Father Almighty though thou fillest all places yet thy Glory is most manifested in Heaven and there thy Majesty does most Illustriously dwell and to thy Throne there are we to lift up our hearts when we Pray O let my soul fly up to thee when I pray in Heavenly Thoughts and Desires and Love O let me savour nothing of the earth whenever I treat with thee in Heaven Glory be to thee O Gratious Lord who in the Petitions of thy most Divine Prayer hast taught us for what we are to Pray for all blessings Temporal and Eternal for all things lawful and acording to thy will Glory be to thee O Jesu who in ranking the Petitions for Spiritual blessings first hast taught us to seek Heaven in the first place grant Lord that I may always beg thy blessings in their due order that I may pray for blessings Spiritual with holy violence with importunity and resolution not to be denyed as being the proper ingredients of thy Love and absolutely necessary to my eternal welfare and for Temporal with Indifference and Resignation to thy will since I may Love thee and be eternally happy without them Hallowed be thy Name O Lord God may Thy Name thy own Glorious and Amiable self have a Love and Honour separate and incommunicable May thy infinite Goodness and Greatness be for ever by all Men and all Angels Confest and Admired and Adored and Magnified both in Private and Publick in our Hearts our Mouths and our Lives All Creatures share in thy Goodness O God O let all Creatures help us to Glorifie thy Name O may every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Thy Kingdom come O thou King of Kings may Thy Kingdom of Grace the Church Militant the Catholick Seminary of Divine Love come to its utmost Evangelical perfection in this life O may thy Gospel Lord be dayly propagated Unbelieving Nations Converted and the number of thy Saints augmented Grant O Lord God that thy true Religion thy Word thy Conveyances of Grace all the Holy Institutions Laws and Governours fixt by thee in thy Spiritual Kingdom may be Loved and Honoured and Obeyed and that thy faithful Subjects may be protected against all the malice of wicked men or the powers of darkness O my God let it be thy good Pleasure to put a period to sin and misery to infirmity and death to compleat the number of thine Elect and to hasten thy Kingdom of Glory that s and all that wait for thy Salvation may in the Church Triumphant eternally Love and I Praise thee Thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven O my God thy Will and thy Commands are most Holy Iust and Good and condescending to our weakness and by no means grievous O give me Grace Conscientiously to observe them Thy blessed Angels O Lord always behold thy Face in Heaven They have the Beatifick Vision of thy incomparable Amiableness they cannot but unalterably choose thee they must needs to their utmost capacity Praise and Love thee they cannot possibly offend thee they ever perfectly obey thee and are always upon the Wing at thy Command Lord give me Grace in imitation of the blessed spirits above to set thee always before me O six my serious Contemplation on thee Ravish my soul with a lively sense of thy infinite Amâ—ableness O vouchsafe me one short glimps of thy Goodness O may I once tast and see how Gratious Thou art that all things besides thee may be tastless to me that my desires may be always flying up towards thee that I may render thee Love and Praise and Obedience Pure and Chearful Constant and Zealous Universal and Uniform like that the Holy Angels render thee in Heaven Give us this day our dayly Bread Glory be to thee O Heavenly Benefactor who openest thy hand and fillest all things living with plenteousness O let it be thy good pleasure to give me and all the wait on thy Beneficent Love our food in due season Give us Bread and all that is comprehended by it Health Food Raiment and all the necessaries of Life Give us O Heavenly Father Dayly Bread nothing to gratifie our Luxury but such a competence as thy Divine wisdom sees fittest for us Give us O bountiful Creatour Dayly Bread this day Teach us to live without covetous anxiety for to morrow with a fiducial dependance on thy Fatherly Goodness and to be content and thankful for the present portion thy Love has indulged us O merciful Lord give us Our Bread that which is our own Bread by honest Labour or a lawful Title and grant that we may never eat the Bread of Idleness or of deceit Do Thou Lord Give us our Bread for unless thou givest it we cannot have it and together with our Bread give us thy blessing otherwise our very Bread will not nourish us Above all O Lord God give us the Bread of Life the Bread that came down from Heaven the Body and Blood of thy most Blessed Son to feed our Souls to Life eternal Blessed Jesus O that it might be my meat as it was thine to do the will of thy Heavenly Father And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us For thy own inâ—inite mercies sake and for the Merits of the Son of thy Love Forgive me and all penitent sinners Our trespasses our sins Known or Secret of Omission or Commission which are the vast debts we owe to thy vindictive justice Forgive us O Lord as we forgive all them even our greatest Enemies that tâ—â—esâ—â—ss against us their trespasses which are infinitely inconsiderable in comparison of our trespasses against thee Glory be to thee O Lord who to teach us Charity hast made our forgiveness the condition of obtaining Thine O Easie O Gratious condition of Pardon who would not forgive his Brother a few pence in this Life to have ten Thousand Talents forgiven in the next O let my love Lord learn from thine not only to forgive my Enemies but to be Zealous also to do them good And lead us not into temptation O Lord God thou seest how our Ghostly Enemies the World the Flesh and the Devil are every moment soliciting inticing alluring or tempting us to evil O be merciful to us save and help and deliver us Thou seest O my God how infirm I am and how ready my own deceitful heart is to surrender it self to the Tempter and I know that Satan cannot tempt me without thy permission O lead me not if it be thy good pleasure suffer me not to fall into violent or lasting Temptations that may endanger my perseverance I know O heavenly Father that to be tempted is no sin for thy own beloved Son God incarnate was tempted to the most horrid of all Sins to fall down and worship the very
AN EXPOSITION ON THE Church-Catechism OR THE PRACTICE OF Divine Love COMPOSED For the Diocese of Bath Wells LONDON Printed for Charles Brome at the West-end of St. Paul's and William Clarke in Winchester 1685 Imprimatur Io. Battely RR mo P. D no. Wilhelmo Archiep. Cantuar. Ã Sacris domesticis Ex Aedibus Lamb. Aug. 9. 1685. To the Inhabitants within the Diocese of Bath and Wells THOMAS their Unworthy Bishop wisheth the Knowledge and the Love of God Dearly Beloved in our Lord THE Church has provided this short Catechism or Instruction to be learn'd of every person before he be brought to be Confirm'd by the Bishop wherein she teaches all things that a Christian ought to know and believe for his Soul's health and she has enjoyn'd All Fathers and Mothers Masters and Dames to cause their Children and Servants and Prentices to come to the Church at the time appointed and obediently to hear and be ordered by the Curate untill such time as they have learn'd all that is here appointed to be learn'd How seasonable and necessary this Injunction is in these days our wofull experience does sufficiently convince us when we reflect on the gross Ignorance and Irreligion of persons in those places where Catechizing is neglâ—cted which all sober Christians do sadly deplore Since then the Providence of God who is wont to glorifie his strength in the weakness of the Instruments he uses has caught me up from among the meanest Herdmen into the Pastoral Throne and has been pleased to commit you to my care The Love I ought to pay to the chief Shepherd obliges me to feed all his Lambs and his Sheep that belong to my flock and according to my poor abilities to teach them the Knowledge and the Love of God and how they may make them both their daily study and practice One thing onely I most earnestly beg of you all whether old or young that ye would help me to save your own Souls that ye would learn and seriously consider again and again the terms on which your Salvation is to be had As for you who have Families I beseech you to instill into your Children and Servants their Duty both by your Teaching and your Example In good earnest it is less cruel and unnatural to deny them Bread for their mortal Bodies than saving Knowledge for their immortal Souls Ye that are Fathers or Masters