IN MEMORIAM BERNARD MOSES
V
3
7
JENKS' DEVOTION.
PRAYERS
OFFICES OF DEYOTIOiN;
FOR FAMILES, AND FOR PARTICULAR PERSONS, UPON MOST OCCASIONS.
BY BENJAMIN JENKS.
n
A NEW EDITION, ALTERED AND IMPROVED
BY THE
REV. CHARLES SIMEON.
LONDON: T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW;
EDINBURGH ; AND NEW YOKK.
MOttS
CONTENTS,
STATED PRAYERS.
Page First .................................... 9 Fifth
Second ................................. 12 Sixth
Third 14 Seventh 26
Fourth 17
|
Second |
32 |
Sixth |
48 |
|
Third Fourth |
85 39 |
Seventh |
53 |
SABBATH MORNING.
First 57 1 Mid-day...
Second 59
First
EVENING. 66 | Second. 69
PUBLIC AND GENERAL OCCASIONS.
BEFORE RECEIVING THE SACRAMENT.
A Confession from the Com- I A Prayer 81
mandments 74 |
AT THE SACRAMENT.
Ejaculations before receiving.. .86 | Ejaculations after receiving ...89
AFTER THE SACRAME]S7T. A Prayer 92 J A Dedication 95
776805
vi
CONTENTS.
Morning...
FAST DAYS.
(SEE PAGE 74.) Page
97 | Evening..,
103
HOLY SEASONS.
The Incarnation of Christ 109
The Death of Christ Ill
The Resurrection of Christ 114
The Ascension of Christ 116
The Descent of the Holy Ghost 117
The Commemoration of any Saint 119
PRIVATE AND PARTICULAR OCCASIONS
UNDER AFFLICTIVE CIRCUMSTANCES — OF A TEMPORAL NATURE.
Abuses and Provocations 121
Infamy and Disgrace 124
Crosses and Disappointments.. 126 Difficulties and Perplexities... 127
Losses and Damages 128
Imminent Dangers 129
Bodily Accidents 131
Confinement and Loss of Li- berty 133
Death of Neighbours 135
Death of dear Friends 136
OF A SPIRITUAL NATURE.
A Review of Past Sins 138
Conviction of Sin 139
A Dread of God's Wrath. 144
Doubts and Fears 146
Temptations 148
Backsliding 150
Relapse into gross Sin 152
UNDER PROSPEROUS CIRCUMSTANCES.
For Temporal Blessings 156
In a State of Prosperity 157
In Prospect of Marriage 159
On undertaking any great
Enterprise 161
When going from Home 163
FOR PARTICULAR GRACES AND BLESSINGS.
Illumination and Knowledge.,164
Faith 167
Prayer for Power to live upon the Promises. 168
Repentance 174
Humility 176
Tenderness of Heart 178
CONTENfR.
VI 1
OBEDIENCE.
Page
Fear of God ittO
Love of God 182
Hope in God 185
Love to Man 187
Chastity 188
Meekness lyo
Patience 192
Mortification of Sin 194
Sincerity ibti
INCREASING SANCTIFICATION.
Increase of Grace 199
Quickening Grace 201
Assisting Grace 202
Before hearing the Word 204
After hearing the Word 205
Mindfulness of God's presence.. 207
A devout Frame 209
Communion with God 210
Comfort 213
Heavenly-Mindedness 215
Earnestness in the pursuit of Religion 217
Constancy in the profession of
Religion 220
Zeal in the practice of it 222
Delight in God's Service 225
Wisdom to fill up our station . 22(> Wisdom to conduct ourselves
aright 228
Wisdom to use our speech
aright 231
Persevering Grace 233
Preparation lor Death 235
PRAYERS FOR THE USE OF PARTICULAR PERSONS.
A Minister 237
A Magistrate 240
A Husband 243
A Wife 245
A Widow 246
An Orphan 248
An Aged Person ..249
A Child 25i
The Rich 253
The Poor 256
A Master 258
A Servant 260
A Soldier 263
A Sailor 26«i
A condemned Malei'actor 268
INTERCESSIONS.
GENERAL.
The Prosperity of the Church
of Christ 272
Reformed Churches abroad.... 274
Our own Church 276
Unity among Christians 279
The Queen and all our Rul- ers 280
The Bishops and Ministers.. .283 Societies for the Reformation of Manners 285
Vill
CONTENTS.
PRAYERS FOR THE NATION AT LARGE.
Page Page
War. 2*8 Friends, that are pious 301
Public Commotions 290 Friends, that appear uncon-
Infection 292 verted 302
l^rought 293 Children 305
Excessive Rains 294 Parents 306
Famine 295 Enemies 307
Thunder or Tempests 296 The Unconverted 309
Calamities of any kind 298 Hardened Sinners ...313
Benefactors. 300 All that desire our Prayers.. .315
PARTICULAR INTERCESSIONS.
A woman in Travail 317 One in Great Pain 330
A Sick Child ols One under Lingering Sick- One Melancholy and dejected..319 ness 332
One in Trouble of Soul 321 One under Dangerous Sick- One Lunatic and distracted.... 313 ness 333
One Stupified or Light-headed.325 One Dying 336
One Blind 327
THANKSGIVINGS.
GENERAL.
Temporal Blessings 3 '8 Victory over our Enemies 841
]?ain >39 Peace 342
Fair Weather ib. On a Public Thanksgiving
Infection Removed ib. Day 343
Plenty Restored -40
PARTICULAR TEMPORAL BLESSINGS.
A safe and good Journey 346 Deliverance from Travail 351
Deliverance from Dangers Recovery from Sickness 352
and Troubles 348
PARTICULAR SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS.
Conversion 355 A Prayer in the Order of the
Recovery from Backsliding.. .358 Lord's Prayer. 361
Spiritual Victory 360 A Soliloquy, by way of Para
phrase on the Creed 367
PRAYERS
AND
OFFICES OF DEVOTION.
FIRST MORNING PRAYER FOR A FAMILY.
OLORD, thou God of our salvation ! Thou art the hope of all the ends of the earth; upon thee the eyes of all do wait: for thou givest unto all life, and breath, and all things. In thee we ever live, and move, and are ; and upon thee we con- tinually depend for all the good that we either have, or hope for. Still thou watchest over us for good, and takest care of us in our sleep, when we are incapable of caring for ourselves: daily thou renewest to us thy tender mercies: every morning affords us fresh occasions for praise and thanksgiving. And thou hast assured us by thy word, that, if we commit our affairs to thee, and acknowledge thee in all our ways, thou wilt establish our thoughts, and direct our path. We desire therefore, O Lord, still to put ourselves under thy gracious conduct, and thy fatherly pro- tection : and we beg the guidance, and blessing, and assistance of thy good Spirit, to choose our
, -FIRST MORNING PRAYER
ee for us; and to dispose of us, and of all that concerns us, to the glory of thy name.
O Lord, withdraw not thy tender mercies from us; take not away the comforts of thy presence, or the assistance of thy Spirit, on account of our manifold abuses of thy grace and goodness. Never punish our past sins, by giving us over to the love and power of our sins : but give us truly penitent hearts, and grant us thy merciful dis- charge from all the guilt that lies upon us. And grant us, O good God, the comfortable sense of thine acceptance of us in the Son of thy love, that our souls may bless thee, and all that is within us may praise thy holy name.
And O that we may find the joy of the Lord to be our strength ; that we may be strengthened by it against all our sins; especially the sins to which we are most addicted, and whereof we are most in danger: make us also more ready to every good work, and better disposed for all the duties which we owe to Thee, our neighbour and our- selves; that herein we may exercise ourselves, to have always a conscience void of offence, towards God, and towards men.
O help us to walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise; carefully redeeming the time that we have lost, and conscientiously improving all those seasons of grace which thou art pleased to put into our hands. And while we are upon earth, O give us all things needful and convenient for our present pilgrimage: sanctify to us all our
FOR A FAMILY. ll
enjoyments, and all our occupations in the world : let our crosses also, and our comforts, and all events that now befall us, be improved to thy glory; till, through the merits, of thy Son, and the multitude of thy mercies, we are conducted safely to be ever with the Lord. Amidst all our other affairs in this world, O let us never forget or neglect the one thing needful; but may it be our principal care so to demean ourselves every day, that we may give up our account with joy in the great day of thine appearing.
O gracious Tather! keep us, we beseech thee, this day in thy fear and favour; and help us to live to thine honour and glory. If thou guide us not, we shall run into errors; if thou preserve us not, we shall fall into dangers. O let thy good Providence be our defence and security: and let thy Holy Spirit be our guide and counsellor in all our ways. And grant that we may do those things which are agreeable to thy will, and acceptable in thy sight, through Jesus Christ; in whose sacred name and words, we close our im- perfect petitions. Our Father, &c.
Let thy grace, O Lord Jesus Christ ; thy love, O heavenly Father; thy comfortable fellowship, O holy blessed Spirit, be with us, and with all the Israel of God, this day, and for evermore. A men.
12 SECOND MORNING PRAYER
A SECOND MORNING PRAYER FOR A FAMILY.
OLORD, thou art the God, whose we are and whom we ought to serve, with all the abilities wherewith thou hast blessed us. We are bound by all the obligations of thy laws, and by all the endearments of thy love, to be faithful in the covenant of our God, and to abound in the work of the Lord. But we desire to humble ourselves before thee, that our lives have been so unservice- able to thee, and so full of provocation against thee: that the dishonour which we have done thee, O Lord, has so far exceeded all our services; that we have lived to ourselves, rather than to thee; and have served our own lusts and plea- sures, more than thy holy blessed will. O how have we disbelieved thy truths, disobeyed thy commands, disregarded thy promises and threats! How have we resisted and defeated all the gracious methods, which thou hast used to re- claim us from our evil ways, and to bring us over to thyself.
We have sinned against thee our God, and done infinite wrong and damage to our own souls : by our sins we have spoiled arid destroyed our- selves. But it is not in us, O Lord, to recover and save ourselves : in thee, O heavenly Father, in thee alone, is all our help. Yea, thou hast laid help upon One that is mighty, and that is
FOR A FAMILY. 13
able to save to the uttermost all that come to Thee through him : through him thou hast encouraged us to come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in every time of need. In him, therefore, we beg, O Lord, that thou wilt be reconciled to us, and make thyself known to us as a Father of mercies, and a God of all consolation.
For his sake, enable us also (we beseech thee) to demean ourselves as becomes the children of God, and the members and followers of Christ. O put such principles of grace and holiness into our hearts, as may make us to hate all iniquity, and to abhor every false way. Put thy Spirit within us, causing us to walk in thy statutes, and to keep thy judgments, and to do them. Do not merely lay thy commands upon us; but be pleased, O Lord, to enable us for the performance of them. And so quicken us by thy grace, that we may make it our meat and drink to do thy will; and may run the way of thy command- ments with enlarged hearts. O make our services acceptable to thee while we live; and our souls ready for thee when we die. And as long as we are in this world, keep us, O Lord our God, from the evil of it, and from the snares and dangers to which thou knowest we are continually exposed. O make our passage safe through all the changes, troubles, and temptations ot this mortal life, and bring us finally to the unchangeable glories and felicities of the eternal world.
14 THIRD MORNING PRAYER
Be merciful to us, good Lord, and bless us, and keep us this day, in all our ways. Let us take nothing in hand which is not warranted by thy word. O let us be in the fear of the Lord all the day long: let thy fear be ever before our eyes to restrain us from the things which are dis- pleasing to thee, and destructive to our own souls. And let thy love abound in our hearts, and sweetly and powerfully constrain us to per- form whatever is acceptable in thy sight, through him that hath loved and redeemed us, even the Lord our righteousness: in whose blessed name and words we continue praying, Our Father, &c.
The blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, be with us, and with all that belong to us, this day, and for evermore. Amen.
A THIRD MORNING PRAYER.
OLORD GOD, merciful and gracious, long- suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth! thou keepest mercy for thousands; thou pardonest iniquity, transgression, and sin; thou retainest not thine anger for ever, because thou delightest in mercy; how excellent is thy loving- kindness, O God! therefore do the sons of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings; and therefore do we desire still to look up to that boun- tiful hand of thine, from whence we have received all our good things. O Lord our God ! be thou
FOR A FAMILY. 15
pleased to look down mercifully upon us, and be gracious and favourable to us, as thou usest to be unto those that love thy name. O look not upon the sin of our nature, nor the sins of our hearts and lives, which are more than we can remember, and greater than we can express; behold, we are vile; we are exceeding guilty; we acknowledge that it is of thy mercies we are not consumed, even because thy compassions fail not. But look upon us in mercy, through the merits and mediation of thy Son our Saviour; pity us for his sake who did no sin, and was manifested to take away our sins: by him let us have access to thy Majesty; and for his sake bestow upon us the blessings which we so greatly need. Thou hast treasured up in Him an infinite fulness of all that we can ever want or wish: O that we may all receive out of his fulness grace sufficient for us! Let us receive from him those gifts which He is now empowered and commissioned to bestow; those gifts which are the purchase of his blood, and the necessary means of our salvation. Pour down upon us the abundance of thy grace. Accept and justify our persons; renew and sanctify our souls; and so transform us into thy blessed image, that we may be meet to be partakers of the inheritance of thy saints in light.
Teach us, O Lord our God, to use this world without abusing it, and to enjoy the things of it, without suffering them to engross our affections. Whatever we have of the world, O let it be sane-
16 THIRD MORNING PRAYER
tified to us by the word of God, and prayer. And whatsoever we want of the things of this life, O Lord our heavenly Father, leave us not destitute of those things that accompany salvation: but do thou adorn our souls with all the graces of thy Holy Spirit, that we may glorify thee in all things, and that our conversation may be such as be- cometh the Gospel of Christ.
Help us, O gracious Lord, in the whole of our duty to thee our God; and also in the discharge of all relative duties which we owe to men, whether superiors, equals, or inferiors; enable us to walk wisely toward them which are without, and kindly toward them that are within. Let us never cast a stumbling-block in the way of others, or cause thy holy name to be blasphemed through our misconduct: but let us pass the time of our sojourning here in fear; that, having glorified thee on earth, we may be glorified by thee in the great day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And now that thou hast renewed thy mercies to us this morning, help us gracious God, to re- new our desires and endeavours to serve and honour thee. O restrain us from the evils and follies into which we are prone to fall; and quicken us to the offices and duties which we are averse to perform. And grant that we may think, and speak, and act as becometh saints; ever re- membering that we are bought with the precious blood of Christ, and ever striving to live unto him, who died for us and rose again; to whom,
FOR A FAMILY. J7
with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be glory
and honour world without end. Amen. Our Father, &c.
A FOURTH MORNING PRAYER.
OLORD GOD, that hearest prayer, and art nigh to all that call upon thee in truth, we are moved by our own necessities,, and encouraged by thy daily mercies, to renew our supplications at the throne of thy grace. And we beg of thee, who fashionest all the hearts of the sons of men, to prepare our hearts, that we may now come into thy holy presence, and call upon thy blessed name in a due and acceptable manner. O ! pour upon us the spirit of grace and of supplication ; let thy good Spirit help our infirmities; and teach us to ask such things, and in such a way, as shall be most agreeable to thy will, and most advantageous to our souls.
Behold ! we, who are but poor worms, and sinful dust and ashes, have taken upon us now to speak unto thee, the sovereign Majesty of heaven and earth : we have too just cause to be afraid lest our great and manifold sins should have provoked thee to hide thy face from us, and to shut up thy loving-kindness in displeasure. We know that we have done wickedly, in not hearkening to the calls of thy word, or yielding to the motions of thy Spirit. Our iniquities are
18 FOURTH MORNING PRAYER
increased over our heads ; our trespass is grown up even unto heaven; and our sins are a sore burden, too heavy for us to bear. If thou, O Lord, shouldst enter into judgment with us for our actions, we could not answer thee for one of a thousand ; we must lay our hands upon our mouths, and plead guilty before thee, and place our whole dependence upon t&y mercy,
O God, be merciful to us, miserable sinners : for the sake of Him, whom thou hast exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to thy people, and forgiveness of sins, be merciful to us, we pray thee; and heal our souls, that have greatly sinned against thee. O heal our backslidings, renew us to repentance, and estab- lish our goings in thy holy ways : let us not be so wavering, and bent to backslide ; let us not so revolt from thee, and return to folly after thou hast spoken peace unto us; but may we go on conquering and to conquer all the enemies of our souls ; till every obstacle to our salvation be surmounted, and Satan himself be bruised under our feet.
O thou God of all grace ! bring such thoughts to our minds., and lay such considerations upon our hearts, as thou knowest will effectually keep us from our iniquity, and prevail with us to do thy will : put thy fear in our hearts, that we may not any more depart from thee ; and preserve us holy and unblameable unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the mean time sanctify
FOR A FAMILY. ID
to us all the dispensations of thy Providence, and bless us in every condition and relation of life. Make us humble in an high estate, or contented in a low one ; nor let us ever forget, that the care of our souls is the one thing needful. O make us mindful of this, that we may follow incessantly those things which shall bring us peace at the last.
Dispose of us, we beseech, and of all that con- cerns us, to the glory of thy name. O keep us at all times, and in all places and companies, from the evil of sin, and from all other evils to which the greatness of our sins has made us liable. And take thou, O heavenly Father, the gracious charge and government of us this day ; and so guide us by thy counsel, that hereafter thou mayest receive us to glory. All this we ask through thy tender mercies, and our Saviour's abundant merits; in whose own words, we beg all things needful for ourselves and others, at thy hands. Our Father, &c.
A FIFTH MORNING PRAYER.
OLORD our God ! thy name is most excellent in all the earth : thou hast set up thy glory above the heavens, and thou art worthy to be celebrated with everlasting praises of men and angels : for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are, and were created. Thy
20 FIFTH MORNING PKAYEH
hands, O Lord, have made us and fashioned us; and thou hast breathed into our nostrils the breath of life; yea, still thou boldest our souls in life, and givest us every good thing that makes our life a blessing and comfort to us. Thou hast formed us for thyself that we should show forth thy praise, and that we should live to thy glory, as we do live continually upon thy bounty.
But, O Lord our God ! we have in no respect glorified thee as we ought : yea, rather, how greatly have we dishonoured thee in the whole course of our lives ! Time after time have we forgotten thee, the gracious giver of all our good things, who art never unmindful of us. O how soon have we been weary of doing thee service, who art never weary of doing us good ! We have not only neglected thy word, but have been disobedient to thy word, and have walked after our own foolish and hurtful lusts, which might long since have drowned us in destruction and perdition.
For these things we desire to pour out our hearts, and to humble our sinful selves here be- fore thee ; and for the sake of that mercy of thine in Christ Jesus, which has moved thee to spare us so long, and to do so much for us al- ready, we intreat thee to pity us. Give us re- pentance and pardon for all that is past, wherein we have offended thee ; whether in omitting our duty, or failing in it, or doing contrary to it. Howsoever we have transgressed, O humble us
FOR A FAMILY. 21
duly under the sense of it; and, for thy dear Son's sake, absolve us thoroughly from the guilt of it.
And strengthen us, good Lord, with might by thy Spirit in the inner man; that we may be more watchful against temptation, and more vic- torious over our corruptions. O destroy in us every vicious inclination, every evil habit, every rebellious motion, that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and of Christ Jesus our Lord. And increase and confirm in us, still more and more, the graces of thy Holy Spirit, especially those which thou knowest to be most wanting in us, and most necessary for us. Fill us with the knowledge of thy will, with faith in thy pro- mises, and with the fear and love of thy holy name. Give us whatsoever shall make our lives more comfortable to ourselves, more profitable to others, and more honourable to thee our God. And, whatever be our condition as to the con- cerns of this present time, may we still be found in the way of our duty, fearing God and working righteousness: may we secure our interest in the great Saviour of the world, that when all earthly help shall fail us, thou mayest take us up, and be the strength of our hearts, and our portion for ever.
