of the first Covenant The Lord is righteous in all his ways and holy in all his works Behold thou hast now made my days as it were a span length and mine age is even as nothing in respect of thee and I am altogether vanity The sentence of Death hath passed upon all for that all have sinned And I who have had so great a share in sinning cannot but expect to receive the due Wages of it Death Only I beseech thee blessed God to make me wise now in the time of my Health and Srength to understand this and to consider my latter end Grant O Lord that by departing from every known sin by keeping Innocency and always taking heed to the thing that is right I may be in an habitual preparation for Death and find peace at the last Wean my heart daily more and more from the love of the World and worldly things and place my affections upon their right and more deserving Objects Heaven and Heavenly things that my heart may be where my Treasure is and that whenever I shall be called to part with them I may leave all without any murmuring or reluctancy and be willing and content to die Let every pain and sickness mind me of my last And that Death may not be a surprize unto me furnish my Soul with all those Graces before-hand which I shall have greatest occasions to make use of in my last Conflict Give me Repentance unto life not to be repented of A Stedfast Faith that worketh by Love towards thee my God and Charity to all the World A Firm Hope such as maketh not ashamed but may become an Anchor of my Soul entring even within the Vail True Christian Courage and Patience and a resolvedness of a cheerful submission to thy Fatherly Correction And Grant that in all things I may so put my Soul and House in order that when I come to die I may have nothing else to do but to die Let not my Death be unexpected untimely or violent if it be thy holy will And when it shall please thee to cast me on my last Bed give me Grace to search my Heart to renew my Repentance and Interest in Jesus and to compose my Soul for God Give me the opportunity and refreshment of thy holy Sacrament the Seal of the Divine Love the benefit of Absolution Some irradiations of thy Love and Favour in the assurances of pardon and peace together with a patient and comfortable expectation of the performance of all thy promises Let not the Devil take advantage of my weakness nor any of his Suggestions prevail upon me Let not his Accusations or my Sins distract me in my last hour but do thou interpose thy seasonable Relief O forsake me not when my strength faileth me but in the mid'st of the sorrows and temptations that I have upon my Bed let thy Comforts refresh my Soul O suffer me not for any pains of death to fall from thee And in my last Agonies when my Soul shall quit the ruinous habitation of my Body let thy holy Angels convey it into the Regions of a glorious Eternity where there shall be no more death nor sorrow nor crying nor pain Grant this O merciful Father for the sake of him who by death hath overcome death even Jesus Christ my High Priest and blessed Redeemer Amen A Prayer for Sincerity out of the Whole Duty of Man O Holy Lord who requirest Truth in the inward parts I humbly beseech thee to purge me from all Hypocrisie and unsincerity The heart O Lord is deceitful above all things and my heart I fear is deceitful above all hearts O thou who searchest the Heart and Reins try me and seek the ground of my heart and suffer not any accursed thing to lurk within me but purifie me even with Fire so thou consume my dross O Lord I cannot deceive thee but I may most easily deceive my self I beseech thee let me not rest in any such deceit but bring me to a sight and hatred of my most hidden Corruptions that I may not cherish any darling Lust but make an utter destruction of every Amalekite O suffer me not to speak peace to my self when there is no peace but grant I may judge of my self as thou judgest of me that I may never be at peace with my self till I am at perfect peace with thee and by purity of haert be qualified to see thee in thy Kingdom through Jesus Christ Amen For Contrition out of the same Author O Holy Lord Who art a merciful Embracer of true Penitents but yet a consuming Fire towards obstinate sinners how shall I approach thee who have so many provoking sins to inflame thy Wrath and so little sincere Repentance to incline thy Mercy O be thou pleased to soften and melt this hard obdurate heart of mine that I may heartily bewail the Iniquities of my life Strike this Rock O Lord that the Waters may flow out even Floods of Tears to wash my polluted Conscience my drowzy Soul hath too long slept securely in sin Lord awake it though it be with Thunder and let me rather feel thy Terrors then not feel my sin Thou sentest thy blessed Son to heal the broken hearted but Lord what will that avail me if my heart be whole O break it that it may be capable of his healing Virtue and grant I beseech thee that having once tasted the bitterness of sin I may fly from it as from the Face of a Serpent and bring forth Fruits of Repentance in amendment of Life to the praise and glory of thy Grace in Jesus Christ our blessed Redeemer Amen Those whose Devotions are apt to be assisted by variety or are desirous of Forms for other Graces or more particular occasions may find a plentiful supply in the Books of the aforementioned-Pious Author in Dr. Tailor's holy Living and Dying but more especially in the Book of Devotions composed by the Reverend and Learned Dr. Patrick A Prayer to be used by any Pious Christian in these difficult times O Most just and holy Lord God thou art Righteous in all thy ways and holy in all thy Works I must needs confess that when I seriously consider the multitude and hainousness of my own Sins and those of the whole Nation which cry loudly to Heaven for Vengeance that it is even a miracle of Mercies that we have not long since felt the severities of thy Wrath in some direful Judgments but thou O Lord hast been exceedingly gracious and with much patience and long suffering hast waited for our Repentance and Amendment of Life but yet we have abused this Mercy of thine beyond all the former and have not returned unto thee And now O Lord seeing we would not be allured by thy Mercies thou art pleas'd to threaten us with the approach of thy Judgments which if thou wilt not avert O fit and prepare me for the cheerful Entertainment of whatsoever thy Wisdom shall think fit to
