Four Birds OF Noah's Ark: Viz. 1. The DOVE. 2. The EAGLE. 3. The PELICAN. 4. The PHOENIX. The Dove bringeth Comfort. The Eagle bringeth Courage. The Pelican bringeth Health. The Phoenix bringeth Life. Vigilate & Orate. LONDON, Printed by H. B. for Nathaniel Butter, and are to be sold at his shop near S. Augustine's Gate. 1609. A Table showing the contents of all the four Books. The Dove. 1. A Prayer for a child before he goeth to his study, or to school. fol. 4. 2. A Prayer for a prentice going to his labour. fol 8. 3. A Prayer for him that buys and sells. fol. 12 4. A Prayer for a mayd-seruant. fol. 17. 5. A Prayer for a Serving man. fol. 20. 6. A Prayer for a Husbandman. fol. 22. 7. A Prayer for a mariner going to Sea. fol. 25. 8. A Prayer for a mariner at Sea in a storm. fol. 28. 9 A Thanksgiving for a mariner being safely landed. fol. 31. 10. A Payer for a Soldier going to a battle. fol. 34. 11. A Thanksgiving for a Soldier after victory. fol. 36. 12. A Prayer for a woman great with child. fo. 38. 13. A Prayer for a midwife. fol 42. 14. A Thanksgiving after a woman's delivery. fol. 44. 15 A Prayer for a sick man, to be said by himself. fol. 46. 16 A Prayer to be said by them that visit the sick. fol. 50 17. A Prayer for a prisoner. fol. 53. 18 A Prayer for a Galleyslave. fol. 57 19 A Prayer for men that work in dangerous works, as Coale-pits, etc. fol 60. 20. A Prayer for a poor man. fol. 63. FINIS. The Pelican. THe Pelican a figure of Christ upon the Crosse. fol. 1. Christ the Pelican dies to kill sin. fol. 6. 1 A Prayer for the morning. fol. 13. 2 A Prayer against pride. fol. 16 3 A Prayer against envy. fol. 22 4 A Prayer against wrath. fol. 26. 5 A Prayer against sloth. fol. 29. 6 A Prayer against covetousness. fol. 33. 7 A Prayer against gluttony. fol. 37. 8 A Prayer against lust. fol. 40. 9 A Prayer against the temptation of the Devil. fol 65. 10 A Prayer for the evening. fol. 69. FINIS. The Phoenix. THe Phoenix a figure of Christ. 1. A Thanksgiving for all those benefits which we reap by the death of Christ. fol. 1. 2. A Thanksgiving for all those benefits which we reap by the burial of Christ. fol. 8. 3. A Thanksgiving for all the benefits which we reap by the resurrection of Christ. fol. 14. 4. A Thanksgiving for all those benefits which we reap by the ascension of Christ. fol. 19 5. A Thanksgiving for all those benefits which we are to receive by Christ's coming in glory. fol. 24. Also, other short and pitihe sentences, fit to be applied to those purposes for which the former Prayers are made. FINIS. The Eagle. 1. A Prayer made by the late Queen Elizabeth. fol. 1. 2. A Prayer for the King. fol. 4. 3. A Prayer for Qu. Anne. fol. 8. 4. A Prayer for Prince Henry, Prince of Wales. fol. 12. 5. A Prayer for the Counsel. fol. 16. 6. A Prayer for the Nobility. fol. 18. 7. A Prayer for the Church. fol. 20. 8. A Prayer for the Clergy. fol▪ 22 9 A Prayer for the judges of the land. fol. 25. 10. A Prayer for the Court. fol. 27. 11. A Prayer for the City. fol. 29. 12. A Prayer for the Country. fol. 32. 13. A Prayer for a Magistrate. fol. 34. 14. A Prayer for a Lawyer. fol. 37. 15. A Prayer for the 2. Universities. fol. 39 16. A Prayer for confusion of traitor's fo. 42. 17. A Prayer in time of civil war. fol. 45. 18. A Prayer to stay the pestilence. fol. 48. 19 A Prayer in time of Famine. fol. 51. 20. A Prayer in the time of persecution. fol. 53. FINIS. To the Religious, Virtuous, and noble Gentleman, Sir Thomas Smith Knight; the happiness of both worlds, this present, and that to come. SIR, I present unto your view, a book of prayers; not that you need my weak instructions: for you are known to be a good proficient in God's School, and have more of this heavenly language in you by heart, than I can teach you by precept. The tree of sound Religion flourisheth in your bosom, and beareth (both in the eye of man (outwardly) and (inwardly) to God) much, and very much good fruit. You thereby prove yourself a confirmed Christian: and shall give further testimony of your being so, if you encourage others (that are weak) to feed upon this milk for babes, by tasting of it yourself. They (by you) shall be led into the path of goodness, if you but vouchsafe to walk out before them, and commend the way. Four Birds (of Noah's Ark) have taken four several flights. The Dove (which is the first) flies to your hand; not by chance, but upon good choice, as knowing you to be a Dove yourself. The badge which a Dove wears, is innocence: and by wearing that Christian Armour, you defended yourself, and returned safe out of the Lion's den with Daniel, when it was thought you should have been devoured. God hath since heaped Graces on your head, and by the hands of his Anointed hath rewarded you with deserved honours, in the self same place, into which you were thrown to be swallowed up by destruction. Receive therefore (I beseech you) a Dove, sithence her harmless & spotless wings have carried you over such great danger to so great happiness. In her bill she brings a branch, upon which grows several sorts of fruit, & all of them wholesome for the soul. You are the first to whose hand they are offered: if any others gather them after you, & found in them the sweetness of the food of life, they shall (as I) pray to God, that his blessings may still more & more be multiplied so long upon you, till the last garland which he keeps in store for those that run their race (here) well, may be to you a crown of heavenly blessedness. Ever bounden to your worship. To the Reader. REader, I have for thy comfort sent unto thee 4. Birds of Noah's Ark, upon four several messages: and have changed the notes of those Birds voices into Prayers of different music, but all full of sweetness. Under the wings of the Dove, have I put Prayers, fitting the nature of the Dove, that is to say, simple Prayers, or such as are fitting the mouths of young & the meanest people: and for such blessings as they have most need of. The Eagle soars more high, & in his beak beareth up to heaven supplications in behalf of Kings and Rulers. The Pelican carrieth the figure of our Redeemer on the cross, who shed his blood to nourish us (he being the right Pelican): with the drops of which blood, have I writ Prayers against all those deadly & capital sins, to wash out whose foulness our Saviour suffered that ignominious death. And lastly, in the spiced nest of the Phoenix (in which Bird likewise is figured Christ risen again) shalt thou found a book written full of Thanks & Wishes: of thanks, for those benefits which grow unto us by Christ's death and resurrection: of Wishes, that he would in divers gifts bestow those blessings upon us. Nothing that is set down is tedious, because I had a care of thy memory Nothing is done twice, because thou mayst take delight in them. If thou art young, here is pleasure for thee: if old, here is comfort▪ if thou art poor, here is riches; if thou hast enough, here is more: use this physic well, and live well: run this circle truly, and die well: that is the goal: win that, win Heaven. Farewell. What Prayer is. PRayer, is the language in which we talk to God: for when we read (the Book) God speaketh to us, but when we Pray, we speak to him: It is therefore a dialogue between him and us. It is that leader which jacob saw ascending up to the clouds, for by the stairs of it do we climb up to heaven. Prayer is the key that opens all the gates of heaven. It is the compass by which we sail thither. It is the badge by which a Christian is known that he serveth God. It is our best friend that speaketh to him in our behalf. It is the eloquence that only overcometh him. It is the music, that only charms his anger to sleep. It is our peacemaker, in the wars between God and us. It is the sword of defence in the combat between us and the devil. It is the ship, in which if our soul sails not, we perish. It is the anchor, at which we lie safe in the storms of death. It is the balm that cureth the wounds of poverty, of oppression, of imprisonment, of banishment, of despair, of cares, of sorrows & of all calamities, that like diseases hung upon our life. Such is Prayer, such armour must we put on if we mean to win Heaven. The Dove, compared to Prayer. THe Dove was the first Bird that being sent out of Noah his Ark, brought comfort to Noah: So Prayer being sent out of the Ark of our bodies, is the only and first bringer of comfort to us from Heaven. The Dove went out twice ere it could find an Olive Branch, (which was the ensign of peace:) So our Prayers must fly up again and again, and never leave beating at the doors of Heaven, till they fetch from thence the Olive-branch of God's mercy, in sign that we are at peace with him, and that he hath pardoned our sins. The Dove no sooner brought that bough of good tidings into the Ark, but the universal flood fell, and sunk into the bowels of the deep: So no sooner do our hearty Prayers pierce the bosom of the Lord Almighty, but the waters of his indignation shrink away, melting to nothing like hills of Snow, and the universal deluge of sin that floweth 40. days and nights together, (that is to say, every hour, or all our life time) to drown both soul and body, is driven back, & ebbs into the bottomless gulf of hell. The Dove is said to be without gall: Our Prayer must be without bitterness, and not to the hurt of our neighbour (for such Prayers are curses) jest we pull down vengeance on our heads. Such was the Dove that Noah sent out of the Ark, with such wings let our Prayers carry up our messages to Heaven. 1. A Prayer for a child before he goeth to his study, or to school. OH GOD, that art the fountain of all wisdom, & founder of all learning: breath into my soul the spirit of understanding, that in my childhood I may learn, and (as I grow farther into years) may practise the study only of thee and of thy laws. Feed me (OH Lord) as babes are fed, with the milk of thy holy word, that I may grow strong in setting forth thy praises. Make me (OH jesus thou Son of God) one of those of whom thou speakekest thus, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbidden them not. And as thou hast promised that thy wonders should be sounded forth by the tongues of infants & sucking babes; so power into my lips the waters of the well of life, that whatsoever I learn may be to proclaim thy glory. Polish thou my mind (OH God) that it may shine bright in goodness: and that I may not defile or deface this weak temple of my body by corrupted manners or lewd speeches; but so season my tongue that all the lessons which I take forth, may seem to be read to me in thine own school. Be thou my Schoolmaster to instruct me, so shall I repeat the rules of true wisdom: keep thou me in fear of the rod of thy displeasure, so shall I be sure to have my name set in the book of life. Make me obedient to my Parents: dutiful to my Teachers: loving to my Schoolfellows: humble to my superiors; full of reverence to old men: proud towards no man; & that I may win the love of all men. Bless me, OH Lord, this day: guide my feet, direct my mind, sanctify my studies, govern all my actions, preserve my body in health, my soul from uncleanness. Grant this, OH my God, for thy sons sake (jesus Christ:) or if it be thy pleasure to cut me off before night, and that this flower of my youth shall fade in all the beauty of it, yet make me (OH my gracious Shepherd) for one of thy Lambs, to whom thou wilt say, Come you blessed, & cloth me in a white rob (of righteousness) that I may be one of those singers, who shall cry to thee Allelluia. Amen. 2. A Prayer for a apprentice going to his labour. OH The builder of this world! (whose workmanship is to be seen excellent even in the frames of the lest and basest creatures which thou hast set together:) Cast a gracious eye upon me, and lend me thy directing hand that the labours which this day I am to undertake may prospero. Let me not (OH God) go about my business with eye-service; but sithence thou hast ordained that (like poor joseph) I must enter into the state of a servant, so humble my mind, that I may perform with a cheerful willingness whatsoever my master commands me, and that all his commandments may be agreeable to the serving of thee. Bestow upon me thy grace that I may deal uprightly with all men, and that I may show myself to him, who is set over me (a Ruler) as I another day would desire to have others behave themselves to me. Take away from him (that is, my master) all thoughts of cruelty, that like the children of Israel under the subjection of Pharaohs servants, I may not be set to a task above my strength: of if I be; stretch thou out my sinews (OH God) that I may with un-wearied limbs accomplish it. Fill my veins with blood, that that I may go thorough the hardest labours: sithence it is a law set down by thyself, that I must earn my bread with the sweat of my own brows. Give me courage to begin: patience to go forward: and ability to finish them. Cleanse my heart (OH thou that art the fountain of purity) from all falsehood, from all swearing, from all abuse of thy sacred Name, from all foul, lose and unreverend languages. Let my thoughts when I am alone be of thee: let my mirth in company be to sing Psalms, and the arguments of my talk only touching the works of thy hand. Take sloth from my fingers, and drowsiness from the lids of mine eye; whether I rise early, or lie down late, so gladly let me do it, as if my prenticeship were to be consumed in thy service. The glass of my years shall thereby run out in pleasure, & I in the end shall be made free of that city of thine, The heavenly jerusalem; into whose fellowship, I beseech thee, to enfranchise & enroll me, and that after I have faithfully laboured six days of my life here upon earth, I may upon the seventh rest in thy everlasting Sabbath. Amen. 3. A Prayer for him that buys and sells. OH Good God, what is our life but a common Mart, wherein we sell away our bodies to shame for the price of momentary pleasure, & barter away our souls to sin, which were bought at the dearest rate (even thy sons blood?) What are all our labours, but desperate voyages, made to purchase wealth? And what are the riches of a worldly man when they are gotten, but (as thy Prophet singeth) The weaving of a spider's web? Esay 59 The spider makes fine nets to catch flies; and the worldling wasteth his nights, & weareth out his days in tying his conscience full of knots to pull up riches. Since then the heaping up of wealth is for the most part, the heaping up of wickedness; and that all the travails of our life, are but like buying and selling in a fair, which we begin to day and end to morrow: so direct my steps (dear Lord) that I may neither wander to get goods by unlawful courses, nor that I may fall in love with riches, how well soever they be gotten. Let me not be one of those buyers and sellers, whom thy Son jesus thrust out of the Temple: But rather one of those Merchants that cell all to follow thee. And since to love our neighbour is the fulfilling of the Law, give me grace that I may be counted no breaker of that Law, but a keeper of it sound, dealing justly with all men. And for that purpose, let not mine eye look upon false weights, nor my hand be held out to take up an uneven balance. He loseth a piece of his soul, (every time) that robbeth his chapman of his measure: & he that unjustly gaineth but thirty pence, selleth (like judas) even his master Christ. As thou (OH Father of us all) hast given me two hands, so appoint those servants of my body to execute none but good and holy offices: Let the one hand buy honestly, and the other cell justly. Let the left be to lay up wealth to maintain my body, and the right to distribute thy blessings to those whose bodies are in misery. Seal up my lips from lying and forswearing (the two poisons that overflow every city.) Purge my bosom from corruption: pull out of my heart the stings of envy, and let me rejoice to see others prospero in the world, & not to murmur if I myself whither like trees in Autumn, though I loose the golden leaves of wealth, and be left naked with poverty. Keep the Wolf from my door, & the Fox out of my bedchamber, that other men may neither lie in wait to rob me of my goods, nor I sit up late in the counsel of the wicked, how to deceive other men of theirs. Be thou (OH Lord) at my elbow in all my proceed, so shall I fear to do amiss in any. And so mortify my affections, that every day casting behind my back the comfort, the cares, the vanities, the vileness, the pleasures and the sorrows of this bewitching world, I may continually have this cry aloud in my mouth, I desire to be dissolved and to be with thee. Amen. 4. A Prayer for a mayd-seruant. STop not thine ears (OH Lord) to the requests of thy poor and humble handmaid, but as thou hast laid upon her the condition of a servant, so let her mind be subjecteth to the state to which thou hast called her. And for that thou didst ordain in that great work of the Creation of mankind, that woman should be the weaker vessel, both in the labours of the body, and endeavours of mind: strengthen me therefore (OH God) with thy assistance, & enlighten my soul with thy divine inspiration. Bestow upon my youth a prosperous flourishing, but let it be in goodness. As I grow up in years, let me grow up in grace: & writ my name (OH thou eternal Register) in that general pardon wherein thou forgivest the follies of our youth. Crown my Virgin-state with chaste & religious thoughts: & so temper my desires, that the wanton pleasures of the flesh may not drown in me the heavenvly treasures of the Spirit. Take from me (OH God) the health of my body, rather than by the possession of it, I should grow proud of beauty. So thou accountest me fair, I care not how ugly I appear to the world. And for that I am but poor, so bless me, that I may preserve my fame: for an honest reputation is to a maiden an ample dowry. Defend me from the poison of evil tongues, which are more deadly than the stings of scorpions Defend me from violating those laws written down by thine own finger: defend me from shame, whose spots disfigure the living, & disgrace the dead. Defend me from sin, for the wages thereof are death and hell. Make me a faithful steward in ordering the goods of my M. & M ris. so shall I be a more careful disposer of my own. At my going to rest, take thou charge of my soul, for it is thy jewel; at my uprising guard thou my body, for thy Son hath bought it: so shall I at the suns rising pray to thee; when he is at his height, I shall praise thee; and at his going down, shall I sing Hymns of thanks to thy Name. To which be all honour, for it is due; All glory, for it is proper; all fear, reverence and adoration, for they are only thine. 