Day by day we magnify thee, O Lord, who art making every day a further addition to thy mercies. We bless thee for our last night's pre- servation and protection, and for the rest aiul
22 SIXTH MORNING PRAYER
refreshment which thou hast given us therein. O cause us to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning, for in thee do we trust; cause us to know the way wherein we shall go, for we lift up our souls to thee. Cast us not away from thy presence ; take not thy Holy Spirit from us : but direct all our ways to please thee our God, that thou mayest crown us with blessing and good success. Help us to see thy power, to own thy presence, to admire thy wisdom, and to love thy goodness in all thy creatures. And by all the comforts of creatures, draw us still nearer to thyself, the blessed Creator of every comfort; and let our meditations of God be sweet as well as frequent, that delighting ourselves in the Lord, we may obtain the desire of our hearts. Such thy mercy and grace we beg for ourselves, and all ours, and thine, every where, in our great Mediator's form of prayer, Our Father, £c.
A SIXTH MORNING PRAYER.
TT7E do here present ourselves this morning be- T y fore thy glorious Majesty, most blessed Lord God, desiring to pay unto thee that tribute of homage and service, of prayer and praise, which is so justly due. We desire to approach thee in such a manner, that thou mayest mercifully ac- cept both us and our services, at the hands of Jesus Christ. In his great name we come to
FOR A FAMILY. 23
thee at thy command, and worship at thy foot- stool : in his name we implore thy pardon ; we intreat thee to give us an increase of thy grace, and fresh tokens of thy love. We are not worthy indeed that thou shouldst take notice of us, or be intreated by us : but worthy is the Lamb, that was slain to take away the sins of the world ; worthy is the Lamb, that thou shouldst for his sake do more for us than we can ask or even think : for he has fulfilled those holy laws which we have broken, and perfectly satisfied thy jus- tice for all our transgressions of them. In him thou art a God gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness even to the chief of sinners : in him thou art reconciled to those who deserve nothing but to be forsaken and abhorred by thee. We acknowledge that to us belong shame and confusion of face : our sins have been so multiplied, that we might well expect thy judgment and fiery indignation : and if thou shouldst be extreme to mark what is done amiss, we could not escape the curses of thy holy law.
But, O gracious Father, regard not what we have done against thy Majesty; but rather re- gard what our blessed Saviour has done for our souls : consider not what we have made our- selves, but what he is made of thee our God unto us. And O that Christ may be to every one of us (what he is to all thy faithful people) wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption ! Let his precious blood cleanse us
24 SIXTH MORNING PRAYER
from all our sins ; and let the grace of thy Holy Spirit renew and sanctify our souls. Righteous Father, subdue, we pray thee, our iniquities, and mortify our lusts ; quicken us to all the duties of thy holy service, and enable us to perform them with profit and delight. O let not sin reign in our mortal bodies, that we should obey it in the lusts thereof. Let there be no sin in us which is not felt and hated, bewailed and re- sisted by us : let us approve our very hearts to thee, the searcher of them ; and let all our ways be pleasing in thy sight.
O teach us to know thee our God; and enable us to do thy will, as we ought to do. Give us hearts to fear thee, and to love thee : cause us to trust in thee, and to adhere with faithfulness unto thee. Let no temptations draw us, nor any tribulations drive us, from thee : but let all thy dispensations to us be received as messengers of thy love to our souls ; and let all thy dealings with us bring us nearer to thy blessed self, and make us fitter for thy heavenly kingdom. Quicken us, O Lord, in our dulness; that, instead of dishonouring thee by our lifeless and listless services, we may abound in thy work, and be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. Make us also faithful in all our intercourse with our neighbours. Make us ready to do good, and to bear evil : make us just and kind, merciful and meek, peaceable and patient, sober and temper- ate, humble and self-denying, inoffensive and
FOR A FAMILY. 25
exemplary in our conduct ; that so glorifying thee here upon earth, we may, at our departure hence, he received into the joy of our Lord, and be for ever glorified in thy heavenly kingdom.
O thou that hast kept us alive to this day, and hast refreshed us during the night season, renew thy mercy to us together with this morn- ing light. Thou that makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice, lift up the light of thy countenance upon us,, and make us glad with the tokens of thy love : and as thou art ever present with us, O make us ever sensible of thy presence, that we may duly remember thee in all our ways, and wisely demean ourselves in all our affairs. Be with us, good Lord, at our going out, arid our coming in : and let thy grace follow us this day, and all the days of our life, O never leave us, never, never forsake us ; but be our guide unto death, in death our comfort, and after death our everlasting portion. O hear us from heaven, thy dwelling-place ; and, when thou hearest, have mercy; forgive the sins of our persons, and the sins of our prayers: and do more for us, than we are worthy to expect at thy hands ; for his sake, who alone is worthy : in whose comprehensive words we sum up all our desires, Our Father, &cx
26 SEVENTH MOUSING PRAYER
A SEVENTH MORNING PRAYER.
OLORD God Almighty, thou art the sove- reign Majesty of heaven and earth, against whom all our sins have been committed, and by whom alone they can be pardoned ! there is none but thee, by whom our iniquities can be subdued, our souls be sanctified, or our necessities sup- plied. But thou art able, and also ready to hear and help, to bless and save, thy people that call upon thee ; thou delightest to show mercy, and lovest the occasions of glorifying thy compassion. We come to thee therefore, O Lord, begging that mercy, which thou knowest we extremely want, and grace to help us in this time of our need. We beg the same for the sake of thine infinitely beloved Son, who alone is worthy, and in whose precious blood is all our trust.
We are unclean, Lord, we are unclean ; and thou mayest well abhor our guilty souls : but O look upon us in the Son of thy love; and prepare us for the mercies which thou hast treasured up for us in him. Make us to feel the burden and the bitterness of our sins; nor let us ever at- tempt to cover and conceal them, lest they find us out at the last, and overwhelm us with shame and misery. Holy Father! carry on with power thy great work, even the work of faith, and the sanctification of our souls. Quicken us, O Lord our God, and stir us up to thy work ; arid assist
FOR A FAMILY. 27
us in the performance of all our duties, which of ourselves thou knowest we are unable to per- form. Work in us to will and to do^ of thy good pleasure, establish the things, O God, which thou hast already wrought for us ; and go on to work mightily upon our hearts by thy grace, till our souls are fitted for the enjoyment of thy glory. Gracious Lord, thy mercies are fresh and new to us every morning. We have laid us down and slept, arid awaked again ; for thou hast sus- tained us : thou hast kept us from the terrors of the night, and from all evil accidents; so that we are once more risen in peace and safety. Glory be to thee, O God of our salvation, who art still so mindful of us, so merciful unto us. Go on, we pray thee, to be good to us this day, and teach us how to demean ourselves aright, and to order our affairs to thy glory. O direct our undertakings, and prosper our endeavours. Rule our hearts in thy fear and love, and keep us liv- ing to thy praise and honour. Behold, we com- mit ourselves to thee, and shelter ourselves under the shadow of thy wings : O keep us from evil, and help us to do that which is good and pleas- ing to our God, through Jesus Christ. Give us. Lord, all that we have asked as we should ; for- give us all that we have asked amiss ; and be- stow on us all things needful, which we should have asked ; and which we continue to ask, in the comprehensive words of thy dear Son — Our Father, &c.
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28 FIRST EVENING PRAYER
FIRST EVENING PRAYER FOR A FAMILY
OLORD our God ! thou art infinitely great, and infinitely good. Thy glory is above all our thoughts, and thy mercies are more than can be numbered. O what cause have we to admire, and bless, and praise thee, for making us the objects of thy love, and the living monuments of thy goodness ! When we survey thy glorious perfections, especially as they shine forth in the person of Jesus Christ, we are encouraged to come unto thee, we are emboldened to call thee Father. And though we have great and many sins to confess, yet do we look up with confi- dence, trusting that thou wilt pardon them, and give us power from on high to mortify and sub- due them.
[]Thou didst create us,, O Lord, after thine own blessed image, in a holy and happy estate : but we have made ourselves vile and miserable ; we are no longer upright, but have sought out many inventions : we are become averse to good, and prone to evil ; yea, so full are we of all iniquity, that we are a mystery to ourselves ; we wonder at the depravity of our own hearts, and are astonished that thou hast not long since cut us off in anger, and shut us up under final de- spair of mercy. But thou hast declared thy willingness to be reconciled even to thine enemies ; yea, thou hast sent thine only Son into the world
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F.>r this very end : thou hast sent him, that all luight believe in him; and that whosoever be- iieveth in him, should not perish but have ever- lasting life. O Lord,, we believe, help our un- belief : and give us true repentance towards God, and right faith in our Lord Jesus Christ ; that we may be of the number of those who re- pent and believe to the saving of their souls.
And save us, O good Lord, from the love and course of this present evil world, and from every self-destroying way which we are tempted to follow. Make us a way to escape out of all the snares of temptation, wherewith we have been entangled; and let us so experience the bitter-- ness of sin and the excellence of thy ways, that we may never regard either the allurements or discouragements of this sinful world. Establish, strengthen, settle us, O Lord : that going forth in thy strength, we may do thy will to all well- pleasing, and continue in thy fear to our lives' end.]
While we supplicate thy mercy for ourselves, we would humbly implore thy blessing, O Lord, on all those whom we ought to remember in our prayers. O bring nigh unto thee all those that are yet afar off! and make manifest the savour of thy knowledge in every place : let such as yet sit in darkness and the shadow of death, behold the light of thy truth, and the joy of thy salvation. O that all who name the name of Christ may depart from iniquity, and so live
SO FIRST EVENING PRAYER
up to their profession, as to give no just occasion for thine enemies to blaspheme ! Let it be the ambition of all thy people to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things, and to put to silence the ignorai... of foolish men by well doing.
Be gracious and favourable, O Lord, to thy church, and especially to that part of it which thou hast planted in this nation. Arise, O God, and plead thine own cause, and maintain thy holy religion, which thou hast so long established amongst us. O let not the enemies of thy church ever have cause to say, that they have prevailed against thy people ; but let those that espouse thy cause, and stand up for the defence of thy truth, go on and prosper; and ever have cause to say, The Lord le magnified who hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servants.
Bless, with the choicest of thy blessings, the Queen, whom thou hast put in authority over us. Protect her person, direct her councils, and pros- per all her endeavours for the peace and welfare of her dominions. Give to all magistrates wis- dom and courage to defend thy truth, and to do right to all. Make all ministers to be ensamples to the flock, in all righteousness and holiness of living. And establish all of us to be an holy people to thyself; granting us one heart, and ono way, that we may fear thee for ever, for the good of us and of our children after us.
Comfort all who want the comforts which we
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enjoy ; and relieve the necessities of all thine afflicted people throughout the world. Remem- ber all our friends and benefactors, our kindred after the flesh, and all who are near and dear unto us ; remember them with the favour which thou bearest to thy people. Make them, O Lord, such as thou wouldst have them to be, and such as thou wilt mercifully accept to thy favour here, and to thy kingdom hereafter. Look also upon our enemies ; forgive them, and turn their hearts; and enable us to forgive them, as we hope for forgiveness at thy hands. Enable us to overcome their evil with good ; and so to please thee in all our ways, that thou mayest make our enemies to be at peace with us.
Hear us, O God of the spirits of all flesh. Hear us both for ourselves and others ; above all, O hear the Son of thy love, pleading for us at thy right hand ; hear his all-prevailing inter- cessions for us, and for all the members of his mystical body. To him we commit our cause, and to thee through him; trusting in thy tender mercy, and ascribing to him, to thyself, and to thy blessed Spirit, all possible honour, might, majesty, and dominion, both now and ever. Amen.
£2 SECOND EVENING PRAYER
A SECOND EVENING PRAYER FOR A FAMILY.
UR ever blessed and most gracious God ! thou art the Lord and Giver of our lives, and of all the blessings we enjoy. To thee we owe ourselves, and all that we are capable of render- ing unto thee. For by thee, O Lord, we were created ; and through thy good Providence it is, that we have been spared and provided for unto this present time. From thee, our God, comes till our help; and in thee is reposed all our hope. Thou art the bountiful giver of all the good that our souls desire, and the merciful withholder of all the evil that our sins deserve. We acknow- ledge thy great and daily goodness to us, and our own exceeding un worthiness of the least of all thy mercies. We take shame and confusion to ourselves, that we have so little improved, and so greatly abused,, all thy patience with us, and all the various instances of thy bounty to us. We confess it to be a heinous aggravation of our of- fences, that we have done so much against thee, after all the great things thou hast done for us. ]3ut we desire, O Lord, to be humbled for our offences ; and we entreat thy gracious favour, in Christ Jesus, for the pardon of them. Forgive us, we pray thee (for his sake), all the sins that ever we have committed against thee, and absolve us from all the evil whereof we now stand guilty
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before tliee. And, being justified by faith, let us have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.
£And as we pray, that thou wilt be to us a Father of mercies, and a God of consolation; so we pray that thou wilt make us followers of God, as dear children; ever jealous over our hearts, and watchful over our ways; continually fearing to offend, and endeavouring to please thee; and enable us to keep our hearts with all diligence, that they may never be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Thou knowest, O Lord, our weakness, and our danger; thou knowest how unable we are of ourselves to resist the smallest temptation, while yet we are continually exposed to the assaults of our subtle enemy, to the allurements of an ensnaring world, and to the corruptions of our own treacherous heart. We pray, therefore, good Lord, that thou wilt arm us with the whole armour of God, and uphold us with thy free Spirit, and evermore watch over us for good. Especially in the times of our sorest trials, let us experience the strongest aids of thy heavenly grace, that we may never fall a prey to those deadly enemies that seek to devour us.
And teach us, O our God, to know the day of grace, and the time of our visitation, and to see the things of our peace, before they be hid from our eyes. And while we have time, O enable us to use and improve it to those great ends for which thou art pleased to continue it to us. Let 3
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us not neglect that precious talent, but employ it with all diligence and circumspection for the se- curii»g of our eternal welfare.]
And seeing thou art pleased yet to hold our souls in life, and to make us find and feel, by every day's experience, how abundantly gracious and merciful thou art, O give us hearts more sen- sible of thy love, more affected with thy mercy, and more thankful for those continued favours, which thou art pleased to multiply unto us. And help us to show forth thy praise, not only by speaking good of thy name, but by ordering our conversation aright, and by adorning the gospel of God our Saviour in all things.
And now, most merciful Father, we humbly recommend ourselves, and all that we have, to thy care and protection; beseeching thee, for thy dear Son's sake, to preserve and defend, to bless and keep us, both in soul and body. We know that by reason of our weakness and wickedness, we are exposed to many and great dangers ; but we commit ourselves to thee, trusting that thou wilt sustain us. O be with us through the night season, and grant us comfortable repose; that our frail nature being refreshed, and our decayed strength renewed, we may rise again better fitted for the duties of the following day, if thou shalt be pleased to add another day to our lives. And as thou daily multipliest thy mercies to us, be pleased also to increase our repentance, and to renew us daily after thine image : that every day
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may not only bring us nearer to thy kingdom, but make us fitter for the enjoyment of that glory which thou hast prepared for them that love thee.
Accept these our prayers, most gracious and merciful Lord God : and, for all the good things we have received, or at present enjoy, or hope for in future from thy bountiful hands, enable us to render our grateful thanks: and let it be our employment now, as we hope it shall be hereafter, abundantly to utter the memory of thy great goodness, and to sing of thy praise without ceas- ing.— Amen and Amen.
A THIRD EVENING PRAYER.
OLORD, thou art our gracious God, our chief good, and our most merciful Father in Christ Jesus : in his great name, and through his pre- vailing mediation, we are encouraged still to pre- sent our persons and our prayers before thee. It is a privilege which we must acknowledge our- selves utterly unworthy to enjoy, that thou shouldst admit us into thy service, yea into fellowship with thy blessed self. We do not presume to appear in the presence of thy glorious Majesty, in our own name, or trusting in any righteousness of our own; being conscious of so much guilt, as might make us tremble for fear of thy judgments.
3(J THIKD EVENING PR AYES
But we come in the name and mediation of thy dear Son, who has fully satisfied thy justice for our cins, and continually intercedes for us at thy right hand. Thou lovest him infinitely above all, and delightest to honour him in sparing and accepting the most unworthy sinners upon his account. O deliver us, most gracious Lord, for his sake, from all the transgressions, for which our hearts condemn us ; and from all, of which thou, who art greater than our hearts, knowest us to be guilty. And seal to us a full pardon, in his most precious blood, which speaks better things on our behalf than we are able to speak for ourselves.
And may the time past of our lives suffice to have lived to ourselves, and to have served our own lusts and pleasures. O put an end to all our presumptuous and treacherous dealings ; and grant us new and contrite hearts, that we may tremble at thy presence, and hate and abandon every evil way. Engage to thyself, O blessed Lord, the deepest thoughts of our minds, the choicest affections of our hearts, and the main tendency and activity of our souls. O let us de- light in attendance upon thee, and in communion with thee ; nor let the vanities of this world ever divert us from thy service, or interrupt our en- joyment of thee.
[[Hear us, O Lord, for ourselves, and let our supplications also ascend before thee in the be- half of all men living. Send thy word, and the
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means of grace, to such as are yet destitute of them ; and make them efficacious, and a savour of life, to those who now enjoy them. Convert the uncoverted, and perfect thy good work where thou hast begun it. Give a check to all profane- ness and ungodliness, that presumptuous sinners may be ashamed_, and that the wickedness of the wicked may come to an end. O make thy church to increase and flourish, and thy servants to pre- vail and rejoice. Be gracious and favourable to this our native land, to the head and governors of it, and to all the inferior and particular mem- bers. O do thou rule all our rulers, counsel al] our counsellors, teach all our teachers, and order all the public affairs, to the glory of thy name, and to the welfare of our church and state. Avert from us, good Lord, the judgments which we feel or fear ; and continue to us the many temporal and spiritual advantages which through thy fa- vour we enjoy. And, notwithstanding all the devices of our enemies, and all the heinous pro- vocations of our sins, O be thou still our recon- ciled God, and let us be thy happy, thy peculiar people.
Look down, O gracious Father, on all the sons and daughters of affliction : mercifully regard them under the pressure of their troubles, and think thoughts of pity and compassion towards them. O sanctify thy fatherly corrections to them, support them under their several burdens, and in thy good time deliver them from the fur-
THIRD EVENING PRAYEB
nace into which they are cast. Be gracious to all our friends and neighbours, reward our bene- factors,, and bless our relations with the choicest of thy blessings. Bless also our enemies, and reconcile them both to us and to thyself. Dwell in all the habitations which thou hast made houses of prayer, and with all the families who call upon thy name. Let thy heavenly blessings, and thy saving grace, descend and rest upon this family. O guide us, and keep us ; make us wise and faith- ful in our duty, and prosperous in all our lawful undertakings. Bless all our present circum- stances to us, and fit us for whatsoever changes we may be called to experience. O teach us how to want, and how to abound ; and whether we be in a prosperous or suffering condition, secure our hearts to thyself, and make us upright before thee.]
