among all that Profess thy Name As they have but one Head let them be but one Body as they are but one Body let them have but one Spirit The Spirit of Truth and Holiness in Doctrine and Life be in all Cease Schisms and Wars in the Christian World Let them not Spill one anothers Blood for whom thy Son shed his Let there not be many Hearts under one Head nor more Heads with it least they make a Massacre in thy Body or a Monster of it O let thy Scepter have Obedience and thine Orders Observance every where Suffer none by Delusion or Depravation of Mind or Ambition of Spirit to pull down thy Throne whilst they pretend for thy Scepter and take down thy House to set up thy Glory and let Confusion and Tyranny into thy Church whilst they profess to bring in Liberty and Order From Violence Avarice Sacriledge Schism Herefie Anarchy and Tyranny O thou King of the Church do thou keep us Do thou Govern us and let us Obey thee Do thou save us and let us serve thee Even all Christian Souls save throughout the World Dear Jesus Amen A Charitable Prayer for Times of Affliction O Lord that do'st not willingly afflict the Children of Men Behold from thy holy Habitation of Heaven the multitude of Miserable and Afflicted Souls and Lives amongst us and have Mercy upon us HAVE Mercy on all Ignorant Souls and instruct them on all Deluded Minds and Enlighten them on all Seducing and Seduced Spirits and Convert them Have Mercy on all broken Hearts and heal them all strugling with Temptation and Rescue them All languishing in spiritual Desertion and receive them Have mercy on all that stagger in Faith and Establish them That are fallen from thee and Raise them That stand with thee and Confirm them Have Mercy on all that groan under their Sins and Ease them That bless themselves and go on in their Wickedness and Curb and stop them Iesus That did'st shed thy Blood for all Souls to save them shed thy holy Spirit on all and heal them AND Lord have Mercy on all Miserable Bodies Those that are ready to famish for want Feed them Those that are bound to Beds of Pain loose them Those that are in Prison and Bonds Release them Those that are under the Fury of Persecution and Cry under the Yoke of Oppression Relieve them Those that lie smarting in their Pain and Wounds Cure them Those that are distracted in their Thoughts and Wits Settle them Those that are in Perils of their Estates and Lives Preserve them Iesus That didst freely distribute thy Comforts and Cures to all Miseries and Maladies of Men when thou wast on Earth have Mercy on all and help them far or near with us or from us Lord have Mercy on all even every Son and Daughter of Adam at this time in Pain and Anguish upon the face of the Earth where-ever they are whosoever they be what Help I would pray for my self from Thee or Comfort from Man in their Condition I beseech Thee the GOD of all Help and Comfort to give it them Take them to thy Care and Tender them supply them and Succour them Have Compassion on them and heal them Iesus That didst give thy Blood for them deny not thy Bowels to them Thou that didst Redeem them all Preserve them Even all Miserable Souls and Bodies I beseech Thee for thine infinite Mercies sake Amen A Prayer against the Temptations of Troublesome Times O God who wilt not suffer us to be Tempted above what we are able to bear succour me that the Temptations of this Time of Trouble does not over-whelm me Discover to me the ways of thy Providence so far that I may see why I shou'd neither Deny it nor Doubt it And make me know thy Judgments to be so unsearchable and thy ways past finding out that I may humbly submit my Will to thy Wisdom and admire and adore that Justice which I cannot Comprehend Let me not be of so narrow a Mind as to confine thy Work to one World which Thou do'st not finish but in Two Nor let me be such a Creature of Sense as to believe thou hast no other Reward or Punishment than what I See and Feel O let my Eyes look to the End of all which is Heaven or Hell And let me Envy no Ill Mans Happiness which shall end in Hell Nor bewail any Good Mans Wretchedness who shall have Heaven for his End And let me understand that the Prosperity of Sinners is a heavy Plague because it spurs them on to Hell which is the greatest Punishment And that the Adversity of the Saints is to them a Mercy because it is thy Rod to whip them into Heaven the best Reward Mean while let me not give a Brest full of thy Peace for an Armful of that Wealth which breeds Nests of Vipers and Adders in their Hearts and continual Stings in their Bosoms But let me Prefer the Sufferings of Innocence before the Spoils and Triumphs of Violence O God since a guilty Conscience is the greatest Punishment on Earth because next to Hell and Accusing and Condemning thy Providence and Forsaking my Innocence the greatest Guilt To that Extremity let no Temptation ever lead me JESUS keep me from it by thy Grace and Mercy Amen The Concluding Prayer O Lord it is thy Promise to grant whatsoever I ask in thy Sons Name and thou wilt not perform less because I ask so in his Words In his Blessed Breviary therefore I sum and offer up these my Imperfect Prayers saying as he hath taught