5. A Prayer for a servingman. NO service (OH God) is like unto that of thine: It is the highway to the highest honour; It is a preferment to eternity, a promotion beyond that which is bestowed by Kings. Admit me therefore into thy household of Faith: cloth me in the livery of a true Christian, so shall I ever wait upon thee (OH my Lord:) lead me out of the company of swearers, quarrelers, drunkards, boasters, adulterers, & all those that blaspheme thee. Arm me with thy grace, assist me with thy Spirit, bless me with thy hand, fill me with thy blessings, look down upon my weakness; lift me up in strength: bear with my frailty: suffer not my heart to swell with pride, mine eye to burn in lust, my tongue to sting with slander, my hand to be dipped in blood. But secure me (OH my maker) and save me, (OH save me) now and ever, (OH my Redeemer,) So be it. Amen. 6. A Prayer for an husband man. THe earth (OH Lord) is thy garden in which thou hast appointed man to be a labourer. Of that stuff in which he daily diggeth and delveth was Man made; so that in trimming the earth, Man doth but dress himself. But albeit Paul planteth and Apollo watereth, no herb or flower can come up or tree prospero unless thy hand be at the graffing: sand thou therefore forth a wholesome breath from thy nostrils upon those fruits of the earth which out of the bounty of thy love thou hast bestowed upon me thy servant. Let not the leaf of my labours whither, but prospero it till it grow up like a Cedar on the top of Libanus, or like a tree planted by the water's side, bringing forth fruit in due season. Check (OH my God) the Northern wind, that it beat not down the husbandman's hopes, but that the sick mail in fit time sand in a ripe and plentiful harvest. Strike not the ox at the plough with death, nor the horse in the pasture with diseases: yet I confess, that my sins deserve to have the plagues of Egypt fall on me and my cattle. But the wings of thy mercy (OH gracious God) spread further than those of thy justice. Shed therefore those comfortable beams upon me that am a creeping worm upon earth. And not only do I beg these worldly and fading blessings at thy hand, but those rather that are heavenly, & which last for ever: power thy abundant grace on my soul, that it may be fruitful in good works, and ever bringing forth seeds of holiness. Open my heart, that it may not be barren of understanding thee; clear thou mine eyes, that they may behold the face of ignorance & loath her, and that they may look upon the beauty of thy sacred wisdom, and be enamoured of it. For these and whatsoever else thou thinkest fit for the health of my body or happiness of my soul: I most humbly beseech thee in the Name of that blessed Son of thine, jesus Christ. 7. A Prayer for a Mariner going to Sea. OH Thou that ride upon the Cherubins and fliest upon the wings of the winds: Thou, at the brightness of whose presence the clouds remove, & at whose chiding hailstones and coals of fire fall upon the world, whose arrows are swiftest lighting, & whose bow at the going off, shooteth forth thunder. Be merciful unto me (OH my God) that am to venture into the horrors of the deep. There shall I see thy wonders, but let me not see thy wrath: there shall I look into hell, but let me not fall into the jaws of fear & desperation. Preserve me (OH Lord) in the womb of the ship, though the waters climb round about the ribs to swallow me up, as thou didst save jonas in the belly of the Whale. And when with thy servant Peter I cry out (to thy Son) Help Lord, or we perish: let his hand be stretched forth, to command the waters to be quiet. Fill our sails with gentle & prosperous winds; let not the sun be covered in storms by day, nor the Moon and stars conspire with darkness by night, to spoil us by shipwreck. But set thou an Angel at our helm, when we hoist sails to go forth, & charge the same Angel to guide us through that wilderness of waters, till we safely arrive on shore. Or if for our sins it be thy pleasure that our bodies in this voyage shall perish, yet (OH our merciful Pilot) save our souls from the great Leviathan, whose jaws are ever open to devour: upon what rocks soever the vessel that bears us be split, yet we (most wretched sinners) beg at thy hands, that our heavenly vessels may arrive at the everlasting land of promise. Grant this (OH Father) for his sake, that swum thorough a read Sea of precious blood on the cross, to be man's Redeemer. 8. A Prayer for a Mariner at Sea in a storm. Save us (OH save us miserable wretches.) who have no hope in the help of man, but only (OH Lord Almighty) in thee. Hear the cries of thy servants, and let them pierce into thine ear, thorough this battle of the clouds & the waters. We perish (OH Saviour) we perish in this prison of the deep, unless by thy miraculous power thou deliver us from death. Cast a bridle therefore about the stubborn necks of the winds, for they are thy servants: and beat back this furious army of the waters, for they are thy slaves. Sand (OH Lord) a Moses unto us, to conduct us thorough this Sea of death: sand but a warrant under thy dreadful & commanding voice, & the tempest shall obey thee. Thou holdest the winds in thy right hand, & the waves in the left; the heavens are thy throne, and earth thy footstool: All is thine, & thou art all; to thee therefore do we fly for succour, because there is no succour but under thy wings. The sorrows of death do round encompass us, the pains of hell are felt in our bones; gather thou therefore the seas into an heap, and lay these storms of wrath up in thy treasure house of vengeance, to confounded thy professed enemies. We (silly wretches) call upon thy Name, OH hear us: we are the work of thine own hands, OH deface not thine own buildings: it was a part of thy glory to make us, let it be a greater part of thy glory to save us, now that we are upon the point to perish. Save us, OH save us, for thine own sake, for thy sons Sake, for thy glories sake, and we shall sing Psalms in thy praises upon the lute, and upon an instrument of ten strings. 9 A Thanksgiving for Mariner being safely landed. EVerlasting thanks do we pay unto thee (OH thou that art mercy itself) in that when our feet were stepping into the grave, thou didst raise us (with poor Lazarus) from the dead. Blessed be the God of hosts, that thus hath redeemed us from danger. We were in the lion's den▪ and yet did he deliver us: We were in the furnace, yet not a hair hath perished: We were at the gates of hell, yet did he fetch us back; the bitter cup of death did he remove from our lips, and out of the pit of desperation hath he pulled us up alive. He did but say the word, and the winds stood still; he did but frown, & the waters shrunk in their heads; he did but beckon, and his Angel came and brought us comfort. We will sing therefore unto our good God a song of thanks: We will sound forth his Name even amongst Turks and Saracens: and sand abroad the miracle of our deliverance to the furthest corners of the earth. All glory, honour and praise be thine, OH Lord: for thou art just without corruption, merciful beyond our deservings, and mighty above our apprehension. All glory, honour and praise be thine for ever and ever. Amen. 10. A Prayer for a Soldier going to a Battle. Arm me (OH thou God of Battles) with courage this day, that I may not fall before my enemies: The quarrel is thine, let the victory be thine; tie to my sinews the strength of David, that I may with a pebble stone strike to the earth these Giants that fight against thy truth. The weaker means I use, the greater shall be thy glory, if I come from the field crowned with conquest. I put no confidence (OH Lord) either in the strong horse, or the iron-headed spear: the armour that must defend me, is thy right arm. Be thou therefore this day my Captain to conduct me: let thy word be the trumpet to encourage me; the banner of the Church, the colours which I follow; the weapons which I fight with faith and hope; and the cause for which I fight, The advancement of true Religion. Keep my hands (OH my God) from playing the bloody executioners; let pity sit upon mine eyelids, even in the heat of battle, and mercy on the point of my sword when it is most ready to kill. So let me fight, that whether I come off, lame or sound, dead or alive, I may live or dye thy Soldier. Amen. Bless me, strengthen me, guide me, guard me, save me, OH thou Lord of hosts. Amen. 11. A Prayer, or Thanksgiving for a Soldier after victory. VEngeance is thine, OH Lord: and the fall of thy enemies is thy glory. Immortal honour (like the beams of the sun) shine about thy Temples, because thou hast this day stood by thy poor servant. When death trampled upon heaps of mangled carcases, thou (OH Lord) plantedst a guard of Angels about mine. Thou hast circled my brows with Bay-tree, in sign of conquest, and with the palm-tree, in token of peace. All that I can give to thee for these blessings, is but a giving Thanks. Accept it (OH my God) accept this sacrifice of my heart: and so hold in the reins of my passions, that I be not swollen up with arrogance and pride, for that which is no work of mine; but that I may humbly acknowledge thee for the Author both of my own safety, and my foes deseature. And so instruct me in the heavenly discipline of other wars which I am to fight in, in this world, that I may defy sathan and his troops, beat down sin and his damned regiment, & triumph over the assaults of the world, that in the end I may march under the banner which Christ shall spread in Heaven. Amen. 12. A Prayer for a woman great with child. Look down from Heaven (OH Lord) upon me thy handmaid, look down from thy throne of mercy. A curse hast thou laid upon all women, (for their Grand mother eves sake) which is, that the fruits of their wombs shall fill them with pain and torments: Just art thou in thy sentence, for all women in that battle of life and death, do feel the rigour of thy doom. The horrors of the grave do in that hour stand before them, the terrors of hell, do in that conflict hover-round about them; yet (OH God) one drop of thy mercy hath sovereign power to cure all the wounds of those sorrows. Shed it therefore (OH Father) shed that drop of grace upon me (most miserable woman) in that minute when I am to encounter with so stern an enemy. What weight of thy wrath soever thou layest upon me (for my sins,) strengthen me with patience to bear it, that I may not in that fearful agony be unruly, or unforgetfull of that modesty fitting a woman beset with such dangers; but rather, that in those throws of child birth, (to which no pangs in the world are comparable) I may verily believe I see thy blessed Son (my Redeemer) torn upon the cross: suffering pains insufferable, tortures inexpresseable, and sorrows of soul in-uttereble, only for me, only to pay for my sins, & only to free me from the shame of death and hell. Let his immensurable & incomprehensible agonies on the cross, put me in mind how much he ventured for me (a wretch) and that he can not plague me with too many miseries, that have (for all this love bestowed) every day, and every hour in a day, and every minute of an hour, played the wanton with his favour, and have abused his mercies. Forget my sins notwithstanding (OH my God) but forget not thy servant. Forgive me: and so forgive me, that the child in my body be not punished for the mother's offences Bless this fruit of my womb, which thou hast grafted with thine own hand: give it growth, give it flourishing, give it form. And when the time is come that thou wilt call it out of this close house of flesh, (where now it inhabiteth) to devil in the open world. Sanctify thy creature, and on the forehead of it, set that sacred seal of Baptism, that it may be known to be a Lamb of thy own flock. Grant this, OH maker of mankind, grant this (OH Redeemer of mankind) at the request of thy servant and handmaid. Amen. 13. A Prayer for a midwife WIth hands lifted up to Heaven, knees prostrated on the earth, & with a soul humbled at thy feet (OH Lord) do I beg, that thou wouldst prospero this work which I am to undertake. Suffer me not to be fearful in my office, fainting in my spirits, or too violent in my duty: but that I may discharge it to thy honour, this thy handmaid's comfort (who is full of pain) and to my own credit. Bless me (OH God) with skill, sithence thou hast placed me as thy deputy in this great and wonderful business: give unto thy servant an easy & speedy deliverance. Give unto me a quick, a constant & a gentle hand. Give unto this new unborn creature (into whom thou hast breathed a soul) a fair & wel-shapen body; that thou mayst have glory by thy works, & the mother gladness in beholding her infant, after all her sorrows. Grant this, OH Father, for thy Son's sake jesus Christ. Amen. 14. A Prayer, or Thanksgiving, after a woman's delivery. GLorified be thy Name (OH God) for this mercy extended to thy servant: It lay in thy power to strike death into her womb, but thou hast given her a double life: and to heap sorrows upon her sorrows, but her anguishes hast thou sweetened with gladness. Praised be thy blessed Name: Praised be thy wondrous works. Continued (OH Lord) these thy favours to thy weak handmaid: put strength into her blood, blood into her veins, and courage into her heart, that her lips may tender thee a thanksgiving. Look (OH God) upon this babe with an eye of love; preserve it in health, quicken it with thy grace, and crown it with long life, that it may grow up to be a servant in thy household. Untie the strings of his utterance (when thou thinkest it meet) and give unto it a tongue that may without stammering or any other imperfect sound speak clearly. Let all other organs of his body execute their offices, as in thy mercy thou hast appointed. Sanctify OH Lord, the breasts that must give it suck, and feed the soul of it (when it shall please thee to fill it with understanding) with the milk of thy word. Bless us (OH Lord) that are here met together to behold the glory of our creation, and the wonders of our creator in this little infant. Thanks, honour, & praise be given unto thee for ever and ever. Amen. 15. A Prayer for a sick man, to be said by himself. Sickness (OH Lord) is, I know, thy herald, and summoneth us to death: It is thy messenger, and thou hast sent it into