away And into Joy turns all our Grief Come thou bright Sun shoot home thy darts Pierce to the Center of our Hearts And make our living Faith love thee Without thy Grace without thy Light Our strength is weakness our day night And we can neither move nor see Lord wash our sinful stains away Water from Heaven our barren Clay Our many mortal Bruises heal To thy sweet Yoke our stiff Necks bow Warm with thy fire our Hearts of Snow And soon our wandring feet repeal O grant thy Faithful dearest Lord Whose only hope is thy sure Word The saving gifts of thy good Spirit Grant us in Life t' obey thy Grace Grant us at Death to see thy Face And Heave'ns Eternal Joyes inherit All Glory to the Sacred Three One ever-living Deity All Power ascribe and Bliss and Praise As at the first when time begun May the same Homage still be done While time does last when time decayes Amen MEDITATION II. HOw glorious O Lord is thy Grace over all the World How admirable are the influences of thy Spirit They who through dulness so slowly understood the often repeated Lessons of their divine Master now when the Spirit descended upon them did with the first swift glance see through all and no mystery could pose nor errour deceive them They who through fear forsook their Lord and fled away from the danger of being his now do rejoice in suffering for his Name and neither Life nor Death can forbid them to confess him They who knew only their Mother tongue and that no better than as simple Fishermen now speak to every Nation in their several language and with their powerful Eloquence ravish their Hearts They who after our Saviours resurrection shut fast the doors for fear of the Jews now in the open Streets and publick Synagogues confidently proclaim the Name of Jesus These were new bottles sill'd with new Wine wine that made them quite forget their former selves Wine that exalted them into a generous Spirit of despising all things for the love of Jesus Wine that in the midst of Racks and Prisons made them often break forth into that sweet extasie no joy like the pain of suffering for Jesus no Life like the death endur'd for his Love. O were there now such tongues of fire to kindle in the world those divine flames O were there now such Hearts in the world to receive the holy sparks that fall from Heaven The Apostle Peter preach't but one Sermon and immediately there were converted to Thee three thousand Souls he preach't again and wrought but one Miracle and five thousand more were added to the Church Thus every day they encreas'd in number and which was better their number encreas'd in Vertue They were all inebriated with the same heavenly Wine and all fill'd with the same Heroick Spirit They sold all they had and brought the price and laid it down at the Apostles feet they liv'd in an Innocent community and call'd nothing their own even in their will and understanding they were all united Every one had enough and that is to be rich none had too much and that is to be free free from the cares that perplex the wealthy free from the temptations that wait on superfluity Hadst thou been there my Soul to have seen the flaming ardour of those first converts it would have made thee utterly asham'd of all sloath and coldness You may easily suppose you might have heard them saying such passionate words as these from a mixture of grief and love Ah dearest Lord why were we not so happy as to be converted by thee while thou livedst amongst us Why not to entertain Salvation when thou broughtest it to our homes and didst preferre our little Nation before all the World Unhappy we in our neglect and perverseness which were the causes of our insidelity We lookt on thy many kind miracles O Lord and did not see them Before our Eyes thou didst give sight to the Blind and our Souls were dark with Sin and prejudice Thou didst cleanse the Leprous and heal all manner of Diseases thou didst raise the Dead and cast out Devils with a Word Yet we alas how many of us blasphem'd thy Name how many conspir'd with thy Bloody Crucifiers We cryed out among the tumultuous rabble Away with him away with him crucifie him crucifie him for we knew thee not then to be the Lord of Glory Blessed be thy holy Spirit who has opened our Eyes and made us see through the veil that eclips'd thy lustre Now we believe thee the Messias we expected now we acknowledge thee the King of Israel MEDITATION III. PRoceed my Soul a little further to meditate on the mighty works of the Holy Spirit and with their greatness admire his power and with their goodness his bounty and Love. When Lord thou didst descend into our wretched World then was that Word of thy faithful Prophet fulfill'd The Wolf shall dwell with the Lamb the Leopard shall lie down with the Kid the Calf and the Young Lion and the Fatling shall be together and even a little Child shall lead them They who in the day of our Saviours Passion fiercely persecuted him like Lions and Wolves thou didst easily convert many of them into innocent Sheep and join them with the rest of his harmless Flock Those that were covetous as Wolves thy powerful Grace made them liberal those that were fierce and proud as Lions it made humble and meek Those that had been intemperate as Swine were made sober and they that were lustful as Goats became chast They were all join'd together in the bonds of pure Charity and submitted to the government of the meek and poor Apostles Then was the worship of God not a burden but a delight not a diversion but a business to the ardent love thou didst inspire The Disciples continued daily in the Apostles Doctrine humbly attending to their saving instructions Daily they broke the holy Bread and celebrated the appointed Supper of our Lord inflaming thereby their love to him and confirming their holy Faith and resolutions Daily they assembled to unite their Prayers being fill'd with the Spirit of Grace and Supplications Thus they obey'd thy dictates and thus they encreas'd in the measure of thy Gifts and the strength of thy Graces Such were the fervours of those happy times and Oh how Happy were our times had we those fervours too But our times alas are become miserable by Schisms and heresies and the darkness that covers a great part of the World Ours are become miserable by the defect of Charity and by the scandalous examples of too many Christians Many are scandalous in the Principles which they profess to the disparagement of our Lord's instructions and many others in their vicious Conversations which disparage his wise and pure Precepts Too many alas there are of these yet the Gates of Hell can never prevail against the Power of God Still the same Spirit visits the World and
have a good or a bad Eternity and that every action tends towards the one or the other Thus kept in awe thou wilt be careful not to sin and encourag'd by the reward thou wilt strive to do well Then maist thou look up with humble confidence in our God how low soever thy afflictions depress thee Thou may'st look up to the eternal Mountains and feed thy hungry desires with this sweet hope the day will come when out of this dark world we shall joyfully ascend to that beauteous light The day will come and cannot be far off when we shall rest for ever in the bosom of Bliss MEDITATION III. HAppiest of all O Lord are they whose very business is thy sacred Service Who not only bestow an interrupted glance but steadily fix their Eyes on Thee Who are devoted to the happy Service of the Sanctuary and night and day dwell in thy presence Who not engag'd in the cares and tumults of the World spend their time in Retirement and Devotion If the Sun rise it finds them at their Masters work and when it sets leaves them at the same sweet task Every place is a Church to such consecrated Souls and every day a holy Sabbath Every object is an occasion of Piety and every accident an exercise of Vertue Do they behold the beauteous Stars they presently adore their great Creator Do they look down on the fruitful Earth they instantly begin to praise his Bounty Let War or Peace do what they will and the inconstant World reel up and down they pass through all with a ferene mind and smoothly go on their regular course looking still up to