me Our Father which art in Heaven c. The Blessing GOD the Father Bless me GOD the Son Defend me GOD the Spirit Preserve Me and all Mine and His now and Evermore Amen EVENING PRAYER Psal. XLIV LXXVII LXXVIII or LXX LXXXIII XCVIII or CXXXVII CXL CXLI Proper Lessons 2 Chron. XIII or XX 1 Cor. X. or Iudes Eistle A Collect or Prayer against Revenge O Thou to whom Vengeance belongeth Keep me from a Revengeful Spirit that I fall not into the hands of thy Vengeance And since it is thy Will that I should exercise Pity and Patience and Pardon let me not study Revenge and Returns of Injuries What tho' I have lost my Estate wrongfully and been turn'd out of my Place for my Loyalty to the King yet have I not justly deserved it for my Rebellion against thee my God why shou'd I then Meditate Revenge against the Instruments whom thou O Lord hast made the just Executioners of thy will for my Deserts O help me rather to look unto thee who hast justly suffered these things to befal me for my sins than to study Revenge against those that have Injur'd me Thou O most Meek and Merciful Saviour didst pray for thy bloody Enemies O let me then forgive my greatest Foes Committing my Cause to thee who wilt do Justice for me on them if I seek not to revenge my self and for thy self upon me
The Royal Sufferer A MANUAL OF MEDITATIONS AND DEVOTIONS Written for the Use of a Royal tho' Afflicted FAMILY By T K D. D. Printed in the Year 1699. TO THE KING Great Sir PErmit me I beseech You to lay at Your Royal Feet this small Manual which has no other design but the Supporting of Your Sacred Majesty and Your Faithful Friends and Adherents under those Calamities which Your Majesty has born with so much Magnanimity Patience and Christian Resolution that it shews You to be the Heir not only of Your Royal Father's Crown but of his Afflictions and Sufferings Exerting the like Constancy and Courage under them as that Blessed Martyr did 'T is true indeed Your Royal Father was a Protestant and Liv'd and Dy'd in and for that Profession and I cou'd heartily wish that Your Majesty was so too For then we might quickly hope to see an end of our present Miseries in a short time But tho' so great a Blessing be deny'd us yet shall my Loyalty and Duty approve it self the same as if You were 〈◊〉 for I cannot conceive what ever some may think that Your Majesty's being of another Perswasion than my self can discharge me from my Allegiance to You. And I hope Your Majesty will not the less regard what I have here Written because I profess my self as I always did to be a Member and an Vnworthy Son of the Church of England For as it has always been my Iudgement that he that Believes Lives and Prays according to the Rules that Christ has given us is a True Christian and a happy Man so I believe that the next way to Heaven is not to look after Controversie but Conscience and to spend our Zeal and Time not in being Contentious but Religious And therefore wheresoever I live in the Christian World whither East or West it is not my being a good Scholar that will make me happy but a good Christian not a Learned Disputant for Christ but a Devout Servant to him Nor the being of such or such a Party or side in the Church but a True Member of his Body AND if Your Majesty wou'd Vouchsafe to bear with me a little I cou'd easily demonstrate this to be the most Safe Way For if I am Regenerated by the holy Spirit and made a Christian by true Baptism believing the Scriptures can it with any Colour of Reason be Suppos'd that I shall suffer Damnation for not equally Believing Traditions And if I make Conscience to serve and Worship GOD can it be thought I shall Perish for not Worshiping Images If I pray to GOD as our Blessed Saviour hath taught me saying Our Father c. Who can think I should incur the Sentence of Damnation for not Invocating Saints and Angels And if I receive the holy Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ in both kindes according to Christ's Institution as even the Roman Church Confesses who can believe I shall be damned because the Cup is taken away by a Council THESE things I urge with all humility only to let Your Majesty see what reason I have to believe the Protestant Religion to be the most Safe Way And if through the Divine Blessing they should be made Efficacious to cause Your Majesty to Return to and Embrace the Religion professed even to Death by Your Royal Father for whom I am sure You have so justly a great Veneration it wou'd be the Ioy and Rejoycing of all Your People and wou'd open a Door of hope to 'em even in this Valley of Achor But if for our Sins we shall still be depriv'd of so great a Blessing it is yet our Duty to submit to the Soveraign Will of our Almighty Maker and to continue our Loyalty to Your Majesty praying That the Divine Goodness would graciously support You under those great and many Troubles wherewith it has pleased Him to Exercise You here and at last to Translate You to a brighter Crown even a Crown of Immarcessible Glory Which is the Daily and Earnest Prayer of Your Majesties most Loyal Faithful and Obedient Subject and Servant T. K. INTRODUCTION HAVING with grief of Heart observed that