force his Body to observe all the motions of Respect commanded in the Rubrick Let him stand up when we give glory to God and sing forth his praises Let him kneel in Prayer and outwardly observe a due reverence and he shall find that his former aversion will insensibly wear away and by degrees he will bring his Soul to a hearty and religious compliance with those godly Forms of Prayer which before he could never use with any satisfaction to his mind he shall find his unhappy humour of discontent evaporate it self and his Body draw after the Soul and its faculties to a sincere worshipping of our good God in the manner that is practised amongst us Fifthly To use the Prayers of the Church with that devotion that is needful a frequent meditation upon them is very requisite A Meditation I mean upon the necessity of those things that are there desired upon the advantage of Uniformity and Unity in God's divine Worship upon their agreeableness with holy Scripture its Doctrines and Expressions upon the express Commands of the King and the wise Councils of our Nation under four or five Kings successively who unanimously enjoin the use of these Prayers in the publick Worship of God upon the decency and reasonableness of the Ceremonies Order and manner of our Service upon the frivolousness and Folly of all Objections against it upon the obstinacy and invincible hatred of all Objections A meditation also is requisite to this purpose upon several matters suitable to these godly Forms of Prayer Such Meditations I mean as may elevate the Soul to prepare and dispose it for a Holy Communion with God and inflame our affections in order to a more zealous offering up of the publick Prayers of the Church to the Divine Majesty Besides to perswade the judgment and remove all mistakes I recommend to thee the perusal of a Rationale upon the Common-Prayer that if by any means thou mayest be perswaded to a religious and devout conformity in publick to the Order of our Church But all this while methinks I hear a sort of Zealots amongst us Extol and Cry up the Praying by the Spirit 4. Particular and that in opposition to the reading of the Forms prescribed by the Church I must speak a word to rectifie their mistakes and to prevent the mischiefs which are thereby intended For this good purpose I shall First examine what Praying by the Spirit is in the sense of St. Paul Secondly I shall prove that for the most part in all Extemporary fluencies of Prayer though they be the gifts of the Spirit such persons as use them at that very instant can scarce be said to pray in the Spirit Thirdly I shall plainly demonstrate that the easiest and surest way to Pray in the Spirit is to take the assistance of well composed Forms of Prayer and to have them either in a Book before our Eyes or well imprinted in our Memories They are in a grievous Error that imagine that St. Paul's praying in or by the Spirit opposeth the Practice of our Church of England and strengthens the irregular Devotions of the gifted Brethren For if you please to Examine the meaning of St. Paul you shall find that he never intended any such matter In the 6th Chap. to the Ephesians and 18 ver he exhorts them to pray with all Prayer and Supplication in every Season 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Spirit which he cannot understand of the Prayers proceeding from the extraordinary inspirations or abilities bestowed upon us by God the giver of every good gift because such inspirations are not common to all and every one hath not such a quick Fancy or voluble Tongue to be able to pray in this manner so that every Person is not in a capacity to fulfil this Command which as all other Commands of God is proportioned and hath a special regard to Mens faculties and abilities Therefore seeing these words are directed to every Christian they relate not to the gift but to that which is commonly styled the Spirit or rather to the Duty of Prayer which every Christian may peform by using endeavours St Paul's meaning therefore is that we should in our Prayers to God not be content with the Lip Service but inwardly heartily and affectionately to pray to him and employ all the abilities of the Soul in offering them up to God for in this part of our Devotions we must observe the same method as in the others and act with the same abilities Now St. Paul in the 5th Chap. to the Ephesiens and the 19th ver adviseth them to make Melody in their Hearts to the Lord. Here is that spiritual Service required from us a serious real and hearty Worship wherein the Soul is concerned as well as the Body Likewise our Saviour Christ in answer to the Woman of Samaria tells her that God is a Spirit and that they that will worship him must worship him in Spirit and in Truth That is in opposition to the Corporal appearances of the Jews at Jerusalem an inward and soul Worship without which all our most assidual attendances upon holy Duties are frivolous and vain In the same sense we are to understand St. Paul's praying and singing with the Spirit in 1 Cor. 14.14 for he expresly saith if I pray in an unknown Tongue my Spirit prayeth He caleth it his Spirit that is his Soul which must be concerned in all our Prayers to God either by composing them and offering them or else by presenting the Prayers already composed in such a manner with the understanding and affections that they may proceed from us as our own I confess St. Jude's words ver 20. seems to favour the contrary interpretation when he adviseth to pray 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Holy Ghost Which words the admirers of new Modes and extemporary Prayers understand of the gift of Prayer that we should depend upon the Spirit of God and expect from his secret inspirations the matter and manner of our Prayers without limitting our selves and this unlimited Being to any certain Form That we should make use of those expressions as proceed immediately from his divine suggestions But this can never be the meaning of this wise Apostle for though it were true what this interpretation supposeth that all the faithful have the gift of Prayer and are inspired with the Holy Ghost That in that Duty he governs their Tongues and Fancy and furnishes them with proper expressions words and matter which I confess may happen in extraordinary occasions yet in our ordinary Devotions to expect such extraordinary movings of God's Holy Spirit in our Souls not to contribute any thing of our selves but our weaknesses and unpreparedness and wholly to depend upon the Holy Ghost is a presumption and indiscretion which agrees not with God's usual methods of acting with his Creatures neither in Nature nor in Grace for his Blessings and Power appear commonly in our Religious endeavours and if he gives
thee for ever and ever Come Lord Jesus come quickly receive me into thy Sacred Embraces I will wait thy leisure send thine Holy Angels to convey my Soul into thy gracious presence that I may rejoyce for ever with thine Elect and glorifie thy Mercy Ease me of my grievous pains relieve my sorrowful Soul comfort it with a Beam of thy Countenance Thou hast redeemed it O my sweet Jesus receive it as thine own purchase I yield it up unto thee Turn my sorrows into joys my sufferings and agony into pleasures laid up at thy right hand Assist me with thine intercession and plead for me O my Heavenly Advocate Amen A Meditation and Prayer for such as are going to the Publick Assemblies to hear the word of God O Eternal Wisdom what a mercy is this to Instruct and Teach us at our Doors to enable enlighten inspire and send Messengers so near our Dwellings to direct us in the right way of Eternal Happiness What a condescention is this to speak to us in our own Language according to our Capacities by Men whose presence express nothing but meekness and love was it not sufficient O blessed God that thou shouldest open to us the large Book of Nature to inform us of thy Will and Sacred Laws by so many Characters imprinted in every thing that is made was it not sufficient for our Learning to shew us thy pleasure in the several leaves of another Book of Providence opened to us wide every day of our Life but must thy tender compassion of our Natural ignorance unmindfulness and wilful corruption teach us by such plain easie and excellent methods