A choice manual containing what is to be believed, practised, and desired or prayed for; the prayers being fitted to the several days of the week. Also festival hymns, according to the manner of the ancient church. Composed for the use of the devout, especially of younger persons, by Jeremy Taylor, D.D.

A choice manual containing what is to be believed, practised, and desired or prayed for; the prayers being fitted to the several days of the week. Also festival hymns, according to the manner of the ancient church. Composed for the use of the devout, especially of younger persons, by Jeremy Taylor, D.D.

Table of contents

[1]

Title page

TO THE Pious and Devout. READER

CREDENDA, OR, What is to be Believed.

A SHORT CATECHISM For the Institution of young persons in the Christian Religion.

AN EXPOSITION OF The Apostles Creed

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AGENDA: OR, Things to be done.

THE DIARY OR, A RULE to spend each day religiously. SECT. 1.

VIA PACIS. A SHORT METHOD OF Peàce and Holiness. With a Manual of DAILY PRAYERS Fitted to the days of the Week.

SUNDAY. Decad the first.

MONDAY. The second Decad.

TUESDAY. the Third Decad,

WEDNESDAY. The fourth Decad.

THURSDAY. The fifth Decad.

FRIDAY. The sixth Decad.

SATURDAY. The seventh Decad.

POSTULANDA. OR, Things to be prayed for.

A FORM of PRAYER, By way of Paraphrase expounding The Lord's Prayer.

Our Father.

Which art in Heaven.

Hallowed be thy Name.

Thy Kingdom come.

Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily Bread.

Forgive us our Trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us

Lead us not into Temptation;

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

LITANIES FOR All Things and Persons.

I. For Pardon of Sins.

II. For Deliverance from Evils.

III. For gifts and graces.

IV. To be added to the former Li•…anies, according as our Devotions and time will su•…fe•….

A short Prayer to be said every Morning.

I.

II.

A Prayer for the Evening.

For Sunday. A Prayer against Pride.

I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

For Monday. A Prayer against Covetousness.

I.

II.

For Tuesday. A Prayer against Lust.

I.

II.

For Wednesday. A Prayer against Gluttony and Drunkenness.

I.

II.

For Thursday. A Prayer against Envy.

I.

II.

For Friday. A Prayer against Wrath and inordinate Anger.

I.

II.

For Saturday. A Prayer against weariness in well-doing.

I.

II.

III.

A Prayer to be said by a Maiden, before she enters into the state of Marriage.

I,

II.

III.

IV.

A Prayer for a holy and a happy Death.

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Title page

TO THE Christian Reader.

A GUIDE FOR THE PENITENT.

Remembrances concerning the Examination of your Conscience.

I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

Advice Concerning Confession.

I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

Advice concerning Devout Receiving the Holy and Blessed Sacrament.

I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

VI.

VII.

VIII.

IX.

Advice concerning Fasting.

I.

II.

III.

IV.

Expressions of Humiliation preparatory to the following Devotions.

Acts of Resolution to second this Humiliation.

A Litany of Confession to be made use of by the Penitent Soul that finds it self burthened with a true sense of Sin.

I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

VI.

VII.

VIII.

IX.

X.

XI.

XII.

XIII.

XIV.

XV.

XVI.

XVII.

XVIII.

XIX.

XX.

XXI.

XXII.

XXIII.

XXIV.

XXV.

XXVI.

The Penitent Soul having made this or the like Confession, prepares and stirs up it self to true Contrition.

After this Preparation these Express Acts of Contrition may follow.

The Transition which the Penitent makes from the Acts of Contrition to the Acts of Resolution for amendment of life, without which all sorrow for Sin is in vain.

Having thus far made his Resolution, the Penitent betakes himself to Prayer.

After these Resolutions the Penitent prepares himself with an humble Soul and bended knees to beg Pardon.

The Penitent's Prayer.

The Jubile of the Penitent Soul after the sense of Pardon obtained.

The Penitent closeth all with this short Prayer.

FESTIVAL HYMNS.

Hymns for Advent, or the Weeks immediately before the Birth of our Blessed Saviour.

I.

The second Hymn forAdvent; or Christ's coming to Jerusalem in triumph.

Hymns for Christmas-day

I.

The second Hymn; being a Dialogue between three Shepherds.

The third Hymn: Of Christ's Birth in an Inn.

A Hymn for Christmas-day.

A Hymn upon St. John's day.

Upon the day of the holy Innocents.

Upon the Epiphany, and the three Wise men of the East coming to worship Jesus.

A Meditation of the Four last things.

A Meditation of Death.

The Prayer.

Of the day of Judgment.

Of Heaven.

Of Hell.

On the Conversion of St. Paul.

On the Purification of the Blessed Virgin.

On Good-Friday.

On the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin.

Easter-day.

On the Day of Ascension.

On the Feast of Pentecost, or Whitsunday.

Penitential Hymns.

I.

II.

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A Prayer for Charity.

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[Page]

A CHOICE MANUAL, Containing What is to be Believed, Practised, and Desired or Prayed for; the Prayers being fitted to the several Days of the Week.

ALSO FESTIVAL HYMNS, According to the Manner of the ANCIENT CHURCH.

Composed for the use of the Devout, especially of younger Persons, By Jeremy Taylor, D. D.

LONDON, Printed, by J. Grover, for R. Royston, Bookseller to his most Sacred Majesty. 1677.

[Page] [Page]THE Golden Grove.

The Eleventh Edition.

[Page]

THE GUIDE of Infant-Devotion together with a Guide for the PENITENT

[Page]A CHOICE MANUAL, Containing What is to be Believed, Practised, and Desired or Prayed for; the Prayers being fitted to the several Days of the Week.

ALSO FESTIVAL HYMNS, According to the Manner of the ANCIENT CHURCH.

Composed for the use of the Devout, especially of younger Persons, By Jeremy Taylor, D. D.

LONDON, Printed, by J. Grover, for R. Royston, Bookseller to his most Sacred Majesty. 1677.

[Page]TO THE Pious and Devout. READER

[Page]

IN this sad declension of Religion, the Seers, who are appointed to be the Watchmen of the Church, cannot but observe that the Supplanters and Underminers are gone out, and are digging down the foundations; and having destroy'd all publick forms of Ecclesiastical Government, discou [...] tenanc'd an excellent, Liturgie, taken off the hinges of Unity, disgrac'd the Articles of Religion, polluted publick Assemblies, taken away all cognizance of Schism, by mingling all Sects, and giving Countenance to that against which all Power ought to stand upon their guard. There is now nothing left, but that we take care that men be Christians: [Page] For concerning the Ornament and advantages of Religion, we cannot make that provision we desire; Incertis de salute de gloria minime certandum. For since they who have seen Jerusalem in prosperity, and have forgotten the order of the Morning and Evening Sacrifice, and the beauty of the Temple will be tempted to neglect so excellent a ministration, and their assembling themselves together for peace, and holy Offices, and be content with any thing that is brought to them, though it be but the husks and acorns of Prodigals and Swine, so they may enjoy their Lands and their Money with it; we must now take care that the young men, who were born in the Captivity, may be taught how to Worship the God of Israel after the manner of their fore-fathers, till it shall please God that Religion shall return into the Land, and dwell safely, and grow prosperously,

But never did the excellency of Episcopal Government apppear so demonstratively and conspicuously as now: Under their conduct and order we had a Church so united, so orderly, so govern'd, a Religion so setled, Articles so true, sufficient, and confess'd Canons so prudent and so obey'd, Devotions [Page] so regular and constant, Sacraments so adorn'd and ministred, Churches so beauteous and religious, Circumstances of Religion so grave and prudent, so useful and apt for edification, that the enemies of our Church, who serve the Pope in all things, and Jesus Christ in some, who dare transgress an Institution and Ordidinance of Christ, but dare not break a Canon of the Pope, did despair of prevailing against Us and Truth, and knew no hopes but by setting their faces against us to destroy this Government, and then they knew they should triumph without any enemy: so Balaam the Son of Bosor was sent for, to curse the People of the Lord, in hope that the son of Zippor might prevail against them that had long prospered under the Conduct of Moses and Aaron.

But now instead of this excellency of Condition and Constitution of Religion, the people are fallen under the Harrows and Saws of impertinent and ignorant Preachers, who think all Religion is a Sermon, and all Sermons ought to be Libels against Truth and old Governours, and expound Chapters that the meaning may never be understood, and pray, that they may be thought able to talk, [Page] but not to hold their peace, they casting not to obtian any thing but Wealth and Victory, Power and Plunder: and the People have reap'd the fruits apt to grow upon such Crabstocks; they grow idle and false, hypocrites and careless, they deny themselves nothing that is pleasant, they despise Religion, forget Government, and some never think of Heaven, and they that do, think to go thither in such paths which all the Ages of the Church did give men warning of, lest they shoul that way go to the Devil.

But when men have try'd all that they can, it is to be supposed they will return to the excellency and advantages of the Christian Religion, as it is taught by the Church of England; for by destroying it no end can be serv'd but of Sin and Folly, Faction and Death eternal. For besides that no Church, that is enemy to this, does worship God in that truth of Propositions, in that unblameable and pious Liturgie, and in preaching the necessities of holy life, so much as the Church of England does; besides this (I say) it cannot be persecuted by any Governour that understands his own Interest, unless he be first abused by false Preachers, and then prefers his secret Opinion before his publick [Page] Advantage. For no Church in the World is so great a friend to Loyalty and Obedience as she, and her Sisters of the same perswasion. They that hate Bishops have destroy'd Monarchy, and they that would erect an Ecclestical Monarchy must consequently subject the temporal to it; and both one and the other would be supream in Consciences: and they that govern there with an opinion that in all things they ought to be attended to, will let their Prince govern others, so long as he will be rul'd by them.

And certainly for a Prince to persecute the Protestant Religion, is as if a Physician should endeavour to destroy all Medicaments, and Fathers kill their Sons, and the Master of Ceremonies destroy all Formalities and Courtships, and as if the Pope should root out all the Ecclesiastick State. Nothing so combines with Government, if it be of God's appointment, as the Religion of the Church of England, because nothing does more adhere to the Word of God, and disregard the crafty advantages of the World. If any man shall not decline to try his Title by the Word of God, it is certain there is not in [Page] the world a better guard for it than the true Protestant Religion, as it is taught in our Church. But let things be as it please God; it is certain that in that day when Truth gets her Victory, in that day we shall prevail against all God's enemies and ours, not in the purchaces and perquisites of the world, but in the rewards and returns of Holiness and Patience, and Faith and Charity; for by these we worship God, and against this Interest we cannot serve any thing else.

In the mean time we must by all means secure the founndation, and take care that Religion may be conveyed in all its material parts the same as it was, but by new and permitted instruments. For let us secure that our young men be good Christians, it is easy to make them good Protestants, unless they be abus'd with prejudice, and suck venom with their milk; they cannot leave our Communion till they have reason to reprove our Doctrine.

There is therefore in the following pages a Compendium of what we are to Believe, what to do, and what to Desire. It is indeed very little; but it is enough [Page] to begin with, and will serve all persons so long as they need milk, and not strong meat. And he that hath given the following Assistances to thee, desires to be even a door-keeper in God's House, and to be a servant of the meanest of God's servants, and thinks it a worthy employment to teach the most ignorant, and make them to know Christ, though but in the first rudiments of a holy Institution. This only he affirms, that there is a more solid comfort and material support to a Christian spirit in one article of Faith, in one period of the Lord's Prayer, in one Holy Lesson, than in all the disputes of impertinent people, who take more pains to prove there is a Purgatory, than to perswade men to avoid Hell: And that a plain Catechism can more instruct a Soul, than the whole day's prate which some daily spit forth, to bid them get Christ, and persecute his Servants.

Christian Religion is admirable for its wisdom, for its simplicity; and he that presents the following Papers to thee, designs to teach thee as the Church was taught in the early days of the Apostles; to believe the Christian Faith, and to understand [Page] it; to represent plain Rules of good Life; to describe easie Forms of Prayer; to bring into your Assemblies Hymns of Glorification and Thanksgiving, and Psalms of Prayer. By these easy paths they lead Christ's little ones into the Fold of their great Bishop: and if by this any service be done to God, any ministery to the Soul of a Child or an ignorant Woman, it is hoped that God will accept it: and it is reward enough, if by my Ministery God will bring it to pass that any Soul shall be instructed, and brought into that state of good things, that it shall rejoyce for ever.

But do thou pray for him that desires this to thee, and endeavours it,

Jer. Taylor.

CREDENDA, OR, What is to be Believed.

[Page]

A SHORT CATECHISM For the Institution of young persons in the Christian Religion.

Quest.

IN what does true Religion consist?

Answ.

In the knowledge of the one true God,John 17.3. and, 1 John 2. 23. whom he hath sent Jesus Christ, and in the worshipping and serving them.

Quest.

What doest thou believe concerning God?

Answ.

1. That there is is a God: [Page] 2. That he is One,Deut. 6. 2. 3. Eternal,Exod. 20. 2, 3. 4. Almighty: Rev. 1.4.5. That he hath made all the world:Psal. 90. 2. 6. That he knows all things:1 Tim. 1. 17. 7. That he is a Spirit; not of any shape,Gen. 1. 1. or figure, or parts, or body:Exod. 20. 11. 8. That he is present in all places:Heb. 3. 4. 9. That his seat is in Heaven,Isa. 40. 12. and he governs all the world,Job 42. 2, 3. so that nothing happens without his order and leave:Psal. 139. 1, &c. 10.Psal. 147. 5. That he is the Fountain of Justice,Exod. 34. 6, 7. 11. Of Mercy,1 Tim. 6. 1, 16. 12. of Bounty or Goodness:John 4. 24 13. That he is unalterably happy,1 King. 8. 27. and infinitely perfect:Amos 3. 6. 14. That no evil can come near him:Psal. 139. 1, 9. 15. And he is the Rewarder of them that diligently seek him.Acts 7. 48, 49. PS. 2. 4. & 103. 16. & 115. 3. Isa. 11. 4. & 44. 6. Job. 9.4, &c. Deut. 32. 39. Gen. 18. 25. Deut. 32.4. Exod: 34. 7. Psal. 103. 8. & 25. 8. & 86. 5. Psal. 51. 2 Jam. 1.17. Heb. 11.6.

Quest.

What other Mystery is revealed concerning God?

Answ.

That God being one in Nature, is also three in Person; expressed in Scripture by the names ofMat.28.19.[Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.]Joh. 14. 16, 26. & 15. 26. The first Person being known to us by the name of1 Cor. 12. 4, 5, 6. [ The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ]2 Cor.13. 13. The second [Page] Person is called1 John 5. 7.[The son, and the Word of the Father.]1 John. 1. 18. & 3. 16. The third is [The Spirit and promise of the Father.]Luke 24. 49. And these are Three and One after a secret manner,Acts 1. 4.& 3. 33. which we must believe, but cannot understand.

Quest.

What is this God to us?

Answ.

He is our Creator and Father,Colos. 1. 16. and therefore he is our Lord;Acts 1. 7. 24. and we are his Creatures, his Sons,1 Cor. 8. 6. & 1 Cor. 6. 18.and his Servants.Gal. 1. 4. Phil. 2. 22. Dan. 2. 47. Zach. 4. 14. & 14. 9. Mat. 11. 25.

Quest.

Wherefore did God create and make us?

Answ.

That we might do him honour and service,Psal. 145. 10, 11. and receive from him infinite felicities.Acts 14. 15.

Quest.

How did God make man?

Answ.

By the Power of his word out of the slime of the Earth,Gen. 2. 7. and he breathed into him the breath of life.

Quest.

Was man good or bad when God made him?

Answ.

Man was made pure and innocent.Eccles. 7. 29. Ecclus 15. 14.

Quest.

How then did man become sinful and miserable?

Answ.

By listening to the whispers [Page] of a tempting spirit,Gen. 2. pro tot. and breaking an easy Commandment which God gave him as the first tryal of his obedience.

Quest.

What evils and chages followed this Sin,

Answ.

Adam, who was the first man and the first sinner,Rom. 5. 12. & 3. 23 & 6. 20. did both for himself and his posterity fall into the state of death,Eph. 2. 3. of sickness and misfortunes, and disorder both of Body and Soul: we were thrown out of Paradise, and lost our Immortality.

Quest.

Was man left in these evils without Remedy?

Answ.

No;Gen. 3. 15. but God, pitying his creature promised,Gal. 4. 4. That of the seed of the Woman he would raise up a Saviour and Redeemer,1 Pet.1.20. who should restore us to God's favour,John 3. 16. Heb. 2. 14, 15, &c. and to the felicity which we lost.

Quest.

How did God perform the promise?

Answ.

By sending Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature,Joh 8. 25, 18. to die for our sins, to become our Lord,Heb. 2. 9.& 16, 17, 18.and the Author of holiness, and life,Luke 1. 74, 75. and Salvation to mankind.

[Page]Quest.

Who is Jesus Christ?Isa. 9. 6.

Answ.

He is the Son of God,1 Tim. 3. 16. the Second Person of the holy Trinity,1 John. 5. 20. equal with the Fathe,Isa. 35. 4, 5. rtrue God without beginning of life or end of daies.Joh.1.2 & 18. & Joh. 8. 5, 8.Rev. 1. 8. Heb. 13. 8. & 1.8.

Quest.

How then could he be our Redeemer,Phil. 2. 6. and the promised seed of the Woman?Rom. 9. 5.

Answ.

The Son of God in the fulness of time, by the miracles of his Mercy,Gal. 4. 4. Rom. 1. 3. took upon him Humane nature,Acts 2. 30. & 3. 32.& 3. 22. and united it after a wonderful manner to his Godhead;Heb. 1. 1. & 2. 11. so that he was both God and Man. Acts 13.23. He was born of a Virgin,Deut. 18. 15. who conceived him not by any natural means,Mat. 1. 18. but by the power of the holy Ghost, and was called Jesus Christ; and his Mother's name was Mary of the seed of Abraham,Mat. 1. 21. of the family of David. Luk. 2. 4, 5, &c. And all these things came to pass when Augustus Caesar was Lord of the Roman Empire.

Quest.

How did Jesus Christ work this promised Redemption for us?

Answ.

By his holy and humble life,Heb.29.10. and his obedient dying a painful death for us upon the Cross.

[Page]Quest.

What benefits do we receive by the life and death of Jesus Christ?

Answ.

We are instructed by his Doctrine,Read the 3.& 4. & 5. encouraged by his excellent Example,Chapters to the Hebr. we are reconciled to God by his death;Eph. 2. 13, 14, 15. He hath given us an excellent Law, and glorious Promises,Luk. 19. 27. & 24. 46, 47. and himself hath received power to make good all those Promises to his Servants, and fearfully to destroy them that will not have him to reign over them.

Quest.

What Promises hath Jesus Christ made us in the Gospel?

Answ.

He hath promised to give us all that we need in this life;Mat.6.25,&c. That every thing shall work together for our good;Rom.8.28.John 13.33.Acts 14.22. 2 Cor.1.4. That he will be with us in tribulation and persecution.Mat.8.11,12. & 11.20,21. He hath promised his Graces and his holy Spirit to enable us to do our duty;Joh. 6.44,45.2 Pet.3.4. and if we make use of these Graces,Acts 2.38.& 3.19, he hath promised to give us more.Luke 18.7. He hath promised to forgive us our sins;Mat.7.7. to hear our prayers;Col.2.13. to take the sting of death from us;1 Cor.15.54,55,57. to keep our souls in safe custody after death;Rev. 14. 13. 1 Cor. 15. 22. 1 Cor. 6. 14. 2 Cor. 4. 14. John 6. 40. and in his due time to raise [Page] our bodies from the grave, and to joyn them to our Souls, and to give us eternal life, and joys that shall never cease.

Quest.

How is Jesus Christ able to do all this for us?

Answ.

When he had suffered death,Mat.28 6,18. and was buried three days,Phil.2.9, &c. God raised him up again,Heb. 2. 9. & 5.6. & 1.8. and gave him all power in Heaven and Earth made him head of the Church,Tit.2.13,14. Lord of Men and Angels,Eph. 3.14,15,20. and the judge of the quick and dead.1 Cor. 11. 3. Eph. 5. 23. Col. 2. 10. Acts 10. 42. 2 Tim. 4. 1. & 8 17, 31. 1 Pet. 4. 5.

Quest.

By what means doth Jesus Christ our Lord convey all these Blessings to us?

Answ.

Jesus Christ had three Offices,1 Tim.2.5. and in all he was Mediator between God and man;Heb.8.6. & 9.15.& 12.24. He is our Prophet, our Priest, and our King.

Quest.

What was his Office as he was a Phophet?

Answ.

This Office he finished on earth;John 1.18. beginning when he was thirty years old to [...]each the Gospel of the Kingdom,Luke 3.23. John 5.43. Faith and Repentance.Luke 24. 19. Acts 3.23,&c.

[Page]Quest.

When began his Priestly Office? and wherein does it consist?

Answ.

It began at his death;Heb.5.5,7,8, &c. for he was himself the Priest and the Sacrifice,Heb.7.per tot. offering himself upon the Altar of the Cross for the sins of all the World.

Quest.

Did his Priestly Office then cease?

Answ.

No: He is a Priest for ever, Heb.7.24,25. that is, unto the end of the world, and represents the same Sacrifice to God in Heaven, interceding and praying continually for us in the virtue of that sacrifice, by which he obtains relief of all our necessities.

Quest.

What doth Christ in Heaven pray for on our behalf?

Answ.

That our sins may be pardoned,Rom.8.33,34. our infirmities pitied,1 John 2.1. our necessities relieved,Heb.4. 14, 15,16. our persons defended, our temptations overcome, that we may be reconciled to God, and be saved.

Quest.

How is Jesus Christ also our King?

Answ.

When he arose from his grave, and had for forty days together [Page] conversed with his Disciples,Heb.1.3,8. shewing himself alive by many infallible tokens, Psal.110.1. he ascended into Heaven,1 Thes.1.10. and there sits at the right hand of God,Acts 1.3. all things being made subject to him,Luke 24.51. & 1.33. Angels,1 Pet.3.23. and Men, and Devils, Heaven and Earth, the Elements, and all the Creatures; and over all he reigns, comforting and defending his elect, subduing the power of the Devil, taking out the sting of Death, and making all to serve the Glory of God, and to turn to the good of his Elect.

Quest.

How long must his Kingdom last?

Answ.

Till Christ hath brought all his enemies under his feet,Psal.110.1. that is, till the day of judgment:1 Cor. 15.24.25,28. in which Day shall be performed the greatest acts of his Kingly power; for then he shall quite conquer Death,Mat.25.34.41. triumph over the Devils, throw his enemies into Hell-fire, and carry all his Elect to neverceasing glories: and then he shall deliver up the Kingdom to his Father, that God may be all in all.