And now, O Lord, be pleased to accept our evening sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving : we would glorify thee the Father of mercies, and the fountain of all goodness, for the mercies of the day past, and for the goodness that has fol- lowed us all the days of our life. Our lives have been filled with thy mercies, and thou hast abounded towards us in loving-kindness : infinite has been the variety of the sweet and comfortable blessings with which thou hast loaded us. Thou hast passed by our innumerable sins, as though thou hadst not seen them ; and thou art still en- compassing us with mercies on every side. Im-
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print, therefore, and preserve upon our hearts a lively and grateful sense of all thy kindness to us : let our souls bless thee ; let all that is within us praise thy holy name ; yea, let us give thee thanks from the ground of the heart, and praise our God, whilst we have our being. Thy patience with us, thy care over us, and thy continual mercy to us, demand our incessant praises : to thee, therefore, O our heavenly Father, let all thanks and praise, and love and obedience, and honour and glory, be rendered by us, and by all the Israel of God, henceforth and for evermore. — Amen.
A FOURTH EVENING PRAYER.
OLORD, the infinite, incomprehensible God, who wast before all, art above all, and wilt for ever be the same! Thou hast heaven for thy throne, and the earth for thy footstool. Thou art here and everywhere present; thou compassest our path, and our lying down, and art thoroughly acquainted with all our ways. Thou searchest our hearts, and triest our reins; thou knowest the dulness and hardness, the vanity and deceit- fulness of our hearts ; thou seest how difficult we find it to bring our souls into an holy frame, and to keep them in a state fit to attend upon thy heavenly Majesty. We were born in sin, and in sin have we lived : daily have we added sin to
40 FOURTH EVENING PRAYEB
sin, and have made ourselves children of wrath still more by practice than we were by nature : every day of our lives have we transgressed thy laws, abused thy mercies, tempted thy patience, despised thy goodness, offended thee more, even for thy forbearance with us ; and made the very abundance of thy grace an encouragement to con- tinue in our sins. O Thou, whom we have so greatly provoked, what must we not expect if thou shouldst enter into judgment with us ? How justly mightest thou withdraw thy tender mercies from us, and pour out upon us thy wrath and in- dignation to the uttermost ! How justly mightest thou leave us to feel what an evil and bitter thing it is to trespass against thee ; and make us to experience the same, in that place of torment, where is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, and from whence there is no redemption ! But thou art a God of wonderful patience to bear with sinners ; and a God of infinite goodness and mercy to forgive theni, when they are truly penitent. Thou hast said, that if the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and return to the Lord, thou wilt have mercy upon him, and abundantly pardon. We humbly beg, therefore, that thou wilt be gra- ciously pleased to stretch forth thy powerful hand, and to loose the chains of sin wherewith we are tied and bound. Let it be thy good pleasure to deliver us from every weight of sin, and from every yoke of bondage ; that our souls
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may be fitted to serve thee with that sincerity and readiness and gladness, which thou requirest of thy people. O help us so to see and feel, so to hate and bewail, so to confess and forsake our sins., that we may have a well-grounded hope of thy forgiveness, and a comfortable persuasion that thou hast accepted us in the Son of thy love. And for his sake, grant thou us, O Lord, an increase of thy grace, and such aids of thy Holy Spirit, as may enable us to mortify our sins, and fit us for all the duties of thy service. Make us, O our God, to serve thee sincerely, without hy- pocrisy ; cheerfully, without dullness ; univer- sally, without partiality ; and constantly, without falling away, or being weary of well doing. Thou art not weary in doing us good ; O let us never be weary in doing thee service. But as thou hast pleasure in the prosperity of thy servants, so let us take pleasure in the service of our Lord, and abound in thy work and in thy love and praise evermore. O fill up all that is wanting, and reform whatever is amiss in us, and perfect that which concerns us ; making us such in our hearts, and in our lives, that we may obtain peace in our souls, and be made partakers of thy hea- venly glory. And be thou pleased to grant us now (out of the riches of thy grace) the comfort- able sense of thy gracious acceptance of us, and of thy merciful intentions towards us. O speak peace to our consciences, and say to each of our souls, I am thy salvation ; that so we may look
42 FOURTH EVENING PRAYER
upon thee as our reconciled God and Father in Christ Jesus.
£In his great name., and prevailing mediation, we enlarge our petitions, in behalf of the whole race of mankind. O that all the ends of the world may remember themselves, and turn unto the Lord., and see the salvation of our God ! Do good, O God, in thy good pleasure, unto Zion, and build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Continue thy mercies to this guilty land, whereof we are sinful members. Teach us to know the meaning of thy dispensations towards us ; and help us to improve by all thy dealings with us. O turn all our hearts to thee, as the heart of one man : and reform all our lives, according to the holy pattern and precepts of our Lord ; that thou mayest cause thine anger towards us to cease ; and mayest go on still to take the charge of us, and never leave nor forsake us.
Bless abundantly the queen's majesty, who now sways the sceptre of these realms. O Lord, preserve her life, prolong her days, and prosper her government. Give her the hearts of her subjects, and subdue her enemies before her. Make her the rejoicing of thy people, and a terror only to evil doers. O continue her long a zealous defender of the faith, a promoter of thy fear, and an assertor of our rights; that under her shadow we may be in peace arid safety, enjoying the liberty of the gospel, and the free profession of thy holy religion. And grant unto all magis-
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trates and ministers continual supplies of thy Holy Spirit, for the conscientious and comfortable discharge of their several duties. O bring all our neighbours near to thyself; and be thou a friend to all our friends, a father to the father- less, a husband to the widow, a refuge to the oppressed, a physician to the sick, a helper to the friendless, and a God of consolation to the dis- tressed and sorrowful, whatever be their trouble and affliction. O bJess to us, whatever thou art pleased to allot us, and everything that befalls us. Make all to work for our good; to build us up in thy grace, and to help us on to thy glory.] And as thou hast been good and kind to us the day past, and throughout our whole lives, (for which we desire, O Lord, humbly and thankfully to adore thy name) so we beg, that we may ex- perience the continuance of thy goodness to us, and of thy fatherly care over us, this present night. O preserve and defend, and bless and keep us, that no evil may befall us, nor any plague come nigh our dwelling. Give us sleep and rest, to refresh and strengthen us for thy service, and for the performance ot ail our duties; and prepare us, O Lord, for our last sleep in death, and for that great account that we must give at the judgment-seat of Christ. O instruct and assist us in that great work of preparation for our everlasting state; that we may (in this only time of preparation) finish the great work which thou hast given us to do, before the night
44 FIFTH EVENING PRAYER
of death overtake us, wherein we cannot work, that, whenever thou shalt be pleased to give us the summons of death,, we may find nothing to do but to die, and cheerfully resign our spirits into thy gracious hands. Hear us, we intreat thee, through the riches of thy grace, and the worthiness of thy dear Son; in whose merits alone we trust; and to whom, together with thy- self and the Holy Ghost, the one God of our salvation, be all praise, and honour, and glory, ascribed by us, and by all thy people, from this time forth for evermore. — Amen.
A FIFTH EVENING PRAYER.
OLORD, we desire to seek thy face, and to wait upon thee in the duties of thy worship; and we intreat thy gracious favour that we may be enabled to call upon thee with our whole hearts. To whom should we make our applications, but unto thee, the Father of mercies, and the Foun- tain of all goodness, who art able to do exceeding abundantly for us, even above all that we can ask or think; and who has declared thy willing- ness to be importuned by us, and thy readiness to hear and help us. O let our prayer be now set before thee as incense, and the lifting up of our hands be as the evening sacrifice, pleasing to thee our God, in the Son of thy love. It is in his blessed name alone that we have encourage-
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ment to approach thee, arid boldness to ask of thee those things \*&hich thou knowest to be need- ful and expedient for us. There is in ourselves no good thing to recommend us to thy favour; but a proneness to everything which is displeas- ing to thy Majesty, and destructive to our souls. We are even by nature children of wrath, a seed of evil doers, the sinful offspring of rebellious parents : and ever since we began to act, we have been daily trespassing against thee, and adding to '"the heavy score of our offences. There is nothing in us, O Lord, but what may well pro- voke thee to reject us: but there is enough in thy beloved Son to procure for us the pardon of our sins, and peace with thee. Thou didst make him to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him; and that we might be saved by his merits, when we could not be saved by any desert of our own works. O see our sins punished in him, even in him who was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities: and, as the chastisement of our peace was upon him, so let the merit of his righteousness be on us; and by his stripes let our souls be healed.
Nor do we only beg for pardon of our sins, but also for power against them, and grace sufficient for us to break them off. We long to walk more acceptably before thee, in all the duties of right- eousness and holiness, which thy word has pre- scribed to us. O never suffer us to be tempted
46 FIFTH EVENING PRAYER
above what we are able: but make our tempta- tions less, or thy grace in us more sufficient to resist them ; that no iniquities may prevail against us, nor any presumptuous sin have dominion over us. Make us more conformable to the pattern and the precepts of our blessed Saviour: trans- form us more into his holy image and likeness; that we may not dishonour his religion, nor cause the way of truth to be evil spoken of; but may make our light to shine before men, to the glory of thee our heavenly Father, and to the editica- tion of those amongst whom we dwell.
And seeing the time of our abode in this tran- sitory world is so very short and uncertain, and that after our departure hence we have an ever- lasting estate, where we must be happy or miser- able for ever; O let us not set up our rest in this world, as if we were at home upon earth : neither suffer us to flatter ourselves with the hopes of a long enjoyment of these things which perish in in the using; but may we wait all the days of our appointed time, till our change comes; and not only live in expectation of it, but in the daily serious preparation for it ; in the exercise of all those gracious and prood works, that may make it unto us Christ to live and gain to die; that in life and death we may be always thine, safe in thy hands, and acceptable in thy sight.
And together with our own wants, we com- mend to thy mercy, O God, the necessities and distresses of all our brethren throughout the
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world. O enlighten the ignorant, quicken the careless, awaken the secure, convince the erro- neous, reclaim the vicious, establish the wavering, and comfort the dejected. Bring all to the know- ledge of thy truth, and to a cheerful obedience to thy holy will; that so they may attain to the blessed hope of thy glory, and the eternal salva- tion of their immortal souls. We pray (as more particularly bound) for the queen, for all our magistrates and ministers; for all our friends and relations; for all thy servants; and for all the afflicted throughout the world; and more especially for those for whose happiness and sal- vation thou knowest us to be chiefly concerned. O do thou for us, and for them, as thou knowest best, and most needful and expedient, for thine own mercy's sake in Christ Jesus.
[[And as we pray to thee for what we want, so we desire to praise thee for all that we have re- ceived at thy hands. And blessed be thy name, O Lord, that we have anything (yea that we have so many things) to bless and praise thee for. O what shall we render to the Lord for all his bene- fits ! Dear Lord ! let not our hearts be shut and straitened towards thee, whose hand is -every day so open unto us : but do thou possess and enlarge these hearts of ours with more love and greater thankfulness to thee, that we may both give thee thanks, and glorify thy name, for evermore.
And now that the night is upon us, and we are ready to betake ourselves to rest, we commit our-
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selves to thy gracious care and protection, well knowing that thou, who never sleepest nor slum- berest, art the watchful guardian of thy favoured people. O watch over us, we pray thee, for good, that none of the evils, which our sins have merited, may befall us. Protect us both from the works, and from the powers, of darkness; and preserve us from all terrors and dangers through the night. Let all our sins, this day, or at any former time committed, be removed out of thy sight; and lift up upon us the light of thy countenance, that we may lie down with a sweet sense of thy favour, and a comfortable assurance that thou hast ac- cepted us in the Son of thy love : for whom, and to whom, with thy eternal self, and Holy Spirit, be all thanks and praise, and honour and glory, ascribed by us and by all thy church, from this time forth for evermore.] Amen.
A SIXTH EVENING PRAYER.
OLORD, our God, most high and mighty, most wise and holy, most just and good ! Thou art and ever wast, and ever shalt continue, unspeak- ably blessed and glorious, above all that we are able to express or to conceive. Thou dost not need the services of men or angels to make the least addition to thy glory or bliss. Men cannot be profitable unto God; nor can our goodness extend to the Lord. But, in kindness and love
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to our souls, thou hast been pleased to lay thy commands upon us, and to appoint that we should wait upon thee in the duties of thine immediate service ; which is the blissful employment of all the hosts of heaven. Thou humblest thyself even when thou beholdest the things that are in hea- ven or regardest the worship of those blessed creatures above. O how wonderful is thy con- descension, then, that thou shouldst look down upon us., poor sinful worms, who dwell in houses of clay, and whose foundation is in the dust ! Lord, what is man that thou takest knowledge of him, and the son of man that thou makest account of him ! Thou canst not at all need us, or anything of ours. O blessed God; but we all stand in con- tinual need of thee, our only sovereign good; in need of thy mercy and forgiveness, thy grace and guidance, thy blessing and assistance; without which we can never hope to escape the misery, which is the wages due to our sins; nor ever to attain that glory, which is the free gift of God in Christ Jesus.
The desire of our souls, therefore, is to thy name, O Lord, and to the remembrance of thee. Our eyes are towards thee, and all our expecta- tion is from thee; and still we wait, and call, and depend upon thee, till thou have mercy upon us, according to our several necessities, and accord- ing to the multitude of thy tender mercies. O remember not against us our former iniquities; enter not into judgment with us, according to our 4
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desert; but according to thy mercy remember thou us, for thy goodness' sake, O Lord. Blot out our transgressions as a cloud; and justify us freely by thy grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. And bless us, O God of our salvation, in turning us from all our iniquities, and in giving us grace, that we may repent and amend our lives according to thy holy word.
And to this end, be thou pleased to enlighten our dark minds with the beams of thy saving truth : O let us not be unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. Reform our de- praved wills, inclining them to a cheerful com- pliance with all the motions of thy good Spirit. Regulate our unruly passions ; purify our corrupt affections; and convert all the faculties of our souls, that they may be instruments of thy glory, as they have been of thy dishonour; and make our bodies fit temples for thy Holy Spirit. Yea, sanctify us wholly, in body, soul, and spirit, that we may adorn thy gospel in all holy conversation and godliness.
And quicken us, O Lord, to hear thy voice, while it is called to-day; that we may make haste, and not delay, to keep thy commandments. O keep us frequently and affectionately mindful of the shortness of our time, the frailty of our lives, and the uncertainty of our continuance in this perishable world ; where we have no continu- ing city, but are strangers and sojourners with thee, as all our fathers were. O let the remem-
FOR A FAMILY. 51
brance of this have a prevailing influence upon us, to crucify the world to us, and us unto the world: let it make us more deeply concerned for our everlasting welfare, and more careful to im- prove every present good for our soul's eternal advantage. Let the work of thy grace be daily advancing in our hearts, that we may grow in grace as we grow in years, and be continually ripening for the full enjoyment of thy glory.
QThe same things we beg also in behalf of all whom we ought to remember in our prayers. O forgive the sins, and relieve the miseries of thy sinful creatures throughout all the world. En- large* the borders of thy church, and add to il daily such as shall be saved. O that all who are called Christians may be Christians indeed* not only believing thy word, but walking as becometh the gospel of Christ. Let the church, which thou hast planted amongst us, be thy continual care : watch over it, O Lord, for good : preserve it night and day; let no weapon formed against it prosper. Give thy judgments also, O God, unto the queen, that she may judge thy people righteously and break in pieces their oppressors. Grant her still an interest in the hearts of her people, and thy protection from the hands of her enemies. May she so rule and reign for thee, that she may come to live and reign for ever with thee. Make all our magistrates to be men fearing God, and eschew- ing evil. And O that all who are called to serve at thine altar, may be in a more especial manner
52 SIXTH EVENING PRAYCH
blessed with compassionate hearts, and exemplary lives. Make them wise to win souls; make them faithful, industrious, and successful in their sa~ cred office, as workmen that need not be ashamed. Bless and prosper all the seminaries of sound learning and religious education. Bless all orders and ranks of people amongst us; let them all know thee from the least to the greatest ; and so order their conversation aright, that they may see the salvation of God. Remember for good all those who have been in any way instrumental to our good ; and let all who have injured us, receive forgiveness at thy hands. Look upon all that mourn inZion; give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, Teach those who are in health and prosperity to remember and provide for the time of trouble, sickness, and death: and make all of every condition to be mind- ful of their duty; that thou mayest remember them in mercy, and be their God, and portion for ever.]
Our own unworthiness would make us despair of obtaining all these great and goods things which we beg at thy hands, O Lord ; but the remem- brance of thy tender mercy, and thy continual bounty, puts life into our hopes, and encourage- ment into our prayers, and leaves us no reason to doubt of finding mercy with thee. And blessed for ever be thy name, that we have so much to say of thy goodness by our own experience : that
FOR A FAMILY. 53
them hast in so many things made us to differ from thousands of our fellow-creatures. O good Lord ! continue thy gracious favour to us, and thy fatherly care over us, this night. As we go to rest after the labours of the day, so help us daily to do thy work, that we may enter into that rest which remains for thy people at the close of life. Renew to us day by day thy pardoning mercy,, and supply us daily with thy grace ; that we may finish our course with joy, and at the end of this lifc be received into thy glory. All of which we beg in the name and for the sake of our holy Redeemer : for whom we thank thee ; and to whom, with thyself^ O Father, and the Holy Ghost our comforter, in the unity of the ever blessed Trinity, be all praise, and honour, and glory ascribed by us, and by all the Israel of God, now and for evermore. Amen.
A SEVENTH EVENING PEAYEE.
OLORD, thou great and glorious God, infinite in power, wisdom, and goodness ! Thou hast created all things by thine almighty hand ! thou sustainest and orderest all things by thy wise and righteous providence; and thy mercy is ever- lasting, and over all thy works. O who is able to express, who is able to conceive, the exceeding riches of thy grace and goodness ! In what a plentiful measure have thy bounties been poured
54 SEVENTH EVENING PRAYER
out upon us thy sinful creatures, who deserve nothing from thee, but to be forsaken and ab- horred by thee ! This day, and every day of our lives, O Lord, we have tasted largely of thy mercy, and been altogether preserved by thy fatherly care.
But, notwithstanding all thy patience and gracious dealings with us, and all the repeated pledges of thy favour towards us, O how ill have we requited thy love ! And what unsuitable re- turns have we made for all thy great and con- tinued goodness that we have experienced ! Be- side the guilt of our inbred corruption, which, as a sore burthen, hangs heavy upon us, we are amazed at the greatness and multitude of all our other sins that we have committed against thee ; against the light and teachings of thy gospel ; against the dictates and strivings of thy Spirit ; against the love and sufferings of thy Son; against all the patience and forbearance which thou hast exercised towards us. O Lord, we have given thee so great provocation, that we have reason to fear lest thou shouldst forsake us utterly, and cause the day of thy patience to end. Well may we be afraid that thou wilt grant us no more of that grace which we have so greatly abused ; nor any supplies of that Holy Spirit, whom we have so often resisted. And what have we now to ex- pect from thee, O Lord ! what but judgment, if it were not that thy mercy rejoices over judg- ment ! Thy word assures us, that thou delightest
FOR A FAMILY. 55
not in the death of sinners, but rather that they should turn to thee and live : and therefore it is that thou still leavest us these opportunities to plead with thee for the life of our souls. But what have we to plead ? Nothing, Lord, in our- selves: our hope is only in thee: we plead there- fore thine own gracious nature, thy merciful in- clinations, thine exceeding great and precious promises,, which thou hast freely made to return- ing sinners. Thou hast sent thine only Son to be our almighty Saviour : and he that did no sin, was manifested to take away our sins. O then, for his sake, be pleased to pity us, to spare us, to forgive us. Turn away thy wrath from us ; re- ceive us to thy blessed favour ; and comfort us with the sure persuasion, that our iniquities are forgiven.