so full of kindness and love Must the repetition be so frequent must thou so often visit and call upon us to study and meditate upon the Divine Matters Certainly our minds are too much wedded to the World and too much enclined to irregular actions seeing thou hast judged needful to repeat so often to us our Duties and we want every weeks instruction to withdraw our contemplation from Evil and Vanity Should not our diligence answer in some respect thy continual Care O Merciful Wisdom and as frequently meet thee as we are called upon by these Publick Summons Doubtless the business that we are to mind is of importance seeing my Creator thinks necessary to interpose his Divine Authority and to speak to us himself though by the tongue of a Mortal Man With what reverence and dread ought I to approach the gracious presence of my God who vouchsafes to speak and instruct me in such a loving manner His Word and Laws should not in reason have the less power and impression upon me because of his condescention to my weakness and Capacity Should I despise the mercies of my God that are so great and wonderful delivered to me in earthen vessels O Blessed and Heavenly Wisdom I am called away from my Temporal Affairs to wait upon thee and hearken to the Divine Matters that shall be proposed which relate to my Eternal Interest Their excellency requires my attention and diligent enquiry for this supernatural knowledge which is able to save my Soul Here thou dost reveal unto me what I am and what I should be and what I shall be Here are discovered the admirable Mysteries of the Holy Trinity and Unity of the Incarnation and Redemption Here thou dost unbosome thy self to mortal Creatures and shewest the tenderness of thine affection to us Here I may have a prospect of the unspeakable riches of Heaven and see the Glories that are laid up for me in thine Eternal Sanctuary These are Matters worthy of the Angels prying into these are Meditations fit for the Heavenly Spirits and shall I neglect or despise them shall I idle away this precious moment designed for the benefit of mine immortal Soul My gracious God cause me to increase in Grace and in the Divine knowledge of my Redemption enlighten mine Understanding with a clear apprehension of the Heavenly Truths Sanctifie the outward preaching of thy word that it may be effectual and able to work upon my will Give me an attentive ear and an obedient heart willing to submit to and practise whatsoever thou shalt command Deliver me from the ill consequences of Errors Partiality and Prejudice and make me truly thankful to thee for this great Blessing Remove not thy Gospel from us but save us from the pernicious Plots of the Antichristian Heresie Unite all of us in our Worship and Church that we may study to preserve the Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace And being all together united now in the Church Militant we may be all the more ready and prepared to enter in due time into the Church Triumphant into that Glorious Kingdom of Love and Peace where our Sanctification shall be compleated our Knowledge perfected and our Employment for ever shall be to Celebrate and Sing forth thy Praises with the Chorus of Heavenly Spirits Amen A Prayer for Souldiers before a Fight O Lord of Hosts Creator and Preserver of the World look upon us in mercy at this time that we are going to hazard our Lives for the Honour an Interest of our King and Kingdom and for the Glory of thy Name and the Preservation of thy true Religion amongst us We are confident in the Justice and Equity of our Cause against these disturbers of the peace and happiness of Mankind Good God assist us with Victory and Success strengthen our Courages give us Undaunted Spirits stand by thine own Cause and such as Fight for the Preservation of thy Church and Kingdom We trust not upon our selves nor upon our numbers and resolutions but upon thy Providence and Celestial Vertue which we beseech thee to send unto us in the midst of danger suffering us not to betray the trust repose in us by any weakness or fear we know that thine Almighty hand and all-seeing eye disposes of all things and that no violence can hurt us without thy Commission O Merciful God let our Lives be precious in thy sight preserve our Persons from the violence of the shot and sharpness of the Enemies Weapons that we may yet live to praise thee and serve thee in our Generations in that station of Life unto which we are called We trust it is not unpleasing to thee who vouchsafest to be named the God of Armies and seeing the necessity of the Kingdom unto which we belong requires it Bless us therefore we pray thee O merciful Saviour in these our undertakings assist our General and Officers with Wisdom and Skill and all of us with an undaunted Spirit and entire dependance upon thy will and disposal Whatever happens to these Bodies of Clay which we are willing to Sacrifice for thy Glory look in mercy upon our precious Souls pardon and forgive the former weaknesses of our lives accept of the blood of our Surety and Redeemer for us and for his sake receive our immortal Beings into thy favour and Celestial
to swallow therefore you may hear him desire that it may pass away and that he may be excused to drink it but immediately after he adds not my will but thy will be done The fulfilling of this will we must prefer to the things that we most passionately desire on Earth As it ought to be our chief aim it should be our most zealous request and most earnest petition to be placed at the close of all our Prayers which we offer up for these pleasant glorious and useful things on Earth that draw away too much of our Affections Likewise when we beg from God for the good things of this Life we must take heed of two other intentions or affections of our corrupt Nature that are able to render our requests most sinful and abominable in God's Presence The first may proceed from an unjust principle of Covetousness when the Soul is possessed with an insatiable spirit that craves more than is needful and forces it to desire what is not really ours to the prejudice of others or from ambition vain-glory and immoderate care of the World that may cause us to petition too passionately for its Vanities as it may proceed from some Lust that governs the Soul All these and other Principles of the like nature as they are irregular the Devotions that proceed from them can never be good for all our requests in such like Cases tend to procure to our selves those good things that we purpose to abuse in the satisfying of our unruly and base affections Such Prayers are Sacrifices of the Devil and not of God His Blessings never so mean are too good to be prostituted to our shameful Lusts We must not think to feed the Devil's Brats with the Milk and Mercies of Heaven It is an ungrateful Conversion indeed to convert that to God's dishonour that proceeds from his Bounty And it is the mark of a great indiscretion and want of Piety to seek from God the means to dishonour his holy Name and to employ the chief part of Religion for such a prophane and unworthy purpose The second Affection is a Spirit of Envy Anger Revenge and Hatred which if we discover in that part of God's Service where we are to implore his Bounty we cannot probably expect any great success or any favourable return we cannot expect that the God of Mercy and Love should be favourable to inhumanity and revenge that he will grant such Petitions as proceed from that affection which is direct contrary to his Divine Nature and Commands God must not nor will not be made the Executioner of our vengeance nor receive the Commissions from us to punish our wrongs Vengeance belongs to God it is a bold presumption to prescribe to his Wisdom either the method time or measure of inflicting iâ— upon the greatest Offendors Therefore let us always cast our selves upon him and his Justice with a disposition ready to forgive the greatest Enemies Let us leave all our wilful Interests entirely to the disposal of his Wisdom and not venture nor suffer our corrupt Nature to give him directions how and where to execute his wrath chiefly in that part of his Service where our Business is to intreat him to suspend the execution of his Justice from us justly due for our Offences committed against his continued goodness