A Preparatory Prayer.
O Lord, I find in that Book of thine, which cannot deceive me, That the oftner thy servant Abraham prayed, the more he got ground upon Thee; and came at last to that holy Confidence, as not only to Pray to Thee for Himself, but to be importunate, and press thee in the behalf of others.
Lord, I confess my Case is different: For Abraham was the Father of the Faithfull; But I am not worthy to be reckoned [Page 220] among his Children. He had the Honour to be called thy Friend; but My sins have been such, that, unless Thy Mercy intercede, may make thee look upon me as thine Enemy.
He prayed to Thee for a People of whose sins he was not Partaker; But my address is to Thee for them, in whose iniquities I am involved, & have some way or other deeply contributed to the hastning and bringing down those terrible Judgements of Thine, which now lie so heavie on us: So that alas! I am unworthy to appear before Thee for My self; and how shall I then dare to supplicate Thee for Others?
O that there were a Moses to stand in the Gap to turn away thy wrathfull Indignation from us! O that there were a David, a Daniel, a Ieremy to pour out their souls before Thee!
Yet hear Me, O my God; For [Page 221] though these Holy Saints have now no being upon Earth; Yet their Prayers remain upon Record, for every soul that mourns in Secret, to make use of
O Holy and Blessed Spirit, kindle but the same Fervency in my Heart (while I repeat their Words) as was in Them; And I know I shall be Heard.
I. King David's Prayer for the Church and People.
O God, wherefore art thou absent from us so long? why is thy wrath so hot against the sheep of thy pasture?
O think upon thine Inheritance, which thou hast purchased, and Redeemed of old.
Lift up thy feet, that thou mayst utterly destroy every Enemy that hath done Evil in thy Sanctuary.
For behold, they break down all the ca [...]ed Works thereof, with Axes and Hammers.
Yea, they have said in their hearts, Let us make havock of them altogether; And thus have they designed to ruin all [Page 223] the Houses of God in the land.
But O God, how long shall the Adversary do this dishonour? how long shall the Enemy Blaspheme thy Name, for ever?
Arise, O God, maintain thine own Cause; Remember how the Foolish man blasphemeth thee daily.
But, O deliver not the soul of thy Turtle Dove into their Hands: For the Presumption of them that hate. Thee, increaseth more and more.
O God make speed to save us.
O Lord make haste to help us.
II.
O Lord God of Hosts, how long wilt thou be angry with thy People that Prayeth?
How long wilt thou feed us with the Bread of Tears? and give us plenteousnesse of Tears to drink?
O Turn us again, Thou God of Hosts; shew us the Light of thy Countenance, and we shall be whole.
Remember that Thou didst once plant a Vine amongst us: And when it had taken Root, it filled the Land.
Our Hills were covered with the shadow of it: and the Boughs thereof were like the Goodly Cedar Trees.
But now, thou hast broken down her Hedge, so that all they that go by, pluck off her Grapes.
The wild Boar of the Wood [Page 225] doth root it up, and the Beasts of the Field devour it.
Yet turn us again, O Lord God of Hosts; shew us the Light of thy Countenance, and we shall be whole.
For we will not go back from thee; O let us live, and we shall [...]ll upon thy Name.
O God make speed to save us.
O Lord make haste to help us.
III.
HOld not thy Tongue; O God, keep not still silence; Refrain not thy self, O God.
For [...]o Thine Enemies make a murmuring, and they that hate Thee, have lift up their Head.
They have imagined craftily against thy People, and have taken Counsell against thy secret ones.
Behold they have cast their heads [Page 226] together with one Consent, and are Confederate against Thee.
They have said, Come let us root them out that they may be no more a People, and that their Name may be no more in remembrance.
They come daily round about [...] like Water, and compasse us on every side.
But, O my God, make them like unto a Wheel, and as the stubble before the Wind:
Who say, Let us take unto Our selves the Houses of God in Possession
O make their Faces ashamed, O Lord, that they may seek Thy Name.
O God make speed to save us.
O Lord make haste to help us.
IV.
O God thou hast cast us out, and scattered us abroad; Thou hast been displeased at us, O Turn thee unto us again.
Thou hast moved the Land and divided it: O heal the sores thereof, for it shaketh.
Thou hast shewn Thy People heavy things, and given us a Drink of Deadly Wine.
Thou hast made us to turn our backs upon our Enemies, so that they which hate Us spoil our Goods.
Thou makest us to be rebuked of our Neighbours, to be laugh'd to scorn, and to be had in derision of them that are round about us.
But though all this be come upon us, yet do we not forget Thee, nor [...]ave our selves frowardly in Thy Co [...]ant.
[Page 228] Our heart is not turned back, nor our steps gone out of thy Way.
No, not when thou hast smitten us into the place of Dragons and covered us with the shadow of Death.
Up Lord, Why sleepest thou? Awake, and be not absent from Us for ever?
But O why hidest Thou Thy Face; and forgettest our Misery and Trouble?
For our soul is brought low, even unto the Dust, and our Belly [...]eaveth unto the ground.
Arise, help us and deliver us for Thy Mercies sake.
O God make speed to save us.
O Lord make haste to help us.
King David's Tears.
O My God, why hast thou forsaken Thine Anointed, and art displeased with him?
For Lo Thou hast broken the Covenant of thy servant; and cast his Crown to the Ground.
Thou hast overthrown all his Hedges, and broken down his strong holds.
So that all they that go by spoil him, and he is become a Rebuke to his Neighbours.
For thou hast set up the Right hand of his Enemies, and made all his Adversaries to rejoyce.
Thou hast put out his Glory, and hast cast his Throne down to the Ground.
The Dayes of his Youth hast Thou seasoned with Bitternesse, and covered him with dishonor.
[Page 230] But Lord, how long wilt thou [...]ide thy self, for Ever? and shall thy Wrath still burn like Fire?
Remember, O Lord, the rebuke that Thy Servant hath, and how he doth bear in his Bosom, the Rebukes of many People
And let his Adversaries be clothed with sham; But upon his Head let his Crown flourish.
O help him against his Enemies; for vain is the help of Man.
O God make speed to save Him:
O Lord make haste to help Him.
Jeremiah's Lamentations Propheticall of these Times.
HOw hath the Lord covered us with a Cloud in his anger, and cast down from Heaven unto Earth the Beauty of Israel, and remembred not his Footstool in the Day of his Wrath?
For Lo, he hath bent his Bow as an Enemy: He hath swallowed us up, and hath not pittied; He hath made desolate the Kingdom and the Princes thereof.
He hath cast off his Altars, and abhorred his Sanctuary, and hath given into the Hands of the Enemies the Walls of his Palaces.
He hath caused our solemn Feast [...] and Sabbaths to be forgotten, and hath despised in his Indignation the King and the Priest.
[Page 232] For the Lord hath now accomplished his' Fury; He hath poured out his fierce Anger; He hath kindled such a Fire in Sion, as hath devoured the Palaces thereof.
For the sins of the Prophets, and and the Iniquities of the Priests, who have shed the blood of the Iust in the midst of her.
For the Breath of our nostrils, the Anointed of the Lord hath been taken in their Pits; Of whom we said, under his shadow shall we live in Peace.
But we have Transgressed and Rebelled, and Thou hast not pardoned.
And therefore our eyes have as yet failed in our vain help; For in our Watching, we have watched for a Nation that could not save us.
Behold, O Lord, and Consider to whom thou hast done this.
O Lord, Thou hast seen his Wrong, Judge thou his Cause.
[Page 233] Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their imaginations against him.
Thou hast heard all their Reproach, O Lord, and all their Imaginations against him.
The lips of thos that have risen up against him, and their Devices against him all the Day.
O God make speed to save him.
O Lord make haste to help him.
II.
REmember O Lord, what is come upon us; consider and behold our Reproach.
For our Inheritance is turned to strangers; our Houses to Aliens; our Necks are under Persecution; we labour and have no rest.
Our Fathers have sinned and [Page 234] are not, and we have born our Iniquities.
Yea, servants rule over us, and there is none that delivers us out of their hands.
Our Elders have ceased from the Gate, and our Young men from their Musick.
The Ioy of our Heart is ceased, our Dance is turned into mourning.
For the Crown is fallen from our Head, and Wo unto us that We have sinned.
For this our heart is faint, for these things our Eyes are dim.
But wherefore dost thou forget us for Ever, and forsakest us so long time?
O Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned; Renew our dayes as of old;
And do not utterly Reject us, be not for ever Wroth against us.
O God make speed to save us.
O Lord make hast to help us.
Daniel's Prayer and Confession in the Behalf of Himself and his People.
O Lord, the Great and dreadfull God, We have sinned, and done wickedly, and have Rebelled, even by departing from thy Precepts and from thy Iudgements
Neither have we hearkned to thy Servants the Prophets, which spake in thy Name, to our Kings, our Princes, and our Fathers, and all the People of this Land.
O Lord, Righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us Confusion of Face, as at this Day; unto all that are near and far off through all the Countries, whither thou hast driven them, because of the Trespasse [Page 236] that they have trespassed against thee.
For we have not obeyed the Voice of the Lord our God, and therefore the Curse is poured out upon us.
Even such a Curse, as that under the whole Heaven hath not been done, as hath been done unto Us.
But now, O Lord our God, according to all thy Righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine Anger and thy Fury be turned away from us.
Hear the Prayer of thy servant, and cause thy Face to shine upon thy Sanctuary which is now desolate.
O my God, incline thine Ear and hear; Open thine Eyes and behold our Desolation.
For I do not present these supplications before thee for our own Righteousnesse, but for thy Great Mercies.
O Lord hear, O Lord Forgive, O Lord do, delay not, for Thine own sake, O my God, and for [Page 237] thy Peoples sake, that are called by [...]y Name.
O God make speed to save us.
O Lord make hast to help us.
Prayers for the King.
LOrd Remember our distressed King, and all his Troubles, Amen.
Let thine Hand hold him fast, and thine Arm strengthen him, Amen.
Let not the Enemy be able to do him violence, or the Son of Wickedness hurt him, Amen.
Let thy Truth and Mercy be ever with him; and in thy Name, let his Throne be exalted, Amen.
O be thou his Father, his God, and his strong Salvation, Amen.
[Page 238] And let him be as the Fi [...] born, and Glorious among t [...] Kings of the Earth, Amen.
O God make speed to sav [...] him:
O Lord make haste to help him.
