and in God by him and rely entirely on the mercies of God through Jesus Christ. From thence he shall come In the Clouds shining and adorned with the glory of his Father attended by millions of bright Angels with the voice of an Archangel and a shout of all the Heavenly Army the Trump of God and every eye shall see him and they that pierced his hands and his â—…eet shall behold his Majesty his Terror and his Glory and all the families of the earth shall tremble at his presence and the powers of Heaven shall be shaken and the whole earth and sea shall be broken in pieces and confusion for then he shall come to put an end to this world and To Judge the Quick and the Dead For the Father judgeth no man but hath given all judgment to his Son And at this day of Judgment the Lord Jesus shall sit in the Air in a glorious Throne and the Angels having gathered together God's Elect from the four corners of the world all the kindreds of the earth being brought before the Judgment-seat shall have the Records of their Conscience laid open that is all that ever they thought or spake or did shall be brought to their memory to convince the wicked of the Justice of the Judge in passing the fearful Sentence upon them and glorify the mercies of God towards his Redeemed ones and then the righteous Judge shall condemn the wicked to the portion of Devils for ever to a state of torments the second and eternal and intolerabl death and the godly being placed on his right hand shall hear the blessed Sentence of absolution and shall be led by Christ to the participation of the glories of his Father's Kingdom for ever and ever Amen I believe in the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit Who is the third Person of the holy undivided ever-blessed Trinity which I worship and adore and admire but look upon with wonder and am not in a capacity to understand I believe that the Holy Spirit into whose name as of the Father and the Son I was baptized is the heavenly Author the Captain the Teacher and the Witness of all the Truths of the Gospel that as the Father sent the Son so the Son from Heaven sent the holy Spirit to lead the Church into all truth to assist us in all Temptations and to help us in the purchase of all Vertue This Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and our Lord Jesus received him from his Father and sent him into the world who receiving the things of Christ and declaring the same excellent Doctrines speaks whatsoever he hath heard from him and instructed the Apostles and builds the Church and produces Faith and confirms our Hope and increases Charity And this Holy Spirit our blessed Lord hath left with his Church for ever by which all the servants of God are enabled to do all things necessary to Salvation which by the force of Nature they cannot do and we speak by the Spirit and work by the Spirit when by his assistances any ways imparted to us we speak or do any thing of our duty He it is who enlightens our Understanding sanctifies our Will orders and commands our affections he comforts our sorrows supports our spirits in trouble and enables us by Promises and Confidences and Gifts to suffer for the Lord Jesus and the Gospel And all these things God the Father does for us by his Son and the Son by the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit by all means within and without which are operative upon and proportionable to the nature of reasonable creatures This is he who works Miracles gives the gifts of Prophecy and of Interpretation that teaches us what and how to pray that gives us Zeal and holy Desires who sanctifies Children in Baptism and confirms them with his grace in Comfirmation and reproves the world and consecrates Bishops and all the Ministers of the Gospel and absolves the Penitent and Blesses the Obedient and comforts the Sick and excommunicates the Refractory and makes intercession for the Saints that is the Church and those whom he hath Blessed appointed and sanctified to these purposes do all these Ministeries by his Authority and his Commandment and his Aids This is he that testifies to our Spirits that we are the Sons of God and that makes us to cry Abba Father that is who inspires into us such humble confidences of our being accepted in our hearty and constant endeavours to please God that we can with chearfulness and joy call God our Father and expect and hope for the portion of Sons both here and hereafter and in the certainty of this hope to work out our Salvation with fear and reverence with trembling and joy with distrust of our selves and mighty confidence in God By this holy and ever-blessed Spirit several persons in the Church and every man in his proportion receives the gifts of Wisdom and Utterance and Knowledge and Interpretation and Prophesie and Healing and Goverement and discerning of Spirits and Faith and Tongues and whatsoever can be necessary for the Church in several ages and periods for her beginning for her continuance for her in prosperity and for her in persecution This is the great Promise of the Father and it is the gift of God which he will give to all them that ask him and who live piously and chastly and are persons fit to entertain so Divine a Grace This Holy Spirit God gives to some more to some less according as they are capable They who obey his Motions and love his presence and improve his Gifts shall have him yet more abundantly but they that grieve the Holy Spirit shall loose that which they have and they that extinguish him belong not to Christ but are in the state of reprobation and they that blaspheme this holy Spirit and call him the spirit of the Devil or the Spirit of error or folly or do malicious despites to him that is they who on purpose considering and chusing do him hurt by word or by deed so far as lies in them shall for ever be separated from the presence of God and of Christ and shall never be forgiven in this world nor in the world to come Lastly this Holy Spirit seals us to the day of Redemption that is God gives us his Holy Spirit as a testimony that he will raise us again at the last day and give us a portion in the glories of his Kingdom in the inheritance of our Lord Jesus The holy Catholick Church I believe that there is and ought to be a visible company of men professing the service and discipline that is the Religion of the Gospel who agree together in the Belief of all the Truths of God revealed by Jesus Christ and in confession of the Articles of this Creed and agree together in praying and praising
is easy to make them good Protestants unless they be abus'd with prejudice and suck venom with their milk they cannot leave our Communion till they have reason to reprove our Doctrine There is therefore in the following pages a Compendium of what we are to Believe what to do and what to Desire It is indeed very little but it is enough to begin with and will serve all persons so long as they need milk and not strong meat And he that hath given the following Assistances to thee desires to be even a door-keeper in God's House and to be a servant of the meanest of God's servants and thinks it a worthy employment to teach the most ignorant and make them to know Christ though but in the first rudiments of a holy Institution This only he affirms that there is a more solid comfort and material support to a Christian spirit in one article of Faith in one period of the Lord's Prayer in one Holy Lesson than in all the disputes of impertinent people who take more pains to prove there is a Purgatory than to perswade men to avoid Hell And that a plain Catechism can more instruct a Soul than the whole day's prate which some daily spit forth to bid them get Christ and persecute his Servants Christian Religion is admirable for its wisdom for its simplicity and he that presents the following Papers to thee designs to teach thee as the Church was taught in the early days of the Apostles to believe the Christian Faith and to understand it to represent plain Rules of good Life to describe easie Forms of Prayer to bring into your Assemblies Hymns of Glorification and Thanksgiving and Psalms of Prayer By these easy paths they lead Christ's little ones into the Fold of their great Bishop and if by this any service be done to God any ministery to the Soul of a Child or an ignorant Woman it is hoped that God will accept it and it is reward enough if by my Ministery God will bring it to pass that any Soul shall be instructed and brought into that state of good things that it shall rejoyce for ever But do thou pray for him that desires this to thee and endeavours it Jer. Taylor CREDENDA OR What is to be Believed A SHORT CATECHISM For the Institution of young persons in the Christian Religion Quest. IN what does true Religion consist Answ. In the knowledge of the one true God and whom he hath sent Jesus Christ and in the worshipping and serving them Quest. What doest thou believe concerning God Answ. 1. That there is is a God 2. That he is One 3. Eternal 4. Almighty 5. That he hath made all the world 6. That he knows all things 7. That he is a Spirit not of any shape or figure or parts or body 8. That he is present in all places 9. That his seat is in Heaven and he governs all the world so that nothing happens without his order and leave 10. That he is the Fountain of Justice 11. Of Mercy 12. of Bounty or Goodness 13. That he is unalterably happy and infinitely perfect 14. That no evil can come near him 15. And he is the Rewarder of them that diligently seek him Quest. What other Mystery is revealed concerning God Answ. That God being one in Nature is also three in Person expressed in Scripture by the names of Father Son and Holy Spirit The first Person being known to us by the name of The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The second Person is called The son and the Word of the Father The third is The Spirit and promise of the Father And these are Three and One after a secret manner which we must believe but cannot understand Quest. What is this God to us Answ. He is our Creator and Father and therefore he is our Lord and we are his Creatures his Sons and his Servants Quest. Wherefore did God create and make us Answ. That we might do him honour and service and receive from him infinite felicities Quest. How did God make man Answ. By the Power of his word out of the slime of the Earth and he breathed into him the breath of life Quest. Was man good or bad when God made him Answ. Man was made pure and innocent Quest. How then did man become sinful and miserable Answ. By listening to the whispers of a tempting spirit and breaking an easy Commandment which God gave him as the first tryal of his obedience Quest. What evils and chages followed this Sin Answ. Adam who was the first man and the first sinner did both for himself and his posterity fall into the state of death of sickness and misfortunes and disorder both of Body and Soul we were thrown out of Paradise and lost our Immortality Quest. Was man left in these evils without Remedy Answ. No but God pitying his creature promised That of the seed of the Woman he would raise up a Saviour and Redeemer who should restore us to God's favour and to the felicity which we lost Quest. How did God perform the promise Answ. By sending Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature to die for our sins to become our Lord and the Author of holiness and life and Salvation to mankind Quest. Who is Jesus Christ Answ. He is the Son of God the Second Person of the holy Trinity equal with the Fathe rtrue God without beginning of life or end of daies Quest. How then could he be our Redeemer and the promised seed of the Woman Answ. The Son of God in the fulness of time by the miracles of his Mercy took upon him Humane nature and united it after a wonderful manner to his Godhead so that he was both God and Man He was born of a Virgin who conceived him not by any natural means but by the power of the holy Ghost and was called Jesus Christ and his Mother's name was Mary of the seed of Abraham of the family of David And all these things came to pass when Augustus Caesar was Lord of the Roman Empire Quest. How did Jesus Christ work this promised Redemption for us Answ. By his holy and humble life and his obedient dying a painful death for us upon the Cross. Quest. What benefits do we receive by the life and death of Jesus Christ Answ. We are instructed by his Doctrine encouraged by his excellent Example we are reconciled to God by his death He hath given us an excellent Law and glorious Promises and himself hath received power to make good all those Promises to his Servants and fearfully to destroy them that will not have
