THE FATHERS LEGACIE.
With precepts Morall, and prayers Diuine▪
Fitted for all
- sorts, both yong and old,
- times and seasons:
- Morning, Noone, and Night.
LONDON, Printed for Iohn Marriot, in Saint Dunstans Churchyard in Fleetstreet. 1625.
The Fathers Receipt to cure the Sonnes soules sicknesse.
TAke early in the morning of thy life a Quart of true and vnfained Repentance of Niniuie, and put to it both your hands full of feruent Faith in Christs blood, which was shed for you; with asmuch Hope and Charity of the purest that you can purchase with teares vnfained, from the Garden of Gods Word, of each of these a like quantity, and put them into the vessell of a cleare and vnspotted conscience, [Page] and let them boile well in the fiery flames of true and hearty loue, till you see by the perfect eye of your faith, and feele by your zeale illuminated, the black fome of the loue of the world to stinke in your stomacke. Then scumme it off with the spoone of faithfull prayer: that done, take the immaculate cloath of Christs pure innocency, and couer you warme with as many cloathes of the Amendment of life as God shall strengthen you to beare: And then lie downe on your bed, ioyned with the peace of God, and sweat out all the vile poison of couetousnesse, Idolatry, and the participation thereof, with alkind of pride, oppression, extortion, deceit, sedition, sects, enuie, swearing, adultery, [Page] theft, drunkennesse, sloth, and the like, let this bee distilled through the limbeck of a clean heart: then apply the sweet ointment of a good conuersation, and lay it to your nose, for feare you smell after your neighbors goods: And when you feele your selfe clensed from all these fore-named diseases, then take the powder of Say-well, and lay it on your tongue to sauour your mouth, and the eares of the hearers; but drink three times as much Doe-well. And anoint your hands with the oyle of gladnesse, to doe good workes, that they may be supple and ready to minister to the poore distressed members of Christ as you see good occasion and are able: but beware of taking the wind of vaine-glory in the giuing, [Page] lest the daily gusts therof do you much harme, let these bee incorporated all into one body with the iuyce of the Herbe of Grace, of which if thou faile, all the rest will doe thee little pleasure, neither can they bee operatiue to either soule or body. And then arise from sin willingly, & walk out your course worthily: and take vp Christs crosse patiently and beare it thankfully: obserue these precepts carefully, and be mindfull of them daily, and pray these prayers following zealously, and God will blesse thee continually, and so shalt thou liue euerlastingly: which God grant, Amen say I.
Probatum est, By thy Father.
The Fathers Legacy.
In certaine Morall precepts for the better ordering of his life. Concerning thy selfe.
1 BEgin the day in the seruice of God, continue it in his feare, that thou mayest end it in his fauor.
2 When thou canst not spend the day in honourable actions, thou maiest in vertuous Contemplations, but bee sure to put thy knowledge into practice.
3 In all things shew a noble mind, and aboue all things auoid [Page] basenesse; if thy birth be noble shame it not, if meane, let thy vertues raise it.
4 Neuer striue to please all men, or indeed any man whom thou needst not feare, since whateuer thou doest will displease some body, if thou canst please thy selfe and not offend God, it is no matter whether others be pleased or no.
5 Be neither seruile, nor officious to any (though greater then thy selfe) from whom thou neither regardest fauour, nor fearest wrath: giue them no occasion of offence, nor take iniury at their hands.
6 With thy superior in degree shew thy selfe neither too awfull nor familiar, with thy equall bee both courteous and familiar, with thy inferiour though courteous yet not too familiar.
[Page] 7 Bee sparing to praise or dispraise thy selfe in any quality: the first sauour of vaine-glory, the other of folly, neither meddle with others actions either in way of approbation, or contumely; for as the one will get thee neuer the more loue, so the other, will will get thee much more hatred.
8 Auoide rather those that flatter thee, then those that reproue thee: one loues thy purse, the other thy person.
Intrude not thy selfe into any company where the place is priuate, nor enter into counsell vnrequired, and let thy aduice sauour rather of wisdome, then wit, for so thou shalt saue thy credit and thy friends.
10 Let thy company where thou mayest haue welcome be [Page] waies of the best sort, but shun all those that shall intice thee to any base action.
11 Marry not till thou beest thy owne man, to dispose of thy estate thy selfe, neither marry till thou hast a competent estate to defray that charge which mariage of necessity brings with it.