I exhort you to tread in the steps of Abraham the Father of the faithfull and the friend of God and like him to command your Children and Housholds to keep the way of the Lord. Ye that are Mothers or Mistresses I exhort you to imitate that unfeigned Faith which dwelt in young Timothy's Grandmother Lois and his Mother Eunice who taught him from a Child to know the Holy Scriptures which were able to make him wise to Salvation and like them to bring up your Children and Servants in the nurture and admonition of the Lord I passionately exhort and beseech you all of either Sex never to cease your conscientious zeal for their instruction till you bring them to Confirmation To renew their Baptismal vow To make open profession of their Christianity To discharge their Godfathers and Godmothers To receive the solemn Benediction of the Bishop To share in the publick Intercessions of the Church and to partake of all the Graces of God's Holy Spirit implor'd on their behalf that God who has begun a good work in them may perfect it till the day of Christ and that I my self at that dreadfull day may render an account of you with joy How much the Catechism of our Church may conduce to so desirable an end you will in some measure judge by the following Explication as imperfect as it is and which by God's gratious assistence I have so contriv'd that at one and the same time it may both inform your understanding and raise your affections and that it might the better sute with every ones leisure and infirmities it is Pen'd in short Forms of Devotion to be us'd in whole or in part in separate Collects or Ejaculations or occasionally as your Spiritual necessities shall require God of his infinite mercy bless the whole to his own Glory and to your Edification through Iesus the Beloved Amen Amen AN EXPOSITION ON THE Church-Catechism c. Question WHAT is your Name Answer N. or M. Q. Why do you answer by that Name rather than by your Sirname A. Because it is my Christian Name and was given me when I was made a Christian and puts me in mind both of the Happiness and duty of a Christian. Q. Where do you learn the Happiness and the Duty of a Christian A. The very next answer teaches me the Happiness and all the rest of the Catechism the Duty of a Christian. Q. Who gave you this Name A. My Godfathers and Godmothers in my Baptism wherein I was made a Member of Christ the Child of God and an Inheritour of the Kingdom of Heaven Q. Shew me from hence the Happiness of a Christian. A. The Happiness of a good Christian is altogether unutterable he is one who has Christ for his Head God for his Father and Heaven with all its joys and glories which are all eternal for his Inheritance Q. Shew me on the contrary the condition of a bad Christian. A. The misery of a bad Christian is altogether insupportable He has Christ for his Enemy the Devil for his Father and Hell with all its miseries and torments and despair which are all eternal for his Doom Q. Which of these Conditions do you chuse A. I adore the goodness of God who has set before me life and death blessing and cursing and in great compassion to my Soul has bid me chuse life and with all my heart I chuse life even life eternal Q. Are there not many in the World that chuse death A. It is too too visible there are such is the extreme madness and folly of obstinate Sinners that they chuse the Service of the Devil before the Service of God and Hell before Heaven the damnation of such men is wholly from themselves and having chosen death even death eternal it is most just with God to give them their choice Q. Blessed be God who has given you grace to make a right choice Tell me what you must doe to obtain that which you have chosen life eternal A. All that I am to doe is reduc'd to one word onely and that is Love This is the first and the great Command which comprehends all others the proper Evangelical Grace and eternal Truth has assured me This doe and thou shalt live So that if I truly love God I shall live beloved by God to all eternity Q. Tell me wherein the love of God doth consist A. The love of God is a grace rather to be felt than defin'd So that I can doe no
Saviour Glory be to thee O adorable Jesus who under the outward and visible part the Breâ—d and Wine things obvious and easily prepared both which thou hast commanded to be received dost communicate to our Souls the Mystery of divine Love the inward and invisible Grace thy own most blessed Body and Blood which are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in thy Supâ—eâ— for which all Love all Glory be to thee O God incarnate how thou canst give us thy Flesh to eat and thy Blood to drink How thy Flesh is Meat indeed and thy Blood is Drink indeed How he that eateth thy Flesh and drinketh thy Blood dwelleth in thee and thou in him How he shall live by thee and shall be raised up by thee to Life Eternal How thou who art in Heaven art present on the Altar I can by no means explain but I firmly believe it all because thou hast said it and I firmly rely on thy Love and on thy Omnipotence to make good thy Word though the manner of doing it I cannot comprehend I believe O Crucified Lord that the Bread which we break in the Celebration of the Holy Mysteries is the Communication of thy Body and the Cup of Blessing which we bless is the Communication of thy Blood and that thou dost as effectually and really conveigh thy Body and Blood to our Souls by the Bread and Wine as thou didst thy holy Spirit by thy Breath to thy Disciples for which all Love all Glory be to thee Lord what need I labour in vain to search out the manner of thy mysterious presence in the Sacrament when my Love assures me thou art there All the faithful who approach thee with prepared hearts they well know thou art there they feel the Vertue of Divine Love going out of thee to heal their infirmities and to enflame their affections for which all Love all Glory be to thee O Holy Jesu when at thy Altar I see the Bread broken and the Wine poured out O Teach me to discern thy Body there O let those Sacred and Significant actions create in me a most lively Remembrance of thy Sufferings how thy most blessed Body was scourged and wounded and bruised and tormented how thy most pretious Blood was shed for my sins and set all my powers on work to Love thee and to celebrate thy Love in thus dying for me Glory be to thee O Jesu who didst institute the Holy Eucharist in both Kinds and hast Commanded both to be received both the Bread and the Wine both thy Body broken and thy Blood shed thy Love O Lord has given me both and both are equally Significative and Productive of thy Love I do as much Thirst after the one as I Hunger after the other I equally want both and it would be grievous to my Love to be deprived of either Ah Lord who is there that truely Loves thee when thou givest him two distinct Pledges of thy Love can be content with one only what Lover can endure to have one half of thy Love withheld from him And therefore all Love all Glory be to thee for giving both O my Lord and my God do thou so dispose my heart to be thy Guest at thy Holy Table that I may feel all the sweet influences of Love Crucified the Strengthning and Refreshing of my soul as our Bodies are by the Bread and Wine for which I will ever Adore and Love thee O merciful Jesu let that immortal food which in the Holy Eucharist thou vouchsaâ—est me instil into my weak and languishing soul new supplies of Grace new Life new Love new Vigour and new Resolution that I may never more faint or droop or tire in my duty O Crucified Love raise in me fresh ardours of Love and Consolation that it may be henceforth the greatest torment I can endure ever to offend thee that it may be my greatest delight to please thee O amiable Jesu when I devoutly receive the outward Elements as sure as I receive them I receive thee I receive the Pledges of thy Love to quicken mine O Indulge me though but for a moment one Beatisick foretast of the deliciousness of thy Love that in the strength of that deliciousness I may perseveringly love thee Glory be to thee my Lord and my God who hast now given me an invitation to thy Heavenly Feast All Love all Glory be to thee Lord give me Grace that I may approach thy awful Mystery with Penitential preparation and with a heart sully disposed to love thee O my God my Judge give me Grace I most humbly beseech thee to Eâ—amine my whole life past by the Rule of thy Commandments before I presume to Eat of that Bread and Drink of that Cup give me Grace sadly to reflect on and deplore all my provocations lest coming to the Holy Eucharist impenitent and unprepared I receive Vnworthily and Eat and drink my own damnation O thou