Subtilties and Assaults of the Devil and discover to thee the sin for which he now sees it fit to afflict thee anâ— make an absolute surrender of thy seâ—â— unto Gods all-wise disposal 2. As soon as thou art in thy Bed anâ— hast leisure and privacy begin whilâ— thou hast strength and the free use 〈◊〉 thy Reason which possibly in some acuâ— Distempers thou may'st not long enjoy to renew thy Repentance taking a freâ— survey of all thy Capital Sins which the former Catalogue will help thee in and of any others lately committed by thee remembring that God never corrects but for Sin When thou with rebukes saith David dost chasten Man for sin Psalm 39.11 These again humbly confess to Almighty God acknowledg thy de-merits and the justice of his proceeding and most earnestly implore his pardon 3. Next exercise thy Faith by a stedfast recumbency on God through Jesus Christ for the full pardon of all thy sins and resting upon those gracious promises of his that he hath made Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as Snow though they be red like Crimson they shall be as Wooll Isa 1.18 That God will never leave thee nor forsake thee Heb. 13.5 That Jesus Christ is the propitiation for thy sins and that in him God hath said He is well pleased Math. 3.17 That God will deliver thy Soul from going down to the pit because he hath found a Ransom Job 33.24 and will certainly give thee Eternal Salvation if thou continue faithful unto Death Believe also that God is wise and just in sending thee Afflictions that he wil not suffer thee to be tempted above what thou art able That all things shall work together for good to them that love God Rom. 8.28 That if thou live thou shalt live to him and if thou die Death shall be unto thee advantage In a word firmly believe all those Truths that thou did'st believe and wert perswaded of in the time of thy greatest health 4. The next Grace now to be exercised is Hope which is nothing else but a comfortable expectation of the performances of all those good promises made unto thee by God Job assures us that the hope of the Hypocrite shall perish because it was not founded upon a good bottom he continued in his sins and yet hoped for Mercy But thou hast repented of thy sins and purified thy self from them quite forsaken them and therefore thy hope is such as maketh thee not ashamed but thou may'st be assured that thou art of the number of those Righteous ones Who have hope in their death Prov. 14.32 Fifthly Exercise throughout the whole course of thy Sickness Prayer and Devotion This is a time of trouble and God bids us then to call upon him and to encourage us hath promised to hear us Psalm 5.15 besides as we have now greater needs than ever so for the most part the Devotion of every pious Soul is at this time raised to a greater height and accompanied with more fervency and humility than in the time of his greatest health Therefore frequently Pray and Ejaculate unto God as thou findest the temper of thy Soul requires whether it be for support under thy weaknesses against despondencies impatience distractions or confusions of Mind whether for Revelations of his Goodness and Irradiations of his Love and Favour and if thou art a constant Reader and Meditator of Gods Word thou canst not want suitable Expressions out of that rich Treasury the Holy Bible You may find some cull'd out for that purpose in the subsequent pages and in The Whole Duty of Man many more But if thy Devotion be not so much exalted as thou would'st have it remember this is a time for Passion not Action and God will accept thee 6. Exercise likewise throughout the whole time of thy Sickness Christian patience You have need of Patience saith the Apostle Heb. 10.36 That when you have done all you may inherit the promises Now is the chief use of this grace therefore you cannot want it It is that which crowns all the rest This discovers it self by a cheerful submission to Gods Fatherly Correction justifying God and condemning thy self saying with the Psalmist Thou hast punished me less than my sins have deserved or with the Prophet I will bear the Indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him Micah 7.9 or with good old Ely It is the Lord let him do as it seemeth him good Or with the Apostle Chasten me here as thou pleasest that I be not condemned with the World And then resting in a cheerful Expectation that God will convert all to thy good and that he will be to thee both in life and death advantage taking up holy Job's resolve That tho he kill thee thou wilt trust in him Job 13.5 and that tho thou walk through the valley of the shadow of death thou wilt fear no Evil Psalm 23.4 Submit to the Rules of thy Physician and be kind and courteous not peevish as too many are towards thy Attendants and all