and Sermon O Thou who livest for ever and ever I have pray'd I have heard thy Word I have joyn'd with thy People in their Supplications and Prayers If thou Lord shouldest mark Iniquities who shall stand Pardon I beseech thee the iniquities of my holy things and what imperfections thou hast seen in my Devotions cover them with the unspotted righteousness of Christ Jesus and cleanse them with his Bloud Cast me not away from thy presence neither take thy holy Spirit from me Accept of my imperfect Services and make me more circumspect in all my ways Let thy Word be written in my heart and let neither the cares nor riches nor pleasures of the world steal it away O give me thy Grace to walk according to this rule through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Morning-Prayer for a Family O God great and glorious the Day is thine and the Night is thine thou hast made Summer and Winter thou hast made the out-goings of the Morning and Evening to rejoyce How great is thy loving kindness therefore the Children of men shall put their trust under the shadow of thy Wings We praise thee O God we acknowledge thee to be the Lord. Thou art the great preserver of men Thou hast protected us the night past and through thy mercy we have escaped innumerable dangers thou hast been our refuge our hiding place our fortress and our deliverer One Generation shall praise thy Works unto another and declare thy mighty acts We see thy goodness again in the land of the living Thou hast spread thy Wings over us thou hast covered us with thy Feathers Thou knowest our frame and remembrest we are dust Thou knowest how unable we are to keep our selves and therefore hast taken care of us and unto this moment thy favours and loving kindnesses rest upon our Souls and Bodies O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and declare his wonderful works to the Children of men We cannot but remember how like a Father thou hast pitied us all our days We have always found thy help in the time of trouble How precious are thy thoughts which are to us ward they cannot be reckon'd up in order unto thee If we would declare and speak of them they are more than can be numbred What Sacrifices of thanksgiving are we bound to offer unto thee for thy love to our Souls in Christ Jesus for the assistances of thy Holy Spirit for thy Word and Ordinances and for all the encouragements we have to lay hold on eternal life O make us sensible of thy goodness Let us see how sweet and how gracious thou art and let this sight work in us a perfect hatred of sin and a fervent love to the ways of holiness Discover to us the errours of our ways Reveal to us our secret corruptions Let not only greater but even all lesser sins become odious and loathsom to our Souls Establish us with thy grace uphold us with thy free Spirit Leave us not to our selves rule us by thy power direct us by thy wisdom Enable us to do thy will Encourage us to cleanse our selves from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit and whatever things are praise-worthy let 's not onely think of them but practise them Give us earnest desires to imitate the best of mankind Let 's delight greatly in thy Commandments Lord open the eyes of our Understandings that we may look more earnestly upon the spiritual riches thou hast vouchsafed unto us and may be enamour'd with them and despise the vanities of the world and set our affections upon the things which are above and may at last obtain the end of our Faith even the salvation of our Souls Be with us this following day Make us watchful over our senses Work in us a detestation of all filthy discourses and of all the ill we see in the world Teach us how to live in thy fear and whatever sin we are tempted to let 's tremble at it and say how can we commit this wickedness and sin against our God! Let thy holy Angels keep us in all our ways Order our steps according to thy Word Direct and guide our thoughts and words and actions Bless all our lawful endeavours Cross and disappoint us in that which is offensive to thy holiness Prosper that which is expedient for us Give us courage and wisdom discretion and resolution in our behaviour toward God and men and let 's use the world as if we used it not Keep our thoughts fixed upon a better life that whenever thou shalt call us away from hence we may be ready and willing to obey thy Summons through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Here the Prayers for the King Royal Family Church c. may be added An Evening Prayer for a Family MOst holy and ever-glorious God! how excellent is thy Name in all the World Thou art to be seen in all thy works and we have seen thee the day past in thy various Mercies and gracious Providences for which we do here render our most humble and hearty thanks O God! who is like unto thee For though thou dwellest on high yet thou