Great Searcher of Hearts thou knowest all the Load of Impiety and Guilt under which I lie O Help me so Impartially to Judge and Condemn my self so humbly to Repent and beg Pardon that I may not be Condemned at thy Tribunal when I shall appear there at the last day that I may be set at thy Right Hand amongst thy Lovers Lord give me Grace to search every secret of my Heart to leave no sin if possible unrepented of â—ill my Eyes full of Tears of Love that with those Tears I may lament all the Indignities I have offered thy Love But alas alas after the most strict examinatinon we can make who can number his impieties who can tell how oft he offendeth Lord therefore cleanse me from my secret faults which in general I renounce and bewail O my God thou who alone changest the Heart O be thou pleased to change 〈◊〉 change my aversion to thee into an intire Lâ—ve of thee O give me a filial Repentance that with a Broken and Contrite Heart I may Grieve and Mourn and Repent for all my â—ormâ—r sins and may for ever forsake them and return to my Obedience Let thy Love O my God so perfectly exhaust my soul that I may for the future stedfastly â—urpose to leâ—d a new life that I may renew my Baptismal Vow that I may hereafter live as a sworn Votary to thy Love O Heavenly Father settle in my soul a Livelâ— Faith in thy Mercy through Christ a steddy belief of all thy Love to sinners and an affectionate Reliance on the Merits and Mediation of thy Crucified Son of my being Accepted in the Beloved for whom I will ever Adore and Love thee O my Crucified God thou Soveraign Inflammative of Love let the Remembrance of thy Death set all the powers of my Soul on work that I may desire and pant after thee that I may Admire and Adore thee that I may
deny'st me deny me not a broken and a contrite heart O that my head were waters and my eyes fountains of tears that I might weep much and love much having much to be forgiven Lord hear me help me save me for thy own gratious promise sake for thy own tender mercies sake for the merits and sufferings of Iesus thy beloved in whom thou hast made Penitents accepted Amen Amen Q. Having repented of the violations of your Baptismal Vow shew me how you will renew it A. I shall doe it after this manner I have sinned O Lord God I have sinned and done evil in thy sight but I repent I turn to thee I confess and forsake my wickedness and am sorry for my sins It grieves me O most amiable Goodness it grieves me that ever I offended thee With all my heart O my God do I now renew the Sacred vow which alas alas I have so often violated O Lord God I do for the future Renounce the devil that Arch-rebel against thee with all his Apostate-Angels I renounce all his worship all his impious suggestions delusions and temptations for which he is called the tempter and all the ways of consulting him which ungodly men have taken I renounce all his works all those sins of the Spirit all pride and malice and envy all treachery and lying revenge and cruelty all tempting others to Sin hatred to Holiness and Apostasie which are his daily practice and are truly diabolical I utterly renounce O Lord God the pomps and vanity of this wicked world all covetous desires of honour riches and pleasure all sinfull excesses in things lawfull I renounce Lord all evil customs all evil companions all that is vain or wicked in the world all that friendship with the world which is enmity with thee all things that may alienate my heart from thee I renounce O Lord God all worldly comforts and possessions all my natural relations and my own life whenever they stand in competition with my duty to thee I utterly renounce O Lord God all the sinfull lusts of the flesh all the inordinate desires of my own corrupt nature of my own carnal mind which is enmity with thee I Renounce Lord all fleshly lusts which war against thee and against my own Soul all sloth and idleness and intemperance and lasciviouâ—ness all filthiness of flesh and spirit which render us unclean in thy sight O Lord God I utterly Renounce all things that may any way displease thee from them all let it be thy good pleasure to deliver me I know Lord that Sin is the utmost abomination to thy purity the most audacious outrage to thy Adorable Majesty the perfect contradiction to thy Deity and therefore I utterly renounce and abhor it I know Lord that Sin exposes us to all the Vials of thy wrath and to vengeance eternal I know it sets the Sinner at the extremest distance and opposition and defiance to thee and therefore I utterly renounce and abhor it I know Lord I cannot love thee but I must hate evil and therefore I renounce and detest it Turn thou me O Lord God and so shall I be turned Turn O Lord the whole stream of my affections from sensual love to the love of thee O my God let thy heavenly love be the constant byass of my Soul O may it be the natural spring and weight of my heart that it may always move towards thee Thy love O my God shall hereafter be the sole rule and guide of my life I will love thee and love whatever thou lovest and hate whatever thou hatest I will believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith and I will keep thy Holy Will and Commandments and waâ—â— in the same all the days of my life All this O my God I own my self bound to believe and doe and though of my self I am impotent to all good yet by thy help I will perform it and I heartily thank thee O heavenly Father who out of mere compassion to my Soul hast call'd me to this state of salvation through Iesus Christ our Lord. Glory be to thee O Lord who hast indulg'd me this opportunity of repentance Glory be to thee who hast wrought in me this Will to renew my Baptismal vow O my God I humbly I earnestly pray unto thee to give me continual supplies of thy grace that I may continue in thy love unto my lives end that being faithfull to death I may receive the Crown of life O Lord God I have sworn and I will perform it that I will keep thy righteous judgments My heart is empty and disengag'd and longs for thee my heart is entirely devoted to thee Enter O my God possess it with thy gratious presence and fill it with thy love Lord for thy tender mercies sake restore me to thy favour to all the graces and privileges of my Baptism of which I have been spoil'd by my sins Lord make me a living member of thy Church the mystical body of thy Son O my God unite me inseparably to Christ my Head and from thence let his gratious influences be ever streaming into my soul Father I have sinned against Heaven and in thy sight and am no more worthy to be called thy Son But I return with the Prodigal O let thy paternal bowels yearn on me and gratiously receive me Lord send thy Spirit of Adoption into my heart to instill true filial affections that I may again be own'd by thee for thy Child and call thee Father and share in the blessings of thy Children and at last become an Inheritour of the Kingdom of Heaven O heavenly Father accept my imperfect repentance compassionate my infirmities forgive my wickedness purifie my uncleanness strengthen my weakness fix my unstableness and let thy love ever rule in my heart through the merits and sufferings and love of the Son of thy love in whom thou art always infinitely pleas'd Amen This Office may be us'd in times of devout Retirement or on the Lord's day or in Affliction or Sickness but especially before the Holy Eucharist Q. Rehearse the Articles of your Belief A. I. I Believe in God the Father Almighty maker of Heaven and Earth II. And in Iesus Christ his onely Son our Lord III. Who was Conceived by the Holy Ghost Born of the Uirgin Mary IV. Suffered under Pontius Pilate was Crucified Dead and Buried He descended into Hell V. The third day He rose again from the Dead VI. He ascended into Heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty VII From thence he shall come to iudge the quick and the dead VIII I believe in the Holy Ghost IX The Holy Catholick Church the Communion of Saints X. The Forgiveness of Sins XI The resurrection of the body