that come to see thee and give them and thy Family good Instructions â—eeing those that are spoken from a Friend on a dying Bed stick closest â—f any Be sure no word drop from thee of repining or murmuring against Gods dispensations towards thee but let thy words be sueh as tend to the use of Edifying and in all things behave thy â—elf as if thou wert giving up the Ghost â—he next moment Be willing and content to die say as St. Paul did I desire to be dissolved and â—o be with Christ which is best of all or as David Like as the Hart desireth the Water-brooks so longeth my Soul aftee thee O God My soul is athirst for God even for the living God when shall I come and appear before the presence of God O that I had Wings like a Dove for then would I fly away and be at rest Thou art my Helper and my Redeemer O Lord make no long tarrying Last of all exercise thy Charity not as if thou wert not to use it all along but now more particularly give and forgive Beg pardon for any injury done thy Neighbour and if it be in thy power make restitution for any Offence that is capable of it if not beg God to accept of thy Intentions and to pay thy debt in Blessings Forgive from thy heart all others who have injured thee as thou expectest to be forgiven by God When thou shalt find thy strength fail and Death approaching say or ejaculate thus Lord Jesus receive my Soul Into thy hands I commend my Spirit for thou hast redeemed it O Lord thoâ— God of Truth Come Lord Jesus come quickly Remedies against some particular Temptations of the Devil in the time of Sickness THe Devil is so delusory and subtil a Spirit that like the cunning Angler he loves to fish in Troubled Waters and takes all Advantages of our weaknesses and disturbances of mind to insnare
mercy upon me Lord be thou my helper O spare me a little that I may recover my strength before I go hence and be no more seen II. I have sinned what shall I do unto thee O thou preserver of Men The Lord is Righteous for I have rebelled against his Commandments Lam. 1.18 I will bear the Indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him Thy ways are equal but mine have been very unequal The Lord is righteous in all his ways and holy in all his Works Thou hast punished me less than mine Iniquity hath deserved I have sinned against Heaven and before thee and am no more worthy to be called thy Son no not the meanest of all thy Servants But yet O do not thou cast off the bowels and compassions of a Father but as a Father pitieth his own Children so be thou merciful unto me Enter not into Judgment with thy Servant O Lord for in thy sight shall no Flesh living be justified But there is Forgiveness with thee that thou may'st be feared Thou art full of Compassion and Mercy long Suffering and very Pitiful and forgivest Sins and savest in time of Affliction Eccles 2.11 Look upon my Affliction and my Pain and forgive me all my Sin My sins have deserved Eternal Torments make me cheerfully and thankfully to bear my present Pains Chasten me here as thou pleasest that I be not Condemned with the World III. I have set the Lord always before me Because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved Though I walk through the Valley of the shadow of Death I will fear no Evil for thou art with me thy Rod and thy Staff shall comfort me Thy Word standeth fast for ever in thy Word and gracious Promises is my hope This is my Comfort in my Affliction In the multitude of the Sorrows that I have on my Bed thy Comforts shall refresh my Soul My Flesh and my Heart faileth but God is the strength of my Heart and my Portion for ever I will wait patiently for the Lord untill he incline his Ear unto me and hear my cry I know that my Redeemer liveth and because he lives I shall live also He that spared not his own Son but delivered him for us all how shall he not with him also freely give us all things Why art thou cast down O my Soul and why art thou disquieted within me Put thy trust in God for I shall yet give him thanks who is the health of my countenance and my God I have fought a good Fight I have finished my Course I have kept the Faith Henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Glory IV. I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ which is far better than to remain in this Vale of Tears for there all Tears shall be wiped away from mine Eyes and there shall be no more death nor sorrow nor crying nor pain O that I had Wings like a Dove for then would I fly away and be at rest My Soul is athirst for God even for the living God When shall I come to appear before the presence of God In thy presence is fulness of joy and at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore Lord now lettest thou thy Servant depart in peace for mine Eyes have seen thy Salvation Thou art my Helper and my Redeemer O Lord make no long tarrying Into thine hands I commend my Spirit for thou hast redeemed it O Lord thou God of Truth Come Lord Jesu come quickly Thanksgiving for Recovery BEhold for peace I had great bitterness but thou hast in love to my Soul delivered it from the Pit of Corruption for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back Isaiah 38.17 The Lord was ready to save me therefore will I sing unto him as long as I live yea I will sing praises to the God of my life while I have any being I should utterly have fainted but that I believed verily to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the Living I will praise thee for thou hast heard me and art become my Salvation The Lord hath Chastned and Corrected me but he hath not given me over unto Death Open to me the