humblest thy self to behold the ways of the Children of men What are we that thou shouldest take notice of us or what is our frame that thou shouldest have such respect unto us We see thy condescention and admire it We see thy loving kindnesses and praise thy Name Thy Mercy reacheth unto the Heavens thy Faithfulness unto the Clouds Thou givest unto us all that our Hearts and Faith and Reason can desire What a glorious gift is the Son of thy bosom what rich Presents are thy Promises how industrious is thy Providence to engage our hearts to love thee yet how backward are we to this duty How loath to raise our Souls above the world How unwilling to take thee for our greatest treasure We say and speak glorious things of thee now and then but we feel them not O touch our hearts and warm them with the fire of the Sanctuary and let 's know no other thing than to love thee with all our hearts and with all our Souls Be thou the pleasing object of our Souls and let 's be displeased with nothing but what displeases thee Teach us to neglect our own will that we may the better comply with thine and let 's walk by this golden Rule to speak little to think little and to do much Thou hast done great things for us denied thy self in thy glory majesty and splendor to do us good let 's therefore scruple nothing that thou commandest and give us strength to do what thou commandest and then command what thou pleasest Enable us to act and speak and live as in thy presence where-ever we are and whatever we are doing and let 's so live in the world as not to be of the world Let no condition thou shalt call us out unto be uneasie or unpleasant to us and whenever thou shalt think
Billows that dash my resolutions O thou whose power is infinite open thy Store-house and furnish me with Weapons to defend my self against all assaults from the world or the Devil O strengthen these feeble Knees Hold up these weary Hands I desire to follow thee let thy Spirit list me up and cause me to run Touch my Will with thy Scepter that it may bow to thy Commands Manifest thy Power in my weakness give me courage to purpose and to fulfil my purposes When I would flinch in my resolutions do thou support me When my Will would start back like a broken Bow come in with thy Salvation Endow me with power from on high through thee I shall do valiantly through thee I shall be able to overcome all difficulties O leave not my Soul in misery Send from above and take me draw me out of many Waters send out thine Arrows and scatter my vain Imaginations With thee I will run through a Troop by my God will I leap over Walls and Impediments Quicken me O Lord for thy Names sake and for thy Righteousness sake bring my Soul out of trouble Teach me to do thy will for thou art my God thy Spirit is good lead me into the Land of uprightness for thy mercies sake for Christ's sake Amen A Prayer relating to Exercise 3. viz. Every day to spend half an hour or some such time in thinking of good things O Thou whose Wisdom cannot by searching be found out who hast made me a rational creature and given me power to think of all thy wondrous Works What excellent Objects dost thou set before me Objects to delight and edifie my Soul O that my ways were directed to keep thy Statutes O that my Soul might ever dwell beside those still Waters O teach me the art of Meditation Give me a large and apprehensive Mind Awaken my slumbring Soul Encourage it to fix upon adequate objects My Soul is a Spirit O let it delight in things agreeable to its nature Since my Mind must be busie about something let it be employed in things that make for its everlasting Peace Oh! how fickle are my Thoughts how inconstant my Contemplations How soon and how easily is my Mind drawn away from spiritual things To thee I flee O hide me to save me Let my Treasure be in Heaven that my Heart may be there also O spiritualize my Affections that they may delight to be where thou art Let spiritual Objects become lovely amiable and charming in my eyes Did I love them I should think of them Were they dear and precious to me how could I forbear contemplating of them O let their beauty appear to me Take away the Veil from my Face which hinders me from seeing him that 's altogether lovely Encline my heart to thy Testimonies Anoint mine Eyes with Eye-falve that I may see greater loveliness in things that are not seen than in those which are seen My Understanding is dark O enlighten it Clarifie it with thy Beams Let me hate vain Thoughts but thy Law let me love O let me not grudge the time that I spend in Meditation Assure me that this is Balsom to my Soul and that by these means the lines will fall to me in pleasant places and I shall have a goodly Heritage The righteousness of thy Testimonies is everlasting O give me understanding and I shall live There is Beauty there is Satisfaction there is Life