Quest.

How is Christ a Mediator in all these Offices.

[Page]Answ.

A Mediator signifies one that stands between God and us. As Christ is a Prophet, Gal.3.20. so he taught us his Father's will, and ties us to obedience: As he is a Priest, he is our Redeemer, Heb.8.6. & 9.15. & 12.24. having paid a price for us even his most precious blood; and our Advocate, pleading for us, and mediating our Pardon and Salvaon: As he is a King, so he is our Lord, our Patron, and our Judge; yet it is the Kingdom of a Mediator, [...]Cor.15.24. that is, in order to the world to come, but then to determine and end. And in all these he hath made a Covenant between God and us of an everlasting interest.

Quest.

What is the Covenant which Jusus Christ our Mediator hath made between God and us?

Answ.

That God will write his Laws in our hearts,Heb.8.6. & 10. 13. and will pardon us and defend us,Heb.10.16. & 12.24. and raise us up again at the last day,Jer. 31. 31. and give us an inheritance in his Kingdom.

Quest.

To what Conditions hath he bound us on our parts.

Answ.

Faith and Repentance.Mark 16. 16. Matth. 4. 17. Acts 8.37. & 2. 13.

Quest.

When do we enter into this Covenant?

[Page]Answ.

In our Baptism, and at our ripe years, when we understand the secrets of the kingdom of Christ,Acts 2.38.41. & 3.19. and undertake willingly what in our names was undertaken for us in our infancy.

Quest.

What is the Covenant of Faith which we enter into in Baptism?

Answ.

We promise to believe that Jesus Christ is the Messias, 1 John 2.9. or he that was to come into the world;Matth. 16. 16. & 1. 18. That he is the Anointed of the Lord, or the Lord's Christ; That he is the Son of God, and the Son of the Virgin Mary; That he is God incarnate,1 Tim. 3.16. or God manifested in the flesh; Rom.14.9. That he is the Mediator between God and Man;Acts 1.9. & 3.21. & 17.31. That he died for us upon the Cross,Rev. 1. 5. & 17. 14. and rose again the third day, and ascended into Heaven, and shall be there till the day of Judgment; that then he shall be our Judge; in the mean time he is the King of the world, and head of the Church.

Quest.

What is the Covenant of Repentance?

[Page]Answ.

We promise to leave all our sins,Luke 1.75.Tit. 2.11,12. and with a hearty and sincere endeavour to give up our will and affections to Christ,1 Pet.2.1,2,3.2 Pet.1.4, &c. and do what he hath commanded (according to our power and weakness.)Heb.12.1,2.

Quest.

How if we fail of this Promise through infirmity, and commit sin?

Answ.

Still we are within the Covenant of Repentance,1 John 2.12. & 5. 16,17. that is, within the promise of pardon,Gal. 6.1. & 5.24,25. and possibility of returning from dead works and mortifying our lusts: and though this be done after the manner of men, that is, in weakness, and with some failings; yet our endeavour must be hearty, and constant, and diligent, and our watchfulness and prayers for pardon must be lasting and persevering.

Quest.

What Ministeries hath Christ appointed to help us in this duty?

Answ.

The Ministery of the Word and Secraments,Rom.10.15. Eph.2.20. & 4.11,12. which he will accompany with his Grace and his Spirit.1 Cor. 12. 28. 2 Cor. 5. 20. Mat.28.20.

Quest.

What is a Sacrament?

[Page]Answ.

An outward Ceremony ordained by Christ, to be a sign and a means of conveying his grace unto us.

Quest.

How many Sacraments are ordained by Christ?

Answ.

Two:Mat.28.19. & 26.26. Baptism, and the Supper of our Lord.1 Cor.11.21.

Quest.

What is Baptism?

Answ.

An outward washing of the Body in Water,Gal.3.27.—Eph.5.26. in the Name of the Father,1 Cor.12.23.—Col.2.11,12. Son,Rom.6.4.—Acts 2. 38. and Holy Ghost:John 3.5.—Acts 22.16. in which we are buried with Christ in his death,Tit.3.5.—Heb.10.22. after a Sacramental manner,1 Pet.3.21. and are made partakers of Christ's Death and of his Resurrection, teaching us, that we should rise from the death of Sin to the life of Righteousness.

Quest.

VVhat is the Sacrament of the Lords Supper?

Answ.

A ceremony of eating Bread and drinking Wine,1 Cor.11.23,24,25. being blessed and consecrated by God's Minister in publick Assemblies,Matth.26.26. in remembrance of Christ's Death and Passion.Mark 14.22.Luke 22.19.

[Page]Quest.

What benefits are done unto us by this Sacrament?

Answ.

Our Souls are nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ,1 Cor.10.16. our Bodies are sealed to a Blessed Resurrection and to Immortality;Matth.26.28. our Infirmities are strengthned, our Graces encreased, our Pardon made more certain: and when we present our selves to God, having received Christ's Body within us, we are sure to be accepted, and all the good prayers we make to God for our selves and others are sure to be heard.

Quest.

Who are fit to receive this Sacrament?

Answ.

None but baptized Christians,1 Cor.11.27,28,29. and such as repent of their Sins, and heartily purpose to lead a good Life.

Quest.

What other Ministeries hath Christ ordained in his Church to help us, and to bring so many great purposes to pass?

Answ.

Jesus Christ hath appointed Ministers and Embassadors of his own,2 Cor.5.18. to preach his word to us,Acts 20.28.1 Pet.5.2. to pray for us,Gal.1.16.James 5.14. to exhort and to reprove, [Page] to comfort and instruct, to restore and reconcile us, if we be overtaken in a fault, to visit the sick, to separato the vile from the precious, to administer the Sacraments, and to watch for the good of our Souls.

Quest.

What are we tied to perform towards them?

Answ.

To pay them honour and maintenance,Gal.6.6. to obey them in all things according to the Gospel,1 Tim.5.17. and to order our selves so that they may give account of our Souls with chearfulness and joy.Heb.13.17

Quest.

Which are the Commandments and Laws of Jesus Christ?

Answ.

They are many, but easy; holy, but very pleasant to all good minds, to such as desire to live well in this world and in the world to come:Read also Rom. 12. and they are set down in the Sermons of our Blessed Lord and of his Apostles;Eph. 5, & 9. but especially in the 5, 6, 7. Chapters of S. Matthew. Chapters. 1 Thes. 5.

AN EXPOSITION OF The Apostles Creed

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§

I Believe in God,

I Believe that there is a God, who is one, true, supreme and alone,Luke 6.35. infinitely wise,Deut. 10.17. & 6.4. just, good,Mar.12.29,32. free, eternal, immense and blessed,1 Cor.8.4. and in him alone we are to put our trust.John 17. 3. 1 Thes. 1. 9. Ps. 90.2. & 93.2. & 77.13 & 95.3. & 147.5. Rom. 16.27. 1 Tim. 1. 17. 2 Chron. 19. 7. Psal. 119. 137. 1 Chron. 16.34. Psal. 34.8. & 135.3, 5. Exod. 33.19. 1, Tim. 1.11.

§

The Father Almighty,

I believe that he is (1.)John 8. 38. the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and (2.)Rom. 8.29,32. of all that believe in him, whom he hath begotten by his

[Page] Word,1 Cor.8.6. & 15.24. and adopted to the inheritance of Sons:Matt.24.36. and because he is our Father, Heb.2.11. he will do us all that good;1 Pet.1.23. to which we are created and designed by Grace;Gal.4.4. and because he is Almighty, he is able to perform it all; and therefore we may safely believe in him and relie upon him.

§

Maker of Heaven & Earth.

He made the Sun and the Moon the Stars,Isa.65.17.& 66.22. and all the Regions of Glory;Acts 4 24. he made the Air, the Earth and the Water, and all that live in them; he made Angels and Men: and he who made them does,Psal.36.7,8. and he only can preserve them in the same being,Matt. 6.26. & 10.29,30. and thrust them forwards to a better. He that preserves them does also govern them, and intends they should minister to his Glory: and therefore we are to do worship and obedience to him in all that we can,Rev.14.7. and that he hath commanded.Matt.4.10.

§

And in Jesus Christ,

I also believe in Jesus Christ,Matt.1.21. who is and is called a Saviour,John 3.34. and the [Page] Anointed of the Lord, promised to the Patriarchs,Acts 10.38. & 3.22,23. whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power, to become the Great Prophet, and declarer of his Father's Will to all the world; telling us how God will be worshipped and served: he is anointed to be the Mediator of the New Covenant,Heb.12.24.& 1.8. & 6.16,21. and our HighPriest, reconciling us to his Father by the Sacrifice of himself; and to be the Great King of all the world.Rev.1.5. And by this Article we are Christians, Acts 11.26. & 26.28. who serve and worship God the Father through Jesus Christ.1 Pet.4.19.

§

His only Son.

Jesus Christ is the Son of God,Luke 1.32. he alone,Rom.1.3,4.1. Joh.5.9, &c. of him alone.Heb. 1.5. For God by his Holy Spirit caused him to be born of a Virgin; Joh.1.11. by his power he raised him from the dead,Col.1.17,18. and gave him a new Birth or being in the Body.: he gave him all power, and all excellency.Heb.1.3. And beyond all this,John 5.19. he is the express Image of his person,Phil. 2.6.the brightness of his glory, John 3.25. equal to God,Col.2.9,10. beloved before the beginning of the world, John 17.24. of a nature perfectly Divine, [Page] very God by essence, and very Man, by assumption: as God, all one in nature with the Father, and as Man, one Person in himself.

§

Our Lord;

Jesus Christ, God's only Son,Mat.28.18. is the Heir of all things and persons in his Father's house:Acts 2.36. All Angels and Men are his servants,Psal.2.6,7, &c. and all the Creatures obey him.1 Cor.8.6. We are to believe in him,Heb.1.6. and by Faith in him onely and in his name we shall be saved.1 Pet.1.21.

§

Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,

I believe that Jesus Christ was not begotten of a Man, nor born by natural means,Luke 1.35. but that a Divine Power from GodGal.4.4.[God's Holy Spirit]Luke 1.32. did overshadow the VirginMother of Christ, and made her in a wonderful manner to conceive Jesus in her womb; and by this his admirable manner of being conceived he was the Son of God alone, and no Man was his Father.

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Born of the Virgin Mary,

Though God was his Father,Luke 1.26, &c. and he begat him by the power of the Holy Ghost,Matt.1.18. and caused him miraculously to begin in the womb of his Mother; yet from her he also derived his humane Nature, and by his Mother he was of the Family of King David, and called the Son of Man; his Mother being a holy person, not chosen to this great honour for her wealth or beauty, but by the good will of God, and because she was of rare exemplar modesty and humility:Luke 1.48. and she received the honour of being a Mother to the Son of God,Matt.1.25. and ever a Virgin, and all generations shall call her blessed.

§

Suffered under Pontius Pilate.

After that Jesus passed through the state of Infancy and Childhood, being subject to his Parents,Luke.2.51. and working in an humble. Trade to serve his own and his Mother's needs, [Page] he grew to the estate of a man:Luke 3.23. he began to preach at the age of thirty years, and having for about three years and a half Preached the Gospel, and taught us his Father's will, having spoken the Gospel of his Kingdom, and revealed to us the secrets of Eternal life, Joh.3.4,&c. and Resurrection of the Dead, Acts 13.39. Regeneration, Mat.25.31,32. and Renewing by the Holy, Spirit, perfect Remission of sins, and Eternal Judgment; at last, that he might reconcile the world to his Father, he became a Sacrifice for all our sins, and suffered himself to be taken by the malicious Jews,Luke 22.63.&c. and put to a painful and shameful death;John 18.12. &c. they being envious at him for the number of his Disciples,Matth.26.& 27. and the reputation of his person, the innocence of his life, the mightiness of his Miracles, and the power of his Doctrine: and this Death he suffered when Pontius Pilate was Governour of Judea.

§

[Page]

Was crucified.

Jesus Christ being taken by the Rulers of the Jews, bound and derided, buffeted and spit upon, accused weakly and persecuted violently; at last,Matth. 27. wanting matter and pretences to condemn him,Mark 15. they asked him of his person and office;Luke 23. and because he affirmed that great Truth,John 19. which all the world of good men long'd for, that he was the Messias, and designed to sit on the right hand of the Majesty on high, they resolved to call it Blasphemy, and delivered him over to Pilate, and by importunity and threats forced him, against his Conscience, to give him up to be scourged, and then to be Crucified. The Souldiers therefore mocking him with a Robe and Reed, and pressing a Crown of thorns upon his head, led him to the place of his death; compelling him to bear his Cross, to which they presently nail'd him; on which for three hours he hanged in extreme torture, being a sad spectacle of the most afflicted and the most innocent person of the whole world.

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[Page]

Dead,

When the Holy Jesus was wearied with tortures, and he knew all things were now fulfilled, and his Father's wrath appeased towards Mankind,Ibidem. his Father pitying his innocent Son groaning under such intolerable miseries, hastned his Death; and Jesus commending his Spirit into the hands of his Father, cried with a loud voice,John 18.30. bowed his head,Phil.2.8. and died, and by his death sealed all the Doctrines and Revelations which he first taught the world and then confirmed by his Bloud.Col.1.20. He was consecrated our merciful High-Priest, and by a feeling of our miseries and temptations, became able to help them that are tempted; Isa.53.10. and for these his sufferings was exalted to the highest Throne,Heb.7.25. & 9.12. & 7.18. and seat of the right hand of God; and hath shewn, that to Heaven there is no surer way than suffering for his Name;Luk.23.46. and hath taught us willingly to suffer for his sake,Job 10.17,18. & 12.32. & 11.51. what himself hath already suffered for ours.Eph.2.13.14. He reconciled us to God by his Death [Page] led us to God, drew us to himself, redeemed us from all iniquity,Heb.2.10. purchased us for his Father, and for ever made us his servants and redeemed ones,Col.1.21,22. that we being dead unto sin, might live unto God. And this Death,Tit.2.14. being so highly beneficial to us,John.6.51. he hath appointed means to apply to us, and to represent to God for us in the Holy Sacrament of his last Supper. And upon all these considerations,1 Pet.2.24 & 4.13. that Cross which was a smart and shame to our Lord, is honour to us, and as it turned to his Glory,2 Tim.2.11. so also to our Spiritual advantages.Gal. 6. 14.

§

And Buried.

That he might suffer every thing of humane nature,Matth.27. he was by the care of his Friends and Disciples,Mark 15. by the leave of Pilate, taken from the Cross, and embalmed, (as the manner of the Jews was to bury) and wrapp'd linnen, and buried in a new grave hewn out of a Rock. And this was the last and lowest step of his Humiliation.

§

[Page]

He descended into Hell.

That is He went down into the lower parts of the earth, Eph.4.9. (as himself called it) into the heart of the earth;Matt.12.40. by which phrase the Scripture understands the state of Separation,Acts 2.27. or of Souls severed from their Bodies. By this his descending to the land of darkness, where all things are forgotten,Hos. 13.14. he sanctified the state of Death & Separation, that none of his servants might ever after fear the jaws of Death and Hell;1 Cor. 15.54. &c. whither he went,Matt. 16.18 not to suffer torment,Rev.20.13,14. (because he finished all that upon the Cross) but to triumph over the gates of Hell,Rev.1.17,18. to verifie his Death, and the event of his sufferings, and to break the iron bars of those lower prisons, that they may open and shut hereafter only at his command.

§

The third day he rose again from the Dead.

After our Lord Jesus Mark 16. 1. Acts 10. 40. had abode in the grave the remaining part of [Page] the day of his Passion, and all the next day, early in the morning upon the third day, by the power of God, he was raised from Death and Hell to Light and Life,Rom.14.9. never to return to death any more,Acts 5.30, &c. and is become the first-born from the dead,Col.1.18. the first-fruits of them that slept:Matth.28.1. and although he was put to death in the flesh, 1 Pet.3.18. & 1.3. yet now,Eph.1.17. being quickned in the Spirit, he lives for ever. 1 Cor.15.20, &c. And as we all die in Adam, so in Christ we all shall be made alive; but every man in his own order: Christ is the first; and we, if we follow him in the Regeneration, shall also follow him in the Resurrection.

§

He ascended into Heaven,

When our dearest Lord was risen from the Grave,Luk.24.45,50. he conversed with his Disciples for forty days together,Matth.21.17. often shewing himself alive by infallible proofs,Joh.20 & 21. and once to five hundred of his Disciples at once appearing.Acts 1.9. Having spoken to them fully concerning the affairs of the Kingdom, and the Promise of the [Page] Father; leaving them some few things in charge for the present,1 Cor.15.6,45,47. he solemnly gave them his Blessing, and in the presence of his Apostles was taken up into Heaven by a bright Cloud and the Ministery of Angels, being gone before us, to prepare a place for us above all Heavens,Heb.6.19. in the presence of his Father, and at the foot of the Throne of God. From which glorious presence we cannot be kept by the change of Death and the powers of the Grave,Rom.8.38.39. nor the depth of Hell,1 John 3.2. nor the height of Heaven; but Christ being lifted up shall draw all his Servants unto him.

§

And sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

I believe that Jesus Christ sitteth in Heaven above all Principalities and Powers,Phil.2.8,9, &c. being exalted above every Name that is named in Heaven and Earth,Eph.1.17,22. that is above every creature above and below, all things being put under his feet. That he is [Page] always in the presence of his Father, interceding for us, and governs all things in Heaven and Earth, that he may defend his Church,Rom. 8. 34. and adorn her with his Spirit, and procure and effect her eternal Salvation,Heb. 7. 27. 2. Pet. 1. 4. There he sits and reigns as King, and intercedes as our High-Priest. He is a Minister of the Sanctuary, and of the true Tabernacle which God made,Heb. 12. 2.and not man, the Author and Finisher of our Faith, the Captain of our Confession, the great Apostle of our Religion, the Great Bishop of our Souls, the Head of the Church, and the Lord of Heaven and Earth. And therefore to him we are to pay Dvino Worship,1. Pet. 1.20, 21. Heb. 1. 6. Service and Obedience; and we must believe in him, and in God by him, and rely entirely on the mercies of God through Jesus Christ.

§

From thence he shall come

In the Clouds shining, and adorned with the glory of his Father, attended by millions of bright Angels,John 14.3. Matth. 24. 30. with the voice of an Archangel, and a shout of all the Heavenly, [Page] Army, the Trump of God; and every eye shall see him,1 Thes. 4. 16. and they that pierced his hands and his [...]eet shall behold his Majesty, his Terror, and his Glory:Rev. 1. 7. Acts 1. 11. 2 Tim. 4. 1. and all the families of the earth shall tremble at his presence, and the powers of Heaven shall be shaken, and the whole earth and sea shall be broken in pieces and confusion; for then he shall come to put an end to this world, and

§

To Judge the Quick and the Dead.

For the Father judgeth no man, but hath given all judgment to his Son.Joh. 5. 22, 23. 1 Thes. 4. 16, 17. And at this day of Judgment the Lord Jesus shall sit in the Air in a glorious Throne;Matth. 25. 32. and the Angels having gathered together God's Elect from the four corners of the world,Acts 10. 24. all the kindreds of the earth, being brought before the Judgmentseat, shall have the Records of their Conscience laid open, that is, all that ever they thought, or spake, or did, shall be brought to their memory, to convince the wicked [Page] of the Justice of the Judge in passing the fearful Sentence upon them, and glorify the mercies of God towards his Redeemed ones: and then the righteous Judge shall condemn the wicked to the portion of Devils for ever,Mat.25.34, &c. to a state of torments, the second, and eternal, and intolerabl death; and the godly, being placed on his right hand, shall hear the blessed Sentence of absolution, and shall be led by Christ to the participation of the glories of his Father's Kingdom for ever and ever.

Amen.

§

I believe in the Holy Ghost [or] the Holy Spirit.

Who is the third Person of the holy, undivided, ever-blessed Trinity, which I worship and adore and admire, but look upon with wonder, and am not in a capacity to understand. I believe that the Holy Spirit into whose name, as of the Father and the Son,Matth. 28. 19. I was baptized, is the heavenly Author, [Page] the Captain,John 15. 26. Acts 15. 32. 16. 13.—& 3. 33. 6. 45.—24. 7. 16, 17.—13. 5. 37. 1, 2, 2.—20.28. the Teacher, and the Witness of all the Truths of the Gospel: that as the Father sent the Son, so the Son from Heaven sent the holy Spirit to lead the Church into all truth, to assist us in all Temptations, and to help us in the purchase of all Vertue. This Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, Luke 12.12 John 17. 37. 14. 16 16. 13, 8 and our Lord Jesus received him from his Father, and sent him into the world; who receiving the things of Christ and declaring the same excellent Doctrines, speaks whatsoever he hath heard from him; and instructed the Apostles, and builds the Church;Mat. 10. 8, 9. Eph. 1. 17. & 3.16. and produces Faith, and confirms our Hope, and increases Charity. And this Holy Spirit our blessed Lord hath left with his Church for ever, by which all the servants of God are enabled to do all things necessary to Salvation,1 Cor. 2. 10, 11.12. which by the force of Nature they cannot do:Rom. 8. 14, 15, 16. and we speak by the Spirit, and work by the Spirit,Rom. 14. 17.& 15. 13, 19. when by his assistances any ways imparted to us we speak or do any [Page] thing of our duty. He it is who enlightens our Understanding,1 Thes.1. 6. sanctifies our Will, orders and commands our affections; he comforts our sorrows, supports our spirits in trouble, and enables us by Promises, and Confidences, and Gifts, to suffer for the Lord Jesus and the Gospel. And all these things God the Father does for us by his Son, and the Son by the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit by all means within and without, which are operative upon and proportionable to the nature of reasonable creatures. This is he who works Miracles, gives the gifts of Prophecy and of Interpretation, that teaches us what and how to pray, that gives us Zeal and holy Desires; who sanctifies Children in Baptism, and confirms them with his grace in Comfirmation, and reproves the world, and consecrates Bishops and all the Ministers of the Gospel, and absolves the Penitent, and Blesses the Obedient, and comforts the Sick, and excommunicates the Refractory, and makes intercession for the Saints: that is, the Church [Page] and those whom he hath Blessed, appointed and sanctified to these purposes, do all these Ministeries by his Authority and his Commandment and his Aids. This is he that testifies to our Spirits that we are the Sons of God, and that makes us to cry, Abba, Father; that is, who inspires into us such humble confidences of our being accepted in our hearty and constant endeavours to please God, that we can with chearfulness and joy call God our Father, and expect and hope for the portion of Sons both here and hereafter, and in the certainty of this hope, to work out our Salvation with fear and reverence, with trembling and joy, with distrust of our selves and mighty confidence in God. By this holy and everblessed Spirit several persons in the Church, and every man in his proportion, receives the gifts of Wisdom, and Utterance, and Knowledge, and Interpretation, and Prophesie and Healing, and Goverement, and discerning of Spirits, and Faith, and Tongues, and whatsoever [Page] can be necessary for the Church in several ages and periods, for her beginning, for her continuance, for her in prosperity, and for her in persecution. This is the great Promise of the Father,Luke 24.49. & 4.18. and it is the gift of God,Acts 2. 33, 38. which he will give to all them that ask him, and who live piously and chastly, and are persons fit to entertain so Divine a Grace. This Holy Spirit God gives to some more, to some less, according as they are capable. They who obey his Motions,Eph. 4. 7, 30. and love his presence,1 Cor.3.16. and improve his Gifts,Eph. 1. 13. shall have him yet more abundantly: but they that grieve the Holy Spirit shall loose that which they have;Acts 7.51. and they that extinguish him belong not to Christ, but are in the state of reprobation; and they that blaspheme this holy Spirit,Rom. 1. 14. and call him the spirit of the Devil, or the Spirit of error,2. Thes. 5. 19. or folly, or do malicious despites to him, that is, they who on purpose, considering and chusing, do him hurt by word or by deed,Mark. 3. 29. (so far as lies in them) shall for ever be separated from the [Page] presence of God and of Christ, and shall never be forgiven in this world nor in the world to come. Lastly, this Holy Spirit seals us to the day of Redemption; that is, God gives us his Holy Spirit as a testimony that he will raise us again at the last day, and give us a portion in the glories of his Kingdom, in the inheritance of our Lord Jesus. 2 Cor. 1. 22. & 5. 5.

