devotion For besides the kindling and quickning of devout affections and the strengthening and supporting of their spirits amidst their Heavy Tryals when they use them as sacred Hymns or as matter of their Religious Meditations These Texts will teach them the necessity and help to shew them the Nature and Offices of all those respective Duties which are as the salt to the sacrifice without which their own Oblation of themselves would be insipid and their Losses for Christ's sake would neither gain his favour and acceptance nor effectually recommend and do Honour to his Cause And both the Scriptures collected and the Prayers composed for these ends are as follows An OFFICE for Sufferers for Righteousness under Persecutions Scriptures for those who suffer for Righteousness Psal. 94. Ps. 125. Heb. 12. to v. 18. 2 Cor. 1. to v. 13. Ps. 12. Ps. 14. Is. 51. Heb. 10. v. 23. to end I. For Receiving Persecutions as Chastisements for former Offences WHen we suffer striving against sin we are chasten'd and corrected of the Lord Heb. 12. 4 5. 6. 9. The time is come that judgment must begin at the House of God 1 Pet. 4. 17. I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him until he plead my Cause and execute judgement for me Mich. 7. 9. O Israel Return unto the Lord thy God for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity Hos. 14. 1. Remember your ways and all your doings wherein ye have been defiled and loath your selves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed Ezek. 20. 43. Remember from whence thou art fallen and repent and do thy first works or else I will come unto thee quickly and will remove thy Candlestick out of his place unless thou repent Rev. 2. 5. If the Fig-tree continues barren the Lord will say to the Dresser of his Vineyard cut it down Luk. 13. 6 7. Without Repentance the Kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a Nation bringing forth the fruits thereof Matthew 21. 43. II. For Receiving Persecutions as Tryals of our Obedience and as they bring upon us Losses for Righteousness 1. To be received with Contentedness and with Thankfulness If the world hate you you know that it hated me before it hated you Remember the word that I said unto you the Servant is not greater than the Lord. If they have persecuted me they will also persecute you If you were of the world the world would love his own but because you are not of the world but I have chosen you out of the world therefore doth the world hate you Joh. 15. 18 19 20. If any man suffer as a Christian let him not be ashamed but let him glorifie God on that behalf If ye be reproached for the name of Christ happy are ye for the Spirit of Glory and of God resteth upon you Rejoyce in as much as ye are partakers of Christs sufferings that when his Glory shall be revealed ye may be glad also with exceeding joy 1 Pet. 4. 13 14 16. Rejoyce and be exceeding glad and leap for joy for great is your reward in heaven for so persecuted they the Prophets which were before you Matth. 5. 11. 12. Luke 6. 23. 2. With free Confession of Christ and his Truths If ye suffer for Righteousness sake sanctifie the Lord God in your hearts And be not afraid of their terror neither be troubled and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and reverence 1 Pet. 3. 14. 15. Whosoever shall confess me before men him will I also confess before my Father which is in Heaven But whosoever shall deny me before men him will I also deny before my Father which is in Heaven Mat. 10. 32 33. For with the heart man believeth unto Righteousness and with the mouth Confession is made unto Salvation Rom. 10. 10. 3. With Integrity and Prudent Caution And let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls unto him in well-doing as into the hands of a faithful Creator 1 Pet. 4. 19. Hold up my goings in thy paths that my foot-steps slip not Psal. 17. 15. Tho' all this is come upon us yet have we not forgotten thee neither have we dealt falsly in thy Covenant Our heart is not turned back neither have our steps declined out of thy way Tho' thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons and covered us with the shadow of death Psal. 44. 17 18 19. Stand having your loyns girt about with Truth and having on the breast-plate of Righteousness and your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace Eph. 6. 14. 15. Walk in wisdom towards those that are without redeeming the time Let your speech be always with grace seasoned with salt that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man Col. 4. 5 6. See that ye walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise Redeeming the time because the days are evil Eph. 5. 