XII And the life everlasting Amen Q. What dost thou chiefly learn in these Articles of thy belief A. First I learn to believe in God the Father who hath made me and all the world Secondly in God the Son who hath redeemed me and all mankind Thirdly In God the Holy Ghost who sanctifieth me and all the Elect people of God Q. What is the method of the Creed A. The Creed teaches me to believe in God and to believe his Church Q. How in God A. It teaches me to believe in God with respect to his Unity and then to the Trinity of Persons in that Unity Father Son and holy Ghost Q. How does it teach you to believe the Church A. It teaches me to believe the Church with regard to its two different states either Militant below or Triumphant above Q. How are the Articles of the Creed Motives of Love A. Every Article includes a Blessing as well as a Mystery and is as proper to excite our Love as to engage our Faith Q. Give me such a Paraphrase on the Creed that throughout the whole your Faith may work by Love A. I shall doe it to the best of my power in such Instructive and Pathetical Aspirations as follow I Believe My Lord and my God with a full free and firm assent I believe all the Articles of my Creed because thou hast revealed them I know thou art infallible Truth and canst not thou art infinite Love and wilt not deceive me Glory be to thee With all my heart O my God do I love and praise thee who art so infinitely amiable in thy self and so full of love to us that all I can know or believe of thee excites me to love thee Lord daily increase my Faith make it active and fruitfull that I may believe and love thee as entirely as becomes one entirely devoted to thee In God I believe O my God that thou art One and that there is no other God besides thee thou art that One infinite and independent Being that One onely true God whom all Men and all Angels are to Adore All glory be to thee O Lord God help me to love and to praise thee with God-like affections and a sutable Devotion I believe O my God that in the Unity of thy Godhead there is a Trinity of Persons I believe in thee O Father Son and Holy Ghost in whose Name I was baptized to whose Service I am religiously devoted All glory be to thee I believe I admire I love I praise I adore thee O most blessed and glorious Trinity God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Ghost for being the joint Authours of our Salvation All glory be to thee O sacred and dreadfull and mysterious Trinity though I cannot conceive thee yet let me daily experiment thy goodness Let thy Grace O Lord Iesus let thy Love O God the Father let thy Communications O Holy Spirit be ever with me The Father I believe and love and praise thee O my God the first Person in the most Adorable Trinity the Fountain of the Godhead the Eternal Father of thy coeternal Son Jesus my Saviour Glory be to thee O God the Father for so loving the world as to give thy onely begotten Son to redeem us Glory be to thee O Heavenly Father for first loving us and giving the dearest thing thou hadst for us O help me to love again and to think nothing too dear for thee Almighty I believe O my God that thou art a Spirit most pure and holy and infinite in all perfections in Power and Knowledge and Goodness that thou art Eternal Immutable and Omnipresent all love all glory be to thee I believe O Lord that thou art most wise and just most happy and glorious and all-sufficient most gratious and mercifull and tender and benign and liberal and beneficent all love all glory be to thee I believe thy Divine Nature O my God to be in all respects amiable to be Amiableness it self to be Love it self and therefore I love I admire I praise and fear and adore thee Thou Lord art my Hope my Trust my Life my Joy my Glory my God my All my Love Maker of Heaven and Earth I believe that thou O Father Almighty didst create Heaven and Earth the whole World and all things in it visible and invisible out of nothing and by thy Word onely All glory be to thee I believe O thou great Creatour that thy Divine Love made thee communicate Being to thy Creatures that thou lovest all things and hatest nothing thou hast made Glory be to thee I believe O God that thou art the sole Lord and Proprietour of all things thou hast made that all things do necessarily depend on thee that 't is in thee onely we live and move and have our Being All Love all Glory be to thee I believe O thou Communicative Goodness that thou dost preserve and sustain and protect and bless all things thou hast made sutably to the Natures thou hast given them All Love all Glory be to thee I believe O mighty Wisedom that thou dost most sweetly order and govern and dispose all things even the most minute even the very sins of men to conspire in thy Glory O do thou conduct my whole life steer every motion of my soul towards the great End of our Creation to love and to glorifie thee I believe O Lord that thy Love was more illustrious in the Creation of Man than in all the rest of the visible World thou wert pleased to make him in thy own Image and after thy own divine likeness All Love all Glory be to thee Thou Lord didst make Man for thy self and all things visible for Man Thou designedst all creatures for his use and didst subject them to his Dominion the very Angels thou didst charge to keep him in all his ways All Love all Glory be to thee Thy Works O Lord are wonderfull and amiable I love and admire and praise thy Universal Providence over the whole World the perpetual flux of thy Goodness on every Creature All glory be to thee I love and praise thee O my God for all the particular vouchsafements of thy love to me for all thy deliverances and blessings either to my body or to my soul known or unknown for all that I do not remember or did not consider All Love all Glory be to thee The longer I live O my God the more reason I have to love thee because every day supplies me with fresh experiments and new motives of thy manifold love to me and therefore all Love all Glory be to thee And in Iesus I believe in thee O Jesus and I rejoice in that dear Name which is so full
bodily Sufferings O almighty Love were intolerable but yet thy inward were far greater I grieve I love I melt all o'er when I hear thee on the Cross crying out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Ah sinfull Wretch that I am how infinite and unconceivable were the inward Dolours and Agonies thou didst undergo for us Sinners when thou didst tread the Winepress of thy Father's wrath alone when it pleas'd thy own most beloved Father to bruise thee and to put thee to grief when the iniquities of the whole World were laid on thee and my numerous sins increast thy load and heightned thy torment when thy own Deity withdrew all consolation from thee when God offended by our sins did afflict thee in the day of his fierce anger no sufferings no love was ever like unto thine for me no grief no love but thy own should exceed mine for thee For whom O unutterable goodness didst thou suffer the extreme bitterness oâ— sorrow but for the vilest of all thy Creatures sinfull man and for me one of the worst of Sinners and therefore I praise and love thee For what end didst thou suffer O most ardent Charity but to save Sinners from all things that were destructive the Curse of the Law the Terrours of Death the Tyranny of Sin the Powers of Darkness and Torments Eternal to purchase for us all things conducible to our Happiness Pardon and Grace Consolation and Acceptance and the everlasting Joys and Glories of the Kingdom of Heaven and therefore I praise and love thee Out of what motive didst thou suffer O boundless Benignity but out of thy own preventing love free mercy and pure compassion and therefore I praise and love thee When no other Sacrifice could attone thy Father's Anger O thou the beloved Son of God and reconcile Divine Justice and Mercy together but the Sacrifice of God incarnate who as man was to die and to suffer in our stead as God was to merit and make satisfaction for our sins 't was then that thou O God the Son didst become Man the very meanest of Men didst take upon thee the form of a Servant and didst on the Cross shew us the mystery and the Miracle of Love God crucified for Sinners and Sinners redeem'd by the bloud of God O thou propitious Wonder God incarnate on the Cross by what Names shall I adore thee all are too short too scanty to express thee Love onely nothing but Love will reach thee thou art Love O Jesu thou art all love O tenderest O sweetest O purest O dearest Love soften sweeten refine love me into all Love like thee By the love of thy Cross O Jesu I live in that I will onely glory that above all things will I study that before all things will I value by the love of thy Cross I will take up my Cross daily and follow thee I will persecute and torment and crucify my sinfull Affections and Lusts which persecuted tormented and crucify'd thee and if thy love calls me to it I will suffer on the Cross for thee as thou hast done for me How illustrious and amiable were thy Graces amidst all thy Sufferings O thou afflicted Jesu I admire and I love thy profound Humility unwearied Patience Lamb-like Meekness immaculate Innocence invincible Courage absolute Resignation compassionate love of Souls and perfect Charity to thy Enemies O my Love I cannot love thee but I must desire above all things