Principles of our Religion necessary to be known and Believed by all Persons in Order to their Everlasting Salvation are these four I. Concerning God II. Concerning Man III. Concerning Jesus Christ the Mediator between God and Man IV. Concerning the way and means to obtain Salvation by Christ the only Mediatour I. Concerning GOD. It is necessary to Know and Believe the following Severals Namely That God is an Infinite Invisible and Immortal Spirit without Bodily Parts or Passions Almighty All-knowing every where present most Wise and Holy most Just and Righteous most Good and Gracious The following Scriptures will Confirm your Belief of the Truth of this viz. St. John 4.24 God is a Spirit St. Luke 24 39. A Spirit hath not flesh and bones Exod 34. v. 6 7. The Lord passed by and proclaimed his Name the Lord God gracious and merciful long-suffering abundant in Goodness and Truth 2. That there is but one true and ever-living God who being Oone in Nature is yet Three in Person namely the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost each Person having his proper Part and Office in the Salvation of lost Sinners namely the Father as the Original and Fountain the Son as the Manager and Transacter of it and the Holy Ghost as the Applier and Sealer of it See the following Scriptures Deut. 6.4 The Lord thy God is one Lord 1 John 5.7 There are three that bear Record in Heaven the Father the Word and the Holy Ghost and these Three are One St. John 15.26 But when the Comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the Father even the Spirit of truth which preceedeth from the Father he shall Testifie of me Eph. 4.30 Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby you are sealed unto the Day of Redemption 3. That this ever-living and only living Lord God by his Almighty Power and Infinite Wisdom Created the World and all things therein out of nothing and by his effectual Providence doth sustain and preserve them in being and doth likewise govern and dispose of all things to his own glory Nehem. 9. v. 6. Thou art Lord alone who hast made the Heavens and the Heaven of Heavens with all their host the Earth and all things that are therein and thou preservest them all II. Concerning Man We are to Know and Believe 1. That Almighty God Created Man Adam after his own Image which consisted in Knowledge Righteousness and true Holiness giving him an holy Law for the Rule of his Obedience with Power to keep it and a Promise of Life upon Condition of keeping it see Gen. 1.27 So God created Man in his own Image in the Image of God created he him Eccles 7.29 This only have I found that God made man Upright 2. That Man Adam being Created in an Holy State yet in a mutable Condition and under a possibility of falling being tempted by Satan and left to the freedom of his own Will did actuall fall from his Estate of Innocency and Integrity into a State of Sin and Misery Gen. 3.6 And when the Woman saw that the Tree was good for Food and pleasant to the Eye she took thereof and did Eat and gave also unto her Husband and he did eat Eccles 7.29 God hath made Man upright but he hath found out many Inventions 3. That by reason of Man's Fall his Nature is wholly Corrupted with Original Sin which is the Seed and Root of all other Sins derived upon us by Natural Generation whereby we are disabled to that which is spiritually Good and inclined to that which is Evil and sinful Gen. 5.3 And Adam begat a Son in his own likeness after his Image Psal 51.5 Behold I was shapen in-iniquity and in sin did my Mother conceive me Rom. 8. v. 8. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God 4. That every Man doth further fall into manifold Actual Sins in the daily Course of his Life transgressing every one of God's holy Commandments either in Thought Word or Deed see Eccles 7. v. 20. There is not a just Man upon Earth that doeth good and sinneth not Rom. 3. v. 10 23. There is not one righteous man no not one for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God 5. That the Punishment due to every sin is Death and Hell all Miserie 's Temporal Spiritual and Eternal Rom. 6.23 The Wages of Sin is Death 2 Thes 1.9 They shall be punished with everlasting Destruction from the Presence of the Lord and from the glory of his Power 6. That Almighty God pitying the deplorable Misery of our fallen Estate has found out a Way and appointed a Means for our Deliverance from the Power and Punishment of Sin by a Mediator and Redeemer Titus 3. v. 4 5 6. After that the Kindness and Love of God our Saviour towards Man appeared according to his Mercy he saved us by the washing of Regeneration and Renewing of the Holy Ghost III. Concerning Christ the Mediator between God and Man We ought to Know and Believe 1. That Jesus Christ the Eternal Son of God the second Person in the Trinity is the only Redeemer of lost Man and the only Mediator betwixt God and Man from whom alone we are to expect Life and Salvation 1 Tim. 2.5 There is one God and one Mediator betwixt God and Man the Man Christ Jesus Acts 4.12 Neither is there Salvation in any other for there is no other Name given under Heaven by whom we must be saved 2. That Jesus Christ our Redeemer was both God and Man having two Natures in one Person a Divine Nature as he was God and an Humane Nature as Man in which Humane Nature he suffered for Sinners and in his Divine Nature satisfied the Justice of God for sin Acts 20.28 Feed the Church of God which he hath purchased with his own Blood Heb. 10. v. 10. By the which Will we are sanctified thro' the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all 3. That Christ our Redeemer having taken upon him our Nature lived here upon Earth about three and thirty Years and did in our stead and for our sin give full Satisfaction to the Justice of his Father by enduring most grievous Torments in his Soul and by undergoing most painful Sufferings in Body was Crucified Dyed and was Buryed and by his Death did Conquer Sin and Satan Death and Hell Read the 26th and 27th Chapters of St Matthew which give a large Account of our Saviour's Sufferings 4. That Jesus Christ on the third Day Arose again from the Dead with the same Body in which he suffered with which Body also he Ascended into Heaven and sitteth there at the right hand of his Father to intercede for us and by his Intercession in Heaven making Application of that Redemption which he wrought on Earth from whence at the End of the World he shall come again to Judg both Men and Devils and to determine their Final and Eternal State see Rom.
