SACRED PRINCIPLES, SERVICES, and SOLILOQUIES: OR, A Manual of Devotions Made up of Three Parts: I. The Grounds of Christian Religion, and the Doctrine of the Church of England, as differing from the Now-Roman. II. Daily, and Weekly Forms of Prayers fortified with Holy Scriptures, Meditations and Rules to keep the Soul from the Common Roads of Sin, and carry it on in a mortified Course. III. Seven Charges to Conscience, Delivering (if not the whole Body) the main Limbs of Divinity, which is the Art not of Disputing, but Living Well. Grande est esse Christianum, non videri. Hier. LONDON, Printed by J. G. for JOHN CLARK, and are to be sold at his Shop under Saint Peter's Church in Cornhill. 1650. To the Reader. TO thy Conscience (not wit) are these Devotions written. And (if so read) thy Soul may grow (if not wiser) better by them. The Author looks at Heat in Devotion as metle in a blind steed, his first care therefore is, to help thee to a good Sight in Religion, and that he doth by the light of his Principles. But because most miscarry by going and running against their light in wicked and erroneous ways, more pains are taken to prevent and rectify such miscarriages. To Elevate thy Soul and Aide it in good Desires and Endeavours for Grace, against Sin, thou hast his Prayers and Services. And to awake thy Conscience and warm thy Heart to all Duty Desired and Directed to, is the Cry, and work of the Soliloquies. And albeit he will prohibit none to read the Book (though for Curiosity more than Conscience) and rather as a New, than Prayer-book, because even so they may take benefit by it, as Saint Austin did by Saint Ambrose's Sermon) yet he would have thee know that it is Calculated chief for the Meridian of their minds who fall to their Prayers not by fits, but Courses; and read Books, not to pass the time away, but well. Taking them in hand, not as Recreations of their thoughts, but Business of the mind. And usiing them not as good Companions in Solitude but Guides and Helps to Heaven-wards. That this may be so to thee is his Aim. Thank God if it be thy Issue. He prays that for thee whosoever thou art. Having an Amen, for Nazianzens' Vote. Utinam nemo pereat! and a Heart for the Prayer his Mother hath taught him: That it may please God to have mercy on all men! And if for his Name that Character please thee, much good do it thee. So he is, and hopes he ever shall be, Thine in the Common Saviour, Philo-Christianus. THE Particulars contained in this Manual of Devotions. OF Religion in General. pag. 1. The Grounds of Christian Religion, pag. 2 The Grounds of Protestant Religion. 6 How to be satisfied, and settled amidst the Doubts and Divisions about Religion, 6 Rules of Devotion and Prayers for Morning, 20 for Evening, 21 1. Daily Prayers, 23 Prayer For Grace, 28, 39 Prayer For Peace, 28, 39 Prayer For Health, 29, 40 Prayer For Friends, 30, 40 Prayer For Kingdom, 31, 41 Prayer For Church, 33, 43 Prayer For Catho: Church, 33, 43 Particular Prayers. Prayer Of a Husband, 45 Prayer Of a Wife, 46 Prayer Of a Parent, 47 Prayer Of a Child, 48 Prayer For a Family, 49 Prayer For Issue, 50 For Women with Child, 51 Against Miscarriage, 52 For a Women in Travail, 52 After Deliverance, 53 After Christening, 54 Prayer For Birth day, 55 Prayer For New-years-day, 56 Prayer Of a Widow, 56 Prayer For the Fatherless, 57 Prayer Against sudden Death, 59 Prayer For a Voyage by Sea, 60 After it, 60 At Return to Sea, 61 At Return Home, 62 After a Storm, 63 Prayer For one in a Journey, 65 After it, 65 Prayer For a Soldier, 66 Morning, 67 Evening, 68 Before Fight, 68 After Fight, 69 For one Wounded, 69 Prayer For the Sick. 73 For Deliverance, 73 For Patience, 74 Against the Plague, 76 For one Infected, 77 For one Recovered, 78 Prayer For one Dying, 80. 81 Rules of Devotion, and Prayers for Sunday, Morning, 110 Evening, 111 Weekly Prayers for Several Days, Sunday Prayer against The Flesh, 89 Monday Prayer against The Devil, 92 Tuesday Prayer against The World, 95 Wednesday Prayer against Sudden Death, 97 Thursday Prayer against Hypocrisy, 99 Friday Prayer against Inconstancy, 101 Saturday Prayer against Impenitence, 104 3. Monthly Prayers for the several Days of the Week, for four Weeks. 1. First Weeks Prayers. Sunday Prayer On the Joys of Heaven, 11● Monday Prayer Upon the Miseries of Earth, 116 Tuesday Prayer Against the Vanities of it, 119 Wednesday Prayer Against Villainies of it. 132 Thursday Prayer About Death. 126 Friday Prayer About Judgement 130 Saturday Prayer Against Hell. 134 2. Second Weeks Prayers, against seven common Sins. Sunday Prayer against Neglect of God's Service. 138 Monday Prayer against Procrastination. 140 Tuesday Prayer against Presumption. 143 Wednesday Prayer against Desperation. 145 Thursday Prayer against Swearing. 149 Friday Prayer against Lying. 152 Saturday Prayer against Slandering. 155 3. Third Weeks Prayers against the Seven (commonly called) Deadly Sins. Sunday Prayer against Ildenesse. 158 Monday Prayer against Covetousness. 161 Tuesday Prayer against Gluttony. 168 Wednesday Prayer against Luxuy. 175 Thursday Prayer against Pride. 178 Friday Prayer against Anger. 182 Saturday Prayer against Envy. 185 4. Fourth Weeks Prayers, against seven Vanities of the most valued things in the World. Sunday Prayer against the Vanity of Pleasures. 188 Monday Prayer against the Vanity of Honours. 190 Tuesday Prayer against the Vanity of Riches. 192 Wednesd. Prayer against the Vanity of Beauty 194 Thursday Prayer against the Vanity of Strength. 196 Friday Prayer against the Vanity of Wit. 198 Saturday Prayer against the Vanity of Friends and favour. 200 Prayers in eight other Services. Prayer For Pleasures of Piety. 203 Prayer Against Malice. 209 Prayer Against Revenge. 212 Prayer For a Penitent. 215, 216 220 Prayer Against Impatience. 223. 225 Prayer On the Passion. 230 Prayer For the H. Communion. Before it. 251. 253 At it. 255 After it. 257. 259 Prayer Deprecating Judgements. 295 Prayer For an end of War. 297 Prayer For blessing on those who seek Peace. 297 Prayer For Friends in Danger, and Distress. 298 Prayer For Conversion of one in an ill Course. 299 Prayer For preservation of the Church. 299 Prayer For Mercy to the Nation. 302 A Charitable Prayer for these Miserable Times. 35 Prayer A Prayer against the Temptations of the Times. 37 Thanksgivings. General for God's Mercies. 84 Deliveranee. 87 Particular Thanksgivings. For Recoveries of Sickness. 75 Particular Thanksgivings. After a Journey. 65 Particular Thanksgivings. After a Storm. 62, 63 Particular Thanksgivings. After Childbirth. 53 Particular Thanksgivings. For Birth day. 55 Particular Thanksgivings. For a Friend Preserved. 88 Particular Thanksgivings. For Recovery of the Plague. 78 Particular Thanksgivings. For one Departed. 82 Meditations upon Ten several Subjects, viz. 1. Of the Joys of Heaven. 113 2. Of the Miseries of the World. 117 3. Of the Vanities of it. 120 4. Of the Villainies of it. 124 5. Of Death. 127 6. Of Judgement. 130 7. Of Hell. 134 8. Of the Pleasures of Piety. 205 9 Of the Passion of Christ. 231 10. Of the Holy Cummunion. 262 The Services in this Book for the several Days of the Weeks. 1. Weeks Services of seven Subjects fit to Excite to a love of Godliness. Sunday Service Of the Joys of Heaven. 112 Monday Service Of the Miseries of Earth. 116 Tuesday Service Of the Vanities of it. 119 Wednesday Service Of the Villainies of it. 122 Thursday Service Of Death. 126 Friday Service Of Judgement. 130 Saturday Service Of Hell. 134 2. Weeks Services against the seven Common Sins. Sunday Service against Neglect of God's Service. 138 Monday Service against Procrastination. 140 Tuesday Service against Presumption. 143 Wednesd. Service against Desperation. 145 Thursday Service against Swearing. 149 Friday Service against Lying. 152 Saturday Service against Slandering. 155 3. Weeks Services against the seven Deadly Sins. Sunday Service against Idleness. 158 Monday Service against Covetousness. 161 Tuesday Service against Gluttony. 168 Wednesday Service against Luxury. 175 Thursday Service against Pride. 178 Friday Service against Anger. 182 Saturday Service against Envy. 185 4. Weeks Services Against Seven Vanities of the most valued things of the world. Sunday Service against Pleasures. 188 Monday Service against Honeurs. 190 Tuesday Service against Riches. 192 Wednesday Service against Beauty. 194 Thursday Service against Strength. 196 Friday Service against Wit. 198 Saturday Service against Friends and Favour. 200 Services upon other Particular Subjects, and Occasions. A Service Of the Pleasures of Piety. 203 A Service Against Malice. 209 A Service Against Revenge. 212 A Service Penitential. 215 A Service Against Impatience. 223 A Service Of the Passion. 230 A Service For the Holy Communion. 251 A Service For sad Times. 295 The Sins against which Prayers and Rules are made, Alphabetically disposed. Anger. Remedies of it. 183 covetousness. Remedies of it. 163 Desperation. Remedies of it. 147 Detraction. Remedies of it. 156 Envy. Remedies of it. 186 Gluttony. Remedies of it. 170 Idleness. Remedies of it. 159 Impatience. Remedies of it. 2●6 Lying. Remedies of it. 153 Luxury. Remedies of it. 176 Malice. Remedies of it. 210 Neglect of God's Service. Remedies of it. 139 Presumption. Remedies of it. 144 Pride. Remedies of it. 179 Procrastination. Remedies of it. 141 Revenge. Remedies of it. 213 Slander. See Detraction. Sloth. See Idleness. Swearing and Takeing God's Name in Vain, Remedies of it. 150 The Use of the Services, Delivered in Four Rules. Rule. 1. When you would strengthen in you the Grace, 1. Of Fear. Use the Service, of Death, Judgement, Hell. 2. Of Hope. Use the Service of the Passion, The Joys of Heaven Against Desperation. 3. Of Charity. Use the Service against Malice, Anger, Revenge, Envy, Detraction, etc. 4. Of the Contempt of the World. Use the Service against the Vanities of it. Of Honours, Riches, Pleasures, Beauty, Wit, Favour, or of the Miseries of it, Villainies of it, Of Death, Of the Joys of Heaven. 5. Of any Virtue, which you would strengthen in you, Read the Service against the Contrary Vice. As For Chastity. The Service against Lust. For Truth. The Service against Lying. For Humility. The Service against Pride. For Meekness. The Service against Anger. For Patience. The Service against Impatience, etc. Rule 2. When you would strengthen yourself against any of the Sin's , Read the Service against that Particular Sin for that Day. Rule 3. When you read one Service, you may use (besides the Collect for it) the Collects for another. As for the Service against Pride, That against the Vanities of the World. In the Service against the Vanity of Pleasure, That for the Pleasures of Piety, etc. Rule 4. When you see cause, you may make use of the Collects, or Prayers, and Meditations, and say fewer or more of them without the Services. The several Soliloquies. 367 1. The Nobility of Piety. 311 2. Domesticall-Devotion. 325 3. Church Duty. 332 4. Perpetual Service. 351 5. Remora's in Religion. 367 6. Helps to Heaven. 389 7. Remedies of Humane Frailty. 411 The Particulars contained in these Soliloquies. Absolution, if it encourage Sin, is the Bond, not Acquittance of a Sinner. 371 Abstinence from ill, makes not good. 360 Accessary to others Sins why not, how not. 450 Actions helping to Heaven. 439 Alms, see Charity. Assurance, not Essence of faith. 426 Attempting good things, overcomes them, 445 Belief Right makes not Perfect. 375 Cautions good Helps to Heaven. 447 Charity, all goodness. 362 Church, best place, 336. For most Reverence, 345 Church-rudenesse an Affront to Heaven. 347 Christ all in all. 435 Company ill, way to Hell. 375 Communion. Neglect of it, a Sin against Christ and the Soul, 343 Confession how abused, 371 Covetousness, a Meditation destroying it, 403 Credit Christian how to be maintained, 449 Days to be numbered, 384 Deeds good, what, which best, 360, 362 Delays of Repentance. Dangerous, 414 To Death, Desperate, 415 Common pleas for it poor, 421 Excellency of Soul, 311 Everlasting Sinning, 451 Eucharist, see Lords Table, Meat for Heaven, 447 Faith The Grace in Chief, 434 A Cordial, 423. The Ingredients Rare, Christ Chief, 424 Virtues Sovereign, 425 Five Counterfeits of it, Delusion, Blind Resignation, Idle Speculation, Great Confidence, Good Opinion of ourselves, Boldness to Sin, 426 Grief for Sin, not Repentance enough, 413 Habits ill, dangerous, 373 Hand to be looked to, see Deeds. Heart Spring of action, all care of it, 352 Honest not enough without life, 369 Hearing, a good help to Heaven, 439 Helps to Heaven, 309 Hours set to be kept, 327 Eleventh Hours call, no cause to delay Repentance, 420 Idleness an enemy to Godliness, 348 Innocence from ill, not enough, 360 At the day of Judgement how precious? 394 Integrity, all not saving, 430 Intentions not sufficient, though good, 369 Lords Day how to be kept, 341 Table how to be frequented, Reverenced, 342, 349 Lust, what Meditation kills it, 304 Meditations advancing piety. Of Death, 391 Judgement. 393. Heaven. 396. Hell. 400 Of Christ His Birth, Life, Death, Sovereign against Pride, Covetousness Lust. 402 403 404 Morning and Evening, best Times for Devotion. 329 Motions of God, How known, 406 Angels, 406 From Heaven, To it, 407 Dangerously refused, 408 New Obedience, the Souls Preservative, 428 What? Wherein? How? Counterfeit of it, 430 Obedience, see new. Prastice of Good, makes it easy, 445 Prayers Man's Helps. 446 Gods Visits, 327 Private. When, where, how to be made, 329, 330 Public. In Church, Best, 334 At Home, when we should be there, Ill 334 To be made by all, The Greatest 336 Pride. Meditation destroying it, 402 Principles pernicious to Piety, 368 Public Service, Pillar of Religion, 340 Pulpit makes not a Sermon, 439 Reading Scripture, a Help to Heaven, 440 Of power to Convert, 443 Religious Course. Bars to it, 367 Not for Cloister only, 372 Repentance, Sins Remedy, 411 Requisites, Virtues of it, 411, 412 Not to be done by Halves, 414 Not to be Delayed, 414 A Time set for it, 420 Resolution will do much to Mortification, 443 Remedies of Frailty to be used duly, 433 Scandal not to be given, 448 Hinders others, keeps ourselves from Heaven, ibid. Sermon, and God's Word, two things often, 439 Scruples, Satan's Policies, The Souls Bane, 377 For Comforts, and Duty, 378 End in Carelessness, 380 Scriptures, plain in Necessaries, 440 Senses, Cinqueports to be looked to, 354 Service of God due from all. Private, 325 Public, 323 Perpetual, 351 Sins Baseness, in ten Particulars, 313 Souls Worth in ten Excellencies, 312 Thief on Cross, how to be looked at, 417 No Encouragement to Delay Repentance, 419 Thoughts how to be Governed, and why? 353 Tongue, how to be Ruled, and why? 355 Tongue Murders, 358 Tongues Bridle, how made, 355 To be kept as Life, Not without Care of Heart, 357 and God's Watch, 359 Trials of Repentance. Faith, Obedience, 432 Time precious. Of what value with God, 383 With the Damned, 384 Vows to be Rare. 444 Works, Good to be done, 361 Charities their Chief, 362 Words v. Tongue, ERRATA. PAge 15. line 5. read Clement 8. p. 41. l. 17. r. Distractions. p. 44. l. 5. add [For thy Christ his sake] l. 7. r. and perfect. p. 45. l. 2. r. Prayer. p. 48. l. 24. r. Joy. p. 56 l. 12. r. with thee. p. 51. l. 22. r. Glory. p. 52. l. 30. r. mine. p. 53. l. 10. r. first. p. 63. l. 19 r. earth. l. 9 r. upon it. p. 75. l. 22. r. health. p. 77. l. 4. r. mortal. p. 117. l. 1. r. wein. p. 118. l. 18. r. arhest. p. 121. l. 30. deal revised. p. 125. l. 6. r. Sinners. p. 127. l. 21. r. or field. p. 128. l. 19 r. shall. p. 135. l. 17. r. Interests. l. 21. r. horrors. p. 144. l. 1. r. preserve me. p. 154. l. 4. r. filled. l. 14. r. to leave it. p. 161. l. 2. r. sweat. & l. 3. r. sweat. p. 163. l. 2. r. duty. p 167. l. 6. r. thrift. p. 169. l. 18. deal both. p. 170. l. 24. r. deadly. p. 249. l. 6. r. to see. p. 251. l. 18. r. more. p. 265. l. 21. r. and thyself. p. 275. l. 15. & 16. r. thou. p. 288. l. 25. r. Cassand. p. 304. l. 8. r. ask. p. 315. l. 19 r. abominable. p. 327. l. 24. r. and keep. p. 359. l. 16. r. stored. p. 362. l. In Margin, r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. p. 373. l. 13. r. awry. p. 382. l. 14. r. Corruption. p. 400. l. 3. r. things. p. 420 l. 23. r. that he. p. 433. l. 26. r. Saviour. p. 435. l. 15. r. rather then. p. 447. l. 9 r. most. p. 450. l. 15. r. sins. Mistakes of Figures in the Marginal Notes PAge 2. l. 12. for, 278. p. 29. Act. 17. 24. Isa. 38. 5. p. Jer: 8. 22. p. 32. Act. 2. 37. p. 46. Ephes. 5. 22. 29. p. 47. Gen. 9 1. p. 49. Gen. 18, 19 p. 68 Psal. 25. p. 73. l. 20. deest. Isa. 11. 1. p. 141. Isa. 19 18. p. 142. 1 Pet. 2. 11. p. 144. Mat. 27. 5. Prov. 1. 22. Isa. 1. 2. p. 145. Mica. 7. p. 152. Apoc. 22. p. 156 Jam. 4. 11. p. 160. Mat. 3. 9 p. 161. Phil. 4. p. 164. Mat. 26. 23. p. 165. Luk. 12. 20. deest. l. 3. p. 168. Psal. 106. Judas Epistle p. 181. Dan. 4. 51. Prov. 3. p. 206. 1 Pet. 1. 8. p. 312. Joh 6. p. 327. Psal. 7. p. 320 Psal. 18. p. 321. Mat. 26. 27. p. 355. Act. 26. p. 336. Isa 60. p. 426. Eph. p. 387. p. 354. 2 Sam. 11. 2 p. 357. Prov. 18. 8. p. 358 Rom. 2. 1, 2. p. 359. Psa. 141. p. 360 Exod. 20. p. 376. l. 14. deest Judas v. 23. Psa. 1. 1. p. 377. Exod. 24. p. 380. Isa. 50. 4. 9 p. 390. Psa. 119. 165. p. 392. 2 Cor. 3. 4. p. 400. Mar. 9 43. p. 408. Cant. 2. 3. Luk. 22. 3. p. 412. Isa. 51 48. p. 428. 2 John v. 11. p. 432. Rom. 14. 23. p. 433. Heb. 10. 39 p. 439. 2 Cor. 4. 4. 5. p. 440. 1 John 4. p. 445. Judg. 14. 9 p. 446 Ezek. 11. 19 36. 27. p. 456. Mat. 6. 7. Note Reader, that the second part of the sixth soliloquy is Printed after the Seventh, but the proper place is before it, and so thou art to read it. Of Religion in general. Of Religion: and how this Manual is made to serve the Soul in it. REligion is the Worship or Service of God. a Joh. 9 31. The parts of it are two. Faith, and Life b Act. 24. 14. ; or the Knowledge and Practice of it c 1. Chron. 28. 9 . 1. There is a threefold Knowledge of Religion. Of Foundations, or Grounds of it: Of Superstructions, or what's built on those Grounds: Or of Pinnacles or Punctilios, high and curious points in the building. The first of these is necessary for a Christian d Pro. 19 2 Luc. 12. 47. : the second, for a Divine e Tit. 1. 9 : the third for no man f 1 Tim. 6. 20. . The first, is necessary and profitable: the second profitable, not necessary: The third is neither. The first is the minds life g Prov. 3. 18. 22. , the second health h 2 Tim. 1. 7. , the third, the souls disease or itch i Tim. 4. 3. . The Grounds of Religion necessary to be known: See pag. 2. And what profits may be made of those Grounds, pag. 4. 2. The Practice of Religion consists in three things. 1. Invocation k Gen. 4. 26. . For that see the Prayers. 2. Mortification l Gal. 5. 24. Col. 3. 5. . For that see the weekly Services against Vanities and Sins, and their Remedies. And the Soliloquies. 3. Celebration of the Holy Eucharist. For that see the Particular Directions, pag. 12. and Meditations in the Service for it. The Grounds of Christian Religion. Qu. WHat is the End for which Eccl. 7. 29. God made Man in this world? Ans. To live happy with himself in Ro. 6. 22. 1 Pet. 1. 9 another world. Qu. What is the Means to be so happy? Ans. To serve God according to Heb. 11. 16. true Religion. Qu. Which Religion is the True? Ans. The Christian. Joh. 17. 3. Qu. What is required of the true Christian? Ans. To Believe, Do, and Pray aright Joh. 6. 29. 1 Pet. 3. 6. Mat. 6. 9 according to the Rules of his Religion. Qu. 1. What is it to Believe aright? Ans. Largely, all which God says in his Word, briefly summed up in the Apostles Creed, which all Christians receive as the Rule of their Faith. Qu. 2. What is it to Do aright? Ans. All which God wills in his Law, summed up in the Decalogue: by whose ten Commands we are to govern all our actions, as the great Rule of our life. Qu. How are we to understand and observe those Commandments? Ans. We must understand, 1. That Mat. 5. 28. they bind our hearts and thoughts, as well as our hands and tongues in outward works and words. 2. To do 1 Pet. 3. 11. the contrary good to what they forbidden for ill, and to shun the contrary ill where they command good. 3. And Mat. 5. 22, 1 Thes. 5. 22. to shun all kinds and causes, and occasions of ill, and to use all means and opportunities of good. And, 2. We may, and must observe all this. Eccl. 7. 29 Heb. 4. 15 Jam. 3. 2 1 John 3. 4 Ro. 6. 12 Heb. 13. 18 Act. 24. 16 Jer. 8. 6 Ro. 13. 8 Luke 1. 6. Heb. 12. 28 Not Exactly and Absolutely, as Adam might, and Christ did; for we offend and sin all, and so break the Law: but yet Uprightly and Evangelically; that is, We must keep ourselves from greater sins, and hearty endeavour, and pray against all, and grieve and repent when we do any. And thus by God's grace we may do, and this for Christ's merits, God accepts, and accounts for keeping of the Law, without which we cannot do aright. Qu. 3. What is it to Pray aright? Mat. 6. 9 Ans. According to the Pattern of Devotion summed up in the Lord's Prayer, the Rule of our D●sires. 1. For God's glory before our good; the Churches before my own; and my soul before my body (for matter and order.) And this in love and lowliness, with faith and assurance, for the manner. 2. And that either to the Sense, or according to the Words of the Pattern. Qu. What assurances hath the true Christian, that believing, doing, and praying aright in this world, he shall be happy in another? Ans. Two great Assurances, God's Tit. 1. 2. Mar. 16. 16. Joh. 3. 15. Heb. 5. 9 Rom. 2. 7. Act. 2. 21. Heb. 6. 17. 18. Heb. 8. 6. Heb. 9 15. Heb. 9 18. 26. Heb. 10. 20. Word and Seal. 1. Besides God's Word, his Bond, (which by his power he can, and for his truth, he will make good.) It is in a Covenant confirmed with God's Oath, which cannot change; by Testament ratified in Christ blood, which must not alter. And to this Covenant and Testament are put, 2. God's Broad Seals of man's Salvation, the Two Sacraments of Christ; Baptism, the Seal of my Birthright to Heaven, and the Holy Eucharist, the Seal of my Inheritance in it. Qu. Are the Sacraments only Signs and Seals? Ans. No. As they are Christ's Assurances, so they are his Conveyances Rom. 4. 11. Tit. 4. 5. Joh. 3. 5. 1 Cor. 10. 16. too, and Means as well as Signs of grace: Baptism, of my Spiritual Birth and life; and the Holy Eucharist, of my Growth, and nourishment to that which is eternal. Qu. What is to be gathered from all these Grounds? Ans. Two Good Resolves for two Important Inquiries. 1. Who is the best Christian? He that most carefully keeps his Rules and Seals. 2. Which is the Best Church? That which is made up of such Christians. MAT. 18. 20. Where two or three are gathered together in my Name, there I am in the midst amongst them. [There then Devout Soul be thou One, in Christ's Name, and rest confident to be saved since thy Saviour is with thee there.] Grounds of Protestant Religion: How a devout Christian Soul in the midst of the manifold Distractions, and Divisions about Religion, and Pretensions, and Claims to the Church, may upon These Grounds, against all seruples, rest satisfied, and settled in mind, and cheerfully go on in God's Service, to Salvation? 1. IF he that Believes, Lives, and Prays according to Christ's Rules be the True Christian, and by all God's Assurances shall be the Happy Man; The next way to Heaven, is not to look after Controversy, but Conscience; and to spend my Zeal and Time, not in being Contentious, but Religious: Since, wheresoever I live, or am in the Christian World (West or East, in what Church or Country soever) it is not my being a Good Scholar that must save me; but a Good Christian; Not a learned Disputant for Christ, but a Devout Servant to him: Nor being of such or such a Party or Side in the Church, but a true Member of his Body. And even upon These Grounds I may see and discern enough about the present Controversies and Debates, in and concerning the Church. For, 1. I would ask this; Whether I, being borne again, and made a Christian by true Baptism, 1. Believing the Scriptures, shall be damned for not equally believing Traditions? Whether believing the Apostels' Creed, I shall be damned for not believing as my Creed, the Popes to be as infallible as the Apostles? 2. Whether making conscience to serve and worship God, I shall be damned for not worshipping Images? 3. Whether praying to God as Christ taught, Our Father; I shall be damned for not Invocating Saints and Angels, and saying, Our Friend which art in Heaven? 4. Whether Receiving the Holy Sacrament in both kinds, confessedly according to Christ's Institution, I shall be damned because the Cup is taken away by a Council? And whether, if the Blood be said to be in the Body, it be not so to the Priest too; and so by that reason neither People nor Priest are to have the Cup? These being Points of Chiefest Difference in Religion betwixt Protetants and Papists, an ordinary and indifferent understanding may easily judge by the evidence of Those Christian Grounds, whether the Protestant is a damnable Christian. 2. Nay, secondly, I would ask further, 1. Whether to give an equal faith to Tradition as Scripture, & to a Pope, as Christ or an Apostle of Christ, be not to incur the great Curse for Additions? Rev. 22. 18 2. Whether Worshipping of Crucifixes and Images be not Idolatry damned in Scripture, against God's Second Commandment? Whether the doing it but Relatively; save it according to the Distinction of the School, in the ignorant people? Or learned either, if the Israelites Exod. 32. 4, 5, 8. were Idolaters for worshipping God in and before the Golden Calf, which was but a Relative worship? 3. Whether Praying to Saints (confessed to be an Unstatutable worship) be not a sin of Superstition against God? and praying to be heard and helped for their Merits sake, a Great injury to Christ? 4. Whether to give the Sacrament without the Cup, be not (as Pope Gelasius said) A grand Sacrilege; and so to take it, to receive but half the Communion. And whether the people may not justly doubt; and fear, they Receive None, if but Half? These being the Points and practices of the Roman Church, the unprejudiced may judge whether the Papists, be not the more dangerous Religion. 2. If it be said there is but One, Ancient, Visible, Catholic Church of Christ, out of which to departed by Schism, is to go from Salvation: And that is the now-Romane Church; and this now doth the Reformed: I satisfy myself on my former grounds thus; 1. Out of the Catholic Church is Universality. no salvation, because that's the Congregation of Christian men all over the World, and none can be saved but a Christian: But, Is the West all the World? Are there not Christians in the East? Or do Papists take up all the West? Are there no Christians there but Papists? I ask then; Can I not be saved, because I am not of such a Particular Church in the West? Nor a Papist then; because He is not of the Church of the East. I may be saved then, if I be a Christan-Catholique, though not a Roman; because, I am saved by being of the Catholic Church of Christ; that is, by being a Christian. 2. If they say my Church is New; I Antiquity. ask, what makes One Old? Are not the Apostles more ancient than their Successors? And the Bishops of Rome of the 400 year's next after them, than those who came some 100 years after those Bishops? And is that Church then New, which professeth Christian Religion according to the Apostles Doctrine and Primitive Times? And particularly I ask, if these be not New points in the Roman Church: Is not worshipping Images New established Concil. ●. Nic. 2. Ann. 787. Conc. Later Ann. 1215. Conc. Flor. 1438. v. ● Conc. Const. An. Conc. Trid. Ann. 1563. about 800 years ago? And Transubstantiation New, defined about 400? And Purgatory New which came in a little after? And Communion in one kind more New, decreed about 200? And all that most New, which came in but about 100? Yea and for the great point of Supremacy, was not Gregory * L. 4. Epist. 36. the First who proclaimed it Antichristian at Constantinople; (Ann. 600.) And all the Bishops before him, of whom not one ever challenged it, before the Succeeding Popes in the last thousand years, who laid claim to it after them? 3. If they say, We are but lately Visible? Visibility. I ask; Whether As a Man, So, a Church may not be visible in several forms, foul and fair? And whether a Church be worse for growing visibly fair, that was foul? Then I demand, Whether, if the Roman Church should Reform, what many of themselves as well as we confess to be foul, it should be said thenceforth to be a Visible Church? And why then others who have done so, are denied before to be visible? And whether visibility of the Church of Rome may not as well be denied, because, as now it appears, it was not always visible? 4. And since, if another tear my Schism. Coat, it is not I, but He that maketh the Rent; I ask, whether are they the Schismatics, that cause, or suffer the Schism? Whether Dangerous Corruptions being discovered, and a Reformation desired and sought to prevent, and cure a growing Schism; they which Decline, and Detest, and oppose all Reformation, or they who Protest thereupon against them for it, are more the cause? And again, May the Roman Church departed from the purity of the Primitive Church to corruptions and Innovations without Schism? And cannot the Reform return from those corruptions and Innovations to that Ancient puriety, but with it? 5. And since Unity in Opinion, is the Unity. privilege of Minds Triumphant above, of which the Churches of the Apostles themselves on earth were not free; but some of Paul, some of Apollo's, and some of Cephas; Is not Unity in Foundation, in the Reformed as well as the Roman? And Diversity and Contrariety of opinions in the Roman, as well as the Reformed? Yea in high points of their faith as well as opinions? I ask then 1. Touching the Immaculate conception of the Blessed Virgin, Whether the Dominicans be not as hot against it as the Franciscans are for it? (both famous Orders of Roman Catholics.) 2. Touching the Aids Operations of Grace, etc. Whether the Lutheran be more fiery against the Calvinist, than the Jesuit is against Dominican? And whether even in the horrid point of Absolute Reprobation itself, Bannes do not outgo Calvin, and Lessius go along with Luther? (Both Famous Roman Catholics of their orders.) 3. Touching the Pope's Supremacy. Whether the Doctors of Sorbon stand not as much against it, as the Doctors of Louvain are for it? (Both Romane-Catholick Universities and Schools.) Whether Venice be as much for the Pope's power and Prerogative as Rome? (Both Roman Catholic Cities and States) Whether the French Papist profess and give as much Subjection to the Pope as the Spanish, (Both Roman Catholic Countries and Churches.) Nay, whether Gregory the first (the Saint) was not as fierce to condemn, as Gregory the 7. was furious to maintain it? (Both Roman Catholic Bishops and Popes.) 4. Touching the Pope's Infallibility. Whether some place it, Not in a Council, but the Pope; some not in the Pope, but a Council; Some in both Council and Pope? All Catholics, Doctors, and Champions in their several Countries. 5. Touching the Bible itself of the Vulgar Translation; Whether Sixtus the fift having damned all that use other, or vary but a syllable from his: Gregory the 8. did not put out another, and curse all that use any other but it? So that according to their Rules of Infallibility in the Pope, the Papist must be damned that makes use of any Bible: For both these were Bishops of Rome, and Popes? 2. And for Unity in affection and Spirit. Do our foulest-mouthed Sectaries rail more at Churchmen and Orders, than the Secular Priests at the Jesuits, and they at the Seculars? both of them Papists? did ever, or do the Cruelest of their Faction, show more inhuman rage against their Opposites, than Sergius * As Luitprandus, Baronius says Beniface. did against his Predecessor Formosus, Damning all that he had done before, (as he did by Stephanus) and raising him out of his Grave, and setting him up in his Pontifical habit to damn him, and wreak his barbarous spite and malice upon him * Cut off his three fingers, & cast him into Tiber, etc. See Baronius, , and these also were Popes of Rome. Are these signs of all Unity amongst them? 3. If they trouble me lastly with their trivial and frighting argument to weak and tender Souls, saying, By our Confession some may be saved in their Church; but say they, None can be saved in Ours. Theirs therefore is the safer Religion; I ask, whether they mistake not us, and know, what themselves say: For all ours say not so; and did they all, it were nothing. For 1. When we say, some of them may be saved holding to the Christianity, amongst them, and groaning under the Corruption (as no doubt some do:) Is not this in effect to say, None are saved in the Roman Church but Protestants in heart? For sure, He that is Detestant of the corruption in it, had he liberty, would be Protestant against it? Do we say that any are saved by or for their Corruptions; that is, as merepure-Papists holding and doing all things in opposition to us, and not because of the Common Christianity betwixt us? Do we not say of those Corruptions, that Salvation is absolutely impossible by them, and exceedingly difficult and dangerous for them, because the Christianity which should Save, is so incorporated and mixed with the Corruptions that Destroy: But with us no such danger and difficulty, because our Christianity is purged from such corruptions? Then I ask, If he be mad, that being to pass over a deep River, will leave a Bridge for a narrow Plank; Is he wise, that in the Great Case of Eternal life and Salvation, will put his Soul on a perplexed and perilous way, when he may go a plain and a safe one? 2. And by that Argument, should not every Papist turn Protestant? Believe, Worship, Pray, Come to Service, and Sacrament with us? For 1. They confess with us, Scripture is infallible, but we say, not the Pope. The Rule of Faith say both, but not Tradition say we. Safe to believe the Old Creed, both grant; but, a New One, we deny. To trust to Christ's Merits, sure with both; but not to ours, with us. Both believe Heaven and Hell, but we have no faith for Purgatory. The Protestants then is the safer Faith. 2. And to worship God they say (with us) is safe and profitable piety; but to worship Images we say, is damnable Idolatry: Ours therefore is the safer Worshipping. 3. And to pray to God in Christ's Name, both grant good Religion; but to call to Saints for help, or to God in their Name, we say, gross Superstition. That therefore is the safer Praying. 4. And in the Sacrament of the Eucharist a Sacrifice Commemorative both grant; but a Propitiatory, we disclaim. A Real Presence, both allow, but the way of Transubstantiation we reject. The Cup by Institution and Primitive Observation, we and they confess; A power of Alienation we abhor. This therefore is the safer Receiving. 5. Lastly, in our Liturgy is no error (some of them say;) but in their Missal are many, say we. Service in a Known Tongue is not sinful (with them) but in an unknown, unwarantable and against Scripture, with us. Therefore it's best to come to our Church to Service and Prayers. And so ours, by their Confession and Reason, is the best Religion. To conclude. Upon my Grounds before, I build all this. The True Christian hath God's Word and Seal for his Salvation: He that Believes, Does, and Prays aright, is the True Christian. 1. Such a one is a member in, and of the Catholic Church, though not of the Roman. 2. Such Christians the Primitive Times had, therefore he is no new, but an ancient Christian. 3. Where God's Word and Sacraments are professed and used, by such there's a Church of Christ, and visible Christianity. 4. And from any Church in the world that is such, I will not; From the Roman as such, I do not separate: So I am no Schismatical Christian. 5. And in these Grounds all agree, and so there is Unity. And this is the only plain Christian way to Heaven, and so it's safest to be Reform, not Corrupted; a Catholic Christian, not a Particular Roman. GAL. 6. 16. And as many as walk according to this Rule, Peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel os God. Rules of Devotion for Morning. IN the Morning when you first awake, What to do when you awake. lift up your eyes to God, and say, I lift up mine eyes to the Hills, from whence cometh my help. Then lift up your heart to God and pray. Lord keep me from all sin and danger this day for Jesus Christ his sake! When you are up, kneel down and say What to do when you are first up. this prayer. Almighty God, who hast touched my heart with a sense of thy fear, and holy dread of thy Majesty: I beseech Let this never be omitted. thee give me thy grace so to govern my thoughts, and look to my words and ways this day, that I may avoid all sins; Especially those to which I am most inclined, or may be most provoked: That so my soul and body may be kept pure and unspotted before thee; and whensoever the hour of their separation shall come, may be ready and prepared for thee; through the merits and mercies of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. When you are ready for your Morning Prayers, use every day one of the following Services. Rules for the Evening. BEfore you go into your Bed, kneel and say this short Prayer, O God, who hast made the day for labour, and the night for rest, let thy Son's Blood cleanse me from this days guilt, that I may sleep in thy peace, and rise again refreshed, and preserved by thy favour, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. And this and Prayer. Almighty God, who hast preserved me this day from many sins and dangers: I do humbly magnify thy Name for thy Grace and Goodness towards me. Beseeching thee to forgive me all the errors of this day, whereof my conscience doth, or may accuse me. And grant that those sins which by my frailty I have committed, may by the help of thy Spirit, be more carefully avoided; That I may ever stand in thy favour, walk under thy protection, and now rest and lie down in thy peace, and at last come to thy heavenly Kingdom: through the Merits and Mediation of Jesus Christ. Amen! When you lie down, say, I will lay down my ●head in peace and take my rest, for thou only O Lord makest me to dwell in safety. Then pray thus: Lighten mine eyes O Lord, that I sleep not in death! I commit my soul and body to thee, Keep me for thy mercy's sake! PSAL. 55. 18. In the Evening and Morning, and at Noon day will I pray, and that instantly; and he shall hear my voice. Daily Prayers. Here begin the Daily Prayers, saying first, some of these Sentences. PSAL. 66. 2. O Thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come. PSAL. 123. 125. 1. Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the Heavens! Unto thee, O Lord, will I lift up my soul! PSAL. 66. 16. If I incline to wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. JOHN 16. 23. Verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever you shall ask the Fatherin my name, he will give it to you. JAM. 1. 6. But let him ask in faith, nothing doubtin: for let not that man think, he shall receive any thing of the lord [that is wavering; and without Faith.] 1 JOHN 3. 22. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his Commandments, and do the things that are pleasing in his sight. JAM. 4. 3. Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may spend it on your lusts. 1 TIM. 2. 8. I will therefore, that men pray every where lifting up holy bands, without wrath, without doubting. Preparatory Prayer. Breathe on me with thy holy Spirit, O God, that the Breath of mine may now please thee, and my Prayers come up as sweet-smelling odours before thee, Through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen! Or This, PRevent me O Lord in all my do with thy most gracious favour, and further me with thy continual help, that in all my works, begun, continued and ended in thee, I may glorify thy holy name, and finally by thy mercy obtain everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. The Confession. ALmighty and most merciful Father, I have erred and strayed from thy ways like a lost Sheep: I have followed too much the devices and desires of my own heart: I have offended against thy holy laws: I have left undone those things which I ought to have done, and I have done those things which I ought not to have done; and there is no health in me. But thou O Lord, have mercy upon me miserable Offendor. Spare thou me, O God, which confess my faults. Restore thou me that am penitent; According to thy promises declared unto mankind, in Christ Jesus our Lord; and grant O most merciful Father for his sake, that I may hereafter live a godly, righteous and sober life, to the glory of thy holy name. Amen. Prayer for Pardon. ALmighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who desirest not the death of a Sinner, but that he may turn from his wickedness and live; and hast promised pardon to them that truly repent, & unfeignedly believe thy holy Gospel; of thy mercy, I beseech thee, to grant me true repentance and thy holy Spirit, that those things may please thee which I do at this present, and the rest of my life hereafter may be pure and holy, so that at the last I may come to thine eternal joy, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. The Lord's Prayer. OUr Father which art in Heaven. Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, etc. The Versicles. Verse. O Lord open thou my lips! Resp. And my mouth shall show forth thy praise. Verse. O God make speed to save me. Resp. O Lord make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father, etc. Alleluiah. Praise the Lord. ¶ Read the Psalms for the Service of that day. Then the Lessons appointed for it. After say the Creed, etc. Then, the Daily Prayers. Animadversions to the devout Reader, touching these Daily Prayers. IF thou wouldst have reason, why these Prayers are so short, and in several, which use to make a long one all put together; that thy Devotion may be quicker, they are so short (a little space being run with a greater speed) and that thy Spirit may hold out fresher in severals, (as so many rests all the way it runs.) If thou be'st a Man of another Spirit, take that course of prayer, wherein thy soul speeds best. This is propounded, not prescribed to every Devotion, and intended for help, not the hindrance of any, Morning Prayers. 1. Collect for Grace. O God I can ask no greater gift than thy Glory; and therefore beg no better gift than thy Grace; yea, even this consummate, is nothing else but 1 Cor. 13. 10. that, nor can I come at it but by the way of grace. I do therefore, for Jesus Christ his sake beseech thee, bestow on me that blessed gift, Grace, to do thee service on earth, that thou may'st give me thy salvation in heaven, through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 2. Collect, for Peace. MY poor Soul is an humble Suitor for peace, O God the Col. 1. 20. blood of Jesus, is my plea; thy Spirit, my Advocate: I deserve by my sins eternal enmity; but for thy dear 2 Cor. 5. 19 Son's sake have favour for me, by whom the world is attoned: O let me be reconciled to thee. I know not how Rom. 8. 26. to pray this as I ought, but thy Spirit can make effectual Intercession for me. Lord! let thy Spirit move, and thy Son make my peace. Subdue my lusts, conquer Satan for me, that my conscience may have peace with thee, and I in it: By thy grace, through the mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 3. Collect, for Health. O Lord! when I am sick; let me think I may die; when I am in health, that I may be sick; that I may not misspend the stock of my life, but do thee honour with my health; and thou mayest give me comfort for it, in my sickness. Even this, that sin hath not bound me to my bed, but thy providence hast cast me down, which can and will lift me up, or to health in this world, or to happiness in a better: such an enjoyment of health, give me I beseech thee for Jesus Christ his sake. Amen. 4. Collect, for Safety. O Lord! so many days as I live, so Act. 10. 28. many lives I own thee; thou renewest my lease every day; a poor Tenant at thy will I am, and a frail Isa. 28. 5. cottage of clay, by thy power, I keep. Job 4. 19 Deut. 10. 12. Lord! that hast hitherto spared me, still preserve me; and let me pay (as I can) what I own, of service, the only rent thou requirest for tenement and appurtenances, (life, health, wealth, and all the good things I have of thee, for which thou both grantest term of life, and givest eternity.) This, to that, continue I beseech thee, for his sake, who was surety, and is sole Purchaser for me, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 5. Collect, for Friends. FOr all my Kindred and Friends, Lord receive my prayers! Do thou good unto them all, O God To those that err, show thy truth; and those that see it, keep from error; to those that do amiss, give grace to do better; and those that do well, continue in so doing: to those that are afflicted, give comfort and deliverance; to those that prosper, humility and temperance: bless the sick with health, and the healthy from sickness; supply those in want, and let those that want not give supply: to all grant thy grace, O God and show thy mercy: let love bind us one to another, and Religion knit us all to thee; that all who are of natural kindred may meet in heavenly consanguinity: Even so Esth. 2. 31. Job 1. 13. Lord! let the blood of Jesus run through all our veins, and the Spirit of Jesus go along with the blood, that the glory of Jesus may be the end of us all. And how ever we suffer, and scatter on earth, we may live and joy together in the bliss of Heaven. By the Union of that holy Spirit, and communion of that blessed blood. Amen, Amen. 6. Collect, for the Kingdom. O Lord! we were the mirror of the world for mercy; we are, for misery! a people woefully torn, divided, distressed, distracted; a multitude of headless, heartless, disordered men, ready to be destroyed. O thou great Physician that canst as easily cure Jer. 4. 