to be like my Beloved O give me grace to tread in thy steps and conform me to thy Divine Image that the more I grow like thee the more I may love thee and the more I may be lov'd by thee And Buried He descended into Hell I believe O crucified Lord that thou wast really dead and that there was a separation of thy Body and Soul That thy side was mortally wounded and pierced with a Spear on the Cross and thy sacred Body was buried to assure us of thy death All love all glory be to thee I believe O pierced O wounded Love that thy Soul in the state of separation did descend into Hell to vanquish Death and all the Spirits of darkness in their own Dominions and therefore I adore and love thee Glory be to thee O thou great Champion of Love who didst for our sakes singly encounter all our ghostly Enemies who didst thy self taste of death that thou mightst take away the sting of death who didst wrestle with principalities and powers and all the force of Hell that we might share in thy Victory for which wonderfull Salvation I will always praise and love thee The third day he rose again from the dead I believe O Almighty Love that according to the Types and Prophecies which went before of thee and according to thy own infallible predictions thou didst by thy own power rise from the dead the third day All love all glory be to thee Glory be to thee who didst lie so long in the Grave to undergo the full condition of the dead and to convince all the world thou wert dead and didst rise so soon that thou mightst not see corruption or retard our joy All love all glory be to thee He ascended into Heaven I believe O Victorious Love that thou after thy conquest over Death and Hell didst ascend in triumph to Heaven that thou mightst prepare Mansions for us and from thencâ— as Conquerour bestow the gifts of thy conquest on us and above all the gift of thy Holy Spirit that thou mightst enter into the Holy of Holies as our great High-priest to present to thy Father the sweet-smelling Sacrifice of his crucified Son the sole propitiation for Sinners and therefore all Love all glory be to thee Glory be to thee O Jesu who didst leave the world and ascend to Heaven about the 33 d year of thy age to teach us in the prime of our years to despise this world when we are best able to enjoy it and to reserve our full vigour for Heaven and for thy Love O thou whom my Soul loveth since thou hast left the world what was there ever in it worthy of our Love O let all my affections ascend after thee and never return to the earth more for whom have I in heaven but thee and there is none â—pon earth that I desire in comparison of thee And sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty I believe O Triumphant Love that thou now sittest in full and peacefull possession of bliss and at the right hand of God that thy humane Nature is exalted to the most honourable place in Heaven where thou sittest on thy throne of glory ador'd by Angels and interceding for Sinners and therefore all love all glory be to thee Glory be
we may all praise and love thee O my God amidst the deplorable divisions of thy Church O let me never widen its breaches but give me catholick Charity to all that are baptis'd in thy Name and catholick Communion with all Christians in desire O deliver me from the Sins and Errours from the Schisms and Heresies of the Age. O give me grace to pray daily for the peace of thy Church and earnestly to seek it and to excite all I can to praise and to love thee I believe O most holy Jesu that thy Saints here below have communion with thy Saints above that they pray for us while we celebrate their memories congratulate their bliss give thanks for their labours of love and imitate their examples for which all love all glory be to thee I believe O gratious Redeemer that thy Saints here on Earth have Communion with the holy Angels above that they are ministring Spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of Salvation and watch over us and we give thanks to thee for their protection and emulate their incessant praises and ready obedience for which all love all glory be to thee I believe O my Lord and my God that the Saints in this life have Communion with the three Persons of the most adorable Trinity in the same most benign influences of love in which all three conspire for which all love all glory be to thee O Father Son and Holy Ghost world without end Glory be to thee O Goodness infinitely diffusive for all the Graces and blessings in which the Saints communicate for breathing thy love as the very Soul into thy mystical Body that all that believe in thee may love one another and all join in loving thee The Forgiveness of Sins I believe O my God that none can forgive Sins but thou alone and that in thy Church forgiveness is always to be had and for so inestimable a blessing all love all glory be to thee I believe O thou lover of Souls that without true repentance we cannot hope for pardon that our repentance is at the best imperfect that it is out of thy mere mercy O heavenly Father and for the merits and passion of thy crucified Son that thou dost accept our imperfect repentance and art pleas'd to forgive us and therefore all love all glory be to thee Glory be to thee O most adorable Trinity for thy infinite love in our forgiveness Glory be to thee O Father forgiving O Son propitiating O Holy Ghost purifying I miserable sinner who sigh and pant and languish for thy forgiveness and to be at peace with thee praise and adore and love that most sweet and liberal and tender and amiable mercy that delights in forgiving sinners The Resurrection of the Body I believe O victorious Jesu that by the virtue of thy Resurrection all the dead shall rise bad as well as good all love all glory be to thee by whom death is swallowed up in victory I believe O Almighty Jesu that by thy power all shall rise with the same bodies they had on earth that thou wilt recollect their scattered dust into the same form again that our Souls shall be re-united to our Bodies that we shall be judged both in Body and Soul for the sins committed by both that the Bodies of the wicked shall be fitted for torment and the Bodies of the Saints chang'd in quality and made glorify'd Bodies immortal and incorruptible fitted for heaven and eternally to love and enjoy thee for which glorious vouchsafement I will always praise and love thee And the Life everlasting I believe O great Judge of Heaven and Earth that after all the Quick and Dead have appear'd before thy Judgment-seat then the most just and unrepealable Sentence shall pass and be executed to all eternity joyfull onely to those that love thee and therefore all love all glory be to thee I believe O righteous Jesu that the wicked shall be set on thy left hand and be damn'd to Hell to be tormented with everlasting and unconceivable anguish and despair by the Devil and his Angels and their own Conscience both in Soul and Body in the lake of fire and brimstone from which there never can be any redemption O just reward of those that do not love thee O mercifull Jesu how desirous art thou that we should be happy in loving thee when thou hast created Hell on purpose to deter us from hating thee and Heaven to compell us to love thee and therefore all love all glory be to thee I believe O my Lord and my God that the righteous shall be rewarded with joys unspeakable and full of glory with the beatifick Vision and love of thy self in Heaven with a happiness of Body and Soul which shall be in all respects most perfect eternal and unchangeable that they shall never sorrow nor sin more which is all the free gift of thy infinite love O heavenly Father and the purchase of thy bloud O God incarnate for which I will ever to the utmost of my power adore and love thee O boundless love when shall I love thee in heaven without either coldness or interruption which alas too often seise me here below When O my God O when shall I have the transporting vision of thy most amiable goodness that I may unalterably love thee that I may never more offend thee O thou whom my Soul loveth I would not desire heaven but because thou art there for thou makest heaven wherever thou art I would not O Jesu desire life everlasting but that I may there everlastingly love thee O inexhaustible love do thou eternally breath love into me that my love to thee may be eternally increasing and tending towards infinity since a love less than infinite is not worthy of thee Amen O thou great authour and finisher of our Faith do thou daily increase my Faith and heighten my love O grant that in holy ardours of love to love crucify'd my love may at last ascend to the region of love that I may have nothing to doe to all eternity but to praise and to love thee Amen O infinite Love Amen Amen This Office may be divided into several parts and used on the Lord's days or on Holy-days especially on the great Festivals of Christmas Easter Pentecost in Lent also and particularly on Good-friday and before the reception of the blessed Sacrament as is most sutable to the occasion or to the state temper and disposition of every devout Soul Q. You said your Godfathers and Godmothers did promise for you that you should keep God's Commandments Tell me how many there be A. Ten. Q. Which be they A. The same which God spake in the twentieth Chapter of Exodus saying I am the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the Land of Egypt out of the House of
