with thy Glory and the Earth with thy Goodness All thy works praise thee O Lord and thy Saints give thanks unto thee Thy Name only is excellent and thy praise above Heaven and Earth but because thou art good and delightest in doing good thou art pleased to permit us thy poor unworthy Creatures here on Earth to offer up our Prayers and our Praises unto thee who dwellest in the highest Heavens that thou may'st reward them with thy favour and loving kindness And that we might never be wanting to our selves thou art daily pleased to give us new and fresh occasions of Praising and Magnifying thy Holy Name Even this very day we have had large Experiences of thy Goodness which call for our highest Thanksgivings The temporal Mercies we have received in thy protection of us from those many dangers to which we were exposed by reason of our sins and the plentiful refreshment we have had in the use of thy good Creatures deserve our due acknowledgments but that thou hast given us Dust and Ashes an opportunity and leave to come into thy more immediate presence to wait upon thee in thy House to speak unto thee the glorious Majesty of Heaven before whom Angels cover their Faces and to hear thee speaking unto us instructing us in our Duties and offering unto us terms of Reconciliation most justly challenge our devoutest Affections and most exalted Praises Thou hast given thine only Son to be a Sacrifice for us by whom we have Redemption through his Blood thou hast given him Victory over Hell and the Grave by his Resurrection from the dead and he is now sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high making continual Intercession for us Thou hast given us the constant Solicitations of thy blessed Spirit of Truth the Seal of our Adoption and the earnest of the Inheritance of the Saints together wih a succession of Pastors and Teachers to be the Dispensers of thy Word and Will and the Guides of our Souls And thou hast prepared such things for those that fear thee as Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard nor ever entred into the heart of Man to conceive Lord what is Man that thou art mindful of him Or the Son of Man that thou hast done such great things for him Praise the Lord O our Souls and all that is within us praise his holy Name Praise the Lord O our Souls and forget not all his benefits O that all this Goodness of thine might ingage us by way of just return to thy free and undeserved Mercies more heartily to love thee more devoutly to worship thee and more diligently to live after thy Commandments Give us a due savour and relish of those Divine Truths we have learned this day Grant that we may not be only hearers but doers of thy Word lest we deceive our own Souls Cherish those holy Thoughts Affections and Resolutions which thy good Spirit hath raised in us O Let not them pass out of our minds with the day but leave Impressions upon our hearts the whole Week following and all our days that as we have received how we ought to walk and to please thee our God so we may abound more and more Bless all the faithful Dispensers of thy Word and Sacraments however dignified or distinguished More especially bless him O Lord who hath this day blessed us in thy Name Pour down a double portion of thy holy Spirit into his heart make him an eminent Instrument for thy Glory Let him turn many from their wicked ways unto thee the living God and hereafter let his Soul shine as a Star in the Firmament of thy Kingdom Continue unto us O Lord such holy opportunities and seasons of Grace as thou now affordest us and send them where they are not Let not O let not the loud cry of our national Sins provoke thee to remove thy Candlestick from us or to quench the Light of our Israel but blessed God whatever temporal Judgments thou art pleased to bring upon us whatever Mercies thou art pleased to deny us yet for thy Names sake and for thy Truth and Righteousness sake be pleased still to continue unto us the free liberty of thy House of thy Word Sacraments and Ordinances in their primitive purity and regularity until time shall be no more Pardon we pray thee good God whatever thou hast seen amiss in us the day past even the many frailties and imperfections of our holiest Duties and Performances Look not upon the weakness of our Flesh but upon the sincerity of our Hearts and Desires Pity all our Infirmities and let those Sacrifices which we have this day offered unto thy Divine Majesty be accepted in and for that Sacrifice which thy Son Christ Jesus hath offered up upon the Cross for us Finally O Lord we commend into thine hands this Night our Selves Souls and Bodies and all our Friends every where to be protected by thy providence refreshed with moderate rest and raised again the next Morning by thy power to serve thee with more cheerfulness and to praise thee for thy renewed Mercies And all we beg for the alone sake and love of thy Son who is the Son of thy love Jesus Christ our Lord In whose holy Name we are bold to beg the acceptance of our Petitions and Thanksgivings and to continue to supplicate thy Divine Majesty Saying as he hath taught us Our Father which art in Heaven c. Thy Grace O Lord Jesus Christ c. A Prayer preparatory for Death to be often used in the time of Health O Immortal and Everliving Lord God thy years endure throughout all Generations from everlasting to everlasting thou art God I thy frail Creature created at first by thy power to a state of Immortality with thy self which by Adams Transgression the representative of all mankind I have long since forfeited my right to and am become liable to Death I acknowledg thy mercy towards me in my Creation and thy justice and faithfulness in the execution of thy Threatnings upon breach
