if you can get time and convenience say them all and I dare assure you that all the three Forms of Prayer which I commend to you will not in all take up a quarter of an hour and certainly that Person has very little sense of his Duty very little concern for his immortal Soul very little Honour for God or value for Heaven who will not spend one quarter of an hour in the space of four and twenty hours in the Service of God and the Salvation of his own Soul I do by all means exhort you to give your Servants a few Minutes leisure at Noon to Pray after your Example and to use your Children to do the same for they will soon be able to say the Lords Prayer and two or three Ejaculations and teach them to say these at Noon as well as at Morning and at Night and 't is incredible to think how much good this Practice will do them and what great comfort you your selves will reap from the early Devotion of your Children To further this Devotion in your Children instead of Idle Tales and Songs which pollute their Souls and when they come to be serious will cost them great pains to unlearn You must teach them short Psalms by heart which will exercise their Memories and Piety both together and as you teach the Psalms to your Children I exhort you to learn them your selves You cannot imagine the great benefit of learning Psalms by heart for when you are under any Temptation or are in any Affliction or when you lye waking in the Night or when you are Sick these Psalms will come into your mind and the Devout repeating them will yield you most seasonable Consolations The very Common People in the first and purest Ages of the Church were so sensible of the Spiritual advantages of learning Psalms that they learn'd the whole Psalter by heart and sang or said the Psalms in their Shops and at the Plow insomuch that St. Iames makes it the proper expression of Christian mirth Iamâ— 5.13 If any be merry let him sâ—â—g Psalms This is the way to store your own and your Childrens minds with Ejaculations or short Prayers for all Occasions which I advise both Old and Young to accustom themselves to because it is the true way of Praying without ceasing and it is a kind of Prayer most easie and may be used at any time of the day or in any place and is one of the most efficacious means in the World to keep us in Gods favour 〈◊〉 is of all things most desirable Ejaculations At going out or coming in Lord bless my going out and my coming in from this time forth for evermore Psal. 121.8 At Meals Lord grant that whether I eat or drink or whatever I do I may do all to thy Glory 1 Cor. 10.31 At Work Prosper thou the work of my hands O Lord O prosper thou my handy work Psal. 90.17 In the Shop or Market Lord give me grace to use this World so as not to abuse it 1 Cor. 7.31 Lord grant that I may never go beyond or defraud my brother in any matter for thou art the Avenger of all such 1 Thess. 4.6 In temptation or danger O God make speed to save me O Lord make haste to help me At any time of the day Wherever I am whatever I do Thou Lord seest me O keep me in thy fear all the day long Prov. 23.17 Lord give me grace to keep always a conscience void of offence towards thee and towards men Acts 24.16 Lord teach me so to number my days that I may apply my heart to Wisdom Psal. 90.12 O let my mouth be filled with thy Praise that I may sing of thy Glory and Honor all the day long Psal. 71.7 All love all glory be to thee O God who didst first love me Unto him that lov'd us and wash'd us from our â—â—ns in his own Blood be glory and dominion for ever and ever Amen Rev. 1.5 O blessed Spirit shed abroad the love of God in my heart Praise the Lord O my soul and all that is within me Praise his holy Name Psal. 103.1 Praise the Lord O my soul while I live will I praise the Lord yea as long as I have any being I will sing Praises unto my God Psal. 146.1 You that have Families I do further exhort that besides your private Prayers you would offer up to God a Morning and Evening Sacrifice in your Families and that every one of you would take up the Holy Resolution of Ioshua As for me and my House we will serve the Lord Iosh. 24.15 And the Prayers I advise you to use are taken out of the Common Prayer as being most familiar and of greatest Authority withall If any of your Family are gone abroad to their Work before the rest can be ready call that little Congregation about you that is at home and you that are present pray for those that are absent and by this means those that are absent upon necessary Employments will share in the blessings for which you pray Morning Prayer for a Family Let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be alway acceptable in thy sight O Lord our Strength and our Redeemer O God the Father of Heaven have mercy upon us miserable sinners O God the Son Redeemer of the World have mercy upon us miserable sinners O God the Holy Ghost proceeding from the Father and the Son have mercy upon us miserable sinners O Holy Blessed and Glorious Trinity three Persons and one God have mercy upon us miserable sinners O Lord we beseech thee mercifully hear our Prayers and spare all those who confess their sins unto thee that they whose consciences by sin are accused by thy merciful pardon may be absolved through Christ our Lord. Amen Almighty God who seest that we have no power of our selves to help our selves we give thee humble thanks for thy preservation of us this day past or this night past and for all the blessings thou daily vouchsafest us and we beseech thee to keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul through Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen Almighty God whose Kingdom is everlasting and power Infinite have mercy upon the whole Church and so rule the heart of thy chosen Servant James our King and Governor that he knowing whose Minister he is may above all things seek thy Honor and Glory and that we and all his Subjects duly considering whose Authority he hath may faithfully serve honor and humbly obey him in thee and for thee according to thy blessed Word and Ordinance through Iesus Christ our Lord who liveth and reigneth ever one God World without end Amen Unto thy gracious mercy and protection O Lord do we commit our selves this day or this night and all our
more than rudely describe it It is the general inclination and tendency of the whole man of all his heart and soul and strength of all his powers and affections and of the utmost strength of them all to God as his chief and onely and perfect and infinite Good Q. Is this love of God taught in the Catechism A. The Catechism having in the entrance of it presented to our choice the happiness of a Christian does throughout all the remaining parts of it instruct us in the duties of a Christian by which that happiness is to be attain'd which are all sum'd up in the love of God which is here most methodically taught Q. In what method does the Catechism teach the love of God A. In a method so excellent and natural that if by God's help I can but faithfully observe it I shall not fail of the love of God Q. Explain this method to me A. It teaches me how the love of God is produc'd how practis'd and how preserved Q. Shew me more distinctly in what parts of the Catechism each of these particulars is coucht A. If I seriously desire the love God I must first expell all contrary loves out of my heart and then consider the motives and causes that excite it the former is taught in the Vow of Baptism the latter in the Creed When divine love is once produc'd my next care is to put it in practice and that is by bringing forth the fruits or effects of Love which are all contain'd in the Ten Commandments When the love of God is produc'd in my heart and is set on work my last concern is to preserve and ensure and quicken it It is preserv'd by Prayer the pattern of which is the Lord's Prayer It is ensured to us