II.
O Most Powerful Lord God, the only disposer of all the Kings and Kingdomes of the Earth, who for the Punishment of the Crying sins of this Nation hast extinguished our Glory, and cast the Throne down to the Ground, Give us not over utterly to Ruine and Confusion; But bring back in thy good time the Heir of these Kingdomes, like the Sun with Healing in his Wings, to repair the Breaches already made, and [Page 239] prevent the Desolations that [...]reaten us.
And however thou hast been pleased to cast a cloud upon [...]im in the Morning of his Days, yet leave him not in this storm.
Forsake him not, Thou that art the God of his salvation; But look upon his Wrongs, and have Compassion on his Innocency.
O let it never be in the Power of men to barr him from the Throne, to which by his Birth thou hast designed him; But Guide him with those Counsels, and prosper him with that success, as may settle him in his Throne in Peace.
Or, if the Guilt and Wickedness of his Opposers shall still continue to hinder this, Do it after thine own way, O God, with thy mighty hand, and stretched out Arm; That they may both know and feel, that [Page 240] thou art the Protector of Kings and the Refuge of all them, who have no other Trust but Thee.
Grant this, O Lord, for the Glory of thy Name, and the Comfort of thy desolate Church and People, Amen.
O Most Mercifull God, the only Sanctuary of sad and distressed souls, Look down I beseech Thee upon thy servant, who here with bended Knees and a wounded spirit prostrate my self before Thee. For Wo unto us, we have lived to see the Crown fall from our Heads, and the Glory departed from our Israel, even the Anoynted of the Lord, driven to fly before wicked men, and they, who have divided his Inheritance triumphing over him.
But thou, O Lord, how long, how long shall Bloody Designs and Rebellious imaginations prosper? Shall not the Judge of [Page 241] the whole Earth do Right? Or hast thou forgotten to be Gracious, and shuttest up thy tender Mercy in displeasure?
O No: Thou art the same God, who in the midst of Judgment remembrest Mercy. Thine Arm is not shortned that thou canst not save, nor thine Ear heavy, that thou canst not hear. Arise then, O Lord, Arise, Let the World see, that thou art the Father of the Fatherless, and the Helper of them to Right that suffer Wrong. Shew it, O Lord, especially at this time, in multiplying all thy comforts upon our distressed King.
And, as thou hast strangely and Wonderfully delivered him from those who so eagerly hunted after his Life; So let it appear to the World that: thou hast not done this to make him more miserable, or to continue him in the Condition of an Ex [...]e; But rather, that thou [Page 242] hast reserved him for Faithfull Hands, and fairer Opportunities and more prosperous successes.
And though that was not the Time, nor those the Means, by which thou hast designed to restore the Kingdom to him, Yet that thou hast not forsaken him, but that He is still in thy Care, still under the shadow of thy Wings, who alone art able to do more for him, then we can pray for; and Gloriously to bring him back again, by wayes we cannot think of. In the mean time, O Lord, whilst thou thinkest fit to keep him under the sharpnesse of this Discipline, Teach him to kisse the Hand that chastens him, and humbly to submit his Earthly Crown to thy Divine Will and Pleasure; knowing, that thou canst either Restore him That, when it seems good to thee, Or else give him a Crown infinitely more Glorious, [Page 243] which no man can take from him.
Lord, He is more Precious to thee, then he can possibly be to us: Dispose of Him therefore in the multitude of thy Mercies, And let thy Holy Spirit take so [...] Possession and Guidance of [...]im, that among all the Diffi [...]ties of his most perplexed Af [...]s, he may constantly perform his Duty towards thee, and live and dy thy faithful Servant in Jesus Christ,
Amen.
A Letany of Intercession.
O That thou wouldst hear me O God! that thou wouldst so prepare my Heart, that thou maist hear me! that thou wouldst hear me once more, though I am but Dust and Ashes! That thou wouldst hear me for all those, whom by the Bonds of Duty, and Charity, or Affection, I am bound to Pray for!
O Lord hear my Prayers.
And let my cry come unto thee.
The Letany.
THat it may please thee to Bless the whole Catholick Church of thy Son Christ, as it hath been planted in his Death, and watered in his Blood, so it may be still nourished by his Sacraments, and governed by his Word; That the Uncharitablenesse of men may not make the Rents and Divisions of it wider, and that howsoever we may differ in the superstructions, the Foundations of Christian Faith may never be cast down.
O hear us for thy Son Iesus sake.
That it may please thee to look compassionately on this persecuted part of thy Church, now driven from the Publike Altars into Corners and secret Closets, that thy Protection [Page 246] may be over us where ever we shall be scatteted, and a Remnant prefervcd among us by whom thy Name may be Glorified, thy Sacraments Administred, and the souls of thy servants kept upright in the midst of a corrupting and of a corrupted Generation.
O hear us for thy Son Iesus sake.
That it may please thee to be Gracious to Him, who was once defigned by Thee to be the Nursing Father of this thy Church; But for the sins of both Priests and People is now cast out as an unprofitable Branch; And that in thy due time thou wouldst deal with him, according to the Innocency of his Person & the Justice of his Cause.
O hear us for thy Son Iesus sake.
That it may please thee to comfort him in the sadnesse of his spirit, and Guide him in the Perplexities of his Mind, and support him in the straits and [Page 247] necessities of his Fortunes. To raise him Friends abroad, and to Convert or confound the hearts of his Enemies at Home; To do some mighty thing for him, which I in particular know not how to Pray for, and by the secret Working of thy Providence, to make the Stone which the foolish Builders among us have refused the Head-stone of the Corner.
O hear us for thy Son Iesus sake.
That it may please thee to preserve him with an unspotted soul, and an unshaken Faith and that no splendor of any Earthly Crown may so dazle him, as to make him forget either himself or thee; or do any unworthy thing to lose that Heavenly Crown which thou hast prepared for him, and nothing but his own sins is able to keep from him.
O hear us for thy Son Iesus sake.
That it may please thee to [Page 248] shew Mercy to the Queen his Mother, the Dukes his Brethren [...] in Exile with him, and the rest of that scattered and oppressed Family; to guide them thy Counsels, to defend with them with thy Power, to provide for them in thy Mercy, and to make them in their severall ways, Instruments of thy Glory and our Happiness.
O hear us for thy Son Iesus sake.
That it may please thee to deal Graciously with that Remnant left of the Loyall Nobility, and all others of that ruined side, who have chosen rather to suffer in thy Cause, then to participate with the sins of a more successefull Party.
O hear us for thy Son Iesus sake.
That it may please thee to spread the wings of thy Protection over all those whom thou hast made near and dear unto me; to preserve them safe in body and soul from the snares [Page 249] of their enemies, and the iniquity of the times, that no sin may lay waste their Consciences, nor no evill come neer their dwellings.
O hear me for thy Son Iesus sake.
That it may please thee to recompence all those whom thou hast raised to be Instruments of any good unto me; such as have taken care of my soul, and instructed me in the way to heaven; such as have counselled me, when I have gone astray, supplyed me in my wants, comforted me in my heaviness, and have had that high Charity for me, as to Reprove me when I have sinned.
O hear me for thy Son Iesus sake
That it may please thee to let the day-spring from on high, shine upon all those who sit in darknesse and in the shadow of death; who either do not know thy Name, or knowing it, are carried by strong delusions into [Page 250] the wayes of Error and false Perswasions.
O hear us for thy Son Iesus sake.
That it may please thee to confirm those, who as yet stand fast on the foundations of thy Holy Truth; that neither the persecution of the Church in which they were Baptized, nor the temptations of the times, nor the snares of cunning men, who watch all advantages, may make them fall from their first Faith, and miserably wander after their own imaginations.
O hear me for thy Son Iesus sake.
That it may please thee to comfort and raise up those weak and dejected spirits, which are ready to sink under the burthen of a troubled or Afflicted Conscience, that as thou hast shewed them their sins, and the punishments due for them, so thou wouldst shew them their Saviour; and, by directing them to lay hold on his Cross, keep them [Page 251] from a Finall and Everlasting ship wrack.
O hear me for thy Son Iesus sake.
That it may please thee to hear the groans and cries of all those that are Afflicted, either outwardly or inwardly, in body or soul; Especially such, who being oppressed for Conscience sake, have no place to fly unto, nor no man careth for their souls.
O hear us for thy Son Iesus sake.
That it may please thee to listen Compassionately to the deep sighing of the Prisoners, and by thy mighty Power to deliver such, who for obeying thee and a good Conscience, are or shall be designed to death or ruin.
O hear me for thy Son Iesus sake.
That it may please thee to soften the hearts of all unrighteous Judges; who now have the Power over us, and to make them know with trembling [Page 252] that there is a Judge higher than they.
O hear us for thy Son Iesus sake.
That it may please thee to forgive all who more particularly are Enemies to me & mine, all that way have any traduced or slandered me, even to turn their hearts and to extend their Charity to them, in all those degrees of mercy which I desire may be shewn to my own soul.
O hear me for thy Son Iesus sake.
That it may please thee to hear all those servants of thine, who either have the Charity to pray for me, or desire my Prayers for them: But above all, that it may please thee to hear the Prayers of thy Son Jesus Christ, who now fits gloriously on thy Right hand, to intercede both for me, and them.
O hear me for thy Son Iesus sake.
O Lord, hear my Prayers; and let my cry come unto thee. O Lord, pardon my prayers, and [Page 253] let not my sins and mine unworthinesse interpose between thy Mercy-seat and me,
Amen.
A Prayer for the Church.
ALmighty and Everlasting God, who only workest great marvells, shew the express of thy Goodness to thy desolate and persecuted Church, that now sits mourning in her dust and Ruines, torn by Schism, and stripped and spoiled by Sacriledge.
And thou which after a long Captivity didst bring back thy People to re-build their Temple, Look upon us with the same eyes of Mercy: restore to us once again the Publike Worship of thy Name, the Reverend Administration of thy Sacraments; Raise up the former Government of Church and [Page 254] State. That we may no longer [...] without King, without I rie [...] without God in the World. But may once more enter thy Courts with Praise, and serve thee with that Reverence, that Unity and Order, as may be acceptable in thy sight, through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.
A Prayer for the Queen Mother, and the Royall Progeny.
ALmighty God, the Fountain of all Goodnesse, we humbly beseech thee to be gracious to the Queen Mother, to comfort her in her Afflictions, and to direct her wayes and Counsells as may most conduce to the setling of her Posterity here in Peace.