If he shews so much favour to us he expects that we should do the like to such as have offended us and deserved our displeasure Our Prayers therefore must not be Imprecations and Curses all Gall and bitterness must be cast away and separated from this Sacrifice to the God of Heaven as the Gaul of the Heathen Victims was when they offered them up to the superior Gods I confess that self preservation God's glory common justice and the safety of our Friends of the Church and Publick may oblige us to petition Heaven for the disappointment of the unjust designs of Wicked Men tho' it be to their utter overthrow David in his Divine Psalms affords us many Examples to this purpose Pour out thy Wrath upon the Ideathen saith he that have not known thee and upon the Kingdoms that have not called upon thy Name Psal 79.6 Let them be blotted out of the Pook of the Living and not be written with the Righteous Psal 69.28 Consume them in thy Wrath consume them that they may not be and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the Earth Selah Psal 59.13 These and such like Prayers have an intent chiefly to prevent the future Mischiefs which the Malice of God's Enemies and of his Church was likely to draw upon his Servants They are intended to disarm them and take from them the ability or power which they would infallibly abuse oft to God's dishonour and the Prejudice of God's People and innocent Persons They are intended to Petition God that he would be pleased to vindicate his own Cause and declare his Justice in the punishment of vile Contemners of his Power and Authority For such intents as these we may sometimes beseech God to send down his Judgments upon our Enemies as well as his Mercies but out of a meer Principle of Revenge or of an implacable hatred to desire the ruin of any that we disaffect is to concern God too much in our frivolous quarrels and to cause him to withhold the favours which otherwise he might be willing to grant us For with the same measure that we mete it shall be measured to us again Let therefore Men be never so much alienated from us and separated in judgments designs or Interests let them purpose never so much our Ruin if they be Christians or but Men that Christian disposition which Christ our Saviour recommends to us both by his Commands and Example teacheth us to pray for their amendment and the prosperity of their Souls and Bodies so that it may be without any notable prejudice to God his Church the publick or our private happiness The Sacrifices of an implacable Spirit will never find acceptance at the Throne of Grace That good Saviour that prayed for his Murderers teacheth us to suppress the sense of all personal Wrongs and not suffer our displeasures to be vented in our Addresses to God In this particular as well as in the former Nature will speak when it is oppressed and complain for the Evils that burden us it will petition for help and justice when it is grieved and I cannot think but that this natural motion may be allowable if it be kept within the bounds of Christian Charity and be accompanied with a disposition ready to forgive the Injuries received in case of amendment and our Enemies become fit Objects of our Mercy and Forgiveness But in such Cases we must take heed that we suffer not our Resentment of former wrongs to speak too loud in Prayer and that we desire not from God that which neither becomes God's Wisdom to grant nor our modesty and Christian Charity to ask
excuse you from this outward humility of the Body God requires it at your hands in the 99th Psalm and the fifth Verse Exalt ye the Lord our God and worship at his footstool And the Royal Prophet calls upon all devout Souls in the 95th Psalm ver 6. O come let us worship and bow down let us kneel before the Lord our maker In the next words this Religious Prince labours to stir you up to this Humility to this part of Piety by reasons drawn from God's Soveraignty his Power and Right over us For he is the Lord our God and we are the People of his Pasture and the sheep of his hand Hath thy God any Interest in thee O Christian Hast thou any respect for his Holy Name Dost thou look upon him as thy Creator Protector and Benefactor Hath he received thee into his Church and to the hopes of eternal Rewards Is this Body of thine to be admitted into his heavenly Sanctuary in all the Company of his Holy Angels to worship and bow before him Then prepare thy self for this future and happy Employment Express thy thanks for all his innumerable benefits by thy Reverence and Devotion to him as thy God with the outward Humility of the Body in all thy Addresses to his glorious Majesty whether it be in publick or in private but chiefly in the publick Prayers of the Church There not only the Honour of our God the Credit of our Profession the interest of our Brethren whose Devotions are apt to grow cold by the sight and sense of our negligence but your own Interest also as well as your Duty calls you to this outward respect for an unmannerly behaviour deserves the Curses contrary to those Blessings which we are there to beg of God However you can never expect in reason to be benefited by the Churches Prayers if you will not vouchsafe so much as to be outwardly concerned O Christians let not any popular mistakes nor any Schismatical prejudices rob you of the advantages which you might hope to obtain from God by a devout humble and affectionate attendance at the offering up of the Excellent Prayers of our Church for your good and happiness But if all these Reasons cannot prevail upon some stiff necked and invincible Souls so far as to cause them to be dutiful and humble in God's presence at the hour of Prayer let them consider that in our civil Conversation the want or the omission of a due respect is a disgrace to the Person that should render it for it causeth Men to be branded with the odious Names of Clowns Ill-bread Brutish and uncivil People Now they are the worst of Clowns that are so in Religion that know not or will not render the Hommage that is due from their Bodies to their God If therefore the respect that we have for him is not able to oblige us to a Civil Behaviour and decent Postures and Gestures in Prayer let the shame of Men if we be not insensible to that likewise cause us to behave our selves with decency with respect in God's presence as becomes Men of Reason and Christians of good breeding and extraction and not as Brute Beasts that have neither manners nor understanding But of all Men none are more engaged than such as Officiate publickly and are the Mouths of their People to offer up their Prayers with all the decency humility and outward Devotion which might serve to excite the Auditors to a due respect for as their Persons are eyed by the whole Congregation their Example is not without followers It hath a great influence upon all that are present either to encourage or discourage them in their publick Worship Therefore in their disrespectful offering up of the Prayers of the Church they are not only scandalous in their own Persons and guilty of dishonouring God disgracing their Religion profaning the publick Worship but they are likewise guilty of all the contempt negligence and unmannerly behaviour of their Attendants if it happens through their shameful and irreverent Praying Let therefore my Brethren of the Clergy seriously consider the apparent danger they are in by an omission of this Duty I am perswaded that our Nation alone had never fall'n into that extravagant humour to loath the Godly Forms of Prayer which all good Men both at home and abroad highly esteem were it not for their disrespectful handling and reading of them whose Duty it is to recommend and grace them by their pâ—actices Good things when they are delivered by a slovenly hand are usually rejected and it is the weakness of the Common people to value things not according to their true intrinsick worth but according as they appear outwardly to their Senses A Prayer that shines with the gay cloaths of Wit and invention and a good delivery shall meet with acceptance and draw many sighs and groans from an ignorant Soul tho' otherwise never so full of imperfections when many will scarce afford an hearing to the solid and divine Prayers of the Church How many in our late Days have delighted to listen