are made partakers of Christ's Death and of his Resurrection teaching us that we should rise from the death of Sin to the life of Righteousness Quest. VVhat is the Sacrament of the Lords Supper Answ. A ceremony of eating Bread and drinking Wine being blessed and consecrated by God's Minister in publick Assemblies in remembrance of Christ's Death and Passion Quest. What benefits are done unto us by this Sacrament Answ. Our Souls are nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ our Bodies are sealed to a Blessed Resurrection and to Immortality our Infirmities are strengthned our Graces encreased our Pardon made more certain and when we present our selves to God having received Christ's Body within us we are sure to be accepted and all the good prayers we make to God for our selves and others are sure to be heard Quest. Who are fit to receive this Sacrament Answ. None but baptized Christians and such as repent of their Sins and heartily purpose to lead a good Life Quest. What other Ministeries hath Christ ordained in his Church to help us and to bring so many great purposes to pass Answ. Jesus Christ hath appointed Ministers and Embassadors of his own to preach his word to us to pray for us to exhort and to reprove to comfort and instruct to restore and reconcile us if we be overtaken in a fault to visit the sick to separato the vile from the precious to administer the Sacraments and to watch for the good of our Souls Quest. What are we tied to perform towards them Answ. To pay them honour and maintenance to obey them in all things according to the Gospel and to order our selves so that they may give account of our Souls with chearfulness and joy Quest. Which are the Commandments and Laws of Jesus Christ Answ. They are many but easy holy but very pleasant to all good minds to such as desire to live well in this world and in the world to come and they are set down in the Sermons of our Blessed Lord and of his Apostles but especially in the 5 6 7. Chapters of S. Matthew AN EXPOSITION OF The Apostles Creed I Believe in God I Believe that there is a God who is one true supreme and alone infinitely wise just good free eternal immense and blessed and in him alone we are to put our trust The Father Almighty I believe that he is 1. the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and 2. of all that believe in him whom he hath begotten by his Word and adopted to the inheritance of Sons and because he is our Father he will do us all that good to which we are created and designed by Grace and because he is Almighty he is able to perform it all and therefore we may safely believe in him and relie upon him Maker of Heaven Earth He made the Sun and the Moon the Stars and all the Regions of Glory he made the Air the Earth and the Water and all that live in them he made Angels and Men and he who made them does and he only can preserve them in the same being and thrust them forwards to a better He that preserves them does also govern them and intends they should minister to his Glory and therefore we are to do worship and obedience to him in all that we can and that he hath commanded And in Jesus Christ I also believe in Jesus Christ who is and is called a Saviour and the Anointed of the Lord promised to the Patriarchs whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power to become the Great Prophet and declarer of his Father's Will to all the world telling us how God will be worshipped and served he is anointed to be the Mediator of the New Covenant and our High-Priest reconciling us to his Father by the Sacrifice of himself and to be the Great King of all the world And by this Article we are Christians who serve and worship God the Father through Jesus Christ. His only Son Jesus Christ is the Son of God he alone of him alone For God by his Holy Spirit caused him to be born of a Virgin by his power he raised him from the dead and gave him a new Birth or being in the Body he gave him all power and all excellency And beyond all this he is the express Image of his person the brightness of his glory equal to God beloved before the beginning of the world of a nature perfectly Divine very God by essence and very Man by assumption as God all one in nature with the Father and as Man one Person in himself Our Lord Jesus Christ God's only Son is the Heir of all things and persons in his Father's house All Angels and Men are his servants and all the Creatures obey him We are to believe in him and by Faith in him onely and in his name we shall be saved Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost I believe that Jesus Christ was not begotten of a Man nor born by natural means but that a Divine Power from God God 's Holy Spirit did overshadow the Virgin-Mother of Christ and made her in a wonderful manner to conceive Jesus in her womb and by this his admirable manner of being conceived he was the Son of God alone and no Man was his Father Born of the Virgin Mary Though God was his Father and he begat him by the power of the Holy Ghost and caused him miraculously to begin in the womb of his Mother yet from her he also derived his humane Nature and by his Mother he was of the Family of King David and called the Son of Man his Mother being a holy person not chosen to this great honour for her wealth or beauty but by the good will of God and because she was of rare exemplar modesty and humility and she received the honour of being a Mother to the Son of God and ever a Virgin and all generations shall call her blessed Suffered under Pontius Pilate After that Jesus passed through the state of Infancy and Childhood being subject to his Parents and working in an humble Trade to serve his own and his Mother 's needs he grew to the estate of a man he began to preach at the age of thirty years and having for about three years and a half Preached the Gospel and taught us his Father's will having spoken the Gospel of his Kingdom and revealed to us the secrets of Eternal life and Resurrection of the Dead Regeneration and Renewing by the Holy Spirit perfect Remission of sins and Eternal Judgment at last that he might reconcile the world to his Father he
became a Sacrifice for all our sins and suffered himself to be taken by the malicious Jews and put to a painful and shameful death they being envious at him for the number of his Disciples and the reputation of his person the innocence of his life the mightiness of his Miracles and the power of his Doctrine and this Death he suffered when Pontius Pilate was Governour of Judea Was crucified Jesus Christ being taken by the Rulers of the Jews bound and derided buffeted and spit upon accused weakly and persecuted violently at last wanting matter and pretences to condemn him they asked him of his person and office and because he affirmed that great Truth which all the world of good men long'd for that he was the Messias and designed to sit on the right hand of the Majesty on high they resolved to call it Blasphemy and delivered him over to Pilate and by importunity and threats forced him against his Conscience to give him up to be scourged and then to be Crucified The Souldiers therefore mocking him with a Robe and Reed and pressing a Crown of thorns upon his head led him to the place of his death compelling him to bear his Cross to which they presently nail'd him on which for three hours he hanged in extreme torture being a sad spectacle of the most afflicted and the most innocent person of the whole world Dead When the Holy Jesus was wearied with tortures and he knew all things were now fulfilled and his Father's wrath appeased towards Mankind his Father pitying his innocent Son groaning under such intolerable miseries hastned his Death and Jesus commending his Spirit into the hands of his Father cried with a loud voice bowed his head and died and by his death sealed all the Doctrines and Revelations which he first taught the world and then confirmed by his Bloud He was consecrated our merciful High-Priest and by a feeling of our miseries and temptations became able to help them that are tempted and for these his sufferings was exalted to the highest Throne and seat of the right hand of God and hath shewn that to Heaven there is no surer way than suffering for his Name and hath taught us willingly to suffer for his sake what himself hath already suffered for ours He reconciled us to God by his Death led us to God drew us to himself redeemed us from all iniquity purchased us for his Father and for ever made us his servants and redeemed ones that we being dead unto sin might live unto God And this Death being so highly beneficial to us he hath appointed means to apply to us and to represent to God for us in the Holy Sacrament of his last Supper And upon all these considerations that Cross which was a smart and shame to our Lord is honour to us and as it turned to his Glory so also to our Spiritual advantages And Buried That he might suffer every thing of humane nature he was by the care of his Friends and Disciples by the leave of Pilate taken from the Cross and embalmed as the manner of the Jews was to bury and wrapp'd linnen and buried in a new grave hewn out of a Rock And this was the last and lowest step of his Humiliation He descended into Hell That is He went down into the lower parts of the earth as himself called it into the heart of the earth by which phrase the Scripture understands the state of Separation or of Souls severed from their Bodies By this his descending to the land of darkness where all things are forgotten he sanctified the state of Death Separation that none of his servants might ever after fear the jaws of Death and Hell whither he went not to suffer torment because he finished all that upon the Cross but to triumph over the gates of Hell to verifie his Death and the event of his sufferings and to break the iron bars of those lower prisons that they may open and shut hereafter only at his command The third day he rose again from the Dead After our Lord Jesus had abode in the grave the remaining part of the day of his Passion and all the next day early in the morning upon the third day by the power of God he was raised from Death and Hell to Light and Life never to return to death any more and is become the first-born from the dead the first-fruits of them that slept and although he was put to death in the flesh yet now being quickned in the Spirit he lives for ever And as we all die in Adam so in Christ we all shall be made alive but every man in his own order Christ is the first and we if we follow him in the Regeneration shall also follow him in the Resurrection He ascended into Heaven When our dearest Lord was risen from the Grave he conversed with his Disciples for forty days together often shewing himself alive by infallible proofs and once to five hundred of his Disciples at once appearing Having spoken to them fully concerning the affairs of the Kingdom and the Promise of the Father leaving them some few things in charge for the present he solemnly gave them his Blessing and in the presence of his Apostles was taken up into Heaven by a bright Cloud and the Ministery of Angels being gone before us to prepare a place for us above all Heavens in the presence of his Father and at the foot of the Throne of God From which glorious presence we cannot be kept by the change of Death and the powers of the Grave nor the depth of Hell nor the height of Heaven but Christ being lifted up shall draw all his Servants unto him And sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty I believe that Jesus Christ sitteth in Heaven above all Principalities and Powers being exalted above every Name that is named in Heaven and Earth that is above every creature above and below all things being put under his feet That he is always in the presence of his Father interceding for us and governs all things in Heaven and Earth that he may defend his Church and adorn her with his Spirit and procure and effect her eternal Salvation There he sits and reigns as King and intercedes as our High-Priest He is a Minister of the Sanctuary and of the true Tabernacle which God made and not man the Author and Finisher of our Faith the Captain of our Confession the great Apostle of our Religion the Great Bishop of our Souls the Head of the Church and the Lord of Heaven and Earth And therefore to him we are to pay Dvino Worship Service and Obedience and we must believe in him
him to reign over them Quest. What Promises hath Jesus Christ made us in the Gospel Answ. He hath promised to give us all that we need in this life That every thing shall work together for our good That he will be with us in tribulation and persecution He hath promised his Graces and his holy Spirit to enable us to do our duty and if we make use of these Graces he hath promised to give us more He hath promised to forgive us our sins to hear our prayers to take the sting of death from us to keep our souls in safe custody after death and in his due time to raise our bodies from the grave and to joyn them to our Souls and to give us eternal life and joys that shall never cease Quest. How is Jesus Christ able to do all this for us Answ. When he had suffered death and was buried three days God raised him up again and gave him all power in Heaven and Earth made him head of the Church Lord of Men and Angels and the judge of the quick and dead Quest. By what means doth Jesus Christ our Lord convey all these Blessings to us Answ. Jesus Christ had three Offices and in all he was Mediator between God and man He is our Prophet our Priest and our King Quest. What was his Office as he was a Phophet Answ. This Office he finished on earth beginning when he was thirty years old to â—…each the Gospel of the Kingdom Faith and Repentance Quest. When began his Priestly Office and wherein does it consist Answ. It began at his death for he was himself the Priest and the Sacrifice offering himself upon the Altar of the Cross for the sins of all the World Quest. Did his Priestly Office then cease Answ. No He is a Priest for ever that is unto the end of the world and represents the same Sacrifice to God in Heaven interceding and praying continually for us in the virtue of that sacrifice by which he obtains relief of all our necessities Quest. What doth Christ in Heaven pray for on our behalf Answ. That our sins may be pardoned our infirmities pitied our necessities relieved our persons defended our temptations overcome that we may be reconciled to God and be saved Quest. How is Jesus Christ also our King Answ. When he arose from his grave and had for forty days together conversed with his Disciples shewing himself alive by many infallible tokens he ascended into Heaven and there sits at the right hand of God all things being made subject to him Angels and Men and Devils Heaven and Earth the Elements and all the Creatures and over all he reigns comforting and defending his elect subduing the power of the Devil taking out the sting of Death and making all to serve the Glory of God and to turn to the good of his Elect. Quest. How long must his Kingdom last Answ. Till Christ hath brought all his enemies under his feet that is till the day of judgment in which Day shall be performed the greatest acts of his Kingly power for then he shall quite conquer Death triumph over the Devils throw his enemies into Hell-fire and carry all his Elect to never-ceasing glories and then he shall deliver up the Kingdom to his Father that God may be all in all Quest. How is Christ a Mediator in all these Offices Answ. A Mediator signifies one that stands between God and us As Christ is a Prophet so he taught us his Father's will and ties us to obedience As he is a Priest he is our Redeemer having paid a price for us even his most precious blood and our Advocate pleading for us and mediating our Pardon and Salvaon As he is a King so he is our Lord our Patron and our Judge yet it is the Kingdom of a Mediator that is in order to the world to come but then to determine and end And in all these he hath made a Covenant between God and us of an everlasting interest Quest. What is the Covenant which Jusus Christ our Mediator hath made between God and us Answ. That God will write his Laws in our hearts and will