hast said As surely as I live I desire not the death of a sinner but rather that he should Convert and Amend and Live Who hast also said Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver thee have mercy upon me for Jesus Christ his sake whom thou wouldest should be a peace-maker to the end that thou mightest shew thine exceeding great Wrath against sin and thine inestimable mercy towards Mankind sanctifie and illuminate my heart with thy holy Spirit O God the guide of my life forsake me not turn from me the filthiness of desire Turne mine Eyes away from beholding vanity strengthen me in thy wayes and grant that mine offences in this world overcome me not and I beseech thee O Lord with a most ardent affection that this day and ever thou wilt keep me and all mine and that thou wilt be unto me a Mighty Protector a firmament of strength a covering against heat a shadow at noon-tide a defence from falling an assister from offending a comforter of my soul an enlightner of my mind a giver of health and happiness in Christ Jesus my Lord and Saviour To whom be all glory honour and power for ever Amen Our Father c. A Prayer for Tuesday-Evening MOst mighty and most merciful Lord God by whose goodness I was created by whose Justice I am punished and by whose mercy I am saved I cast my self down before thee and lift up my hands unto thee at this present as my Evening-sacrifice but alas my conscience accuseth me the secret cogitations of my heart reprove me my fear checketh me the infinite number of my sins oppress me yea my miscarriages this day witness against me and exceedingly condemn me O Lord what am I that thou shouldest yet favour me and shew thy self so loving and bountiful a Father unto me why should'st thou so nourish me who am so unworthy a wretch with thy mercy and loving-kindness I know that it is for His sake in whom there is no guile and in whom there was found no evil that thou regardest me and imbracest me Pardon I beseech thee through Jesus Christ all my sins faults vices and offences and indue me with all holy vertues make me to live a godly life and to continue to the end in good works Take away all darkness from my mind that I may see thee by understanding thee and love thee by knowing thee And grant O Lord that I may so keep and govern and end my life that I may sleep in peace and rest in thee and so into thy hands I commend my self both soul and body this night and for ever Hide me I beseech thee under the shaddow of thy Wings that I may rest quietly void of all fear spiritual darkness danger and despair comfort me in all those things wherein I have been any way discouraged this day Preserve me to the end that sleep with rest and rest with quietness and quietness with everlastingness may receive me that having run the race of this life I may be made partaker of a better that so I may live and reign with thee for ever through Jesus Christ my Lord and only Saviour Amen Our Father c. A Prayer for Wednesday-Morning HOly Lord God the glorious face of the Sun which sheweth it self and casteth its beams over the whole World I take it for an argument and earnest of thy good will toward thy Children in the number of whom I account my self though the chief of Sinners and not worthy to loose the latchet of thy shooe for if we enjoy such benefits in this strange country together with thine Enemies then what joy and glory what excellent goodness shall we be made partakers of when we come to our heavenly country the blessed land of Canaan where we shall not see this earthly Sun but thou O Lord who art the Son of Righteousness will be continually before us And now O Lord I Praise thy blessed name for preserving me from the many dangers of the Night past and for bringing me safe to the beginning of this day As thou hast now wakened my Body from sleep so I beseech thee awaken my Soul from sin and carnal Security and as thou hast caused the Light of the day to shine in my bodily Eyes so good Lord cause the light of thy word and holy Spirit to illuminate my heart and give me grace as a Child of Light to walk in all holy obedience before thy face this day and grant me to endeavour to keep a good Conscience towards thee toward all men in all my thoughts words and dealings and to this end I commend my self and all my ways and actions together with all that do belong to me unto thy gracious direction and protection beseeching thee to keep both them and me from all evil and to give a blessing to my honest Labours and endeavours this day following and for evermore Amen Our Father c. A Prayer for Wednesday Evening O Most Mighty Lord God and most mercifull and loving Father in thy Son Jesus Christ I sinful Creature am bold to return unto thee all possible Praise and thanks for all thy great and manifold favours which thou in thy mercy hast from time to time vouchsafed unto me a sinful wretch who am full of sin and iniquity I beseech thee favourably to hear my imperfect prayers and to grant my requests and needful suits which I make unto thee at this time Forgive me I intreat thee good Father all the sins that I have committed from day to day against thy divine Majesty and suffer me not O Lord to offend thee any more hereafter that neither sin nor Satan nor any unruly passions may have dominion nor reign any longer in my mortal body for I confess I have herein done wickedly and have broken all thy commandments for which thou mightest in thy severe Justice punish me both in Soul and Body to eternal Death besides those sins which I have this day committed Forgive me O Lord all my sins past and blessed be thy name that thou hast kept me this day in my going out and in my returning home O Lord watch over me this night and be thou my defence and protection from all dangers casualties and troubles grant that I be not overcome with any fantasies and dreams or other Temptations but that I may fully set my mind upon thee love thee fear thee and rest in thee and thou O Lord waken me again in due time that I may behold the light of the next day to my comfort still preparing my heart and mind to thy service every day and my whole life time in truth and sincerity that when I have run the short race of this mortal life thou mayest be pleased to call me to be partaker of a better and so I may live and die and ever remain with thee in thy Heavenly Kingdom through Jesus Christ our only Lord and Saviour in whose name I beg all these
that I may assure my self that my sins are forgiven by his death and passion And now O Lord I beseech thee to imbrace me in the Armes of thy mercy vouchsafe to receive me into the bosom of thy love shadow me with thy wings that I may safely take my rest in thee this night in the Name of thy Son Jesus Christ in whom I refer my self wholly to thy protection beseeching thee that when this life shall end my last sleep being come I may take my everlasting rest with thee in thy heavenly Kingdome for the glory of thy holy Name and to my eternal comfort through the merits of thy dearly beloved Son my Lord and only Saviour in whose perfect form of Prayer I conclude my imperfect Petitions saying Our Father c. A Prayer for Saturday Morning O Merciful Father for Jesus Christ his sake I beseech thee forgive me all my known and secret sins which in Thought Word or Deed I have committed against thy Divine Majesty and deliver me from all those Judgments which are due unto me for them and sanctifie my heart with thy Holy Spirit that I may henceforth lead a more Godly and Religious life And here O Lord I praise thy Holy Name for that thou hast refreshed me this Night with moderate sleep and rest And I beseech theee to defend me this day from all Perils and dangers of Body and Soul and to this end I commend my self and all my actions unto thy blessed protection and government beseeching thee that whether I live or die I may live and die to thy Glory and the Salvation of my poor Soul which thou hast bought with thy precious Blood Blesse me O Lord in my going out and comming in and grant that whatsoever I shall think speak or take in hand this day may tend to the glory of thy Name the good of others and the comfort of my own Conscience when I shall come to make up my last accounts before thee O my God help thy servant that I do no evil to any man this day and let it be thy blessed will not to suffer the Devil nor any of his wicked Angels nor any of his evil Members to have power to do me any hurt or violence but let the eye of thy holy providence watch over me for good and not for evil and command thy holy Angels to pitch their Tents round about me for my defence and Safety in my going out and coming in as thou hast promised they shall do about them that fear thy name Grant this O heavenly Father for Jesus Christ thy sons sake in whose blessed name I give thee glory and beg at thy hands all other graces which thou seest to be needful for me this day and ever in that prayer which Christ himself hath taught me saying Our Father c. A Prayer for Saturday-Evening O Most gracious God and loving Father who are about my Bed and knowest my down-lying and mine up-rising and art near unto all that call upon thee in truth and sincerity I wretched sinner do beseech thee to look upon me with the Eyes of thy Mercy Father I beseech thee let thy holy Spirit work in me such a serious Repentance as that I may with Tears lament my sins past with grief of heart be humbled for my sins present and with all my endeavour resist the fame sins for the time to come And now O Lord I Bless thee for my Health Food Rayment and Prosperity and more especially that thou hast defended me this day now past from all dangers and Perils both of Body and Soul furnishing me