Uninterrupted Series of Afflictions that has now for some Years attended one of the most Royal Families in Europe to which I have the Honour to be particularly related and thereby am involved in their common Fate my self having run the same Risque with that of my Royal Master and suffered the loss of all as well as He I have thought it my Duty by the Ensuing Meditations to cast my Mite into the Royal Treasury and by considering the Vicissitude and Uncertainty of all Sublunary States and Things to offer some Support under that weight of Sorrow which a Mind less Magnanimous than that of our Great Master would have sunk under long ago AND since the Holy Scriptures do inform us that Afflictions rise not out of the Ground neither does Trouble spring out of the Dust it will not be unnecessary to inquire into the Cause from whence our great and sore Calamities arise for as in the Case of a Diseased Body to know the Cause from whence the Morbifick Affect proceeds is accounted half the Cure so if by a thorow search we can come to know the Cause why it has pleas'd the Soveraign Majesty of Heaven to Bring and to Continue these Calamiries upon us it may accompany'd with the Divine Blessing go a great way towards the Removal of them There being nothing more certain than that the way to have our Offended Maker Reconcil'd unto us is To Search our Hearts and try our Ways and to turn unto Him against whom we have sinned and so may we hope He will have Mercy upon us and say to the Proud Waves of Affliction that have so long been rolling over our heads Thus far have ye gone but ye shall proceed no further and here shall your proud Waves be stopped For the same GOD that puts a stop to the Raging of the Sea can soon put a Period to the Madness of the People and bring back our Captivity as the Streams in the South NOW since the Loss of what we formerly Enjoy'd is that which makes us the most Uneasie and gives us the greatest Disquiet I will first Endeavour to remove it by giving you a Scheme of the Vanity and Emptiness of all those things and consequently that it is not worth our while to afflict our selves for the Loss of that which is so Fading and Transitory in its own Nature and when Enjoy'd in its greatest Advantages adds so very little to our happiness Which things are properly reducible to three Heads viz. Honours Riches and Pleasures which I shall distinctly consider in Meditations upon each And that what I write may be the more effectual to the End for which it is written I shall Address my self to the Divine Majesty for a Blessing thereupon A PRAYER O Most Gracious and Blessed GOD who art the Source and Fountain of
are blessed because theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven And seeing the Captain of our Salvation was made Perfect through Sufferings why should it not also be the same with his Followers 2. Another Reason why it pleases God to Exercise us here with Afflictions is That our hearts might be drawn off from the love of the World which is an Enemy to God The inordinate love of the World makes the Soul uncapable of the love of God for St. Iohn tells us expresly That if any Man love the World the love of the Father is not in him How much better is it then to have the hatred of the World and to have God our Friend than to have the World our Friend and God our Enemy And sure we have no reason to complain of Afflictions since St. Paul tells us We are chastened of the Lord that we might not be condemned with the World God is pleased to imbitter the World to us by Afflictions as a Tender Mother does her Teat when she wou'd wean her Child from the Brest she rubs her Nipple with Aloes or Wormwood which the Child tasting will take the Brest no more So when the World wou'd intice us to the love thereof by its Delights and Pleasures our merciful Father sends us Tribulations and Afflictions to take our hearts from the love of present things which could we have quietly Enjoy'd we should have been for building Tabernacles here Could the Prodigal Son have fill'd his Belly with Husks he would never have thought of Returning to his Father but Want and Affliction brought him from the Swine with whom he would have staid could he have got his Belly full 3. Another Benefit we receive by Affliction is That we are thereby Cured of our Soul-Disease and that too of such as are otherwise almost incurable Honours Riches and a Prosperous Condition in the World causes us too often to contract those sinful Habits which we never come to reflect upon much less to repent of until Affliction makes us Therefore it is that Solomon tells us The Rod and Reproof give Wisdom The Story of Ioseph's Brethren is remarkable they had sold their Brother to the Ishmaelitish Merchants and made their Father believe he was torn in pieces of Wild Beasts and then thought all was well and were not at all troubled that they had sold their Brother and deceiv'd their Father But afterwards when they went down to Egypt were there put in Ward and charged as being Spies this Affliction brings to their remembrance their former Usage of their Brother Ioseph and now they cry out We are verily guilty concerning our Brother We saw the