my body: Welcome it is, because it cometh from thee; yet (OH my God) if it be thy pleasure, let thy anger cease, & cast thou that rod into the fire which hath beaten me thus long with affliction. My soul is brought low, (even to the dust) hide not therefore thy beams from me, but shed the light of them upon my face, that I may lift up my head and be comforted. Mercifully hast thou dealt with me I confess, for I deserve, and it lies in thy strength utterly and in an instant to confounded me in the heat of thy indignation: But thou hast laid a gentle punishment upon me, and the blows are such as fathers give to children, not to kill them, but to correct them. Thou hast not yet called me to the bar of death, yet hast thou called me to a trial. My sins cry out as witnesses against my soul, & my soul pleadeth guilty of treason against thy Majesty. Restore me (OH God) by thy pardon under that great seal of thy promise, To forgive a sinner at what time soever he hearty powers out his tears of repentance. Or if it be set down in thy book of irrevocable decrees, that my flesh must with this sickness be turned into dust, so strengthen me (OH my Redeemer) that to the last hour and latest gasp, I may hold thy Name between my lips, and die with that music only sounding in my voice. Grant this request OH Lord to me thy servant; that whensoever or howsoever the glass of my mortality shall run out, my soul at her departure may run and be received into Abraham's bosom, which is the sanctuary for all the faithful: at which blessed haven that I may arrive, prayer shall for ever be the sails that shall carry up my heart; and above all, that, prayer which the best preacher of the world hath taught me; saying, Our father, etc. 16. A Prayer to be said by them that visit the sick. OH Thou (OH Lord) that art the Physician both of soul and body, stretch forth, we beseech thee, thine arm toward this thy servant: pour out the oil of thy mercy and compassion, and with it balm his temples, that his memory may not be taken from him, but that he may call upon thy glorious Name. Speak unto him, as thou didst speak to thy servant, when thou saidst, Arise, take up thy bed and walk: for health is thy subject and obeys no command but thine. Arm him (OH father of us all) arm this thy son with patience to endure this trial, and with constancy to wait thy pleasure: give him the fortitude of job, to bear the burden of all tribulations, of all crosses, and of all calamities, sithence the weight of them is not to bear him down, but to lift him up to blessedness. Settle OH Lord his spirits, that they may not wander and fly out into any unruly motions. Lay thy finger upon his lips, that they may not fall into cursing or blaspheming thy deity, or into any vain language. Take from his eye all delight of this frail world, and let his soul make ready only for a voyage to heaven: hear us OH Lord that beg this at thy hands: hear him OH Lord, that lifteth up his hands unto thee, and begs a pardon for his sins: open the gates of mercy: open the doors of thy saving health: open thine arms, to receive him into thy favour, or into the celestial freedom: adopt him for thine own: adopt him in the blood of thy Son; or if it be thy will, to add more days to his life, turn then speedily his weakness into strength, and his sickness into health; so shall he confess that thou art mighty, that thou art merciful, and that thou alone art the God of salvation. To thee therefore that art One in Three, and Three in One, and in all things incomprehensible, be all honour. Amen. 17. A Prayer for a Prisoner. MY feet (OH my Saviour) are in the snares of the hunter, and like a beast in the Wilderness have my enemies pursued me: I am now entangled in the chains of captivity; yet (OH my God) bestow thou upon me the freedom of my soul: Soften thou the flinty hearts of those men, that have cast me into this house of mourning and heaviness: and as thou didst to Daniel in the Lion's den, defend and keep me from the jaws of misery, that are stretched wide open to swallow me up alive. It is for my sin that I am thus round beset with poverty, shame, and dishonour. Receive thou therefore these sacrifices of my contrition, and turn not away thine ear, when my prayers are flying towards thee. The sighs of a sinner repenting is a sweet breath in thy nostrils, his tears are precious, and like those tears that washed the feet of Christ. Accept therefore this offering from the altar of an humble, contrite, and wounded heart. Put into my bosom Good and Charitable thoughts, that I may pray for them that persecute and trouble me; and that I may undergo and pass over all their oppressions and bearings of me down, with a settled, constant, and suffering spirit. Let this imprisonment (OH LORD) be always unto me a Book wherein I may read, first, the knowledge of thee (which hitherto I have not studied) and secondly, the knowledge of myself. Let it be a glass wherein I may see all the blemishes of my youth; as riots, whoredoms, drunkenness, pride, and such like foul and ulcerous spots, that have disfigured my soul. Change (OH merciful God) if it be thy will, my wants into plenty, my thraledome into liberty, my mourning into gladness, for thy Son jesus Christ his sake, who was a prisoner upon the Cross, only to set all mankind free: Work pity OH my Saviour, in the breasts of my adversaries, that I may sing with the Prophet: Blessed is he that considereth the poor and needy: the Lord shall deliver him in the time of trouble. But if it be thy will and pleasure that I must groan under this trouble and affliction; arm me (OH God) with a constant patience to bear all. Amen. A Prayer for a Galleyslave. OH THOU that thorough the red Sea didst guide the children of Israel, thrust forth the self same arm, and pull me thy servant, out of the hands of a Tyrant, whose heart is hardened worse than Pharoahs'. He that hates thy glorious Name (OH Lord) and persecuteth thy beloved Son in the bodies of Christians; doth with an iron rod bruise my bones: OH Lord be thou my deliverer. In penury and woe do I toil out my days: In cold and hunger do I pass over and waste out my nights: my labours are at the Oar, and my tortures at the will of a barbarous infidel; in whose eye, stripes to a wretched and poor Galleyslave are but a merriment; and the gushing out of a Christians blood but a mockery. For the honour of thy beloved Son (who laid down his own life for my ransom) suffer not these enemies of thy glory to insult over one of thy children. For the honour of thy Church (of which I am a member) suffer not thy Religion to be trodden to dust (in me) by the tyranny and cruelty of a blaspheming Pagan: or if it be in thy Divine purpose, to have me longer to groan under this heavy yoke of servitude and slavery for the trial of my faith; thy will be done: yet OH LORD, stand thou by my side: shrink not from me, jest thou forsaking me I fall away from thee, & so utterly perish in Turkish ignorance: confirm me in my religion, infuse into me thy grace, teach my tongue to speak of thee boldly, my thoughts to meditate upon thee sincerely, and strengthen thou my body to maintain thy cause even to the death. Amen. 19 A Prayer for men that work in dangerous works▪ as Coalpits▪ mines, etc. OUT of my Bed (the image of my Grave) hast thou raised me (OH Lord) thy Angels sat upon mine eye-liddes, like Sentinels to guard me all the while I lay asleep: OH suffer thou the same watchmen to protect me now I am awake. I need thy help always, (for what is man without thee?) but so near the house of danger must I this day devil, that on my knees I entreat thee to keep side by side with me in my doings. Save my body, OH Lord: for death is (at every turning about) at my elbow. Save my soul, whatsoever falls upon my body. Which divine part of me, that it may come into thy heavenly treasure-house, inspire me with that wisdom which descendeth from above. Purify my thoughts, & let them with spotless wings be continually flying about thy throne. Purge my heart, that it may come before thee like a bridegroom, full of chaste love. Refine my soul, that like silver seuen times tried in the fire, it may bear the bright figure of Salvation. In vain doth the builder lay his foundation, unless thy hand be at the setting up. Set therefore thy hand to this work of mine; encourage me to undertake it, embolden me to go forward, and enable me to finish it. Amen. 20. A Prayer for a poor man. OH Thou King both of Heaven and earth, whose blessings fall upon man like showers of rain: open that rich fountain of thy grace, and let the drops of it relive me that am the miserablest of thy creatures. Thou hast clothed me in the habits of baseness; but, OH LORD, furnish thou my mind with the riches of thy mercy. I am content (OH FATHER) with this poor estate, and comfort myself with it, knowing that thy blessed Son had at his birth but a manger in stead of a cradle to lie in, & being the Lord of the whole world, not so much as a dwelling house of his his own to lodge in. The Sparrow lighteth not upon the ground without thy providence, nor doth the meanest of thy children breath, but thou providest for him. Since I came naked into the world, this nakedness of mine is but the badge of my nativity: bestow therefore thy grace upon me, that I may not envy those that swim in the abundance of wealth. Feed me, OH Lord, with the bread of life: that I may grow strong in health everlasting; let me drink of the benefit of my Redeemers blood: Cloth me (OH God) with righteousness: and albeit thou hast in thy judgement and to express thy glory, appointed me to be an outcast amongst men, and to be the scum of the world, yet, OH Lord, cast me not out of thy presence, but for thy dear Sons sake, whose blood bought the beggar as well as the Prince, make me a free-denizen in the city of Heaven. So be it. FINIS. THE Eagle. The EAGLE bringeth courage. Vigilate & Orate. Printed at London by H.B. for N.B. 1609. To the right worthy and right worshipful Gentleman, Sir john Scot, knight: a prosperous increase of honour in this world, and a perfect enjoying of glory in the world to come. SIR, after I had builded up these four altars of devotion, with purpose to present the first of them to your worshipful brother in Law (Sir Thomas Smith;) I knew not where to found a man that did more truly parallel him in goodness than you yourself; aswell for the ornaments of mind, as for that integrity, piety, zeal, and other riches of the soul, wherewith the world taketh especial note, that you are (both) abundantly stored. For that cause therefore, (as also in regard that Affinity hath knit you together in a strong and holy league of love) am I bold to rear up this my second altar to the memory of your name. Upon it are offered up Prayers only, whose incense are as sweet odours in the nostrils of God. They are in behalf of Princes and Rulers (who are the highest upon earth) & therefore doth an Eagle carry them up to heaven. She flieth now to your bosom, there to build her nest: esteeming it a happy place for her to abide in, sithence she foreseeth (or at lest with me prayeth) that all your thoughts, words and actions which are bred within you, do show themselves, and so may prove still true Eagles, by being able to look steadfastly on the sun of righteousness. And thus craving pardon for boldness, I rest: Devoted yours To the vertuously-hopefull young Gentleman, Sir George Hayward, Knight, son in law to the right worshipful, Sir john Scot, Knight. GOD is the best Schoolmaster, his laws the noblest study: and what lessons (of Him) are taught, (truly) how plain soever the Method be, the wisest need not be ashamed to read them. So that I presume, you will favour these young blossoms, because yourself are but in growing. They are dewed with the drops of a Pelican whose property is to suffer her own bosom to bleed, that others may be fed. It is the bird of Charity, & the true Emblem of Christ on the Cross, (who was all Love.) His sides are here pierced, & his blood here runs forth, making a river, in which only (& by no other fountain) the leprosy of sin is for ever to be cleansed. You shall found only 7. heads of sin (here) cut off by prayer: not because it hath no more heads but 7. or that these are the greatest: but being not able to fight (in so narrow a room) with the multitude of them all, I was contented to set upon a certain number. The Armour to encounter with them is here prepared: it is made fit for any Christian to wear. If you vouchsafe to put it on, others by your example will undertake the same quarrel. To fight for Christ is an honourable combat. Sins are his utter enemies, & here you may learn how to confounded them. The war is godly: the victory glorious: your triumph will be in heaven. To wrestle against such foes shall well become your years, and to give them the overthrow will be a crown to you in old age. To the honour of which I do as hearty wish you may come, as you are happily engrafted into religious & unblemished Families, which (to your comfort) you may reckon the first of those good blessings which God hath multiplied upon you, To the Reader. READER: the greatest good that Christ did for thee, was to die for thee: and the greatest pleasure thou canst do for him, is to die to thyself. That is to say, to crucify all the sins and corruptions of thy soul, as he suffered his body (to redeem thine) to be mangled on a Crosse. He was a Pelican for thy sake; be thou a Pelican to thyself and others▪ and fly with two wings (to heaven) Faith and good Works. If thou usest the first wing without the second, thy fligpt is but lame: if the last only without the former, thy pace is but losie: exercise both, and be sure thou shalt get thither. Farewell. THE EAGLE. The EAGLE bringeth courage. Vigilate & Orate. Pinted at London, by H. B. for Nathaniel Butter. 1609. 1. A Prayer made by the virtuous and renowned Queen ELIZABETH, of most happy memory. OH GOD allmaker, keeper, & guider; Enurement of thy rare-seen, unused, and seld-heard-of goodness, powered in so plentiful sort upon us full often, breeds now this boldness, to crave with bowed knees & hearts of humility, thy large hand of helping power, to assist with wonder our just cause, not founded on Prides-motion, nor begun on Malice-stock; but as thou best knowest, to whom naught is hid, grounded on just defence from wrongs, hate, and bloody desire of conquest. For since, means thou hast imparted to save that thou hast given, by enjoying such a people, as scorns their bloodshed, where surety ours is one: fortify (dear God) such hearts in such sort, as their best part may be worst, that to the truest part meant worst, with lest loss to such a nation, as despise their lives for their countries good. That all Foreign lands may laud and admire the Omnipotency of thy work: a fact alone for thee only to perform. So shall thy Name be spread for wonders wrought, & the faithful encouraged, to repose in thy unfellowed Grace: And we that minded naught but right, enchained in thy bonds for perpetual slavery, and live & die the sacrificers of our souls for such obtained favour. Warrant, dear Lord, all this with thy command. AMEN. 2. A Prayer for the King. KING'S are gods upon earth, yet (OH Lord) they are but thy servants; they rule kingdoms, yet the chariot of their Empire turns over & over, unless thou teach their hands how to hold the bridle. Moore than men they are amongst men, yet less they are then themselves, if they break thy laws: for sithence they are thy Stewards, and are trusted with much, it is a great reckoning to which they must answer. Lay therefore (OH God) thy right hand upon the head of our sovereign (King JAMES) fasten his Crown to his temples, that no treason may lift it off: bind it about with Olive-branches, and let peace ever devil in the circle of it. Plant a guard of Angels about his bed, and a troop of Saints about his throne: that his sleeps may be golden slumbers, and his watchings may be Divine Meditations. power into his bosom thy grace, that all his actions may advance thy glory. Be thou his armour in the day of battle, and (like the wings of an Eagle) let thine arms cover him in the sunshine of peace. Make him (OH Lord) a Priest in thy Church, a shepherd to thy flocks, a father in the Common wealth, a Captain in thy quarrel, a conqueror in thy wars. Crown his middle age with numbers of years, as thou hast crowned his youth with the inheritance of many kingdoms; let the dial of his life move slowly on, and suffer not the last hour of his