15 16. Beware of men for they will deliver you up to the Councils And ye shall be brought before Governours and Kings for my sake Behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves Mat. 10. 16 17 18. 4. With Steadfastness and Constancy Finally my Brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might Eph. 6. 10. Stand fast in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the Gospel and in nothing terrified by your Adversaries Phil. 1. 27. 28. Contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered to the Saints Jud. 3. Put on the whole Armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil That ye may be able to stand in the evil day and having done all to stand Eph. 6. 11. 13. Let us hold fast the profession of our Faith without wavering for he is faithful who hath promised Not forsaking the assembling of our selves together as the manner of some is but exhorting one another and so much the more as ye see the day approaching Heb. 10. 23. 25. And now Lord behold their threatnings and grant unto thy servants that with all boldness they may speak thy word Act. 4. 29. 5. With Faith 1. Wherefore take unto you the whole Armour of God Above all taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked Eph. 6. 13. 16. Cast not away therefore your confidence which hath great recompence of reward Heb. 10. 35. 38. Look unto Jesus who for the joy that was set before him endured the Cross despising the shame and is set down at the Right Hand of the Throne of God Heb. 12. 2. It is a faithful saying if we suffer with him we shall also reign with him 2 Tim. 2. 11 12. Our light
the sweet and refreshing Comforts of this Rest and Peace O! Lord let us never forget this great Mercy nor abuse it Let us not grow Careless or Corrupt by the Blessings of Peace or run into Earthly Affections and Dependencies and contract such Dross as may need a second time to be brought through the Furnace But keep us sober and purged and purified in our Hearts and Minds and maintain in us â—uch a Godly Zeal and watchful diligence under the same as will make use of the blessed Opportunities of Peace for going on with more constancy and with less hindrance and disturbance in thy Service And make us learn O! Gracious God by our past Suffering and Experience of thy Goodness to keep improved in Faith and Patience Having found thee so faithful in our necessity give us Grace to relye upon thee Let us not cast away our confidence nor grow weary in well doing knowing that in due time we shall reap if we faint not Oh! that the sweet Remembrance of thy Mercies may ever fill our Hearts with Love and our Tongues with Praise Oh! that it may make us careful in well doing and confident of thy Faithfulness and Care over us whilst we commit our Souls unto thy keeping in holding to thy ways through our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen AN OFFICE FOR Prisoners for Righteousness SCRIPTURES Psal. 7. Act. 5. from v. 18. Mat. 10. Psal. 10. Act. 16. from v. 18. 1 Pet. 4. from v. 12. 1. YE shall be Betrayed both by Parents and Brethren and Kinsfolk and Friends and some of you shall they cause to be put to Death And they shall lay Hands on you and deliver you up into Prisons and ye shall be brought before Kings and Rulers for my Names sake And it shall turn to you for a Testimony But there shall not an Hair of your Head perish In your Patience possess ye your Souls And Meditate not before what ye shall answer But settle in your Hearts that I will give you a Mouth and Wisdom which all your Adversaries shall not be able to gain say or resist Luk. 21. 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19. Precious in the Sight of the Lord is the Death of his Saints Ps. 116. 15. What mean ye to weep and to break mine Heart For I am ready not to be bound only but to die at Jerusalem for the Name of the Lord Jesus Act. 21. 13. He that loveth his Life shall lose it and he that hateth his Life in this World shall keep it unto Life Eternal Joh. 12. 25. 2. THE Lord heareth the poor and despiseth not his Prisoners Psal. 69. 33. Deliver me from my Persecutors for they are stronger than I. Bring my Soul out of Prison that I may praise thy Name Psal. 142. 6 7. Deliver me O! Lord from the evil man preserve me from the Men of Violence Keep me O! Lord from the Hands of the Wicked who have proposed to overthrow my Goings For the Proud have hid a Snare for me and Cords they have spread a Net by the way-side they have set Gins for me They have sharpned their Tongues like a Serpent Adders Poyson is under their Lips Psal. 140. 1 3 4 5. In the work of the Gospel I suffer trouble as an evil Doer even unto Bonds but the word of God is not bound 2 Tim. 2. 9. For many of the Brethren in the Lord waxing confident by my Bonds are much more bold to speak the word without Fear Phil. 1. 14. 3. REmember my Bonds Col. 4. 