Enlarge thy Blessings upon all [Page 255] the Royall Family, those that [...] driven to fly for Refuge into [...]rraign Lands. Take them [...] into thy care, cover them [...]der thy wings, and in thy due time make them so many instruments of thy Glory and our Happiness, through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.
A Prayer for the Afflicted.
O Lord God, Mercifull & gracious, the only Sanctuary and Refuge of all that are in Misery and Trouble; Hear I beseech thee the groans and cries of all that are Afflicted outwardly or inwardly, either in body or Mind, Especially such who suffer in a Righteous Cause, whose loyalty hath been more dear to them then their Fortunes, and a good Conscience more precious [Page 256] then their Lives: conside [...] them, O God, in their severa [...] Extremities, whether at hom [...] or abroad: comfort them [...] their Distresses, supply them i [...] their Wants.
Let the sorrowfull sighing o [...] all that are oppressed, come before thee, and by the Greatnesse of thy Power, preserv [...] thou them that are appointed to die.
Convert and soften the hard hearts of their implacable Enemies and asswage their thirst of blood, which still cries more and more.
Or, if thou otherwise hast decreed to bring any more of us through this Red Sea into the Land of Promise, prepare us for this passage, and guide us by thy blessed Spirit through the shadows of death. Continue our Christian courage and constancy to the uttermost; strengthen our Faith, confirm [Page 257] our Hope, and let our Charity [...]erflow, even to the forgiving [...] them, by whose unjust Sen [...]e we perish. That so dy [...]g in thy Peace, we may enter [...]to the Joyes prepared for us, [...]rough the Mediation of our saviour, who hath gone the same [...]y before us, even Jesus Christ the Righteous,
Amen.
An humble and submissive [...] postulation with God, when [...] Orthodox and loyall Clergy we [...] so mercil [...]y silenced, by that blou [...] U [...]rper, who by Proclamatio [...] forbid them either to preach or [...] publickly in Churches; or priva [...] ly in Families, not suffering th [...] so much as to teach School.
O That thou wouldst hea [...] me, O God, that tho [...] wouldst hear me once more, wh [...] am but Dust and Ashes, while presume, yet with all humbl [...] Rerence, to expostula [...] with thee the great and Glor [...] ous God, in behalf of this pe [...] secuted and afflicted Church!
[Page 259] RIghteous art thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee; yet Jer. 12. 1. let me talk with thee of thy Judgements: wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?
Thou hast planted them, yea they have taken root; they grow, yea 2. they bring forth fruit [such as it is, the Apples of Sodom and the Grapes of Gomorrah] Thou art near in the mouth, but far from their reins.
But wherefore hath the Lord done this unto this Land? what meaneth the heat of this great Deut. 29. 24. anger?
O my Lord, if thou the Lord art with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all thy Mercies Judg. 6. 13. and deliverances, which our Fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us out of Egypt? did he not deliver us from superstition, ignorance [Page 260] and prophanesse, from persecutions of the right hand, and separations on the left?
Did he not save us from our open and professed enemies? and wilt thou now suffer us to be destroyed by our own selves?
Say Lord, hast thou quite forsaken us, and wilt thou deliver us over into the Midianitish hands of our own Mothers sons?
How long shall Iijm and Ziim, the beast of the Island be let Isa. 34. 14. alone to leap upon thy Mercyseat, which was wont to be fenced with Cherubims?
Or art thou weary of our service, that thou thus goest about to disgrace the Throne of thy Glory, and seemest Jer. 14. 21. to abhr both the cry of our Prayers, and the voice of weeping?
For behold Lord, we have Psal. 126. 5. sown in tears: when is it that we shall reap in Joy?
When wilt thou turn again the Captivity of Sion. 4.
Is it not enough that she hath Cant. 2. 2. [Page 261] been so long, as a Lilly among the Thorns, but wilt thou now suffer the Thorns to overtop and to choak up this Lilly?
Or shall the envious mans tares [...]roy the wheat, which hath been Mat. 13. 25. [...]en in thy field.
If there be a necessity that He [...]s should be, yet, is there any 1 Cor. 11. 19. [...]ity that they should bear sway? yea, there is no necessity but that thy Truth should prevail.
O Lord God, terrible in thy judge [...]s, but yet most fatherly in thy [...]cies; when shall we hear thee say in this Church of ours, as thou didst sometimes to thy afflicted Israel.
Thus saith thy Lord, the Lord, and thy God, that pleadeth the Isa. 51. 22. cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand, the cup of trembling, even the [...]egs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again. But I will put it into the hands of them that afflict thee; [Page 262] which have said to thy soul, bow down that we may go over?
Arise O Lord, and have mercy upon Sion: for it is time that thou Psal. 102. 13. have mercy upon her, yea the time is come.
And why thy servants think upon her stones, and it pitieth 14. them to see her in the dust. It pittieth them to see, that there is none to guide her among all the sons that she hath brought up. Isa. 51. 18.
It pittieth them to see the Priests of the Lord s [...]lenced, and those lips Mal. 2. 7. sealed up, which preserve knowledge.
It pittieth them to have their Teachers removed into a corner, and that their eyes cannot Isa. 30. 20. see their Teachers?
It pittieth them; and yet doth it not pitty thee, O Lord, who art the God of pitty and compassion.
Art thou not satisfied with the blood already spilt among [Page 263] us, but standest thou still [...]ith a sword upon thine Altar?
Must Aarons rod be suffered to [...]ther in thine own house, in thine, Numb. 17. [...] sight, while Corah's and, Da [...]han's do bud and blossom? Canst thou, O God, look on, and see the golden pot ravish'd from thine own Tabernacle? Heb. 9. 24.
Canst thou endure to be in Mat. 5. 14. the Temple, and see those Lights of the Sanctuary put out, which thou thy self hast light up?
Wilt thou suffer the Labourers to be driven out of thy own Vineyard, after their working so long there by thy Divine appointment?
Shall thy House of Prayer become at length a den of Theives; Mat. 21. 1 [...]. and thou thy self stand by as unconcernd? whilst they rob thee of thine Honour?
Thou that saidst to the waves, Mat. 8. 26. [Page 264] be ye still, wilt thou suffer the winds to arise, the contrary winds of false Doctrine, and to Eph: 4. 14. blow against this Ship, which thy self hast so long been in [...] wilt thou sleep in the Ship, while thy Disciples are cast over board? Lord, carest thou no [...] we perish?
When shall thy Ministers tak [...] down their Harps from the Wil [...] Psal. 137. 2. upon which they hang.
When shall they be permitted [...]. openly to sing the Lord [...] song, though in this strang [...] Land?
When, O when shall we see the 1 Sam. 7. Ark of God to return back from the House of Dagon, and David 2 Sam. 6. 14. dancing before it?
When wilt thou open the mouths of thine own Zacharias's, the Priests Luke 1. of the Lord, that were called to wait upon thee at thine Altar, but who are now struck dumb, from of [...]ating before thee?
[Page 265] When wilt thou extend mer [...] Ezra. 9. 9. into us in the sight of those [...]at hate us, who are set over us, [...] give us a reviving, to set up the [...]ouse of God, and to repair [...]he Desolations thereof, and to give a Wall in Iudah and in Ie [...]salem?
When shall we accompany the Tribes, even the Tribes of the Lord Psal. 122, 4. unto the Lords House, there to testifie unto Israel, to give thanks un [...] the Name of the Lord, for the [...]ation of our Religion in the [...] of so many fiery trialls, and the restauration of our Liberties af [...]r so sharp a captivity?
When Lord, shall we be allowed to eat bread again freely in thy House; yea, though it be but to gather the [...]rums that fall from our Masters table?
How long shall it be, ere thou bid [...] look with joy vpon Zion, the Citty Isa. 33 20. of our Solemnities, as thou didst bid thy People the Jews.
When wilt thou comfort us, [Page 266] and say, your eyes shall see Ierusalem a quiet habitation, a Tabernacle that shall not be taken down, not one of the stakes thereof shall be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken?
O how amiable are thy Dwellings, thou Lord of Hosts? Psal. 84. 1.
My soul hath a desire and longing to enter into thy 2. Courts, and to go unto thine Altars.
But Lord, It is not for us to know the times and seasons, which the Father hath put in his own Power. Acts 1. 7.
And therefore I desire humbly to submit the successe of all our Prayers and Supplications, of our actions and sufferings, together with the time of our deliverance, unto thy sole pleasure, earnestly beseeching thee, for thy Grace (which is alone sufficient for us) that 2 Cor. 12. 9. we may cheerfully wait upon thee (without thinking thy stay [Page 267] too long) till thou have mercy [...]on us.
The Lord our God is a God of Jer. 51. 56. [...]compences, and shall surely requit [...] [...]r Enemies. But
The Lord is our Judge, the Isa. 53. 22. Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King, he will save us.
Thou art the Lord; and therefore, 1 Sam. 3. 18. Lord, even when thou pleasest, and what thou pleasest.
Not our time, but thy time:
Not our way, but thy way:
Not our Will, but thy Will Mat. 26. 30. be done.
Thy Will be done in Earth, as it is Heaven, Mat. 6. 10.
Amen.
A Prayer for the Church [...] England.
O Lord, look down in mercy and compassion upon o [...] dear Mother, the afflicted Church of England, to whose breasts thou hast applyed us, And grant, that we may draw from thence neither blood nor wind, but the sincere milk of 1 Pet. 2. 2. thy word of an holy Conversation.
Behold Lord, she is none of those Mothers, which are for the dividing 1 King. 3. 26. of their children; O preserve thou her children, that they also may none of them be for the dividing of their Mother!
Make her yet once more happy in a Moses and an Aaron: in Isa. 49. 23. nursing Fathers to go in and out before this People, and holy Ministers to stand before [Page 269] thee our God: and suffer not [...]e sins of this Nation to be [...]onger, to pull down the walls [...]our Sion and Ierusalem, then [...]s thy goodness and mercy to [...]ild them up again.
O that this Church of England Genes. 17. 18. [...]ay live in thy sight!
For which end, behold her Priests, how they keep silence, Psol. 39. 2. even from good words, which is pain and grief unto them; and are denied even a place between the Porch and the Altar, though only to weep there for the sparing Joel. 2. 17. of the Temple.