old age to strike, till those that now stand up about him like the tender branches of the vine may be seen growing on the banks of his kingdom, like so many rows of tall Cedars. Let his reign (OH Lord) be like the age of Methusalem: his knowledge like the wisdom of Solomon: and his off spring blessed like the seed of Abraham. Give him David's soul, but suffer him not to fall into David's sins: let him number his people, not to make thee angry with him, but to make him love them. Tie (OH God) all the strings of their hearts to his bosom, like so many lines drawn to one centre, so shall their safety be his fortress, their prosperity his riches, and the hours of his pleasure, the sweetest of their contentation. Grant these and all other blessings fit for such a Prince, grant them (OH LORD) for the benefit of thy Church, for the honour of this Kingdom, and the peace of thy people. Amen. 3. A Prayer for the Queen. SHED (OH Lord) thy graces in showers of abundance upon thy royal handmaid, ANNE, the wife of our Sovereign, thy servant, & the mother to so many nations, besides the glory of her own. Continued that great and excellent work in her which thou hast begun; hid from our eyes for a number of years together (now passed) & to our Kingdom, the best and only comfort, which for the present, or for the hopes of future ages, we do now enjoy: and that is a long, a fair and a certain line of succession, of which heretofore we stood doubtful: albeit in the secrets of thy wisdom we were not deprived of it. As she is now a mother to a heap of Princes, that are borne to be Kings and Queens, so (OH Lord) make her a grandmother to the sons of Kings and Queens, that they may stand about her like so many crowned rulers of nations, and she in the midsts of them, as the only tree, upon which those nations have been grafted. Let (OH God) such an even thread of love be spun between the King & her, that all her thoughts may be confined to his bosom, & all his desires may sleep only upon her pillow, and that both their hearts may burn in holy flames of affection towards thee. Sanctify her womb, that it may bring forth none but such fruit as may glorify thy Name, may shine as sunbeams to comfort this land, and to be as rich jewels in the royal eyes of the parents. Keep treason (OH Lord) from the throne upon which she sits, and parasites (who are as dangerous as traitors) from her princely ear, when thee wanteth counsel. Support her by thy right hand when she walketh forth, and let thy Angels go before her, at her returning home. As thou hast crowned her with happiness in this world, so when it is thy pleasure, that she shall put off the rob of mortaltie, grant (OH FATHER) that she may be crowned with stars, and clothed in a rob of righteousness and of heavenly eternity. Amen. 4. A Prayer for the Prince of Wales. WHat are KINGS (OH Lord) unless thou standest by them as their guard? And what are the sons of Kings, unless thou vouchsafest to be their Father? Let the arms therefore of thy love be thrown about that hopeful and royal heir to our Country, Prince HENRY: adopt him into thy favour: cover him with thy wings, let him be tender to thee as the apple of thine eye. As yet he is but a green plant; OH drop the dew of thy graces upon his head, that he may flourish till the shadow of his branches be a comfort to this whole Island Breath thou all wisdom into their souls that are set over him as tutors or guardians, that knowledge may, as it were, from so many pipes be convey into his breast, and that from thence again (as from a fountain) it may flow clearly and abundantly into all the parts of this thy Church & kingdom. Let Religion be the column upon which he shall always stand, zeal the pillow upon which he shall kneel, and the quarrel of the Gospel, for which he shall go to war: knit therefore (OH Lord) strength to his right arm, and when a good cause calls him (at his manly state) into the field, gird thou about his loins the sword of victory. No music (OH Lord) is more pleasing to thine ear (as thy kingly Prophet David doth sing) then the unity of brethren: It is like the precious ointment, that ran down from the head to the beard, even to the beard of Aaron, and so to the skirts of his clothing, yea, it is like the dew of Hermon, which fell upon the hill of Zion: tune therefore (OH merciful God) all the heartstrings of this our young Prince HENRY, & the rest of that royal blood (his Brethrens and Sisters) that thy may never sound in discord. Let no more the leaves of our two Roses be plucked by civil uproar from their stalks: no more suffer thou ensigns to be spread by Yorkists and Lancastrians one against another: But (according to their names) grant (OH Lord) that they may be good Stewards over this great household of the now-firmlie united Families, and co-united kingdoms. Subscribe to these requests of ours (OH God) for thy mercy's sake: Seal them up, under the large patent of thy promise for thy Sons saks jesus Christ: In whose Name whatsoever we ask thou hast vowed to grant: grant this, give this, OH God, we beseech thee. Amen: Amen. 5. A Prayer for the Counsel. Counsel to a Kingdom is like the Compass to a ship under sail; without the one, a State is shaken by every tempest, and without the other, men run upon the rocks of inevitable danger. Set therefore thy foot (OH God) amongst the Lords of our Counsel: sit thou at their Table with them, & suffer no decrees to pass there, but those wherein thou hast a hand. Appoint Providence, to devil upon their brows, that they may foresee thine and our enemies: bid watchfulness to sit on their eyelids, to meet the stroke when it is coming, and courage to buckle armour to their breasts, that they may valiantly bear it off without shrinking: let zeal & integrity go on either side of them, to make them walk upright, whilst concord holds them hand in hand to preserve them from factions. Give them long life with much honour: heap upon them wisdom, with much love. As they are one body in Counsel, so let all their counsels be to the safety of one head. Grant this, OH thou that weigh guest all the actions of Rulers and Princes upon earth. Amen. 6. A Prayer for the Nobility. Look down (OH Lord) from heaven upon this land, and amongst all those in the same, whom, we beseech thee, to bless, power upon our Nobibitie the riches of all thy graces: as every good man (OH Lord) in thy sight is noble, so make thou every man that is noble amongst us to be good. Teach them to know, that greatness of blood is given them to the intent they should build upon the same the greatness of thy glory. And sithence they are the fairest streams that beautify this kingdom, preserve them (OH Lord) from the poison of ambition, of envy one against another, and from dessension, jest the common people tasting likewise of the same after them▪ the whole Commonwealth be swallowed up in confusion. Stand thou before the gates of their houses, that no foul thoughts or acts may enter to stain their Families with the spots of treason; but be thou the pillar to uphold them, sithence if thou forsake them, the foundation of their houses must fall, and their posterity be rooted from the earth. Guide them therefore with thy grace, arm them with thy fear▪ assist them with thy love. So be it. Amen. 17. A Prayer for the Church THE Church (OH God) is the School, where thine own laws (written by thine own hand) are taught: It is the Temple where thou thyself utterest thy divine oracles. It is the house where thou dwellest: It is the palace where (with spiritual eyes) we behold the brightness of thy Majesty: Give it therefore illumination by the beams of thy glory: and since it is thy Spouse, let her stand before thee as a virgin (chaste and undefiled.) Drive all foxes, and ravening wolves out of this thy Temple, and admit none but Lambs (clothed in purity & innocency of life) and thy chosen flock to feed there. Suffer it not to be (as it was when thy blessed Son went upon earth) a den of thieves, but (as he did, so do thou) drive from thence all those that cell thine honour and the souls of thy people. OH Lord, weed this great and universal garden of thine from all thorns and briars, that seek to choke the good seed: plant in it none but grafts of thine own nursery, so shalt thou be sure they will bring forth fruit, fair for show, sweet for taste, wholesome for use, and such as shall bud out in due season: so shall thy Name be truly honoured, thy praises duly sung, thy works (with reverence) wondered at, and thy wonders magnified from one end of the world to another. Grant that it may be so, for the fullness of thy sons merits, and for the setting forth of thine own mercies. Amen. 8. A Prayer for the Clergy. OH Everlasting King of glory, that sendest the Ministers of thy word as thine Ambassadors, to treat with men about the peace of their souls, give them (OH Lord) such instructions that they may deliver their messages boldly, uprightly, & to the good both of thy kingdom, & of those to whom they are sent. They are those heavenly pursuivants that run upon the errands of our saving health: They are Angels that go and come between thee and us: guide therefore their feet, that sin may lay no stumbling blocks before them to make them fall; nor that forgetting the high honour in which thou hast placed them, they be cast down for their pride, into the pit of darkness. And sithence (OH God) thou hast placed them on thy holy hill (the Church) as beacons, give them grace that (with the 7. wise virgins) their lights may never go forth, but still burn brightly to arm thy people against the invasion of that enemy of mankind the devil and his army, that day & night seeketh to devour him. Wipe away all mists of errors from their eyes, that seeing thee clearly, they may teach others how to behold thee truly. They are Pastors over thy flocks: as they have the names of Shepherds, so let them have the natures to feed the sheep committed to their charge, & not to fleece them. And as they break unto us the bread of life (which thou sendest, employing them but as the stewards, or almoners of thy households) so grant, OH Lord) that we may not suffer them to starve for earthly bread, but that like brothers we may relieve them, like children we may reverence them, like Lambs of thy fold we may love the shepherds of thy fields, and like sworn soldiers to the cross of Christ, we may live and die with then under his glorious banner. Amen. 9 A Prayer for the judges of the land. JUDGEMENT, OH Lord, is thine: yet to keep man in awe hast thou appointed judges (as thy deputies on earth) to punish him when he goeth beyond his bounds. Unto those therefore that hold the sword of justice, give thou steady hands, that they may not strike innocence, and that when they are to punish, they may imitate thee, who smitest not to kill, but to beget amendment. Suffer not the left hand of our judges to know what the right hand doth: nor that the ear near unto which the rich man stands be open, till the poor man's wrongs be both heard and redressed. Whip, OH Lord, bribery from their gates, and partiality out of their private chambers; let thy lawesly before them when they read the statutes of men's making, that reading what thou hast writ, they may not open their lips to pronounce false judgement: but sit, OH Lord, so close by them upon their seats of justice, that by thinking they themselves must one day be called to a bar, they may do nothing here but what (with a good conscience) they may answer there. Amen. 10. A Prayer for the Court. OH Lord, be thou a husband to that great household of our King, be thou a father unto that family, and keep them (as children) both in thy fear and love. And because the Courts of Princes are the very lights of kingdoms, power thy oil of grace into this light of ours that it may not be darkened, but may bring comfort to all thy people: preserve those that live there in brotherly affection one towards another, and in loyalty to him that is their Sovereign. Banish from thence all those vices that commonly blemish the beauty of king's Palaces: and let thy word be of such power in this place, that it may rather seem the Temple of the everlasting king of Heaven, than the dwelling house of a king upon earth. Grant this (OH Lord) & whatsoever else is requisite for the setting forth of thy glory, we beseech thee, in the name of thy Son jesus Christ. Amen. II A Prayer for the City. OH Father of mercy, look down upon this city, not with an eye of justice, for no flesh is righteous in thy sight: but behold this thy sanctuary, as thy Son did jerusalem, when he wept, that the city of the Lord should be so full of iniquity. If those miracles (OH God) which have been shown in this greatest city of thine now upon earth, had been done in tire and Sidon, they would have repent in sackcloth and ashes; but we more and more provoke thee to anger: yet, OH Lord, stay thy hand from striking, and thy lips from pronouncing those woes that were breathed forth by thee against Chorazin and Bethsaida. Say not thou, OH God, to this City, as thou didst to Capernaum: And thou Capernaum which art lifted up to Heaven, shalt be brought down to hell. But gather thy children together as the Hen gathereth her chickens under her wing, and suffer not thy holy habitations to be left desolate. Set, OH Lord, an host of Angels at the gates, and let truth spread her banner on the walls: suffer not the arrows of the invader to fall upon our houses by day, nor the sword of the strong man to smite us by night. Give wisdom, OH Lord, to the Rulers of this City, zeal to the Preachers therein and holiness of life to the Inhabitants. Let the tree of thy Gospel (which so many years hath here flourished) still spread into large branches, and those branches bear abundance of lively fruit. Save, OH Lord, this Temple of thine; bless it, defend it, crown it with honours, that it may outshine all the Cities in the world in goodness as it doth in greatness. Amen. 12. A Prayer for the Country. OH Thou that art the Creator of all things that are good for man, give unto our cornfields fatness and increase, and upon our meadows rain down the waters of plenty: let our land be like unto that which thou saidst should flow with milk and honey: for as the heavens are thine so is the earth thine: Thou hast made also the North and the South: the winds are in thy hand; bridle them therefore, and bind them in the prisons of the earth, that they may not come forth to destroy the labours of the ploughman, nor to defeat the husbandman of his hopes. Set, OH gracious Father, faithful and learned and watchful shepherds over the poor flock of us thy people, that the blindness of ignorance may not 'cause our souls to wander in the shades of everlasting death. Guide us, OH Lord, neither in the paths of our forefathers (if they went astray) nor after the common steps of the present time, unless it be according to those ways which are trodden out before us, by thy Son jesus Christ. Teach us to love thee, to know thee, to live after thy laws, and to die after thy commandments; so shall we be sure to change this country of frailty, of sin and of misery, for the land of promise, and the kingdom of all fullness & felicity. Grant this OH Father of us all, grant this OH Redeemer of us all. Amen. 13. A Prayer for a Magistrate. THou hast called me (OH Lord) being but a worm of the earth, and raised to riches, as it were, even out of dust, to be a Ruler over others: bestow on me therefore the spirit of Wisdom, that I may first learn how to govern myself: for the perfect knowledge of a man's self, brings him (OH God) to the true knowledge of thee. Humble me (OH my Maker) in this top of my height: that my head being lifted up to honour, my heart may not swell up with pride: give me a mind not to execute my own will but thine: give me an eye that may not lust after my own profit, but the advancement of thy glory, and the good of the Commonwealth. As thou hast placed me, to be a Pillar to uphold others, so grant that I may not prove a weak Pillar, to throw myself down; and with my fall to bruise others that stand under me. In all my ways (OH Lord) go thou before me, as a Lantern to my feet: In all my actions stand thou by me, as my Schoolmaster to direct me: In all my prosperity let me look only upon thee: In all my troubles of body or mind, turn not thou thine eyes from me: suffer me not (OH Saviour) by abundance of wealth to forget thee, nor by feeling want, to fall into despair, and so forsake thee. Grant this, and whatsoever else OH