in spiritual Objects O let me find them sweeter than honey unto my taste Discover those riches to me that I may look upon them and despise the glittering Treasures of Egypt These are deceitful things These allure indeed but afford no lasting comfort O give me a fight of that Wealth which is not liable to Corruption I shall find it in the Mysteries of the Gospel Thou hast said the pure in Heart shall see God O purifie my Soul from fleshly Lusts which war against it that I may see and discern what thou hast laid up for them that fear thee and seeing it may long after an eternal fruition of the Light of thy Countenance through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Prayer relating to Exercise 4. viz. To study deep Humility O Thou Lofty and Holy one who inhabitest Eternity and dwellest in the high and holy place with him also that is of an humble spirit Whether shall I go but to thee who hast the words of eternal life How shall I get this humble Spirit but by thy power and influence Ah! how proud is my Heart how loth am I to submit to thy will how loth to think ill of my self how loth to bear injuries how loth to converse with thy poor members How loth to be sensible of my errours How loth to acknowledge a fault And yet all this while I believe that thou beholdest the proud afar off and that nothing is more abominable in thy sight How apt am I to admire my self How apt to harbour high conceits of my endowments How apt to hunt after the praise of men And what is all this but Wind What is it but Smoak and Air and Vanity How suddenly do these things grow and how suddenly do they die again How sensual how carnal must that Soul be that minds such things How void of a sense of greater beauties how little affected how little touched with the honour that comes from God! How weak in Grace how feeble in Religion that hath not learned yet to leap over such Straws This is my case O Lord I am that weak that empty Soul and yet unwilling to confess that I am proud and vain and lifted up Pity me O my God make me sensible how far I am from the Kingdom of God till Humility brings me neerer Crush whatever proud Thoughts and Desires thou spyest in me O put me in mind of my Duty whenever any vain thoughts rise in my Soul Pull down in me all Imaginations that exalt themselves against Christ Jesus O let not my Heart be haughty nor mine Eyes lofty neither let me exercise my self in things too high for me Give me a sight of mine own vileness Let me not be cheated with false colours Let thy greatness overaw my Soul Let the example of my Saviour work upon me How shall I be his Disciple and think of my self above what I ought to think Let God arise and let all my vain Conceits of mine own worth be scattered What am I but a handful of Dust What am I but a Beggar and thy pensioner and who lives upon thy charity O let these thoughts subdue my Soul Make me as ambitious of an humble Spirit and lowly Mind as others are of the greatness and admiration of the world Humility will make me great and honourable in thy sight Let that honour content me let that priviledge satisfie my Soul O let a deep sense of my guilt humble me Then shall I with the Penitent Prodigal be welcome in my Fathers house and my Soul shall live
set before me may be content to do and suffer cheerfully whatever in thy Wisdom thou shalt think fit to charge me with Come Lord make a Reformation in this poor blind distressed miserable Soul my Faith is weak my Hope is weak my Love is weak my Charity is weak One word of thy mouth would put vigour and life into me The same Word that made the Sun shine out in the first Creation would make my Graces bright and that Sentence Let there be Light spoken to my Soul would change the dark Chaos into a Globe of light O make goodness habitual in my Soul O that it might be an everlasting inhabitant in me O that my Soul might become its proper Seat its Palace its Tabernacle from which it might never depart Ah! how inconstant is my Zeal Hot I am to day and cold to morrow Sometime I seem to lay force on the everlasting Kingdom a little while after I fall in love again with the world O destroy this weed of inconstancy in my Garden All this comes from the weakness of my Vertues Hence it is that I am not the same every where And I that am bold in one place to stand up for thy glory am a Coward in another Where is thy mighty Arm O Lord Where are thy Bowels Fill my languishing Soul with strength from above and with wisdom from above that I may encrease and abound more and more in love Perfect what thou hast begun in me Let Meekness and Humility and all the graces of the Holy Ghost become natural to me O that they were incorporated with my temper O that they were so riveted into my Soul that I might not be able to act contrary to them O that I might find as great a reluctancy when I am tempted to neglect them