over the Exhortations before the Sacrament and as you read consider if you be so prepared as they require Indeed the whole Communion Service is an excellent direction for our preparation to and meditations at the holy Sacrament for which cause I would have you read it over and make it your Rule endeavouring to understand it well and where you are ignorant go to your Minister to be more clearly informed which will be a means of your joyning in it in publick with the greater Devotion A short Example of applying the Communion Service the better to prevent the wandring of your Mind YE that do truly and earnestly repent Lord I repent perfect my repentance And are in Love and Charity with your Neighbour Encrease my Charity I forgive and desire to be forgiven by others And intend to lead a new Life c. Assisted by thy grace I resolve to keep thy Commandments and walk in thy holy ways Draw near with faith Confirm my faith that I may receive the holy Sacrament to my comfort as I humbly confess so graciously pardon all my sins After this manner you may apply the larger Exhortation before which I leave to your own devotion Then follows the Confession and other Prayers which you are to joyn in and the Prayer of Consecration to these words Who in the same night c. the rest being proper only to the Minister who is appointed alone to consecrate the Bread and Wine for this holy use Observe in the Prayer that Christ is said to be but once offered which was when he suffered on the Cross by which Sacrifice he made a full perfect and sufficient Oblation and Satisfaction for the sins of the whole World that is whoever shall repent and believe Observe also that he commands us to continue the remembrance of his Death till his coming again which ought to convince you of the duty of the frequent coming to the holy Table The reason of kneeling is only this being the most solemn time of Prayer that posture is most proper therefore ought not to be a cause of division As for your private devotion observe the following Rules Imploy some time in the Morning to consider how you must behave your self at the holy Table how to order your Meditations and renuing your Baptismal Covenant meditating on and applying the benefits of Christ's Death for your pardon and reconciliation with God what sin to be most humbled for what grace to beg most earnestly pray also that no temptation of the World the Devil or your own corrupt Nature may rob you of the fruit of this Communion no sinful worldly or wandring thoughts trouble you but that God would remove whatever may obstruct the operation of his grace When any of your Family go along with you to the Sacrament as you ought to endeavour they should when they are of years and throughly instructed say some Prayer relating to the Sacrament besides your ordinary Morning Prayer Take care to be at the Church in good time after Sermon till the Communion Service begins spend your time in humble confessing your sins and unworthiness of so great a favour So soon as the Minister begins leave off all private Prayer and joyn with him with all the attention and zeal you can possibly Attend to the Exhortation and apply it to your self as before observed for the Prayers you must joyn in them with Devotion After Consecration while the Minister is receiving and till he comes to you say your private Prayer first pray that God would except all present and make them partakers of the benefit of his holy Sacrament Secondly confess your sins and acknowledge that your due desert is death and destruction Look on Christ as the only propitiation for your sins believe that his Death was a full perfect and alsufficient Sacrifice for them present them to God as such desiring that the merits of his Sufferings may be imputed for your pardon and his Righteousness for your justification and acceptance with God believe firmly that God now offers to renew his Covenant and grants you pardon grace and glory if you are faithful on your part which is forsaking every sin and obeying all the commands of God to the utmost of your Power desiring to receive it according to the Institution of Christ Perplex not your self with nice definitions believe whatever God has promised his power is able to perform and that Christ and the benefits of his Death are communicated and given to the worthy receivers in such a manner as 't is best for him and his spiritual union with Christ most advanced In the act of receiving let your Soul be bowed down with a sense of its unworthiness Adore the mercy of God in Christ desire you may receive the holy Spirit love God for his goodness believe his promises and resolve to obey his holy commands After you have communicated let the rest of your time till publick Prayers again be imployed in Prayer for grace to keep your holy Resolutions for without God's assistance you can do nothing that is good praise God for the great mercy of this Communion and make earnest Intercession for all Mankind especially for their conversion and spiritual welfare for the destruction of the power of Sin and Satan and chastening the Kingdom of Christ and also for your Governours in Church and State for your Friends and Relations at least so many of these as time will give you leave to use saying the rest at home Short Prayers or rather Ejaculations according to the past Rules O God thou sawest me in my blood and saidst unto me live thou sawest me in my pollutions and thine eye pitied me and didst open the fountain for my uncleanness Glory be to thee O Lord most good