pardon us and defend us and raise us up again at the last day and give us an inheritance in his Kingdom Quest. To what Conditions hath he bound us on our parts Answ. Faith and Repentance Quest. When do we enter into this Covenant Answ. In our Baptism and at our ripe years when we understand the secrets of the kingdom of Christ and undertake willingly what in our names was undertaken for us in our infancy Quest. What is the Covenant of Faith which we enter into in Baptism Answ. We promise to believe that Jesus Christ is the Messias or he that was to come into the world That he is the Anointed of the Lord or the Lord 's Christ That he is the Son of God and the Son of the Virgin Mary That he is God incarnate or God manifested in the flesh That he is the Mediator between God and Man That he died for us upon the Cross and rose again the third day and ascended into Heaven and shall be there till the day of Judgment that then he shall be our Judge in the mean time he is the King of the world and head of the Church Quest. What is the Covenant of Repentance Answ. We promise to leave all our sins and with a hearty and sincere endeavour to give up our will and affections to Christ and do what he hath commanded according to our power and weakness Quest. How if we fail of this Promise through infirmity and commit sin Answ. Still we are within the Covenant of Repentance that is within the promise of pardon and possibility of returning from dead works and mortifying our lusts and though this be done after the manner of men that is in weakness and with some failings yet our endeavour must be hearty and constant and diligent and our watchfulness and prayers for pardon must be lasting and persevering Quest. What Ministeries hath Christ appointed to help us in this duty Answ. The Ministery of the Word and Secraments which he will accompany with his Grace and his Spirit Quest. What is a Sacrament Answ. An outward Ceremony ordained by Christ to be a sign and a means of conveying his grace unto us Quest. How many Sacraments are ordained by Christ Answ. Two Baptism and the Supper of our Lord. Quest. What is Baptism Answ. An outward washing of the Body in Water in the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost in which we are buried with Christ in his death after a Sacramental manner and
God through Jesus Christ to read and hear the Scriptures read and expounded to provoke each other to love and to good works to advance the honour of Christ and to propagate his Faith and Worship I believe this to be a Holy Church Spiritual and not Civil and Secular but sanctified by their Profession and the solemn Rites of it professing holiness and separating from the evil manners of heathens and wicked persons by their laws and institutions And this Church is Catholick that is it is not confined to the Nation of the Jews as was the old Religion but it is gathered out of all Nations and is not of a differing Faith in differing places but always did doth and ever shall profess the Faith which the Apostles preach'd and which is contained in this Creed with whosoever believes is a Catholick and a Christian and he that believes not is neither This Catholick Church I believe that is I believe whatsoever all good Christians in all Ages and in all places did confess to be the Catholick and Apostolick Faith The Communion of Saints That is the Communion of all Christians because by reason of their holy Faith they are called Saints in Scripture as being begotten by God into a lively Faith and cleansed by Believing and by this Faith and the Profession of a holy life in obedience to Jesus Christ they are separated from the world called to the knowledge of the Truth justified before God and indued with the holy Spirit of Grace foreknown from the beginning of the world and predestinated by God to be made conformable to the image of his Son here in holiness of life hereafter in a life of glory and they who are Saints in their belief and profession must be so also in their practice and conversation that so they may make their calling and election sure lest they be Saints onely in name and title in their profession and institution and not in manners and holiness of living that is lest they be so before men and not before God I believe that all people who desire the benefit of the Gospel are bound to have a fellowship and society with these Saints and communicate with them in their holy things in their Faith and in their Hope and in their Sacraments and in their Prayers and in their Publick Assemblies and in their Government and must do to them all the acts of Charity and mutual help which they can and are required to and without this Communion of Saints and a conjunction with them who believe in God through Jesus Christ there is no Salvation to be expected which Communion must be kept in inward things always and in all persons and testified by outward acts always when it is possible and may be done upon just and holy conditions The Forgiveness of sins I believe that all the sins I committed before I came to the knowledge of the Truth and all the slips of humane infirmity against which we heartily pray and watch and labour and all the evil habits of which we repent so timely and effectually that we obtain their contrary graces and live in them are fully remitted by the blood of Christ which forgiveness we obtain by Faith and Repentance and therefore are not justified by the Righteousness of Works but by the Righteousness of Faith and we are preserved in the state of forgiveness or justification by the fruits of a lively Faith and a timely active Repentance The Resurrection of the Body I believe that at the last day all they whose sins are forgiven and who lived and died in the Communion of Saints and in whom the Holy Spirit did dwell shall rise from their grves their dead bones shall live and be clothed with flesh and skin and their Bodies together with their Souls shall enter into the portion of a new life and that this body shall no more see corruption but shall rise to an excellent condition it shall be Spiritual Powerful Immortal and Glorious like unto his glorious body who shall then be our Judge is now our Advocate our Saviour and our Lord. And the Life everlasting I believe that they who have their part in this Resurrection shall meet the Lord in the Air and when the blessed Sentence is pronounc'd upon them they shall for ever be with the Lord in joys unspeakable and full of glory God shall wâ—…pe all tears from their eyes there shall be no fear or sorrow no mourning or death a friend shall never go away from thence and an enemy shall never enter there shall be fulness without want light eternal brighter then the Sun day and no night joy and no weeping difference in degree and yet all full there is love without dissimulation excellency without envy multitudes without confusion musick without discord there the Understandings are rich the Will is satisfied the Affections are all love and all joy and they shall reign with God and Christ for ever and ever Amen This is the Catholick Faith which except a man believe faithfully he cannot be saved Tertull. de velandis Virgin Regula quidem fidei â—…na omnino est sola immobilis irreformabilis credendi scilicet in unicum Deum Omnipotentem c. Hac lege fidei manente caetâ—…ra jam disciplinae conversationis admittunt novitatem correctionis operante scil proficiente usque in finem Gratia Dei The Rule of Faith is wholly one unalterable never to be mended never changed to wit I believe in God c This Law of Faith remaining in other things you may encrease and grow S. Aug. de Fide Symb. Haec est Fides quae paucis verbis tenenda in Symbolo Novellis datur Quae pauca verba fiedelibus not a sunt ut credendo subjugentur Deo subjugati recte vivant recte vivendo cor mundent corde mundo quod credunt intelligant This is the Faith which in few words is given to Novices These few words are known to all the faithful that by believing they may be subject to God by this subjection they may live well by living-well they may purifie their hearts and with pure hearts they may relish understand what they do believe Max. Taurin de Tradit Symb. Symbolum tessera est signaculum quo inter fideles Perfidosque secernitur This Creed is the Badge or Cognizance by which the Faithful are discerned from Unbelievers Hujus Catholici Symboli brevis perfecta Confessio quae duodecim Apostolorum totidem est signata sententiis tam instructa est in munitione coelesti ut omnes Haereticorum opiniones solo possint gladio detruncari Leo M. ad Pulcheriam Aug. This short and perfect Confession of this Catholick Creed which was consigned by the Sentences of twelve Apostles is so perfect a celestial
in which he can wound thee Remember how the Proud have fallen and they who have presumed upon their own strength have been disgraced and that the boldest and greatesttalkers in the days of peace have been the most dejected and pusillanimous in the day of temptation No man ought to think he hath found Peace when nothing troubles him or that God loves him because he hath no enemy nor that all is well because every thing is according to his mind nor that he is a holy person because he prays with great sweetness and comfort But he is at Peace who is reconciled to God and God loves him when he hath overcome himself and all is well when nothing pleases him but God being thankful in the midst of his afflctions and he is holy who when he hath lost his comfort loses nothing of his duty but is still the same when God changes his face towards him POSTULANDA OR Things to be prayed for A FORM of PRAYER By way of Paraphrase expounding The Lord's Prayer Our Father MErciful and Gracious thou gavest us being raising us from nothing to be an excellent creation efforming us after thy own Image tenderly feeding us and conducting and strengthening us all our days Thou art our Father by a more excellent Mercy adopting us in a new birth to become partakers of the ininheritance of Jesus Thou hast given us the portion and the food of Sons O make us to do the Duty of Sons that we may never loose our title to so glorious an inheritance Let this excellent Name and Title by which thou hast vouchsafed to relate to us be our Glory and our Confidence our Defence and Guard our Ornament and Strength our dignity and the endearment of Obedience the Principle of a holy Fear to thee our Father and of Love to thee and to our Brethren partakers of the same Hope and Dignity Unite every member of the Church to thee in holy bands Let there be no more names of Division nor Titles and Ensigns of Errour and Partiality Let not us who are Brethren contend but in giving honor to each other and glory to thee contending earnestly for the Faith but not to the breach of Charity nor the denying each others Hope But grant that we may all join in the promotion of the honour of thee our Father in celebrating the Name and spreading the Family and propagating the Laws and Institutions the Promises and Dignities of our Elder Brother that despising the transitory entertainments of this world we may labour for and long after the inheritance to which thou hast given us title by adopting us into the dignity of Sons For ever let thy Spirit witness to our spirit that we are thy children enable us to cry Abba Father Which art in Heaven Heaven is thy Throne the Earth thy Footstool From thy throne thou beholdest all the dwellers upon Earth and triest out the hearts of men and nothing is hid from thy sight And as thy Knowledge is infinite so is thy Power uncircumscribed as the utmost Orb of Heaven and thou sittest in thy own Essential Happiness and Tranquillity immovable and Eternal That is our Country and thither thy Servants are travelling there is our Father and that is our inheritance there our hearts are for there our treasure is laid up till the day of Recompence Hallowed be thy Name Thy Name O God is glorious and in thy Name is our hope and confidence According to thy Name so is thy praise unto the World's end They that love thy Name shall be joyful in thee for thy Name which thou madest to be proclaimed unto thy people is The Lord the Lord God merciful and gracious long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth keeping mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin and that will by no means clear the guilty In this glorious Name we worship thee O Lord and all they that know thy Name will put their trust in thee The desire of our Soul is to thy Name and to the remembrance of thee Thou art worthy O Lord of Honour and praise and glory for ever and ever we confess thy glories we rejoyce in thy mercies we hope in thy Name and thy Saints like it well for thy Name is praised unto the end of the World it is believed by Faith relied upon by a holy Hope and loved by a great Charity All thy Church celebrates thee with praises and offers to thy Name the Sacrifices of Prayers and Thanksgiving Thou O God didst frame our Nature by thy own Image and now thou hast imprinted thy Name upon us we are thy servants the relatives and domesticks of thy family and thou hast honoured us with the gracious appellative of Christians O let us never dishonour so excellent a Title nor by unworthy usages prophane thy holy Name but for ever glorifie it Let our Life be answerable to our dignity that our body may be chast our thoughts clean our words gracious our manners holy and our life usefull and innocent that men seeing our good works may glorifie thee our Father which art in Heaven Thy Kingdom come Thou reignest in Heaven and Earth O do thou rule also in our hearts advance the interest of Religion let thy Gospel be placed in all the Regions of the earth and let all Nations come and worship thee laying their proudâ—… wills at thy feet submitting their understandings to the obedience of Jesus conforming their affections to thy holy Laws Let thy Kingdom be set up gloriously over us and do thou reign in our Spirits by thy Spirit of Grace subdue every lust and inordinate appetite trample upon our pride mortifie all rebellion within us and let all thine and our enemies be brought into captivity that sin may never reign in our mortal Bodies but that Christ may reign in our Understanding by Faith in the Will by Charity in the Passions by Mortifications in all the Members by a right and a chast use of them And when thy Kingdom that is within us hath flourished and is advanced to that height whither thou hast designed it grant thy Kingdom of Glory may speedily succeed and we thy Servants be admitted to the peace and purity the holiness and glories of that state where thou reignest alone and art all in all Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Thy Will O God is the measure of holiness and peace thy Providence the great disposer of all things tying all events together in order to thy glory and the good of thy Servants by a wonderful mysterious Chain of Wisdom Let thy Will also be the measure of our desires for we know that whatsoever thou saiest is true and whatsoever thou doest is good Grant we may submit our wills to thine being patient of evils which thou inflictest lovers of the good which thou commandest haters of all evil which thou forbiddest pleased with all the accidents thou sendest that though our nature is weaker than