anguish of his Soul when he besought us and we would not hear therefore is this distress come upon us Had it not been for that affliction in all probability they had never repented of their Cruelty to Ioseph One likeneth Afflictions to the Rod of Moses for as the striking that upon the Rock brought forth Water so the Rod of Affliction often mollifieth stony-hearted Sinners and makes the Waters of Repentance to gush out Another compares it to a File for as that cleanses the Iron from its Rust and make it bright So Affliction files off that Rust of Sin which worldly Prosperity has contracted and makes our Graces shine more bright and glorious The Scripture likewise compares it to a Furnace wherein Gold is tried and purged from all its filth and dross and brought to the greatest degree of Perfection It may also well be compared to a Purging Potion for as that driveth the corrupt and ill humours out of a diseased Body so Afflictions drive out evil Passions and corrupt Desires and Affections out of the Soul such as Pride Vain-glory Sloth Niceness Lust Gluttony Drunkenness and many more And Elihu speaking to Iob of the Afflictions with which God uses to exercise his People tells him It is that he may with-draw Man from his Purpose and hide Pride from him he does indeed says Elihu chasten him with Pains upon his Bed and the multitude of his Bones with strong Pain so that his Life abhorreth Bread and his Soul dainty Meat yea his Soul draweth near to the Grave and his Life to the destroyers Lo these things says he worketh God often-times with Man But wou'd you know to what End 'T is to bring back his Soul from the Pit to be Enlightened with the light of the Living 4. Another Benefit of Affliction is That it is a Preservative from Evil and keeps us from many Sins which we should otherwise run into This is what God intends by the Prophet Hosea when he tells the Children of Iudah that were bent upon Idolatry and resolved to go after their Lovers that God wou'd prevent 'em and put a stop in their Way I 'll hedge up thy way with Thorns says God That is I will bring such afflictions upon you as shall be as so many Thorns in your sides which shall put a stop to your Careir in Wickedness And this was the Experience of holy David long before For he tells us Psal. cxix 71. It is good for me that I have been Afflicted If you ask why it was good for him or what Benefit he found by it He readily tells you Vers. 67. Before I was afflicted I went astray but now have I kept thy Word And therefore instead of murmuring against God for Afflictions he justifies God I know O Lord says he that thy Iudgments are just and that in faithfulness thou hast afflicted me 5. ANOTHER Advantage we reap by Afflictions is That hereby God puts us upon the Tryal of our Graces There are many that will swim with the Tide that won't venture when the stream is against ' em What the Devil falsly said of Iob is but too true of many Men they won't serve God for nought When God blesses them with the good things of this Life and they have all that their Hearts can wish then they will be for God and for the Profession of Religion but if he puts forth his hand and takes away what they have they will be like those that the Prophet Isaiah speaks of who when they are hungry and hardly bestead shall fret themselves and curse their King and their God And therefore Iob's Constancy under those great Afflictions made his Piety and Patience so much the more Illustrious 'T is Affliction that shews us which are Hypocrites and which are sincere Christians a sincere Christian varies not with the Times but is semper idem always the same whereas a Hypocrite is a Time-server and will turn with the Times rather than be turn'd out If Tribulation comes he is for avoiding of it let it come from what Quarter it will How many can we remember that made the greatest Pretences of Loyalty to the King that cou'd be and had there been no occasion to try their Loyalty would have been Loyal still but when Times of Affliction and Trial came on and the King was
Thou ever art a Merciful Father Forget not thy Fatherly Goodness to me who pray thy Pardon for offending Thee Thy Grace to serve Thee and Thy Providence to preserve me this Night and Evermore through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Prayer for one in Affliction O Lord That Affliction which is now my Lot is the Result of thy good Pleasure and as such let me Eye it and improve it to Reclaim me from Evil Ways and to direct my course into those that are Good If it be so grievous to bear it for a Time what is it O God to suffer it and ten thousand times more misery than it for Ever Then if it be ill let it be thy Rod to reclaim me and if Good thy Staff to make me stand better in Grace and advance me to thy Glory Thy Fan to Purge me Thy Furnace to Prove me So Adversity to my Body be the Prosperity of my Soul let it come and Welcome O Lord that my Soul may at last everlastingly Prosper with Thee in that Day of Bliss which knows no Cloud of Ill nor end of Good to Eternity Since Affliction is a sign of thy Mercy a Badge of thy Favour and a means of Glory let me not be Impatient under it lest I perpetuate