with all necessary good things that I stand in need of and as thou hast ordained the Day for man to Travel in and the Night for him to take his rest so I beseech thee sanctifie unto me this Nights rest and sleep that I may enjoy the same as thy sweet blessing and benefit that so this dull and wearied body of mine being refreshed with moderate sleep and rest I may be the better enabled to walk before thee doing all such good works as thou hast appointed when it shall Please thee of thy Divine goodness to waken me the next Morning More especially I beseech thee to prepare me for thy Service to Morrow it is thine Holy day O Lord prepare me for the Sanctifying of the same that I may not spend it in my own Lusts and pleasures but that my chief delight may be to Consecrate it to thy Glory and Honour and that ceasing from the works of sin as well as from the works of my ordinary Calling I may through thy Blessing feel in my heart the beginning of that Eternal Sabbath which in unspeakable Joy and Glory I shall celebrate with the Saints and Angels to thy Praise and Glory in thy Heavenly Kingdom for Evermore Keep my heart O Lord in thy fear and guide all the course of my life by thy Favour and prepare me against the hour of Death and Dissolution that if thou shouldest this night make my Bed in the dark and turn my sleep into Death I may Live and Die unto thee who livest Everlastingly these Graces and all other Blessings which thou O Father knowest to be requisite and necessary for me I humbly beg and crave at thy Hands in the Name and Mediation of Jesus Christ thy Son in that form of Prayer which he himself hath Taught me saying Our Father c. FAMILY DEVOTIONS OR A COLLECTION OF Morning and Evening PRAYERS For Families for every day in the Week But as for me and my house we will serve the Lord Josh 25. 15. Family-Devotions A Prayer for a Family for Sunday Morning LOrd teach us to Pray that we may call upon thy Name Prepare our hearts to seek and open thou thy ears Mercifully to hear us O Eternal and Everliving Lord God Creator and continual Preserver of all things both in Heaven and in Earth by whose gracious Providence as we were at the first wonderfully and fearfully Made so we are no less preserved and kept unto this present We the Workmanship of thy own hands desire to humble both Soul and Body before thee And now O Lord we being here in thy Presence cannot but acknowledg and confess against our selves our own unworthiness to come before thee to call upon thee or to perform even the least Duty that shall concern thy Worship and Glory Our hearts alas are no better then the sink of sin and a mass of all Pollution and uncleanness Wheresore O dear God most meek and Merciful Father we poor Wretches heartily beseech thee to be Gracious unto us for Jesus Christ thy Sons sake for his Death sake for thy Promise Truth and Mercies sake have Mercy upon us Pardon us and Forgive us all our Sins Iniquities and Trespasses whatsoever we have committed against thee in thought Word or Deed Ever or at any time hitherto by any meanes Dear Father have mercy upon us though we be poor yet our
wilt Crown us with Life in the World to come Why shouldest thou be so careful of us since we are so careless of thee surely O Lord in that thou affordest us health to our bodyes liberty to our persons prosperity to this Family in which we live we can give no reason but because thou art Merciful The Heavens are within a Spain the Earth within a Circle the Waters within thy fist mountains upon the ballance but what number or measure or bounds can we set to thy Goodness and Mercy O God O let the Ocean of this thy Mercy be a Partition between us and our sins betwixt thee and thy Judgments who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean but thou alone who justifiest the ungodly and quickenest the dead in sin Remove therefore from us O Lord whatsoever there is in us that displeaseth thee for thine Eyes do behold our manifold imperfections send thy Hand of Mercy we pray thee upon us and take away from us whatsoever there is within us which doth offend the Eyes of thy Goodness And as thou hast in great Mercy kept us this Night past from all Perils and Dangers of the same so we beseech thee keep us this day that the Son of Righteousness may Rule in our Hearts and that all the darkness that lurketh in them may be scattered to the comfort of our souls and that we may walk in the light as thy Children without danger of stumbling Prosper O Lord our labours and the works of our hands and grant that we may grow in Grace all our days until we come to Live and Reign with thee in thy Heavenly Kingdome And together with us bless O Lord thy Church Universal comfort all that Mourn in Sion give them Beauty for Ashes and the Oyl of gladness for the Spirit of Mourning and Heaviness Bless our Gracious King defend his Person uphold his Crown maintain his Government bless our gracious Q. Katharine James Duke of York and all the Royal Family bless the Nobility Magistrates Bishops and Ministers and let thy blessing be upon all of us in this houshold guide us in our wayes and lead us into thy Truth Bless all our Friends and Kindred all that are in any Affliction or Tribulation And do for them and us whatsoever thou knowest necessary for us for the Sake of Jesus Christ our only Saviour and Redeemer in whose Name and Words we beseech the saying Our Father c. A Prayer for a Family for Tuesday Evening HOly and Glorious Lord God what shall we reader unto thee for all thy Benefits because thou host inclined thine Ear unto us therefore will we call upon thee as long as we live from the rising of the Sun to the going down of the same let thy Name be praised among the infinite Riches of thy Mercies toward us we render thee abundant of praise and thanks for thy merciful preservation of us this day as well as all the times and days of our lives that thou hast bestowed upon us so many excellent blessings and mercys both Spiritual and corporal contrary to our deservings All these thy mercys call upon us that we should be thankful to thee for them and all our miseries call upon us that we should call upon thee for the continuance of thy mercies Cleanse our Souls therefore we beseech thee O Lord from whatsoever is offensive to thee and hurtful to us and give us what is necessary for us And now O Lord Watch over us this night give us comfortable and sweet sleep fit us for all services of the day following make our souls to watch for the comming of the Lord Jesus Christ let our beds put us in mind of our Graves and our rising from thence of our last Resurrection so that whether we wake or sleep we being thine may wait for thee O Heavenly Father so form these hearts of ours that we may ever delight to live according to thy Will and Ordinance in Holiness and Righteousness before thee all the days of our lives O Lord let us consider the time will come when the Trumpet shall and will sound the dead shall Rise and we even we all and every one of us shall assuredly stand before thy Judgment Seat with open and unfolded Consciences there to give an account of all our deeds whatsoever at which time all such as have believed in Christ and truly served thee in this life shall to their endless and unspeakable joy hear that comfortable saying of thine Come ye blessed of my Father Receive the Kingdome prepared for you before the beginning of the World but woe to all that live wicked sinful lives in that day they shall drink of the Wine of the Wrath of God and shall be Tormented in Fire and Brimstone for Evermore O Dear God and gracious Father keep us from this condition and knit our hearts fast unto thee and cause us now while we have time with the help of thy Grace not only to think rightly of these things but so to walk before thee in this present life as becometh thy people and Children O continue the Word of Truth evermore amongst us to comfort us and let the seed thereof take such fast root in our hearts that it may fructifie and bring forth fruit to thy Glory and our own good and comfort that we may be the more enabled thereby to walk in they fear in the midst of a wicked and perverse Generation Shower down thy blessings upon the Head and Heart of our gracious King and Queen and upon all the Royal Family Bless O Lord the Ministers Judges and Magistrates of this Land Bless all the people of all degrees and kinds Let thy blessing be upon our Relations Kindred and Freinds and upon all others whom we are bound to pray for in any affliction pain trouble sickness or any other distemper whatsoever Bless them all and bless us and ours and do more for us then we can express unto thee and all we beg in the Name and Words of our blessed Saviour and Redeemer saying Our Father c. A Prayer for a Family for Wednesday Morning MOst gracious Lord God and holy Father thine eyes are more pure than the Son and cannot behold any thing that is unclean the Cherubins and Seraphins cover their faces before thy glorious Majesty the heaven of heavens are not clean in thy sight How then shall earth sinful earth dust and ashes appear before thee we persume not O Lord to come before thy Tribunal to plead for our righteousness for all our righteousness is as filthy rags but we prostrate our selves with all humility of body and soul at thy mercy seat to make confession of our sins Hear Lord and have mercy on us and as thou hast Redeemed us by thy Son so we beseech thee to sanctifie us by thy holy Spirit Mortifie in us every day more and more all sinful lusts and affections and quicken us in all saving graces and vertues