let my Entertainment now Be so Exceeding Sweet That I may long to come again And at thy Table meet 6. Having directed you in your Preparation for this Ordinance next understand how you are to behave your selves at and under it First then Come to the Ordinance with high and raised Expectations to receive great Benefit and Advantage by it both as to the Mortifying of thy Sin and Quickning of thy Grace And whatever Lust it is that thou art most Captivated by and enslaved to be it Pride Passion Earthly Mindedness c. let us set our selves against that Lust with all our might and plead with God at his Table thus Lord I come to this Ordinance with a sincere desire and design to get Victory over every Lust but particularly against which doth so often solicite and importune me oh let it receive its Death wound in the Death of my Saviour and never molest or inslave me more Secondly When come to thy Lords Table labour to cast all thy Worldly Thoughts and Concerns out of thy Head and Heart And strive to lift up thy Heart unto the Lord as thou art exhorted by the Minister say unto all unsuitable Thoughts as Abraham did unto his Servants Gen. 22.5 Abide you here below whilst I go and worship the Lord yonder 3ly The better to keep all Impertinent and Improper Thoughts out of thy mind Entertain thy self with a frequent Remembrance of the Death of Christ at the sight of the Bread broken and Wine poured out call to mind at once the Passion of the Son of God and thy Sins which exposed him to such a Painful Shameful and Accursed Death Represent to the Eye of your minds your Dear Redeemer as hanging upon the Cross Bleeding Sighing Groaning Dying under the insupportable burthen of thy sins and his Fathers Wrath. 4ly When thou perceivest the Minister approaching with the Elements towards thee put thy self in the lowliest posture of Reverence and say thus betwixt God and thy Soul How Beautifull are the feet of him that publisheth Salvation and brings the proffer of a Saviour to me I am unworthy of Christ but he is worthy of me and of my Faith I do therefore Oh Lord with all Humility accept Thee for my King Priest and Prophet for my Sanctifier and Saviour 5ly When thou hast received the Bread say to this or the like effect Lord I receive this broken Bread in remembrance of thy broken Body Oh strengthen me with thy Heavenly Grace that I may continue thine for ever and daily encrease in thy Holy Spirit more and more until I come to thine Everlasting Kingdom Amen In like manner after thou hast received the Cup pray to this purpose Oh my God Let my Soul go forth as a Gyant refreshed with this Spiritual Wine and let all the Enemies of my Salvation fall before me may I walk in the Strength of this Spiritual Meal all my days and in the end of my days enjoy the full Manifestation of thy Love which is better than Wine in thine Everlasting Kingdom Amen 6ly Imploy your time whilest others are Receiving in Meditation and Prayer in meditating upon the Love of the Father in sending and upon the Love of the Son in coming upon this great Errand to accomplish the Work of Redemption of us Also in Praying unto God for all Mankind in General for the whole Church of God in special for that part of it planted in these Nations in particular for all Christian Kings Princes and Governours especially our own for all our Friends and Benefactors that God would requite the kindnesses they have shewn us for all our Enemies that God would Pardon the wrongs and injuries done to him to us and to their own Souls This being a Feast of Love in which we commemorate the highest instance of Love that ever the World was acquainted with a greater Expression of our Love we cannot shew to our offending Brother than in a readiness to forgive him and interceeding earnestly for his Soul Lastly As an Expression of thy Thankfulness to Christ for his Mercy and Compassion towards Thee lay hold upon this occasion to shew thy Charity to his Members that thy Prayers and thine Alms may be had in Remembrance of God and as thou refreshest the Bowels of the Poor so mayst thou find Mercy of the Lod in the needful day 7. It only now Remaines to shew how we ought to behave our selves after we have waited upon Christ at his Holy Table 1. Decline if possible all Company immediately after the Action and retire instanly into some Secret Places and there upon your Knees offer up your Thanksgivings to Almighty God for his Rich Mercy and Invaluable goodness vouchsafed to you in that Ordinance entreating him to Pardon all the defects of the whole Service and imploring the Gracious Assistances of his Holy and Good Spirit whereby you may be enabled to walk in the Strength of that Grace as becometh those who have recived such great Pledges of Salvation 2. When you are return'd into Company take heed that the spiritual heat which was inkindled in your Souls by and under the Ordinance be not quenched by a sudden falling into worldly Conferences and fruitless Discourses but labour to cherish and keep alive that Holy Fire upon the Altar of your Hearts and endeavour by Prayer Meditation and Holy Conference to improve it into a Holy Flame 3. Spend the Sacrament-day in Publick Private and Secret Duties of Religious Worship particularly in Prayer and Praises in After-Examination of your selves What Faith what Love what Humility what Sincerity was found with us when waiting upon your Saviour at his Holy Table Take notice also of any deadness of Heart and disposition of Spirit which thou labouredst under bewail it and beg pardon of it for Christs sake who bears the Iniquities of our Holy Things 4. Conclude the Sacrament-day with Prayer and an Hymn of Praise Thus did our Saviour after he had kept this Supper with his Disciples He sung an Hymn St Matth. 