Angels yet our obedience may be as humble our conformity to thy will may arise up to the degrees of Unity and theirs cannot be more that as they in Heaven so we on Earth May obey thy will promptly chearfully zealously and with all our faculties and grant that as they there so all the world here may serve thee with peace and concord purity and love unfeigned with one heart and one voice glorifying thee our heavenly Father Grant that we may quit all our own affections and suspect our reasonings and go out of our selves and all our own confidences that thou being to us all things disposing all events and guideing all our actions and directing our intentions and over-ruling all things in us and about us we may be Servants of thy Divine Will for ever Give us this day our daily Bread Thou O God which takest care of our Souls do not despise our Bodies which thou hast made and sanctified and designed to be glorious But now we are exposed to hunger and thirst nakedness and weariness want and inconvenience Give unno us neither poverty nor riches but feed us with food convenient for us and cloth us with fitting provisions according to that state and condition wherein thou hast placed thy Servants that we may not be tempted with want nor made contemptible by beggery nor wanton or proud by riches nor in love with any thing in this World but that we may use it as strangers and pilgrims as the relief of our needs the support of our infirmities and the oil of our lamps feeding us till we are quite spent in thy service Lord take from thy Servants sad carefulness and all distrust and give us only such a proportion af temporal things as may inable us with comfort to do our duty Forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us O dear God unless thou art pleased to pardon us in vain it is that we should live here and what good will our life do us O look upon us with much mercy for we have sinned grievously against thee Pardon the adherent imperfections of our life the weakness of our duty the carelesness of our spirit our affected ignorance our indiligence our rashness and want of observation our malice and presumptions Turn thine eyes from our impurities and behold the brightness and purest innocence of the holy Jâ—…sus and under his cover we plead our cause not that thou shouldst judge our sins but give us pardon and blot out all our iniquities that we may never enter into the horrible regions where there are torments without ceasing a prison without ransom reproaches without comfort anguish without patience darkness without light a worm that never dies and the fire that never goeth out But be pleased also to give us great charity that we may truly forgive all that trouble or injure us that by this Character thou mayest discern us to be thy Sons and Servants Disciples of the Holy Jesus lest our prayer be turned into sin and thy Grace be recalled and thou enter into a final anger against thy Servants Lead us not into Temptation Gracious Father we are weak and ignorant our affections betray us and make us willing to die our adversary the Devil goeth up and down seeking whom he may devour he is busie and crafty malicious and powerful watchful and envious and we tempt our selves running out to mischief delighting in the approaches of sin and love to have necessities put upon us that sin may be unavoidable Pity us in the midst of these disorders and give us spiritual strength holy Resolutions a watchful Spirit the whole Armour of God and thy protection the guard of Angels and the conduct of thy holy Spirit to be our security in the day of danger Give us thy grace to fly from all occasions to sin that we may never tempt our selves nor delight to be tempted and let thy blessed Province so order the accidents of our lives that we may not dwell near an enemy and when thou shalt try us and suffer us to enter into combat let us always be on thy side and fight valiantly resist the Devil and endure patiently and persevere constantly unto the end that thou mayest crown thy own work in us But deliver us from evil From sin and shame from the malice and fraud of the Devil and from the falseness and greediness of men from all thy wrath and from all our impurities good Lord deliver thy Servants Do not reserve any thing of thy wrath in store for us but let our sins be pardoned so fully that thou maiest not punish our inventions And yet if thou wilt not be intreated but that it be necessary that we suffer thy will be done Smite us here with a Father's rod that thou maiest spare us hereafter let the sad accidents of our life be for good to us not for evil for our amendment not to exasperate or weary us not to harden or confound us and what evil soever it be that shall happen let us not sin against thee For ever deliver us from that evil and for ever deliver us from the power of the evil one the great enemy of mankind and never let our portion be in that Region of Darkness in that everlasting burning which thou hast prepared for the Devil and his Angels for ever For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen So shall we thy Servants advance the Mightiness of thy Kingdom the Power of thy Majesty and the Glory of thy Mercy from generation to generation for ever Amen LITANIES FOR All Things and Persons O God the Father of Mercies the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy upon thy Servants and hear the prayers of us miserable sinners O Blessed Jesus the Fountain of Peace and Pardon our Wisdom and our Righteousness our Sanctification and Redemption have mercy upon thy Servants refuse not to hear the Prayers of us miserable sorrowful and returning sinners O Holy and Divinest Spirit of the Father help our infirmities for of our selves we know not what to ask nor how to pray but do thou assist and be present in the desires of us miserable sinners I. For Pardon of Sins REmember not Lord the follies of our childhood nor the lusts of our youth the wildness of our head nor the wandrings of our heart the infinite sins of our tongue and the inexcusable errours of the days of vanity Lord have mercy upon us poor miserable sinners Remember not O Lord the growing iniquities of our elder age the pride of our spirit the abuse of our members the greediness of our purposes the peevishness and violence of all our passions and affections Lord have mercy c. Remember not O Lord how we have been full of envy and malice anger and revenge fierce and earnest in the purchases and vanities of the world and lazy and dull slow and soon weary in the things of God and of
Religion Lord have mercy c. Remember not O Lord our uncharitable behaviour â—…towards those with whom we have conversed our jealousies and suspitions our evil surmisings and evil reportings the breach of our promises to men and the breach of all our holy vows made to thee our God Lord have mercy c. Remember not O Lord how often we have omitted the several parts and actions of our duty for our sins of Omission are infinite and we have not sought after the Righteousness of God but have rested in carelesness and forgetfulness in a false peace and a silent Conscience Lord have mercy c. O most gracious Lord enter not into judgment with thy servants lest we be consumed in thy wrath and just displeasure from which Good Lord deliver us and preserve thy servants for ever II. For Deliverance from Evils FRom gross ignorance and stupid negligence from a wandring head and a trifling spirit from the violence and rule of passion from a servile will and a commanding lust from all intemperance inordination and irregularity whatsoever Good Lord deliver and preserve thy servants for ever From a covetous mind and greedy desires from lustful thoughts and a wanton eye from rebellious members and the pride and vanity of spirit from false opinions and ignorant confidences Good Lord deliver c. From improvidence and prodigality from envy and the spirit of slander from idleness and sensuality from presumption and despair from sinful actions and all vitious habits Good Lord deliver c. From fierceness of rage and hastiness of spirit from clamorous and reproachful language from peevish anger and inhumane malice from the spirit of contention and hasty and indiscreet zeal Good Lord deliver c. From a schismatical and heretical spirit from tyranny and tumults from sedition and factions from envying the Grace of God in our Brother from impenitence and hardness of heart from obstinacy and apostasie from delighting in sin and hating God and good men Good Lord deliver c. From fornication and adultery from unnatural desires and unnatural hatreds from gluttony and drunkenness from loving and believing lyes and taking pleasure in the remembrances of evil things from delighting in our Neighbour's misery and procuring it from upbraiding others and hating reproof of our selves Good Lord deliver c. From impudence and shame from contempt and scorn from oppression and cruelty from a pitiless and unrelenting spirit from a churlish behaviour and undecent usages of our selves or others Good Lord deliver c. From famine and pestilence from noisome and infectious deseases from sharp and intolerable pains from impatience and tediousness of spirit from a state of temptation and hardened consciences Good Lord deliver c. From banishment and prison from widowhood and want from violence of pains and passions from tempests and earthquakes from the rage of fire and water from Rebellion and Treason from fretfulness and inordinate cares from murmuring against God and disobedience to the Divine Commandment Good Lord deliver c. From delaying our repâ—…ntance and persevering in sin from false principles and prejudices from unâ—…hankfulness and irreligion from seducing others and being abused our selves from the malice and craftiness of the Devil and the deceit and lyings of the World Good Lord deliver c. From wounds and murther from precipices and falls from fracture of bones and dislocation of joynts from dismembring our bodies and all infatuation of our Souls from folly and madness from uncertainty of mind and state and from a certainty of sinning Good Lord deliver c. From Thunder and lightning from phantasms Spectres and illusions of the night from sudden and great Changes from the snares of wealth and the contempt of beggery and extreme poverty from being made an example and a warning to others by suffering sad judgments our selves Good Lord deliver c. From condemning others and justifying our selves from misspending our time and abusing thy Grace from calling good evil and evil good from consenting to folly and tempting others Good Lord deliver c. From excess in speaking and peevish silence from looser laughing and immoderate weeping from giving evil example to others or following any our selves from giving or receiving scandal from the horrible sentence of endless death and damnation Good Lord deliver c. From cursing and swearing from uncharitable chiding and easiness to believe evil from the evil spirit that walketh at noon and the arrow that flieth in darkness from the Angel of wrath and perishing in popular diseases Good Lord deliver c. From the want of a Spiritual Guide from a famine of the Word and Sacramants from hurtful persecution and from taking part with persecutors Good Lord deliver c. From drowning or being burnt alive from sleepless nights and contentious days from a melancholick and a confused spirit from violent fears and the loss of reason from a vitious life and a sudden and unprovided death Good Lord deliver c. From relying upon vain fancies and false foundations from an evil and an amazed Conscience from sinning near the end of our life and from despairing in the day of our death Good Lord deliver c. From hypocrisie and wilfulness from self-love and vain ambition from curiosity and carelesnes from being tempted in the days of our weakness from the prevailing of the flesh and grieving the Spirit from all thy wrath and from all our sins Good Lord deliver c. III. For gifts and graces HEar our Prayer O Lord and consider our desire hearken unto us for thy truth and righteousness sake O hide not thy face from us neither cast away thy servants in displeasure Give unto us the spirit of Prayer frequent and fervent holy and persevering an unreprovableâ—… Faith a just and an humble Hope and a never-failing Charity Hear our Prayers O Lord and consider our desire Give unto us true humility a meek and a quiet spirit a loving and a friendly a holy and a useful conversation bearing the burthens of our neighbours denying our selves and studying to benefit others and to please thee in all things Hear our Prayers c Give us a prudent and a sober a just and a sincere a temperate and a religious spirit a great contempt of the world a love of holy things and a longing after Heaven and the instruments and paths that lead thither Hear our Prayers c Grant us to be thankful to our Bene factors righteous in performing promises loving to our relatives careful of our charges to be gentle and easie to be intreated slow to anger and fully instructed and readily prepared for every good work Hear our Prayers c. Give us a peaceable spirit and a peaceable life free from debt and deadly sin grace to abstain from appearances of evil and to do nothing but what is of good report to confess Christ and his holy Religion by a holy and obedient life and a mind ready to die for him when he shall