grace and goodness reduce them to the obedience of thy most holy will in the practise of all piety toward thee and charity towards all men And with us be gracious to thy whole Church bless thy servant Charles our gracious King and Governour bless our gracious Queen James Duke of York and all the Royal Family bless the Nobility the Magistracy and Ministery of this land of what quality or degree soever Be merciful to all that are under any affliction or tryal whatsoever be a Father to the fatherless a husband to the Widdow and a Comforter to the Comfortless in what streight or necessity soever they are support them and bring them out of it to thy Glory and their comfort Be merciful to all that we are bound to pray for bless our Relations Kindred and Friends and let them serve thee and live to thy Glory And now we desire to return all humble and hearty thanks to thy heavenly Majesty for all thy blessings continually showred down upon us In Creating us and Preserving us to this day in keeping us the day past from all dangers and casualties that we are continually subject to Continue O Lord we beseech thee this favour to us and let thy Angels pitch their Tents round about us this night to guard and defend us from all perils both of soul and body let our weak and wearied bodies be refreshed with seasonable and convenient rest and sleep that so we may be the more fit to discharge our duties both toward God and man the day following Grant these our weak Petitions and give us all other blessings that thou knowest we stand in need of and all we ask of thee in the blessed Name and Words of our dear Saviour and Redeemer further Praying Our Father c. A Prayer for a Family for Fryday Morning MOst Holy most Glorious and Eternal Lord God we thy poor and unworthy servants in all humility of soul and body and unfeigned acknowledgment of our duty prostrate our selves before the Throne of thy Mercy praising and magnifying thy fatherly goodness for the abundance of thy blessings and for the multitude of thy mercies heaped upon us beseeching thee for Christ his sake to be merciful to all our sins committed against thy divine Majesty upon the consideration of which we confess we are not worthy to appear in thy presence much less to ask a Blessing at thy hands for by reason of our corrupt nature in us derived from our first Parents our inclinations have been proâ—e to commit all manner of sin and wickedness against thy goodness thy laws and precepts we have broken both in thought word and deed out of our hearts proceed evil and wicked imaginations which defile the soul and the whole man is altogether abominable these things O Lord we confess to our shame and if thy mercy prevent not it will be our utter destruction of soul and body Yet O Lord thou aâ—t our Creator thou hast made us and thou hast sent thy dear Son Jesus Christ to die for us and thy holy Spirit to sanctifie us and many are the benefits and blessings which thou hast bestowed upon us and which by thy goodness we enjoy both of soul and body and therefore by the testimony of our own consciences we stand convicted and the thoughts of our great sins and transgressions do much astonish us what shall we say therefore or wherein shall we open ouâ— mouths who shall deliver us from the misery due unto us for our transgressions nothing can be expected in this life but mercy and confusion and in the world to come eternal condemnation But yet O Lord in obedience to thy command and in confident assurance of thy endless and unspeakable mercy promised in Jesus Christ to all sinners which come unto thee with sorrow in our hearts shame in our faces and in all humility of Spirit And we would appeal from thee a just Judg to thee a merciful Father from the throne of thy Justice to the seat of thy Mercy beseeching thee O Lord to have mercy upon us and to turn away thy face from all our sins and to blot out all our transgressions for the only Meritorious Death and Passion of Jesus Christ who so abundantly shed his Blood on the Cross to take away the sin of the World and be pleased now to reform our affections transform us out of sin into the glorious liberty of thy own children to live in newness of life in a holy conversation and continual obedience to thy divine Majesty And now we further intreat thee O Lord for a blessing upon thy Church Universal more especially we beseech thee to continue the peace and prosperity of these Churches wherein we live and every member thereof and in a more especial manner bless with the cheifest of thy blessings thine Annointed and our Soveraign Lord King Charles the Queens Majesty James Duke of York and the rest of the Royal Family bless the Lords of his Majesties most honourable privy Council the Reverend Clergy and all civil Magistrates bless all our kindred friends and acquaintance bless all O Lord from the highest to the lowest And since it hath pleased thee O Lord of thy Goodness to deliver us from the power of darkness and all dangers of the night past affording us quiet and comfortable rest bring us safe to the beginning of this day our souls and all that is within us shall praise thy holy Name We beseech thee to bless and defend us O Lord this day direct and protect us in it bless our going out and comming in let thy Spirit guide us in all our actions prosper all our labours and endeavours this day make us diligent and dutiful in our Callings that we may keep a good Conscience in all our dealings not any way to defraud any one knowing that one day we must give an account of all our words and deeds Lord hear us we beseech thee and accept of this our morning Sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving hear our prayers and grant our petitions that we have asked and all other blessings which thou in thy infinite wisdom knowest most necessary for us we ask at thy merciful hands in the Name and through the mediation of thy dear Son our blessed Redeemer Jesus Christ our Lord in whose most excellent form of Prayer we conclude our imperfect Petitions saying Our Father c. A Prayer for a Family for Fryday Evening MOst glorious and everlasting Lord God which inhabitest eternity and dwellest in that light which no mortal eye can attain unto the God in whom we live and move and have our being we thine unworthy servants do here in all lowliness and humility present our persons and Prayers before thy divine Majesty confessing and acknowledging that we were conceived in sins and brought forth in iniquity and as if that had been but a small matter we have heaped up our Actuall transgressions as the sand upon the sea-shore and as the stars
feeble knees and support my weak hands and revive my deaded heart and so powerfully assist me with the spirit of strength that I may with confidence call upon thee with patience endure this trial with hope expect thy good pleasure with wisdom make use of this thy Visitation and with thankfulness ever praise thy goodness and mercy for my safe recovery if it may fland with thy will whereunto I submit and wholly resign now and for ever through Jesus Christ my blessed Lord and Saviour in whose most holy words I further pray Our Father A Thanksgiving after recovery O Lord God of my health and salvation who hast known my Soul in trouble and didst make my bed in my painful and dangerous sickness and hast now raised me out of it to stand before thee I offer now unto thee a sacrifice of praise because I emplyed not the saculties of my Soul and members of my body as I should have done thou didst bereave me of the strength and vigour and use of them for a season but now because thy compassion fails not thou hast returned them to me again wherefore I consecrate and devote them perpetually to thy sâ—rvice and as I am in the state of my body so by the power of thy renewing grace I will become in the estate of my Soul a new man My broken heart which thou hast healed shall now entirely love thee my feeble knees and weak bones which thou hast settled shall night and day bow to thee my weak hands which tâ—ou hast strengthned shall continually be lifted up unto thee I confess unto thee O Lord that in my health I often read and heard that worldly delights and comforts were vain and much like flags and bulrushes which men in danger of drowning câ—tch to bear them up but they sink doâ—â—â— under water with them yet did I not learn till I suffered till thy rod had imprinted it even in my flesh Now O Lord I beseech thee to knit my heart unto thee that I may fear thy name create in me a new heart renew a right spirit within me I asked life of thee thou gavest it me I now desire and crave thy Salvation O my God withhold it not make me to repent of my sins the cause of my sickness and to depend upon thee the giver of all good things and make me in the time of prosperity to think of adversity in health to think of sickness in sickness to think of death and at all times so to think of judgment that whither I wake or sleep eat or drink or whatsoever I do else I may ever have this voice sounding in mine ears Arise ye dead and come to judgment Give me grace O Lord to make this use of mine affliction past and to cleave and stick fast unto thee in all holiness for the time to come through my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in whose name and words I further pray Our Father c. The Prayer of the Sick now ready to depart this World ETernal and Omnipotent infinite incomprehensible God Lord of my life and determiner of my days my body now is returning into dust and my soul returning to thee that gavest it O Lord most holy O most mighty draw near unto me who make hast to come unto thee give me a clearer sight of thee by how much the nearer I am out of the dark prison of my body Give me also a quicker tast of the powers of the life to come that I may