sustinent saith Tertullian Almost all the Psalmes represent the person of Christ Now this Key of David opens not only the Kingdom of Grace by Revelation of the mysteries of our Religion but the Kingdom of Heaven too it being such a Collection of Prayers Eucharist acts of hope of love of patience and all other Christian virtues that as the everlasting Kingdome is given to the Heire of the House of David so the Honour of opening that Kingdom is given to the first Prince of that family the Psalmes of his Father David are one of the best inlets into the Kingdom of the sonne Something to this purpose is that saying of one of the old Doctors vox psalmodiae si recto corde dirigatur in tantum omnipotenti Deo aditum ad animum aperit ut intentae animae vel Prophetiae mysteria vel compunctionis spiritum infundat The saying or singing of Psalmes opens a way so wide for God to enter into the heart that a devout soule does usually from such an imployment receive the grace of compunction and contrition or of understanding Prophecies Vpon such premises as these or better the Church of God in all ages hath made Davids Psalter the greatest part of her publike and private devotions sometimes dividing the Psalter into seven parts that every weeks devotion might spend it all Sometimes decreeing that it should be said day and night Otherwhile injoyned the recitation of the whole Psalter before the celebration of the blessed Sacrament and after some time it was made the publique office of the Church It was the generall use of Christendome to say the Psalmes Antiphonatim by way of verse and answer saith Suidas and so Ancient that the Religious of S. Marke in Alexandria used it saith Philo the lew and S. Ignatius or else Flavianus and Diodorus brought it first into the Church of Antioch And for the private Devotions that they chiefly consisted of the Psalmes we have great probability from the strict requiring it of the Clergy and particularly from them who came to be ordayned great readinesse of saying the Psalter by heart It was S. Hieroms counsell to Rusticus and when S. Gregory was to ordaine the Bishop of Ancona his inquiry concerning his Canonicall sufficiency was if he could say Davids Psalmes without book and for a disability of doing it Iohn the Priest was rejected from the Bishopricke of Ravenna But this I conceive more relates to their private then to their publike devotions for I cannot thinke but that in respect of the publike Liturgy it was enough for Bishops and Priests to read the Psalmes the requiring ability remember them was to ingage them to a frequent use of so admirable devotions in their private offices But the Psalmes were not only of use to the Church as they lay in their owne position and forme but the devout men of severall ages drew them into Collects Antiphonaries Responsories and all other parts of their devotions They made their Prayers out of the Psalmes their confessions their doxologies their ejaculations for the most part were clauses or periods of the Psalter S t Hierome made a collection of choice versicles and put them together into their severall classes and that was much of his devotion the Collection is still extant under the Name of S t Hierom's Psalter Sâ— Athanasius made an Index of the severall occasions and matters of prayer and Eucharist and fitted Psalmes to each particular that was his devotion the Psalmes intire as they lay only he made titles of his owne I have seen of latter time a short hymne of some eight verses which are indeed very choice sentences out of severall Psalmes set together to make up a compendium of Liturgy or Breviary of our necessities and devotions collected by S t Bernardine it is a very good Copy to be followed But if we look into the old Liturgies of the Eastern and Western Churches and where we will almost into the private devotions of the old writers we may say of them in the expression of the Prophet Hauâ—ieeant aquas è fontibus Salvatoris they drew their waters from the fountaines of our Blessed Saviour but through the limbecks of David But the practice of this devotion I derived from a higher precedent even of Christ and his Apostles for before the passion immediatly they sung a Psalm saith the Scripture Hymno dicto saith the vulgar Latine having recited or said a Psalme But however it was part of Davids Psalter that was sung it was the great Allelujah as the Jewes called it beginning at the 113 psalme to the 119 exclusively part of that was sung But this devotion continued with our Blessed Saviour as long as breath was in him for when he was upon the Crosse he recited the 22 th Psalme ad verbum saith the tradition of the Church and that he began it saith the Scripture My God My God why hast thou forsaken me The whole psalme is rather a history then a prediction of the passion and what Tertullian saith of the whole Psalter is particularly verified of this filium ad Patrem id est Christum ad Deum verba facientem representat it represents the Sonnes addresse to his Father that is Christ speaking to God Against the example of Christ if we confront the practice of Antichrist nothing can be said greater in commendation of this manner of devotioÌ„ for B. Hippolytus in his oration