that glorious Life above and entertaining this present in hope and labour to attain it When they depart sometimes from their proper center and forsake a while their belov'd retirement 't is to approach and give light to others and enflame some cold or lukewarm hearts While they are abroad they are still with Thee and nothing can divide them from thy dear Presence When they return still Devout and Innocent thou receivest them as familiar Friends and freely admit'st them to thy secret Sweetness Thou givest them a tast from thine own full board and overflowest their hearts with the Wine of gladness Often they feel a little beam from Heaven strike gently and fill their breasts with light often that gentle light is kindled into a flame and chastly burns with pure desires Desires that still mount up and aim at Thee the supernatural center of all their hopes Oh happy state of the Reverend Clergy who empty of the World are full of God! Such shall seldom fall and quickly rise and make swift Advances in the way to Heaven They shall live in purity and dye with confidence and go to sing among the Quires of Angels PETITIONS O Gracious and eternal Wisdom and Goodness who seest and pitiest the infirmities of our nature surrounded on every side with the worst of dangers tentations to folly O guide my steps in thy safe way order every chance to prevent my falling and still lead me on towards a happy end Give me the eye and wing of an Eagle to see my danger at a distance and fly swiftly away from it If I needs must engage my Enemy and there be no means left to escape the Encounter strengthen me O Lord with thy all-powerful Grace to persevere with courage to break through all that offers to divert or stop the advance of my love to thee alone strengthen me that I may never be wanting in my fidelity to thee Convince me O blessed God into this firm judgment and make my Memory faithfully retain it whatever my Senses say to deceive me or the World to obscure so beauteous a truth That thy self alone art our chiefest good and the sight of thy glory our supream felicity Give me O thou dispenser of all things give me in this World neither poverty nor riches but feed me with food convenient for me lest perhaps being full I be allur'd to deny thee and say Who is the Lord or compell'd by want do flatter or steal or forswear the name of my God. Whatever my lot be assist me by thy Grace to submit my Will intirely to thine Assist me so to improve the Talents which thy Providence assigns me that at the great day of Account I may be receiv'd with those precious words Well done good and faithful Servant enter thou into thy Masters joy Through the Merits of Jesus Christ the Mediator Glory be to c. Amen For Saturday Evening MEDITATION I. WHY do we still pursue this World and so eagerly seek its fond enjoyments A world of vanity and false deceits a world of misery and many sad disasters whose Crosses are solid and Comforts empty whose Sorrows are permanent and Delights pass quickly away A World where the innocent are often condemn'd with shame and the bold guilty acquitted with applause Where sometimes the wicked are advanc'd to honour and the vertuous are opprest with disgrace Where Friends soon fall off and Kindred forget and every one minds his own private Interest Yet are we taken with this crooked World and blindly court its ugly painted face We make some sordid Passion Mistress of our heart and neglect the pure and amiable love of Jesus whose goodness to us gives all we have whose Perfections in himself are more than we can conceive Thou art O glorious Jesu the Beauty of Angels and the everlasting Joy of all thy Saints Thou art the Heaven of Heaven it self and in thy sight alone is the fulness of Bliss All this thou art and infinitely more and yet alas how few esteem thee The World we dearly know too often has deceiv'd us and our rashness takes no care not to be undone again Thou never O Jesu hast fail'd our hope and our dulness fears to rely on thee The World distracts and embroils our spirits and wretched we delight in our misery Thou alwaies O Jesu fill'st our hearts with peace and senseless we are weary of thy happiness The World calls and we faint in eager following it thou call'st and we are still reliev'd by thee Yet is our Nature so ingratefully perverse we run after that which tires and abandon that which refreshes Sometimes our lips speak gloriously of thee O thou living Fountain of eternal Bliss Some happy times we relish thy sweetness and decry aloud the poysons of the World. But we are soon entic'd by its gilded Cup and easily forsake the Waters of Life MEDITATION II. ALL this is true and yet the World is lov'd and our nature inclines to affect its vanities 'T is lov'd and so it justly deserves to be did we understand its real value Our Life indeed seems trivial and mean and all things about us look troublesom and dangerous Yet O my God is their consequence excellent in this that they are our onely way of coming to thee This World and this alone is the Womb that breeds us
Persons for the Duty of the Sacred Ministry By whose Ministry thou dost perfect the Saints and build up the Body of Christ to the end of the World. MEDITATION II. BLessed for ever be thy Name O Holy Spirit and blessed be the bounty of thy Goodness When the Eternal Father by creating the World had declar'd himself and his Almighty Power When the Uncreated Word by redeeming Mankind had reveal'd himself and his infinite Wisdom When now there remain'd but one seal more to be open'd of the Book of Divine Mysteries Behold a strange condescendence to our weak nature the Invisible Spirit Visibly appears He descends from Heaven in the shape of a Dove and gently alights upon the Prince of Peace Again he descends in the likeness of Fire and miraculously sits on the Heads of his Disciples Mingling thus together in one blest compound those chief ingredients of excellent vertue Mildness to allay the heat of Zeal and Zeal to quicken the indifferency of Mildness Innocence to adorn the light of Knowledge and Knowledge to direct the Simplicity of Innocence O Blest adorable Teacher Who can instruct like the Spirit of God He needs no years to finish his course but with a swift and efficacious touch consummates all things He entred the Soul of a young delighter in Musick and presently sanctified him into a composer of Psalms He took a poor Shepherd from following the Flock and immediately rais'd him to the degree of a Prophet He by one Lesson perfected the Disciples and polisht rude Fishermen into eloquent Preachers He toucht the Heart of a persecuting Pharisee and instantly chang'd him into a Glorious Apostle There is none O Lord can resist thy efficacious Grace but it accomplishes whatsoever thou intendest And the most Stubborn refusers thou makest to become a willing People in the day of thy Power All this thou hast done O Infinite Goodness and all the good that we doe is wrought by thee By thee is every condition sanctified to us in this mutable World and we are inabled through all to walk steadily towards our Eternal Rest By Thee our Souls are comforted on our beds of Sickness and thou alone fittest us for the Mansions of Glory If in the Church there be any Wisdom or Knowledge if any real Sanctity or decent Order if any Faith of the Mysteries of Religion if any Hope of Everlasting Salvation If any Love of God as our Sovereign bliss if any mutual Charity of one towards another If any Miracles have been wrought to convert unbelievers and to confirm the weak in Faith against the violence of Persecution All these things flow from thy free Grace O thou boundless Ocean of Eternal Mercies All flows from thee and all our little streams ought to return in tribute to thy Bounty Blessed be thy Name O Holy Spirit of God who dividest thy Gifts to every one as thou pleasest and workest all in all MEDITATION III. STill my Soul continue thy Meditations on this adorable Person and humbly present thy further acknowledgments and praises to him who is the Eternal Love of the Father and the Son and the Glorious Finisher of the Sacred Mystery To him the quickening Spirit of regenerate Souls in whom they live and move and have their Being To him the