all goodness and sweetness all gentleness and long-suffering Fill me full of good wishes and compassion of liberality in Alms-giving according to my abilities and of readiness to succour and relieve and comfort and rescue and pray for all whom thy love or their own necessities or miseries or dangers recommend to my charity O let thy love thou God of Love make me peacefull and reconcilable always ready to return good for evil to repay injuries with kindness and easie to forgive unless in those instances where the impunity of the criminal would be injustice or cruelty to the publick O thou lover of Souls let thy love raise in me a compassionate zeal to save the life the eternal life of Souls and by fraternal and affectionate and seasonable advice or exhortation or correptions to reclaim the wicked and to win them to love thee O my God O my Love let thy All-powerfull love c. as p. 51. The Seventh Commandment O my God O my Love I renounce c. as p. 52. All adultery and violations of my neighbour's bed in the gross act robbing him of that he loves best All adultery and unchastity of the eye or the hand All the kinds and degrees of lust fornication pollution of our own bodies and works of darkness which it is a shame to mention All things that provoke or feed lust impure company discourse songs books or pictures All lascivious dresses or dances or plays all idleness or luxurious diet All the excesses or abuses of lawfull Marriage all unreasonable jealousies and all things that lessen the mutual kindness or alienate the affections of those that are married All the least tendencies to any of these impurities From all these c. as p. 52. O my God my Love let thy purest love who art Purity it self create in me a perfect abhorrence of all impurity that I may purifie my self as thou Lord art pure I know O Lord that I can never be partaker of the Divine Nature unless I escape the pollution that is in the world through lust O do thou therefore cleanse me from all filthiness of flesh and spirit that I may perfect holiness in thy fear Give me grace to possess my vessel in sanctification and honour and to keep thy Temple holy that thy Spirit of Love may always there inhabit O my God let my love be chast to thee chast to my self chast to my neighbour O my God may thy Love set a strict guard on my Senses turn away mine eyes stop mine ears bridle my tongue and restrain my hand from all uncleanness Lord give me grace to fly all incitements or opportunities or instruments of defiling either my neighbour or my self To beat down my body and to bring it into subjection O my Love let me live ever watching or praying or profitably employ'd or busied in thy love that I may leave no room if possible for any unclean Spirit to enter into my Soul and tempt me O my God O my Love let thy all-powerfull love abound in my heart and in the hearts of all that profess thy Name that in all these and in all other possible instances of duty our lives may be continually employ'd to love thee and for thy sake to love our neighbour and to excite our neighbour to love thee O thou God of Love who hast ordain'd the marriage state for the cure of our passion and the comfort of our life and hast made it the embleme of that Divine Love and Union thou art pleas'd to bear towards thy Church Let the force of thy mystical love teach us to love each other and both of us to love thee O thou who hast made us one flesh make us but one Soul also let our love be mutual constant and inviolate full of compliance and condescensions and Sympathy and forbearance towards each other Fill us O God of Love with reciprocal care and zeal and charity for each others happiness temporal and eternal and with a delight in each other exclusive of all loves but thine Lord give us grace to keep our marriage always honourable and our bed undefiled let the affectionate authority of the one and the submissive sweetness of the other produce an entire friendship and harmony of dispositions and fervent intercessions for each other Give us O Lord an unafflicting foresight of our parting here and a passionate longing to be beatified near each other in neighbouring mansions above that from thenceforth our love to each other and to thee may be coeternal with thine The Eighth Commandment O my God O my Love I renounce as p. 52. All kinds of stealing by open Robbery Violence or Invasion All Oppression or Extortion or Rapine vexatious Law-suits or griping Usury All fraud in Trade and Contracts false Weights and Measures and Coin All concealing the defects of our own Goods or depretiating those of our neighbour All making haste to be rich or taking advantage of the ignorance or necessity of the persons we deal with All withholding our neighbours dues or detaining the hire of the Labourer All borrowing and not paying injurious keeping the goods of others and refusing to make restitution All bâ—each of Trust or removing Land-marks wastfull prodigality avaritious gaming or idle begging All outrages to the Fatherless the Widow and the Stranger All the least tendencies to any of the these acts of injustice From all these and the like hatefull violations of thy Love and of the Love of my neighbour and from the vengeance they justly deserve O my God O my Love deliver me and all faithfull people O my God O my Love let the love of thy eternal and amiable justice teach me a steddy justice in giving all men their due since I cannot love my neighbour if I am unjust to him Lord give me grace to use my neighbour as my friend as my self to buy and sell by just Weights and Measures and to be content with moderate gain To pay debts and wages and conscientiously to make restitution for injuries or wrongs or for goods unlawfully gotten Teach me O my God to use this world so as not to abuse it to receive and manage all thy temporal blessings with thankfulness to thee sobriety to my self and charity to all besides Make me ever O my God upright and faithfull in Trusts and Trade and Agreements diligent and honest in my station and Calling and according to my ability willing to lend and remit to my poor neighbours Whenever O my God I am forc'd to go to Law O let me ever contend more for right than victory and in all prosecutions preserve a charitable and an equitable disposition O my God O my Love let thy all-powerfull love abound in my heart and in the hearts of all that
Devil I know Lord the Sin lies in yielding to the Temptation O my God if thou for trial of my Love lead me into any great Temptation and let me continue under it thy Will Lord be done not mine O let thy paternal tenderness limit and controul the Tempter O let thy All-sufficient Grace restrain my consent and keep me always on my guard watching and praying and let me at last be more than Conquerour I am content Lord to be tried and assaulted so I be not wicked though it be grievous for those that Love thee to be tempted to offend thee But deliver us from evil O Father of mercy if thou thinkest fit to lead me into Temptation deliver me from the Evil to which I am tempted Deliver me from the Evil of Sin and the Evil of Punishment from the evil one from the evil World and from my own evil Heart and from all suggestions to Evil for all that is Evil is most hateful to thee who art infinite goodness and most destructive of thy Love And therefore from all that is Evil O Almighty Lord defend me For thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory for ever and ever I adore and Love thee O Jesu who by concluding this Prayer with a Doxology hast taught us that the right end of our Prayers should be the Glory of God that we should be ever careful to mix Praise with our Prayers and to be as zealous to give thanks for what we receive as to Pray for what we want To thee O Lord God do we pray on thee only we rely and depend for acceptance to thee only we offer up our Praises for thine is the Kingdom and Sovereign Right to dispose of all things thine is