of the end of the world saith that in the dayes of Antichrist Psalmorum decantatio cessabit they shall then no more use the singing or saying of the Psalmes which when I had observed without any further deliberation I fix'd upon the Psalter as the best weapon against him whose comming we have great reason to believe is not farre off so great preparation is making for him From the example of Christ this grew to be a Practice Apostolicall and their devotion came exactly home to the likenesse of the designe of this very Booke they turn'd the Psalmes into prayers Thus it was said of Paul and Silas Act. 16. They prayed a Psalme so it is in the Greeke and we have a Copy left us of one of the prayers or collects which they made out of the bowells of the second psalme it is in the fourth Chapter of the Acts beginning at the 24 verse and ends at the 31. And now I have showne the reasons of my choice and the precedents that I haue followed This last coms home to every circumstance of my Book I only adde this that since according to the instruction of our blessed Saviour God is to be worshipped in Spirit and in truth no worshipping can be more true or more spirituall then the Psalter said with a pure mind and a hearty devotion For David was Gods instrument to the Church teaching and admonishing us as our duty is to each other in Psalmes and Hymnes and spirituall Songs and the spirit of truth was the Grand Dictator of what David wrote
then in shewing thy displeasure O Lord heale us and be mercifull unto us and save us turne our heavinesse into joy and gird us with gladnesse so shall we give thanks unto thee for ever through Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen PSALME 31. A Prayer for protection against our enemies and all dangers of soule and body and specially at the houre of death IN thee O Lord have I put my trust let me never be put to confusion deliver me in thy righteousnesse 2 Bow down thine eare to me make hast iâ— deliver mee 3 And be thou my strong rock and the house of defence that thou maist save me 4 For thou art my strong rock and my castleâ— be thou also my guide and lead me for thy names sake 5 Draw me out of the net that they have laid privily for me for thou art my strength 6 Into thy hands I commend my spirit for thou hast redeemed me O Lord thou God of truth 7 I have hated them that hold of superstitious vanities and my trust hath been in the Lord. 8 I will be glad and reioyce in thy mercy for thou hast considered my trouble and hast known my soul in adversities 9 Thou hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemie but hast set my feet in a large room 10 Have mercy upon me O Lord for I am in trouble and my eye is consumed for very heavinesse yea my soul and my body 11 For my life is waren old with heavinesse and my yeares with mourning 12 My strength faileth me because of mine iniquity and my bones are consumed 13 I became a reproof among all mine enemies but specially among my neighbours and they of mine acquaintance were afraid of me and they that did see me without conveyed themselves from me 14 I am clean forgotten as a dead man out of mind I am become like a broken vessell 15 For I haue heard the blasphemy of the multitude and fear is on every side while they conspire together against me and take their counsell to take away my life 16 But my hope hath been in thee O Lord I haue said Thou art my God 17 My time is in thy hand deliver me from the hand of mine enemies and from them that persecute me 18 Shew thy servant the light of thy countenance and save me for thy mercies sake 19 Let me not be confounded O Lord for I haue called upon thee let the ungodly be put to confusion and be put to silence in the grave 20 Let the lying lips be put to silence which cruelly disdainfully and despitefully speak against the righteous 21 O how plentifull is thy goodnesse which thou hast laid up for them that feare thee and that thou hast prepared for them that put their trust in thee even before the sonnes of men 22 Thou shalt hide them privily by thine own presence from the provoking of all men thou shalt keep them secretly in thy tabernacle from the strife of tongues 23 Thanks be to the Lord for he hath shewed me marvellous great kindnes in a strong city 24 And when I made hast I said I am cast out of the sight of shine eyes 25 Neverthelesse thou heardest the voice of my prayer when I cried unto thee 26 O love the Lord all ye his Saints for the Lord preserveth them that are faithfull and plenteously rewardeth the proud doer 27 Be strong and he shall stablish your heart all ye that put your trust in the Lord. The Prayer O God our rock and the house of our defence let us be glad and rejoyce in thy mercies and salvation Consider O Lord our trouble and in thy pitty know our soules beset round about with enemies and adversities Shut us not up into the hands of our enemies nor our lives within the grave Our time O Lord is in thy hand to thee pertaine the issues of life and death and though our strength hath failed us because of our iniquity and our bones are vexed by reason of our sinnes yet our hope is in thee O Lord we have said Thou art our God deliver us from all our enemies bodily and ghostly turne our