and most high O holy and meek Jesus thou art the Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the World thou who knewest no sin didst become sin for us O may we be cleansed from all unrighteousness through thy Blood O Saviour of the World may all the ends of the Earth look up unto God through thee and be saved may the Kingdom of Darkness be broken down and thy Kingdom O Christ be enlarged and established through the whole Earth O Lord I believe that Jesus is the Way the Truth and the Light and therefore I come unto thee through him O cast me not off my Soul thirsteth after thy Salvation I come to thee in Faith Repentance and Charity O receive me and fill me with grace and comfort Amen blessed Jesus I come O my God to renew my Covenant with thee in the blood of Jesus O receive me a poor penitent Prodigal I have wandred from thee I have hewed out to my self Cisterns broken Cisterns that will hold no water but now my Soul gaspeth for thee O thou Fountain of living waters O give me thy Spirit that it may cleanse and refresh me that it may satisfie the desires of my Soul I will be
not aw'd me nor has the love of thee moved me nor thy great and precious promises prevailed upon me but I have broke through all to gratifie my own vile affections Ah how have I wandered from the paths of Truth and Life here repeat the sins of the day past And now O holy and just God what shall I say unto thee shall I lye down in my wickedness and either through despair of thy mercy or presumption upon it continue to commit it Ah no! for then if Death surprize me and what reason have I to fear it may I must be miserable for ever everlasting remorse of Conscience and everlasting burnings in the company of Devils must be my portion for ever therefore O God thou God of mercy I come to thee though ashamed and confounded though my guilt will not suffer me to look up towards thee I come to weep to condemn my self before thee O hear me thou that delightest not in the death but the conversion of a sinner O hear me thou that hast given thine own Son to be a Propitiation for our sins O thou that delightest to hear Prayers and forgive the Penitent have mercy upon me pardon and deliver me from my sins make me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me and O never suffer me to be at rest 'till I have subdued my corruptions and rooted out every habitual sin 'till I feel the power of Religion in and change of my heart and reformation of my life and find the Kingdom of Heaven established within me in righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost And here O my God I once more dedicate my self to thee and vow a perpetual War against those Lusts by which I have been thus wretchedly misled and betrayed into the paths of darkness and death Here particularly resolve against that sin or sins which thou hast been guilty of the day past or finds thy self most prone too And thou O God by whose mighty power the blind received their sight the lame walked the Lepers were cleansed and the dead raised O thou who didst call quicken by thy grace the Gentiles when dead in trespasses and sins vouchsafe me the assistance of the same Spirit that I may continue stedfast and unmovable in these Resolutions and abound more and more in the works of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. An Evening private Prayer when upon Examination of the past day your Conscience acquits you from wilful wickedness O Gracious God and heavenly Father I thy poor Servant frail of my self and lying open to many Temptations do bless and praise thy Name that thou hast preserved me this day from presumptuous sin beseeching thee to blot out the remembrance of whatever has formerly displeased thee in my life past and pardon the defects and infirmities of my present state strengthen my faith increase my hope and let my breast be more and more inflam'd with a Divine love and O may my love abound more and more in knowledge and in all judgment that I may approve the things that are excellent and may be sincere and without offence 'till the day of Christ being filled with all the fruits of Righteousness through Jesus Christ unto the praise and glory of thee my God Preserve and bless me in my honest Labours let me never want things necessary for me and mine nor moderation humility and thankfulness in the use of them Keep me in safety and refresh me with sleep this night and when I awake let my thoughts be upon thee and upon the happiness of those that fear thee and trust in thee so shall I abide in thy love unto my lives end and be at last carried from this state of labour and watchfulness and trial into one of peace and security and triumph which grant O merciful Father for thy dear Son's sake Amen Amen And so much for your daily Devotion where for the circumstances of Time and Persons you may alter what agrees not with your condition and business if so be you are careful not to wholly omit the Duties of Family and private Prayer which you are as a Christian obliged to and is the surest way to make you happy here and hereafter SECT I. Of the Lords Day FOR your profitable Observation and hollowing the Lord's Day Exod. 28.8 9 10 11. Neh. 13.19 Isa 50.13 Acts. 27.7 20.7 1 Cor. 16. Rev. 1.10 Psal 118 24. Ezek 23.38 Amos 8.4 it will be of great use so to contrive your Affairs on Saturday that you may have as little as possible of them to perform on the Lord's Day CHAP. II. A Morning Prayer for the Lord's Day WE adore and worship thee O God the Creator of Heaven and Earth for thou