the Power Almighty to relieve and bless us thine is the Glory All the Communications of thy Goodness as they flow from thee return to thee again in Sacrifices of Love of Praise and Adoration Amen For the sake O Heavenly Father of thy beloved in whom all thy Promises are Amen and who is himself the Amen the faithful and true Witness of thy Love to us Hear me and pardon my wandrings and coldness and help me to sum up and enforce my whole Prayer all my own wants and all the wants of those I pray for in a hearty and fervent and comprehensive Amen Q. How many Sacraments hath Christ ordained in his Church A. Two only as generally necessary to Salvation that is to say Baptism and the Supper of the Lord. Glory be to thee O Crucified Love out of thy Wounded Side flowed Water and Blood the two Sacraments which thou hast Ordained in thy Church Baptism and the Supper of the Lord the one to initiate the other to confirm us in our Christianity Glory be to thee O Lord who having Ordained two Sacraments only and made them Generally necessary to Salvation art yet pleased to have Mercy rather than Sacrifice in cases where they cannot be had and where a surprise of Death may prevent their Administration thou dost supply the want of them by thy merciful acceptation of those persons who earnestly desire and who are disposed to receive them O blessed Jesu the greater thy Compassion is to those sincere persons who want thy Sacraments by reason of their infelicity not their choice the greater will be thy indignation against those who wilfully neglect or contemn what thy Adorable Love has ordained to be throughout thy whole Church used and revered from which neglect and contempt of thy Love good Lord deliver me Q. What meanest thou by this word Sacrament A. I mean an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace given unto us ordained by Christ himself as a means whereby we receive the same and a pledge to assure us thereof Q. How many parts are there in a Sacrament A. Two the outward visible sign and the inward spiritual grace Glory be to thee O tenderest Love who to stoop to our weak and gross apprehension hast in the two Sacraments made an Outward and visible and familiar thing to be the sign and memorial and representation of an Inward and invisible Mysterious and Spiritual Grace Glory be to thee O bountiful Love for Ordaining and Giving us the Holy Sacraments thou thy self only art the Author and Fountain of Grace and thou only hast the right of instituting the conveyances of thy own Grace all Love all Glory be to thee Glory be to thee O mighty Love who hast elevated these obvious and outward signs to an efficacy far above their Natures not only to signifie but to be happy Means and instruments to convey thy Grace to us to be Seals and Pledâ—es to confirm and 〈◊〉 to us the Communications of thy Love that our sight may assist our Faith that if with due preparation we receive them both parts of the Sacrament will go together as certainly as we receive the Outward and Visible sign so certainly shall we receive the Inward and invisible Grace for which all Love all Glory be to thee Q. What is the outward visible sign or form in Baptism A. Water wherein the person is baptized In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Ghost Q. What is the inward and spiritual grace A. A death unto sin and a new birth unto righteousness for being by nature born in sin and the children of wrath we are hereby made the children of grace Q. What is required of persons to be baptized A. Repentance whereby they forsake sin and faith whereby they stedfastly believe the promises of God made to them in that Sacrament Q. Why then are infants baptized when by reason of their tender age they cannot perform them A. Because they promise them both by their sureties which promise when they come to age themselves are bound to perform Glory be to thee O Lover of Souls it was by thy preventing Love that I was Baptized with the outward sign Water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost That I should believe in the most Holy Trinity that I should depend on the gracious assistances and live wholly devoted to the three most adorable Persons that it should be my chief care to Love and Glorifie that tri-une Love the Author of my Salvation Glory be to thee O Jesu who by Water that washes away the filth of the Body dost represent to my Faith thy invisible Grace in Baptism which spiritually washes and cleanses the Soul Glory be to thee O blessed Lord who in Baptism savest us not by the outward washing but by the inward purifying Grace accompanied with a sincere Vow and â—â—â—pulation of a good Conscience towards God by which thy propitious Love brought me into thy Church the spiritual Ark to save me from perishing in the Deluge of Sin which overwhelms the
generality of the World and therefore all Love all Glory be to thee Glory be to thee O all-powerful Love by whose inviâ—â—ble Grace we in Baptism die to sin to all carnal Affections renouncing and detesting them all and resolving to take no more pleasure in them than dead persons do in the comforts of life O may I ever thus die to Sin Glory be to thee O Jesu who from our death to Sin in our Baptism dost raise us to a new Life and dost breath into us the breath of Love 'T is in this Laver of regeneration we are born again by Water and the Spirit by a new Birth unto righâ—eoâ—â—ness that as the natural Birth propagated sin our spiritual Birth should propagate Grace for which all Love all Glory be to thee Glory be to thee O most indulgent Love who in our Baptism dost give us the holy spirit of Love to be the principle of new Life and of Love in us to infuse into our Souls a supernatural habitual Grace and ability to obey and love thee for which all Love all Glory be to thee Glory be to thee O compassionate Love who when we were conceived and Born in Sin of sinful Parents when we sprang from a root wholly corrupt and were all Children of Wrath hast in our Baptism made us Children of thy own Heavenly Father by Adoption and Grace When we were Heirs of Hell hast made us Heirs of Heaven even joynt Heirs with thy one self of thy own Glory for which with all the powers of my Soul I adore and love thee I know O dearest Lord that I am thine no longer than I Love thee I can no longer feel the saving efficacy of my Baptism than I am faithful to my Vow I there made no longer than I am a Penitent no longer am I Christian if I name the name of Christ I am to depart from Iniquity O do thou give me the Grace of True Repentance for all my Sin for my original Impurity and for all my actual Transgressions that I may abhor and â—â—rsake them all wound my Soul with a most affectionate sorrow for all the Injuries and Affronts and dishonours I have offered to infinite Love Glory be to thee O most liberal Jesu for all those exceeding great and pretious Promises of Pardon and Grace and Glory which thou hast made to us Christians in the Sacrament of Baptism O may I ever stedfastly believe O may I ever passionately Love may I ever firmly rely on thy superabundant Love in all these Promises for which I will ever adore and love thee Glory be to thee O sweetest Love who in my infancy didst admit me to holy Baptism who by thy preventing Grace when I was a little Child didst receive me into the evangelical Covenant didst take me up into the arms of thy Mercy and bless me Glory be to thee who didst early dedicate me to thy self to prepossess me by thy Love before the World should seize and defise me Ah Gratious Lord how long how often have I polluted my self by my Sins But I repent and deplore all those Pollutions and I consecrate my self to thee againâ—t O thou most reconcileable Love pardon and accept me and restore me to thy Love O let the intenseness of my future Love not only Love for the time to come but retrieve all the Love I have lost Glory be to thee O tenderest Jesu who when by reason of my Infancy I could not promise to repent and believe for my self didst mercifully accept of the promise of my Sureties who promisâ—â— both for me as thou didst accept for good to the Paralytick the charitable intentions of those that brought him to thee and of the Faith of the Woman of Canaan for the Cure of her Daughter for which merciful acceptance all Love all Glory be to thee O my God my Lord the promise which was made by my Sureties for me I acknowledg that as soon as I came to a competent Age I was bâ—â—â—d my self to perform and I own and renew my Obligation I promise O my Lord with all the force of my Soul to Love thee O do thou ever keep me true to my own promise â—â—ce thou art ever â—â—alterably true to thine for which I will ever adore and