the more comfortably pass over these last troubles of this present life O Father of mercy and God of all consolation let not the guilt of my sâ—â—s or horror of thy judgments or Satans suggestions or the fear of death or terrors of hell drive me to desperation I confess that for my unmindfulness of thee and ungratefulness to thee all my life I deserve that thou shouldest utterly abandon and forsake me now at my death but thy thoughts are not like our thoughts nor thy affections like ours Dear Father shew thy strength in my greatest weakness confirm thy mercy to me in my greatest need apply thy comforts to me in this my last extremity asswage the pains of my body with spiritual Comforts and diminish the fear of death by the assured hope of a better life O let me that am now returning to dust and ashes speak but this once to my Lord and Maker with ill my heart soul and strength I beseech thee by all that my Saviour Jesus Christ hath done and Suffered for me I entreat thee to speak peace unto my soul at its departing and say unto it I am thyâ— Salvation Make my election sure by my true repentance fervent charity assured confidence constant patience and comfortable perseverance to the end and in the end Amen At the Hour of death WElcome blessed hour the period of my pilgrimage the term of my bondage the end of my cares the close of my sighs the bound of my tarvels the goal of my race and the heaven of my hopes I have fought a long fight in much weakness I have finished my course though in great faintness and the crown of my joy is that through the strength of thy grace I have kept the true faith and now I dye in it I willingly resign my flesh I despise the world and I defie the Devil who hath no part nor share in me And now what is my hope my hope Lord Jesus is even in thee for I know that thou my Redeemer livest and thou wilt immediately receive my soul and rayse up my body at the last day and I shall see thee in my flesh with these eyes and no other my heart â—ainteth my strength faileth my tongue faltereth Lord let thy spirit of comfort help mine insâ—â—mities and make Supplication for me with sighs and groans that cannot be uttered I submit my self wholly to thy will I commit my soul to thee as my faithful Redeemer who hast bought it with thy most precious bloud I profess to all the world I know no name under heaven by which I may be saved but thine my Jesus my Saviour I renounce all confidence in any merits save thine I thankfully acknowledg all thy blessings I unfainedly bewail all my sins I steadfastly believe all thy promises I heartily forgive all mine enemies I willingly leave all my friends I utterly loath all earthly comforts I entirely long for thy coming Come Lord Jesus come quickly Lord Jesus receive my spirit SACRED POEMS UPON SELECT SUBJECTS WITH Divine Meditations OF THE Vanity of Mans Life and the World And also of the Four Last Things Death Judgment Heaven and Hell With Graces Speaking to your selves in Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs singing and making melody with your Heart to the Lord Eph. 5. 19. The Souls Breathing after Her Heavenly Country 1. JErusalem my happy home O that I were in thee Oh would my Woes were at an end thy joys that I might see
O my Soul and forget not all his benefits Psal. 103. 2. The Lord killeth and maketh alive he bringeth down to the grave and bringeth up 1 Sam. 2. 6. It is God that girdeth me with strength and maketh my way perfect Psal. 18. 32. Also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before Job ult Thou hast set me at liberty when I was in thrall Psal. 4. 1. And these all having obtained good report through Faith receive not the promise Heb. 11. 39. Ointment and Perfume rejoyce thy heart so doth the sweetness of a mans friend by hearty Counsel Thou Lord only makest me dwell in safety Psal. 4. 8. The Lord shall preserve thee from evil he shall preserve thy Soul Psal. 121. 7. A Preparatory Hymn Collected out of divers Psalms THou sayest seek ye my face my heart saith unto thee Thy face Lord will I seek Psal. 27. 8. Hide not thy face far from me nor put thy servant away in anger vers 9. Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy holy spirit from me Psal. 51. 11. Hear O Lord when I cry unto thee have mercy also upon me and answer me Psal. 27. 7. Ponder my words O Lord consider my meditation Psal. 5. 1. My heart is inditing a good matter my tongue is the pen of a ready writer Psal. 45. 1. O Lord open thou my lips and my lips shall shew forth thy praise Psal. 51. 15. Let my prayer be set forth before thee as Incense and the lifting up of my hands as an Evenâ—â—â—â—â—â—rifice Psal. 141. 2. Set a watch O Lord â—efore my mouth and keep the door of my lips Psal. 141. 3. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight O Lord my strength and my Redeemerâ— Psal. 19. 14. An Exhortation to stir up Christians to Prayer PRayer is of that force and virtue that it ties the ear of God to the tongue of man O it is an acceptable Incense to God always for how hath he always rewarded it and regarded it It never returned but with a blessing so that the Prayer be sent up out of a pure and upright heart mingled with Faith for we must ask in Faith and waver not as St. James saith By fervent Prayer the children of Israel were delivered from the Egyptian bondage as you may read That when they cryed unto the Lord he heard them and delivered them out of their Enemies hands Therefore let us continually pray unto God both Morning and Evening and let us call and cry unto him for a blessing upon us and desire him to preserve us and to remove his Judgments from us To which end I have thought good to frame this Manual of private Devotions for a help to those that may want them PRIVATE DEVOTIONS OR A COLLECTION OF Morning Evening PRAYERS For Private Persons For every day in the Week Evening and Morning and at Noon will I Pray and cry Aloud and he shall hear my voyce Psal. 55. 17. Private Devotions A Prayer for Sunday-Morning ALmighty God the blessed Creator and Finisher of the Salvation of Mankind who in memory of thy glorious Rest from both thy noble works hast blessed and sanctified a day of holy rest unto thy self sanctify me for it that laying aside my accustomed business and sequestring my thoughts from all worldly cares I may keep it and my self holy to thee by dedicating and devoting my self wholly to thy peculiar worship and immediate service and to the end that this my Religious service may be more acceptable to thee quicken me with thy Spirit that I may perform it with all allacrity and cheerfulness and may make thy Sabbath my delight Touch my Heart and Tongue with a coal from thy Altar that from the sweet Incense of my Meditations Hymns Prayers and Thanksgivings thou mayest smell a savour of Rest. O Prince of Peace sanctify thy rest unto me that I may find rest to my Soul from all temptations troubles and fears and may rest from my own works which are painful and sinful travels and may imploy this day all the powers and faculties of my Soul and Body in doing and considering thy works in adoring thy Majesty and admiring thy wisdom and acknowledging thy Power and embracing thy Love and magnifying thy goodness and rejoycing in thy Mercies and trembling at thy Judgments In visiting thy holy Temple and praising thee with thy Saints and offering up the Calves of my lips In diligently reading thy Scriptures attentively hearing thy Word â—everently celebrating thy Mysteries charitably relieving thy Members zealously practizing all holy duties both publick and private O let me this Whole day walk with thee as Enoch sometimes did and talk with thee as Moses did and seek thy Face as David did And grant that beholding thine Image in thy holy Word as in a clear and Christal Mirrour I may be changed â—to the same Image even from Glory to Glory Let this Sabbath put me in mind of thy Holy rest from thy works and assure me thereby of an Everlasting Sabbath in Heaven from my Works into which rest that I may enter stir up good desires in me raise my thoughts and affections to the things which are above renew me according to the Image of thy Son and frame my Life to a Heavenly conversation enlighten my understanding sanctify my will moderate my desires govern my affections mortifie my fleshly members destory the man of sin in me and deliver me from the Body of death work 〈◊〉 me a fear of thy power and a love of thy goodness and zeal of thy glory and thirst after thy grace and an earnest desire and constant resolution as much as in me lyeth to approve my self to thee in all things and frame all my actions to the rule of thy Word Hear me I beseech thee for thy Church and thy Church for me and Christ for us all saying Our Father c. A Prayer for Sunday Evening HOly Holy Holy Lord God Almighty which wast which art and which art to come Hollow my nature that I may Hollow thy Name As thou impartest thy goodness to me whereby I live and move in thee communicate to me some measure of thy Holiness that I may live and move to thee Let thy Spirit of grace possess my Body and Soul that the desires of my mind and thoughts of my heart and words of my lips may be holiness unto thee Sanctifie me that I may glorifie thee And first with Joy and Thankfulness I acknowledg it a special Testimony of thy love that thou hast given me liberty and meanes to keep a holy Sabbath unto thee to meet in thy House to offer up my Joynt-Prayers and thanksgiving with thy Holy congregation to confess my sin to profess my faith to lay open my wants to clear up my self by Singing the sweet Songs of Sion to hear thy Sacred Word read and Preached whereby my faith hath been strengthened in