contribute some assistance to them who have not better advice And being to make this publick I know no person that I have so many Obligations to dedicate it to as your Ladyship and having nothing better to present by way of an ackonwledgment I hope your Ladyship will not refuse to accept this though of a small value from From Newcastle upon Tine Nov. 2d 1682. Your Honours most Faithful and most Obedient Servant Henry Atherton THE PREFACE HAving in the former Treatise I hope satisfied all rational persons concerning the Existence of a Deity it will I judge naturally follow that this Deity is to be Worshipped I say Naturally because I never read of any of the Heathens who acknowledged gods but they paid them homage and adoration Qualescunque sunt saith Cicero in his Book De Natura deorum after he had reckoned up the variety of gods hos does venerari colere debemus Whatsoever they are if we own them gods we ought to honour and worship them Nay He though a Heathen goes farther Cultus autem deorum est optimus idemque castissimus atque sanctissimus plenissmusque pietatis ut eos semper pura integra incorrupta mente voce veneremur For indeed the worship of the gods is best of all most pure most holy and most full of Piety and he advises that when we worship them it should be always with a sincere honest Heart and undefiled Tongue There are many ways by which God may be worshipped but that which I only intend to mention here is by Prayer and Invocation which I shall not curiously dissect neither into its various parts but only tell you that this being a part of Gods Worship those that own his Existence and their dependance upon him are indispensably obliged to pay him that so easie Tribute and Adoration Prayer is the great duty and greatest priviledge of a Christian By it we have intercourse with Heaven and bear a part with Angels and beautifi'd Spirits It is the Medium by which we discover all our wants and necessities unto God the Key to unlock Heaven and draw down all Blessings spiritual and temporal upon us Is any Man Afflicted let him Pray Doth any Man lack Wisdom James 1.5 Let him ask of God who giveth to all Men liberally and it shall be given him Therefore seeing it is so much our interest as well as our priviledg and duty let us not be wanting to our selves in it You will find in the following Sheets a small Manual of Directions and Devotions which as by the homeliness of the dress you may easily see were composed only for my own private use and addresses and never intended that they should as much as peep out of my Closet door And now I shall not tell you as many do that they were press'd out or extorted from me by importunity of Friends or the like but indeed after a little pause and consideration with my self they came out voluntarily hoping at least they may have some good influence on some or other either for Direction or Encouragment to a Holy Life and if not they will only remain useless to others as they did before in my Closet and yet however I shall have this satisfaction in my own Conscience that I intended them well and I hope the purity of the Intention will some way sanctifie the Action and procure Acceptance if not with Men yet with God I am very sensible of the most excellent and unparallell'd composure of the Liturgy of our Church for all publick and most private concerns and how the deficiency of this as to particular wants if any such be is supplied by the incomparable Authors of the Whole Duty of Man Practice of Piety Method of Private Devotions Devout Christian by Bishop Taylor and many other worthy and pious Persons whose Shoes I am not worthy to bear out of some of which you will find several Collections in the following pages But yet give me leave to east in my Mite too and take in good part my weak endeavours also which probably in some things may be more particular than what you meet in them Neither dare I being a Laick prescribe them as Forms for others but only acquaint my Reader that they are such as I use my self and may perhaps be beneficial to him upon the like occasions These I know are very defective too and as he grows more prolifick in Grace so he will be able to supply my defects by a new Additament of his own And if these may give any such encouragment or have any good effect upon any one I have my aim and shall think my self well recompenced for my Studies Hic Rhodus Hic saitus I know this little Tract will fall into the hands of many a Momus who will either carp at or deride it The Learned will perhaps think it impertinent or at least not dainty enough for their curious Paluts and the looser vulgar taunt and scoff at it This is the best usage I can expect it shall meet withal in this profligate Age but however I doubt not but amongst sober and pious Christians it will find better entertainment which will make me dis-esteem the Censures of the one and the revilings of the other it being my design to gratifie â—ot the most but the best Directions how to spend every day in the Fear of God EVery Morning as soon as thou awakest out of Sleep endeavour to get thy Soul Affected with the Majesty and Mercy of God Consider his Power that he was able to raise thee again and his Goodness that he would not suffer thee to sleep in death his Mercy that he hath carefully defended thee and thine from the many sad Casualties and Accidents which might have justly faln either upon thee or them by reason of your Sins and then lift up thy Soul to God in these or the like short Prayers or Ejaculations O Almighty God who hast in thy Mercy awak'ned my Body out of Sleep so I beseech thee by thy grace awaken my Soul from the sleep of Sin and grant I may so walk before thee this day and all the days of my life hereafter that when the last Trumpet shall awaken my Body out of the Grave I may rise to the Life Immortal through Jesus Christ My Voice shalt thou hear in the Morning O Lord in the Morning will I direct my Prayer unto thee and will look up I will sing of thy Power yea I will sing aloud of thy Mercy in the Morning for thou hast been my Defence and my Refuge in the time of my Trouble My Soul desires to wait for thee O Lord more than they that wait for the Morning O God therefore be thou merciful unto me and bless me and cause thy Face to shine upon me O fill me with thy Mercy this Morning so shall I rejoyce and be glad even all the days of my life So teach me to number my days that I may apply