speakest the word and all things were made thou commandedst and they were created in thee we live and move and have our being and when thou pleasest we die and return again unto our dust blessed be thy Name that thou hast made us rational Creatures and hast continued us in the Land of the living to this day and blessed be thou the God of Hope because thou hast so loved the World when dead in trespasses and sins and in a state of enmity against thee that thou gavest thy only begotten Son to the end that all that believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life Lord we believe help thou our unbelief we believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God we believe that the words he spoke are the words of everlasting Life we believe that he died for our sins that we might escape the wrath due to them we believe that he rose again for our justification that he might be a Prince and Saviour to all those who believe and obey him And now O Lord let this Faith we beseech thee have its due influence upon our hearts and lives that the grace of God which bringeth Salvation and hath appeared unto all men teach us to deny ungodliness and worldy Lusts and to live righteously soberly and godlily in this present world looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearance of the great God and our Saviour Christ Jesus Particularly assist us we beseech thee in the duties of the day that we may offer up unto thee pure and fervent Prayers and praise thee with unspeakable joy and gratitude Make us to hear thy Word with a holy fear and devout thirst and grant that we may be not only hearers but doers of thy Word that so being quickned by thy Word and Spirit we may be cleansed from our guilt by the Blood of Jesus and be made partakers of his Resurrection and Kingdom through the same our dear Lord and Saviour Amen After your Morning Prayer such business as can't be dispensed with as milking and ordering of Cattel must be done but no more at which Imployments you may sing Psalms have good thoughts or discourse with those with you After which let all get ready for Church and
his ill example or by causing him not to be esteemed and so rendring his Ministry less effectual Therefore to destroy what in you lies these designs of the Devil be always more ready to cover then expose his faults In case of doubts or hard places of Scripture advise with him and you will find great advantages and quiet to your mind pray earnestly for him which is a duty you may find often recommended in Scripture perhaps your neglect in this is one cause of his labours being no more profitable to you Pray for God's blessing on the Minister that it may be successful both for the saving himself and them that hear him that both his Life and Doctrine may be holy and fit for imitation the more defective he is the more earnest let your Prayers be that the grace of God may supply his defects but if his Vices are very notorious and scandalous to his Office after meek and frequent admonitions let some of the chiefest Parishioners joyn and complain to the Bishop and proving your Accusation by two or three grave and honest Witnesses endeavour to have him removed as 't is likely he will be if your complaint be well proved If he amends be glad and forget all past Faults for where God pardons as he does on repentance and reformation Man ought much more who is himself also a sinner If he is deprived and the choice is left to the Parishioners be careful to choose well especially one of a good Life and a diligent Preacher of sound Doctrine and Catechising If it depends on a particular Person be very earnest in your Prayers to God that he may be guided to make a good choice But how bad soever your Minister is do not think that will excuse you in any particular of your duty but you must continue to pay your Tithes faithfully which are his by the same Law that preserves your right to what you profess and to defraud him of any part thereof is Robbery and Sacriledge Give him no just cause of complaint but be ready to respect him and do him and his Family all the good conveniently you can praying that his Doctrine may be sound and profitable though his Example is not I do not fear to promise that such a behaviour will be both acceptable to God and profitable to your self and it may be in time he may by your Prayers and mild Behaviour grow better If he is very bad I do not prohibit your going sometimes to another but for the most part keep to your own Parish SECT II. His Duty to his Superiours SEcondly for your Behaviour to your Superiours be careful to do your Duty to them Now Kings and Governours being so far removed above you and it being so hard for you to find the truth of their Actions and harder to understand the reasons of them you must avoid all thoughts and discourse more then heartily praying Duty to Superiours Rom. 137. 1 Pet. 2.13.14 1 Tim. 2 1 2. Exod. 22.28 Jude 8. Acts 23.5 Eccl. 10.20 Prov. 24.21 Dan. 13.14 15 16 17 18. 6.7.8.9 Acts 5.29 16.37 38 39. 22.25 26 27 28. 