Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A52465
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Meditations and prayers to be used before, at, and after the receiving of the holy sacrament of the Lord's Supper.
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Northumberland, Elizabeth Percy, Countess of, 1623-1690.
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1682
(1682)
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Wing N1308; ESTC R41497
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21,799
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101
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of me and let nothing ever take me out of his hand To this end be thou graciously ly pleased to watch over me and defend me from all assaults of my Spiritual Enemies but especially deliver me from my self from the Treachery of my own heart which is too willing to yield it self a prey and where thou seest I am either by Nature or Custom most weak there do thou I beseech thee magnifie thy power in my preservation Here mention thy most dangerous Temptations and Lord let my Saviours Sufferings for my sins and the Vows that I have now made against them never depart from my mind but let the Remembrance of the one enable me to perform the other that I may never make truce with those lusts which nailed his Hands pierced his Side made his Soul heavy to the Death but that having a new listed my self under his banner I may fight manfully and follow the Captain of my Salvation even through a Sea of Blood Lord lift up my hands that hang down and my feeble knees that I faint not in this Warfare O be thou my strength who am not able of my self to struggle with the slightest Temptations How often have I turned my back in this day of Battle how many of these Sacramental Vows have I violated and Lord I have still the same unconstant deceitful heart to betray me to the breach of this O thou who art yea Amen in whom there is no shadow of Change Communicate to me I beseech thee such a stability of mind that I may no more thus start aside like a broken bow but that having my heart whole with thee I may continue stedfast in thy Covenant that not one good purpose which thy Spirit hath raised in me this day may vanish as so many have formerly done but that they may bring forth fruit unto life Eternal Grant this O Merciful Father through the Merit and Mediation of my Crucified Saviour Amen Praise the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me praise his Holy Name for now I find the Mercy and the Peace the Comfort and the Grace which flows from the death of Christ let all the world know what he hath done for my soul he hath Rescued me and many of my poor Brethren round about me from the nethermost Hell wherefore I Love thee Holy Jesus more than I can express and I will love them for thy sake and since thou hast given thy self thy Merits and thy Graces to me and sealed a new Covenant with me in thine own Blood I do here bind my self by that Sacred Ordinance to be sincerely thine I will spend my time and strength in thy Service and Lord I beseech thee give me grace to shed my blood to bear witness to the truth if ever thou callest me to such a Tryal I will never eave thee nor forsake thee but live die with thee for I have sworn and am stedfastly purposed to keep thy Righteous judgments O let me never unhallow that Body nor defile that Soul in which the Lord Jesus delights to dwell let no lying or uncharitable speeches prophane those Lips no Intemperance pollute that Mouth by which those Holy Symbols have passed Grant me to find new desires and new hopes Grant my nature may be renewed my blood Refined O fit my Soul with such a Holy Vigour that through thy Mercy I may accomplish all my Resolutions Amen O Blessed Jesus I have Vowed my self thy servant but yet I fear in expectation of the most furious assaults which will be made upon me by the Enemy from whom I have withdrawn and alas I have too often Returned again to folly but if thou pleasest to plant thy Grace within me and send thy Blessing upon me I fear not his Policy nor power I have Received that Heavenly food which is the means to convey this Grace and I know that by this Celestial Remedy many of thy Servants have been dreadful to the powers of Darkness and thou didst never cast off any humble Soul O bless then this Life-giving Mistery unto every one of us that we may find such power and strength such courage and resolution flowing from thence that we may all stand firm to the purposes which we have made Holy Saviour we are now thy servants and O what quiet and comfort what Safety and Joy what Honour and Pleasure have we under so gracious a Lord how happy shall I be in injoying a freedom from anger c. O mark us all for thine own deny us not that grace which is necessary to make thee ours and us to be thine If we feel not some Effects thereof we shall sink for fear Lest thou hast rejected us and our oblation but who did ever seek thee and did not find who ever trusted in thee and was forsaken we are sure that in thee all fulness of Grace doth dwell O let it now overflow that of thy fulness we may all receive so shall we daily and always perform our Vows Amen O thou Allseeing and most Holy Lord God I have beheld the Esficacious and all-saving Sacrifice which thy Son hath offered for us I have remembred it and blessed thy Name for it as much as I was able though not so highly as I ought for the benefits thereof are inestimable O let them not all be lost to us for want of faith to believe and receive them there is no want of merit in Jesus to Deserve no want of Mercy in thee to bestow remission O let there not want in us or in any of those for whom Christ dyed Grace to accept this pardon Behold Lord how we struggle under a load of guilt a troubled Conscience doth perplex us our remaining corruptions oppose us the decay of our Graces doth deject us and lo here is an Effectual Remedy for all these evils help us every one I humbly beseech thee so to apply it that both we and our Brethren whom we love as our selves may find a blessed cure Who was ever reconciled to thee but by Jesus or who was ever so much thine Enemy but this Sacrifice hath made their peace and shall it be ineffectual only to us Dear father let us find the Efficacy thereof in our selves and discern the fruits thereof in all the Members of thy Church so shall we be ingaged to praise thee more and more for this great Salvation through Jesus Christ Amen A Prayer of Intercession O Most gracious Lord who so tenderly lovedst mankind as to give thy dear Son out of thy bosom to be a propitiation for the sins of the whole World grant that the effect of this Redemption may be as universal as the design of it that it may be to the Salvation of all O let no person by impenitence and willful sin forfeit his part in it but by the power of thy Grace bring all even the most obstinate Sinners to Repentance enlighten all that sit in Darkness all Jews Turks Infidels