22. a Kingdom as a Man, heal our Land for thy tender pity's sake! Lord, have mercy on us, and heal us! In the blood of Jesus, purge our sins, the cause of all our maladies: whether ours or of the Ages before us, from their guilt and curse of them all, good Lord deliver us. Deliver us from blood, O God; from all the innocent and precious blood, which lies upon us! From our sins of peace, which brought the war; and the sins of war, which brought and left us in that guilt of blood. O Jesus! that hadst mercy even for those that shed thine, and Act. 2. 27. madest the matter of their sin, the means of their salvation; let the virtue of thy blood expiate the guilt of all shed amongst us, and the voice of Heb. 12. 24 it outcry all the clamours which it makes in Heaven against us! And by the grace of thy Spirit make our hearts bleed for our sins, that it may cry so for us. With our sins, remove our woes. Piece our rents, and close our wounds with thy heavenly hands, O God of peace, that we perish not under them! let us not make ourselves a prey to foreign force; nor fall by an intestine fury. Meet Body and Head in common safety; mean while look upon our languish, and keep life in the Body. Lord! who delightest not in the death of one Sinner, pity millions of poor sinful, miserable souls, at the very point to perish: pity us, good Lord! and preserve us for thy great mercy's sake, in Christ Jesus. Amen, Amen. 7. Collect, for the Church. 1 Cor. 11. 2. FOr thy dear Spouse, and my best Mother, I thy poor Child and Hers, on bended knees, hold up my hands, and humbly pray, all thy Goodness, O God Truth, Love, and Peace be with her: For error, truth; for schism, love; for persecution, peace: Behold O Lord, not what She is, but was! and not what She was for sin, but thy Service! And Hear, Lord, not the cries of her sins, but groans of her miseries. And make her to be as Good as She was; yea Lord! make her be as Good, as She should be: Beautiful in Herself, Unblemished in her Children; Shining in truth, Comely in order, Holy in life, Repaired in her ruins; Restored in her Rights, Relieved in her injuries. To Thy glory, Her honour, and the happiness of us all, through the Grace and Worthiness of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 8. Collect, for the Catholic Church. O God of peace, send Unity amongst all that profess thy Name! As they have but one Head, Ephes. 4. 1, 4, etc. let them be but one Body; as they are but one Body, let them have but one Spirit; the Spirit of truth and holiness, in doctrine and life, be in all: Cease schisms and wars in the Christian world. Let not them spill one another's blood for whom thy Son shed His. Let there not be many Hearts under one Head, nor more Heads with it, lest they make a Massacre in thy Body, or a Monster of it. O let thy Sceptre have obedience, and thine Orders Observance every where! Suffer none by delusion or depravation of mind, or ambition of Spirit, to pull down thy Throne, whilst they pretend for thy Sceptre, and let confusion and tyranny into the Church whilst they profess to bring in liberty and order, and pull down thy House, to set up thy Glory. From Violence, avarice, sacrilege, schism, heresy, Anarchy, tyranny; King of the Church keep us: Do Thou govern us, and let us obey thee; do Thou save us, and let us serve thee; Even all Christian souls, save through, out the world, Dear Jesus. Amen. Concluding Prayer. IT is thy promise to grant whatsoever I ask in thy Son's name; Lord, thou wilt not perform less, because I Breviarium totius Evangelii. Tert. ask so in his Words: In His blessed Breviary therefore, I Sum and offer up all, and say, Our Father which art in Heaven, etc. The Blessing. God the Father bless me, God the Son defend me, God the holy Ghost preserve me, and all mine, and His, now, and evermore. Amen. So ends Morning Prayer. A Charitable Prayer for these Miserable Times. O Lord, that dost not willingly afflict the Children of Men; Behold from thy Holy Habitation of Heaven, the Multitudes of miserable Souls, & Lives amongst us, and have mercy upon us. Have mercy on all Ignorant Souls, & instruct them! On all Deluded Minds, and Enlighten them! On all seducing, and seduced Spirits, and Convert them. Have mercy on all broken Hearts, and Heal them, all struggling with Temptation, and Rescue them! All Languishing in Spiritual Desertion, and Revive them. Have mercy on all that stagger in Faith, and establish them! That are fall'n from Thee, and Raise them! That stand with Thee, and Confirm them! Have mercy on all that groan under their Sins, and Ease them! that bless themselves, and go on in their wickedness, and curb, and stop them! Jesus! that didst shed thy Blood for all Souls to save them, shed thy Holy Spirit on all, and heal them! And Lord, have mercy on all miserable Bodies! Those that are ready to Famish for want, Feed them! Those that are Bound to Beds of pain, Lose them! Those that are in Prison, and Bonds, Release them! Those that are under the fury of Persecution, and cry under the yoke of Oppression, Relieve them! Those that lie smarting in their Pains and Wounds, Cure them! Th●se that are Distracted in their Thoughts and Wits, Settle them! Those that are in Perils of their Lives, Preserve them! Jesus! that didst freely Distribute thy Comforts, and Cures, to all Miseries and Maladies of Men, when thou wast on Earth! Have mercy on all, and Help them. Far or near, with us, or from us, Lord have mercy on all. Even every Son and Daughter of Adam at this time in pain and anguish upon the face of the Earth; where ever they are, whosoever they be, what help I would pray for myself from thee, or Comfort from Man, in their condition; I beseech thee, the God of all Help, and Comfort, to give it to them. Take them to thy Care, and Tender them: Supply them, and Secure them; have Compassion on them, and Heal them. Jesus that didst give thy Blood for them, deny not thy bowels to them. Thou that didst Redeem them all, preserve them. Even all Miserable Souls and Bodies, I beseech thee, for thine Infinite mercy's sake. Amen. A Prayer against the Temptations of the Time. O God, Who wilt not suffer us to be tempted above what we are 1 Cor. 10. 13. able to bear! Secure me, that the Temptations of the Time do not overwhelm me! Discover to me the ways of thy Providence so far, that I may see, why I should neither deny it, or doubt it. And make me know Thy Judgements Job. 11. 6. Rom. 11. 33. Job. 40. 4. & 41. 3. Jer. 12. 1. to be so unsearchable, and thy ways past finding out, that I may humbly submit my wit to thy Wisdom and admire and adore the Justice which I do not see. Let me not be of so narrow a mind, as to confine thy Work to one World, which thou dost not finish but in Two. Nor let me be such a Creature of Sense, as to believe thou hast no other reward, or punishment then what I see, and feel. O let my Eyes look to the end of all, (Heaven or Hell) and let me envy no ill man's happiness, who shall end in Hell; Nor bewail any good man's wretchedness, who shall have Heaven for his end. And let me understand, that Prosperity of Psal. 92. 7. Sinners is a heavy Plague, because their Prov. 1. 32 spur to Hell, (the greatest punishment:) and Adversity of Saints a happy Mercy, Psal. 94. 12 because thy Rod to beat them into Heaven, (the Best Reward.) Mean while, let me not give a Breast Psal. 4. 8. full of thy Peace, for an Armful of that wealth which breeds nests of Vipers and Adders in their Hearts, and continual Job. 20. 14. 16. stings in their Bosoms; let me prefer the sufferings of Innocence before the Spoils and Triumphs of Violence. O God, since a guilty Conscience is the greatest punishment on Earth, (because next to Hell;) And Accusing and Condemning thy Providence, and forsaking Mal. 2. 17. & 3. 13, 14, 15. my Innocence the greatest Gild! To that Extremity, let no Temptation ever lead me! Jesus Keep me from it by thy Grace, and Mercy. Amen. Evening Prayers. 1. Collect, for Grace. THou that hast promised Thy Holy Spirit to those that ask, Luk. 11. 13. it, give me Thy Grace O God with courage and constancy so to fight, and subdue my flesh, and ghostly enemy; that I may pass my Pilgrimage in thy fear, and at last receive my Triumphs in thy Glory, Apoc. 3. 21 through the Merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 2. Collect, for Peace. O God of peace, who art Incomprehensible, give me thy peace, Phil. 4. 7. which passeth all understanding: Let me so live according to thy Rule, that Gal. 6. 16. I may have peace with my Conscience. Let me be so ruled by thy Will and Word, that my Conscience may have peace with Thee. Lord! make an everlasting Jer. 6. 16. peace with me: and let me never do what will break that league with Thee. Dear Jesus, treat it for me in thy Blood, and maintain it in me by thy Spirit. Amen, Amen. 3. Collect, for Health. IT is the wonder of thy providence O Lord, that a body subject to thousands of Frailties and casualties every day, should enjoy health or life an hour; yet through thy mercy I have both, at this instant. Lord continue to me what I have; and let me so improve it to thy honour, that thou mayst continue it; and for Christ his sake, do not for any wickedness, smite me with sickness. Amen, Amen. 4. Collect, for Safety. FOrgive O Lord, the forfeitures I Psal. 19 11. have made of thy protection, by the wander of my life. And though I have not been (as I should) a dutiful Child: yet be Thou, O Lord, (as thou ever art) a merciful Isa. 63. 16. Father. Forget not thy fatherly goodness to me, who pray thy pardon for offending Thee, thy Grace to serve Thee, and thy Providence to preserve me, this night, and evermore, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 5. Collect, for Friends. O Lord, it is joyful for Friends to Psal. 3. 3. 1. Heb. 12. 22, 23. love, & live together on earth, but the joy of joys, all, to live with thee in Heaven. I beseech thee, let this happiness be the portion of all, whom thou hast made more nearly, and dearly mine. Let us so live in thy service, that we may die with thy Salvation: Mean while, what wants of earthly good to any, give us: what is amiss, and offensive to thy Heavenly Majesty in any, forgive us: what is requisite to make us so to serve thee now, as thou mayest save us then; in thy bounty bestow upon us, Truth and Grace aright to see, and seek thy face, in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 6. Collect, for the Kingdom. O Lord, we lie all in broil and blood, Pity us! Our distraction threaten desolation to us; Preserve us! Our sins cry loud for thy vengeance upon us; Pardon us! Thy mercies have been great to this Nation, Lord remember them! Thy deliverances of us have been many, Lord renew them! That iniquity be not our ruin, let us repent, & ruin it! The guilt & blood Ezek. 18. 13. upon us, forgive; our Breaches, repair. The order which may bring peace, establish! The Government thou hast established, maintain! what is just and right in thine eyes set up! what thou seest evil, cast down! what makes the Nation miserable, remove; what may make it happy, restore; Lord! for thy mercy's sake, say we have been miserable enough, and make us more happy! Let the light of thy countenance shine again upon us, and grant us peace; the Power, and Authority which may procure it, preserve; and those to whom thou hast given that power, bless them to us, and us in them, and all in thee; for Jesus Christ his sake. Amen. 7. Collect, for the Church Catholic. BEhold O God, and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; I a Christian, and child of his true Catholic Church, pray thy mercies on my Good and Great Mother, and all my Brethren, and her Children in thee, and thy Son. For Errors amongst them, send them Truth! For Schism, Unity! For Superstition, warrantable worship! For Confusion, Order! For Profaneness, Piety! For Variance, Concord! For War, Peace! that all may, as one Body, with one mind, and heart, and mouth, and knee, believe, love, confess, adore; and so serve thee, and him, whom thou hast sent, Jesus Christ, (the Great Lord, and common Saviour of us all) as thou mayest save us all in the world to come! O thou Head of the Church, save thy Body! By thy Blood, cleanse it! By thy Spirit, sanctify it! By thy Power, preserve it; and every Limb of it dear Jesus! Amen. 8. Collect, for the Church. O Christ, Head of thy Body, the Ephes. 1. 22 Church! Let not this poor Member of it amongst us, perish: What it is thou seest; Lord! with pity behold us! What it was, thou knowest; O Lord, in mercy restore us. Thy Primitive Order in Christian Truth and Worship for the saving of Souls cast down, set up! The present Confusions, Distractions, Innovations, Errors, which are got up, cast down! Set up thy Glory, O Lord, amongst us: and what is set apart to support it, do thou maintain, and continue to us, and our Posterities after us, for Jesus Christ his sake. Amen, Amen. Concluding Prayer. BEhold Lord, I have prayed, thy Grace and Peace, with Health, and Protection, for my Friends, the Kingdom, and this, and thy Church! Grant good God, all the requests I have prayed of thee; or what more, I should have prayed from thee: or, what any else, have prayed with me: In whose name I have presented; with whose words I desire to perfume, perfect my Prayers: Beseeching, thee that his Spirit may breathe in those words, in which I know I pray both what, and as I ought; And therefore as devoutly, confidently, say, Our Father which art in Heaven, etc. The Blessing. THe God of Mercy and Peace, be with me (Body and Soul) and bless me, and all mine; and those that need his Mercy, this night, and evermore. Amen. So ends the Evening Prayer. Particular Prayers. Prayer of a Husband for a Wife. O Lord! Thou hast made the 1 Pet. 3. 2. Wife the weaker Vessel, yet a necessary one: Man the nobler Gen. 2. 18. 1 Cor. 11. 3, 9 Prov. 12. 4. 1 Pet. 3. 7. of the two, yet the Woman next the Man. He is her Head, but she is his Crown! let me then tender her as weaker, and honour her as a Vessel of worth. So weak let me never be, as to give her my Power: nor so wicked, as to make her the Mistress of my Conscience. So tyrannous 1 Kings 21. 9 Col. 2. 19 Gen. 21. 12. let me never be, as to make her my Slave: nor so imperious, as not to allow her of my Counsel. Let me value her well, but myself better; and love her much, but thee more! If she Mat. 19 21. play Eve, let not me be Adam, (take the forbidden fruit from her hand) lest I give her ruin for respect: let me not make her my Foot, nor let her be my Head: Thine Authority in me, let me maintain with love, and (she under me) with zeal; that the yoke 1 Cor. 6. 14. which lies on both, may be carried with more comfort, & drawn on with more bliss, to me, and her, & all that is ours. As thou lovest thy Spouse, Lord Ephes. 29. 22. let me love mine! And as thy Church doth, love, reverence, and obey thee; let her love, honour and observe me; in thee, and for thee, Dear Jesus! Amen. Prayer of a Wife, for her Husband. FOr him I pray, to thee O God, Gen. 2. 23, 24. whom thou by thy providence and Ordinance, hast made most mine, of all mankind (my Husband and Head) That, I may pay him the Duty, which (by thy command) I own him with such conscience as thou mayst acquit me: and he behold me not as his Cross, but his Crown. That he may Ephes. 5. 22, 25. return me that love and respect which by thy Law is due from him to me, that I may embrace him as my Refuge (not my storm.) Lord let me study, by all 1 Pet. 3. 1. love and lowliness, to make him mine; and let him seek in all wisdom and kindness to make me his: And let both unite Prayers and endeavours to make ourselves, and all ours, thine. That being espoused to thee on Earth, we may at last be Married with thee in Heaven, and dwell together in those mansions of bliss; where is neither sin, nor sorrow, nor care, nor discontent, nor any distress: but a dower of Immortality and Joy, and Glory for Body and Soul: with felicity, to all eternity, even for ever, and ever: So be it dear Jesus! Amen, Amen. Prayer of a Parent, for Children. O Lord! who by thy favour, hast given me Issue; and in thy name, Gen. 27. 4. 29. 1. power to bless my Children: Set thy seal, I beseech thee, to my Blessing! Bless them with grace to be thy Children, & me with grace by good example and education, to keep them thine. Bless them with health, and long, and good life, (if thy blessed will) and me with providence, and due care, by all right ways to advance their good! let me not allow my Children to be thy rebels, and abhor to make them so! Let me not so distract my soul with care for them, or load my Conscience with guilt, as to convey thy Curse on me and them! Let my care be Fatherly for their Lives, and Christian for their Souls. Believing, all Psal. 127. care to be vain without thy blessing, and Carking the way unto thy curse! All blessings of this world so far good, as they serve, and help on to a better, and unreasonable coveting of them, a bar to that bliss. O Lord! my Children are more thine than mine: (Thou art Father of their Spirits, I Heb. 12. 9 but of their Flesh) Let me therefore trust thee for them as their best Father, and myself with them (as thy good Child) taking care to do our duty to 1 Pet. 5. 7. thee, and casting all farther care upon thee: So be it dear Father, for thy dear Sons sake Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Prayer of a Child for Parents. O Lord, who hast made my Parents as Gods in thy stead, (under thee) the Makers and Preservers of my life; let me look at thy power and goodness in them, and (as thee) love, serve, and obey them; that I may give, die Ephes. 6. 1. to their life, and length to their days! And Lord, who hast given them power to convey blessing on me, give me leave from thee (the Father of all) to pray blessing on them! And (to my power) to be ever dutiful, and helpful to them. That so I may be (as the Child of their love, so the Heir of their blessing, (the blessing thou hast promised to loving and obedient Children (theirs and thine) give it me good Lord; for Jesus Christ his sake. Amen. Prayer for a Family. THat I have a Family to govern, it is thy mercy O God; but rule it aright, I shall not without thy grace. That grace Lord give me! Wisdom to know what I am to do; and ability to do according to my knowledge, by my instruction to lead it in thy fear, Gen. 19 Deut. 6. 4. by my example to draw it, by my Admonition to drive it on: By my Providence to do it right, by my Protection to keep it from wrong: As careful to give to all their deuce, as to receive their duty: Let me remember, Ephes. 6. 7. 9 Job. 31. 13. 14. Col. 4. 1. that (as myself) my Servants are thine, fashioned by thy hands, and bought alike by thy Blood, that I may not despise them, lest I despise thee: Let me consider, that my Children (as mine) are thine; made after thine Image, and born again of thy Spirit; that I may not neglect them, lest I neglect thee. And let them remember and consider, that I stand in thy stead, that (as thyself) they may serve and obey me, and thine Authority in me: And let me, and them both be mindful, that I am thy Deputy. I, that I must account for my Charge; and they, that they must come to a reckoning for their carriage; both to thee, the Sovereign Judge, and Lord of all. That so I may so rule, and they obey, as all may be done in thee, and for thee; and all may reign at last in thee, through the merits of him, of whom the whole Family in Heaven and Earth is named, the great & gracious Master of us all Jesus Christ our lord Ephes. 3. 13 Amen. A Prayer for Issue. O Lord, who hast ordained Marriage, the means to propagate Mankind, and makest it fruitful to that purpose, by thy providence, at thy pleasure: I beseech thee, as that is my state, let this be my bliss. Give me the blessings of the Womb, a healthy and holy seed; which may be Heirs of thy blessings on earth after us, and at last inheritance of thy eternal blessedness in heaven with us: even for the sake of thy only begotten Son my dear and only Saviour, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 1. Prayer, for a Woman with Child. LOrd! who hast blessed me with a hopeful Conception, crown thy mercy in me with a happy Deliverance: From all frights and harms which may cause miscarriage to me, let thy providence shield me: From all errors and ills which may draw thy displeasure upon me, let thy grace preserve me: And for all my faults and failings past, let thy mercy pardon me: And Lord! let not the Child for the Parent's sake be any way unhappy: The blessing of shape, and perfectness of Body and mind be upon it I beseech thee: so shall the Church have a Child, and thou a Servant; my Family a pillar, and thy kingdom an heir: mine shall be the comfort, but thine shall be the gain. O thou that thyself wast once enclosed in a Mother's womb, conceived, bred, and born; show this mercy to me: do it for me dear jesus thou holy Son of God. Amen, Amen. Prayer against Miscarriage. LOrd keep me from all harms and frights this day, * At Evening, say, this Night. and that my Womb by no ill accident may miscarry within me, let not my heart by any ill act miscarry before thee: Body and Soul, let thy mercy & grace preserve me, now and ever dear jesus. Amen, Amen. Prayer for a Woman in Travail. Lo! this is the fruit of the forbidden Tree: our first Mother brought forth sin, and we bring forth in pain for it: justly O Lord! for I am the Daughter of my Mother: as I sinned in her loins, so since I came into the world I have justified often what she did once. I have sinned, O Lord! I have sinned! O how often have I coveted, what thou hast forbidden! done ill in thy eyes, to do what was pleasing to my own: and been both tempted and Tempter unto evil. By inheritance therefore and purchase wrath is my due, misery my portion, and this pain my proper lot: and thy great mercy it is in Christ my Saviour that the pangs of everlasting death, are not my! but O thou Judge of the world, remember that thou art the Preserver of men, preserve me in it, support me under it; make haste, make haste good Lord to deliver me from it, and comfort me after it. O remember not what the first Adam hath done, but the second suffered! and by his immaculate Conception, and holy Birth and Life; by the bitter passion, and pangs, and death of the holy Child Jesus; deliver me dear Father, in this my extremity. Let the pains of my Travail end in the joys of a blessed Birth, that may (to the comfort of my soul) live and be made an Heir of thy kingdom. Amen, Amen. Prayer, after Deliverance of Child. LOrd! that hast looked down on thy poor hand maid in her great distress, I look up unto thee and bless thy Name for my happy deliverance, that thou hast made me the joyful Mother of a hopeful Child, without visible infirmity or deformity, which might take from my joy! Go on good God in mercy to me and it. Support me on my bed of weakness, and in thy due time raise me from it with strength. Let my Child live till thou by holy Baptism hast made it thy Heir, and in that holy and happy state of soul preserve it to thy kingdom: and let it be my continual care by all good means to preserve it. And good Lord! from the pangs of eternal death and pains of Hell keep me and it for ever. And whatsoever burden of woe I shall travail under on earth, let me not despair of merciful deliverance, whom thou hast so graciously eased of my late pain and burden. Thy power & mercy is the same for ever, O Lord let it be showed to thy Servant in all her extremity, according as her hope and trust is in thee, by the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Prayer after Christening the Child. WHat an honour hast thou done unto thy Servant, O Lord▪ thou hast given me a natural birth, and my Child a new one: what came polluted into the world, is washed clean in thy laver; for the rags of Adam, thou hast put on it thy Son's robes. My Child is made thy heir, and what was borne by me to a Cross, thou hast begotten again to a Crown of glory. O Lord! let it be my care to keep my Child thine; thy Son's righteousness on him, and Spirit in him: and my ambition so to be thy Child, that I may with it, be Inheritor of thy Crown. By the merits of him, who is the firstborn of his Brethren, thy Son, and Heir of all things, jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. A Prayer and Thanksgiving for our Birthday. I Thank thee O Lord for my Birth this day, but especially for my new-birth: By that I was made a Man, by this a Christian; from that I have a natural life, from this a spiritual: that was to live on earth, this in heaven, (nor was that to live for ever, but a time on earth.) Lord! let me not frustrate the end of my Birth, nor apostate from the bliss of my Baptism. The state of grace in which this set me, let me ever maintain: And if by sin I ever fall from it, let me by a true and timely repentance rise again and recover it; that when I shall go from earth, I may come to heaven; and when leave to live with men, live with thee and thy Angels for ever, for which end I am created, redeemed, and preserved in this world. Lord that gavest my life this day to begin; let it so end, for his sake, whose birth, life, and death, makes all ours blessed, who is the beginning and end, jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Prayer for New-years-day. GOd of my life, who hast given me this day to see a Newyeare begin, let me live to see it at a happy end: and thou who hast a New-heart in thy gift, O give that to me, that according to all the good purposes of my soul I may walk in good conscience before thee, and have thy peace within me, and thy blessing all the year upon me, even for his sake who was content to be borne at this time, and this day to be circumcised, and shed his just blood for me, jesus Christ thy Son my dear Saviour and Lord. Amen. Prayer for a Widow. O Lord, that hast taken my Head from me, be thou Husband to me; thou that boughtest my Soul by thy blood, to be thy Spouse, do not lose me, do not leave me: guide and govern in me in all my ways, in all my wants and straits supply me: thou that art better than Friend, than Father, than Husband, than all; be unto thy poor Child and Spouse who desires to love thee, O be thou unto me all, yea more than all unto me: and that I may ever have thy love and care, have thou mine ever I beseech thee, and let neither world woo, nor Devil tempt, nor flesh yield it from thee: let no lust defile my heart (thy bed) nor sin blemish my body (thy members:) let both be (as thine) undefiled before thee. Where I have failed in either for time past, Lord forgive me! that for time to come I may keep more truly thine, Lord strengthen me! Behold the desires of my soul are after thee, dear Jesus accept me! let me live espoused by thy grace, and at last be married to thy glory: to that blessed day dear Saviour bring me, and for it fit me and ever keep me dear Lord Jesus. Amen, Amen. A Prayer for Fatherlesse-childrens. THou that art the Widow's judge and Orphan's Father, I commend to thy fatherly care myself, and the Children thou hast given me: Lord keep us from the evil of this world, and bring us to the bliss of a better, I beseech thee. Holy Father! take my Children to thy care, and teach them thy fear: be thou Tutor to their souls, and Protector of their lives, that by thy grace and mercy they may miscarry in neither: let me serve thee in them, and nurse them up in both for thee. Assist me with wisdom, and grace, and power to do it, and give them grace in all duty and good obedience to suffer it: let not my affections be too fiery or fond, let me not neglect them, nor distrust thee; the love and care which is just let me give them, and so expect thy blessing upon them. And good Lord, give it to them! let the Father's blessing be on them who is dead; let a poor Mother's blessing be on them who lives, let the blessing of their Friends be on them even all that pray it for them; but above all, let thy Blessing, which is above all, be upon them all, I beseech thee: Father of mercies, Helper of the Fatherless, bless them: Son of God that hadst little ones in thy arms on earth, lay thy hands on them and bless them: Holy Spirit, that didst appear in the shape of a Dove, behold their innocency, and bless them. Holy Father, Son, and Spirit, bless them with thy grace, and bring them to thy glory; and me with them, I beseech thee; even for thy mercy's sake, for thy merits sake, for thy goodness sake, thou dear Maker, Redeemer, and Sanctifier of us all now and ever: say Amen to the humble prayers which I put up unto thee, in such words as thou hast taught me to say, Our Father, etc. Prayer against sudden Death. IF my repentance be daily, no Death can be sudden to my Soul, O Lord! to make my Soul therefore surely thine, let me be every day at a certain with repentance. And because the sums of my sins are vast, and I may forget my debt and duty, in the daily discharges of my sins, and not repent for all, or not enough; O therefore give me a fair summons to my last end, that I may die with a clear soul, and make so good an account as thou mayest acquit me of all my sins, for his sake who paid the price of all in his blood; even for the dear merits of jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Prayers for one going to Sea. 1. Prayer, for a Voyage. SEal thou my Pass, O Lord! and than I shall go safe; yea, do thou according to thy wont goodness, go with me, good God guide me, prosper me, & return me: O let not my failings follow me, but thy mercy put them from me; and thy grace in jesus Christ accept me. And now save me and mine I beseech thee, and all that by Land or Sea are in any extremity; for his sake who is the Saviour of us all, jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 2. Prayer, Gratulatory, after a Voyage. SAlvation is thine, O Lord! thine therefore be the glory; that the floods have not swallowed me up, and the Deep shut her mouth upon me! And now Lord! who in thy great mercy and goodness hast been my Saviour at Sea, be my Guide at Land: lead me, and shield me, and bless me, that as I desire, I may do; and in thy due time return to live and serve thee in the place and way thou hast appointed for me on earth, till I come to the place prepared in heaven for all that love thee, through the merits of jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 3. Prayer, at return to Sea. I Do again cast myself into thy arms; dear Father embrace me for thy mercy's sake, hold my life in thy hand till thou hast brought me to the Haven where I would be; and thence conduct me to the home where I should be: there let me preserve the memory of thy mercies, that thou mayest continue the possessions of thy goodness to me and mine, till thou shalt please to translate us from our earthly Tabernacles, to thy everlasting Habitations, through the merits of jesus Christ the blessed Purchaser of both; for which ever fit us, and prepare us by thy grace, O God Amen, Amen. A Prayer, after return home from Sea. O God, that hast been with me in my going out, and coming in; my Pilot by Sea, & Conduct by Land; receive therefore the humble praises of my grateful soul, most sensible of thy goodness: And still, O Lord! bless me and mine; and let thy holy Spirit so steer our course in the Sea of this sublunary world, that we may escape those lusts which drown souls in perdition; and by the blessed guidance and assistance of thy grace, arrive at last at the Land of everlasting life, to live, and dwell, and love, and laud, adore, joy in thee, and enjoy thee for ever, by the merits of jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Thanksgiving for deliverance from a Storm. O Lord! thou hast made me to see the great dreads and dangers of the Deep; and I am alive at this day by thy gracious deliverance: O let this mercy be ever in my memory! and let me never forget the service which I vowed, and own unto thee for that mercy. Make me so mindful of that Passe-over of the floods, that I may better pass the time of my Pilgrimage in thy fear, till at last I come to have a happy Passe-over to thy glory, even for his sake who is passed to heaven before me and for me, jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 2. Thanksgiving for deliverance from a Storm. With a holy Meditation against perils. O Lord! thy providence is above all perils, thy power above all storms, thy mercy above all sins! I have seen, I have seen at once thy Greatness and Goodness, O God thou wast my Anchor, and I am saved; thou wast my Pilot, and I am preserved: when no hope but to perish for wants, than I had it; and am helped from heaven: praised for ever be thou the God of my help. Praised for ever & every way be the God of my salvation; yea whilst I live will I praise thee in this manner. For thy mercy, O Lord! thine infinite mercy it is, that I am preserved and live! Lord, let those dangers never departed from my mind, that thy deliverance may never go out of my heart, but that I may ever be mindful and careful of thee, and thy service for it, all the days of my life. O let me keep with joy the memory of those waves which came over, but went off my head, as the great of my life. And let thy tempest be made a Temple to me, to call me to pray unto thee and praise thee, the God of my life; to teach me to fear, obey, and trust & serve thee better every where, whilst thou shalt continue to me those days. 1. Even thy Creatures, how terrible are they, O Lord! all hearts are afraid of thy tempests, and melt at thy storms: O let me in this glass of their terror see the dreadful face of thy angried Majesty! at which the depths themselves do tremble, and the foundations of the world are discovered, even as the blast of the breath of thy nostrils, O Lord! And let me never presume to exalt myself against thee, but ever tremble before thy face. 2. At thy word the storms did cease their rage and lie still, O God if any tempest shall arise in my passions through my frailty, let it cease at thy command: let not the Seas obey thee, and my Soul rebel against thee! 3. Thou hast presented the horror of a tempest to my eyes and ears, O Lord keep me that I never feel a tempest in my Conscience! let the raging Sea never run in my Soul to raise up storms in me, more dreadful than death: And that I may never be drowned in the depths of despair, Lord keep me from the overflowing of wickedness. Let not presumptuous sins have any dominion over me; let the conversation of the wicked never cleave unto me. 4. Thou hast in this great extremity of danger manifested to my Soul thy ready and mighty help for deliverance: even when the waves were about to overwhelm me, then, even then, O blessed God, did thy goodness save me! O let this experience of thy merciful power and aid, make me to trust and stay my Soul upon thee in all distresses and dangers whatsoever shall hereafter befall me! 5. O let not any temptations of the vanities of the Land drown in me the memory of thy mercies at Sea! but against all tempt to offend thee, let this tempest thus arm me: Had I been in that hour tempted to sin, O God, would I, durst I then have offended thee? And now that I am by thy mercy delivered, shall I yield upon any temptation to sin against thee? and break my great obligation and vow to serve thee? 6. O let those waters which did fright, but not drown me in the deep, be apprehended as a new Baptism, in which thy hand was pleased at once to sprinkle, and teach me, that my cheeks are to be wet daily with the brinish tears of repentance for my sins, and the fresh springs of joy are to flow from my eyes for the goodness of thy deliverance. Thy waters came over me, but confusion did not cover me: my face felt the danger, but thou hast saved my head, O Lord my God O Lord I beseech thee, do thou thus sanctify these great passages of thy providence to me; that whilst I live, thou mayest have from me a better service; and when I die I may receive from thee a better salvation, even for jesus Christ's sake my dear and only Saviour. Amen. Prayer before, or in a Journey. O Lord, who hast set thy Angels to keep us in all our Psal. 91. 11, Psal. 94. 5. ways; charge that Convoy with me, in whose heart they are: forgive me that I have gone astray from thee, and give me grace to go no more astray; and be not extreme to mark all errors and wander Ps. 130. 3. from thee (who then, O Lord, shall be preserved on earth, or saved in heaven?) let thy holy Spirit guide me this day and ever in the ways which please thee; and thy blessed protection be over me, and all with me, for his sake who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, even for Jesus Christ his sake. Amen. Prayer (Gratulatory) after a Journey. LOrd, thou hast been with me in my Journey; and (as I prayed) I have passed the perils of the way, by the conduct of thy providence; and where I would be, I am by the favour of thy conduct: blessed be thy holy name, O Lord, for all thy goodness! How many have miscarried, and do daily many ways? and even so might I have done, had it not been for thy favour; Blessed be thy name for it; yea, for all the preservations of my life, and the mercy to which I own those preservations; Blessed for ever be thy holy name. And still, O Lord! so magnify thy mercy in my protection on earth, that thou mayest ever be blessed of me, till I am blessed with thee in Heaven; through the merits of him, who by his blood bought that blessedness for us, and in our flesh sits at the right hand to save us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Prayers for a Soldier in a just War. 1. Morning Prayer, for one in War. O LORD! in days of blood Read Psal. 140. there be many hours of Death, (what minute may not be that hour?) O let me then think of mine! think of it, and prepare for it! Thy grace give me so to do this day, and thy mercy for what hath been misdone before it; that when my life shall end on earth, it may begin where it shall never have an end: Mean while, let me live to do thee more honour, (if it may stand with thy pleasure) and see a happy peace to be the purchase of this war, that I may so live, to my Prince, Nation, Church, Religion, me, mine, every way happy. And do thou therefore guide my Soul this day, and guard my life from all evil and danger, for Jesus Christ his sake, in whose words I pray it, saying, Our Father, etc. 2. Evening Prayer, for one in War. LOrd! who hast been my shield this Read Psal. 91. day, be my watch this night; that I may be safe from the swords and hands of all Enemies, and by the guard of thy goodness preserved to bless and serve thee the next day; for, and in thy mercy, through the merits of Jesus Christ, in whose words I pray it, saying, Our Father, etc. 3. Prayer, before battle. O Thou shield of those that put Read Psal. 143. 21, & 23. their trust in thee! be his shield, whose hope is only in thee, and in thy mercy only: Mercy Lord grant me for all my sins past, and pardon me! Mercy grant me in my present perils, and preserve me! Mercy grant me good God in my attempts this day, and prosper me. O blessed Captain of my salvation, dear Jesus, who didst shed thy blood for me, shield me now that am to fight for thee, and all engaged with me: Have mercy on us all, dear Jesus, and give us victory. Amen, Amen. Our Father, etc. 4. Thanksgiving after Fight. LOrd! that hast been the shield of Ps. 28. 30. 124. 128. After Victory, 26. 98. thy Servant, I give thee the glory of thy goodness: And still Lord, in all dangers be my shield, that I may give thee yet more glory; for that thou hast given me to see many fall, and myself stand: that thou hast showed me this day many wounded, and kept me safe: Glory be to thee O Lord, for thy mercy for ever, by Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Our Father, etc. 5. Prayer for one wounded in War. O Lord! thou woundest and healest, 1 Sam. 2. 6. thou killest and thou makest alive! I do beseech thee therefore to heal him in thy mercy, who is not wounded without thy providence. Lord Jesus! thou good and great Physician of wounded bodies & souls; who never failest to cure whom thou pleasest to recover: take him to thy care who is wounded in thy cause: and even for thy tender mercy's sake I beseech thee, heal his Soul of his sins, and his Body of his wounds. O thou that thyself was wounded, and shedst thy blood for him, and us all; in this bleeding condition of his, let thy blood be his cordial; and thy wounds, his remedies. And thou Lord of life, who on earth with thy Word made the sick and wounded to recover; yea, the dead to live: say unto him from Heaven, Live and Recover, that he may serve thee more, and better on Earth. And now and ever fit and prepare him with thy grace, that when he dies, he may live and reign with thee, in Heaven: through the blessed merits and mediation, who wast wounded and slain, to heal and save us all; O Jesus Christ, our Lord, our life, and only hope, and succour and Saviour, in life and death. Amen. Prayers for the Sick. 1. A Confession and Prayer for mercy and Deliverance. O Lord! I do humbly confess to the glory of thy justice, that the sickness which I suffer, is the fruit of my sin; the Root of Mankind was poisoned with it, and I am a branch of it; yea, and am much and many ways polluted by it, and so am (like my Root) a poisoned branch. I am therefore a Child of Death, Rom. 5. 12. and Heir of the Grave (the issue of his sin) and sickness is my portion as I am his Child. But Lord! I am the seed of a second Adam, look at me not as I am in the first, but thy Christ; a graft of that Isaiah. holy stock, the root of Jesse, the branch of righteousness, the Holy One of God; for his precious merits sake, forgive me my sin, and have mercy on me in my sickness: And, O dear jesus, Joh. 5. 14. that didst take flesh and blood for me, pity me poor flesh and blood groaning before thee; comfort me, and secure me, help me and heal me, even by the merits of thy precious blood, I beseech thee. Amen, Amen. Prayer for Patience in Sickness. I Am thy Prisoner, O Lord! chained by infirmity to a bed of pain; but let me not fret, even because I am thine: Thine, whose chain I cannot break! Thine, who dost draw me to thee, by this chain! Thine, who for my sin, dost justly bind me! Thine, who knowest when it's best to lose me! Thine, who seest what lies upon me! Thine, who hearest every groan within me! Thine, who for my sins might●st bind me in everlasting chains, and sendest this sickness to save me! O Lord! since I am so many ways thine, let me submit to thy chain, and lie (as thy prisoner, so) thy Patient before thee: and let thy pity in thy good time release me, and charge not the errors of my infirmity upon me, for Jesus Christ his sake. Amen. A Thanksgiving for Recovery of Sickness. WHat shall I render unto the Psal. 116. Lord for all his benefits done to me? the snares of death compassed me, and the pains of Hell took hold upon me: I found woe and misery, than called I on the name of the Lord, and he heard me; yea, thou Lord wast he that helped me! Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: It was not Man, it was thou that healed me: All Physicians are of no value, all Medicines vain without thee: Thy Mercy, O Lord, was my Balm, and I will magnify it: Thou wast my Physician, and I will praise thee: My heart in all extremity shall therefore trust in thee: My lips shall speak of thy praise, and my life honour thee. I will not be so wretched as to offend thee with the healthiness thou hast given me; with the life anew bestowed on me. O Lord! keep that wretchedness for ever from me, thy grace therefore ever give me to have in all my ways, this mercy, and thy glory before me, even so be it I beseech thee, O Lord, for Jesus Christ his sake. Amen, Amen. Prayer against the Plague. O Lord! Pestilence is thy Arrow, and my sins have made me thy mark; nor canst thou miss me in thy justice: But spare me, Lord spare me in thy mercy! Though I deserve the stroke for myself, spare me for my Saviour's sake; let his innocency be my shield, and his blood my antidote: (O Lord, I have, I wish no other antidote or shield!) By the sovereign and all-saving merits of his I beseech thee, pardon my sin, and spare my life. Spare my soul, that it may better serve thee: spare my body that it may better serve my soul: spare my heart, that I may keep it more carefully for thee: spare my blood, that my spirits may be more active to serve thee. And as I pray Pestilence from my body, so I beseech thee keep it from my soul. Preserve me from the house, and shield me from the chair of pestilence. As from infected Bodies, so from Spirits, which breath errors and vices, pests and plagues of souls: From all mutual diseases defend me, Body and Soul; but from those fearful ones, above all, I beseech thee. And all those thou hast made near and dear unto me, dear Saviour do it for thy mercy's sake. Amen. Prayer for one infected with the Plague. I Am struck, O God, and by thy hand! I beseech thee let me bleed in thy Arms; in thy Arms of mercy, let me departed if I must die; but Lord, embrace me with thy favour, that I may live! live out this danger, and see thy deliverance; outlive my sins, and do thee more service. Mean while, mercy, Lord, for Jesus his sake; mercy to thy poor Servant: pardon to my sin, comfort to my spirit, acceptance to my repentance, strength to my faith, life to my charity, salvation to my soul; that whether I live, or die, I may be thine, O Lord! who to redeem and save me, didst both live, and die: in virtue of thy blood, that sole and sovereign antidote and sanctuary of bleeding Sinners, thy dear and precious blood, let my soul live, if my body die: but (if thy blessed will) both live, to praise thy goodness to both. Lord cast my sins behind thy back, and hold me in thy Arms. Into thy Arms of mercy I cast myself (Body & Soul) my only hope, and refuge, and rock of my salvation, is in thy blessed merits, and blood dear Jesus! take me, and keep me in thy Arms, now and ever, and especially in my last hour and agony, have mercy on me I beseech thee. Amen, Amen. Thanksgiving for one recovered of the Plague. THou hast smitten, and thou hast healed me, O my God the blow was grievous, thy help is greater: the blow was just, thy help more gracious: my sins deserved death, thy mercy hath spared my life. O Lord, with an humble, thankful soul, I do acknowledge (as ever, so now especially) from thy good hand my present life and health. And now I humbly beseech thee that my heart may smite me that I have ever rebelled against so good a Majesty; and thy grace keep me, that I never more lift up my hand against so great a goodness. O let not the pestilence go from my body, to my soul! let not Satan and corruption poison & persuade my spirit, to sit in the chair or stay in the house of pestilence: Let not others be infected with sin by me, nor me by them, lest thou be more provoked; and the plague gone, return in a greater judgement. My God, my help, my health, my hope, my life and comfort, be thy Name ever blessed that hast spared my soul and life: O let it be no more dishonoured by me! that keeping from the infection of an evil world, I may live in the bliss of a better; where is neither sin nor sickness to infect soul or body, but perfect health, strength, grace, and glory in thee and with thee to all eternity: O Jesus, my only refuge, and the horn of my salvation! So be it, Amen, Amen, Prayer for one at the Hour of Death, to be said by the Sick; or some for him, altering the Person. 