by the Sacraments which are the Pledges of Love and more particularly it is quickned by the Holy Eucharist which is the feast of Love So that the plain order of the Catechism teaches me the rise the progress and the perfection of Divine love which God of his great mercy give me grace to follow Q. I beseech God to give you the grace you pray for that you may prosecute this method with your heart as well as with your words A. It is the full purpose of my Soul so to doe and I trust in God I shall doe it Q. You are to begin with the vow you made at your Baptism Tell me What did your Godfathers and Godmothers then for you A. They did promise and vow three things in my name First That I should renounce the Devil and all his works the pomps and vanities of this wicked World and all the sinfull lusts of the flesh Secondly That I should believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith And thirdly That I should keep God's holy Will and Commandments and walk in the same all the days of my life Q. Dost thou not think thou art bound to believe and to doe as they have promised for thee A. Yes verily and by God's help so I will and I heartily thank our Heavenly Father that he hath call'd me to this state of Salvation through Iesus Christ our Saviour And I pray unto God to give me his grace that I may continue in the same unto my lives end Q. The promises of faith and obedience which you made in your baptism will be mention'd in their proper places when you come to the Creed and to the Decalogue that which now lies before you is to shew how your Abrenunciation is preparatory to the love of God A. As all particular graces are but the love of God varied by different instances and relations so all particular sins are nothing but concupiscence or the love of one Creature or other in competition with or opposition to the love of God Now all the Creatures on which we set our love are reducible to these three the Devil the World and the Flesh and my heart must be emptied of these impure Loves before it is capable of entertaining the pure love of God Q. If you are conscious to your self that you have entertained these impure Loves and have violated your baptismal Vow and have in your heart renounc'd God instead of renouncing his Enemies what must you doe to recover that favour of God you have lost and to be deliver'd from the wrath to come A. I must throughly repent of all the breaches of my vow and I must seriously renew it Q. Express your repentance for breaking it A. I express it thus O Lord God with shame and sorrow and confusion of Face I confess and acknowledge thy infinite mercy and goodness to me my infinite vileness and ingratitude to thee Thou Lord infinitely good and gratious wast pleas'd out of thy own free mercy first to love me to excite me to love again glory be to thee Thou Lord didst vouchsafe of a miserable Sinner to make me a Member of my Saviour thy own Child and an Heir of Heaven glory be to thee I infinitely wicked and unworthy have despis'd and rejected and forfeited all the inestimable Blessings to which I was intitled by my Baptism Lord have mercy upon me Woe is me wretch that I am I have cut my self off by my sins from being a true Member of Christ's Mystical Body and from all the gratious influences I might have deriv'd from my union to him Lord have mercy upon me Woe is me wretch that I am I have by my numerous provocations lost that holy Spirit of Adoption whereby I might become thy Child O God and call thee Father and am become a Child of wrath Lord have mercy upon me Woe is me wretch that I am I have by my own willfull impiety disclaimed my being an Inheritour of the Kingdom of Heaven and am become an Heir to the Kingdom of Darkness Lord have mercy upon me Woe is me I have easily yielded to the temptations of Satan and have wrought the works of my Father the Devil Lord have mercy upon me Woe is me I have greedily coveted and pursued the pomps and vanity of this wicked World Lord have mercy upon me Woe is me I have often indulg'd the sinfull lusts of the Flesh Lord have mercy upon me Woe is me I have lov'd all things which thou Lord hatest and am my self become odious in thy sight Lord have mercy upon me Woe is me I have neither believ'd in thee O my God nor obey'd thee nor lov'd thee as I ought and as I solemnly vow'd I would Lord have mercy upon me O Lord God most gratious and reconcileable Pitty and pardon me I lament O Lord God my detestable impiety for having so long and so often and so obstinately offended thee In the bitterness of my Soul O Father of mercy I bewail and abhor my unworthiness and the hardness of my heart that has despis'd the riches of thy goodness and forbearance and long-suffering which should have lead me to repentance O Lord God whatever thou
Devil I know Lord the Sin lies in yielding to the Temptation O my God if thou for trial of my Love lead me into any great Temptation and let me continue under it thy Will Lord be done not mine O let thy paternal tenderness limit and controul the Tempter O let thy All-sufficient Grace restrain my consent and keep me always on my guard watching and praying and let me at last be more than Conquerour I am content Lord to be tried and assaulted so I be not wicked though it be grievous for those that Love thee to be tempted to offend thee But deliver us from evil O Father of mercy if thou thinkest fit to lead me into Temptation deliver me from the Evil to which I am tempted Deliver me from the Evil of Sin and the Evil of Punishment from the evil one from the evil World and from my own evil Heart and from all suggestions to Evil for all that is Evil is most hateful to thee who art infinite goodness and most destructive of thy Love And therefore from all that is Evil O Almighty Lord defend me For thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory for ever and ever I adore and Love thee O Jesu who by concluding this Prayer with a Doxology hast taught us that the right end of our Prayers should be the Glory of God that we should be ever careful to mix Praise with our Prayers and to be as zealous to give thanks for what we receive as to Pray for what we want To thee O Lord God do we pray on thee only we rely and depend for acceptance to thee only we offer up our Praises for thine is the Kingdom and Sovereign Right to dispose of all things thine is the Power Almighty to relieve and bless us thine is the Glory All the Communications of thy Goodness as they flow from thee return to thee again in Sacrifices of Love of Praise and Adoration Amen For the sake O Heavenly Father of thy beloved in whom all thy Promises are Amen and who is himself the Amen the faithful and true Witness of thy Love to us Hear me and pardon my wandrings and coldness and help me to sum up and enforce my whole Prayer all my own wants and all the wants of those I pray for in a hearty and fervent and comprehensive Amen Q. How many Sacraments hath Christ ordained in his Church A. Two only as generally necessary to Salvation that is to say Baptism and the Supper of the Lord. Glory be to thee O Crucified Love out of thy Wounded Side flowed Water and Blood the two Sacraments which thou hast Ordained in thy Church Baptism and the Supper of the Lord the one to initiate the other to confirm us in our Christianity Glory be to thee O Lord who having Ordained two Sacraments only and made them Generally necessary to Salvation art yet pleased to have Mercy rather than Sacrifice in cases where they cannot be had and where a surprise of Death may prevent their Administration thou dost supply the want of them by thy merciful acceptation of those persons who earnestly desire and who are disposed to receive them O blessed Jesu the greater thy Compassion is to those sincere persons who want thy Sacraments by reason of their infelicity not their choice the greater will be thy indignation against those who wilfully