Behold her Virgins, how they Prov. 29. 18. [...], least for want of a Vision, the People perish; and her Widdows, [...] they make Lamentation, to see Iudgement begin so severely at the 1 Pet. 4. 17. House of God.
Behold, how she her self, like another Racheb, weeps for her Ier. 31. 85. Mat. 2. 11. children, because they are not; because they are not suffered to comfort their own Mother, and [Page 270] to defend her from all such wh [...] mock at her Sabbaths and s [...] lemn Feasts, and make her se [...] vice and Devotions their de [...] sion and scorn.
O Lord, behold her Afflictions for the Enemy hath magnified him self Lam. 1. 9. against her.
See, O Lord, and consider [...] for she is become very vile:
But we trust, by how much she i [...] become vile in the eyes of man, she 2 Sam. 16. 12. shall be the more precious in the sight of thee her God. And, though others set light by her blood, yet thou hast promised not to despise her team especially, when thou thy self hast washed them in the blood of thy Son.
O therefore we beseech thee, put thou her Tears in thy bottle; Psal. 56. 8. and let not her sighs and her groans seem little in thy sight. Accept of those Humiliations, and graciously answer the Prayers which are offered up in secret for her. Visit, O [Page 271] visit her in Mercy and Compassion, now after the time that thou hast afflicted her, and for Psal. 90, 15. the many years wherein she hath suffered Adversity.
Let that purple Robe of mockery, wherewith first thy self wert clad, and now of late this Church of thine, be changed at length into garments of joy and gladnesse.
Let that Crown of thorns, which was taken from thy Temples and platted upon hers, be now taken from both: and crown her instead thereof, with Roses out of her own Sharon.
Let the Print of the nails in thy Cant. 2. 1. hands and feet, be as the Balm of Gilead to heal and close up the wounds which are made in hers. And let the hole in thy precious side, be a safe hiding-place and Sanctuary, till this Persecution be overpassed.
Though this year be begun in bitterness, yet O suffer it not, to end so. But cause it to be [Page 272] proclaimed the acceptable ye [...] Isa. 62. 1. of the Lord to all that mou [...] in Sion.
As thou hast given unto t [...] Church an Head of gold, so don [...] Dan. 2. 13. let her stand like Nebuchadneza [...] Image upon feet of clay. Thoug [...] she be made to lie among the po [...] yet thou canst cover her again wi [...] silver wings, making her feather [...] Psal. 68. 13. like gold.
Thou art Almighty, and can [...] do it: yea thou art Almerciful [...] Psa. 86. 17. and wilt do it: O then shew he [...] (now especially) some toke [...] for good, that they which hate her may see it, and be ashamed, because thou, O Lord, ha [...] holpen her and comforted her.
Give her instead of a Rent, a Girdle, instead of vain Repetitions, the Holy Spirit and Office of Prayer [...] for the bread of Adversity, the blessed Manna of thy Word and Sacraments; and for the cup of trembling and astonishment, the cup of salvation. [Page 273] Suffer not Pharaoh's thin and [...]sted Ears of corn to de [...] Gen. 41. 24. those full and good Ears, which have sprung up here in Gods field. Neither do thou punish our former (slighted) [...]nty with a succeeding famine of thy Word.
Give unto her beauty for ashes, the [...] Isa. 61. 3. of Ioy for mourning, the gar [...] Prayer for the spirit of bea [...]ss.
Give her the custody of Angels, the Patronage of Kings and Princes, the hearts and [...]ds of Nobles, the prayers and tears of Priests, and the de [...]ce of the whole secular Arm.
O thou that hast the Key of Da [...] Rev. 3. 7. that openest and no man shut [...], open thou the mouths of thy Mi [...]rs, and suffer no more any man [...] them. Open thou the doors of [...] own House for thy servants to [...] in, and let no one dare upon [...] p [...]ill of their souls to keep us out.
[Page 274] And since we have taken upon us to speak unto our Lord (not for the sparing of a Sodom but of this thine own Sion) le [...] not our Lord be angry and w [...] Gen. 18. 32. Judg. 6. 39. will speak unto him once more
Preserve her, and all her sons an [...] daughters in all storms, and again [...] all temptations; in this present storm [...] and against the present and all future temptations, that we may do nothing to scandall our holy Calling, by sacrificing our Consciences to the purchase of our case. Give us innocence mixt with prudence, the Doves eye in the Serpents head. And teach us to Ne devoret Serpens Columbam. Mat. 10. 16. beware of the Dragons Poyson, even when we are made to feel the Dragons sting
And when the winds shall blow fiercest against thine Ark, yet then we beseech thee to preserve the Vessel, though thou shalt change the Pilots; And however in thy secret wisdom thou mayst suffer many of the Lights to be blown out, yet we [Page 275] pray thee Lord, be not so severe upon our justly-deserving sins as to remove the Candlestick
All this, and whatsoever else thou [...]e more needfull for our bleeding Mother, or for any of her persecuted Children, we beg at thy mercifull hands, for thy Sons sake who purchased this Church with his own blood, Iesus Christ our Saviour; To whom with thee, O Father, and the ever blessed Spirit, be all Honour and Glory, Submission and Adoration in all places, at all times, in all Estates and Conditions by all men and Angels, World without End,
Amen, Amen.
A Prayer for the Kings Birthday, May 29.
O Lord God, the great disposer of Kings and Kingdomes, and who in thy Mercy didst design thy servant our persecuted Soveraign Lord King Charls to be the Heir of these Kingdomes, though in thy secret Judgements towards this sinfull Nation thou hast suffered the sons of violence to keep him hitherto from inheriting his Fathers Throne.
We thy unworthy servants are here n [...]et together, upon the Anniversary Day of his Nativity to offer unto thee a gratefull commemoration & our humble thansgivings for thy great Blessing in bestowing upon us at first so hopefull a Prince; And withall, [Page 277] to bewail our unworthiness of having so good and gratious a Prince as yet to exercise his Raign over us; we bewail those many sins of ours, whereby we have helped to cut off the Royall Father, and whereby we still assist to the keeping our of his Royall Son.
However, we beseech thee, O Lord, to grant, that as thy hands did fashion him, and as he was fearfully and wonderfully made in his Mothers womb, so his heart may still be in those hands of thine, to preserve him from all danger, and to mould him to all Christian and Princely Graces.
Give him years of Happiness and Joy, for those years of bitterness and sorrow wherewith thou hast afflicted his soul.
Cause him to know, that the end for which he was born, was not so much to govern others, as to submit himself to thee; and [Page 278] to lay his Crown and Scepter at the Feet of the Lamb.
And grant Holy Father, that that as now he has finished twenty nine years of his life, and Anno 1659 most of those years under the severity of thy Discipline; So he may spend the Remainder of his life, (and may have those years doubled and trebled to him,) in the successes of thy favour.
As thou dost add days to his years; so let it be thy good pleasure to add happiness to his days; exchanging his Banishment into restauration, and his Crown of thorns into a Crown of Majesty here, & of Glory hereafter.
This day didst thou take him out of his Mothers womb, to live here a little time. O mayst thou at the last day take both him and us out of our Mothers womb again, even the grave, and the womb of the Earth, to live with thee for ever, through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen, Amen.
The Ministers Prayer for the People.
O Most mercifull Lord God, and Lover of souls, who hast given Commandment to thy Priests to weep and to pray between the Porch and the Al [...]n, and to cry, spare thy people, O Lord, spare them.
O most blessed Jesu, who art [...]n everlasting Priest, and the great Shepheard and Bishop of our souls.
O most holy Spirit, who dost sanctifie and preserve us, building us up into an holy Temple, for thy self to dwell in.
O Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, three Persons, and one God, who delightest in the Conversion of sinners, and to see [Page 280] souls daily added unto thy Church.
Bless this whole Congregation, and have mercy upon this Parish, who are committed to my charge to take care over their souls.
Lord, I am unworthy of so great an honour, and too unfit for so great a Burthen, yet in obedience to thy Call, I have undertaken it; and I trust by thy Assistance, to be able to feed both thy sheep and thy Lambs.
Keep them always within thy Fold, that they may never wander nor go astray; preserve them from Wolves, though they should be set in the very midst of them.
Teach them to know thy voice, and to be obedient to thy Call. And when any of them shall straggle into the Wildernesse, yet then Lord, do not thou leave them [...] [Page 281] their own way; But be thou gratiously pleased to look after [...]hem; and when thou hast found them, give them a ready willingness to accept of thy shoulders, and to be carried [...]ome.
With thee there is Balm for their wounded consciences: and in thy side there is oyl for for their broken hearts.
Let thy staff, O Lord, be a support to the weak, and let thy rod instruct and correct the refractory.
And so bless them all in their bodies, in their souls, in their Estates, both with thy temporall and spirituall mercies, that, here in this life, they may live in Love, Peace, Plenty, and all Godliness; that so in the Life Eternall they may be made joynt Partakers of Glory, and raign for ever with the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.
[Page 282] To whom, be all honour and glory, power and praise from this time forth and for evermore,
Amen.
The Peoples Prayer for the Minister.
O Lord God, who of thy mercy hast bestowed upon us Preachers of Righteousnesse, and who for our benefit hast appointed the Priests lips to preserve knowledge.
O Lord Jesu Christ, who hast sent labourers into thy Vineyard to dress and trim it, and there to reach us fruit from the Tree of life.
O holy and blessed Spirit, who satest in the likenesse of fiery tongues upon the Apostles to inspire, thy Church, and of whose gift it is, that a succession [Page 283] of Ministers is continued among us even to this day.
O holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, let me never but be thankfull to thee for all these thy Gifts.
Preserve me by thy Grace, that I may never be of the number of those who love to strive with the Priest. And that I may at no time deserve to be struck blind with the dust from a Disciples feet.
Keep me from [...]surping upon the Ministers Office, from defrauding him of his right, from maligning his person, from calumniating his Doctrine, and from abhorring to be reproved by him.
But grant, Lord, that I may readily hear and embrace the Message that thou art pleased to send by him, be it of mercy or of judgement, alwayes saying with old Eli, It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth best in his own eyes.
[Page 284] And here among many other thy servants who wait upon th [...] at thine Altar, bless Lord, more particularly, that servant of thine to whom thou hast committed the charge of my soul.
O never let him sooth and flatter it, but (as I give him occasion) let him discipline and correct it.
Give him Grace and Courage to speak boldly in the name of Jesu.
And since thou art delighted with those that tremble at thy Word, Lord, make me one of their number that thou mayst delight in me.