§

The holy Catholick Church.

I believe that there is and ought to be a visible company of men professing the service and discipline,1. Th [...]. 3. 15. that is, the Religion, of the Gospel, who agree together in the Belief of all the Truths of God revealed by Jesus Christ, and in confession of the Articles of this Creed, and agree together in praying and praising God through Jesus Christ,Eph. 3. 21. to read and hear the Scriptures read and expounded,Heb. 2. 12.10, 24. [...] to provoke each other to love and to good works, to advance the honour of Christ, and to propagate his Faith and Worship. I believe

[Page] this to be a Holy Church,1 Cor.14. 26,&c.Spiritual, and not Civil and Secular, but sanctified by their Profession, and the solemn Rites of it, professing holiness,Mat.18.17,18. and separating from the evil manners of heathens and wicked persons, by their laws and institutions. And this Church is Catholick; that is,Acts 12. 5. 1 Cor. 1. it is not confined to the Nation of the Jews, as was the old Religion, but it is gathered out of all Nations, and is not of a differing Faith in differing places, but always did, doth, and ever shall profess the Faith which the Apostles preach'd,Gal.1. 8,9. and which is contained in this Creed; with whosoever believes is a Catholick and a Christian, Col. 2. 8, 9. Heb. 13. 8, 9 and he that believes not is neither. This Catholick Church I believe, that is, I believe whatsoever all good Christians in all Ages and in all places did confess to be the Catholick and Apostolick Faith.

§

The Communion of Saints,

That is, the Communion of all Christians; because by reason of [Page] their holy Faith they are called Saints in Scripture,Acts 26. 10.& 9. 12, 32. as being begotten by God into a lively Faith,1. Cor. 6.11. & 1. 2. and cleansed by Believing:Matth. 22. 14. and by this Faith, and the Profession of a holy life in obedience to Jesus Christ, they are separated from the world, called to the knowledge of the Truth, justified before God, and indued with the holy Spirit of Grace, foreknown from the beginning of the world,1 Pet. 1. 2, 14, 15, 16. and predestinated by God to be made conformable to the image of his Son,2 Pet. 3. 11. here in holiness of life, hereafter in a life of glory; and they who are Saints in their belief and profession must be so also in their practice and conversation, that so they may make their calling and election sure, lest they be Saints onely in name and title, in their profession and institution, and not in manners and holiness of living; that is, lest they be so before men, and not before God. I believe that all people who desire the benefit of the Gospel are bound to have a fellowship and society with these Saints, Matth.18.17,18. and communicate with them [Page] in their holy things,Heb. 10. 25. in their Faith, and in their Hope, and in their Sacraments, and in their Prayers, and in their Publick Assemblies, 1 Cor.11.23,&c. and in their Government: and must do to them all the acts of Charity and mutual help which they can and are required to:E [...]h. 4. 13. 5, 6, 7, 21 6. 18 and without this Communion of Saints, and a conjunction with them who believe in God through Jesus Christ, there is no Salvation to be expected;Phil.2.4.&1.27. which Communion must be kept in inward things always and in all persons,Rom.16. 16, 17. and testified by outward acts always,1 John.3.18. when it is possible,1 Pet.1.22. and may be done upon just and holy conditions.

§

The Forgiveness of sins.

I believe that all the sins I committed before I came to the knowledge of the Truth,Rom.3.28.Acts 2.38.& 13.38. and all the slips of humane infirmity, against which we heartily pray, and watch, and labour,1.John 2.1,2,12. and all the evil habits of which we repent so timely and effectually that we obtain their contrary graces and live in them, are fully remitted by the blood of Christ;Gal.6.2.John 20.23. Mark 16.16.2 Pet.1.5,&c. which forgiveness [Page] we obtain by Faith and Repentance, Eph.1.13. 1 Pet.11.5,16,17,18. and therefore are not justified by the Righteousness of Works, Jam.2.17,20,&c. but by the Righteousness of Faith: and we are preserved in the state of forgiveness or justification by the fruits of a lively Faith,1 John 3. 21, &c. and a timely active Repentance.Heb. 12. 14, 15, 16.

§

The Resurrection of the Body.

I believe that at the last day all they whose sins are forgiven, and who lived and died in the Communion of Saints, and in whom the Holy Spirit did dwell, 1 Cor.15.29,&c. shall rise from their grves, their dead bones shall live and be clothed with flesh and skin,Matth.22.31. and their Bodies together with their Souls shall enter into the portion of a new life:Rom.8.11,23. and that this body shall no more see corruption, but shall rise to an excellent condition;John 6.39. it shall be Spiritual,Phil.3.20. Powerful, Immortal and Glorious, like unto his glorious body, who shall then be our Judge, is now our Advocate,2 Cor.4.1. our Saviour and our Lord.

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[Page]

And the Life everlasting.

I believe that they who have their part in this Resurrection shall meet the Lord in the Air,2 Thes.4.17. and when the blessed Sentence is pronounc'd upon them,Rev.21.4. they shall for ever be with the Lord in joys unspeakable and full of glory, God shall w [...]pe all tears from their eyes; there shall be no fear or sorrow, no mourning or death;Rev.22.5. a friend shall never go away from thence, and an enemy shall never enter; there shall be fulness without want, light eternal brighter then the Sun,Matth.25.34. day and no night, joy and no weeping, difference in degree and yet all full; there is love without dissimulation, excellency without envy, multitudes without confusion, musick without discord; there the Understandings are rich, the Will is satisfied, the Affections are all love and all joy, and they shall reign with God and Christ for ever and ever. Amen.

[Page] This is the Catholick Faith, which except a man believe faithfully he cannot be saved.

Tertull. de velandis Virgin.

‘Regula quidem fidei [...]na omnino est, sola immobilis & irreformabilis, credendi, scilicet, in unicum Deum Omnipotentem, &c. Hac lege fidei manente, caet [...]ra jam disciplinae & conversationis admittunt novitatem correctionis, operante, scil. & proficiente usque in finem Gratia Dei.’

The Rule of Faith is wholly one, unalterable, never to be mended, never changed; to wit, I believe in God, &c, This Law of Faith remaining, in other things you may encrease and grow.

S. Aug. de Fide & Symb.

‘Haec est Fides, quae paucis verbis tenenda in Symbolo Novellis datur. Quae pauca verba fiedelibus not a sunt: ut credendo subjugentur Deo, subjugati recte vivant, recte vivendo cor mundent, corde mundo quod credunt, intelligant.’

This is the Faith which in few words is given to Novices. These [Page] few words are known to all the faithful; that by believing they may be subject to God, by this subjection they may live well, by living-well they may purifie their hearts, and with pure hearts they may [relish &] understand what they do believe.

Max. Taurin. de Tradit. Symb. ‘Symbolum tessera est & signaculum, quo inter fideles Perfidosque secernitur.’

This Creed is the Badge or Cognizance by which the Faithful are discerned from Unbelievers.

‘Hujus Catholici Symboli brevis & perfecta Confessio, quae duodecim Apostolorum totidem est signata sententiis, tam instructa est in munitione coelesti, ut omnes Haereticorum opiniones solo possint gladio detruncari.’ Leo M. ad Pulcheriam Aug.

This short and perfect Confession of this Catholick Creed, which was consigned by the Sentences of twelve Apostles, is so perfect a celestial Armour, that all the Opinions of Hereticks may by this alone, as with a Sword, be cut in pieces.

AGENDA: OR, Things to be done.

[Page]

THE DIARY OR, A RULE to spend each day religiously.
SECT. 1.

1. SUppose every day to be a day of business: for your whole life is a race, and a battel; a merchandise, and a journey. Every day propound to your self a Rosary or a Chaplet of good works to present to God at night.

2. Rise as soon as your health and [Page] other occasions shall permit; but it is good to be as regular as you can, and as early. Remember, he that rises first to Prayer hath a more early title to a Blessing. Bnt he that changes night into day, labour into idleness, watchfulness into sleep, changes his hopes of blessing into a dream.

3. Never let any one think it an excuse to lie in bed, because he hath nothing to do when he is up: for whoever hath a Soul, and hopes to save that Soul, hath work enough to do to make his calling and election sure, to serve God and to pray, to read and to meditate, to repent and to amend, to do good to others, and to keep evil from themselves. And if thou hast little to do, thou ought'st to imploy the more time in laying up for a greater Crown of Glory.

4. At your opening your eyes, enter upon the day with some act of piety.

1. Of Thanksgiving for the preservation of you the night past.

2. Of the Glorification of God for the works of the Creation, or any thing for the honour of God.

5. When you first go off from your [Page] bed, solemnly and devoutly bow your head, and worship the Holy Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

6. When you are making ready, be as silent as you can, and spend that time in holy thoughts; there being no way left to redeem that time from loss, but by meditation and short mental prayers. If you chuse to speak, speak somthing of God's praises, of his goodness, his mercies, or his greatness. Ever resolving that the first fruits of thy Reason and of all thy Faculties shall be presented to God, to sanctfie the whole harvest of thy conversation.

7. Be not curious, nor careless in your Habit, but always keep these measures.

1. Be not troublesome to thy self or to others by unhandsomness or uncleanness.

2. Let it be according to your state and quality.

3. Make Religion to be the difference of your habit, so as to be best attired upon Holy or Festival daies.

8. In your dressing, let there be ejaculations fitted to the several actions of dressing: as at washing your hands and [Page] face, pray God to cleanse your Soul from sin; in putting on your cloaths, pray him to cloth your Soul with the righteousness of your Saviour and so in all the rest.

For Religion must not onely be the garment of your Soul, to invest it all over; but it must be also as the fringes to every of your actions, that something of Religion appear in every one of them, besides the innocence of all of them.

9. As soon as you are dressed with the first preparation of your cloaths, that you can decently do it, kneel and say the Lord's Prayer; then rise from your knees and do what is necessary for you in order to your farther dressing, or affairs of the house, which is speedily to be done; and then finish your dressing according to the foregoing Rules.

10. When you are dressed, retire your self to your Closet, and go to your usual devotions; which it is good that at the first prayers they were divided into seven actions of Piety.

1. An act of Adoration.

2. Of Thanksgiving.

3. Of Oblation.

4. Of Confession.

[Page] 5. Of Petition.

6. Of Intercession.

7. Of Meditation, or serious, deliberate, useful reading of the holy Scriptures.

11. I advise that your reading should be governed by these measures.

[...]S. Chrys.Hom.3.de Lazaro

1. Let it not be of the whole Bible in order, but for your devotion use the New Testament, and such portions of the Old as contain the Precepts of holy life.

2. The Historical and less useful part, let it be read at such other times which you have of leisure from your domestick imployments.

3. Those portions of Scripture which you use in your prayers, let them not be long: a Chapter at once, no more. But then what time you can afford, spend it in thinking and meditating upon the holy Precepts wch you read.

4. Be sure to meditate so long, till you make some act of piety upon the occasion of what you meditate [Page] either that you get some new arguments against a sin, or some new incouragements to vertue; some spiritual strength and advantage, or else some act of Prayer to God, or glorification of him.

5. I advise that you would read your Chapter in the midst of your Prayers in the Morning, if they be divided according to the number of the former actions; because little interruptions will be apt to make your Prayers less tedious, and your self more attent upon them. But if you find any other way more agreeing to your spirit and disposition, use your liberty without scruple.

12. Before you go forth of your Closet, after your Prayers are done, set your self down a little while and consider what you are to do that day, what matter or business is like to imploy you or to tempt you; and take particular resolution against that, whether it be matter of wrangling, or anger, or covetousness, or vain courtship, or feasting; and when you enter upon it, remember upon what you resolved in your Closet. [Page] If yo are likely to have nothing extraordinary that day, a general recommendation of the affairs of that day to God in your prayers will be sufficient: but if there be any thing foreseen that is not usual, be sure to be armed for it by a hearty, though a short, prayer, and an earnest prudent resolution before-hand, and then watch when the thing comes.

13. Whosoever hath Children or Servants, let him or her take care that all the Children and Servants of the Family say their Prayers before they begin their work. The Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments, with the short verse at the end of every Commandment which the Church uses, and the Creed, is a very good office for them, if they be not fitted for more regular offices. And to these also it were good that some proper Prayer were apportioned, and they taught it. It were well if they would serve themselves of this Form set down at the end of this Diary.

14. Then go about the affairs of your house and proper imployment, ever avoiding idleness, or too much earnestness of affection upon the things of the world: Do your business prudently, [Page]temperately, diligently, humbly, charitably.

15. Let there be no idle person in or about your family, of beggars or unimployed Servants, but find them all work and meat, call upon them carefully, reprove them without reproaches or fierce railings. Be a master or a mistress, and a friend to them, and exact of them to be faithful and diligent.

16. In your Servants suffer any offence against your self rather than against God; endure not that they should swear, or lie, or steal, or be wanton, or curse each other, or be railers, or slanderers, or tell-tales, or sowers of dissention in the family, or amongst neighbours.

17. In all your entercourse with your neighbours in the day, let your affairs be wholly matter of business or civility, and always managed with Justice and Charity: never let it be matter of curiosity or enquiry into the actions of others, always without censuring or rash judgment, without backbiting, slandering or detraction: Do it not your self, neither converse with them that do. He or she that loves tale-bearers shall never be beloved, or be innocent.

18. Before dinner and supper, as often [Page] as it is convenient or can be had, let the publick Prayers of the Church, or some parts of them be said publickly in the family, and let as many be present as you can. The same rule is also to be observed for Sundays and Holy-days, for their going to Church. Let no servant be always detained, but relieved and provided for by changes.

19. Let your meal be temperate and wholesom according to your quality and the season, begun and ended with Prayer: and be sure that in the course of your meal, and before you rise, you recollect your self, and send your heart up to God with some holy and short Ejaculation; remembring your duty, fearing to offend, or desiring and sighing after the eternal Supper of the Lamb.

20. After meal use what innocent refreshment you please, to refresh your mind or body with these measures.

1. Let it not be too expensive of time.

2. Let it not hinder your devotion, nor your business.

3. Let it be always without violence or passion.

4. Let it not then wholly take you [Page] up when you are at it; but let your heart retire with some holy thoughts and sober recollections, lest your mind be seized upon by it, and your affections carried off from better things: secure your affections for God, and sober and severe imployment. Here you may be refreshed, but take heed you neither dwell here, nor sin here. It is better never to use recreation, than at any time to sin by it: But you may use recreation, and avoid sin, and that's the best temper. But if you cannot do both, be more careful of your Soul than of your refreshment; and that's the best security. But then, in what you use to sin, carefully avoid it, and change your refreshment for some other instance in which you can be more innocent.

21. Entertain no long discourse with any, but, if you can, bring in something to season it with Religion: as God must be in all your thoughts, so, if it be possible, let him be in all your discourses, at least let him be at one end of it; and [Page] when you can speak of him, be sure you forget not to think of him.

22. Towards the declining of the day, be sure to retire to your private devotions: Read, meditate and pray. In which I propound to you this method, On the Lord's day meditate of the glories of the Creation, of the works of God, and all his benefits to mankind, and to you in particular. Then let your devotion be, humbly upon your knees to say over the 8th and 9th Psalms, and sometimes the 104th, with proper Collects which you shall find or get: adding the form of Thanksgiving which is in the Rule of Holy Living, pag. 378. in the manner as is there directed, or some other of your own chusing.

Meditate on | Monday | on | 1. Death
Tuesday | 2. Judgment
Wednesday | 3. Heaven
Thursday | 4. Hell.

Saying your usual Prayers, and adding some Ejaculations or short sayings of your own, according to the matter of your devotion.

On Friday recollect your sins that you have done that week, and all your life-time and let your devotion be to [Page] recite humbly and devoutly some penitential Litanies, whereof you may serve your self in the Rule of Holy Living, pag. 373.

On Saturday at the serne time, meditate on the Passion of our blessed Saviour and all the mysteries of our Redemption, which you may do and pray together by using the forms made to that purpose in the Rule of Holy Living, pag. 391. in all your devotions begin and end with the Lord's Prayer.

Upon these two days and Sunday you may chuse some partions out of The Life of Christ, to read and help your meditation, proper to the mysteries you are appointed to meditate, or any other devout books.

23. Read not much at a time; but meditate as much as your time and capacity and disposition will give you leave: ever remembring, that little reading and much thinking, little speaking and much hearing, frequent and short prayers and great devotion is the best way to be wise, to be holy, to be devout.

24. before you go to bed, bethink your self of the day past: if nothing extraordinary hath hapned, your Conscience [Page] is the sooner examined; but if you have had any difference or disagreeing with any one, or a great feast, or great company, or a great joy, or a great sorrow, then recollect your self with the more diligence: ask pardon for what is amiss; give God thanks for what was good. If you have omitted any duty, make amends next day; and yet if nothing be found that was amiss, be humbled still, and thankful, and pray God for pardon if any thing be amiss that you know not of. If all these things be in your offices, for your last prayers be sure to apply them according to what you find in your examination: but if they be not, supply them with short ejaculations before you begin your last prayers, or at the end of them. Remember also and be sure to take notice of all the mercies and deliverances of your self and your Relatives that day.

25. As you are going to bed, as often as you can conveniently, or that you are not hindred by company, meditate of death and the preparations to your grave. When you lie down, close your eyes with a short prayer, commit your self into the hands of your faithful Creator: [Page] and when you have done, trust him with your self, as you must do when you are dying.

26. If you awake in the night, fill up the intervals or spaces of your not sleeping by holy thoughts and aspirations, and remember the sins of your youth: and sometimes remember your dead, and that you shall die; and pray to God to send to you and all mankind a mercy in the day of Judgment.

27. Upon the Holy-days observe the same Rules; only let the matter of your meditations be according to the mystery of the day. As upon Christmasday meditate on the Birth of our Blessed Saviour, and read the Story and Considerations which are in The Life of Christ: and to your ordinary devotions of every day add the prayer which is fitted to the mystery, which you shall find in The Life of Christ, or The Rule of Holy Living. Upon the day of the Annunciation, or our Lady-day, meditate on the Incarnation of our Blessed Saviour; and so upon all the Festivals of the year.

28. Set apart one day for fasting once a week, or once a fortnight, or once a [Page] month at least: but let it be with these cautions and measures.

1. Do not chuse a Festival of the Church for your Fasting-day.

2. Eat nothing till your afternoondevotions be done, if the health of your body will permit it: if not, take something, though it be the less.

3. When you eat your meal, let it be no more than ordinary, lest your fasting day end in an intemperate evening.

4. Let the actions of all the day be proportionable ot it; abstain from your usual recreations on that day, and from greater mirth.

5. Be sure to design before-hand the purposes of your fast, either for. Repentance, or for Mortification, or for the advantages of Prayer, and let your devotins be accordingly. But be sure not to think fasting, or eating fish, or eating nothing of it self to be pleasing to God, but as it serves to one of these purposes.

6. Let some part of that day extraordinary be set apart for Prayer [Page] for the actions of Repentance, for Confession of sins, and for begging of those Graces for whose sake you set apart that day.

7. Be sure that on that day you set apart something for the poor; for Fasting and Alms are the Wings or Prayer.

8. It is best to chuse that day for your fast which is used generally by all Christians, as Friday and Saturday: but do not call it a fasting-day, unless also it be a day of extraordinary devotion and of Alms.

29. From observation of all the days of your life, gather out the four extraordinaries.

1. All the great and shameful sins you have committed.

2. All the excellent or greater acts of Piety which by God's grace you have performed.

3. All the great blessings you have received.

4. All the dangers and great sicknesses you have escaped: and upon all the days of your extraordinary devotions, let them be [Page] brought forth, and produce their acts of vertue.

1. Repentance and prayers for pardon.

2. Resolutions to proceed and increase in good works.

3. Thanksgiving to God.

4. Fear and watchfulness, lest we fall into worse, as a punishment for our sin.

30 Keep a little Catalogue of these, and at the foot of them set down what Promises and Vows you have made, and kept or broken, and do according as you are obliged.

31. Receive the blessed Sacrament as often as you can: endeavour to have it once a month, besides the solemn and great Festivals of the year.

32. Confess your sins often, hear the Word of God, make Religion the business of your life, your study, and chiefest care; and be sure that in all things a spiritual Guide take you by the hand.

Thou shalt always rejoyce in the Evening, if thou dost spend the day vertuously.

VIA PACIS.
A SHORT METHOD OF Peàce and Holiness. With a Manual of DAILY PRAYERS Fitted to the days of the Week.

[Page]

SUNDAY.
Decad the first.

1 IT is the highest Wisdom, by despising the world to arrive at Heaven: for they are blessed whose daily exercise it is to converse with God by Prayer and Obedience; by Love and Patience.

[Page] 2 It is the extremest folly to labour for that which will bring torment in the end, and no satisfaction in the little enjoyment of it: to be unwearied in the pursuit of the world, and to be soon tir'd in whatsoever we begin to do for Christ.

3 Watch over thy self, counsel thy self, reprove thy self, censure thy self, and judge thy self impartially; whatever thou dost to others, do not neglect thy self. For every man profits so much as he does violence to himself.

4 They that follow their own sensuality, stain their Consciences, and lose the grace of God; but he that endeavours to please God, whatever he suffers, is beloved of God. For it is not a Question, Whether we shall or shall not suffer: but whether we shall suffer for God, or for the World; whether we shall take pains in Religion, or in sin, to get Heaven, or to get riches.