as formerly I found when thy Spirit commanded me to performe them O how sweet a frame do these Graces put the Soul into O that I could say that thus it is with me Sweet Jesu be not tired with taking pains with this miserable Soul Thou hast been prodigiously kind to me O be not weary of being farther gracious favourable O let me find by blessed experience that I grow in Grace and that thy Commandments are no longer grievous to me that every thing in thy service becomes more easie and that what formerly was a burden to me is now pure pleasure and delight to my Soul O my God gild my Soul once more with thy radiant Beams and establish my heart unblamable in Holiness at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen A Prayer relating to Exercise 15. viz. Every night before we go to bed to call our selves to an account for the Actions of the day O God who searchest the Heart and the Reins How deceitful is my Heart How many are the ways that lead to destruction How innumerable are the Wiles of the Devil yet by thy light they may all be discovered and their danger perceived and their ill intent laid open How small an Atome doth the bright light of the Sun make visible Therefore that light which thou vouchsafest to an humble mind must be supposed far more effectual to manifest all the Stratagems of the powers of darkness O my God make me willing to see the designs of my Spiritual Enemies against me that I may resist them oppose and overcome them My Heart is a Field where many Tares are mix'd with the wholesome Wheat If I search not how shall those Tares be rooted up If I examine not what can I expect but that like the Field of the slothful and like the Vineyard of the man void of Understanding it will be all grown over with Thorns and Nettles will cover the face thereof Shall I say a little sleep a little more slumber till my Poverty come on like an armed man O my God let my greatest care be that thou and my Soul be friends But how shall I know thou art my Friend except I examine my Soul and see what tokens of thy love I find there O let me not be afraid to know my Thoughts my Words my Actions my Inclinations If I know they are evil I may reform them If I find they are good I may rejoyce in them O teach me the art of searching my heart Let me not continue a stranger to my self Let it be a pleasure to me to take notice how I thrive in Grace Let me know my danger O keep me from wandring in the dark Let me see how I go astray that I may get into the right way again Convince me of the easiness and pleasantness of this task O let me not think it a burthen to my Soul I have dwelt too long in the Suburbs of Religion O perswade me to enter into the City which hath foundations Let the reward that is before me be a strong motive to me to put on the whole Armour of God O how sweet will it be to me to see thy assistances the incomes of thy Grace the influences of thy Spirit my progress in goodness the abatement of my sins the decay of my corruptions and my nearer approach to Heaven If I examine my heart all this will be made manifest to me for thou wilt teach me the way of life and in thy light I shall see light through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Prayer relating to Exercise extraordinary 1. viz. To enter into solemn Vows and Promises O Blessed Jesu to whom I have so often promised Faithfulness and Allegiance and Obedience How justly mayest thou look upon me betwixt pity and anger as thou didst upon Peter when he had most shamefully denied thee And O that thy looks might have the same effect upon me that they had upon thy Apostle and I might weep bitterly For how light have I made of my most solemn Promises How have I sought to impose upon thee O my God! How have I evaded the obligations my resolutions have laid upon me and sometimes downright broke those Promises Ah treacherous creature that I am how can I expect thou shouldest perform thy Promises made to me when I am so careless of observing and performing of mine to thee Thou art of infinite patience therefore I am not yet destroyed Hence forward when I promise thee let thy Majesty Greatness Justice and Holiness prevail with me to break with thee no more O let me not think because thou art silent and doest not presently punish my perfidiousness that thou art altogether such a one as my self O instruct me that I may entertain greater thoughts of thee If I enter into a Vow at any time assist me powerfully with thy Spirit that I may act according to the word that is gone out of my Lips As I make thee my Judge and Witness in my Vows so let me remember that my Witness is omniscient and my Judge hath Magazines of Vengeance at command Let me undergo any inconvenience rather than be false to my Engagements O keep