Gates of Righteousness I will go into them and will praise the Lord and pay him the Vows which I promised with my Lips and spake with my Mouth when I was in trouble Gracious is the Lord and Righteous yea our God is merciful The Lord preserveth the simple I was in Misery and he helped me Return into thy rest O my Soul for the Lord had dealt bountifully with thee For thou hast delivered my Soul from death mine Eyes from Tears and my Feet from falling What shall I render unto the Lord for all the benefits he hath done unto me I will take the Cup of Salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living Hold thou up my goings in thy paths that my Foot-steps slip not Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning c. A Prayer for the Morning in private EArly in the morning will I direct my Prayer unto thee O â—ord and will look up O hear me in the multitude of thy mercies and for the sake of Jesus Christ O thou great Creator both of Heaven and Earth and of all things contained therein thou art a God infinately Wise Holy Powerful Just and Good transcendent in all perfections give me I beseech thee O Lord a firm belief and an acknowledgment of thy divine Nature and Existence a deep sense and due apprehensions of all thy excellencies and goodness together with sutable affections and demeanor towards thee that I may daily more and more adore thee love thee fear thee honour thee and depend upon thee Give me a deep sense of thy infinite Purity and Holiness which may cause in me aversness unto and an abhorrence of whatsoever is sinful and impure and excite in me the fear of Reverence and Caution of offending thee by doing any thing that may displease thee or omitting to do what may be pleasing unto thee I confess O Lord hadst thou been exact to mark iniquity and laid judgment to the Line and righteousness to the Plummet I had long since been cut off in the midst of my sins and felt the Effects of thy severe displeasure but because thy mercy triumphs over thy justice I am not consumed unto this day I have one opportunity more praised be thy holy name to beg pardon at thy hands for all my sins which to my own shame and confusion I confess to be exceeding great and hainous but yet O Lord I know thy mercies do far exceed the multitude and haniousness of my Transgressions O magnifie therefore the Riches of the same mercy in the full pardon and forgiveness of them all cast them behind thy Back bury them in my Saviour's Grave
The Meditation of the torments of Hell renders the joys of Heaven the more valuable and therefore I begin with the former God hath set before us Life and Death eternal Rewards and eternal Punishments He hath given us just and holy Laws to observe and keep and power to keep them and to the keeping of which he hath annexed an everlasting reward by an irrevocable Decree to the violation of which he hath by the same Decâ—ee annexed an everlasting punishment so that if we embrace the former we shall not fail of the recompence of reward but if we persevere in the latter we treasure up Wrath against the day of Wrath and shall be sure at length to feel the Righteous Judgment of God This is God's Covenant that he makes with us To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality eternal Life but unto them that are contentious and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish Rom. 2.7 8 9. Now 't is essential to God to be just to his Covenant The Lord is just saith the Prophet Zephan 3.5 He is Just in all his decrees and just in the Execution of them He is just in himself and just in his Law just in his rewards just in his punishments He is Justice in the abstract He is the Judge of all and shall not he do right Yes certainly he shall and will As he keeps mercy for the righteous so he will by no means clear the guilty Exodus 34.7 Let no wicked person therefore condemn in this the severity of God's justice in proceeding against wicked Wretches Whose damnation as the Apostle says Rom. 3.8 is just For it is their own voluntary free choice their Destruction is of themselves Hos 13.9 Let God be true and every man a Liar that he may be justified in his saying and clear when he is judged by wicked and unreasonable men Rom. 3.4 5 6. St Paul puts the question Is God unrighteous who taketh Vengeance and answers it himself God forbid for how shall God then Judge the World For if God be a Judge he be must just and distribute punishments as well as rewards The Lord is just saith the Psalmist and there is no unrighteousness in him Psal 92.15 O enter not into Judgment with thy Servant O Lord for in thy sight shall no flesh living be justified O Lord if thou condemn me thou art righteous thou hast but dealt with me after my sins end rewarded me according to the demerits of mine iniquities Righteous art thou in all thy ways just and true are thy Judgments Holy St. Jerome was wont to say That whether he did eat or drink sleep or wake or whatever he did he thought the Sound of the last Trump did eccho in his Ears and heard a voice saying Arise ye Dead and come to Judgment If this holy Man were under such continual apprehensions and had such fears of the approach of the last day that he could not at any time disband them from his thoughts How then should it strike horror and amazement into the hearts of obstinate impenitent sinners to think of the dreadfulness of that day and the greatness and perpetuity of their torments which shall then commence but never have an end They have had their Heaven upon Earth and now they shall have Hell instead of Heaven Bona accepisti Remember that thou in thy life-time