26.30 and betakes himself to God in Prayer and the Jews at their Passover did Sing the 113th Psalm with the five following Psalms which they call'd the great Hallelujah A Christian should every day of his Life give Thanks and Pray but especially on a Sacrament-day then should we Bless the Lord with our whole Souls and call upon all that is within us to Bliss his Holy Name such Christians as desire to do this but want suitable Words to express their desires in may make use of what here followeth A Prayer after the Sacrament FOr ever Blessed be thy Great thy Glorius and thy Holy Name Oh Lord For all thy unspeakable Favours and Benefits vouchsafed to me and to all Mankind particularly for thy invaluable Love in giving thy Dear Son to die for me in the Sacrifice and to be my Spiritual Food and sustenance in the Holy Sacrament Lord who am I and what am I that thou hast been pleased to
admit me this day into thy Presence to renew my Covenant with Thee which I have so often and so perversly broken before Thee I have once more lifted up my hand to the most High God and sworn Allegiance to my Soveraign and my Saviour Oh keep it in the purpose of my Heart for ever to continue stedfast in his Covenant and let neither the smiles of a flattering World allure me nor the Frowns Threats and Terrors of an Angry World be ever able to drive me from my Duty or hinder me in the way of well-doing Holy Father accept I Beseech Thee of that renewed Dedication which I have made of my self this day unto Thee even of my whole Man Soul Body and Spirit to thy Service and Honour And now Glory be to Thee Oh God the Father whom I shall from this day forward with an humble Expectation look up unto as my Father and God in Covenant Glory be to Thee Oh God the Son who hast loved me and washed me from my Sins in thine own Blood and art now become my Saviour my Justifier and Redemer Glory be to Thee Oh God the Holy Ghost who hast by the Power of thy Victorious Grace overcome the obstinacy of my Heart and turned it from Sin to God Oh Lord God! Omnipotent Father Son and Holy Spirit Thou art become my Covenant Friend and I through thy Grace am become thy Covenant Servant Truly I am thy Servant I am thy Servant heartily devoted to thy fear Thy Vows are upon me Oh God! Thy Vows are upon me I will render Praises unto Thee Oh let me never more start aside from my Vows like a broken Bow but give me such a stedfastness and stability of Mind such a firmness and fixedness of Resolution that my after-Conversation may be suitable both to my present Profession and future Expectation that so I may in all Companies in all Conditions walk worthy of him that hath called me to his Kingdom and Glory And let the sence of my Redeemers Love this day to me inflame my Heart with a never failing Charity unto all Mankind whom I pray God to do good unto especially to thy Church particularly to these Nations under their Majesties Care and Inspection whom may Almighty God long and mutually Bless in the Happy Enjoyment of each other and work in the Minds of all Christians a dread of thy Name an Honour of their Superiours and un unfeigned Charity one towards another All which Mercies I humbly Beg in the Name of the Holy Jesus saying Our Father c. An Hymn after the Sacrament LOrd any Mercy short of Hell For Me it is too good But have I Eat the Flesh of Christ And also Drunk his Blood Mysterious Depths of Endless Love My Admirations Raise Oh God thy Name exalted is Above the highest Praise My Saviours Flesh is Meat indeed His Blood is Drink Divine His Graces Dropt like Honey-Combs His Comforts Taste like Wine This day Christ has refresht my Soul With his abundant Grace For which I magnifie his Name Longing to see his Face Oh when shall I ascend on high Most Holy Just and True To eat that Bread and Drink that Wine Which is for ever New To Him that sits upon the Throne And Christ the Lamb therefore Be Glory Blessing Strength Renown And Honour evermore CHAP. XIV Containing an Earnest Exhortation to the Love and Practice of Universal Holiness THE Consideration of our Baptismal Vow renewed and ratified by many Sacramental Engagements at the Holy Table is certainly one of the strongest ties that Christianity layes upon us to oblidge us to the Love and practice of universal Holiness for most certain it is if we relapse and fall back into an evil course of Life if we wilfully return again to Folly we kindle Gods Wrath against us we provoke him to plague us with divers Diseases and sundry kinds of Death But if we escape these there are more dismal Plagues than these that will overtake us such are hardness of Heart blindness of Mind and a Seared Conscience These are indeed invisible stroaks which make not a noise and strike not our Senses but verily if we consider the Effects and consequences of them they are more formidable and dismal than the raging Pestilence and the loudest Claps of Thunder Let us then Piously Resolve as we Fear the Wrath of God and Love