And because such is the infirmity of our na- ture, that without thy grace we have not the least power to keep ourselves even from the great- est sins, O grant us the increase of thy grace, and the help of thy good Spirit ; that we may be for- tified against all temptation, and be made thy willing and faithful servants. And be pleased, O Lord, yet further to discover and manifest thyself to our souls, that we may know aright, thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. And give us power from on high that we may be able to live according to that light which thou art pleased to impart unto us ; that we may not hold the truth in unrighteous-
56 SEVENTH EVENING PRAYER.
ness., but may walk in the light, as children of the light. O let us not only be almost, but al- together Christians : let us be true penitents, sin- cere converts, and sound believers. And O thou, that workest all in all, finish in us the work of thy grace, that we may have cause to give thee praise and glory to all eternity.
These things, Lord, we beg, not only for our- selves, but for all who partake of our nature, for all whom thou hast made capable of eternal hap- piness. More especially we pray for thy whole church, wheresoever or howsoever disposed of throughout all the earth: for the queen's ma- jesty; and all our rulers and counsellors; for our ministers and teachers ; for our relations and neighbours ; our friends and benefactors ; and for all thy afflicted, whatsoever be their trials and troubles. O supply all their wants, and ful- fil all their desires, in such a manner as thy wis- dom sees best, for thy own mercy's sake in Christ Jesus.
Thou, Lord, art the great preserver of men, who hast kept and blest us this day, and all our days. Praised be thy name for all thy goodness, which we have so long and largely experienced. O make us sensible of thy kindness, and thank- ful for it as we ought to be. Take care of us, O Lord, and be gracious to us this night. Give us not only bodily rest in our beds, but rest for our souls, in thy blessed self; and be thou our God and guide, our hope and help, our joy and com-
FIRST MORNING PRAYER FOR THE LORD'S DAY. 57
fort, our ALL IN ALLj this night, and for ever- more. Amen.
FIRST MORNING PRAYER FOR THE LORD'S DAY.
S\ MOST blessed and gracious Lord God, whose \J almighty hand has brought us out of nothing, to enjoy the comforts of life; and whose free grace has called us out of a state worse than nothing to the hope of thy heavenly glory ! We bless thy name, that thou hast conducted us safe, through all states and conditions of our lives, to see the comfortable light of this day; and we glorify thee that we have yet a day of grace wherein to seek the things belonging to our peace. We adore thee for having so far consulted the good of our souls as to set apart this day for holy uses,, that we might engage in a solemn attendance upon thee in whose service consists all our honour and hap- piness. O how much higher might we have been in thy favour, how much nearer to thee our God, and fitter for thy heavenly kingdom, had we rightly used^ and conscientiously improved, those means of grace, which thou hast been pleased to afford us !
But as we have been cruel to our own souls, as well as disobedient to thee, our Lord ; many times losing the opportunities of appearing before thee ; and shunning as a task what was our
58 FIRST MORNING PRAYER
highest privilege : arid even when we have set ourselves to seek thy face, it has been with such coldness and dulness, such wanderings and dis- tractions, that thou mightest justly abhor our souls, and despise our services.
But be thou pleased to look upon us in the Son of thy love, who is the Lord our peace and our righteousness ; and forgive us all that is past, wherein we have neglected thy work, or per- formed it amiss, or done what was inconsistent with it. Help us, O God of our salvation, and deliver us both from the bands and burden of our guilt ; and purge away all our sins, for the glory of thy name : O let them not stand as a partition-wall, to hinder the ascent of our prayers to thee, or the descent of thy blessings upon us. But let thy peace and love shine into our souls ; that we may see the felicity of thy chosen, and draw water with joy out of the wells of salvation.
O let us not rest in any forms of godliness, de- nying the power thereof; . let us not take up with the name and profession of Christianity; but be swayed with its life and power. And let the gospel of our Lord, and the graces of thy good Spirit, shine forth in our lives, to the glory of thee our heavenly Father. O gracious God, be with us, and with all the ministers and stewards of thy mysteries, who are this day to speak in thy name : furnish them with abilities necessary for their great work; and enable them to suit themselves to the capacities and necessities of
FOR THE LORD'S DAY. 59
their several hearers. And grant, Lord, unto us, and unto all the hearers of thy holy word, humble and teachable spirits; that we may receive thy truth in the love of it, so as to profit and grow by it. O do thou remove all the hindrances of our spiritual improvement, that thy word may have free course, and be glorified amongst us. And let us this day go forth in the strength of the Lord God; and prosper and increase with the increase of God : let thy grace and blessing ac- company all our endeavours; that having served thee imperfectly upon earth, we may attain to the full enjoyment of thee in heaven, and glorify thee in the perfection of holiness, for ever and ever.
And let thy grace and blessing, thy love an£ fellowship, thy direction and assistance, O hea- venly Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be with us and with all for whom we ought to pray, this da} and for evermore. Amen.
A SECOND MORNING PRAYER FOR THE LORD'S DAY.
OLORD, the great almighty God ; thou art the Giver of life and strength, and of all grace and goodness; without thee we can do no- thing : but through thy gracious assistance we are enabled to do all things which thou requirest at our hands : we humbly pray thee to be graciously present with us, and powerfully assistant to us
62 SECOND MORNING PRAYER
to every one his portion in due season. And let the word which they deliver be for the convic- tion and comfort of many souls. O thou that hast the key of David,, that openest and no man shutteth, thou that speakest to the heart, and givest the increase, open our understandings to receive thy truth, both in the light and love of it : and set it home so powerfully upon our hearts, and root it so deeply in our souls, that the fruits of it may appear in our lives; and that we may not be forgetful hearers, but doers of thy word.
And grant, O gracious God, that our services this day may be such as may tend to our advan- tage, in the great day of thy appearing and glory : let us so hallow these sabbaths upon earth, that hereafter we may be admitted to the joyful cele- bration of the eternal sabbath in heaven ; there, with all the church triumphant, to laud and mag- nify thy glorious name, and to enjoy thy love, and sing thy praise for ever. And now, Lord, for the addition of this sabbath we bless thee; for the benefit of thy word, and for the ordinances of thy worship, we glorify thy name: yea, for all the means of grace, and for the hopes of glory, to thee, the God of all grace, be praise and honour and glory rendered by us, and by all thy people, from this time forth, and for evermore. Amen.
FOR THE LORD'S DAY. C3
A PEAYER FOR ANY INTERMEDIATE TIME OF THE LORD'S DAY.
OLORD the God of glory, who fillest heaven and earth with thy presence, fill my heart (I pray thee) with thy grace, and with a con- sciousness that thine eye is upon me: that I may demean myself as in thine immediate presence; and serve thee on earth as thou art served above, where thousand thousands minister unto thee, and ten thousand times ten thousand stand before thee. O happy are they who surround thy throne, and are ever occupied in the contemplation of thy Majesty, and the fruition of thy love : who have an everlasting period put to all their sins, and troubles, and temptations; and have their souls perfected in holiness, their hearts filled with joy, and their mouths opened to utter without ceasing the everlasting praises of their God. O Lord, look down from heaven, the habitation of thy holiness and thy glory, and behold with pity the poor remnant of thy heritage, who are yet upon their warfare and pilgrimage in this present evil world, beset with many and powerful enemies, and groaning for deliverance from the bondage of corruption, that they may be brought into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
O good Lord, pardon every one of us, who now prepare and set ourselves to seek thy face,, and to meet and enjoy thee in the ordinances of thy
64 A MID-DAY PRAYER
worship. Though we be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary, accept us in thy beloved Son, according to what we have; and fill us with thy good Spirit, to make us what we should be. O give unto me in particular, though the most unworthy of thy creatures, a devout and contrite heart; that I may not merely utter words of prayer, or rest in any forms of godliness, but may serve thee with my spirit, and lift up my heart to the Lord, and have (as much as possible) my conversation in heaven.
It is good for men to draw nigh to God: m whose service consists all our honour and bliss. O let my heart rejoice in seeking the Lord; and with great liveliness, and love, and cheerfulness let me frequent thy ways, and study thy word, and admire thy works and magnify thy name. I bless thee, my God, that thou hast given me an understanding to know thee, a heart to love thee, and a soul capable of waiting upon thee in the duties of thy holy service, and of enjoying thee in thy heavenly glory. I bless thee for all the opportunities and advantages which I have to serve thee, and to work out my salvation. I adore thee for the ministry of reconciliation com- mitted to thy servants ; for all their labours, and writings, and preachings : and for all other means of grace and assistances in this my warfare.
O give me such a love to thy word, that I may value it above all the wealth of the world, and relish it better than all the pleasures of the flesh;
FOR THE LORD'S DAY. 65
and esteem it more than my necessary food. Enable me to receive it, not only in the light, but in the love thereof; that I may live and grow by it, and attain the salvation which it sets before me. And give me, Lord, a heart to fear thee, and to keep thy commandments always, that it may go well with me, both now and for ever. O let me so make thy wrord the rule of my life, that it may also be the ground of my hope : and while it is sounding in my ears, do thou apply it with an irresistible energy to my soul, that I may be made obedient to it in the day of thy power. And let there be such a transcript of the gospel in my life, that I may not only hear what it says, but be such as it describes. O gracious God! continue the light and joyful sound of thy gospel amongst us: and help us so rightly to use it, and to profit by it, that we may have reason to bless and praise thee for it to all eternity. O that every sabbath may add yet more and more to our stature in Christ Jesus; and that we may so sanctify thy sabbaths now, that in the end we may enjoy the sabbath of thine eternal rest; there to dwell in thy sight, and rejoice in thy love, and triumph in thy praise for evermore. Amen.
64 A MID-DAY PRAYER
worship. Though we be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary, accept us in thy beloved Son, according to what we have; and fill us with thy good Spirit, to make us what we should be. O give unto me in particular, though the most unworthy of thy creatures, a devout and contrite heart; that I may not merely utter words of prayer, or rest in any forms of godliness, but may serve thee with my spirit, and lift up my heart to the Lord, and have (as much as possible) my conversation in heaven.
It is good for men to draw nigh to God: m whose service consists all our honour and bliss. O let my heart rejoice in seeking the Lord; and with great liveliness, and love, and cheerfulness let me frequent thy ways, and study thy word, and admire thy works and magnify thy name. I bless thee, my God, that thou hast given me an understanding to know thee, a heart to love thee, and a soul capable of waiting upon thee in the duties of thy holy service, and of enjoying thee in thy heavenly glory. I bless thee for all the opportunities and advantages which I have to serve thee, and to work out my salvation. J adore thee for the ministry of reconciliation com- mitted to thy servants; for all their labours, and writings, and preachings : and for all other means of grace and assistances in this my warfare.
O give me such a love to thy word, that I may value it above all the wealth of the world, and relish it better than all the pleasures of the flesh;
FOR THE LORD'S DAY. 65
and esteem it more than my necessary food. Enable me to receive it, not only in the light, but in the love thereof; that I may live and grow by it, and attain the salvation which it sets before me. And give me, Lord, a heart to fear thee, and to keep thy commandments always, that it may go well with me, both now and for ever. O let me so make thy word the rule of my life, that it may also be the ground of my hope : and while it is sounding in my ears, do thou apply it with an irresistible energy to my soul, that I may be made obedient to it in the day of thy power. And let there be such a transcript of the gospel in my life, that I may not only hear what it says, but be such as it describes. O gracious God! continue the light and joyful sound of thy gospel amongst us: and help us so rightly to use it, and to profit by it, that we may have reason to bless and praise thee for it to all eternity. O that every sabbath may add yet more and more to our stature in Christ Jesus; and that we may so sanctify thy sabbaths now, that in the end we may enjoy the sabbath of thine eternal rest; there to dwell in thy sight, and rejoice in thy love, and triumph in thy praise for evermore. Amen.
66 FIRST EVENING PRAYER
FIRST EVENING PRAYER FOR THE LORD'?! DAY.
OLORD, our God! thou art infinitely good, and thou hast showed us what is good, and what thou requirest of us, that it may go well with us, both now, and to all eternity. Thou sendest out thy light and thy truth amongst us; thou makest the way of life and salvation plain before us; and thou givest us many opportunities to further us in the knowledge of that way which leads to the kingdom of thy glory. We have line upon line, and precept upon precept; thou sendest thy messengers early and late, to open and apply thy word; to give us calls and warn- ings, directions and exhortations; and to promote by all possible means our edilication here, and our salvation for ever. Thou hast not been wanting
o
to us, O Lord; but we have been exceedingly wanting to ourselves : for, O ! how have we loved darkness rather than light, and chosen to follow our own foolish and hurtful lusts, rather than to be guided by thy blessed word! So little have we improved the precious talents which thou hast put into our hands, that thou mayest justly take away the gospel of the kingdom from us, and give it to another people, who shall bring forth fruits more worthy of it. Because thou hast called, and we have refused; thou hast stretched forth thir
FOR THE LORD'S DAY. 67
hands, and we have not regarded; thou mayest leave us to our own perverseness and impenitence, to add sin unto sin, till our iniquities become our ruin.
But, O Lord God, merciful and gracious ! we humbly beseech thee that thou wilt not so enter into judgment with thy servants ; but in mercy pardon all our contempt of thy word, and our abuse of all the means of grace which thou hast afforded us. And help us, for the time to come, to use and improve such gracious opportunities to the glory of thy name, and the benefit of our own souls. As the rain descends from heaven and re- turns not thither, but waters the earth, and makes it fruitful, so let thy word not return unto thee void ; but let it accomplish thy good pleasure, and prosper in that whereunto thou art pleased to send it. O make it instrumental and effectual to work • thy grace, where it is not ; and to establish and increase it, where it is; and let it build us all up in the fear and love of God, and in the knowledge and faith of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And though we cannot now find, upon the re- view of our services this day, that we have duly kept a day holy to the Lord ; yet let it not be a lost day to us, nor thy word as water spilt upon the ground : but let thy good Spirit bring thy word to our remembrance, and cause it to be aa engrafted word, able and effectual to save our souls. Arid as we have been taught how we ought fco walk, and to please thee our God, so. help us
68 FIRST EVENING PRAYER
to walk more worthy of thee; and to be more ready to every good work, which may be pleasing in thy sight through Jesus Christ.
£At his hands,, O merciful God, we beg thy gracious acceptance of our praise and thanksgiv- ing, for all the blessings which thou hast so freely conferred upon us, and so long continued to us. Thou hast dealt graciously with us, O blessed Lord, and been exceedingly kind to us, not only beyond all that we have reason to expect, but above all that we are able to express. We bless thy name, O heavenly Father, that in so many respects thou hast made us to differ from multi- tudes in the world, who are destitute of the com- forts of this life, and the hopes of a better ; which through thy special favour we enjoy. We ac- knowledge thee in all : and we desire to ascribe unto thee all the praise and glory. Particularly would our souls now bless thee for the mercies which we have experienced this day; for thy house open to us ; for the word of salvation sound- ing in our ears ; and for thy blessed Spirit striv- ing with our hearts. O that we may not receive the grace of God in vain ; and that thy mercies may not be lost upon us ! But let us act worthy of that care and kindness, which we have so long and largely experienced ; let us thankfully receive and carefully improve thy distinguishing favours ; let us not provoke thee to withdraw thy tender mercies from us : but do thou still continue thine accustomed goodness to us ; increase and multiply
FOR THE LORD'S DAY. 69
tliy blessings upon us ; and rejoice over us to do us good.]
In mercy pardon all which thy pure and holy eyes have seen amiss this day, in any of our thoughts or desires, our words or actions. O par- don our neglect of what we should have done, and the guilt which we have contracted in all that we have attempted to do : forgive the iniquities of our holy things: and enter not into judgment with us, even according to the best of our works and services : but overlook all our sins, and fail- ings, and imperfections, for the sake of our great Mediator and Redeemer; who appears in thy presence, and ever lives at thy right hand, to make intercession for us. To Him, as the blessed author of our hopes and happiness ; and to Thee, who didst vouchsafe to deliver him up for us ; and to that blessed Spirit who has revealed him to us, be all praise, and honour, and glory, hum- bly and heartily ascribed by us, and by all thy church, now and for evermore. Amen.
A SECOND EVENING PRAYER FOR THE LORD'S DAY.
OLORD, thou art good to the soul that seeks thee. By numberless invitations, and by all the endearments of thy love, thou encouragest poor sinners to come unto thee. Thou dost not bid us seek thy face in vain, or serve thee for
70 SECOND EVENING PRAYER
nought : thou hast pleasure in the prosperity of thy servants, and givest not according to our poor imperfect services, but according to thine infinitely rich and tender mercies : thou givest us eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. It is not any thing in thy laws, O gracious Lord, but the sinfulness of our depraved nature, that makes any of them seem grievous to us : they are all holy, and just, and good, tending only to promote our present and eternal happiness. Nor is it any- thing in thy blessed service^ but the indisposed- ness of our own vile hearts, that makes any part of that employment tedious to us, which is the work and joy of angels ; and which it is our wis- dom, our honour, our interest, and our happiness to perform. Holy God, we are all #s an unclean thing, arid all our righteousness are as filthy rags ; nor can we ever hope to be justified in thy sight upon the account of any works or worth of our own ; for by our own hearts and deeds we are reproved and condemned; and should be left speechless in the judgment, if thou, O Lord, shouldst call us to account, according to the merits even of our best services. But we desire to take refuge under the shadow of our crucified Saviour ; and to be found in him, not having our own righteousness, but that which is by the faith of Jesus Christ; that the shame of our nakedness may be covered, and all our sinful deformities be Lid from thine eyes. And we intreat thee to for- give us mercifully, and receive us graciously, and
FOR THE LORD'S DAY. 71
love us freely, in the Son of thy love, in whom thou art well pleased.
Command a blessing, we pray thee, O Lord, upon the word which this day we have heard, and upon all the means of grace that have been used for the good of our souls. It is not of him that planteth, nor of him that watereth, but of thee our God, who givest the increase. O be thou pleased to second the preaching of thy word with the powerful influences of thy grace and Holy Spirit ; that it may be the savour of life to our souls, and the power of God to our salvation. O let us so hide thy word in our hearts, that we may not (as we have done) sin against thee, but may have it as a treasure within us, to aid us in every hour of temptation, and in every time of need. Apply it to our hearts, that we may walk more humbly and closely with our God, and more conscientiously and circumspectly before thee; and be so obedient to the holy precepts of thy word, that finally we may enjoy the great and precious promises contained in it.
Supply, O Lord, by the immediate teachings of thy Spirit, the want of thy public ordinances to all such as through any unavoidable impedi- ments are kept from them. And continue to us, O gracious Lord,, the light of thy gospel and all the happy opportunities which we enjoy for our soul's advantage. Preserve us also by thy grace, from the curse of barrenness ; and that thine or- dinances may not rise up in judgment against us.
72 SECOND EVENING PRAYER
O make them now effectual for our good : cause them to accomplish in us all the purposes of thy grace ; and let their sanctifying efficacy shine forth with a convincing splendour in our lives.