5 What availeth knowledg without the fear of God? A humble ignorant man is better than a proud scholar, who studies natural things, and knows not himself. The more thou knowest, the more grievously thou shalt be judged. Many get no profit by their labour, because they contend [Page] for knowledge rather than for holy life; and the time shall come, when it shall more avail thee to have subdu'd one lust, than to have known all mysteries.

6 No man truly knows himself, but he groweth daily more contemptible in his own eyes. Desire not to be known, and to be little esteem'd of by men.

7 If all be well within, nothing can hurt us from without: for from inordinate love and vain fear comes all unquietness of spirit and distraction of our senses.

8 He to whom all things are one, who draweth all things to one, and seeth all things in one, may enjoy true peace and rest of Spirit.

9 It is not much business that distracts any man, but the want of purity, constancy, and tendency towards God. Who hinders thee more than the unmortified desires of thy own heart? As soon as ever a man desires any thing inordinately, he is presently disquied in himself. He that hath not wholly subdued himself is quickly tempted nad overcome in small and trifling things. The weak in spirit is he that is in a manner subject to his appetite, [Page] and he quickly falls into indignation and contention and envy.

10 He is truly gerat that is great in Charity, and little in himself.

MONDAY.
The second Decad.

11 WE rather often believe and speak evil of others, than good. But they that are truly vertuous do not easily credit evil that is told them of their neighbours. For if others may do amiss, then may these also speak amiss. Man is frail and prone to evil, and therefore may soon fail in words.

12 Be not rash in thy proceedings, nor confident and pertinacious in thy conceits. But consult with him that is wise, and seek to be instructed by a better than thy self.

13 The more humble and resign'd we are to God, the more prudent we are in our affairs to men, and peaceable in our selves.

14 The proud and the covetous can never rest.

15 Be not asham'd to be, or to be [Page] esteem'd poor in this world; for he that hears God teaching him, will find that it is the best wisdom to withdraw all our affections from secular honour and troublesome riches, and to place them upon eternal treasures, and by patience, by humility, by suffering scorn and contempt, and all the Will of God, to get the true riches.

16 Be not proud of well doing [...] for the judgment of God is far differing from the judgment of men.

17 Lay not thy heart open to every one, but with the wise and them that fear God. Converse not much with young people and strangers. Flatter not the rich, neither do thou willingly or lightly appear before great Personages. Never be partaker with the persecutors.

18 It is easier, and safer, and more pleasant, to live in obedience, than to be at our own disposing.

19 Always yield to others when there is cause; for that is no shame, but honour: but it is a shame to stand stiff in a foolish or weak argument on resolution.

20 The talk of worldly affairs hindereth much; although recounted with a [Page] fair intention: we speak wllingly, but seldom return to silence.

TUESDAY.
the Third Decad,

21 WAtch and pray, lest your time pass without profit or fruit. But devout discourses do greatly further our spiritual progress, if persons of one mind and spirit be gathered together in God.

22 We should enjoy more peace, if we did not busie our selves with the words and deeds of other men, which appertain not to our charge.

23 He that esteem's his progress in Religion, to consist in exteriour Observances, his devotion will quickly be at an end: but to free your selves of passions is to lay the axe to the root of the tree, and the true way of peace.

24 It is good that we sometimes be contradicted and ill thought of, and that we always bear it well, even when we deserve to be well spoken of. Perfect peace and security cannot be had in this world.

[Page] 25 All the Saints have profited by tribulations; and they that could not bear temptations became reprobates, and fell from God.

26 Think not all is well within when all is well without; or that thy being pleas'd is a sign that God is pleas'd: but suspect every thing that is prosperous, unless it promotes Piety, and Charity and Humility.

27 Do no evil, for no interest, and to please no man, for no friendship, and for no fear.

28 God regards not how much we do, but from how much it proceeds. He does much that loves much.

29 Patiently suffer that from others which thou canst not mend in them, until God please to do it for thee; and remember that thou mend thy self, since thou art so willing others should not offend in any thing.

30 Every man's vertue is best seen in adversity and temptation.

WEDNESDAY.
The fourth Decad.

[Page]

31 BEgin every day to repent, not that thou shouldst at all defer it, or stand at the door, but because all that is past ought to seem little to thee, becanse it is so in it self: begin the next day with the same zeal, and the same fear, and the same humility, as if thou hadst never begun before.

32 A little omission of any usual exercise of piety cannot happen to thee without some loss and considerable detriment, even though it be upon a considerable cause.

33 Be not slow in common and usual acts of Piety and Devotion, and quick and prompt at singularities: but having first done what thou art bound to, proceed to counsels and perfections, and the extraordinaries of Religion, as you see cause.

34 He that desires much to hear news is never void of passions and secular desires, and adherences to the world.

35 Complain not too much of hinderances [Page] of Devotion: If thou let men alone, they will let thee alone; and if you desire not to converse with them, let them know it, and they will not desire to converse with thee.

36 Draw not to thy self the affairs of others, neither involve thy self in the suits and parties of great Personages.

37 Know that if any trouble happen to thee, it is what thou hast deserved, and therefore brought upon thy self. But if any comfort come to thee, it is a gift of God, and what thou didst not deserve. And remember, that oftentimes when thy body complains of trouble, it is not so much the greatness of trouble, as littleness of thy spirit, that makes thee to complain.

38 He that knows how to suffer any thing for God, that desires heartily the Will of God may be done in him, that studies to please others rather than himself, to do the will of his Superior, not his own, that chuseth the least portion, and is not greedy for the biggest, that takes the lowest place, and does not murmur secretly; he is in the best condition and state of things.

39 Let no man despair of mercy or [Page] success so long as he hath life and health.

40 Every man must pass through fire and water before he can come to refreshment.

THURSDAY.
The fifth Decad.

41 SOon may a man lose that by negligence which hath by much labour & a long time and a mighty grace scarcely been obtain'd. And what shall become of us before night, who are weary so early in the morning? Wo be to that man who would be at rest, even when he hath scarcely a foot-step of holiness appearing in his conversation.

42 So think, and so do, as if thou wert to die to day, and at night to give an account of thy whole life.

43 Beg not a long life, but a good one; for length of days often times prolongs the evil, and augments the guilt. It were well if that little time we live, we would live well.

44 Entertain the same opinions and thoughts of thy sin, and of thy present state, as thou wilt in the day of sorrow. [Page] Thou wilt then think thy self very miserable and very foolish, for neglecting one hour, and one day of thy Salvation: Think so now, and thou wilt be more provident of thy time and of thy talent. For there will a time come, when every careless man shall desire the respite of one hour for Prayer and Repentance, and I know not who will grant it. Happy is he that so lives, that in the day of death he rejoyces, and is not amazed.

45 He that would die comfortably, may serve his ends by first procuring to himself a contempt of the would, a fervent desire of growing in grace, love of discipline, a laborious repentance, a prompt obedience, self-denial, and toleration of every cross accident for the love of Christ, and a tender Charity.

46 While thou art well thou maies [...] do much good, if thou wilt; but when [...] thou art sick, neither thou nor I can tel what thou shalt be able to do: It is no [...] very much, nor very good. Few me [...] mend with sickness, as there are but few [...] who by travel and a wandering life become devout.

47 Be not troubled nor faint in the [...] labours of mortification, and the austerities [Page] of Repentance; for in Hell one hour is more intollerable than a hundred years in the house of Repentance: and try; for if thou canst not endure God punishing thy follies gently, for a while, to amend thee, how wilt thou endure his vengeance for ever to undo thee?

48 In thy Prayers wait for God, and think not every hearty Prayer can procure every thing thou askest. Those things which the Saints did not obtain without many prayers, and much labour, and showrs of tears, and a long protracted watchfulness and industry, do thou expect also in its own time, and by its usual measures. Do thou valiantly, and hope confidently, and wait patiently, and thou shalt find thou wilt not be deceived.

49 Be careful thou dost not speak a lie in thy prayers, which, though not observed, is frequently practis'd by careless persons, especially in the forms of Confession, affirming things which they have not thought, professing sorrow which is not, making a vow they mean not.

50 If thou meanest to be devout, and to enlarge thy Religion, do it rather by [Page] increasing thy ordinary devotions then thy extraordinary. For if they be not regular, but come by chance, they will not last long. But if they be added to your ordinary offices, or made to be daily, thy spirit will by use and custom be made tender, and not willing to go less.

FRIDAY.
The sixth Decad.

51 HE is a truly charitable and good man, who, when he receives injuries, grieves rather for the malice of him that injures him, than for his own suffering; who willingly prays for him that wrongs him, and from his heart forgives all his fault; who stays not, but quickly asks pardon of others for his errours or mistakes; who sooner shews mercy than anger; who thinks better of others than himself; who offers violence to his appetite, and in all things endeavours to subdue the flesh to the spirit. This is an excellent abbreviature of the whole duty of a Christian.

52 No man can have felicity in two states of things. If he takes it in God here, in him he shall have it hereafter, [Page] for God will last for ever. But if he takes felicity in things of this world, where will his felicity be when this world is done? Either here alone or hereafter must be thy portion.

53 Avoid those things in thy self which in others do most displease thee. And remember that as thine eye observes others, so art thou observed by God, by Angels, and by men.

54 He that puts his confidence in God onely, is neither over-joyed in any great good things of this life, nor sorrowful for a little thing. Let God be thy love and thy fear, and he also will be thy Salvation and thy refuge.

55 Do not omit thy Prayers for want of a good Oratory or place to pray in, nor thy duty for want of temporal encouragements. For he that does both upon God's account, cares not how or what he suffers, so he suffer well, and be the friend of Christ; nor where nor when he prays, so he may do it frequently, fervently and acceptably.

56 Very often remember and meditate upon the wounds and stripes, the shame and the pain, the death and the burial of our Lord Jesus; for nothing [Page] will more enable us to bear our Cross patiently, injuries charitably, the labour of Religion comfortably, and censuring words and detractions with meekness and quietness.

57 Esteem not thy self to have profited in Religion, unless thou thinkest well of others, and meanly of thy self: Therefore never accuse any but thy self; and he that diligently watches himself will be willing enough to be silent concerning others.

58 It is no great matter to live lovingly with good-natur'd, with humble and meek persons: but he that can do so with the froward, with the wilful and the ignorant, with the peevish and perverse, he only hath true charity: always remembring, that our solid true peace, and peace of God, consists rather in complying with others than in being complied with, in suffering and forbearing rather than in contention and victory.

59 Simplicity in our intentions and purity of affections are the two wings of a Soul, investing it with the robes and resemblances of a Seraphim. Intend the honour of God principally and sincerely, [Page] and mingle not thy affections with any creature, but in just subordination to God, and to Religion, and thou shalt have joy, if there be any such thing in this World. For there is no joy but in God, and no sorrow but in an evil conscience.

60 Take not much care what or who is for thee, or against thee; the judgment of none is to be regarded if God's judgment be otherwise. Thou art neither better nor worse in thy self for any account that is made of thee by any but by God alone: secure that to thee, and he will secure all the rest.

SATURDAY.
The seventh Decad.

61 BLessed is he that understands what it is to love Jesus, and contends earnestly to be like him. Nothing else can satisfie, or make us perfect. But be thou a bearer of his Cross, as well as a lover of his Kingdom. Suffer tribulation for him, or from him, with the same spirit thou receivest consolation: follow him as well for the bitter Cup of [Page] his passion as for the Loaves; and remember, that if it be a hard saying, Take up my Cross and follow me, it is a harder saying, Go ye Cursed into everlasting fire.

62 No man can always have the same spiritual pleasure in his Prayers. For the greatest Saints have sometimes suffered the banishment of the heart, sometimes are fervent, sometimes they feel a barrenness of Devotion: for this Spirit comes and goes. Rest therefore only in God, and in doing thy duty: and know that if thou beest over-joyed to day, this hour will pass away, and temptation and sadness will succeed.

63 In all afflictions seek rather for Patience than for Comfort: if thou preservest that, this will return. Any man would serve God, if he felt pleasure in it always; but the vertuous does it when his Soul is full of heaviness, and regards not himself, but God, and hates that consolation that lessens his compunction, but loves any thing whereby his is made more humble.

64 That which thou dost not understand when thou readest, thou shalt understand in the day of thy visitation: for [Page] there are many secrets of Religion which are not perceived till they be felt, and are not felt but in the day of a great calamity.

65 He that prays, despairs not. But sad is the condition of him that cannot pray. Happy are they that can and do, and love to do it.

66 He that will be pleased in his prayers, must make his prayers his Rule. All our duty is there set down, because in all our duty we beg the Divine Assistance: and remember, that you are bound to do all those duties, for the doing of which you have prayed for the Divine Assistance.

67 Be doing actions of Religion as often as thou canst, and thy worldly pleasures as seldom, that if thou beest surprised by sudden death, it may be odds but thou mayest be taken at thy Prayers,

68 Watch, and resist the Devil in all his Temptations and Snares. His chief designs are these; to hinder thy desire in good; to put thee by from thy Spiritual imployment, from Prayers, especially from the Meditation of the Passion, from the remembrance of thy Sins, from [Page] humble Confession of them, from speedy Repentance, from the custody of thy Senses and of thy Heart, from firm purposes of growing in grace, from reading good Books, and frequent receiving the Holy Sacrament. It is all one to him, if he deceives the by a lye or by truth; whether he amaze or trouble thee by love of the present, or fear of the future. Watch him but in these things, and there will be no part left unarmed in which he can wound thee.

69 Remember how the Proud have fallen, and they who have presumed upon their own strength have been disgraced; and that the boldest and greatesttalkers in the days of peace, have been the most dejected and pusillanimous in the day of temptation.

70 No man ought to think he hath found Peace, when nothing troubles him; or that God loves him, because he hath no enemy; nor that all is well, because every thing is according to his mind; nor that he is a holy person, because he prays with great sweetness and comfort. But he is at Peace who is reconciled to God; and God loves him, when he hath overcome himself; and [Page] all is well, when nothing pleases him but God, being thankful in the midst of his afflctions; and he is holy, who, when he hath lost his comfort, loses nothing of his duty, but is still the same, when God changes his face towards him.

POSTULANDA. OR, Things to be prayed for.

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A FORM of PRAYER, By way of Paraphrase expounding The Lord's Prayer.

Our Father.

MErciful and Gracious, thou gavest us being, raising us from nothing, to be an excellent creation, efforming us after thy own Image, tenderly feeding us, and conducting and strengthening us all our days: Thou art our Father by a more excellent Mercy, adopting us in a new birth, to become partakers of the ininheritance [Page] of Jesus: Thou hast given us the portion and the food of Sons; O make us to do the Duty of Sons, that we may never loose our title to so glorious an inheritance.

Let this excellent Name and Title, by which thou hast vouchsafed to relate to us, be our Glory and our Confidence, our Defence and Guard, our Ornament and Strength, our dignity, and the endearment of Obedience, the Principle of a holy Fear to thee our Father, and of Love to thee and to our Brethren partakers of the same Hope and Dignity.

Unite every member of the Church to thee in holy bands: Let there be no more names of Division, nor Titles and Ensigns of Errour and Partiality: Let not us who are Brethren contend, but in giving honor to each other and glory to thee, contending earnestly for the Faith, but not to the breach of Charity, nor the denying each others Hope. But grant that we may all join in the promotion of the honour of thee our Father, in celebrating the Name, and spreading the Family, and propagating the Laws and Institutions, the Promises and Dignities of our Elder Brother, that despising the [Page] transitory entertainments of this world, we may labour for and long after the inheritance to which thou hast given us title, by adopting us into the dignity of Sons. For ever let thy Spirit witness to our spirit that we are thy children: enable us to cry Abba, Father.

Which art in Heaven.

Heaven is thy Throne, the Earth thy Footstool. From thy throne thou beholdest all the dwellers upon Earth, and triest out the hearts of men, and nothing is hid from thy sight. And as thy Knowledge is infinite, so is thy Power uncircumscribed as the utmost Orb of Heaven, and thou sittest in thy own Essential Happiness and Tranquillity, immovable and Eternal. That is our Country, and thither thy Servants are travelling; there is our Father, and that is our inheritance; there our hearts are, for there our treasure is laid up till the day of Recompence.

Hallowed be thy Name.

Thy Name, O God, is glorious, and in thy Name is our hope and confidence. According to thy Name, so is [Page]thy praise unto the World's end. They that love thy Name shall be joyful in thee; for thy Name which thou madest to be proclaimed unto thy people, is, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty. In this glorious Name we worship thee, O Lord; and all they that know thy Name will put their trust in thee. The desire of our Soul is to thy Name, and to the remembrance of thee. Thou art worthy, O Lord, of Honour, and praise, and glory, for ever and ever: we confess thy glories, we rejoyce in thy mercies; we hope in thy Name, and thy Saints like it well: for thy Name is praised unto the end of the World; it is believed by Faith, relied upon by a holy Hope, and loved by a great Charity. All thy Church celebrates thee with praises, and offers to thy Name the Sacrifices of Prayers and Thanksgiving.

Thou, O God, didst frame our Nature by thy own Image, and now thou hast imprinted thy Name upon us, we are thy servants, the relatives and domesticks [Page] of thy family, and thou hast honoured us with the gracious appellative of Christians. O let us never dishonour so excellent a Title, nor by unworthy usages prophane thy holy Name, but for ever glorifie it. Let our Life be answerable to our dignity; that our body may be chast, our thoughts clean, our words gracious, our manners holy, and our life usefull and innocent; that men seeing our good works, may glorifie thee our Father which art in Heaven.

Thy Kingdom come.

Thou reignest in Heaven and Earth: O do thou rule also in our hearts, advance the interest of Religion, let thy Gospel be placed in all the Regions of the earth, and let all Nations come and worship thee, laying their proud [...] wills at thy feet, submitting their understandings to the obedience of Jesus, conforming their affections to thy holy Laws. Let thy Kingdom be set up gloriously over us, and do thou reign in our Spirits by thy Spirit of Grace; subdue every lust and inordinate appetite, trample upon our pride, mortifie all rebellion within us, and let all thine and our enemies be [Page] brought into captivity, that sin may never reign in our mortal Bodies; but that Christ may reign in our Understanding by Faith, in the Will, by Charity, in the Passions by Mortifications, in all the Members by a right and a chast use of them. And when thy Kingdom that is within us hath flourished and is advanced to that height whither thou hast designed it, grant thy Kingdom of Glory may speedily succeed, and we thy Servants be admitted to the peace and purity, the holiness and glories of that state where thou reignest alone, and art all in all.

Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven.

Thy Will, O God is the measure of holiness and peace; thy Providence the great disposer of all things, tying all events together, in order to thy glory and the good of thy Servants, by a wonderful mysterious Chain of Wisdom. Let thy Will also be the measure of our desires: for we know that whatsoever thou saiest is true, and whatsoever thou doest is good. Grant we may submit our wills to [Page] thine, being patient of evils which thou inflictest, lovers of the good which thou commandest, haters of all evil which thou forbiddest, pleased with all the accidents thou sendest; that though our nature is weaker than Angels, yet our obedience may be as humble, our conformity to thy will may arise up to the degrees of Unity, and theirs cannot be more; that as they in Heaven, so we on Earth May obey thy will promptly, chearfully, zealously, and with all our faculties: and grant, that as they there, so all the world here may serve thee with peace and concord, purity and love unfeigned, with one heart and one voice glorifying thee our heavenly Father.

Grant that we may quit all our own affections, and suspect our reasonings, and go out of our selves, and all our own confidences; that thou being to us all things, disposing all events, and guideing all our actions, and directing our intentions, and over-ruling all things in us and about us, we may be Servants of thy Divine Will for ever.

Give us this day our daily Bread.

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Thou, O God, which takest care of our Souls, do not despise our Bodies which thou hast made and sanctified, and designed to be glorious. But now we are exposed to hunger and thirst, nakedness and weariness, want and inconvenience, Give unno us neither poverty nor riches, but feed us with food convenient for us, and cloth us with fitting provisions, according to that state and condition wherein thou hast placed thy Servants: that we may not be tempted with want, nor made contemptible by beggery, nor wanton or proud by riches, nor in love with any thing in this World; but that we may use it as strangers and pilgrims, as the relief of our needs, the support of our infirmities, and the oil of our lamps, feeding us till we are quite spent in thy service. Lord, take from thy Servants sad carefulness and all distrust, and give us only such a proportion af temporal things as may inable us with comfort to do our duty.

Forgive us our Trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us

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O dear God, unless thou art pleased to pardon us, in vain it is that we should live here, and what good will our life do us? O look upon us with much mercy, for we have sinned grievously against thee. Pardon the adherent imperfections of our life, the weakness of our duty, the carelesness of our spirit, our affected ignorance, our indiligence, our rashness and want of observation, our malice and presumptions. Turn thine eyes from our impurities, and behold the brightness and purest innocence of the holy J [...]sus; and under his cover we plead our cause, not that thou shouldst judge our sins, but give us pardon, and blot out all our iniquities, that we may never enter into the horrible regions where there are torments without ceasing, a prison without ransom, reproaches without comfort, anguish without patience, darkness without light, a worm that never dies, and the fire that never goeth out.

[Page] But be pleased also to give us great charity, that we may truly forgive all that trouble or injure us, that by this Character thou mayest discern us to be thy Sons and Servants, Disciples of the Holy Jesus; lest our prayer be turned into sin, and thy Grace be recalled, and thou enter into a final anger against thy Servants.

Lead us not into Temptation;

Gracious Father, we are weak and ignorant, our affections betray us, and make us willing to die; our adversary the Devil goeth up and down, seeking whom he may devour, he is busie and crafty, malicious and powerful, watchful and envious; and we tempt our selves, running out to mischief, delighting in the approaches of sin, and love to have necessities put upon us, that sin may be unavoidable. Pity us in the midst of these disorders, and give us spiritual strength, holy Resolutions, a watchful Spirit, the whole Armour of God, and thy protection, the guard of Angels, and the conduct of thy holy Spirit, to be our security in the day of danger. Give us thy grace to fly from all occasions to sin, that [Page] we may never tempt our selves, nor delight to be tempted; and let thy blessed Province so order the accidents of our lives, that we may not dwell near an enemy; and when thou shalt try us, and suffer us to enter into combat, let us always be on thy side, and fight valiantly, resist the Devil, and endure patiently, and persevere constantly unto the end, that thou mayest crown thy own work in us.

But deliver us from evil.

From sin and shame, from the malice and fraud of the Devil, and from the falseness and greediness of men, from all thy wrath, and from all our impurities, good Lord deliver thy Servants.