25.10 11. Lev. 19.12 Jer. 4.2 Exod. 20.26 25.1 Prov. 14.25 Deut. 19.16 19 20 21. Prov. 19.5 Deut. 16.19 20. Prov. 17 15. Lev. 19.15 that God would direct them to do what is most for his glory and good of his Church remembring the general Rule To obey them in all their just Commands but no Command is so that is not agreeable to the Laws of God or Laws of the Land But since you do not know how far all those Laws extended 't is sufficient you do your duty to the best of your knowledge without by-ends or interest and what you cannot obey with a good Conscience patiently suffer for a good Conscience and you shall have your reward in Heaven If you happen to live in a time of War and Persecution or great Taxes do not rail at your Governours for these things nor inquire after any other cause besides sin for be assured that is the general if not constant procurer of trouble for God being infinitely good would certainly perform all his promise in giving temporal as well as spiritual good things did not our sins provoke his anger and make it necessary to call us to Repentance by correction when we abuse Prosperity therefore when ever you find your self unwilling to pay Taxes or groan under the burthen by reason of your Necessities only think this is the just punishment of my sins of my prodigality intemperance idleness neglect of God's service and the like and so resolve to amend and exhort your Neighbours to the same when you hear them complain and pray to God for pardon of sin and mercy either to put an end to the Miseries of the Nation or to sanctifie them to the subduing sin and increasing holiness and give you and others patience to support them in a Christian manner For inferiour Magistrates Justices of the Peace and the like if you are ever called before them come with reverence and humility If it is for a Crime consess if guilty and beg pardon if innocent modestly justifie your self If called to be a Witness either by Oath or Word be strict to the truth with the greatest exactness you can possibly and neither to serve your self nor friend be tempted to give false or deceitful Testimony for it is a wilful sin and of a most heinous nature and what may so wound your Conscience as to make you unhappy all your life time If you are your self called to any Office as Constable Church-warden Overseer of the Poor or the like before you venture on your Office endeavour to understand your Duty in it and what it is you swear and undertake to do grudge not to buy a Book for your Instruction or go to your Minister and desire him to inform you and be careful to observe and to the best of your power and knowledge perform what you undertake faithfully more to please God then Man and be not afraid of doing your duty for God will protect you and the Laws defend you in it SECT III. To his Landlord THirdly your Duty to your Landlord is first to endeavour to pay your Rent honestly and so soon as conveniently you can If your bargain is hard in mild and humble terms acquaint your Landlord and take some grave and honest Neighbour with you to intercede for an abatement and give an account of the reasons of it If you obtain it be content and let it not tempt you to insist on another abatement but be satisfied in a good honest Bargain and consider your Landlord though he has more then you yet has so many more occasions for it that he can no more afford to let too cheap then you to pay too dear and it is a great fault to be always repining and murmuring when it may be you know not where to better your self But if indeed your
blessing such Maids need not fear getting an honest Service and are fitted to make good Wives when their Parents think fit be especially careful to prevent fondness in your Daughters and Maids and often set before them the monstrous deformity of an immodest Woman and the great Beauty and Prudence of a chast modest humble Maid As your Daughter ought not to marry without your consent so do not constrain her where she has an aversion nor cross her Affection too much if the Man is sober and honest While at your work in the House or Field be often saying some profitable thing causing your Children to repeat what they have learnt by heart and instead of idle Ballads let them learn Psalms to sing at their work so shall your House be a little Temple of God and a Blessing accompany all your Labour and make you both happy and contented here and dispose you for Eternal Happiness in the World to come which is so great a Hope that nothing but sad Experience could make one think it possible that they that pretend to believe the Truth of Eternal Glory and Happiness can be so miserably negligent in the pursuit of and endeavours after it Having in the fore-going Directions often Exhorted you to think of God and entertain holy Meditations and Ejaculations at your work I will here give you some few Examples not to use in a set formal manner but for the direction and quickning to inlarge as your Devotion directs Meditations and Ejaculations proper for several Occasions IN a Morning when you find your Cattle well or have hopes of seasonable Weather admire God's goodness and look not on these Blessings as the Course of Nature or what you have a right to but as the immediate gift of God and as if they were newly bestowed on you and say in your heart Lord I thank thee for all thy gifts it is thy bounty that first gave them and the same bounty preserve them O give me grace to use them to thy glory that I may never abuse them to sin or vanity to dishonour thee or hurt my Neighbour but be a faithful Steward of all those Talents committed to my charge that so I may find Mercy in the Day of our Lord. If your Cattle is sick or die or the Weather unseasonable consider it is the Mercy of God that you lose not all or that you had not such losses sooner for should he withdraw his protection you might be by the malice of the Devil who hates all those that serve God reduced to the condition of Job and let such Accidents convince you of the great necessity of God's