my Woes to two Worlds and whom Thou hast but for a Time make my self miserable for ever Blessed Jesus who didst go from a Cross to a Crown and doest Cross me to Crown me let me carry mine Patiently that I may come to thy Throne and not cast my self from a Cross of Woe into a Gulph of Confusion From such Miscarriages under my Present Afflictions O Lord deliver me Dear Jesus By the Merits and Example of thy holy Cross and by the Vertues and Works of thy holy Spirit Do it for me and Sanctifie it to me Amen A Concluding Prayer BEhold O Lord what I have Prayed unto thee for and grant I humbly beseech thee the Requests that I have put up unto Thee this Evening and hear the Petitions of thy Servant And do for me for the Nation for thy Church and for all Estates and Conditions therein not only according to what I have Prayed but according to what I should and ought to have Prayed and what any else have prayed with me for Jesus Christ his sake in whose Name I have presented them with whose Words I desire to Perfume and Perfect my Prayers Beseeching Thee That his Spirit may breathe in those Words in which I know I Pray both what and as I ought And therefore as Devoutly Confidently say Our Father which art in Heaven c. The Blessing BLESSED are the Afflicted and Troubled and those that mourn under those Calamities we feel and fear The Blessing and Comfort of God the Father and the Grace of our Lord Iesus Christ and the Consolations of the holy Spirit be upon me and upon all such sad and sorrowful Souls with me this Night and Evermore Amen Meditations and Prayers FOR THE NOLY COMMUNION BOTH Before At and After Receiving A Meditation before the Receiving the holy Communion O My dear Lord Thy Passion makes me full of all Passions I am in Love and yet I Hate I have my Longings and my Loathings I both Rejoyce and Grieve and Cherish Hope and Fear I am Incens'd and Ravish'd I am in Love with Thee O blessed Jesus I am Enamour'd of thy Person O Thou God-Man The Son of God! The Beauty of Heaven and Earth The Center of all Created and Uncreated Excellency The Mirror of the Godhead The Wonder of Angels The Glory of Mankind I am Inflamed with thy Love Thou mad'st thy Love to Lazarus legible in thy Tears See how he loved him said the Jews and shall not I read it in thy Wounds They saw Love in thy driping Eye and shall not I in thy Bleeding Side They in the Hot-water thou didst bestow on his Dead Body and shall not I see it in that reaking Blood thou sheddest for my lost and Dying Soul O let not my heart be so hard to see those Wounds of so great Love to me and yet to have no Woundings of Affection for Thee For thee Lord Yes and all in Heaven and Earth that have Relation to Thee I am also in Love with the God and Father of my Lord Jesus Christ who would give his Son his only Son the Son of his Love so to suffer on Earth for a Time that I might not suffer for Ever in Hell I am also in Love with Thee O Thou Blessed and Holy Spirit of GOD who didst anoint Jesus to be my Christ and thereby Inaugurate him to his Crown of Thorns and Blessed tho' most Bloody Passion which he suffered for me I am in Love with the whole Blessed Trinity whose glorious Essence and Ineffable Unity I Adore tho' I cannot comprehend and whose Counsels fill my Soul with the highest Admiration tho' I am never able to search out their Unfathomable depth I have also Love for the Sons of Men for them especially for whom my Lord Jesus shed his precious Blood thereby to make them the Sons of God and Brothers of Christ Thy Cross O Jesus shall make all Mankind my Friends for where thou gavest thy Blood why shou'd not I give my Heart THUS Lord I love all for thee and thee in all And now I will love my self for thy sake amongst them O Lord I am one in whom is thy Flesh a Man I am one in whom is thy Spirit a Christian I am one for whom thou didst shed thy Blood on whom thou hast shed thy Spirit A redeemed esteemed Man by Thee and shall I be so poor as to Value Dirt to thy Blood Shall I be tempted to give my self from Thee to the Flesh and to the World O Lord I will Value thy Blood more I will keep the Spirit better I will set a higher price on my self than to sell thy Blessed Purchase to the Devil for a base Piece of Flesh and a small portion of the World So am I and let me ever be in love with Thee O Lord. BUT O Sin I am in Hate with Thee for my own and for my Saviour's sake O thou Enemy of God and Man how execrable art thou More than heart can think That madest him lamentable more than Eye saw AND O Devil I hate Thee who didst tempt Man out of Paradise and so draw Christ to a Cross And could thy Temptations have prevail'd and thy Power been equal to thy Malice wouldst have cast the second Adam out too that so nor the First nor his Seed might ever have come in again AND O World I abhor thee as the Imp of the Devil who of his Jews and Gentiles couldst find hands for such horrid Acts and Sins that made those Bloody Passions So Sin Devil World for the Death of my King and Lord and Christ you have my Hate I have also my Longings too I Long for the Lord My Soul Longeth for God even the