Do not reserve any thing of thy wrath in store for us; but let our sins be pardoned so fully, that thou maiest not punish our inventions. And yet if thou wilt not be intreated, but that it be necessary that we suffer, thy will be done: Smite us here with a Father's rod, that thou maiest spare us hereafter: let the sad accidents of our life be for good to us, not for evil; for our amendment, not to exasperate or weary us, not [Page] to harden or confound us: and what evil soever it be that shall happen, let us not sin against thee. For ever deliver us from that evil, and for ever deliver us from the power of the evil one, the great enemy of mankind; and never let our portion be in that Region of Darkness in that everlasting burning which thou hast prepared for the Devil and his Angels for ever.

For thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

So shall we thy Servants advance the Mightiness of thy Kingdom, the Power of thy Majesty, and the Glory of thy Mercy, from generation to generation for ever.

Amen.

LITANIES FOR All Things and Persons.

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O God the Father of Mercies, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon thy Servants, and hear the prayers of us miserable sinners.

O Blessed Jesus, the Fountain of Peace and Pardon, our Wisdom and our Righteousness, our Sanctification and Redemption, have mercy upon thy Servants, refuse not to hear the Prayers of us miserable, sorrowful and returning sinners.

O Holy and Divinest Spirit of the Father, help our infirmities; for of our selves we know not what to ask, nor how to pray; but do thou assist and be present in the desires of us miserable sinners.

I. For Pardon of Sins.

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REmember not, Lord, the follies of our childhood, nor the lusts of our youth, the wildness of our head, nor the wandrings of our heart; the infinite sins of our tongue, and the inexcusable errours of the days of vanity.

Lord, have mercy upon us poor miserable sinners.

Remember not, O Lord, the growing iniquities of our elder age, the pride of our spirit, the abuse of our members, the greediness of our purposes, the peevishness and violence of all our passions and affections.

Lord, have mercy, &c.

Remember not, O Lord, how we have been full of envy and malice, anger and revenge; fierce and earnest in the purchases and vanities of the world, and lazy and dull, slow and soon weary in the things of God and of Religion.

Lord, have mercy, &c.

[Page] Remember not, O Lord, our uncharitable behaviour [...]towards those with whom we have conversed, our jealousies and suspitions, our evil surmisings and evil reportings, the breach of our promises to men, and the breach of all our holy vows made to thee our God.

Lord, have mercy, &c.

Remember not, O Lord, how often we have omitted the several parts and actions of our duty; for our sins of Omission are infinite, and we have not sought after the Righteousness of God, but have rested in carelesness and forgetfulness, in a false peace and a silent Conscience.

Lord, have mercy, &c.

O most gracious Lord, enter not into judgment with thy servants, lest we be consumed in thy wrath and just displeasure; from which,

Good Lord, deliver us, and preserve thy servants for ever.

II. For Deliverance from Evils.

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FRom gross ignorance and stupid negligence, from a wandring head and a trifling spirit, from the violence and rule of passion, from a servile will and a commanding lust, from all intemperance, inordination and irregularity whatsoever.

Good Lord, deliver and preserve thy servants for ever.

From a covetous mind and greedy desires, from lustful thoughts and a wanton eye, from rebellious members and the pride and vanity of spirit, from false opinions and ignorant confidences,

Good Lord, deliver, &c.

From improvidence and prodigality, from envy and the spirit of slander, from idleness and sensuality, from presumption and despair, from sinful actions and all vitious habits,

Good Lord, deliver, &c.

From fierceness of rage and hastiness [Page] of spirit, from clamorous and reproachful language, from peevish anger and inhumane malice, from the spirit of contention and hasty and indiscreet zeal,

Good Lord, deliver, &c.

From a schismatical and heretical spirit, from tyranny and tumults, from sedition and factions, from envying the Grace of God in our Brother, from impenitence and hardness of heart, from obstinacy and apostasie, from delighting in sin and hating God and good men,

Good Lord, deliver, &c.

From fornication and adultery, from unnatural desires and unnatural hatreds, from gluttony and drunkenness, from loving and believing lyes, and taking pleasure in the remembrances of evil things, from delighting in our Neighbour's misery and procuring it, from upbraiding others and hating reproof of our selves,

Good Lord, deliver, &c.

From impudence and shame, from contempt and scorn, from oppression and cruelty, from a pitiless and unrelenting [Page] spirit, from a churlish behaviour and undecent usages of our selves or others.

Good Lord, deliver, &c.

From famine and pestilence, from noisome and infectious deseases, from sharp and intolerable pains, from impatience and tediousness of spirit, from a state of temptation and hardened consciences,

Good Lord, deliver, &c.

From banishment and prison, from widowhood and want, from violence of pains and passions, from tempests and earthquakes, from the rage of fire and water, from Rebellion and Treason, from fretfulness and inordinate cares, from murmuring against God and disobedience to the Divine Commandment,

Good Lord, deliver, &c.

From delaying our rep [...]ntance and persevering in sin, from false principles and prejudices, from un [...]hankfulness and irreligion, from seducing others and being abused our selves, from the malice and craftiness of the Devil, and the deceit and lyings of the World.

Good Lord, deliver, &c.

[Page] From wounds and murther, from precipices and falls, from fracture of bones and dislocation of joynts, from dismembring our bodies and all infatuation of our Souls, from folly and madness, from uncertainty of mind and state, and from a certainty of sinning,

Good Lord, deliver, &c.

From Thunder and lightning, from phantasms. Spectres and illusions of the night, from sudden and great Changes, from the snares of wealth and the contempt of beggery and extreme poverty, from being made an example and a warning to others by suffering sad judgments our selves,

Good Lord, deliver, &c.

From condemning others and justifying our selves, from misspending our time and abusing thy Grace, from calling good evil and evil good, from consenting to folly and tempting others,

Good Lord, deliver, &c.

From excess in speaking and peevish silence, from looser laughing and immoderate weeping, from giving evil example [Page] to others or following any our selves, from giving or receiving scandal, from the horrible sentence of endless death and damnation,

Good Lord, deliver, &c.

From cursing and swearing, from uncharitable chiding and easiness to believe evil, from the evil spirit that walketh at noon and the arrow that flieth in darkness, from the Angel of wrath and perishing in popular diseases

Good Lord, deliver, &c.

From the want of a Spiritual Guide, from a famine of the Word and Sacramants, from hurtful persecution, and from taking part with persecutors,

Good Lord, deliver, &c.

From drowning or being burnt alive, from sleepless nights and contentious days, from a melancholick and a confused spirit, from violent fears and the loss of reason, from a vitious life and a sudden and unprovided death,

Good Lord, deliver, &c.

From relying upon vain fancies and [Page] false foundations, from an evil and an amazed Conscience, from sinning near the end of our life, and from despairing in the day of our death,

Good Lord, deliver, &c.

From hypocrisie and wilfulness, from self-love and vain ambition, from curiosity and carelesnes, from being tempted in the days of our weakness, from the prevailing of the flesh and grieving the Spirit, from all thy wrath, and from all our sins,

Good Lord, deliver, &c.

III. For gifts and graces.

HEar our Prayer, O Lord, and consider our desire, hearken unto us for thy truth and righteousness sake: O hide not thy face from us, neither cast away thy servants in displeasure.

Give unto us the spirit of Prayer, frequent and fervent, holy and persevering; an unreprovable [...] Faith, a just [Page] and an humble Hope, and a never-failing Charity.

Hear our Prayers, O Lord, and consider our desire.

Give unto us true humility, a meek and a quiet spirit, a loving and a friendly, a holy and a useful conversation, bearing the burthens of our neighbours, denying our selves, and studying to benefit others, and to please thee in all things.

Hear our Prayers, &c

Give us a prudent and a sober, a just and a sincere, a temperate and a religious spirit, a great contempt of the world, a love of holy things, and a longing after Heaven, and the instruments and paths that lead thither.

Hear our Prayers, &c

Grant us to be thankful to our Bene factors, righteous in performing promises, loving to our relatives, careful of our charges; to be gentle and easie to be intreated, slow to anger, and fully instructed and readily prepared for every good work.

Hear our Prayers, &c.

[Page] Give us a peaceable spirit and a peaceable life, free from debt and deadly sin; grace to abstain from appearances of evil, and to do nothing but what is of good report, to confess Christ and his holy Religion, by a holy and obedient life, and a mind ready to die for him when he shall call us and assist us.

Hear our Prayers, &c.

Give to thy servants a watchful and an observing Spirit, diligent in doing our duty, inflexible to evil, obedient to thy word, inquisitive after thy will, pure and holy thoughts, strong and religious purposes, and thy grace to perform faithfully what we have promised in the day of our duty, or in the day of our calamity.

Hear our Prayers, &c.

O teach us to despise all vanity, to fight the battels of the Lord manfully against the Flesh, the World and the Devil, to spend our time religiously and usefully, to speak gracious words, to walk always as in thy presence, to preserve our Souls and bodies in holiness, fit for the habitation of the holy Spirit of God.

Hear our Prayers, &c.

[Page] Give us a holy and a perfect repentance, a well-instructed understanding, regular affections, a constant and a wise heart, a good name, a fear of thy Majesty, and a love of all thy glories above all the things in the world for ever.

Hear our Prayers, &c.

Give us a healthful body and a clear understanding, the love of our neighbours and the peace of the Church, the publick use and comforts of thy holy Word and Sacraments, a great love to all Christians, and obedience to our Superiours Ecclesiastical and Civil all the days of our life.

Hear our Prayers, &c.

Give us Spiritual Wisdom, that we may discern what is pleasing to thee, and follow what belongs unto our peace; and let the knowledge and love of God, and of Jesus Christ our Lord, be our guide and our portion all our days.

Hear our Prayers, &c.

Give unto us holy dispositions, and an active industry in thy service, to redeem the time mis-spent in vanity: for [Page] thy pity sake take not vengeance of us for our sins, but sanctifie our Souls and bodies in this life, and glorifie them hereafter.

Hear our Prayers, &c.

Our Father, &c.

IV. To be added to the former Li [...]anies, according as our Devotions and time will su [...]fe [...].

For all states of Men and Women, especially in the Christian Church.

O Blessed God, in mercy remember thine inheritance, and forget not the congregation of the poor for ever; pity poor mankind, whose portion is misery and folly, shame and death. But thou art our Redeemer, and the lifter up of our head, and under the shadow of thy [Page] wings shall be our help, until this Tyranny be over-past.

Have mercy upon us, O God, and hid not thy self from our Petition.

Preserve, O God, the Catholick Church in holiness and truth, in unity and peace, free from persecution, or glorious under it; that she may for ever advance the honour of our Lord Jesus, for ever represent his Sacrifice, and glorifie his Person, and advance his Religion, and be accepted of thee in her blessed Lord; that being filled with his Spirit, she may partake of his glory.

Have mercy upon us, &c.

Give the spirit of Government and Holiness to all Christian Kings, Princes and Governours: grant that their people may obey them, and they may obey thee, and live in honesty and peace, justice and holy Religion, being Nursingfathers to the Church, Advocates for the oppressed, Patrons for the widows, and a Sanctuary for the miserable and the fatherless; that they may reign with thee for ever in the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus.

Have mercy upon us, &c.

[Page] Give to thy Servants the Bishops, and all the Clergy, the Spirit of holiness and courage, of patience and humility, of prudence and diligence, to preach and declare thy will by a holy life and wise discourses; that they may minister to the good of Souls, and find a glorious reward in the day of our Lord Jesus.

Have mercy npon us, &c.

Give to our Relatives [our Wives and Children, our Friends and Benefactors, our Charges, our Family, &c.] pardon and support, comfort in all their sorrows, strength in all temptations, the guard of Angels to preserve them from evil, and the conduct of thy holy Spirit to lead them into all good; that they doing their duty, may feel thy mercies here, and partake of thy glories hereafter.

Have mercy upon us,&c.

Give to all Christian Kingdoms and Commonwealths peace and plenty, health and holy Religion; to all Families of Religion and Nurseries of Piety zeal and holiness, prudence and unity, peace and contentedness; to all Schools of Learning quietness and industry, freedom [Page] from wars and violence, factions and envy.

Have mercy upon us, &c.

Give to all married persons faith and love, charitable and wise compliances, sweetness of society and innocence of conversation; to all Virgins and Widows great love of Religion, a sober and a contented spirit, an unwearied attendance to devotion and the offices of holiness: protection to the fatherless, comfort to the disconsolate, patience and submission, health and spiritual advantages to the sick; that they may feel thy comforts for the days wherein they have suffered adversity.

Have mercy upon us, &c.

Be thou a star and a guide to them that travel by land or sea, the confidence and comfort of them that are in storms and shipwrecks, the strength of them that toil in the Mines and row in the Gallies, an instructer to the ignorant; to them that are condemned to die be thou a guide unto death: give chearfulness to every sad heart, spiritual strength and proportionable comfort to them that are [Page] afflicted by evil spirits; pity the lunaticks, give life and salvation to all to whom thou hast given no understanding, accept the stupid and the fools to mercy: give liberty to prisoners, redemption to captives, maintenance to the poor, patronage and defence to the oppessed, and put a period to the iniquity and to the miseries of all mankind.

Have mercy upon us, &c.

Give unto our enemies grace and pardon, charity to us, and love to thee; take away all anger from them, and all mistakes from us, all mis-interpretations and jealousies; bring all sinners to repentance and holiness, and to all thy Saints and Servants give an increasing love, and a persevering duty: bring all Turks, Jews and Infidels to the knowledge and confession of the Lord Jesus, and a participation of all the Promises of the Gospel, all the benefits of his Passion; to all Hereticks give humility and ingenuity, repentance of their errours, and grace and power to make amends to the Church and Truth, and a publick acknowledgment [Page] of a holy faith, to the glory of the Lord Jesus.

Have mercy, &c.

Give to all Merchants faithfulness and truth; to the labouring husbandman health and fair seasons of the year, and reward his toil with the dew of Heaven and the blessings of the earth; to all Artisans give diligence in their Callings, and a blessing on their labours and on their familes; to old men piety and perfect repentance, a liberal heart and an open hand, great Religion and desires after Heaven; to young men give sobriety and chastity; health and usefulness, an early piety and a persevering duty; to all families visited with the rod of God give consolation, and a holy use of the affliction, and a speedy deliverance; to us all pardon and holiness, and life eternal, through Jesus Christ,

Amen.

The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God, and the Communication of the Holy Spirit, be with us all for ever.

Amen.

A short Prayer to be said every Morning.

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I.

O Almighty God Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God of mercy and comfort, with reverence and fear, with humble confidence and strong desires, I approach to the throne of Grace, begging of thee mercy and protection, pardon and Salvation. O my God, I am a sinner, but sorrowful and repenting: Thou art justly offended at me, but yet thou art my Lord and my Father, merciful and gracious. Be pleased to blot all my sins out of thy remembrance, and heal my Soul that I may never any more sin against thee. Lord, open my eyes, that I may see my own infirmities, and watch against them; and my own follies, that I may amend them; and be pleased to give me perfect understanding in the way of godliness, that I may walk in it all the days of my pilgrimage. Give me a spirit diligent in the works of my calling, chearful and zealous in Religion, fervent and frequent in my prayers, charitable and useful in my Conversation. [Page] Give me a healthful and a chast body, a pure and a holy Soul, a sanctified and an humble spirit; and let my body and Soul and spirit be preserved unblameable to the coming of the Lord Jesus.

Amen.

II.

BLessed by thy Name, O God, and blessed be thy Mercies, who hast preserved me this night from sin and sorrow, from sad chances and a violent death, from the malice of the Devil and the evil effects of my own corrupted nature and infirmity. The out-goings of the Morning and Evening shall praise thee, and thy Servants shall rejoyce in giving thee praise for the operation of thy hands. Let thy providence and care watch over me this day and all my whole life, that I may never sin against thee by idleness or folly, by evil company or private sins, by word or deed, by thought or desire; and let the imployment of my day leave no sorrow or the remembrance of an evil conscience at night; but let it be holy and profitable, blessed and always innocent; that when the days of my short abode are done, and the shadow is departed, I may die in thy fear and favour, [Page] and rest in a holy hope, and at last return to the joys of a blessed Resurrection, through Jesus Christ: in whose name, and in whose words in behalf of my self, and all my friends, and all thy Servants, I humbly and heartily pray, Our Father, &c.

A Prayer for the Evening.

ETernal God, Almighty Father of Men and Angels, by whose care and providence I am preserved and blessed, comforted and assisted, I humbly beg of thee to pardon the sins and follies of this day, the weaknesses of my services and the strength of my passions, the rashness of my words and the vanity and evil of my actions. O just and dear God, how long shall I confess my sins, and pray against them, and yet fall under them? O let it be so no more, let me never return to the follies of which I am ashamed, which bring sorrow and death, and thy displeasure worse than death. Give me a command over my evil inclinations, and a perfect hatred of sin, and a love to thee above all the desires of this world. Be pleased to [Page] bless and preserve me this night from all sin, and all violence of Chance, and the malice of the spirits of darkness: Watch over me in my sleep, and whether I sleep or wake, let me be thy servant. Be thou first and last in all my thoughts, and the guide and continual assistance of all my actions. Preserve my body, pardon the sin of my Soul, and sanctifie my spirit. Let me always live holily, and justly, and soberly; and when I die, receive my Soul into thine hands. O holy and ever blessed Jesus, that I may lie in thy bosom, and long for thy coming, and hear thy blessed Sentence at Doomsday, and behold thy face, and live in thy Kingdom, singing praises to God for ever and ever. Amen.

Our Father, &c.

For Sunday. A Prayer against Pride.

I.

OEternal God, merciful and glorious, thou art exalted far above all heavens; thy Throne, O God, is glory, and thy Scepter is righteousness, thy Will is holiness, [Page] and thy Wisdom the great foundation of Empire and Government. I adore thy Majesty, and rejoyce in thy Mercy, and revere thy Power, and confess all glory and dignity and honour to be thine alone, and theirs to whom thou shalt impart any ray of thy Majesty, or reflexion of thy honour: but as for me, I am a worm and no man, vile dust and ashes, the son of corruption and the heir of rottenness, seized upon by folly, a lump of ignorance and sin, and shame and death. What art thou, O Lord? The great God of Heaven and Earth, the Fountain of Holiness and Perfection infinite. But what am I? So ignorant, that I know not what; so poor, that I have nothing of my own; so miserable, that I am the heir of sorrow and death; and so sinful, that I am encompassed with shame and grief.

II.

AND yet, O my God, I am proud; proud of my shame, glorying in my sin, boasting my infirmities; for this is all that I have of my own, save only that I have multiplied my miseries by vile actions, every day dishonouring the [Page] work of thy hands: my understanding is too confident, my affections rebellious, my will refractory and disobedient; and yet I know thou resistest the proud, and didst cast the morning Stars, the Angels, from Heaven into chains of darkness, when they grew giddy and proud, walking upon the battlements of Heaven, beholding the glorious Regions that were above them.

III.

THou, O God, who givest grace to the humble, do something also for the proud man; make me humble and obedient. Take from me the spirit of pride and hautiness, ambition and selfflattery, confidence and gaiety: teach me to think well, and to expound all things fairly of my brother, to love his worthiness, to delight in his praises, to excuse his errours, to give thee thanks for his graces, to rejoyce in all the good that he receives, and ever to believe and speak better things of him than of my self.

IV.

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O Teach me to love to be concealed and little esteem'd; let me be truly humbled, and heartily ashamed of my sin and folly: teach me to bear reproaches evenly, for I have deserved them; to refuse all honours done unto me, because I have not deserved them; to return all to thee, for it is thine alone; to suffer reproof thankfully, to amend all my faults speedily: and do thou invest my Soul with the humble robe of my meek Master and Saviour Jesus; and when I have humbly, patiently, charitably and diligently served thee, change this robe into the shining garment of immortality, my confusion into glory, my folly to perfect knowledge, my weaknesses and dishonours to the strength and beauties of the Sons of God.

V.

IN the mean time use what means thou pleasest to conform me to the image of thy holy Son; that I may be gentle to others, and severe to my self; that I may sit down in the lowest place, striving to go before my brother in nothing but in doing him and the honour, staying for [Page] my glory till thou shalt please in the day of recompences to reflect light from thy face, and admit me to behold thy glories. Grant this for Jesus Christ's sake, who humbled himself to the death and shame of the Cross, and is now exalted unto glory: Unto him, with thee, O Father, be glory and praise for ever and ever.

Amen.

For Monday. A Prayer against Covetousness.

I.

O Almighty God, eternal Treasure of all good things, thou fillest all things with plenteousness; Thou clothest the lilies of the field, and fecdest the young ravens that call upon thee: Thou art allsufficient in thy self, and all-sufficient to us. Let thy providence be my storehouse, my dispensation of temporal things the limit of my labour, my own necessity the measures of my desire: but never let my desires of this world be greedy, nor my labour immoderate, [Page] nor my care vexatious and distracting; but prudent, moderate, holy, subordinate to thy Will, the measure thou hast appointed for me.

II.

TEach me, O God, to despise the world, to labour for the true riches, to seek the Kingdom of Heaven and its Righteousness, to be content with what thou providest, to be in this world like a stranger, with affections set upon Heaven, labouring for and longing after the possessions of thy Kingdom; but never suffer my affections to dwell below: but give me a heart compassionate to the poor, liberal to the needy, open and free in all my communications, without base ends, or greedy designs, or unworthy arts of gain; but let my strife be to gain thy favour, to obtain the blessedness of doing good to others, and giving to them that want, and the blessedness of receiving from thee pardon and support, grace and holiness, perseverance and glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

For Tuesday. A Prayer against Lust.

[Page]

I.

O Eternal Purity, thou art brighter than the Sun, purer than the Angels, and the Heavens are not clean in thy sight; with mercy behold thy servant, apt to be tempted with every object, and to be overcome by every enemy. I cannot, O God, stand in the day of battel and danger, unless thou coverest me with thy shield, and hidest me under thy wings. The fiery darts of the Devil are ready to consume me, unless the dew of thy grace for ever descend upon me. Thou didst make me after thine image: be pleased to preserve me so, pure and spotless, chast and clean, that my body may be a holy Temple, and my Soul a Sanctuary to entertain thy divinest Spirit, the Spirit of love and holiness, the Prince of Purities.

II.

[Page]

REprove in me the spirit of Fornication and Uncleanness, and fill my Soul with holy fires, that no strange fire may come into the Temple of my body, where thou hast chosen to dwell. O cast out all those unclean spirits which have unhallowed the place where thy holy feet have trod; pardon all my hurtful thoughts, all my impurities, that I, who am a member of Christ, may not become the member of an harlot, nor the slave of the Devil, nor a servant of lust and unworthy desires, but do thou purifie my love, and let me seek the things that are above, hating the garments spotted with the flesh, never any more grieving the holy spirit by filthy inclinations, with impure and phantastick thoughts; but let my thoughts be holy, my Soul pure, my body chast and healthful, my spirit severe, devout and religious every day more and more; that at the day of our appearing I may be presented to God washed and cleansed pure and spotless, by the blood of the holy Lamb, through Jesus Christ our Lord,

Amen.