1. Prayer of one at the point of Death. GOd the Father, his mercies be about me! God the Son, his merits be upon me! God the Holy Ghost, his comforts be within me! Holy Trinity, preserve, strengthen and support me; that my Death may be precious in the sight of the Lord, and my Soul live with thee to all eternity. Amen, Amen. 2. Prayer for one at the point of Death. FAther of mercies, let thy love be to him! Saviour of the world, let thy merits be on him! Comforter of departing Souls, let thy peace be in him! Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, defend a Child of thy Family: save a Lamb of thy Flock, keep a member of thy Church; O thou One and only Lord God of Heaven, command thy holy Angels to tender him, and forbidden evil ones to trouble him! Deliver his soul, discharge his sin, seal his pardon, heavenly Father, by thy Holy Spirit in the blood of Jesus. Amen, Amen. 3. Prayer for one at the point of Death. LOrd Jesus! Secure this Dying Soul, make passage for him by death, to a better life; purge his sins in thy Blood; and prepare his Soul by thy Spirit, and receive it to the glory of thy Father: Jesus, that didst so dear purchase it, make haste to receive it, from the pangs of present, and pains of everlasting death: Good Lord deliver it, deliver it for thy mercy's sake. Amen, Amen. Thanksgiving after Death, for one Departed. ¶ Say this Scripture, Psal. 116. 7, 15. Return unto thy rest, o my Soul! for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. Precious in the sight of the Lord, is the Death of the Saints. Apoc. 14. 13. Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord: even so saith the Spirit, that they rest from their labours. ¶ Then Pray thus, THou that hast sent for this Soul, out of the Prison of his Body, to come to the Palace of thy Bliss, receive our praises O Lord, for his happy deliverance, from pangs to joys, from Trials to Triumphs, from Earth to Heaven: O Lord, we beseech thee, admit our humble lauds to attend him into thy presence, and with them let our prayers enter before thee; that as he, so we in thy good time, may come and present our Hallelujas with ourselves, in thy sight. And mean time, lead a godly life, to have a blessed death. Lord, let us not forsake thee now, that thou mayest not leave us then! in that last and great hour (upon which follows an Eternity of weal, or woe) Lord have mercy on us and do not forsake us, and therefore let us have the fear of it and thee, now and ever before us; that as we believed our Brother departed, is, we may be blessed in and by our death: grant we may dear jesus. Amen, Amen. A general Thanksgiving for God's mercies. O Thou high Majesty of Heaven! how hast thou filled me with the favours of thy bounty? how great hast thou been in thy goodness and mercy? how gracious in thy providence to me? thou hast poured the blessings of heaven and earth upon my head. Thou hast loaden me with thy gifts bestowed upon me, in Creating, Redeeming, and in Preserving me. In my Creation, thou gavest me thine Image, and madest me more noble than all the Creatures of the earth. In my Redemption, thou gav'st me thy Son, and madest me more glorious than the Angels of Heaven. In my Baptism, and Regeneration, thou gavest me thy Spirit, and hast made me more happy than millions of men in the world. Thou hast given thyself to me, Lord! what couldst thou do more for me? thrice blessed, yea for ever be thy glorious Name, for thine infinite grace, mercy, and goodness to me. And in thy providence for this life, how abundantly hast thou blessed me! in [health, wealth, body, mind, etc. and] many and many mercies, vouchsafed me. In my weakness, thou hast strengthened me: in my dangers, thou hast delivered me: in my distresses, thou hast comforted me: in my prayers, thou hast heard me: in thy judgements, thou hast spared me, to this day, preserving my life, and making it many ways joyful to me. And not for any good in me, O Lord, hast thou been thus gracious towards me! My ills on earth hath been many, my ingratitudes great against thee. For them thou mightest for ever banish me from heaven, and with my sins cast me into hell, amongst those that offend thee: for thy own goodness, and great Names sake, hast thou been thus bountiful and merciful to me: O fill my heart with thy love, that my mouth may pour ou● praises to thee! Ravish my soul with thy goodness, that my heart may ever love thee: Fill my life with thy fear, that as my lips, my thoughts & deeds, may ever honour thee: let me not be so wretched, as to forget thy mercy; so wicked, as to abuse thy blessings: let all that I am, and have, serve thee, mind, body, state, health, friends, none be abused to vanity in any way of sin to reproach thee; but all made to extol my Maker's praises, and my Redeemers glory. Since I own myself by so many bonds of blessings to thee (yea thousand lives and souls, had I so many to serve thee) let me not deny the service of one poor soul & body unto thee: O blessed Maker and Redeemer, and Preserver of both! I have no more to give thee, myself therefore made of both, I present unto thee: I give thee myself on earth, O Lord accept me, and receive me to thyself in heaven! where, with thy Angels I shall give thee perfect praises, singing Hallelujahs day and night, giving everlasting lauds unto thee; my great Maker, my dear Redeemer, my holy Comforter, my good Preserver; O God, Father, Son, and holy Ghost! O blessed and adored Trinity! to thee, and to thy goodness alone; for what I am, and have, & hope of bliss, in this or a better world, be all honour, praise, thanksgiving and glory for ever and ever. Amen, Amen. A Gratulatory Commemoration of God's mercies and deliverances. REceive the sacrifice of my thankful soul, O Lord, for all thy mercies * Here think of particular▪ and merciful deliverances of me and mine, from diseases and dangers; by Land, or Water; in War, or Peace; of old, or late; for soul, or body. O! what great dangers hast thou shown me, and them, and yet hast delivered us from all our fears! they live, and I live, and all live; and why? but to praise thee the God of our salvation and life: thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, and I will worship thee; yea, whilst I live, will I magnify thee on this manner. And, O give me grace to give thee more, & better glory. Glory from my lips, and glory from my life! Glory in my mind, by a just sense and Meditation of thy mercy. And glory from my heart, in a true love and joy of thy goodness: till thou dost give me thy glory in heaven, Lord let me ever give thee this glory on earth! even so Lord for all thy benefits and blessings from any ill, or of any good, to me or any more nearly mine from the hour of my birth to this day of my life, glory be to thee now and ever by Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Thanksgiving for a preserved [Friend] or others formerly Prayed for. MY Heart is full of thy goodness O God thou hast delivered thy Servant from his dangers, and me from my fears: O, what shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits to me! O my God I give thee a thankful heart, and beseech thee to give me a thankful life! Grace so to live, that my deeds as well as words, may speak me thankful! O let me not pay thee with neglects for thy favours, lest thou return me plagues for thy mercies! let me have care to serve thee in & for thy goodness, that I may still rejoice in and for thy salvation; of him, and me, and all who are more dearly mine, even so be it for Jesus Christ his sake. Amen. Prayers for every day in the Week. SUNDAY. A Prayer against the flesh. O Lord! deliver me from myself, my sinful, sensual, and carnal self; ready to join with my foes, to ruin my soul by yielding it up to the temptations of sin. Let me watch it as my most mortal enemy, without which all the Devils in hell cannot force, nor all the powers on earth fasten a sin upon me! and yet a foe so inbred and Natural to me, as will lodge in me whilst I live, and never leave me! Make me see what cause I have to keep a strict and continual watch, and pray thy aid, when the Devil and the World without beset me, and lead on Armies of Temptations against me; and the flesh within is false and ever ready to betray me, and let them in upon me! From such Enemies and Traitors, Lord deliver me! and as I love the eternal salvation of my soul, let me not sleep in security, that have to do with such Enemies! And since the flesh is my foe, let me not cherish it, and satisfy it, and provide for it, and entertain it as a friend: but according to thy will and the necessity of my soul, let me not spare to crucify and kill it as my Enemy: which will torture me if I be not crucified, and kill me if I do not kill it. And grant me Good God, the power of thy Spirit, to do thy will in mortifying of the flesh, to the saving of my soul! Let my life be a continual fight against the corruptions of my flesh, and secure me with wisdom and grace to maintain that fight; let me watch, and fast, and use all due means to beat down my body, if that give it strength. Let me meditate and hear, and read, and pray, and weep, in all good ways seeking to bear up my soul, to beat down that sinful body, and bring it to death. And because, though now beaten down, a new Temptation will raise it up; and struck dead, it will revive again. Hasten my soul O Lord, out of these endless Wars, where I may keep the triumphs of an eternal peace from earth to heaven, and strengthen my soul to get those daily victories over my lusts, that they bring me to those triumphs! O Christ, that hadst flesh and no corruption, pity me that have both! Secure my double frailty, thou that knowest the infirmity of the flesh! Assist me with thy holy Spirit, to stand: Recover me when I fall, in these holy fights. Relieve my wants, forgive my weaknesses close up my wounds by thy blood! Blessed Saviour, the Captain of my Salvation, who didst fight and conquer all my foes, and now sittest on thy Throne in triumph in heaven; make me so to fight, that I may conquer on earth; and having subdued the flesh, may sit with thee on the Throne. From their shame keep me, that prefer the Subject before the Sovereign, Flesh before the Spirit! From their loss keep me, that prefer a Toy to a Crown, a Lust to a Kingdom! From their Cowardice keep me, that dare not fight for a Crown, but yield their souls up to lust! From their woe ever keep me, that buy delights with their death, for a little life after the flesh, dying eternally bodies and souls! From such folly and misery, dear Jesus deliver me! Amen! Amen! MONDAY. A Prayer against the Devil. O Lord! how shall my poor soul stand against Temptation, it thou do not assist me, who have as many Ghostly Enemies as Devils to tempt me; malicious, crafty, busy, and mighty, all of them hating my soul to death, watching my weaknesses, and continually seeking occasion to devour me! O my God without thy strength I cannot stand, and by thy strength I shall not fall. For thou O God art above the Devil, of more goodness, wisdom, care, and power to save, than he is able to destroy. Thou canst send more succours to me, than he can bring forces against me; more holy Angels, than he hath wicked Spirits; Lord give me that strength! Lord send me those succours! Put upon me the armour of light, to fight with the Rulers of darkness! Let the Helmet of hope be on my head, and the breastplate of faith and love on my heart, that I be not mortally wounded in the fight! In my extremity send thy Angels to secure me! And let thy holy Spirit be my Leader, that the evil one may not be my Conqueror. Lord Jesus that knowest what it was to be tempted, and didst overcome the Tempter for me, relieve my frailty when I am tempted, and suffer not Satan to overcome me! And let me be sober and watch and pray that I enter not into Temptation, that thou mayest relieve me! O Lord! How shall I not fall into the hand of Hell, if I throw myself into Temptation! From such presumptions, O Christ preserve me! How many souls have been left and lost in those bold adventures of their strength, make me sadly to consider, that such a daring Spirit may never possess me! Let me remember with fear and trembling, what great Saints have fall'n, that I may with an humble and holy care and fear, seek for thy strength to stand, and being upheld by thy right hand, may never fall. But let me not cast myself out of thine, into Satan's hand; for if thou Lord do not uphold, and he pull down, how shall I stand? And let me keep my ways, that I cast not myself out; for thou wilt not protect me but in thy ways! And let me not run myself into temptation, for that is out of my ways, and thy protection. Thou great Shepherd of the sheep, keep me, a poor Lamb of thy fold! Thou Lion of the Tribe of Juda that hast prevailed, save me from the roaring Lion that he may never prevail! And in and from all his Temptations deliver me in thy mercy, that he may not devour my soul for all his roaring. Rescue me, thou that didst redeem me; Preserve me, thou that didst create me, my Lord and my God, my strength & hope, dear Jesus! Amen. TUESDAY. A Prayer against the World. O Lord! The World is a strong Enemy to conquer, (The great Conquerors of the powers, were Captives to the vanities of the World) yet by thy strength it may be conquered, for thou art greater than he that is the world: Thou didst O Saviour, conquer it for me; and by thy aid I may conquer it for myself. And by thy will I must conquer it with thee on earth, if I will triumph with thee in Heaven; O then, let me resolutely set and fit myself for the conquest of the world! And to the forces of reason, Lord give me the powers of grace, by which I may make a conquest. This world is but for a time, and will end at last, and how soon to me, thou Lord only knowest: and did it endure, what comfort or contentment can my immortal soul receive in any, or all the good of the world? O let me not lose my eternal inheritance in the world to come, for a poor portion in this present world! Thou Lord hast made me in it, but me for thyself, and it for me. O then, let me never be of it, let my Spirit always be above it! Let me not make my Servant my Sovereign good. Assist me by thy grace, that I may not, O God And because my senses are so natural and near unto me, and the world takes my soul captive, by the power of my senses; O let me watch those gates against the entries of Temptations! and look well to my sense, that I lose not my soul. That I do not, Lord keep me from all evil, from the men, and from the things of the world! From Companies and Counsels, and examples of the ill, set on by the Devil, to woo for the world. Lord keep me as so many foes and fiends to my soul, and let me rather suffer them as my sorrows, then take solace in such men! From the Vanities of the world that they do not allure me, and the miseries of it, that they may not deject me; The great powers by which the world assaults me, defend me O Lord, that they do not overcome me, and let me look well to my soul, because I am never free from such assaults! From the Vanities of Riches, Honours, Pleasures, the prevailing goods of the world (the Heaven she brings;) And from the miseries of wants, scorns, ignominies, injuries, tortures, the powerful ills of the world (the Hell she hath;) Lord keep me, that they lead not my soul into the Captivity of sin, lest I feel a worse Hell, and lose a better Heaven! Let me not lose thy favour for the smiles, nor incur thy displeasure for the frowns of this world. Let neither her Sorceries bewitch me to ill, nor her Tyrannies fright me from good. Let my love and fear be both on thee, & the good and ill, not of this, but another life! On that be my heart, on this my foot! Let me love and value and use this world, only as it may help me to that! Not for the Throne of my Spirit, but the footstool of my soul. By whose good my body may be better enabled to serve my Spirit, and both to serve Thee, and come to the good of a better world! For such a Conquest, Lord strengthen me, and to these Triumphs above bring me, even for his sake, who hath overcome the flesh, the Devil, and the World for me, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. WEDNESDAY. A Prayer against sudden Death. O Thou great Judge of the world, I am a child of death by the sentence of the Law for Adam's sin, and have deserved it at the hands of thy Justice for my own; yet in thy mercy thou hast not executed that sentence upon me, but to this day hast continued my life. Yea, most merciful God, when the fears and snares of Death and Hell took hold on me, and my provocations were great against thee; in those great distresses I called upon thee, and thou didst hear me and deliver me! Lord! make me ever thankful for thy goodness, and take not away thy loving kindness from me, though since I have not walked worthy of thy mercy. Save my soul from the sins that trouble me! Save my body from the sicknesses that fear me! And save my life from all ill accidents and disasters that may befall me! If thou speak the word O Lord, I shall be safe, body and soul, and no ill can touch me; Good Lord, speak that word, and save me? Pardon my sins that they do not destroy me, and lengthen my days that I may better serve thee. For a sudden death by a present repentance, and good life, Lord ever prepare me. And from a sudden death, by thy good providence deliver me. That I may have time with more comfort and contentment, and setlement of mind, to yield up my life and soul unto thee. Dear Saviour hear me, that shedst thy blood to save me, and sittest in Heaven, to preserve me! For my last hour fit me. From sudden surprisal of it, keep me. To it, and in it, ever save me; and by thy grace and holy merits make it a happy hour unto me, that I may then die in thy arms, and at the day of Judgement rise and stand joyful before thee. Lord Jesus for thy mercy's sake grant all this to me. Amen! Amen! THURSDAY. A Prayer against Hypocrisy. O Lord! Make me abhor to be profane, and fear to be an Hypocrite! If I be a notorious sinner, the world will condemn me; and if a close offender, Thou wilt not justify me: Let me therefore be a Saint in sincerity, that God and man may approve and bless me! O Lord God of truth that searchest the heart, what will it avail me to have the world accquit me, when my conscience shall be a thousand witnesses against me, and Thyself more than ten thousand consciences to condemn me! Keep me therefore from the blot and folly of Hypocrisy. And since Hypocrites are the firstborn of the damned, let me have no part in that sin, that I may have no portion with such sinners! Let me be the same wheresoever I am, in the Closet and Church, in secret and public, in the dark and day; and let me be always what I should be, studying ever to approve my heart and ways before thee, that thou who seest in secret, mayest reward me openly. O let me set Thee every where before my eyes, and myself before thine; and accordingly walk uprightly before thee, till I come to rest eternally with thee! O Lord, since thou requirest no more, to have thy favour on Earth and glory in Heaven, but a heart true unto thee, and dost pardon and pass by many infirmities, where thou seest such a heart; Let me not give thee less, than a sincerity in thy service. God of Truth, give me a single heart to serve thee, and accept it from me: and a Monster of a double heart let Satan never make me. From Hypocrisy and lies of life, Lord deliver me! Thou that hadst no gall in thy heart, nor guile in thy mouth, Blessed Son and Truth of God, let me be Thine in truth sweet Jesus. Amen! FRIDAY. Prayer against Inconstancy in good. O Lord! Thou art immutable what thou art, let me be unchangeable what I should be! never ceasing to be thy good Child and Servant, who ever continuest to be my good Father and Lord! O Lord! There is not one moment, in which I can be or live without thy goodness, and shall there be many days wherein thou art without my service? The glory with which thou rewardest it, is to all eternity, and shall the duties of it fail and fall short of constancy? O my God had I the age of Angels to live, I own the service of all that life unto thee; and now that I have but a span of time, shall I keep away a great part of that from thee? O Lord, let me not so much forget thee and myself, as to do thus by thee! And should I so fare forget my duty, let me remember my necessity. It is constancy gets the Crown to thy service, and shall I fall off from it, and lose my Crown? O Lord! In what a fearful condition would my soul be, if death should seize me when I am fallen off, and take me away in that time of sin? and have I any assurance this hour, the next not to see death? And were I sure of life & time, should I so live, and divide it, best years to the devil, and worst to my God? Months to vanity, & minute to piety? Day and night look to this world, and not spare an hour for a better? Lord! Let not the Devil and the World divide my time with thee, lest not giving thee all, thou takest none from me; or giving thee the least share, thou throwest it bacl upon me. Fix my heart on thy fear, that no temptation of Devil or man may remove me; Bind my soul with such resolutions to thee, that no strength of the flesh may lose me. Since I cannot for my body's frailty, serve thee as an Angel without intermission, continually; let me as a Saint, without failing, constantly be devoted to thee; not as a retainer, but daily servant attending upon thee. Keeping carefully my hours of devotion, and consecrating all my days unto thee, in a conscionable and constant endeavour in all places ●nd things, and at all times to shun all evil, and do what may please thee. O thou that art without shadow of change, ever the same; settle my fickle soul in thy fear, and establish thy holy Spirit in me, that I may serve thee on earth with constancy, and in heaven to all eternity! By the grace and merits of him who finished the work of Eternal Redemption for me, living and dying, to save me, and now sits at thy right hand to uphold and keep me, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. SATURDAY. Prayer against impenitence in ill. LOrd keep me from the fearful sin and judgement of an impenitent heart: Since repentance for sin is the only remedy appointed to save me, let me not neglect it lest I die for it irrecoverably. O Lord what shall become of my guilty soul, if thou do not pardon me? And how should I hope thy pardon, if I go on to provoke thee? Give me therefore a sorrow for my sins past, wherein I have offended thee, and if I fall by frailty into sin, let me not lie without remorse, but rise by repentance, that I may return again into favour with thee. O my God, if now I will not, I shall repent in Hell, if not on Earth: if not with timely tears in hope, in fires with everlasting horror. O let me weep for a time, that I may not wail them for ever! Let me mourn for them unto comfort; rather than rejoice into confusion. From a heart hardened in sin, and a conscience seared with guilt, Lord keep me as from the threshold of hell. And from continuance and custom in sin, keep me, that I grow not senseless of it, and seared. And from multiplying, and reiterating the acts of sin, keep me that I get not a custom. If I sin, let my heart smite me, that thy hand of vengeance may not touch me. And for that hardness and habit of ill which I have already got by any acts of sin, Dear Saviour help me, and heal me. Melt my heart in the fire of thy love, to a tenderness of offending thee: and (O blessed scape-goat * Levi● 16. 21. Goat's blood melts Adamant, Such is an hard heart, Zach. 7. 12. ) mollify my hardness by the virtue of thy blood, that I may not stand stubborn against thee. Bow me with thy mercies, break me with thy judgements, wound me with thy Word, move me with thy Spirit, and by all means mould me and make my heart of that temper, that the least touch of sin may trouble me, that I may not obstinately go on in a course of Rebellion against thee. Merciful Father, let all thy crosses come rather upon me, than this curse befall me. That I may rather grieve and groan with hope on earth, then wail and howl in hell without remedy. A heart of flesh for stone, Lord give me, let thy holy Spirit work and keep it in me. Do it dear Saviour for me, I beseech the, in thy mercy. Amen, Amen. Animadversion to the Devout Reader touching these Services. THe Author in these Services tenders thee some things new, and nothing (he hopes) naught. There are extant, Books of Prayers, and Meditations, and Directions apart, and those who join some of these together; but all (as in his way) he knows none. He conceives that the Soul engaged in a particular duty, will be much assisted by so many helps at hand, and come off better with the Service. Vicissitudes of Devotions (like changes of clothes) as they please the mind, because they clog less; so they will advance her piety the more, when all (though they go several ways) meet in one study, and care to work her Spiritual preferment. Thy Spirit will not be less devoted to thy Prayers, for having breathed it in holy Scriptures: Nor wilt thou take in that Holy air with less advantage to thy Souls health, for going to it from thy Prayers: Nor will those Heavenly refreshments profit or last less, for plying the Soul (at present) well-devoted with proper & pious Meditations, & Instructions set & suteing to her particular purposes. This will be as a Word in due season, fit, and good; and serve as a little Sermon to nourish Holy Spirit so Divinely begot, which else may starve before it can come to a greater; and perhaps, not have her particular state, and case, much reached, and relieved neither, if she come. The Closet, (the good man's Daily Sanctuary always * Ezek. 11 16. , and in persecution often his only Church) as it never wants Gods Spiritual Altar, (a Devout heart) nor his Garden, (Gods Holy Book) in it; nor God's Holy Service (an Holy Prayer-Book) for it: By this, shall have a little Pulpit too. Necessary for those who have no other, and profitable for those who may want a better. And surely, the Soul which keeps her daily walks betwixt God's Altar and Garden (her Prayers, and his Scriptures) must needs grow, and go on in Godliness. And faster, and firmer both for hearing every day a Sermon, when Herself is the Preacher, Her state the Text, and God and Conscience the Auditory. Reader, He that is not for a Pulpit in the Chamber, would have this in thy Closet, and thinks he shall do God and thee good Service in these devote-lesse times, to furnish thy Closet with such a Pulpit. His Aim thou seest, His pattern thou mayst easily aim at, especially if a Child of that Mother, whose wisdom taught him such Prayers; Though some things in the Services be new, there are no novelties in them; but for thy singular use compiled, and made a Handful of little Homilies and Prayers. Rules for every Sundays Devotion. Sunday-morning. When you awake, lift up your heart, and say, O Sun of Righteousness, which this day didst rise for me, shine now, and ever, with thy Grace, and Mercy upon me! Amen. When you are up, kneel, and say this Prayer. O Lord, Holiness becometh thy House; & Dutifulness becometh me to go to thy Courts, & wait upon Thee: And this is the great day of thy Service. Thou that hast given me to see the light of this day, make me careful to do the duty of it, timely to Present myself unto Thee; and reverently to behave myself before Thee, that I may come with fruit, and favour from thee, for Jesus Christ His sake. Amen. Before you go to Church, say (if you have time) the Sunday-Service following: Omit not to say the Collect for it, howsoever in the Afternoon say the Evening-Service. Sunday-night. When you go to Bed, kneel, and say, O Sun of Righteousness, keep me from utter darkness, let me so sleep in thy Peace, that I may be every ready to arise, and meet thee in thy Glory. Amen, Amen. Seven Services, for the 1st. Week. Services set to the Days of the Week, for four several Weeks. Sunday-service. Of the joys of Heaven. Morning Prayer. Psal. 36. 84. Lesson, Isa. 64. Mat. 5. to 13. or Mat. 17. to 14. Evening Prayer. Psalm. 15. & 16. Lesson, Isaiah 35. Apoc. 21. Then this following Collect. After it, the Daily Prayers. ¶ Sunday Collect, or Prayer, for the joys of Heaven. Dear Saviour! who hast purchased lost Heaven for me by thy blood, and now possessest it for me in my flesh; possess my soul, I beseech thee, with thy holy Spirit; that my conversation now may be heavenly on earth, and my habitation hereafter, happy in heaven. O let me not for the perishing pleasures of this vain world, lose an eternity of blessed joys in thy presence and Kingdom! Preserve me to it, (dear Redeemer) who hast prepared it for me, even for thy mercy's sake, O Lord. Amen. Daily Prayers. 1. Meditation, of the joys of Heaven. WHat do I on earth, when God is in Heaven? Why are my Heart & Body in two several worlds? And where but with Him, and on Him should be my Heart? Lord! draw to thee what is made for thee; till Body can come, let my Spirit be with thee; till my Soul departed from my Body, to dwell for ever with thee, let Devotion carry my thoughts out of my Soul, and daily visit thee. My help, my hope, my solace, my salvation; Father of my Spirit, Husband of my Soul, Sovereign of my welfare, Author of my nature, End of my essence, Bliss of my being, Satisfaction of my desires, Rest of my thoughts, Perfection of my powers! my life is a banishment, imprisonment, punishment on earth, if thou be in heaven! shun I never so much, I shall meet with nothing but sin and misery; seek I never so much, I shall not find any thing of bliss below: had I whole lands of wealth, with hills of honour upon them, and rivers of pleasure about those, all were not a pebble, a pile, a drop to my blessedness: my avaricious, ambitious, voluptuous desires, are left dry on earth, only filled and drowned in the paradise, crown, and kingdom of heaven: the ocean of bliss runs about the good that is infinite, high, above change, great without measure, full without want, long beyond time! away than my Soul, from thy banishment, bondage, woe, and miserable vanity, to thy home, freedom, joy, and true felicity; Dove of grace fly to the windows of glory; mount to those Louvers on high, where the ravenous Bird of hell can neither seize, or fright thee; nor the beasts of the earth devour, or disquiet thee. Heaven on Earth is a monstrous confusion; if thou vainly seek it there, thou mayest as soon find it in Hell (God is not in that heaven!) only seek, and solace thyself in the ways of God; that's heaven on earth indeed: both a glimpse of the glory above, and a light to find heaven where it is, in heaven! and from the goods of the world, raise up thy thoughts to a better bliss. Say, if so well on earth, how much better in heaven: so let it be not thy mirror of bliss but perspective; Not thy chair, but footstool, to take a better sight & flight, to thy Throne: so thou shalt at once walk on earth, and go to heaven; yea, thou shalt divide thyself betwixt both; Body to earth, and Soul to heaven. And God will in that day blessedly unite, what thou dost devoutly divide; and keep with him in heaven for ever, both Body and Soul. 2. Meditation: see soliloquy, p. Monday-Service. Of the Miseries of this World. Morning Prayer. Psal. 120. 129. 137. Lesson, Gen. 47. or Job 14. Luk. 21. or Act. 20. Evening Prayer. Ps. 39 42. or 84. 102. Lesson. Lam. 3. Rom. 7. Then after this following Collect, the Daily Prayers. ¶ Monday Collect, touching the Miseries of Earth. O Lord! with us, is misery; with thee, is mercy! on earth; all ill; in heaven, all good! O for thy mercy's sake support me in all my miseries, and deliver me from my sins the cause of them all! And of thy goodness (I beseech thee) raise up my heart to covet and seek the good of heaven, that my hold and hope of it, may comfort me against all the ills of the earth. Let the bitterness which I feel below, win me from this evil world, and whet in me a holy appetite to the pure sweets and joys which be above. And in thy good time, fill my Soul with those blessed Solaces, I beseech thee, even for his blessed merits and mediation sake, who is my only joy & hope in heaven and earth, Jesus Christ my dear Redeemer and Advocate. Amen. Meditation of the Miseries of the World. WHy so much wedded to the world, when woe is her Dowry? entailed (as a Portion) by God Gen. 3. 17. on Adam, and thee (if his Son) since he forfeited (with his Allegiance) his Paradise, and thine, by his default! Earth ever since brings forth woes, as Job 5. 7. fire sparks. Within thee or without thee; for thyself, or others. In Body, or Soul; woods will as soon want leaves, as the world fail thee of woes! thou art heir to all; Inheritor (at least) of some; never secure from any, because always in grief or fear of all. And least blessed too when most secure; most unhappy, when least miserable; bliss in this life being the greatest curse, because the portion of a man marked out for everlasting unhappiness. Psal. 17. 14. Alas! what a purchase is a little fickle, worldly bliss, with woes, all, and everlasting, after it, not without some in it! My heart! if thou hast so miscarried in thy choice, let this divorce the marriage; love earth when thou art fond of woe and not afraid of hell. Thou wilt find good alimony after this divorce. Thou wilt live more well, and die much better for it. Thou wilt entertain death as a deliverance from her ills, whose goods thou scornest. And receive and read a Summons to thy end, not as an Archest and call to judgement, but an Acquittance from calamity. Thou wilt eye heaven as thy harbour of rest, and be weary of the world as a sea of trouble. Thou wilt study to steer thy course by the Card and Compass of the Infallible word and rule, to know and go the right way to heaven. So good is the World's wormwood (above her honey) for the souls health, if we take and taste it right. And even our miseries are made great mercies, because good medicines for that happy health! Did earth afford sinfulfalne man one Paradise, he would scarce look for two. Now that he finds a Purgatory of it, it drives him to the true Paradise, and bring him sooner to those joys, by the hastening of those woes; which high more to heaven, when most heavy on earth. Tuesday-Service. Against the Vanities of the World. Morning Prayer. Psal. 4. 39 or 37. 102. 104. Lessons. Eccl. 1. 2. or any Chap. of it. Mat. 16. or Lu. 12. Evening Prayer. Psal. 52. 62. Lessons. Eccles. 3. 4. etc. Hab. 2. 1 Tim. 6. Then the Daily Prayers, (after this following) Tuesday-Coll: against the vanities of the world. O Lord! who hast made this world for me, and me for another; let me not be carried away with the vanities of that world which cannot content my Soul, and will not continue with me! O! let my heart be fixed on higher things, never to be moved with worldly vanities; that when this world shall end to me, or I to it, I may enjoy those honours, and joys, and goods, which shall never end, with thee, thy Angels and Saints in a better world, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Then Daily Prayers. Meditation of the Vanities of the World. THe World is a shop of Vanities; Honours, Riches, Pleasures, the chief Commodities: the Devil, Master of the shop; and Man his miserable Customer. The common price, is our Souls, which we give him, to get them; and yet possess nothing (less, worse than nothing, by all we get, which is the vainest of that vanity of vanities!) O Man, be not thou so vile, and vain! why doth transitory good take thee, who hast an Immortal Spirit? why doth sensible joy carry thee away, who hast a faculty for the highest intellectual good; capacity, of Eternity! Alas! thou wilt as soon fill a sieve with water, as thy Soul with the Isa. 55. 2. world; and couldst thou give her a fill of it, a short time would (to thy greater loss and grief) run it all out again. Let the world then be, not thy Idol, but thy scorn. Believe it, if worldly good be thy Deity; her glory, profit and delight, thy Trinity; they will not fill, but fail, and vex thy heart; and so give thee for bliss, a triple infelicity: vexation is their fullest satisfaction, and their end not thy content, but torment. It is infinite & eternal goodness which must give man of an immortal Spirit, content. In that Deity, is his rest; and his felicity in that only Trinity. Let God then be (as he is) thy Throne; the world (as it should be) thy footstool. By her good, climb up to God, get thus up: Abundance of good here seems brave; what is all indeed in heaven? what is substance when the show is such? what to have all things, when so valued to have nothing? what bliss is to be found in the Trinity of uncreated goodness, when so much is fancied, in the Three poorpetty created Goods of that revised, devised and fond-imagined Godhead? What, if thou hast senses, by which they woo, and court thy love? Hath not thy Soul a power to guide and govern those Handmaids? O Man! thy senses are in thy Soul: Monster! if thou put it in thy senses: Man of reason be not a beast for sense! live and love above worldly vanity, look and long after sure, solid, satisfying soule-felicity; else (saving thyself) nothing is, or can be so vain. Wednesday-Service. Against the Villainies of the World. Morning Prayer. Psal. 12. 14. 120. Lessons, Gen. 6. or 19 Mat. 24. Evening Prayer. Psal. 18. 55. Lessons, Jer. 5. or Isaiah 13. 2 Pet. 2. or 1 Joh. 5. Collect, against the villainies of the World. O Lord! since the World is a Sodom, 2 Pet. 2. 8. let me be a Lot; vexed, not delighted with her filthiness: Since it is a Mesech, let me be a David; not taken, but tired with her Psal. 120. 4 wretchedness: Lord! why should that have my joys, where my Soul is never free from dangers, nor thy glory from wounds? where Blasphemy is as common as the air, and Oppression as the earth; where Iniquity flows like water, and lust flames as fire: why should I be in love with her, that is in hate with thee? where, if I follow her course I go to the damnation of another world; and if I cross it, meet with nothing but vexation all the way? O Lord! though I be in it, let me not be of it: if it be wicked, let me be good; yea, the more wicked it is, the better let me be, that thou mayest Apoc. 3. 12 take a more merciful notice of my goodness. And because it is hard to breathe the air of corruption, and take 2 Cor. 6. 17 no taint into conversation; let me be willing to get fairly from it, and come to thee, where is bliss pure, without tear or taint. Take me from the Devils of the world, to thy Angels O God mean time, let me live a Saint even amongst Devils, that I may (at last) be a Saint, amongst Angels: yea, as one of thy Angels, in that world; where is no woe nor wickedness; Sinner, nor Satan; but thy blessed unity, with holy and happy society of glorified Men, and Angels, enjoying, adoring, lauding, and serving thee for ever & ever: so be it, for Jesus Christ his sake. Amen. Daily Prayers. Meditation of the Villainies of the World. MOther of all misdeeds and mischiefs! when shall I be delivered from thee, gaol of my Soul, and wrack of my salvation? a hill of poor Pismires tossing up and down, thou art at best; a hell of debauched and damned Spirits (at worst!) Source of sin, forge of hell, and a field of all temptation! If I love my God, I must hate thee, because an enemy to his honour; if I love myself I must loathe thee, because an adversary to my salvation; if I hate the Devil, I must not love thee, because thou art his Sword to destroy; if I may not love the flesh, I must not love thee, because her staff of support; if I must not love vice, I must abhor thee because thou art the Mistress of Vanity; if I must love grace I must detest thee, because the Stepdame of Virtue. Hag of Satan, Hate of Heaven, School of Vice, Seminary of Error, Mother of Sin, Stepdame of Saints, Pest of the Spirit, Nurse of the Flesh! who by thy bad counsels and examples breedest the Brat of Sin in thy wicked womb, and then sucklest and indearest it with thy profits and pleasures, thy wretched dugs! woe is me that I must stay in thee! shame on me, if I love thee! thy best things, are vanities of Earth; thy worst, villainies against Heaven! what in thee can I love? Though thou be a Whore, I will not be a Villain to my God; so much a Villain, as to love such a Whore; so Jac. 4. 4. 1▪ Joh. 2. 14 much a Villain, as by any lust of mine to make thee more Strumpet; and by my additions of particular ills, to increase thy whoredoms: I will have care (what I can) not to be Partaker of thy guilts; but Ringleader I will never be to thy rebellions; I would not come to thy end, and therefore will avoid thy way. God I thank thee for thy good Spirit which carries me against the stream of my corruption, and tide of the World: (I cannot go but in the strength of that Spirit against such a tide and stream:) God, I pray thee! let me continue my course, that I fall not at last into thy Sea of Wrath; and when the world of nature shall end, be tormented with a world of sinners, world without end, for ever, and ever. Thursday-Service. About Death. Morning Prayer. Psal. 39 49. Lesson. Geu. 3. or 5. Luk. 16. Evening Prayer. Psal. 90. 23. Lesson. Eccles. 12. Rom. 5. ¶ Thursday-Collect, or Prayer, about Death. O Lord, who hast appointed all to die, make me ever mindful of my dissolution, that I may less love the vanities of this, and more seek the felicities of a better life; where death, and distresses are not; but we shall be as the Angels of God, healthy, and vigorous, and happy for ever. O let me every day so live, that I may come to that life when I die: And because the best-led life, may have need of some time to prepare for death: Of thy great mercy (I beseech thee) keep me from an unprepared heart, and unexpected end. Even for his sake, who himself had the horror of death, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Daily Prayers after it. Meditation of Death. DIe I must, and after live in weal, or woe, for ever; and no time after to recover the woe, if I lose the weal: As I tender then eternity, let me look to my life. Die, I must, and know not where; House, a Field, Land, or Water, Bed, or Board; every where then let me look to it. Die, I must, but know not how: By a violent, or natural course; casualty or infirmity; lingeringly, or speedily; every way than let me look for it. Die, I must, but know not when: Day or night; this, or that day; next, or this. This, or that hour; that, or this minute; this, or that time. Morn, Noon, Even, ever then let me look after it. And how look to it better than to find out the murderer, and doom him to death: O Sin! shalt thou lie in my bosom, that hast laid all Mankind in a grave? I will have thee to the cross Rom. 5. 12 for that, yea, and for this too, lest thou add murder, to murder, and kill my Soul after my Body. O what a sad hour of parting will that be, if when Soul should leave the Body to death, God shall leave the soul to be damned! All full of horror, and utterly comfortless, when it should be most the comforter of the Body. But strength thou hast not to have death under foot, without a Christ in Luke 2. 28, 29. thy Arms. Thou canst not welcome it without fear, till thou embrace him in thy Faith. To whom then should I look but to thee, O Lord, who art my Saviour? And for what, but thy mercy, which is my Salvation? And why, but for my sins, my only destruction? And how, but by repentance, the only remedy of my sins? And when, but in my life, the only time of my repentance? And this day, this hour, this minute, which may be the last of my life. O Jesus, as I sin, let me repent daily, that when I die (as I must) I may live eternally, with thee, and by thee. Amen, Amen. See more, soliloquy, p. Friday-Service. Of Judgement to come. Morning Prayer. Psal. 50. 143. Lesson. Dan. 12. Mat. 25. or Act. 17. Evening Prayer. Psal. 98. 99 Lesson. Eccles. 11. 2 Cor. 5. or 2 Thes. 1. ¶ Friday Collect, or Prayer, of Judgement to come. O Lord Almighty! who hast determined a day wherein thou wilt bring all Men, and things to Judgement; make me to try my Soul daily at the bar of my Conscience, that judging myself for my Sins, thou mayst not condemn me at thy dreadful Tribunal. And Lord, let that day be often in my thoughts, that the fear of it, and thee▪ may be ever before my eyes; and my Conscience may be kept more clean by the power of that fear. Even for his mercy's sake, who was my Redeemer, shall be my Judge, and is my Advocate, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Daily Prayers. Meditation of Judgement. O Bar in the Clouds, I must appear 2 Cor. 5. 10. 1 Thes. 4. 17. Apoc. 6. 16 Joh. 12. 48. before thee! woe to me then if found guilty; and now, if I beware not of all Capital guilts: if I sin against the light of my mind, and Gods great grace and goodness, for than I am a Capital Offender: If I Heb. 10. 26, 27. Rom. 1. 29 Gal. 5. 19 do, what upon pain of death God forbids me by his Heavenly Law; for that's a Capital Offence. For that, and this, will not God judge me? Why? For this, even the World; for Tit. 3. 111. that, Conscience will condemn me: And God for more; for, if Conscience can charge me with more than the World God can lay to my charge 1 Joh. 3. 20 1 Cor. 4. 4. more than my Conscience. To the world, Manifest, and Secret; are two things, but to Conscience all one. To be, and be known, are two things to Conscience; and to be remembered, and known; but what is seen to Providence, is never out of memory, if once seen to hid guilt, then will not serve; to take no notice, or forget it, not justify. To a circumstance, imagination, syllable, God doth observe, Psal. 50. 