call us and assist us Hear our Prayers c. Give to thy servants a watchful and an observing Spirit diligent in doing our duty inflexible to evil obedient to thy word inquisitive after thy will pure and holy thoughts strong and religious purposes and thy grace to perform faithfully what we have promised in the day of our duty or in the day of our calamity Hear our Prayers c. O teach us to despise all vanity to fight the battels of the Lord manfully against the Flesh the World and the Devil to spend our time religiously and usefully to speak gracious words to walk always as in thy presence to preserve our Souls and bodies in holiness fit for the habitation of the holy Spirit of God Hear our Prayers c. Give us a holy and a perfect repentance a well-instructed understanding regular affections a constant and a wise heart a good name a fear of thy Majesty and a love of all thy glories above all the things in the world for ever Hear our Prayers c. Give us a healthful body and a clear understanding the love of our neighbours and the peace of the Church the publick use and comforts of thy holy Word and Sacraments a great love to all Christians and obedience to our Superiours Ecclesiastical and Civil all the days of our life Hear our Prayers c. Give us Spiritual Wisdom that we may discern what is pleasing to thee and follow what belongs unto our peace and let the knowledge and love of God and of Jesus Christ our Lord be our guide and our portion all our days Hear our Prayers c. Give unto us holy dispositions and an active industry in thy service to redeem the time mis-spent in vanity for thy pity sake take not vengeance of us for our sins but sanctifie our Souls and bodies in this life and glorifie them hereafter Hear our Prayers c. Our Father c. IV. To be added to the former Liâ—…anies according as our Devotions and time will suâ—…feâ—… For all states of Men and Women especially in the Christian Church O Blessed God in mercy remember thine inheritance and forget not the congregation of the poor for ever pity poor mankind whose portion is misery and folly shame and death But thou art our Redeemer and the lifter up of our head and under the shadow of thy wings shall be our help until this Tyranny be over-past Have mercy upon us O God and hid not thy self from our Petition Preserve O God the Catholick Church in holiness and truth in unity and peace free from persecution or glorious under it that she may for ever advance the honour of our Lord Jesus for ever represent his Sacrifice and glorifie his Person and advance his Religion and be accepted of thee in her blessed Lord that being filled with his Spirit she may partake of his glory Have mercy upon us c. Give the spirit of Government and Holiness to all Christian Kings Princes and Governours grant that their people may obey them and they may obey thee and live in honesty and peace justice and holy Religion being Nursing-fathers to the Church Advocates for the oppressed Patrons for the widows and a Sanctuary for the miserable and the fatherless that they may reign with thee for ever in the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Have mercy upon us c. Give to thy Servants the Bishops and all the Clergy the Spirit of holiness and courage of patience and humility of prudence and diligence to preach and declare thy will by a holy life and wise discourses that they may minister to the good of Souls and find a glorious reward in the day of our Lord Jesus Have mercy npon us c. Give to our Relatives our Wives and Children our Friends and Benefactors our Charges our Family c. pardon and support comfort in all their sorrows strength in all temptations the guard of Angels to preserve them from evil and the conduct of thy holy Spirit to lead them into all good that they doing their duty may feel thy mercies here and partake of thy glories hereafter Have mercy upon us c. Give to all Christian Kingdoms and Commonwealths peace and plenty health and holy Religion to all Families of Religion and Nurseries of Piety zeal and holiness prudence and unity peace and contentedness to all Schools of Learning quietness and industry freedom from wars and violence factions and envy Have mercy upon us c. Give to all married persons faith and love charitable and wise compliances sweetness of society and innocence of conversation to all Virgins and Widows great love of Religion a sober and a contented spirit an unwearied attendance to devotion and the offices of holiness protection to the fatherless comfort to the disconsolate patience and submission health and spiritual advantages to the sick that they may feel thy comforts for the days wherein they have suffered adversity Have mercy upon us c. Be thou a star and a guide to them that travel by land or sea the confidence and comfort of them that are in storms and shipwrecks the strength of them that toil in the Mines and row in the Gallies an instructer to the ignorant to them that are condemned to die be thou a guide unto death give chearfulness to every sad heart spiritual strength and proportionable comfort to them that are afflicted by evil spirits pity the lunaticks give life and salvation to all to whom thou hast given no understanding accept the stupid and the fools to mercy give liberty to prisoners redemption to captives maintenance to the poor patronage and defence to the oppessed and put a period to the iniquity and to the miseries of all mankind Have mercy upon us c. Give unto our enemies grace and pardon charity to us and love to thee take away all anger from them and all mistakes from us all mis-interpretations and jealousies bring all sinners to repentance and holiness and to all thy Saints and Servants give an increasing love and a persevering duty bring all Turks Jews and Infidels to the knowledge and confession of the Lord Jesus and a participation of all the Promises of the Gospel all the benefits of his Passion to all Hereticks give humility and ingenuity repentance of their errours and grace and power to make amends to the Church and Truth and a publick acknowledgment of a holy faith to the glory of the Lord Jesus Have mercy c. Give to all Merchants faithfulness and truth to the labouring husbandman health and fair seasons of the year and reward his toil with the dew of Heaven and the blessings of the earth to all Artisans give diligence in their Callings and a blessing on their labours and on their familes to old men piety and perfect repentance a liberal heart and an open hand great Religion and desires after Heaven to young men give sobriety and chastity health and usefulness an early piety and a
persevering duty to all families visited with the rod of God give consolation and a holy use of the affliction and a speedy deliverance to us all pardon and holiness and life eternal through Jesus Christ Amen The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the Communication of the Holy Spirit be with us all for ever Amen A short Prayer to be said every Morning I. O Almighty God Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the God of mercy and comfort with reverence and fear with humble confidence and strong desires I approach to the throne of Grace begging of thee mercy and protection pardon and Salvation O my God I am a sinner but sorrowful and repenting Thou art justly offended at me but yet thou art my Lord and my Father merciful and gracious Be pleased to blot all my sins out of thy remembrance and heal my Soul that I may never any more sin against thee Lord open my eyes that I may see my own infirmities and watch against them and my own follies that I may amend them and be pleased to give me perfect understanding in the way of godliness that I may walk in it all the days of my pilgrimage Give me a spirit diligent in the works of my calling chearful and zealous in Religion fervent and frequent in my prayers charitable and useful in my Conversation Give me a healthful and a chast body a pure and a holy Soul a sanctified and an humble spirit and let my body and Soul and spirit be preserved unblameable to the coming of the Lord Jesus Amen II. BLessed by thy Name O God and blessed be thy Mercies who hast preserved me this night from sin and sorrow from sad chances and a violent death from the malice of the Devil and the evil effects of my own corrupted nature and infirmity The out-goings of the Morning and Evening shall praise thee and thy Servants shall rejoyce in giving thee praise for the operation of thy hands Let thy providence and care watch over me this day and all my whole life that I may never sin against thee by idleness or folly by evil company or private sins by word or deed by thought or desire and let the imployment of my day leave no sorrow or the remembrance of an evil conscience at night but let it be holy and profitable blessed and always innocent that when the days of my short abode are done and the shadow is departed I may die in thy fear and favour and rest in a holy hope and at last return to the joys of a blessed Resurrection through Jesus Christ in whose name and in whose words in behalf of my self and all my friends and all thy Servants I humbly and heartily pray Our Father c. A Prayer for the Evening ETernal God Almighty Father of Men and Angels by whose care and providence I am preserved and blessed comforted and assisted I humbly beg of thee to pardon the sins and follies of this day the weaknesses of my services and the strength of my passions the rashness of my words and the vanity and evil of my actions O just and dear God how long shall I confess my sins and pray against them and yet fall under them O let it be so no more let me never return to the follies of which I am ashamed which bring sorrow and death and thy displeasure worse than death Give me a command over my evil inclinations and a perfect hatred of sin and a love to thee above all the desires of this world Be pleased to bless and preserve me this night from all sin and all violence of Chance and the malice of the spirits of darkness Watch over me in my sleep and whether I sleep or wake let me be thy servant Be thou first and last in all my thoughts and the guide and continual assistance of all my actions Preserve my body pardon the sin of my Soul and sanctifie my spirit Let me always live holily and justly and soberly and when I die receive my Soul into thine hands O holy and ever blessed Jesus that I may lie in thy bosom and long for thy coming and hear thy blessed Sentence at Doomsday and behold thy face and live in thy Kingdom singing praises to God for ever and ever Amen Our Father c. For Sunday A Prayer against Pride I. OEternal God merciful and glorious thou art exalted far above all heavens thy Throne O God is glory and thy Scepter is righteousness thy Will is holiness and thy Wisdom the great foundation of Empire and Government I adore thy Majesty and rejoyce in thy Mercy and revere thy Power and confess all glory and dignity and honour to be thine alone and theirs to whom thou shalt impart any ray of thy Majesty or reflexion of thy honour but as for me I am a worm and no man vile dust and ashes the son of corruption and the heir of rottenness seized upon by folly a lump of ignorance and sin and shame and death What art thou O Lord The great God of Heaven and Earth the Fountain of Holiness and Perfection infinite But what am I So ignorant that I know not what so poor that I have nothing of my own so miserable that I am the heir of sorrow and death and so sinful that I am encompassed with shame and grief II. AND yet O my God I am proud proud of my shame glorying in my sin boasting my infirmities for this is all that I have of my own save only that I have multiplied my miseries by vile actions every day dishonouring the work of thy hands my understanding is too confident my affections rebellious my will refractory and disobedient and yet I know thou resistest the proud and didst cast the morning Stars the Angels from Heaven into chains of darkness when they grew giddy and proud walking upon the battlements of Heaven beholding the glorious Regions that were above them III. THou O God who givest grace to the humble do something also for the proud man make me humble and obedient Take from me the spirit of pride and hautiness ambition and self-flattery confidence and gaiety teach me to think well and to expound all things fairly of my brother to love his worthiness to delight in his praises to excuse his errours to give thee thanks for his graces to rejoyce in all the good that he receives and ever to believe and speak better things of him than of my self IV. O Teach me to love to be concealed and little esteem'd let me be truly humbled and heartily ashamed of my sin and folly teach me to bear reproaches evenly for I have deserved them to refuse all honours done unto me because I have not deserved them to return all to thee for it is thine alone to suffer reproof thankfully to amend all my faults speedily and do thou invest my Soul with the humble robe of my meek Master and Saviour Jesus and when I have