£And now we give thanks (as we are infinitely bound) to thee, O Lord God., our.heavenly Father, for the mercies of this day : and for thy great mercy and goodness that has followed us all the days of our lives. O how wonderful is thy pa- tience and long-suffering, that thou shouldst all day long stretch forth thy hands to a rebellious and gainsaying people ! And how unwearied thy kindness and love, that thou still loadest us with benefits, notwithstanding our past abuse of them, and impartest even the greatest mercies to us, who have deserved nothing but judgments at thy hands ! Blessed be thy name, O most merciful Father, that thou hast defended us from so many clangers in our lives, which threatened to destroy us; and delivered us out of so many troubles, under which we should have sunk and perished, if thou hadst not been nigh to us, and done great things for us. We bless thee for our health and plenty, peace and liberty ; for the use of our rea- son, limbs, and senses ; and for the comforts of all thy good creatures ; for the kindness of friends, and safety from our enemies ; for the benefits and refreshments of society, and the success and pros- perity of our affairs in the world. But, above all, we bless thee for the mercies and blessings relating to the world to come ; for Jesus Christ,
i
FOR THE LORD'S DAY. 73
and all spiritual blessings in heavenly things in him ; for remembering us in our low estate,, and sending eternal redemption to us by the hands of thy dear Son ; for the light and direction of thy word; for the teachings and strivings, the aids and consolations of thy Spirit ; for all the means and helps which we have to do us good ; for all thy grace wrought in us,, and bestowed upon us ; and for all the discoveries and hopes of eternal glory, which thou hast given to us. O how infi- nitely indebted are we to the kindness and love of God our Saviour ! O that we may ever be sensible and thankful as we ought ! And with all that thou hast given us, blessed Lord, give us hearts filled with thy love,, and lifted up in thy praise, and devoted to thy service.
We can only acknowledge the debt, which we can never pay. We cannot praise thee according to the riches of thy grace, and the multitude of thy mercies : but we desire to bless and praise, with all the capacities and abilities wherewith thou hast blessed us. And help us, O Lord our God, to glorify thy name, not only in speaking to thy praise, but in so entirely devoting ourselves to thy service, that we may be thine in faithful- ness, and in the sincerity of our hearts, even all the days of our lives.]
O make us truly penitent and humbled for all which this day we have done amiss ; and make us unfeignedly thankful for all the good that we have received; and for all which thou hast, in
74 A PRAYER UPON THE COMMANDS.
any manner or measure, enabled us to do ariglit. The evil is from ourselves alone, and to us belongs shame and confusion of face for it ; but all the good is of thy free grace, and thy mere mercy ; and to thy blessed name, O Lord, our God, be all the praise and glory rendered, with the most sensible and grateful hearts, now and for ever- more. Amen.
A CONFESSION OF THE SINS FORBIDDEN,
WITH PRAYER FOR GRACE TO PERFORM THE DUTIES ENJOINED IN THE COMMANDMENTS :
[Preparatory to the Sacrament, or at any time of humiliation.]
OLORD, the great and glorious God ! against whom I have grievously offended; and who for my sins art justly displeased: I know not where to begin or end the rehearsal of all my transgressions ; which are more than I can re- member, and greater than I can express.
Thou art God alone, and there is none beside thee. Thou hast an absolute right over me ; and thou alone art worthy to be worshipped and served by me. But, O Lord, my God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over me. I have idolized things in myself, and in this present world ; and have set them in the stead of God ; either disbelieving thy being, or forgetting thy presence, or disliking to retain thee in my thoughts, or living without thee in the world. I
A PRAYER UPON THE COMMANDS. 75
have not improved in thy knowledge,, answerably to the means of instruction wherewith thou hast blessed me. And that I have no better know- ledge of God, it is my shame ; it is altogether owing to my sinful dulness and negligence in that which most of all concerns me. I have not had all my expectation from thee, nor my whole dependence upon thee, nor my chief hope and delight in thee ; but have sought my happiness in creature comforts and worldly enjoyments. O how have I hardened my heart against the fear of thee, who couldst in one moment destroy me, both body and soul, in hell ! How have I sinned against the clear light which thou hast caused to shine upon me ! And how have I shut my heart against the love of thee, my chief good; notwith- standing thou hast been doing me good, and lay- ing fresh obligations upon me, with thy renewed favour, every day.
I have conceived injurious, unbecoming thoughts of thine infinite greatness and goodness, till I have become vain and wicked in my imaginations ; thinking the most high and glorious God to be even such a one as myself. And instead of wor- shipping thee in spirit and in truth, it has been after my own fancy and humour ; in a formal and customary manner.
O what light account have I made of thy great name ! And what little zeal have I showed for thine honour and glory ! How have I disregarded thy word and works, thy mercies and judgments,
7G A PRAYER UPON THE COMMANDS.
thy calls and warnings, and all thine offers and in- vitations ; and either neglected the offices of thy worship, or profaned thy holy things, and abused religious duties, to cover my own offences: draw- ing nigh to thee with my mouth, when my heart has been far from thee !
Thy day I have not remembered as I ought, to keep it holy : but have used as common, what thou hast set apart for sacred ; and borne the holy season as a burden, and made bold with thy hallowed time, to spend it upon my sloth, and lusts, and worldly trifles, and carnal indulgences.
O how have I failed and sinned in all my re- lations. As a superior, in pride and vanity ; as an inferior, in stubbornness and envy ; as a parent and child, master and servant, friend and neigh- bour : not discharging my duty in any capacity as I ought !
How careless have I been of my own and others' souls ! How passionate and unmerciful, conten- tious and revengeful ! Bitter in my words ; ma- licious in my heart ; tempting some to commit sin ; neglecting to keep others from the commis- sion of it : and not exerting my utmost endeavours to do good unto all !
O Lord ! I am unclean, unclean ! defiled with filthy imaginations in my head, and lustful de- sires in my heart, which have often broke out into corrupt communication, and indecent levity and intemperate living after the flesh. Yea, I have been guilty of the spiritual whoredom, in
A PRAYEK UPON THE COMA1AKDS. 77
forsaking the blessed bridegroom of my soul to cleave to lying vanities ; and to keep up that friendship with the world, which is enmity with God.
I have been unfaithful in the unrighteous mam- mon, and not honoured thee with my sustance ; nor done the good which thou hast made me ca- pable of doing ; but by idleness and injurious en- trenching on the rights of others, or by profuse consuming my portion on my own lusts, I have been a sacrilegious usurper of thy good creatures.
O ! what sinful liberties have I taken, in speak- ing evil of my neighbours ! Using them in my words, as I would ill resent to be used ; slander- ing and reviling, dissembling or rash judging ; and often wronging the truth, to avenge, to ex- cuse, or exalt myself.
O what a nursery of covetous and carnal de- sires has been this corrupt and wicked heart of mine ! cherishing and delighting in evil motions ; repining at others' welfare : coveting all to my- self, and making provision for the flesh, to fulfil its lusts.
Such sins I have committed against thy holy laws; and I have also sinned against thy gracious gospel, O Lord ; not acquainting myself with the way of salvation by Jesus Christ ; but neglect- ing his great salvation; and disregarding the only Saviour, whom to know and win should have been all my desire ; and in comparison of whom I should have accounted all things else but loss
78 A PRAYER UPON THE COMMANDS.
and dung. I have not been awed by thy threat- enings, nor allured by thy promises. I have not listened to the calls of thy word, nor yielded to the motions of thy Spirit; nor believed thy truths; nor loved thy days; nor improved the opportunities which thou hast graciously set be- fore me. I have even shut my eyes against the things of my peace ; and made light of all iny Saviour's invitations, and of all the wonderful things which he has done and suffered for the salvation of my soul; taking pleasure in the ene- mies of his cross ; little concerned for the success of his gospel ; nor laying to heart my own, or others' sins; nor seriously repenting, nor fervently praying ; but doing all these things as if I did them not.
Such is my heavy charge ; this is my heinous guilt : O that I may not only confess it, but be duly humbled for it, and lay my mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope ! And is there hope for such a great and provoking sinner? Lord of love, thou hast helped many poor miser- able souls in a low and desperate condition : and many (I believe) are now triumphing and prais- ing thee in glory, who long and grievously rebelled against thee here below. Such are the wonders
c5
of thy grace ; and thus hast thou glorified thyself in seeking and saving that which was lost. And is thy hand shortened, that thou canst not save, or thy mercy exhausted, that thou wilt not hear ? O be merciful unto me also, even unto me, the
A PKAYER UPON THE COMMANDS. 79
chief of sinners. Put me in the way where all thy goodness may pass before me : and help me to exercise such humiliation and repentance in thy sight, that thou mayest exercise thy pardon- ing and saving mercy towards my soul: and never lay my sins to my charge ; but accept me for HIS sake, who, though he knew no sin, -was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Nor do I beg only for the pardon of my sins, but also for power to subdue them. For thy truth and mercy's sake, let thy preventing grace guard me from temptations in their first approach ; and thy assisting grace enable me to withstand them, whenever I am called to the conflict: that so, through thine effectual help, I may overcome that cruel adversary, who walks about as a roar- ing lion, seeking whom he may devour. Turn my feet, O blessed Lord, to thy testimonies; and help me, with an enlarged heart, to run the way of thy commandments. O give me grace to take and choose thee for my God : and to know and trust, and fear and love, and serve and worship thee as it becomes me. Give me a deep rever- ence for thy name; an ardent zeal for thy glory; a devotion and constancy in all the duties of thy holy religion ; a conscientious care to sanctify thy sabbaths ; and a due veneration and affection for all thy holy things.
Help me also, O my God, rightly to discharge all relative duties towards my superiors, equals,
£0 A PRAYER UPON THE COMMANDS.
and inferiors, even towards all with whom I have my conversation in the world : that I may give no just offence to any, but may rather win others by the amiableness and excellence of my deport- ment. O make me careful of my own, and of others' souls; make me peaceable and patient, merciful and kind, and studious (as far as in me lies) to promote the good of all : make me in all things to love my neighbour as myself. Enable me to be chaste and continent; pure in heart; sober and modest in speech and carriage; tem- perate in the use of thy good creatures ; given to prayer, and to all the exercises of godliness, that tend to mortify the lusts of the flesh. Make me also faithful in the unrighteous mammon; con- tented with my portion ; industrious in my call- ing ; upright in my dealing ; honouring thee with my substance; and doing good, and not hurt, with that portion which thou hast been pleased to bestow upon me. Help me, O righteous God, ever to love and own, to confess and maintain the truth : candidly to interpret the words and ac- tions of others ; not delighting in their shame, " but being as tender of their reputation as I would desire they should be of mine. And help me, O my Lord, to resist the beginnings and first risings of evil motions in my mind; and to keep my heart with all diligence, so that it may never har- bour or indulge any covetous or unclean desires. O let me not give my mind to earthly things ; nor be carnally minded, which is death; but spi-
A PRAYER BEFORE THE LORD'S SUPPER. 81
ritually minded,, which is life and peace. And incline me, O good God, to meditate on thy holy laws, yea to love and keep them with my whole heart.
O make me resolved to live a life of holiness, according to thy blessed will and word. And let me not only think and purpose to live godly in Christ Jesus, but bring my purposes into actions, my actions into habits, and my habits into an uni- form perseverance ; so enduring to the end, that I may be saved. And through the ways of thy holy commands, O Lord, lead me to the joys of thy heavenly kingdom; that, having my fruit unto holiness, I may, in the end, attain everlast- ing life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A PRAYER BEFORE THE SACRAMENT OF THE LORD'S SUPPER.
OWHAT am I, poor unworthy sinful wretch, that I should go to the table of the Lord, and take to myself the portion of his saints ! Great God ! my guilt, and shame, and fear do pull me back, and make me ready to conclude that it would be presumptuous and vain for me ever to expect such high honour and favour from thy hands. I could not presume to make such near approaches to thy divine Majesty, but that thou art pleased to invite and command us to come unto thee. Nor could I ever hope for such 6
82 A PRAYER BEFORE THE LORD'S SUPPER.
heavenly blessings at thy hands, O Lord, were it not that thou art infinitely good and kind, even to such as deserve nothing but to be forsaken and abhorred of thee. Instead of stretching forth a sceptre of mercy to invite me to thy table, thou mightest with the rod of thy wrath dash me in pieces as a potter's vessel : and, instead of enter- taining me with the bread of life and the cup of blessing, thou mightest give me the bread and water of affliction ; and cast me into the lowest pit, where I should in vain cry for one drop of water to cool my tongue.
But seeing thou art pleased to command, that they who have undone themselves should come unto thee for help ; and hast appointed this sa- crament as a means of conveying to them pardon and grace : and since I so extremely need thy pardoning mercy, and thy sanctifying grace, I come (Lord) though polluted and unfit to appear before thee ; and I dare not but come, knowing that I shall be undone^ if I keep away from thee. I come not, Lord, because I am worthy; but because thou art 'rich in mercy. I come as the hungry to be fed ; and as the sick and maimed, to be recovered and healed. I come that I may wash in the blood of thy dear Son, and be cleansed ; that I may receive out of his infinite fulness, all that is wanting in my wretched self; arid that I may so touch my Saviour, as to derive virtue from him, to heal my infirmities, and to fit me for thy service.
A PRAYER BEFORE THE LORD'S SUPPER. 83
O that I may come in the humblest manner, with all reverence and godly fear ; and with the most earnest longings after Christ Jesus ; and the heartiest resolutions to live unto him, who, of his infinite mercy, was pleased to die for me! And do thou instruct me, O Lord; and assist me in the examination and preparation of myself; in order that I may safely and comfortably partake of this holy ordinance. Before I compass thine altar, do thou purify my heart by repentance, and by faith in the blood of our adorable Redeemer. O let me receive a crucified Saviour into a broken and contrite heart. And make me so willing and obe- dient, that I may derive good from the ordinance, and enjoy in it, not only a representation, but a rich participation also, of his dying love. O turn in, my Lord, and be not as a stranger to the soul that has been purchased by thy blood. Enrich thine ordinance with thy presence ; that I may find him whom my soul desires to love, and whose love is better than wine. Blessed Jesus, make thyself known to my soul in this breaking of bread : and let me receive such life from thee, as may enable me to live unto thee : and make me know, that thou abidest in me, by the Spirit which thou hast given me.
.Blessed Saviour ! weigh not my merits, but thine own ; for I have deserved nothing at thy hands but wrath : nor could I presume to ask anything of thee, if thou hadst not redeemed me with thy precious blood. I can never be worthy
84 A PRAYER BEFORE THE LORD'S SUPPEK.
of thee ; but thou canst give me such views, dis- positions, and affections, that I may eat and drink worthily of the feast to which I am invited. Come to my help, O thou blessed Emmanuel, that I may participate of thy sacred body crucified, and thy precious blood shed for us, with such discern- ment, and reverence, and penitence, and faith, and love, and thankfulness, as I ought to do ; and may receive these symbols of thy love to my pre- sent consolation and my everlasting salvation.
O thou that hast prepared a table in this wil- derness, with heavenly provisions for our souls, prepare my soul, dear Lord, for these provisions ; and give me spiritual appetite, as well as spiritual sustenance : that as the hart panteth after the water-brooks, my soul may pant after thee, O God. Let me feel a vehement desire to eat this passover. Make me so to open my mouth, that thou mayest fill my hungry soul with thy good things ; and so to lift up the everlasting doors of my heart, that the King of Glory may come in. Come thou, and dwell in my heart by faith ; and abide with my spirit to the latest hour of my life.
O make thine ordinance healing, and a savour of life to my soul. And make it also a sealing ordinance, to clear up to me the pardon of my sins, and the assurance of thy love. And as thou sealest the covenant of grace, O let me seal the covenant of obedience : and in such a devout and acceptable manner come unto thy table, that I may return from it with my conscience quieted
A PRAYER BEFORE THE LORD'S SUPPER. 85
my corruptions subdued, my graces increased, and my soul encouraged, with an enlarged heart, to run the way of thy commands.
Ah Lord ! to whom should I repair but unto thee, my life, my strength, and my Redeemer ! O thou that callest unto thee the labouring and heavy-laden sinners, help me so to come to thee^ that in thee I may find rest for my soul. Thou that hast commanded us to break our bread to the hungry, O break the bread of life to all of us that hunger and thirst after righteousness : and give us, O Lord God our heavenly Father, ever- more give us this bread. And since thou art pleased still to continue to us the liberty and ad- vantage of this ordinance to nourish and revive our souls, O work in our hearts a higher esteem for it, and a greater love to it. And in our pre- parations before we eat and drink at thy table, in our communicating there, and our conversation after, O teach and help us to act as becomes the redeemed of the Lord, and the living members of Jesus Christ.
Hear me, O Lord my God, and forgive me; bless and direct me, quicken and assist me, in the work now lying before me : and deal graciously with me, that I may discharge all my offices heartily as to the Lord, and with good acceptance in thy sight, through Jesus Christ, thy beloved Son, my only mediator and advocate. Amen and Amen.
86 DEVOUT EJACULATIONS BEFORE
SOME DEVOUT EJACULATIONS AND ELEVA- TIONS OF THE SOUL,
BEFORE RECEIVING AT THE LORD'S TABLE.
I. BLESSED be my God, that again is pleased to call me to the reconciliation feast; and after all my breaches with him, and all my offences against him, yet to grant me a new indulgence;" and to seal my pardon afresh in the precious blood of his dear Son, that was shed to take away the sins of the world.
II. At thy gracious invitation, Lord, I am bold to come, looking for that blessed benefit, which I know myself so unworthy to receive, that thou mightest justly bar up the doors of mercy against me, and withhold thy saving good from me. But thy mercies, blessed God, are not to the deserv- ing and worthy, but to the miserable and needy.
0 let me find them, (needy and miserable as I am) according to the riches of thy bounty, and according to the greatness of my necessity.
III. I have no might for this great work: but
1 will go in thy strength, O Lord my God. Give me, I beseech thee, the dispositions which thou appro vest; and work in me what thou requirest from me. O let me find thy hand upon me, thy help with me, and thy grace sufficient for me.
IV. O that I may see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary ! That I may share in the heavenly entertainment of thy
RECEIVING THE LORD'S SUPPER. 87
children, and eat and drink in thy presence that bread of life and that cup of blessing,, which may be the life of my soul, and make my heart glad with the joy of thy salvation.
V. O what shall I do at thy house, and thy table, Lord, if thou dost not appear, to receive and entertain me? O that thou wouldst, in won- derful condescension, bow the heavens and come down; and make me experience thy presence with me, and the power of thy Spirit upon me, and that loving kindness of thine, which is better than life.
VI. O let not the great Lord and lover of souls keep off as a stranger to my soul; but look forth at the windows, and show himself through the lattice, and remember me in saving mercy, where he feeds, and where he makes his flock to rest: and let me now taste, and see (to the satisfaction of my soul) how good the Lord is.
VII. I desire to take shelter under the shadow of my Redeemer's wings; and to be found in Christ Jesus, clothed with that righteousness of his, which is sufficient both to atone for all my guilt, and also to fill up all my wants; yea, to make me complete in the sight of God, and meet for the felicity of his chosen. O God of all grace ! give me, I beseech thee, a saving interest in that great redemption which thy beloved Son has pur- chased for a ruined world: that my soul may magnify the Lord, and my spirit may rejoice in God my Saviour.
88 DEVOUT EJACULATIONS BEFOKE
VIII. O thou that art able to do it, bring me into the bonds of the covenant: and let me volun- tarily and cheerfully enter into it; not as one who is averse to the terms that it proposes, but as one who longs to enjoy the blessings which it offers.
IX. O make me willing in the day of thy power; and may I this day experience,, Lord, the powerful workings of thy blessed Spirit, to open and enlarge my heart, and to make me ready and fit to receive him who stands at the door and knocks, even to receive into my soul Christ Jesus the Lord.