21 Apoc. 20. 12. Eccles. 12. 14. and enrol every act, thought, word, what ever I speak, conceive, or do, be it never so close, or hid. No way then to be saved, but to get a pardon before my Doom. No plea for that, but Christ's Blood: no Mediator but Jesus. And no fees for that Advocate, but my Tears: Not my Purse, but Heart, must bleed 1 John 2. 1. Luk. 4. 8. Mat. 11. 28. to move his mercy, and then he will undertake my peace, and Mediation; Repentance, by the plea of his passion, and Intercession of himself, never fails of Pardon, because he never in Promise. Those particular Sessions on myself, prevent his general Assizes; my Penance, his Vengeance. But delay not thy pardon, lest thou find thy doom before it. Have it not to seek, when thou shouldest have it to show: thy Petition to draw, when thy execution gins: nor think with an half repentance to get a whole pardon. Remorse for sin, without amendment Act. 3. 19 Heb. 9 27. is but half: And death is thy little Doomsday, (not amending after it.) O Lord! That I may be cleared by thy Sentence, let me be condemned by mine: condemned in my Conscience, not by a constrained force, and fury of guilt, but by a voluntary, and fair Penitential Process. Let thy Deputy 1 Cor. 11. 31. thus doom me, that thou mayst not condemn me: Let me fall at my own Breast, that I may stand before thy Bar, O Christ! Thy Pardon will raise me from such a fall, and in that, strength of grace and mercy, even before thee shall I stand. From being cast by thy mouth as low as Hell, from falling from thy Bar, to the bottomless pit and prison, beware thou my soul, Deliver me, Dear Saviour, now and ever! Amen. More of this: see soliloquy, p. Saturday-Service. Of the pains of Hell. Morning Prayer. Psal. 11. 2. Lesson. Isay 66. Luk. 16. or Mar. 9 Mat. 24. Even Prayer. Psal. 9 Lesson. Deut. 32. or Isay 30. Judas 2. or 2 Pet. 2. ¶ Saturday-Collect, or Prayer of the Pains of Hell. O Dreadful Majesty, that hast Earth for thy Footstool, and Hell for thy Prison: Of thy mercy forgive me that guilt, which in thy justice would bring me to that fearful Gaol. Lord, let me often think of Hell, that I may never come to it! And let me seriously muse on those eternal fires, that I may carefully avoid them, and Sin, the fuel of them, and way to it. O suffer me not to buy any Sin so dear on Earth, as to lose Heaven by it, and suffer in Hell eternally for it! Dear Saviour! that hast triumphed over it, preserve me from it, by the merits of thy precious blood and passion, O Lord! Amen. Daily Prayers. Meditation of Hell. — NAy, but if one were sent Luk. 16. 30▪ from the dead, they would hear him! No! not a Preacher from the Grave, if none in the Pulpit! Especially, in a point of so universal a belief, as hath not only a Church-full, but World-full of Preachers. A point of so clear and convincing an evidence, as hath even those who are most Infidels to it, Prophets of it! What else do the Archests, and interest of Atheists and Epicures preach? Hear they it not from Pulpits in their breasts, that heed none in the Church? Their terrors in life, and honours at death, are they not flashes of that infernal fire which they would extinguish? Prophecies of what they would not have, Hell? Which, because their guilts condemn them to, they therefore rather would not then cannot believe? Within thee, or without thee, in Breast, or Book, Talmud, Koran, or Bible. Church, or World; Guilty one; there is a Hell for thee. Therefore is thy torture in life, when distress sets guilt on work, and Hell appears within thee; and dread, in death, when it appears unto thee! No wonder: for (if most credible) what more horrible? If God's Palace be the best place, (Heaven) his Prison is the worst, (Hell.) If the joys of that, pass all understanding; the pains of this, are above our comprehension. Discourse may make them great, but Experience makes that little. Sad thoughts of this are good. To have the Mind on hell, is the way to keep the Soul out. And have thought of it, for if once in, no coming out. O Epicure! whose art it is to put all thoughts of Hell from thee, by so Isa. 28. 15. much, it is nearer and heavier to thee! When thy Body (which thou pamperest) shall die to feed worms; and thy soul (which thou wouldst bury with it) live to feast Fiends; That makes thee dread the sight of Death as Hell, and the thoughts of it as Devils, because there are Devils, and Hell, which thou deniest, but dost dread: none hath more horror for them, than thou who sayest thou hast no such Faith. See more, soliloquy, p. So end the Seven Services for the first Week. Seven Services, for the 2d. Week. Sunday-Service. Against neglect of God's Service. Morning Prayer. Psal. 5. 27. 42. Lesson. Gen. 28. or Jor. 7. to ver. 17. Mat. 11. Evening Prayer. Psal. 95. 122. Lesson. Eccles. 5. 1 Cor. 11. or Heb. 6. ¶ Collect or Prayer, against Neglect of God's Service. O Lord! Thou hast devoted a Time and Place to thy worship, and holiness becometh thy house for ever! Make me ever careful to pay thee then, and there, the deuce and duties of Religion, which I own thee. Solemnly waiting on thy Majesty amongst thy Servants, in thy Court and Sanctuary. L●t me be diligent in thy service and reverend at it! That as thy Saints and Angels in heaven incessantly serve thee, I may with thy Saints on earth constantly worship thee, till we all come together for ever to adore thee. Even for his sake whose meat and drink it was to serve thee, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Daily Prayers. Remedies against Neglect of God's Service. 1. GOd will find no time to save us, if we find no day to serve him a Psal. 2. 11, 12. Act. 26. 20. . 2. Have we six in a Week, and shall not God have one day b Exod. 20. 9 ? 3. Public worship is the Pillar of Religion, and high service of Almighty God c Gen. 4. 26. . 4. If every one take away his stone, we shall pull down the Pillar, to the ruin of Religion d Lam. 2. . 5. In the Church we are before God's face, as well as Man's e Psal. 95. . 6. It is both a Scandal to man f 1 Cor. 11. 22. , and Scorn to God g Eccles. 5. 1, 2. , to be irreverent in the Church; to dare, and jeer, God to his face. 7. The truest Picture of the Saints with God in Heaven, is a Congregation, devout at God's Worship on Earth h Apoc. 4. 10. . 8. We cannot do better than to go to Heaven; nor worse, then to do any thing ill, or unseemly in it i Gen. 28. 17. . 9 The Devil's misbehaviour in Heaven, cast him into Hell k Jud. v. 6. . 10. He that laughs in the Church is tickled by the Devil * Risus in Ecclesia Diaboli opus est. . Monday-Service. Against Procrastination. Morning Prayer. Psal. 95. 7. Lesson, Prov. 1. Mat. 25. to 14 or 24. to 36. or Act. 24 Evening Prayer. Psal. 4. 90. Lesson. Eccles. 8. Apoc. 21. ¶ Prayer against Procrastination. LOrd, keep me from the delays of holy and necessary duties! Make me to consider, how many art now perishing in Hell, for neglecting the times of thy gracious visitations on earth! That whilst the Spirit of grace and life blows on me, I may improve that breath to purchase myself an estate in the life of glory and immortality. Even for his sake who lingered no time to shed his blood to save me, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen! Remedies against Procrastination. 1. IT is unworthy God. He calls to day, a Psal. 95. 7. and you will come to morrow? The Devil shall have the flower b Levit. 2. 1. of age, and God the bran? 2. It is unsafe for man. The Adventure of an immortal soul, upon two great uncertainties to come; Having my breath c Prov. 25. 1. James 4. 13. and God's Spirit d Joh. 3. 8. : If either fail, I am lost for ever. And God knows! Innumerable souls are thus lost * Coesarius (Inuumerabiles animoe si● periêre) . 3. It is unwise. The house of my soul is set on fire e Isa. 2. 18. with guilt to day, and will quench it to morrow? I fall into the puddle f 2 Pet. 2. 22. of sin this week, and will rise the next? 4. It is uncomfortable. For the longer I keep off from God, 1. God's acceptance is more doubtful. He is for first fruits g Levit. 2. 12. , and firstlings. 2. Man's performance, is more difficult. Because Satan hath the greater power over me h 2 Tim. 2. 26. , and sin in me i Prov. 5. 22. . By the strength of Custom k Jer. 12. 23. , which it is a miracle to conquer * S. Bern. . 3. Repentance hath a greater task: more spots to wash l Isa. 1. 16. , knots to lose m 2 Pet. 2. 20. , roots to dig n Jer. 4 5. , foes to kill o 1 Pet. 2. 21. . Sin in time, of a Child grows a Giant for strength, and Lust spawns like a fi●h in number. If it be now ten strong, next year it will be an hundred, and the next year a thousand, etc. 4. The best fruit of sin is repentance p 2 Cor. 7. 8, 9 , the rest is shame q Rom. 6. 21, 23. , and death. 5. It is unprofitable at best. For the less seed the less harvest r 2 Cor. 9 6. . The less good ●. the less glory s Rom. 2. 7. . And the more Springs and opportunities I lose, the more seed-times of good t Gal. 6. . So I reap less comfort of what is past u Isa. 38. 3. ; and reward to come x Luk. 19 16. . Tuesday-Service. Against Presumption. Morning Prayer. Psal. 7. 19 Lesson, Deut. 29. or Levit. 26. Mat. 24. Evening Prayer. Psalm. 68 Lesson, Eccles. 8. 1 Thes. 5. ¶ Collect, or Prayer, against Presumption. Keep me O Lord from carnal security! If I fall into sin, let me not lie in it out of a Presumption of thy mercy; but do thou awake me to repentance, and raise me in thy goodness. And since repentance is not in my power, make me fearful to fall into sin, in hopes of thy grace and mercy; and more afraid to lie in it, if I fall; lest I sleep without fear, till some Sudden judgement awake me, and present the horror of eternal death before me! From a lethargy in sin, O thou Holy Physician of souls preserve, now and ever Dear Saviour I beseech thee. Amen. Daily Prayers. Remedies against Presumption. 1. IT is the Devil's lullaby, to sleep out the time of Salvation, as did the five foolish Virgins a Matth. 27. 7. . 2. It is the Devils high way to desperation b Prov. 1. 28. . 3. None but a poisonous spirit, will suck the strength of sin, out of the flower of mercy c Eccles. 8. 11. Isa. 10. 2. . 4. It is to make quarrels amongst God's Attributes, in the confidence of mercy, to put contempt on justice d Rom. 2. 4 . 5. It is to leave the soul at last without all hope of succour and sanctuary; because guilt dares not fly to offended justice e Gen 3. 10. Apoc. 6. 16. , and hath no refuge else, but abused mercy f Rom. 2. 4. . 6. God's best Saints have been fearing men, and shall sinners be presumers? See it in Job g Job. 9 28. , David h Psal. 119 20. , Paul i 1 Cor. 9 27. , and others. 7. I presume of that which is not mine, but Gods, life k James 4. 14, 15. and grace l 2 Tim. 2. 25. : without either of which I am undone for ever m Eph. 2. 5 ; and yet I provoke God, without whose mercy I can have neither n Rom. 2. 5 . 8. Who will give his head a mortal wound o Isa. 1. 6. , in hope to find a sovereign balm? yet I give my soul certain wounds, in hope of uncertain remedies p Jer. 51. 8, 9 . Wednesday-Service. Against Desperation. Morning Prayer. Psal. 103. 44. Lesson. Jer. 3. or Mic. 27. Luke 7. Evening-Prayer. Psalm. 130. 147. Lesson. 2 Chron. 33. 1 Tim. 1. 1. Prayer against Desperation. LOrd keep me from despairing of thy mercy! Let me not seek at once to destroy my soul, and my Saviour, by believing my sins to be so great, as thy mercy cannot pardon; or my conscience so foul, as his Blood will not purge! Preserve me from all sins, O Lord! but from this above all, I beseech thee, for his sake who is the hope of Israel, and of all that dwell in the ends of the earth, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 2. Prayer, against Desperation. O Lord! I have been a great offendor, but let me not be a desperate sinner! I have most wickedly provoked the eyes of thy glory, but let me not more wickedly shed the bowels of thy mercy! Thy Law hath been cast behind my back, but O let not thy blood be trampled under my foot. Thou keepest the gate of mercy open, let not me shut it upon me! Thou hast not yet cast me in, keep me from leaping into the pit of perdition! Though guilts and stains have made me black as a fiend, yet am I not in hell, out of which there is no Redemption. Dear Saviour! with thee is mercy and plenty, for the whole world of sinners; much more for one, though the greatest sinner of the world. Revive that soul with thy grace, which thou didst ransom with thy blood! Rescue that poor soul by thy mercy, for which thou hast satisfied in thy justice! Wash off my stains, break off my bonds; pull off the chains of Satan, deliver me from my sins. That I may live an Example of thy mercy, a Comfort to poor penitents, a Joy to the Angels, a Companion to the Saints, and Servant to thy Majesty. So be it dear Saviour! Amen, Amen. Litany. Daily Prayers. Remedies against Desperation. 1. THe sin of Hell. In the dead and damned, not fit for them that live on earth a Eccles. 9 4. Psal. 42. 11. Jer. 18. 12. , who may be in a state damnable, but not condemned without hope to be saved: then the Judge would not let them live b Jud. 13. 23. 2. The sin against Heaven. Not a treason against God, but a murder of the Godhead. In which Judas sinned more, then in his Treason * Saint Hierome. . 3. The sin on earth capable of a cure, two ways; by Consideration and Caution. 1. Consider. 1. If I have a world of sin to damn me, God hath a Sea of mercy to drown it c Mic. 7. 18. . 2. No stains or guilts can make my Soul so much vile, but Christ's blood is more precious d Ro. 5. 9 Heb. 9 13, 14 1 Pet. 1. 19 1 Joh. 1. 7. 9 . 3. The Remedy of Repentance e Isai. 1. 16. Acts. 2. 38. , by the power of that mercy, and virtue of that blood, hath cured most damned and desperate sins and sinners. David's f Psal. 51. Psal. 32. 5. 2 Sam. 12. 13. , Peter g Mat. 26. 75. . Manasseh h 2 Chron. 33. 12. , Magdalen i Luk. 8. 2. Luk. 7. 37. 47. , Paul k 1 Tim. 1. 13. , and others. 2. Beware, before, of the sin of— 1. Presumption. From which precipice of false hope, are the most fatal & fearful falls into despair l Job 11. 10. . 2. Under the temptation to despair, take heed of concealing the conflict; for, woe to me, if when I have myself and the Devil my foe, I have no man of God to friend. Violent ends and deaths, had been m Prov. 28. 13. Act. 16. 27 30. cured by such confessions. Thursday-Service. Against Swearing and Taking God's Name in Vain. Morning Prayer. Psal. 15. 99 Lessons, Zachary 5. or Mal. 3. Mat. 5. v. 33. Evening Prayer. Psal. 50. 111. Lessons, Eccles. 9 James 5. ¶ Collect or Prayer, against Swearing and taking Gods Name in vain. O Lord! Holy and Reverend is thy Name, let me not dare to profane it! Angels therefore dread and adore thee, and shall I despise thee! Thou Lord wilt take an account of all idle words; if then thy Titles be prostituted at my vain pleasure, and made to fill my idle discourses, how shall I answer thee? Keep my tongue from such customs, O Lord! and let Care watch my lips, that I get not such a tongue! And let thy Fear guard my heart, that no such words move thence to my lips. What is past, pardon, I beseech thee in thy mercy; what is to come, prevent in me by thy grace, for Jesus his sake. Amen. Daily Prayers. Remedies against Swearing, and taking God's Name in vain. 1. THere is much ill in this sin. 1. Against the Creator, GOD. It is 1. Petty Blasphemy at least: The Jews stopped their ears at it, and dare Christians open their mouths for it a Act. 7. 55. ? 2. Petty Treason. A lifting up the tongue against Divine Majesty, and wounding it, and bringing it to contempt b 2 Kings 19 22. . 3. Grand ingratitude to God. For my tongue made for his glory c Psal. 55. 8. , to do him dishonour. And the Names & Members of Christ, to be made instruments of sin d 1 Cor. 6. 15. . 2. Against the Creature. 4. Grand rebellion. Man the tongue of the Creatures to praise God, makes then Mutes to his Glory e Psal. 19 1. , and guilty of his despising and daring God; and himself worse than them all. 2. There is great danger in it. The Law says, it goes not guiltless f Exod. 20. 7. The Gospel says, of Condemnation g Jam. 5. 12. . 3. There is no profit, credit, or pleasure in it, a meer-pure sin, without motive to excuse it. 4. Custom aggravates it. That I dare get, and keep an habit against Heaven. 5. I may use means to lose, as well as get this custom * Socrates, by stones cured his ill speech. . 1. For God's Names, O Lord! Jesus! Christ! use other words, O strange! O rare! O me! etc. with as good sense, and less sin. 2. Punish thy slips. By't tongue. Give an alms. Say Lords Prayer. Friday-Service. Against Lying. Morning Prayer. Psalm. 34. 52. 63. Lesson. Prov. 6. or 12. Job. 8. Verse 44. Evening Prayer. Psalm. 59 101. Lesson. Jer. 9 Col. 3. or Ephes. 4 Apoc. 12. ¶ Collect, or Prayer, against Lying. O God of truth, keep me from the lip of Lying! Since the Devil is a lying Spirit, let not my mouth be possessed with him. Since he is the Father, let not me be a Child of falsehoods. 'Cause my heart to conceive things aright, and let my tongue truly bring forth the conceptions of my heart. Suffer me not at the price of any lust, to let out my tongue to serve the turns of Satan. As a Prostitute to Malice, by lying to do mischief; or an Advocate to friendship, by lying to do good, or excuse the shame of evil. Let me not commit an evil to do a good, much less add sin to sin, word to deed, upon any occasions. Especially upon small occasions, let not my mind and tongue be filled with such blots. Blemishes both to Christian and Humane conversation! Pes●s both to Church, and to mankind! And that I may abhor a lie, make me to love truth and justice, even for his sake, in whose mouth was no guile. Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen. Daily Prayers. Remedies against Lying. 1. THe Devil first spoke a Jo. 8 4●. , and ever since taught this language b 1 Kings 22. 22. . 2. The Death of Mankind, was drawn in first, from that breath of the Serpent c Gen. 3. 4. . 3. Speech brought forth with a lie, is conceived in adultery. 4. When I love a lie, I divorce my soul from Truth, God's daughter: and marry it to Falsehood, the Devils. 5. The Devil's daughter hath damnation for her dowry: so hath lying, a sin of air, but ends in fire d Apo. 21. 8 . 6. A Christian and a Liar, is a Monster. A new man with an old Tongue. The Devil's tongue in the head of a Christian e Ephes. 4. 24, 25. . 7. A Liar is another Lucifer. He gives being to that which hath none, and so equals himself to God, who only can, and doth. 8. The Primitive Christians would rather die than Lye. Choosing rather the loss of life, than such a blot on the Conscience. These Considerations may make us loathe it, and leave it. 1. Do nothing foul, to be blushed at, and we shall not need to lie for a mask f Gen. 18. 12. . 2. If men's eyes do not, God sees the truth of things g Jer. 5. 3. 1 King. 14 16. . 3. Here the mask is fouler than the face (if not very foul:) at least, the face is fouler for the ugly mask * Sin added to sin. . 4. A time will come, when God will pull all masks from all faces h 1 Cor. 4. 5. . And what good then in the Refuge of lies i Isa. 28. 15 Isa. 59 4. ? Saturday-Service. Against Detraction, or Slandering. Morning Prayer. Psal. 10. 15. 50. Lesson, Jer. 9 or Levit. 19 Verse 11. 2. Evening Prayer. Psal. 64. 101. 140. Lesson. Jer. 9 Jan. 4. or 1 Pet. 2. v. 21. 1 Pet. 3. to v. 14 ¶ Prayer against Detraction. O Lord! Since the Detractor is a Devil, let not me be one! Let me not delight to hear a slander, lest he sit in my ear; Let me not utter it, lest he walk on my tongue; but above all, let me not devise it, lest he lie in my heart. Let not my Ear, Tongue, and Heart, be a chair, house, and bed for the Devil. Let thy holy Spirit of love wholly possess me, that he may have no part in me. Thou wouldst have my heart to be thy Temple, and my lips are the doors; Let me not make thy Temple his Forge to frame, and thy Doors his Shop to vent his mischiefs. Lest in thy justice thou give me my portion with railers, and cursers, and blasphemers in his fiery furnace. As I abhor to murder my neighbour's life, make me afraid to destroy his fame and reputation: lest I wound thereby, and kill at once his credit and my conscience. Keep the sword of Calumny out of my mouth, I beseech thee, that I kill not my slandered neighbour, and myself; and wound as many as hear and believe me. From taking and giving these wounds, Lord shield me, and save me, for his sake, who being reviled, yet reviled not: Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Remedies against Detraction. 1. IT makes a black mouth, and us spit ink in our Brother's face, or fire, like Devils a Eph. 4. 27 The Devil and slanderer all one. . 2. As bloody as black. A b Leu. 19 16 Ezek. 22. 9 murder of what is more precious than life, another reputation c Prov. 12. 1 . with the death of my conscience d Jam. 4. 1 . 3. As abhorred as bloody. To God and Man. The Slanderer cries out on another for slandering him, and therein condemns himself c Rom. 2. 1 as a vile man, for being a slanderer. 4. To wound a good man's fame, is most to be abhorred, to cast filth at God's eyes f Zach. 2. 8 . He being sacred to God g Psa. 105 19 ; this is a kind of sacrilege. 5. To wound a Man of God so, is yet worse h 1 Tim. 5 19 1 Tim. 3. 7 1 Sam. 3. 17 . To kill as many souls as believe the slanders. His Ministry lies a bleeding, if his credit receive a wound. Three fortifications are needful to defend the soul from this sin. 1. In the Ear. To keep it out of the tongue i Psa. 15. 3 To be deaf to obloquy, is the way naturally to become dumb to it. 2. In the Eye. To keep it out of the ear. Slander will not come where anger entertains it k Prov. 25. 23. . 3. In the Heart. To keep it out of all. The chief fort of all. In 1. Wisdom. Not to believe ill reports l Pro. 16. 21 . 2. Truth. Not to devise them m Exo. 23. 1 . 3. Charity n 1 Cor. 13. 5. . If true to conceal, not to speak them. Another's life being the forbidden tree, which my tongue is not to touch. Daily Prayers. Seven Services against Seven other, commonly called, Deadly Sins. Sonday-Service. Against Idleness. Morning Prayer. Psal. 104. Lessons, Gen. 2. or Proverb. 6. Ezek. 16. Mat. 20. to 17 Evening Prayer. Psal. 147. 128. Lessons, Prov. 6. 2 Thes. 2. or 1 Tim. 5. ¶ Collect or Prayer against Idleness. O Lord! who hast made all things for action, and Man above all to be employed in holy and laudable do; Keep me from the much evil of an idle life! Let me not spend my precious days in vain, but improve them in such labours as may be proper to my condition, profitable to others, and above all, suitable to thy service, and available to my eternal salvation. O let me redeem what is lost of my time, and spend the remains of that precious treasure to the use for which thou givest me to live in this world, even to purchase myself happiness in the world to come: Through the merits of him, whose life was a continual labour to do all good to mankind, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Remedies against Idleness. 1. AGainst all Idleness. Consider, 1. To live an idle life, is to be buried whilst we live a Mat. 25. 30. 1 Tim. 5. 8, 13. . 2. Time is a Treasure: for the wasting whereof, we must one day dearly answer b Ephes. 5. 16. . 3. If we be idle towards God, we shall be busy for the Devil. For man is of an active spirit, and will not be every way idle c Joh. 6. 27 . 2. Against Idleness in our vocation temporal. 1. It is the Devil's cushion on which he sits and shapes the Soul to all temptations d 1 Tim. 5. 13. . 2. It is the spawn of lust: as standing waters corrupt soon, and swarm with loath some creatures e 2 Sam. 11. 2. . 3. It is the shame of a man. A baseness below all creatures, from the Emmet to the Angel. Man's nobleness in Paradise, admitted not of Idleness f Gen. 2. 15. . 4. It will be his woe. Often the mother of want in this world g Prov. 24 34. Mat. 25. 8. , and always of everlasting beggary in the world to come. No labour in the Vineyard, no penny i Mat. 20. 39 . Hid the Talon; and lose all k Mat. 25. 28. . 3. Against Idleness in our Vocation Spiritual. 1. Heaven is worth our labour l Apoc. 3. 11 . (Eternity the expense of a little time m Apoc. 2. 10. .) 2. It is not to be had without it n Phil. 2. 12. Apoc. 3. 21 . And woe to us if it be not had o Mat. 26. 24. . 3. Life is the time of labour p Joh. 9 4 , and God knows how long that will last q Luk. 12. 20. . 4. The labour we spend to go to hell, will bring to heaven: as much in God's service, as on our own lusts and sins r Pro. 4. 16 . 5. All sins are stops and stumbling blocks in our way to heaven, to remove which, requires great labour s Ezek. 7. 19 . 6. Christ took pains to save thy soul t Luk. 2. 49 & Luk. 22. 44. , the Martyr's sweat and bled to save theirs u Heb. 11. 33, 34. , wilt thou not sweat to save thine own? 7. The Devil is ever busy to destroy thy soul x 1 Pet. 5. 8 , wilt thou take no pains to save it? Daily Prayers. Monday-Service. Against Covetousness. Morning Prayer. Psal. 4. 34. 49. 52. Lesson, Gen. 14. or Ecc. 2. Hab. 2 Luk. 12. or 16. Mat. 19 Evening Prayer. Psae. 37. 62. or 127. 145 Lesson, Isa. 15. or Job 1. Psa. 4 or 1 Tim. 6. Heb. 13. ¶ Collect, or Prayer against Covetousness. DEar Saviour! who didst covet nothing of this world, let not me covet much! much, is more than my life needs! Much, makes but my trouble, and Luk. 12. 15. temptation more! Much, makes but my audit, and account greater! But Luk. 12. 48 to covet much, makes me check at no sin, and swallow all temptation. 1 Tim. 6. 9 Mat. 4. 9 The Devil would have me desire much in this world, to have nothing in another: But thou, O Christ, who lovest my bliss, forbidst my avarice! Lord, Luk. 12. 15 let me do, what thou (not he) loves! what will suffice me on earth to bring me to Heaven, do thou give me; and more than that, let me not covet. Lord, if I must be destitute in one world, (this, or that) let me rath●r be a beggar on Earth, than a bankrupt in Hell; and suffer want for a time, then for ever: But (if it be thy blessed will) let me want and beg in neither, but by the Prov. 30. 8 allowance of thy Providence have wherewith both to live, and relieve: and by the grace of thy good Spirit, so Luk. 6. 38. enjoy, and dispense what I have on Earth, that I may receive it again of thee in Heaven. And let me so look Mat. 6. 20. after goodness, and lay out my goods, that I may gain a good measure of 1 Cor. 9 12 1 Tim. 6. 19 John 5. glory for thee, and from thee, through the purchase of thy merits (O Christ) whose covetousness was only to serve God, and save Souls. From that which will destroy thy Service, and my Mar. 12. 50 Luk. 22. 15 Salvation, deliver me dear Jesus, for thy mercy's sake. Amen. Daily Prayers. Remedies against Covetousness. MInd, and Heart, must be rectified, and so fortified against it. 1. The mind must apprehend it aright; that is, for 1. Base, and below Man. Whose foot being set on earth, cries him a Psal. 8. 6. Monster of baseness, if his heart be there. And, as 2. Baneful and against him. In what he should propound, or doth 1. Project, from God, or the world, It being the bane 1. Of Man's salvation, (his end) 1 Tim. 6. 9 being perdition to him. And 2. Of God's service, (the means) Mat. 6. 24. it being impossible to give it to him, and Mammon. Paying one so much duly, as robs the other in all his offices, and himself of those abilities. For 1. It deafs the ear to God's Luc. 16. 18 Word. Dumbs' the mouth to Mar. 4. 19 Prayer. lame the hand to good works. Stiffes the knees to the holy Sacrament. Increase Mat. 26. 32. making his Eucharist. 2. It deads' the Conscience to Zach. 11. 5 all sense, and the Heart to all duty. The Seminary of lust 1 Tim. 6. 10. 9 Root of all ill, and Metropolis of all mischief. Turns Psa. 119. 36 the heart from God's testimonies, and sets it (as lucre tempts) on all ungodliness. To save a penny, it will break a Table, and sooner slight all Gods Ten, than One of the World's Commandments. Further than stands with her Thousands for profit, it cares for none of the Ten. 2. And (as impotent for the true end) so, insufficient for his own aims, maintenance of his life, and Family: For 1. His life is not longer, (care 2 Cor. 7. 10 frets his thread) Nor safer, (it makes him grudged, if not rob Psal. 122. 3 of life) Nor, better, his mind hath no rest, nor trouble, end for it. And least at his end, because he hath so much to go from; and so little to come to. Death takes him from Paradise (all the Miser had) and hales him to a prison far worse than his death. 2. And after him (his great project) the Family falls, for want of a blessing to keep up the pillars. If the first Heir be not Psa. 127. 1 a Scattergood, the● third is commonly a Lose-all. The curse Isa. 5. 9 Hab. 2. 10. Amos 4. 2 of God with one finger, pulling down, what he with his two hands (of worldliness and wickedness) hath so long been building up. This, as an Exorcism, may serve (if Belzebub be not there) to drive covetous desires (though Legions) out of the mind: 1. And then, it will be easy, by adding some more power of Thoughts and graces: 2. To cast them out of the Heart. 1. To that end, it will be of some force, to think, 1. At death, all leaves us. Why 1 Tim. 6, 7 Jam. 4 14. 1 Pet. 1. 17 so much cost on my Inn? 2. Life is short. Why such luggage for a little journey? 3. Nature needs little. Why clog 1 Tim. 6. 8. Conscience and it, with much? 4. My goods, are trusts. Why such Luk. 16. 2. care to have what is another's? 5. I must reckon for all. Why Phil. 4. 17. then such reckoning of any? 2. And effectually done, if I have grace, 1. To love the world less, (for 1 Joh. 2. 15: then I will not covet it much.) And value it low, (for then I will love it less.) Did we prise Riches as straws, we would not seek them as Pearls. 2. To believe God better. Then Heb. 13. 5. his Providence will moderate our care, and his Promise banish our Covetousness. 3. To serve God more. For than Psal 37. 3. 54. 9 of▪ St. Mat. I shall believe him better, and challenge maintenance from him upon his Honour and Word. 4. To be content with what I 1 Tim. 6. 6 have. For than I will not crave what I have not, and shall bring my mind to my lot, if I Phil. 4. 11. 12. cannot, it to my mind. 5. To be thrifty, (with content.) For he that is a Prodigal to spend, is forced to be a Miser to get. Avarice never works more than in the service of luxury. 6. To be covetous (with my thirst) Amos 4. 1. to wit, of Heaven. He that loves true riches, scorns earthly. 1 Cor. 12. 1. And will so get and use them, as they may increase 1 Tim. 6 19 the heavenly. So he will be charitable, not miserable, thinking Act. 20. 35 it happier to be of the Giving than Receiving hand. Tuesday-Service. Against Gluttony. Morning Prayer. Psal. 17. 73. Lessons, Deut. 8. or 32. Amos 6. Luke 16. or 21. Evening Prayer. Psal. 78. or 160. Lessons, Dan. 5. or Isaiah 22. Rom. 13. or 1 Cor. 10. Phil. 3. Judas, or Epist. ¶ Collect or Prayer, against Gluttony. Dear Saviour! that wouldst have my Body a Temple for thy holy Spirit; thou wilt not have it a Sepulchre for Beasts. Thou that hast done my lips Mat. 26. ●6. the bliss & honour, to be made Doors for thy Holy Body to enter at, wilt not have them gates for the unclean Spirit to pass, in, and out: if I so pollute my body, wilt thou not desert me, and destroy me, if I dare so profane, Thine? Lord! that I may not lose my Soul, let me not so abuse either Body; and abhor gluttony which makes me do that abuse to both! O Christ! it was thy meat and drink Joh. 4. 34. to do thy Father's will (and but for strength to that thou didst not eat, and drink!) O! let me not with Adam eat myself at oncc out of Obedience and Paradise! Thou didst fast, and feast (to teach me there is a Time for both) but a Gluttons appetite was never in thy mouth. Nor let it ever be in mine, O God if I fast, let me not eat up my Body, by cruel abstinence! if I feast, let me not devour my Soul, by intemperance! whether I abstain, or eat, or drink, or whatsoever I 1 Cor. 10. 3 do, let all be to thy glory! that at death, when Epicures make their two Feasts for Worms, and Fiends, with their Bodies, and Souls; thou mayest feast and fill both mine, with thy One: Joys, which will fill, and not loathe; Satisfy, and not Surfeit, for ever! To that glut of joys dear Jesus bring me! From other gluttony, keep me! By the way of thy Blood, and work of thy holy Spirit, O Lord! Amen, Amen. Daily Prayers. Remedies against Gluttony. A Sin; ¹ Man is not made for; but is ² undone by: yet may be ³ helped against. 1. Man's throat is narrow (not made to swallow) and short, not for delight to gourmandise. If he do, 2. Love he which World he will, it will be his ruin. ¹ For a better. 1. It makes Man, Swine. His Belly, v. Apud. Tertul. Venture Deus, etc. God: and Paunch his Paradise. The Kitchen, his Church. First and second courses, his Services. His hours of Devotion, Meal-times. His Creed is in his Cook. His Decalogue in his Dishes. The company of Epicures his Communion of Saints, and death everlasting his end. For by this means he eats and drinks away his time in vanity; drowns his soul in sensuality, & destroys his conscience Tert. Appendices, sc. gulae lascivia atque luxuria. with guilt. It being (as one dead sin itself) always mother of another, (luxury which never wants a womb, where gluttony hath a belly.) And often sister to many; as ill as 1 Cor. 10. 7 Sodoms, all (even the worst) though Idolatry, and Sodomy itself. And 2. It makes him as much wretch, as Beast. For even here it bars him of the greatest blessing (Health.) His chief boon (long Life;) and only bliss (Pleasure.) For, fullness is the mother of Sickness; and that, the nurse of Death. Temperance hath the most delicious taste, and Hunger cooks all meats Prov. 27. 7 to Delicates; whereas his Appetite needs more whets then his Knife; with which he doth not so much cut his meat, as his throat. Even then digging his Pluris necat crapula quam gladius. grave with his teeth, when he most pampers his Palate. Before the Flood, Man's life was longest, when food simplest. Their years (ten to one) longer, because their diets (twenty to one) less. 3. For such a Malady, help were happy. And it hath a double cure. 1. Perforce. So sickness is the remedy, which disgusts the Palate, and make fasts necessary, because meats unpleasant. So for the time, the Glutton is abstemious; but, by disease, not virtue; not from good habit, but ill habitude. Yet even thus (if wise) it may get the ill one off, and be cured. 2. By choice. For, as his pleasures are none in sickness, they are short in health (whilst the meats pass by the throat, from the mouth to the stomach, space and time not long.) And, in death gone, past all recovery. Why then so much ill, for so little good? This vanishing, and perishing in sickness, and death; That hastening, and posting my Body unto sickness? I will none, if I weigh it well. And less, if I do consider, and endeavour aright. 1. 1. There is a life after death. Be not an Epicure in thy Creed, and thou wilt not be a Glutton 1 Cor. 15. 32, 33. in thy life: Ede, bibe, lude, believes nothing beyond death. 2. Thou wilt be arraigned then by thy Creator, for abusing his Workmanship, (thy self.) Accused by the Creatures, for devouring his works (them.) Making thy soul and body (instead of the Ark of his Testimonies and Tabernacle of his service) the one a streiner for lusts, the other for meats: Rom. 8. 20 The creature ravished by force to serve thee against his ends, as if made for nothing but thy lust, and the dunghill. Thou wilt therefore be condemned for thy injury, to him, thyself, and them. To a gluttony of torments, starved body and soul, without crumb, or Luk. 16. 23 drop of comfort for thy short pleasures, to pains long, and lasting for ever. Consider this! 2. There is, a Cloth, a Meat, a Drink, an Art, an Office, that will help, if thou have it. Do thou then endeavour it! 1. The Coat, is Christ. Of particular Rom. 13. 13, 14. virtue to expel Gluttony. 2. The Meat, is his Word and Sacrament. To which, to have an holy Appetite, is to lose the Job. 6. 27. sensual; and to digest it, to loathe it. 3. The Drink, is his Spirit, with Eph. 5. 18. which the soul drunk, keeps the body sober. The greater excesses of good, the less of it surfeits. 4. The Art, is his Pionry, to undermine Dan. 4. 27. gluttony by works of Charity. Giving the maintenance of thy lust to the poor. So thou shalt at once starve thy Job. 29. 15 and 31. 16. sin, and feast thy Conscience. And God, and Christ himself will come to the feast. Mat. 15. 35 Luk. 14. 13. 5. The Office, is to keep his Table. Which Frugality covers, and Temperance takes away. His Example, & Command, will make thee able, and Prayer will get the blessing of both. And sooner, if for his sake, thou eat, and delight in sober company, and leave Gluttons, for Saints. Wednesday-Service. Against Lasciviousness and Luxury. Morning Prayer. Psal. 106. Lesson. Ezek. 16. or. 2 Sam. 12. Prov. 7. Joh. 8. to v. 42 Evening-Prayer. Psal. 51. Lesson. 2 Sam. 12. 1 Cor. 6. or Heb. 13. ¶ Prayer against Lasciviousness. LOrd, keep me from all filthiness of flesh and Spirit, that before men and thee who discernest both, I may appear pure and undefiled: a chaste Spouse to thee, not to be tempted to any acts or lusts of uncomeliness, or unworthiness, which be ill in thy eyes, that are ever upon me! O let me be pure and holy in all manner of conversation as thou art holy, that in the great day of trial thou mayst not disclaim me, but own me, and take me to thy glory; for the merits of thy Holy One and Undefiled, Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen. Daily Prayers. Remedies against Lasciviousness. 1. GEnerally. The sin of unchastity is vain, foul, fearful, and prevailing: For, 1. The more lust is served, the less satisfied a Ezek. 16. 28. 2. It's called particularly, filthiness, and uncleanness b Apoc. 17 14. It is sacrilegiously to make the Body c 1 Cor. 6. 18, 19, (God's Temple) a Stews; and that is the vilest filthiness d 1 Cor. 3. 17. 3. It is a short pleasure for everlasting pain e Heb. 11. 24. ; yet this fire is the end of that fleshliness f 1 Cor. 6. 9 Heb. 13. 4. Apoc. 21. 8. Besides a foul conscience, it wounds health, honour, state; wasting the balsam of life, blessing of wealth, and ointment of a good reputation g Prov. 5. 8, 9, 10. Pro. 6. 26. 32. 33. Job. 31. 9, 10. etc. 4. It is a strong lust in the assault, and commonly gets the victory. Nature concurring with the strength h Pro. 7. 21 2 Sam. 11. 2 5. The holy Martyrs could no more be tempted by pleasures, than tortures. But, 2. Particularly. In a married condition it is every way worse. 1. Not only Damnation, in another world i Apoc. 21. 8. ; but present Death k Joh. 8. 5. Levit. 20. 10. in this, by the Law of God; and man too, in many places. 2. It tends to the confusion of mankind. Incest, etc. l Gen. 38. 16. 3. The dumb creatures are true to their Mates. 3. The cure of both is the same. To kill the sin. 1. In the Egg. Stifle the first thoughts and motions of lust m Mat. 5. 28. (no Bird but was first an Egg.) 2. In the hatching. Take heed of the things that beget and nourish lust. Covenant with the eyes n Job. 31. 1 against lascivious Persons, Pictures, gestures: stop the o Pro. 7. 21. ears against lustful Songs, Discourses, Devices. Keep the heart p Pro. 6. 255 from being idle, and the body from excessive sleeps, and meats, and drinks, or such as are known to be provocative q Pro. 23. 33. Temperance & Sobriety are great friends; to Chastity. 3. Tempted. Think that thy keeper's eyes are upon thee; with Joseph, that God sees thee r Gen. 39 9 , and will judge thee s Prov. 5. 20, 21. . Thou wilt blush if but a child behold thee. Thursday-Service. Against Pride. Morning Prayer. Psal. 73. 131. Lessons, Isa. 14. Luk. 18. to v. 19▪ or Acts 12. Evening Prayer. Psal. 86. 138. Lesson. J●r. 13. Jam. 4. or 1 Pet. 5. ¶ Collect, or Prayer against Pride. LOrd, keep me from the sin of Pride, which threw Angels out of Heaven, and Man out of Paradise; lest it cast me headlong into the depths of thy displeasure, and bar my soul of both! O let me who am nothing but a miserable body and soul (a lump of sins and woes) let me never exalt myself before, or against thee: Without whose goodness (but one minute) my flesh would fall to the earth, and my spirit lie in hell for ever, without thy mercy. Preserve by these thoughts an humble spirit in me, such as thou mayst respect on earth, and hereafter advance unto thy glory. Even for his sake who so abased himself for my pride, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen! Daily Prayers. Remedies against Pride. 1. KNow what Pride is. A sin abominable, as that which is 1. God's hate. Others sins fly God, but this flies at God * S. Greg. , and God at it a 1 Pet. 5. 5. . 2. Man's bane. It went before the fall of Angels b Judas, v. 6. Isai. 14. and Adam c Gen. 3. 5, 6. , and doth go before destruction d Prov. 16. 18. . 3. Christ's scorn. In his birth, life, death; all humility, nothing of pride; much against it. 2. Know what we are, and there is no cause of pride. 1. Not for our Ills. And our 1. Bodies are Bags of phlegm and choler, poor and vile e Phil. 3. 21. . 1. I am quickened dust, and shall be dead f Gen. 3. 19 . 2. One worm was my beginning, and many will be my end; and much woe between g Job 25. 6 Job 19 26. . 2. Souls be Cages of unclean lusts, and errors h Gen. 6. 5 . Nests of Serpents and Vipers i Isa. 49. 4, 5. . 3. Bodies and Souls both, have what should humble us. 1. My body is subject to a thousand sicknesses and sorrows, but my soul to ten thousand times more sins, and wounds, and weaknesses, and falls k Rom. 7. 24. Psal. 19 12. Psal. 40. 12 . 2. A Grave will be the end of my Body l Psal. 49. 14. , and Hell (without pardon) the end of a sinning Soul m Mat. 3. 7● 8. . 2. For goods or perfections of body or soul, no cause to be proud: because they are all of them, 1. God's gifts, (whether of nature, fortune, or grace n Jam. 1. 17. 1 Cor. 4. 7. ) so they are my debt o Luk. 16. 2▪ , for which I own the Donor my thanks. (Pride pays myself the glory p Act. 12. 23. :) & they are my charge q Mat. 25. 15. Mat. 18. 27. , for which I own God the use, and for that must be careful and fearful (not proud.) 2. Pride is the way to lose the good I am proud of: honour, beauty, eloquence, grace, etc. as we see in Nabuchadnezzar, Herod, Goliath, David, Peter, etc. r Dan. 4. 13. Act. 12. 23 1 Sam. 17. 42. Psal. 30. 6, 7. Mat. 26. 33, 34. 3. Know what we are comparatively, with 1. Others. Our betters of more virtue, if less beauty, glory. 2. God. Before whom Angels cover their feet and faces s Isay 6. 2. Gen. 18. 27. Job 40. 4. . Friday-Service. Against Anger. Morning Prayer. Psal. 4. 103. 106. Verse 28. Lesson. Gen 4. Mat. 5. v. 21. Evening Prayer. Psal. 2. 124. Lessons. Jona. 4. Ephes. 4. or 1 Pet. 3. James 1. ¶ Collect, or Prayer against Anger. LOrd! keep all undue passions out of my mind and mouth! Make me to think, how often thou dost pardon those that provoke thee, that my anger may not forth with burne against every one that doth offend me: But that I may be like thee my heavenly Father, in meekness and mercy: Even for his sake, who was the great example of both, the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Daily Prayers. Remedies against Anger. 1. TO loathe it: Consider two things, point of 1. Honour. As, 1. Holy anger makes a Saint a Psal. 106. 30. Num. 25. 8. other, a beast and bedlam b Prov. 27. 4. . 2. Wrath shuts God out of the heart, and lets in the Devil. c Ephes. 4. 27. 30, 31. 3. To rule it, is to be above a Conqueror; to serve it, below a Slave d Tit. 3. 2, 3. Pro. 14. 29 2. Danger. 1. It is against health e Pro. 19 19 and grace f Jam. 1. 20 Pro. 29. 22 ; and so an enemy both to body and soul. 2. Kindling of it within is dangerous, but flaming out in words and deeds, condemned by Christ the Judge to Hell-fire g Mat. 5. 22. Gal. 5. 22. 2. To leave it: Endeavour 3. things. 1. Prevent it. 1. Expect injuries and provocations. So they move less h Mark 13 22. 2. Suspect reports. They make a little, more i Prov. 26. 21, 22. & Pro. 16. 21. ; as Ziba did k 2 Sam. 13. 3. 3. Value wrongs aright, as unfit, or not worthy anger; but scorn, if small; and pity, if great; and if they come from men angry, take them as blows from the hands of madmen. In comparison of injuries done to God, what are ours? and who are we, if he were always angry l Psal. 7. 12. 130. 3. 4. Cut off occasions m Pro. 22. 24. 1 Thes. 5. 22. as Cotys broke his Venice-glasses. 5. Avoid self-love, which gives our wrongs too great a value n Gen. 4. 24. . 2. Divert it. (As bleeding at nose, by opening a vein in the arm.) 1. To another passion: as joy, pity, scorn o Luk. 9 55. . 2. To another occasion: set mind on something else. 3. To another injury: against God, be angry at sin p Mat. 6. 23 and particularly, at anger, so deformed a sin * Irascor irae. Naz. . 3. Delay it. Hold ourselves in suspense, and silence, and do and say nothing in anger. This was Augustus his cure. Prescribed by the Philosopher. * Atheno●●rus. If you be angry, 1. Say over the Alphabet, before you speak or do any thing. 2. Say over the Lord's Prayer, says the Divine, and mark the fift Petition, or some lesson of Scripture, as Mat. 5. 22. Saturday-Service. Against Envy. Morning Prayer. Psal. 37. Lesson, Pro. 24. or 14. Mat. 20. Verse 15. Evening Prayer. Psal. 73. Lesson. Isa. 11. Gal. 5. or James. 3. ¶ Collect, or Prayer against Envy. O Lord! Because thine eye is good, let not mine eye be evil! And that the Devil's eye be not in my head, keep envy out of my heart. The eye, by which he killed our first Parents, and would have us their progeny, to kill one another! O let me not grudge another's good! If a friends, because I love him; if a foes, because he loves my grief. Whosoever it is, since it is the Dispensation of thy Providence, let me not repine and quarrel at the acts of thy Goodness! And as for thy glory, so for my own comfort too, let not that Ulcer grow on my heart, which will be as much my corrasive, as thy offence. Since I have enough as a man, to grieve my own adversity, let me not be my own Devil so much as to torture myself with another's prosperity; lest on earth, a Hell of perpetual torment seize upon me. From an eye so full of sin and pain, Lord deliver me, even from envy, I beseech thee, for Jesus Christ his sake. Amen! Daily Prayers. Remedies against Envy. 1. A Snake in the heart, poisoning the fountain of action a Jam. 3. 