Let me never stop mine ears, nor withdraw my self from hearing thy servant, who speaks home to my conscience.
But when he shall have wounded mine heart with the sword of thy Spirit, O give him power and wisdom to pour as well oyle as vinegar into those happy wounds.
[Page 285] Lastly, Grant Lord, I beseech [...]e; that he, by whose prayers [...]nd instructions, thou art gra [...]ously pleased to advance my spirituall good, may by thy grace and favour be protected by thy Providence, assisted by thy great mercies, comforted and relieved in all his necessities bodily and ghostly.
And let me never but thus pray for him, who in discharge of his duty both prays and weeps for me.
Lord, grant him deliverance from unreasonable and wicked men, who (with so much danger to himself) endeavours to preserve me from the power of the Devil.
That so at last both Priest and People, the Minister and his Congregation, the Shepheard and the whole Flock, may walk hand in hand to heaven, and be joyfully translated from the Church militant here, to the [Page 286] Church triumphant above through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour,
Amen.
Another.
O Most gracious Lord God, who hast promised to hea [...] the Prayers of others for us, and our Prayers for others, but both theirs and ours, through the powerfull intercession of thy Son. Grant I beseech thee, that I may reap benefit by the Prayers of all such who are charitably mindfull of recommending me and my necessities to the Throne of Grace.
Particularly, touch both the heart and tongue of thy Servant—with a coal from thine Altar. give him zeal and intention in all his Devotions. And since we are taught by thy holy Spirit, that the effectual servent Prayer of a Righteous man availeth much, grant him [Page 287] Lord, to be Righteous in all his ways, Faithfull in his Calling, and a sincere Example of holy life and godly Conversation; That so, those Prayers which he offers up for my self and others, may be the more acceptable in thy sight, and be the sooner graciously answered with thy Benediction and Blessing both upon our bodies and souls: and all for the precious bloodsheddings sake of thy beloved Son, and our blessed Mediator Jesus Christ,
Amen.
Psalms for pardon of sins.
Psalm. 6. 25. 32. 38. 51. 10 [...] 130. 143.
For Protection from our Enemies and from the punishment of sins.
Psalm 3. 7. 9. 10. 11. 13. 17. 27. 31. 35. 54. 56. 57. 141.
For the Church and all faithfull People.
Psal. 53. 74. 79. 80. 94. 137.
For the King.
Psalm 21. 61. 89. 132.
For Peace—46. 122. 133.
In time of Persecution and publick Calamity.
Psalm. 52. 64. 73. 61. 142. 120.
In time of War—43. 144.
Lessons.
| IUdgments upon Rebellion. | 2 Sam. 18. | Saint Iudea |
| Numb. 16. | Epist. |
| Idgements up [...] Tyrants and [...]lse Prophets. | Mic. 3. | Mat. 7. 23. | Mar. 13. |
| 2 Pet. 2. 3. |
| The Iudgement of re [...]ving the Candle [...]ick, and threats of it. | 1 Sam. 4. | Mat. 21. |
| Ezek. 3. | Rev. 2. |
| Threats against Disobedience and Promises to the Obedient. | Deut. 28. | Luke 6. |
| Joshua. 23. |
| sa. 59. |
| Jer. 5. |
| Lamentation for Iudge [...]ent on a [...]nd. | Lam. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. | Mat. 20. |
| Isa. 64. | Luke 13. |
| Jerem. 4. 9. |
| Baruch. 2. 3. |
| 2 Esdras 3. 4. |
| Exhortation to Repentance and Faith. | Deut. 4, 6, 8, 11. | Mat. 6. |
| Isaiah 58. |
| Hosea 4, 6. |
| Exhortaion to Fasting and Obedience. | Joel 2. |
| Jonah 3. |
| Jerem. [...], 3, 7, 6. |
| Examples for patient sufferings, and Exhortations thereto. | 2 Sam. 15. | Heb. 12. |
| 2 Mac. 6, 7. | 1 Pet. [...], 3, 4. |
| Jam. 4, 5. |
| Temporary Prosperity and Eternall Punishment of the wicked. | Job 21. Jer. 12. | Act. 12. |
| Habbac. 1. |
| Mal. 3. |
| Wisdom 5. |
| Persecution of the Church. | Exod. 5. | Revel. 12, 13. |
| Comforts to the Penitent and Holy. | Ezek. 9. | Mat. 5. |
| Revel. 7. |
Some Prayers for the King and Church, &c. heretofore printed. A Prayer for the King.
O Lord God, who hast commanded us to pray for Kings, and all that be in Authority, that under them we [...]ay lead a quiet and peaceable [...]fe in all godliness and honesty; [...]esse thy Servant our King, [...]at he may use that Sword [...]ou hast put into his hands, for [...]e protection and reward of [...]he good, and the punishment [...]f them that do evill, and give grace unto us, and all other his Subjects to fear, reverence, and [...]bey him as thy Minister, not [...]nly for wrath, but for consci [...]ce sake, least contemning [...]ine ordinance, we incur that [Page 292] damnation thou hast threatne [...] to all those that resist the high [...] powers. Hear us, O Lord, f [...] his sake, who is the Prince [...] the Kings of the Earth, eve [...] Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
O Most gracious Lord God the Ruler of Princes whe [...] they are in their thrones, an [...] their Protector, when they a [...] in perill, look down mercifull [...] from Heaven, we most humbly pray thee, upon the low estate [...] thine anointed our King; comfort him in his troubles, defen [...] him in his dangers, strengthen him in his good resolutions, and command thine Angels to pitc [...] their tents round about hi [...] that he may be defended fro [...] the hands of all those that desire his hurt, and may be reestablished in the just rights o [...] his throne, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
O God the Father of Heaven, [Page 293] have mercy upon him and de [...]er him.
O God the Son Redeemer of the world, have mercy upon him [...]nd deliver him.
O God the holy Ghost pro [...]eeding from the Father and the Son, have mercy upon him [...]d deliver him.
O God the holy Ghost, &c.
O holy, blessed and glorious [...]rinity, three Persons and one God, have mercy upon him and deliver him.
O holy, blessed and glorious, &c.
Remember not Lord his offences, nor the offences of his fore-Fathers; neither take thou [...]engeance of his sins; spare him good Lord, spare thy servant [...]om thou hast redeemed with thy most precious blood; and [...]e not angry with him for ever.
From all evill and mischief, [Page 294] from the Insurrection of wicked doers, from the frowardness and madnesse of the People.
From mouths full of cursing and bitternesse, from all thos [...] that speak evill of dignities, and from those that slander the foot steps of thine Anointed.
From them that are confederates, and speak so disdainfully against him, and from all thos [...] that hate him without a cause.
We sinners do beseech thee t [...] hear us, O Lord God, and tha [...] it may please thee to look upo [...] the face of thine Anointed, and to visit him with thy salvation.
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to plead his cause against them tha [...] strive with him, and to figh [...] against those that fight again [...] him.
That it may please thee to hear him in these dayes of his trouble, and to send him help from thy Sanctuary.
That it may please thee to arise and maintain his cause, and to remember how the foolish man blasphemeth thee daily.
That it may please thee to give him patience in this time of adversi [...]y, untill the pit be digged up for the ungodly.
That it may please thee in the multitude of the sorrows that he hath in his heart, to let thy comforts refresh his soul.
That it may please thee not to deliver him over to the will of his adversaries, nor to false witnesses risen up against him; or to such as speak wrong.
[Page 296] That it may please thee, to defend him under thy wings, and that thy faithfulnesse and truth may be his Shield and Buckler.
That it may please thee to satisfie him with thy mercy, and that soon, so that he and we may rejoyce all the dayes of our life.
We beseech thee to hear us good Lord.
A Prayer For the Church.
LOrd, who hast promised to thine Apostles to be with them alwayes unto the end of the world, and for a supply of their mortality, hast in thy gracious providence over thy Church, continued a perpetuall succession of Bishops and Pastors to feed their severall Flocks, whereof the Holy Ghost hath made them overseers: Inspire them by thy grace, that their lips may preserve knowledge, and the people seek thy Law at their mouth. Bless them, O Lord, with the blessings of Levi; blesse their substance, and accept the work of their hands; smite through the loyns of them that rise up against them, and of them that hate them, that they rise not again, that they may [Page 298] shine forth as lights before us, holding forth the word of life, till we all come in the unity of Faith, and the knowledge of Jesus Christ, unto that perfection and fulnesse of thine everla [...]ing Kingdome, Amen.
ALmighty God, and gracious Father, we confess against our selves, that we are most worthy of all the Judgements that thou hast threatned against us, these Kingdomes, and this Church, which is now under the Crosse, and neer to utter ruin and extirpation, unless thy mercy step in between thy fierce wrath and our hainous sins. And howsoever the voice of our crying sins hath ascended into thine ears, and stirred up destroyers to root us out, that we be no more a people, and that thy name be no more called upon, nor hallowed by us; yet we most humbly beseech thee to [Page 299] hear the prayers and supplications, with strong cryings and tears which once our blessed Saviour offered for us upon the Crosse, and in the garden, and which he daily represents unto thee. And for his all-sufficient merits, which speak better things than the blood of Abel, hear not the cry of our sins, but the cry of his blood, and therein wash all our sins. Let our great miseries and dangers suffice for that which is past, and let that Oratour in thy own bosome, even thine own fatherly goodness perswade and prevail for us, and purchase our deliverance and safety. Hear us for our selves and others, Look upon us with the eyes of pitty and compassion, consider our enemies how many and how mighty they be, and they bear a tyrannous hate against us. Our goods, our lands, our lives will not suffice their boundlesse ambition: [Page 300] our religion, our souls, and if it were possible, our God, is that they strike at: curse thou their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel. Divide them in Iacob, and scatter them in Israel: As, for us, deliver us out of their hands, and unite us together in the bond of peace, that being freed from our many and tyrannous enemies, we may ever bless thy sacred and holy name, and evermore serve thee without fear in all holiness and righteousness all the dayes of our life, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
WE beseech thee, Almighty God, look upon the hearty desires of thy humble servants, and stretch forth the right hand of thy Majesty to our defence against all our enemies, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
[Page 301] GRant we beseech thee, Almighty God, that we which for our evill deeds are justly punished, by the comfort of thy grace may mercifully be relieved, through Christ our Lord, Amen.