me by thy Mighty Power that my heart may be treacherous no more O let me remember what Mercies I expect at thy hands and let me not forfeit my Right to thy Favour When I binde my Soul let me think that nothing can untie it but thy self O preserve in my mind a just sense of my Duty and of the necessity of pleasing thee Let me abhor every thought that would prompt me to violate this Sacred Bond. O let me look upon it as a most holy thing and let me dread all prophanation of it As I designe O Lord by these Vows to bring up my Will to thy Will so be thou entreated to second my designes and to keep my Soul that I yield not to Temptations of perfidiousness but may Triumph over my Corruptions and be more than a Conquerour thorough him that loved me the Lord Jesus Christ to whom with thee and the Holy Spirit be all Honour and Glory World without end Amen A Prayer relating to Exercise extraordinary 2. viz. To subdue the Body by Fasting O Holy and most Merciful Saviour who hast given us the best Religion the wholesomest Rules of living the most equitable Precepts that were ever given to the children of men while I admire thy Mercy I cannot but bewail mine own Misery While I wonder at thy goodness and tenderness to my Soul I cannot but deplore my backwardness to the stricter Duties of Christianity How loth am I to curb this Body How loth to bring my Flesh in subjection How apt am I to flatter my self that Heaven will come cheaper than at the price of Mortification O when will these vain Imaginations leave me When shall I get the temper of thy dearest Servants How slavishly do I serve thee How apt am I to make Bargains with thee and to limit my obedience I want that free that Princely Spirit that fervent love which may think nothing too good for Heaven Lord shew me the vanity of my over tenderness to this dying Body I am sensible that when I feed it high it teaches my Soul to rebel against thee O let me not be afraid of the Arguments it gives me to spare my self These are but pretences the designe is to preserve its own ease and quiet in Sin and Vanity Let me see through all these Cobwebs and perswade me to keep under my Body lest I become a cast away Let my Fasts have those good effects upon me which they have had upon thy Saints of old Let my Lusts dye my Corruptions decay my Vanities become odious to me Let Holiness become sweet the Light of thy Countenance pleasant and the Influences of thy Grace ravishing to my Soul Let my abstinence from Food work in me abstinence from evil Let it prove a means to make my Prayers fervent my Devotion quick my Mind clear my Affections lively that I may at last enjoy the Festivals of Angels and eat and drink with my blessed Master at his Table in his Kingdom then shall I fast from sin for ever then shall I fast from all Temptations Then shall I hunger no more after the meat that perisheth Then shall I thirst no more after the muddy Streams of sensual Satisfactions Then my hunger shall be refined into fruition my thirst exalted into Enjoyments such as Abana and Pharpar cannot give and the Rivers of Damascus and of Jordan too fall short of then I shall need no Provision for this Body Then my Flesh will long no more after forbidden fruit then I shall feed on thy love for ever that will be my Meat and Drink that will be better tome than all the Trees of a terrestrial Paradise that will nourish me more than Milk and Honey that will give me a more cheerful Countenance than the bloud of the Grape then I shall need to take care no more about what I shall eat or what I shall drink or wherewithal I shall be cloathed Righteousness will be my Garment then and Holiness everlasting Holiness my Robe of Glory Amen Amen A Prayer relating to Exercise extraordinary 3. viz. To use Watching or Abstinence from Sleep O God incomprehensible and glorious whose Providence watches over me day and night O Shepherd of Israel who neither slumberest nor sleepest and whose Eyes are always open for my good What hard thoughts have I had of thy service How unwieldy have I been under thy stricter Precepts How afraid have I been to hurt my self What pains have I taken for the World and how irk some have thy Precepts been to my Soul O let it suffice that I have so long followed mine own will and for the future let even thy severest Laws be my delight and comfort Thou hast given me thine onely Son to die for my sins and can I after this mercy think much of denying my self in mine ease for thy service O teach me to use moderation in all things and even in my sleep to express my self-denial I know O Lord that without the assistance of thy Spirit my Nature is slothful and my Temper backward to such mortifications To thee I come therefore with humble Desires with fervent Affections and with earnest Entreaties that thou wouldest conquer the Flesh in me and crush that Rebel by thy power Since I can use self-denial in sleep upon a Temporal account O let it not be said of me that upon a Spiritual