16. , and stinging the mind, to the wasting of the spirits b Prov. 15. 13. , and weakening of the body c Prov. 14. 30. . 2. The heart will endure no such Snake in it, if it have 1. Faith. in God's Providence d Psa. 75. 5 , whose orders and acts, envy quarrels e Rom. 9 20. . 2. Love To God and Heaven. For there, the more heirs, the more inheritance * S. Greg. Rule. . And To Man on earth. For we do not grieve, but joy at their good who we love f Prov. 11. 10. . 3. Lowliness. For Pride breeds this Snake g Gal. 5. 26. . 4. Pity. Eyeing men as mortal and mutable h Psal. 37. 1, 2. . Dead Pompey made Caesar weep. Seven Services, of the Vanities of the most valued things in the World. Sonday-Service. Of the Vanity of Pleasures. Morning Prayer. Psal. 17. 73. Lessons, Eccles. 2. & 11. or Isa. 47. Luk. 12. or. 16. Evening Prayer. Psal. 35. 69. Lessons, Dan. 5. or Amos 6. Rev. 18. ¶ Collect, or Prayer, against the Vanity of worldly Pleasures. DEfend my soul, O Lord, from the Enchantments of the flesh, and save me from vain pleasures, the great Witches of the world! Thou hast made me with reason, let me not live by sense. I am capable of thee as an Angel, let me not set myself amongst beasts, making sensuality my chief good, which is but their blessedness! If my soul be sad, can worldly pleasures comfort me? and shall I be everlastingly sorrowful for moments that delight me? Even the purest sweets of the world, are mixed with bitterness, but the pleasures of sin, O, what gall do they give the conscience? O Lord! To avoid the sting, let me loathe the honey of wicked delights! and because, under the flowers of pleasure, snakes of guilt lie hid, let me beware of all! but O Lord! ever keep me from setting my heart on any! On thee be my soul ever fixed O God In thee be the joy of my heart, even in thee alone; and in other things only in thee and for thee! and let thy fear be the matter or measure of all my pleasures, that they may be in thee; that when the brook of earthly joys shall fail, I may drink of the river which runs to all eternity! O thou who art said to weep, not to laugh, strengthen me to see and overcome this vanity; That I may joy in thee now, and with thee hereafter in endless felicity. Dear Jesus; Amen! Daily Prayers. Monday-Service. Of the Vanity of Honours. Morning Prayer. Psal. 49. 82. Lesson, 1 Sam. 2. or Esth. 6. Dan. 4. Joh. 12. Evening Prayer. Psal. 75. 83. Lesson, Isa. 3. or 5. or 23. or Jer. 5. 2 Cor. 1. ¶ Prayer against the Vanity of Honours. O Lord! Because thou hast made me great, shall I not be good? Because my blood is noble, shall my life be wicked? Because men do me honour, shall I do thee shame? Lord, let such a spirit of baseness never possess me; let me know, that the greater my honours are, the greater be my obligations to serve thee. And let those parasites of greatness, appear as so many fiends of Hell unto me, who would have me break those bonds, and flatter and nourish such a spirit in me. Make me too wise to build my bliss on man's breath, that I be not miserable at their pleasure, and happy when they list. Make me not so fond, as to think, a glory so vain, can make me happy: So poor, as to think that applause my blessedness, which goes and comes with a blast of man's. Make me so wise as to know, that a holy spirit makes the noblest blood, and to be thy child is the best descent; to bear thine image the best coat, to have thine Angels, the best Ministers of honour, and thine eyes the best Judges! And make me so good, as to do those noble acts of virtue and piety which may give me this honour: let others court the vain, let me seek true glory! To scorn earth, get heaven, shining as the Sun in the State of immortality: King of Glory give this honour to me Sweet Jesus, I beseech thee. Amen, Amen. Daily Prayers. Tuesday-Service. Against the Vanity of Riches. Morning Prayer. Psal. 39 49. Lessons, Deut. 8. 9 or Pro. 11. 23 Mat. 13. or 19 or Mar. 10 Evening Prayer. Psal. 52. 62. Lessons, Job 31. or Eccles. 5. James 5. ¶ Prayer against the Vanity of Riches. KEep me, O Lord, from their madness who make riches their God, and poverty their Devil! Let not that be my heaven, wh●ch is so near to hell; let me not make that my bliss, which earth hath in her bowels! And let not that have my heart, which is not my heaven! From immoderate desires to get or keep wealth, keep me O Lord; and from sinful, defend me; that I may not covet much, to spend more in the maintenance of lust, vice, and vanity; and have much to ruin me! Let me know, that riches are good as they come from thee, and give me a power of greater piety, and charity, and alacrity to serve thee; and so let me value them as acts of thy bounty! But as things unable to save, either soul from hell, or body from death, in the day of distress, or to satisfy the soul in any better day; let me despise them as poor and of no value! And as Means of Sin, and Woe, Feeds of pride, luxury, and excess; let me abhor them as the Fuel of wrath, and hell. Let me be rich in thee, and to thee! in bags laid up in heaven, laid out in earth, to man's Necessity, and thy Glory. Let the riches of grace be my joy; others my use, and their love, my scorn. That when the Worldly Rich shall be Beggars, bereft of all comfort; I may be rich in all abundance, in thee, and with thee, who art all in all, by the purchase of the precious blood and passion of Him who became poor to make us rich, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Daily Prayers. Wednesday-Service. Against the Vanity of Beauty. Morning Prayer. Psal. 38, 39 45. Lessons. 2 Sam. 14. or Pro. 31. or 11. or Ezek. 28. Mat. 23 Evening Prayer. Psal. 6. 96. 145. Lessons. Isay 3. or 28. Ezek. 16. 1 Cor. 11. ¶ Collect, or Prayer, against the Vanity of Beauty. O Lord! let me look at Beauty as thy blessing, but not make it my bliss! Let not my care be more for my body, than my soul; and to have a fair face, than conscience! O let that which is thy face and Image, have the chiefest of my costs, and care! Let the glass of thy Word be often before me to see it, and the waters of repentance daily with me to wash it, and the fine linen of the Saints ever by me to adorn it, that the King of Heaven may delight in my beauty; and not Men, but Angels love me! For beauty of the body; let it not be my sin, or another's snare. Let me not hate Deformity above Hell, and love Beauty before Heaven. Since age at last will, and infirmity before may deface that beauty, and change it to a loathed deformity. And Lord keep my looks from being lures of vanity. Let no guilts be upon my eyes, of another's iniquity. Let thy fear preserve me and them from these guilts! Make it my care, to appear with a fair and clean conscience before thee; and to Him whom thou hast made the veil of my eyes, let me be joy of his, That when humane beauty shall fail, an Angels may be given me; a body and soul both fair without blot or blemish, to all eternity. To that beauty, Lord Jesus bring me! Amen. Amen! Daily Prayers. Thursday Service. Against the Vanity of Strength. Morning Prayer. Psal. 22, 33. 38. 102. Lessons. Job 6. or 9 or 40. or 1 Sam. 17. Act. 3. or 5. Evening Prayer. Psal. 86. 147. Lessons. Job 21. or Isay. 26. 1 John 2. ¶ Collect, or Prayer, against the Vanity of Strength. THat I have health, the Crown of earthly mercies, I thank thee, O God of my strength! And I beseech thee continue it to me; without which, I cannot serve thee, or enjoy any comfort from thee! And let me use it whilst it is with me, to the end, for which thou givest it me, to look, and seek after eternal life, where is no sickness, nor infirmity. Lord, make me know, that all other use is Vanity. To trust in strength, idolatry; to turn it against thee, villainy; (To do more sin, because I have more health from thee.) Let me therefore have care in the days of my youth, and strength to remember thee, my Creator; that in the days of age, and infirmity, thou mayest not forget thy Servant! Let my healthy body, make my soul more cheerful to serve thee. How unfit sickness is, to do thee service, and how many ways it may come, let me sadly consider; that in my health I may go about my happiness, and in my sickness have the comfort of a well-employed health; and at my death, the assurance of eternal life, by that employment! Lord! since thou givest me the best of thy blessings, let me give thee the first of my years, the strength of my youth, not my decrepit days; that come sickness, or health, life or death, I may be Thine ever; a child of bliss, and heir of immortality, by the merits of him who is the Son of thy Love, Jesus Christ. Amen. Daily Prayers. Friday-Service. Against the Vanity of Wit. Morning Prayer. Psal. 36. 94. Lessons. 2 Sam. 17. or Prov. 3. Lukc 10. Evening Prayer. Psal. 90. 111. 2. Lessons. Jer. 4. Ecclcs. 2. 1 Cor. 3 or 2 Tim. 3. Jam. 3. ¶ Collect, or Prayer, against the Vanity of Wit. I Thank thee O Lord, for the blessing of my Reason. For the power of it, by which thou hast made me a man, not a beast; and the use of it, by which thou hast made me, of understanding, not an idiot. I beseech thee let me not mar what thou hast made. My wit to delude my will, and it to draw my soul from thee, lest I fool myself of the end for which I was made, and an Idiot get to Heaven before me. As I have the wit, let me have the wisdom, to know thee; and with my understanding, the conscience to fear thee, without which the most wise is but a fool before thee! Ftom a wit to contrive mischiefs, and to compass designs of vanity; from skill to use the arts of sin, and find the ways of death and hell, Good Lord deliver me! From an Atheists wit, to dispute against thee, and Religious acts which bind the soul unto thee; and cunning to maintain acts of vice and villainy; Lord keep me, that it find neither room nor favour in me, that such wickedness be not charged upon me! Let me be a fool on earth, to be a Saint in Heaven! even theirs, who think Sanctity a simpleness, Devotion a dulness, and thy Fear a folly. And from pride of understanding, and scorn of the simple, who have little to my much, let this preserve me; that thou canst make my much to be little, if I so provoke thee, bereaving me of my wits by a sickness or a frenzy. Wisdom of God from all this save me, Dear Jesus. Amen! Daily Prayers. Saturday-Service. Against the Vanity of Friends and Favour. Morning Prayer. Psal. 38. 41. 11. 5. 39 Lessons. Esth. 6. or Job 6. or Pro. 19 Luk. 1. Act. 7. Evening Prayer. Psal. 88, 89. 106. Lessons. Micha. 7. Eccles. 9 James 1. ¶ Collect, or Prayer, against the Vanity of Friends and Favour. O Lord! Friends are Jewels, and so thou hast taught us to value them; yet as men that may be false, or will be fickle, our trust must not be in them. Some are not more friends to my person, than my prosperity. And those that are now most friends with me, may prove bitter enemies against me. Let me therefore seek to have my Conscience, thy Angels, and Self, for friends that will never fail me! and let thy will be mine, O God, that all these friendships may be for me! O thou great Friend of mankind, who by thy blood didst make fall'n man friends with God, by thy Holy Spirit make me fit for all these friendships! And Lord, let me not value man's with thy favour! They can give me honour, but not a Crown of Glory! Wealth, but not Heaven (Their hands are too short.) Yea, in sickness and distress they cannot reach health, or quiet, to my body, or my conscience. And though their power be ever less than my wants, it may be often greater than their wills. O Thou Unchangeable Majesty, The everlasting lover of them that fear thee, let me be one, that thou mayst ever favour me! Let me not care for man's cloud, so the light of thy countenance shine upon me! Let my sins never hid that light from my soul, I beseech thee; Sun of righteousness, let some beam of thy love ever come unto me. Lord Jesus say, Amen. Amen! Daily Prayers. Services upon other subjects, and particular occasions. Advertisement to the devout Reader, touching these Services. FOr those services in the fourth Week, which may not be so proper for all (as that of Honour, Beauty, Strength) those here which are of more Common concernment may be used in their stead, as the Service against Malice, Revenge, Impatience. The rest, as occasion and discretion guides thee, and devotion finds most beneficial for thee. Wherein the Author gives thee, thou mayest take thy choice. And if thou wilt, make these serve for a fift Week, do as shall most please and profit thee. A Service of the pleasures of piety, for Sunday, or other day. Morning Prayer. Ps. 4. 30. 32. or 33. 97. Lessons, Deut. 16. or Isa. 29. or 35. 61. 65. Joh. 16. Evening Prayer. Psal. 16. 36. or 126. 132. Lessons, Heb. 3. or Mat. 3. or 8. Phil. 4. ¶ A Prayer to have the pleasures of Piety. RAvish my heart O Lord with the joys of thy Saints, and cause me to see the felicity of thy chosen! O! What are the pleasings of sense to the solaces of a Soul? or the delights of the flesh to the raptures of Spirit? And in what but in thee, O God, can my immortal Soul take repose, or my Spirit find relish! thou art the Sovereign good. In thee is the Crown of joy. All in the world is nothing to thee, woe without thee. And how can my Soul rejoice in thee, but in the favour which thou hast to those that fear thee; and those multitudes of mercies which proceed from thy favour, to those that are in holy league and peace with thee. Lord! make me one of thy Saints, that I may have some of those joys, which none but those that feel, know; and those that know, cannot utter! And give me, I beseech thee, some taste of those holy pleasures, which may encourage me more and more, to seek to be a Saint. O Lord! of those showers of hidden Manna which daily fall upon Souls greatly devout indeed, let some crumbs and drops come to me, who truly desire to be so; and whilst others take pleasure to swim in sensuality, let me be satisfied with those drops. Let sinful contents be my hate, because they banish them; and sensual, my scorn, because below them! Let me joy in the goods of the earth as my common portion, but triumph in thy favour, as my great Inheritance; and in the duties of thy service and fear, as the ways to thy favour! To the harvest of joy in Heaven, Lord at last bring me! and (to live more comfortably on earth in thy fear) the First-fruits of thy Spirit give me! and a love, and care, and conscience of thy fear increase ever in me, God of all grace and comfort, I beseech thee, for his sake who came to save me, my Hope, my Joy, my Jesus. Amen. A Meditation of the pleasures of Piety. ASsemble yourselves you Epicures, Masters of delights, and Professors of all the Arts of Pleasure; take Counsels, and make Musters of all your powers and wits, with all your Students & Agents in delectable things and devices! One Saint and Servant of God, is Commander and Possessor of more joys than you all! 1. Joys of another Quality than yours; fair, and pure: even the poorest extracted out of the grossest earthly goods, as Elixirs, and Essences. Defecate from your dregs of guilt, and stings of Conscience. A Tun-full of yours, is not worth a Vial of theirs; Psal. 4. 6. Eccles. 1, & 2. Prov. 14. 13 a whole Barrel of your Pitch, below a Box of their Balsam. 2. And contend you not in Quantity with them! their numbers exceed yours as much as their excellencies. Their joys are Two to one, to yours. Yours are Psal. 4. 6. Jac. 1. 12. for good of this life; theirs for ill, as well as good! And- Three to one, for goods. Yours are for temporal (spiritual, you do not taste, eternal you cannot hope!) they have Temporal, in hand; Spiritual in heart; Eternal, in eye. Nay- Ten, hundreds, thousands to one. Yours is from Finite good; theirs from Infinite. And (which multiplies that to ten thousand times ten thousands of millions, and more) Yours, is for time; and theirs of that, Eternal. You are then out-vied every way. Yours are the joys of Servants, (of Mat. 25. 13 Slaves.) Theirs, the Lords. Yours are Heb. 11. 25. Drops; theirs, Oceans! yours, Moment's; Isa. 12. 3 theirs, Eternity's. Above them, Psal. 36. 9 is the spring of heavenly joys; within Isa. 30. 10. 1 Pet. 4. 8. Joh. 15. 11. Deut. 12. 7. Jer. 11. 15. them, seas of holy solaces; about them, rivers of Earthly pleasures; below them, the puddles of your carnal contentments. They drink water pure from the spring and rock; and therefore loathe your channel joys! and even for that, drink it in, both more pure, and more. To all these Territories of joys have the Saints good rights, and it is Phil. 4. 4. Deut. 28. 47. Prov. 1●. 10 Psal. 17. 14 both their shame, and sin if they do not take, and keep possession. Which you cannot judge, who are strangers both to their joys and hearts! Nor, match; who are penned up to your single sole poor pension of worldly-pettie, transitory pittances! Prince of Epicures, enter the lists now with a Prime Servant of Almighty God: Sum up all thou canst possess, or imagine, of joys, and give in thy total; one of his least figures is more; the sum, infinitely. Have what Solomon's brain and state can Eccles. 1, & 2. command of delights; add what Cleopatra's wanton wits and friends can devise of dalliances; an Ephrem from his Cell, a Catherine from her Oratory, shall beat all your great Minions, and baffle all your multitudes of joys. You have a sensefull of joys, they a soule-full. When your eyes run over with laughter, your heart is not full; Prov. 14. 13. their hearts are so full, that they run all over. Their Raptures are more great than hearts can hold. One prays God to withdraw a while, his heart is too Recede Domine, parumper, quia vasculun cordis mei ferre nequit. little a vessel to contain Him: the other cries out to Him, the multitude of his joys, overwhelm her. O Epicure! be a Saint, and thou shalt find what thou dost else in vain seek, Obruor multitudine gaudiorum tuorum Domine. (as thy chief good,) Joy above all thy joys; in quality, quantity, height, depth, breadth, length; pure, as crystal; great, as God; high, as heaven; deep, as the heart; broader than earth; long as eternity! But O Saint! be not thou an Epicure! if delight draw thy heart, thou losest so much in delectation, as Religion; and abatest thy Soul so much of solace, as God of service! Believe it, if thou wouldst have joy in life, and at death; for the goods and ills of this life; both body and soule-goods; enough on earth, and more, in heaven; the only way is, to be (as thou shouldst be) and continue as thou art, not an Epicure, but a Saint! Service against Malicee, for Monday or other day. Morning Prayer. Psal. 7. 10. Lesson. Prov. 24. Mat. 5. v. 43. Evening-Prayer. Psal. 35. 62. Lesson. Levit. 19 1 Cor. 5. or Tit. 3. 1 Pet. 2. ¶ Collect or Prayer, against Malice. O Thou Divine Goodness, keep me from Malice, the very Soul of Satan, and proper sin of the Devil! Thou O God art Love: He than is Hatred; and if malice be in me, I shall be as he is; one whom (unless thou hatest thyself) thou canst not love. From such a detestable and damned disposition, Lord deliver me! Let not Satan's brand be on my breast, and his soul in my body; lest being marked for him, he seize me as his own, and take me, and carry me from thee, body and soul! Lord stamp thy love on my heart, that I may be sealed for thee, and as thy own, claimed by thee. And since this is the Cognisance of thine, to love one another, let me not wear his Badge in a visible malice to any, that all may know that I am thine: A Child of thy Family, a Dove of thy Flock, a Lamb of thy Fould, without gall, or mind to do mischief to any: Delighting like thee, to do good to all, Even for his sake who did wish and do evil to none, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Daily Prayers. Remedies against malice. 1. IT is a Toad swelling with venom in the heart: to God who is love a 1 Joh. 4. 8. 1 Joh. 1. 12. , more odious, because like the Devil, most abominable. (The Devil's heart in man's body.) 2. To cast & keep out this venom of the Serpent. 1. Consider, 1. Men are mortal, their enmities therefore should not be immortal b Eph. 4. 26. . 2. Men are mutable. Whom now I hate, I may hereafter need; (as in Joseph c Gen. 42. 6. and Jeptha d Jud. 11. 7. .) 3. Men are amiable e Prov. 8. 31. : all after God's image, and bought by Christ's blood f Gen. 9 6. . 4. No man is the Christians enemy g Heb. 2. 9 Rom. 14. 15 : as God, he hates the sin, not the man h Mat. 5. 44. . 5. If there be antipathy in nature, it must be mastered by grace i Gal. 5. 24. , which must do miracles to nature. 2. Beware, 1. Of Anger. That if it kindle, it continue not to be wrath, and so cool into malice k Ephes. 4. 26. . 2. Of men of Malice, set upon mischief l Prov. 4. 15. 16. . Service against Revenge, for Thursday or other day. Morning Prayer. Psalm. 94. Lessons, Deut. 32. vers. 35. or 1 Sam. 24. Luke 18. Evening Prayer. Psal. 18. v. 47. Lessons, 1 Sam. 25. Rom. 12. or Heb 10. v. 30. ¶ Collect or Prayer, against Revenge. O Thou to whom vengeance belongeth, keep me from a revengeful spirit, that I fall not into the hands of thy vengeance! And since my pity, and patience, and pardon is thy will, let me not study revenges, and returns of injuries! Thou (O meek and merciful Saviour) didst pray for thy bloody enemies! O let me then forgive my greatest foes! Committing my cause to thee, who wilt do justice for me on them, if I seek not revenge, and for thyself upon me, if I do! Thine O Lord, is the sword of vengeance, & thine is the sharpest sword! O let me not dare to take it out of thy hand, lest whilst I strike others, I fall justly by thy sword! Though flesh and blood provoke me to it, let thy holy Spirit hold me from it; & cast & keep out of me that evil spirit by thy power O good God and Saviour, of thy mercy! Amen. Daily Prayers. Remedies against Revenge. 1. THe sin of Revenge strikes at God, and Man. 1. It invades God's Prerogative, and takes his sword out of his hand. Rom. 12. 19 2. It is many ways an injury to man. To his- 1. Nature. Born without arms, to live without revenge. And even armed Bruits agree with their kind, and Devils avoid quarrels. 2. Glory. To pass by an injury: of Prov. 19, 11. all, the most excellent victory; Caesar's noble memory to forget Pro. 16. 32. Ro. 12. 22. nothing but wrongs. 3. Peace. The mind is disturbed and takes no rest. Ester 5. 11, 12, 13. Prov. 12. 15 4. Justice. I am my own Judge, and another's Executioner. 5. Wisdom. If my revenge fall on a Just man, it toucheth God, his Zach. 2. 8. friend. If he be unjust, my vengeance will make me so too. 2. Be a Christian and you cannot do this sin: contrary to the Holy life and law of Christ; for when much provoked, Luk. 9 55. 1. He checked his Disciples for calling for it. 2. He commands Charity, to pardon Joh. 15. 12 Luk. 21. 19 Ro. 12. 20. wrongs; Patience, to suffer them; and Kindness, to conquer them. 3. He forbids Self-love, the mother, 2 Tim. 3. 2. Ephes. 4. 31, 32. and Wrath the father; both which, beget, and bring forth, revenge. A Penitential Service, fit for a troubled Soul, fasting and praying for mercy and grace, for Wednesday or other Day. Morning Prayer. Psal. 6. 32. 38. or 51. 130. 143. Lesson, Isa. 1. Mat. 11. or Act. 3. Evening Prayer. Psal. 40. 42, 43. Lesson, Job 9 or Ezek. 18. or 33. 2 Cor. 7. ¶ 1. Collect or Prayer for a Penitent. O Lord! I do here cast down myself before thee! O cast me not away from thee! I cannot stand at the Bar of thy justice, I do therefore lie down at the Footstool of thy mercy. I do condemn myself for my sins; Lord, do not thou judge me! Cancel my sins in my Saviour's blood, and wash my soul in the streams of mercy! Though as red as crimson and scarlet, thou hast promised the penitent, they shall be white as snow; O acquit this pensive soul, of mine, I beseech thee; let not my guilt be black, as Hell before thee. Wash me from it, forgive it me! And because forgiveness of what's past avails not, if I fall again into former offences; O God of all grace, I beseech thee, so to pardon me a sinner, as to make me a Saint. Give me an holy strength to mortify my lusts, with an holy care to watch and withstand all occasions and temptations to wickedness: especially those that are by nature, custom, or condition of life, most ready to surprise me; against them, make me to watch and ward, and pray, and strive more diligently. And let thy Holy Spirit assist and strengthen me to a victory, even for the blessed merits of him, who overcame the world for me, the Captain of my salvation, thy Dear Son, Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen. ¶ 2. Collect, or Prayer, for a Penitent. O God with a prostrate body and bleeding heart, I do most humbly confess & bewail my wretched nature, and wicked life before thee. For my thoughts, my lusts, my deeds and words past, my conscience cries out against me * Here think of particulars when you say it. ; So vain, so vile, so foul, so ill, have they been before thee. And thou art greater than my heart, and canst lay more unto my charge, than conscience knows about me! O thou searcher of all hearts and ways, how oft I have vowed thee better service, thou knowest; and have shamefully violated my faith with thee! I have sometimes begun to seek after thee, but soon lost myself again in the ways of former vanity. As the hills, so hath been my love to vain things; but my goodness as the morning dew, which vanisheth presently. And for this, even from my own mouth, thou mayest again condemn me. Yea, Lord! with grief of heart, and shame of face, I do yet further confess and lament bitterly, that (as if it had been a light thing myself to be in sins and arms against thee) I have been a Leader of others into Rebellion, and so am both a Sinner and a Tempter before thee. I have countenanced in them, what I should condemn; and encouraged, what I should abhor. And so as principal to my own, have made myself accessary to other men's ills; and by nursing the acts of their sins, have contracted their guilts, for which thou mayest again condemn me, charging their wickedness and woes upon me. And though I have been, and am at this day so guilty, unworthy and vile a wretch against thee; O how good and gracious a God hast thou been all my life, & at this present art unto me! Though I deserve all vengeance, even to eternal death, thy mercies have been, and are still great upon me! O God of all pity and patience, I am confounded to consider thy great goodness, and my wickedness against thee! Woe is me, that the bonds of thy Laws, and thy mercies and my vows, should be all thus broken by me! For this shame and confusion of face for ever might justly cover me! But Lord! though I be every way a miserable Sinner, thou art infinitely more a merciful God. Thou hast a propitiatory for sin above all my provocations. Marry Magdalene was foul with lust, yet forgiven: St. Peter perjured, but pardoned: Saint Paul made others to blaspheme, yet found mercy: O Lord! for thine infinite mercy's sake, let my sins be forgiven me! even for my Saviour's sake punish not my guiltiness upon me. Seal to my soul thy pardon in his blood, which was shed to save me. And for time to come, let thy Holy Spirit assist me to live with more conscience, and less sin before thee. Lighten my mind with a sight of thy truth, and fire my heart with a love to thy majesty, that the vanities of the earth may be my scorn, and the glory of heaven the only ambition that takes me; and thy fear my only care, as the way to that glory. In that way, guide me, keep me, and continue me, by thy holy Spirit, I beseech thee; let me so use thy earthly blessings, that they may not hinder me. Father of mercy, and God of grace, grant this I beseech thee: even by the blessed Mediation and Merits of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶ 3. Prayer for a Penitent Confessing Sins and Deprecating Judgements. O Thou Holy and Dreadful Majesty! I am ashamed to lift up my eyes unto thee for the sins I have committed against thee. Woe is me for the undue thoughts, and lusts, and words, and deeds, of which I stand guilty before thee! I have, like a prodigal Child, wasted those goods and days in the delights of vanity, which thou O Father, didst give me, not to sin with, but to serve thee. And even for those few hours which I have spent best, privately in thy service, and in thy Sanctuary, I have need to ask thy forgiveness and mercy; So coldly, so carelessly, so distractedly, so irreverently, have I then, and there, behaved myself before thee. By thy holy laws, by thy many mercies, by my often vows & promises, I stand at this day deeply obliged unto thee: But I have broken all those bonds, and even to this hour am not free from rebelling against thee. For this I do confess, thou mightest sentence me to as many judgements, as the mercies are with which thou hast blessed, and yet blessest me. Thou mightest cast away that soul, which I have so much polluted with sin, and smite that body which hath been so much a servant to it in the acts of vanity. Thou mightest take away all Hope and Comfort from me, and at once bereave me both of Life and Soul. Of all these plagues, O Lord, I am most guilty, by my sins; and if thou shouldest execute them all upon me, thou wert but righteous in thy judgements. But in judgement Lord, remember mercy! To thy poor servant, to thy penitent, prostrate Child, grant thy pardon, Dear Father, and reach to my soul thy hand of mercy! I have guilt, but thou hast Blood, O Blessed Redeemer! I have stains, but thou hast Grace, O Holy Comforter! O Holy, blessed and glorious Trinity, Spare my life, and save my soul, I beseech thee, who have condemned myself for sinning so much, and resolve by thy grace to serve the more conscionably! And Lord! save thy poor distracted Church, O forgive her sins, and build up her wal●s. And in Her, preserve all that are dutiful Children and faithful to thee and her; especially those who are in Place and Power to preserve Her: Lord do thou preserve Her, and Them; and all who are dear and near to me, and Thee! Comfort all that are cast down, especially those whose souls bleed for their sins, all poor-penitent-broken Spirits. Have mercy on them, O Lord, and comfort for them, and heal them (thou good Physician, who alone canst help them) by the precious wounds and death, and bloody passion of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Daily Prayers. Litany. Ten Commandments. Epistle, 2 Cor. 11. 18. Gospel, Mark 4. v. 35. Prayer for Catholic Church. Service against Impatience, for Thursday, or other day. Morning Prayer. Psal. 77. 37. Lessons. Job 2. or Prov. 25. Mat. 18. Evening Prayer. Psal. 106. 145. Lessons. 2 Sam. 15. Rom. 12. or Jame● 5. ¶ 1. Collect or Prayer, against Impatience. O Lord! let not a Spirit of impatience possess me, by which I do but provoke thee, and advance not all, Jer. 7. 19 above my misery. By it, I shall neither get thy blessing; nor ease my burden, Isa. 45 9 but draw thy curse, & double the cross upon me! Thou art my Maker! I may not strive with Thee: And my misery, Psal. 39 10. is thy work. I must not contest with it. I may struggle under the yoke; Lam. 3. 27 but what I shall gain but gall and guilt by the strife? (Gaul, to my Jer. 28. 13. neck; and Gild to my conscience?) I will therefore kiss thy Rod, and bow to what I cannot break, thy yoke: Under which I will draw on my course with more humility, and care; Sad, for that I have offended; and careful, that I may not offend; 1 Pet. 5. 6. so shall my obedience be accepted, and my deliverance hastened. For, O Lord! it is not my punishment, but amendment, which thou dost seek, and therefore sendest distress to drive me to Hos. 5. 15. my duty. Which when I learn by thy rod and yoke, thou dost lay them aside, and appear in more comfortable shapes unto me: yea, and allowest my Apoc. 3. 10. patience good recompense, for my better behaviour, in the school of my misery. Good Lord! let me learn what thou dost teach, that I may receive what thou dost give, the honour of being held thy Faithful Servant under the cross; and the glory of having Rom. 8. 18. a Crown for my service. Not for any merits of mine, or it, but for thine infinite mercy's sake; and the merits of Him who is the Great Master, Heb. 12. 3, 4. and Pattern of Patience, and all perfection, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ¶ 2. Prayer against Impatience. LOrd! keep me from Impatience, as much my pain, as sin. To thee (the wise and just Disposer and Governor of Humane affairs) it is a sin; (a quarrelling and fight with thy Providence.) To me a poor frail Creature, who cannot maintain contest Job 2. 10. against my Maker, it will be but pain. If thy Hand lay the burden on, Isa. 49. 5. I must submit; I cannot resist thee: Pray it off, I may; I cannot throw it from me: yea, impatiently to seek to cast it off, is the way to overwhelm me. O! let me not delight at once in thy displeasure, and my overthrow! Thou art just: If evil be on me, its what I deserve. Thou art good: If I submit to thy will, thou wilt work my good, out of that evil. Thou art great: If I will not by choice, I shall by force, submit to thy will. When therefore evil (be it never so much, or great) is upon me, let me look up; (to thee) from whom it flows! Let me look in; (to my sin) for which it comes! Let me look on; (to my good) to which it tends! So shall I sit down in Patience under it, and kneel down in prayer to be delivered from it; waiting humbly till thou shalt set me above it! Even so give me grace to do, and say, of my Cross and Pain, as thou my Saviour didst of thy bitter Cup and Passion, Father! If it be thy will, Let this Cup pass from me! if not; not my will, but thy will be done. Amen, Amen. Remedies against Impatience. 1. AN Insurrection against the Government of a Providence Almighty, and Good; and therefore ever, fond, and foul. 2. A Sin, of an everlasting date; because man is in the perpetual motion of misery, till at rest in heaven. 3. A Sin, which keeps man from growing to the height of piety (to Summa Philosophia, Chrys. thank God for Adversity) making him as a Dwarf of Hell, giving Him, (if not Bans and Blasphemies) Frets, for Thanks. 4. A Sin, which throws a man into the Depths of iniquity. Tutor to despair, and Factor for Apostasy. Luk. 8. 15. Heb. 12. 1. Lam. 5. 7, 8. 5. A Sin, which opens a gap to all Temptation, and Womb for all wickedness. Mother of all man's miscarriage, Mat. 13. ●1. Malum impatientia est boni, Tert. and mischief. An Enemy to Heaven, and Auxiliary to Hell. 6. A Sin, which weakens and wastes the Soul. Breaking down the Prov. 25. 28. wall of her strength, Putting her shoulder out of joint, and body out of Luk. 21. 19 temper. 7. A Sin, which weakens and worries life. Depriving it of a Calm Lam. 3. 26 of Conscience, in a Tempest of trouble: Making the shelter (that should be) the more devouring storm: and man Prov. 18. 14 (flesh and spirit) swallowed up in the misery of both. 8. A Sin, so forbidding man to improve life to the best (to die a Martyr) that it allows it not well, to live Jam. 1. 20. ● a Saint. This Sin, of so execrable and formidable a quality, will be avoided, or left, if we shall, 1. Know, and believe; God's Providence Job 1. 21. Lam. 3. 39 Lam. 3. 22 governs all, and well: and our Sins, deserve all, ill, and worse. Sooner, if we 2. See and Consider. Calamity, is a 1 Cor. 10. 13 Common lot: from which Saints Jam. 5. 10. Heb. 5. 8. and Princes have no privilege. No not He that was King of Saints & Kings. Especially, if we, 3. Mind, and study Christ's Cross. A Present Cure. No Water so bitter, which this Wood will not sweeten * Exo. 15. 23. ; no Meat which will not down with his Vinegar and Gall. No thing so hard, which his Passion makes not easy a Bern. nullus cibus tam amaris, qui si recordatione aceti & fellis Christi temper●tur, non statim fiat dulcior. . b Greg. Nihil tam aurum etc. Luk. 23, 41 Mat. 27. 46. Isa. 53. 5, 6 2 Pet. 2. 24 Mark. 12. 50. Have in mind, Who? Suffered on it; an Innocent man, and God too (God-man?) What? more than all Mankind ever did, or could bear! Why? for thy particular Guilts in the generals of all Mankind! How? with a cheerful Spirit, and submissive Soul! And if not for sin, for shame, thou wilt have out of heart, Impatience. No such Physic to heal thy frets. No such Book to Teach; no such Pulpit to Preach, Patience. Nor any Receipts, Lessons, Sermons more effectual, than those in that Course, Book, and Pulpit. By the work of his Spirit, they will be so, if thence we shall have grace to 4. Kill, and Preserve. What doth quicken and strengthen Impatiency in us. And will beget and nourish that life which will not let it quicken. 1. Self-love, and Pride, give that Sin life & strength. That's the Womb; this Father of it. Deny myself and Mat. 16. 24. I will take up my Cross: love myself and I shall not endure it. To cross the flesh is the way to bear a Cross. And Humility will make me stoop and take it on; Pride fume, and throw it off; or fret to Mat. 11. 29. have it on. Not to be Proud, is the way to be Patient. And sooner 2. By Innocence, Hope, and Love, which will give Patience a life. 1. Innocency makes a quiet mind, Isa. 57 21. as Gild a troubled. And Repentance helps to it, since man once cast out, comes not to a perfect state of innocence. Martyr's therefore & Penitents are the greatest Patients. Because, those are kept, these washed, innocent. 2. Hope makes a strong heart. It Heb. 6. 19 anchors it in the storm, and upholds it under evil: Else it would drown in grief, or break and fall with misery. 3. Love of God, endures all for Him, and much more especially from Him. It looks as at the Heb. 2. 9 Joh. 18. 11. Scourge, the Hand, and takes the chastening quietly, because a Fathers rod. Service of the Passion; fit for Friday, or Wednesday. Morning Prayer. Psal. 22. Lessons, Isa. 53. or 63. Mat. 26. or Mark. 14. Luke 23. John 13. Evening Prayer. Psal. 84. 112. Lessons, Zach. 11. & 12. Ephes. 1. Col. 1. ¶ Collect or Prayer, of the Passion. O Incomprehensible Goodness & Mercy, who didst send thy own Son to a Cross, to bring me to thy Crown; and at the price of a most bloody Passion to purchase my salvation: O let this love be ever in my heart, and the fruits of it abound with me in all holy carriage and conversation! Make me therefore to hate my sin more than death, which made thy Son to die; And let neither goods, nor honours, nor liberty, nor life be dear unto me for my Saviour's sake, who made me so to live! Lord! let me sacrifice all that I have and am to thee, who gavest thy Dear self, a Sacrifice for me! Let me thirst to shed my blood, and die for thy truth; and let it be my meat and drink all my days, to do thy will, and live to thy glory: That I may at last, by the merits of thy precious blood and passion, dwell for ever with thee: with thy blessed Saints and Angels, giving all lauds, and worship, and honour to thee, even for ever and ever. Amen. Daily Prayers. Litany. Ten Commandments. Epistle, Tit. 2. or Heb. 9 Gospel, Mat. 26. or Joh. 3. Prayer for Catholic Church. A Meditation of the Passion of Christ. O Christ! Thy Passion makes me full of all Passions! I am in Love, and Hate; I have my Long and Loathe; I take Joy and Grief; I cherish Hope and Fear; I am Incen'st and Ravished! 1. I am in love. And with whom but Thee, O Jesus! I am Enamoured Amor meus crucifixus est, etc. of thy Person! God-man! Son of God The Beauty of Heaven and Earth! Centre of all Created, and Increated Excellency! Mirror of the Heb. 1. 2. Col. 2. 3. 9 1 Pet. 1. 12. 1 Cor. 11. 3, 7. Godhead! Wonder of Angels! Glory of Mankind! I am Inflamed with thy Love! why so much (too much) O Lord! Was it not enough to leave a Throne for my sake, but Thou must lie in a poor Cratch; stand at a base Nimius amor. Pillar; hang on a Cursed Cross; not for thyself but me, (by my birth, lust, life) a beast, a Villain, a Malefactor, to my God Thou didst write thy love to Lazarus Legible in thy tears, shall I not read it in thy wounds? Saw they Joh. 11. 36. it in thy Dripping Eye, shall not I, in thy Bleeding Side? They, in the Hot-water thou didst bestow on his Dead Body; and not I, in thy Reaking Blood, shed for my Damned Soul! * O duri & indurati, & obdurati, etc. quos non emollit tanta flamma, etc. Bern. O let my Heart never be so hard, as to see those Wounds of so great love to me, and have no wound of affection for Thee! for Thee? And all in heaven and earth, that have Relation unto Thee, O Christ! I am in love, with the Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, who would give His Joh. 3. 16. Rom. 8. 32 only Son, so to suffer on earth for a time, that I might not fry in Hell for ever! And I have love t● Thee, O Holy Spirit of God, who didst Anoint Jesus, Isa. 61. 1. to be my Christ; and give Him Inauguration to his Crown of Thorns, and Blessed (though most bloody) Function! O Holy Trinity! I do adore what I cannot comprehend, as your Heavenly 1 Joh. 3. 7. Heb. 10. 7. Persons, so your Counsels! And with an humble love and holy reverence desire to behold and bless your Design for the Salvation of one World, by the Passion of Him, who is more worth than a Thousand! I see and admire, your wonderful Wisdom, Goodness, and Power, that could, and did contrive, such a Decree! And (next to your Persons) that Blessed Trinity of your Perfections, I will Ephes. 3. 10, 11. Col. 1. 27. for ever, love, admire, and adore! And next God, I have love for thee, O Man! Son of man, who ever thou art, by His flesh and blood, and bloody Passion, made God's Son and Brother of Christ. Thy Heb. 2. 10, 12, 14. Ephes. 2. 13. 19 Cross, O Jesus! shall make all Mankind my friends; and Thy Blood, glue my heart to every man! O Christ! why should I hate any, when Thou didst so love all? How dare I slight any, when Thou gavest thy Heartsblood for every one! shall he that is Mat. 25. 40. thy Brother, be my hate or scorn? And of all Mankind, I love you, ye Saints, that are Twice his Brethren Rom. 12. 5 1 Cor. 12. 27. (in Spirit, and flesh) so near to Him in both, as makes you His Limbs, as well as Brothers! And Thee, O Holy 2 Cor. 11. 2. Col. 1. 18. Ephes. 5. 23. Church! Spouse of Him, and Mother and Body of them; yea the Body, for which (with specialty) He gave His Blood, and Self! I have Passionate Ephes. 5. 25. Act. 20. 28. Love for thee, O thou Dearest Body of Christ! shall I think any thing too good for thee, for whom He gave Himself? Preferring thee (His Mystical) before His Natural Body? And shall I esteem, friend, or state, or liberty, or life, or any thing, or all things before thee? And (above all the world (though no worship) I have kindness for you, you holy Angels of God: who though you have no Ransom because no need of a Redeemers Blood; nor had wherewithal (as it needed not) to pay and contribute at all to the Redemption) yet for your Zeal to God, and Love Luk. 2. 13. to Man, gave it the joy, as if it had been your Deliverance; and Christ the Welcome, as if He had come to be your Saviour! Messengers of His Birth, Ministers in his life, Attendants at his Luk. 2. 11. Mat. 4. 11. Joh. 20 12. Luk. 24. 6. Act. 1. 11. Death, Heralds of his Resurrection, and Ascension; Giving to his Natural Body, all Due Services on earth, and paying for him to his Mystical, your Heb. 1. 14. Holy Ministeries, now he is in Heaven. O you Pure and Holy Spirits of God though you got not your Bliss, you lost not by Him! It is made more strong to you, and you more High in Mediator Confirmationis. it, by the Numbers of Glorified Bodies, filling the Rooms of Apostate Spirits, to your fare greater joy, and Bliss. You love Him and His Passion for it, and I you for that! You love Man, above your own Kind, for that, and I you for it! Thus, Lord! I love all for Thee, and Thee, in all. And now I will love myself amongst them! O Lord! I am One, in whom is thy flesh, (a Man.) I am One, in whom is thy Spirit, (a Christian.) I am One, for whom thou didst Heb. 2. 12. Joh. 3. 5. Heb. 2. 9 Rom. 5. 5. Isa. 43. 4. shed thy Blood; On whom thou hast shed thy Spirit; (A Redeemed, Esteemed Man, by Thee.) And shall I be so poor as to value dirt to thy Blood? (the world before thee?) Shall I quit Phil. 3. 8. thy Spirit for lu●t? (value thee after the Flesh?) Shall I be tempted to give myself from thee, to the Flesh and World? (love Thee less than the Devil?) O Lord! I will value thy Blood more; I will keep thy Spirit, better. I will set a higher price on myself, than to sell thy Blessed Purchase, to the Devil, for a Base piece of flesh, and small portion of the World. So am I, and let me ever be in love with thee, O Lord! 2. But O Sin! I am in hate with thee; for my own, and for my Saviour's sake. That didst pose Heaven itself, and put God to it, (one of the two) to damn my Soul, or do thus to my Saviour! O thou Enemy of God & Man! how execrable art thou more than heart can think, that madest Him Lamentable, more than Eye saw! Lam. 1. 12. And, O Devil! I hate thee, who didst tempt man out of Paradise, and so draw Christ to a Cross! And could thy Temptations have prevailed, and thy power have matched thy malice, wouldst have cast the Second Adam out too; that so nor the First nor His Seed might ever have come in again. And O World! I abhor thee, as the Imp of the Devil; who of His Jews and Gentiles couldst find hands for such horrid acts; and Sins, that Act. 5. 27. made those Bloody Passions! Sin! Devil! World! for the Death of my King, and Lord, and Christ, Have (as you deserve) my hate! 3. I long for the Lord! My Soul longeth for God, even the living God Psal. 42. 1. (yea, even for the dying God) when shall I come and appear in the presence of God? God dying once, yet Apoc. 1. 18. Heb. 2. 8. living-ever, when shall I come before the dying-living God I long for the Chariot which will bring me to Thee, and will Kiss it, 2 Tim. 2. 12. though it be a Cross! I long for the Inn which will lodge me near Thee, and will embrace Phil. 1. 23. it, though it be a Grave! I long for the Bed which will raise me to Thee, and will climb it, though Act. 21. 13. it be a Gibbet! O Cup of Salvation! I will not refuse Psal 116. 12 thee! Though full (to Martyrs Mar. 10. 