12 If thou be poore marry late and far off, if rich, quickly and neer home, let thy wife be either vertuous, noble, rich, or faire, for without these or one of these, there can be no loue. Nobilitie and riches may be a meanes to aduance posteritie, vertue and beauty will adde to thy selfe pleasure and content, but neuer marry for beauty onely, lest time or sicknesse shew thee thy folly.
13 As neere as thou canst [Page] chose one better qualified in mind then body, whose soule is faire as her face, hansome and neat in her apparell, not gay, nor sluttish; silent, yet not dumbe when occasion serues to speake, with a blushing cheeke, rather then a brazen forehead, milde and gentle spirited, and one that cannot bee angry, free-hearted, yet not lauish, louing to all, familiar to few, alwaies mery, seldome wanton.
14 If thou hast children bring them vp in all noble qualities, to make them worthy instruments either for Church or Common-wealth: but constraine none of them to apply themselues to any thing against nature, and winne them rather by loue and gentlenesse, then harsh seuerity.
[Page] 15 Let thy house be rather necessary and neat, then large and rude, yet if thy estate and calling be great, let thy house bee answerable without and within.
16 Let thy house-keeping be alwaies bountifull, neuer prodigall, rather abounding then wanting, but neuer to win credit stretch thy purse beyond its bounds, nor let thy charge bee greater then thy reuenues, and take heed of paying vse-mony.
17 Let all thy house funiture be of the best, not only to shew but for vse also, so shalt thou not onely content but pleasure thy friends, whose loue if thou wilt gaine, let thy house be to him alwaies as his own, freely, without grudging, the signe of a base nature.
18 Inuite not any man, [Page] especially great men) to thy house, vnlesse thou haue exercise to recreate them abroad aswell as within, hunting, hawking, bowling, &c. for without these he will quickly be weary; and let me aduise thee, if thou be able, alwaies to keepe a stable of good horses, excellent for some qualitie, which will not onely please all men, but shall get thee the name of generous.
19 Let thy seruants bee so many as thou mayest imploy in honest offices, such as will neither be idle nor ill imployd: for thy house affaires choose aged & well experienced men, rather profitable then hansome, but such as waite on thy person or thy friends, gentlemen-like in body or mind, neither let drudges, as horse-keepers [Page] or labourers, or such like come neere thy person, or thy table, for either their rude behauiour or ill smell will bee offensiue. For thy maidseruants take this rule, let thy house bee well deckt with them (such I meane as be hansome) for they grace a house more then all thy other furniture, and let thy wife haue alwayes a couple of Gentlewomen to attend her person at the least, and remember that sluts and foule sowes will haue alwaies sluttish conditions.
20 Finally, banish from thy house all rude and ruffian-like fellowes, with ignorant and hypocriticall puritans.
A Morning Prayer.
O LORD God, our most gracious, louing and mercifull FATHER in Christ Iesus, we thy poore and most vnworthy seruants do here prostrate our selues, both soules and bodies, before the Throne of thy heauenly Maiesty, humbly acknowledging and confessing from the bottom of our hearts, that we are most vile, miserable, and sinfull wretches, conceiued in sin, brought forth in [Page] iniquitie, and so haue continued all our life time: Not worthy O Lord, of the least of all thy blessings, but deserue iustly for our sinnes eternall death and damnation, and to be cast for euer from thy presence. Heauenly Father, wee confesse freely against our owne soules, that our sins are moe in number then the hairs of our heads, or the sands of the sea, or the stars of heauen; and that we haue broken and transgressed al thy holy Commandemēts, both in thought, word, and deed, from our infancy to our youth, from our youth to our riper age, from the day of our birth to this present day. The euil, O Lord, which we should not doe, we haue done, and the good which we should haue done, we haue [Page] omitted. We haue made no conscience of our wayes, no regard of thy promises, no feare of thy threatnings. We haue made vs other gods in thy sight, a god of our gold, a god of our belly, a god of euery affection: we haue blasphemed thy holy name: wee haue profaned thy Sabbaths: we haue polluted thy Sanctuary: wee haue despised thy Word: we haue done all manner of euill in thy sight, and the feare of thy Maiesty hath not beene before vs. Thy mercy hath not allured vs, thy iudgements haue not terrified vs; but with a high hand we haue heaped sinne vpon sinne, and gone on still in all manner of wickednesse, vntill wee haue made it too heauy a burden for vs to beare.