the Mysteries of Salvation my hope established in the promises of the Gospel and my life set forward in a setled course of holyness and righteousness whereby the Kingdom of sin and Satan is beat down and destroyed and the Kingdom of Christ built up in me By this thy Word the careless sinner is admonished the ignorant instructed the presumptuous teâ—rified and the Penitent comforted the Power of sin is abated the force of temptations weakned the motions of the Spirit quickned grace received and my Election assured by the infallible marks and tokens thereof set before me in holy Scriptures Blessed be thy Name for it this day thy word hath dwelt with me richly in all wisdom The dispencer of thy Mysteries hath scattered many Doctrines like so many Pearls among the People Lord grant that with Mary I may keep these and all thy sayings in my heart and make use of them in my life and receive comfort from them at my Death And here I would proceed to intreat at thy hands the continuance and increase of thy Spiritual Temporal blessings upon me but my sins lye at the door of my Conscience and affright me My heart smites me for my failings in the performance of the duties of this day My devout meditations have been â—tifled in the womb that bare them my Prayers have not been without distractions my hearing without â—earisomness nor my Alms-deeds without Grudging Pardon dear Father the want of preparation before I come to thy house of intention and Zeal at thy service and of Meditation and Application of those things which I heard there since I came thence Bury I beseech thee these slips and all my sins especially of this week and day in the night of eternal oblivion Ease me of the burthen of them that I may more securely repose my soul and body upon thy gracious protection to take their natural refreshing by sleep whereby I may be enabled and strengthened to do the better service the next day in walking carefully diligently conscionably and constantly in the wayes of thy Commandements and in the duties of my Calling so as may be to thy honour and Glory and my eternal comfort through Jesus Christ our Lord. To whom be honour and glory world without end Amen Our Father c. A Prayer for Munday-Morning MOst Glorious Lord God the great Creator and preserver of all mankind Blessed be thy Name that thou hast been graciously pleased to preserve me the night past and that thou hast once more vouchsafed me the light of the Morning whereby to manage my affairs and business O Lord preserve me this day and keep me in all my wayes give unto me the repose of a quiet Conscience and the clear light of the Gospel to guide my feet in the way of peace and grant that this light may convince me of the Errors of my understanding the depravedness of my will the disorder of my affections the Impunity of my thoughts the vanity of my desires the deceitfulness of my heart and the wickedness thereof Make me sensible O Lord what a wretched creature I was in my birth slime and filthiness what I am in my life vanity and solly and what shall be in my death stench and rottenness Discover unto me O Lord that I have nothing which I have not received that without Christ I can do nothing that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good that I am not able of my self as of my self to think a good thought that I cannot desire to think nor have will to desire nor grace to will any good O Lord let me consider that my comforts in this world are very few and small my crosses and troubles many and great my pleasures here are momentary and short my pains hereafter without my repentance and thy great mercy are permanent and everlasting My gifts O Lord are very small my wants and infirmities are great my helps are weak my assaults and temptations are strong my good deeds are few and they tainted with Imperfections but my ill deeds are infinite Let these considerations O Lord humble me in my self that Christ may raise me and wound me in my self that Christ may heal me And O Lord who this day madest the Heavens or Air without which I cannot breath naturally no not for a moment infuse into my heart the Spirit of thy grace without which I cannot breath Spiritually in my Prayers nor sigh nor so much as move any part or faculty of my soul or body unto thee and as oft as I take in or let out the air which I breath let receive me in grace from thee and breathe out praise unto thee Be my guide O Lord this day and do thou keep me both Now and Ever Amen Our Father c. A Prayer for Munday-Evening HOly and Eternal Lord God who art the King of Heaven and the Watchman of Israel who never slumbrest nor sleepest Look upon me thy unworthy servant who by reason of my sin and the corruption of my nature am wholly subject to sloth and am even now ready to ease and rest my self upon my bed I know not whether thou wilt this very night make my bed in the dark and the hour of my visitation be this present Evening all my years are but a span long my dayes pass like a Weavers Shuttle my life ends like a Tail that is told this hour may be my last hour my next sleep may be my last and long sleep I beseech thee therefore that I may every Evening seriously ponder and meditate heaven that I may be the better prepared in that day and hour that thou shalt call me And though my Eyes shall now sleep and enjoy that moderate refreshment which thou hast appointed for the wearisome condition of my weak body yet let my soul continually watch unto thee to attend thy coming Forgive me O Lord the sins of this day past and all other my former sins and misdemeanors keep me this night both in body and soul that I may with the next light joyfully rise again Let not my sleep be unmeasurable and excessive to please the ease of my flesh but sufficient and seasonable whereby I may be the better disposed to thy service to morrow diligently and fruitfully walking in my calling and repenting me of my sins with fear to offend thee Let thy unspeakable mercy alwayes preserve me let thine endless sweetness rejoyce me let thine heavenly truth strengthen me let thy knowledg imbolden me and thy goodness keep me from my Enemies visible and invisible now and for Evermore Amen Our Father c. A Prayer for Tuesday Morning O Eternal Lord God thou commandest us alwayes at all times and in all things to call upon thee day by day I come unto thee beging refreshment from the overflowing streams of thy mercy O Lord open unto me the gate of thy favour and let me be satisfied with the fountain of thy loving kindness O merciful Lord who
Christ is Rich though we be sinners he is Righteous though we be impure yet he is Pure and Holy for his sake therefore O Lord have mercy upon us and Write thy Law in our Hearts engrave it in our Minds we heartily beseech thee And let us this Morning of thy Holy Day wholly turn unto thee with all our Hearts Minds Thoughts Deeds and Meditations that we may joyn in Praises to thy holy Name for thy preservation of us the night past and refreshing us with sweet sleep and let us declare thy loving kindness in the Morning on thy Holy and Blessed Sabbath-Day for it is thy Will and Commandement that we should Sanctifie this thy Day unto thy Service and in Praise unto thee and offer up unto thee a morning Sacrifice of Praises and Thanksgiving and to hear what thy Spirit by the preaching of thy Word shall speak unto us thy Servants O let not our sins stand as a cloud to stop our Prayers from Ascending up unto thee or to keep back thy Grace from Descending by thy Word into our hearts that we may cease from the works of sin as well as from the works of our ordinary calling and that we may feel in our hearts the beginning of that Eternal Sabbath which brings unspeakable Joy and Glory and filling us with the Spirit of Prayer make us diligent and ready in the performance of thy will And take us O Lord into thy custody and governance for ever both our Souls and Bodies yea our Lives and all that ever we have so that our Lives may please thee and our Deaths may praise thee through Jesus Christ our Lord for whose sake we heartily Pray thee to grant these things thus asked and all other things necessary for soul and body and that not only to us but to all others also for whom thou wouldest we should pray Grant unto us all true hearty Repentance that we may turn from our evil ways that thou mayest turn from us the evils that we have so highly deserved And with us O Lord bless thy whole Church especially that part of it in these Kingdomes Be Gracious to thy servant and our Soveraign Lord King Charles Bless him in his Government and in his Royal Relations our Gracious Queen Katherine James Duke of York and all the Royal Family bless the Nobility Clergy Magistracy Gentry and the whole People of this Land be merciful to all our Kindsfolks and Families Neighbours and to all such as are any other way Related to us and we beseech thee to grant us all thy Blessings and thy holy Spirit to sanctifie us and to keep us this day and for Evermore from all Evil to thy Eternal Glory and our everlasting comfort through Jesus Christ our Lord and only Saviour in whose Blessed Name and Words we further Pray Our Father c. A Prayer for a Family for Sunday Evening O Eternal God our most loving and merciful Father in Jesus Christ it is thine own commandment that we should call upon thy name and it is thy gracious and merciful promise that where two or three are gathered together in thy name there thou wilt be present among them we thy poor and unworthy servants Dust and Ashes yet the Workmanship of thine own Hand are more bold to come before thee to offer unto thee this Evening sacrifice of Prayer and Thanksgiving O Lord we beseech thee to sanctifie unto us thy