account I could not watch O let my actions shew that thou art dearer to me than the World and that I love thee better than Father or Mother and my self too When all I have is thine how shall I not part with something that 's dear to me for thy sake O let me not lose my life while I seek to save it but be confident that if I lose my life for thy sake I shall finde it Thou art the Resurrection and the Life if I sincerely believe in thee though I were dead yet shall I live O let me live that I may praise thy Name and whether I live or whether I die let me live and die in the Lord Jesus Give me a sight of the Eternal watchfulness of Angels They sleep not They are never oppressed with drowsiness They sing Eternally and slumber not That 's the Company that 's the glorious Society I would fain be in O happy day O blessed time when I shall watch in thy House for ever When I shall watch in the Quire where nothing is known nothing is loved nothing is delighted in but God blessed for evermore O my God as the Eyes of Servants look unto the Hand of their Master and as the Eyes of a Maiden look unto the Hand of her Mistress so mine Eyes waite upon Thee O Lord until thou have mercy upon me and bring me into the Regions of eternal Brightness thorough Jesus Christ. Amen A Prayer relating to Exercise extraordinary 4. viz. To apply our selves to Self-Revenge O God to whom Vengeance belongs shew thy self My sins are mine Enemies my Corruptions the Foes
Saints and the bloud of Jesus Christ may wash me from all sins O quicken me O strengthen me O leave me not in thee do I trust let me never be confounded for Christs sake to whom with thee and the eternal Spirit be all Honour and Glory for ever Amen Advertisement 1. THough the Lords Prayer be not mentioned in the foregoing Supplications yet a Christian that makes use of these Devotions may and ought conscienciously to add it 2. As besides our own spiritual Wants we are to recommend to God the necessities of others so the following Ejaculations may be added to the foregoing Prayers For the whole Race of Mankind ARise O Lord let thy Light shine and let thy Glory rise upon Heathens Jews Mahometans and others who have not known thee and upon all the Families that do not call upon thy Name Remove the darkness that covers the EÃ rth and the gross darkness under which whole Nations lie Let all men see the light of thy Gospel and flow to it that their hearts may fear and be enlarged and glorifie the House of thy Glory For the Universal Church of Christ. HAve mercy Lord on thy Church dispersed all the world over Let violence be heard in her no more nor wasting and destruction within her borders Let her Walls be called Salvation and her Gates Praise Let her Priests be cloathed with righteousness and let her Saints rejoyce and sing Let her righteousness go forth as brightness and the Salvation thereof as a Lamp that burns For the King GIve the King thy Judgements O God and let him judge thy People with Righteousness Be thou his Goodness his Fortress his high Tower and his Deliverer his Shield in whom he may trust and subdue his people under him send thy hand from above and rid him deliver him out of great Waters from the hand of strange Children whose mouth speaketh Vanity and their right hand is a right hand of Falsehood Let him rule in the fear of God and let his glory be as the light of the Morning when the Sun rises even as a Morning without Clouds For the Royal Family LEt their glory O Lord be great in thy Salvation Honour and Majesty do thou lay upon them Be thou entreated to make them blessed for ever and exceeding glad with thy countenance Let their goodness be answerable to their greatness and make them shining and burning lights that others may see their good works and praise their Father which is in Heaven For the Bishops and Clergy ENable thy Ministers O Lord to hold Faith and a good Conscience Make them great examples of the Believers in Word in Conversation in Charity in Spirit in Purity Let them meditate upon these things give themselves wholly to them that their profiting may appear to all Let them take heed unto themselves and unto their Doctrine and continue in it that they may both save themselves and them that hear them For the People of the Land O Lord make the people willing in the day of thy power willing to fear God to honour the King and to love one another with a pure heart fervently O that there were such a heart in them that they might love thee and fear thee and keep all thy Commandments always that it might be well with them and with their Children for ever Pardon their crying sins and perswade them to do justly to shew mercy and to walk humbly with their God For persons distressed in Body or Mind O Lord bind up the broken-hearted proclaim Liberty to the Captives and the opening of the Prison to them that are bound Proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord to the miserable and the day of peace to comfort all that mourn Give unto them Beauty for Ashes the Oyl of Joy for Mourning the Garment of Praise for the Spirit of Heaviness For their Shame let them have double and for Confusion let them rejoyce in their Portion and let everlasting Joy be upon their heads For Relations LOrd be thou a Father a Husband a Friend a Master a Ruler and a Protector to them all Make them thy Friends thy Children thy Favourites love them freely receive them graciously let their Souls be bound up in the bundle of life with thee keep them as the Apple of thine eye and when thou makest up thy Jewels remember them and spare them as a man would spare his own Son that serves him For Benefactors LOrd do good to them that have done good to me Bless them with a true Repentance with pardon of all their sins with a mighty sense of God with a holy fruitfulness in all good works with a meek and humble Spirit with peace of Conscience with joy in the Holy Ghost with eminency of Vertue and for the kindnesses they have shewn to me and mine reward them sevenfold with mercy into their Bosoms For Enemies LOrd bless them that curse me do good to them that hate me be merciful to them that either have wrong'd me or would despitefully use me and transform them by the renewing of their mind that they may prove what is the holy and acceptable and perfect will of God Advertisement 3. I Thought to have made an end here but for some reasons was prevailed withal to add these following Prayers For a Sick person O Thou who deliverest the Poor when he cries the Needy also and him that hath no helper look upon this thy weak Servant from the habitation of thy Holiness and be a Physician to his outward and inward man At once heal his Soul and Body Speak the word and thy Servant shall be whole Bless him with a sound Repentance and make this affliction an effectual means to produce in him the peaceable fruits of Righteousness of Faith and Love and Charity Hear his Prayers regard his Groans give him ease under his burthen restore his Soul and make him thankful for thy Mercy thorough Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A short Thanksgiving after Recovery I Thank thee O Father Lord of Heaven and Earth because thou hast been pleased to spare this thy unworthy Servant Fill me with a mighty sense of thy Goodness O let this Mercy never never be forgotten Let me see thy hand in this providence and admire the great Giver of this Blessing Be thou hereafter in all my thoughts Encrease my desires after thee my fear of offending thee my care to please thee my love to thy ways my zeal to thy Glory and fit me for thy everlasting Kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Prayer for a Woman with Child O Thou who settest the Poor on high from affliction and makest him Families like a Flock Take pity of me O thou that hearest Prayers be with with me in the hour of trouble when Fear and Anguish come upon me Forget my sins and strengthen me with thy Grace Bless the Fruit of my Body and sanctifie it early As the Mountains are round about Jerusalem so let the Lord be round about
me from henceforth even for ever and though I sow in Tears yet let me reap in Joy Be thou my Fortress and Deliverer and in the great danger watch over me for good and not for evil and enable me to tell my Friends what the Lord hath done for my Soul through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Thanksgiving after safe deliverance O God! How am I bound to praise thy great and glorious Name who hast not forsaken me when my Soul was in trouble Out of the depth have I cried unto thee and thou hast heard my voice and my supplication For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayst be found O Lord my God I cried unto thee and thou hast healed me Thou hast brought up my Soul from the Grave thou hast kept me alive that I should not go down to the Pit Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing thou hast put off my Sack-cloth and girded me with gladness to the end that my glory may sing praises to thee and not be silent O Lord my God I will give thanks unto thee and delight my self in the Lord for ever thorough Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Prayer for one that intends a Single Life O Most gracious God who givest power to the weak and strength to the feeble thou knowest my purposes and seest my desires and art acquainted with my design of being married to none but thee O blessed Bridegroom of my Soul give me chast desires power to resist Temptations strength to subdue the motions of the Flesh. Dwell in me by thy Spirit Teach me to love thee passionately Let no other object engross my Affections Give me a spiritual Appetite Keep me unspotted in this sinful world Be thou my All my Riches my Pleasure my Delight my