Lord, I stand in need of to guide me in this dangerous Sea, wherein thou hast appointed me to sail. Grant it OH God, for thy sons sake, in whose Name I beg thy mercies. Amen. 14. A Prayer for a Lawyer. OH THOU that art the truest Lawgiver, so instruct me in the holy decrees of thy word, that I may practise nothing but the fulfilling of thy Ordinances: let not my tongue pled and be employed about purchasing earthly goods for other men, and be forgetful how to provide for the salvation of my own soul. As my profession is the law of man, so let my profession be to do right to all men: for equity is the ground upon which law is builded. Take from my bosom, OH Lord, all moderate and unmeasurable desires of heaping the riches of this world together by means unlawful. Suffer me not by oppression to join house to house, land to land, and lordship to lordship; but that I may ever remember that I am but as a pilgrim upon earth, and that at my departure from thence I must go either to glory eternal or torments to endure without end: grant therefore (OH my God) that I may deliver to every man his true Epha, & his true Hin, that is to say, Just measure, of that which of right belongs unto him. OH Lord, give me (as thy kingly Prophet beggeth at thy hands, neither poverty nor abundance of wealth; only grant unto me so much as may maintain my life. For thy sons sake my redeemer, hearken, OH Lord, to these requests of thy servant. So be it. Amen. 15. A Prayer for the two Universities. OH THOU insearchable depth of all wisdom, open thou the fountains of knowledge, and let the streams of it equally run to the two famous Nurseries of learning (the two Universities of this land) Oxford and Cambridge, that from the breasts of those two (as it were from the tender nipples of mothers) the youth and Gentry of this land may suck the milk both of Divine and Human Science. Graft thou, OH LORD, upon those two great Trees infinite numbers of Plants, that in good time may yield much fruit to thy Church, and profit to the weal public. And seeing that these two Stars of Learning are to give Comfort, or to fill with darkness this our whole Kingdom, bestow upon them (OH Lord) such beams of Heavenly light, that even foreign countries, aswell as our own, may be glorified in their splendour. Direct all the studies of those that live upon the food of the soul there, (which is wisdom) to a holy end. Make them to love as brethren, & to live as Christians: suffer not vain glory to engender pride amongst them, nor fantasticness of wit, to drown them in ridiculous and apish folly. But so mould both their minds & bodies, that they may enter into those sanctified temples as thy children, & come from thence as servants of thy ministery. Amen. 16. A Prayer for the confusion of traitors. OH Father of nations, OH king of kings, & Lord of Lords, sand from thy throne an host of Angels to guard our Prince, his Realm & his people from the devouring jaws of traitors that are stretched wide open to swallow up this land, where thy Gospel is taught & practised. Arm us with safety & with boldness that we without fear or peril may walk upon the lion & the adder, that lie in dens waiting to suck our blood: yea cover us (OH God) with thy wings, that we may tread upon the young lion and the dragon, that spit fire to destroy this noble kingdom, & to drink the blood of thine anointed. The death of Saul fall upon them that persecute thy servant David: let David (OH Lord) escape, but let these Sauls perish by the sword. The misery that struck the house of jeroboam, because he made Israel to sin, round begirt these enemies of thy Church and of our country. Smite (OH God) in thy just wrath the rocks, & sand the whirlwinds forth to blow the dust of their wicked counsels into their own eyes: give to these Achitophel's, the shame and confusion that Achitophel met with in his cursed treasons to Absalon against his father David; yea, OH Lord, let the proudest of the faction die upon a tree as proud Absalon did. Up, Lord arise, and with the breath of thy nostrils, disperse into air, all these conspiracies: scatter the traitors and their treasons, as chaff tossed before the wind. Bring to light whatsoever they plot in darkness, and let their own counsels be their own confusions. Amen. 17. A Prayer in time of civil war. Heavy are our sins, and many in number, yet do we run out still in the sum of them, not thinking upon the last, dear and most dreadful account, to which one day we must be called: our sins are great in quantity, yet have they a quick pace, & are ever at our heels, fly wenever so fast from them: so that if thy justice (OH God) pursue us, we are but as sheep running to the slaughter, or as soldiers felled to the earth in the day of battle. Have mercy therefore (OH thou God of all mercy) pull in the rod of thy anger, and take pity of us thy children. Smite us not in thy rage, for than we perish, but beat us in thy love, and then we shall amend. But above all the punishments which thou hast laid up in store for us, and which we all deserve, defer, OH God, defer, yea, swear thou wilt no more mow down this land (as the harvesters sickle doth the Corn) with the iron sword of civil war. Beaten back those surges that would drown their own shores to whom they own obedience, and let them serve to quench any fires that by rebellious hands shall be kindled to burn in the bosom of our kingdom. We have been (OH Lord) a long time lookers on upon our neighbour-contreyes, and have seen their cities turned to cinders, yet have not been scorched with the flames. France doth yet mourn in the ashes of those fires, and Germany is even now stifled with the smokes. OH sand not thy Angel with a fiery sword from them to us, to make them spectators of our miseries, nor to shake it over our cities, as thou didst when thou threatnedst destruction to that thine own city jerusalem. Spare us, OH Lord, and look not upon us in the day of indignation, save us from the arrows of strange nations, and suffer not the hands of our own to be our own murderers: for thy sons sake jesus Christ, who lost his blood that ours might not be cast away, do we beg this. Grant this, OH Lord. Amen: Now, and for ever. Amen. 18. A Prayer to stay the pestilence. CAll home, OH Lord, thy messengers whom thou hast sent forth with full vials of thy wrath to power upon thy people: OH stay the Invaders arm, who shooteth darts of pestilence so thickly amongst us, that in heaps we descend into the mericlesse grave. Death is but thy servant, and can execute none but those whom thou condemnest, yet he hath (and still doth) played the cruel tyrant: for the living whom he spareth, are not able to bury carcases so fast as he destroyeth them. Check him therefore, OH God, and charge him no more to spoil these temples made by thine own hands. OH God of heaven, we have broken thy laws: we confess so much: we repent that we have angered so good & gracious a Father. OH Son of God, we have crucified thee again and again in our sins, we confess so much, we repent that we have abused so excellent an Author of our Repemption; yet have mercy upon us: OH Father speak in our behalf, OH thou blessed Son, pled for our pardon: be thou our mediator, reconcile us to the king of heaven and earth, against whom we have committed treason. And whatsoever becomes of our bodies, or how soon soever they must turn into earth, yet have mercy on our souls, save them (OH Saviour) challenge them for thine own, and lay them up in the treasure-house of Heaven, because they are the jewels bought with the price of thy precious blood Amen. 19 A Prayer in time of Famine. THree whips (OH Lord) thou holdest in thy hand, when thou art displeased with any kingdom, each of them with one blow being able to destroy the mightiest nation: & those are, War, Pestilence, and Famine; the last of them being the worst, the sharpest & most terrible: wind up therefore (OH merciful God) the cords of this thy dreadfullest executioner: bind up the jaws of this insatiable vulture, that she breathe not upon thy people: but open the entrails of the earth, that she may give to man and beast their wont sustenance. As thou hast made mouths, so make meat to fill those mouths; jest otherwise Christians feed upon the blood of Christians, as heretofore they have done in other kindgdomes, that have fallen from thy obedience. Avert, OH Lord, this consuming plague from the gates of our cities, and in stead of peniury, sand plenty to relieve us. Make us thankful for thy blessings, let us not repined at thy punishments, but with patience bear willingly whatsoever thou layest upon us; yet, OH FATHER, lay no more than flesh & blood may suffer, and let all that thou dost be only for our trial and amendment. Amen. 20. A Prayer in time of persecution. Wolves (OH Lord) & ravenous beasts have from the beginning broke into thy pastures, and sucked the blood of thy sheep: now, even now, are the snares pitched, and the Butcher's knife whetted to take away the lives of thy young ones. Arise therefore from thy throne, and set thy foot on the proud and stiff necks of these persecutors of thy Gospel and scoffers of thy glory. Strike them (OH Lord of hosts) with thy right arm, and make them feel what it is to strive against the Almighty: Smite them blind in their own works: and as at the building up of Babel, thou didst confounded the pride of thine enemies by altering their languages; so (OH GOD) cast thou down this Babel of idolatry which these ungodly ones build up in their own brains, and by the traditions of men: and put into their mouths, tongues which none may understand. Be thou our God, & save thy people whom thy Son hath redeemed; be thou our Captain, and fight for thy Church, whom thy Son calleth his Spouse: Be thou jehovah, and command the earth to open and swallow these profane and professed enemies of thy truth: so shall we thy people worship thee freely; so shall we triumph to see thy honour advanced; so shall we ever praise thee; so shall all nations glorify thy Name. Amen. 21. A Prayer for the Master of a Family. SINCE thou hast (OH Lord) made me a Steward over a family; direct me by thy own Laws, that I may never step beyond the limits of my duty: to the intent that when at the great Audit-day I shall be called to an account, how I have behaved myself in that office; I may receive from thee (OH LOD) the hire of a faithful Servant. Bless (OH Father of heaven and earth) the labours of mine own hand, and of those that are committed to my charge. Suffer me not to descend into base and indirect ways, to purchase riches; but (according to thine own statute) with the sweat of my brow let me eat my bread. Inspire me with knowledge of thy holy word, that I may learn how to live well myself, and instruct others (about me) to do the like. Temper, OH Lord, my mind & my affections, that no household brawls be kindled under my roof; or if they take fire, give me patience to endure them, & wisdom how to quench them: preserve my name (OH my GOD) from the sting of the slanderer, and let me be so jealous of my reputation, that I enter never into any action to the dishonouring of thee, or bringing my own life into infamy. At my uprising, bless me: at my down-lying, lay thy hand over me: In my walks, be thou my guide: In my meditations, be thou my Tutor: let thy book be my study, and let all my study be to get advancement with those that are preferred to everlasting life; to which (OH Lord) bring me, I must humbly beseech thee, for thine own glories sake, and for thy sons sake jesus Christ. Amen. FINIS. THE Pelican. The PELICAN bringeth health. Vigilate & Orate. London printed by H. B. for Nathaniel Butter. 1609. To the Reader. READER: as it behoveth thee to become an humble suppliant to God, when thou standest in need of any necessaries to maintain thine own life: so art thou bound by duty to thy maker, and by the laws of religion and Christianity to be an earnest suitor to his Majesty in behalf of others: sithence than that the most righteous man upon earth sinneth seven times a day, and that Rulers and Magistrates, who are set over others, are but men themselves; God hath appointed thee to make intercession (before him) for them, because it is his custom to lay his blessings upon one man, through the faithful and zealous Prayers of another. I have in few words told thee with what office the king of heaven & earth hath put thee in trust. Read over this book, and it will teach thee how to execute it: and by discharging the place, to be a true Christian. Do so: Thou knowest thy reward. Farewell. THE Pelican. The PELICAN bringeth health. Vigilate & Orate. Printed at London by H. B. for N. B. 1609. The Pelican. THe third Bird that I call out of Noah's Ark, is the Pelican. The nature of the Pelican is to peck her own bosom, & with the drops of her blood to feed her young ones: so in our Prayers we must (in the love that we bear to God) beat at our breasts till (with the bleeding drops of a contrite and repentant heart) we have fed our Souls with the nourishment of everlasting life. The Pelican is content to yield up her own life to save others: so in our Prayers, we must be willing to yield up all the pleasures of the world, and to kill all the desires of the body for the preservation of the soul. As Christ therefore suffered abuses before his death, and agonies at the time of his death (both of them being to the number principally of ten) so (because our Pelican is a figure of him in his passion) doth this third Bird take ten flights; at every flight her wings bearing up a prayer, to defend us from those sins for which Christ died. The abuses & agonies which Christ put up & suffered being in number x.) are these: First, the betraying of him by one of his own servants: Secondly, the buffeting of him, and scrourging him in the open Hall by his own nation: Thirdly, his arraignment and condemnation, when nothing could be proved against him: Fourthly, the compelling of him to carry his own cross, when already he had undertaken to carry on his back all our sins: Fiftly, the nailing of him to the tree of shame: Sixtly, the crowning of him in scorn, with a crown of thorns: Seventhly, the hanging of two common thieves in his company: Eightly, the giving of Vinegar and Gall to him when he was thirsty: Ninthly, the sorrows of hell, which he felt when in the unspeakable anguish of his soul he was forced to cry: Eli, Eli, Lamasabacthani. And lastly, the piercing of his glorious side with a spear. These are the ten wings with which Christ (our Pelican) flew to his death. Now cast up your eyes and behold, and listen with your ears and hear what ten notes our Pelican maketh coming out of Noah's Ark. CHRIST, the Pelican. Christ bringeth into the field seven lively virtues, to fight against, and confounded seven deadly sins. CHRIST the Son of GOD, is the Pelican, whose blood was shut out to feed us: the Physician made of his own body a medicine to cure us; look upon him well, and behold his body hanging on a cross, his wounds bleeding, his blood trickling on the earth, his head bowed down (as it were to kiss us) his very sides opened, (as it were to show how in his heart he loved us) his arms stretched out to their length, (as it were to embrace us.) And judge by all these, if Christ be not our truest Pelican. He that was the Son of God, become the mockery of men: He that was King of heaven and earth, suffered his brows to wear a crown of thorns: He endured hunger that is our food: he drunk gall that is our fountain of life: He received wounds, that is our health: He tasted the bitterness of death, that is man's only salvation & what Pelican can do more for her young ones? Our bodies were full of corruption; our souls were spotted: our souls & bodies were forfeited to hell: sin had pawned them, sin had lost them, sin had made them foul. All the physic in the world could not purge our corruption: all the fountains in the world could not wash out our spots: all the gold & silver on earth could not redeem our forfeitures: all the Kings under heaven could not pay our ransoms: nothing could free us from captivity, but to make Christ a prisoner Nothing could give us life, but the heavenly Pelicans' death, hell, was the goal into which we were to be thrown, devils the keepers, that should have fettered us for ever: our evil actions, the judges that should have called us to a bar: Conscience the evidence that should have cast us away: and sins, the executioners that were to be our tormentors. But note the mercy of our Maker, note the courage of our Redeemer. Against seven deadly and detestable sins, that came into the field (to set upon all the children of Adam) in that great battle and work of our Salvation, came Christ, armed with seven lively virtues. Thus was his combat, and thus was his victory. He suffered himself to be betrayed by a judas; there fought his humility, and overcame pride. He left not our safety, till he had lost his own life; there fought his love, and overcame envy. He took buffets on the face, scourges on the back, pricking briars on the forehead; there fought his patience, and triumphed over wrath. He was ready in all tempests to throw himself over-borde to save us from shipwreck; there fought his watchfulness, and slew the sin of sloth. He gave away himself and the world, that the world to come might by his Father be given to us; there fought his liberality▪ and overcame covetousness. He drunk of the sourest and bitterest grape, that we might taste of the sweetest; there fought his temperance, and over gluttony got the conquest. He could not be tempted with all the kingdoms upon earth, nor all the pleasures in those kingdoms; there fought his continence, and overcame lust. Thus with seven blows struck he off the heads of seven dragons that stood gaping to devour us. We are still in danger of them: let us therefore arm ourselves with those weapons, which Christ hath taught us to handle in our own defence, and those are these which follow. 