sovereign Balsom of our wounds and only comfort of all our Sorrows To him our refuge in this place of Banishment and faithful guide in this wandring Pilgrimage To him the Sacred pledge of our free adoption and ensuring Seal of our Eternal Salvation What do we say of Thee O Adorable Spirit of God! What do we say when we utter such words as these We say what we can in our low capacity but alas how short of thy unspeakable excellencies O that we had the tongues of Glorified Saints and of Angels O that we had thine own Miraculous Tongues Those which sate flaming on the Heads of the Apostles and made them speak thy wonders in every language Still all our praises would be poor and narrow still infinitely less than thy infinite perfections But if we cannot speak as our God deserves shall we therefore hold our Peace which God forbids Wo be to them O Lord who are silent of thee and spend the breath thou givest them on any but thy self When we have tried our best endeavours and taken a measure of our own defects when our own Hearts can conceive no more and our tongues have exprest their utmost we will then call upon all others to praise thee who have been beholden to thy infinite Bounty and say Praise the Eternal Spirit O all you Quires of rejoicing Angels for his early Grace confirm'd you in Glory Praise him ye Reverend Patriarchs whose wayes he govern'd and by particular Providence led you to felicity Praise him ye Ancient Prophets whose Souls he inspir'd to teach his chosen People the Mind of Heaven Praise him you glorious company of the Apostles whose Persons he empowered to be Embassadours of Peace between Heaven and Earth Praise him you the Noble Army of generous Martyrs whose Spirits he encouraged and gave you the Victory over the terrours of Death Praise him ye Blessed Confessours whose lives he sanctified and gave you Victory over the World and your selves Praise him ye Holy Virgins whose Souls he espoused and consecrated your chast Bodies into Temples for himself Praise him O thou the Blessed Virgin-Mother of our Lord by whom the Worlds Redeemer was conceiv'd in thy Womb Praise him all you the faithful departed this Life whose hope he sustains of a Glorious Resurrection of your Bodies Praise him all ye that make up the Holy Church throughout all the World bless him and magnifie him for ever Praise him in the Power and freedom of his Grace praise him for the Eternity and greatness of his Glory Praise him O my Soul for his Mercies to thee Praise him for his goodness to all the World. Praise him on the choicest Instrument that of the Heart Praise him in the fittest Place the publick assemby of his Saints PETITIONS O Kindle in my Heart holy Lord thy divine fire that I may offer to thee the hallow'd incense of Praise O thou who openest the mouths of the Dumb and makest the Tongues of Children eloquent inspire thy devoted Servant if not with expressions suitable to thy self at least with such as are profitable to me Such as may instruct me what I ought to do and such as may move me to do what I say Come holy Spirit who art the free dispenser of all Grace visit my poor Heart and replenish it with thy Sacred inspirations Refuse not O Lord to hear me now I call upon Thee and make me still hear Thee when thou callest upon me do thou by thy mighty operations in my Soul establish such an interest in me as may alwayes dispose me to so advantageous a duty Illuminate my understanding inflame my affections and sanctifie all the powers of my Soul and Body that I may know
creatures besides Make me to see emptiness and vanity in all things else to account that all is vanity of vanities but only the Love of God and enjoyment of him Let me when I find this world ordain'd by thee to breed and widen only and not fill my capacity let me make this use of all thy Creatures here to raise and heighten my desires of thy infinite self in thy Eternity O God be thou to me my God and my All and make me nothing in mine own eyes Be thou my whole everlasting delight and let nothing else be any thing to me but thy self so draw my heart to thee so engross I beseech thee all my affections as to famish all the helpless Idols of my soul which in my state of darkness and enmity to thee I have so fondly ador'd Pity Oh pity gracious Lord according to thy infinite compassion my miserable distance from thee Thy hands have made me and fashioned me thou hast made me capable to enjoy thee thou hast given a capacity too large to receive satisfaction from any thing but thy self Oh regard with favour the work of thy hands say to my soul thou art my salvation and say it so Lord as to make me hear thy powerful word can open the deaf ear And through my ear Lord reach my heart quicken my stupid soul put a new life into me so make me gladly follow thee that by following I may find thee and having found may never lose thy sight again never turn away my eyes from thee never grow estranged again nor lose thy blissful acquaintance Never let any thing but thy Eternal self be the prevailing ruling Joy of my heart Grant these requests or I am undone Grant these requests for the love of thy only Son our Mediator and Advocate Amen Hymn 4. LOrd who shall dwell above with thee There on thy holy Hill Who shall those glorious prospects see That Heaven with gladness fill Those happy souls who prize that life Above the bravest here Whose greatest hope whose eagerest strife Is once to settle there They use this world but value that That they supreamly love They travel through this present state But place their home above Lord who are they that thus chuse thee But those thou first didst chuse To whom thou gav'st thy grace most free Thy grace not to refuse We of our selves can nothing do But all on thee depend Thine is the work and wages too Thine both the way and end O make us still our work attend And wee 'l not doubt our pay We will not fear a blessed end If thou but guide our way Glory to Thee O Bounteous Lord Who giv'st to all things breath Glory to thee Eternal Word Who sav'st us by thy death Glory O Blessed Spirit to Thee Who fill'st our hearts with love Glory to all the Mystick three Who reign one God above Amen For Tuesday Morning MEDITATION I. FRom thee O Lord we derive our being and from the same Goodness our Continuance to be if thou but withdrawest thy hand for one single moment we instantly return to our first nothing Thou art without Cause or Maker as thou art without beginning and hast thy dependance upon none else we have but a derived being only borrow'd worth we have nothing which we have not received nothing but our Sins is entirely our own which we have reason to be asham'd of Should we presume at any time O Lord to divide thy Grace and proudly challenge any share to our selves thy mighty Truth stands up against us and our own infirmities may plainly confute us Shouldst thou severely examine our Hearts and ask who works all their actions in them surely we must needs bow down our hâ—â—ds and from our low Dust humbly say Nothing are we O Lord but what thou hast made us nothing have we but what thou hast given us Not unto us then O Lord not unto us but unto thy Name be Glory When we have applied our utmost cares and us'd all the diligence that lies in our power what can we do but look up to thee and second all our endeavours with Prayers for thy Blessing And when we implore thy gracious Mercy what can we do but submit our hopes and expect the event from thy free goodness If thou denyest what we wish who can compell thy will or call in question thy Decrees Are we not all thy Creatures O Gracious God! and as helpless Children hanging at the Breast of thy Providence Are we not all as clay in thy hands to frame us into vessels of what use thou pleasest Behold we confess O Lord in thee we live in thee we move and have our being All our sufficiency proceeds from thee and all our success depends on thy favour Others may tell us the way that we should go but thou alone canst enable us to walk in it And they that tell us our way must be first taught it by thee And they must be moved by thee to act that Charity and so at last all is resolv'd into thee We know further O Lord and thou thy self hast taught us that unless