ALmighty and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities and miseries, and in all our dangers and necessities, stretch forth thy right hand to help and defend us, through Christ our Lord, Amen.
ALmighty God, which art more ready to hear, than we to pray, and art wont to give more than either we desire or deserve: pour down upon us the abundance of thy mercy, forgiving us those things, whereof we are afraid, and giving [Page 302] unto us that, that our prayers dare not presume to aske, through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.
A Prayer for the Clergy.
O Most mercifull Father, Lord God of all Order and Peace, who hast appointed Bishops and Pastors to be our spirituall guides, to oversee, and to feed us in their taking care for our Souls: We most humbly beseech thee, suffer not a Rebellious Novelty by violence to remove this most Ancient Christian Institution. Fight thou for them whose Arms are their Tears and Prayers; and let not the Patrimony which belongs to thee, be made a prey to the rapine of these wicked times. That so by the goodnesse of thy mighty [Page 303] strength this poor Church may continue till he come again, who is the Shep-heard of our Souls; even Iesus Christ our Lord, to whom &c.
THe Grace of our Lord Iesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore,
Amen.
A Prayer to be said during these sad times of Trouble.
O Lord our God, mercifull and gracious, and abundant in goodnesse and truth, who dost according to thy will in the Armies of Heaven, and rulest over all the Kingdomes of the Earth, in whose hand is power and might, and none is able to withstand thy Arm; we most vile sinners approach before thy Throne of grace, bewayling those manifold transgressions that have provoked thy wrath and indignation against us, We know, O Lord, that affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground, but it is thou that with rebukes dost chasten man for sin. We confess [Page 305] that we were a wealthy and a carelesse Nation, and our Land was as the garden of Eden; our deliverances were great, and thy blessings were multiplied: we dwelt alone without fear of evill, and were become the envy of those that were round about us. Peace was within our Walls, and plenteousnesse within our Pallaces. But when we had eaten and were full, and had waxen fat, we kicked against thee our Maker, who hadst done so great things for us: our heart was lifted up and forgot thee our God, and lightly esteemed the rock of our salvation. We loathed the Manna that rained down upon us; our Peace became a wearinesse, and we snuffed at our happinesse; we murmured against Moses in our Tents, and made light of thine Annoynted, whom thou hadst set over us. Therefore hast [...]ou recompenced our wayes [Page 306] upon our own heads, and suffered our destruction to proceed from our selves: our wickednesse doth correct us, our backsliding doth reprove us, and our iniquity is become our ruine. Thou hast broken us with a grievous breach: thy anger hath divided us, and thy fury hath dashed us one against another. Thou hast mingled a spirit of perverseness in the midst of us; and made us a Nation void of Counsell and understanding: instead of Peace thou hast sent bitternesse, and hast sent a fire into our bowells; and it is kindled round about us. And now, O Lord, behold, the sword is drunk with our blood, and we are numbred to the slaughter: the high-wayes are unoccupied, and the Travailers go through by-paths: our fields are divided our inheritance is for a spoil, and our substance to the robbers. We [Page 307] are become a reproach to the foolish people, and servants [...]ar rule over us. The mean man is risen against the Honourable, and the fire out of the [...]amble devoureth the lofty [...]dars; our Women are cast out of their pleasant places, and the robe is pulled from the [...]ged; there is no respect had to the Priests, nor favour to the Elders. Thy Sanctuaries, even the excellency of thy strength, are prophaned, and they have defiled the places where thine honōur dwelleth, and yet still the seat of wickednesse frameth mischief by a Law; and it turn [...]h judgement backward, and [...]ddeth justice stand afar off; [...]d deviseth deceitful matters against those that are quiet in the Land. Nay, there is a lying Spirit gone out into the mouth of the Prophets; they prophecy falsely, and the people delight to have it so, and [Page 308] they strengthen the hands o [...] evill doers, that they turn [...] back from their wickednesse. Thus are we covered with a cloud in thine anger, and our beauty is cast down to the ground. But, O Lord, shall thine Indignation be poured out for ever? shall thy jealousie burn like fire? O passe by the transgressions of the remnant of thine heritage, and take away the rebuke of thy people! O remove from us reproach and contempt; and strengthen the spoyled against the destroyers! Bow down thine ear, and consider the oppression of the poor, the sighing of the needy, the groaning of the Prisoners, that are fast bound in misery and Iron. Lift up thy self, because of the rage of thine Adversaries; consider the desolation they have made in thy Courts, and all that the Enemy hath done wickedly in thy [Page 309] Sanctuary. And yet still they are compassed with pride, and doath themselves with violence as with a garment. How long, O Lord, shall they boast themselves in mischief? how long shall they decree unrighteous decrees, and write grievousnesse which they have prescribed? O make not a full end with us, but correct us in mercy, though thou leave us not altogether unpunished. Helps us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and under the shadow of thy wings, shall be our refuge untill this Tyranny be overpast. Disappoint therefore the devices of the crafty; let not the Rebellious exalt themselves any more, and suffer not the Tabernacles of the Robbers to prosper. And as thou hast begun to shew thy Servants thy greatnesse, and thy mighty hand, so continue thy marvellous loving kindnesse to those [Page 310] who put their trust in thee. The Battail [...] is thine, O Lord, thou hast preserved us from the Arm of flesh; yea, it is thou that hast wrought all our works in us, even when there was no might against that great company that came against us. When we were few in number, and there was none to help us, then thine own Arm brought salvation, and thy righteousnesse sustained us. O perfect therefore thy handy work! Give salvation to our King, and deliver CHARLS thy Servant from the perill of the Sword, bind up his soul i [...] the bundle of life, gird him with strength to the Battail, contend with those who contend with him, subdue thou the people under him, and suffer no weapon formed against him to prosper. O deliver him at length from the strivings of the People, and lift up his head [Page 311] above his Enemies round about him, give him the shield of thy salvation, and let thy gentlenesse make him great: put a stop at last to the madnesse of the people, say to the destroying Sword, it is now enough: send us a seasonable and quiet calm: visit us with the joy of thy Countenance, and make us glad according to the dayes wherein thou hast afflicted us. O restore to us our solemn Assemblies: bring us back into thy Courts to praise thee, and let us once more worship thee in the beauty of thy holinesse! Save us, O Lord, from our Enemies, and from the hands of all that hate us. That so we may serve thee without fear, living a quiet and a peaceable life, in all godlinesse and honesty, looking for the blessed appearance of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ. To whom with thee and the holy Spirit, be all honour [Page 312] and praise, world without end,
AMEN.
A Prayer for preservation from the Enemy.
O Eternall God and most mercifull Father, we humbly beseech th [...] to be mercifull unto us, and in the Riches of thy unspeakable mercies, be near to help and succour us, in all those extremities which our sins threaten to bring upon us. The Rebellious are strengthned against us, by our multiplied Rebellions against thee: and we deserve to suffer what our Enemies threaten, even suddain surprizall and destruction to desolation. But there is mercy with thee, that thou mayst be feared: and there is mercy with [Page 313] thee that they may not be fear [...]. Shew us therefore thy mer [...]y, O Lord: and let us so fear [...]ee, that we may be never for [...]d to feel or fear them. And [...]hen thou wilt correct us for [...]ur sins, O Lord, in judgement [...]emember mercy, and let us [...]all into thy hands, and not into the hands of men: let us fall [...]to thy hands, and not into [...]he hands of ungracious and [...]godly men: into thy hands, [...]nd not into the hands of sacri [...]gious and seditious men: into thy mercifull hands, and not into the cruell hands of thine and our enemies; even for Jesus Christs sake, our only Mediator and Redeemer,
AMEN.
A Confession of Sins, and Prayer for Pardon.
O Lord of heaven and earth, God of the spirits of all flesh, we a most sinfull, and therefore now a most miserable People, do in the bitternesse of our afflicted Souls, humbly fall down at the foot-stool of thy grace, most sadly bewailing our many and most hainous sins. We have multiplied our iniquities into a violation of thy whole Law, having neither performed to thee our God, nor to man, the duties thou requirest of us, so that by onr wicked works, we have denied that most holy faith, whereof our Mouths have for so long a time made profession. These things, O Lord, have we done, and because in [Page 315] goodnesse thou wert pleased to [...]eep silence, how many of us have thought wickedly, that thou [...]ert altogether such an one as [...]ur selves; which either didst approve, or at least wouldst not punish the Crimes that we do [...]ed on. And now in thy just judgments thou hast set our sins in order before our eyes; in the continued scourge of this [...]sting Rebellion, we may well perceive, that the sins we have done, have not been barely infirmities, but Rebellions against thee. In the Rapines, acted upon the substance thou hast given [...], we cannot but consider, that by Oaths and Blasphemies, we have robbed thee of thine Honour, and have oft-times stollen much of that precious time which should have been spent in thy service. Nay we have added sin to sin, so that one Crime hath brought forth another Transgression, and thou hast [Page 316] shewed us even this in thy Judg [...] ments we now feel, in that th [...] present War hath brought forth an infectious disease, and dot [...] now threaten famine to us. We confesse, O Lord, with all thankfulnesse of heart, that thou hast been pleased to sweeten the bitterness of this Cup by many strange successes, by frequent and unexpected Victories, and yet thou hast so allayed each favour of thine hand, with the mixture of some sudden crosse, that herein, thou hast set our Repentance too before the sight of our eyes, and lets us see 'tis mixt with so much coldnesse & Hypocrisie, that there may be as much guilt in such a kind of Repentance as before there was in our sins. Yet return, O God, in great mercy, return unto the many thousands of thy people: do thou accept, and increase in our hearts detestatiō of all wickedness, that our sorrows for sin [Page 317] may be as compleatly perfect, [...] we desire thou shouldst make [...]ur Peace, and that for times [...]ereafter, our hearty observance of thy whole Law may still run along with such sorrows. O let [...]ot thy scourge end in a desolation, nor thine anger go on unto the height of an everlasting mine: But hear us, mercifull Father, hasten the aversion of these thy sharp judgements from us, and let not the noise of this accursed Rebellion be any longer heard in our streets. Scatter thou the People that delight in War, and let the blessing of Peace be upon the Heads of all those who strive and pray for this blessing; and that for his sake, by whose hand thou givest every blessing, Jesus-Christ our Lord
Amen.
A Prayer for the KING.