39 measure) of blood; if from Him, thou shalt be drunk; and yet deemed nothing to thy Saviour's Blood! And till my Soul can come to thy Glorified-Crucified Body, in Heaven; I long after thy Courts, where Thou art present in Spirit, on earth! To be Psal. 95. 6. Mat. 28. 20 in thy Holy Temple (which is the Chamber.) At the Altar and Table, (which is the Chair of thy Presence.) Yea, where (in High and Ineffable Mystery) I find a Presence of thy Body; and Keep both a Commemoration, 1 Cor. 10. 16. and Communion of it, and thy Blood! O Lord! Since I so much love thy Greg. Epistela Dci, etc. Self, (till in thy sight!) how should I not long to see Thy Letters (the Word:) and Thy Seal (the Sacrament:) and till in Beatifical presence, wear that as a Ring in thy Remembrance! 4. I loathe the Life, in which I cannot See Thee! At best, an Exile; at 1 Cor. 5. 6. worst, a Trouble to Thee. I loathe myself, for casting away love on so base, and unworthy a life. Where I do, either Crucify Thee with my Sins; or Wound thee with my Miseries! where Act. 9 5. (such is thy holy zeal to God, and sympathy, and tender mercy to my Soul.) I renew thy Passion by my Guilts; or thine Agony by my Conflicts. I loathe that Crucifix on my Breast, which encourageth to trample Thee under foot. I can endure O Christ to see Thee in Image (a Picture of my Dearest Friend) but abhor to love it Eodem cultu Crux, quo Christus. like thee; or, to pass so much time and devotion to that, as makes me more forget my Lord, then dutifully remember me! O Jesus! thyself shalt be my Crucifix! Not hung at my Breast, but in my Heart! No room but that is good Heb. 13. 13. 2 Tim. 2. 12. Heb. 12. 1. enough for thee! That (next Martyrdom) hies me most to thee! if I cannot fly a Martyr's pace, I will run a Saints: And by the speed of a mortified course, make more haste after thee! 5. I joy in thy Cross! not in thy Grief, O Christ! Can I see thy Body all gore, and my heart not bleed? The Zach. 12. 10. Luk. 23. 76. Spear be in thy Heart, and no Sword at mine? I will not, I cannot endure it, O Jesus! No! I joy in the Root! Thine infinite Mercy, O God And in Luk. 2. 78. Col. 1. 20. the fruit: The perfect Redemption of man! It is finished! Yes (blessed be Joh 19 30. the Blood that was the Price! Blessed the Body, that laid out that Blood!) Heb. 10. 11. Heb. 7. 25. Joh. 16. 33. The Satisfaction, is full! Salvation, is sure! Sin, is nailed! Hell, foiled! Satan, chained! The World, baffled! The 1 Pet. 4. 2. Flesh, wounded! Death, slain! The Grave, buried. Every adversary power, 1 Cor. 15. 54, 57 is conquered by Christ, Triumphant in the Chariot of his Cross over all, Col. 2. 15. All is finished! O Dry Tree of more Blessed Fruit, O lignum faelix! etc. c. 1. than ever Earth bare! No Rather, O Wet Body that madest a Whole World, happy! Sap and virtue of that Happy Tree! It was not the Wood, Col. 1. 20. but Blood of the Cross that brought forth that fruit! (the Redemption of Man!) And what good doth not grow from, and upon that! Pulpit of Repentance! Pillar of Faith! Anchor of Hope! Magazine of Charity! Armoury of Mortification! School of Patience! Mirror of Obedience! Rock of Constancy! Shop of Humility! (the whole Duty of a Christian.) O blessed Root of God's mercy, that bringest forth the happy fruit of Man's Grace and Glory! O Tree of Death, more Blessed than the Tree of Life, that hast such a Fruit and Root! Thus are my Joys triumphant in thy Cross! But 6. I grieve to see thee Crucified again, O Christ! And my Soul is Crucified for having a hand in thy Cross! woe to the World for Offences, which Heb. 6. 6. make thee Bleed afresh, and bring thee to thy Cross again. Woe is me that see thee daily Crucified, betwixt Heretics and Schismatics (Thiefs of thy Truth!) between Hypocrites and Profligates, (Thiefs of thy Grace!) Amidst men of intemperate Heats and cools in Religion: (Thiefs of thy Honour!) I grieve to see thee Crucified in vain. So much of the world lost, when 1 Cor. 1. 17. all was paid for! A price sufficient to have ransomed not a World only, but a Hell full of Devils, effectual only to a handful of men! Yea, even within thy holy Pale, which should preserve thy Blood to a drop, woe is me! How is it spilt to a stream! Whilst some give, others leave thee, or themselves none! Making void by Gal. 2. 21. 2 Pet. 2. 1. their Sins, the healing Virtues of thy Blood and Wounds! By Unbelief, millions out of the Church; and by Mis-belief, thousands in it; and by miscarriage of Life, Millions of thousands, both in and out. My heart bleeds to see thy Creeds without Faith, thy Decalogue without Obedience; Thy Prayer without Use; thy Sacraments without Reverence! Nay, to see it made Faith, Conscience, Devotion, Zeal; to have no respect to Sacrament, Prayer, Decalogue, or Creed! My Soul is troubled to see thy Holy Demeanes robbed, thy Mansions ruined! Souls sold for Money, for which thou didst pay Blood: And Lord! what tears of Blood are sufficient to bewail it, that thy One, only Commandment of Love, which cannot live at all out of thy Church; within it should be slain, and buried all in Broil and Bloodshed! O Christ! can my Eyes see thee thus Crucified again twice, and in vain once, and my Heart not grieve! Yet 7. I hope. And in Thee, and the Blood of thy Cross alone! I hope for Col. 2. 14. Pardon, because I read it sealed in thy Blood! I hope for Salvation, because Act. 20. 28. I find it purchased under that Seal! Wilt thou not make good thy Seal? Wilt thou not preserve thy Purchase? Nor Sin, nor Devil then shall damn me, O Christ: He shall not steal thy Rom. 8. 34 35. 1 John 2. 1. Purchase: It shall not void thy Seal. Thy Blood is my plea against both. In it, I see my Pardon, and Salvation written; nor care I, so thou be my Advocate, for Saint or Angel to set to 1 Tim. 2. 5 their Hands! I hope in thee for my Salvation. And so I do for my Mothers too. The Spouse bought with thy Blood, and loved, as thy Body! O Lord, thou art (by singular stile) her Ephes. 5. 24, 25. Saviour. And shall she want (what she so much needs) thy Salvation! She is on the Cross; Dear Jesus deliver Her! Force without, and Fury within, Crucify Her, Lord tender Her! Enemies and Children, both fall upon Her, O Christ rescue Her! O let Her not want thy Bowels, for whom thou gavest thy Blood! Behold Her miseries! let Her not want a Bath, for whom thou yet hast Blood; Forgive Her sins! Till that hath no Virtue, She is not without hope! By the Merits of thy Golgotha, dry her Akeldama! By the passions of thy Calvari, take her off the Cross! O Christ! Whilst thou hast one drop of Blood, I will not Despair for myself, or Her. Whilst that is warm, that chillness shall never seize my Spirit! And I know thy streams of Blood are neither Drained, nor Cooled to Earth, and the Seas of mercy run as fresh and full, as ever they did in Heaven! Thence take I Hope. But, 8. I fear too! I Dread Temptation! Thy Cross was made of Adam's Gal. 3. 13. Tree! I fear, because he fell; Lord Deliver me! I Dread Desertion! Solomon's Wisdom, and David's Grace I want. Yet had I both, should fall, if thou forsake me! Lord! on the Cross thy Mat. 26. 56. Disciples left thee; let me never! If Temptation carry me away, look after me, do not leave me! I Dread Apostasy! O keep me from that Sin, from which, even thy Blood, thy Cross cannot, or will not save me! How should it, when I rebuild thy Cross, Heb. 10. 26, 27. and trample thy Blood? I fear myself for all this. As my Sins nailed Thee to thy Cross, Corruption 1 Pet. 2. 24. rivets me in my Sins. The Devil never wants a Hammer, whilst Rom. 7. 27 God hath a World; nor hath a Nail to seek, whilst Man hath a Heart! O Lord! I have one, and a Forge of Jer. 17. 9 wicked devices and lusts in it, full of all damned cheats and deceits! From a Tempest then of Temptation; From the Gulf of spiritual Desertion; From the Precipice of final Apostasy; by the Virtue of thy Cross, Deliver me! And from myself, above all; and my Heart (above all) in myself; Deliver me Good Lord! I fear Precipice, Gulf, Tempest, but the Forge above all. Without whose work and wiles, the Devil doth in vain Tempt; God will not desert me, nor shall I desert God. And Corruption and the Flesh that is there, I behold with most horror, as the Anvil in the Forge: Upon which the Devil and it, Hammer, fashion, and beat out all their Works! What will keep me from the Virtue of thy Cross, and my Bliss Lord Jesus! That hath (and ever let it have) my fear! 9 And how doth my Blood boil in my Veins, to see thy Cross robbed of its Virtue? O Christ! My Spirit is at once, in Ird & dolore impleor pro Christo meo, etc. Naz. Grief and Rage for thee! Jesus! I am full of Indignation for the Affronts and Injuries done unto thee! To see thy Blood spilt or scorned! To see thy Passion forgot, or abused! Thy love, without Memory or Value! Thy Pains, without Relief, or Remorse! Who can, who should endure, O Christ, to see thy Cross made the Devil's Standard! Without the Church, a Stumbling-block, and Rock of Offence; 1 Cor. 1. 23 within, an Idol, and Tree of Superstition! To see thy Wounds (shelters for Sinners) turned Cities of Refuge for Sins! Thy Merits, their Sanctuaries! Thy Blood, their Life! Thyself, their Patron! Thy Passion, the Nurse of Presumption! Thy Mercy, the Milk of all Abomination! Thy good Thief made the greatest Robber of Mankind; and thy Pity Principal to the Robbery! And in the strength of these Villainconfidences, and Blasphemous Inferences from thy Cross, who can consider without anger, what is done in thy Kingdom? What Reeds are made thy Sceptres? What Chairs, thy Thrones! What Tricks, thy Orders? What Rudeness, thy Service? What Miscreants, thy Worshippers? What Confusion, thy Religion? What Wildfire, thy Zeal? What Shames, thy Glory? What Ends thy Services? What Lunacies, thy Revelations? What Prodigies, thy Dictates? What Larguage, thy Word? What Prayers thy Breath? What devilishness, thy Spirit? What stirs, thy Motions? All Wickedness done in thy Name; to thy Glory, by thy Warrant; and most under the Seal of thy Cross. By those who wear thy Livery, pretend to thy Service, and profess for thy Honour; seem to desire to know nothing but thee, and see themselves Crucified, as mere mortified Men, who seek nothing less than themselves; yet tear at once thy Laws and Limbs, pull down both thy Cross and House, and lay together thy Worship, & Blood in the Dust! O Jesus! that didst whip the Buyers and Sellers out of thy Temple! Where is thy Zeal for thy Church? for thyself? for thy Father's sake? That canst see, and yet suffer these injuries to thy Honour and Blood! When Indignation kindles in thy poor Servants Soul, at so great Indignities, how is it, that Wrath flames not out in thine? How is it? Even so it is, be-because thou art Jesus! lovest to Save, Joh. 12. 47. 2 Pet. 3. 9 loath to Destroy! Waitest our Repentance, wavest thy Vengeance! 10. I am Ravished! with that good Spirit of thine O Christ! Thou hadst it on the Cross, and keep'st it on the Throne! where it appears, it doth ravish Luk. 23. 34. Joh. 19 28. me. In thy lips! Prayest thou their Pardons that are shedding thy Blood! Thirstest thou their Salvation, that are Butchering thy Body! In thy Arms! stretched out to embrace all on Earth, and therefore strike not, though in all the power of Heaven! In thy Eyes! As thou wast with one of my Mothers, Cant. 4. 9 I am ravished with one of thine! Thy fury frights me, O Lord! Thy favour is that One. The eye, with which thou didst look at the poor Thief, and give him both thy Pardon and Paradise! Luke 23. 43. Joh. 19 26. The Eye, by which thou didst look at thy Dear Mother, and (amidst all thy Wounds) choose her a Guardian, and have her in thy cares! The Eye, by which thou didst look at the dear Disciple, Joh. 19 27. and adopt him of thy Servant, thy Mother's Son! The Eye, by which thou didst look at poor Sinners to be saved, a Church to be Bought, Eph. 5. 25. Joh. 12. 42. and World to be Ransomed! But in thy Heart, O! what an Apparition see I there? Through the Bloody door of thy wounded Breast, a House full of nothing but Goodness, Patience, Pity, Mercy! O what a Perspective is there by the way of the Spear, to the Joh. 19 24. 1 John 5. 6. 8. Prospect of a poor Sinners sole Delight, a Heart full of all Grace and Favour, in the Breast of a Jesus, (a Saviour's Heart!) From that Heart, with that Eye, O Christ, behold the Afflicted Mother, (thy Church) and thy dear Disciple (Her Child!) Breath comfort to Her, for whom thou gavest Blood! And to Him, who is the Son of Her Comfort! Make peace betwixt Mother and Children, where there should be Love! Let them live by one Spirit, that are bought with one Blood! And no longer be one another's Cross, but bear one another's Burdens! Dart, Lord, from that Blessed eye of Pity, these favours on the face of that Bleeding Body! And with thy Arms (nailed once to a Cross, now extended on a Throne) embrace Her, and uphold her in life! Advance her Throne, for whom thou didst endure thy Psal. 8. 3. John 1. 3. Cross! O thou, who didst, with thy fingers work Heaven and Earth, and Heb. 1. 2. upholdest all things by the Word of thy Power, whom the World treads under foot, take thou into thy Arms! In thy blessed Arms, O thou Omnipotent, and All-mercifull Maker, and Saviour of the Word! In thy blessed Arms, I leave the wounded Mother, and at thy Feet, I lay the Bleeding Child! Jesus! nourish these Holy Passions in me, which my Heart hath conceived, and my Tongue now brought forth before thee! Let thy Holy Passion ever Breed them in me, and thy Holy Spirit nurse them for thee! Even by the Merits of thy Bloody Passion I beseech thee. Amen, Amen. A Service Eucharistical, or Preparatory to the Holy Communion, for Saturday, or other Day. Morning Prayer. Psal. 26. 74. 146. Lessons. 2 Chron. 30. Mat. 26. to Verse 46. Evening Prayer. Psal. 55. 67. Lessons. Isay 55. 1 Cor. 11. or 10. 1. Prayer, before coming to the Holy Communion, Acknowledging, and Deprecating our unworthincs. O Lord! I am every where in thy Presence, and under thy Eye, and therefore should be profanc no where: But thy Special Presence and Face is in thy Temple, there therefore I should be most Holy. And thy Chair, and Seat, is at thy Table, there then I should be most. Even the Angels are not pure enough for such a Heavenly Presence, how then shall a poor sinful mortal Man appear at so High, and Holy a Service? How shall I dare to Communicate with thee, that deserve not to Come before thee? Lord! Since I cannot come (as I should) Pure, I will endeavour by thy Grace to come (as I may) Penitent! I will be more Humble, because less Holy; and more Washed, because so Eilthy. And, O Lord, give me Grace so to come. Let me look over my life in the Glass of thy Law, (let my Conscience help me look) and make me wash with my Tears, what is polluted in my ways; and cleanse in Christ's Blood, what I wash with my Tears! O Lord, in a Bath of this water warmed in that Blood, flowing from a Sinners bleeding Heart, and Saviour's bloody Side, shall I not be clean if I wash? Pierce my Heart, O Lord, that I may Repent, open my Heart, that I may Believe, that I may so wash, and be clean. Though I did not live, let me believe aright: and let me love, whom I do believe. Thee. O God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! who didst send thy Son to shed his Blood, and Redeem me! Thee, O Son of God, who didst come, and shed thy Blood to make a Bath, and heal me! Thee, O Holy Spirit of God by whose Grace, and Work, upon my heart, I come to have the benefits of that Blood! And whom I love, let me not grieve! Lord, let me no more offend thee. Let my heart be set to serve thee, resolved to please thee: And do thou accept me, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen. 2 Prayer, to be used before the Holy Communion, to be pardoned, and prepared for it. Dear Saviour! that hast given thy Flesh and Blood to be my meat and drink, and now invitest me to those heavenly dainties: Who am I (woeful and wicked wretch that I am) that I should dare with my unworthy hands to receive those High and Holy Mysteries? Originally unclean; Actually defiled; and even since my last coming and Communicating (for all my vows and protestations before Thee) again and again polluted. In these straits and stresses of spirit, how shall my soul be satisfied? If I come not at thy call, I rebel against thy mercy: If I come, I trespass upon thy purity! O my God I will not stand out a Rebel, but rather fall down an humble Suppliant before thee. I am guilty, Lord pardon me! I am polluted, Lord purge me! Though guilty, though polluted, I am thy Ransomed soul, Dear Redeemer save me! Let the Merits of thy precious blood, cleanse me from the guilts upon me! Let the graces of thy Holy Spirit, Sanctify me from the stains within me! Let the sighs and tears which come from my bleeding heart, wash off those blots by virtue of that precious blood! Let the cries and prayers, which now come from my believing soul, obtain those graces from thy Holy Spirit. True repentance and humility. A lively faith and charity, with all those holy and heavenly thoughts and affections which may dispose and prepare me for thee! By these, fit my soul for thyself, and my body with my soul to be an holy house and habitation for thee. Let thy Holy Spirit and Body enter into me! Come Dear Redeemer, come to the price of thy blood, seize thine own and save me! Possess my soul, feed me and preserve me! Hereafter, let me have more grace then to grieve thee. Give me care to keep my body (thy Temple) more pure from sin, and holy to thee; and my heart (thy Bed) more clean from lust, and undefiled before thee! In the strength of thee the Living Bread, let me grow more able to serve thee! And by virtue of so near an Union and Communion with thee, let not mine, but thy Holy Spirit from henceforth lighten, lead, and enliven me! That I may shun sin which thou hatest, and daily do those duties of devotion and charity, which please thee. So let this Holy Sacrament at once Seal to me thy mercy, and my glory. Where I shall for ever communicate with thee, in perfect purity and felicity! To that happy Communion, by thy grace, dear Saviour ever prepare me! and now for a Holy Communion with thee! Amen! Amen! Say Amen Lord Jesus! 3. Prayer, at our coming to the Holy Communion. DIdst Thou not invite me to thy Holy Table, O Lord! I durst not come. Now thou callest me, I dare not keep away! And yet, when I do consider, Who, and what is here, I fear and tremble to come. Thou O Lord! art a Holy and Dreadful Majesty, and so Thy Mysteries be: Holy Bread, and Holy Wine; A most Holy Body, and Blood. (No taint in His Blood who is God and Lord as Thyself) The Lamb of God, Immaculate, Undefiled, without Spot, all-pure (most High and Holy!) But alas! I am Unclean, Unclean, Unclean! Originally, Actually; (every way) In Heart, Hand, Lips, (every part) Throughout, Childhood, Youth, Manhood (every Age;) Most unworthy to approach a Presence so pure, who am so unholy! True Lord! But I lament my Uncleanness. I renounce my own worthiness. I come; not because worthy, but needy! I come to be made clean and worthy! That Body and Blood can make me clean (It is my Saviour's!) His Merits can make me worthy. (They are thy Sons!) And here is a conveyance of that Blessed Body and Blood (It is thy Sacrament!) Lord! Think me worthy for his sake, and Make me worthy for thy Mercies sake, by my coming! Give my Sins thy Pardon; my Soul thy Grace, Myself thy Acceptance, in thy Beloved. And what Thou dost convey, Seal to me by what I am to Receive from thee, The Blessed Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen. 4. Prayer, and Thanksgiving after Receiving of the Holy Communion. PArdon O Father, thy poor Child the errors and infirmities which have passed in thy Holy Service, whether before, or in, or since the Sacrament. And in, and for the precious Blood of thine Holy Child Jesus, of which I have had the Holy Communion, Seal me my pardon! And behold and accept thy Servant from a heart full of thy love, pouring out praises to thee, for the inestimable benefits received in those High and Holy Mysteries! What am I O Lord! or what is in me, that thou shouldest do this great honour and favour to me? I am unworthy to touch the thresholds of thy House, and thou hast taken me to thy Table! I am not worthy to stand amongst thy Saints, and thou hast made me sit with my Saviour! I am not worthy to come before thee, and fall down before thy Footstool; and thou hast been pleased to come into me, and make my heart thy Throne! I am not worthy to eat the bread of Men, and thou hast given me the bread of Angels! Yea Lord! The Angel's hunger, but have not this bread! What they admire, I have received: whom they adore, I have entertained. The Body and Blood of Jesus, their Mirror, is my meat. Christ and they are Two; but I and my Saviour are One. Flesh of his Flesh, and Bone of his Bone. One Blood, one Body. O unspeakable Mystery! O incomparable Mercy! Lord, I beseech thee, since of myself I cannot enough praise thee, make me some way worthy of thee! Let my Hands which have received that Blessed Body and Blood, be henceforth Sacred, and do no deeds that may offend thee! Let my Lips which have touched those Holy Mysteries, be hallowed from all words that may displease thee! And let my Heart, the Habitation of my Lord and Saviour, be hereafter holy, and no vain thoughts lodge within me! As I am one with Him in Body and Blood, let me be one in Spirit. The spirit of Wisdom, Love, and Holiness; truly to know Thee, serve Thee, and cleave unto Thee! By the blessed Sacrament of his Body and Blood, Convey it to me! Confirm it in me! Let it be to my soul the Signet of thy Love, and Seal of thy Glory. And even for the Precious Merits of that Blood and Body, receive me to it, I beseech thee, that I may be one in everlasting Union and Communion with Thee, for Jesus his sake. Amen. Amen! A Thanksgiving to be said after the Communinn, fit for one devoutly affected at it. THou that hast given the Bread of Heaven to feed me, O give me the tongue of an Angel to praise thee! O Lord! the very Angels are not blessed with such a Bread. O! what an high Mystery and mercy is this, that my Saviour is my Sustenance, and their Maker my Meat! The Body and Blood of Christ the Eternal Son of Gods to be in an holy Communion eaten & drunken by the mouth of a mortal man! O the infinite condescending Goodness of a gracious God, to make my humble heart the habitation of his Holiness! To come to me, enter in me, and become one, not by Reconciliation only, but heavenly Union and Communion, with me! O miraculous Union! O mysterious Incorporation! O happy Soul that art so near to thy Saviour! O blessed Saviour, that art so near to my Soul! O wretched Soul, if any thing be too dear with thee for such a Saviour! That wouldst not give thy body and blood for his Truth; that wilt not give thy life to his Glory! O Lord! let my Soul, which by thy Sacrament, is made so happy; by my sin, be never made so wretched! Thou that hast entered thy Body and Blood into me, by thy Spirit take possession of me. Guide me, lead me command me, rule me, move me: Be thou the Spirit of my Soul, and Soul of my Body. Let not the Flesh, World, or Devil henceforth have any power in me! Live, O Live Thou in me, O Christ, in thy earthly House, and let me live for ever with Thee in thy Heavenly Habitation. Even by the Merits and virtues of thy precious Body and Blood, Sweet Jesus, my Dear Lord and Saviour; I beseech thee. Amen! Amen! An Holy Rapture to be said by One, having Devoutly Communicated. O Lord! Where thou dost dwell, is Heaven: Heaven then is not this day more Above me, then Within me: How then shall my Single Soul Honour thee, and my Tongue extol Thee, who hast made for thy Servant, a Double Heaven! O Lord! Let all that is within me, and all that is without me (mind, heart, tongue, hand, all) Savour of that Heaven that is within me, and set forth thy Glory! And do Thou who this day hast conveyed Heaven into me, at my last hour Convey my Soul into Heaven. That what is here wanting in thy due Praises, I may pay there in everlasting Halleluja's. Even so Lord Glory be to thee for ever, for the Invaluable favour and honour thou hast done to thy servant! For the unsearchable Riches and Treasures Conveyed in thy Sacrament, even the Blessed Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, my dear Redeemer, and Lord, and Saviour. Amen, Amen. Meditations for the Holy Communion, upon 1 Cor. 11. 24. & 25. ¶ Do this in Remembrance of me. D Oe!] but for thee Dear Jesus! I had been undone for ever! for thee then, and for Mat. 18. 11 thy sake, what is it which I should not do? 2. Thy desires are my Commands: There is Authority enough in thy love, for me to do what thou shalt please. Speak Lord, than thy▪ Servant heareth, what ever thy will is, that will I do. 3. Since thou wouldst have no flesh but my Bodies, I will have no will but Heb. 10. 5. thy Souls. What is thine, shall be my will O Lord, and done which thou wilt hav● me do! 4. I dare not say so to any man, O Lord, (though never so Godly, so much thy Man:) His will may have Error for Guide, and ill in Company: But, O thou Holy one of God Thy mind knows no Error; thy will no Obliquity. I dare do whatsoever thou dost will! 5. Dare do! Dare not but do it! If thy desire once come out in an Injunction, and thy will be signified by Command; not only upon my Obligation I ought; But must upon my Mat. 17. 5. Act. 3. 23. Act. 9 6. Allegiance to thee, the King of the Church, and Sovereign, as well as Saviour of my Soul; I must not dispute, nor delay, but do; and therefore ought, may, must do, This.] For Lord, what is it, thou wouldst now have me do? Is it to climb a Cross? to undergo a bitter Passion? Act. 21. 19 Even for thy sake, I should not think much to do that, who hast done more for mine. What then, when it is not so much as this? not to go to a Scaffold, but come to thy Table? not to go to a Grave, but a Feast? not to Bleed or Burn, but to to Eat and Drink? not to Suffer that, but to do this. 2. And what is that I am to Eat and Drink? Bread of Affliction, and Water of Adversity, which flag my Spirits? No Dear Jesus, but Bread and Wine to confirm, and comfort my Heart. Not a Confessors Bread, (Tears) nor a Martyr's Cup (Blood) but a Saviour's fare, (Blessed Wine and Bread) yea in them, (what both is, and makes Blessed) The Body, and Blood of Bliss! Dear Jesus, Thy Holy Body John 6. 48 53. 54. and Blood! Meat and Drink that doth both joy my heart, and save my Soul; Bread of life, and Well of Life. Of that O Lord I eat in thy Bread and drink of this in thy Cup, Because thee in both, who art, Lord and Bread; Well, and Lord of Life! Was the Passover a feast, and is thy Supper none? Where no sour herbs, but Natural and Celestial sweets are served in at the feast? If that be thy Command O Christ, I am a rebel as much to my good as thy Law (a damned rebel) if I do not this! 3. And a Wretch, if I do not all, but bate thee half of that, I am not Saved but by thy Body, I shall be damned 1 Pet. 2. 24 Heb. 9 12. 21. without thy Blood; I can want neither Blood nor Body, for my Sacrifice, and shall I not have them both, in thy Sacrament? Didst thou offer thy Blood for me on the Cross? and shall I not take the Pledge from thee at thy Supper? Dost thou give me a Title Mat. 26. 27. Mat. 26. 28. Ephes. 1. 7. 1 Pet. 1. 19 to thy Blood, and shall any keep me out of my Possession? Rob me of thy Mercy, and my Right, of no less than the Price of my Redemption? Dost thou give me the Purchase in thy Blood, and shall any deny me the Seal in thy Church? Thine? O Christ! how is that Church Thine, that dare be guilty of so great a Rebellion and Robbery? To violate at once, thy Will, and Seal; To steal at once, thy Cup and Sceptre? Against thy Testament and Will, thy express Will and Order, to do that, can there be a bolder, a greater Rebellion? To take the Cup from thy People, and the Sceptre out of thy hand, (to deprive their Souls of thy Blood, Sine grandi Sacrilegio fieri non posse. Gelasi. Concil. Const. thyself, and of thine Authority) can there be a viler Robbery? And, to Confess the Fact, and Justify what is done, (O thou King of Heaven, and the Church!) can any Hand against thee be more High, or act more Vile? What then shall I do, Dear Jesus, when, and where I cannot do this? Where, though I beg, I cannot have thy Cup? Shall I take half, or none? O Lord, that art not for Half a Service, thou art not for Half a Sacrament! Thou that lookest at that as none, wilt thou accept this for any? And have not they just ground to fear that do but half of this, that (when all is done) they have done nothing? Because by thine Authority and Holy Institution, and the Practice of Primitive, and Purest Church, it was not Ordained, nor Used so to be done? Dear Jesus! P●ty the People that endure this Injury, and either seek not, or find not ease, from so great a Tyranny! And Justify thou their cause, O Christ! who for their Saviour, and their Souls sake, do not give the right hand of Fellowship to those, who thus rob thee of thy Worship! Separate from their Service, who divide thy Sacrament: Because they dare not own what those Usurp, a Power to alter what thou dost Institute. Nor Seal what they Decree, an Act confessed against thy Ordinance: Nor do what they enjoin, a Violation to thy Holy Seal and Sacrament! How shall I Body with them, that keep thy Blood from me? How shall my Soul unite with them, who exhibit to me but half a a Saviour? Shall ● not withdraw myself whole from them, that will not give me the Sacrament entire, but half? If they deny me thy Cup, shall they have my Communion? O Lord! How should I Communicate with them, that take (as my understanding from thy Service * In an unknown Tongue. , and thy Scripture from my * Reading forbidden. Eyes, so) thy Cup from my Lips. If that thou Commandest upon my Obedience, without thy Curse, I cannot do other. That is, not to do this! 4. Do this.] And see you do it not? what language is this? leave this half undone! Who dares thus contradict thee O Christ! Is he thy Vicar, or Master, that dare do thus? Is it the Pillar of Truth, wh●ch thus pulls down the Pillar of a Sacrament, (a Pillar of Salvation?) Takes off thy Blood, the Cement of that Holy Pillar? And so pulls (if not all, at least) half down? Shall I satisfy my Conscience with Wit? And first Devise, then Believe, the Blood is given in the Body? But in Per Conc●mitantiam. the Eucharist, thy Blood is given as shed, not kept; Poured out, not contained Mat. 26. 28. in the Body! And why then should any have the Cup, since in the Body is a Conveyance of the Blood? Did the Apostles only take the Cup? Then Laiety must not eat the Bread; and so be cut out of the Sacrament of Salvation, both Body and Blood? Didst thou not foresee this, O Lord! and therefore say, of purpose, not Eat Mat. 28. 26, 27. Non Edite omnes, Previdente Domino quod de chalice. etc. Bux. Hist. Dom Caenae. 15. ye all, but Drink ye all of this, (to show that none are to be excluded from the Cup? By thy Grace than I will never do that; As thou appointest, I will observe, and do this. 5. This.] Not thus! It ties not to a Circumstance, but the Substance of the Command. Nor Place, nor Time, nor Number (is confessed;) for then only Twelve should Communicate in an upper Room, and at Night; nor Gesture, then if accidental too, (though evident what it was) the Church hath power to appoint it, and I may with good Conscience observe her Appointment: and though neither so, nor so, yet do this, In Remembrance.] I blush Lord! to see myself need thy Memento for this. Have I a Chest for the Trash of the World, and no room for thee, my Heavenly Treasure? Memory for what I list, and none for what I should? Thou hast so done thy marvellous Works. that they ought to be had in Remembrance, O Lord! And O thou, Psa. 114. 4. Isay 9 6. whose Name is Wonderful, and all thy Works as thy Name, and in this above all thy Works, can I ever forget thee? 2. Can I forget myself so much? That do not breathe a minute on Earth, or out of Hell without thee? If I forget thee O Jesus! Let my tongue cleave to the Roof of my Mouth! Let my right Hand forget her cunning! Surely that Harp had never known the tune of Joy, nor Hand had ever to do with Harp, hadst not thou put a World Ephes. 1. 10 1 Cor. 5. 19 (all out) in order again, and set all in Tune? 3. And is that all, when I own a thousand lives unto thee, to require not my Body, but my Mind, to say, Remember? Not to suffer Death, and die for thee, but to forbid thy Memory to die in me! Will I wear a Deaths-head in a Ring to preserve alive the memory of a Dead Friend? And (O thou Loving, and Blessed above all Beloved's, when thy Passion is Engraven by thy own Hand in an Holy Mystery, for my mind to wear, shall not the Ring be on my Finger? shall not my Heart keep, and wear thy Ring? 4. But is that all Dear Jesus! Is that all I am to do, to give thee a Memory? Surely then it must be the best of all. O thou Manna, that camest Joh. 6. 32. Heb. 9 4. down from Heaven, a Golden Pot must keep thee? My Soul must have most Precious memory for thee! Quick, not Dull; Humble, not Bold; Tender, not Hard; Active, not Contemplative; (that's Leaden, Brazen, Iron, but Silver (at best) and reprobate (at worst:) The Memory which moves all good Affections to thee, and Promoves all good Abilities for thee, that's the Golden pot must keep thee. So thou wouldst have this Memory, because it will mind, and do all Duty; Admire, and Love thee; Obey, Endure, Do, and Suffer for thee. It will establish Faith, excite Repentance, inflame Charity, maintain Constancy. O thou Mirror of the Godhead, Heb. 1. 3. 4 Beauty of the World, Excellent above Angels, High above all; Lord of Lords, King of Kings! Those are thy 1 Tim. 6. 15. Eccles. 12. 1. Dues! And Holy Memory is a Storehouse, full and Rich to Pay all; therefore thou sayest, Remember me! I cannot but Believe, Repent, and Love to the last, if thou be in mind; If I Deut. 32. 18. fail payment of any Duty to God, or Man, it is because thou art out of my Memory! But to thy Memory Dear Jesus! what is it I should do? O Lord, thou wouldst have me do this, In Remembrance of thee.] Thy Passion; that, that, must be in my Memory; and Thee, I must Remember, in 1 Cor. 11. 26. that. Thy Sacrament then is an Obelisk to the Eternal Memory of thy Passion. A Pyramid of everlasting date, set up in the Church for a Solemn memorial of thy Death. And Lord! So oft as I neglect it, what do I but pull down thy Pyramid? And Bury Thee and thy Merits, (as the Jews did thy Limbs) but in a worse grave (not in a garden) but desert, (a grave of oblivion.) 2. And what Lord! Shall I Remember, of thy Passion? What? But that thou, the Eternal Son of God, wast made Man to endure it: Moved Heb. 9 14. by mere Love, (Infinite Love) to undergo it: And I (wretched Creature) Sinful Son of Man, the Man that caused it: who else, had been for ever a Miserable and Damned Man? And thus, did Infinite Wisdom, Mercy, and Power in God, wonderfully work the Salvation of Man! This ineffable Mystery of Redemption, by the Miraculous Passion of the Son of God, which thou didst Suffer, thou wouldst have me Remember! And thy Sacrament is a Monument to last as long as thy Church; that whilst I have Life, and Soul, I should perpetuate, and preserve, a Holy Memory of my Saviour. 3. And what a Wretch am I, that have need of such a help to my Memory, and Spur to my Duty, as both a Commandment and a Sacrament for both? It casts reproaches on me, O Christ! That thou should give thy Body for me, and I scarce give my mind to thee? That I should have so great a room in thy heart, and thou so hardly get any in mine? That thou should be more ready to Bleed for me, than I to Think of thee? Dear Jesus! That didst empty all thy Veins for me, shall I not find a vessel to Preserve thy Precious Blood! Do I not Spill what thou didst shed, if I let it run out of my Memory? Yet art Thou put to it, to find me both Blood and Mind; And when thou hast done all that out of Remembrance of me, (lest it should be forgotten) ordainest a Sanction and Sacrament, and sayest, Do this in Remembrance of me! 4. But more Wretch I, if I do not so do, and Remember! For Lord! If I do thee Honour, dost thou not do me favour for it? If I give thee glory, is it more my Duty, than Felicity to do it! If thy Sacrament, is it not my Emolument? Receive I not great Honours in it? Reap I not good Benefits by it? Conveys it not the Blood-royal Concorporei, Consanguinei. Basil. of Heaven into me, and am I not Kinsman, Brother of God, an Heir and Prince of Heaven, by virtue of that Blood? Is not the Godhead Bodily in Christ? And is not his Body Col. 2. 9 1 Cor. 10. 16. Mystically in me? And I near Akinne to God by the Communion of that Body? And can he want Demeans, that is such a Prince? Is not the Earth Psal. 2. ●. thy Gift, and Heaven in thy Power, Mat. 28. 18. Heb. 1. 2. Ephes. 1. 7. 2 Cor. 1. 22. Rom. 8. 32▪ 1 Cor. 3. 21, 22, 23. Jesus thou Son and Heir of all? And have I not thy Spirit, thy Flesh to Pledge for all? The Conveyance Sealed in thy Blood, and thy Merits made over and Assured in thy Body? O Lord! I am so much concerned in Honour and Estate, to do what thou dost command, that if I do consider myself, I should do it to thy Memory, in Remembrance of me, as well as Thee. 5. But what Lord! Must I so do? Mat. 26. 26. Credi salubriter posest, investiga●i sa●ubr●iter non potest. Lumb. Believe Thee Present in thy Holy Sacrament? Upon thy Word, I do. But, Determined in a Natural and Corporeal way of presence? for thy Word, I do not * Act. 3. 31 . So, thou art in Heaven, and wilt be to the great day; Not on Earth, So. This Remembrance teacheth me, that, Absence. If so present, I should see thee, not Remember thee! Thou art Glorified in Heaven, Thou wast Crucified on earth; It's this, I remember. I Remember, but do not Offer Heb. 9 25, 26, 28. Heb. 9 24. Col. 1. 20. this. That thou didst once; I Commemorate, not Reiterate often. The Propiatory Sacrifice is Thine, the Eucharistical, Mine. That was on the Cross, this is in the Eucharist. This I 1 Cor. 11 26. do, that I Remember. The Memory of that I offer, the Tragedy I do not act. What was in Sacrifice, is here, in Sacrament. This is all that I do, and need to do, and can do, if all, in Remembrance of thee! 6. So then My Soul and Body, have both to do in this Business of thine; But my Soul, more than my Body. My Soul is Chief Minister to wait upon thee in this Mystery; My senses but handmaids to wait upon my Soul. Sight, Touch, Taste, Smell, all, to bring the more to my mind, and reach the better to my Memory. Thy Bodily Presence makes a True 1 Cor. 11. 29. 1 Cor. 1●. 30, 31. Eucharist: Mine, (if mind be away) to me but a Mock-Sacrament; To thee but a Mockservice, and will convey to me a Real Judgement, but a Mock-Salvation. What I do, is to no end, (without form, and void) if not with a Mind devoutly busied, as a Body Well-devoted, and all done, in Remembrance of thee! Naturally, I may do something and see some Body, but Sacramentally, nothing if I discern not Thine! 7. Something than is to be done, before I do this. I must get an Holy Appetite, before I Eat, and Drink, (which is by▪ Repentance) And bring Mat. 5. 6. an Heavenly Mouth to the Meat, (which is my Faith.) And much, is to Joh. 6. 35. be done after this. I must Digest it so in Conscience, as to get good Spirit by it; and gain such strength by the Digestion, as to walk more ho●ly, and grow Better, for it; Else, what do I, but Deform thy Body, and Defile thy Blood? That must raise my Thoughts and Afflictions to the Memory, This, keep them up. As I must do this in Remembrance of Thee, I must do that, in Remembrance of this; and what is done, not forget I have been doing; and put thee after out of my Remembrance! Jesus! Make me do what I should! Not neglect it, lest I neglect at once, my Saviour, and Soul! Not do it as an Act of Compliance with Time; or as a Due, more to Custom then Conscience (which is as ill.) Nor in a rude, unhallowed, unprepared, irreverent, bold Carriage, and Confidence, (which is worse than a neglect.) Jesus! Give me grace, so to do! So to Remember Thee on thy Cross, that thou mayest not forget me in thy Kingdom! So to Remember thee, Luk. 23. 42. Luk. 22. 30. at thy Table, that thou mayest Remember me, on thy Throne. Where Commemoration shall be turned into Vision; Where I shall have not Sacramental, 1 Cor. 13. 12. but Beatifical Communion; Where I shall not wear thy Ring, but see thy Face; Not Remember thee, but Behold thee; Not in Faith, but clear and full Fruition! Even so be it O Lord! Feed me to it, in Faith and Love; and Seal it to me, in Spirit and Conscience! Lord! Thus have me, and let me have Thee, for ever in Remembrance! Amen! Amen! Directions about the Holy Communion, how to Prepare for it. 1. Touching Prayers Preparatory to it. ON Wednesday before, Read the Penitential Service. On Friday, the Service on the Passion. On Saturday, the Service Preparatory to the Holy Communion. On Sunday, some of the Scripture Lessons with the Prayers proper for it, and Meditation upon it. 2. Touching Self examination, necessary before we Communicate. YOu must Examine yourself, 1. Cor. 11. 28. touching your Faith, and Life. 1. Your Faith is Right, if you Believe concerning God and His Church, according to the Rule of it, Comprised summarily in the Apostles Creed, Received by all Christians. 2. Tim. 1. 13 2. Your Life is Right, if it agree with the Rule of it, The Law of God, Comprehended in the Ten Commandments. For finding of which, 1. You are to Consider apart every Commandment, and the Contents * Juxta ordinem Decalogi institutum. Mcl. l. come. de poenit. v. Partic. apud ipsum. Rom 7. 7. Psa. 119. 15. Lam. 3. 40 of it; what Duties, it Requires, What Sins, it Forbids; and then ask your Conscience, how you have Discharged yourself therein. 2. Where you find upon Just Enquirie, that you have led your life according to God's Law, in Piety to God, or Charity to Man, Thank God for His Grace, where you find that you have failed, Ask God for His Pardon. 3. And because none but Penitents can ask, and have Gods Pardon; and Contrition is the Root, Confession the Branch, and Amendment of Life, the Fruit of Repentance; look therefore carefully to all. And first, 1. Touching Contrition. IT is the Bleeding of a Soul, touched Act. 2. 37. with Remorse for Sin: And (if of the Bodies) much more care must be had of the Souls Blood; That it Bleed 1. Wisely. For doing ill, not well. 2 Cor. 7. 10 (That were to let out good Blood, and keep in iii.) 2. Kindly. Even for doing Ill, as an Psal. 51. 4. Ezek. 7. 16 Offence to God chief. Not so much for the Dread of Damnation, as the Displeasure of his Goodness. 3. Rightly. For the Sin which hath done more Displeasure to God, and is chief in me, most. That's to strike the right Vein. Psa. 51. 14 4. Freely. The Heart must bleed for all, and that above all. Water must 1 Cor. 15. 9 Psal. 66. Mat. 26. 75. Luk. 7. 38. not be wrung out of the Eye, like Fire out of a Flint; but (if nature stop not the Course) flow as from a full Fountain, Naturally, and Plentifully out. Yet 5. Temperately too. Not bleeding Joel 2. 12, 13. Jer. 18. 11, 12. to the Death of Despair, but so, as to keep in Heart, a Life of hope for Mercy and Helpe. (The sorrow be-being to drown Sin, and not the 2 Cor. 7. 5 Heart.) To that end God hath given the Soul, as the Eyes for Sluices, to Jer. 13. 17. let out the Waters of Grief, when they swell about the Heart, and are ready to overwhelm it; So, a Floodgate in the Mouth to void them, and prevent an Inundation Psal. 39 4. of Heaviness. And as Tears spend Grief by the Eye, Confession puts it out at the Mouth. Of which is the next Enquiry. 2. Touching Confession. GOd being the Majesty, whom Sin Psa. 51. 13. Isay 43. 25 Prov. 28. 13. 1 Joh. 1. 8. Leu. 5. 5. John 20. 23. 2 Cor. 20. Vice Dei qui thesaurum in ●s posuit hominum. Luth. 1 Sam. 7. 6 offends, of him Pardon, is to be sought; and Confession, the way to find it, without which we seem either to need no Pardon, or not to seek it. And God being pleased, two ways, to give Pardon, Immediately, by a Power Imperial, in, and of Himself; and Mediately, by the Ministry of Man, Delegated by him to Seal Pardons in his Name, and the Souls Peace; Hence Man also hath two ways to make Confession, or speak his Gild to God: One, is, to pour out the Soul into God's Bosom, by having an Immediate Recourse for mercy to God Himself. The other is, into God's Ear; Fiat pastori, vel potius Deo Coram pastore. Zanch. in 1 Joh. 1. Betaking ourselves for Ghostly good, and Comfort, to some Man of God. And as in some Cases, there is great need, ●o for sundry Causes, there may be much profit of this. 1. In a storm of Conscience, it's not Job. 33. 23, 24. 37, 38. Isay 504. Jam. 5. 15, 16. safe to be without a Spiritual Pilot; lest, for want of better Direction and help, the Soul be Swallowed up in her own Deeps, or Sunk, under some Gust of Temptation, As, God knows, many daily are * Damnaberis tacitus, qni posses liberari confessus. Aug. . 2. Or, If the Mind Fluctuate, and cannot rest Satisfied in her Spiritual Estate, it's dangerous not to seek a Guide of God, to lead us out of those Ghostly straits and troubles; * Si quis bujusmodi consolationis, & majoris certitudinis causâ, pastorem pium & doctum conveniat & suum in ejus sinum exoneret, petatque absolutionem & Consolationem, rem utilissimam fecerit. Zanch. in 1 Joh. 1. Job 33. 23. Some Divine Counsellor to Examine our Estate; and (if cause be) Seal from God our Evidence for Heaven, by giving his Pardon to that which threatens Hell. For the Devil will be sure to set on the 1 Cor. 2. 11 1 Pet. 5. 8. Soul which he finds in a strait and doubt, and may devour it, if it have none, but it's own relief. As God knows he daily does * Tanquam portum & Refugium illis quos Diabolus, etc. Luth. in Gen. 32. . 3. And every man being favourable for Absolution, a Quisque sibi benevolus judex est. Basil. if his own Judge; and no man able (without his Relation) to know, and help the Maladies of another's heart b Prov. 14. 10. 2 Sam. 1. 13, 14, 15. 1 Cor. 2. 11. Pulpit generals not coming home often to * Ne fingas tibi peculiarem Confessionem Luth. in Gen. 32 Nemo sibi dicat, occulte ago poenitentiam, apud Deum ago, ergo sine cause dictum est Quorum peecata, etc. Aug. the Particulars of many Souls c Melius in privata confession, ubi morbos aperit, quàm in publicâ concione ubi quâ re cuique privatim opus sit, pastor ignorat. Zanch. in 1 Joh. 1. 