neglect or contemn what thy Adorable Love has ordained to be throughout thy whole Church used and revered from which neglect and contempt of thy Love good Lord deliver me Q. What meanest thou by this word Sacrament A. I mean an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace given unto us ordained by Christ himself as a means whereby we receive the same and a pledge to assure us thereof Q. How many parts are there in a Sacrament A. Two the outward visible sign and the inward spiritual grace Glory be to thee O tenderest Love who to stoop to our weak and gross apprehension hast in the two Sacraments made an Outward and visible and familiar thing to be the sign and memorial and representation of an Inward and invisible Mysterious and Spiritual Grace Glory be to thee O bountiful Love for Ordaining and Giving us the Holy Sacraments thou thy self only art the Author and Fountain of Grace and thou only hast the right of instituting the conveyances of thy own Grace all Love all Glory be to thee Glory be to thee O mighty Love who hast elevated these obvious and outward signs to an efficacy far above their Natures not only to signifie but to be happy Means and instruments to convey thy Grace to us to be Seals and Pledâ—es to confirm and 〈◊〉 to us the Communications of thy Love that our sight may assist our Faith that if with due preparation we receive them both parts of the Sacrament will go together as certainly as we receive the Outward and Visible sign so certainly shall we receive the Inward and invisible Grace for which all Love all Glory be to thee Q. What is the outward visible sign or form in Baptism A. Water wherein the person is baptized In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Ghost Q. What is the inward and spiritual grace A. A death unto sin and a new birth unto righteousness for being by nature born in sin and the children of wrath we are hereby made the children of grace Q. What is required of persons to be baptized A. Repentance whereby they forsake sin and faith whereby they stedfastly believe the promises of God made to them in that Sacrament Q. Why then are infants baptized when by reason of their tender age they cannot perform them A. Because they promise them both by their sureties which promise when they come to age themselves are bound to perform Glory be to thee O Lover of Souls it was by thy preventing Love that I was Baptized with the outward sign Water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost That I should believe in the most Holy Trinity that I should depend on the gracious assistances and live wholly devoted to the three most adorable Persons that it should be my chief care to Love and Glorifie that tri-une Love the Author of my Salvation Glory be to thee O Jesu who by Water that washes away the filth of the Body dost represent to my Faith thy invisible Grace in Baptism which spiritually washes and cleanses the Soul Glory be to thee O blessed Lord who in Baptism savest us not by the outward washing but by the inward purifying Grace accompanied with a sincere Vow and â—â—â—pulation of a good Conscience towards God by which thy propitious Love brought me into thy Church the spiritual Ark to save me from perishing in the Deluge of Sin which overwhelms the
XII And the life everlasting Amen Q. What dost thou chiefly learn in these Articles of thy belief A. First I learn to believe in God the Father who hath made me and all the world Secondly in God the Son who hath redeemed me and all mankind Thirdly In God the Holy Ghost who sanctifieth me and all the Elect people of God Q. What is the method of the Creed A. The Creed teaches me to believe in God and to believe his Church Q. How in God A. It teaches me to believe in God with respect to his Unity and then to the Trinity of Persons in that Unity Father Son and holy Ghost Q. How does it teach you to believe the Church A. It teaches me to believe the Church with regard to its two different states either Militant below or Triumphant above Q. How are the Articles of the Creed Motives of Love A. Every Article includes a Blessing as well as a Mystery and is as proper to excite our Love as to engage our Faith Q. Give me such a Paraphrase on the Creed that throughout the whole your Faith may work by Love A. I shall doe it to the best of my power in such Instructive and Pathetical Aspirations as follow I Believe My Lord and my God with a full free and firm assent I believe all the Articles of my Creed because thou hast revealed them I know thou art infallible Truth and canst not thou art infinite Love and wilt not deceive me Glory be to thee With all my heart O my God do I love and praise thee who art so infinitely amiable in thy self and so full of love to us that all I can know or believe of thee excites me to love thee Lord daily increase my Faith make it active and fruitfull that I may believe and love thee as entirely as becomes one entirely devoted to thee In God I believe O my God that thou art One and that there is no other God besides thee thou art that One infinite and independent Being that One onely true God whom all Men and all Angels are to Adore All glory be to thee O Lord God help me to love and to praise thee with God-like affections and a sutable Devotion I believe O my God that in the Unity of thy Godhead there is a Trinity of Persons I believe in thee O Father Son and Holy Ghost in whose Name I was baptized to whose Service I am religiously devoted All glory be to thee I believe I admire I love I praise I adore thee O most blessed and glorious Trinity God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Ghost for being the joint Authours of our Salvation All glory be to thee O sacred and dreadfull and mysterious Trinity though I cannot conceive thee yet let me daily experiment thy goodness Let thy Grace O Lord Iesus let thy Love O God the Father let thy Communications O Holy Spirit be ever with me The Father I believe and love and praise thee O my God the first Person in the most Adorable Trinity the Fountain of the Godhead the Eternal Father of thy coeternal Son Jesus my Saviour Glory be to thee O God the Father for so loving the world as to give thy onely begotten Son to redeem us Glory be to thee O Heavenly Father for first loving us and giving the dearest thing thou hadst for us O help me to love again and to think nothing too dear for thee Almighty I believe O my God that thou art a Spirit most pure and holy and infinite in all perfections in Power and Knowledge and Goodness that thou art Eternal Immutable and Omnipresent all love all glory be to thee I believe O Lord that thou art most wise and just most happy and glorious and all-sufficient most gratious and mercifull and tender and benign and liberal and beneficent all love all glory be to thee I believe thy Divine Nature O my God to be in all respects amiable to be Amiableness it self to be Love it self and therefore I love I admire I praise and fear and adore thee Thou Lord art my Hope my Trust my Life my Joy my Glory my God my All my Love Maker of Heaven and Earth I believe that thou O Father Almighty didst create Heaven and Earth the whole World and all things in it visible and invisible out of nothing and by thy Word onely All glory be to thee I believe O thou great Creatour that thy Divine Love made thee communicate Being to thy Creatures that thou lovest all things and hatest nothing thou hast made Glory be to thee I believe O God that thou art the sole Lord and Proprietour of all things thou hast made that all things do necessarily depend on thee that 't is in thee onely we live and move and have our Being All Love all Glory be to thee I believe O thou Communicative Goodness that thou dost preserve and sustain and protect and bless all things thou hast made sutably to the Natures thou hast given them All Love all Glory be to thee I believe O mighty Wisedom