18. Remember those that are in Bonds as bound with them Heb. 13. 3. Ye had compassion on me in my Bonds and took joyfully the spoiling of your Goods whilst ye became Companions of those that were made a gazing-Stâ—ck by Reproaches and Afflictions Heb. 10. 33 34. I would have retained Onesimus with me that in thy stead he might have ministred to me in the Bonds of the Gospel Philem. 13. Be not thou ashamed of the Testimony of our Lord nor of me his Prisoner but be thou partaker of the Afflictions of the Gospel according to the Power of God 2 Tim. 1. 8. Both in my Bonds and in the Confirmation and Defence of the Gospel ye are all Partakers of my Grace Phil. 1. 7. I was in Prison and ye came unto me In as much as ye have done it to one of the least of these my Brethren ye have done it unto me Mat. 25. 36 40. 4. An Hymn of Thanksgiving for Deliverance upon a Trial or out of Pâ—ison IF it had not been the Lord who was on my side when Men rose up against me Then they had swallowed me up quick when their Wrath was kindled against me Then the proud Waters had gone over my Soul Psal. 124. 2 3 5. The Sorrows of Death compassed me and the Floods of ungodly Men made me afraid Psal. 18. 4. They compassed me about like Bees they thrust sore at me that I might fall but the Lord helped me Psal. 118. 12 13. And I had the Sentence of Death in my self that I should not trust in my self but in God which raiseth the Dead 2 Cor. 1. 9. But blessed be the Lord who hath not given me as a Prey unto their Death My Soul is escaped as a Bird out of the Snare of the Fowler the Snare is broken and I have escaped Ps. 124. 6 7. He sent down his Hand from above and delivered me out of the great Waters from the Hands of strange Children Whose Mouth speaketh Vanity and their Right Hand is a Right Hand of Falshood Ps. 144. 7 8. He delivered me from my strong Enemy and from them which hated me for they were too strong for me He brought me forth also into a large place he delivered me because he delighted in me Psal. 18. 17 19. The Lord is my Strength and my Song and is become my Salvation The Lord is on my side I will not fear what Man can do unto me I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord Psal. 118. 6 14 17. 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 This Doxology may likewise be used at the end of the several proceeding Collections of Scriptures in this Office for Prisoners for Righteousness as also at the end of the several Collections of Scripture in the former Office for those who suffer for Righteousness when these Collections are read not only for Instruction but Devotionally as Hymns to God Prayers 1. A General Prayer for all Prisoners O! Almighty and Everlasting God thou seest the Streights and Sorrows which I endure in this place and how unable I am to help my self or to bring about my own Deliverance But the less Hope and Support I have in my self the more I look up unto thee and place my Trust in thy Mercy And when my own care can avail
worldly Troubles let me have Peace with thee and with mine own Conscience And whilst thy Comforts do refresh my Soul by thy Grace strengthening me I shall better bear any other Misery which thou shalt give my Enemies leave to inflict upon my Body and persevere faithfully to serve and patiently to suffer for thee till thou shalt Graciously take me out of their Hands to thine Everlasting Rest and Mercy for Jesus Christ's sake Amen 6. A Prayer for Graces needful for him at the Tryal when he is to be judged for his Stedfastness to Gods Truth or Righteousness O! Blessed Lord if by thy wise ordering 〈◊〉 I meekly submit I shall be carried from the place of Cusâ—ody to the place of Tryal or of further Examination do tho vouchsafe to go along with me When I am question'd teach me what I shall say that I may answer so honestly as not to offend or dishonour thee and so prudently as not to prejudice my self nor bring Trouble on any other Righteous Persons for their bearing a good Affection to Righteous Things Give me presence of mind and clearness of Spirit in appearing before all Tribunals and wisdom and readiness in answering all Questions Let my Carriage be without Fear or Confusion or any evil or insincere Arts in all things acceptable unto thee and becoming my Person and Condition Suffer me not to be made a Sacrifice by the Fears or Forgetfulness the mis-representations or false Accusations of Witnesses nor by the Fetches and false colours of Council nor by the partiality or misguided Zeal of Judges and Juries Or if thou hast otherwise determined and I must fall enable me Good Lord to bear thy Will And tho' my Blood which is shed in this Cause be vile in the sight of Men let it be acceptable and of a sweet smell in thy Sight for my Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ's sake Amen 7. Prayers after Sentence of Condemnation is past upon him for his Stedfastness to the same EJACULATIONS THE Cup which my Father hath given me shall I not drink it Joh. 18. 