O Lord God, infinite [...] power, by whom th [...] thrones of Kings are established, and their Persons made sacred; Take, we beseech thee, into thy immediate and divine protection, thine Anointed Servant the King, that no Sacrilegious prophane hand come near to touch him: in all his wayes, let thy Spirit guide him, and thy holy Angels pitch their T [...]s about him; Comfort him in his troubles, defend him in his dangers, support him in his Cause, blesse him in the confusion of all those that rise up against him; shew some token on him, even now, O God, when the Sons of Violence are in the highest of their Pride, [Page 319] when they have joyned Nation [...]o Nation, Covenant to Covenant, and Army to Army, to [...]ull down him whom thou [...]ast exalted, and to Root out [...]hat Religion which thine own [...]ght hand hath planted. De [...]t their purposes, O thou preserver of men, and let not their mischievous imaginations [...]ny longer prosper; but blast [...]ll their Counsells, wither away their Armies like grasse [...]orched by the Sun, bow down a last, their stiff necks, and obdurate hearts to a desire of that Peace which hath so long been [...] abomination to them, That this miserable Nation may no further pursue their own Ruine, [...]d take pleasure in shedding their own blood; but being by so many bitter punishments made sensible of thy Anger for this unnaturall division, may at last be reduced within their first obedience, to the glory of thy [Page 320] Name, the vindication of o [...] defamed Religion, the joy [...] our afflicted King, and the hap [...] pinesse of this yet bleedin [...] Kingdom. And confirm all th [...] to us, O Lord, by the merits and through the mediation o [...] thine own dear Son Jesus Chris [...] our Lord,
Amen.
A Prayer for the preservation of the University and City of Oxford.
O Almighty God, who are the only sure Refuge and strong Tower of defence to all them that put their trust in thee, receive our humble Petition; save this City, this Nursery of thy Church, and thy afflicted People, from the hand of their Enemies. We know that unlesse thou keep the City, the Watchman [Page 321] watcheth but in vain; un [...]sse thou defend us, our Foundations, which are laid in dust, cannot stand firm. We acknowledge our own weaknesse, and [...]t which makes us weaker, our [...]full demerit; But thou art [...]oth the Lord of Hosts & Prince of Peace, able to destroy the strongest Army with an Army of most despicable Creatures, with things of nothing, with sudden weaknesse and follies, with a [...]mour or imagination. Thou canst bring us to the brink of destruction, and call us back again; Look down therefore, most mercifull Lord, upon this Place, and according to thy [...]onted goodness, resist the proud, and give grace to the humble, that run to the shadow of thy wings for succour: Thou that stillest the raging of the Sea, and the madnesse of the People, say to the one, as to the other, hither shall thy proud [Page 322] waves come and no further. Suffer not the purpose of our Oppressors to stand, nor their Counsells to prosper, nor their Force to prevail; But set thy hook into their nostrils, to turn them back, or confound them, according to thy good pleasure and secret wisdome, by which thou disposest all Events, beyond the means and reach of man; But arme thy lowly Servants with Faith and Patience, raise our Spirits, guide our Consultations, strengthen our hands, help our wants, bless our endeavours with success; That we being delivered like them that dream, may praise thee as men awaked out of dust; and having seen and escaped thy Ro [...] may serve thee ever hereafter, with true obedience, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour,
Amen.
A Prayer drawn by his Majesties speciall direction and Di [...]ates, for a blessing on the Treaty at Uxbridge.
O Most Mercifull Father, Lord God of Peace and Truth, we a People sorely afflicted by the Scourge of an unnatural War, do here earnestly beseech thee, to command a blessing from Heaven upon this present Treaty, begun for the establishment of an happy Peace. Soften the most obdurate Hearts with a true Christi [...] desire of saving those mens blood, for whom Christ himself hath shed his. Or if the guilt of our great sins, cause this Treaty to break off in vain, Lord let the Truth clearly appear, who those men are, which [Page 324] under pretence of the Publick good, do pursue their own private ends; that this People may be no longer so blindely miserable, as not to see, at least in this their day, the things that belong unto their peace. Grant this gracious God, for his sake, who is our Peace it self, even Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.
A Prayer for Peace.
ALmightyGod, terrible in thy Iudgements, but more wonderfull in thy Mercies, who turnest man to Destruction, and again, thou sayst, Come again ye children of Men; we miserable sinners, prostrate this day before thee, humbly confesse, with Horror in our Hearts, and Confusion in our Faces, that every one of us hath, more or lesse, contributed to that vast heap of crying fins, which hath now in so high a measure draw down thy vengeance on us; that we have abused thy Patience so long, till we have at last turn'd it into Fury, compelling thee, by our often provocations to visit us in blood, to make us tear out our own bowells, and by a strange [Page 326] unnaturall War, raised we know not why, (thy Iustice and our Sins excepted) to become executioners of our selves, and so to sin afresh in the very punishments of sin. But alas! what profit is there in our Blood? or what Glory can come to thee by our Ruine? Let it suffice, O God, that thou hast thus far rebuked us in thine Anger; but consume us not utterly, for we are all thy People. Say to the destroying Sword, It is enough, and let it be no longer drunk with the blood of thine Inheritance; But look down upon our unfamed Humiliation, hear the Prayer which in the bitternesse of our Souls we pour out this day before thee, accept of our Repentance, and where it is defective, let thy Holy Spirit make it up with Groanes that cannot be expressed. Look upon thy Moses who standeth in the gap, beseeching thee to turn thine anger [Page 327] from thy People; remember what he hath suffer'd, and the heavy things that thou hast shewn him; and in the day, when thou makest Inquisition for Blood, forget not his desires of Peace, the endeavours which he hath used, and the Prayers which he hath made to thee for it. Return all this, O Lord, with comfort into his Bosome. And since thou hast already wrought so much for him, as to bring these unhappy entangled differences to a Treaty, take not off thine hand, till thou hast untied every knot, and cleared every difficulty. Send thy Spirit into their hearts, who are entrusted with this great work, give them Bowels of Compassion, toward their bleeding and [...]piring Country; strike a Sense into them of the blood already shed, and the Desolation to come, which threatneth all if they prevent it not. But above all, let thy feare run through all their [Page 328] consultations, that remembring the sad account, which in the last great day will be required of them, they may lay aside every Sin, and every Interest that may divert them from the wayes of Peace; and by the guidance of thy Wisdom (for in this all humane wisdom failes) find out those blessed expedients as may restore the voice of Joy and Peace into our Dwellings, in such a way, as may be most to the Glory of thy Great Name; the Settlement of the true Religion so long professed among us, the Honour and Safety of the Kings Sacred Person, and the Good of all his People. Hear these our Prayers, and perfect this great work, through the mediation of thine own dear Son Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.
A Prayer for the ending of the present Troubles.
O Most just and powerfull Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth, we cannot but acknowledge, that the manifold miseries which have befallen us, are the due reward of our deeds, and that we have deserved, that the things which belong to our Peace should still be hid from our eyes. For when of thy own free mercy thou wert pleased to grant us a long time of plenty and prosperity, more then thou gavest to any the Nations that are about us, we became weary of our happinesse, and by our ingratitude pulled down upon us those judgements which now threaten desolation to this late flourishing [Page 330] kingdom. And since the time of our affliction, thou hast given us space to repeat, and we repented not; Iniquity hath still more and more abounded. As heretofore thy mercies did not allure us, so now thy judgements have not humbled us to a serious consideration of our misdeservings. Now, O Lord, we finde our selves intangled, and wearied by our own Counsells; The troubles of our heart are in larged; Our iniquities and the punishments which attend upon them, are a burden too heavy for us to bear. And therefore in the anguish and bitternesse of our souls, we return unto thee, humbly beseeching thee, in whom alone is our help, to have respect unto the Prayers of thy servants. O shut not up thy loving kindnesse in displeasure, let not thine anger burn against the sheep of thy pasture: But bind up the breach of this [Page 331] People Let the sighing of the Prisoners come before thee, Behold the tears of the distressed Orphans and Widdows, and of all such as are oppressed and have no comforter. How long, O Lord, holy and true, doest thou forbear to command deliverances? Remember thy tender mercies which have been ever of old, and save us as thou hast done heretofore. Remember thy promise of deliverance to those who call upon thee in the day of trouble. And when the blood that hath been shed calls aloud for verigeance, O then hearken unto the voice of thy Sons blood, which speaks better things; behold the Lamb of God, who was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities. And to this end, regard the sincerity of thine Anointed, maintain thine own cause, and preserve [Page 332] unto him that power which thou hast given him: bind his soul in the bundle of life, let mercy and truth preserve him, and let his Throne be established for ever before thee. Blesse them that are peaceable and faithfull in the Land: And as for those that have risen up against him, we beseech thee, melt and mollifie their hearts to the entertainment of compassion and love; reclaim them to obedience, lay not their sin to their charge, but guide their feet into the way of Peace. Give to those that have done wrong, the grace to repent, and to those that have suffered wrong, minds ready to forgive. And if any shall be averse from Peace, O thou that art the wonderfull Counsellor, turn their wisdome into foolishness, confound their practises, and let their mischief return upon their own heads. And when thou hast vouchsafed [Page 333] to give us that tranquillity which we beg at thy hands, give [...] grace to embrace it with all thankfulnesse, to obey our Governours, to live at unity among our selves, evermore blessing thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise, through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.
Collects. I.
LOrd raise up we pray thee, thy power and come amongst us, and with great might succor us, that where as through our sins, and wickednesse we be sore let and hindred, thy bountifull grace and mercy through the satisfaction of thy Son our Lord, may speedily deliver us, to whom with thee and the holy Ghost be honour and glory, world without end,
Amen.
II.
ALmighty and everlasting God, which dost govern all things, in heaven and earth; mercifully hear the supplications of thy people, and grant us thy peace all the dayes of our life, through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.
III.
ALmighty and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our afflictions; and in all our d [...]ngers, and necessities, stretch forth thy right hand to help and defend us, through Christ our Lord,
Amen.
IV.
GOd who knowest us to be set in the midst of so many and great dangers, that for mans frailnesse; we cannot alwayes stand uprightly. Grant to us the health of body and soul; that all those things which we suffer for sin, by thy help we may well passe and overcome, through Christ our Lord,
Amen.
V.
O Lord, we beseech thee favourably to hear the prayers of thy People, that we which are justly punished for our offences, may be mercifully delivered by thy goodness; for [Page 337] the Glory of thy name through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth world without end,
Amen.
VI.