1. Bishop Andr. S. in Joh. 16. 7. p. 636. Consolationem accipiunt, quam in publicâ concione, non possunt apprehendere. Luth. in Gen. 32. ; nor of power (ordinarily) to make Entries and Discoveries of hearts, as when the doors are set open of purpose; Hence, great profits may come upon pious Confessions (even out of those cases.) My disease better remedied, because more known d Quod ignorat medicina, non curate Hier. . My state more assured, because better Examined. My way e Ob praedicationes multas non eruditior, quod evique credendum agendum, etc. Haec inquisitio docet, comm●dissimè sic fit. Luth. , better directed, because errors more Discerned. My piety more advanced, because my Soul better Studied. My Repentance more perfected, because myself more humbled f Dan. 9 7 . My Sins more abhorred, because I more confounded g Magis coram Ipso & pastore quam De● solo. Zanc. in 1 Joh. Jam. 5. 15, 15. . My Spiritual wants better relieved, because more particularly known, and recommended. And God knows, what losses many suffer for want of this. 4. Yea and Harms too (as well as losses) voidable by a seasonable use of such Spiritual Counsels, * Colloquum privatum. Melan In propriâ causâ quisque excaecatur, ut saepenumero quod malum est, benefactum judicet, vol saltem, quod gravissimum, extenuet. Zanch. ib. & Parleys, since many Acts pass for innocent and good, or not greatly bad, which are truly, and very ill, * Juvatur ad scelerum agnitionem & sui, a pastore, non sic si solus, etc. Idem. and would so appear if Cited and Questioned before a Judgement well exercised in causes and cases of Conscience. So they lose the Advantages of keeping themselves good and clear before God of such things as pollute them and provoke him (because they knew neither) And run into hazards never to amend them, because not considered as amiss, or very little (if any thing.) By which means without a miraculous mercy Facit cognosci lapsus & morbos, & gradus peccatorum. Mel. l. c. Erudit & docet nos defectus nostros. Luth. of God) they Live in them without Regret, and Die in them without Repentance. Flattered into a better Belief of themselves, and their state to God, then either their Life can give good Evidence, or true Judgement, good Warrant, for. And God knows how many Consciences (without Check) swallow down as harmless acts; grievous Guilts (which at last swallow their Souls up) by not bringing their ways to the Test, and Trial, v. Luth. S. de Euch. which would discover them dangerous; and so make way to have them, at once, both Abhorred, and Amended. 5. To these good ends and purposes, Constanter rotinemus. Conf. Sax. Diligenter retinemus. Conf. Ausb. Private Confession is retained in the Reformed Churches, and the Moderate, and sober use as much Commended, as the Tyrannous and Superstitious abuse is condemned in the Roman. With true and large praises a Veris & amplissimis. Conf. Ausb. . For weighty causes b Conf. Sax. . As an Appointment of God c Rom à Deo institutam ut salutariter ipsis inserviat. Conf. Boh. Non pugnat cum verbo Dei, imò conformis est. Zanch. in Joh. 1. Officii sui esse meminerit, non negligendum quod a Domino offertur remedium, ut ad se sublevandum, privatâ confessione apud pastorem suum utatur. Calv. Instit. l. 3. c. 4. n. 12. & n. 13. Ut sistant se pastori oves, quoties Sacram Coe●am participare volunt, adeo nou reclamo, ut maximè velim hoc ubique observari. Idem. Examina publica vel privata Communicantium minimè improbamus, imò requirimus, abfit verò tyrannis & superstitio. Pare. in 1 Cor. 11. . And means of Remission d Per Potestatem clavium, Evangelii Dispensatio fit non solum omnibus in communi, sed singulis Conf. Ausp. Medium remissionis (Externum, Privatum) Privata Confessio est in qua dicitur, Remittuntur tibi, etc. Zanch. in 1 Joh. 1. . Most Comfortable e Cum fiduciâ Remissione frui sc credant, secundum verbum, Cui remiseritis, etc. Conf. Boh. Non aliter quàm si à Christo ipso perciperet cum hic illis, has tradid●rit, neque ullo modo dubitet per ministerium hoc clavium virtute & potestate Christi, peccata sua ci remitti juxta id, Cut peccata etc. Conf Boh. Valde pl●na consolatione est ista confessio. Luth. de Euch. . Profitable f Res utilissima. Zanch. 1 Joh. 1. Sunt & aliae utilitates mul●ae. Mel. l de panit. . Necessary g Sentio vehementer necessariam. Hem. in 1 Cor. 11. Multas & praeclaras res in sc complectitur. Luth. S. Euch. Est enim opus valde praeclarum & pretiosum, quod non nisi a vero Christiano ficri potest, Lu●h. ib. . Desirable h Hanc tam piam & utilem causam spero valituram apud multos, ut morem p●tendae absolutionis, & magis ament, & libentius ret●u●re studeant. Mel. l. c. . For Spiritual Ease, Advice, better Assurance and Intelligence betwixt God and the Soul, Greater Remonstrance and Assistance against Sin, and the Consciences more Light, Purity and Peace: Of which their Churches, and Doctors, are sufficient witnesses i Mille mundos perdi mallet, etc. Luth. 1. Eccl. Angl. Exhort 2. ad Euch. In visit. aegroti: Can. 1. 103. Dr. J. White, p. 122. Dr. F. White pag. 188. Ag. Fisher. 2. Eccl. Lutheranorum, v. Conf. Ausb. etc. Et Quae Calvinum sequitur. v. Ipsum & Alios (ut supra.) 1. De Romanae Ecclesiae Corruptelis in Confession audi conquerentem Cassandrum in Consult: (de Confession) p. 108. Salutaris haec confitendi medicina ab imperitis & importunis medicis multis inutilibus traditiunculis infecta & contaminata fuit, quibus Conscientiis quas extricare & levare debebant, laqueos injecêrunt, & tamquam tormentis quibusdam excarnificârunt. 2. De Angl. Eccl. circae haec Judicio. Vide Case ub. Epist. ad Front. p. 129. Cujus rigidam quidem necessitatem quae apud vos obti●et, Ecclesia Anglicana molliendam sibi certo consilioputavit, rem quidem ipsam neque sustulit ullâ unquam lege, neque damnavit. Ib. . 5. But whether in or out of these cases, if I have any, Be sure my Pilot have skill; My guide Goodness; My Judge ability; My Physician experience. I will not put my Body into the hands of an Empirike; My State to an Ignorant at Law; The Key of my House to a Varlets or Idiots hand; Take heed then to whose Conduct and Judgement, and Counsel and Trust, I commit the Key of Heaven, and my Heart. 2. Be my Confession made to the Coram ipsis confiteantur Dco. Conf. Boh. sie Jos. 7. 19 Supreme Judge, or His Delegate (God or his Deputy, to Him, or Before Him:) it must be, 1. Humble. As the Publicans. Because I stand as a Prisoner before Luk. 18. 13 the Judge of Heaven, and am Suppliant for His Mercy. 2. Hearty. As the Apostles. Because 1 Tim. 1 13 at God's Bar, The Knower, and Tryer of the Heart. 3. Particular. As the Kings. Of Psa. 51. 14 what doth, or should most disquiet the Conscience. * Enumerationem quâ gravioraomnia peccata diligenter expenduntur, & tanquam Spiritualia vulnera Spirituali Medico revelantur, retineudam esse dubium non est, & Protestants non aspernantur hujusmodi enumerationem. Casaub. Consult. p. 108. Such are Commonly Sins of a more grievous Nature either for their, 1. Matter. As Sins of a great Kind, which greatly wound and waste the Conscience; As Perjury, Murder, Adultery, Blasphemy, etc. a Rom. 2. 29. Gal. 5. 21, 22. 2. Manner. As Sins against Vows and Promises b Ezek. 16. 59 & 17, 18. , and Mercies c Hos. 7. 15 Isay 1. 2. ; or against Knowledge d Jam. 4. 17. Joh. 9 41. , and and Conscience. Especially, Since we last Received the Holy Communion. 3. Touching Conversion, or Amendment of Life. 1. THis is the End and Compliment Act. 26. 20 Mat. 3. 8. Act. 3. 19 Jer. 35. 15. Ezek. 18. 30. Dan. 4. 27 of Repentance, without which its vain and fruitless to confess (as touching our Souls health.) As to bleed is in vain, if we presently fall to distemper our Blood again; and to vomit ill humours out of the Stomach, if we avoid not those things which will fill it up again: So at present to be Sick of Sin, and Bleed the Heart in Contrition; and to void it up in Confession * Quasi escam indigestam-Evomit peccata. Orig. in Psal. 31. 2 Pet. 2. 22. , if we amend not our Lives, but return to our old Vomit again. That were but to abuse God's Ordinances, and to make our Confession, and the Holy Sacrament itself our Sin, if they serve only to encourage and strengthen our Souls in Sin, and not (as God Institues them) to Arm, and Enable us against it. 2. And if the Amendment be not thorough, even this is but as withered Fruit, and to no end, if it be not, Jer. 7. 5. Ezek. 36. 25, 26. Joel 2. 12. Rom. 6. 17 1 King. 9 4 Heb. 13. 18 Psal. 139. 23, 24. 1 Tim. 1. 5. 9 Isay 39 4. Psal. 32. 2. Psal. 119. 165. Job 27. 6. 1 Joh. 3. 21 Jam▪ 4. 8. 1. Upright. As well within as without, and reach not as well to the Heart, as Life. 2. Absolute. Without exempting any Sin, or Lust whatsoever, whether in Life, or Heart, (else indeed, it is not Upright.) This makes a Pure Heart, and Quiet Breast, (Integrity of Life.) Which ensures our Repentance, Seales our Pardon, and Pacifies our Conscience, and makes us Approach Gods Holy Presence, and Table with confidence. Which is not to be done without full purpose, and some measure of this Integrity. 2. How to Demean ourselves at the Holy Communion. WIth all Humble and Entire Devotion of Body and Soul. 1. The Body cannot be too Reverend, Eccl. 5. 2. Mic. 6. 6. Exod. 3. 5. Jam. 4. 8. Psa. 132. 7 because the Mysteries are so High, and Holy, in which we draw so near to God. 2. The Soul cannot be too Devout. Whose faculties are all to be improved to the best, and uttermost, to discharge her Duty aright, in this Great and Holy Service. Therefore 1. The Mind must be Elevated to Putasn inter consis●●. Chrys. Heavenly thoughts, and Contemplations. Of the Mystery of Man's Redemption. By God's Miraculous Incarnation. In a most Bitter, and Bloody Passion. Out of the Bottomless Deep of Love and Goodness. Whereof we are to Receive his Precious Pledges and token's. All this, of, and with, and in our Dying Lord, and Dear Redeemer, we are to have in Actual Mind, and Memory. And Him in all, to Mat. 6. 26. 1 Cor. 11. 24. Admire, and Adore. And 2. The Heart is to be Ravished with such Infinite mercy in God to Sinful, miserable Man * Vide quo modo his qui Christi commemorant passionem inter sacra officia quasi per qu●sdum can●les de interioribus fontibus oriantur ●orrentes, & super om●es deli●ias, ●●●rymis nectarcis anima delectetur, Cypr. de. c. D. Psa. 116. 11, 12. . To contrive, and give so Glorious a Redeemer, and Redemption, to save his Soul. And now to present him with such Gracious Seals of his Love, and Admit him into so near and Holy Communion. And for this to be dissolved in love to God and Christ, and Man, for His sake: Psal. 116. 11, 12. With resolute Vows of Life and Death to His Service. That we will give, forgive, do, suffer, any thing for Him. And from that, to be filled with Holy Rapts, and Joys, and Hopes * Ind sequitur mentis jubilus & cbrietas. Haec non accendit sed extinguit peccatum. Cum sopivit oblivio cuncta caernis ludibria, mira sunt quae senti●, mira quae videt, inaudita quae loquitur. Cypr. Rom. 8. 32. Rom. 5. 9, 10. , in so great a Goodness of so Good a God, who, having done this, will deny me nothing. And (maugre the Rage and Malice of Hell) will not see my Soul lost, for whom all this is done. And for those who need an aid, v. Meditation on the Sacrament on the Passion. Such Meditations will now be perused well, as they have found to move most, to give more Heavenly light to their thoughts, and holy Fire to their Affections. This Fire (like that of the Sanctuary) must not go out of the Heart, and vanish like passions moved at a Play, (unless we will play away our Souls) we must then see 3. How we are to Order ourselves after the Holy Communion. AS our care was before, how to 1 Cor. 11. 27. Ephes. 4. 1. Heb. 2. 16. Communicate, it must be now, how to Walk Worthily. As those who are Honoured by Christ above Angels, and therefore should be (at least) Saints. Made now One with Christ * Assistunt Cherubini Chys. Ut Christum gcrat in pectore, Ferat in ment. Cypr. 1 Cor. 10. 16, 17. , and so henceforth to live Two, from the Flesh, the World, and the Devil. His Holy Body is in us, His Holy Spirit must not be from us. Else we Sin grievously against His Blood and Body. What Nebuchadnezars was in Eph. 4. 4. Dan. 2. 32. Dream, we make his Body indeed a Monster; because we of it, are such mongrel Limbs. And as Belshazzar did at his Profane Banquet, we do by the Holy Supper. Turn the Cup of 1 Cor. 11. 27 Blessing into Blasphemy, Carousing (as it were) Healths to our Idol-lusts in Dan. 5. 4. His Hallowed (both Wine and Blood.) So 1. We play Judas with Christ. Eat Joh. 13. 18, 26. His Bread, and lift up the Heel against Him. Take the Sop, and betray our Interests in Him. 2. We play Gadaren with Him, (and worse.) We do not Pray, but Mar. 5. 17. cast Him out of our Coasts: and after we have received Him in, 3. We play Strumpet with Him. 1 Cor. 6. 15. Jam. 4. 4. Our Members (which are his) are made the Worlds, which is an Harlots.) 4. And so we play Fools with our 1 Cor. 10. 22. Mat. 22. 11 1 Cor. 11. 29, & 30. own Souls. On which we draw heavy Wrath for our vile provocations, if not a Plague and Struck from Heaven on our Bodies, for doing such Injuries to our Saviour. So end the Directions about the Holy Communion. A Service fit for Sad Times, for Wednesday or Friday. Morning Prayer. Psal. 71, 73, 74. or 124, 125, 126, 129. Lessons. Dan. 9 or Ezra. & 10. to v. 7. or 2 Chron. 36. Jer. 14. Luk. 21. Evening Prayer. Psal. 44, 77, 78. or 83. 98, or 137. 140, 141. Lessons. 2 Chron. 13. or 20. 1 Cor. 10. or Judas Ep. ¶ 1. Collect, Confessing, and Depre●ating Judgements. O Lord! Thou hast given us to see Bitter and Bloody Times: Barbarous outrages are done, and endured daily. Our Houses and Friends are full: Even thy Temples are not free. Dear God These be the Deuce of our Sins; Thou art Just, but we are Wicked! Against the great Means of thy Grace, and Mercies of thy Goodness, for many, and many years vouchsafed to us, and our Fathers, before us; we are notwithstanding full of Hypocrisy, full of Profaneness, full of Lewdness; most Ingratefully, and therefore most Aboimnably Wicked. And I, even I, have contributed a great measure of my Sins to fill up those Woes! But, O God that art Merciful, as thou art Just (that delightest not so much to appear just, as Merciful:) Pardon those Sins of ours, that cause those Woes! Pardon those Sins of mine which concur to that cause! And with the Pardon of our Sins, grant us a Release of our punishments! Let civil broils and bloodsheds cease, True Piety and Peace flourish again amongst us! Thou that out of evil canst work good, and out of Confusion didst set up the Order of the World, out of those evils and confusions that are upon us, work good and establishment for us! O Thou that powerfully canst, Mercifully do this; To thy great Honour, and our great happiness; for the comfort both in body and Soul, of us, and ours, and all that truly fear, and love Thee and true Religion, in and for Thee! Even for thy tender Pity's sake, hear us! Even for the precious Blood and Passion of Jesus help us! In whose Blessed, and Beloved Name, we put up our Prayers, Saying. Our Father, etc. Amen. 2. Prayer for an End of War. HAsten O God these Days of Blood and Woes, and give a happy and speedy end to the Wars! O! Let unnatural Divisions cease, and the unhappy Separations of Dearest friends, end amongst us! For these Times of wants, and wounds, and bonds, and destructions, let the Days of Plenty, and Safety, and Liberty return again unto us! O! Let it be enough, that for our sins, thou hast so long wounded us, and broken us; and now heal us, and bind us up, and Save us for thy Mercies sake! Give us peace for the Sword, Thou God of peace, even for his Sake who is the Prince of peace, Jesus Christ, our Lord! Amen! 3. Prayer for Blessing on those who seek peace. O God of Peace, Bless those that seek it, that they may findit; and stop, and turn those that fly it, and make them to seek it! Bow their hearts to it, that have the power, and strengthen their hands for it, that have the Will! As for those who set their hands, and hearts against it, we beseech thee turn thine hand and face against them! O! Forgive us our Sins which threaten to destroy us! and send us a peace, which may preserve us! And from more Blood and Violence Deliver us! Deliver us for Jesus Christ his Sake. Amen! 4. Prayer for Friends, in Danger, and Distress. O God of Power & Pity! preserve thou those that are in danger to die. Rescue them from the rage of violence, and show thyself Merciful to them in saving their lives (if it be thy blessed will) O thou preserver of men! Save them! If not grant them all Graces and Mercies needful for the saving of their Souls! Let them Glorify thee in life, and death; that thou mayst glorify them with thy Eternal Life, Through the Merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. In whose name I pray mercy for all that Suffer in these Times of extremity; Chief, the Destitute, Widows, and Fatherless! Lord! Take them to thy care, and comfort them; Have mercy on them, and help them! Supply them all, and Secure them, for Jesus Christ his Sake. Amen. 5. Prayer for Conversion of one, in an Evil Course. O Lord! That delightest not in the Death of a Sinner! I beseech thee by thy Grace and-Providence to stay his Course, who is entered into a way of Vice, and Vanity! O Let him not go on to bring an end of shame upon himself in this World, and Confusion of face upon his Soul in the World to come: But (of thy great Mercy) stop him, and turn him to a better Course; For Jesus Christ his sake. Amen. 6. Prayer for preservation of the Church. O Lord! The Church is thy Body, and thou art H●ae Head! She is thy Spouse, and thou art her Husband! O! Save thine own Body, Preserve thine own Spouse! Protect her from all Enemies, Men and Devils! Keep her from all ills, Errors and Dangers! Thou didst purchase thyself a Church, at the price of thy Blood, O! Let no hand seize and Spoil so Dear a Purchase! More particularly, Hear my Prayers for these persecuted parts, The Petition of a poor Child, for a Dear Distressed Mother! Many O Lord are the Enemies to destroy it, and few friends to preserve it! Strong are the Arms to pull it down, and weak the Hands to hold it up! But O God do not thou desert it, uphold it with thy Holy Arm! Maintain the Religion Established amongst us, and thy Holy Truth, and Worship in that Religion! Maintain a Clergy, that may be able by Learning and Holy Life, to Defend thy Truth and Worship, and the Means that may continue such a Clergy. Let not Error and Heresy corrupt it. Ignorance blind it. Superstition infect it. Profaneness overgrow it. Schism tear it. Sacrilege devour it. Atheism lay it waste. Persecution make it desolate! Lord, make us as happy as we were, and more thankful, and less sinful, that we may be so happy! Let Errors vanish, Sects cease, Fury leave us, and the Spirit of Truth and love, again possess us! Let Confusion's end, and all Irreverences in thy Service be banished from us, and Holy Order & Decency appear again amongst us! Let wars and Tumults, and Civil broils and bloudsheds departed, and the voice of joy and peace, return again unto us! Lord! Let us have that Religion which may make us happy in Heaven, and that peace which may give us Time and Leave to enjoy that Religion! And let those that have the power, restore and preserve that Religion and Peace! And do thou to that end mercifully maintain their Power and Them! O Thou by whom King's reign, who hast promised to make them Nursing Fathers to thy Church, grant us these blessings to the Glory of thy Name, the Quiet of our lives, and the Saving of our Souls! Even for thy Dear Son our Saviour's sake. Amen! 7. Prayer for Mercy to the Nation. O Lord! we are a Nation, not to be Loved, ready to be Ruined, And for our sins, thou mayst justly destroy us, Prince and People! But Spare us good Lord! Spare us for thy mercy sake! let the Blood of Jesus expiate our guilts; and the Spirit of Jesus amend our Misdoing. O Thou who wouldst not have one Sinner die! Suffer not Millions of poor Souls and Lives to perish! Be Reconciled to us in a Mediators Blood, and be Reconciler of us, in a blessed peace. God of pity and peace, be at peace with us, make it for us. O Thou Holy One of God who camest into the World to take away the Sins of it, and make peace for us! Pity a poor Church and Nation ready to perish; Pity the Church that hath so long maintained thy Truth and worship in the Nation; Pity Them who are ready to perish, for seeking to maintain thy Holy Truth, and Worship in the Church: And do thou from Heaven Preserve, It, and us, and Them. Thou that hast the power of Heaven and Earth in thy hand, stir up thy strength, and come, and save us. And in this low condition do not leave us but Deliver us, for thy Mercies sake. Amen. After these; Daily Prayers, for Grace, Peace, Health, Safety, Friends. If it be made a Fasting Day, or of more Solemn Humiliation, and seeking God, then Say the Litany, and Ten Commandments. Read for an Epistle, Joel 2. or Jona 3. Gospel, Luke 13. or Mat. 24. After being at Church-Prayers (if to be had) forbear Dinner for that Day, and in that time. 1. Read some Scriptures, which may put in mind of the Miseries of the Age. As Deut. 28. Jos. 7. jud. 20 or some of the Lessons not read, or some Godly Books. 2. Meditate, and call to mind the most Memorable mercies of God to you, in all your Life. 1. In Deliverances from Dangers, Sickness etc. 2. In Blessings of Birth, Marriage, Condition, etc. (as fits your particular state.) And lift up the heart to God for these in all humble Thankfulness. 3. Call to mind the Greatest Sins of your life, and for them, as Pardon; and your present wants, and for them, beg supplies. Afternoon. After Psalms, and Lessons, 1. Private Prayers (as Before) 2. Public, (if any be.) 3. A less Supper then Ordinary. 4. Some Alms to the poor. 5. At Bedtime, Ordinary Prayers. Close all with this Prayer, THou that markest those, who Ezek. 9 4. mourn for the Abominations of the Time! Take a Merciful notice (Good Lord) of thy Servant, who have desired this day to humble my Soul before Thee. The Abominations of the Time are many O Lord! And the more for mine, both of heart, and life! Lord! Forgive all that mourn for offending thee. And spare those that grieve to see how thou art offended. Thou that wouldst have saved Sodom, if but Ten such had been found in it, save all such for thy Mercy sake. Save a sinful Nation, for their sake! Save us all for Jesus his sake! For his Infinite Merits, and thine Infinite Mercies Sake. Amen! Amen! The Blessing. BLessed are they that Mourn for Mat. 5. 4. they shall be Comforted! The Blessing and Comfort of God be on me, and all such sad and Sorrowful Souls with me; now and evermore, Amen! Seven SOLILOQUIES SACRED. Set to the Seven Days of the Week, by so many secret Sermons and Calls to Conscience; Inviting, and Directing the Soul to Mind, and Do what will make Blessed. Not to pretend, but practise Piety, and to be (not seem) Religious. The Materials of the Soliloquies. 1. The Nobility of Piety. For Sunday. 2. Domestical Devotion. For Monday. 3. Church-Duty, For Tuesday. 4. Perpetual Service. For Wednesday. 5. Remora's in Religion. For Thursday. 6. Helps to Heaven and Happiness. For Friday. 7. Remedies of Humane frailty. For Sarurday. PSAL. 4. 4. Stand in awe, and sinne not, Commune with your own Heart, and in your Chamber, and be still. The same, (altering their Number, and Order) may serve for two Weeks thus, 1st. Week. 1. Church-Duty 1. part. For Sunday. 2. Domestical Devotion. For Monday. 3. Perpetual Service. For Tuesday. 4. Remora's Religion, 1. p. For Wednesday 5. Remora's, 2 d. part. For Thursday. 6. Helps to Heaven, first division. For Friday. 7. Helps to Heaven 2d. div. For Saturday. 2d. Week. 1. Church-Duty, 2d. part. For Sunday. 2. Helps to Heaven. 3. div. For Monday. 3. Helps to Heaven, 4. div. For Tuesday. 4. Remedies of Frailty, first part. For Wednesday. 5. Remedies, etc. 2. part. For Thursday. 6. Remedies, etc. 3. part. For Friday. 7. Nobility of Piety. For Saturday. Animadversions touching the use of the Soliloquies. SOliloquies are of Ancient and Excellent Use. With them the Fathers fed their Souls high; and ours, at this Day, far much better for them. They must be ill Writ, and worse Read, if we thrive not in Piety, by such Holy Fare. Devotion feeding more on one single Dish of those Wholesome, Home-selfe-Conferences, than at many Feasts, and Gluts, of sharper and nicer Disputations and Discourses. Reader, Thou hast here, that which (the Author thinks) was never seen before: All Divinity in soliloquy; or (at least) the most Materials of all. And sure, thy Appetite is not good to Heaven, if none of the Meat relish thee; and thy Stomach ill, if Godliness digest worse with thee. Provision is here made thee of Meals for Seven Days, sufficient to keep thy Soul in Health, if Spiritual life be in thee, and God's Blessing begged of thee; without which, Preaching, Hearing, Writing, Reading, all, is but Breath, and Labour lost, and doth not solidly nourish, but vanish into air and emptiness. The Author would have thy Soul Fed, not Cloyed; and therefore breaks into parts his longer Soliloquies, to prevent such Surfeits. Devotions please God better by being quick, then long, and so by Man should be measured more by their Spirit, than Length. Bar Idleness then, and he leaves thee (who knowest thy strength best) to thy own measure. And when thou dost Feed, and ruminate on these Holy Repasts, He prays God's Blessing on the Meat, and thy Soul. Much Heavenly good may it do thee! Sunday-Soliloquie. The Nobility of Piety: OR, A soliloquy Discovering to the Soul, How much Sin sets Her below, and besides Herself, and gives Ten deadly Wounds to her Life and Honour. O My Soul! Thou art Spirit a Heb. 12. 23. , thy Body is Flesh. Wilt thou then make Flesh of thy Spirit? Feeding on corrupt lusts, turns it into the basest Flesh b Rom. 7. 5 Rom. 8. 6. . That of the Body is Natural and good; but this of the Soul, unnatural, and ill c Rom. 8. 7. . O! Do not make thyself a Monster, whom God hath made his most Goodly creature d Gen. 1. 26. Psal. 8. 5 ! He that did so Dignify thee in thy Beginning, did it to Glorify thee in the End. But Carnality makes thee fall off, from thy Dignity; and short, of thy Glory e Psal. 49. 12. . With it, God will not own thee for his f Jer. 2. 21. , and then, tremble to think who will take thee! O! Do not commit so gross on Apostasy! Maintain Primitive Spirit in thee, if thou hast sense of honour, or welfare; If it be lost by lust, let Grace make a Recovery g Eph. 4. 15 . O My Soul! The Immortal piece of Man h Mat. 22. 32. , why is the Mortal i Gen. 4. 19 part preferred before thee? The Body will die, thou canst not k Eccles. 12 7 . Canst thou not die, and carest not how to live? Hath that which will die (must die) all thy care? What a folly is this, to prefer a Lease to a Perpetuity? a Moment to Eternity! The Satisfactions of a Body, to the Salvation of a Soul! Nay, by Seeking for it, an unreasonable Welfare to bring on both an Eternal ruin! For so the Immortal is made damnably Mortal, l Ezek. 18. 4 , and dies to bliss; and the Mortal, Miserably m Isa. 66. 24. , Immortal ever living in woe! Be wiser and better O my Soul to thee and it! Do thou so wait on God, and let it so wait on thee, in his Service, that when thou shalt be rewarded, it may share with thee, in his Salvation! By thee let it be made Immortal in Glory n Job. 6. 29. ! Be not thou by it, Immortal in Misery! For thy own sake suffer not this; For thy o Mark. 9 48. Body's sake do that. If thou dost love it indeed, Promote it to Heaven (to raise it from a Grave to a Throne, is a friendly Promotion!) But do not kill thyself for love of it! O what a Murder is this? O what a Murderer art thou p Pro. 6. 32 & 8. 38. ? My Soul! if thou be'st Murdered of eternal Life, the Body is both q Rom. 13. 14. Gal. 5. 21. Quarrel and Sword, but thyself (wretched Spirit!) thyself art the Murderer r Hos. 13. 9 ! O do not commit so Horrid an Homicide; look to thy Body as thy Life, and fight against Sensuality, as for Eternity! 3. O my Soul! The Noble part of Humane nature; Remember thy Nobility! To love Earth, and Earthly things, is infinitely below thee! Thy Mind and Will (thy Arms) are made to embrace the Sovereign Truth, and Goodness of Heaven! Set thy Foot (O my Soul!) Set thy Foot upon Earth s Psal. 8. Thy Foot? yea let thy Servant and Subject, (the Body) set Foot on it. It doth by Nature set it Foot, to teach thee, not to set thy Heart upon it t Psal. 62. 10. ! O my Soul! if thou dost, thou art not a Sinner more against Grace, than very Nature; and art not less a Prodigy to Earth, than Heaven! O thou Noble of the Almighty's Making, be not so base a Creature of the Devils u Joh. 8. 44 , as by him to be made at once a Miscreant, and the Abomination of the World. 4. O my Soul! God's Image is in thee! What then doth the Similitude of Beast upon thee? Why doth not Reason, but Sense govern thee v Psal. 49. 12. ? Why doth not Rational will, but Brutish Appetite rule thee? This is to outdo the Devil in thy undoing! He took Shape of a Serpent for an ill turn, and time; and thou appearest, and continuest in thy bestial Shape. Nay, not the Figure of Beast, but the very Form is in thee! Unreasonable Creature that thou art, worse than the Brute that hath no Understanding, because with Reason, and against it. My Soul! Heaven hath in it neither Beastly Bodies, nor Souls w Apoc. 21 27. ! And therefore, Act like Man, Appear like God, if thou wouldst be there. If then x Ephes. 4. 24. Deformed by Wicked Spirit, be Transformed y Ro. 12. 2. by Holy one. Child of God, Maintain thy Father's likeness, that thou mayst inherit his happiness! Acts of Lust, and Brutishness z 1 Joh. 2. 16 Ephes. 5. 5. blot it out of thee, and thee out of Heaven! 5. O my Soul! Thou art the Spouse of God, no Creature is thy Match, or Mate, (Thy Creator is thy Husband. * Isa. 54. 5 ) Where then is thy Honour, if the World have thy Love, and Earth thy Embraces? O thou that hatest Adultery with Man, how darest thou be Adulteress a Jam. 4. 4. to God? May not a Strumpet-Body stand in thy sight? and must a Whorish b Ezek. 6. 9 heart lie in thy Bosom? Must not Man Court thee, and shall the Devil Woo thee? Is thy Bed Clean, and God's Defiled? Instead of thy Lord, thy Slave (the World) taken into his Bed? What is God's Bed, but Man's Heart? Setting it on other than him, but Strumpetting c Ezek. 16. 30. his Bed * Consensisti, in cord tuo, concubuisti. Aug. . And the Base the good which steals Affections from him, the more Abonable the Whorishnesse? O thou Beloved above all Creatures d Prov. 8. 31. that haste God for thy Husband, Heaven for t●y Dower, and Earth for thy Service! Let not Hell be thy Pander, to take the World for thy Love, have not less in thy Heart, than thy God, and his Heaven! 6. O my Soul! Thou art the Bodies, Lord! Take then her Homage. Let her serve thee, not undo thee! Do thou Act God's Will, and let it execute thine e Rom. 6. 19 . But do not thou its; (the Will of thy Handmaid, the Lust of the Flesh;) Let not Her Senses woo thee to Vanities; To do pleasure to the Body, bring not Pain on the Soul: Make not thy Body, thy God f Phil. 3. 19 , lest thou make thy Self a Devil; Damned for ever for not doing thy duty better to Almighty God, and thy Self. O my Soul! An Angel's Peer g Psal. 8. 5. , make not thyself a Devil's Fellow h Joh. 6. 70 ! Sell not thy Lordship for Slavery and Misery to Boot. If thou be not Lord, but serve thy Servant, never Earth saw, none but Hell will harbour such a Slave! 7. O My Soul! Thou art Sovereign i Rom. 6. 12. & 23. in Man. Under God Supreme, over all that is in him! Wilt thou be thy Subjects Subject? Shall the Law of the Members, be the Minds Law? Rom. 6. 23 The Senses are thy handmaids, (O thou Princess of Heaven!) Shall they be the Chief Commanders of thy Life? Wilt thou only move, go, run, refuse, choose, (as they Command?) O what a baseness is this, to be so unworthy to thy Maker and Nature? And yet say (O my Soul!) Speak out of Conscience, and say; Is not Sense the great Leader,, and Appetite l Rom. 8. 1 the Ruler of thy Life? whilst Reason and Diviner Understanding Lackey after their Desires, and the Members are mere Drudges for them? O my Soul! The Sovereign of God, be not so much Subject to the Devil, as to be led at his lust m Tim. 2. 26. , by the Lure of Sense, to satisfy the Flesh against God's Law, and thy Reason! To a life which he himself (though most wicked) doth not lead; For though Spiritual wickedness abound in him n Ephes. 6. 12. , the Bodily is below him. If thou wi●t be so base, be not more than the Devil. 8. O My Soul! Thou Freeborn Child of Eternity, Heir of Immensity, Daughter of Him who is beyond all bounds of Time and Being! The Body, is but thy Prison. Thou art shut up in oh 1 Cor. 4. 2. 4. Walls of mud within the Gates of sense, why then dost thou delight in a Prison before thy Palace? And choose a Bodily restraint before a Spirits p Rom. 8. 21. Liberty? Is it bliss to be in bondage? Are Chains of Iron better than Gold? Fetters, before Freedom? Even Earth is but a Gaol to Heaven q Rom. 8. 23. ! What a Little ease than doth the Spirit find in so little a spot of Earth! O do not destroy thy Spiritual Liberty r Rom. 6. 16. Tit. 3. 2. , by a Bodily Licentiousness! Love not thy Gaol before thy Delivery; lest thou be cast into that Gaol, whence none is Delivered s Mat. 5. 25. . It's just with God (most just) that the Soul which chooseth the Devil's Chain before God's Liberty, should have the Devil's Prison for God's Palace. And be his slave in Hell for ever, that would not for a time, be God's servant on Earth. Dove of God, fly to Heaven: Spiritus quisque ales est Tert. Cant. 2. 14 Amor temporalium, viseus Spiritualium. Belime not thy Spiritual wings in slime, and mud. Do not Crow-like, feed on Carrion, and like a blind Beetle place thy bliss in dirt. Sell not thy Self to buy a Gaol, when thou givest a Palace for the Purchase, and thyself to the bargain, t Mat. 16. 26. and hast nothing but Shackles, and Tortures to boot! 9 O My Soul! Thou art God's Jewel u Mal. 3. 17. , the Body, thy Casket! Why then dost thou prefer her good to thy welfare? Must the jewel be burnt to Save the Casket from the Fire? Nay, w Mat. 5. 30. it's not so much. It is at once to Fire casket and jewel (to cast both together into Hell Fire) Sardanapalus-like, with all his bundles and heaps of worldly Treasures, to make up one funeral pile, and perish together for ever, (Body and Soul!) O Bright Diamond of Heaven, Divinae particulam aurae. (Spark of the Divinity) Ray of Divinest Glory, Set in the foil of Flesh, for a Time, till taken up, and kept in Gods own Cabinet for ever,) what dost thou on the Devil's Finger! Why dost thou do him, honour, and work x Joh. 8. 44. What dost thou under the Body's Foot? O my Soul, look better to thyself! Burn the Casket if need be, to Save the Jewel (the Body to save the Soul!) So Holy Martyrs z Dan. 3. 28. Heb. 11. 34. did. But not the Jewel to save the Casket (the Soul to save the Body) that filthy Epicures do * Luk. 12. 19 : And thy end (O my Soul) be a Saints, not an Epicures! 10. O My Soul! The Purchase of Christ a Act. 20. 28. 1 Pet. 1. 19 . Bought with no less than Gods own Blood (the Blood of the Son of God) Why dost thou Sell that so cheap b Isa. 55. 2. which cost thy Saviour so Dear? For the World (which is Nothing c Pro. 23. 5▪ ) for vanity which is less d Psa. 39 7. Eccl. 1. 2. ? For a little of that vanity, which is less yet, than what is less, then that nothing e Isa. 40. 17 . Why hath that which cost more f 1 Tim. 2. 6. than Ten Thousand worlds are worth, least of thy care and cost! If thy Body be Sick, thou wilt have Physic; if wounded, Salve; if naked, ; if hungry, bread; no rate, no pain, is spared for it: But the precious Soul may lie Sick of Sin g Psa. 41. 4 , wounded by guilt h Pro. 78. 14. , stripped of innocence i Ezek. 16. 22. , starved for grace k Amos 8. 11. ; and nothing is given or done, to help it. For my Soul! What is God's price for his help but man's Labour? Two mites worth of pains * Due mi●uta carc & anima. Ber. is all (thy l Isa. 55. 2 own and thy Bodies) and yet thou wilt bate one, if not keep both from him? Wouldst thou lose a life that wilt not quit a state, an honour, a friendship for him? Dost thou give him thy Soul that wilt not leave a bad custom, or base lust to serve him? But O my Soul, no more of these neglects! I charge thee, by thy Heavenly Birth and Parentage, by thy Immortal Substance, and Durance; by thy Precious Ransom, the Dear Blood of God: Value thy welfare more, Seek the Bodies less; think not God's price too great (man's Labour) for his happiness; when the Son of God thought not his Sweat too much, his Blood for the Price! O thou dear and Precious Peice and Purchase of Divinest Architect, and device, Detect this Serpentine Policy of the Devil, who, because he once got Eternity for an Apple, thinks to Tempt away thy Salvation for nothing! And therefore would have thee all for the Body, that nothing may be done for the Salvation of the Soul! Dear one, thou wast not Ransomed, be not Ruined for nothing! And now, O my Soul! Spiritual, Immortal, Intellectual; The lively Image, The Dear Spouse of God; Lord Paramount, and Sovereign Power in Man; The Free and High-born Child, and Heir of Eternity, Delight, and Darling-Gemme of Heaven, Most precious Purchase and Inheritance of the Son of God; Do not, O do not abuse, and lose thyself in Bodily Sensualities, and for Half a satisfaction, (scarce to the half of Man) and but a Moment on Earth, sell away Salvation in full, of Soul and Body in Heaven for ever. For, What shall it profit a man to gain the whole World, and lose his own Mat. 16. 27 Soul? or, What shall a man give in exchange for his Soul. The Sum of this soliloquy is, The Soul is Spirit, Sin turns it Flesh. The Soul is Immortal, Sin makes it Die. The Soul is Noble, Sin makes it Base. The Soul is Lord, Sin makes it Slave. The Soul is Sovereign, Sin makes it Subject. The Soul is Godlike, Sin make it Beast. The Soul is God's Spouse, Sin makes it Strumpet. The Soul is God's Jewel, Sin casts it in Fire. The Soul is Freeborn, Sin keeps it in Prison. The Soul is God's Purchase, Sin m●kes it away, Animadversion to the Devout Reader, Touching the second and third Soliloquies. IF some things in them seem to be set more suitable for a Court, than Cottage; and possible, in settled, than troubled times: (as supposing a greatness which thou (perhaps) hast not, and requiring a Church-Duty, which thou canst not do:) thou dost not guess amiss at the Authors aim; nor doth he think thee to move and make thy Scruple amiss. For removal of which, (that no bar may be from him betwixt thee, and thy Benefit) receive this satisfaction for both. 1. What is not proper, may be profitable for thee, and (if not directly) concern thee by consequent. If the Great be disputed out of all their Excuses and Customs, which are pleaded and practised, to the neglect, or injury of God's Private, or Public Service; the mean, are thereby concluded (if so faulty) to fail their Duty without all Apology o● Plea. 2. What is not possible, doth not concern thee: And what is unjustifiable, should be impossible. Such is sometimes the Public Id possumus quod jure possunus. use of Religion in the Church. Take heed of the Principle (as both false and perilous) that whatsoever is in the Church, thou must be at it: So in Egypt, thou mightest Worship a Crocodile, and at Rome must go to Mass. If without Sin than I cannot, I must 1 Cor. 10. 20. 21. not go. So to Separate, is not to be a Separatist, nor can such absence be impious. Provided that the Judgement of Sin, and the Service be right, and hate 2 Cor. 6. 17. (not love) of Schism make the Separation. Thus cautioned, thou mayst read even those Soliloquies without Scruples; and for the rest, there is no cause of any, as fit (without Dispute) for all. Nor dost thou more in this, then in Reading King. David's Psalms, or Saint Augustine's Soliloquies, Psal. 42. wherein all things are profitable; though not pertinent to every one. For one particular soliloquy will no more fit every Soul, than one Shoe any Foot. So then, where it fits thy Soul, make it thy soliloquy; where it doth not, thy History. Monday-Soliloquie. Domesticall-Devotion. OR, A soliloquy Inviting, and Enabling the Soul to a Privacy of Piety, and Discharge of Daily Duty in Secret and Closet Prayers. Hear O my Soul! What is required to the Service of God. For, as thou dost know Joh. 13. 17 it in vain, if thou dost not do it, So thou canst not do it aright, Prov. 19 2 if thou dost not know it. Know then O my Soul, As Thou art of thyself, One and One of the World, thou dost owe, and must pay Almighty God, the Maker of Thee and It, a Private, and a Public Service. In the Closet God must see it, In the Church Man must behold it. There, Dear Child! Speak freely for thyself, to God, be thy own Priest and Mouth in Secret; and doubt not but thy Heavenly Father will grant and Seal thy Suits: But Here, let thy Mother * The Church. Mal. 2. 7. Speak for thee, and Her Priest (God's lips) be thy Mouth unto Almighty God. The Closet, is thy Particular Church, but the Church the Common Sanctuary. For God's Sake then be Reverend there; but here, both for Man's, and Gods. Neglect not Dear Soul, neglect not thy Daily Sacrifice. Morning and Evening offer up thy Service to Almighty God. Open the Day with this Holy Key, that the blessing of the light may be upon thee; shut up the Night with the same Key, that the curse of Darkness do not seize thee! Dare not to eat, nor stir, till thou hast Prayed thy Pass from Heaven, lest Mischief meet thee before night, and hale thee to thy Grave: Do not dare to rest or sleep, till thou hast begged thy Pardon for the guilts of the day, lest Judgewent surprise thy Soul before the Luk. 12. 20 Morrow. My Soul! These are thy Visits, and Entertainments of Almighty God; and do not (O do not) to give Man his, neglect God's Visits. He is the Greatest Person, serve him therefore first. Be not guilty of that rudeness to thy Heavenly Father, which thou abhorrest as uncivil to a Noble Person; Let Him stay and wait for thee, whilst thou entertainest thyself, with some Sorry one. Leave not a Prince to go to a Peasant. (Thy Prayers and Addresses to Almighty God, to Entertain any earthly one whatsoever:) Alas! my Soul! In Comparison of the Mighty God, the Greatest Man is not so much Isay 40. 17. Job 34. 19 Psal. 91. 11. as a Peasant to the Mightiest Prince! When thou art with God, Angels are with thee (O my Soul!) And do not turn thy back on Angels to go to Men, though Saints; and much less to such as appear in sinful shape, like Devils! And though thou be no Priest, nor Professed Recluse, bound by Canons to set Hours; yet my Soul, thou shalt do God and thyself but right, to set keep some set times of Devotion. Thou canst do so much for thy Bodily Health, thou shouldst for thy Souls! Observing that Rule, brings better health for a Time; but keeping this Order makes healthy and happy for ever! And if thou dost (as thou mayst) observe thy Physician's Prescripts, my Soul, thou must not neglect Diviner Directions. Their best end is, that the Body may be more Serviceable to the Soul; But the aim of those better, that the Soul may be most Serviceable to Almighty God. And, if thou dost resolutely set and observe thy Hours, who will disturb thee? Even the most profane; will not for Civilities sake, and the Religious will not be so Profane. And if any should offer such an Irreligious incivib●ty to thee, do not thou, by suffering it, do as much to thy God Cursed is he that makes thee neglect thy Maker; Cursed thou, if any Person or Thing whatsoever, make thee guilty of that neglect! My Soul! For Honesty's sake, thou will not break thy promised Time with Man; For Religion sake, do not break thy Set-houres with God. And though God tie thee not precisely to such set Hours of the Day, yet shalt thou do well to let Religion bind thee to the best times of his Service: And the Morning, when thy Spirits are most Fresh, & unsullied with Worldly thoughts and Affairs, (as for Studies, so) for Devotions, is doubtless Psal. 63. 1. best. And the more Early, the more Acceptably, dost thou make thy Devout Appearance before Almighty Psa. 130. 6 God. But not so, if most Late at Night. Mal. 1. 14. That, is to give God the Prime; this, the Dreg of the Day; if when thou art sleepy, and shouldst be in sleep, and hast no more ways to spend and pass thy Time, thou dost give the Relics to thy Ptayers, and bestow thy Broken Minutes on thy God. My Soul! The Religious King did rise at Midnight to say his Prayers to God; But not did sit up till Midnight Psal. 119. 62. Rom. 13. 13. ravelling out his Time on Toys, which should be wound up in his Prayers. To be on thy Knees when others are in their Beds, to break Sleep for Devotion Luk. 2. 37. is Pious; but (if not so) it's good when others are, to be on thy Knees, that thou mayst take strength to thine, by a concurrence of other Prayers! Extraordinarily that, but Ordinarily, thou must do this. In the Evening, and Morning, and at Noon will I Pray, and Psal. 55. 17. that instantly. Observe it my Soul! He doth not make his Morning-Prayers at Noon, and his Evening at Midnight; and instantly always, sleepily never: the Time which God and Nature have set out for Bodily rest, is best for Sleep. Thou stealest from it, if (due time neglected) thou take of that for Devotion. Yea, thou dost commit a double Robbery on God and Nature! Him thou robbest of his Devotion in due Job 17. 12. time; and Her, of her due time of rest, to pay God what thou owest Him. And the Coin is scarce current in which thou makest thy payment; because it wants both Metal of Spirit, and Stamp of Gods allowed Time. Be then Devout daily (Dear Soul!) and observe due Seasons and Hours for thy Prayers to Him, to whom thou owest thyself, and Life, every Act. 17. 28. moment: and so thy Private Duty is Discharged to God. And the better the more Private. Some affect Ostentation, and their Prayers in the Closet, look as Public as a Pharisees in the Mat. 6. 