thou defend the City the Guard watches it in vain We acknowledge and our own experience tells us that unless thou reach forth thy hand we are presently in danger of sinking Every moment of our day subsists by thee From all our Enemies thy Providence defends us and covers our Head in the day of danger Thou sendest in thy Grace to relieve our weakness and so disappointest the temptations that threaten to undo us O my Soul be thou ready to adore thy God that preserves thee Has he watcht over thee all this night for good has he renewed his mercies this morning does he bestow on thee all thy daies and the comforts they bring Then be asham'd to think much of spending one half hour in his service Hymn 5. COme let 's adore the Gracious hand That brought us to this light That gave his Angels strict Command To be our Guard this Night When we laid down our weary head And Sleep seal'd up our Eye They stood and watch't about our bed To let no harm come nigh Now we are up they still go on And guide us through the day They never leave their Charge alone Whate're besets our way And O my Soul how many snares Ly spread before our feet In all our joyes in all our cares Some danger still we meet Sometimes the Sin does us o'retake And on our weakness win Sometimes our selves our ruine make And we o'retake the sin O save us Lord from all those darts That seek our Souls to slay Save us from us and our false Hearts Lest we our selves betray Save us O Lord to thee we cry From whom all blessings Spring We on thy Grace alone rely Alone thy Glory sing Glory to thee Eternal Lord Thrice blessed three in one Thy Name at all times be ador'd Till time it self be done Amen MEDITATION II. THe Almighty Power
great many thousands find favour with God to be saved from an universal deluge In several populous Cities before this floud could well be forgotten there could not ten righteous persons be found for whose sake they might be spar'd from destruction Then the rayes of divine light were communicated but to a few particular persons Only Abraham found favour with God to have a numerous seed and that his seed should be heirs of a Covenant of Promise I will be thy God said the Almighty to him and the God of thy seed after thee Accordingly he that was the God of Abraham took also particular care of Isaac and Jacob and he gave his Statutes and Judgments to the Children of Israel but did not deal so with any other Nation But since thy coming O glorious Messiah light is come into the world and the way of Salvation has been made known to all men unclouded light has come wlth thee no more opprest with ceremonial veils which therefore has diffused it self into the dark corners of the Earth and spread it self to the ends of the World. The Day-spring from on high has visited our distant region and on us has the Sun of righteousness kindly arose The Christian Church thanks be to thy Love Dear Lord has included within its pale a great many Nations It has had thousands that with a strong and generous love have run swiftly after Thee in the way of thy counsels nay millions with a fair degree of hope have walked constantly towards thee in the way of thy Commands Whence O my God could this strange improvement come but from the infinite Merits of the Redeemers death Hence it was that when he had ended his holy Life he ascended to Heaven and gave gifts to men He gave largely of his Spirit to his chosen Apostles and sent them out to preach his Word and dispence his appointed Sacraments He gave them the gift of Tongues that they might Preach to all Nations and the gift of working Miracles to confirm their Doctrines By his Spirits cooperating with these and succeeding their endeavours they every where propagated the Faith and Love of Jesus Our kind Lord before he ascended into Heaven appointed the use of two sacred Rites in his Church to assist the Faith of those who did not see his Person that they might notwithstanding believe and in believing be blessed Lest mankind should be so ungrateful as to forget him he has left us memorials of his tender love By these he shews us his bloody Death and Passion and makes himself present to those that believe and love and these by the powerful working of his Holy Spirit have confirm'd many Disciples in their most holy Faith Many they have possest with a holy fervour and courage to do and suffer great things for the name of Jesus O blest Memorials of my Saviours love and faithful seals of all his promises whereby what he has done for us is represented and what he has purchas'd is applyed to us If I forget to sing of you let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth If I forget to meditate on you let my head forfeit its power to think MEDITATION III. WHere O thou boundless Ocean of Immense charity where will thy overslowing streams stay their course we and our ingratitude basely strive to oppose Thee but nothing can resist thy Almighty Goodness Thou didst come to thine own People and they received Thee not yet thou didst not forsake the kind design of thy coming When the Impiety of man was treacherously plotting to betray and murder Thee then didst thou mercifully consult about means to convey thy saving blessings to the world When they were resolving to bruise and kill thy sacred Body thou wast contriving how we might best reap advantage from thy Passion and Death Thy love we see was desirous to do more than dye for us having contrived moreover a way to live in us The Lord Jesus on the same night when he was betray'd took Bread and when he had given thanks he brake it and said Take Eat this is my Body which was broken for you this do in remembrance of me After the same manner also he took the Cup after Supper saying This Cup is the New Testament in my Blood which is shed for the remission of the sins of many Drink ye all of it and do this as oft as you Drink it in remembrance of me Thus has our wise Lord found an excellent way to make even our flesh assist the Spirit in us He has contrived by sensible things to make us move towards heavenly by those things which are wont to draw and fasten us to this earth When he distributed the Bread and Wine to his Disciples he gave them an interest in his abundant graces and merits And thus is he ready to bestow himself still upon those that believe and are desirous to partake of him He has commanded the celebration of this Holy Supper to be continu'd in the Christian Church to the end of the world And that not only to keep alive a thankful remembrance of his Death but also to confirm his gracious Promises to them that believe on him To the happy Soul then that with faith and thankfulness does thus commemorate the dying Love of our Saviour this Holy Supper is a Feast of fat things and of Wine on the lees well refined Jesus Christ himself will come and Sup with such and be willing to make his constant abode with them His Promise assures his Presence with them while they are here on Earth and that they shall when they go hence be taken up to be where he is O Praise the Lord ye Nations of the Earth all praise and admire his wisdom and love His Love that so industriously seeks our happiness and his Wisdom that finds such excellent means to accomplish it Praise him that is the sole fountain of spiritual Blessings and who alone has right to ordain the means of conveying them for that he has instituted a few means and those easie to be observed and made them the conveyances of all the riches of his Grace Give hearty thanks to the kind Redeemer for this Institution and express your thankfulness by coming to this his Supper Come to it to remember his propitiatory Death and to receive Jesus Christ who offers himself to you Come to partake of the important purchases of his Death and to devote your selves entirely to him who has so lov'd you Come all ye People of the wide world and let us adore the God that feeds us With himself our kind Saviour will feed us and with his Sacred Flesh his sacred Flesh is meat indeed and his Blood is drink indeed Our first Parents eat of the forbidden tree and incurr'd for themselves and their posterity an eternal Death We are invited to a Feast of spiritual Food which whosoever eateth shall live for ever With these dainties will divine love nourish us up to immortal