to the unadvised and blasphemous Prayers of the Sons of Tumult and Division How many have spent their Days under the Pulpits of those bloody Saints without any discovery of weariness whereas they now Complain of tediousness when in our ordinary Devotions we employ a few minutes to implore God's divine Mercies according to the most approved and religious manner How comes it to pass that the extemporary productions of many idle and wicked Fancies have been far more esteemed amongst many of us than those wise and excellent Prayers composed in the beginning of our Reformation by such as have sealed the Protestant and Christian Truths with their Blood Those Prayers I say which are fitted to all Capacities recommended to us by the Piety and Practice of the Antient Catholick and Othodox Church and which are not to be mended by any humane endeavours This question gives me an occasion to speak to thee my Christian Reader of some few particulars concerning Prayer which the present dissentions amongst us render very seasonable First I shall speak in vindication of publick Forms of Prayer against the new Modes of Praying ex tempore Secondly I shall enquire into the true Causes of our unreasonable distastes at the publick Forms injoyned by authority in our Church of England Thirdly I shall offer to thee my Christian Brother some directions how thou shalt use this Liturgy with Comfort to thy Soul Fourthly I shall examine what praying by the Spirit is in the sense of St. Paul and of the Holy Fathers Amongst the ancient Hereticks I find none so bold as to attempt the total subversion of God's Divinâ— Worship or to bring in any other mode but that which was generally embraced in the places where they lived They ventured to oppose some certain Articles of our Christian Belief or to introduâ—â— vitious and irregular practices in the Church They made it their business to
their prejudices therefore against our Rubrick are more dangerous But if a judicious and pious Soul would take the pains to sift them out and examine the Causes of their invincible prejudices they shall either find none or such slender ones as may cause us to wonder at their stiffneckedness and strange fancies Such I am sure as renders them most ridiculous to all foreign Churches of Christ Their most ordinary and popular Complaint is that it is Popish and taken out of the Mass-Book An Error which any Man will acknowledge if he will but compare our Prayers with the Popish Prayers of the Liturgy of Rome Can that be Popish which opposeth all the Errors and mistakes of the Papists which teacheth us to pray for God's assistance and direction against all the Heresies Plots and Conspiracies of the Pope which was in use in the Christian Church before ever there was any Anti-Christian Pope at Rome Can that be reckoned to be Popish which is agreeable with the Revelations of the Holy Spirit with the Doctrines and belief of the best Reformed Churches beyond the Seas and which their most Orthodox Divines Embrace as most consonant with their Faith and Piety The Creed the ten Commandments and the Lord's Prayer may with as much likelihood be said to be Popish or to be taken out of the Mass-Book because the Papists have them in their Breviarium To all unprejudiced persons this accusation appears a meer Calumny unless any of those refined Souls could spy out and shew us any particular in the Common-Prayer which savours of the Romish Errors and tends to promote the Pope's Interest amongst us But it is the usual practice of abusive tongues when they cannot instance any certain Crime to bring their accusation in gross that their malice may be less discernable and their charge may be more weighty But let not the vain and groundless conceits of Popery and Superstition deter thee my Christian Brother from making use with Comfort to thy Soul of these Godly Prayers Let not these mistaken Brethren infect thy judgment with the same troublesom Error Examin and try search into every Corner of this Book and see whether thou canst find any colour of Popery that is to say any sign of those Errors which are in Controversie between us and the Papists Let not their impostures prevail so much upon thy discretion as to cause thee to take for Popery what is agreeable with Christ's true Religion and Doctrines It hath always been the glory of our Church of England to be most conformable of all other Churches to the belief Government and Practices of the Primitive and first Churches of Christ Therefore in this of the Liturgy our Church recommends that manner of praying which is most like that of the first Ages and which is most answerable to our Government and condition as our glorious Martyr and our late Soveraign of Blessed Memory declares in vindication of the Prayers of the Church in his incomparable Book All other accusations as well as this savour more of malice and displeasure than right Reason and tend to this ungracious end to abolish Order and Method in Prayer and to introduce a sad and unreasonable Confusion in our Worshipping of God Let therefore every good Christian take heed if he himself hath such an invincible prejudice against these Forms enjoyned in our Church that he cannot use them himself with any Comfort to his Soul that he disturb not others minds with the same Schismatical mistakes and spread not abroad what I could wish were consined to the bottomless Pit Let him not hinder others from the Benefit which they may reap from a hearty and zealous Offering up of these Prayers to God Abstain my Christian Brother from Blaspheming that which thou dost not perfectly understand or that which thou hatest without a just cause Draw not others into the same prejudice and be not uncharitable to think our Devotions not acceptable to our good God because thou hast an implacable displeasure against them Think not that Piety is confined to thy Breast alone and to those of thy Sect. Lay aside I beseech thee that bitterness that peevishness and froward temper which makes thee fret at our good Order and Christian Discipline If thou perceivest any faults coldness dulness or unhandsom Actions in private persons charge not their miscarriages upon our Church or Rubrick but be so reasonable not to proclaim thine unreasonable distastes to the prejudice of others and thy self Sixthly I cannot forget to mention another Cause of Mens contempt of our Forms and Rubrick which is That they are brought up in the ignorance of that manner of presenting them to God which might cause them to meet with true comfort and real benefit For I know some that have constantly attended at the Publick Prayers of the Church and have for many years scarce omitted any opportunity that did invite them yet because they knew not how to use them as they should they have not at any time found that inward content which they now think to receive from new Modes of Prayer and at last have totally forsaken them crying out most bitterly against their former Formality luke-warmness and indifferency in Prayer As if that unfit temper proceeded from the Prayers and not from the ignorance of their minds which when it is strengthened by prejudice Education or Interest is the greatest cause of their dissatisfaction at our Prayers used in the Church and that which deprives them of the advantages which they might receive from them This Ignorance is the greatest Enemy of our Liturgy and of our publick peace which if any person be willing to expel for his own and the Churches benefit let him seriously consider and make use of these directions which will shew him how to offer up our Prayers with comfort to his Soul I have already set down general directions to pray well which every good Christian ought to learn to practice in all Prayers presented to God Third particular but besides those which sute with all tempers and sorts of Men I suppose that some advices besides may be given more particularly and more proper for those persons amongst us that are dissatisfied with our Prayers and Liturgy and prejudiced against it Some advices I mean that may have a special regard to their causeless mistakes and the Prayers of the Church And truly I judge many stand in great need of these directions who are well skilled in other kinds of Devotion for prejudice here suffers them not to learn or at least not to practice what their affection teaches them in other Cases to perform without a Teacher if we may have the Charity to believe what they affirm That they are truly and zealously affected in the Prayers which are of their Ministers Composure and that they can joyn their hearts in Devotion with them for I very much question whether those persons that seem outwardly to be so disposed are really so in