humbly patiently charitably and diligently served thee change this robe into the shining garment of immortality my confusion into glory my folly to perfect knowledge my weaknesses and dishonours to the strength and beauties of the Sons of God V. IN the mean time use what means thou pleasest to conform me to the image of thy holy Son that I may be gentle to others and severe to my self that I may sit down in the lowest place striving to go before my brother in nothing but in doing him and the honour staying for my glory till thou shalt please in the day of recompences to reflect light from thy face and admit me to behold thy glories Grant this for Jesus Christ's sake who humbled himself to the death and shame of the Cross and is now exalted unto glory Unto him with thee O Father be glory and praise for ever and ever Amen For Monday A Prayer against Covetousness I. O Almighty God eternal Treasure of all good things thou fillest all things with plenteousness Thou clothest the lilies of the field and fecdest the young ravens that call upon thee Thou art all-sufficient in thy self and all-sufficient to us Let thy providence be my store-house my dispensation of temporal things the limit of my labour my own necessity the measures of my desire but never let my desires of this world be greedy nor my labour immoderate nor my care vexatious and distracting but prudent moderate holy subordinate to thy Will the measure thou hast appointed for me II. TEach me O God to despise the world to labour for the true riches to seek the Kingdom of Heaven and its Righteousness to be content with what thou providest to be in this world like a stranger with affections set upon Heaven labouring for and longing after the possessions of thy Kingdom but never suffer my affections to dwell below but give me a heart compassionate to the poor liberal to the needy open and free in all my communications without base ends or greedy designs or unworthy arts of gain but let my strife be to gain thy favour to obtain the blessedness of doing good to others and giving to them that want and the blessedness of receiving from thee pardon and support grace and holiness perseverance and glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. For Tuesday A Prayer against Lust. I. O Eternal Purity thou art brighter than the Sun purer than the Angels and the Heavens are not clean in thy sight with mercy behold thy servant apt to be tempted with every object and to be overcome by every enemy I cannot O God stand in the day of battel and danger unless thou coverest me with thy shield and hidest me under thy wings The fiery darts of the Devil are ready to consume me unless the dew of thy grace for ever descend upon me Thou didst make me after thine image be pleased to preserve me so pure and spotless chast and clean that my body may be a holy Temple and my Soul a Sanctuary to entertain thy divinest Spirit the Spirit of love and holiness the Prince of Purities II. REprove in me the spirit of Fornication and Uncleanness and fill my Soul with holy fires that no strange fire may come into the Temple of my body where thou hast chosen to dwell O cast out all those unclean spirits which have unhallowed the place where thy holy feet have trod pardon all my hurtful thoughts all my impurities that I who am a member of Christ may not become the member of an harlot nor the slave of the Devil nor a servant of lust and unworthy desires but do thou purifie my love and let me seek the things that are above hating the garments spotted with the flesh never any more grieving the holy spirit by filthy inclinations with impure and phantastick thoughts but let my thoughts be holy my Soul pure my body chast and healthful my spirit severe devout and religious every day more and more that at the day of our appearing I may be presented to God washed and cleansed pure and spotless by the blood of the holy Lamb through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen For Wednesday A Prayer against Gluttony and Drunkenness I. O Almighty Father of Men and Angels who hast of thy great bounty provided plentifully for all mankind to support his state to relieve his necessities to refresh his sorrows to recreate his labours that he may praise thee and rejoice in thy mercies and bounty be thou gracious unto thy servant yet more and suffer me not by my folly to change thy bounty into sin thy grace into wantonness Give me the spirit of temperance and sobriety that I may use thy creatures in the same measures and to the same purposes which thou hast designed so as may best enable me to serve thee but not to make provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof Let me not as Esau prefer meat before a blessing but subdue my appetite subjecting it to reason and the grace of God being content with what is moderate and useful and easie to be obtained taking it in due time receiving it thankfully making it to minister to my body that my body may be a good instrument of the Soul and the Soul a Servant of thy Divine Majesty for ever and ever II. PArdon O God in whatsoever I have offended thee by meat and drink and pleasures and never let my body any more be oppressed with loads of sloth and delicacies or my Soul drowned in Seas of wine or strong drink but let my appetites be changed into spiritual desires that I may hunger after the food of Angels and thirst for the wine of elect Souls and may account it meat and drink and pleasure to do thy will O God Lord let me eat and drink so that my food may not become a temptation or a sin or a disease but grant that with so much caution and prudence I may watch over my appetite that I may in the strength of thy mercies and refreshments in the light of thy countenance and in the paths of thy Commandments walk before thee all the days of my life acceptable ot thee in Jesus Christ ever advancing his honour and being filled with his Spirit that I may at last partake of his glory through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen For Thursday A Prayer against Envy I. O Most gracious Father thou Spring of an eternal Charity who hast so loved mankind that thou didst open thy bosom and send thy holy Son to convey thy mercies to us and thou didst create Angels and Men that thou mightest have objects to whom thou mightest communicate thy goodness Give me grace to follow so glorious a precedent that I may never envy the prosperity of any one but rejoyce to honor him whom thou honourest to love him whom thou lovest to commend the vertuous to discern the precious from the vile giving honour to whom honour belongs that I may go to Heaven in the
noblest way of rejoycing in the good of others II. O Dear God never suffer the Devil to rub his vilest Leprosie of Envy upon me never let me have the affections of the desperate and damned let it not be ill with me when it is well with others but let thy holy Spirit so over-rule me for ever that I may pity the afflicted and be compassionate and have a fellow-feeling of my brother's sorrows and that I may as much as I can promote his good and give thee thanks for it and rejoice with them that do rejoice never censuring his actions curstly nor detracting from his praises spitefully nor upbraiding his infelicities maliciously but pleased in all things which thou doest or givest that I may then triumph in spirit when thy Kingdom is advanced when thy Spirit rules when thy Church is profited when thy Saiuts rejoice when the Devil's interest is destroyed truly loving thee and truly loving my brother that we may all together join in the holy Communion of Saints both here and hereafter in the measures of grace and glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen For Friday A Prayer against Wrath and inordinate Anger I. O Almighty Judge of Men and Angels whose anger is always the minister of Justice slow but severe not lightly arising but falling heavily when it comes give to thy servant a meek and a gentle spirit that I also may be slow to anger and easie to mercy and forgiveness Give me a wise and a constant heart that I may not be moved with every trifling mistake and inconsiderable accident in the conversation and entercourse of others never be moved to an intemperate anger for any injury that is done or offered let my anger ever be upon a just cause measured with moderation and reason expressed with charity and prudence lasting but till it hath done some good either upon my self or others II. LOrd let me be ever courteous and easie to be intreated never let me fall into a peevish or contentious spirit but follow peace with all men offering forgiveness inviting them by courtesies ready to confess my own errours apt to make amends and desirous to be reconciled Let no sickness or cross accident no imployment or weariness make me angry or ungentle and discontent or unthankful or uneasie to them that minister to me but in all things make me like unto the holy Jesus Give me the spirit of a Christian charitable humble merciful and meek useful and liberal complying with every chance angry at nothing but my own sins and grieving for the sins of others that while my passion obeys my reason and my reason is religious and my religion is pure and undefiled managed with humility and adorned with charity I may escape thy anger which I have deserved and may dwell in thy love and be thy Son and Servant for ever through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen For Saturday A Prayer against weariness in well-doing I. O My God merciful and gracious my Soul groans under the loads of its own infirmity when my spirit is willing my flesh is weak my understanding foolish and imperfect my will peevish listless my affections wandering after strange objects my fancy wild and unfixed all my senses minister to folly and vanity and though they were all made for Religion yet they least of all delight in that O my God pity me and hear me when I pray and make that I may pray acceptably Give me a love to Religion an unwearied spirit in the things of God Let me not relish or delight in the things of the world in sensual objects and transitory possessions but make my eyes look up to thee my Soul be filled with thee my spirit ravished with thy love my understanding imployed in the meditation of thy Law all my powers and faculties of Soul and Body wholly serving thee and delighting in such holy ministeries II. O Most glorious God what greater favour is there than that I may and what easier imployment can there be than to pray to thee to be admitted to thy presence and to represent our needs and that we have our needs supplied only for asking and desiring passionately and humbly But we rather quit our hopes of Heaven than buy it at the cheapest rate of humble prayer This O God is the greatest infirmity and infelicity of man and hath an intolerable cause and is an insufferable evil III. O Relieve my spirit with thy graciousness take from me all tediousness of spirit and give me a laboriousness that will not be tired a hope that shall never fail a desire of holiness not to be satisfied till it possesses a charity that will always increase that I making Religion the business of my whole life may turn all things into Religion doing all to thy glory and by the measures of thy Word and of thy Spirit that when thou shalt call me from this deliciousness of imployment and the holy mysteries of Grace I may pass into the imployment of Saints and Angels whose work it is with eternal joy and thanksgiving to sing praises to the mercies of the great Redeemer of Men and Saviour of Men and Angels Jesus Christ our Lord To whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be all honour and worship all service and thanks all Glory and Dominion for ever and ever Amen A Prayer to be said by a Maiden before she enters into the state of Marriage I O Most glorious God and my most indulgent Lord and gracious Father who dost bless us by thy bounty pardon us by thy mercy support and guide us by thy grace and govern us sweetly by thy providence I give thee most humble and hearty thanks that thou hast hitherto preserved me in my Virgin-state with innocence and chastity in a good name and a modest report It is thy goodness alone and the blessed emanation of thy holy Spirit by which I have been preserved and to thee I return all praise and thanks and adore and love thy goodness infinite II. AND now O Lord since by thy dispensation and over-ruling providence I am to change my condition and enter into the holy state of Marriage which thou hast sanctified by thy Institution and blessed by they Word and Promises and raised up to an excellent mystery that it might represent the Union of Christ and his Church be pleased to go along with thy servant in my entring into and passing through this state that it may not be a state of temptation or sorrow by occasion of my sins or infirmities but of holiness and comfort as thou host intended it to all that love and fear thy holy Name III. LOrd bless and preserve that dear person whom thou hast chosen to be my Husband let his life be long and blessed comfortable and holy and let me also become a great blessing and comfort unto him a sharer in all his joys a refreshment in all his sorrows a meet helper for him in all accidents and chances
I have trifled away so many of my Youngest days without knowing thee or taking any notice of those strict duties which I did owe unto thee that I was so long a Child in all things excepting Innocence and that only by an over-hasty Spring of early Wickedness I was more than a Child But I Repent O my God I Repent I Accuse and Judge and Condemn my self for it Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner III. Wo Wo unto me O God that as I grew up the seeds of Corruption which I brought with me into the world grew up along with me and by insensible degrees which I observed not Pride and Folly and Lust took Possession of me and Sin hath reigned in my mortal Body But I Repent O my God I Repent I am infinitely confounded at it Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner IV. Wo Wo unto me O God that being washed in the Waters of Baptism from the guilt of that Original Corruption which I brought with me into the World I have since that time so many ways actually defiled my self that I can no longer pretend by any former contract with thee that I am either a Child of thine a member of thy Christ or an heir of the Kingdom of Heaven But I Repent O my God I Repent I am utterly confounded at it Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner V. Wo unto me O God that having been received into the Bosom of thy Church which so many millions of Souls have not had the happiness to be I have ingratefully dishonoured thy holy Faith by an unholy Life and having so often confessed thee with my tongue I have denied thee in my life and actions But I Repent O my God I Repent I Accuse and Judge and Condemn my Self for it Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner VI. Wo Wo unto me O God that having abjured the Devil and all his works and given up my name to Christ to fight under the Banner of his Cross I have on the contrary treacherously complied with his Enemy in many things and shall be found I fear to have been more diligent in serving him than I have been in serving thee But I Repent O my God I Repent I am confounded and astonished at it Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner VII Wo Wo unto me O God that being obliged by that high calling of being a Christian to renounce the Pomps and Vanities of the World I have so infinitely failed in this that I have doted on nothing more for those very Vanities have been my Idols and my seduced Heart hath gone a Whoring after them But I Repent O my God I Repent I am ashamed and confounded at it Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner VIII Wo Wo unto me O God that being farther bound by that most Solemn Vow utterly to forsake the sinful Lusts of the Flesh I have instead of forsaking them pursued and hunted after them and when other temptations have failed have been apt enough to kindle my own Fire and to be a Tempter to my self But I