word which we have heard and read this day make it the seed of life unto our souls that it may fructifie grow and increase and get such strength by thy good providence that neither the burning heat of affliction or persecution cause it to wither but that as seed sown in good ground it may bring forth thirty sixty and a hundred fold as thy heavenly wisdom hath appointed And now O Lord being here before thee we cannot but acknowledg and confess ever from the bottom of our Hearts against our selves our own Unworthiness that we are greivous sinners Conceived in sin and born in iniquity whereof we have brought forth most vile fruits in our lives to the great dishonour of thy Name the utter dismaying of our own Consciences and the evil example of our Brethren by which we have deserved likewise thy wrath and heavy indignation to be poured upon us both in this life and that which is to come in such sort that no creature in heaven or earth is able to reconcile us again to thy Majesty but only thy Son Jesus Christ we intreat thee therefore O Lord to be merciful unto us and as we acknowledg our sins unto thee so be thou faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness wash us thorowly from our wickedness and cleanse us from our sins for we acknowledg O Lord against thee we have sinned and done evil in thy sight To thee therefore O Lord do we come to crave the pardon of our sins both â—or the guilt and punishment of the same that so they may not draw down upon us our deserved Judgment And good Lord we pray thee accept of our Thanksgiving unto thy Majesty for all thy mercies and blessings from time to time bestowed upon us for this life and for a better we praise thee for our Election Vocation Justification Sanctification continual Preservation and the assurance thou hast given us of a better Life when this is ended as also for all temporal blessings health peace and prosperity for thy goodness extended toward us for this day past that thou hast goâ— in and out before us and freed us from many dangers of soul and body and hast brought us with peace and comfort to the beginning of this night Lord Watch over us by thy Spitit and Presence give us a holy and sanctified use of our rest and sleep and fit us for the Duties of the next day especially O Lord fit us for that day which shall never give place to night And grant unto us all good things that thou in thy Wisdome knowest more expedient to give than we to ask and all we beg for Jesus Christ His sake in whose Name and Words we conclude these our imperfect Prayers saying as he hath taught us Our Father c. A Prayer for a Family for Munday Morning MOst Merciful and Gracious Lord God we do not present our selves here before thy Majesty trusting in our own merits or worthiness but in thy manifold Mercies which hast Promised to hear our Prayers and grant our Requests which we shall make unto thee in the Name of thy Dear Son Jesus Christ our Lord who hath also commanded us to assemble our selves together in his Name with full assurance that He will not only be amongst us but also be our Mediator and Advocate toward thy Majesty that we may obtain all things which shall seem expedient to thy blessed Will for our necessities Therefore we beseech thee most Merciful Father to turn thy loving Countenance
increase our faith confirm our hope inflame our Charity teach us to imitate the life of Christ the true pattern of perfect Obedience and only true rule of a Godly life Teach us Humility Patience Meekness Gentleness Chastity Temperance Teach us to contemn earthly things to deny our selves to overcome the world grant us consolation in adversity and true tranquillity of mind grant us victory in temptations and deliverance from the devils treacheries grant us in thine appointed time a blessed departure of this life and a blessâ—â— resurrection unto life everlâ—sting And we pray not for our selves alone but in obedience to thy Command we make our supplication unto thee for all men save and defend thy universal Church enlarge thou her borders propagate thy Kingdom Bless thy servant Charles our most gracious King and governour Bless together with him our gracious Q. Katharine James Duke of York and the rest of the Royal Family Bless we beseech thee the Lords of his Majestys most Honourable Privy Council the Nobles Judges Ministers and Magistrates of this Realm Be thou a Father to the Fatherless a Comforter to the Comfortless a Deliverer to the Captives a Physitian to the Sick Grant that the Sickness of their Bodies may be for the good of their souls Hear us likewise O Lord for the sake of Christ and accept our thanksgiving we thank thee for preserving us ever since we were born and for defending us this night from all perils and dangers for the quiet rest wherewith thou hast refreshed our bodies for thy mercy renewed unto us this morning let thy mercy be continued unto us this day let thy Spirit direct us in all our ways that we may walk before thee as Children of the light doing those things that are pleasing in thy sight Let the dew of thy blessing descend upon our labours for without thy blessing all our labour is in vain Prosper thou the works of our hands upon us and grant that we may so conscionably seek after things temporal in our callings that we do not finally lose the things which are eternal we are unworthy O Lord we confess to obtain any thing at thy hand either for our selves or any other even for the sinfulness of these our prayers But since thou hast promised to hear all those that call upon thee in thy sons name make good we beseech thee thy promise unto us now calling upon thee in thy Sons name and praying as he hath taught us in his holy Gospel Our Father c. A Prayer for a Family for Wednesday Evening MOst Glorious Lord God whose dwelling is in the highest heavens And yet beholdest the lowly and the humble upon earth we blush and are ashamed to lift up our eyes unto heaven because we have sinned against thee which dwellest in the heavens But look down we beseech thee from heaven thy dwelling place and behold the humility of thy servants here on earth which prostrate themselves at the foot-stool of thy mercy confessing their own guiltiness begging pardon for our sins we confess O Almighty Creator that thou madest us at the first after thine own Images thou cloathedst us with Innocency as with a Garment thou seatest us in Paradice a place of all delight and Pâ—easure But we have defaced thine Image we have cast off our first Covering we have thrust our selves out of that pleasant place we ran away from thee and were not obedient to thy Voice And we do still shut our Eyes O Lord that we might not see and we have refused to be ruled by thy Law The law of sin in our flesh doth dayly captâ—vate us The root of sin which lyeth hidden in us doth every day put forth new branches all the parts and faculties of our bodies and souls are as so many Instruments of unrighteousness to fight against thy Divine Majesty Our hearts imagine wicked things our mouths utter them and our hands put them in practise Thy Mercys are every day renewed unto us and our sins are every day multiplyed against thee in the day of health and prosperity we forget thee and we never think upon thee in the day of sickness and adversity Thy benefits heaped upon us do not allure us to obey thee neither do thy Judgments inflicted upon others make us afraid to offend thee what couldst thou have done O Lord more for us or what could we have done more against thee Thou didst send thy Son in the fulness of time to take our nature upon him to fulfil thy Law for us and to be Crucified for our sins but we have not followed the example of his Holy Life but have every day afresh Crucified him by our sins and now O Lord if we should become our own Judges we cannot but confess that we have deserved everlasting torments in Hell fire but there is mercy with thee O Lord therefore will we not despair our sins are many in number but thy mercys are without number the weight of our sins is great but the weight of thy Sons Cross was greater our sins press us down to hell but thy mercy in Christ Jesus raiseth us up by Satan we are accused but by Jesus Christ we are defended By our own Consciences we are condemned but by Jesus Christ we are absolved and pardoned in us there is nothing but Sin Death and Damnation in him there is treasured up for us Righteousness Life and Salvation we are poor Christ is our Riches we are naked he is our covering We are exposed to thy fury pursuing of us he is the buckler of our defence and our refuge he is the Rock of our Salvation and in him do we trust Guide us O Lord by thy holy Spirit to amend what is amiss in us increase all gifts and graces which thou hast already given and give unto us what thou best knowest to be wanting Be gracious and favourable to thy whole Church especially to that part of it among us Bless thy Servant and our soveraign Lord King Charles our gracious Queen Katharine and all the Royal Family we beseech thee also to be gracious to the Kings Council the Nobility the Magistracy the Ministry the Gentry the Commonalty Forget not O Lord all those that are under the Cross and affliction Cloth the Naked feed the Hungry visit the Sick deliver the Captives defend the Fatherless and Widow releive the Oppressed confirm and strengthen those that suffer Persecution for Righteousness sake cure those that are broken in heart speak peace unto their consciences that are tormented with the sence of their sins stand by those that are ready to depart out of this life and when the house of their earthly Tabernacle shall be destroyed then Lord receive their Souls And now O Lord we bless and praise thy Name for our Health Maintenance and Liberty for preserving us ever since we were born for blessing us in all that we have put our hands unto this day Let thy mercy still be continued unto