the Form and Beauty to any thing he takes the matter from those things that he hath already made But take notice that St. Jude adviseth us to pray not by the Holy Ghost but in the Holy Ghost That is either in that method and manner or according to those Rules which the Holy Ghost hath given us in his holy Word for the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies according The meaning therefore is That we should pray for those things that agree with the Revelations of the Holy Ghost that we should observe those particulars outwardly and inwardly as may recommend our Prayers to God and employ those graces which the Holy Ghost hath bestowed upon us for a more zealous offering up of our Prayers to God A true Christian may want the gift of Prayer but no true and sincere Christian can want the Spirit of Prayer in the state of regeneration nor those inward abilities which are requisite for Prayer For this inward breathing of the Soul towards Heaven is the very life of a Child of God and a principle of all Spiritual motion Though he is not always in the same disposition and a fit temper for Prayer because these abilities may be hindred and obstructed by some powerful impediments nevertheless the work of regeneration is no sooner begun in us but we are taught by the Holy Ghost to call God Abba Father Therefore St. Paul teacheth in his Epistle to the Romans chap. 8. v. 26. That the Spirit helpeth our Infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the Spirit it self maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered Observe Romans 10. v. 1. This and all other passages that mention praying in or by the Spirit may encourage us to take with us the assistance of God's Holy Spirit in our addresses to him and imploy the abilities which he hath given us for that good purpose They may take notice of our own natural imperfections and weaknesses and advise us to make use of the Spiritual helps that the Holy Ghost gives us that we might pray to God in a manner acceptable to him But there is none that forbids the use of those Forms which God's holy Spirit hath Established in our Church There is no passage nor Text of Scripture that requires thee to wait for a sudden inspiration from above that disallows of a judicious and religious preparation or of prescribed Prayers composed by Men as much enlightned by the Spirit of God as any now alive Why therefore may not the use of these Prayers be called praying by the Spirit if I offer them up in that devout manner as God requires Why shall I prefer the new Modes of Men whose abilities and integrity I know not perhaps to those that I am sure are agreeable with God's Will and Word Why shall I reject the old Prayers of the Holy Ghost and be so impatient to hear new which I know not from whence they are till I have taken the pains to examine them If therefore I am an auditor what reason have I to refuse the Prayers of the Church composed by the directions of the Spirit of God to be of a constant use in the Publick Worship of our great Creator to be so fond of new Modes and new Prayers of Men that pretend to a divine inspiration but how truly I know not God's Holy Spirit is no favourer of the pride presumption and sanciness of those persons that rush into God's Publick Worship without a due preparation And if they be prepared both for matter and expressions in the publick Prayers which they pronounce what reason have I to prefer this Prayer composed by this private Person tho' with the assistance of God's Holy Spirit to the religious Prayers of the whole Church allowed of by so many wise learned and Godly Divines enlightned also doubtless with the same Spirit Is that the Prayer by or in the Spirit And is not this likewise if I perform it in a Spiritual manner and offer it up with my Soul and affections O! how idle and frivolous How vain and impertinent are these prejudices against our Set Forms of Prayer Secondly But these persons that are so much admired by ignorant People for their praying by the Spirit in Prayers of any long continuance are admired for that which they themselves cannot perform For if they pray extempore without prepararation some in the Congregation may perhaps really pray to God but the persons that pronounce the Prayers whilst their fancy is so busily employed in seeking for matter and expressions can never oblige the affections of the Soul to offer their Prayers up to God in that devout manner as is required This Prayer therefore in regard of the Speaker is but a Spâ—ech and no Prayer let it be never so Eloquent and never so much able to stir up the Affections of the hearers Our minds cannot be totally employed in two actions at once whilst our apprehensions are distracted to seek for words and fit expressions they cannot be fixed upon that Divine Being unto whom we make our addresses nor cause in the Soul that humility and those affections which at such a time are necessary they cannot mind the greatness of their Wants the necessity of a speedy supply and the usefulness of those things that are petitioned for Their Souls cannot be at liberty to express the homage due to God's greatness and an earnest affection for those Blessings that they stand in need of All their care is to move the Tongue and not the Heart whilst the one is busily employed the other is unconcerned in the Service I cannot think that there are any of such an extraordinary and quick apprehension as to be abe to furnish their Organ with plenty of matter and expressions and at the same moment to mind all those things that are needful to keep our Souls in a sit disposition for Prayer 'T is not possible to divide this single Being into so many parts Such an activity seems to me almost as great a miracle as that of the Ubiquity of Christ's Humane Body and is subject to the like absurdities The Unity of the Soul â—â—d the Unity of all its Faculties requireâ— a single Object at once It may be so quick as to sly to another in an instant but this change and this motion of the apprehension incapable of two or three Objects at one single instant plainly discovers the impossibility of praying well and keeping the Soul in a worthy disposition and the affections in a sit temper in extemporary and long Prayers because the mind that should take this charge and the care to summon the affections to the performance of their Duty is busily employed in other matters Now without this conjunction of the affections and this concernment of the Soul no Devotion nor Prayer can be said to be spiritual or performed with or in the Spirit for tho' this should be understood of the
holy Spirit of God it is not to be imagined that he will act in us without our assistance and cooperation and if he did the Devotion is his and none of ours For these and other Reasons it is a matter of great difficulty to keep the unruly and wandring thoughts of the mind and the several affections of the Heart with the other parts of the Soul in a praying temper in all extemporary and long Prayers Thirdly Therefore the easiest and surest way to pray in the Spirit is to take the assistance of well composed Forms and to have them either in a Book before us or well imprinted in our Memories This is a Consequence deducible from what we have already said concerning that praying in or by the Spirit intended by St. Paul and St. Jude But if there be any so strongly prejudiced against Set Forms and so much bewitched with the pretended praying in or by the Spirit as to refuse to acquiesce to what we have already alledged let him seriously consider That there can be no praying in the Spirit whatever interpretation we give to the passages of Holy Scripture concerning that purpose whether we understand them concerning the Gift or in relation to the Duty and Spirit of Prayer without a real and hearty compliance of the Soul with every expression without an inward sense of the things petitioned for and without a