Cities of Refuge for Sins To see thy Passion made the Nurse of Presumption and thy Mercy the Milk of all Abominations When Indignation kindles in thy poor Servants Soul at so great Indignities how is it that Wrath flames not out in Thine How is it Even so it is because thou art Jesus Lovest to save and art loth to destroy Waitest our Repentance and Wavest thy Vengeance I am Ravish'd with that good Spirit of thine O Christ Thou hadst it on the Cross and keepest it on the Throne Where it appears it doth Ravish me In thy Lips Thou Prayest their Pardons that are shedding thy Blood And thirstest for their Salvation that are Butchering thy Body In thy Arms Stretch'd out to Embrace all on Earth and therefore strike not tho' in all the Power of Heaven In thy Eyes As Thou wast with one of my Mothers I am with one of Thine Thy Fury frights me O Lord Thy Favour is that One The Eye with which thou didst look at the poor Thief and give him both thy Pardon and thy Paradise The Eye by which thou didst look at thy dear Mother and amidst all thy Wounds chuse her a Guardian and have her in thy Cares The Eye with which thou did'st look at the dear Disciple and Adopt him of thy Servant thy Mothers Son The Eye by which thou didst look at poor Sinners to be saved a Church to be bought and World to be Ransom'd But in thy Heart O Lord O what an Apparition see I there Through the bloody Door of thy Wounded Breast a House full of Nothing but Goodness Pity Patience Mercy O what a Perspective is there by the way of the Spear To see the Prospect of a poor Sinners sole delight a Heart full of Grace and Favour in the Brest of a Jesus A Saviours Heart From that Heart with that Eye O Christ behold the Afflicted Mother thy Church and thy dear Disciple her Child Breathe Comfort to her for whom thou gavest Blood And to him who is the Son of her Comfort Make Peace between Mother and Children where there should be Love Let them live by one Spirit that are bought with one Blood And no longer be one anothers Cross but bear one anothers Burdens Dart Lord from that blessed Eye of Pity these Favours on the Face of that bleeding Body and with thy Arms Nail'd once to a Cross now extended on a Throne Embrace her and uphold her in Life Advance her Throne for whom thou did'st endure thy Cross O Thou who didst with thy Fingers work Heaven and Earth and upholdest all things by the Word of thy Power those whom the World treads under foot take thou into thy Arms In thy blessed Arms O thou Omnipotent and All Merciful Maker and Saviour of the World in thy blessed Arms I leave the Wounded Mother and at thy Feet I lay the bleeding Child JESUS nourish these holy Passions in me which my Heart hath conceived and my Tongue now brought forth before Thee Let thy holy Passion ever breed them in me and thy Spirit Nurse them for thee even by the Merits of thy bloody Passion I beseech Thee Amen! Amen A Prayer before Coming to the holy Communion Acknowledging and Deprecating our Vnworthiness O Lord I am every where in thy Presence and under thy Eye and therefore shou'd be prophane no where but thy special Presence and Face is in thy Temple There therefore I should be more holy and thy Chair and Seat is at thy Table and therefore there I should be yet more so Even the Angels are not pure enough for such a Heavenly Presence how then shall a poor mortal Man appear at so high and holy a Service How shall I dare to Communicate with Thee that deserve not to come before Thee Lord since I cannot come as I should pure I will endeavour by thy Grace to come as I may Penitent I will be more humble because less holy and more Wash'd because so Filthy And O Lord give me Grace so to come Let me look over my Life in the Glass of thy Law and make me wash with my Tears what is polluted in my Ways and Cleanse in Christ's Blood what I wash with my Tears O Lord in a Bath of this Water warm'd in that Blood flowing from a Sinners bleeding heart and Saviour's bloody side shall I not be clean if I wash Pierce my heart O Lord that I may repent open my heart that I may believe that so I may wash and be clean Tho' I did not live let me believe aright and let me love whom I do believe even thee O God Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who didst send thy Son to shed his Blood and Redeem me and Thee O Son of God who didst come and shed thy Blood to make a Bath and heal me and also Thee O holy Spirit of God by whose Grace and Work upon my heart I come to have the Benefits of that Blood And whom I love let me not grieve Lord let me no more offend thee Let my heart be set to serve thee resolved to please thee And do thou accept me Father Son and holy Ghost Amen A Prayer before the holy Communion to be Pardon'd and Prepar'd for it DEAR Saviour that hast given thy Flesh and Blood to be my Meat and Drink and now invitest me to those Heavenly Dainties Who am I woful and wicked Wretch that I am that I should dare with my unworthy hands to receive those high and holy Mysteries Originally Vnclean Actually Defiled and even since my last Coming and Communicating for all my Vows and Protestations before thee again and again polluted In these straits and stresses of Spirit how shall my Soul be satisfied If I come not at thy call I rebel against