spirits who neglect this Means appointed to convey spiritual strength and to furnish them with the Spirit of Grace Such must needs have lamentable cause to bewail the weakness of their Graces and the slow progress of their Holiness Well may they contract very deep stains that do not often wash themselves with the blood of the Lamb. Well may they that begin in the Spirit soon after end in the Flesh who do not often here renew their resolutions and receive fresh strength to hold on their race Those were times of vigorous and sound piety when Christians had a strong appetite to this Spiriual Food This Appetite discover'd their health and by often eating they maintain'd it When they could hardly be contented a Day without receiving one of these blessed meals When they never came together to worship but they also broke this holy Bread Then they were patient under the hardest sufferings and then they abounded in every good work Then did the love of Jesus burn hot in their breasts and the light of it shined bright before men Then they had great charity towards all men and much peace one with another It is a sad sign and may be reckon'd a cause that the Spiritual life greatly languishes in our daies When the proper Food of it is little relisht by many and a great many more never desire it Our sad dayes are likely still to languish in devotion to be over-run with impiety and profaneness Still will the base love of the world abound amongst us every one minding his own things and none the things of Christ Christians will be enemies to one another and more barbarous and cruel than wild-beasts They will go on to bite and devour their own kind and to consume and destroy the Christian Church If we do not oftner commemorate the Love of our Lord and solemnly bind our selves to love one another MEDITATION III. Does our gracious Lord make a Feast of himself for us and invite us poor Sinners to sit down at his Table And should we not readily obey his call and go to the Feast he has so kindly prepared Behold our Lord himself is willing to meet us and to bring a Heaven with him to entertain us O leave the trifles of this world ye reasonable Souls and go to partake of his substantial Joyes Suspend the pursuit of transitory goods ye immortal Creatures and seek of Christ his eternal Treasures O how ungrateful Dear Lord to thee are all they that neglect this thy incomparable Provision The Eternal Fathers Love is slighted by them who gave his beloved Son to dye for us The Love of our kind Redeemer is not duly valu'd while we have no esteem or desire for the blessings he has purchas'd The sweet and saving Influences of the Holy Spirit are set at nought while we decline the proper means to enjoy them Is it not a most unspeakable ingratitude in mankind to trample under foot the Blood of the Son of God to despise that precious Blood which was shed for our sakes which was shed for the remission of our sins should we forget that painful Death he underwent to excuse us from suffering an eternal death It was the particular charge that great Love left when he was just a going to be sacrificed for us That we should devoutly celebrate this holy Supper and often do it in remembrance of him Are we not under great Obligation from his Love to do any difficult or dangerous thing for his sake and much more to comply with his dying will when it requires so easie and so pleasant a duty Did our Saviour drink Vinegar and eat Gall for us and shall we refuse at his command to take these pleasant dainties He drank off the bitter Cup which the Father gave him to purchase for us a Cup of blessing O how well would it become the whole world to say We will take the Cup of Salvation and praise the name of the Lord We will remember thy Love more than Wine dear Lord and never forget thy most useful Benefits We will show that we love thee as we ought to do by keeping this and the rest of thy Commands Had we but ingenuous Souls we should be extreamly glad that he who has done so much for us has told us what will please him This Feast is appointed by our Lord to shew forth his Death 'till he come For he will come again in Glory and with Power to Judge both the quick and the dead When he will render to every man according to his works and severely Punish all those that obey not the Gospel What must become of all those in that dreadful day that do constantly neglect an undoubted Precept Men pretend to fear the incurring of damnation by unworthy receiving but do not fear to deserve it by neglecting to receive his Supper But since we disobey and offend our Lord in both of these it should be our labour and care to prepare our selves and draw nigh PETITIONS O Most Gracious and Merciful God who hast in kindness sent thy Son into the world O let the same kindness effectually draw us and we will run after him for none of us can come unto him except the Father that has sent him draw them Alas Lord we know not our true Interest 'till thou do effectually reveal it we certainly refuse our own mercies if thou do not incline us to pursue them O send forth a mighty power of thy Spirit upon the world and convince men of sin because they believe not in Jesus let him convince men of their guilty state by nature and of their further guilt in not obeying the Gospel Bring them in multitudes to Jesus Christ by making them sensible that there is no other name but his by which they can be saved Teach us how necessary to make atonement for our sins the great Sacrifice of himself was which he offer'd upon the Cross and make us all earnestly concern'd to partake of that Sacrifice and therefore forward to use the appointed means of it Convince us that we are poor without the riches of his grace and naked without the robes of his righteousness and in want of all things necessary to Salvation 'till we are possest of an interest in him O make us come to Jesus Christ that we may have life that our forfeited right to eternal Life may be restor'd and that he by his Spirit may quicken us to a spiritual and divine Life who are by nature dead in trespasses and sins Quicken us O thou who wast dead and art alive for thou alone hast the words of eternal Life Make us discern and seek and relish divine and spiritual things capable of the pleasures of devotion and desirous above all things of Communion with thy self Make us in retir'd Devotion and publick Worship often seek to have Communion with the Father and the Son through the Spirit And Lord whenever we draw nigh to thee by coming carefully prepar'd to
under the Banner of thee our Crucified Saviour that we may withstand the shock of all Temptations and conquer the Assaults of all our spiritual Enemies And make us watch as well as pray lest we enter into temptation that so we may be delivered from evil So guide and govern us dear Lord by thy great Wisdom and Love that nothing may be able to separate us from the love of thee our Glorious Redeemer who with the Father and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest ever one God world without end Amen Hymn 12. AND now my Soul canst thou forget That thy whole life is one long debt Of love to him who on a Tree Paid back the Flesh he took for thee Lo how the Streams of precious Blood Flow from five wounds into one Flood With these he washes all thy stains And buys thy ease with his own pains Thy Cross dear Lord does clearly now That doubt of former Ages show It was this wood should make the Throne Fit for a more than Solomon Large Throne of Love royally spread With purple of too rich a red Strange costly price thus to make good It s own esteem with its Kings blood Jesu best plant of Paradise To thee our hopes lift up our eyes O may aloft thy branches shoot And fill the Nations with thy fruit O may all reap from thy increase The just more strength the Sinner peace While our half-withered hearts and we Engraft our selves and grow on thee Live O for ever live and reign Blest Lamb whom thine own love has slain And may thy lost sheep live to be True lovers of thy Cross and thee All Glory to the sacred Three One undivided Deity As it has been in Ages gone May now and ever still be done Amen For