sadnesse into joy and our mourning into gladnesse least our bodies soules be consumed for very heavinesse Let us not be put to confusion nor to silence in the grave but let us see thy marvellous loving kindnesse and partake of thy plentifull goodnesse which thou hast laid up for them that feare thee even before the sonnes of men O let us never be cast out of the sight of thine eyes but deale with us in mercy loving kindnesse Into thy hands we commend our Spirits resigning our selves up to thy providence and disposition either to life or death as thou in thy infinite wisedome shalt find most proportionable to thy glory and our eternall good beseeching thee to be our guide to death and to lead us for thy Name sake to everlasting life through Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen PSALME 32. A Confession of sinnes and a prayer for pardon EVENING PRAYER BLessed is he whose unrighteousnesse is forgiven and whose sinne is covered 2 Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth no sinne and in whose spirit there is no guile 3 For while I held my tongue my bones consumed away through my daily complaining 4 For thy hand is heavy upon me day and night and my moisture is like the drought in Summer 5 I will knowledge my sinne unto thee and mine unrighteousnesse haue I not hid 6 I said I will confesse my sinnes unto the Lord and so thou forgavest the wickednesse of my sinne 7 For this shall every one that is godly make his prayer unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found but in the great water flouds they shall not come nigh him 8 Thou art a place to hide me in thou shalt preâ—erve me from trouble thou shalt compasse me about with songs of deliverance 9 I will enform thee and teach thee in the way wherein thou shalt goe and I will guide thee with mine eye 10 Be ye not like to Horse and Mule which haue no understanding whose mouthes must be holden with biâ— bridle lest they fall upon thee 11 Great plagues remaine for the ungodly but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord mercy embraceth him on every side 12 Be glad O ye righteous and rejoyce in the Lord be ioyfull all ye that are true of heart The Prayer O Lord God eternall Iudge of men and Angells whose property is alwayes to have mercy and to forgive have mercy upon us who confesse our sinnes unto thee to be so great and many that were not thy mercy infinite we might despaire of having our unrighteousnesse forgiven or our sins covered O deare God preserve us from the great plagues that remaine for the ungodly and let thy mercy imbrace us on every side Impute not unto us the sins we have multiplyed against thee against all the world for we
dwell in the tents of ungodlinesse 12 For the Lord God is a light and defence the Lord will give grace and worship and no good thing shall he withhold from them that live a godly life 13 O Lord God of hosts blessed is the man that putteth his trust in thee The Prayer O Lord God of hosts who dwellest in the heavens seated in essentiall and eternall felicities fill our hearts with desires and longings to enter into those Courts where thou sittest attended with the beauteous orders of Angells and millions of beautified spirits and that our desires may receive infinite satisfactions give us thy helpe that we going through the vale of misery the pooles may be filled with water our hearts and eyes may runne over with teares of repentance and overflow with sorrow and contrition for our sinnes that we living a godly life going from strength to strength from vertue to vertue at last we may appeare in Sion unto the God of Gods beholding the face of thine anointed thy Christ and our Iesus and may dwell one day in thy Courts even all the long day of eternity through the same Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen PSALME 85. A thanksgiving for Gods free mercy in the pardon of our sinnes and a prayer for the continuance and increase of his mercies to us LOrd thou art become gratious unto thy land thou hast turned away the captivity of Iacob 2 Thou hast forgiven the offence of thy people and covered all their sinnes 3 Thou hast taken away all thy displeasure and turned thy selfe from thy wrathfull indignation 4 Turn us then O God our Saviour and let thine anger cease from us 5 Wilt thou be displeased at us for ever and wilt thou stretch out thy wrath from one generation to another 6 Wilt thou not turn againe quicken us that thy people may reioyce in thee 7 Shew us thy mercy O Lord and grant us thy salvation 8 I will hearken what the Lord God will say concerning me for he shall speak peace unto his people and to his saints that they turne not again 9 For his salvation is nigh them that feare him that glory may dwell in our land 10 Mercy and truth are met together righteousnesse and peace have kissed each other 11 Truth shall flourish out of the earth and righteousnesse hath looked down from heaven 12 Yea the Lord shall shew loving kindnesse and our land shall give her increase 13 Righteousnesse shall go before him and he shall direct his going in the way The Prayer O Most gracious God who art reconciled unto us in our Saviour Iesus having for his sake forgiven the offences of thy people and