[Page] What then belongs vnto vs thou iust Iudge of all the world, but eternall confusion both of soule and body. Neuerthelesse, appealing from thy iustice, wee implore thy mercy, and intreat thee in Iesus Christ to be reconciled vnto vs; for his sake to pardon and forgiue vs all our sins, to naile them on his Crosse, to bury them in his graue, and to warn them away in his most pretious bloud. Wash vs O Lord, and wee shall be clean: clense vs, and wee shall passe the snow in whitnesse: Good Lord be mercifull vnto vs, pardon and forgiue vs all that is past, and giue vs grace to leade a more holy life then we haue done hitherto. And to this end, O blessed Lord God, because our hearts are the sinkes [Page] of all our sinnes, and the fountaines of all our vncleannesse, sanctifie our vncleane hearts, mortifie our sinfull affections, pacifie our impure thoughts, clense our wicked cogitations: O Lord renew a right spirit within vs, O Lord giue vs grace to conceiue aright of the wonderfull things of thy Law, & to practice the things that concerne thy glory.
And because O Lord wee should be the more vnworthy to receiue any good thing from thee, if we should not be truly thankfull for those many good things which we haue already receiued, we render vnto thy diuine Maiesty all possible praise and thankes for all those blessings which thou hast so mercifully from time to time bestowed vpon vs. We [Page] thanke thee O Lord for our election before we were: for our creation and what we are: for our redemption when we were lost: for our iustification, and sanctification in this life, and for our assured hope of glorification in the life to come.
We thanke thee deare Father, for whatsoeuer good concerns either soule or body: for our liues, and for our liberty: for our peace, & for our plenty: for our health, and our prosperitie: and aboue all, for the sweet and inestimable iewell of thy holy Word. Thou hast been more gracious to vs, then to other Nations. O Lord we were a people that sate in darknesse and in the shadow of death, but thou hast opened our eyes, and giuen vs a lanterne [Page] for our feete, and a light for our paths: let not our sins we beseech thee, remoue this candle-sticke from vs.
Wee thanke thee O Lord, that thou hast sealed vnto our consciences the free, and full remission of all our sinnes in Christ Iesus.
Wee thanke thee that thou hast kept vs from many sinnes which our fraile nature might haue committed, and for sauing vs from many dangers whereinto we might haue fallen: Lord keepe vs both from sinne and danger.
And because both of the weaknesse of our nature, and the number of our enemies, how busie they are to tempt, & how ready we are to yeeld, Lord shield vs with thy grace, and protect vs with thy Spirit [Page] against all the assaults & temptations both of the world, the flesh, and the deuill. Let not the flesh allure vs, let not the world bewitch vs, let not the deuill vanquish vs; but grant good God, that by the mediation of Christ, and the assistance of thy blessed Spirit, against all these we may be more then conquerours.
Wee thanke thee O Lord that thou hast preserued vs to this present houre; and because the time of our pilgrimage here on earth is but short, Lord giue vs grace to spend it in thy feare: teach vs to number our dayes, and that little time we haue to liue to bestow it wisely. And for as much as thy Kingdome O Christ is not of this world, neither consisteth in meat, or [Page] drinke, but in righteousnesse, and peace, and ioy in the holy Ghost, grant O heauenly Father, that we renouncing this world, and crucifying the lusts of this sinfull life, and being borne anew by thy Word and holy Spirit, setting our affections vpon things aboue, and hauing our conuersation in heauen, may after this life ended obtaine the inheritance of eternall life, and rest with thee and thy Sonne Christ in the Kingdom of Heauen for euer and euer. Amen.
Our Father which art &c.
An Euening Prayer.