X. O how unworthy am I, Lord, that thou shouldst come under my roof; unworthy to eat the crumbs that fall from thy table! But thine infinite merits can cover all my sins and unworthi- ness; and recommend me to the just and holy Majesty of heaven, even as if I had not sinned. O deal graciously with me, my Lord and my God. I beseech thee; and forgive, and heal, and help me; and exercise thy power and pity towards me ; and come into my soul, with all the blessings and consolations which thou hast taught us to ex- pect at thy hands.
XI. O Lord! my soul is polluted and unclean; but thy precious blood can cleanse me from all my sins and defilements, and make me a fit habita- tion for thy Holy Spirit. O speak thou the word, and I shall be clean and whole: and my soul shall live^ and for ever bless thy name
RECEIVING THE LORD'S SUPPER. 89
XII. Assist me mercifully, O Lord, ifi my designs and endeavours to obtain the blessed fruitions, whereof thou hast made me capable. O forgive my unworthiness ; cover my sins; help my infirmities; quicken my dulness; prepare me for thee; draw me unto thee; bring me into the enjoyment of thee; let me possess thee now, as far as my poor capacity will admit of, and here- after, in all thy fulness, for ever and ever.
XIII. O that thine ordinance now may be the means of my establishment ! Let it impart unto my soul, out of the fulness of Christ Jesus, grace sufficient for me. Let it be the means of render- ing me lively and constant in the discharge of every duty. And what I have not in myself, Lord, do thou give me : and what I am not of myself, O do thou make me, for thy own mercy's sake. Amen, Amen
SOME DEVOUT EJACULATIONS AND ELEVA- TIONS OF THE SOUL,
AFTER RECEIVING AT THE LORD'S TABLE.
I. r\ LORY be to thee, O Lord our God, that vJT in our extreme need of a Redeemer thou hast made such gracious provision for our souls; that thou hast sent thy Son to die for our sins, and to save us, after we had destroyed ourselves. Blessed be thy name, that he who offered himself
00 DEVOUT EJACULATIONS AFTER
upon the cross for us, is pleased to offer himself at his table to us: there have I been tasting the fruits of his love, and receiving my share among the redeemed of the Lord. O blessed be God for so great a mercy!
II. I bless thee, my God,, for the mercies of a Saviour; without which all other mercies would
' be of no avail, would do me no good. I bless thee, that thou hast not withheld thy Son, thine only Son from us; but hast given him to be the propitiation for our sins, and the life and food of our souls.
III. I sat down under his shadow, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. I have been entertained at the table of the Lord: and there his banner over me was love. It was love that gave me the Saviour whom I have been receiving, and the opportunity to rest and feast my soul upon him.
IV. Return to thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with thee. Thy life is given thee at his hands, who forgiveth all thy sins, and healeth all thy diseases : and not only redeems thee from destruction, but crowns thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies; and satisfies thy mouth with good things, even with pardon and peace, yea, with the riches of his grace, and the pledges of his glory.
V. Blessed be my God, for that bread which came down from heaven, to give life unto the world. And blessed be thy name, O gracious
RECEIVING THE LORD'S SUPPER. 91
Lord, for my share in this highest expression of thy wonderful love and bounty.
VI. Eternal thanks and praise be unto thee, O blessed God my Saviour, for all thy glorious achievements, in laying the sure foundation for our hope and everlasting consolation.
VII. Thou hast loved us, and redeemed us, and washed us from our sins in thine own blood. And O how infinitely indebted am I to thy mercy, that thou callest me to this sweet heavenly en- tertainment ; which thou hast purchased and provided for us at so great a price !
VIII. O make me more sensible of thy love, and more thankful for all its blessed effects. And let me now find the happy fruits of strength and refreshment to my soul : even strength against all the temptations that would pluck me from thee; and refreshment, that may render all the pleasures of sin distasteful to me, and make it my meat and drink to do the will of my heavenly Father.
IX. After I have tasted the pleasures of my Father's house, O let me not go to feed upon husks. Let nothing take away from me the savour that I have had of heavenly things nor let a world separate between me and the blessed Saviour of the world.
X. Let me not turn my back upon the Lord of love, that has been so good and kind to my soul. O let me never more take up arms against my heavenly Sovereign, to whom now again I have vowed allegiance.
92 THANKSGIVING AND PKAYER
XI. Whither shall I go from thee, O blessed Jesus, who hast the words and the gift of eternal life ? All is in thy hands : and thou art the best of all lords, who rulest us only that thou mayest bless us ; and layest thy commands upon us only that thou mayest keep us from ruining ourselves, and secure to us the highest happiness.
XII. I will admire, and love, and praise my Lord: I will believe and trust in his tried mercy: I will rejoice and glory in his great salvation. And who shall pluck me out of his hands? What shall separate me from his love ? My be!ov2d is mine, and I am his. Thine I am, O Lord, and thine I will be, while I have my being.
XIII. Yet, Lord of all power and love! I beseech thee keep thy servant from falling ; and preserve me in every time of danger. O do not suffer me to destroy myself ; but pity my frailty, and relieve my infirmity : and in thy hands let me be safe, and never perish, but attain everlast- ing life; through Jesus Christ, my great Re- deemer and only Saviour. Amen, Amen.
THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER AFTER THE SACRAMENT OF THE LORD'S SUPPER.
I DESIRE with all my soul to adore and magnify thy blessed name, O Lord God, my heavenly Father, for all the expressions of thy love and bounty to me, a poor unworthy sinner.
AFTER THE LORD'S SUPPER. 93
Particularly for thy precious favours, and the re- newed pledges of thy love in Christ Jesus, whicli I have received from thee this day: that thou hast admitted me, not only into thy house, but to thy table ; and used me as thy friend, and the child of thy family ; even me, who deserve to be cast out as an enemy, and to be abhorred by thee as the off-scouring of all things. O what man- ner of love is this, that I should fare so well, who deserve so ill at thy hands ! O that it should be done to wretched sinful men ! That the God so greatly offended by us, should not only forgive us, but entertain and feast us with all the good things, which our blessed Saviour has merited and prepared for us ! Lord, what is man, that thou art so mindful of him, and the son of man that thou so visitest him ! And what am I, one of the vilest and most sinful of men. that the great Lord, so often dishonoured by me, should deal so exceeding graciously with me ! O make me to know the things that are freely given me of God, and to see how much I owe unto the Lord for all thy kindness to my soul. O give me a heart deeply sensible of thy mercy, and stead- fastly purposing to live to thy glory ; that I may show my thankfulness for thy benefits by my obedience to thy precepts. O keep me mindful of the vows which are upon me : and help me to live, as having my holy Redeemer now dwelling in me.
And as I have received Christ Jesus the Lord,
94 DEVOUT EJACULATIONS, ETC.
so enable me to walk in him ; to walk more worthy of the Lord unto all well-pleasing; to walk in love, as Christ hath loved us ; and to go on in the strength of what I have received from thee, following after holiness, and perfecting it in thy fear.
As I have eat and drank the sacramental bread and wine, to the nourishment and refreshment o- my frail body ; so let the body and blood of God my Saviour nourish and sustain my immortal soul unto life eternal.
And O that the sacrifice of Christ Jesus (that sacrifice of himself which he offered upon the cross, and which I have this day been commemo- rating at thy table,) may atone for all the failings and defects of my preparations and performances ! and that, upon the account of that grand propitia- tion for the sins of the whole world, I may be spared and accepted with thec my God ! O grant it, I beseech thee, through him that loved us, and gave himself for us, even the Son of thy love, the great lover of our souls : for whom, and to whom, with thy eternal self and Holy Spirit, be all thanks and praise, and honour, and glory, ascribed of me, and of all thy church, now and for evermore. Amen.
PRAYER FOR SELF-RESIGNATION. 95
A PRAYER FOR GRACE TO RESIGN, AND GIVE UP OURSELVES TO GOD.
i~\ MY great and glorious Maker and Redeemer, \J my continual Preserver, my only Lord and Owner ! Thine I am every way, by all the ties of duty and love. I am not at my own disposal ; for thou hast formed me for thyself; and dearly ransomed me, after I had destroyed and sold my- self. I have been solemnly devoted to thee, and have vowed to renounce all tempters that would rival my blessed Lord : and obediently to serve thee, my God., and to walk in thy holy ways all the days of my life. Nor is this a matter of duty only and obligation, but it is my honour and interest, my highest perfection,, and my greatest bliss.
But with confusion and remorse I must ac- knowledge, O Lord, that I have sacrilegiously alienated myself from thee, and most foolishly and wickedly forsaken thee, to serve other lords; yea, to be under the power and servitude of my own vain humours and sinful passions ; not con- cerned so much to honour thee, as to please my- self: as if I were altogether my own, and had no Lord over me. O my God! forgive, and mortify in me, this wicked and pernicious selfishness : and let me no longer unjustly withhold myself from thee ; nor madly expose myself to ruin, by living in the world without thee; nor vainly hope
93 PRAYER FOR SELF-RESIGNATION.
to unite the inconsistent services of God and mammon : but make me so mindful both of my duty and happiness, as willingly and cheerfully to devote myself to the blessed Author of my being : that so I may both answer the end for which I was made., and also attain the happiness whereof I am capable. Seeing that all who are far from thee shall perish, as branches cut from the living root that feeds them ; and that I have no sufficiency in myself, but derive all my good from union with my God ; I am convinced, O Lord, that I ought to yield up myself to thee, by my own free choice and voluntary act. O bring me to this surrender of myself to thee; and make me faithful and hearty in it.
My Lord! break all the ties that detain me from thee : and take me for thine own : yea, keep and continue me in thy fear and love, to my life's end. And upon my mind and memory, upon my will and affections, upon my heart and conscience, write Holiness to the Lord ; and every way make me willing to be wholly thine. Let thy will ever be a law to me in all things : and melt down this stubborn will into a ready compliance with thy holy pleasure. O let me love what thou lovest, and hate what thou hatest. Let my soul and body, and all the faculties and powers of both, be under thy control, and be employed to thy glory. Let all that I am, and all that I have, be thine ; not in pretence only, but in deed and in truth. And never let me think it hard to renounce all
FOR A PUBLIC FAST. 97
for thee, who art infinitely better to me than ten thousand worlds.
O help me so sincerely to deny myself; that I may own no guide and ruler, but my great Lord and Proprietor: that my eyes may be ever towards thee, and my whole dependence upon thee ; and that in all things thou mayest ever be regarded and preferred and glorified by me, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
PBAYER AND HUMILIATION FOE A PUBLIC FAST-DAY.
[SEE ALSO PAGE 74.]
OLORD God, glorious in holiness, and of purer eyes than to behold iniquity without abhor- rence of it, and indignation against it ! how shall man, sinful man, that drinks iniquity like water, appear before thee ! And how shall we, vile and frail, polluted and depraved as we are, show our- selves in the presence of such a just and holy God as thou art ! When we look upon thy perfect law, and see what we should be, what manner of persons in all holy conversation and godliness; and when we reflect on our own hearts and lives, and find what we are, how wanting in our duty, and how contrary to what thou requirest of us ; we cannot come into thy presence, O Lord, with- out confusion of face, and anguish of soul, and remorse of conscience, to think how foolishly and 7
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wickedly we have acted; and how abject and wretched we have made ourselves.
Besides that we brought with us a corrupt nature into the world, full of strangeness to thee our God, and full of enmity against thy holy, good, and righteous laws ; we have mis-spent the most of our time here in a neglect of thy work, and in disobedience to thy word : daily multiply- ing our offences against thee, as thou hast multi- plied thy blessings unto us. O the precious time that we have lost, the means that we have ne- glected, the mercies that we have abused, the calls and warnings, the offers and invitations, that we have disregarded ! What little regard have we had of thee ! what little fear of offending thee ! Alas ! O Lord, we have grievously insulted thy glorious Majesty, and daringly trampled upon thy holy laws.
O the crying sins and abominations that pre- vail in every place ! QThe swearing and drun- kenness, the pride and uncleanness, the cruel en- mity and injustice, the corrupt -communication and ungodly conversation whereby God is so greatly dishonoured and provoked every day.] And O how large a share have we had in adding to the public guilt ; sinning, as we have done, in all estates and affairs, in all relations and circum- stances of our lives ! And not only through weakness and surprise, and the violence of tempta- tions; but many times knowingly, wilfully, and presumptuously; with a high hand, and stiff
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neck, against thee, our Maker and our Judge ! And O how great a weight have we added to all our other sins, by the hardness of our hearts, and our impenitent continuance in our sins ! commit- ting great sins with little remorse, little penitent concernment for all the evils whereof we have been guilty ! Yea, Lord, how unsuitable still are our hearts and lives to those holy rules, which thy word gives us in charge to follow ! So much is there still amiss with us. and wanting in us.
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that it is of thy great mercy we are not consumed : it is because thy compassions fail not, that we have still these opportunities to humble ourselves before thee and to cry for mercy.
We have not glorified thee, O Lord, in bearing fruits of holiness answerable to thy revealed will; but we desire to give glory to God, in confessing our sins, and humbling our souls, and acknow- ledging our desert ; and more especially would we admire and magnify the riches of thy grace, which has spared us so long a time, and showed us such marvellous kindness still, notwithstanding all the high provocations of our sins. Lord, we have heard (and, blessed be thy name, we have found) that the King of heaven is a merciful king ; that with thee, our God, there is mercy ; that our sins, though great and manifold, may be pardoned; and that our souls may yet be re- covered, and healed, and saved. O help us so to judge and condemn ourselves, that we may not be judged of the Lord, and condemned with the
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world. Lay not our sins to our charge ; but put them to the account of thy Son, our Saviour, whom thou hast given to be the propitiation for our sins , and in whom thou art reconciled to a guilty world. For his sake, O good Lord, give us repentance and pardon for all the sins whereby we have offended thee : whether they be our sins of omission, or commission; our sins of weakness or wilfulness ; our failings or presumptions ; our sins of ignorance, or such as we have committed against light and knowledge : O gracious Lord, humble us duly under the sense of them, and absolve us thoroughly from the guilt of them. O set our sins in order ) 'fore us, and make us to know our transgressions ; make every one of us to search and try our ways, that we may turn to the Lord, and bring forth fruits meet for repent- ance. May we not only loathe ourselves in our own si«ht for all the evils whereof we have been
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guilty, but also loathe, as much as ever we have loved, the things which have displeased thee. O that we may forsake our sins, not only in the outward commission, but in the inward affection ; not reserving to ourselves any sin or lust to be spared, but keeping at a distance from every evil and accursed thing : cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, and endeavouring to perfect holiness in the fear of God !
We have been accessary to the accumulated heinous guilt that endangers us all, and calls for judgment on the land. O that we may now con-
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tribute our help, by the humiliation of our souls un«l the reformation of our lives, to save our na- tion, and to turn away the anger which is grne out nguiiist us, that we perish not ! Save us, O Lord, from our sins, which are the enemies of our own house ; more mischievous to us than any other evils or enemies abroad. O pour out a >pirit of serious repentance and reformation upon the whole nation ; to heal the distempers of our souls, to curb the disorders of our lives, and to recover the decayed power of godliness in the land : yea, Lord, prepare and dispose us, not only for thy temporal mercies, but for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. Help us so to turn from the evil of our ways, that thou mayst turn from the fierceness of thy wrath, and cause thine anger towards us to cease. O that we may fear the rod, and him who has appointed it ! and so prepare to meet thee, in the way of thy judg- ments, that thou mayst have thoughts of peace towards us, and not of evil ; to give us an ex- pected end, and the desired issue out of all our troubles.
Thou canst show us great and mighty things, which we know not, and canst exceed all our expectations, as well as our deservings, by thy bountiful favours : and though thou mightst make us know the worth of slighted mercies, by the want of them, and deprive us of all the good, which we have so greatly abused, yet, O how do the promises of thy word., and the frequent ex-
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perience which we have had of thy mercy, en- courage us still with hope to look unto our God, and to wait for the salvation of our Lord ! O how long (in all provocations) hast thou spared ns ! And how often (in our distresses) sent a wonder- ful redemption to us ! To thee, who 1ms I helped and delivered, we still look for help and deliver- ance. O our God ! arise and help us, and deliver us, for thy mercy's sake; for the sake of that mercy which first made us thy people, and still has owned us for thy peculiar care. O do not abhor us, nor forsake us, for thy name's sake; but be jealous for thy land, and pity thy people. Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts ; and cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.
But, O our God, if thou dost not see fit to turn away the evils from us, prepare us for them, and support us under them, and bring us out of them purified as gold. Let us not sink and perish in our calamities, but receive spiritual good from temporal evils; and find the light momentary afflictions to work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. And though thou shouldst feed us with bread of adversity and water of affliction, yet let not our teachers be re- moved into corners : bring us not under a famine of the word ; nor give us over to the formality o a lifeless profession : but whilst thou continuest to us the means of grace, O continue thy blessing upon them, and send not leanness withal into our souls. Though thou permit the floods and storms
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to arise, yet fortify us so by thy grace, that we may not be moved by any of the afflictions ; nor turn the advantage of suffering for thee, into an occasion of falling from thee.
Seeing the truth itself will not make us free if we are not true to it ; nor the purest religion be our defence if we continue to walk unworthy of our profession ; O help us, Lord, to rid our hands and our hearts of all the accursed things that
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provoke thy wrath and indignation against us. Let us wisely consider of thy doings, and know the time of our visitation : give us grace that we may hearken to thy calls, and take thy warnings, and improve thy mercies, while we have them : let us now follow the conduct of thy good provi- dence, and comply with all the gracious methods which thou art using to reclaim us, that we may be delivered from the evil to come, and be for ever happy in thy presence. Hear, Lord, and answer us for the sake of Jesus Christ our blessed Lord and Saviour. Amen.
CONFESSION AND PRAYER FOR THE EVENING OF A PUBLIC FAST-DAY.
OLORD most high and holy, the God of all power and glory, against whom we have greatly sinned, and who by our sins hast been highly provoked, we are under a necessity still to come and appear before thee; nor dare we keep
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away from thee. But O! with what confidence can we look up to the Majesty of heaven, whom we have so much offended!
Well may we be abashed and struck iLwn, to bethink ourselves of all the evil that we have done, and all the sins of heart and life which \vr still commit: when we remember, O Lord, mul consider thy perfect understanding of every par- ticular, thy holiness to hate, thy justice to requite, and thy power to punish every wicked thing, we are even confounded before thee.
We fall down, and humble ourselves at thy footstool, O blessed and glorious God, confessing the grievous guilt of all our sins, and our just desert of thy heavy judgments. For we cannot but own ourselves to be some of those degenerate children whom thou hast nourished and brought up, and that have rebelled against thee. Yea, the very forbearance which thou hast exercised, has emboldened us to sin the more against thee.
Holy Father! we are filled with confusion, to think how inconsistent we have been with our- selves: we call ourselves children of God, mem- bers of Christ, and heirs of glory; we profess to take the gospel as our rule, and to believe all the great eternal things contained in it; and yet we walk as if we did not know the privileges that we enjoy, or regard the relations in which we stand; alas! how unsuitable is this conduct to our profession.
Surely this may not only fill our faces with
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s!iame,but our hearts with dread; lest our very pro- fession of thy holy religion should rise up in judg- ment against us, to aggravate our condemnation.
We have been vain and carnal, proud and un- thankful in our health and prosperity; and sullen and froward, murmuring and desponding in sea- sons of adversity. The kindness that should have allured us unto thee, and encouraged us the more faithfully and cheerfully to serve thee, vhas caused us rather to be forgetful of thee, and to wax wanton against thee. And the correction that should have driven us out of our sins, and hastened us to flee for the life of our souls, has but put us out of patience, and filled us with prejudice against thy righteous hand, and with hard and unworthy thoughts of our God. In this manner we have held fast our sins, notwithstanding all thy various methods to alienate us from them.