that thou dost most sweetly order and govern and dispose all things even the most minute even the very sins of men to conspire in thy Glory O do thou conduct my whole life steer every motion of my soul towards the great End of our Creation to love and to glorifie thee I believe O Lord that thy Love was more illustrious in the Creation of Man than in all the rest of the visible World thou wert pleased to make him in thy own Image and after thy own divine likeness All Love all Glory be to thee Thou Lord didst make Man for thy self and all things visible for Man Thou designedst all creatures for his use and didst subject them to his Dominion the very Angels thou didst charge to keep him in all his ways All Love all Glory be to thee Thy Works O Lord are wonderfull and amiable I love and admire and praise thy Universal Providence over the whole World the perpetual flux of thy Goodness on every Creature All glory be to thee I love and praise thee O my God for all the particular vouchsafements of thy love to me for all thy deliverances and blessings either to my body or to my soul known or unknown for all that I do not remember or did not consider All Love all Glory be to thee The longer I live O my God the more reason I have to love thee because every day supplies me with fresh experiments and new motives of thy manifold love to me and therefore all Love all Glory be to thee And in Iesus I believe in thee O Jesus and I rejoice in that dear Name which is so full
and expressive of thy Love Thou art Iesus our Saviour because thou camest into the World on purpose to save us from our sins All Love all Glory be to thee O be thou ever Jesus to me O let me feel the kind force of that sweet name in which I and all sinners do reade our danger and our deliverance our guilt and our salvation O most benign Jesu He well deserves to be accursed that does not love thee Who Lord can ever hope to share in thy Salvation who does not love thee his Saviour Christ. I believe O mercifull Jesus that thou art Christ the true Messias the Anointed of the Lord the promised seed which was to bruise the Serpent's head long expected by the Fathers foretold by the Prophets represented by Types which were all fulfilled in thee O thou the desire of all Nations All Love all Glory be to thee I believe that thou O Jesus wert Anointed with the Holy Spirit that all his Gifts and Graces were poured out and diffused like a sweet ointment on thy soul without measure thou art altogether lovely O Christ and of thy fulness we all receive All Love all Glory be to thee I believe O thou Anointed of God that as Kings and Priests and Prophets were heretofore anointed with Material oil so by thy Heavenly Anointing thou wast Consecrated to be our Prophet our King and our Priest and in all those three Offices to manifest thy love to us and therefore all Love all Glory be to thee Glory be to thee O Christ our Prophet who didst teach and reveal and interpret thy Father's Will and all saâ—ing truth to the World Glory be to thee O Christ our King who dost give Laws to thy People dost govern and protect us and hast subdued all our Ghostly Enemies Glory be to thee O Christ our Priest who dost bless us who didst offer thy self a sacrifice and dost still make intercession for us Our Redemption our Illumination our Support is wholly from thy Love O thou Anointed of God All Love all Glory be to thee His onely Son I believe that thou O most Adorable Jesus art the Son of God by ineffable generation thou didst from Eternity derive thy Godhead from the Father thou art the brightness of his Glory and the express Image of his Person All Love all Glory be to thee Thou O blessed Jesu art the onely Son of God the onely begotten Son full of Grace and Truth Thou art the onely beloved Son in whom thy Father is well pleased 't is onely in thee and for thee that Sinners have Hope and therefore all Love all Glory be to thee Thou art equal to thy Father O Jesu in amiableness and in love to us and art equally to be loved by us and therefore all Love and Praise be to the Father that eternally begat and to the Son eternally begotten Our Lord. I believe O thou eternal Son of the Father that thou art the great and true God Iehovah our Righteousness God above all blessed for ever and mighty to save All love all Glory be to thee I believe O Lord Jesus that thou didst make and dost sustain all things by thy Power and that thou art to be honoured by Men and by Angels as thy Father is honoured All Love all Glory be to thee I believe O thou King of Kings and Lord of Lords that thou art the Lord and the Authour of the new Creation as well as of the old that thou art more peculiarly Lord of us Sinners by purchase O that I and all that own thy Dominion may for ever love and revere and obey so powerfull and gratious a Lord Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost I believe O most condescending Majesty that when thou didst stoop so low as to assume our frail Nature the Holy Ghost came on thy sacred Mother and that the Power of the Highest did overshadow her and that she did conceive and lodge thee in her Womb where thou who fillest Heaven and Earth wert about nine months for our sakes imprison'd and therefore all love all glory be to thee Born of the Uirgin Mary I believe O most adorable Humility that thou wast at last born into the World that thou having onely God for thy Father and Mary a pure Virgin for thy Mother whom all Generations do call Blessed both thy Conception and Birth were perfectly immaculate that being without sin thy self thou mightest be a fit sacrifice to attone for us Sinners who being born of unclean Parents were all by nature unclean and therefore all love all glory be to thee O immaculate Lamb of God who takest away the sins of the World I believe O blessed Saviour that the two Natures of God and of Man were in thee so mysteriously united without either change or confusion that they made in thee but one Person but one Mediatour one Lord Thou O Eternal Word didst become flesh and didst dwell among us on purpose to save us and therefore all love all glory be to thee Suffered I believe O adorable Love that thy whole life was made up of sufferings and that for sinfull men and in particular for me O let me never cease to adore and love thee It was for us Sinners O tenderest Love that in thy very infancy thou wast circumcis'd and design'd by Herod for slaughter and forc't to fly into Egypt and therefore I praise and love thee It was for us Sinners that thou O afflicted Love wert all thy life-long a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief that thou wast persecuted and revil'd despis'd and rejected and hadst not where to lay thy head and therefore I am bound to praise and love thee It was for us Sinners that thou O compassionate Love when thou tookest on thee our nature wast toucht with a feeling of our infirmities and wast in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin that thou mightest the more affectionately pity the weak and succour the tempted and therefore I praise and love thee It was for us Sinners that thou O beneficent Love didst go about doing good preaching repentance publishing the glad tidings of salvation sending thy Disciples confirming thy heavenly Doctrine by many glorious Miracles and illustrating it by a God-like example all thy life is full of attractives of sweetest love and pity to us Sinners which kindly and forcibly constrain us to praise and love thee O most exuberant Love how amiable are all thy Graces O fill my heart with thy love and transform me into thy likeness that I may all my life-long imitate thy perfect obedience unspotted Holiness unchangeable Resolution universal Charity uninterrupted Devotion contempt of the