OH eternall and euer-liuing God; most holy, and iust; most omnipotent, gracious, mercifull, and louing Father, and my only Lord and Sauiour; I a wretched and sinfull creature, thy vnworthy seruant, yea, rather the seruant of sinne, and bondslaue of iniquitie, the sonne of Adam, yet through Christ my Sauiour and his righteousnesse, thy adopted childe, and a member of his mysticall body: [Page] Doe here humbly prostrate my soule, and cast down my self before thy footstoole & mercy-seate (oh euer-liuing Redeemer) acknowledging and confessing from the bottome of my heart mine owne vnrighteousnesse, and manifold sinnes and transgressions, my disobedience and rebellion this day committed against thy holy and sacred Maiesty, my contempt of thy Word & Commandements, my vaine conuersation and corrupt affections, my continuall breach of thy most holy and reuealed Will, in thought, word, and deed, whereby I haue deserued thy iust iudgements and wrathfull indignation to be poured downe vpon me, vile and wretched sinner, and vtterly to be cast out [Page] of thy sight, and to be deliuered to Satan my deadly enemy, who daily and hourely laboureth to win me from thee, and to cast me into vtter darknesse, where there is nothing but weeping and gnashing of teeth. O Lord my deseruings doe astonish my heart, and dazell mine eyes, that I dare not looke vp to heauen; my sinnes doe presse me downe to the depth and bottomlesse pit of hell; my conscience doth challenge mee a thousand waies, for offending thee so good and so gracious a God: My ghostly enemie is a roareing and a ramping Lyon, ready euery minute to deuoure me, is busie with me day and night, he casteth a mist before mine eyes, that I cannot see thy holy Will reuealed in thy [Page] Word, and still vrgeth my sins vnto my conscience, driuing me into despaire of thy mercy in Christ Iesus, and feedeth my fantasie with manifold visions, he troubleth my minde with dangerous assaults, deludeth my senses, and striueth to draw me aside from euery good exercise, and from the fellowship of thy Saints here militant vpon earth. Oh Lord my God, iust are thy iudgements, great are my sinnes, but thy mercy is far aboue all thy workes: for thou desirest not the death of a sinner, nor takest pleasure in the damnation of Soules; thou hast ordained life, and health, and all saluation is from thee. Oh God most high, thou hast giuen vs thy dearely beloued Sonne Iesus Christ, that who soeuer beleeueth [Page] in him, should not perish, but haue life euerlasting. And how can it be, but with him thou shouldest giue vs all things necessary for this life, and the life to come? In him, and for his sake, I thy poore afflicted creature groaning vnder the burthen of my sinnes, and altogether tyred through the manifold temptations of Satan and this wicked world, doe most humbly intreat thee to forgiue and pardon all my iniquities and sinnes whatsoeuer, committed against thy diuine Maiestie; Most mercifull Father, for Christs sake, lay them no longer to my charge; for I am not able to beare thy threatning hand against mee. Suffer not Satan to delude me any longer, nor abuse my weakenesse, not to deceiue my [Page] senses and fantasie; suffer him not (O Lord) to deuoure my soule. Oh sweet Sauiour Christ, thou fountaine of liuing waters, and that true brazen Serpent that healest all infirmities, and the sting of that fiery Serpent that hath wounded my conscience: thou which callest vnto thee all those that trauell and are heauie loaden with the burthen of their sins and feeling of their infirmities, promising them ease in Conscience, and Rest vnto their soules: I most wretched and vile sinner, meekely beseech thee, euen for thy promise sake, that thou wilt receiue me, and ease my burthen which is too heauie vpon me day and night. Oh thou sweet Samaritan, poure thy Wine and Oyle of gladnesse [Page] into my wounded heart; giue me to drinke of the water of life, that whoso drinketh freely shall neuer thirst againe, euen of the fountaine of euer-liuing waters. (Oh sweet Iesu) thou Lyon of the Tribe of Iuda, preserue my soule, and deliuer it from the mouth of the rouring Lyon. Oh holy Spirit, proceeding from the Father and the Sonne; thou Comforter of Gods Elect, worke in my heart a true and liualy faith, whereby I may quench all the fiery darts of the deuill, and may with-stand all his assaults. (Oh Lord) I doe confesse it is my weaknesse that maketh him so strong; my cowardlinesse that maketh him so ventrous; my bashfulnesse that maketh him bold. And therefore (O Lord) I [Page] humbly poure out my soule before thee this night, praying thee to increase my faith, to strengthen me in the inward man, to arme me with thy spirituall armour; giue mee strength and power I beseech thee most blessed Trinitie, to fight valiantly against Satan, and wisely to preuent all his practises against me. And here (O Lord) according as I am bound, I render vnto thee all possible praise and thankes for all those blessings and benefits which thou so graciously and plentifully hast bestowed on my soule and body, for this life, and that which is to come; namely, for my Election, Creation, Redemption, Vocation, Iustification, Sanctification, and continuall preseruation vntill this present day and [Page] houre, and for the firme hope of Glorification; and likewise, for my health, wealth, foode, raiment and prosperity: more especially, for that thou hast defended me this day now past from all dangers both of soule and body; defend me, O Lord, this night, and likewise all the rest of my daies and nights, I haue to liue in the pilgrimage of this sinfull world, that so hauing victory through Christ I may sing vnto thee the blessed Trinitie, All Honour, Praise, Glory, Power, Might and Maiesty, be to the Father, the Sonne, and the Holy Ghost, both now and for euer. Amen.
Our father which art in heauen, &c.
And so my soule, this night, into thy hands I commit.