devout composure of all the parts of the Soul Now if you enquire how this is produced in us I must tell you that it is not without our assidual endeavours for the mind ought to have a continual eye upon the Soul and disposition it ought to recollect and call back our wandring thoughts and labour to express both a feeling of its wants and a dutiful reverence for the Majesty of God This being of an absolute necessity in order to a zealous offering up of our Prayers in the Spirit it is needful that the mind should be at liberty for that purpose Now let any Man of Reason seriously sider whether it hath not more freedom in the use of Set Forms imprinted either in our memories or our Books than in extemporary praying whether it is not easier for the Soul in such a case to act its part and contribute to the Devotions than in such Prayers where it hath so many Offices to perform Grant it possible that some of an extraordinary ability learning and natural parts which I cannot imagine to be should be able to discharge the inward Duty of the Soul in Prayer as well as the outward in extemporary Prayers Consider whether they cannot with more ease pray with the assistance of Set Forms And why shall they be denyed of those helps in a business of so much weight and difficulty wherein the holiest and most devout Soul comes far short of that perfection and exactness which God's greatness requites at our hands Secondly That must needs be the easiest and surest way of praying by the Spirit which is offered to the weaker sort of Christians as the readiest help to their Devotions for the duties of Religion are always proportioned to the slender abilities of such persons both God and the Church are wont to condescend to their mean gifts and furnish them with such assistances as they want for the discharge of the Offices required from them Now from the beginning Set Forms of Prayer have been allowed in the Churches of God to these persons because it is well known that they are not able to express themselves and their several wants to God as they should and in that manner as becomes us mortal Men. If therefore this manner of praying is as it is generally confessed an help to the weaker kind of Christians why may it not be also to the stronger No doubt but such a one may use these helps with more advantage A staff is good in the hand of a feeble body to make it walk with more assurance and is likewise as beneficial to a strong person that undertakes a long journey The difference is that the one cannot possibly walk without it and the other may march a few steps and it may be proceed on in his way without it but for more ease and better conveniency it is sit in a tedious march that he should have the assistance of a Staff which may succour his infirmities and may comfort his wearied Limbs Therefore it is not a sufficient cause to oblige us to reject useful things to say Men may be without them I think it wisdom not to cast away such beneficial helps to our Devotions as are Set Forms because we may be so fond of our abilities as to think our selves able to compose some of an higher strain and more passionate some that may gratifie our own and the Peoples corrupt humour which usually despiseth things that are common when they have not well considered their worth Thirdly Consider how apt our thoughts are to be wandring and our minds to be drawn aside from our Devotions Therefore that is the easiest and surest way of praying well which sixeth our minds and settles our thoughts upon the weighty business in hand Now I dare affirm That there is nothing so well able to do this good office to us as Forms of Prayers judiciously composed either imprinted in our memories or before us in a Book for in the former method of praying the Soul is kept from wandring to and fro and in the latter it is tyed and limited by the sense of seeing and though in such cases it may take the liberty to step aside and escape out of the other senses yet we must all acknowledge that a Judicious Christian can by the assistance of his Senses be better able to limit and stop the wanderings of his mind and the unruliness of his thoughts than when he hath little or no use of them To conclude Nothing but the pride and self-conceitedness of some the prejudices and foolish humours of others have taught men to reject and contemn our set Forms of Prayer established in our Church of England which both for matter and manner are the best Liturgy that ever was used either in the Primitive or Modern Churches of Christ And there is nothing that hinders Men from using them with comfort and advantage to their Souls but their strong displeasures their frowad tempers and their itching Ears a Disease which hath infected the heart and fountain as well as the Sense and Organ of hearing Let me therefore intreat thee my Christian Reader seriously to peruse these Reasons that I have mentioned and let not any popular Mistake nor the pretended Inspirations of the Spirit discourage thee in the devour use of the Prayers of our Church chiefly in the publick Worship of thy God where Reason and Religion require from thee Uniformity and Unity with the rest of thy Brethren And in thy private Family I would have thee to use the same Prayers such I mean as are proper for that place and
we may so pass through things Temporal that we finally lose not the things Eternal for Jesus Christ his sake our Lord. Amen GRant O Lord we beseech thee that the Course of this World may be so peaceably ordered by thy governance that we and thy whole Church may joyfully serve thee in all Godly quietness through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen LOrd of all Power and might who art the Author and giver of all good things Graft in our Hearts the love of thy Name increase in us true Religion nourish us with all goodness and of thy great Mercy keep us in the same through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O Merciful God bless and preserve we pray thee our Princes defend them from all their Enemies direct them in all their Counsels assist them in all their religious purposes grant them and the Church amongst us peace and prosperity in this Life and everlasting Happiness in the life to come Bless all the Royal Family the Nobility the Magistrates the Gentry and People of this Land Grant us Peaâ—e and Truth and preserve us from Heresie Schism Superstition and Idolatry for Jesus Christ his sake Amen OUR Father which art in Heaven hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our Trespasses as wâ— forgive them that Trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from all Evil. For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen THe Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with us all evermore Amen Another Morning Prayer for a Family when Business is most urgent TUrn thy Face away from our sins O Lord and blot out all our Offences Make us clean Hearts O God and renew right Spirits within us Ps 51. Almighty and Everlasting God mercifullly look upon our Infirmities and in all our dangers and necessities stretch forth thy Right Hand to help and defend us through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O God whose Blessed Son was manifested that he might destroy the Works of the Devil and make us the Sons of God and Heirs of Eternal Life Grant us we beseech thee that having this Hope we may purifie our selves as he is pure that we may walk in newness of life and follow the Examples of his Patience Piety and Holiness that when he shall appear with Power and Glory we may be made like unto him in his glorious Kingdom Amen O Lord be merciful to us and our Nation bless the King's Majesty and our Queen with Life and happiness their Counsellors with Wisdom their Armies with Victory their Subjects with Peace and Prosperity Bless the Nobility the Clergy and Commonalty in their goings out and comings in Bless us we beseech thee and all our Relations with Spiritual and Temporal Mercies And all these Blessings we beg for Jesus Christ his sake in whose perfect Form of Prayer we sum up all our desires as he hath taught us OUr Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this Day our daily Bread And forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from all Evil. For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen THe Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the Love of God the Father and the Fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with us all Amen Another Morning PRAYER for a Family O Gracious God the Creator and Protector of Mankind whose continued goodness we have lately experienced in the safety and preservation of the last Night We bless thy Holy Name for this and all other expressions of thy Mercy to us we acknowledge that as thou art the Author of our Beings it is thy good Providence that maintains and defends them from all dangers and Enemies that incompass us about It is thy watchful Eye that sees all their contrivances to destroy us It is thy Wisdom that knows how to defeat their Craftiest purposes It is thy Power alone that can disappoint and oppose their wicked and hellish Plots We are not ignorant O Lord of their malice and our continual dangers dangers that proceed from the contrivances of Spiritual and Temporal Enemies we desire therefore to be heartily thankful for we are really sensible of thy merciful protection hitherto and to ascribe all the Honour and Praise of our preservation and deliverance to thy Wisdom and Providence alone But O merciful Father let this expression of thy goodness the foundation of all thy Blessings be still continued to us we are sensible of our undeservings our sins and wickednesses are multiplied our provocations and ingratitudes have been many our many deficien ies in all our Duties might justly cause thee to leave us to our selves for the future and expose us naked to the subtilties and power of our Enemies who would quickly devour us But we implore thy mercy at this time and intreat thee to forgive us our Trespasses to pardon our Infirmities and to pass by all our Transgressions for the Lord Jesus his sake In his Name and through his Merits we approach with all humility to the throne of thy grace to beg the forgiveness of all our Iniquities and the continuance of thy protection and Mercies Temporal and Spiritual How weak are we of our selves How soon cast into our Graves and what is Man that he should be able to defend us when the least blast deprives him of Life and Being Thou art therefore and thou alone O great God of Heaven thou art only able to defend us in the following course of our Life from visible and invisible perils Let thy Mercy be continued to us shelter us from the malicious designs of all our Enemies frustrate their wicked purposes lead us in all our ways direct us in all our paths bless us in all our undertakings we live in a crooked Generation in a world that overflows with sin and wickedness and our Conversation is amongst evil-doers let therefore thy Wisdom and thy fear so possess our Souls that we may not be drawn away by the Vices of the Age nor intangled in such Labryinths of Sin as might indanger our eternal welfare Suffer us not to be inticed with the allurements of unlawful Pleasure and Profit We trust not to our selves O Lord and our own frail resolutions because we have broken them so often that we have cause to mistrust our selves and to rely chiefly upon thy merciful guidance Let thy Truth direct us and thy Spirit lead us as well as thy Power protect us from the invasion of Error and Vice give us a right understanding of thy Will an unchangeable resolution to practise it suffer us not to be drawn aside neither by fear nor by profit from the
Evening Prayer for a single Person O Being of Beings the great Creator of the World and preserver of Mankind by whose gracious goodness I am now alive and brought safe through the many dangers and inconveniencies of this mortal Life to the close of this day I humbly acknowledge thy Providence and merciful Protection Thou hast fed me with thy Creatures defended me by thy Power instructed me in thy Truth admitted me into thy Church for these and all other Mercies received from thy Bountiful hand I return thee my homage and Thanks and confess my self unworthy of the meanest of thy Favours by reason of the many Provocations that I am guilty of O Lord I have sinned against Heaven and against thee and am no more worthy to be called thy Son my Transgressions are multiplyed every day and mine Iniquities are without number How easily have I yielded to the Power of Temptations how often have I broken thy sacred Laws Gracious God be merciful be merciful to me a Sinner blot out all mine Iniquities and forgive me for the sake of my dear and only Saviour who is dead and intercedes for me Accept his Sacrifice and Mediation for my poor Soul grieved with the sense of Sin Give me true Repentance and that Frame of Spirit and Holy Resolution unto which thou hast promised in thy Holy Word mercy and forgiveness As thou hast begun the Work of Reformation in me perfect it I beseech thee by the continual influences of thy Holy Spirit forsake me not good God nor leave me to my wretched self but let thy Truth and Wisdom direct my Understanding and thy grace govern my Will in the practice of Piety Suffer me not to be overcome by the mistakes and inticements of Sin and Satan defend my Soul from all wicked impressions and infections of the World As thou hast redeemed me for thy self let not Vice nor Error draw me from thee nor the dangerous Allurements of Earthly Vanities but as my dependency is upon thy Power let my expectation of Happiness be from thy Bounty and my delight be in fulfilling thy holy Will Strengthen and increase in me all goodness Let every day bring me nearer to thee and to that Purity and Holiness without which no Man shall see thy Face Time that carries me apace to my cold Tomb minds me of an Eternity of a Resurrection and the last Judgment Prepare me I beseech thee for this last Account and that terrible Day wherein every Man shall give up an account of his Actions before a Righteous and Impartial Judge Grant that I may find Mercy and Favour at the hands of my great Redeemer and be admitted into the Joys of his Paradise And as I am now going to lye me down to refresh my weary Body with rest blessed God be merciful to me this Night protect me from all dangers and Evils Suffer not the Malice of the Devils nor of Wicked Men to hurt this outward Tabernacle nor the precious Soul that is within keep from me all troublesom Dreams and Thoughts and whether sleeping or waking let my Soul be armed with a reliance upon thy Goodness and Power grant me a moderate Rest that I may be better enabled to serve thee in my Generation and proceed on in the Employment unto which thy Providence hath called me In which let my chief aim be to advance thy glory rather than my own fordid Interest and to mind the careful management of all the Talents which thou hast put into my hands that I may as a good Servant and Steward improve and increase them Look in mercy upon all my Relations wheresoever they be let thy Grace thy Truth and Goodness accompany and protect them during their abode here below Crown with the choicest of thy Blessings our Religious King and Queen shield them from the wicked attempts of all their Enemies and give them long Life Health and Prosperity now and at last receive them into everlasting happiness Bless all their Royal Relations give them all Grace to be instrumental in promoting the Interest of thy Truth Godliness and Virtue that they may answer the good ends for which thou hast put much into their Hands Bless all Governours and Magistrates give them Grace to prefer thine Honour and Glory to all other Corrupt purposes whatsoever Defend this Nation from all Plots and Conspiracies defeat the Designs of all our Enemies and disappoint all Combinations against it If thou wilt afflict us good God let it be for a time take not thy Truth and Gospel from us and our Posterity and sanctifie all thy Judgments and Mercies to us that they may effect and produce in us that Reformation and those Graces for which they are intended Spread thy Gospel and Truth all over the World pull down Antichrist let all Nations understand thy Will and readily submit unto it Be merciful unto all Sons and Daughters of Affliction comfort and succour all sick Persons and such as are grieved with the loss of Goods Friends or Relations Be thou their good God and Saviour in thy due time giving them grace to submit to thee to trust upon thee and to expect from thy mercy alone