Repent O my God I Repent I hate and loath and abhar my self for it Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner IX Wo Wo unto me O God that knowing thy revealed Will to be the Law to which I was bound in all obedience to submit my self I like an insolent Rebel have not only set up my own Will in opposition to thine but many times preferred it before thine and have listned more to the false Oracles of Flesh and Blood than to all thy Holy Commandments But I Repent O my God I Repent I Accuse and Judge and Condemn my self for it Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner X. Wo Wo unto me O God that being made according to thine Image the greatest honour that could be done thy Creature I have dashed so many blurs and spots and foul sins upon it so defaced all the lines and features of it that unless the Holy Spirit please to renew that Image in me again I tremble to think what I must one day hear Depart from me I know you not But I Repent O my God I Repent I am ashamed and confounded at it Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner XI Wo Wo unto me O God that having received a Rational Soul from thee to be a Moral Light and guide unto my actions I have been so brutish as to follow my sensual appetite instead of it and have made no farther use of Reason than to find out vain excuses to cozen my own Soul into all the by-ways of Sin and Errour But I Repent O my God I Repent I Accuse and Judge and Condemn my self for it Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner XII Wo Wo unto me O God that being endowed with Memory to serve as a Magazine to treasure up thy Precepts and holy Counsels in I have stuft it so miserably full with the Idea's of former Vanities and Sin that I have left no room for thee at all But I Repent O my God I Repent I infinitely condemn my self for it Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner XIII Wo Wo unto me O God that having received a Heart from thee to be the seat of clean and holy affections and the only Temple for thy holy Spirit to dwell in I have so unworthily abused and altered the property of it that it is now become a Den of Thieves and an unhandsome receptacle of all uncleanness But I Repent O my God I Repent I hate and loath and abhor my self for it Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner XIV Wo Wo unto me O God that my wretched Heart being corrupted my Imagination hath run wildly after with a swarm of vain and sinful Thoughts which like importunate Flies being driven away light again and again upon my destracted Soul and intermingle with the best of my Devotions But I Repent O my God I Repent I am infinitely troubled and grieved for it Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner XV. Wo Wo unto me O God that mine Eyes being greedy after Vanity have been upon all occasions as open windows to let in Sin but when by the same way they should have issued out Penitential Tears to wash away the stains those Sins had made there hath been no passage found for them But I Repent O my God I Repent I am inwardly grieved and deplore my self for it Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner XVI Wo Wo unto me O my God that for the entertaining of vain conversation I have left mine Ears too often open to light and vain and sinful discourses and in all my inquiries have hearkned more to what the world saith abroad than to what thy holy Spirit and my own Conscience saith within me But I Repent O my God I Repent I Accuse and Judge and Condemn my self for it Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner XVII Wo Wo unto me O God that I have not
resolved with thy Servant David to take care of my ways that I offend not in my tongue but have many times vainly and inconsiderately let it loose and either to please the Company or my self I have spoken words which might unhappily prove occasions of sin both to them and me without regard or remembring how great Flames such little sparks might kindle But I Repent O my God I Repent I do infinitely condemn my self for it Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner XVIII Wo Wo unto me O God that all the parts and faculties of my Soul and Body have been abused and have not served the Laws of their Creator but have so eagerly and constantly pursued the corrupt desires of a seduced Heart that I have cause to fear that either my whole life may be looked upon as one continued sin or at least as having admitted so few inconsiderable Pauses that if thou shouldst enter into strict Judgment with me I should not have the confidence to say when or where or wherein I have been innocent But I Repent O my God I Repent I am confounded and astonished at it Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner XIX Wo unto me O God that I have wretchedly failed even in my best endeavours that I have been cold in my Devotions weary of my Prayers inconstant to good purposes dull and heavy in the way to Heaven but quick and active in all the ways of sin having made it the whole business of my life rather to seem to be Religious than really to be so But I Repent O my God I Repent I Accuse and Judge and Condemn my self for it Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner XX. Wo Wo unto me O God that I have not washed mine hands in Innocency when I have gone unto thine Altar nor made mine heart ready to receive the bread that came from Heaven but have failed in my Preparations and have not sufficiently considered either mine own unworthiness or the high secrets of so great a Mystery But I Repent O my God I Repent I am grieved and troubled at it Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner XXI Wo Wo unto me O God that having so often received those inestimable Pledges of thy love the precious Body and Blood of thy dear Son in the Holy Sacrament I have been so unwary as to admit my former sins under the same roof with thee and have unhappily done what lay in me to drive thee from me But I Repent O my God I Repent I am infinitely ashamed at it Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner XXII Wo Wo unto me O God that my Repentance the only plank left me in the Shipwrack of my Soul hath been so weak so slight and so unsteady that every small blast of a new Temptation hath been able to drive me from it and by frequent Relapses into sin gives me cause enough to repent even of my vain repentance But I Repent again O God again I I Repent I hate and loath and abhor my self for it Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner XXIII Wo Wo unto me O God that having received my Life and Being and Preservation from thee with so many advantages to have made me happy in this world and blessed in the next I have been so abominably unthankful that I have cast all these thy Blessings behind me and returned thee nothing back for all thy favours but affronts and injuries and sins But I Repent O my God I Repent I am confounded and astonished at it Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner XXIV Wo wo unto me O God that being Redeemed by the Death and Passion of thy dear and only Son I have not laid his bitter Agonies to heart nor made right use of the precious Ransom which was laid down for me That I have not yet sued out my pardon with such Penitent Tears as thou requirest nor laid hold of the benefits of it by a lively Faith but have chosen rather stupidly to continue in my Sins and to neglect the Blood of the Covenant as an unholy thing But I Repent O my God I Repent I hate and loath and abhor my self for it Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner XXV Wo Wo unto me O God that thy Holy Spirit I have grieved thy Counsels I have rejected thy Motions I have quenched and have entertained the Lusts and Vanities nf this life with far more earnest and passionate affections than all thy Holy Inspirations But I Repent O my God I Repent I am utterly ashamed and confounded at it Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner XXVI Wo Wo unto me O God that having thus far opened my guilty heart before thee I have left so many Sins behind that I cannot number them some that I have really forgot some that I would forget if my Conscience would give me leave Sins known that I cannot conceal and sins secret such as I have taken so much care to hide from others that they are now become hidden from my self But whatsoever they are or wheresoever they are registred whether in my own Conscience or in any other Record that may be proved against me in the day of Judgment I call the whole Court of Heaven to witness That I do sadly Repent my self of them all That I do abhor my self for them all That I resolve stedfastly to renounce them all Lord be thou merciful to me a Sinner Amen Amen The Penitent Soul having made this or the like Confession prepares and stirs up it self to true Contrition WHat shall I say more unto thee O thou that art the Judge of the whole Earth or what shall I do more I have ransacked my breast and laid it open I have spread it before thee as Hezekiah the blaspheming Letter of his Enemy I do not desire that there should be so much as any fold or pleight or corner of it hidden from thee Or if this be not enough to transact this great business of my Soul between me and thee alone and that possibly I may flatter my self in the several acts of my intended Penitence I am ready to go farther and to make my self the more ashamed of sinning with all humility to confess these sins of mine to some of those servants of thine whom thou hast placed between mee and thee and to whom alone under thee thou hast so clearly given the power of Absolution O deal with me then as thou didst with thy Servant David who no sooner confessed his sins but thou forgavest him all his iniquities But are there not they who confess their sins and have the impudence to glory in them or at least pass them over without any act of real Contrition or any remorse at all But O my God if my heart deceive me not I am none of those for I can neither glory in my shame nor can I be satisfied with my self when I appear with dry eyes before thee After this Preparation these
Express Acts of Contrition may follow FOR I am grieved O my God I am grieved passionately heartily grieved that ever I offended thee That I the work of thy hands have sinned against thee my Maker That I the price of thy Blood have sinned against thee my Jesus who hadst so much love for me as to be content to die for me That I the chosen Temple of thy Holy Spirit have sinned against him who sanctified me For this I grieve and mourn and my heart is wounded within me And having done all this yet I have not done for still I am grieved grieved that I can grieve no more that my Head is not a continual Spring and mine Eyes Fountains of Tears Wo is me wretch as I am that I who have been so easie so forward so eager to sin should not be so untoward so heavy so unable to repent Wo is me that I should be still so drowsie so dead asleep in sin that I should not be yet awake and sensible of the condition I am in O that I had died before my unworthy Soul had given way to those strst sins which hath drawn so foul a Train after them But O my God though I cannot wait on thee among the Innocent yet deny me not a room among the Penitent Remember O my God that though Ahab had sold himself to work wickedness yet because he Prayed and Fasted and humbled himself before thee thou hadst so much regard even of this outward Penitence of his as to promise not to bring the evil upon him in his days But Lord if my heart deceives me not I do not only outwardly and seemingly but really and cordially Repent And therefore for the evil that I have deserved O my God rather let the punishment light upon me in this world than in the next Rather let me perform the Penance of my Tears here than reserve it for that sad time when a whole Sea of Tears will do no good And having said all this if my Repentance be yet imperfect as I know it cannot but want many grains if weighed in this just balance let the bitter Sufferings of thy dear Son Jesus be cast into the Scale and then I shall not fear if thou enter into Judgment with me But of my self O God I am utterly unable and which way to satisfie thee I know not I dare not say so much as the Servant in the Gospel did Master have patience with me and I will pay thee all But rather Master have patience with me for I can pay thee nothing at all unless thy bounty be so great as to give it me to pay thee I can Fast from a meal sometimes though it be with much ado and I can Pray though coldly enough and if the fit and qualm of my Devotion holds out longer I can strain for a Tear or two to sprinkle upon my dry Devotions But should I fast my self into Air and Emptiness and weep my self into Water should I tear the skin from this sinsul Flesh of mine I should never be able to satisfie for the least of those Millions of Millions of sins which through the several moments of my life either ignorantly or knowingly weakly or wilfully I have sinned against thee What I have transgressed against others I am not only sorry for but ready as far as my power will reach to satisfie But for my sins against thee my God I must lay my hand upon my mouth for ever for I have nothing to return or answer But the comfort is and blessed shall be my Soul if rightly I lay hold on it that it is thou O my blessed Jesu who hast satisfied for me one drop of whose blood is enough to satisfie for the sins of a thousand worlds And this being so will thy offended Eather be so rigorous as to require the same payment again Especially will he require it of me a poor a broken and a bankrupt Sinner Canst thou exact the utmost farthing of him who hath not a mite of his own to pay thee The Transition which the Penitent makes from the Acts of Contrition to the Acts of Resolution for amendment of life without which all sorrow for Sin is in vain BUT because by thy infinite Mercy O my God thou hast satisfied for me already shall I therefore fold my Arms and sit down and do nothing towards it Or which is worse shall I go on Shall I continue in my Sins that Grace may abound Now God forbid No I here resolve rather to die the Death than ever wilfully to sin against thee more I do here resolve utterly to avoid the temptations and approaches towards those former sins which have hitherto so miserably betrayed me I do here resolve thy holy Spirit assisting me upon all the duties of a new life to be hereafter more wary in my ways and more constant to good resolutions to love thee above all the pleasures and interests of this life and sadly to consider what an infinite loser I should be if to gain all that my corrupt heart desires I should lose thee If after all this I should be so miserably forgetful both of my self and thee as shamefully to relapse into any of those sins which I have now repented of I do here once more resolve to abhor and loath my self for it and not to let my Conscience sleep or admit of any rest till I have with bitter tears and a sharp reiterated Repentance obtained my pardon Having thus far made his Resolution the Penitent betakes himself to Prayer AND now O thou great Searcher of all Hearts who seest that I am of my self weak and mutable and no better than a Reed shaken with the wind O shew thy strength in my weakness fasten and confirm me in these good purposes and so bind them with Cords unto thine Altar that I may never start from thee more or be any longer of that Herd whose good resolutions are as a dream in the night or if they last longer they are but as the next morning dew and as soon vanish away O give me the Resolution of thy Servant Joshua I and my house will serve the Lord. O give me the Heart of thy Servant David who so passionately makes his Protestations I will take no wicked thing in hand I hate the sins of unfaithfulness there shall no such cleave unto me I will walk in my house with a perfect heart I have sworn and am stedfastly purposed to keep thy righteous Judgements Lord I am not able to think one of these good thoughts without thee much less to resolve upon them But I who without thee am able to do nothing may venture to say as thine Apostles did that in thee I am able to do all things Lord give me the strength to do what thou requirest and then require of me what thou pleasest Amen After these Resolutions the Penitent prepares himself with an humble Soul and bended knees to beg Pardon O The God of