1. A Prayer for the Morning. WHen I rise from my bed (OH my Redeemer) it puts me in mind of my rising from the grave, when the last trumpet shall sound, & summon us to the generalll resurrection: and as than I hope to behold thee coming in thy fullness of glory, and thy Father sitting in the brightness of his majesty, and that I shall have a place amongst those that are written in thy book of life: so (OH thou my mediator) make intercession for me, that all the sins of my former days and nights being freely pardoned, I may this day be entertained again into thy service. Receive therefore (OH Lord) this early sacrifice both of my soul and body: I offer them up into thy hands to be disposed at thy pleasure, and with them unfeigned sighs for offending thee: & with those sighs my zealous Prayers, for thy pardon: and with those Prayers an assured hope, that (in thy mercy) and in the blood of that loving Pelican (Christ jesus) that died for me, I shall be forgiven. Blessed be thy Name for blessing me this night from danger. I read in the book which was written by thine own finger, that thou didst cast Adam into a sleep, when thou madest (of his rib) a woman; by which I note, that man of himself hath no power to bind slumbers to his temples, unless thou give it him. All thanks therefore be thine, that this night hast covered me with the soft wings of quietness, and so graciously dost now suffer me to behold the light of the day. Go on (OH God) with thy favours towards me thy humble servant: go on along by me, and with me, all this day, and all the days of my life; that I may not step into the path of sin. Grant this, I beseech thee, give me thy grace, and forgive me my debts which I own to sin and death. So be it. Amen. 2. A Prayer against pride. OH THOU Son of the everliving God, who even in thy birth thou vouchsafedst to call joseph thy Father, and in thy cradle, which was but a poor manger, and who in the height of all thy passions and sorrows upon the cross; wert the true pattern of true humility; teach me, OH Lord, to tread that path in all my tribulations: make me thy scholar, and leave me not till I have that lesson perfectly by heart. God (thy father) is over all the world, the highest; but it is to express his Majesty. Thou (that art God the son) of all those that are of thy fold, art the lowliest-minded; but that is to instruct us (thy children) in obedience. For alack, whereof should I be proud? Am I not dust and ashes? Am I not made of the clay of the earth? And must I not (in the end) like a potters earthen vessel be broken all into pieces? Thy Prophet Amos told the people, that thou didst hate the pride even of jacob, and didst abhor his palaces: And can I have any hope (being nothing so dear unto thee as jacob) that thou canst love to behold that Serpent (of pride) with seven heads, sleeping in my bosom? Now thy hand is armed against the hand of the proud man, and he cannot escape confusion. Pride was the first sin that crept into the world; but so ugly a sin it was, that it could not be suffered to stay in heaven: for Lucifer (the father of it) from the glory of an Angel, was thrown headlong (for his insolence) into the pit of hell. Pharaoh was proud, but Pharaoh and his host fell in their pride. Senacherib was proud, but Senacherib was trod upon by the feet of his own children. Hammon was proud, but his end was the gallow-tree, which he set up for another. Yea so odious a monster in thine eye (OH God) is a proud man: that proud Nabuchodonozer being a king, was by thee turned into a beast and eat the grass, till he confessed himself to be but a man; and that thou only (OH God) wert the God of heaven and earth. And on the contrary side, so precious a jewel is humility in thy sight, that none could be Christ's disciples, but such as wore the Garment of Lowliness. Pull therefore down (OH LORD) nay pull up by the very root, this tree of Pride, if thou perceive it growing within me. Suffer (OH GOD) none of the branches of this sin to spread in the world, but lordship them off even in their budding forth: and for the purpose let not vain glory (one of the pages of Pride) follow learning: let not disdain sit in the eye of Greatness, to cast terrifying looks upon the distressed: let not presumption of thy mercies make us tempt thee to destroy us in our security; nor let thy long suffering and winking at our sins, stir our souls up to disobedience and rebellion. But turn thou all our affections in such concord, that we may count our glories but shadows, our strength weakness, our riches but temptations, & snars to catch our souls, our wisdom but folly, our life but a bubble in water, and our death our everlasting journey to the land of sorrow, unless at our setting forth thou undertakest to be the Pilot. Be therefore so our merciful God, & in despite of all the rocks which sin and her dreadful Sea-monsters set in the way for our destruction, safely set us, we beseech thee, upon the shore of eternal felicity: Amen, OH Lord, Amen, So be it, now, and for ever. Amen. 3. A Prayer against Envy. IT is a branch in thy heavenly statute (OH King of heaven) that we should love our enemies, and bless them that curse us, and do good to them that hate us, and to pray for them that lay plots for our lives: these are the strings (OH God) whose music is pleasing to thine ear; these are the stairs by which we climb up to charity, and holding her by the hand, we are led up into heaven. Purge thou therefore (OH Lord) our veins, and suffer not the stinking poison of envy to infect our blood. But following the steps of Samuel, let us even pray for king Saul, albeit king Saul be an enemy to thy servants: and with Moses, let us not repined at the stubborn jews, though they rebel and threaten to kill us with death. Envy (OH God) is the destroyer of him that nourisheth it in his bosom: it is the tormentor of a man's own self: thou hast commanded us to love our neighbours as ourselves. But how can we show love to them, when if envy lie sucking of our own blood, we suck even the ruin of our own bodies? As the rust eateth the iron, so doth this vulture gnaw the soul. Envy turns man into a Devil; yea into the worse shape of a Devil, doth it turn him. The jews perished, because they chose rather to envy Christ and his miracles, then to believe him. Other sins have their limits, but the stream of envy keepeth within no bounds. If pride were barren, envy would never have been borne: but that sin is the mother to this, and this sin the fountain of ten thousand more. By means of this sin the world was drowned, and by means of this sin was thy Son betrayed to death: cut it therefore of (OH Lord) and suffer not the seed of it to grow in men's hearts. How dare we, OH God, ask forgiveness at thy hands, when we are out of charity, and wish the downfall of our neighbour? Pour therefore into our souls thy divine grace, that we may strive to be like thee; that is, to be all love, and all mercy: so shall we live with thee for ever; so shall we die thy servants, and being raised up again, shall be thy children. Amen. 4. A Prayer against Wrath. WRath is a short madness: madness is the murderer of reason; so that anger transforms a man into a brute beast. Give us therefore courage (OH Lord) to fight against this strong enemy, and not to fight only, but to overcome him: sithence the conquest is harder, to triumph over our raging affections, then to subdue a City. All vengeance is thine (OH God) and if we offer to take it out of thy hand, it is high treason, for we do as much as if we went about to pull thee from thy throne: Inspire us therefore with patience, that we may bear injuries as thy Son did upon earth, and may endure afflictions (as thy servant job did) when it shall please thee to sand them on thy message; and that we may not at any time either murmur against thy providence, or be angry with thee for whatsoever thou sendest, be it health or sickness, life or death; nor in the bitterness of our souls, power down curses (which are some of the drops of wrath) upon whatsoever Rulers or Teachers thou settest over us; jest thy heavenly vengeance smite us, (with Mirian, who murmured against Moses.): But cast (OH Lord) such a bridle upon our stiffnecked affections, that all contention, quarrels, bloodshed, war, and murder (who are the sons of wrath) may be kerbed, and not suffered to do violence to thy Church, to offer dishonour to thy Saints, or disturbance to the Commonwealth. Sign (OH Lord) to this humble petition of thy servants, that they may live here like Doves one to another, without gall; and at their departure hence, they may mutually embrace and hold hands together, to meet thee in glory. 5. A Prayer against Sloth. HOw hateful the sin of Sloth is in thine eyes (OH Lord) we may gather by the life of our first father Adam; who albeit he had a whole world to himself, and all things made ready to his hand; yet to show that he was not borne to live idly, thou placedst him in the garden of Eden, and there appointedst him to labour. And even from the beginning hast thou enacted, that man should live by the sweat of his brow; that he should earn his bread, ere he tasted bread; and that he who would not work should not feed, for as a bird is created to fly in the air, as fishes are to swim in the waters, so is man made to take pains upon earth. What were the sins of Sodom but pride, fullness of meat, wealth and idleness? Keep these sins therefore OH Lord, from the gates of our cities, jest they bring upon us the like confusion. Have we not examples (even of those that were tender to thy love) that we should not nourish this disease in our blood, but that we should spend our lives as the clouds execute their offices to be still in motion? were not Abraham, Lorrique, Isac, and jacob ploughmen and shepherds? Did not thy servant Moses keep the sheep of jethro his father in law, the Priest of Midia? Was not David, before he was an anointed king, a shepherd likewise? Yea, did not thine own Son take pains continually, whilst he lived amongst men? Were not his Apostles fishermen, and did not Luke (thy blessed Evangelist, and one of thy sons Chroniclers) practise physic & painting? In these men (OH LORD) and in their lives hast thou set down rules for us to follow. Put therefore strength into our arms, that we may endure labour: kindle our minds with courage, and livelihood, that in winter we may not be loathe to take hold of the plough for fear of the cold, jest when summer cometh, we fall into beggary. And above all things, so encourage us with thy grace, and so quicken our understandings with thy spirit, that we may not be dulled and so neglect the knowledge of thy laws, nor by lasines be besotted with ignorance, and so loose the remembrance of our duties. Suffer not (OH Lord) this unprofitable weed (of sloth) to grow up amongst the Ministers of thy word: let no standing waters be in thy Church, but give swiftness to them, that they may all be running streams, so shall thy pastures be watered and bring forth increase: so shall thy flocks be well tended, when the shepherds be watchful; so shall we all set ourhands to the raising up of thy heavenly tabernacle, & so in the end shall we be lifted up to sit with thee, and thy Son in Heaven. Amen. 6. A Prayer against covetousness. OH Father of heaven▪ and giver of all blessings open thy hand, but so open it, that the pouring down of thy benefits, may not make us swell into a desire to hoard up more than is fit for us to receive. The love of worldly honours, maketh us only in love with the world, and to forget thee; the love of gold & silver, maketh us to forsake heaven, and to loose thee. OH let not therefore the griping talons of covetousness seize upon our souls. It is a golden devil that tempteth us into hell. It is a Mar-maid, whose songs are sweet▪ but full of sorcery. It is a sin that turneth courtiers into beggars, and yet maketh them wear monopolies on their backs, when the commonwealth shivereth through cold. It is a sin, that sells thy Church (by simony) and sends souls away at an easy rate. It is a sin, that blindeth the eye of justice; It is a bell, whose sound so deafs the poor man's voice, that his wrongs cannot be heard. Drive therefore this plague out of our land (OH Lord) and make us covetous of nothing but of thy glory, & of the riches of thy Gospel: let us be covetous of doing well one to another, so shall we be sure to stand in fan our with thee. A covetous man is like hell, ever devouring, never satisfied; he is an insatiable drunkard of gold. Quench, OH Lord, this thirst of money in us: keep our hands clean from touching riches unlawfully, jest with Achab and jezabel we commit murder, and shed Naboths blood, to wring from him his vineyard: or with Achan be stoned to death fos taking goods that are to us forbidden. Grant these blessings (OH FATHER Almighty) and with them, give us grace to be content with such estate (how mean soever) as thou shalt lay upon us: let the wealth we desire be thy kingdom, and the gold we thirst after, be our Salvation. Amen. 7. A Prayer against gluttony. HOw many woes (OH Lord) are thundered out by thy Prophets against this bestial and devouring sin of gluttony? Where is woe (crieth out that proclaimer of all wisdom king Solomon) where is wailing? Where is strife? Where are snares laid? Where are wounds taken? Where are bloody eyes? but where the drunkard filleth out his wine, and the epicure feeds on his variety of dishes? Preserve us therefore, OH God, from falling into this bottomless gulf. All creatures hast thou given to man, to serve his use, but let not man turn that to his destruction, which was ordained for his comfort. This sin of intemperance, was the sin of our first parents: it was a liquorish sin, but it was sourly & severely punished: the eating of one apple lost Paradise from them, & brought thy heavy curse upon us. This sin of inordinate eating and drinking, kindled unnatural lust in the Sodomites, which afterwards in flakes of burning brimstone fell from heaven, and destroyed their cities. This sin in Lot, made him fall into incest: and this in the people of Israel, turned them into idolatry. Strengthen therefore our hearts (OH God) with thy grace, and not with the fullness of meats: give us the waters of life to taste, & not strong wines to overcome us: sithence drunkards shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven: and lastly, set still before our eyes the pictures of the rich glutton, and of poor Lazarus; the one fared deliciously every day, and drunk of the purest grape, but afterwards he lay howling in hell & could not get a drop of cold water to quench his burning thirst. The other fed upon crumbs, and he was carried into Abraham's bosom. To us: that place, OH Lord, sand & grant that we may sit at that table of thy Saints, where neither hunger nor thirst shall afflict, but where is all fullness, all gladness, all riches, all rest, all happiness. Amen. 8. A Prayer against lust. MY body (OH Lord) is a temple consecrated to thee, keep it then, I beseech thee, clean and free from the pollution of