thy Mercy If I come I trespass upon thy Purity O my God I will not stand out a Rebel but rather fall down an humble Suppliant before thee I am guilty Lord Pardon me I am polluted Lord purge me Tho' guilty tho' polluted I am thy Ransomed Soul Dear Redeemer save me Let the Merits of thy precious Blood cleanse me from the guilts upon me Let the Graces of thy holy Spirit Sanctifie me from the stains within me Let the Sighs and Tears which come from my bleeding Heart wash off those Blots by Vertue of that Pretious Blood Let the Cries and Prayers which now come from my Believing Soul obtain those Graces from thy holy Spirit True Repentance and Humility a lively Faith and Charity with all those holy and heavenly Thoughts and Affections which may dispose and prepare me for Thee By these fit my Soul for thy Self and my Body with my Soul to be an holy House and Habitation for thee Let thy holy Spirit and Body enter into me Come dear Redemer come to the price of thy Blood seiz thine own and save me Possess my Soul Feed me and Preserve me Hereafter let me have more Grace than to grieve thee Give me care to keep my
up your heart to God and pray Lord keep me from all Sin and danger this day for Iesus Christ his sake WHEN you are up kneel down and say this Prayer Almighty God who hast touched my heart with a sense of thy fear and holy dread of thy Majesty I beseech thee give me thy grace so to govern my thoughts and look to my Words and Ways this day that I may avoid all Sins especially those to which I am most inclin'd or may be most provoked That so my Soul and Body may be kept pure and unspotted before Thee and whensoever the hour of their Separation shall come may be ready and prepared for Thee through the Merits and Mercies of Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen WHEN you are ready for your Morning Prayers you may use the Service before recited for the Morning Rules for the Evening AFTER you have Used the foregoing Prayers for Evening Service and before you go into your Bed kneel down and say this short Prayer O God who hast made the Day for Labour and the Night for Rest let thy Sons Blood cleanse me from this Days guilt that I may sleep in thy Peace and rise again refreshed and preserved by thy Favour through Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen AND this Thanksgiving and Prayer Almighty God who hast preserved me this day from many Sins and Dangers I do humbly magnifie thy Name for thy Grace and Goodness towards me beseeching Thee to forgive me all the Errors of this day whereof my Conscience doth or may accuse me And grant that those sins which by my frailty I have Committed may by the help of thy Spirit be more carefully avoided that I may ever stand in thy Favour Walk under thy Protection and now rest and lie down in thy Peace and at last come to thy heavenly Kingdom through the Merits and Mediation of Iesus Christ. Amen When you lie down say I will lay down my head in Peace and take my Rest for thou only O Lord makest me to dwell in safety Then Pray thus LIGHTEN mine Eyes O Lord that I sleep not in Death I commit my Soul and Body to thee keep me for thy Mercies sake Amen Some General Rules for our Daily Practice 1. REmember That tho' Knowledge especially the Knowledge of God be an excellent thing yet it will be no farther available to thee than as thou puttest it into Practice For Knowledge without Practice is like Light without Heat which never ripens any Fruit to the Glory of God or Good of thy own Soul Be sure therefore to labour after the Knowledge of Gods Will and to put that Knowledge into Practice 2. Let the Worship of God have the first place in thy Affections and Actions And tho' Private Prayer and secret Ejaculations be necessary yet let not Publick Prayers in the House of God be Omitted 3. Neglect not the Common Prayers and other Publick Duties of Devotion but say with holy David I was glad when they said unto me We will go into the House of the Lord. 4. Be careful that Divine Service be performed aright as it ought to be and delight thy self in the Beauty of Gods House 5. In all the Various Changes that befal thee especially in Afflictions and Distresses make Prayer thy Refuge 6. Set aside appointed times for thy Private Devotions and observe them not only out of Custom but of fervency of Spirit to increase thy Piety 7. The Pious Rites and Ceremonies of the Church esteem highly of I mean those which are not repugnant ot Gods Word and on the other side fly Superstition 8. Use constantly the Prayers for the Church and by name for all those for whom thou art bound to pray especially the Royal Family 9. If thou art a Father of a Family govern all under thy Care piously and religiously Let all resort to Morning and Evening Prayer either Privately or Publickly if it may be And let this be a Law to thy Family Whosoever comes within this House let him be Sober Just Religious and Honest in all things Lye not Swear not Forswear nor Blaspheme not Detract not from others mind not Cups and Revels offend not any Bodies Ears or Eyes or Mind either by Words or Deeds Whoso doth otherwise let him depart hence 10. Discipline thy Children betimes and Train them