bodily Sufferings O almighty Love were intolerable but yet thy inward were far greater I grieve I love I melt all o'er when I hear thee on the Cross crying out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Ah sinfull Wretch that I am how infinite and unconceivable were the inward Dolours and Agonies thou didst undergo for us Sinners when thou didst tread the Winepress of thy Father's wrath alone when it pleas'd thy own most beloved Father to bruise thee and to put thee to grief when the iniquities of the whole World were laid on thee and my numerous sins increast thy load and heightned thy torment when thy own Deity withdrew all consolation from thee when God offended by our sins did afflict thee in the day of his fierce anger no sufferings no love was ever like unto thine for me no grief no love but thy own should exceed mine for thee For whom O unutterable goodness didst thou suffer the extreme bitterness oâ— sorrow but for the vilest of all thy Creatures sinfull man and for me one of the worst of Sinners and therefore I praise and love thee For what end didst thou suffer O most ardent Charity but to save Sinners from all things that were destructive the Curse of the Law the Terrours of Death the Tyranny of Sin the Powers of Darkness and Torments Eternal to purchase for us all things conducible to our Happiness Pardon and Grace Consolation and Acceptance and the everlasting Joys and Glories of the Kingdom of Heaven and therefore I praise and love thee Out of what motive didst thou suffer O boundless Benignity but out of thy own preventing love free mercy and pure compassion and therefore I praise and love thee When no other Sacrifice could attone thy Father's Anger O thou the beloved Son of God and reconcile Divine Justice and Mercy together but the Sacrifice of God incarnate who as man was to die and to suffer in our stead as God was to merit and make satisfaction for our sins 't was then that thou O God the Son didst become Man the very meanest of Men didst take upon thee the form of a Servant and didst on the Cross shew us the mystery and the Miracle of Love God crucified for Sinners and Sinners redeem'd by the bloud of God O thou propitious Wonder God incarnate on the Cross by what Names shall I adore thee all are too short too scanty to express thee Love onely nothing but Love will reach thee thou art Love O Jesu thou art all love O tenderest O sweetest O purest O dearest Love soften sweeten refine love me into all Love like thee By the love of thy Cross O Jesu I live in that I will onely glory that above all things will I study that before all things will I value by the love of thy Cross I will take up my Cross daily and follow thee I will persecute and torment and crucify my sinfull Affections and Lusts which persecuted tormented and crucify'd thee and if thy love calls me to it I will suffer on the Cross for thee as thou hast done for me How illustrious and amiable were thy Graces amidst all thy Sufferings O thou afflicted Jesu I admire and I love thy profound Humility unwearied Patience Lamb-like Meekness immaculate Innocence invincible Courage absolute Resignation compassionate love of Souls and perfect Charity to thy Enemies O my Love I cannot love thee but I must desire above all things to be like my Beloved O give me grace to tread in thy steps and conform me to thy Divine Image that the more I grow like thee the more I may love thee and the more I may be lov'd by thee And Buried He descended into Hell I believe O crucified Lord that thou wast really dead and that there was a separation of thy Body and Soul That thy side was mortally wounded and pierced with a Spear on the Cross and thy sacred Body was buried to assure us of thy death All love all glory be to thee I believe O pierced O wounded Love that thy Soul in the state of separation did descend into Hell to vanquish Death and all the Spirits of darkness in their own Dominions and therefore I adore and love thee Glory be to thee O thou great Champion of Love who didst for our sakes singly encounter all our ghostly Enemies who didst thy self taste of death that thou mightst take away the sting of death who didst wrestle with principalities and powers and all the force of Hell that we might share in thy Victory for which wonderfull Salvation I will always praise and love thee The third day he rose again from the dead I believe O Almighty Love that according to the Types and Prophecies which went before of thee and according to thy own infallible predictions thou didst by thy own power rise from the dead the third day All love all glory be to thee Glory be to thee who didst lie so long in the Grave to undergo the full condition of the dead and to convince all the world thou wert dead and didst rise so soon that thou mightst not see corruption or retard our joy All love all glory be to thee He ascended into Heaven I believe O Victorious Love that thou after thy conquest over Death and Hell didst ascend in triumph to Heaven that thou mightst prepare Mansions for us and from thencâ— as Conquerour bestow the gifts of thy conquest on us and above all the gift of thy Holy Spirit that thou mightst enter into the Holy of Holies as our great High-priest to present to thy Father the sweet-smelling Sacrifice of his crucified Son the sole propitiation for Sinners and therefore all Love all glory be to thee Glory be to thee O Jesu who didst leave the world and ascend to Heaven about the 33 d year of thy age to teach us in the prime of our years to despise this world when we are best able to enjoy it and to reserve our full vigour for Heaven and for thy Love O thou whom my Soul loveth since thou hast left the world what was there ever in it worthy of our Love O let all my affections ascend after thee and never return to the earth more for whom have I in heaven but thee and there is none â—pon earth that I desire in comparison of thee And sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty I believe O Triumphant Love that thou now sittest in full and peacefull possession of bliss and at the right hand of God that thy humane Nature is exalted to the most honourable place in Heaven where thou sittest on thy throne of glory ador'd by Angels and interceding for Sinners and therefore all love all glory be to thee Glory be
we may all praise and love thee O my God amidst the deplorable divisions of thy Church O let me never widen its breaches but give me catholick Charity to all that are baptis'd in thy Name and catholick Communion with all Christians in desire O deliver me from the Sins and Errours from the Schisms and Heresies of the Age. O give me grace to pray daily for the peace of thy Church and earnestly to seek it and to excite all I can to praise and to love thee I believe O most holy Jesu that thy Saints here below have communion with thy Saints above that they pray for us while we celebrate their memories congratulate their bliss give thanks for their labours of love and imitate their examples for which all love all glory be to thee I believe O gratious Redeemer that thy Saints here on Earth have Communion with the holy Angels above that they are ministring Spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of Salvation and watch over us and we give thanks to thee for their protection and emulate their incessant praises and ready obedience for which all love all glory be to thee I believe O my Lord and my God that the Saints in this life have Communion with the three Persons of the most adorable Trinity in the same most benign influences of love in which all three conspire for which all love all glory be to thee O Father Son and Holy Ghost world without end Glory be to thee O Goodness infinitely diffusive for all the Graces and blessings in which the Saints communicate for breathing thy love as the very Soul into thy mystical Body that all that believe in thee may love one another and all join in loving thee The Forgiveness of Sins I believe O my God that none can forgive Sins but thou alone and that