MEDITATIONS AND PRAYERS To be used before at and after the Receiving of the HOLY SACRAMENT OF THE LORDS SUPPER LONDON Printed for N. W. Anno Dom. 1682. PRAYERS To be used at the HOLY SACRAMENT At your first kneeling down say O LORD I am not fit nor worthy thou shouldest come under that filthy Roof of the House of my Soul because it is wholly Desolate and Ruinous neither hast thou with me a fit place to lay thy Head but as thou didst vouchsafe to be laid in a Stable and Manger of Unreasonable Beasts as thou did'st not disdain to be entertain'd in the house of Simon the Leaper as thou did'st not reject the Harlot coming nor yet the Thief on the Cross confessing thee even so Vouchsafe to admit me also a miserable and out of measure sinful Creature to the Receiving of the most pure and saving Mysteries of thy Holy Body and precious Blood and the Good Lord pardon every one that prepareth his Heart to seek the Lord God of his Fathers though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the Sanctuary O My God I know my own unworthiness yet in the multitude of thy Mercies I humbly approach thine Altar beseeching thee not to behold me with a severe but Gracious Eye thou knowest the earnest desire of my Soul be thou pleased to pass by the weakness of the Flesh and assist me with thy most Holy Spirit and grant that I may Receive this Sacrament to the Honour and glory of thy great Name and the good Comfort and Salvation of my own Soul Grant this Holy Father for the sake of thy Blessed Son my only Saviour in whose name and Words I beg this mercy and what else thou knowest needful for me OUR Father c. A Confession O Almighty God I thy poor sinful Creature full of Anguish Confusion for my Offences against thy Majesty do make bold to come to thee because thou art the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and for his sake inclinable to shew us Mercy Thou art the Maker of me and of all things and thou hatest nothing that thou hast made Thou hast pity on all the works of thy hands so that I am encouraged to make my Supplications unto thee O thou Judge of all men for it is in thy Power for ever to acquit or condemn me I tremble and am asham'd to be found a Sinner against so infinite Power and Goodness but I must not add Hypocricie to my Disobedience Therefore I acknowledge freely and bewail most bitterly my manifold offences of all kinds from the least of my Sins to the greatest of my Crimes and wickednesses all and every one of which I long and frequently from time to time with many provoking aggravations most grieviously have committed Lord who can tell how oft I have offended by Thoughts in vain and Evil Imaginations by Words in false and uncharitable Speeches In Deed by ungodly intemperate Actions For alas by all and every one of these ways I have daily Sin'd against thy Divine Majesty turning thereby thy loving kindness into displeasure and provoking thee to Anger I have given thee cause most Justly to let loose thy wrath and Indignation against me to my utter ruine If thy Mercy do not help me my Guilt is evident my Danger apparent and my estate is most deplorable wherefore I do most passionately and earnestly Repent that ever I did commit them and I am heartily sorry with all my Soul for these my so many and so abominable misdoings When I look upon the baseness and the presumption of these vile offences the remembrance of them does pierce my heart with shame and sorrow and is most grievous unto me when I behold thy Favour which I have forfeited and Eternal Damnation which I have deserved thereby the burthen of them presseth down my Soul with a load of terror and amazement that is intolerable yet since thou callest all who are heavy laden I must not despair of thy pity but in this great distress I do beseech thee to have Mercy upon me and since my necessity forceth me to be Importunate I will cry again have Mercy on me I know thou art a most Merciful Father though by my Sins I am much unworthy to be called thy Child yet I hope thy Bowels will yern upon me I Lye prostrate and helpless begging of thee for thy Dearly Beloved Son our Lord Jesus Christ his sake and by the Merits of his Cross and Passion to forgive me freely and fully all that is past from the beginning of my Life till this very moment Lord make me an instance of thy Mercy and grant when I have received so excellent and so undeserved a favour that I may be so engaged thereby as that for ever hereafter I may beware of falling back into the like sin and misery Convert me I beseech thee as well as pardon me and enable me most obediently to serve and most intirely to please thee by spending the rest of my Life in newness of Life and all Holy conversation which through the help of thy Grace I do here Vow and Resolve upon That this mighty change may tend to the Honour and Glory of thy Name who hast so wonderfully delivered me all which I most heartily begg through Jesus Christ our Lord to whose intercession for me do thou say Amen and it shall be according to thy Word Amen The ADDRESS HOly God thou mightest justly wonder to see such a grievous sinner daring to come so near but I do not impudently rush upon these dreadful Misteries nor do I presume to come to this thy Table where Angels do attend as if I'deserved this honour O merciful Lord God I do not approach trusting in my own Righteousness for alas I have done nothing which can bear that name but that which drew me hither was my confidence in thy Manifold and Great Mercies which exceed my Manifold and Great Offences and now that I am before thee I must still confess what ever Favours thy Goodness heaps upon me that I am not worthy by reason of my sinfulness and backslidings so much as with the Doggs to gather up the Crumbs that fall under thy Table nor fit to receive the least Mercies or Measure of Grace from thee much less to sit as a Guest before thy Majesty at this Heavenly Feast but yet I make bold to do this because thou art not to be changed by our sins being ever the same Lord whose property is to be unwearied in well-doing and never wanting in Mercy Thou art wont always to have Mercy on those who confess their Offences grant unto me gracious Lord by the present assistance of thy holy Spirit so to Eat the Flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ Spiritually in this Sacrament and so to Drink his Blood as that I may receive all the benefit of his Cross and Passion even that my sinful and defiled Body may be made clean with his Holy and Immaculate Body