Saturday Morning MEDITATION I. A Wake all ye Powers of my Soul and come pay your homage to the Prince of our Salvation cast your unworthy selves at his sacred feet and renew your vows of following his steps He triumpht over death in his own body and will enable us to conquer it in ours He chang'd the corrupted government of the world and establisht a new and holy Law that as we were Vassals to sin before we might now become the free subjects of Grace Let us live and dye in his blest Obedience and let no temptation ever separate us from him who if we resist will make us overcome and when we have overcome will crown us with peace Come let us adore our victorious Redeemer Thou hast O Lord triumpht over all thy enemies and ours but we alas are yet conversing in the midst of our enemies Prostrate before Thee we will confess our misery To how many dangers is our life expos'd with how many tentations are we round besieged tentations in meat tentations in drink tentations in conversing tentations in solitude tentations in business tentations in leisure tentations in riches tentations in poverty all our wayes are strew'd with snares and even our Sences conspire against us Whither O my God shall our poor Souls go encompast with a body so frail and a world so corrupt Whither but to thee the justifier of sinners and to thy grace the sustainer of the weak Thy Grace instructs us what we ought to do and breeds in us the will to endeavour what we know Thy Grace inables us to perform our resolves and when all is done thy Grace must give success We that of our selves can do nothing may through Christ strengthning us be able to do all things and gain the sentence of approbation that shall be pronounc'd upon his steadfast followers Well done good and faithfull Servants enter you into your Masters Joy. Hymn 13. LOrd we again lift up our eyes And leave our sluggish beds But why we wake or why we rise Comes seldom in our heads Is it to sweat and toyl for wealth Or sport our time away That thou preserv'st us still in health And giv'st us this new day No no unskilful Soul not so Be not deceiv'd with toyes Thy Lords commands more wisely go And aim at higher joyes They bid us wake to seek new grace And some fresh vertue gain They call us up to mend our pace 'Till we the prize attain That glorious Prize for which all run Who wisely spend their breath Who when this weary life is done Are sure of rest in death Not such a rest as here we prove Disturb'd with cares and fears But endless joy and peace and love Unmixt with grief and tears Glory to Thee O bounteous Lord Who giv'st to all things breath Glory to Thee Eternal Word Who sav'st us by thy Death Glory O blessed Spirit to Thee Who fill'st our Souls with Love Glory to all the mystick Three Who reign one God above Amen MEDITATION II. LOrd with what admirable Wisdom dost thou govern the world and order the several conditions of Men thy wise Providence orders some to be poor and appoints them their task of innocent work Thy Providence is pleased to make others rich and give them leisure for their better improvements Thou hast made both poor and rich to be some way needful to one another that all may live in love and unity and apply themselves to mutual assistance Happy are they O Lord who have so much employment that there remains no room for idle thoughts Happy are they who have so little business that they want not space to attend their Souls Happy yet more are they who in the midst of their work can think sometimes of the wages above whom nothing diverts from that chief concern of seeking to make their Election sure But while their backs are bow'd down with labour they freely can raise up their minds to Heaven And while they are ty'd to their Beds with sickness can yet move on towards their Eternal rest Often they rejoyce with themselves alone and silently say in their contented hearts Here we alas are narrowly confin'd and our time entertain'd with trivial affairs But hereafter we expect an unbounded enlargement and the same glorious office with the blessed Angels Here we are subject to a thousand miseries and the most prosperous life is vain and short but hereafter we expect an infinity of Joy and the solid Pleasures of Heaven for ever We too my Soul let us Pray to be guided in the middle Path and take care that we decline to no vicious extream to avoid the stormy sea of too much business and the dead water of a slothful life lest we be cast away by forgetting God or become corrupted by neglecting our selves Sometimes at least recollect thy thoughts how much soever thy condition distracts thee In all thy works remember thy last end when thou must bid a long farewel to all this World Remember that dreadful Day of the Universal Judgment when thou must give an account for every idle word Remember the Joyes prepar'd for the Innocent and the miseries that attend the wicked Remember how nearly it concerns thee to
their God Yet this prepar'd them for the times of Grace to which thy Mercy O Lord reserv'd far greater favours to which thou hast promised by thy Holy Prophets an effusion of Blessings from thine own full hands I will put my Law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts I will be their God and they shall be my People I will pour out my Spirit upon all Flesh and your Sons and your Daughters shall Prophesie They shall teach no more every one his Neighbour saying Know the Lord for all shall know me from the least of them to the greatest saith the Lord. Hymn 31. COme Holy Spirit come and breath Thy Spicy Odours on the Face Of our dull Regions here beneath And fill our Souls with thy sweet grace Come and root out the poys'nous weeds Which over-run and choak our Lives And in our hearts plant thine own seeds Whose quickening pow'r our Spirit revives First Plant the humble Violet there Which dwells secure by dwelling low Then let the Lilly next appear And make us chast yet fruitful too But O! Plant all the Vertues Lord And let the Metaphors alone Repeat once more that mighty Word Thou need'st but say Let it be done We can alas nor be nor grow Unless thy powerful Mercy please Thy hand must plant and water too Thy hand alone must give th' increase Do then what thou alone canst do Do what to thee so easie is Conduct us through this world of woe And place us safe in thine own Bliss All Glory to the Sacred Three One ever-living Sovereign Lord As at the first still may he be Belov'd and Prais'd Fear'd and Ador'd Amen MEDITATION II. LOok up languishing World look up and see how punctually thy faithful Lord performs his word When he had finisht here that gracious work which his goodness undertook for our Redemption when he had told us what we ought to do and what to suffer for the Kingdom of Heaven when he himself had done more than he requir'd of us and was about to be offer'd up for us by his Death on the Cross and he had wrought our Salvation so far that now his absence from Earth was more expedient for us He first prepares the hearts of his Disciples and comforts their Sorrows with these sweetest words Children I will not leave you Orphans but will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter even the Spirit of Truth who shall teach you all things and bring to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you Peace I leave with you my Peace give I to you let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid I ascend unto my Father and to your Father to my God and to your God I goe to prepare a place for you that where I am there may also my faithful and constant Followers be Thus he gave them to expect that the Holy Spirit should be sent into the World upon his departure from it That this kind Spirit would apply himself to Comfort them by all those wayes wherein comfort could be given That this Spirit should supply his Presence not only for a time but should abide with them never to remove to Heaven again as he did That he should continue in the Christian Church a sufficient Guide and a powerful Comforter to Teach them what is to be done to Comfort them under Afflictions to fortifie and support them in their spiritual Conflicts to assist the application and use of those excellent Instructions which he had left