and mercy in thy sight without thy assistance this sore burthen is too heavy for me to bear Lord either remove it from me or make it easier for me to bear Lend me thy gracious and helping hand that as I am scourged with thy rod so I may lean upon thy staff let me never despair of thy comfortable relief but in all my miseries be thou my refuge be pleased to endue me with patience from above that I may give no advantage to the Tempter in my suffering open the eyes and the charitable hands of those that should see and know mine adversity and so enlarge their hearts that they may administer relief and comfort to me in the midst of my necessities O thou that feedest the young ravens which call upon thee thou that didst bless the poulse to thy servant Daniel be pleased to fill my hungry Soul with the blessings of thy bounty grant that whatsoever I suffer in my body my Soul may thereby draw near unto thee in the misery of hunger do thou satisfy me with thy grace in my scorching thirst do thou cause me with joy to draw water out of the wells of Salvation in the pinching cold do thou warm my devotion and in my poorest and meanest habit do thou cloth me with the Righteousness of my Redeemer O suffer me not to offend thee in my greatest want but make me rely depend upon thee Teach me by this chastisement the vanity of the World and wean me from the fond delights thereof and carry me so through the storms of this troublesom life that in the end I may arrive at the happy haven of eternal peace and rest through thy own merits and passion O Jesus Christ my Lord and only Saviour Amen A Prayer before the receiving of the Sacrament O Most gracious and merciful Lord God thou hast called all those that are weary and heavy laden with their sins to come unto thee and hast promised to ease and refresh them thou hast invited all those that hunger and thirst after thy Kingdom and the righteousness thereof to come to thy Table to tast of thy Supper and hast promised that thou wilt satisfy them in assurance therefore of these promises I come to thee blessed Lord Jesus beseeching thee to ease me to refresh me to satisfy me with thy mercy for my Soul hungers and thirsts after thee thy Salvation I confess and acknowledge that my dayly sins have made me unworthy of my dayly bread much more of this Manna this Bread of life that came down from Heaven I confess O Lord I am not prepared according to thy preparation of thy Sanctuary yet for as much as this day I have set my heart to seek to thee thou O God be merciful unto me and though I cannot bring with me a clean heart for who can say his heart is clean yet behold O Lord I bring with me a contrite heart and a broken spirit despise not O God this Sacrifice As for the sins that I have committed against thee bind them up into one bundle and cast them into the bottomless Sea of thy mercy bury them in thy wounds and wash them away in the blood of that immaculate Lamb Christ Jesus and for the time to come sprinkle my Conscience with the same blood that being cleansed from dead works I may serve thee the living God in righteousness and true holiness all the days of my life that so this blessed Sacrament may be a means to quiet my Conscience to increase my faith to inflame my charity to amend my life to save my Soul and to assure me that I am of the number of those blessed ones who shall eat at thy Table and be called to the marriage Supper of the Lamb. Grant this O Lord for Jesus Christ his sake in whose name and words I conclude these my imperfect prayers saying as he himself hath taught me Our Father c. A Prayer after the receiving of the Sacrament O Most gracious God from whose bounty every good and perfect gift is derived I and all that is within me praise and magnify thy holy name for all thy mercies and favours which from time to time thou hast bestowed upon me But especially I thank thee for Jesus Christ thy Son the fountain and foundation of all blessings and benefits that thou hast sent him into the world to take our nature upon him and to die for us and that thou hast fed me who am unworthy of the least of thy favours with the precious merits of his death and passion Blessed Lord God thou hast been pleased this day to set thy seal to the pardon and forgiveness of all my sins oh let me not lose it again by unthankfulness or relapsing into my old sins from which thou hast purged me lest my last end be worse than my beginning But if hereafter I shall be tempted by the Devil allured by the world or provoked by my own flesh then set before mine eyes by the remembrance of thy Spirit how dear the expiation of my sins cost my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ even the effusion of his most precious and holy blood that in the contemplation of his death and application of his most bitter passion I may die dayly unto sin and so may shew forth the Lords death till he come and bring his reward with him I may receive the Crown of Righteousness which he hath purchased and prepared for all those that love and expect the day of his appearing with the precious price of his incorruptible blood And whereas I have this day renewed my covenant with thee my God in vows and purposes of better obedience assist me by thy grace and strengthen me by thy power that I may pay the vows which I have made unto thee and that by vertue of thy heavenly nourishment I may grow up in grace and godliness till at last I come to be a perfect man in Christ Jesus Preserve and maintain always this thine Ordinance that it may be a note and a badge of my publick profession and give unto all of us that have been partakers of thy body and blood one heart and one mind in the unity of Spirit for the worthy and reverend receiving of the same whensoever we shall come to thy holy Table again and for this thy mercy towards me do I yield unto thee all praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honour and power and might and majesty through Jesus Christ our Lord in whose most blessed name and words I further pray Our Father c. The Prayer of a Virgin BLessed Lord Son of a Virgin who didst honour Virginity when thou tookest our nature hearken to the cryes of a lamenting Maid Lord I am not worthy to come unto thee I am not worthy to receive any favour from thee for I have forsaken thee my most indulgent Husband and have followed other Lovers My soul is too much polluted to be called thine too often
have I broke my vows and my promises to hope for thy love or thy gracious pardon But Lord what shall I now do if yet I shall fall into a dispair of thy Mercies I should increase my disloyalâ—y and either deny or despise the power of thy Passion So great was thy love to the Church thy Spouse that thou gavest thy self to sanctifie and cleanse it by the washing of water by the Word My Soul O Christ is a member of thy Spouse be pleased O Jesus so to sanctifie and wash my soul that thou mayst present it to thy self without spot or wrinckle both holy and blamless O thou who hast opened a Funtain to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness do thou wash me throughly from mine iniquity cleanse me from my sir. And Lord as in mercy thou hast given me Chastity of body so give me likewise Chastity of mind and purity of soul suffer not either the flesh or the Devil by their wicked suggestions to seduce me to uncleaness And though I am but a weak and an earthen vessel yet be thou pleased to make me a chosen vessel a vessel of mercy cause me to keep my body holy and to possess it in sanctification and honour and not in the lust of concupiscence like the Gentiles which know thee not O be thou mâ— Father in the grace of Adoption be thou my Brother in thy pitty and compassion be thou my Husband in thy love affection be thou my Jesus in the salvation of my sinful Soul Arm me with constancy against all assaults of carnal imaginations give me modesty in my countenance decency in my apparel civility in my behaviour sobriety in my discourse and contentedness in my condition make me obedient to my Parents respective to my Superiors courteous to my Inferiors loving unto all Let not my adorning be outward of puting on of apparel but give me that wisdom which is from above to be as an ornament of grace unto my head and as chains abouâ— my neck preserve O Christ both my body and Soul in chastity and honour while I am here upon Earth as becometh a Virgin espoused to thy self and when my dust shall return to the earth as it was let my spirit return unto thy self who gavest it and to thee let it sing that new song with the Quire of Virgins before thy Throne for ever and ever Amen A Prayer of a Married Woman ALmighty Lord and everlasting Father who hast been pleased to vouchsafe me the blessings of this life and to give me my desires both in a husband and children be pleased to give me a Thankful heart for these thy Mercies it is thy goodness and not my merit that I have received from thee these blessings of thy bounty justly O justly mightest thou at once deprive me of these comforts because I have neglected my obedience to the one and my care of the other Humbly O my God I confess my failings and am sorry for mine offences Lord be gracious to me thy servant and let me testify my thankfulness in my industrious care to perform my duties Be thou still the Protector and the gracious Defender both of me and mine Bless him whom thou hast set over me and grant that he may dwell with me according to knowledg that so we being heirs together of the grace of