For Wednesday. A Prayer against Gluttony and Drunkenness.

[Page]

I.

O Almighty Father of Men and Angels, who hast of thy great bounty provided plentifully for all mankind, to support his state, to relieve his necessities to refresh his sorrows, to recreate his labours, that he may praise thee, and rejoice in thy mercies and bounty; be thou gracious unto thy servant yet more, and suffer me not by my folly to change thy bounty into sin, thy grace into wantonness. Give me the spirit of temperance and sobriety, that I may use thy creatures in the same measures and to the same purposes which thou hast designed, so as may best enable me to serve thee; but not to make provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof. Let me not, as Esau, prefer meat before a blessing; but subdue my appetite, subjecting it to reason and the grace of God, being content with what is moderate and useful, and easie [Page] to be obtained, taking it in due time, receiving it thankfully, making it to minister to my body, that my body may be a good instrument of the Soul, and the Soul a Servant of thy Divine Majesty for ever and ever.

II.

PArdon, O God, in whatsoever I have offended thee by meat and drink and pleasures; and never let my body any more be oppressed with loads of sloth and delicacies, or my Soul drowned in Seas of wine or strong drink: but let my appetites be changed into spiritual desires, that I may hunger after the food of Angels, and thirst for the wine of elect Souls, and may account it meat and drink and pleasure to do thy will, O God. Lord, let me eat and drink so, that my food may not become a temptation, or a sin, or a disease; but grant that with so much caution and prudence I may watch over my appetite, that I may in the strength of thy mercies and refreshments, in the light of thy countenance, and in the paths of thy Commandments, walk before thee all the days of my life acceptable ot thee in [Page] Jesus Christ, ever advancing his honour, and being filled with his Spirit, that I may at last partake of his glory, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

For Thursday. A Prayer against Envy.

I.

O Most gracious Father, thou Spring of an eternal Charity, who hast so loved mankind, that thou didst open thy bosom, and send thy holy Son to convey thy mercies to us: and thou didst create Angels and Men, that thou mightest have objects to whom thou mightest communicate thy goodness: Give me grace to follow so glorious a precedent, that I may never envy the prosperity of any one, but rejoyce to honor him whom thou honourest, to love him whom thou lovest, to commend the vertuous, to discern the precious from the vile, giving honour to whom honour belongs; that I may go to Heaven in the noblest way of rejoycing in the good of others.

II.

[Page]

O Dear God, never suffer the Devil to rub his vilest Leprosie of Envy upon me; never let me have the affections of the desperate and damned; let it not be ill with me, when it is well with others: but let thy holy Spirit so overrule me for ever, that I may pity the afflicted, and be compassionate, and have a fellow-feeling of my brother's sorrows, and that I may as much as I can, promote his good, and give thee thanks for it, and rejoice with them that do rejoice; never censuring his actions curstly, nor detracting from his praises spitefully, nor upbraiding his infelicities maliciously, but pleased in all things, which thou doest or givest; that I may then triumph in spirit when thy Kingdom is advanced, when thy Spirit rules, when thy Church is profited, when thy Saiuts rejoice, when the Devil's interest is destroyed, truly loving thee, and truly loving my brother; that we may all together join in the holy Communion of Saints, both here and hereafter, in the measures of grace and glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

For Friday. A Prayer against Wrath and inordinate Anger.

[Page]

I.

O Almighty Judge of Men and Angels, whose anger is always the minister of Justice, slow, but severe, not lightly arising, but falling heavily when it comes; give to thy servant a meek and a gentle spirit, that I also may be slow to anger, and easie to mercy and forgiveness. Give me a wise and a constant heart, that I may not be moved with every trifling mistake and inconsiderable accident in the conversation and entercourse of others, never be moved to an intemperate anger for any injury that is done or offered; let my anger ever be upon a just cause, measured with moderation and reason, expressed with charity and prudence, lasting but till it hath done some good, either upon my self or others.

II.

[Page]

LOrd, let me be ever courteous, and easie to be intreated; never let me fall into a peevish or contentious spirit, but follow peace with all men, offering forgiveness, inviting them by courtesies, ready to confess my own errours, apt to make amends, and desirous to be reconciled. Let no sickness or cross accident, no imployment or weariness, make me angry, or ungentle and discontent, or unthankful, or uneasie to them that minister to me; but in all things make me like unto the holy Jesus. Give me the spirit of a Christian, charitable, humble, merciful and meek, useful and liberal, complying with every chance; angry at nothing but my own sins, and grieving for the sins of others: that while my passion obeys my reason, and my reason is religious, and my religion is pure and undefiled, managed with humility, and adorned with charity, I may escape thy anger which I have deserved, and may dwell in thy love, and be thy Son and Servant for ever, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

For Saturday. A Prayer against weariness in well-doing.

[Page]

I.

O My God, merciful and gracious, my Soul groans under the loads of its own infirmity, when my spirit is willing, my flesh is weak, my understanding foolish and imperfect, my will peevish & listless, my affections wandering after strange objects, my fancy wild and unfixed, all my senses minister to folly and vanity; and though they were all made for Religion, yet they least of all delight in that. O my God, pity me, and hear me when I pray, and make that I may pray acceptably. Give me a love to Religion, an unwearied spirit in the things of God. Let me not relish or delight in the things of the world, in sensual objects and transitory possessions; but make my eyes look up to thee, my Soul be filled with thee, my spirit ravished with thy love, my understanding imployed in the meditation of thy Law, all my [Page] powers and faculties of Soul and Body wholly serving thee, and delighting in such holy ministeries.

II.

O Most glorious God, what greater favour is there than that I may, and what easier imployment can there be than to pray to thee, to be admitted to thy presence, and to represent our needs, and that we have our needs supplied only for asking and desiring passionately and humbly? But we rather quit our hopes of Heaven, than buy it at the cheapest rate of humble prayer. This, O God, is the greatest infirmity and infelicity of man, and hath an intolerable cause, and is an insufferable evil.

III.

O Relieve my spirit with thy graciousness, take from me all tediousness of spirit, and give me a laboriousness that will not be tired, a hope that shall never fail, a desire of holiness not to be satisfied till it possesses, a charity that will always increase; that I, making Religion the business of my whole life, may turn all things into Religion, doing all [Page] to thy glory, and by the measures of thy Word and of thy Spirit, that when thou shalt call me from this deliciousness of imployment, and the holy mysteries of Grace, I may pass into the imployment of Saints and Angels, whose work it is with eternal joy and thanksgiving to sing praises to the mercies of the great Redeemer of Men, and Saviour of Men and Angels, Jesus Christ our Lord: To whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and worship, all service and thanks, all Glory and Dominion, for ever and ever.

Amen.

A Prayer to be said by a Maiden, before she enters into the state of Marriage.

I,

O Most glorious God, and my most indulgent Lord and gracious Father, who dost bless us by thy bounty, pardon us by thy mercy, support and guide us by thy grace, and govern us sweetly by thy providence; I give thee most humble and hearty thanks, that thou hast hitherto [Page] preserved me in my Virgin-state with innocence and chastity in a good name and a modest report. It is thy goodness alone, and the blessed emanation of thy holy Spirit, by which I have been preserved; and to thee I return all praise and thanks, and adore and love thy goodness infinite.

II.

AND now, O Lord, since by thy dispensation and over-ruling providence I am to change my condition, and enter into the holy state of Marriage, which thou hast sanctified by thy Institution, and blessed by they Word and Promises, and raised up to an excellent mystery, that it might represent the Union of Christ and his Church; be pleased to go along with thy servant in my entring into and passing through this state, that it may not be a state of temptation or sorrow, by occasion of my sins or infirmities, but of holiness and comfort, as thou host intended it to all that love and fear thy holy Name.

III.

[Page]

LOrd, bless and preserve that dear person whom thou hast chosen to be my Husband: let his life be long and blessed, comfortable and holy; and let me also become a great blessing and comfort unto him, a sharer in all his joys, a refreshment in all his sorrows, a meet helper for him in all accidents and chances of the world. Make me amiable for ever in his eyes, and very dear to him. Unite his heart to me in the dearest union of love and holiness, and mine to him in all sweetness, and charity, and compliance. Keep from me all morosity and ungentleness, all sullenness and harshness of disposition, all pride and vanity, all discontentedness aud unreasonableness of passion and humonr: and make me humble and obedient, charitable and loving, patient and contented, useful and observant; that we may delight in each other according to thy blessed word and Ordinance, and both of us may rejoyce in thee, having our portion in the love and service of God for ever and ever.

IV.

[Page]

O Blessed Father, never suffer any mistakes or discontent, any distrustfulness or sorrow, any trifling arrests of fancy or unhandsom accident, to cause any unkindness between us: but let us so dearly love, so affectionately observe, so religiously attend to each other's good and content, that we may always please thee, and by this learn and practise our duty and greatest love to thee, and become mutual helps to each other in the way of Godliness; that when we have received the blessings of a married life, the comforts of society, the endearments of a holy and great affection, and the dowry of blessed Children, we may for ever dwell together in the embraces of thy love and glories, feasting in the Marriage-supper of the Lamb to eternal ages, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen, Amen.

A Prayer for a holy and a happy Death.

O Eternal and Holy Jesus, who by death hast overcome death, and by [Page] thy passion hast taken out its sting, and made it to become one of the gates of Heaven, and an entrance to felicity, have mercy upon me now and at the hour of my death: let thy grace accompany me all the days of my life, that I may by a holy conversation, and an habitual performance of my duty, wait for the coming of our Lord, and be ready to enter with thee, at whatsoever hour thou shalt come. Lord, let not my death be in any sense unprovided, nor untimely, nor hasty, but after the manner of men, having in it nothing extraordinary, but an extraordiry piety, and the manifestation of a great and miraculous mercy. Let my sense and my understanding be preserved intire till the last of my days, and grant that I may die the death of the righteous, free from debt and deadly sin: having first discharged all my obligations of justice, leaving none miserable and unprovided in my departure; but be thou the portion of all my friends and relatives, and let thy blessing descend upon their heads, and abide there till they shall meet me in the bosom of our Lord. Preserve me ever in the communion and peace of the Church; and bless my Death-bed [Page] with the opportunity of a holy and a spiritual Guide, with the assistance and guard of Angels, with the reception of the holy Sacrament, with patience and dereliction of my own desires, with a strong faith, and a firm and humbled hope, with just measures of repentance, and great treasures of charity to thee my God and to all the world, that my Soul in the arms of the holy Jesus may be deposited with safety and joy, there to expect the revelation of thy day, and then to partake the glories of thy Kingdom, O eternal and holy Jesus.

Amen.

§

§

[Page] A GUIDE FOR THE PENITENT. OR A Model drawn up for the help of a Devout Soul wounded with Sin.

Tertull.

Peccator omnium Notarum,

Et nulli Rei nisi poenitentiae natus.

LONDON, Printed by J. Grover, for R. Royston, Bookseller to His most Sacred Majesty MDCLXXVII.

[Page]TO THE Christian Reader.

[Page]

AMong the so troublesome multitude of Books, and the no less troublesome scarcity of good ones, I have no reason to think this little Piece will much increase the number of the one, or not serve to balance the trouble of the other: but I rather hope it may be acceptable and useful, if either the great Eminence of the Author, or the Argument it self, or else the small bulk, which are things that use to render works of this kind considerable, be sufficient either to recommend or excuse it. For the necessity of the argument may recommend it not to most Readers only, but very many Writers too. And without doubt, many of those who have been ambitious to put themselves into the number of Authors by publishing their abortive labours, will need the Rules and Offices of this Manual, when their Conscience shall cite them to Repentance, and to ask God forgiveness for nourishing Faction, and sowing the seeds of Discord, [Page] and venting their crude Notions to others trouble, and their own shame. For such men in the use of this little Enchiridion may find more comfort, and do thimselves and the Age more right, than in that small harvest of reputation their own voluminous labours could bring in, which are now very fitly preferred from the Closet to the more worthy ministeries of the Shop ond Kitchin. But the most Reverend Author, to whose learned Piety thou owest these following assistances, who in the sweetness and mildness of these lines has expressed the features and lineaments of his own candid, serene Soul, did not address them for his own use in that kind. For that he was of the Highest Order of our Church, he did not owe to his Interest, which advances some, nor to his Money, which prefers commonly too many, but wholly to his Vertues and his Learning, and those other eminent Graces, that made his Example as great in the Church as was his Dignity. And this little Book is a great instance of his Humility and Charity, which he does in some kind still exercise, though he be now gone to receive his reward for them; and as he used to look into the necessities of indigent [Page] persons to relieve them with his hand, so in this Portuise he descends to converse with the weaknesses and solitariness of humble Penitents, directing and improving their Devotions, and instigating their Repentance, and preparing a constant store-house of relief for them by his Pen. And now if a person so eminent in Grace, so innocent in Life, needed such Exercises as this, (for what thou receivest here, know, Courteous Reader, it comes from his Counsel, and from his daily Experience and Practise too) consider whether thou thy self art not concerned to bring thy actions and life to as severe a scrutiny and a repentance as operative. If thou joynest with me in Opinion, here is a Directory ready at hand: but if not, thou needest it so much the more. For our Sins, the less impression they make on our Memory, the deeper they make on our Conscience; and he is in some cases the most guilty who presumes he is wholly innocent. Retract therefore that conceit, and betake [...]hy self to thy Closet and the practice of [...]his Book, and God bless it to thy benefit and his own glory.

[Page] A GUIDE FOR THE PENITENT.

[Page]

Remembrances concerning the Examination of your Conscience.

I.

YOU are to consider the Necessity of this Duty. For if we take care that the Rooms which we eat or sleep in should be kept clean, you cannot but think that the cleansing of the Soul is a Concernment infinitely beyond it: and for doing this there is no other way left but to search out every corner of it, and to cast out every Sin, with every unclean thought that hath defiled it.

II.

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You are to remember, that there is a great Measure of Discretion to be used in the Performance of this: so that you may neither omit it, when your own heart may tell you that there is something amiss in you which must be look'd after; nor on the other side over-scrupulously pursue it, when you are not conscious to your self of any notable Failings, but such as are incident to humane frailty: for if you do not wilfully pass over any of your greater Offences, but confess particularly, and repent seriously of them, God will more easily pass by your lesser Infirmities, being such as the Holy Prophet despaired of finding out, when he so sadly complained, Who can tell how oft he offendeth?

III.

That though it may not only seem, but be impossible to you to recollect every failing, and that your scrupulous endeavouring of it may rather prove a torture to the Conscience than an Ease to it; yet you are so far to exercise an Inquisition upon your self, as by observing these lesser particulars (though it be but in gross) you may the better discover [Page] what the corruption of your Nature sways you to; and having discovered it, you are bound to strive to subdue it by degrees, and what you cannot for the present overcome, humbly to ask pardon for.

IV.

That though it be the Duty of every day not to let the Sun go down upon any Sin that you have committed, without examining of the Merits of it; yet there are times when this ought to be more punctually and solemnly done, especially at such times as you set apart for humbling your Soul with Fasting, or for preparing your self for the devout Receiving of the Sacrament.

V.

For the Manner of Ordering this Examination several Methods have been prescribed, some by dividing the subject Matter of it into Thoughts, Words and Deeds; others as sins are differenced by their several Objects, either as being immediately sins against God, or against your Neighbour, or against your own Soul. Others advise to set God's holy Commandments before you, and to examine by that Rule what you have [Page] done amiss. But in the chice of this you may free your self from all Perplexity by taking his advice whom you shall chuse to be your Spiritual Guide. And the Duty it self being once resolved upon, the Mode of doing may easily be found out.

Advice Concerning Confession.

I.

THat besides this Examination of your Conscience, (which may be done in secret between God and your own Soul) there is great use of Holy Confession: which though it be not generally in all Cases, and peremptorily commanded, as if without it no Salvation could possibly be had; yet you are advised by the Church under whose discipline you live, that before you are to receive the Holy Sacrament, or when you are visited with any dangerous sickness, if you find any one particular sin or more that lies heavy upon you, to disburthen your self of it into the Bosom of your Confessor, who not only stands between God and you to pray for you, but hath the power of [Page] the Keys committed to him, upon your true Repentance to Absolve you in Christ's Name from those sins which you have confessed to him.

II.

You are to remember that you bring along with you to Confession not only unfeigned Sorrow and Remorse of Conscience for sins past, but settled Resolutions for the time to come never to offend in the same kind again: for without this, Confession is but a mere Pageant, and rather a mockery of God, than any effectual means to reconcile you to him.

III.

That having made choice of such a Confessor who is every way qualified that you may trust your Soul with him, you are advised plainly and sincerely to open your heart to him, and that laying aside all consideration of any personal weakness in him, you are to look upon him only as he is a Trustee from God, and commissioned by him as his Ministerial Deputy to hear, and judge, and absolve you.

IV.

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That the Manner of your Confession be in an humble posture on your knees, as being made to God rather than man: and for the Matter of it, let it be severe and serious; but yet so as it may be without any inordinate Anxiety and unnecessary Scruples, which serve only to entangle the Soul, and instead of setting you free, (which is the benefit to be looked for by Confession) perplex you the more.

V.

That for the frequency of doing this, you are to consult with your own necessities: and as your Physician is not sent for upon every small diftemper, which your own care may rectifie; so neither are you obliged upon every failing to be over-scrupulous, or to think it a point of Necessity presently to confess it: For the Confessor cannot be always present, but your God is, to whom if you apply your self with Prayers and Penitence, confessing in his ears alone whatever you have done amiss, and stedfastly believing that through the merits of your Saviour [Page] they shall never be imputed to you, you may be confident that your Absolution is at that time sealed in Heaven, but the comfortable declaration of it you are to look for from the Priest.

Advice concerning Devout Receiving the Holy and Blessed Sacrament.

I.

YOU are first to consider seriously the Infinite love of your Saviour, who not only offered himself for you as a Sacrifice upon the Cross, but that this might never be forgotten by you, left the blessed memory of it in his holy Sacrament, which as often as you devoutly and faithfully receive, you are effectually made Partaker of all the merits of his precious Death and Passion.

II.

That for the frequency of doing this (if your own Conscience doth not speak home to you) you refer your self to your Spiritual Guide, who knowing the Temper [Page] of your Soul, and how you stand disposed, may best direct you. Only I shall add this, that the oftener you apply your self to do it, your life will be the purer, your heart the chearfuller, and the better armed against all Temptations.

III.

That three times in the year at least, especially on those solemn Festivals observed by all Christians, who have not utterly cast off Obedience to the Church, and order in their Devotions, you lay aside all excuses, and every Sin that then besets you, and seriously prepare your self for so great a Blessing.

IV.

That as soon as you wake that Morning, (and the sooner you awake the better sign it is that your mind is set upon it) you rouse your self up with a fervent expectation of Receiving that day the Bread that came from Heaven, which whosoever is rightly partaker of shall not perish, but have life everlasting.

V.

As for the precedent days of Preparation, [Page] how many they should be, or how they should be imployed, you are to refer your self to your Guide, who may advise you not to be over-scrupulous of the Time, (for the Primitive Christians communicated every day;) and if your life be innocent from great offences, your Preparation need not be long. Only be sure you bring with you Faith and Charity, clean hands and a penitent heart: which if you do, be confident the Master of the Feast will not find fault with you for want of a Weddinggarment.

VI.

That upon the blessed day of your Receiving you do more vigorously prepare your self by lifting up your Heart and Hands to God, and offering up your private Prayers, (fitted for that purpose with all possible Devotion.) And that being done, you may compose your self in quiet and in silence till the time of the Morning Sacrifice be come; when being called to a more Publick Oratory, you may be the fitter to go with an humbly Confidence to meet your Saviour, and with that Ardour and Affection as a chaste Virgin goes to an holy Marriage.

VII.

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That during the Celebration of this Holy Sacrament you attend earnestly to what is done by the Priest. When he breaks the Bread, imagine to your self that you see the Body of your dear Saviour torn and crucified, and when he pours out the Wine, consider that his Blood was thus poured out upon the Altar of the Cross: and last of all, when he that consecrates shall stand before you, ready in particular to apply it, you may then think that you see Christ himself reaching out his own Body and Blood to you, to feed your Soul unto Eternal Life.

VIII.

That farther you are really to believe the words as they are spoken, This is my Body, This is my Blood; and not to doubt, but that it is effectually made good to you in the Receiving, without any dispute at all, or scrupulous inquiring into the manner of it, which neither Christ hath revealed, and neither Men nor Angels are able to pry into.

IX.

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That the Celebration of these Holy Mysteries being ended, you are to retire with all Thankfulness of heart for having been admitted to that Heavenly Feast, wherein your Saviour, who gave himself for you on the Cross, hath now more particularly given himself to you in the Sacrament, never to depart from you, unless you again wilfully offend him; which you are the more earnestly to beware, lest by frequent Relapses the Sacrament it self prove not only useless, but dangerous to you, and your latter end prove worse than your beginning.

Advice concerning Fasting.

I.

YOU are to consider Fasting either as a Duty enjoined by the Church or as a voluntary undertaking of your own. Your Obedience is required to the former in every particular as far as it is enjoyned, unless the want of Health or some other Accidents may unavoidably hinder you, wherein not only the Bishop [Page] may dispense with you, but he that hath the charge of your Soul, especially if the Necessity be evident.

II.

Besides the ordinary Fasts prescribed by the Church, you are advised to set aside some Day, either Weekly or (at least) Monthly, wherein you may mourn in private, not only for your own sins and personal calamities, but for those publick Judgments now fallen on the whole Church and Nation, and those crying sins which have occasioned them; offering up your earnest prayers to God for the removing of them, which, when they come from a mortified Body and a contrite Heart, are such a Sacrifice that God, (who deceives no man) being true to his Promises, cannot possibly despise.

III.

That the Fast for the time designed be such as may in some measure be afflictive to you, abstaining totally that day from all manner of food, if the condition of your health will bear it; or if that cannot be, that you be so moderate in [Page] your feeding, that it may appear that you rather serve your Necessities in eating than satisfie your Appetite.

IV.

That you imploy this Day (or such a part of it (at least) as you may keep free to your self) as a Retreat from the world, the business and the pleasures of it, that so you may with the more freedom make up the Accounts between God and your own Soul, and by Prayer and Penitence reconcile your self to him; for without this, Fasting is of no use.

Expressions of Humiliation preparatory to the following Devotions.

RIghteousness, O Lord, belongs unto thee; but unto me confusion of face, the vainest, the vilest, the sinfullest of all the children of men.

Lord, I am vile in mine own eyes, and I will be yet more vile, because my sins have made me vile in thine.