among them to take their part in the World and convert their enemies into friends by convincing them of sin in not believing on Jesus of the righteousness which it appears they may have from him because he is gone to the Father and of Judgment to come for sinful men since the sinning Angels are judged And after their kind Master had said these and other comfortable things to them he led them forth together and gave them his Blessing and parting from them went away into Heaven So loving Mothers when the weaning time is come withdraw from their beloved Children but while they thus deprive their tender little ones of their most dear and all-supplying Presence they still depute some faithful Friend to assist them for though they leave they do not intend to forsake them Such and far greater was the care of our God as his love is far greater than that of tenderest Mothers to their Infants He saw it necessary for so mysterious a Faith to be shown in a clear and supernatural light to the first Believers that they might confidently recommend to others what they knew with infallible certainty themselves He saw it necessary for so perverse a World to infuse into its first Converters a fullness of Charity that with an ardent Zeal they might instruct their Hearers and with a patient courage overcome their opposers He saw it necessary for such varieties of Nations to furnish the Preachers with variety of Languages that they might teach every one in their native Speech and understand their doubts and satisfie their objections MEDITATION III. WHEN the appointed time was come as all the works of God go forth in their fittest season the Disciples having tarried at Jerusalem according to direction to be endued with power from on high when they were gather'd together into one place and with one accord and so were excellently dispos'd for the Visits of Heaven when they had long continued in ardent Prayer and wrought up their Affections to the utmost point of desire suddenly there was a sound from Heaven from whence every good and perfect gift descends a vehement Wind fill'd the whole house for the Grace of God is strong and liberal Behold on the Head of each sate a Tongue as of fire the properest means to inable them for the Conversion of the World While they were all illuminated with a pure light and all enflam'd with a fervent heat and to communicate both to every Nation they were all endued with the gift of Languages Thus were the words of the Prophets fulfill'd and the Promises of our Saviour perform'd and the Faith of the Christian Church was thus miraculously begun Thus were the Messengers of everlasting Peace prepared they were miraculously baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire and were perfectly qualified for their great Commission to Preach to every Creature this happy Gospel He that believes and is Baptized shall be saved When our Lord ascended up on high he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men He did not affright the world again with the Thunders and Lightnings of Mount Sinai but gently infused the pleasant fire of divine Love into the hearts of his Disciples How should we bless the Lord our God who are Members of the Christian Church to which at this time instead of the Law of Moses was given the grace of Christ for the Letter the Spirit for Shadows Truth and for the Spirit of Fear the
Spirit of Adoption Blessed be thou O Eternal Father God of abundant and infinite goodness for this unspeakable kindness of sending thy Spirit into our miserable and wicked World a Spirit so suited to our necessities and able to bring many of us to glory This Lord was thy free gift with respect to us unworthy Creatures Mankind did not could not deserve it of thee it ought therefore to be the more marvellous in our eyes And we may justly wonder not only at thy Bounty but at thy Patience too herein for Mankind had highly forfeited this Mercy and it was directly contrary to his Deserts Thou didst send thy Spirit for our good and advantage after that the ungrateful World had abused and put to Death thy Son. Blessed be thou O Dear Redeemer whose Blood and Death purchased for us this incomparable gift and whose powerful Intercession in Heaven obtain'd it Blessed be thy merciful Providence O Jesu who when thou hadst finisht thy great work on Earth didst ascend into Heaven to draw our minds even thither after thee Blessed be thy Infinite Goodness who when thou hadst taught us the words of Eternal Life sentest down the Holy Ghost to make us observe them and raise up our Affections to that glorious Kingdom whither thou art gone before us that where Thou our happiness art our hearts as they should may also be Blessing and Praise be to the Holy Spirit himself who though proceeding from the Father and the Son is equal in nature and glory whose free goodness it was to give himself to our forlorn World He is both the Giver and the Gift from the great Love wherewith he loved us Thus are we beholden to the ever blessed Trinity not only for excellent and supernatural Graces but also for his Presence who is the cause and Author of all Grace And they to whom this Spirit is given have not only the Streams but the Fountain of living Waters in whom therefore they must needs be springing up even unto Eternal Life PETITIONS O Merciful Lord who hast loved us from the beginning be graciously pleased to love us unto the end Pity the unhappy state of fallen Mankind which neither Nature nor Law could bring to any perfection Send out thy Spirit O Lord and we shall be created again unto good Works and from our nothing of sin be raised to a Life of Holiness O send out thy Spirit and renew the face of the Earth and then our weeds and thorns shall be turn'd into a Paradise O cure our World in thy due time of all those distempers in the spirits of men that make us miserable confus'd and unquiet Deliver us from the spirit of Prophaneness and Infidelity from the spirit of Errour Heresie and Schism Deliver us from the spirit of Pride and Avarice from the spirit of Anger Sloth and Envy Deliver us from the spirit of Drunkenness and Gluttony from the spirit of Lust and Wantonness and Impurity Deliver us O God from every evil spirit and vouchsafe to give us the Graces of thy good Spirit that Order and Peace may flourish in the World and Mankind may not hate nor fear nor persecute one another O may the Christian Church which thou hast wonderfully begun and with many wonders yet continued in the World may it go on still to the end of time and make it Lord to encrease and multiply till every Nation speak in their own language the wonderful Works of God. O blessed Spirit the Church thou hast been pleased to establish vouchsafe alwayes to govern Alwayes keep it free from Usurpation and Tyranny in the Governours and from Contention Unruliness and spiritual Pride in those that should be govern'd That it may alwayes be in a fit posture to receive the Influences of thy Grace and may with those heavenly dews be as a fruitful Field Which things we humbly implore through the Merits of Jesus Christ Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end Amen For the Evening MEDITATION I. COme my Soul and adore our God that sanctifies us implore his Grace to make thee able and then adore him Him who from the Father and the Son eternally proceeds and with the Father and the Son must be equally worship'd and glorified In thy Name O Lord together with that of the Father and the Son we are by divine appointment Baptized and so directed to believe in thee Thou art therefore a distinct Person in that Adorable Trinity which is the one eternal God Thou dost make the for the Saints with the Father and therefore art not only the power of the Father Thy coming O Lord into this World did depend upon the departure of the Son therefore I believe thou art distinct from the Son. I believe O Lord thou wast manifestly distinguisht from the Father and the Son when at the Baptism of our Saviour thou didst descend upon him in the likeness of a Dove when at the same time there was a voice from the Father saying This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased Thou art O Lord not a created Person but with the