up in the way they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it 11. Rule thy Wife with Prudence and provoke her to the Love of Vertue and good Works by thy Example 12. If thou hast Daughters be solicitous about the Preservation of their Chastity the Age is corrupted and full of Debauchery and if they come to be defiled they are in danger of Eternal Ruine and therefore this requires thy utmost Care for thou hast no Treasure so much expos'd as these And to this End keep with a double-Lock their Ears and Tongue from Obscenity and Scurrility let none come near them that use impudent Jests or Gestures for shameless Companions and evil Conversation Corrupts good Manners and ought to be avoided as so many Serpents and Vipers 13. Be careful to avoid all known Sins To which End be sure thou commit not the least fault wittingly or willingly for the dearest Friends sake It is better to renounce all Friendship with Men than to endanger the breaking of thy Friendship with God And nothing will break this Friendship sooner than Sin 14. Use not thy self unto Swearing I mean not only Vain and Prophane Swearing but also Promisory Oaths But if thou hast made any such take care to perform 'em tho' it may be to thy own outward hurt 15. Vow nothing rashly but upon great Deliberation and what thou hast Vowed pay 16. Imitate the Life of thy blessed Saviour and follow the steps of his Saints in all things wherein they ought to be imitated 17. Next after thy Duty to God consider what thou owest to thy Neighbour and do it whilst it is in the Power of thy hand 18. Do good to all according to thy Ability Feed the Hungry give drink to the Thirsty Entertain the Stranger Cloath the Naked Visit the Sick Redeem the Prisoners and Bury the Dead This Charity belongs to the Body 19. There is likewise a Charity due to the Soul which is To instruct the Ignorant Correct the Sinner Counsel the Doubtful Comfort the Afflicted indure Injuries forgive Wrongs pray for Others yea for thy Enemies 20. Observe Friendship with Constancy fasten that knot and if it be loosed tie it again Reconcile those that are fallen out Strifes and Contentions which are the Bane of Charity Extinguish and Wipe away 21. Interpret all things from others in the best sense scorn none nor detract from any neither provoke 'em by Railing or Opprobrious Terms but give to all that honour that belongs to ' em 22. Let thy gesture be without Affectation yet not Phantastical and let thy Countenance be Free but not Lofty and Chearful but not Lowring let thy Speech be Sober Simple and Harmless without Deceit or Flattery and without Mimical Actions like a Stage-play 23. Be sensible of the hand of God under all Afflictions and think with thy self that he does nothing without a Cause and let that keep thee humble and put thee upon a serious Reflection on thy past Actions 24. If Reproaches Revilings and other Injuries be thrown upon thee strengthen thy Soul in God and under-go them both with Courage and Constancey and as far as thou art Innocent with Rejoycing 25. Under all Afflictions be silent let the Causes be what they Will for it argues Impatience to Complain Beware therefore that thou accuse neither Heaven nor Men for none is more injurious to thee than thou to thy self if thou be Impatient Righteous is the Lord and true are his Judgments 26. Be sure take heed least under thy Afflictions thou forgettest thy Creator and seekest Deliverance by indirect means For many have stumbled upon this Rock and been broken to pieces by it For such men wou'd prescribe to God and have him directed by their foolish Fancies But who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord Or being his Counsellour have taught Him 'T is a vain thing to attempt it Therefore to be willing to tarry till God sees good to deliver is the way to hasten our Deliverance but to go about to deliver our selves and throw off the Burden that God has laid upon us is the only way to bind it on the faster and to keep back that deliverance which for ought we know may be at the Door And therefore 27. If the Times compel thee to suffer for Righteousness sake be not afraid The three Children lost nothing by being in the fiery Furnace so long as there was a Fourth there with them which was the Son of God 28. In times of Affliction especially throw away all vain desire of Riches despise the World and all the Allurements of it whether they be Honours Pleasures Friends and Acquaintance or whatever else That which keeps down thy Affections from mounting to Heaven and soaring Above is a dead weight which thou hadst better be without 29. Whatever thou losest take care to keep thy Innocence If thou losest all the World and keepest thy Innocence thou mayst yet be a Gainer But if thou losest thy Innocence then indeed thou losest All and thy Loss becomes truly Unvaluable 30. If thou wouldest preserve thy Innocence make Gods Word thy Rule and humbly implore the gracious Conduct and Guidance of his holy Spirit For he it is that leads in the way of Righteousness and in the midst of the Paths of Judgment and he has assur'd us in his Word That if in all our Ways we acknowledge him he will direct our Paths FINIS