our own Souls after we have renewed our Covenant with God at his Holy Table to oblige our selves to an Eminent and Exemplary Piety of Conversation Let us live as those that are Redeemed by the Blood of Jesus as those that are Sanctified and Sealed by the Spirit of Jesus as those that do expect an Eternal Fellowship and Communion with Jesus in his Heavenly Kingdom To this end it may be very advisable 1. The next Morning after thou hast been at the Sacrament as soon as thou art up enter into thy Closet And before the Lord piously and positively Resolve and Vow to maintain a strict Watchfulness and Care over thy Heart Words and Ways for the time to come Such a Resolution as this made in the Strength of God will work wonders because God will Assist and Bless it 'T will fortifie thee against Temptations and the strongest Solicitations to return to the Love and Practice of Sin and Wickedness Suppose thy dearest Friends and Familiars suppose thy Indulgent Mother that bare thee nay suppose the Wife of thy Bosom the Delight of thine Eyes should all set upon thee yea Entreat and Importune thee to Omit some known Duty or to Commit some wicked Act such a Resolution as thou hast now made for a Holy Life will Antidote thy Soul against the Poyson of such a Temptation and put the same Reply into thy Mouth as was found in Holy Joseph's Gen. 39.9 How can I do this great Wickedness and sin against God 2. Having made this Solemn Vow betwixt God and thy own Soul for a Holy Life for a Life suitable to a Sacramental Engagement you will find it very advantagious to write it down and keep it by you thus At such a Time and on such a Day having renewed my Covenant with God at his Holy Table I did with all the Devotion of my Heart and Soul entirely surrender up my self and all that is mine to the Service and Glory of Almighty God Vowing all Fidelity and Obedience to him and Resolving that he shall have the full Guiding Governing and Disposing of me and mine And after every Sacrament look upon it and consider seriously of it saying thus to thy self Behold Oh my Soul the Bonds that are upon thee this is thine own Act and Deed it is as certainly Recorded in Heaven as it is here Written on Earth and shall one Day be brought forth against thee to thy Everlasting Condemnation if thou dost not walk answerably to the Obligation of it Keep it by thee as a Memorial of the Solemn Transactions betwixt God and thy Soul and besides the
to it Continue thy Loving kindness to this Church and Nation to which we belong pardon our sins avert our Judgments heal our Breaches compose our Unreasonable Divisions Bless our Governours especially thy Servants on the Throne let their Reign over us be long and prosperous Bless all the Governours and Teachers of thy Church particularly him and his Labours who Administers to Thee and us in holy things in this Congregation Let all in an afflicted condition be had in Remembrance of God Give them patience under their sufferings advantage by them and in thy good time a happy Issue and Deliverance out of them Bless all our Relations Friends and Acquaintance Pardon and Forgive our Enemies and enable us to forgive them also And now oh Father Accept we pray thee our thankful Returns for all the instances of thy Goodness towards us particularly for our Creation Preservation and all the Blessings of this Life But especially and above all for thy wonderful Love in the Redemption of Mankind by the Son of thy Love the Holy Jesus We bless thee for the means of Grace and for the hope of Glory We thank thee for all the Comforts and Conveniencies of Life afforded to us for thy Good Hand of Providence over us this last Night and for raising us up this Morning to see the light of another day Stand charged with the particular care of every one of us prosper the labour of our hands and bless us in all our lawful Undertakings preserve us from the Evil of Sin and keep us in perpetual peace and safety through Jesus Christ our Lord In whose Name and Words we call on thee Our Father c. A Family-Prayer for the Evening ETernally Glorious and Incomprehensibly great and Gracious Lord God who art infinitely exalted above all the Prayers and Praise of Glorious Angels and Glorified Saints yet such is the condescension of thy Grace and Goodness as not only to invite us into thy presence but also to Account thy self honoured by us when we come before Thee and renew our Acquaintance and Communion with thee in the Duties and Exercises of thy Worship and Service We humbly pray that none of our iniquities may divide or separate betwixt God and us but whereinsoever we have offended be Gracious to us in the pardon and forgiveness of it Pardon Oh Lord unto us Original Guilt the Hereditary Pollution and Universal depravation of our Natures Remember not against us the Follies of our Childhood the Sins of our Youth or the provocations of our Riper years but according to the multitude of thy tender Mercies in Christ Jesus blot our Transgressions Wash us throughly from our Wickedness and cleanse us from all our Sins Create in us a clean heart oh God! and renew a Right Spirit within us purge us with Hyssop and so shall we be clean oh wash us in the Blood of the Immaculate Lamb the Crucified Jesus and so shall we be whiter than the Snow And God Almighty grant that we may never more return to the Love and Practice of our former Sins but proclaim and prosecute an open and Irreconcilable War against them yea enable us by thy Grace to dye daily to them and to live unto Righteousness and True Holiness continually mortifying all our Evil and Corrupt Affections and daily proceeding in all Vertues and Godliness of Living Guide us we pray thee through all the difficult passages of our Lives by the Conduct of thine