my Heart unto Wisdom when I awake up I am ever with thee Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the ginning is now c. Then have an especial care that no vain filthy or impure thoughts have any entertainment within thy Breast but if any such endeavour to crowd themselves in presently discard them with detestation and abhorrency emembring that the First Fruits belong to God and he ought to have the râ—ime of all thy Thoughts then cast thy self out of Bed and whiles thou art dressing thy self desire God to cloath thee with the Righteousness of his Son Christ Jesus and use the following Ejaculations O Lord grant that I may put on the whole Armour of God that I may be able to stand against all the Fiery Darts of the Devil Above all things O Lord give me the Shield of Faith the Breast-plate of Righteousness the Sword of the Spirit the Girdle of Verity the Helmet of Salvation and let my Feet be shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace O grant that I may put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no Provision for the Flesh to fulfil it in the Lusts thereof Before thou art throughly dressed kneel down by the Bed-side and say In the Name of the Father and of the the Son and of the Holy Ghost prevent me O Lord in all my doings with thy most gracious Favour and further me with thy continual Help that in all my works begun continued and ended in thee I may glorifie thy holy Name and finally by thy Mercy obtain everlasting Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Our Father which art in Heaven c. On Combing your Head or Plaiting the Hair you may use such Ejaculaions as these Grant O Lord my Ornament may not be that of the Hair but that of a lowly meek quiet and humble Spirit Let it not be that of the outer but of the inner and hidden Man of the Heart Make me a clean Heart O God and renew a right Spirit within me While you are Washing you may Ejaculate thus O Lord wash me throughly from mine Iniquities and cleanse me from my Sin O cleanse me from all Filthiness both of Flesh and Spirit Not only my Hands and my Face O Lord but my Heart also Purge me with Hysop and so shall I be clean O Lord wash me and I shall be whiter than Snow I am unclean I am unclean but O Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me clean O touch me and say I will be thou clean Being now compleatly dress'd withdraw to thy Closet or place of Retirement and there lift up thy Soul to God in this or the like manner O Lord I beseech thee let thy holy Spirit direct me how I may spend this day most of all to thy Glory and my own and others benefit And then ponder a while on the business of the day and consider what sins either thy natural Temper Business or Company may most subject thee to to what dangers thou art most liable and what opportunities thou art like to have either of doing God Service or thy Neighbour good Against the former implore Gods Aid and Assistance in a particular Petition which you may find a convenient place to insert in your Morning Devotions and also Arm your self before-hand with Resolutions and the best Means you can to prevent them that so you may avoid the occasions of Sin And for the latter resolve to embrace all opportunities for the discharge of your Duty and then use this Ejaculation Thus thus O Lord I purpose by thy Grace to spend this day O be thou pleased to be present with me by the preventings and assistings of thy Grace and Holy Spirit that so I may perform what I intend to the Glory of thy Name the discharge of my Duty the benefit of others the comfort of my own Soul here and everlasting happiness hereafter in and through Jesus Christ Let thy Grace be sufficient for me Consider also seriously what Sins have passed from thee since thy Evening Devotions Being thus prepared take Gods Holy Book into thy hands yet not without Reverence and to put a distinction between this and other Books it will be commendable if thou uncover thy head in the reading of it or stand up even the Hearhens pay it Reverence the Jews hear the Law with Adoration and the Turks kiss the Alcoran thou maist also use one of these or the like Ejaculation or the Collect of the second Sunday in Advent Assist me I pray thee O Lord with thy Holy Spirit in the reabing of thy holy Word enlighten the Eyes of my Vnderstanding that I may understand the same give me a retentive Memory and Grace to reduce the same into Practice in my Life and Conversation through Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour Amen Open thou mine Eyes O Lord that I may see the wondrous things of thy Law Blessed art thou O Lord O teach me thy Statutes O Lord sanctifie unto me my present Reading and Meditations for Jesus Christ his sake Then read that portion of Scripture that is either accommodated to the day or most fitted for your own condition and that with much seriousness attention and particular application of it to your self When you have ended use the common Doxology of Glory be to thee O Lord. Then re-collect what things observable you have met with in your reading and spend some time in Meditation of them and consider what use you may afterwards make of them either to encourage to Vertue or deter from Vice without this Post Meditation you will reap no more benefit by this â—alutary Word than a Body by the reception of the most nutritious Aliment which is not well digested in the Stomach Nay as this will be apt to turn into Crudities and Diseases to the Body so will the other prove fatal to the Soul and that which should have been the savour of Life unto Life will be nothing else than the savour of Death unto Death Meditation being ended betake your self decently and reverently to your knees and with great fervency offer up your Morning Devotions unoâ— the Throne of Grace which being done follow your lawful Studies or Employments still having an awful sense of Gods Omnipresence But if you be a Master of a Family then call your Family together and let they as well as you serve the Lord. Read a Chapter unto them and Pray again with them before you dismiss them to their business And if you live in a place where Publick Prayers are Celebrated and your manner of Life be such that you can without considerable inconveniences dispense with it think your self not excused from the Prayers of the Church in the Congregation At Noon when you see the Table spread you may meditate concerning Gods Mercy and Bounty towards thee and all mankind and use those or the like Ejaculations hereafter prescribed for that purpose and then receive