Blessing and how vain all your labour or care is without it not being able to cause a fair day when you want it or restore a poor Beast to health here you may thus meditate Lord thy will be done giving or taking what thou hast given thy Name be blest I thank thee for all thy past Mercies and submit to my present losses sanctifie them to my profit my sins deserve worse punishments whatever thou recallest let it not be any degree of grace or thy favour for so long as I am thy reconcil'd Child I cannot be miserable but without thy love I am most wretched could I possess the whole World for what shall it profit to gain the whole World and lose my Soul When you begin a new work dedicate it to God and say Lord I desire to do all to thy glory all for thy love and in obedience to thy will bless this my labour that it may prosper and grant that I may first seek thy Kingdom and its Righteousness and have such a portion of Temporal Blessings as thou seest best for me If you are sick or in pain look on it as sent from God and submit to it saying Lord keep me from sin the worst of evils the more the Outward man is afflicted the more I beg thy grace to support my Spirit with Faith and Patience When you hear talk of Wars and Trouble in Church or State or are sad at the thoughts of Divisions among Christians Remember that God is infinite in goodness wisdom and power and will bring good out of all When you find your self affected with these Thoughts retire to pray for your fellow Creatures or at least at your work sometimes lift up your heart to God to pray that he would enlighten all Mankind that they may both believe and obey the Gospel that he would unite the Divisions among Christians and reform whatever he found amiss in their Belief and Practice that all Christian People might have a true Christian Spirit a Spirit of Love and Charity proving their Discipleship by their Love to one another that so God might be worshipped in Spirit and Truth to his glory and their salvation When you lye under any Temptations say to this effect Lord let thy power be magnified in my weakness suffer me not to be tempted above my strength take away the Temptation or enable me to resist and overcome it Before you read the holy Scripture pray that God would assist you with his enlightning grace that so your Faith may rest not on the Wisdom of Men but on the Power of God that you may rightly understand and faithfully practise what you know that so obeying the Commands you may inherit the Promises of the Gospel and that the steadfast belief of God's Word may be your Comfort and Support against all Temptations of the World the Devil or your own Corruptions Before you go into company or before you reprove or advise any think how you may do most good and best please God say Lord be present with me sanctifie my Heart and Tongue which I dedicate to thee and give me both courage and wisdom to speak in due season for thy glory and my Neighbours good and let thy Spirit both assist me and supply my defects by its powerful working on the heart of my Neighbour As you sow your Ground you may from thence draw a Meditation of Death and Resurrection of the necessity of grace and good works for as you must do your part to manure the Grounds and sow the Seed and you expect seasonable Weather to make it bring forth so must you do your endeavours to prepare your heart to receive the grace of God and by Prayer to procure his blessed Spirit by which aid alone you are enabled to do the will of God Lord as without thy blessing all my labour is in vain so if thy grace does not assist me I am all weakness O pity thy poor Creature the work of thy hands and both sow the Seed of true Faith in my heart and water it with thy grace that it may bring forth the Fruits of a Holy Life When you see Harvest getting in you may meditate to this effect O Lord grant that I may be as a fruitful Field ready for Harvest that so when Death or Judgment comes I may rejoyce and not mourn that my work being done I shall ever rest not only from labour but from sin and be perfect in loving and serving God If you hear profane People talk or are tempted to doubt in any point of Faith say Lord I believe help my unbelief I believe and am sure that thy Word is most true and that my doubts are only the effects of my own weakness Lord I believe whatever thou hast revealed I renounce all my Errours and beg thou wilt either pardon my ignorant Mistakes or give me light to discover and forsake them thy Word is perfect I believe and desire to obey it If you see any in a mean or miserable condition think of God's goodness to you and say Who is it that made me to differ and what have I that I have not received and if I have received it why do I glory as if I had not received it let my Brother's misery make me thankful to God and charitable to him that he be not tempted to envy my Prosperity If you find your self inclined to discontent say Lord it is enough for me that I may but love thee and be loved by thee Shall I complain of an ill Nights lodging in an Inn when I shall soon be at my Fathers House and have there as large a share of glory and happiness as my Soul is capable of How can I be more honourable than to be a Child of God who is Lord of Heaven and Earth How can I be richer than to have peace here and glory hereafter Let me instead of murmuring admire the great goodness of my heavenly Father and rejoice in my Neighbour's Happiness for in Heaven no one envies another but is made more happy by the Felicity of the rest FINIS