my life and the unexhausted Fountain of Mercy which can never be drawn dry I have now by the assistance of thy holy Spirit gone through though with weak and trembling steps the whole exercise of Repentance for I have confessed my sins and thou hast promised upon my confession of them not to impute them to me I have gone one step farther for I have repented of my sins and thou hast promised again that upon my repentance thou wilt remember them no more and because thy holy Word hath taught me that a new life is the only life of a true Repentance I have this day in thy sight and in the presence of all the Holy Angels that attend thee in the Conversion of a Sinner made my firm resolution never to fall again into the sins which I have repented of And now what remains for a poor Penitent to do more but humbly and earnestly to beg thy Pardon The Penitent's Prayer O God the Father who canst not be thought so cruel as to make me only to destroy me Have mercy on me O God the Son who knowing thy Father's Will didst make it thy business to come into the world to save me Have mercy on me O God the Holy Ghost who to the same end didst sanctifie me in my Baptism and hast so often since breathed holy thoughts and motions on me Have mercy on me O Holy and Blessed and Glorious Trinity whom in three Persons I adore as my one and onely true God Have mercy on me Hear me O Lord. Help me O Lord. Save me or else I perish Lord carest thou not that I perish Thou that wouldest have all men saved Thou who wouldst have none to perish And wilt thou now shew thine anger against a Worm against a Leaf against a Vapour that vanisheth before thee O remember how short my time is and deliver not my Soul into the power of Hell For alas what profit is there in my Bloud or who shall ever give thee thanks in that bottomless pit No let me live in thy sight let me live O my God that my Soul may praise thee Forget me as I have been disobedient provoking thee to anger and regard me as I am distressed crying out to thee for help Look not upon me as I am a Sinner but consider me as I am thy Creature A Sinner I am I confess a Sinner of no ordinary strain but let not this hinder thee O my God for upon such sinners thou gettest the greatest glory O remember for whose sake it was that thou camest from the bosom of thy Father and didst let thy self down so low as to be content to be born of thine own humble handmaid Remember for whom it was that thy tender body was Torn Scourged and Crucified and thy precious Blood shed Was it not for the sins of the whole world and shall I be so narrow-hearted to my own Soul or so injurious to thy Glory as to think that in all this crowd thou hast particularly excepted me Or which is as great a dishonour to thee can I possibly imagine that thou diedst only for Sinners of a lower kind and leftest such as I am without remedy What had become then of him who filled Jerusalem with blood What of the noted Woman who had lived in a trade of Sin Nay what had become of thine own Disciple who with Oaths and Curses thrice denied thee O how easie is it for thee to forgive for it is thy Nature How proper is it for thee to save for it is thy Name How suitable is it to thy only End of coming into the World for it is thy Business And when I consider that I am the chief of Sinners may I not urge the Father and say Shall the very chief of thy business be left undone Mercy Mercy good Lord. I ask not of thee any longer the things of this world neither Power nor Honours nor Riches nor Pleasures No my God dispose of them to whom thou pleasest so that thou givest me Mercy O that I could hear thee once say as thou didst to him in the Gospel My Son be of good chear thy Sins are forgiven thee How would my drooping Spirits revive at such a sound and my now wounded Soul break forth into Hymns and Praises and Hallelujahs for a mercy so utterly undeserved of me and which the Angels which fell could never hear of But O my weak Soul what dost thou fear or what dost thou scruple at For thou art not yet in such a desperate condition but thou mayest expect that what was said to him may possibly be said to thee Nay be confident though it be with a mixture of fear and trembling that if thou dost not act the part of an Hypocrite all this while thy Saviour stands ready at the very doors of thy Heart to breath the very same words in a heavenly whisper to thee Be of good chear thy Sins are forgiven thee Return then unto thy rest O my Soul for thy Sins are forgiven thee Only take this Counsel along with thee Sin no more lest a worse thing fall unto thee O that I could never sin against thee more never purposely deliberately wilfully sin against thee more And for those sins of daily Incursion those over-familiar corruptions of my nature which thou hast not yet given me strength enough to conquer Lord either subdue them to me by degrees or lay them not to my charge But wherein soever my Conscience most accuseth me therein O my God be thou most merciful unto me Save me O God as a Brand snatched out of the Fire Receive me O my Jesu as a Sheep that hath wandred but is now returned to the great Shepherd and Bishop of my Soul The Jubile of the Penitent Soul after the sense of Pardon obtained REjoyce over me O God the Father that this thy Child was lost but is found was dead but is alive again Rejoyce over me O God the Son that thy loud Cries and Tears and bitter Agonies which for my sake thou enduredst upon the Cross were â—…ot so unhappily lost as to be cast away in vain upon me Rejoyce over me O God the Holy Ghost that thy so many secret and powerful touches have at last got the upper hand of me Rejoyce over me O ye holy Angels a great part of whose Ministery it is to rejoyce at the Conversion of a Sinner Rejoyce over thy self O my Soul that thou hast received so much grace from Heaven this day as sadly to confess thy Sins seriously to repent of them and stedfastly to resolve never to be guilty more of so much bruitishness as to be likened to the Dog that returns to his Vomit or to the Swine wallowing in the Mire The Penitent closeth all with this short Prayer LET this day O my God be noted in thy Book Do not thou forget my Prayers nor suffer me to forget my Resolutions For though I am weak though I am unworthy though I
is full and mixt And must be drunk Wormwood and Gall To this are draughts to beguile care withall Yet the Decree is fixt Doubled knees and groans and cries Prayers and sighs and flowing eyes Could not intreat His sad Soul sunk Under the heavy pressure of our sin The pains of Death and Hell About him dwell His Fathers burning wrath did make His very heart like melting wax to sweat Rivers of Blood Through the pure strainer of his skin His boyling body stood Bubling all o're As if the wretched whole were but one door To let in pain and grief And turn out all relief O thou who for our sake Didst drink up This bitter Cup Remember us we pray In thy day When down The strugling throats of wicked men The dregs of thy just fury shall be thrown Oh then Let thy unbounded mercy think On us for whom Thou underwent'st this heavy doom And give us of the Well of Life to drink Amen On the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin A Winged Harbinger from bright Heav'n flown Bespeaks a lodging-room For the mighty King of Love The spotless structure of a Virgin-womb O're-shadow'd with the wings of the blest Dove For he was travelling to earth But did desire to lay By the way That he might shift his cloaths and be A perfect man as well as we How good a God have we who for our sake To save us from the burning lake Did change the order of Creation At first he made Man like himself in his own Image now In the more blessed reparation The Heaven's bow Eternity took the measure of a span And said Let us make our self like Man And not from Man the Woman take But from the Woman Man Allelujah we adore His Name whose goodness hath no store Allelujah Easter-day WHat glorious light How bright a Sun after so sad a night Does now begin to dawn Bless'd were those eyes That did behold This Sun when he did first unfold His glorious beams and now begin to rise It was the holy tender Sex That saw the first ray Saint Peter and the other had the reflex The second glimpse o' th' day Innocence had the first and he That fled and then did penance next did see The glorious Sun of Righteousness In his new dress Of triumph immortality and bliss O dearest God preserve our Souls In holy innocence Or if we do amiss Make us to rise again to th' life of Grace face That we may live with thee and see thy glorious The Crown of holy Penitence Allelujah On the Day of Ascension HE is risen higher not set Indeed a cloud Did with his leave make bold to shrowd The Sun of Glory from Mouut Olivet At Pentecost hee'I shew himself again When every ray shall be a tongue To speak all comforts and inspire Our Souls with their coelestial fire That we the Saints among May sing and love and reign Amen On the Feast of Pentecost or Whitsunday TOngues of fire from Heaven descend With a mighty rushing wind To blow it up and make A living fire Of heavenly Charity and pure desire Where they their residence should take On the Apostles sacred heads they sit Who now like Beacons do proclaim and tell Th' invasion of the host of Hell And give men warning to defend Themselves from the inraged brunt of it Lord let the flames of holy Charity And all her gifts and graces slide Into our hearts and there abide That thus refined we may soar above With it unto the element of Love Even unto thee dear Spirit And there eternal peace and rest inherit Amen Penitential Hymns I. LOrd I have sinn'd and the black number swells To such a dismal sum That should my stony heart and eyes And this whole sinful trunk a flood become And run to tears their drops could not suffice To count my score Much less to pay But thou my God hast blood in store And art the Patron of the poor Yet since the Balsame of thy blood Although it can will do no good Unless the wounds be cleans'd with tears before Thou in whose sweet but pensive face Laughter could never steal a place Teach but my heart and eyes To melt away And then one drop of Balsam will suffice Amen II. GReat God and just how canst thou see Dear God our misery And not in mercy set us free Poor miserable man how wert thou born Weak as the dewy jewels of the Morn Wrapt up in tender dust Guarded with sins and lust Who like Court-flatterers wait To serve themselves in thy unhappy fate Wealth is a snare and poverty brings in Inlets for theft paving the way for sin Each perfum'd vanity doth gently breath Sin in thy Soul and whispers it to death Our faults like ulcerated sores do go O're the sound flesh and do corrupt that too Lord we are sick spotted with sin Thick as a crusty Leper's skin Like Naaman bid us wash yet let it be In streams of blood that flow from thee Then will we sing Touch'd by the heavenly Dove 's bright wing Hallelujabs Psalms and Praise To God the Lord of night and days Ever good and ever just Ever high who ever must Thus be sung is still the same Eternal praises crown his Name Amen A Prayer for Charity FUll of Mercy full of Love Look upon us from above Thou who taught'st the blind man's night To entertain a double light Thine and the day's and that thine too The Lame away his Crutches threw The parched crust of Leprosie Return'd unto its infancy The Dumb amazed was to hear His own unchain'd tongue strike his ear Thy powerful mercy did even chase The Devil from his usurp'd place Where thou thy self should'st dwell not he O let thy love our pattern be Let thy Mercy teach one Brother To forgive and love another That copying thy Mercy here Thy Goodness may hereafter rear Our Souls unto thy glory when Our Dust shall cease to be with â—…en Amen The End John 17.3 1 John 2. 23. Deut. 6. 2. Exod. 20. 2 3. Rev. 1.4 Psal. 90. 2. 1 Tim. 1. 17. Gen. 1. 1. Exod. 20. 11. Heb. 3. 4. Isa. 40. 12. Job 42. 2 3. Psal. 139. 1 c. Psal. 147. 5. Exod. 34. 6 7. 1 Tim. 6. 1 16. John 4. 24 1 King 8. 27. Amos 3. 6. Psal. 139. 1 9. Acts 7. 48 49. PS 2. 4. 103. 16. 115. 3. Isa. 11. 4. 44. 6. Job 9.4 c. Deut. 32. 39. Gen. 18. 25. Deut. 32.4 Exod 34. 7. Psal. 103. 8. 25. 8. 86. 5. Psal. 51. 2 Jam. 1.17 Heb. 11.6 Mat. 28.19 Joh. 14. 16 26. 15. 26. 1 Cor. 12. 4 5 6. 2 Cor. 13 13. 1 John 5. 7. 1 John 1. 18. 3. 16. Luke 24. 49. Acts 1. 4. 3. 33. Colos. 1. 16. Acts 1. 7. 24. 1 Cor. 8. 6. 1 Cor. 6. 18. Gal. 1. 4. Phil. 2. 22. Dan. 2. 47. Zach. 4. 14. 14. 9. Mat. 11. 25. Psal. 145. 10 11. Acts 14. 15. Gen.