sin, and amongst all that lay siege to destroy it, defend it from unbridled flames of lust: with which poison, who so are infected, have their part in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Close up my lips (OH God) from speaking unchaste language; sanctify my thoughts, that no wanton desires may burn in my bosom: be thou present in all my actions, that no temptations of the flesh may lead my soul into wickedness. The sin of lust (OH Lord) is a covetous sin, and not content with the spoil of one body, but worketh the everlasting perdition of two at once. It is a sin so foul, that by a straight law thou hast forbidden it in thy tables: yea, and hast vowed that the offender therein shall go down into hell, whereas he that goeth from it shall be saved. Place modesty therefore in mine eye, that lascivious glances may not there have entrance: let me with joseph rather suffer imprisonment, then to make any body a slave to intemperate lust. It is written upon those Records of thine which cannot lie, that four & twenty thousand jews were slain for the whoredoms by them committed; yea the deflowering of a Levites wife, cost the lives of an hundred thousand people. And so hateful unto thee (OH God) was David's adultery with the wife of Urias; that albeit he were thy chosen servant, he could not scape thy punishment. Forgive therefore the follies of my youth and let my body hereafter be a vessel of purity, that at the last day when all creatures must stand before thee, I may appear in whiteness, and receive that crown of glory, prepared for the blessed. Amen. 9 A Prayer against the temptation of the Devil. Our life (OH Lord) passing thorough so dangerous a wilderness, cannot choose but meet with many sins: every sin is a temptation; to overcome every temptation is a glorious victory; and the reward of that victory, is an everlasting crown of stars: for there can be no conquest without a combat; & there can be no combat without an enemy to encounter with; and no enemy is more ready to set upon us, and more subtle in his fight, nor more cruel where he subdues, than that arch-traitor to thy kingdom, and old enemy to mankind, the Devil. Give him therefore (OH Lord) no power over me: or if it be thy pleasure that I must enter into the lists with him, let my trials be like those of job, to exercise my faith, and not to confounded my soul: to which battle when I must be summoned, stand thou (OH my Saviour) in my sight to inspire me with courage, and plant a guard of Angels on either side of me, to take my part if I shrink; that in the end I may be led away in triumph. Break (OH my God) all the snares which daily and hourly this politic hunter pitcheth to entrap me, in the lustiness of my health and youth. But above all, suffer me not to fall into those, which he spreadeth at the hour of my death, to catch my soul at her departure. OH Lord drive away despair, that it may not enter at that time (nor any other) into my bosom; neither let me be afraid that I knock at the gates of thy mercy too late, or distrust thy grace, because so many thousands of sins do muster themselves before me: but comfort me with the sweet physic of thy promises, and with the examples of thy holiest servants, who all sinned grievously; yet didst thou seal them a pardon. In my meditations stand, OH Lord, at my elbow, that my soul may not wander and so be lost. Defend me from the arrow of death eternal: save me from the jaws of the red Dragon: keep me from entering into the gates of hell. Amen. 10. A Prayer for the Evening. THus (OH God) am I nearer to old age than I was in the morning, but (I fear) not nearer to goodness: for he that strives to do best, comes short of his duty. The night now stealeth upon me (like a thief.) OH defend me from the horrors of it. When I am to lie down in my bed, let me imagine I am to lie in my winding sheet: and suffer me not to close mine eyes, till my soul & I have reckoned and made even, for all the offences which not only this day, but all the former minutes of my life, I have committed against thy divine Majesty. Pardon them, OH LORD, forgive me my sins, which are more infinite than the stars, and more heavy than if mountains lay upon my bosom; but thy mercy, and the merits of my Redeemer do I trust in. In his Name do I sue for a pardon. Suffer, OH LORD, no unclean thoughts this night to pollute my body and soul: but keep my cogitations chaste, and let my dreams be like those of innocents' & sucking babes. Grant, OH Lord, that the Sun may not go down upon my wrath. But if any man this day hath done me wrong, that I may freely and hearty forgive him, as I desire at thy hands to be forgiven. Whether I sleep or wake, give thy Angels charge over me, that at what hour soever thou callest me, I may like a faithful soldier be found ready to encounter death, and to follow the Lamb wheresoever he goeth. Amen. FINIS. The Phoenix. THE fourth and last Bird which you are to behold, flying out of Noah's Ark, is the Phoenix. The Phoenix of all other birds liveth to the longest age: so must our Prayers fly up in bright flames all the days of our life: we must be petitioners even to the hour and last minute of our breath. The Phoenix hath the goodliest feathers in the world: and Prayers are the most beautiful wings by which we may mount into heaven. There is but one Phoenix upon earth, as there is but one tune, in which God delighteth, and that is the Prayer of a sinner. When the Phoenix knoweth she must die, she buildeth a nest of all the sweetest spices, and there looking steadfastly on the Sun: she beateth her wings in his hottest beams, and between them kindleth a fire amongst those sweet spices, & so burneth herself to death. So when we desire to die to the vanities of the world, we must build up a nest, and fill it with faithful sighs, groans, tears, fasting, and prayer, sackcloth & ashes, (all which in the nostrils of the Lord are sweet spices) and then fixing our eyes upon the cross where the glorious Son of God paid the ransom of our sins, we must not cease till with the wings of faith and repentance, we have kindled his mercy, and in that sweet flame have all our fleshly corruptions consumed & purified. Out of those dead ashes of the Phoenix, doth a new Phoenix arise. And even so out of the ashes of that one repentance, shall we be regenerate and borne anew. CHRIST is the true Phoenix. CHrist (out of the purest flames of love) kindled a fire which drunk up the wrath of his father, wherein all men should have been drowned for sin, and in that fire did he die to redeem us that were lost. Yet left he not there. To have died for us had been nothing, unless like a true Phoenix he had been raised up again: as therefore a grain of wheat is cast into the earth, and there first rots and then quickens again, & after yieldeth itself in a tenfold measure: so was our Saviour cast into his sepulchre, there lay his dead body for a time, & then was quickened, and then raised up: and in that rising did he multiply those benefits which before he sowed amongst us, when he was torn in pieces and scattered on the cross. When he died; he died alone, but when he did rise, he did not rise alone. for in his resurrection do we all ascend up into heaven. He fought hand to hand with death, that death might not kill us, & showed us his resurrection, that we might die more willingly, because we have hope to live eternally. Upon those five altars therefore, of the death, burial, resurrection, ascension, & coming of Christ in glory, do we offer up five Thanksgivings, or rather five Sacrifices, (imitating therein the Phoenix, who maketh her own body a burnt offering) THE Phoenix. The PHOENIX bringeth life. Vigilate & Orate. Printed at London by H. B. for N. B. 1609. To the two worthy and worthily admired Ladies, Sarah, wife to the right Worshipful, Sir Thomas Smith Knight, and Catharine, wife to the right Worshipful Sir john Scot, Knight. Virtuous Ladies: NOT tunes (I know) can be more welcome to ears so chaste and undefiled as yours are, than the Divine Music of Prayers and Meditations. And therefore am I bold to bestow upon you both a Bird, whose voice yieldeth none but heavenly sounds. There is but one Phoenix (at one time) in the world: It is rare in shape, and rare in quality; for which cause, I sand it flying to your bosoms; sithence you both are like the Phoenix (Rare) as well in the perfection of body, as the excellency of mind. It is a Bird to which Christ suffereth himself to be compared. And it may aptly be a figure of his resurrection: so that my hopes are, you will gladly receive it, because Christ his death and rising again, are two strong, steadfast, and main anchors to which (as appeareth by your lives) your faith is fastened, thereby to lay hold on salvation. You are sisters in love, as you are sisters by the laws of marriage: Indifferently therefore to you both doth this our Phoenix offer up his heavenly songs. Hear them, I beseech you, if not for any worth that is in them, yet for the love you zealously bear to him, of whose glorious resurrection, ascension, etc. they make only mention. And thus craving pardon of both your Ladyships, for this my boldness, which groweth out of my love and respect to your Names & Families. I wish you all the happiness that this earthly paradise can yield, and pray, that at your going from thence, you may enter into the everlasting Paradise of Heaven. Humbly devoted to your Ladyships, Tho. Dekker. To the Reader. Christian Reader: THou hast by these three former birds of Noah's Ark, gotten three blessings. The Dove hath ministered comfort to thine afflicted mind, in a number of those storms of tribulation which shall fall upon man in this life. The Eagle hath armed thy Soul with courage, and taught it to soar high with the wings of Prayer, till they beaten at the very gates of heaven, & from thence receive mercy. The Pelican hath played the true Physician, and (where thou art full and foul with diseases bred by sin) that teacheth the way to cure thee, and to attain to the health of salvation. The fourth & last bird is now flying out towards thee; spread therefore thine arms wide open to welcome it: and this Phoenix will carry thee up to a second life, that shall be ever, everlasting. The five Altars stand prepared before in order, the Sacrifices are at hand. And thus much to show that our Prayer must resemble the Phoenix. And thus much to show that the true and only Phoenix is Christ jesus. 1. SACRIFICE. A Thanksgiving for all those benefits which we reap by the death of Christ. WHat thanks (OH Lord) can we power forth? What Hymns shall we sing? What praises have we to crown thee with, or what gifts can we bestow worthy enough upon thee, that didst not spare thine own and only dearest sons blood, to save us? (that were miserable and condemned castaways) But, OH Lord, thou in thy providence didst foresee, that all thy glory, and in thy wisdom and compassion didst consent that all the health of mankind should consist in the death of thy blessed Son. We were the arch-traytors, but he answered all our treasons at a most dreadful bar. We had transgressed, but he was the Lamb that was to be sacraficed. Glorified be thy Name for being so full of pity: Glorified be thy sons death, for being so full of charitable piety. For let us reckon before thee (OH Father) and between us & our souls, how much we are indebted for this thy sons suretie-ship. We owed all, and he paid the utmost farthing. Let us sum up the foot of this account, and take a note of our gains, and his losses in this voyage. He ventured his life, and lost it: we ventured nothing, but were upon point of shipwreck, and yet came home saviours. By his death we are engrafted into the Tree of life, his blood doth give it nourishment. His nailing on the cross cloven the doors of hell in sunder, and set wide open the gates of heaven: Christ by this means is become our way, our guide, our haven. Would we walk safely? Christ is our path: would we not stumble? Cstrist is our leader: would we not be cast away? Christ is our Pilot. What need we now to fear? whom should we fly from now, for satans head is broken in sunder: sin is vanquished: death is overcome: hell is swallowed up: the devil that had power over death, is put to flight. Before we lived in slavery, but now we devil within the liberties of the holy city. Before we were spotted, & foul as lepers, but the precious drops that fell from Christ's side, have cleansed our souls, & now they look as white as snow. In a most desperate state lived we before, but now in the most happy: for we are bought, and paid for, and none can lay claim to us now, but jesus Christ. To quit which love of his (albeit there is nothing in us of value that can give him satisfaction) yet rather than to pay no part of the debt, let us tender down so much as we can make. And that is, not to forget his kindness: which that we may never do; let us print him in our hearts, engrave him on our hands, writ him on our breasts, yea, wear him in our garments. Set the sorrows of his suffering for ever before our eyes. When we sit to meat, let us think upon the traitor that dipped his finger with him in the dish: when the night approacheth, let it be a memorial of his apprehension with bills and staves: It was a deed of darkness, and therefore done in the night. When we do but stretch forth our arms, let us call to mind how he was racked upon the cross. The branches of these meditations shall bear this fruit; by turning over the leaves of his death and passion, we shall still read the story of our own end: and nothing can more fright a man out of the company of sin, then when he looketh upon that which he is sure to go to, and that is his grave: so to meditate, is to live well: so to live, is to die well; for no pill remains to make death taste bitter afterward, unless it were taken down before. He that thus fights is sure to conquer: he that thus conquers is sure to be crowned; he that is ambitious of that crown, will desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ: he that so desires, doth not die patiently, but he lives patiently, and dieth joyfully. Such a death, OH Lord, let me die, for in the sepulchre of thy Son, death (that once was terrible) is swallowed up: so that now we may triumphantly sing, Where is thy sting, OH death? Where is thy victory, OH hell? The sting of death is sin, but that is taken out: the power of sin is the Law, but that is satisfied. Thanks therefore, and immortal honour be given to our glorious GOD, who hath given us so noble a victory, through the death only of his Son jesus Christ. Amen. 2. SACRIFICE. A Thanksgiving for all those benefits which we reap by the burial of Christ. THE grave is full of horror, the house of the dead is the habitation of sadness, for the body receiveth no comfort, when it cometh to lodge in this last & farthest Inn. When our feet step upon that shore, we are robbed of all our honours, stripped out of all our gay attires, spoiled of all our gold and silver, forsaken by our friends, fled from by our kinsfolks, yea, abhorred to be looked upon by our own children: nothing is left us but a poor mantle of linen to hide our nakedness; that is the last apparel we must wear, and when that is worn out, we must be turned out of all. A dreadful thing therefore would it be to devil in this land of everlasting silence and darkness, but that Christ himself hath go thither before us. How infinitely are we bound to him, that (in this battle of death) we are not thrust upon any danger, but what he hath go thorough. How above measure doth he love us, to try the ice first, before he suffer us to venture over? He went into the grave before us, to show that we all must follow him. But what riches may we gather out of this his sepulchre? What treasure lieth hid in these coffins of the dead? This clear gains we gather; this profitable knowledge we gain, that as Adam was made of a piece of clay, so all the sons of Adam must crumble into dust. The wombs of our mothers are the first lodgings that we lie in, and the womb of the earth is appointed to be the last. The grave is a But at which all the arrows of our life are shot; and the last arrow of all hits the mark. Yet suffer us, OH Lord, not to repined, whether in the morning, at noon, or at mid night, that is to say, in our cradle, in our youth, or old age, we go to take our long sleep, but let us make this reckoning of our years, that if we can live no longer, that is unto us our old age; for he that liveth so long as thou appointest