receivedst thy good things none remain now but evil things now thou art tormented Ezekiel's Role was sweet in his Mouth but bitter in his Belly Had Solomon's simple Man seriously considered what Shot his fatal Banquet would have cost him He would never have commended the sweetness of his stoln waters and pleasantness of his Bread eaten in secret for he knew not at least would not know that he was a companion with the dead and that his fellow guests were in the depths of Hell Prov. 9.17 18. where being once come he can never return Facilis descensus Averni Sed revocare gradum superasque evadere ad auras Hic labor hoc opus Hell is a place appointed by God for the tormenting of the Devil wicked Angels and sinful Souls to all Eternty and we are told that it is a place downwards and beneath us Prov. 15.24 The way of Life is above to the Wise that he may depart from Hell beneath and so ch 7.27 speaking of the Harlot Her house is the way to Hell going down to the Chambers of Death besides in Prov. 9.18 It is called Profundum a Depth to define the local place of which is too deep for me God grant I may never be able better to define it Sin I am sure laid the Corner-Stone of that deep and dark Vault and it must be my Innocency that must preserve me from being an Inhabitant in it The Ingenious Mr. Cowley hath given this Description of the place in his Davideis BEneath the silent Chambers of the Earth Where the Sun 's fruitful Beams give Mettals birth Where be the growth of fatal Gold does see Gold which above more influence has than he Beneath the Dens where unfletch'd Tempests ly And infant Winds their tender voices try Beneath the mighty Ocean's wealthy Caves Beneath the Eternal Fountain of all Waves Where their vast Court the Mother Waters keep And undisturb'd by Moons in silence sleep There is a place deep wondrous deep below Which genuine Night and Horror does o'r flow No bound controuls the unwearied space but Hell Endless as those dire pains that in it dwell Here no dear glympse of the Sun 's lovely face Strikes through the solid darkness of the place No dawning Morn does her kind reds display One slight weak Beam would here be thought the day No gentle Stars with their fair gems of Light Offend the tyran'ous and unquestion'd Night But it is not so much the Place as t h Torments there to be endur'd Who can express their Sharpness Who their Number Non mihi si centum linguae sint oraque centum Ferre a vox omnes scelerum compr'endere formas Omnia poenarum percurrere nomina possim No heart of Man can think no tongue can tell The direful pains ordain'd and felt in Hell All the Senses shall be rend'red more exquisite than ever the more fully to perceive their Torments and every one have their fill of them The Sight shall be afflicted with a more than Egyptian Darkness and the continual beholding of monstrous Fiends and Devils The Hearing with Shreeks and horrible Cries The Smelling with Fumes of Brimstone and noisome Stenches The Taste with ravenous Hunger and insatiable Thirst The Feeling the most exquisite of all the Senses with intolerable yet unquenchable Fire because the Breath of the Lord like a stream of Brimstone doth kindle it Isaiah 30.33 Add to these a Fire continually flashing in the Reprobates Face which shall yield no more light than with a glympse to shew
Apple of thine Eye hide me under the shadow of thy Wings O keep my Soul and deliver me let me not be disappointed for I put my trust in thee Comfort in Troubles THe Lord is my Light and my Salvation whom then shall I fear He is the strength of my Life of whom shall I be afraid When my Father and Mother forsake me the Lord will take me up Many are the troubles of the Righteous but the Lord delivereth them out of them all But thou O Lord art a shield for me my Glory and the lifter up of my Head I have set the Lord always before me He is at my right hand therefore I shall not be moved My defence is of God which saveth the Upright in Heart At what time I am afraid I will put my trust in thee In God have I put my trust I will not be afraid what Man can do unto me The Righteous cry and the Lord heareth them and delivereth them out of all their troubles In God is my Salvation and my Glory the Rock of my Strength and my refuge is in God Why art thou cast down O my Soul and why art thou disquieted within me Hope in God for I shall yet praise him who is the health of my Countenance and my God Thanksgiving for deliverance from Troubles BLessed be the Lord God for he hath heard the Voice of my Supplication With my Song will I praise him O Lord my God I cried unto thee and thou hast healed me I will praise thee O Lord my God with my whole heart and I will glorifie thy Name for evermore for great is thy Mercy towards me and thou hast delivered my Soul from the lowest Hell The Snares of Death compassed me round about and the pains of Hell got hold upon me I found trouble and heaviness and I called upon the Name of the Lord O Lord I beseech thee deliver my Soul Gracious is the Lord and Righteous yea our God is Merciful I was in misery and he helped me Sing unto the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me sing praises at the remembrance of his Holiness Blessed be God which hath not cast out my Prayer nor turned his Mercy from me What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me I will take the Cup of Salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord. I will offer to thee the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving and praise thy Name for ever and ever Going to the Church or House of God I Will wash my hands in Innocency and