life our prayers may not be hindred As thou hast made me a fruitful Vine by the Walls of his house so make me endeavour to be fruitful in good Works and increase in the Knowledg of thee my God Let those Olive branches about my Table be every one like a green Olive in the house of thee my God and trust in thy mercy for ever and ever make me to my Husband a prudent Wife as sent from thee that he may rejoyce with me the wife of his youth And to this purpose set a watch O Lord before my mouth and keep the door of my Lips make me a gracious Woman retaining Honour that I may be a Crown to my Husband and a wise Woman labouring to build up my house and family and a vertuous Woman fearing thee Hear me O my God and grant me my Petitions for the Worthyness of him who is our indulgent husband to his Spouse the Church even Jesus Christ my only Lord and Saviour in whose blessed Name and Words I further Pray Our Father c. The Prayer for a Woman with Child MOst Merciful and Gracious God who wilt not turn away thine Ear from those that call upon thee in sincerity and truth Look down with an Eye of pity and compassion upon thy unworthy servants I must confess my sins are very great and so is my danger which is at hand my paines to come will be grievous and my life is now most uncertain Assure me I beseech thee of the forgiveness of all my sins mitigate my fear and sorrows strengthen me with the comforts of thy Spirit confirm me in the Faith of my Saviour and bless all good means appointed for my comfort that in due time I may be a joyful Mother and see the fruit of my body safe sound and perfect without blemish or deformity O Lord I know not how soon my travel will steal on me when I must fight that battle of life and death one drop of thy mercy hath soveraign power to cure all the Wounds of those sorrows Shed therefore O holy Father that drop of grace upon me in that minute when I am to encounter with so stern an adversary strengthen me with patience bless me that I perish not bless the work of my Midwife let not the child yet unborn the babe in my Womb be punished for mine offences but give it growth give it flourishing and â—orm and wheâ— the time is come that thou wilt call it out of this close house of â—lesh where it now inhabiteth to dwell in the open world sanctifie thy creature make it by Baptisme a member of thy Church a Lamb of thy Flock and direct it in the wayes of godliness to its lives end and all through Jesus Christ our Lord in wâ—ose blessed Words I continue to Pray Our Father The Prayer of a Woman in the Time of her Travel O My Lord and my God my heavenly Father my merciful Jesus upon whom I depend in the midst of my Anguish hoping in thy wonted mercies Bow down thine Ear and harken to the cryes of a pained Woman unto thee O Lord do I cry thou art my refuge and my portion in the Land of the living Attend therefore unto my cry for I am brought very low Consider mine affliction and deliver me for I do not forget thy Law all my desire is before thee and my groaning is not hid from thee in thee I trust who art the living God who art the Saviour of all especially of them that believe I love thee O Lord my strength thou art my Rock and
afflicted and needy Supply all my wants and confer upon me all necessary blessings O be reconciled unto me in the blood of thy Son that I may â—ere depend upon thy fatherly protection and may hereafter be received into thy heavenly Kingdom there to reign with thee world without end through Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour in whose blessed name and words I conclude my imperfect Prayers saying as he himself hath taught me Our Father c. The Prayer of a Marriner MOst glorious and eternal God whose power and wisdome is infinite and whose dominion is without end thou canst order and dispose of thy poor creatures to thy own praise and to their souls comfort Be pleased to look down from heaven the habitation of thy dwelling place and take notice of the broken requests of a poor worm in thy presence that is not worthy to take thy name into his lips Lord I may well say What is man that thou art mindful of him or the son of man that thou shouldst visit him that thou shouldst compass him about with loving kindness as with a garment The divine Architecture of this goodly fabrick of heaven and earth raysed out of nothing to this admirable perfection is beyond the apprehension of poor sinful dust and ashes but to behold thy glorious works upon the deep waters is much more admirable these declare thy glorious power O blessed Lord vouchsafe thy presence with a poor sinful creature in this undertaking that I may praise thee in the vast Ocean be a preserve from the danger of the Sea and prosper what is lawfully undertaken but especially preserve me from the danger of sin Oh let the gales of thy gracious spirit blow my soul at last to its desired harbour Oh thou that carriest the winds in thy fist so take care of me that the waves of the sea or of worldly desires may not swallow me up and return me home in safety that I may bless the land of the living and in the congregation of thy people and all this and whatsoever else is needful I aske for the sake of Jesus Christ my Lord to whom with the holy Spirit of grace be glory and honour now and ever Ameâ— The Thanksgiving of a Mariner after a prosperous voyage EVerlasting God the powerful preserver of men there are no bounds to be set to thy bounty for besides the great work of thy Creation thy continued Preservations and wonderful works of Providence declare thee to be a God of mighty power so also of wisdom goodness justice and truth oh never to be enough magnified is thy mercy for the continuance of thy favours thou never leavest nor forsakest those that put their trust in thee Oh holy Lord what shall I render unto thee that so aboundest in love and mercy in the deep the Lord hath been seen and every morning thou preventest me with thy loving kindness and though sin hath abounded yet thy grace hath superabounded Thou dost fulfil the desires of them that fear thee oh now as thou hast given me a new life and delivered me from the dangers and terrors of the deep waters so be graciously pleased to give me a thankful heart let there be found in me hungring and thirsting after righteousness that I may be brought home at last to that land of promised blessedness Good Lord do this and what else thou seest needful for thy Son Jesus Christ his sake our Lord in whose most holy name and words I further pray Our Father c. A Prayer to be used by all Christians O Almighty everlasting God and most gracious and dear loving Father I beseech thee for Jesus Christ his sake thy most dear and only Son to have mercy pitty and compassion upon a most vile wretched and miserable sinner whose innumerable offâ—nces both old and new are grievous and great by which I have justly deserved thy grievous wrath and everlasting damnation But now good Lord I do only appeal to thy great mercy which far surmounteth all thy works and thou hast promised in thy holy Word yea and sworn as truly as thou livest that thou desirest not the death of a sinner but ratheâ— that he should repent and live O gracious Lord I do confess that I am a great and grievous Sinner yet O Lord let me not perish nor suffer that everlasting death of my Soul which I have so deeply deserved but make me a vessel of thy great mercy that I may live and praise thy name amongst thy chosen Children for ever O let not my great sins separate me from the sight of thy holy Majesty but let thy great power and mercy be magnified in me as it was in David and Peter and Mary Magdalen and the Thief upon the cross O Lord I put my whole trust and confidence in thee who hast taken away the sins of the World who camest not to condemn the World but to save it that none which truly believe in thee should perish but should have everlasting life who camest noâ— to call the righteous but sinners to repentance O gracious God give me true hearty earnest and unseigned repentance that I may from the very bottom of my heart continually lament my manifold sins and wickednesses and so assist me with thy grace that I may never trespass against thy divine Majesty any more but that I may gladly serve thee in true holiness and righteousness all the days of my life Guide me O Lord by thy holy Spirit in all my ways works words and thoughts that I may gloriâ—y thy holy name which livest and reignest for ever through Jesus Christ my blessed Lord and Saviour in whose name and words I further pray Our Father c. A Prayer of a sick person FAithful Creator and preserver of all men look down I beseech thee upon thy poor servant who is punisht and afflicted in body with the smart of my pain and sickness and who is also troubled with the fear of thy heavy displeasuâ—e for my many sins and iniquities wherewith I have provoked thy holy Majesty in the time of my health I confess that of very faithfulness and goodness to me thou hast laid this scourge upon me to the end that by the stripes of my fleâ—h my spirit might be healed and saved in the day of the Lord Jesus I valued not the benefit of health as I should have done and therefore thou hast made me sensible of it by the want of it in my prosperity I remembred not the afflictions of my brethren and therefore thou hast afflicted me like unto them I was in a kind of spiritual lethargy till thou didst awake me with the strâ—â—ke of thy hand and because I know that it is good for me to be thus disciplined by thee I humble my self under thy mighty hand kiss this thy rod which I trust through thy grace shall make my Soul appear fair beautiful in thine eyes Comfort O Lord my fainting spirit and strengthen my