him (though he die in the pride of his beauty) dieth an old man. Since then that worms must be our last companions, & that the pillows upon which we are to rest for ever, are within but dead men's skulls, whereof should we be proud? Why should we disdain the poorest beggar? when the hand that sways a Sceptre, and the hand that holds a sheephook, being found together in the earth are both alike. What madness is it so to pamper the flesh with curious meats, and costly wines, when (do what we can) we do but fatten it for crawling vermin? What folly is it, to clothe our body in sumptuous attires, when (let them be never so gorgeous) we shall carry with us but a winding-sheet? Why do we bathe our limbs in sweet waters, and embalm our bodies with rich perfumes, when no carrion in the world can smell more noisome, then must our carcases? Blessed therefore be the sepulchre that held our saviours body, sithence it is a book wherein we may learn how to contemn this foolish love of ourselves. Happy was thy burial (OH JESUS) that prepared our way to our last habitation. Thanks be rendered unto thee for thy love; glory to GOD thy FATHER, for his compassion towards mankind. So be it. Amen. 3. SACRIFICE. A Thanksgiving for all the benefits which we reap by the resurrection of Christ. CHRIST is risen again. OH happy tidings! OH blessed message! He is risen from an ignominious death, to a life full of glory. He is risen now, to fall no more: the jews have done their cruelty: death hath done his worst: hell hath spit forth her venom: for in spite of all their malice, Christ is risen in triumph. Receive your lights again you lamps of heaven: darkness fly from the world: you graves that yawned and cast out your dead, close up your devouring jaws. Since Christ is risen, let all the world rejoice; As at his crucifying all the whole world felt pains in his suffering. How happy is miserable man made by this resurrection of his glorious Redeemer? For now is he sure, that his body falls not like the body of a beast (for then his estate were more than most wretched) but that the Lord killeth, and maketh alive again, and that he bringeth down to the grave, and fetcheth up again. My Redeemer now liveth, and by his life, do I know that I shall rise out of the earth at the latter day; and that I shall be clothed again in my frailty, as my Saviour was at his resurrection in his own flesh. What a blessing therefore is by this means powered upon us? For albeit our bodies are laid down (to rest) in deformity, in ugliness, in contempt, in baseness, in poverty, and in dishonour; yet shall they be raised in beauty, in brightness, in fullness of riches▪ and in glory. We were afflicted in Christ when we saw him hanging on the cross in torments: But we are made joyful in Christ, seeing him raised from the dead in triumph. The cogitation of this his resurrection, and so consequently of our own calling up from death to life, is a spur unto us whilst we are upon earth, to run the race of blessedness. We are not to awaken out of our dead sleeps, and to be appareled with the self same flesh, skin and bone for nothing: but there is a goal, proposed, and a garland propounded; and to win that must we begin to run in this life. Give therefore (OH God) alacrity to our hearts, that we with cheerfulness may set forward. Give wings to our souls, that with swiftness we may make our flight: give strength to us in our race, that we faint not till we come to the end; and give us grace to run well without stumbling, that we may win the prize with honour. Grant (OH Lord) that we may go into our graves in peace; so shall we be sure to come from our graves in gladness. Glorified for ever be thy Name, that workest these wonders of salvation for us: With all admiration let us adore thee, that holdest out such bright crowns of immortality for us. Suffer us, OH Lord, to deserve them on earth, to be promised them at our departure from earth, and to wear them with thee in heaven. Amen. 4. SACRIFICE. A Thanksgiving for all those benefits which we reap by the ascension of Christ. LIft up your eyes (OH you sons of Adam) and behold your Saviour ascending up into the clouds: bitter was his death, his resurrection victorious, but his ascension glorious. He died like a Lamb, he rose again like a Lion, but he ascended like an eagle By his death did he quicken us to life: By his resurrection did he raise us to faith: By his ascension did he lift us up to glory. The resurrection of Christ is our hope, but the ascension of Christ is our glorification. He ascended into heaven; but how? he shut not the gates of heaven upon us, but of purpose went thither to make the way plain before us. His body is in heaven, but his majesty abides upon earth. Here he was once according to the flesh, and here he is still according to his divinity. Absent is Christ from us, yet is he still present with us. Wouldst thou see him? Wouldst thou touch him? Wouldst thou embrace him? Thy eyes have sight too weak to pierce thorough the clouds; his brightness is too great, and would strike thee blind with dazzling: thy hands are too short to reach up to the seat where he sits; and thine arms not of compass big enough to be thrown about his body. But let thy faith open her eyes, for she can behold him: let thy faith put out her hand, and with the lest finger she can touch him. As our forefathers held him in the flesh, so we must hold him in our hearts. By his ascending up into heaven are we sure that he is the very Son of God: for none can ascend thither, but he that comes from thence. Celebrated therefore this his ascension with faith, and with devotion, and thou shalt presently be in heaven with him. There he sitteth at the right hand of his father, like an Attorney in our behalf, pleading for mercy; and like a petitioner, still preferring up our prayers and complaints to his heavenly father. How happy is man to have such a speaker for him? How miserable were man, if Christ were not his Intercessiour? Since then that our Redeemer hath begun so happy and glorious a voyage, only to kindle in us an ambition to follow him; let us therefore hoist up all the sails of duty and obedience, of zeal and holiness, to arrive in that same haven. The ladder which must reach up to heaven, and by which we must climb, hath many steps of righteousness; the burdens which keep us from getting up, are infinite in number, and they are our sins. Give us strength, OH Lord, to throw them down. Give us grace to lay hold on the other. The reward of this conquest shall be ours; the glory shall be thine: the path which we must tread to the land of happiness is beaten out by thy Son, but our welcome must be from thy lips. Say therefore unto us, come you blessed: enter the city of the Lord; fall down before his Throne, and cry, Glory, glory, glory, now and to the world's end. Amen. 5. SACRIFICE. A Thanksgiving for all those benefits which we are to receive by Christ's coming in glory. BEhold the gates of heaven stand wide open: Armies of Angels are mustered together, the Apostles keep their places, the Evangelists their offices, the Saints their degrees and all are attendant upon our Lord and Saviour Christ jesus; who sits upon a Throne of majesty, and is coming to judge the world. The wicked at sight of this tremble, and call for mountains to cover them; but the godly rejoice and are proud of this high day of triumph. The Goats howl, for they are to be sent to hell, with Go you cursed; but the Lambs skip up and down for joy that they shall hear a voice cry, Come you blessed. Who therefore would not put on his wedding garment to meet such a bridegroom? Who would not put on the Armour of faith, to fight under such a banner? Upon this day shall we behold him that in himself is Alpha and Omega: In the world is the maker and the maintainer: In his Angels is their power and their beauty: In the Church is as a father to a Family: In our souls as a bridegroom to a bride: To the just as a bulwark: To the reprobate as a Battery. What eye hath seen, what ear hath heard, what understanding can comprehend the excellencies of this heavenly City; from whence the King of it (so full of Majesty) comes in person, and in progress to conduct us thither? There is security without fear; peace without invasion; wealth without diminishing; honours without envy: there is all blessedness, all sweetness, all life, all eternity. Thy hunger shall there be filled with bread of life; thy thirst with the fountain of goodness; thy nakedness clothed with a garment of immortality. The comforts we shall receive upon this blessed day of peace are, that we shall see and behold our God, who hath created us; our Lord jesus, who hath redeemed us; and the holy Ghost that hath sanctified us. Come therefore speedily, OH God, for thine Elects sake hasten to this great and general Sessions: and grant, OH merciful Father, that our accounts may be found so just, that we may receive the rewards of good Stewards. Make us, OH LORD, to be Doves in our lives, innocent and without gall: to be Eagles in our meditations, clear sighted, and bold to look upon thee: to be pelicans in our works, charitable and religious: and last, to be as the Phoenix in our deaths, that after we have slept in our graves, we may rise up in joy with thy Son. Ascend with him up into heaven, and there at thy hands receive an immortal crown of everlasting glory. Amen. FINIS. Short and pithy Sentences, fit to be applied to those purposes, for which the former Prayers are made. 1. GOd is to thee all things: if thou art hungry▪ he is thy bread; if thou art thirsty, he is thy drink; if thou art in darkness, he is thy light; if in nakedness, he puts upon thee the garment of immortality. Aug. 2. God the true and only life: in whom and from whom, and by whom all good things are, that are good indeed. God; from whom to be turned, is to fall; to whom to turn, is to rise again; in whom to abide, is to devil for ever. God; from whom to departed, is to die: to whom to come again, is to revive: and in whom to lodge, is to live. Idem. 3. Whatsoever is not of God, hath no sweetness: Whatsoever he will give me, let him take all away, so he gives me only himself. Idem. 4. God in himself is Alpha & Omega, (beginning & ending) In the world, he is the Ruler: In Angels he is their Glory: In the Church, he is as a Father in his Family: in the soul as a Bridegroom in his bed chamber: in the good, he is as a helper and protector: in the wicked as fear and horror. Idem. 5. If God hear our prayers, he is merciful: if he will not hear them, yet is he just. 6 God is length, breadth, height, and depth. He is length in his Eternity: breadth in Charity: height in Majesty: depth in Wisdom. Bernard. 7. Hast thou a desire to walk? I am the way (saith Christ:) Wouldst thou not be deceived? I am the truth: Wouldst thou not die? I am the life. Aug. 8. No man can take Christ from thee, unless thou takest thyself from him. Ambrose. 9 Christ (our Redeemer) in his birth was a man: in his death a lamb: in his resurrection a Lion: in his ascension up to heaven an Eagle. Greg. 10. Christ is honey in the mouth, music in the ear, and gladness in the heart. Bernard. 11. In Christ's doctrine is found true wisdom: in Christ's mercy is found justice: in his life is found temperance: in his death is found courage. Idem. 12. Christ is so much the more worthy of honour amongst men, by how much he suffered the more dishonour in the behalf of men. Gregory. OH man, see what I suffer for thee. There is no grief comparable to this of mine on the cross: I that die for thee, cry unto thee: see what punishments I endure, see how I am nailed, and how I am pierced. If my outward sorrows be so great, the grief that is within me must needs be greater, because I found thee unthankful. Bernard. 14. In vain doth he wear the name of a Christian who is not a follower of Christ. What good is it for thee to be taken for that which thou art not? and to usurp a title which is not thine own? if needs thou wilt be a Christian, do those things that belong to Christianity, and then challenge the name. Augustine. 15. He is a Christian, that even in his own house acknowledgeth himself to be a stranger. Our country is above: in that Inn we shall not be guests. Idem. 16. A Christian can take no hurt by being thrown into [Turkish] captivity; for even in those his fetters, will his God come to him. Idem. 17. A Christian is not so much to stand upon beginning, as upon the end. Gregory. 18. Thou art a freshwater soldier (OH thou that art a Christian) if thou hopest to overcome without a battle, or to triumph without a victory. chrysostom. 19 It is not such an honour to be good amongst those that are good, but to be good amongst them that are evil. Gregory. 20. A godly conversation overcometh thine enemy, edifieth thy neighbour, and glorifieth thy maker. Isidore. 21. He that waiteth on Christ, must be of such a conversation, that his outward manners may be but the glass to show the inward mind. Bernard. 22. Such as we are our selves, in such company we delight. Hierom. 23. Our looks and our eyes cannot put on masks close evough to hide a bad conscience: for the wantonness of the mind is drawn in the face, and the actions of the body, betray the conditions of the soul. Idem. 24. Woe to the heart that is double, it giveth one half to God, and another to the devil. God (being angry that the devil hath a share in it) giveth away his part too, and so the devil hath all to himself. Augustine. 25. The heart of the glutton is in his belly: of the adulterer in his lust: of the covetous man, in his usury. Idem. 26. Among men, the heart is weighed by the words; but with God, our words are weighed by the heart. Bernard. 27. Let not thy face and thy heart be of two colours: thy face looks upward, let not thy heart look downward. Idem. 28. The heart hath four offices to look to, viz. What to love, what to fear, what to rejoice in, and for what to be sad. Idem. 29. Among all the creatures that live under the Sun, there is none hath a heart more excellent than that of man, nor more noble, nor more like to God: and that is the reason that God asketh nothing at thy hands, but thy heart. Hugo. 30. The heart of man is of itself but little, yet great things cannot fill it: it is not big enough at one meal to satisfy a bird, and yet the whole world cannot satisfy that. Idem. 31. The devil hath a will to hurt, but not power▪ because a greater controls this; for if he should do as much hurt as he desireth to do, there would not be left one righteous man living. Augustine. 32. The devils service is the worst of all others, because he is never pleased with any duty is done to him. Gregory. 33. Where discord dwells, God never cometh near the door. Aug. 34. As God taketh delight in nothing so much as in love: so the devil taketh pleasure in nothing more than in the death of charity. Gregory. 35. No misery is greater than to leave God for the love of gold. Hierom. 36. What good can a chest full of riches do thee, if thou carriest about thee an empty conscience? Thy desire is to have goods, but not to be good. Blush therefore at thy wealth, for if thy house be full of goods it hath a master to it that is nought. What profit doth a rich man get by that which he hath, if he have not God too, who is the giver? Jerome. 37. The disease of riches is pride. Idem. 38. Richeses are not sin, but it is sin, not to let the poor have a part in them. August. 39 So live, that whatsoever thou dost, may be as if it were done in presence of thine enemy. 40. There is nothing more high than humility, which (as if it were always in the superior) knoweth not how to be extolled higher Amb. 41. Our country is aloft, the way to it is below: if then thou wouldst travel upward, why dost thou go out of the path that leadeth thee thither? [which path is humility.] Aug. 42. Humility is a glorious rob, which pride herself doth desire to put on, jest she should be disdained. Bernard. 43. It is more honour to avoid an injury by silence, then to get the better of it by words. Gregory. 44 If thou wouldst be revenged, only hold thy tongue: & thou givest thine enemy amortal wound. Chr. 45. He that maketh his belly his god, maketh to himself a new God. So many sins as we have, so many gods we have. I am angry: anger is then my god. I have seen a woman, & have lusted after her; I make lust my god. Whatsoever we desire and make much of, that we make our God. Jerome. 46. When man is proud, it is a great misery; but when God is humble, it is a greater mercy. FINIS.