so will I compass thine Altar O Lord. It is good for me to draw near unto God even unto God in his Sanctuary How amiable are thy Tabernacles O Lord of Hosts My Soul longeth yea even fainteth for the Courts of my God When shall I come and appear before him As the Hart panteth after the Water brooks so panteth my Soul after thee O God Immediately before entring into Church I Will enter into thy Gates with Thanksgiving and into thy Courts with Praise I will Worship in thy holy Temple and will praise thy Name I will wait for thy loving kindness O God in the mid'st of thy Temple In Church if thou happen to be there before Service begins BUt as for me I will come into thy House in the multitude of thy Mercies and in thy Fear will I Worship towards thine Holy Temple Lord I have loved the Habitation of thy House and the place where thine honour dwelleth One thing have I desired of the Lord that will I seek after that I might dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to enquire in his Temple Thy way O God is in the Sanctuary Who is so great a God as our God I will abide in thy Tabernacle for ever I will trust in the Covert of thy Wings Blessed are they that dwell in thy House They will be alway praising thee A day in thy Courts is better than a thousand I had rather be a Door-keeper in the House of my God than to dwell in the Tents of Wickedness God is greatly to be feared in the Assembly of his Saints and to be had in reverence of all them that are round about him Thy Testimonies are very sure Holiness becometh thine House O Lord for ever This is my rest for ever Here will I dwell for I have a delight therein O let my Soul be satisfied as with Marrow and Fatness when my Mouth praiseth thee with joyful Lips Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning c. Returning from the Church O What shall I render unto thee O Lord for all thy benefits towards me I will receive the Cup of Salvation and will call upon the Name of the Lord. Worthy art thou O Lord to receive Power and Riches and Wisdom and Strength and Honour and Glory and Blessing Wherefore Blessing Honour Glory and Power be unto him that sitteth upon the Throne and unto the Lamb for ever and ever The Law of thy Mouth is dearer unto me than thousands of Gold and Silver I have had as great delight in thy Testimonies as in all manner of Riches I have thought of thy loving kindness O God in the midst of thy Temple O let my heart be sound in thy Statutes that I be not ashamed Hold thou up my goings in thy paths that my foot-steps slip not Order thou my Steps in thy Word so shall I not be disappointed of my hope Thy Word is a Light unto my Feet and a Lanthorn unto my Paths O lead me in thy Truth and Teach me for thou art the God of my Salvation on thee do I wait all the day In the time of Sickness or approach of Death I. O Lord Correct me not in thine Anger neither Chasten me in thy heavy displeasure For thine Arrows stick fast on me and thy hand presseth me sore Mine Eye is consumed because of Grief There is no Health in my Flesh because of thy displeasures neither is there any rest in my Bones by reason of my Sin My Soul also is sore vexed but thou O Lord how long Return O Lord deliver my Soul O save me for thy Mercies sake For in Death no Man remembreth thee and who will give thee thanks in the Pit What profit is there in my Blood if I go down into the Pit Shall the dust praise thee Shall it give thanks unto thee or declare thy Truth The living the living shall praise thee even as I do this day O Let my Soul live and it shall praise thee Have Mercy upon me O Lord for I am weak O Lord heal me for my Bones are vexed Cast me not away in the time of Age Forsake me not when my Strength faileth me Hide not thou thy Face from me for I am in Trouble make haste O Lord to deliver me Hear me O God and have
of Christ As to all our outward concerns here in this life we desire to refer our selves wholly unto thee our good God Thou art infinitely wise and knowest what condition is best for every one of us give us therefore any measure of prosperity or adversity riches or poverty health or sickness whereby we may most of all glorifie thy holy Name and in every condition give us grace to look up unto thee as the author and disposer of it and therein to be really content Together with us we beseech thee to be mindful of all mankind Let thy ways be known upon earth and thy saving health among all nations Bless thy universal Church lead it into all truth and let not the Gates of Hell be ever able to prevail against it Be gracious unto our Soveraign Lord the King the Queen and all the Royal Family to all the Ministers and Magistrates toall that fear thee and call upon thyname Remember all the Sons and Daughters of sorrow and affliction in what case or state soever and relieve them all according to thy Mercies and their several necessities for thou only knowest them all Bless all our Friends Kindred and Benefactors and all that we are under any Obligation to pray for whether Friends or Enemies infuse Grace where it is not and where it is weak do thou strengthen it give them all things necessary for their Souls and Bodies guide them here by thy Counsel and at length receive them to thy self in Glory And now O Lord because it is very meet right and our bounden duty at all times and in all places to give thanks unto thee we desire at this time to praise and magnifie thy holy Name for all the freeness and fulness of thy Mercy and loving kindness towards us and others Thou daily loadest us with thy benefits spiritual and temporal who art the God of our Salvation thou hast