Vnerring Providence and in all conditions of Life let thy Grace be abundantly sufficient for us Leave us not one Moment to our selves least we become a prey to every Temptation But carry us joyfully through all the Difficulties of Life and Support us powerfully in and under the Agonies of Death Keep us ever mindful of our latter End and from flattering our selves with the hope and expectation of a long continuance of time here in the World But let it be our great Ambition and desire not so much to live long as to live well to be useful and serviceable to Almighty God in our place and generation knowing 't is nothing but a useful and well spent life that can render our Death happy and our Resurrection Glorious And let Almighty God Mercifully Assist and succour us in our last moments in the hour of Death and in the day of Judgment good Lord deliver us Remember all thine all the World over do good in thy Good pleasure unto Sion build thou the Walls of Jerusalem ruin the Kingdom of Sin Satan and Antichrist enlarge the borders of thy Sons Kingdom and give him the Heathen for his Inheritance the utmost parts of the Earth for his Possession Be favourable and Gracious to these Nations of England Scotland and Ireland Humble us for all our provoking sins avert our impending Judgments prevent what we fear remove what we feel and in thy own time establish us upon such foundations of Righteousness and Peace that it may never more be in the power of our restless Adversaries to disturb us Bless our Governours and all that are in Authority over us both in Church and State Especially thine Anointed Servants on the Throne K. William and Q. Mary and grant that under the shaddow of their Governmeot we may lead quiet and peaceable Lives in all Godliness and honesty remember all the Sons and Daughters of Sorrow and Affliction especially any that are near unto us lying under thy hand in bodily Sickness sanctifie we pray thee all thy Fatherly Corections to them and grant that the sense of their weakness may add Strength to their Faith and seriousness to their Repentance raise them up if it be thy Will and give them Wisdom and Grace to lead the Residue of their lives in thy fear and to thy Glory and prepare us for the like adversities Finally we bless and praise thy Holy Name for all thy Mercies vouchsafed to us for the source and fountain of them all the Holy Jesus For all the invaluable Fruits and Benefits of his Incarnation Death Resurrection and Ascension for the present means of Grace and the hopes of future Glory We Praise Thee also for all Temporal Blessings for the use of our Reason for the preservation of our Health and Strength for thy Watchful Care and Good Providence over us this day Pardon to us the Sins of this day whether in thought word or deed comitted against thy Divine Majesty And take us this Night into thy Care and Protection give us Comfortable Rest and Repose defend this Habitation and all about it from Fire from Storm and Tempest and every sad Accident Deliver us from the Power and Malice of Evil Spirits and keep us out of the Hands of Evil Men. And when we awake in the Morning let us be still with Thee and let every one of us in our several vocations serve Thee Faithfully and Painfully to our dying hour All which we humbly Begg in the Name and Mediation of the Infinitely Worthy Jesus who
for the time to come so direct sanctifie and govern both my Heart and Life in the Ways of thy Laws and in the Works of thy Commandments that in all my Thoughts Words and Works I may ever seek thy Honour and Glory and may so Order my Conversation aright that at Death I may see the Salvation of God Prepare me for a sick-bed and fit me for a dying hour let not God be a Stranger nor my Conscience a Terrour to me when I come to die but do thou mercifully assist and succour me in my last Moments In the hour of Death and in the Day of Judement Good Lord deliver me and conduct me safely to thine Everlasting Kingdom I Bless thy Name Oh Lord for that good Providence of thine which has brought me to the Light of another day do thou so prevent me with thy Grace so direct and assist me by thy Holy and Good Spirit that I may not run this day into any Sin or Temptation that I may not follow nor be led by any Worldly and Carnal Lusts but be enabled in my place and station to perform my Duty to thy Self and my Neibour with such Care Fidelity and Chearfulness as may be acceptable both to God and Man I humbly commend this Church and Nation to thy merciful Care and Protection Let our Gracious King and Queen live in thy sight and rule in thy fear and let all their Subjects fear God Honour their Majesties and Love one another Assist all thy Ministers in their hard and difficult work and follow their endeavours with thy Blessing particularly his who labours amongst us in the Word and Doctrine Pity all in an afflicted Condition Pardon their Sins and supply their wants Remember all my Relations for good requite the kindness of my Friends pardon and forgive my Enemies and Enable me to forgive them also These Mercies with whatever else thou knowest to be needful for me and all Mankind I humbly beg in the Name and Words of my Blessed Redeemer saying as he has Taught me Our Father c. An Evening Prayer for a Private Person MOst Holy and ever Blessed Lord God! the Father of Mercies the Fountain of Goodness and the Author of all Grace I desire again this Evening to bow before thy Mercy-Seat to adore and praise thy Glorious Majesty for thy Gracious Care and Providence over me the day past Pardon unto me most Merciful Father I most humby Beseech whatever I have committed or omitted this day contrary to my Resolutions and Obligations Pity my weaknesses and accept my sincere endeavours to serve and glorifie