covered all their sinnes with the robe of his most immaculate sanctity and righteousnesse let thy grace convert and quicken us that we may rejoyce in thee and thy salvation in faith of thy promises in hope of the actuall communication of thy mercies to us and in love to thee for so great blessings and redemption and when thou hast spoken peace unto our soules and reconciled us to thy selfe in the bloud of thy Son give us the grace of perseverance that we may never turne again to folly but may follow mercy and truth all our dayes and at last be satisfied with thy righteousnesse and peace eternall through Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen PSALME 86. A prayer for sanctity and preservation MORNING PRAYER BOw down thine eare O Lord and heare me for I am poore and in misery 2 Preserve thou my soule for I am holy my God save thy servant that putteth his trust in thee 3 Be mercifull unto me O Lord for I will call daily upon thee 4 Comfort the soule of thy servant for unto thee O Lord do I lift up my soule 5 For thou Lord art good and gracious and of great mercy unto all them that call upon thee 6 Give eare Lord unto my prayer and ponder the voyce of my humble desires 7 In the time of my trouble I will call upon thee for thou hearest me 8 Among the gods there is none like unto thee O Lord there is not one that can do as thou doest 9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship thee O Lord and shall glorifie thy Name 10 For thou art great and doest wonderous things thou art God alone 11 Teach me thy way O Lord and I will walke in thy truth O knit my heart unto thee that I may feare thy Name 12 I will thanke thee O Lord my God with all my heart and will praise thy Name for evermore 13 For great is thy mercy toward me and thou hast delivered my soule from the nethermost hell 14 O God the proud are risen against me and the congregations of naughty men have sought after my soule and have not set thee before their eyes 15 But thou O Lord God art full of compassion and mercy long-suffering plenteous in goodnesse and truth 16 O turne thee then unto me and have mercy upon me give thy strength unto thy servant and helpe the son of thine handmaid 17 Shew some good token upon me for good that they which hate me may see it and be ashamed because thou Lord hast holpen me and comforted me The Prayer O Lord God good and gracious and of great mercy unto all them that call upon thee give eare unto our prayers and ponder the voyce of our desires when ever we call upon thee in our trouble Let the soules of thy servants be refreshed with thy comforts and defend us from the congregations of proud and naughty men Turne thee unto us with mercy give thy strength unto us teach us thy lawes make us to walke in thy truth give us the feare of thy Name and knit our hearts to thee with the indissoluble bands of charity and obedience that our soules being saved from the nethermost hell we may worship thee O Lord glorifie thy name who art full of compassion and mercy long-suffering and plenteous in goodnesse and truth which thou hast manifested to us in our deliverance and redemption through Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen PSALME 87. A contemplation of the excellencies of Sion or the celestiall Ierusalem HEr foundations are upon the holy hills the Lord loveth the gates of Sion more than all the dwellings of Iacob 2 Uery excellent things are spoken of thee thou city of God 3 I will thinke upon Rahab and Babylon with them that know me 4 Behold ye the Philistims also and they of Tyre with the Morians lo there was he borne 5 And of Sion it shall be reported that he was borne in her and the most High shall stablish her 6 The Lord shall rehearse it when he writeth up the people that he was borne there 7 The singers also and trumpeters also shall he rehearse all my fresh springs shall be in thee The Prayer O Lord God who dwellest in Sion and delightest to have thy habitation in the hearts of men thou hast built the
duties and by the feare of thee being taught to keep thy testimonies and never to forget the Law thou givest us we may be delivered from thy wrath and punishment and at last praise thee upon thy holy hill in thine everlasting habitation thorough Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen PSALME 100. A Psalme of praise to God for his mercy and truth O Be ioyfull in the Lord all yee lands serue the Lord with gladnesse and come before his presence with a song 2 Be yee sure that the Lord he is God it is he that hath made us and not we our selues we are his people and the sheep of his pasture 3 O go your way into his gates with thankesgiving and into his courts with praise be thankfull unto him and speak good of his Name 4 For the Lord is gracious his mercie is everlasting and his truth endureth from generation to generation The Prayer O Lord our God who hast created us out of nothing and hast redeemed us from misery and death when we were thine enemies shewing great expresses of thy loving kindnesse when we were vessels of wrath and inheritors of perdition â—reveiling thy truth unto us in the Sermons of the Gospell teach us to walke as thou hast commanded us to believe as thou hast taught us that we may