given a fresh Testimony of thy Goodness and Mercy to us in our preservation this Night past from those many sad Casualties and Accidents which might justly by reason of our sins fall upon us and brought us safe unto another day O Lord thou mightest have made our Beds our Graves our Sheets our Winding Sheets and our rising again this Morning a rising unto judgment What is man that thou art mindful of him Or the Son of Man that thou visitest him Praise the Lord O our Souls and all that is within us praise his holy Name Praise the Lord O our Souls and forget not all his benefits and grant that we may render thee not only the fruit of our Lips but the obedience of our Lives by consecrating our selves entirely to thy Service and walking before thee in a sincere and impartial observance of thy holy Commandments all the days of our lives And seeing thou hast been graciously pleased to add another day unto our Lives so we beseech thee to give us Grace to add more Wariness Repentance and Circumspection unto our days Make us O Lord carefully to watch against all Sin especially those that do so easily beset us and that we have been so often conquered by Teach us by the Strength of thy holy Spirit to deny our selves to pluck out even our right Eyes to cut off even our right hands to undergo the severest afflictions rather than to offend so Sacred a Majesty Let our thoughts be always holy and heavenly and when we are about our Studies and Employments let them be often carried up unto thee by holy Meditations and Divine Ejaculations Let our words be seasoned with Salt with prudence and discretion not stained with filthiness and vanity lying detraction or any other sin but such as may tend to the use of Edifying and minister Grace unto the hearer Set a watch O Lord before our Mouths and keep the doors of our Lips Let our Actions O Lord be always holy and just or at least innocent and unblameable give us grace to walk as in thy sight and evermore to set thee before our Eyes Make us careful in the well spending of our time so as we may best prevent or resist Temptations and by discharging our Duties in our places and callings may glorifie thy holy Name Take from us O Lord all slothfulness and give us diligent and active Spirits that when the Devil assaults us he may not find us idle but improving those Talents intrusted to every one of us that we may at length receive from our great Lord and Master Jesus Christ that blessed Sentence Of Well done ye good and faithful Servants enter ye into your Masters Joy Do thou O Lord be with us in our labours and employments this day and bless us bless and prosper O Lord the works of our hands upon us yea prosper thou our handy-work Give thy holy Angels charge over us to keep us in all our ways that we rush not into any Temptation nor fall into any kind of bodily danger which our sins may justly expose us to but preserve us as the Apples of thine Eye and hide us under the shadow of thy Wings that in our going out and in our coming in we may be blessed and have always thy watchful protection over us These and whatever other Mercies thou knowest needful and requisite for us for all thine and thy whole Church we humbly begg in the Name and for the sake of our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and in whose words we shut up our imperfect Petitions saying as he hath taught us Our Father which art in Heaven c. A Prayer at Noon Morning and Evening and at Noon will I praise thee and thou wilt hear my Voice Open thou my Lips O Lord and my Mouth shall shew forth thy praise O Father of Mercies and God of all Comfort and Consolation Thou art to be Worshipped and Adored with my continual Praises and Thanksgivings for thou continually followest me with thy Goodness and thy Mercies are renewed upon me every moment In thee I live and move and have my being and without thy succour and support I should quickly return to my first Principle of no being at all Thou hast created me redeemed me and by thy Fatherly care and providence constantly provided for me Thou art the God of my life and the Author of all those Mercies I enjoy whether Spiritual or Temporal and therefore thou alone deservest my praises and unto thee I ascribe as is most due all honour praise and glory both now and for evermore More especially I desire to bless and praise thy holy Name for thy particular Mercies towards me at this time that thou hast so plentifully refreshed my Body with thy good Creatures and filled me with the Flower of Wheat Blessed be the Lord God who daily loadeth me with his benefits even the God of my Salvation O Lord refresh my Soul also with the Spiritual Manna of thy Heavenly Grace and grant my pursuiâ— may not be after the Meat that perisheth but after that
which endureth to Everlasting Life Pardon I beseech thee O Lord as all my sins in general so especially whatever amiss hath passed from me this day and for Jesus Christ his sake do thou become unto me a reconciled Father own me for thy Child and continually preservr me by thy providence keep in me always a Religious Sense of thee and of thy goodness towards me and sanctifie my heart with thy holy Spirit that I may walk before thee the remaining part of this day and all the days of my life to thy honour and glâ—ry through Jesus Christ my blessed Lord and Saviour in whose Name and Words I continuâ— to implore thy Mercies saying Our Father c. A Prayer for the Evening in private O Most holy holy Lord God Heaven and Earth are full of the Majesty of thy Glory Thou art a God of purer Eyes then to behold the least Iniquity with the least Approbation thou