LOrd, We beseech thee to keep thy Church and houshold continually in the true Religion, that they which do leane only on thy heavenly grace may evermore be defended by thy mighty power, through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.
VII.
WE beseech thee Almighty God, look upon the hearty desires of thy humble servants, and stretch forth the right hand of thy Majesty to be our defence against all our enemies, through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.
VIII.
GOd the Protector of all that trust in thee, without whom, nothing is strong, nothing is holy; increase and multiply upon us thy mercy, that thou being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporall, that we finally lose not things eternall. Grant this Heavenly Father [Page 339] for Jesus Christ his sake our Lord,
Amen.
XI.
LOrd we beseech thee, let thy continual pitty cleanse and defend thy congregation, and because it cannot continue in safety without thy succour, preserve it evermore by thy help and goodnesse, through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.
Certain additionall Prayers.
In the time of War.
O Almighty God, who art high above all Nations, and whose glory is above the Heavens, the comfortable successe [Page 340] of all enterprises is from thee onely to be looked for; Thou art he which givest victory unto Kings, to thee it is all one to save by many or few, thou canst make one to chase a thousand, thou canst cause the hearts even of the most valiant to melt, their hands to be weak, their minds to faint, and their knees to fall away like water. If thou fight for us, we cannot miscar [...]y. If thou favour us not, we must needs be discomfited. O be gracious unto us, and be on our side, now that men are risen up against us. They take crafty Counsell against thy Church, and consult how to cut us off from being a Nation, and by what means to quench the light of thy Truth which hath shined in our streets. Their desire is to imbrue their hands in blood, and to advance their own ambition by our overthrow. O [Page 341] turn their Counsels into foolishness; Let not their mischeivous imaginations prosper, lest they be too proud. O our God, make them like unto a wheel, and as the stubble before the winde, Scatter the People that delight in War.
Go out, O Lord, with our Armies, give wisdom and courage, to our Captains, gird them with strength unto the battell, be with our Souldiers, teaching their hands to war, and their fingers to fight. Assist all the Consultations, prosper the Policies, crown those enterprises with good successe which are undertaken for the common good and comfort of the Wealpublique. Doubtless O Lord, we have deserved thine anger, and our sins do cry loud in thine ears for vengeance, and it were but just with thee, if thou shouldst make us a prey and [...]spoil unto our Enemies; But [Page 342] O, Gracious God, let us now fall into thy hands, for thy mercies are great, and let us not fall into the hands of men, whose displeasure at us, is not for our sins, but for our Profession and Religions sake, and that they may fill their own inlarged and insatiable desire, with those blessings of wealth which thou hast given us; Put therefore thy hook into their nostrills, and bring them back by the same way they came. Let it appear that thou art in the midst of us, and that we shall not be moved: That thou wil [...] help us, and that very early. Let there be no invasion, no going out, nor no crying in our streets. But set thou Peace in our Borders. Make strong the bars of our gates, especially, let the Gospel of thy Son sound yet lowder among us; that by it many Souls may be gathered unto thee. So we thy People and th [...] [Page 343] sheep of thy Pasture shall praise thee for ever, and from Generation to Generation, we will set forth thy glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord and only Saviour,
Amen.
A Prayer for a Souldier.
O Lord, it is thy glory to be called, The Lord of Hosts: and it is thou alone, from whom, when men have made their most politick and puissant preparations, the victory must be looked for. Draw my heart, I beseech thee, from all relying upon my own valour, or upon the strength of the battail in which I stand: and teach me to look upward, and to wait and trust only upon thee.
Thou givest conquest, and thou givest courage: thou deliverest from the perill of the Sword, or else makest death a means of happinesse to thy servants. Forgive my sins, I pray thee, and assure me of pardon [Page 345] by the witnesse of thy Spirit, that the guilt thereof make not my heart to tremble within me, and to behold death as a messenger to convey me into hell. If thou (O Lord) bee on my side, peace being made betwixt thee and my soul through Christ, what can be against me, what hazard can befall my soul? Nothing shall be able to deprive me of thy love.
Let not spoil, or blood, or mine own advancement, be the ends of mine attempts, but make me to aim only at thy glory in the defence of thy truth, and in the good and safety: of the Kingdome wherein I live.
The issue of all things to thee (O Lord) is known, but to man it is hidden: Prepare me therefore indifferently to whatsoever shall befall me. If I die give me comfort in my last breathing, and take my soul [Page 346] into thy gracious hand: If I be taken captive, give me patience, give me wisdom and godly courage, to do nothing contrary to the honour of my Country, or prejudicial to the profession of a faithfull Christian, If I return with life and victory, make me thankfull: Keep me from taking from thee any part of thy glory. Preserve me from those riotous, lascivious, and blaspheming courses, which are the usuall fruits of good successe: let me not think devotion to be an enemy to resolution, or that a religious fear of thy Majesty, doth abate the spirit that should be in a Souldier: but settle me in this, that the assurance of a lawfull cause, the hope and confidence of a better life, by the merits of Christ, the care to please thee, and to depend upon thy power, are the only true grounds of valour, which can give a man boldnesse [Page 347] and life in the day of battel. Vouchsafe me these, and all other needfull favours, in and for Christ Jesus sake,
Amen.
A Prayer upon the strange revolution on the twenty first of February, 1659. when the formerly secluded Members were readmitted into the House of Commons.
O Most mighty God, who sittest upon the Cherubims, be the people never so impatient; and after thine own counsells governest all that is done among the children of Men.
We most humbly confess, that it is for our sins, that thou hast so often changed thy rod, and brought such variety of confusions upon us; that all the world stands a gaze to see what will become of such a people, that will not see the things that belong unto their peace.
[Page 349] But, O gracious God, though we forget our selves, forget not thou thine own goodnesse; for there is yet time for mercy, and such an expedient left as may cure all our wounds, and close up all our divisions; by restoring him who was once designed by thee, to be the common Father of us all, though we like rebellious children have disdainfully cast him from us.
And as thou hast begun already to shew some glimmerings of our future happiness, by unexpectedly dissolving the Assembly of those (Achitophels) who by their dark counsels, have so long obstructed it: so go on (we most earnestly beg of thee) and let not the sins of this wretched Nation hinder thee from compleating, what thou hast for thine own glory so wonderfully begun.
Work powerfully upon the [Page 350] minds of all that are any wayes concerned in the redeeming of our peace; Give them but as much honest courage to do right, as they have formerly shewn in acting all those mischiefs, that have been done among us, O plead the cause of an oppressed KING; strenghthen the hands and hearts of all that appear for him; direct his counsels, prosper his enterprizes, make his very enemies to be at peace with him, and when thou shalt vouchsafe to us our former happiness both in Church and State, give us then thankfull hearts to imbrace it as a blessing from thy hands alone, who hast wrought these great wonders for us, for Iesus Christ's sake.
Amen.
A Prayer upon the Assembling of the present Parliament, April 25. 1660.
O Most great, most wise, and most powerfull Lord God, in whose hands are the hearts of all men, and turned them as thou doest the rivers of waters.
Shew thy power and come among us, and be present at this great meeting, when after so many years of confusion, there's once more a consultation had to settle this distracted Church and Nation; and as there is nothing hid from thee, who seest the very thoughts and ends, and divided interests of them that meet together; so there is nothing so impossible to thee, but that thou canst by [Page 352] the hidden workings of thy Providence unite what thou findest divided, and oversway every counsell and design, and every imagination that shall set it self against thee.
Let there be no root of bitternesse among them which are intrusted in this great work, no thoughts of revenge; No Ambition of making themselves great; no particular or separate interest of their own; but instead of these, give them bowels of, compassion towards their bleeding and expiring Country; strike a sense into them of the blood already shed, and the desolation yet to come, if they prevent it not.
And let thy fear run through all their consultations, that remembring the sad account, which in the last great day will be required of them, they may unanimously set themselves to find out those blessed expedients [Page 353] as may restore the voice of joy and peace into our dwellings, in such a way as may be most for the glory of thy great Name, the righting of those that are opprest, and the setling of the happinesse of this Church and Nation, upon the right basis of that former government, from which it hath stood so long, so unhappily divided. And [...]his as being neither impossible to thy Power, nor unusuall to thy Mercy, we most humbly beg for his sake, to whom thou canst deny nothing, even Jesus Christ the righteous,
Amen.
A thanks giving for his Majestyes safe arrival and returne to his Kingdome. May 25. 1660.
GLory be to God on high on earth, peace, good will towards men.
We praise thee, we blesse thee, wee worship thee, We glorify thee; and at this time, in a more especiall manner, with the highest expressions of our devoutest hearts. We most humbly give thanks unto thee, For that thou hast been pleased out of thine infinite goodness, mercifully to look down upon the late low estate of our gracious soveraign.
That thou hast brought him from so much scornfull neglect, in so most unjust, so tedious a [Page 355] banishment, to appear now so terrible unto his enemies, both at home and abroad, that thou hast blessed him through the sole strength of thine own arme, by thine own way, and at thine own time, so much beyond the hopes and expectation of Man, with so signal, and with so dry & bloudlesse a victory.
O Lord God, heavenly King. God the father Almighty; O Lord the onely begotten Son Jesus Christ;
As thou hast thus begun with thy wonderfull providence to showre down thy blessings upon the head of the King, and upon the hearts of his subjects, so continue these thy favours to him and us; and perfect we beseech thee, that glorious work, which none but thine own strength can finish, the establishment of the throne in righteousnesse, the settlement of the Church in purity, and the uniting of these kingdoms [Page 356] in a well grounded and lasting peace.
And to that end, thou that takest a way the sins of the world take away for ever, from this sinfull land and Nation, the foule sin of rebellion, together with its monstrous of-spring, the crying sins of sacrilege, of perjury and hypocrisy.
Thou that fittest at the right hand of God the Father, smi [...] through the loynes of those sons of Eelial, who oppose the peace of Jerusalem, and that have evill will at ion.
Lord make the enemies of our gracious Soveraigne to fall down before him like Dagon before the Ark. That they may neither have heads to plot, nor hands to put in practice any mischievous design against him. So shall we still blesse and magnifie thy Name, in the midst of the great Congregation; so shall we thy servants never [Page 357] cease to be still praysing thee, and saying,
Thou onely art holy, thou onely art the Lord, thou onely O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high, in the glory of God the Father.
To thee be all praise, and honour, and glory, ascribed, world without end,
Amen.