Yea, to thee, O Lord, who searchest the heart, and triest the reins, we must acknowledge and bewail the sins of our hearts and minds; our vain thoughts and proud imaginations, our impure and covetous desires, our envious and malicious pro- jects. These have corrupted the fountain, and defiled the habitation of thy blessed Spirit. These are the seeds and roots of all the other evils in our lives; and render us even as criminal in thy sight, as if we had outwardly acted, what we have thus inwardly devised. These vile inclina- tions, this proneness to evil, (this approving of it, consenting to it, and delighting in it) carries so
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much guilt and malignity along with it, that even for this, thou mightst justly abhor us, and con- demn us in that day when thou shalt judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ.
Thus we must criminate and arraign ourselves before thee; confessing that iniquities prevail against us, and that our sins still retain in great measure the ascendant over us! Still we are offending our holy Lord; and still we carry in us the corrupt nature, the carnal mind, which are enmity against God, and which justly expose us to thy heaviest displeasure.
We read of such as cannot cease from sin : and such, O Lord, thou knowest us in a great measure to be ; that have brought ourselves under the sad necessity of sinning against thee; and so en- tangled our guilty souls in the tempter's snare, as to be taken captive by him, even at his will.
We call to mind with shame and remorse, how we have provoked thee to jealousy, and affronted thy glorious Majesty by the frequency of our sins and the heinousness of our offences.
But though we are constrained to acknowledge what great and provoking sinners we have been, yet O how superficial and hypocritical has been our repentance ! Even when we talk of humili- ation, and pretend to it, and argue for it, O Lord, thou knowest how seldom we have engaged in it, arid how slightly we have performed it, even on the days that were more especially set apart for it. How hard and unrelenting have been our
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hearts ! and how loth and backward have we been to this most needful work!
O merciful God! humble us, for that we have been no more humbled; and lay not to our charge the sins of those services which we have so ill performed. And seeing that unrepented sins are the cause of thy dreadful judgments, O that the fear of thy judgments may drive us out of all such sins! And when the wrath of God is re- vealed from heaven against them, O let us not dare to continue in them. When the axe is laid to the root of the tree, and thy hand is lifted up, as ready to execute vengeance upon us, O that we may be so warned as to be reclaimed; and bring forth such fruits meet for repentance, that we may not be hewn down and cast into the fire, nor die and perish in our sins; but may find a way of escape, and mercy from the Lord, and grace to help in every time of need.
And the Lord in mercy pity our frailties and infirmities, and forgive us all our sinful neglects and iniquities. And for what is still wanting in us, O be thou graciously pleased to accept the full and perfect merits and righteousness of thy dear Son, our most holy Saviour: and let his pre- cious blood be heard speaking for us, where we have nothing to say for ourselves: and where we are so unworthy to be heard on our own account.
Be merciful, O God, to this sinful nation, that has so long enjoyed and so much abused thy rich blessings, and still goes on to provoke thee daily.
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O forgive the many crying sins,, for which thou mightst justly abhor us, and reject us, and lay us desolate, and so forsake us utterly, as to he favour- able to us no more. Yet grant us thy grace, we beseech thee, so to repent and amend, that we may be spared, and saved from all the judgments which we have so richly deserved.
O that all thy warnings and threatenings and chastenings, may not leave us still an unrelent- ing, incorrigible people, nor pass over us, without working an humble submission and unfeigned repentance in us! O that we may find reconcili- ation with our God, in humbling ourselves before thee, returning unto thee, and bringing forth such fruits of new and better obedience, as (through the Lord our righteousness) shall be favourably accepted by thee. Let us not sink under our fears, nor be ruined by our sins; but let us be plucked as brands out of the fire; to survive our dread and danger, and to see the good of thy chosen, and rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, and to glory with thine inheritance.
And for all the mercy which thou hast still remembered toward us; and for all thy wonder- ful patience with us; and for that continued matter and occasion of thankfulness which we have yet daily before us; not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to thy name be all praise and glory rendered, with humble and grateful hearts, by us, and by all thy people, now and for ever- more. Amen.
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PRAYER AND PRAISE
UPON THK OCCASION OP OL'R BT/E*.SKI> SAVIOUll'8 COMING- INTO THE WOULD.
BLKvSSING, and honour, and glory, and power he to him that sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb, for ever and ever! O Lord God of our salvation ! thou hast remembered us in our low estate : thou hast raised up a great salvation and a mighty deliverance for us; thou hast sent thine only-begotten Son to heal the sinful, to help the miserable, and to save the lost. None but thy blessed self, O Lord, knoweth the greatness of that gift, which thou hast conferred upon us; (the greatest that thou couldst give, or man re- ceive;) none can duly estimate thy mercy in giving thine only Son, to be our almighty Saviour, to deliver us from the miseries of hell, and to exalt us to thrones of glory. O how wonderful have been the designs of thy love, and the counsels of thy wisdom! that thou shouldst recover our lost souls, and work for them a salvation so worthy of thyself! That he, who is thy fellow, should be manifested in the flesh, to destroy the works of the devil ! and that the eternally beloved of thy soul should be made the Son of man in order that we might be made the children of God ! O what manner of love has the Father bestowed upon us! how infinitely does it exceed all that we can ever say of it! O that all might praise
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thee, O Lord, for thy goodness, and for thy wonderful works unto the children of men! O that we in particular might receive this great mystery of godliness with the deepest reverence and most lively gratitude! Let our souls magnify the Lord, and our spirits rejoice in God our Saviour! Yea, for ever blessed be the Lord God of Israel, that has so visited and redeemed his people.
And now that thou hast laid help upon one that is mighty, and found a ransom for us, O help us, blessed God, to entertain and welcome the joyful news, that Jesus Christ is come into the world to save sinners. Father of mercies! prepare our hearts to embrace that thine inesti- mable gift. Let him who came into the world in the fulness of time, now come into our souls in the fulness of his grace. Let him who was mi- raculously formed in the virgin's womb, be spiri- tually formed in our hearts. O thou great Lord and lover of souls; remember us with the favour which thou bearest to thy people, and visit us with the joy of thy salvation. O make the way of salvation plain before us, that we may know where our help lies, and what we must do to be saved. And incline and quicken us, O Lord, to comply with the gracious designs of thy mercy, and to receive writh all thankfulness that grace of thine which bringeth salvation. O blessed Saviour, be thou an effectual Saviour unto us: save us from our sins, that thou mayest also save
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us from the wrath to come. Redeem us from all iniquity, that thou mayest also redeem us from everlasting misery. Thou earnest down to earth, to raise us up to heaven : thou tookest our nature, that we might partake of thine: O let us then experience the mighty power of thy grace; let it heal our depraved natures, let it sanctify our sinful souls, let it make us lovers and followers of thy holy ways; and let those good things, which accompany salvation, be multiplied unto us exceedingly, through the knowledge of our incarnate Lord. Let the great and wonderful things which thou hast done for us, in revealing thy salvation, and in opening a door of hope to us, dwell richly in our minds; and let a sense of thine infinite loving-kindness ever constrain us to love and serve thee with all our heart, and mind, and soul, and strength: even so, O God and Father, for thy dear Son's sake; to whom, together with thyself and the Holy Ghost, Three Persons in one glorious Godhead, be equal and everlasting glory. Amen.
A PRAYER ON THE OCCASION OF OUR BLESSED SAVIOUR'S DEATH.
OGOD, the Father of mercies, and of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom every mercy is vouchsafed and derived unto us; thou didst create us after thine own blessed image, in a holy and
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happy state: but we have defaced the work of thy hands, and have brought ourselves into a state of alienation from thee, and of enmity against thee. Yet thou hast not dealt with us as enemies, or left us in the sad ruins of our fall; but hast pitied us when lying in our blood, and hast bid us live. Thou hast even given thine only-begotten Son to die for us, to save us from that everlasting death, which is the due wages of our sins. Him, () most holy Lord God, thou sparedst not, that thou mightst spare us, and make us eternal monuments of thy saving mercy. O what amazing unspeak- able love is this, that, even when enemies, we should be reconciled to God by the death of his Son ! But O the cursed nature of sin, that needed such an atonement; and the inexorable justice of my God, that required it ; and the incompre- hensible love of my Saviour, who offered it upon the cross! O that we could bear these things always in remembrance! that we could hate sin with a perfect hatred! that we could stand in awe of our God, and fear to offend him ! and that we could love that adorable Saviour, who bought us at the inestimable price of his own blood! Most blessed God, we desire to bless and magnify thy name for revealing to us this stupendous mystery. By it we abide; and upon it we depend for the pardon of our sins, and for our whole acceptance with thee, both here and for ever. We believe, O God, that thy dear Son has fully discharged our debt; and that nothing at all remains to be paid
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by them, for whom thou art pleased to accept his infinite satisfaction. And seeing that there is balm in Gilead, and a physician that is able to heal us, O let not our souls be unhealod ; let not the great things which our Lord Redeemer hath done and endured for perishing sinners, be lost unto us : but let the same be mercifully accepted upon our account, as the payment of our debt. O let not the blood of Jesus Christ (as to us) be shed in vain; but let it purge and purify us from all our sins, and make our peace with thee, against whom we have so greatly transgressed ; let us be healed by his stripes, and find his death unto us a savour of life.
Though we are sinful and unclean, yet what pollution and defilement cannot this fountain, opened for sin and uncleanness, wash and cleanse us from ! Having therefore such an all-sufficient Saviour to repair to, let us not be faithless, but believing that Christ is our Lord and our God, who loved and redeemed us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. O that we may know him, and the fellowship of his sufferings, and be rendered conformable to his death ! Let the cross of Christ be the means of crucifying the world unto us, and us unto the world. Pardon, O good Lord, all our forgetfulness of thee : and make us to know more of the love wherewith thou hast loved us; and touch our hearts with such a power- ful sense of thy love, that we may make better returns of love to thee, who hast done such great 8
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tilings for our souls. Let us never forget or slight such unparalleled kindness, but be constrained by it to live unto him who died for us, and rose again. C) tli at the life which we now live, may be by the faith of the Son of God, who loved us, and gave himself for us ! Let us more and more abound in thy love. Blessed Lord ! let the serving and enjoying of thee be ever preferred above our chief joy. And let nothing in the world ever be so dear to us as the name of our adorable Emmanuel, who 1ms given the highest demonstration of love that ever could be given to our perishing souls. And for \vlmt thou hast done for us, be all possi- ble glory and honour and praise ascribed unto tlieci. O most blessed Saviour and Redeemer, by aiJ the Israel of God, both now and evermore. Amen.
PRAYER AND PRAISE ON THE OCCASION OF OUR BLESSED SAVIOUR'S RESURRECTION.
T> LESSED be the God and Father of our Lord -13 Jesus Christ, who, according to his abundant mercy, has begotten us again to a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Blessed be he, who liveth and was dead ; and behold, he is alive for evermore ; Amen : and has the keys of death and hell. The Lord liveth, and blessed be our rock, and let the God of our salvation be exalted. He hath borne our griefs
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and carried our sorrows,, and has wrought eternal redemption for us; with his own right hand and holy arm hath he gotten himself the victory: having loosed the pains of death; because it was impossible he should be holden of it. Adored be that glorious Sun of Righteousness who is risen with healing in his wings; and hath showed that he is able to save himself; and to save to the uttermost all that come unto God through him. Our eyes are unto thee, O Lord, our life, our strength, and our Redeemer, who hast all power in heaven and in earth; to whom nothing is im- possible or difficult: who quickenest the dead, even souls dead in sin, as well as bodies dead in the grave; and hast life in thyself, to give it to whomsoever thou wilt. O that we may know thee, and the power of thy resurrection ! Let us find it effectual to raise us out of the grave of our corruptions^ to newness and holiness of life; that, having part in the first resurrection, we may never be subjected to the second death. Speak death to our sins, O Lord, that our souls may live, and for ever bless thy name. Thou, O Christ, art our life; and in thee is all fulness of whatever we want: O give us the life, which thou earnest to impart: and let us have it more abundantly. Let us have such life from thee, as may enable us to live unto thee, and that entirely and cheerfully ; even as long as we have any life and being. Amen
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PRAYER AND PRAISE ON THE OCCASION OF OUR BLESSED SAVIOUR'S ASCENSION.
THOU art the King of Glory, O Christ: thou hast ascended on high, and led captivity it- self captive; dragging after thy triumphant cha- riot thy vanquished enemies. Thou art exalted far beyond all principalities and powers, and en- throned in the highest glory in thy kingdom, where saints and angels, even all the host of heaven, admire and adore thee. Be thou exalted, Lord, and reign in the greatness of thy power and majesty, until thou hast brought all enemies into subjection under thy feet. But, Lord, remember us. now thou art in thy kingdom. O regard the supplications, and relieve the necessities, of thy poor servants here below. Save, Lord, and let the King of heaven hear us when we call. And O that we may feel the powerful attraction of thy grace, to draw up our minds and desires from the perishable enjoyments of this world, to those un- speakable and everlasting glories above, where thou sittest at the right hand of God. O let us lay up our treasure, and have our conversation, with thee in heaven; and so love thine appearing, as to be ever looking for and hasting to the com- ing of that blessed day, when we shall be dis- solved and be with Christ; that when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, we also may appear with him in glory. Enable us now to ascend and
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dwell with thee in the constant exercise of faith arid love; that, in the last day, we may personally ascend in soul and body, to be for ever with the Lord; there, together with thy whole triumphant church, to see and admire, to love and bless, to praise and glorify thee, O blessed God our Saviour, world without end. Amen.
A PRAYER ON THE OCCASION OF THE COMING OF THE HOLY GHOST.
OTHOU infinite, eternal Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who workest all in all ; and especially workest and abidest in the souls of men ! pardon (we beseech thee) all the guilt we have contracted in resisting thy motions, and quench- ing the flames which thou hast at any time en- kindled in our breasts. And be pleased so to enlighten our minds, and pur fy our hearts, that we may be fit to receive and entertain thee, as the guide and comforter of our souls. O thou Spirit of truth, lead us into all truth ; and bring all needful things out of the word to our remem- brance ; and set them home powerfully upon our hearts, to influence our lives, and to do us good in every time of our need. Whatsoever grace is lacking in us, O form it in our hearts by thy Holy Spirit : and establish and increase what thou hast already wrought in us. Excite and stir us up to all good ; and enable us for the per-
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formance of it, and engage us to continue and per- sist in it.
O come down, Lord, as fire, upon us, to con- sume our dross, and to make clean our hearts, and inflame them with heavenly love; that we may devoutly relish thy holy things, and be lively in following thy holy ways. O be thou a power- ful principle of life, and light, and love, and of all grace and holiness in our souls ; to illuminate our minds ; to spiritualize our affections ; to pa- cify our consciences ; and to bring our souls out of every dangerous, self-destroying course, into the paths of righteousness, even to that way of life, which is above to the wise, to depart from hell beneath. O blessed Lord, restrain us from grieving thy Holy Spirit, whereby we are sealed to the day of redemption. And cast us not away from thy presence. Take not thy Holy Spirit from us. O make us so tractable under his holy motions, that we may experience his heavenly consolations. And let the joy in the Holy Ghost be more to us than all the pleasures of the world. O blessed Spirit ! be thou ever with our spirits ; to heal our distempers, and help our infirmities, and work mightily upon our hearts by thy grace; until our souls are fitted for that glory, which is unspeakable and everlasting. Amen.
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A PRAYER ON THE COMMEMORATION OF ANY SAINT.
OGOD of all grace, who art pleased to call out of this present world a peculiar people to thyself, and to pour out thy Spirit upon them, and to make them shine as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, and to set them forth as examples to the rest of mankind; we bless thy holy name, that thou hast not left us destitute of such helps and patterns, as might serve to show us how practicable is our duty, and what encouragement we have to set ourselves to the performance of it. Stir us up, we pray thee, to take that more excellent way, wherein they (with such happy success) have gone before us; and constrain us to become followers of them, as they were of Christ. And seeing that we are encompassed with so great a cloud of witnesses, O that we may lay aside every weight, and the sin that does so easily beset us ; and run with patience the race that is set before us ! Teach and enable us, O King of Saints, to make a right improvement of those gifts and graces, whereby thy servants of old adorned their holy profession ; and so to imitate their virtues, as to convince the world, that the righteous is indeed more excellent than his neighbour.
O that we may never persecute thy saints, nor madly despise those who are as the apple of thine
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eye ; whose great care is to approve themselves faithful in thy covenant, and zealous for thy glory. May we ever hold such in the highest reputation whilst living, as well as count their memories precious when they are dead. O hea- venly Father, let them be dearest to us that are dearest to thyself. And let all our delight be in the saints that are in the earth ; of whom the world is not worthy ; notwithstanding that they are so abused by the world, as if unworthy to live in it. O let us not be conformed to this world ; nor follow the multitude, to do evil ; but be followers of those who (through faith and patience) do already inherit thy glori- ous promises : and may we so live the life of the righteous, that we may also die their death. Help us, O Lord our God, so to imitate thy saints here in their holy living, that hereafter we may be numbered with them in glory everlasting. As we desire and hope for their blessed end, O let us love and follow their godly way ; and make the communion of saints an object of our pursuit, as well as an article of our faith. Let us be lovers of all good men, honouring them that fear the Lord, and esteeming them very highly in love for their work's sake. And, O Lord, increase the number of thy faithful people in all places, and add daily to the church those who shall be followers of God, as dear children. Let thy kingdom come ; and thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven ; that thy church may grow and
PRAYER UNDER ABUSES. 121
flourish; until we, with all thy servants departed in the Lord, meet together in the kingdom of our Father, to live in thy presence, and to enjoy thy love, and to glorify thy name, world without end. Amen.
A PRAYER UNDER ABUSES AND PROVO- CATIONS.
OMOST high and wise, holy and righteous Judge of all the earth, the great author and lover of peace and truth : thou knowest my fool- ishness; and my sins are not hid from thee. How far I have been accessary to bring down these troubles upon my own head, and how much worse than these I deserve at thy hands, is all naked and open before thee. I submit, Lord, to thy correction, whomsoever thou shalt use as the in- strument of thy displeasure. And O that the ill-will of men may quicken me the more to ex- amine myself for that which is offensive in thy sight; and make me more careful to have my heart right with God, and to be approved in thy sight.
But seeing my heart condemns me not in the present case, for being the cause of all this wrath and clamour, and malice and vengeance; and that I apprehend myself now to suffer wrongfully ; being slanderously reported, falsely accused, shamefully and despitefully used, and hated without a cause ; I come with boldness to pour
122 PRAYER UNDER ABUSES.
out my complaint before thee, O God, and to shelter myself under the shadow of thy wings. Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me ; and save me from those that rise up against me. Though, for my love, they are my adversaries, let me give myself unto prayer; and not avenge myself, but rather give place unto wrath, and commit my cause to thee, who judgest righteously. O convince my adversaries of the error of their judgment, and the evil of their way. And the remainder of their wrath, O do thou restrain ; and make a way for me to escape from the stormy wind and tempest.