chargest thine Angels with folly yea the Heavens are not pure in thy sight How shall I then so sinful and impure a Wretch dare to appear before thee or to take so holy a Name into my sinful and unhallowed Lips But O Lord thou art God and not Man thy ways are not as our ways nor thy thoughts as our thoughts but as high as the Heavens are above the Earth so are thy thoughts of Love and Peace higher than our thoughts and therefore relying on thy Mercies and gracious Promises I am bold at this time to prostrate my self before thee humbly confessing that I am corrupt in my very Nature having an inability and aversness to that which is good and an aptitude and proneness to all that is evil but I have corrupted my self yet much worse by many vicious Customs and sinful Habits I have transgressed my duty to thee my Neighbour and my self followed too much the devices and desires of my own wicked heart and not only not obeyed but many times wilfuâ—ly broken thy Commandements which are holy just and good and to my former provocations I have added the sins of the day past of omission and commission of thoughts words and actions Here particularize any sin Yea I know not how often I have offended O cleanse cleanse thou me from my secret faults And now O Lord should'st thou be extream to mark what I have done amiss I could not be justified in thy sight nor be able to answer thee for the sins of this one day but thou O God delightest in Mercy and there is forgiveness with thee that thou may'st be feared O I beseech thee let Repentance and Contrition prepare me for that Mercy of thine and then be thou pleased to take away all mine Iniquity and to receive me graciously into thy favour Neither do I desire thee only for the pardon of my past sins but do most bumbly beg for a Divine Power that I may be able to subdue them for the time to come and get a compleat Victory over all the Temptations of the World the Flesh and the Devil To that end let thy Grace and goodness and tender mercies prevent and follow me all the days of my life and bring into obedience whatsoever exalteth it self against thy blessed will that at last I may come to be such as thou would'st have me to be even holy in all manner of Conversation And as I pray unto thee so I desire likewise from an unseigned heart to praise and to bless thee for thy infinite Mercies for those which relate to this life and a better particularly for the Mercies of the day past Here enumerate them O Lord the least of these deserves my hearty Thanksgivings let not the universality and commonness of thy goodness make me to have the slighter regard of it but fill my Soul with a Sense of thy Love and my Tongue with sincere acknowledgments that as I daily receive blessings from thee so I may daily from an affectionate and devout heart offer up thanks unto thee and let my whole life and all my actions be the verification of my Praises And now I beseech thee O Lord receive me this Night into the Arms of thy providence hide me under the shadow of thy Wings Give thy holy Angels charge over me to pitch their Tents round about me that no evil happen unto me nor any plague come nigh unto my Dwelling but that I and mine and all my Concerns may be safe under thy gracious protection that lying down in thy fear and being refreshed with moderate rest I may be the fitter to serve thee in the duties of the ensuing day And all I beg in the Name and for the sake of Jesus Christ my alone Saviour and Redeemer for whom my Soul hath endless cause to bless and to praise thee to whom with thy self and Holy Spirit of Grace be by me ascribed as is most due and all thy Saints and Servants both in Heaven and in Earth all possible Praise Might Majesty and Dominion both now and for evermore Amen A Prayer in publick with the Family for the Evening HEar us O Lord in the multitude of thy Mercies even in the truth of thy Salvation and let not O let noâ— the loud cry of our sins hinder our Prayers from coming up unto thee or thy Graces and Mercies from coming down upon us but pardon our sins which make us unworthy to appear in thy presence and our services to be accepted by thee and assist us we pray thee with thy holy Spirit which may make us fervent and earnest in our Devotions that so we may obtain our Requests at thy hands in and through Jesus Christ O Eternal and Everliving Lord our God thou art in thy self most glorious and in thy Son most gracious Heaven is thy Throne and that thou fillest with thy Majesty the Earth is but thy Foot-stool and yet that thou fillest with thy Goodness both Heaven and Earth loudly proclaim the exceeding greatness of thy Glory and transcendent Excellencies We thy sinful Creatures who are not worthy to lift up our Eyes unto Heaven for we have sinned against Heaven and before thee are yet bold in the Bowels and Mercies of Jesus Christ to cast our selves down at the Foot-stool of thy Majesty desiring in all humility of Souls and Bodies to acknowledg our own vileness and wretchedness O Lord we brought into the World with us evil and wicked Inclinations and we have since made it our business to improve them into practice As the thoughts and imaginations of our hearts so the very words of our Lips and actions of our Lives have been evil and only evil and that continually Our provocations against thee our God have been very great and hainous and as for their number more than the Sands of the Sea We have lived in an universal disobedience to thy Laws and violated all thy holy Commandments in the keeping of which there is great Reward And this O Lord not only through ignorance and frailty but too many