Thee Wherein I have been wont to slip Lord help me to be more Watchful where I have been careless and negligent let me use greater Diligence and Circumspection help me more sensibly to groan under this Body of Sin which I carry about with me and which so interrupts me in thy Service that when I would do Good evil is present with me And oh that the Sense of that Corruption which I find stirring in my Soul may cause me more earnestly to implore the help of thy Blessed Spirit which alone can enable me to Mortifie all Evil and Corrupt Affections to deny all Vngodliness and Worldly Lusts and to live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present World Raise up my Heart and my Affections above this World and the things below and place them upon thy Self and the things that are above oh help me to Realize the Things of Eternity and another World to my Mind and to believe them as certainly as if I saw them with my Bodily Eyes Hear Oh Lord and Answer the Supplications and Prayers which have been put up unto Thee by any of thine this day on the behalf of this Church and Nation Oh that Peace and Happiness Truth and Justice Religion and Piety may be established amongst us for all Generations Secure the Persons of thy Servants King William and Queen Mary from all attempts of Violence and let that hand be for ever withered which shall be once stretched forth to hurt the Lords anointed and let all that are in Authority under them execute Judgment and Justice impartially to the Punishment of Wickedness and Vice and to the maintainance of thy True Religion and Godliness Let all that Minister unto Thee in Holy things endeavour both by the Purity of their Doctrine and the Piety of their Lives to win many to a Love of Holiness and Religion that they may shine as Stars for ever and ever Pity all those that are in a worse Condition than my self supply their wants out of thy abundance and work in me a readiness of Disposition to administer to their necessities according to my Ability Accept my Thankful returns to thy Majesty for all thy Mercies for the Fountain of them all the Holy Jesus for all the invaluable Benefits of his Incarnation Death and Passion Resurrection Ascension and Intercession for the Gift of thy Holy Spirit for the Light of thy Glorious Gospel for all the Comforts and Conveniences of Life afforded to me which many Better than my self are deprived of for thy watchful care and good Hand of Providence over me this day Receive me into thy Protection this Night sanctifie my Rest and keep me from sinning against Thee upon my Bed and let the natural repose of my Body put me in Mind that e're long I must sleep in the Bosom of the Grave and awake no more 'till the Morning of the Resurrection for which solemn hour good Lord prepare and sit me and all Mankind by a renewed frame of Heart and a Religious course of Life for thy Mercies sake in Christ Jesus who has both directed and commanded me when I pray to say Our Father c. A short Hymn for the Evening NOw from the Altar of my Heart Let Incense Flames arise Assist me Lord to offer up My Evening Sacrifice Lord Watch and Ward when I shall sleep I humbly Thee implore Thine Angels let my Guardians be Both now and evermore Into thy hands do I commit My Spirit which is thy due For why Thou hast created it Yea didst Redeem it too Lord if I live let me be thine Thine also if I die Come Life come Death let Heaven be mine Amen Amen say I. CHAP. XI Of Reading the Holy Scriptures THE Holy Bible being a Letter wrote unto us by the Finger of God himself what is our Reading of it and daily Conversing with it but a Communing with the Almighty and making an inquiry after that Revelation of his Will which his Wisdom has been pleased to make unto us How stupendious then is the Folly and Impiety of those who either lay the Bible aside as a neglected Book or else read it carelesly irreverently unattentively without an honest simplicity of Mind to be guided instructed and directed by it To prevent the Sin and danger of both which neglects it will be our Wisdom to resolve with our selves to redeem some time every
day either Morning or Evening or both to read in our Closets as well as in our Families some part of Gods Holy World And that we may read it with the greater Profit resolve we to read the Bible through and in Order which may be done once a year by reading about three Chapters every day two out of the Old Testament and one out of the New In the Discharge of which Duty the following Directions may be of Use and Advantage to us 1. The first Preparative to our reading the Holy Scripture should be Prayer as the Scriptures were dictated at first by the Holy Spirit so do they still owe their Effects and Influences to the Spirits Co-operation he teacheth his People to profit the Things of the Spirit the Apostle tells us are Spiritually discerned 1 Cor. 2.14 And altho' the natural Man may well enough apprehend the Letter and Grammatical sense of the Scriptures yet its Power and Energy that perswasive force whereby it works upon mens Hearts this is peculiar to the Spirit and therefore without his Aids the Bible whilest it lies open before us may be as a Book that is Sealed to us Whenever therefoâ—e thou takest the Bible into thy Hands dart up such Ejaculations as these towards Heaven and say Lord open thou mine Eyes that I may see the wondrous things of thy Law Blessed art thou oh Lord Teach me thy Statutes Let thy good Word be a Light unto my Feet and a Lamp unto my Paths Order my Steps in thy Word and let no Iniquity have Dominion over me Give me understanding that I may walk all my days by the Councel of thy Word and in the end of my dayes die in the Comfort of it If you read the Word of God without Prayer you must expect to read