I confess, O Lord, thou mightst justly use them that provoke me, as thy scourge to chastise me for provoking thee: and I know not, but such now may be thy pleasure. O help me then patiently to bear the indignation of the Lord ; because I have so greatly sinned against thee. And how- ever I am pursued and injured, O let me not render evil for evil, or railing for railing, but contrary -wise blessing : and make me duly to consider him, who endured so great contradiction of sinners against himself; that I may be not wearied or faint in my mind. If the man after thine own heart had so many implacable enemies, that not only traduced his name, but sought his life ; if thy holy apostle was called a babbler and troubler of the world, and a pestilent fellow, not fit to live ; yea, if the Son of thine eternal love had the character of a wine-bibber, a friend of
PRAYER UNDER ABUSES. 123
publicans and sinners, a deceiver of the people, and a dealer with the devil : if he that deserved so well of men, fared so ill at their hands ; if he that did no sin was persecuted, as if he had been the chief of sinners ; if he suffered so much evil, who never deserved any ; O why should such an unworthy sinful wretch as I, to whom belongs shame and confusion of face, so heinously resent it, when called to endure what is only the cor- rection of my own wickedness ! Though I de- serve it not from them, yet, O how much worse do I deserve from thy heavenly Majesty, whom I have offended by my sins, and who mayst justly punish me by their hands. Whatever then men may say or do against me, let me be as a deaf man that heareth not; and as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth ; little regarding the anger of man, if I can but be happy in the favour of my God. O Lord, keep back thy servant from giving any just provocation : and let me not suffer as an evil doer ; nor let any offence come by me, that shall bring down thy displeasure upon me. Then, when persecuted for righteousness* sake, I shall rejoice and bless thy name, and give thee thanks and praise, for all thy grace and goodness to me in Jesus Christ. Amen*
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124 UNDER INFAMY AND DISGRACE.
A PRAYER UNDER INFAMY AND DISGRACE.
OLORD ! righteousness belongs to thee ; but to me confusion of face, as it is this day. Shame is the portion of my sins ; and I deserve no better than to be slighted and despised my- self, for having slighted thy laws, and despised the glorious Majesty of heaven. If I had been innocent, I might have been confident, to lift up my face without spot : but woe is me, that I have sinned : I have made myself vile, and fit only to be trampled on. As far as I am guilty, I take shame to myself, as the reward of my folly and wickedness. And O that I may so feel it here, that I may not hereafter awake to shame and everlasting contempt! And let not any that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake : yea, where I suffer wrongfully, yet, Lord, help me to take it patiently. Though I am re- proached for the name of Christ, and persecuted for righteousness* sake, I shall not droop under the censures and scorns of men, if I can but find acceptance and favour in thy sight. It is not men's applause or reproach that can make us happy or miserable : though we have their good opinion and commendation, what are we the bet- ter, if we have made thee our enemy? And though we are detested by them, what are we the worse, if only we have approved ourselves to thee our God ? Thy word, O Lord, teaches us that if we
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suffer as Christians, we should not be ashamed, but glorify thee on this behalf. And thine apos- tles, who were made as the filth of the world and the offscouring of all things, rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Jesus. Though therefore I pass through evil report, as well as good, let me account it but a small thing to be judged of man's judgment. And if thou, my God, wilt have me to be low in the world, yea, even a hissing and proverb of re- proach, let me not be so much concerned to avoid the disgrace as to cut off all just occasion for it ; and to be more careful and diligent in seeking the honour that cometh of God.
If men speak evil of what they understand not, if perverse scoffers, walking after their own lusts, oppose and deride me, O let not thy holy religion ever sink in my estimation on account of their hard speeches, or cruel usage, but enable me to look unto Jesus the Lord of glory, who was de- spised and rejected by those whom he came to save : and let me little regard what indignities they cast on me, if only I may be thereby ren- dered more conformable to his blessed image. Enable me to follow him in meekness and pa- tience : and let my eyes be ever towards him as the author and the finisher of my faith : who having himself despised and surmounted the shame, now sitteth on the right hand of the Majesty on high ; from whence he shall quickly come, in all the glory of his Father, to judge the
126 UNDER CROSSES AND DISAPPOINTMENTS.
world : to whose name be all blessing and praise, world without end. Amen.
A PRAYER UNDER CROSSES AND DISAPPOINT- MENTS IN OUR AFFAIRS.
OM Y Lord ! I live by thee ; and on thee I continually depend for life, and breath, and all things. Thy providence has appointed my station, and ordered whatever concerns me in the world. If not so much as a sparrow falls to the ground without thee, and the very hairs of our head are all numbered, thou canst not be uncon- cerned in the changes and accidents that befall thy servants : and the things that appear casual to us are the appointments of thy good pleasure. Restrain me, therefore, O Lord, from fretting myself in any wise to do evil. And help me to take up my cross, and follow my meek and lowly Saviour, in self-denial, and in quiet submission to the will of my heavenly Father.
O who am I, sinful wretch, that I should never be crossed, nor have anything to trouble me? Thy will be done, O Lord, how much soever my own corrupt will may be opposed and mortified. Let me desire nothing but the glory of thy name : and, if thou seest it needful to try me in the fur- nace of affliction, enable me to kiss thy rod, and to learn obedience by the things which I suffer. And O grant, that the things which disappoint
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my carnal wishes, may indeed be over-ruled for the glory of thy nannj, and for the furtherance of my own welfare in the great day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
UNDER ANY GREAT DIFFICULTIES AND ARDUOUS AFFAIRS.
OLORD, thou art a God of knowledge ; thine understanding is infinite ; nor art thou ever at a loss to effect what is best for us. But thou knowest our thoughts, O Lord, that they are vain. Our wisdom is often at a stand, so that we know not what to do for ourselves. At this time espe- cially our affairs are entangled ; we are perplexed in our counsels ; nor can we find how to extricate ourselves from the difficulties in which we are involved. But a man's goings are of the Lord ; how then can man understand his own way ? his heart may advise his way, but the Lord directs his steps : there may be many devices in his heart, but the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand. If we lean not to our own understanding, but in all our ways acknowledge thee, thou hast promised, O Lord, to direct our paths : and when we commit our way to thee, and trust in thee, we have thy word, that thou wilt bring it to pass. But thou hast pronounced woe to them that take counsel, but not of thee; that cover with a cover-
128 UNDER LOSSES AND DAMAGES.
ing, but not of thy Spirit, and that have not asked at thy mouth.
Our eyes therefore are unto thee, O God ; uid to thee we seek now for wisdom, that we may be able to discern the path of duty. Without thee, O Lord, our wisdom is folly : be thou therefore graciously present in our counsels : and let us now be taught of God, which way to take, and how to act most agreeably to thy blessed will, and most for our present and eternal welfare : we ask it for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
A PRAYER UNDER LOSSES AND DAMAGE IN OUR GOODS AND ESTATE.
BLESSED Lord ! thou art the great Proprie- tor and Owner of all that we possess : the world is thine, and the fulness thereof. And whether thou givest, or takest away, it becomes us to bless thy name in all. Thou hast made me to abound with many things, of which others are destitute : and if thou also makest me to want what others abound with, yet teach me, O my God, how to suffer need, as well as to abound ; and in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. And seeing that all things come alike to all, and that no one knows love or hatred by all that is before him, let me not hastily conclude that thou art my enemy ; but rather hope that thy chastisements are tokens and expressions of
IN TIME OF DANGEK. 129
thy love. Whatever I may lose, let me never grieve, as one that has no hope of better things ; but cheerfully commit myself to thee, to choose my inheritance for me : and not to be anxious about my worldly portion, so that I may but see the joy of thy salvation. And, Lord, repair to me these losses, in an infinitely better way, out of thine own fulness, with the more precious things that accompany salvation. Let me imitate thy servants of old, who took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing that they had in heaven a better and an enduring substance. O make me now the more solicitous and industrious to lay up treasure in heaven. And since I see how little any thing is to be confided in here on earth, O let me look less upon these temporal things that are seen ; and be most of all concerned about the things that are unseen and eternal. Let it be henceforth my continual labour to provide well for my soul, and to be rich towards God; that when all things here shall fail me thou mayst never fail me ; but be the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. Amen.
A PRAYER IN TIME OF THREATENING DANGERS.
HEAT God, holy and just ! I am amazed VJT to think of the dreadful wages which my sins have merited. 'Fearfulness and trembling 9
J oO IN TIME OF DANGER.
are come upon me, and my spirit is overwhelmed, and my heart fails me for fear : so that I know not what to do. But mine eyes are upon thee, my great Saviour and mighty Deliverer, to give me that help, which it is in vain to expect from man. Now that I \ m afraid, I will trust in thee ; and under the shac'ow of thy wings. will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast. O my Lord, take me under thy fatherly care and almighty protection : and save me from the hands of my enemies, and from the evils which I dread. O dispel the clouds ; and turn away the storms ; and clear up the face of heaven, which is now so blackened over my head. Thou, Lord, who knowest how to deliver, and art never at a loss to effect what thou wilt, command, I pray thee, deliverances for me ; and be not far from me when trouble is so nigh unto me : but let me find thy help at hand, in this time of my extreme ne- cessity.
O my God, thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower of defence against the enemy. And though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me : thou wilt stretch forth thy hand against my enemy ; and thy right hand shall save me. O my Saviour, I flee unto thee, to hide me. Be thou pleased to defend me from them that rise up against me. Consider the trouble that I suffer of them that hate me ; and lead me in thy righteousness, because of my enemies : make thy way straight before my face. Deliver me, O
UNDER ACCIDENTS. 131
Lord, from the evil and violent man, and from my persecutors, that are stronger than I. O let not any that are my enemies wrongfully, rejoice over me. But show me some token for good, that they who hate me, may see it, and be ashamed, because thou, Lord, hast holpen me^ and comforted me. O fortify me against that fear of man which bringeth a snare. Let me never be so awed by my fellow-creatures, as not to stand in awe of thee, my God. Let me never trespass against thee, to ingratiate myself with them ; or decline thy service through fear of their displeasure. Thou hast been my help : O be thou pleased to come now to my succour, and to show thyself graciously and powerfully on my behalf. Hear me, Lord, for the glory of thy name ; that I may see thy hand, and acknow- ledge thy power, and admire thy love, and adore thy goodness, while I have my being. Amen, and Amen..
A PRAYER UNDER SAD ACCIDENTS AND DISASTERS FALLING ON THE BODY.
OLORD, most high ! the all-disposing God \ who has taught us, that affliction rises not out of the dust, nor comes without thine appoint- ment, but as thy messenger to fulfil thy will ; thou hast good reason to do as thou hast done, though the reason may be hid from us. I know,
132 UNDER ACCIDENTS.
O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me. O why should a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins ? Great God ! I humbly submit to thy hand, and will bear the effects of thy displeasure, which I have brought down upon myself. O my Lord, give me patience, and strength, and grace, proportionable to this great trial ; and enable me so to demean myself under it, that, after the affliction, I may find cause to say, it was good for me to be afflicted. Thou that hast torn and smitten, thou alone art able to heal the breaches thou hast made. Do thou remem- ber me in my low estate, for the sake of that mercy of thine which endure th for ever : and help me to find out the cursed things that have provoked thee so to stretch out thy hand upon me. O that I may search and try my ways, and turn to the Lord, and bring forth fruits meet for repentance. And for his sake who was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniqui- ties, Lord, forgive and heal my soul that has sinned against thee : and, in thy good time, re- store my body too, if it seem good in thy sight : and make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
If thou wilt, Lord, thou canst make me whole. O may it be thy good pleasure now to glorify thy power and mercy in my recovery : or, however thou shalt dispose of this vile body, grant me, O my God, an humble resignation to thy will, and
UNDER CONFINEMENT AND LOSS OF LIBERTY. 133
satisfaction with thy dealings : and make this afflictive dispensation, which is so grievous at the present, to have a favourable and happy issue. O make it the messenger of thy love to my soul, and the means of sanctifying and preparing it for the Lord, and of fitting it to receive all the saving mercies of my God, in Jesus Christ. Amen.
A PRAYER UNDER CONFINEMENT AND LOSS OF LIBERTY.
OLORD my God, infinitely kind and good! I have, through thy gracious indulgence, long enjoyed my freedom in the world; and been permitted to go in and out, whither I would, at my pleasure. But now that I am under restraint, and confined to this place, O how much sorer affliction ought I with patience to endure, for turning my liberty into licentiousness, and for wandering (as I have done) from thee, and weary- ing myself in the ways of wickedness! This confinement I acknowledge to be but a light correction indeed, to one who deserves to be shut up in the eternal prison, from whence there is no redemption. But for thy dear Son, my blessed Saviour's sake, I beg, Lord, that this restraint may be, not in judgment, but in mercy to me: that it may bring me to timely consideration, and to a deep repentance for all those sinful liberties
134 UNDER CONFINEMENT AND LOSS OF LIBERTY.
which I have taken, in living after my own fool- ish and hurtful lusts: let it remove me out of the way of temptations, and engage me more closely and dutifully to attend upon thee; that in thy service I may find a better freedom than that which I have lost. Let me obtain by means of it a freer access into thy presence, and power to tread down the enemies of my soul, whensoever they rise up against me.
O that now I am sequestered from the world, I may also be crucified unto it; and may leave it in affection, as I am shut out from its conversa- tion. Let me in heart and mind ascend and dwell above, and have my conversation in heaven, and enjoy such fellowship with thee my God and Saviour, as shall be infinitely preferable to all the society and enjoyments of the world. If the Son of God shall make me free, I shall be free indeed. O pity me, tied as I am, and bound with the chain of my sins. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks unto thy name. Set my feet in a large room, that I may be at liberty to run the way of thy commandments. Then, however confined as to my body, even though I were to lie in a jail or a dungeon. I should be a prisoner of hope; looking for that blessed hope, to be delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the chil- dren of God. I ask this for the sake of him, who was apprehended and confined, and put to death for us, and now liveth and reigneth with thy
ON THE DEATH OF NEIGHBOURS. 135
eternal self, and Holy Spirit, over all, God blessed for evermore. Amen.
A PRAYER UPON THE NEWS OF OTHERS' DEATH.
OTHOU ever-living and all-disposing God, in whose hands our breath is, and whose sum- mons we must all obey! What are we; what is man, even at his best estate, but altogether vanity! What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? The great and the mean, the wise and the foolish, the evil and the good, all yield up the ghost, and go down to the grave. Thou art pleased, O my God, to spare me, whilst many of my neighbours and acquaintance are taken to their long home. Thou leavest me yet a living monument of thy goodness, long-suffer- ing, and forbearance. O what am I better than others, that I should have further opportunities of working out my salvation, when others have the things which belong to their peace for ever hid from their eyes? Why have I not long since experienced the common lot of all men? Why have I not been called to give up unto thee an account of my stewardship? O let me not be as the brutes that have no understanding, without mindfulness of my mortality, or consideration of my latter end: but in the death of others, let me see, as in a glass, my own frail and uncertain
13(5 ON THE DEATH OF FRIENDS.
state. Let me see that there is but a step be- tween me and death; and that, however my days may be prolonged on earth, I must at last go to the place appointed for all men living. O let me begin to answer the great end of life; and so live, as one that surely expects to die. And when my own turn shall come, may I depart in peace, and sleep in Jesus ; having my soul safe in thy hands, and my body resting in hope of gloriously rising at the last day, through him who is the resurrec- tion and the life, our blessed Saviour and Re- deemer Jesus Christ. Amen.
A PRAYER UPON THE DEATH OF OUR DEAR FRIENDS. •
God, the Lord of all; thou dost VJT whatsoever thou pleasest in heaven and in earth ; thou givest, and thou takest away : thou raisest up and thou castest down: nor can any stay thy hand, or say unto thee, What doest thou? But in all that thou doest, thou art wise, and righteous, and good. Thou art just in depriving us of those enjoyments which we have unworthily idolized, or ungratefully abused. Blessed be thy name, therefore, as well when thou takest away as when thou givest. Yet, O Lord, in mercy turn these losses to the advantage of my soul: and grant me such abundant supplies out of thine own fulness, that I may find in thee infinitely
ON THE DEATH OF FRIENDS. 137
more than in all earthly friends and comforts. They were but the instruments and means of conveyance : thou, who art the eternal spring and fountain of all good, art still the same; and amidst all these changes, changest not. O let me find, though bereft of the creature, I am not forsaken of my God; and that, though I have nothing, I am really possessed of all things.
O my heavenly Father, take my eyes off from such poor dying comforts, to fix them upon the only satisfying good; in the enjoyment of which consists all my true life, and peace, and happiness. And let the frequent disappointments that I find in all the enjoyments of the world, teach me more wisdom than to place my affections upon them. Help me to disengage and loosen my heart from them: and raise up my desires and hopes to those glorious objects, which are so infinitely to be preferred before them. O let me be more cruci- fied to the world, where is nothing but vanity and vexation of spirit: and may I have my con- versation more in heaven; where my blessed Lord is, and all his happy followers, of whom the world was not worthy; and where there is every thm°- that the soul of man can want or wish. O
c
God of the spirits of all flesh, and especially of the just made perfect, help me so to follow thy servants, who are departed in the Lord, that I, with them, may be counted worthy to live in thy presence, and to spend an eternity in the love and praises, the fellowship and enjoyment, of
138 ON THE REMEMBRANCE OF SINS.
thee my God, who art blessed for evermore. Amen.
A PRAYER UPON THE REMEMBRANCE OF FORMER SINS.
OWHO can understand his errors ? who can call to mind the innumerable offences of his past life ? Since the time that I began to act, what alas ! have I ever done that was free from sin ? Ands O the heinous offences, the presump- tuous sins, the great transgressions, whereof I have been guilty ; which stare me in the face, and alarm my conscience, and cast down my soul within me ! When I consider the circumstances under which I have committed them, that they have been done against such light and love, such calls and warnings, such convictions and encou- ragements as I have experienced from the Lord, I am covered with confusion, O my God, and filled with bitter remorse and terrible apprehen- sions. O if they should rise up in judgment against me, they could not but utterly sink me into perdition. But, O Lord my God, help me so to remember them, that thou mayst blot them out of the book of thy remembrance ; and so to humble myself for them, that thou mayst never lay them to my charge. For thine own mercy's sake hide thy face from my sins., and blot out all my iniquities, especially those which have taken such hold upon me, that I am not able to look
FOR THE CONVINCED SINNER. 139
np. And though thou hast kept me from my deserved shame in this world, O let not thy in- dulgence embolden me to repeat my sins; but let this thy goodness, O my God, work in me a more deep and serious repentance.
And thou, Lord Almighty, who alone canst bring good out of evil, be thou pleased to make my past falls an occasion of my surer standing for the future. O embitter the pleasures of sin to me, and hedge up the ways of wickedness (as with thorns and briers) before me ; that I may loathe, as much as ever I have loved, my hateful ways, and never return again to such baseness and folly. And let the remembrance of all my former offences not only lead me to repentance, but stimulate me to more circumspection and watchfulness in future : that I may not live so far from thee as I have done; nor trespass against thee any more; but may pass the time of my so- journing here in fear : O grant it for the sake of him whom I have so impiously trodden under foot, and to whose Spirit I have done so great despite, even thy Son Jesus Christ, my only Mediator and Advocate. Amen.
THE CONVINCED SINNER'S PRAYEE.
TTEARKEN to the voice of my cry, my King, JJL and my God ! for unto thee will I pray. But wherewithal shall I appear before the Lord,
140 FOR THE CONVINCED SINNER.
and bow myself before the most high God, whose holy laws I have broken, and whose just displea- sure I have incurred ! I acknowledge my trans- gression, O Lord, and my sin is ever before me. My iniquities are gone over my head, as a sore burthen, they are too heavy for me to bear. When thou with rebukes dost chasten man for his iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth. My sin now has found me out; and that which once I thought too little to be repented of, seems now too great to be par- doned. I nattered myself in my own eyes, till my iniquity is found to be hateful. I thought I was rich, and increased with goods, and had need of nothing: but