a seasonable and proper Remedy to all their pressures and troubles And now blessed Lord I recommend my self again into thy merciful hands and conclude these my imperfect Prayers with that most perfect Form recommended to us by my good Saviour in whose Name I beg aâ—â— for whose sake I intreat thee O merciful Father grant me these my Requests and all other Mercies which thou knowest needful for my Soul and Body OUR Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our Tespasses as we forgive them that Trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from Evil For thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen An Evening Prayer for young Persons and Children O God who hast received me amongst thy Children instructed me in thy Truth and called me to be a Professor of thy Holy Religion Great and merciful Creator who hast been my Proteor and Defender from all dangers look down in mercy upon me and continue thy Favours to me the remaining part of my Life I see and experience every day the manifold expressions of thy goodness Thy Holy Name be praised for them all Give me more and more a Sense of thy mercifulness and a grateful heart that in these tender Years I may learn my great Duty to serve and glorifie thee on Earth and prepare my self for an Eternity for this purpose increase my knowledge and the graces thou hast been pleased to bestow upon me through a good Education of my Religious Parents Bless all my endeavours and theirs imprint thy holy Fear in my tender Soul preserve me from ill Company from the Vices and Errors of
Neighbours are in want Hast thou sent this plenty for me alone Is it not that I should praise thee in the use of so much as is needful for my self and Attendants and that I should distribute the rest to such as are in need I will imitate this thy Liberality my good God and be a faithful Steward of these inferior Mercies But this Food of my Body minds me of that of my Soul I have another more Spiritual and Divine Being that I must feed and cloath Gracious God forget not that Immortal and better part of my self but nourish it with Wisdom and Truth that I may grow in Grace and in the knowledge of thee my God Remove not the Candlestick of thy Gospel from us suffer not Schism and Idolatry to prevail and smother thy true Religion in their horrid Abominations but let Truth and Innocency overcome at last maugre the furious attempts of Men and Devils feed this precious Soul with that Bread which comes down from Heaven increase in me all Virtue and Goodness and preserve both my Soul and Body to thine Eternal Kingdom Amen Another Prayer before meat for a Child GOOD God bless me and these Creatures that we are to receive that in a moderate use of them we may be enabled to serve and glorifie thee on Earth through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Useful Meditations AND PRAYERS Upon GOD and his DIVINE ATTRIBUTES A Meditation and Prayer upon the Incomprehensible Being and Presence of God O Adorable Majesty Being of Beings Creator and Supporter of this Great World How wonderful must be the source of all these visible Wonders How glorious the chief Lord of so large an Empire and of so many differing sorts of Creatures that fill all the Elements and every Corner We are sensible of thine infinite Presence yet can conceive no shape nor being like thy Divine Majesty The Pictures of all thy Perfections are scattered and represented in every thing that is made and thou hast left an impression of thy Wisdom and Power in every part of this large World yet none can represent thee O great God as thou art We see fell and are perfectly sensible of thy Divine Footsteps left upon every Creature yet our weak apprehensions cannot entertain any Idea that may answer thy Greatness O Spirit of Spirits how is it possible that so weak a Creature as I am who can understand nothing but by the Ministry of these weak Senses should be able to comprehend the infinite and incomprehensible God whose glorious Presence dazles the Eyes and surpasses the Understandings of the perfectest and noblest Creatures that are above O my God fill my Soul with an holy dread of thy greatness and Power Suffer me not to receive any base impression or filly Imagination of thy Divine Being and as thou art Incomprehensible let me not presume to form in my mind any Image nor to have before mine Eyes any Picture with a design to represent thee Let thine Universal Presence be always present with me but in such a manner as I may not be guilty of Spiritual Idolatry or of harbouring any mean thought of thy Glory O merciful God thou requirest these Services from us poor Creatures and hast promised thine assistance to us in time of need put therefore my Soul into an Holy Temper fit for thine acceptance and let these Ejaculations and Emissions of my Heart and Mind proceed from an Humility and Fear of thy presence that they may not be unworthy of thy Grace and Favour And the nearer I approach unto thy Mercy-Seat vouchsafe to look upon the necessities of my Soul and Body and grant me those Requests that thou O my God in thine infinite Wisdom knowest most needful for me for the sake and by the mediation of my Great Saviour whose intercession for me I humbly implore Amen A Meditation and Prayer upon the Immutability of our Great God O Unchangeable Being the Author of all these changeable things that appear before our Eyes Thou art that immutable God upon whom we may safely depend Every thing that thou hast made directs our Eyes and Contemplations to thee as the surest foundation of all our hopes and expectations and the nearer the Creatures have the Honour to approach thy glorious Throne the more they are fixed and secured by their Rights of Creation from all Unconstancy and Mutability This wide World and all Sublunary things are unsetled and rowling from one State to another tumbled and tossed changed by many Accidents so that we cannot rest nor settle our expectations upon them But the Heavenly Globes continue since their first make unchangeable through so many Revolutions of Ages tho' they also for the sin of Man shall suffer an alteration by thine overruling Power But those Spiritual Beings that inhabit beyond and above our Prospect are yet less subject to mutation all their Perfections proceed from thine overflowing abundance Thou only O my God art the Creator and Benefactor of their Immortal Natures They are all subject to some weakness and are circumscribed and limited but thou alone art the unlimited and unchangeable God always enjoying an happiness never to be obscured or lessened by the most violent endeavours of all thine Enemies Thou art always continuing in that Glorious state that nothing can possibly Eclipse Thou art immutable in thy self immutable in thy Designs and Resolutions immutable in thy Promises and Truth and immutable in all thy Divine Perfections O my God give me grace that I may settle upon thee my Faith and hope and rest upon thee alone for all my present and future advantages I have no other Rock to build upon but thy Power and Mercy no other Truth to trust to but thy revealed Word O that I may embrace it with that immutable Resolution that may admit of nothing contrary to the same that my Soul may be fixed only upon thee my good God and look with contempt upon all other Objects Amen A Meditation and Prayer upon the Eternity of God O Eternal and Everlasting God before the Heavens and the Earth before the Sun and all the rest of the Luminaries that are above had a Being thou didst subsist of thy self in a full enjoyment of an unchangeable Felicity From all Eternity to all Eternity thou art the same glorious and Incomprehensible Being who never fails them that seek thee in Spirit and in Truth Let the World change and alter and the Generations of Creatures succeed one another in their appointed times Let all inferior things rowle and pass away Let them have their beginnings their growth perfections and decay thou art the same and Eternal God who never had any beginning nor never can have any end Thou alone art that independent Majesty upon whom all other things lean and from whom they expect the Supplies and Recruits to their decaying and failing Natures Thou art the first Source and Spring of all Motion and Power O my God thou hast granted to my Soul and Spirit