inherit what thou hast promised us for thou art the way the truth and the life we are thy people and the sheep of thy pasture thou art our guide and our defence let thy grace teach us to serve thee and thy holy Spirit assist and promote our endeavours with the blessings of gladnesse and chearfulnesse of Spirit that we may love to speak good of thy Name and at last may go into the courts of thy Temple with praise and a song in our mouthes to thy honour and eternall glory whose mercy and truth is everlasting and revealed unto the Church in our Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ Amen PSALME 101. A Prayer for a holy life MY song shall bee of mercie and iudgement unto thee O Lord will I sing 2 O let me have understanding in the way of godlinesse 3 When wilt thou come unto me I will walke in my house with a perfect heart 4 I will take no wicked thing in hand I hate the sinnes of unfaithfulnesse there shall no such cleave unto me 5 A froward heart shall depart from me I will not know a wicked person 6 Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour him will I destroy 7 Whoso hath also a proud look and high stomacke I will not suffer him 8 Mine eyes look unto such as be faithfull in the land that they may dwell with me 9 Whoso leadeth a godly life he shall be my seruant 10 There shall no deceitfull person dwell in my house he that telleth lies shall not tarrie in my sight 11 I shall soon destroy all the ungodly that are in the land that I may root out all wicked doers from the citie of the Lord. The Prayer O Lord God of eternall purity who art of pure eyes and canst behold no unrighteousnesse or impurity enlighten our understandings that we may have knowledge in the way of godlinesse make our paths straight and our hearts perfect take from us the sinnes of unfaithfulnesse correct and mortifie in us all froward and peevish dispositions let us love the society of the saints and hate the fellowship of the wicked that we may not be destroyed with the ungodly nor be rooted out from the Citie of the Lord and banished from the sweetnes of thy presence for with thee is light and health and salvation to thy Name be all honour and glory and praise ascribed world without end Amen PSALME 102. A Prayer for comfort in sadnesse anxiety of spirit sicknesse or any other affliction MORNING PRAYER HEare my prayer O Lord and let my crying come unto thee 2 Hide not thy face from me in the time of my trouble â—encline thine eares unto me when I call O heare me and that right soon 3 For my dayes are consumed away like smoake and my bones are burnt up as it were a firebrand 4 My heart is smitten down and withered like grasse so that I forget to eat my bread 5 For the voyce of my groaning my bones will scarce cleave to my flesh 6 I am become like a pelican in the wildernesse and like an owle that is in the desert 7 I have watched and am even as it were a sparrow that sitteth alone upon the house top 8 Mine enemies revile me all the day long and they that are mad upon me are sworne together against me 9 For I have eaten ashes as it were bread and mingled my drinke with weeping 10 And that because of thine indignation and wrath for thou hast taken me up and cast me down 11 My dayes are gone like a shadow and I am withered like grasse 12 But thou O Lord shalt endure for ever and thy remembrance throughout all generations 13 Thou shalt arise and have mercie upon Sion for it is time that thou have mercie upon her yea the time is come 14 And why thy servants thinke upon her stones and it pittieth them to see her in the dust 15 The heathen shall feare thy Name O Lord and all the kings of the earth thy maiestie 16 When the Lord shall build up Sion and when his glorie shall appeare 17 When he turneth him unto the prayer of the poore destitute and despiseth not their desire 18 This shall be written for those that come after and the people which shall be borne shall praise the Lord. 19 For he hath looked down from his sanctuarie out of the heaven did the Lord behold the earth 20 That he might heare the mournings of such as be in captivitie and deliver the children appointed unto death 21 That they may declare the Name of the Lord in Sion and his worship at Ierusalem 22 When the people are gathered together and the kingdomes also to serve the Lord. 23 He brought down my strength in my iourney and shortened my dayes 24 But I said O my God take me not away in the midst of mine age as for thy yeares they endure throughout all generations 25 Thou Lord in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the worke of thy hands 26 They shall perish but thou shalt endure they all shall wax old as doth a garment 27 And as a vesture shalt thou change them and they shall be changed but thou art the same and thy yeares shall not faile 28 The children of thy servants shall continue and their seed shall stand fast in thy sight The Prayer O Eternall God who endurest for ever and thy remembrance throughout all generations have pittie upon us according to the infinite treasures of thy loving kindnesse heare the voyce of our groaning for thy indignation and thy wrath lieth hard upon us and our sinnes have put an edge upon thy sword and a thorne into our wounded