in thy Church forgiveness is always to be had and for so inestimable a blessing all love all glory be to thee I believe O thou lover of Souls that without true repentance we cannot hope for pardon that our repentance is at the best imperfect that it is out of thy mere mercy O heavenly Father and for the merits and passion of thy crucified Son that thou dost accept our imperfect repentance and art pleas'd to forgive us and therefore all love all glory be to thee Glory be to thee O most adorable Trinity for thy infinite love in our forgiveness Glory be to thee O Father forgiving O Son propitiating O Holy Ghost purifying I miserable sinner who sigh and pant and languish for thy forgiveness and to be at peace with thee praise and adore and love that most sweet and liberal and tender and amiable mercy that delights in forgiving sinners The Resurrection of the Body I believe O victorious Jesu that by the virtue of thy Resurrection all the dead shall rise bad as well as good all love all glory be to thee by whom death is swallowed up in victory I believe O Almighty Jesu that by thy power all shall rise with the same bodies they had on earth that thou wilt recollect their scattered dust into the same form again that our Souls shall be re-united to our Bodies that we shall be judged both in Body and Soul for the sins committed by both that the Bodies of the wicked shall be fitted for torment and the Bodies of the Saints chang'd in quality and made glorify'd Bodies immortal and incorruptible fitted for heaven and eternally to love and enjoy thee for which glorious vouchsafement I will always praise and love thee And the Life everlasting I believe O great Judge of Heaven and Earth that after all the Quick and Dead have appear'd before thy Judgment-seat then the most just and unrepealable Sentence shall pass and be executed to all eternity joyfull onely to those that love thee and therefore all love all glory be to thee I believe O righteous Jesu that the wicked shall be set on thy left hand and be damn'd to Hell to be tormented with everlasting and unconceivable anguish and despair by the Devil and his Angels and their own Conscience both in Soul and Body in the lake of fire and brimstone from which there never can be any redemption O just reward of those that do not love thee O mercifull Jesu how desirous art thou that we should be happy in loving thee when thou hast created Hell on purpose to deter us from hating thee and Heaven to compell us to love thee and therefore all love all glory be to thee I believe O my Lord and my God that the righteous shall be rewarded with joys unspeakable and full of glory with the beatifick Vision and love of thy self in Heaven with a happiness of Body and Soul which shall be in all respects most perfect eternal and unchangeable that they shall never sorrow nor sin more which is all the free gift of thy infinite love O heavenly Father and the purchase of thy bloud O God incarnate for which I will ever to the utmost of my power adore and love thee O boundless love when shall I love thee in heaven without either coldness or interruption which alas too often seise me here below When O my God O when shall I have the transporting vision of thy most amiable goodness that I may unalterably love thee that I may never more offend thee O thou whom my Soul loveth I would not desire heaven but because thou art there for thou makest heaven wherever thou art I would not O Jesu desire life everlasting but that I may there everlastingly love thee O inexhaustible love do thou eternally breath love into me that my love to thee may be eternally increasing and tending towards infinity since a love less than infinite is not worthy of thee Amen O thou great authour and finisher of our Faith do thou daily increase my Faith and heighten my love O grant that in holy ardours of love to love crucify'd my love may at last ascend to the region of love that I may have nothing to doe to all eternity but to praise and to love thee Amen O infinite Love Amen Amen This Office may be divided into several parts and used on the Lord's days or on Holy-days especially on the great Festivals of Christmas Easter Pentecost in Lent also and particularly on Good-friday and before the reception of the blessed Sacrament as is most sutable to the occasion or to the state temper and disposition of every devout Soul Q. You said your Godfathers and Godmothers did promise for you that you should keep God's Commandments Tell me how many there be A. Ten. Q. Which be they A. The same which God spake in the twentieth Chapter of Exodus saying I am the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the Land of Egypt out of the House of
take Heavenly delight in thy Gracious Presence that with Praise and Thansgiving with Jubilation and Triumph I may receive thee into my Heart there I will have Love only Love always Love to entertain thee Lord when I present my self and my Love as all the Gift I have to offer at thy Altar next to my Love to thee and for the sake of thy infinite Love to me which I there remember give me Grace to love my Neighbour and to be in Charity wiâ—h all men and to walk in Love as thou hast loved us and hast given thy self for us an Offering and a Sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour for which all Love all Glory be to thee O most Reconcileable Jesu in this Memorial of thy Sufferings I see how thou didst forgive me and didst love me when I was thy Enemy O for thy dearest Love to me give me Love to forgive all my Enemies and to be at peace with the world as I desire to be Loved and Forgiven and to be at peace with thee All that have any way injured me O my God I freely forgive for thy sake O do thou also forgive them incline them to Brotherly Charity and let them at last feel the comfort of that Reconciliation thou didst make upon the Cross for which I will ever Adore and Love thee O my God if I have wronged or injured my Neigbour O give me Grace to beg his pardon and as I have opportunity to make him satisfaction and restitution according to my power O crucified Love whenever I see thee in any of thy poor Members Hungry or Naked or in Distress O let the Remembrance of thy Love in Dying for me engage me to contribute all I can to thy relief O may I ever be liberal in my Alms to thee who wert so liberal of thy inestimable Blood for me It is very adviseable that persons before they Communicate should read over the whole Communion-Office or at least the exhortations there which they will find to contain very proper and plain and excellent Instructions It were much to be wish'd that people would make more use of their Common Prayer Books than they do and apply the Prayers they meet with there to their own particular conditions for the Book is always at hand and the Prayers are most safe and familiar and devout and the more they affect us in our Closet the more they will affect us in the Congregation and well meaning souls will reap great spiritual advantage from this practice For example an humble poor Christian who it may be has no other Book but his Common Prayer Book and who intends to come to the Holy Communion may learn to turn the Communion-Office to his own private use after this manner Almighty God unto whom all hearts be open all desires known and from whom no secrets are hid cleanse the thoughts of my heart by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit that I may perfectly love thee and worthily magnifie thy Holy Name through Christ our Lord. Amen I give most humble and hearty thanks to thee O God the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost for the Redemption of the World by the Death and Passion of our Saviour Christ both God and man who did humble himself even to the death upon the Cross for us miserable sinners who lay in darkness and the shadow of death that he might make us the Children of