it without Profit 2. A second Qualification preparatory to the reading of the Holy Scriptures is Reverence When we take the Bible into our Hands we should do it with other Sentiments and Apprehensions than when we take a common Book considering that to all that converse with it 't is either the Savour of Life unto Life or of Death unto Death that is in the regular and right use of it 'T is the Instrument of our Salvation but upon our abuse of it 't is the Promoter of our Destruction And accordingly we find good men in all Ages have been wonderfully affected with the Holy Scriptures and to the inward Reverence of their Minds have joined the outward Prostration of their Bodies never reading the Bible but upon their Knees to the great reproach and shame of our Prophaness who snatch up the Bible as we do a Play-Book and read it with as little Reverence and Regard Yet with this difference that we dismiss the one much sooner and retain the Impressions of the other much longer Now this proceeds in some from the want of that habitual Reverence which we should always have to the Word of God and in others from the want of Actual exciting of that inward Reverence when they go to read This is certain that where there is no Reverence there can be no Prospect of any genuine and lasting Obedience 3. A third Requisite to the reading of the Holy Scriptures with Profit is Sincerity this is twofold Namely a Sincerity of the Understanding in order to Belief and a Sincerity of the Will in order unto Practice We must come to the Word of God with a Preparation of Mind to embrace indifferently whatever God reveals as an Object of our Faith and we must also direct our Reading to the proper end for which the Holy Scriptures were designed namely the knowing Gods Will in Order to the doing of it Psal 111.10 A good Understanding have all they that do his Commandments 4. Read the Scriptues with special Attention 'T is Folly and Lightness not to do so in the reading of humane Authors but 't is sinful and dangerous not to do so in perusing of this Divine Book What greater contempt can be shewn of a Man whom we hear speak if we mind not at all what is spoken by him This vile affront do all those put upon Almighty God who hear or read his Word but give it no Attention the Vertue which God has put into his Word consists not in the Letters and Syllables of it which are no more Sacred than those of another Book but 't is the sense and meaning which is divinely inspired and which can never be understood by Drowsie and Unattentive Readers 5. Read the Word of God with particular Application this is the proper end of our Attention let us therefore when we Read look upon our selves as spoken to in what we Read when we read our Saviours Denunciation to the Jews Except ye repent ye shall all perish Luke 13.5 We are to look upon it as spoken to our selves and to conclude the indispensable Necessity of our own Repentance When we Read that Black Catalogue of Crimes in 1 Cor. 6.10 which exclude Persons from the Kingdom of Heaven we are to Believe that the same Crimes will as certainly shut Heaven Gates against us as against those to whom that Epistle was immediately directed So in all the Precepts of Good Life we are to think our selves as nearly and particularly concern'd as if we had been Christs Auditors on the Mount In like manner when we Read the Threatnings and Promises we are either to Tremble or Hope according as we adhere to those sins against which the Tereatnings are Denounced or practice those Duties to which the Promises are annexed 6. Read the Word of God with a Resolution to practise what thou Readest otherwise all your Reading serves but to encrease your Guilt and will Aggravate your Condemnation As Christianity is not a Speculative Science but a practical Art of Holy Living so the Bible was not given us meerly for a Theeme of Speculation but for a Rule of Life Alas what will it avail us that our Knowledge is right if our Manners be crooked and our Practise be bad We shall wish another day we had studied the Alcoran rather than the Book of Life Read then the Holy Lives and Actions of Gods Children not as matters of History only but as Patterns of Imitation When thou readest of Noahs uprightness of Abrahams faithfulness of Moses meekness of Davids devotion of Jobs patience of Josiahs zeal labour to be inwardly indued with the like Vertues and to be outwardly Adorned with the same Graces Wo unto us if we read the Bible as Historians only to furnish our selves with matter of Discourse and not as Christians to Regulate our Lives according to the Precepts and Examples contained in it it will undoubtedly prove the saddest History that ever we read in all our Lives 7. Let the Word thou Readest in the Morning be much upon thy Thoughts all the Day after as thou hast opportunity if alone either walking or working meditate upon what thou hast read thy Thoughts may be