[Page] I am not worthy of the Air I breath, of the Earth I tread upon, or of the Sun that shines upon me; much less worthy to lift up either hands or eyes to Heaven.

For thou hast said that no unclean thing shall come within thy sight: and how then shall I appear, who am so miserably defiled?

If the Man according to thine own heart could say that he was a Worm, and no Man, O what am I?

If Abraham, who had the honour to be called thy Friend, could say that he was but Dust and Ashes, O what am I?

O my God, thou madest me of nothing; and thou feest how I have spoiled this work of thine, for I have made my self worse than nothing.

For I am still in my Sins, and what to do I know not.

Acts of Resolution to second this Humiliation.

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But this I will do;

I Will confess my wickedness, and be sorry for my sins.

I will stand aloof with the Publican, and smite my breast, and say, Lord, be merciful to me a sinner.

I will return with the Prodigal, and say, Father, I am not worthy to be called thy Child; make me as one of thine hired Servants.

I will not suffer mine eyes to sleep, nor mine eye-lids to slumber, till I have by the mediation of thy dear Son obtained my pardon.

And what shall I say more? I will pour out my prayers in the bitterness of my Spirit; and if my dry Eyes want Tears, I will call unto my Heart for Tears of Blood, wherewith I may supply them.

[Page] And therefore now, Lord, call my sins to my remembrance: and when thou hast done so, blot them out of thy remembrance, and pardon me.

A Litany of Confession to be made use of by the Penitent Soul that finds it self burthened with a true sense of Sin.

I.

WO, Wo unto me, O God, that being a Creature of thine, and made by thee capable of enjoying everlasting felicity, I have lived so wickedly and leudly, that, unless thy mercy prevent it, I shall utterly forfeit the very End of my Creation.

But I Repent, O my God, I Repent.

I am utterly ashamed of it.

Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

II.

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Wo, Wo unto me, O God, that I have trifled away so many of my Youngest days without knowing thee, or taking any notice of those strict duties which I did owe unto thee; that I was so long a Child in all things, excepting Innocence, and that only by an over-hasty Spring of early Wickedness I was more than a Child.

But I Repent, O my God, I Repent.

I Accuse, and Judge, and Condemn my

self for it.

Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

III.

Wo, Wo unto me, O God, that as I grew up, the seeds of Corruption which I brought with me into the world grew up along with me, and by insensible degrees (which I observed not) Pride and Folly and Lust took Possession of me, and Sin hath reigned in my mortal Body.

But I Repent, O my God, I Repent.

I am infinitely confounded at it.

[Page] Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

IV.

Wo, Wo unto me, O God, that being washed in the Waters of Baptism from the guilt of that Original Corruption which I brought with me into the World, I have since that time so many ways actually defiled my self, that I can no longer pretend by any former contract with thee, that I am either a Child of thine, a member of thy Christ, or an heir of the Kingdom of Heaven.

But I Repent, O my God, I Repent.

I am utterly confounded at it.

Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

V.

Wo unto me, O God, that having been received into the Bosom of thy Church, (which so many millions of Souls have not had the happiness to be) I have ingratefully dishonoured thy holy Faith by an unholy Life; and having so often confessed thee with my tongue, I have denied thee in my life and actions.

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But I Repent, O my God, I Repent.

I Accuse, and Judge, and Condemn my Self for it.

Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

VI.

Wo, Wo unto me, O God, that having abjured the Devil and all his works, and given up my name to Christ, to fight under the Banner of his Cross, I have on the contrary treacherously complied with his Enemy in many things, and shall be found (I fear) to have been more diligent in serving him, than I have been in serving thee.

But I Repent, O my God, I Repent.

I am confounded and astonished at it.

Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

VII.

Wo, Wo unto me, O God, that being obliged by that high calling of being a Christian to renounce the Pomps and Vanities of the World, I have so infinitely failed in this, that I have doted [Page] on nothing more: for those very Vanities have been my Idols, and my seduced Heart hath gone a Whoring after them.

But I Repent, O my God, I Repent.

I am ashamed and confounded at it.

Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

VIII.

Wo, Wo unto me, O God, that being farther bound by that most Solemn Vow, utterly to forsake the sinful Lusts of the Flesh, I have, instead of forsaking them pursued and hunted after them, and when other temptations have failed, have been apt enough to kindle my own Fire, and to be a Tempter to my self.

But I Repent, O my God, I Repent.

I hate, and loath, and abhar my self for it.

Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

IX.

Wo, Wo unto me, O God, that knowing thy revealed Will to be the Law to which I was bound in all obedience to [Page] submit my self, I, like an insolent Rebel, have not only set up my own Will, in opposition to thine, but many times preferred it before thine, and have listned more to the false Oracles of Flesh and Blood than to all thy Holy Commandments.

But I Repent, O my God, I Repent.

I Accuse, and Judge, and Condemn my

self for it.

Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

X.

Wo, Wo unto me, O God, that being made according to thine Image, (the greatest honour that could be done thy Creature) I have dashed so many blurs and spots and foul sins upon it, so defaced all the lines and features of it, that, unless the Holy Spirit please to renew that Image in me again, I tremble to think what I must one day hear, Depart from me, I know you not.

But I Repent, O my God, I Repent.

I am ashamed and confounded at it.

[Page] Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

XI.

Wo, Wo unto me, O God, that having received a Rational Soul from thee, to be a Moral Light and guide unto my actions, I have been so brutish as to follow my sensual appetite instead of it, and have made no farther use of Reason than to find out vain excuses to cozen my own Soul into all the by-ways of Sin and Errour.

But I Repent, O my God, I Repent.

I Accuse, and Judge, and Condemn my self for it.

Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

XII.

Wo, Wo unto me, O God, that being endowed with Memory to serve as a Magazine to treasure up thy Precepts and holy Counsels in, I have stuft it so miserably full with the Idea's of former Vanities and Sin, that I have left no room for thee at all.

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But I Repent, O my God, I Repent.

I infinitely condemn my self for it.

Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

XIII.

Wo, Wo unto me, O God, that having received a Heart from thee to be the seat of clean and holy affections, and the only Temple for thy holy Spirit to dwell in, I have so unworthily abused and altered the property of it, that it is now become a Den of Thieves, and an unhandsome receptacle of all uncleanness.

But I Repent, O my God, I Repent.

I hate, and loath, and abhor my self for it.

Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

XIV.

Wo, Wo unto me, O God, that my wretched Heart being corrupted, my Imagination hath run wildly after with a swarm of vain and sinful Thoughts, which like importunate Flies, being driven away light again and again upon my destracted Soul, and intermingle with the best of my Devotions.

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But I Repent, O my God, I Repent.

I am infinitely troubled and grieved for it.

Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

XV.

Wo, Wo unto me, O God, that mine Eyes, being greedy after Vanity, have been upon all occasions as open windows to let in Sin; but when by the same way they should have issued out Penitential Tears, to wash away the stains those Sins had made, there hath been no passage found for them.

But I Repent, O my God, I Repent.

I am inwardly grieved and deplore my self for it.

Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

XVI.

Wo, Wo unto me, O my God, that, for the entertaining of vain conversation, I have left mine Ears too often open to light and vain and sinful discourses, and in all my inquiries have hearkned more to what the world saith abroad, [Page] than to what thy holy Spirit and my own Conscience saith within me.

But I Repent, O my God, I Repent.

I Accuse, and Judge, and Condemn my self for it.

Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

XVII.

Wo, Wo unto me, O God, that I have not resolved, with thy Servant David, to take care of my ways, that I offend not in my tongue, but have many times vainly and inconsiderately let it loose, and, either to please the Company or my self, I have spoken words which might unhappily prove occasions of sin both to them and me, without regard, or remembring how great Flames such little sparks might kindle.

But I Repent, O my God, I Repent.

I do infinitely condemn my self for it.

Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

XVIII.

Wo, Wo unto me, O God, that all the parts and faculties of my Soul and [Page] Body have been abused, and have not served the Laws of their Creator, but have so eagerly and constantly pursued the corrupt desires of a seduced Heart, that I have cause to fear that either my whole life may be looked upon as one continued sin, or at least as having admitted so few inconsiderable Pauses, that if thou shouldst enter into strict Judgment with me, I should not have the confidence to say when, or where, or wherein I have been innocent.

But I Repent, O my God, I Repent.

I am confounded and astonished at it.

Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

XIX.

Wo unto me, O God, that I have wretchedly failed even in my best endeavours, that I have been cold in my Devotions, weary of my Prayers, inconstant to good purposes, dull and heavy in the way to Heaven, but quick and active in all the ways of sin, having made it the whole business of my life, rather to seem to be Religious, than really to be so.

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But I Repent, O my God, I Repent.

I Accuse, and Judge, and Condemn my

self for it.

Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

XX.

Wo, Wo unto me, O God, that I have not washed mine hands in Innocency, when I have gone unto thine Altar, nor made mine heart ready to receive the bread that came from Heaven, but have failed in my Preparations, and have not sufficiently considered either mine own unworthiness, or the high secrets of so great a Mystery.

But I Repent, O my God, I Repent.

I am grieved and troubled at it.

Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

XXI.

Wo, Wo unto me, O God, that having so often received those inestimable Pledges of thy love, the precious Body and Blood of thy dear Son in the Holy Sacrament, I have been so unwary as to [Page] admit my former sins under the same roof with thee, and have unhappily done what lay in me to drive thee from me.

But I Repent, O my God, I Repent.

I am infinitely ashamed at it.

Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

XXII.

Wo, Wo unto me, O God, that my Repentance, the only plank left me in the Shipwrack of my Soul, hath been so weak, so slight, and so unsteady, that every small blast of a new Temptation hath been able to drive me from it, and by frequent Relapses into sin, gives me cause enough to repent, even of my vain repentance.

But I Repent again, O God, again I

I Repent.

I hate, and loath, and abhor my self

for it.

Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

XXIII.

Wo, Wo unto me, O God, that having [Page] received my Life and Being and Preservation from thee, with so many advantages to have made me happy in this world, and blessed in the next, I have been so abominably unthankful, that I have cast all these thy Blessings behind me and returned thee nothing back for all thy favours, but affronts, and injuries, and sins.

But I Repent, O my God, I Repent.

I am confounded and astonished at it.

Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

XXIV.

Wo, wo unto me, O God, that being Redeemed by the Death and Passion of thy dear and only Son, I have not laid his bitter Agonies to heart, nor made right use of the precious Ransom which was laid down for me: That I have not yet sued out my pardon with such Penitent Tears as thou requirest, nor laid hold of the benefits of it by a lively Faith; but have chosen rather stupidly to continue in my Sins, and to neglect the Blood of the Covenant as an unholy thing.

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But I Repent, O my God, I Repent.

I hate, and loath, and abhor my self

for it.

Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

XXV.

Wo, Wo unto me O God, that thy Holy Spirit I have grieved, thy Counsels I have rejected, thy Motions I have quenched, and have entertained the Lusts and Vanities nf this life with far more earnest and passionate affections than all thy Holy Inspirations.

But I Repent, O my God, I Repent.

I am utterly ashamed and confounded at it.

Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

XXVI.

Wo, Wo unto me, O God, that having thus far opened my guilty heart before thee, I have left so many Sins behind, that I cannot number them; some that I have really forgot, some that I would forget, if my Conscience would give me leave; Sins known, that I cannot [Page] conceal, and sins secret, such as I have taken so much care to hide from others, that they are now become hidden from my self.

But whatsoever they are, or wheresoever they are registred, whether in my own Conscience or in any other Record, that may be proved against me in the day of Judgment,

I call the whole Court of Heaven to witness,

That I do sadly Repent my self of them all;

That I do abhor my self for them all;

That I resolve stedfastly to renounce them all.

Lord, be thou merciful to me a Sinner.

Amen. Amen.

The Penitent Soul having made this or the like Confession, prepares and stirs up it self to true Contrition.

WHat shall I say more unto thee, O thou that art the Judge of the [Page] whole Earth? or what shall I do more? I have ransacked my breast and laid it open; I have spread it before thee, as Hezekiah the blaspheming Letter of his Enemy. I do not desire that there should be so much as any fold, or pleight, or corner of it hidden from thee.

Or if this be not enough to transact this great business of my Soul between me and thee alone, and that possibly I may flatter my self in the several acts of my intended Penitence, I am ready to go farther, and (to make my self the more ashamed of sinning) with all humility to confess these sins of mine to some of those servants of thine, whom thou hast placed between mee and thee, and to whom alone under thee thou hast so clearly given the power of Absolution.

O deal with me then as thou didst with thy Servant David, who no sooner confessed his sins,but thou forgavest him all his iniquities.

But are there not they who confess their sins, and have the impudence to [Page] glory in them, or at least pass them over without any act of real Contrition, or any remorse at all?

But, O my God, (if my heart deceive me not) I am none of those; for I can neither glory in my shame, nor can I be satisfied with my self when I appear with dry eyes before thee.

After this Preparation these Express Acts of Contrition may follow.

FOR I am grieved, O my God, I am grieved passionately, heartily grieved that ever I offended thee.

That I, the work of thy hands, have sinned against thee my Maker.

That I, the price of thy Blood, have sinned against thee my Jesus, who hadst so much love for me as to be content to die for me.

That I, the chosen Temple of thy [Page] Holy Spirit, have sinned against him who sanctified me.

For this I grieve, and mourn, and

my heart is wounded within me.

And having done all this, yet I have not done; for still I am grieved: grieved that I can grieve no more, that my Head is not a continual Spring, and mine Eyes Fountains of Tears.

Wo is me, wretch as I am, that I who have been so easie, so forward, so eager to sin, should not be so untoward, so heavy, so unable to repent.

Wo is me, that I should be still so drowsie, so dead asleep in sin, that I should not be yet awake, and sensible of the condition I am in.

O that I had died before my unworthy Soul had given way to those strst sins, which hath drawn so foul a Train after them.

But, O my God, though I cannot wait on thee among the Innocent, yet [Page] deny me not a room among the Penitent.

Remember, O my God, that though Ahab had sold himself to work wickedness, yet because he Prayed, and Fasted, and humbled himself before thee, thou hadst so much regard even of this outward Penitence of his, as to promise not to bring the evil upon him in his days.

But, Lord, if my heart deceives me not, I do not only outwardly and seemingly, but really and cordially Repent.

And therefore for the evil that I have deserved, O my God, rather let the punishment light upon me in this world than in the next.

Rather let me perform the Penance of my Tears here, than reserve it for that sad time, when a whole Sea of Tears will do no good.

And having said all this, if my Repentance be yet imperfect, (as I know it cannot but want many grains, if weighed in this just balance) let the bitter Sufferings of thy dear Son Jesus be cast [Page] into the Scale, and then I shall not fear if thou enter into Judgment with me.

But of my self, O God, I am utterly unable; and which way to satisfie thee I know not.

I dare not say so much as the Servant in the Gospel did, Master, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. But rather, Master, have patience with me, for I can pay thee nothing at all, unless thy bounty be so great as to give it me to pay thee.

I can Fast from a meal sometimes, (though it be with much ado) and I can Pray, though coldly enough; and if the fit and qualm of my Devotion holds out longer, I can strain for a Tear or two to sprinkle upon my dry Devotions.

But should I fast my self into Air and Emptiness, and weep my self into Water; should I tear the skin from this sinsul Flesh of mine, I should never be able to satisfie for the least of those Millions of Millions of sins, which, through the several moments of my life, either ignorantly [Page] or knowingly, weakly or wilfully, I have sinned against thee.

What I have transgressed against others, I am not only sorry for, but ready, as far as my power will reach, to satisfie. But for my sins against thee, my God, I must lay my hand upon my mouth for ever, for I have nothing to return or answer.

But the comfort is, (and blessed shall be my Soul if rightly I lay hold on it) that it is thou, O my blessed Jesu, who hast satisfied for me, one drop of whose blood is enough to satisfie for the sins of a thousand worlds.

And this being so, will thy offended Eather be so rigorous as to require the same payment again? Especially will he require it of me, a poor, a broken, and a bankrupt Sinner?

Canst thou exact the utmost farthing of him who hath not a mite of his own to pay thee?

The Transition which the Penitent makes from the Acts of Contrition to the Acts of Resolution for amendment of life, without which all sorrow for Sin is in vain.

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BUT because by thy infinite Mercy, O my God, thou hast satisfied for me already, shall I therefore fold my Arms, and sit down and do nothing towards it? Or which is worse, shall I go on? Shall I continue in my Sins that Grace may abound?

Now God forbid.

No, I here resolve rather to die the Death, than ever wilfully to sin against thee more.

I do here resolve utterly to avoid the temptations and approaches towards those former sins which have hitherto so miserably betrayed me.

[Page] I do here resolve (thy holy Spirit assisting me) upon all the duties of a new life; to be hereafter more wary in my ways, and more constant to good resolutions, to love thee above all the pleasures and interests of this life, and sadly to consider what an infinite loser I should be, if to gain all that my corrupt heart desires I should lose thee:

If after all this I should be so miserably forgetful both of my self and thee, as shamefully to relapse into any of those sins which I have now repented of.

I do here once more resolve to abhor and loath my self for it, and not to let my Conscience sleep or admit of any rest, till I have with bitter tears and a sharp reiterated Repentance obtained my pardon.

Having thus far made his Resolution, the Penitent betakes himself to Prayer.

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AND now O thou great Searcher of all Hearts, who seest that I am of my self weak and mutable, and no better than a Reed shaken with the wind, O shew thy strength in my weakness: fasten and confirm me in these good purposes, and so bind them with Cords unto thine Altar, that I may never start from thee more, or be any longer of that Herd, whose good resolutions are as a dream in the night; or if they last longer, they are but as the next morning dew, and as soon vanish away.

O give me the Resolution of thy Servant Joshua; I and my house will serve the Lord.

O give me the Heart of thy Servant David, who so passionately makes his Protestations.

[Page] I will take no wicked thing in hand, I hate the sins of unfaithfulness, there shall no such cleave unto me.

I will walk in my house with a perfect heart.

I have sworn, and am stedfastly purposed to keep thy righteous Judgements.

Lord, I am not able to think one of these good thoughts without thee, much less to resolve upon them.

But I, who without thee am able to do nothing, may venture to say as thine Apostles did, that in thee I am able to do all things.

Lord, give me the strength to do what thou requirest, and then require of me what thou pleasest.

Amen.

After these Resolutions the Penitent prepares himself with an humble Soul and bended knees to beg Pardon.

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O The God of my life, and the unexhausted Fountain of Mercy which can never be drawn dry, I have now by the assistance of thy holy Spirit gone through (though with weak and trembling steps) the whole exercise of Repentance: for I have confessed my sins, and thou hast promised (upon my confession of them) not to impute them to me; I have gone one step farther, for I have repented of my sins, and thou hast promised again that upon my repentance thou wilt remember them no more; and because thy holy Word hath taught me that a new life is the only life of a true Repentance, I have this day in thy sight, and in the presence of all the Holy Angels that attend thee in the Conversion of a Sinner, made my firm resolution never to fall again into the sins which I have repented of.

[Page] And now what remains for a poor Penitent to do more, but humbly and earnestly to beg thy Pardon?

The Penitent's Prayer.

O God the Father, who canst not be thought so cruel as to make me only to destroy me,

Have mercy on me.

O God the Son, who knowing thy Father's Will, didst make it thy business to come into the world to save me,

Have mercy on me.

O God the Holy Ghost, who to the same end didst sanctifie me in my Baptism, and hast so often since breathed holy thoughts and motions on me,

Have mercy on me.

O Holy and Blessed and Glorious Trinity, whom in three Persons I adore as my one and onely true God,

Have mercy on me.

Hear me, O Lord.

Help me, O Lord.

Save me, or else I perish.

[Page] Lord, carest thou not that I perish? Thou that wouldest have all men saved? Thou who wouldst have none to perish?

And wilt thou now shew thine anger against a Worm, against a Leaf, against a Vapour that vanisheth before thee?

O remember how short my time is, and deliver not my Soul into the power of Hell.

For, alas! what profit is there in my Bloud? or who shall ever give thee thanks in that bottomless pit?

No, let me live in thy sight? let me live, O my God, that my Soul may praise thee.

Forget me as I have been disobedient, provoking thee to anger; and regard me as I am distressed, crying out to thee for help.

Look not upon me as I am a Sinner; but consider me as I am thy Creature.

A Sinner I am, I confess, a Sinner of no ordinary strain; but let not this hinder thee, O my God, for upon such sinners thou gettest the greatest glory.

O remember for whose sake it was that thou camest from the bosom of thy [Page] Father, and didst let thy self down so low as to be content to be born of thine own humble handmaid.

Remember for whom it was that thy tender body was Torn, & Scourged, and Crucified, and thy precious Blood shed.

Was it not for the sins of the whole world? and shall I be so narrow-hearted to my own Soul, or so injurious to thy Glory, as to think that in all this crowd, thou hast particularly excepted me?

Or, which is as great a dishonour to thee, can I possibly imagine that thou diedst only for Sinners of a lower kind, and leftest such as I am without remedy?

What had become then of him who filled Jerusalem with blood? What of the noted Woman who had lived in a trade of Sin? Nay, what had become of thine own Disciple who with Oaths and Curses thrice denied thee?

O how easie is it for thee to forgive? for it is thy Nature.

How proper is it for thee to save? for it is thy Name.

How suitable is it to thy only End of coming into the World? for it is thy Business.

And when I consider that I am the [Page] chief of Sinners, may I not urge the Father, and say, Shall the very chief of thy business be left undone?

Mercy, Mercy, good Lord.

I ask not of thee any longer the things of this world: neither Power, nor Honours, nor Riches, nor Pleasures. No, my God, dispose of them to whom thou pleasest, so that thou givest me Mercy.

O that I could hear thee once say, as thou didst to him in the Gospel, My Son, be of good chear, thy Sins are forgiven thee.

How would my drooping Spirits revive at such a sound? and my now wounded Soul break forth into Hymns and Praises and Hallelujahs for a mercy so utterly undeserved of me, and which the Angels which fell could never hear of?

But, O my weak Soul, what dost thou fear? or what dost thou scruple at? For thou art not yet in such a desperate condition, but thou mayest expect that what was said to him may possibly be said to thee.

Nay, be confident (though it be with a mixture of fear and trembling) that if thou dost not act the part of an Hypocrite all this while, thy Saviour stands [Page] ready at the very doors of thy Heart, to breath the very same words in a heavenly whisper to thee; Be of good chear, thy Sins are forgiven thee.

Return then unto thy rest, O my Soul, for thy Sins are forgiven thee.

Only take this Counsel along with thee, Sin no more, lest a worse thing fall unto thee.

O that I could never sin against thee more; never purposely, deliberately, wilfully sin against thee more.

And for those sins of daily Incursion, those over-familiar corruptions of my nature, which thou hast not yet given me strength enough to conquer; Lord, either subdue them to me by degrees, or lay them not to my charge.

