Read after, O Lord open thou our lips, &c. these Psalmes; Psal. 95. Psal. 96. Psal. 122. 126. 133. 136. Being all short Psalmes.

Then

• 1. Lesson, Jerem. 31.
• 2. Lesson, Matth. 24.

Adde to the Collects this Prayer.

WE humbly acknowledge be­fore thee, O most merci­full father, that all the punishments which are threatned in thy Law, might justly have fallen upon us, by [Page 2] reason of our great transgressions, and hardnesse of heart. It was most just, O Lord, that thou didst lately threaten us with a pulling back and withdraw­ing of all those Spirituall Graces and Temporall Blessings, wherewith this Island did flow and abound above all the nations of the earth: It was most just (and our sins did well deserve it) that thou, by withdrawing the Coope­ration of thy holy Spirit, shouldest suf­fer our Faith to grow weak and feeble, our Charity cold, our hope wavering and without foundation, our hearing of thy holy word, our partaking of thy blessed Sacraments, our Praying and Invocating of thy sacred Name, to be­come in both Priest and People, for want of true Devotion and the in­ward guidance of thy Spirit, but as it were so many outward Fashions, Forms, and Complements. And espe­cially most agreeable it was unto all the Rules of thy Divine Justice, that from those in whom these Spirituall could not be found, thy Temporall blessings should be withdrawn: That our Plen­tie [Page 3] should be turned into Want and Fa­mine, our Health into Sicknesses, Plagues, and Pestilences, and our long Peace (the Crown of all these blessings, and the Envie of all the Nations round about us) into the worst and most mi­serable of all Wars, a Civil War, a War of Christian against Christian, Neighbours against Neighbours, Bre­thren against Brethren, a War of E­phraim against Manasseh, of Manasseh against Ephraim, and of both these against thy Judah.

But the more justly, O Lord, thou mightest have visited us in this thy fury and anger, the more are we, dust and ashes, worms & no men, most wretched and miserable sinners, bound to praise and blesse thy holy Name for thy un­speakable goodnesse and mercies shewed unto us at this time: That it hath pleased thee, upon our weak and un­worthy humiliation, to begin some small measure and degree of Reforma­tion in us, to plant in our hearts some more sense and feeling of thy spirituall Graces, some more steadinesse of Faith, [Page 4] fervencie of Love, assurance of Hope, Zeal in Prayer, Devotion in the Hear­ing of thy holy Word, and in the recei­ving and administring of those hea­venly Seals and Pledges of the same. And by and by after, as delighted with these green and raw fruits, which thine own hand had planted, to reward and crown them, unripned as they be, with great abundance of temporall blessings, with Corn, and Wine, and Oyl, with good times and seasons, with a shew rather then any showre of Diseases, which serve only to keep us awake, that we fall not into that former drowsi­nesse and forgetfulnes of our selves and thee.

But especially, as a strong fence and hedge to compasse in and preserve all these outward Blessings, thou hast gi­ven us a speedy and a happy Union and Peace with all our Neighbours and Brethren of this Island, making us a multitude of one Heart and of one Soul, as thou hadst before made us a multitude of one Lord, one Faith, and one Baptisme. The which thy great [Page 5] work of Union thou hast thus atchie­ved and effected, not (as thou mightest have done) by putting a sword into the hand of the stronger to devour the wea­ker, but by sending down thy holy Spi­rit, the Spirit of Wisdom and Under­standing, the Spirit of Counsell and Providence, into the Hearts of our Gra­cious King, and the Peers and Com­mons now assembled in Parliament, thus by a wise and timely disposing of a few drops of our trash and worldly [...]elf, to prevent the unnaturall spilling of whole Cha [...]els and Rivers of Chri­stian blood, to the great danger and ha­zard of so many bodies and souls.

For these thy great and unspeakable mercies, O Lord, we p [...]aise thee, [...]e blesse thee, we worship thee, we glorifie thee, we give thanks unto thee for thy great glory, O Lord God heavenly King, God the Father Almighty, the onely begotten Son Jesus Christ; to whom with the Holy Ghost be all praise, honour and glory this day par­ticularly, and withall for evermore.

Lastly, that we may be the better [Page 6] disposed to take thy prayses into our mouths, plant in our hearts a true de­sire to be reformed. Convert us, O Lord, that we may be converted. Per­fect this work of sanctification which thou hast begun in us. Encrease our Faith, enflame our Charity, strengthen our Hope, kindle our Devotion in the hearing, & our rare in the practising of thy holy Word. Seal up all these graces in our Souls by the reverent and aw­full receiving of thy holy Sacraments, make us to run the wayes of thy Com­mandments, now that thou hast set our hearts at liberty. And let these spiri­tuall, O heavenly Father; be unto thee a further occasion to pour upon us more and more of thy temporall Blessings; by preserving our King, Queen and the Royall Issue, in all health and prospe­rity, by increasing more and more the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding upon the Lords and Commons assem­bled in Parliament, by a stronger knit­ting and uniting of the Hearts of all these Nations one with another, which thou hast thus united under one Crown [Page 7] and Scepter, and by increasing our thankfulnesse and acknowledgement unto thee, in some measure and propor­tion of this increase of thy favours and mercies towards us: That so we may (as much as flesh and blood is permit­ted to do) begin the Church Trium­phant in this Church Militant, and practice those Praises here on earth, which we shall more perfectly sing out in the kingdom of Heaven, by the Grace and Merits of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To whom with the Father, and the Holy Ghost, thee Persons, and one Eternall, Everli­ving God, be all honour, glory, praise and dominion this day especially, and withall for evermore. Amen.