God and exalt us to everlasting Life Glory be to thee O Jesus our master and only Saviour who to the end that we should always remember thy exceeding great Love in thus dying for us and the innumerable benefits which by thy precious Blood-sheding thou hast obtained to us hast Instituted and Ordained Holy Mysteries as Pledges of thy Love and for a continual remembrance of thy Death to our great endless Comfort To thee therefore O blessed Saviour with the Father and the Holy Ghost I will give as I am most bounden continual thanks I submit my self wholly to thy Holy Will and Pleasure and will study to serve thee in true Holiness and Righteousness all the days of my Life Almighty God Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Maker of all things Judg of all men I acknowledg and bewail my manifold sins c. I lift up my heart unto thee O Lord I give thanks unto thee O Lord our God it is meet and right so to do it is very meet right and my bounden duty that I should at all times and in all places give thanks unto thee O Lord Holy Father Almighty everlasting God But chiefly am I bound to praise thee for giving thy only Son Jesus to dye for my Sins and to rise a-again for my Justification Therefore with Angels and Archangels and with all the Company of Heaven I laud and magnifie c. I do not presume to come to thy Table O merciful Lord trusting in my own righteousness c. Glory be to God on high and on earth Peace good will towards men I praise thee c. To these as you see occasion you may add many very good Prayers short and plain and pertinent to your purpose which you may collect out of the Common Prayer and which will much further your Devotion such as these O Lord who never â—ailest to help and govern them whom thou doest bring up in thy stedfast Fear and Love keep me I beseech thee under the protection of thy good Providence and make me to have a perpetual Fear and Love of thy Holy Name through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen O God who hast prepared for them that love thee such good things as pass Mans understanding pour into my heart such Love toward thee that I loving thee above all things may obtain thy promises which exceed all that I can desire through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen Lord of all power and migâ—t who art the Author and Giver of all gooâ— things graft in my Heart the Love of thy Name encrease in me true Religion nourish me with all goodness and of thy great mercy keep me in the same through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen O Lord who hast taught me that all my doings without Charity are nothing worth send thy Holy Ghost and pour into my Heart that most excellent gift of Charity the very bond of Peace and of all Vertues without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before thee Grant this for thy only Son Jesus Christs sake Amen Almighty God who hast given thy only Son to be unto us both a Sacrifice for Sin and also an example of Godly life give me grace that I may always most thankfully receive that his inestimable Benefit and also daily endeavour my self to follow the blessed steps of his most holy Life through the same Jesus Christ our Lord Amen They that are ignorant or that cannot read should go to their Parish Priest or to some
in which I advise you to proceed is that in which Children are commonly taught in regard I am now to look on you as a Child For there are two sorts of Children there are Children in age and Children in understanding 1 Cor. 14.20 and in this latter respect you are Children and the same method for the most part is proper for you which is proper for those that are Children in Age. I must therefore feed you with Milk before you can be capable of strong Meat Heb. 5.13 and I must look on you as Lambs of my â—lock which I am to use tenderly and these following Directions which I give to Parents for the training up their Children in Piety I do equally design for the training up of you God of his Infinite Goodness bless them to you both I exhort all you who are Parents to instil good things into your Children as soon as ever they begin to speakâ— let the first words they utter if it be possible be these Glory be to God Accustom them to repeat these words on their knees as soon as they rise and when they go to bed and oft times in the day and let them not eat or drink without saying Glory be to God As their speech grows more plain and easie to them teach them who Made and Redeem'd and Sanctified them and for what end namely to glorifie and to love God and withal teach them some of the shortest Ejaculations you can such as these Lord help me Lord save me Lord have mercy upon me All love all glory be to God who first lov'd me Lord keep me in thy love Within a little time you may teach them the Lords Prayer and hear them say it every day morning evening on their knees with some one or more of the fore-going Ejaculations and by degrees as they grow up they will learn the Creed and the whole Catechism Be sure to teach your Children with all the sweetness and gentleness you can lest if you should be severe or should over-task them Religion should seem to them rather a burden than a Blessing As their Knowledge increases so let their Prayers increase also and teach them as they go to turn their Catechism into Prayers after the manner which I shall shew you and to confirm and improve their knowledge bring them duly to the Church to be Catechised by the Parish Priest that by his familiar and devout Explications of the Catechism they may learn to understand it and may be capable of reading the Exposition on it and other Books of Piety Take conscientious care to season your Children as early as you can with the love of God which is the first and great Commandment Matth. 22.38 and with the fear of God which is the beginning of Wisdom Psal. 111.10 for the awful love and the filial fear of God must always go together The same method you observe in teaching your Children the same you may observe in teaching your Servants according as you see they want teaching and you your selves will reap the benefit of it as well as your Servants for the more devout servants they are of God the more faithful Servants will they be to you Remember you must teach both your Children and Servants by your Example as well as by your Instruction for they learn best by Example and if they see you give an example of fraud or lying of revenge or calumny of uncleanness or drunkenness of cursing and swearing and irreligion instead of teaching them to obey God you teach them to provoke him instead of teaching them to honor God you teach them to blaspheme him instead of leading them the way to Heaven you lead them the way to Hell and you will increase your own damnation by furthering theirs which God forbid you should ever do Now that you may the better give a good Example to your Family I will by Gods help give you a method of daily Devotion taken for the most part out of the Catechism which will be suitable to all Christians be they never so well instructed and which you may by little and little teach your Children and which those who have been bred up in ignorance and are Children in understanding and are yet willing to be taught may learn to say also as the capacities of either do increase for a Christian must never stand at a stay but must be always growing in Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ 2 Pet. 3.18 A method of daily Prayer As soon as ever you awake offer your first thoughts and words to God saying Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost Three Persons and one God blessed for evermore All love all praise be to thee As you are rising say I laid me down and slept and rose up again for the Lord sustained me All love all glory be to God Psal. 3.5 As soon as you are drest kneel down as our Saviour himself kneel'd Luke 22.41 at