Crown my Glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Prayer for one that is entring into a Married state O God who hast made Marriage an honourable thing and promised to bless those that marry in the Lord In thy name I am entring into another state of life Be merciful unto me O Lord rejoyce the Soul of thy Servant for unto thee O Lord do I lift up my Soul Direct me in all my actions Counsel me in what I am to do Encline my heart to fear thy Name Enrich her that is to be my Yoak-fellow with the choicest of thy favours Give us both hearts to rely and depend upon thee Let 's look up to thee in all our concerns Make our mutual love sincere and constant and let 's encourage one another to godliness Make us helpful one to another and in our lawful endeavours and enterprizes let 's see thy bountiful hand Make us both pleas'd with what thou shalt think fit to send upon us and contented in all conditions and with united force let 's press toward the mark of eternal glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Prayer before a Journey O Thou who wast a Pillar of Cloud to thy People of old in the day and a Pillar of Fire by night watch over me in this Journey day and night Be thou my Guide my Star my Light my Director and bring me safe to the place I intend for Preserve me from all evil Protect me from all dangers let thine Angel be my Guardian and under the shadow of thy Wings let my refuge be that I may observe thy Statutes and keep thy Laws through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Thanksgiving after a safe return BLessed God whose works are honourable and glorious and who hast made thy wonderful works to be remembred give me leave to admire and to praise thy Providence which hath covered me with its Feathers and been my Shield and Buckler which hath kept me from the terrour by night and from the destruction that wasteth at noon day I cheerfully offer here unto thee the Sacrifice of righteousness and as I see the loving kindness of the Lord so enable me for the future to live in a thankful remembrance of thy goodness and let this and all thy other gracious Providences prevail with me to walk before thee with a perfect and upright heart through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Prayer for one that is going to Sea O Thou who stillest the raging of the Sea so that the Waves thereof are still Thy Way is in the Sea and thy Path in the great Waters and thy Footsteps are not known O God! I am like to see thy Works and Wonders in the deep Be with me I beseech thee in my going out and in my coming in Spread thy wings over me and let me find by blessed experience that they who trust in thee shall never be confounded Prosper my Voyage and give success to my endeavours Let not the Deep swallow me up neither let the Flouds drown me Shine upon me day and night and with thy love cherish my fainting Spirits Let no evil examples have dominion over me Let thy fear be upon my Soul at all times and let nothing tempt me to depart from my integrity Let my Soul learn by thy Providences to keep close to thy Word and let that be my Comfort in all my Afflictions through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Thanksgiving when one is returned safely O God thou art the God that doest Wonders thou hast declared thy strength among the People Thou hast with thine arm redeem'd thy People the Sons of Jacob and Joseph I will praise thee for thy goodness and for thy wonderful Works to the Children of men I will exalt thee in the Congregation of the People and praise thee in the Assembly of the Elders I cried unto the Lord in my trouble and thou broughtest me out of my distresses Thou hath delivered me from the great Waters and my Life hath been precious in thy sight Recreate my Soul with the thoughts of thy mercy and while I am sailing through the boisterous Sea of this World let thy Word be a Lanthorn to my Feet and a Light to my Paths through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A short Prayer before Divine Service or Sermon O God I am come into the house where thy Honour dwelleth Overaw me with a sense of thy Presence that I may pray with understanding and like a person concern'd about the blessings I shall pray for Fix my Thoughts and Affections on thy sweet self and teach me to make intercessions with groans which cannot be uttered Let thy Word be sweet to me and give me a tractable Spirit that may cheerfully and willingly submit to the Yoak of the Lord Jesus Assist me in all my Duties and Devotions and let thy good Spirit direct and order them to thy Glory Make my Soul a gainer by these spiritual Exercises and let all the Congregation feel the power of thy influences that with one heart and one voice we may glorifie God in the day of Visitation through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Prayer after Divine Service