love thee Q. Why was the Sacrament of the Lords Supper ordained A. For the continual remembrance of the Sacrifice of the death of Christ and of the benefits which we receive thereby Q. What is the outward part or sign of the Lords Supper A. Bread and Wine which the Lord hath commanded to be received Q. What is the inward part or thing signified A. The body and blood of Christ which are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lords Supper Q. What are the benefits where-we are partakers thereby A. The strengthening and refreshing of our souls by the body and bloud of Christ as our bodies are by the bread and wine Q. What is required of them who come to the Lords Supper A. To examin themselves whether they repent them truly of their former sins stedfastly purposing to lead a new life have a lively faith in Gods mercy through Christ with a thankful remembrance of his death and be in charity with all men Glory be to thee O crucified Love who at thy last Supper didst ordain the Holy Eucharist the Sacrament and Feast of Love It was for the continual remembrance of the Sacrifice of thy death O blessed Jesu and of the Benefits we receive thereby that thou wast pleased to ordain this sacred and awful Rite all Love all Glory be to thee Ah dearest Lord how little sensible is he of thy Love in dying for us who can ever forget thee Ah wo is me that ever a Sinner should forget his Saviour and yet alas how prone are we to do it Glory be to thee O Gracious Jesu who to help our memories and to impress thy Love deep on our Souls hast instituted the blessed Sacrament and commanded us Do this in remembrance of me O Jesu let the Propitiatory Sacrifice of thy Death which thou didst offer upon the Cross for the Sins of the whole World and particularly for my Sins be ever fresh in my remembrance O blessed Saviour let that mighty Salvation thy Love has wrought for us never slip out of my mind but especially let my remmbrance of thee in the Holy Sacrament be always most lively and affecting O Jesu if I love thee truly I shall be sure to frequent thy Altar that I may often remember all the wonderful Loves of my Crucified Redeemer I know O my Lord and my God that a bare remembrance of thee is not enough O do thou therefore fix in me such a remembranâ—e of thee as is suitable to the infinite Love I am to remember Work in me all the holy and heavenly affections as become the remembrance of a Crucified
if you can get time and convenience say them all and I dare assure you that all the three Forms of Prayer which I commend to you will not in all take up a quarter of an hour and certainly that Person has very little sense of his Duty very little concern for his immortal Soul very little Honour for God or value for Heaven who will not spend one quarter of an hour in the space of four and twenty hours in the Service of God and the Salvation of his own Soul I do by all means exhort you to give your Servants a few Minutes leisure at Noon to Pray after your Example and to use your Children to do the same for they will soon be able to say the Lords Prayer and two or three Ejaculations and teach them to say these at Noon as well as at Morning and at Night and 't is incredible to think how much good this Practice will do them and what great comfort you your selves will reap from the early Devotion of your Children To further this Devotion in your Children instead of Idle Tales and Songs which pollute their Souls and when they come to be serious will cost them great pains to unlearn You must teach them short Psalms by heart which will exercise their Memories and Piety both together and as you teach the Psalms to your Children I exhort you to learn them your selves You cannot imagine the great benefit of learning Psalms by heart for when you are under any Temptation or are in any Affliction or when you lye waking in the Night or when you are Sick these Psalms will come into your mind and the Devout repeating them will yield you most seasonable Consolations The very Common People in the first and purest Ages of the Church were so sensible of the Spiritual advantages of learning Psalms that they learn'd the whole Psalter by heart and sang or said the Psalms in their Shops and at the Plow insomuch that St. Iames makes it the proper expression of Christian mirth Iamâ— 5.13 If any be merry let him sâ—â—g Psalms This is the way to store your own and your Childrens minds with Ejaculations or short Prayers for all Occasions which I advise both Old and Young to accustom themselves to because it is the true way of Praying without ceasing and it is a kind of Prayer most easie and may be used at any time of the day or in any place and is one of the most efficacious means in the World to keep us in Gods favour 〈◊〉 is of all things most desirable Ejaculations At going out or coming in Lord bless my going out and my coming in from this time forth for evermore Psal. 121.8 At Meals Lord grant that whether I eat or drink or whatever I do I may do all to thy Glory 1 Cor. 10.31 At Work Prosper thou the work of my hands O Lord O prosper thou my handy work Psal. 90.17 In the Shop or Market Lord give me grace to use this World so as not to abuse it 1 Cor. 7.31 Lord grant that I may never go beyond or defraud my brother in any matter for thou art the Avenger of all such 1 Thess. 4.6 In temptation or danger O God make speed to save me O Lord make haste to help me At any time of the day Wherever I am whatever I do Thou Lord seest me O keep me in thy fear all the day long Prov. 23.17 Lord give me grace to keep always a conscience void of offence towards thee and towards men Acts 24.16 Lord teach me so to number my days that I may apply my heart to Wisdom Psal. 90.12 O let my mouth be filled with thy Praise that I may sing of thy Glory and Honor all the day long Psal. 71.7 All love all glory be to thee O God who didst first love me Unto him that lov'd us and wash'd us from our â—â—ns in his own Blood be glory and dominion for ever and ever Amen Rev. 1.5 O blessed Spirit shed abroad the love of God in my heart Praise the Lord O my soul and all that is within me Praise his holy Name Psal. 103.1 Praise the Lord O my soul while I live will I praise the Lord yea as long as I have any being I will sing Praises unto my God Psal. 146.1 You that have Families I do further exhort that besides your private Prayers you would offer up to God a Morning and Evening Sacrifice in your Families and that every one of you would take up the Holy Resolution of Ioshua As for me and my House we will serve the Lord Iosh. 24.15 And the Prayers I advise you to use are taken out of the Common Prayer as being most familiar and of greatest Authority withall If any of your Family are gone abroad to their Work before the rest can be ready call that little Congregation about you that is at home and you that are present pray for those that are absent and by this means those that are absent upon necessary Employments will share in the blessings for which you pray Morning Prayer for a Family Let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be alway acceptable in thy sight O Lord our Strength and our Redeemer O God the Father of Heaven have mercy upon us miserable sinners O God the Son Redeemer of the World have mercy upon us miserable sinners O God the Holy Ghost proceeding from the Father and the Son have mercy upon us miserable sinners O Holy Blessed and Glorious Trinity three Persons and one God have mercy upon us miserable sinners O Lord we beseech thee mercifully hear our Prayers and spare all those who confess their sins unto thee that they whose consciences by sin are accused by thy merciful pardon may be absolved through Christ our Lord. Amen Almighty God who seest that we have no power of our selves to help our selves we give thee humble thanks for thy preservation of us this day past or this night past and for all the blessings thou daily vouchsafest us and we beseech thee to keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul through Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen Almighty God whose Kingdom is everlasting and power Infinite have mercy upon the whole Church and so rule the heart of thy chosen Servant James our King and Governor that he knowing whose Minister he is may above all things seek thy Honor and Glory and that we and all his Subjects duly considering whose Authority he hath may faithfully serve honor and humbly obey him in thee and for thee according to thy blessed Word and Ordinance through Iesus Christ our Lord who liveth and reigneth ever one God World without end Amen Unto thy gracious mercy and protection O Lord do we commit our selves this day or this night and all our