hinder your Attention For it shews a vile esteem that we have of the Word of God when we give place ordinarily to wandring Thoughts and a drowsie Eye in the hearing of it 'T is said of Lydia Acts 16.14 That the Lord opened her heart that she amended to the Word which was spoken of Paul Observe First her heart was opened then her Ear from whence I gather that the great reason of Persons not attending to the Ministry of the Word is a defect in their Hearts where the heart is open the Ear will not be shut Oh what great Vanity of Mind and Levity of Spirit does it argue in Men to yield a far greater attention at the hearing of a News-Book than when a Message from God is deliver'd to them even a Message of Life or Death 3. Hear the Word of God Retentively Labour to remember and hold fast what thou hearest To this the Apostle adviseth Heb. 2.1 Let us give the more earnest heed unto the things which are spoken lest at any time we should let them slip Many complain of the weakness of their Memory they cannot remember the Word as they desire let such take the following advice viz. Labour for a full and clear Understanding of the matter delivered The clearer Apprehension we have of Truths in our Understanding the firmer Impression will they make upon our Memories Ignorance is one of the greatest hindrances to Memory Again Labour to excite and quicken and stir up and awaken your affections of Desire and Delight in and towards the Word of God David says Psal 119. I delight in thy Precepts I will not forget thy Word We also find it true by common observation that passage in a Sermon is best Remembred by us which did most Affect us But especially if you would Remember what you hear be much in the present Meditation of the Word you have heard The Word Preached is compared to Seed sown now the Meditation is the Harrow that covers this Seed This must be used as speedily as we can after we have been under the Ordinance otherwise Satan the Bird of Prey which follows God's Plough will steal away the precious Seed out of our Hearts 4. Hear the good Word of God Applyingly Make a particular and close Application of the Truths thou hearest to thy own Soul It is observable that the Word of God is compared in Scripture to such things as do require a close and immediate Application as to Seed which brings forth no Increase as it lies in the Chamber but when cast into the Furrows of the Field to Bread which nourishes not when standing upon the Table but when applied to the Stomach to Rain which fructifies not when bringing in the Clouds but when drunk in by the thirsty Earth This was the reason why St. Peter's Sermon met with such Success why so many Thousand Souls were Converted by it Every Hearer applied what was spoken to himself They said Men and Brethren what shall we do Acts 2. v. 37. Application is not only the Life of Preaching but of Hearing also 5. Hear the Word of God Believingly All the want of Success which the Preaching of the Word meets with proceeds from Unbelief Heb. 4.2 The word Preached did not profit not being mixed with Faith in them that heard it There is a mutual Relation betwixt Faith and the Word No Faith without the Word it comes by Hearing and no profiting by the Word without Faith The Word fighteth boldly and worketh miraculously under Faith's Banner it is the power of God unto Salvation but only to them that believe Faith in the Precept causeth Subjection Faith in the Threatnings causeth Humiliation Faith in the Promises worketh Consolation Were the Threatnings and Promises which are daily Preached duly Believed what a mighty Influence would they have upon the Lives of Men The Threatnings would affright us from Sin and the Promises allure us to Duty 6. Hear the Word of God Meekly Take heed of Anger and Passion either against the Message or Messengers of God Many Sinners are Angry when the Word reproves them for their Sins and threatens them for their Abominations 2 Chron. 16.10 Asa was wroth with the Prophet put him in Prison and was in a rage with him If such Rage was found in a Good and Holy Man whose Heart was perfect with the Lord his God what Fury and Indignation may we conceive oft-times to boil in a wicked Man's Breast when his Sins are Discovered Reproved Condemned and Threatned by the Ministry of the Word And therefore St. James gives Advice to receive with meekness the ingrafted Word Ch. 1.21 Consider Oh Sinners how unreasonable and unjust thy Anger and Displeasure is when thy Sins are Reproved by the Ministry of the Word either thou must be angry with the Messenger or with him that sends the Message to be angry with the Messenger is unreasonable for God will Reprove him if he neglect to Reprove thee thy Blood shall be required at his hands and to be displeased with the Message is unjust For wilt thou impudently break and violate the Law of God and not endure to be told of thy Faults If you say that this Preaching of the Terrours and Threatnings of the Law is the ready way to drive Men to Despair I reply That 't is not the Hearing but the Rejecting of Reproof that lays Men open to Despair Peter received our Saviour's Reproof and Repented Judas Rejected Christ's Reproof and that drives him to Despair and next to the Halter he went and hanged himself St. Matth. 27.5 7. Above all Hear the Word of God Practically When the Minister's Duty is done the Hearer's Work begins He heareth a Sermon best who practiseth it most This practical Hearing of the Word will Evidence thee to be an Understanding Hearer Psal 111. ult A good Understanding have all they that do thy Commandments It will Evidence thee to be a Retentive Hearer because this practising is the end of our Remembring it will Evidence thee a Believing Hearer who Believed Moses his Word concerning the Plague of Hail but they that made their Cattel flee out of the Field into their Houses Who are they that Believe the Threatnings of the Word but such as upon the Denunciation of the Threatnings do fly from the Wrath to come Oh Christian do not only hear and admire but hear and amend obey from the heart the Form of Doctrine deliver'd to thee and then thou art blessed in thy Deed. To excite thee hereunto consider First That this Practical hearing of the Word glorifies the Word and God in the Word above all to come to the Word without any desire or design to Glorifie God by it is the height of Prophaneness to pretend and not to do it is the depth of Hypocrisie The Apostle begs Prayer 2 Thess 3.1 That the Word of the Lord may have a free course and be Glorified When is God glorified but when his Word is Believed Entertained Practised