11. Not my Will O! my God but thine be done Luk. 22. 42. Lord I thank thee for counting me worthy to receive this Sentence for the sake of thy Righteousness Lord lay not this Sin to their Charge Acts 7. 60. Forgive them for they know not what they do Luk. 23. 34. A short Prayer upon his receiving the Sentence LOrd I meekly submit to this heavy Sentence yea I thank thee for it and Glory in this shame since it comes upon me for my Love unto thy ways And I humbly pray thee to look upon their Ignorance for their excuse than upon their Blood-Guiltiness for their punishment If they understood the ways of thy Righteousness they would not shed my Blood for keeping stedfast to the same But now they think alass to serve and please thee by slaying me Father forgive them for they know not what they do And bring them timely to see their Errors and thoroughly to repent thereof That they who now in their misguided Zeal for thee are my Enemies may yet however at length be Loving and Happy Sharers with me of thine Everlasting Mercies through the Merits of our dear Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Amen A Longer Prayer afterwards O! Righteous Lord since thou art pleased to call me to give Testimony to thy Righteousness with my Blood I am content to do it Yea I thank thee O! Father that thou hast counted me worthy to lay down my Life for thy sake But as thou tryest me to the utmost sâ— strengthen me to the utmost I most humbly beseech thee that in this highest and last Service I may shew stedfast Faith in thee and Charity towards my Persecutors and meet my Death with that constancy and devout Chearfulness which befits one who is pasing thro' the Red Sea to the Heavenly Canaan and laying down his Life for thy Cause Tho' I stand Condemned and viliâ—ied among Men for this adherence to thy ways yet I humbly hope that thou O! my God wilt acquit and lovingly accept me And if I have thy Approbation my Heart shall rejoyce therein and account it enough for me whatever the World thinks of me Shew them their Error and our Uprightness O! Lord in standing firm to these points for which we suffer But if we cannot satisfie them that the way for which they persecute our Souls is Innocent and Holy let it however satisfie us that so it is and that so it will be â—ouâ—d and declared by thee before all thine elect Angels when tâ—ou shalt appear in thy dreadful Majesty to pass Sentence both upon our way and theirs And to the clearing of that Day and the Tryal of thy Righteous Tribunal do we humbly commit our Cause and Sufferings Where our Hope is that thou Blessed Jesu wilt Graciously own and receive both tho' they disdainfully reject them And that thou Righteous Father for Jesus sake wilt both pardon the real Guilt of our other Sins and openly clear us of the fancied Guilt of these ways wherewith our Persecutors do falsly asperes thy Truths and Reproach us Which grant O! merciful Lord that we may all comfortably expect in our Lives and comfortably find at our Deaths for thy dear Son and our only Saviour Jesus Christs sake Amen After this he may at any time use such of the Prayers as he likes best in the preceding Office for Sufferers for Righteousness to exercise and strengthen his Faith his Patience his Charity or other Graces proper for his Circumstances or to assist him in making Intercessions for others 8. A Prayer for Dying without Fear O! Almighty and most merciful Father perfect thy Strength in my Weakness and support thy Frail and most unworthy Servant in this last and greatest Service which I have now to pay thee of laying down my Life and leaving all that is dear unto me in this World for thy Cause Oh! let not me dishonour the Cause and Truths for which I suffer by shewing any mis-becoming Fears or unwillingness to suffer 'T is not my mistrust of the Righteousness of this Cause O! my God but the Conscience of my other Sins and of the common Errors of my Life from the Rule of thy Holy Commandments which makes me at all afraid to appear at thy Righteous Bar. But cleanse thou me from all my Sins by the Blood of my dearest Lord and then I may meet Death with an humble Confidence and Triumph over it I know O! blessed Lord that when Sin and Guilt which are the Sting of Death are taken out there is still an aversion in Nature which is common to us all against this Change and which found place in our Blessed Lord himself But let the Influences of thy Grace though not wholly purge off this averseness yet subdue and over rule it in my Spirit Possess my Mind more with the Righteousness of the Cause for which I dye and with the