Father and Son art God blessed for evermore By thee was our Saviour conceived in the Womb of a Virgin and therefore was her Birth called the Son of God. Thy dwelling in one of us converts a poor Creature into a Sacred Temple therefore we ought to adore thee as God And I humbly adore thee as the most high eternal God as of the same Nature Attributes and Operations with the Father and the Son. I adore thee as having inseparable from thy Nature an infinite essential and original Holiness as God. And it is peculiarly and especially thy Undertaking or Office to make us poor sinners holy therefore I adore thee under the glorious Title of Holy Spirit It was thou O Lord that didst speak to the World by all the holy Prophets that have been since the Beginning And thus it came to pass that all the holy Scripture was given to us by the inspiration of God. Thou art the Author and Finisher of our Faith by an internal illumination of our Minds Thereby thou inclinest us to the obedience of Faith and to give our assent to those Divine Truths which our carnal corrupted natures would reject as foolishness By thee it is that we are renewed in all the faculties of our Souls and our Affections and Will are made conform'd unto the will of God. Thou dost infuse into us the breath of Life and bring us forth in our second Birth in which birth we become the Children of God and Heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven By thee are all sincere Christians baptized into one Body even the Mystical Body of Christ and it is thy Testimony alone that comfortably assures to any of them their Adoption In order to these great things it is thy kind office to sanctifie and set apart
Truths thy Will to follow his divine Inspirations Thy Memory to treasure up his sacred Instructions and all thy Powers to acknowledge his glorious Attributes The blessed Spirit will not only visit but dwell in thee if thou entertain and obey him as he justly requires He will never forsake thee unless thou chase him away but will guide and comfort thee with his holy Inspirations Resolve then that the Flesh shall deceive thee no more nor draw thee to disoblige the Holy Spirit If the Flesh grow bold and insolently demand How can you live without sinful Liberties Hear thou the Spirit and he will tell thee they are base Slaves that serve sensual Lusts and the Service of God is the only true Freedom If the Flesh alleadge What joy is there in suffering Ills or doing contrary to our own Inclinations Hearken to the Spirit who will tell thee the Cross of Christ is sweet and nothing is so glorious as the conquest of our selves If the Flesh insist What do you see or hear or exercise any sense in but the things of this World Regard the Spirit rather who will enter his protest and make every devout Soul subscribe this Truth I see the vanity of this World and its vexations and meet in every thing danger and falshood Say then according to the dictates of the Spirit Away Flesh and Blood with your foolish Inclinations away deceitful World with thy bewitching Vanities You were onely created to serve me in the way to my Father's house and to set me down at my journey's end Away with all your fond deluding dreams be banish'd for ever from my awakened Soul. MEDITATION III. HAppy were we O God could we be still thinking on thee and could we raise our thoughts into desires to be with thee Happy were we could we alwayes feel those fervours of which sometimes thou inspir'st a little spark If that spark were kindled into a Fire and that Fire blown up into a continual Flame But we alas are hot and cold by fits and which is worse our cold fit is the longer Some few half hours we spend in Prayer and many whole dayes in Vanity and Idleness Sometimes we bestow a little on the poor and often throw a great deal away on our Passions Sometimes we deny and mortifie our selves but far more often obey our sensual Appetites Sometimes we follow thy Grace and are drawn by it to do one good Work but we are again seduc'd by our Nature to a thousand Iniquities and then we resist and grieve the Holy Spirit Thus we confess to thee O Lord our God who perfectly seest every corner of our hearts Thus we confess to thee not that thou maist know us but that we may know our selves and thou maist cure us To thee Lord I may go on confessing for many are the Graces I want and none can give them but thy Bounty Many are the sins and miseries thy poor Creature is exposed to and none can deliver me but thy Providence Such an occasion often endangers me and such a Temptation too often overcomes me My own infirmities are too strong for me and my ill customs prevail against me Every day I resolve to amend and every day I break my resolutions Often am I unhappily engag'd and blindly running on in the wayes of Death and then I need thy Grace O Lord to check my desperate speed and to make me stay and look before me To shew me the horrid downfall into that bottomless Pit where impenitent sinners are swallow'd up for ever To strike my too regardless Soul with fear and trembling at the dreadful sight of so sad a ruine I need thy powerful Grace O Lord to turn my eyes from the allurements of sin to a safer Prospect To make me sensibly Meditate on the Peace and Pleasure and great advantage of a Pious Life To make me look steadily on this and well consider it and besides to look through and see beyond it To make me delight in the hope it enjoyes a hope of Joyes that are unconceivable and glorious Joyes which none O Lord but thou canst give and none but thou canst make us capable to receive O Lord all our Springs are in thee and all our Happiness depends on thee In thee our Sorrows have a Comforter to allay them our Sins an Advocate to plead against them In thee our Ignorances have a guide to direct them and all our Frailties a God to relieve them To thee therefore we will continually address our selves and rely only upon thy care and conduct To thee we will with humble confidence direct our Petitions who promisest to help the Infirmity of our Prayers we will not doubt the graciousness or bounty of thy goodness but hope thou wilt grant whatever thy Word gives us leave to ask And above all things we will seek thy self being assur'd that the Holy Spirit shall be given to them that ask him PETITIONS O God the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son have mercy upon me miserable sinner O God of infinite compassion and comforter of penitent minds have mercy upon me sorrowfull sinner I lament O Lord and beseech thee to pardon my sins past and to prevent the repetition of my sins and follies for the future Cure me O thou great Physician of Souls cure me of all my sinful distempers Cure me of this aguish intermitting Piety and fix it in an even constant Holiness O make me use Religion as my regular Diet and not only as a single Medicine in a pressing necessity So shall my Soul be possest of a sound health and disposed for a long even an everlasting Life Come to all thy servants O blessed Spirit of Faith and govern our Lives with thy holy Maxims subdue our Sense to the dictates of Reason and perfect our Reason with the Mysteries of Religion Teach us to love and fear what we see not now but what we are sure will be our Bliss or Misery hereafter Shew us the narrow way which leads to Life which few without thee can find or follow Guide on thy Church in the middle path of Vertue that we never decline to any vicious extream Let not our Faith grow wild with superfluous branches nor be stript into a naked fruitless trunk Let not our hope swell up to a rash presumption nor shrink away into a faint despair Let not our Charity be cool'd into a faint indifferency nor heated into a furious Zeal Give us O Gracious Lord the free Beginner and Finisher of all good actions give us a right Spirit to guide our intentions that we may constantly aim at our true end give us a holy Spirit to sanctifie our affections that what we rightly design we may piously pursue give us an heroick Spirit to confirm our Hearts that what we piously endeavour we may couragiously atchieve Grant these things O Lord for thine own Glory to whom all Glory is due for ever Amen Hymn 38. COme my vain thoughts that