But wherein soever my Conscience most accuseth me, therein, O my God, be thou most merciful unto me.

Save me, O God, as a Brand snatched out of the Fire.

Receive me, O my Jesu, as a Sheep that hath wandred, but is now returned to the great Shepherd and Bishop of my Soul.

The Jubile of the Penitent Soul after the sense of Pardon obtained.

[Page]

REjoyce over me, O God the Father; that this thy Child was lost, but is found, was dead, but is alive again.

Rejoyce over me, O God the Son, that thy loud Cries and Tears, and bitter Agonies which for my sake thou enduredst upon the Cross, were [...]ot so unhappily lost, as to be cast away in vain upon me.

Rejoyce over me, O God the Holy Ghost, that thy so many secret and powerful touches have at last got the upper hand of me.

Rejoyce over me, O ye holy Angels, a great part of whose Ministery it is, to rejoyce at the Conversion of a Sinner.

Rejoyce over thy self, O my Soul, that thou hast received so much grace from Heaven this day, as sadly to confess thy Sins, seriously to repent of them, and stedfastly to resolve never to be guilty more of so much bruitishness, as to be likened to the Dog that returns to his Vomit, or to the Swine wallowing in the Mire.

The Penitent closeth all with this short Prayer.

[Page]

LET this day, O my God, be noted in thy Book.

Do not thou forget my Prayers, nor suffer me to forget my Resolutions.

For though I am weak, though I am unworthy, though I am unprofitable, yet I am thy Servant.

And here upon my bended Knees I humbly beg of thee, that I may live and die so.

Lord hear my Prayers, and let my cry come unto thee.

Lord, pardon my Prayers, and let not my coldness and wanderings, and infinite unworthiness turn them into sin.

Lord, hear my Prayers, and let my cry come unto thee.

Amen. Amen.

[Page]FESTIVAL HYMNS.

[Page]

Celebrating the Mysteries and chief Festivals of the Year, according to the manner of the Ancient Church: fitted to the fancy and devotion of the younger and pious persons.

Apt for memory, and to be joined to their other Prayers.

Hymns for Advent, or the Weeks immediately before the Birth of our Blessed Saviour.

I.

WHen, Lord, O when shall we

Our Dear Salvation see?

Arise, arise,

Our fainting eyes

[Page] Have long'd all night, and 'twas a long one too.

Man never yet could say.

He saw more than one day,

One day of Eden's seven:

The guilry hour there blasted with the breath

Of sin and death

Hath ever since worn a nocturnal hue.

But thou hast given us hopes that we

At length another day shall see,

Wherein each vile neglected place,

Gilt with the aspect of thy face,

Shall be like that, the porch & gate of heaven

How long, dear God, how long!

See how the Nations throng:

All humane kind,

Knit and combin'd

Into one body, look for the their Head.

Pity our multitude.

Lord, we are vile and rude,

Headless and senseless, without thee,

Of al things but the want of thy blestface.

O haste apace,

And thy bright self to this our body wed

That, through the influx of thy power,

Each part that er'st confusion wore

May put on order, and appear

Spruce as the childhood of the year,

When thou to it shalt so united be.

Amen.

The second Hymn forAdvent; or Christ's coming to Jerusalem in triumph.

[Page]

LOrd, come away,

Why dost thou stay?

Thy rode is ready, and thy paths made straight

With longing expectation wait

The Consecration of thy beautious feet.

Ride on triumphantly, behold we lay

Our lusts and proud wills in thy way.

Hosanna! welcome to our hearts. Lord, here

Thou hast a Temple too, and full as dear

As that of Sion, and as full of sin.

Nothing but Thieves and robbers dwell therein.

Enter, and chase them forth, and clense the floor;

Crucifie them, that they may never more

Profane that holy place,

Where thou hast chose to set thy face.

And then, if our stiff tongues shall be

Mute in the praises of thy Deity,

The stones out of the Temple wall

Shall cry aloud and call

Hosanna! and thy glorious footsteps greet.

Amen.

Hymns for Christmas-day

[Page]

I.

MYsterious truth! that the self-same should be

A Lamb, a Shepherd, and a Lion too!

Yet such was he

Whom first the sheperds knew,

When they themselves became

Sheep to the Shepherd-Lamb.

Shepherd of Men and Angels, Lamb of God,

Lion of Judah, by these titles keep

The Wolf from thy indangered Sheep.

Bring all the world unto thy Fold;

Let Jews and Gentiles hither come

In numbers great that can't be told,

And call thy Lambs, that wander, home.

Glory be to God on high,

All glories be to th' glorious Deity.

The second Hymn; being a Dialogue between three Shepherds.

1 WHere is this Blessed Babe

That hath made

All the world so full of joy

And expectation;

[Page] That glorious boy

That Crowns each Nation

With a triumphant wreath of blessedness?

2 Where should he be but in the throng,

And among

His Angel-Ministers, that sing

And take wing

Just as may Echo to his Voice,

And rejoyce,

When wing and tongue and all

May so procure their happiness?

3 But he hath other Waiters now,

A poor Cow,

An Ox and Mule stand and behold,

And wonder,

That a stable should enfold

Him that can thunder.

Chorus. O what a gracious God have we!

How good! How great! even as our misery.

The third Hymn: Of Christ's Birth in an Inn.

THE blessed Virgin travail'd without pain

And lodged in an Inn,

A glorious Star the sign,

[Page] But of a greater guest than ever came that way:

For there he lay

That is the God of Night and Day,

And over all the pow'rs of Heaven doth reign.

It was the time of great Augustus Tax,

And then he comes

That pays all sums,

Even the whole price of lost Humanity.

And sets us free

From the ungodly Empirie

Of Sin, and Satan, and of Death.

O make our hearts, blest God, thy lodging-place,

And in our brest

Be pleas'd to rest;

For thou lov'st Temples better than an Inn:

And cause that sin

May not profane the Deity within,

And fully o're the ornaments of Grace.

Amen.

A Hymn for Christmas-day.

A Wake, my Soul, and come away,

Put on thy best array,

Lest if thou longer stay,

Thou lost some minutes of so blest a day.

[Page]

Go run and bid good morrow to the Sun,

Welcome his safe return to Capricorn,

And that great morn

Wherein a God was born,

Whose Story none can tell

But he whose every word's a Miracle.

To day Almightiness grew weak,

The World it self was mute,

And could not speak.

That Jacob's Star which made the Sun

To dazzle, if he durst look on,

Now mantled o're in Bethlehem's night

Borrow'd a Star to shew him light.

He that begirt each Zone,

To whom both Poles are one,

Who grasp'd the Zodiack in's hand,

And made it move or stand,

Is now by Nature Man,

By stature but a Span;

Eternity is now grown short,

A King is born without a Court;

The Water thirsts, the Fountain's dry,

And Life, being born, made apt to die.

Chorus. Then let our praises emulate and vie

With his Humility:

[Page] Since he's exil'd from skies,

That we might rise,

From low estate of men

Let's sing him up agen.

Each man wind up's heart

To bear a part

In that Angelick Quire; and show

His glory high, as he was low.

Let's sing t'wards men good will and Charity,

Peace upon Earth, Glory to God on high.

Hallelujah, Hallelujah.

A Hymn upon St. John's day.

This day

We sing

The friend of our eternal King,

Who in his bosom lay,

And kept the Keys

Of his profound and glorious Mysteries:

Which to the world dispensed by his hand,

Made it stand

Fix'd in amazement to behold that light,

Which came

From the throne of the Lamb,

To invite

Our wretched eyes (which nothing else could see

But fire and sword, hunger and miserie)

[Page] T' anticipate by their ravish't sight

The beauty of Celestial delight.

Mysterious God, regard me when I pray:

And when this load of clay

Shall fall away,

O let thy gracious hand conduct me up,

Where on the Lamb's rich viands I may sup;

And in this last supper I

May with thy friend in thy sweet bosom lie

For ever in Eternity.

Allelujah.

Upon the day of the holy Innocents.

MOurnful Judah shreeks and cries

At the obsequies

Of their Babes, that cry

More that they lose the paps, than that they die.

He that came with life to all

Brings the Babes a funeral,

To redeem from slaughter him

Who did redeem us all from sin.

They like himself went spotless hence,

A sacrafice to Innocence,

Which now does ride

Trampling upon Herod's pride,

Passing from their fontinels of clay

To heaven a milky and a bloody way.

[Page] All their tears and groans are dead,

And they to rest and glory fled.

Lord, who wert pleas'd so many Babes should fall,

Whilst each sword hop'd, that every of the All

Was the desired King, make us to be

In Innocence like them, in Glory thee.

Amen.

Upon the Epiphany, and the three Wise men of the East coming to worship Jesus.

A Comet dangling in the air

Presag'd the ruin both of Death and Sin,

And told the wise man of a King,

The King of Glory, and the Sun

Of Righteousness, who then begun

To draw towards that blessed Hemisphere.

They from the farthest East this new

And unknown light pursue,

Till they appear

In this blest Infant-King's propitious eye,

And pay their homage to his Royalty.

Persia might then the rising Sun adore,

It was Idolatry no more.

Great God, they gave to thee

[Page] Myrrhe, Frankincense and Gold:

But, Lord, with what shall we

Present our selves before thy Majesty,

Whom thou redeem'dst when we were sold?

W'have nothing but our selves, and scarce that neither;

Vile dirt and clay:

Yet it is soft, and may

Impression take.

Accept it, Lord, and say, this thou hadst rather;

Stamp it, and on this sordid metal make

Thy holy image, and it shall out-shine

The beauty of the golden Mine.

Amen.

A Meditation of the Four last things.

Death,
For the time of Lent especially.

Judgment,

Heaven,

Hell.

A Meditation of Death.

DEath, the old Serpent's Son,

Thou hadst a sting once like thy Sire,

That carried Hell and ever-burning fire:

But those black days are done;

Thy foolish spite buried thy sting.

[Page] In the profound and wide

Wound of our Saviour's side.

And now thou art become a tame and harmless thing,

A thing we dare not fear

Since we hear

That our triumphant God, to punish thee

For the affront thou didst him on the Tree,

Hath snatcht the Keys of Hell out of thy hand,

And made thee stand

A Porter to the gate of Life, thy mortal enemy.

O thou who art that Gate, command that he

May, when we die,

And thither flee,

Let us into the Courts of Heaven through thee.

Allelujah.

The Prayer.

MY Soul doth pant tow'rds thee,

My God, Source of eternal life:

Flesh fights with me [...]

Oh end the strife,

And part us, that in peace I may Unclay

My wearied spirit, and take

My flight to thy eternal Spring,

Where, for his sake

Who is my King,

I may wash all my tears away That day.

[Page] Thou Conqueror of Death,

Glorious Triumpher o're the Grave,

Whose holy breath

Was spent to save

Lost Mankind, make me to be styl'd

Thy Child;

And take me when I die,

And go unto my dust, my Soul

Above the sky

With Saints enroll,

That in thy arms for ever I

May lie.

Amen.

Of the day of Judgment.

GReat Judge of all, how we vile wretches quake!

Our guilty bones do ake,

Our marrow freezes, when we think

Of the consuming fire

Of thine ire;

And horrid phials thou shalt make

The wicked drink,

When thou the wine-press of thy wrath shalt tread

With feet of lead.

Sinful, rebellious clay! what unknown place

Shall hide it from thy face?

When earth shall vanish from thy sight.

[Page] The Heavens, that never err'd,

But Observ'd

Thy laws, shall from thy presence take their flight,

And, kill'd with glory, their bright eyes stark dead

Start from their head;

Lord, how shall we,

Thy enemies, endure to see

So bright, so killing Majesty?

Mercy, dear Saviour: thy Judgment-seat

We dare not, Lord, intreat;

We are condemn'd already there.

Mercy: vouchsafe one look

Of life. Lord, we can read thysaving Jesus here,

And in his Name our own Salvation see.

Lord, set us free;

The book of sun

Is cross'd within,

Our debts are paid by thee.

Mercy.

Of Heaven.

O Beautious God, uncircumscribed Treasure

Of an eternal pleasure,

Thy Throne is seated far

Above the highest Star,

Where thou prepar'st a glorious place

Within the brightness of thy face

[Page] For every spirit

To inherit

That builds his hopes on thy merit,

And loves thee with an holy Charity.

What ravish'd heart, Scraphick tongue or eyes,

Clear as the morning's rise,

Can speak, or think, or see

That bright Eternity,

Where the great King's transparent Throne

Is of an intire Jasper stone?

There the eye

O'th' Chrysolite,

And a skie

Of Diamonds, Rubies, Chrysoprase,

And above all the holy Face

Makes an Eternal Clarity.

When thou thy Jewels up dost bind, that day

Remember us, we pray;

That where the Beryll lies

And the Crystal 'bove the skies,

There thou may'st appoint us place

Within the brightness of thy face,

And our Soul

In the Scrowl

Of life and blissfulness enrowl,

That we may praise thee to eternity.

Allelujah.

Of Hell.

[Page]

HOrrid darkness, sad and sore,

And an eternal Night,

Groans and shrieks, and thousand more

In the want of glorious light;

Every corner hath a Snake

In the accursed lake.

Seas of fire, beds of snow

Are the best delights below;

A Viper from the fire

Is his hire

That knows not moments from Eternity.

Glorious God of Day and Night,

Spring of Eternal Light,

Allelujahs, Hymns and Psalms

And Coronets of Palms

Fill thy people ever more.

O mighty God,

Let not thy bruising rod

Crush our loins with an eternal pressure;

O let thy mercy be the measure:

For if thou keepest wrath in store,

We all shall die,

And none be left to glorifie

Thy Name, and tell

How thou hast sav'd our Souls from Hell.

Mercy.

On the Conversion of St. Paul.

[Page]

FUll of wrath, his threatning breath

Belching nought but chains and death,

Saul was arrested in his way

By a voice and a light,

That if a thousand days

Should join rays

To beautifie one day,

It would not shew so glorious and so bright.

On his amazed eyes it night did fling,

That day might break within;

And by those beams of Faith

Make him of a child of wrath

Become a vessel full of glory.

Lord, curb us in our dark and sinful way.

We humbly pray,

When we down horrid precipices run

With seet that thirst to be undone,

That this may be our story.

Allelujah.

On the Purification of the Blessed Virgin.

PUre and spotless was the Maid

That to the Temple came,

[Page] A pair of Turtle-doves she paid,

Although she brought the Lamb.

Pure and spotless though she were,

Her body chast and her Soul fair,

She to the Temple went

To be purifi'd,

And try'd

That she was spotless and obedient.

O make us to follow so blest Precedent,

And purifie our Souls, for we

Are cloath'd with sin and misery.

From our Conception

One Imperfection,

And a continued state of sin,

Hath fullied all our faculties within.

We present our Souls to thee

Full of need and misery;

And for Redemption a Lamb

The purest, whitest that e're came

A Sacrifice to thee,

Even he that bled upon the Tree.

On Good-Friday.

THE Lamb is eaten, and is yet again

Preparing to be slain.

The cup is full and mixt,

And must be drunk:

[Page] Wormwood and Gall

To this are draughts to beguile care withall.

Yet the Decree is fixt,

Doubled knees and groans and cries,

Prayers and sighs and flowing eyes

Could not intreat.

His sad Soul sunk

Under the heavy pressure of our sin,

The pains of Death and Hell

About him dwell.

His Fathers burning wrath did make

His very heart, like melting wax, to sweat

Rivers of Blood

Through the pure strainer of his skin:

His boyling body stood

Bubling all o're,

As if the wretched whole were but one door

To let in pain and grief,

And turn out all relief.

O thou, who for our sake

Didst drink up

This bitter Cup,

Remember us, we pray,

In thy day,

When down

The strugling throats of wicked men

The dregs of thy just fury shall be thrown.

Oh then

Let thy unbounded mercy think

[Page] On us, for whom

Thou underwent'st this heavy doom,

And give us of the Well of Life to drink.

Amen.

On the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin.

A Winged Harbinger from bright Heav'n flown

Bespeaks a lodging-room

For the mighty King of Love,

The spotless structure of a Virgin-womb

O're-shadow'd with the wings of the blest Dove:

For he was travelling to earth,

But did desire to lay

By the way,

That he might shift his cloaths, and be

A perfect man as well as we.

How good a God have we! who for our sake,

To save us from the burning lake,

Did change the order of Creation:

At first he made

Man like himself in his own Image; now,

In the more blessed reparation,

The Heaven's bow,

Eternity took the measure of a span,

And said,

[Page] Let us make our self like Man,

And not from Man the Woman take,

But from the Woman, Man.

Allelujah: we adore

His Name whose goodness hath no store.

Allelujah.

Easter-day.

WHat glorious light!

How bright a Sun after so sad a night

Does now begin to dawn! Bless'd were those eyes

That did behold

This Sun when he did first unfold

His glorious beams, and now begin to rise.

It was the holy tender Sex

That saw the first ray:

Saint Peter and the other had the reflex,

The second glimpse o'th' day.

Innocence had the first, and he

That fled, and then did penance, next did see

The glorious Sun of Righteousness

In his new dress

Of triumph, immortality and bliss.

O dearest God preserve our Souls

In holy innocence;

Or if we do amiss,

[Page] Make us to rise again to th' life of Grace, (face,

That we may live with thee, and see thy glorious

The Crown of holy Penitence.

Allelujah.

On the Day of Ascension.

HE is risen higher, not set:

Indeed a cloud

Did with his leave make bold to shrowd

The Sun of Glory from Mouut Olivet.

At Pentecost hee'I shew himself again,

When every ray shall be a tongue

To speak all comforts, and inspire

Our Souls with their coelestial fire;

That we the Saints among

May sing and love and reign.

Amen.

On the Feast of Pentecost, or Whitsunday.

TOngues of fire from Heaven descend

With a mighty rushing wind,

To blow it up and make

A living fire

Of heavenly Charity and pure desire,

[Page] Where they their residence should take.

On the Apostles sacred heads they sit,

Who now like Beacons do proclaim and tell

Th' invasion of the host of Hell,

And give men warning to defend

Themselves from the inraged brunt of it.

Lord, let the flames of holy Charity

And all her gifts and graces slide

Into our hearts, and there abide;

That thus refined, we may soar above

With it unto the element of Love,

Even unto thee, dear Spirit,

And there eternal peace and rest inherit.

Amen.

Penitential Hymns.

I.

LOrd, I have sinn'd, and the black number swells

To such a dismal sum,

That should my stony heart and eyes,

And this whole sinful trunk, a flood become,

And run to tears, their drops could not suffice

To count my score,

Much less to pay:

But thou, my God, hast blood in store,

And art the Patron of the poor.

[Page] Yet since the Balsame of thy blood,

Although it can, will do no good,

Unless the wounds be cleans'd with tears before;

Thou in whose sweet, but pensive, face

Laughter could never steal a place,

Teach but my heart and eyes

To melt away.

And then one drop of Balsam will suffice.

Amen.

II.

GReat God, and just! how canst thou see,

Dear God, our misery,

And not in mercy set us free?

Poor miserable man ! how wert thou born,

Weak as the dewy jewels of the Morn,

Wrapt up in tender dust,

Guarded with sins and lust,

Who like Court-flatterers wait

To serve themselves in thy unhappy fate?

Wealth is a snare, and poverty brings in

Inlets for theft, paving the way for sin:

Each perfum'd vanity doth gently breath

Sin in thy Soul, and whispers it to death.

Our faults like ulcerated sores do go

O're the sound flesh, and do corrupt that too.

Lord, we are sick, spotted with sin,

Thick as a crusty Leper's skin.

[Page] Like Naaman, bid us wash, yet let it be

In streams of blood that flow from thee.

Then will we sing,

Touch'd by the heavenly Dove's bright wing,

Hallelujabs, Psalms and Praise

To God the Lord of night and days;

Ever good and ever just,

Ever high, who ever must

Thus be sung, is still the same:

Eternal praises crown his Name.

Amen.

§

A Prayer for Charity.

FUll of Mercy, full of Love,

Look upon us from above;

Thou who taught'st the blind man's night

To entertain a double light,

Thine and the day's, (and that thine too:)

The Lame away his Crutches threw;

The parched crust of Leprosie

Return'd unto its infancy;

The Dumb amazed was to hear

His own unchain'd tongue strike his ear:

Thy powerful mercy did even chase

The Devil from his usurp'd place,

[Page] Where thou thy self should'st dwell, not he.

O let thy love our pattern be:

Let thy Mercy teach one Brother

To forgive and love another;

That copying thy Mercy here,

Thy Goodness may hereafter rear

Our Souls unto thy glory, when

Our Dust shall cease to be with [...]en.

Amen.

The End

[Page]

Information about this book

Title statement

A choice manual containing what is to be believed, practised, and desired or prayed for; the prayers being fitted to the several days of the week. Also festival hymns, according to the manner of the ancient church. Composed for the use of the devout, especially of younger persons, by Jeremy Taylor, D.D.

Taylor, Jeremy, 1613-1667.

Edition statement

1677

Publication

Publisher

Text Creation Partnership,

Place of publication

Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) :

Date

2005-10 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1).

ID [DLPS]

A63668

ID [STC]

Wing T292

ID [STC]

ESTC R219156

ID [EEBO-CITATION]

99830672

ID [PROQUEST]

99830672

ID [VID]

35125

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This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal. The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.

Series

Early English books online.

Notes

(EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A63668)

Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 35125)

Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 2080:16)

Source

— A choice manual containing what is to be believed, practised, and desired or prayed for; the prayers being fitted to the several days of the week. Also festival hymns, according to the manner of the ancient church. Composed for the use of the devout, especially of younger persons, by Jeremy Taylor, D.D., Taylor, Jeremy, 1613-1667., Duppa, Brian, 1588-1662. Guide for the penitent: or, A modell drawn up for the help of a devout soul wounded with sin.. The eleventh edition..

Extent

[12], 216 p. : ill.

printed by J. Grover, for R. Royston, bookseller to his most Sacred Majesty,. London :: 1677.. (Half title: The golden grove. The eleventh edition.) (Includes additional title page (A1v), engraved: The guide of instant-devotion together with A guide for the penitent.) ("A guide for the penitent. .." has a separate dated title page; pagination and register are continuous.) (Reproduction of the original in the British Library.)

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The EEBO-TCP project was divided into two phases. The 25,363 texts created during Phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 January 2015. Anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source.

Users should be aware of the process of creating the TCP texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data.

Text selection was based on the New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature (NCBEL). If an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in NCBEL, then their works are eligible for inclusion. Selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. In general, first editions of a works in English were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably Latin and Welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so.

Image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. Quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in Oxford and Michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet QA standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. After proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. Any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. Understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of TCP data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. Users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a TCP editor.

The texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the TEI in Libraries guidelines.

Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements).

Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site.