his Prayers and remember you are in Gods presence and say your Prayers with Reverenc e and Devotion Morning Prayer Glory be to thee O Lord God for my preservation and refreshment and for all the Blessings of the night past for which All love All praise be to thee Father forgive me all the evil of the night past for the merits of Iesus my Saviour Amen O merciful God keep and protect and bless me this day and prosper me in my Calling and preserve me from sin and danger for the merit of Iesus my Saviour Amen I believe in God the Father Almighty c. All love all glory be to thee O God the Father who hast made me and all the World All love all glory be to thee O God the Son who hast redeemed me and all Man-kind All love all glory be to thee O God the Holy-Ghost who doest sanctifie me and all the elect people of God All love all glory be to thee O Father of mercy who in my Baptism didst make me a member of Christ thy own Child and an inheritor of the kingdom of Heaven O my God I do this day dedicate my self to thy service and do renew the promise and vow of my Baptism I do from my heart renounce the Devil and all his works the pomps and vanity of this wicked world and all the sinful lusts of the flesh from all which Good Lord deliver me I believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith and I will keep thy holy Will and Commandments and walk in the same all the days of my life All this O Lord I am bound to believe and do and by thy help so I will and I heartily thank thee O Heavenly Father who hast call'd me to this â—tate of salvation through Iesus Christ my Saviour and I pray unto thee to give me thy Grace that I may continue in the same to my lives end Lord hear me help me pardon my failings supply all my wants
and the wants of all faithful People which I 〈◊〉 up in the words of thy own beloved Son Our Father which art in Heaven c. After the like manner you may pray at night Evening Prayer Glory be to thee O Lord for my preservation and for all the Blessings of the day past for which all love all praise be to thee Father forgive me all the sins I have this day committed either in thought or word or deed either against thee or against my neighbor for the sake of Iesus my Saviour Amen Amen It grieves me O merciful God that I should daily offend thee But I repent O pitty and pardon me for the sake of Iesus thy Beloved Amen Amen O my God keep and protect and bless me this night and preserve me from sin and danger for the sake of Iesus Amen Amen Lord refresh me this night with seasonable sleep that I may rise the next morning more fit and able to serve thee in my Calling for the sake of Iesus thy Beloved Amen Amen I believe in God the Father c. All love all glory be to thee our God the Father who c. as in the Morning I desire thee O Lord God O Heavenly Father who art the Giver of all goodness to send thy Grace unto me and to my Wife and Children to my Husband and Children Father and Mother Brethren and Sisters Kindred and Friends Master and Mistris you must name these Relations according as you stand related and to all people that we may worship thee serve thee and obey thee as we ought to do And I pray unto thee that thou would'st send us all things that be needful both for our souls and bodies and that thou wilt be merciful unto us and forgive us our sins and that it will please thee to save and defend us in all dangers ghostly and bodily and that thou wilt keep us from all sin and wickedness and from our ghostly enemy and from everlasting death And this I trust thou wilt do of thy meecy and goodness through our Lord Iesus Christ. Amen Lord so be it Lord hear me help me pardon my failings supply all my wants and the wants of all for whom I pray which I sum up in the words of thy own beloved Son Our Father which art in Heaven c. As you are going to bed say I will lay me down in peace and take my rest for it is thou Lord only that makest me dwell in safety Psal. 4.9 As you began the day so end it with glorifying God and when you are in bed say Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost three Persons and one God blessed for evermore All praise all love be to thee I earnestly beg of God to make you sensible your selves and to give you grace to make your Children and Servants sensible also how Necessary and Happy and Heavenly a Duty Prayer is and how many exceeding great precious Promises God has made to those that devoutly pray to him and if you are thus sensible you will not content your selves with Morning and Evening Prayer onely but you will be desirous if you have Opportunity to retire about Mid-day for a few Minutes that you may imitate the Devotion of Holy David and of Daniel and pray three times a day Dan. 6.10 and that you may not want a help for Noon tide Prayer the Catechism shall supply you Prayer at Noon At evening and at morning and at noon-day will I pray and that instantly Lord hear my voice Psal. 55.19 Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end Amen All love all glory be to thee O God the Father who hast first loved us and hast given thy beloved Son to die for our Sins and to rise again for our Iustification Have mercy upon me O God after thy great goodness according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences Wash me throughly from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin Make me a clean heart O God and renew a right Spirit within me for the sake of Iesus thy Beloved Amen O Lord God who seest I am not able of my self to walk in thy Commandments and to serve thee be pleased to help and strengthen me by thy special Grace that I may daily and sincerely perform my duty towards thee and my duty towards my neighbor for the sake of Iesus my Saviour Amen O my God give me grace to believe in thee and to love thee with all my heart with all my mind with all my soul and with all my strength to worship thee to give thee thanks to put my whole trust in thee to call upon thee to honor thy holy Name and thy Word and to serve thee truly all the days of my life for the sake of Iesus thy Beloved Amen O my God give me grace to love my neighbor as my self to do to all men as I would they should do to me to love honor and succor my Father and Mother this clause must be left out if your Father and Mother be dead to honor and obey the King and all that are put in Authority under him to submit my self to all my Governors Teachers Spiritual Pastors and Masters to order my sâ—â—f lowly and reverently to all my betters to hurt no body by word or deed to be true and just in all my dealing to bear no malice nor hatred in my heart to keep my hands from picking and stealing and my tongue from evil speaking lying and slandering to keep my body in temperance soberness and chastity not to covet or desire other mens goods but to learn and labor truly to get mine own living and to do my duty in that state of life unto which it has pleased thee to call me for the sake of Iesus thy Beloved Amen Lord hear me help me pardon my failings supply all my wants which I sum up in the words of thy Beloved Son Our Father which art in Heaven c. Instead of these two last Prayers you may sometimes say the Ten Commandments which you may turn into a very good Prayer by saying after every one Lord have mercy upon me and incline my heart to keep this Law Where you not onely beg pardon for the sins you have committed against each Commandment but you also beg Grace to keep it At the end of them you may say Lord have mercy upon me and write all these thy Laws in my heart I beseech thee And so conclude with the Lords Prayer Do not think that this Practice of Prayer will be too hard or too long for young persons or for labouring people for if you cannot say them all say as much as you can or if you are at Day Labour or have not time or convenience to say them offer up to God two or three hearty Ejaculations in their place But