5. Marketplace; as if they did rather act, then say their Prayers; and rather played, then performed a Part of Devotion: But so God see thine, no matter if no Man know it. It looks more Sincere, if it be more Secret; and so much more precious, as it is more sincere. What thou canst then avoid that, let those, who would have Man reward them, have Man see them, But thou, when thou prayest, enter inter Mat. 6. 6. into thy Closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father, which is in secret, and thy Father which seethe in secret shall reward thee openly. The sum of this soliloquy. God is singularly God of me, as universally Psal. 86. 7. Psal. 50. 7. Psal. 118. 28. of the World. For this, I own God a Particular Service. There must be some time set for that Payment. Evening and Morning are best hours 1 Chro. 16. 40. 1 Thes. 5. 17. Psal. 76. 11 to be set. Time set to God, must not be broken by Man. Noon and Midnight are not God's Morning and Evening. Tuesday-Soliloquie. Church-Duty: OR, A soliloquy, showing, that all own a Public Service to Almighty God, and where, and when, and how they are to pay it. MY Soul! Though one, and 1. Part. entire of thyself, thou art but a Part of the Church; and (as a Member of it) must do Rom. 12. 12 Duty with the Body; In whose Common w●e and Welfare thou hast thy proper interest and part. Thou must be Jer. 29. 5. One therefore at Common-Prayers, when it is sought; and make One at Publique-praises, when it is found; and (as in Private) must Attend God in● Public. For since he is God of All, as well as One; He must be served by All, as well as thee, and by thee. as much as 2 Sam. 12. 7, 8, 9 any; and more, if thou be a Greater▪ One. For dost thou my Soul, look for least respect, where thou dost most favour? Or, to receive less Rents, where thou lettest most Lands? O my Soul! be not thou (of all, be not thou) ingrateful to thy God, who hath done thee favour above many Millions, in making thee both One, and Great, and Deut. 10 12 Psal. 116. 11 yet requires no more but thy Duty for his Rent? My Soul! obliged by so many Bonds unto thy Maker, Detract not a Single Service, where thou Leu. 5. 6, 7 owest a Double Duty. Upon thy solemne● occasions thou wilt not excuse thy greatest Servants from Attendance, because the greater they are, the greater is thy honour. Thou canst not excuse thyself to God, if thy Service Fail, when it is most for his Glory. And can any Service be Solemn without a Public Place? or Meeting in it without an Appointed Time? Can any Place be so convenient as what is Consecrate to his Honour? Or Time so fit, as what is Devoted to his Service? The Temple then (the Lords House) that's the Place; and Sunday 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. (the Lord's Day) that's the Time. And what Days else Holy Church by Law and Leave, from God, sets a part to his Worship. Content not thyself (my Soul!) with a Common place, if thou canst go to a Consecrate. Where shouldst thou Wait on the King but in his Court? The Church is God's Court, (my Soul!) Psa. 100 3. Psal. 65. 1. Psal. 89. 5. There Heavenly Majesty looks to be Waited on, and ever was by his Saints. For the Body of them to be in one place, and thou in another, is Schism. Heb. 10. 25. Be not thou at the Devil's Chapel, when others are at God's Church. A Separatist, Judas v. 19 how much Saint soever he seems, is no better than one of his Servants. To be so out of a Mind, that all Places are alike (even the most Common as good as the most Sacred) for God's Service, is bestial Heresy. The Devil himself will not allow such a Chapel; Though he chose Swine for a House, yet never a Sty to Mat. 8. 31. be served in. Nor let it suffice to keep Conscience quiet, that thou dost serve God at home, when others Worship him at Church! That's good in it time (O my Soul!) when Sickness, or Necessity confines thee to a House, a Sacrifice acceptable to God; but else, an offering of an ill and offensive Savour to God and man, like meat out of Season. At other timies, it looks like an Integrity and Holiness, but now like a Singularity and boldness. Be not thou, no not in thy Closet (Gods little Chapel) when others are at his Greater (the Church) Thou must not put him to a Private Audience, when he hath appointed thee a Public. But for him to see thee in thy Bed, when he looks for thee in his Court? To Spy thee at thy Glass, when thou shouldst be looking in His Word? To be found at thy Jam. 1. 23. Dresses, when thou shouldst be at thy Prayers? To be taking or giving Addresses to man, when thou shouldst be making them to God? O My Soul! When thou wouldst have God to loathe thee, let such postures of Profaneness appear in thee! My Soul, My Soul! Believest thou God hath his Day of Doom? I know thou believest, I charge thee then (as thou wilt answer it at that Dreadful day) by no means (unless the plea be just Heb. 10. 25 before God) by no means (for these or any such like ends) be bestowed in thy Chamber, when others are assembled at Church. All excuses set aside which Conscience dare not avow at that great Audit, behave thyself more like a Saint and Servant of God; be found and seen, where they are, in the Sanctuary! Dear Soul, If thou dost otherways, where canst thou be better found? Are there better Companions, than Saints and Angels? Is any Greater than God? Any Nobler Employment, then to wait on Divine Majesty? Any happier place, than Heaven? Any weightier business, than Happiness? Lo! They, and This, are here. Saints, Ministering; Psal. 74. 7. House of Glory. Isay 6. 8. Gen. 28. 17. Regia Dei ipsum coeliis Chrys. Ezek. 46. 10. 2 Chro. 23 13. 2 Chro. 6. 13. Angels, Assisting; God, Residing, Heaven, Appearing; Happiness, Working. Heaven in figure is before thee, the Gate by thee; and where is happiness but in Heaven? What then? Thinkest thou any too great to serve God? I know thou art too good to think it, too wise to believe it. The Prince hath his Pillar in God's Temple. There Great Solomon, Kneels * Eccl. Hist. Eus. de V. C. l. 4 c. 33. Stans concionem audit alit●r renuit rogatus licet. ; Constantine, Stands before Him. Wert thou Prince, King, Emperor, (never so great a Man) Nay, Cherubin, Seraphim, Throne (never so great an Angel) it would be thy Honour to be his Minister. And dost thou, a Man, (no Angel) a Worm, (no Man) dost thou distain on Earth what they do in Heaven? Dost thou Dan. 7. 10. Apoc. 4. 10 Job. 4. 18, 19 Psal. 2●. 6. despise what the greatest have done on Earth? Or dost thou pretend affairs when Crowns are no Excuses? Nay therefore, My Soul, wait on God the rather, that he (without whose blessing all Designs are vain) may Psal. 127. 1. Prov. 19 21. Prov. 16. 3. speed thy Dispatches, and Prosper thy Affairs.! But, If thou hast either sense of thy Maker's Honour, or thy own Salvation; If any love to God or man be in thee; If any care of Piety or Prosperity; If not given up to an utter neglect of thy own and others, worldly and heavenly welfare; I charge thee, O My Soul, and recharge thee, Take heed and tremble to keep others from Church, (unnecessarily) to wait upon thee at home, when thou and they should be waiting on God in his Sanctuary. Art thou their God, that to attend thy Will, they must neglect His Worship? Or art thou the Greater God, that thou must be served before Him? An Idol thou mayst be, sure a God thou art not. So Hic fur est & l●●ro, qui furari voluit gloriam ●uam. Deu●. 14. 26. thou Robbest God of his Honour, and drawest thine into the Robbery. O my Soul! Be not such a Thief to Heaven. Do but consider it, and thou wilt condemn it, and never more be Guilty of such high dishonesty. Thou must have care that thou, and thine Jos. 24. 15 House serve the Lord, not take course to keep thee, and them from his Service. The King after Gods own Psal. 42. 4. Heart Went with a multitude into the House of God, (held not many from it.) Was one of the Holy Round and Ring of Worshippers; not sitting in a Chair Psal. 26. 6. when he should be standing before the Altar; not with them about him, that should be with him about God Dear Soul! Bring all to Heaven thou canst, hinder none from it. And though Atheism sit in the door of some Lips that dare say, Religion is but Policy; let it not lurk in any corner of thy Mal. 3. 14. Heart so much, as to think Piety an Impertinency. A Ceremony to be Exod. 5. 17 done when there is nothing else to do. No my Soul! There is no other Rom 6. 22 way to Heaven; and the Church is Isa. 35. 8. God's High way. What is done, and not in Religion, or Order to it, is Impertinent Eccles. 5. 6 all. And the Lord keep thee, and thine, from their Death and Misery, whose 1 Cor. 10. 7 1 Pet. 1. 17. Conversation is a mere Pastime, and their Life an Impertinency. As therefore Philip had his Morning-Memento to tell him he was a Man, to keep him from Pride, have thou some Evening-Remembrancer to mind thee, the Night before, the next day is for God, to prevent such Profaneness. That by disposing thyself to a Timely rest that Night, thou mayst have better time and Spirit to serve God on his day. Look at late Companies then, as Vipers, and shake them off as such. Wastes of time (especially Holy) work stings of Conscience. It is thy Mother's Counsel, (The Church's use) Saturday is half Holiday, that Sunday may be whole And sure, the Devout Mother, that would have God thought on that Afternoon, would not have him forgot that After-night; much less neglected on the After-day. No my Soul! If thou dost honour thy Lord and Saviour thou must not despise His Day, The day of the Lord. Nay, if thou hast any love to Religion, thou canst not. For what is that, but the Service of the Lord, and this but his Day? Nay, if thou hast any care of happiness: For what is this but thy Saviour's Day? and how that, but because set apart to seek Salvation? Thy Ld Christ risen this day out of his Grave to save thee; and wilt not thou rise out of thy Bed to serve Him? Is that the way to uphold an House, to pull down the Pillar? My Soul! If Piety have no set day for her Practice, Religion will soon fall to ruin. Without that, it will not be visible, but vanish to nothing; and thy Bli●se with it. For surely, if thou seek God no Day, thou wilt find him no where. And in Heaven every day is a like Sabbath; on Earth, to make each day alike, is to seek God no day. Thou canst not be (as in Heaven) every day Holy; thou must not be (as in Hell) every day, Profane, alike. One Day therefore in the Week is set, that Religion, and (with it) thy Salvation be not lost. And the first of the Week is that One. As Ancient as Apoc. 1. 10 the Apostles; as Catholic as the Church of Christ. Reverend for that, and to be kept holy by thee, because observed by all; All that ever professed the Name of Christ: And, my Soul, thou wilt not renounce him! not be Refractory to Apostolic Order; not Contradictory to Christian Custom; not Singular to all the Saints in the Catholic Christian World! This Day was ever kept by all. And so let it be kept. And as they did, so do thou keep it. For (my Soul!) many do not so. Not caring, or knowing how to keep the Day of the Lord. For Some Observe it with great Superstition; Second. part. Col. 2. 16. Others, eat that with gross Profanation: Some bind themselves to such a strictness, as they neither do, nor can, nor need observe, because what God requires not; Others leave themselves to such a looseness, as they take not like Liberty, on another day. Betwixt these two Extremes, must thou walk warily (O my Soul!) Keep it not, as the Jew, a Sabbath; nor as the Exod. 16. 23. Exod. 35. 3. 1 Pet. 4. 5. 2 Pet. 2. 13. Heathen, ● Bacchanal. Observe the Day with Devotion; Keep it, from Superstition. Fly from an uncommanded strictness; but run not to an unjustified looseness. Take this Rule for thy Guide. Let Church duties be duly paid; and let not the House defraud the Church. Those are the Main Service, those must be Serviceable to the main. For it is absurd (My Soul) to think that on one and the same day, thou mayst appear Saint in God's house, and in thy own, a Devil. Be not Privately (though piously) employed when thou shouldest be at Public Service, but when publicly will-disposed, be not privately- ill: This being more holy than another day, must not have less of thy Service. House and Church then both look to this. What others days confine to the House, this doth in it; and what others do not, in Church. So then, My Soul! In the Church (God's House) on Sunday the Lord's day; Where, and when the King of heaven keeps his Court, and commands thy Attendance, fail not upon any terms, (save just and necessary) fail not to present thyself in the Holy Equipage of a Servant and Suppliant to the Majesty of Heaven. Believe thy absence else an Offence to God thy Father; A Neglect to Christ thy Saviour; An Vndutifulnesse to the Church thy Dear Mother; A Scandal to man thy Christian Brother; And to those that know Thee, and it, an Example of ill, and Encouragement to ungodliness. But when God by his Ministers sends out summons to call thee to his House and Table too; not only to Serve but Sup with thy Lord, O my 1 Cor. 11. 20. Soul! How wilt thou answer it or to thyself, or thy God, if thou dost not come? Lovest thou Eternity, and hast no appetite to the Bread of Life? Can Joh. 6. 48. thou and Satan be too much two? Thou and thy Saviour, too much One? And is not this thy Communion with 1 Cor. 10. 16. 2 Cor. 8. 15. 1 Cor. 10. 21. Christ? That thy Separation from Sin? And it, thy Dis-union with Satan? Can thy Pardon from Hell be so sure; or thy Assurance for Heaven too strong? And is not this blessed Sacrament * Sensum in minimis minuit, i● gravoribus peccatis consensum tollit. Bern. 1 Cor. 11. 31. Mat. 26. 28. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Damasc. Luk. 22. 9 the Seal of thy Pardon, and that Assurance? Canst thou do thy Saviour too much Honour? Is a Commanded Commemoration of His love, too much? Is not a neglect of that, a scorn? A sign of his vile neglect? Wilt thou shed thy Blood for his sake, that wilt not drink His, to thy Salvation? Wilt thou drink his Cup of gall, that dost refuse his Wine? Wilt thou climb his Cross, that dost shun his Board? Die for him, that wilt not Sup with him? Be his Sacrifice, that dost decline his Sacrament? O My Soul! Where is thy love and Duty to thy Christ, if at his call thou dost not come? And what is it keeps thee away? Doth Malice glut thy Holy Appetite? 1 Cor. 10. 21. 1 Joh. 3. 12. This is to leave Gods, for the Devil's Table! Is thy Stomach for some carnal lusts and pleasures; and the Preparations for it slack that? This is to prefer man's bread, to Angels. Nay, Psal. 78. 25. 1 Pet. 1. 12 Cant. 5. 1. a Sinners, which is worse, to the most Heavenly, which is better. O my Soul! When God and the Devil, or God and Man at once invite thee to their Board, give not Man (much less the Devil) thy Presence, and deny God thy Appearance. No my Soul, without good Warrant from God under Seal of thy Conscience, Refuse not his Invitations Luk. 14. 17 to thy Eternal welfare, lest he Banish thee his Beatifical vision for such inexcusable negligence; And keep thee Apoc. 19 9 from the Supper of the Lamb, that hast kept thyself from the Supper of the Lord. O! woe to thee, my Soul, for ever, if he once say (as for like neglect) he did; Thou shalt not eat of Mat. 22. 8. Luk. 14. 22 Psal. 118. 19 Prov. 9 2. my Supper. On God's day then, when his Door is open, be with him, but especially when his Table is Spread. God's Ordinary is better than the World's Feast, because it feeds to a better Life; But Joh. 6. 27. here my Soul! are the Dainties of Heaven * Omnium carnalium saporum & dulcedinum voluptates exup●rat. Cypr. de C. D. Prov. 9 2. 5. What Infinite wisdom voluptates exuperat. Cypr. de C. D. Prov. and goodness can provide to Feast thee, till thou art satisfied with his Psa. 17. 15. Glory in his Presence, where is fullness of joy for Eternity. O my Soul! where * Chrys. Ubi omnes angeli cum sacerdoto. etc. Joh. 6. 51. Joh. 6. 41. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Damasc. Animae vis, spes, salus, lux nostra. Chrys. Psa. 42. 1. 2. Psal. 93. 6. 1 Cor. 11. 22. Eccl. 5. 1. Hab. 2. 20. Psa. 46. 10. Angels are Ministers, be thou one of God's Guests. Where Heaven is on the Table, Kneel thou at the Board. Where Life is in the Bread, be thou at the Table. Think it Death and Exile from God, and Heaven, to be kept from the House, and Table, of the Lord. But Presence is not enough, if Carriage be not Christian; Holiness becomes God's House, (Rudeness is unsuitable) Veil thy Eyes here with Holy Modesty! Tie thy Lips with humble silence! shut thy Ears to all Earthly Audience. Fix thy Feet to lowly quietness. Cover thy Body all over with Religious Reverence. Yes, and shroud thy self under it too. For God sees thee, as well as Man sees it. Here then thy thoughts must mind Heaven, and thy Affections not move Earthward. On these Wings must Devotion Mount thee to the things above. Those below are the business of Worldlings, not Ezek. 33. 31. 1 Tim. 5. 8. Eccl. 5▪ 1. Saints. Admitted into the House, but banished the Church. Look to thy foot When thou comest to the House of God. Set it right towards Heaven, yea, and keep it so, when thou art in the House; (let it not wander when it is well set.) What is thy Foot (my Soul!) Sure thyself art one, the Body * Gressum 1. mentis, 2. Corporis. Olymp. per Synecd. partis. is the other foot: Thou must look to both. Thoughts, and Gestures; Affections, and Actions; Dispositions, and Demeanours; both must be looked to. How dreadful is this place! If reverend, Gen. 28. 17. dread to make it Ridiculous. Dare not Laugh in God's Face. Do not then in God's Church. Do not 2 Chro. 7. 14. Psal. 100 1 2 Chro. 7. 16. Jer. 7. 10. Jam. 4. 8. Chat in his Presence. Dare not then talk there. Dare not Gaze before God's Eye. Let not thine rove in his House. If vain thoughts, and foul lusts do come, bid them be gone, They are no Objects for God's Eye. Here thy Ears must be shut to all Words but Gods. Thy Lips watched from all speech but Prayers! Thy Eyes open to no fights but Angels. Thy Mind left to no motions but for Heaven! God, and that, and they, are there, and thou must do all reverence before the Majesty Levit. 19 30. 1 Cor. 11. 10. of Heaven. Reverence my Sanctuary. Yes, because thyself, O God And thy Angels are there with thyself O Lord! Rudeness is fit for Ruffians than Angels; no Demeanour for Saints. A rude Presence is worse than a plain Absence: for that (my Soul!) is a neglect of God; this a Scorn upon Him. That to Man seems an Offence, 1 Cor. 11. 17. 1 Cor. 14. 23. 25. 1 Cor. 14. 23. 1 Cor. 10. 32. this is a Visible Scandal. Yea, to a Multitude. As many as be Congregated to serve God, and see that Sauciness before Him! Better then, my Soul, not attend God, then Affront him; and be out of Man's sight when he is before God, than a Moat in his Eye, and when he is on his way to Heaven to lay a stumbling block before him. Plead not Custom in Excuse! Saints Levit. 18. 30. 1 Cor. 10. 3●. Jud. ver. 6. never had it, and thou must not use the Haunts of Sinners. God's Dues must not be paid to the Devils Customs. Not keeping Order in Heaven made Angels Devils. Not keeping Decorum in the Church will not make Men Angels. Before God they Adore, and Tremble; Where shall they be that are so Bold before him? My Soul! Isay 6. 2. Apoc. 4. 10. & 5. 14. were it possible for thee to be a Saint, (an Angel) and Rude; thou shouldst either never come to, or never keep in Heaven. Break then the Bands of such Customs as the Chains of Death. Go Prov. 5. 22 to Church. as to Heaven, and carry thyself there, as thou wouldst keep in it. Be Reverend, as thou wi●t be blest. No Recusant to it, nor Miscreant in it. If others be, have no more Fellowship with them that have no more fear of God. That when they Psal. 5. 7. Ezek. 28. 16. go whither the Spirit of Profaneness leads them, thou mayst go to Heaven. And when to appear at the Holy Eucharist, O my Soul, Array thyself 1 Cor. 10. 28, 29. with all possible Reverence then! Body and Heart, let both Kneel, not to Adora & Communica. Aug. 2 Sam. 9 7, 8. the Holy Elements, but thy Maker. For (my Soul) when thou, a poor miserable wretched-sinfull Creature, art admitted to Communion; so near Communion with the Eternal God, thy Almighty, and All holy Creator, canst Psal. 99 5. thou be too Humble? Did thy Face kiss the Earth, when thy Knee doth touch it, couldst thou go too low to a Majesty so High? And yet in this Holy Mystery as low in Condescending 1 King. 7. 27. Goodness to thee, as high above thee in infinite and incomprehensible Greatness! My Soul! they are mad, who making themselves Coheires with Christ, will therefore sit to keep Coequals with Him. At lowest he is thy Lord. Man, thy Brother; but God-man, thy Maker, and thy Father. Every Communicant is thy Peer, but he 1 Cor. 10. 17. Apoc. 15. 3 1 Cor. 10. 21. King of all. And his Table, not thy Fellows but the Lords. Worship, not Fellowship, is fit for God's Board. In his House, thou art in his Presence; but here, before his Chair of Estate, the Mercy-seat of Almighty Majesty. Psa. 132. 7 What? a Man of Earth, and bold, so bold before the King of Heaven? Even Celestial Spirits cast their Crowns Apoc. 4. 10 down before his Throne: shall Dust and Ashes car●y up his Crest before Gen. 18. 27. Him? my Soul! Thou art better taught by an undoubted Divine. God is greatly to be feared in the Psal. 89. 8. Council of his Saints; and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him. O come, let us, worship, and fall down, Psal. 95. 6. and kneel before the Lord our Maker. The Sum of this soliloquy is, God, our Common Maker, must have a Public Service in Common-Prayers and Worship. Every Man must pay God this Homage, and the Greater he is, the greater his Obligation to it. There must be a place set apart for that Service; and the Church, for it is a sacred place. As for Holy Duty most fit, so for Heavenly regards, no place out of Heaven is so lovely, and desirable as the Church. There must be a time set for Holy Assemblies in it, and by Ancient and Wersall use, that with Christians is the Lords Day. As Profanation, so Superstition must be shunned in the due Observation of that Holy time. It's ill to keep ourselves from Church, (unnecessarily) and worse to keep away others. If rude, and irreverent there, as good keep away ourselves. At Communion-times above all we should be neither absent, nor rude. Wednesd-soliloquie. Perpetuall-Service. OR, A soliloquy directing the Soul in those Duties, which must never cease whilst we Live, if we will be happy when we Die. SEt Hours of Devotion do well (O my Soul) but that Service is not all. To give God two a day, and Spend Ten at thy pleasure. The truth is, Two are set apart to pray, that we may Spend all in his Service. Which if we do not as well Endeavour, as pray, to do, we do but Mat. 7. 7. Prov. 28. 9 misspend those two. For, my Soul! Thy Prayers, are but Mockeries of Almighty God, if thou hast not care as well to Do, as Say thy Prayers! Observe then some hours for thy Devotion, but all Time in thy Conversation. The Eternity which God will give, and the Goodness which preserves thee every Psal. 104. 13. moment, will not abate a Minute of all; for this, thou owest him Service, all Luk. 1. 75. the days of thy Life, every hour of the Act. 28. 7. day, every Minute of the hour. Thou must do him Homage at Some Times; Deut. 19 9 Injury, at none. Kneel at Times before him, and pray, but Offend and provoke Deut. 6. 13. & 10. 12. 2 Tim. 1. 5. Act. 24. 16. 2 Cor. 1. 12. Rom. 12. 1 Deut. 8. 6. Psal. 119. 5. Prov. 3. 6. Heb. 9 14. Psal. 119. 5. 6. him never. My Soul! Keeping a good Conscience is doing Him this Service. In all thy ways then study thou to keep a good Conscience; That is, a Conformity betwixt his, and thy ways; His Will, and thy Life; His Laws, and thy Cou●ses. And since thy Thoughts, Words, and Deeds, are the Three Courses of thy Life, how they are to be run, take Direction by his Laws. And let Solomon (that great and Wise King) teach The Government of thy Thoughts. Keep thy Heart with all diligence.] Prov. 4. 23 A little will not serve: All is little enough. For thou canst not keep hand, or Tongue without this. Their courses being rivers that Spring in the Mat. 15. 19 Heart. Out of the Heart proceed evil thoughts, Murders, Adulteries, Fornications, Thefts, false-witness, Blasphemies. Ill words, deeds, thoughts, all flow from the heart; The Womb of Job. 15. 35 Psal. 7. 14. Isa. 59 4. wickedness, the Nest of evil; No birth, no bird without it. With all diligence then look to it. Since the Triplicity of all ill is from it, a Double, a Triple Watch be ever over it. Watch then My Soul that no ill thoughts lodge in it. Come they may, they will, Jer. 4. 14. (by force of Temptation or Corruption) but stay they must not. If the Gates of Sense let them in upon thee, do not Board them, do not Bed them, Consent not to them, Delight not in them. Thoughts are like Birds, they come as swift, and fly as high; their hover thou canst not hinder. But their nestling thou mayst; If of an ill feather, thou must. Suffer them, and Deut. 14. 11, 12. they will hatch, fledge, and fly abroad out of tongue or hand, in words, or deeds, of wickedness. If then Flesh or Devil bring an ill thought into thy heart, Wand'ring or wicked, to God, or Man (any way ill) do thou forthwith frown and turn it out. Bid it not Welcome, but Avant. And if that will not put it, pray it away. Groan to God under it that He may remove it. And if yet it will not go, call in Help from God against it, seek Job. 33. 23 Ghostly Counsel about it. My Soul! If an Infant Thought grow too strong for thee, if it grow man, how will it Master thee? Cry out then at first, and call in more strength than thy own, to drive it from thee. And because it is so hardly got out, if once let in, therefore watch what thou canst to keep it out. See to the Cinque-ports, and at every Gate of sense Mark. 13. 37. Psal. 119. 37. Job. 31. 1. 7. Prov. 4. 25 & 17. 4. 2 Sam. 11. 8 Prov. 7. 21 Gen. 3. 1. 6 Nec potestarx mentis capi, nisi per portas bostiles irruat exercitus. set a Watch: And the Eyes and Ears, especially, as the Principal Gates. David had never had so much as the thought of Adultery, had he looked better to his Eyes. Nor would the Whorish woman have come into the Young man's heart, had he kept her out of his Ears. At these two gates Adam was taken and Mankind lost. Nor is the fort of the Heart (almost) Dow got till we give up those Outwarks. Gazing on Temptation, and listening to the Devil is the overthrow of Man. For if heart be gone all is lost. As the first thing which lives, it's the last which dies, as well in Spiritual as Natural life. If that then be departed, thou art a Child of death. For out of it are the issues of Life. Above all keeping then Prov. 4. 23 Keep thy Heart. Yes, and keep thy Tongue too. As thy Life, look to thy Tongue. It is S. Peter's Transcript of King David's Proclamation, Who is the man that Psal. 34. 13 1 Pet. 3. 10. wouldlive long, and see good Days, let him keep his tongue from evil, and his lips, that they speak no guile. It is unruly, and apt to run to Evil; Jac. 3. 2. Jac. 1. 26. a Bridle therefore thou must have for it. And what is that? Surely Gods Law is a Bit; his Threat a Curb, thy Resolution a Rein, (all make a good Bridle.) The Bit is in every Mouth, Prov. 4. 24 Psal. 12. 3. the Curb in every Ear, the Rein should be in every Heart. If the Tongue go against Law, it must come unto Judgement. Even Words must be accounted Judas v. 15, 16. for. If Vain, thou must answer for their Idleness. The Judge assures it. If Vile, Mat. 12. 36 than thou must look to answer for their Illness. The Judge pronounceth it. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, Mat. 12. 37. Job 6. 26. and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Though but wind (as they blow from Holy or unholy Spirit) they waft to Heaven, or Hel. My Soul look to it: Life and Death are in the power of the Tongue. This made David rein his in. I said I will look to my ways, I Pro. 18. 21. Psal. 39 1. will take heed that I offend not with my Tongue. He will keep it as with a Bridle. He said he would, he resolved it should be so. He did not by't it out, as the * Apud Hier. Young man did his tongue, to save his Conscience, but in he did, and so must thou. My Soul, thou needest not be so severe. It's the Trumpet of God's Psa. 51. 15 Psal. 71. 8. honour; the Organ of his Praise; (his Servant and Sanctuary must not be mute) do not then ruin, but rule thy Psal. 29. 9 tongue. By't it then in; and (if need be) by't it, but not out. And the Rein will be more easy, if the Heart be well Ruled. For out of the abundance of the Mat. 12. 34, 35. heart the mouth speaketh [good or ill, as it is restored with grace or wickedness.] Where no Restraint of ill thoughts, there will be liberty for ill words. For what are words but born thoughts? and what are thoughts but conceived words? Misconceptions make misshapen Births? Seest thou not, O my Soul! How unchaste 2. Pet. 2. 18. hearts have tongues full of Filthiness? And a stews is in the mouth when a Whore is in the Heart? Have Judas v. 13. not Profane Hearts tongues full of Ungodliness? A Hell in the Mouth, when the Devil in the Heart? Have not Uncharitable Hearts Tongues full of Slanders, and censoriousness? A Knife in the Mouth, when a Butcher in Pro. 30. 14. Pro. 24. 2. the Heart? Do not False Hearts fill Tongues with Lies, and Deceitfulness? A Snare in the Mouth, when a Fowler Hos. 9 8. Jer. 9 5. 8. is in the Heart? Do not Proud Hearts fraught Tongues with Scoffs, and Disdainfulness? Isa. 57 4. An Ishmael in the Mouth, when Lucifer in the Mind. No ruling thy Tongue then, without governing thy Heart. Yet thou art ruined if it be not ruled. Wickedness Gen. 6. 12. 13. Jam. 3. 6. Psal. 73. 9 was the ruin of the World. And the Tongue (unruled) is a World of wickedness. They set their mouth against Heaven, and their tongue walketh through the Earth. But do not thou thine. Blaspheme not, Curse not, Swear not, Speak not what is ill, or mean, of God: that's to set thy Mouth against Heaven! And thy Darts against it do 2 King. 19 22. but fall on thy Head. Nor give thy Lips leave to do all Mischief to man Psal. 52. 5. That's for thy Tongue like the Devil to run through the Earth. Mischieve Ezek. 22. 8 not his Good Name; It's to Murder more than his Life. Dost thou cry out of a wound in thine, that dost Murder Prov. 18. another? Doth not that very Outcry condemn thee of that Murder? And is it not justice (both Gods and Man's) that thou shouldest suffer slander that dost so much? and for thy Murder go away with some wound? Murder not Jam. 4. 12. another's Soul, more dear than his Name. An unjust Condemnation makes a Murder of the Execution. Keep Mat. 7. 2. Ro. 2. 1. 8. then from Censure that thou commit not Murder. Be not thy Brother's Judge, lest thou give thy own Doom. For (my Soul) if thou dost the same or like to what thou Condemnest, his Doom is thine. Nor wilt thou escape Rom. 2. 3. man's more than Gods. For observe it; Great Censurers are greatly censured. Have then thyself to the Bar, before thou Sentence another; and thou wilt acquit him to save thyself, or forbear him that thou mayst escape the Bar. But do not Murder Mankind (if thou wilt man) Communication is the Band of it, Truth the Tie; lies lose it: Lies are great wounds to Conscience Act. 5. 4. (they rise directly against it) and the very Death of Society, They do plainly overthrow it. The Bane and Blot of Hos. 4. 1, 2 Joh. 8. 44. man. They make his Mind * Sermo concipitur in adulterio. Adulteress. and his words Illegitimate; Bastards begot by the Devil, upon the heart of man. He is their Father. Speech from the mind is the Natural issue of words (Mind and Tongue are as Man and Wife for that issue) but against, is a Child without a Husband, out of Marriage, Spurious. And therefore no heirs Apoc. 22. 15. & 21. 8 (cast out of the City) except the Devils, to a Portion in his lake of fire. And rightly that; In the fire, because a Firebrand. Yea, so my Soul, every Jam. 3. 6. ill tongue is, A firebrand of Satan in Man's Mouth, which sets all the Body Psal. 120. 3 on fire, and burns the Soul with it sets the little world on fire, yea, and great one too. Kindled from Hell, and burning for it, and to it. Dear Soul! save thyself from this Psal. 41. 3 fire. Pray God's watch over thee; Set a watch O Lord before the door of my Lips! And do thou set a lock upon it, Hold it in. It will trip and fall if it Psal. 39 12 do run out. Impossible it is, to Speak much, and well. A man full of words Psal. 140. 8 Prov. 10. 19 cannot prosper, because he will Err. If Dinah gad without wit she will not return without shame. For the Tongue to be vagabond is the way to prove Prostitute. Besides therefore Natures Barrs, (Lips and Teeth) put on it the lock of reason, and shut it up in Jam. 1. 19 Silence. So shall it be kept from much ill; and let Grace keep the Key so it will be kept from all. That will ●ac. 3. 2. make it, and thee both perfect; Because, thy Tongue's Rule argues thy Heart in Obedience; and that, thee. The hand being more easy to rule, than the tongue. And those three are all, Hand, Heart, and Tongue. Hand than is One. My Soul! Thou must look to it too. And canst Psal. 37. 27. Act. 24. 16 Mat. 22. 37, 38, 39, 40. Rom. 13 10 Mat. 25. 45. Mat. 23. 25. Mat. 22. 21. Psal. 50. 14. 16. Mat. 7. 23. Rom. 2. 22 Jac. 2. 11. Heb. 13. 18. Act. 23. 1 Ezek. 18. 6. 8. Prov. 23. 29. not better, then as David directs it; and that is, Eschew evil, and do good, and dwell for evermore. Do no impiety to God, nor injury to man; and thou dost no ill: Do what he Commands for himself first, and for man, next; And thou dost good. Observe it (my Soul) as a plausible, but damnable deceit; An innocence from ill will not serve with a negligence of good. As thou mayst not be wicked, thou must be godly. As no wrong, thou must do all right. And yet a Diligence in good will not discharge without an Innocence to ill; A● thou must be just and Religious, thou must not be intemperate and Sacrilegious! Indeed thou art neither; if not both. For the Law (God's way) is for both; and Conscience (thy guide) looks at his Law. Thou mayst no more steal thy Neighbour's Bed, than his Cloak; nor take away his Goods, than his Life,; Thou mayst no more kill thyself at a Table, than a Duel; and main Plures necat crapul●. as well kill, as starve thyself. Nor mayst thou more eat out of Time than Measure; nor deny thyself due Repose then Repast; nor do it to others more than thy self. For, this is all one, to distemper the Body, and to destroy it. And though the Body be but thy Servant, it's too good for thee to kill it. Indeed thou dost so much wound thyself, and Lame thy business, as thou dost hurt it. Away than my Soul! Away, as with a Gluttons Board, and wantoness Bed; so with untimely foods and sleeps, if thou lovest either Health or Heaven: thy Diseases become thy vices, by a wilful negligence, and Soul and Body, both full of Diseases. Nor mayst thou use God worse than thy self. Thou must no more rob him Mal. 3. 9 Psal. 29. 2. of his goods then his Glory; nor of his Service, than his Goods. Nor shouldst thou more Spaul on his Name, then Exod 20. 7 Leu. 24. 16 Spit in his Face! In a word, To love, is to do all thy works. For then, thou wilt do God right first, and thy self Rom. 13. 8 1 Tim. 1. 5 next; and thy Neighbour, next thyself, and that's all. All that either Law or Gospel asks. For all is but, To live godly, and righteously, and soberly Tit. 2. 12. in this present world. And as love is (in sum) all that; so Charity is Mic. 6. 8. Rom. 13. 10. Mat. 9 13. Mat. 5. 23, 24. Heb. 13. 16. (in short) all love. God himself makes it chief of all; He will have mercy, and not Sacrifice. He gives it Place before Piety. He loves thy Alms before his Offerings, and had rather see an Empty Altar, than an unreconciled Brother. Nay, for God's sake, to do man good, is to make a Sacrifice of mercy. A most sweet and acceptable Sacrifice, Phil. 4. 18. and most honoured Piety. No marvel then, if it take place of justice. The truth is, it is a Piece of it, and Prov. 3. 27 Deut. 15. 7 Psa. 112. 9 so principal, that in the Holy Tongue, one word speaks both. Alms are debts to the needy, by his Law who is Lord of thee and thine; and the payment 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mat. 5. 7. Luk. 11. 41. Dan. 4. 27. Mat. 25. 34, 35. Prov. 19 17. Mat. 25. 40 so good, as procures from him a general Acquittance, though but a particular Duty. Nay, not a Cancel only of the debt, but a Crown to the Debtor. And wonder not at it, O my Soul, since it makes thee Creditor to thy God, and Benefactor to thy Saviour. As if (as all is nothing without) 1 Cor. 13. 23. 1 Joh. 3. 17 nothing were all with charity, the chief of all. As than it is in thy power, show it: 1 Cor. 16. 2 Abate something of Back and Belly, rather than have nothing in thy power. With thy Superfluities provide the poor of necessaries * Superflua divitum necessaria pauperum. Eph. 4. 28. Ex. 32. 3. Job 31. 9 . Did they give their Earrings to make a God? wilt thou quit nothing to save a Man? shall all be Lavished away, that should Ezek. 16. 49. be so laid out? All to Vanity, nothing for Mercy? O My Soul! Tremble to think how such accounts will pass at the great Audit-Day. If thou canst at Phil. 4. 17. Luke 16. 2 once Discharge thyself, and oblige thy God; why dost thou bind over thyself by such actions of waist, to answer Mat. 19 21 Mat. 25. 42. Divine Justice, at the Dreadful Day of Judgement? Dear Soul! Read, and avert the Doom, thou canst not answer it. Yea, see it in Execution, and quake to see it. Dives, that would Luk. 16. 21 24, 25. not give a Crumb of Bread, hath not a Drop of Comfort. How much better had it been to have fed Lazarus, then fared so deliciously? To have given Alms, than received Torments? not to have spent so much on the Flesh, rather than end in Fire? Dear Soul, be thou more devoted to charity, let that never be thy End! look to all, but to that above all thy works; as thou dost unto thy words and thoughts. This, my Soul, makes thy Conscience Luk. 1. 6. good, and thy Service great, when it takes care to keep all thy ways right. Indeed it is that (than which nothing is more precious) to give thy self a holy 1 Sam. 15. Rom. 2. 12 Psa. 50. 23 Sacrifice unto his Service, nothing is desired more. I beseech you therefore, by the mercies Rom. 12. 1 of God, that ye present your Bodies a living Sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable ervice. The sum of this soliloquy. God being our God even unto death, must be served all our life. Psal. 48. 13 Our Conscience of all our ways, is his perpetual Service. To look to our thougbts, words, and deeds, is to have care of all our ways. 1. The Heart must be strictly kept, because the Spring of all ill is in the Heart. First Motions must be repelled, and the Senses well watched, if we will keep the Heart. Eyes and Ears must be chief watched, of all the Senses. 2. The Tongue must be bridled, as we love our life. God's Law and Threat, and Man's Resolution make a strong Bridle. The Tongue will be easily reined, if the Heart be ruled; and hardly else. It will fly out if God keep not the Door of the lips. Taciturnity is a good lock to keep it in. 3. The Hand must be bound from ill, to good. To God and Man it must do no Act. 24. 16 evil, but all good. True love performs all. Charity to Man, is by God accounted as the Principal and total of Love. If we have to spare, we must spend; if not, pinch rather than want to lay out on works of Charity. Thursday-Soliloquie. Remora's in Religion. OR, A soliloquy showing the Soul the Errors and Dangers in the ways of Godliness, and how to avoid them. MY Soul! To keep thyself continually Serviceable to thy God, is a great and hard Government! More to Rule thy little, than the Greater, world: but Prov. 16. 32. & 25 28. will be easied by some Helps which are to be had; If thou wilt Avoid what Hinders, and Observe what Furthers thee in the way to Heaven. And if thou dost survey all, thou wilt see, that false Principles, Bad Customs, Vile Companies, Vain Scruples, and Ghostly Negligences are Principal Bars and Hindrances. Conscience is God's clock, to teach thee how to know and Spend thy Time in his Service, but given thee to Keep: If then the wheels be ill that move it; or dials false that guide it; or it kept foul or thou forgetful of it, how should the motion possibly be rectified, and it go right? And (My Soul) Principles and Habits, are the Wheels; Examples, dials; Scruples, Dusts; Rests, forgetting of it. Mind and Will are the Wheels on which Humane Actions move; ill Principles, and Habits Spoil the Wheels. And (of many) as the very Pests and Perversions of all Regular life eye these: as, 1. Ill Principles. To think thyself good, because thou seest others worse. For so there shall be but One man Bad in the world, to wit, the worst. Nay not One, because be he never so bad, the Devil is worse. Ephes. 3. 8 Rather, Judge thyself bad whilst thou ●eest a better, because, by the grace of God, didst thou equally pray and endeavour it alike, thou mightest be as good: By leave of that thou mayst be very naught. That Principle therefore is bad. And no better, 2. To think thyself not bad, because Particularly good.] So Abimelech had been as good as Abraham. God Gen. 20. 6 Psal. 119. 6 knows, he did not Adulterate Sarah, (act or thought) For that his heart was upright. Yea but if it incline or lean to any ill, the heart is not upright: for then (since there is some Sin which every 2 Kings. 10 31. one hates, because a contrariety of Sins, and some he loves) the World (which hath many) would not have One Hypocrite: And since no man is universally ill, there should not be one Sinner. I may walk in the dark by Mat. 5 46. that, and therefore it is false light. So is it, 3. To think my life good, If my heart be honest. (If my life be not according to my heart) Saul then needed not be 1 Tim. ●. 13. Act. 26. 9 2 Chron. 13. 9, 10. converted, for he did Blaspheme and Persecute from an honest heart. And Vzza should not have been Smitten, for he meant well, when he did ill, in staying the Ark. A wrong meaning mars a good Action; a Right, makes Isa. 10. 7. not a good Conversation. Not to be Hypocrite, is good; and so is it, not to be profane. Not to show more good than I am, is good; but not to be less good than I should be, better. So then, if I think as I should, I must do as I think. Else as doing contrary, is damnable Hypocrisy; so doing less, is inexcusable negligence. Yea, a bad tongue or hand, where mind is good, Jam. 4. 17. becomes more inexcusable. So then to think, is error. And so it is, 4. To think my self good, because Godly by fits. Why? Every man is So; When the fit is on him, Pharaoh Exod. 8. 8. & 9 27. & 10. 16. Exod. 14. 4 himself, is a Saint; will, confess, pray, promise any thing. Whilst the plague is warm, his iron-heart melts; but if that be over, as hard iron as ever. A 1 Pet. 1. 7. Saint is gold for Substance, the same in, and out, of the fire. A Miscreant sometimes will be Saint; a Saint, never Miscreant. Under the Cross, he may 2 Cor. 11. ●5. be more tender; at a Communion, more devout; never debauched and obstinate. A Habit of strength (not a fit) makes a healthy man; a constancy of good carriage (not an act now and then) makes a Holy one. We shall be judged by Act. 24. 16 Ezek. 7. 3. our ways (not our steps) So to think then and do, is damnable error. And 5. To think myself good, because my Belief is Right. If so, the Devil will not be wrong. He belieus there is Jam. 2. 19 Luc. 4. 41. Mar 5. 7. Act. 16, 17 a God, and Christ his Son, and the Saviour of the world, (so far a Christian, most Orthodox in his faith) but hath hate to God, and rage to Christ, and so 2 Pet. 2. 4 in an ever damned condition, because inveterate-ill in his course. A good belief Apoc. 12. 9 1 Tim. 1. 5. 19 Job. 1. 8. 2 Cor. 11. 14. and life, both, make man good. A rightness in Religion and Conversation, perfect a good man. Believe myself a Cherubin, and live not a Saint, I am but a Devil; to my Fancy an Angel, but in God's Eye, a fiend. My own Elect, but God's Reprobate. The Principle Tit. 1. 16. is damned which cheats the Soul of Heaven (if believed) And so it doth Thousands, 6. To think, the Soul well, if Absolved of her Sins. If I Sin in hope of Pardon, and after fall again to Sinne. My Soul! Where Confession is most used, Souls are thus much abused. But bless thyself. from that error. Do not thou so much abuse thyself. To Sin in a Presumption of mercy, is not the way Deut. 29. 19 to Pardon, but Judgement, Nay, cuts of all hopes of Pardon, because to be left to the Judge without the plea of an Advocate. For that is mercy, which thou hast abused, and so thou wilt have justice without mercy to extremity; for Offended Justice will punish nothing more, then abused Mercy. And if God do not give the Pardon, the Priest cannot Seal it. For what he doth is in the Name, and by the Order of God, Joh. 20. 22 23. Mat. 16. 19 whose Keys he carries, not to do what he will, but should, in His House. My Soul! When Gods Minister duly absolves thee, Himself pardons thee; but if thou steal thy Pardon, thou gettest it not duly; and if thou Cancel it after it is got, as good not get it. And to pretend ●enitence to such a purpose, and presume to offend, before and after such a purchase, is first to steal a pardon, and then Cancel it. To make Gods Pardon a Patent for Sin is ill. And 7. To think practice of Piety belongs to the Cloister and Clergy. Their Obligations may be more, but thy Duties are no less. If a man, who ever, or how or wherever thou●livest, thou owest thy God the essential Duties of B●ety (as thy Maker, Preserver, and Redeemer too) by the greatest Obligations. And for this (whosoever thou Apoc. 1. ●. ● Per. 2. 5●. 2 Cor. 6. 17. Act. 2. 24. Joh. 17. 15, 16. Joh 15. 19 Psal. 3. 18. 20. art) must be a Priest, (A Priest to offer God that Sacrifice:) And wherever thou art, must have a Cloister, (Place and time to Sequester thyself) from the World, to his Service. Though not Religious Votaries, all must be Religious. That belongs to all. My Soul! Thou hast seen Seven Guides which misled millions out of the way to Heaven. As thou hopest to be there, Know them all, and shun them. For if Error Psal. 95. 10 Mat. 15. 14. be thy Leader, thou canst not be in the right way. And as Principles, 2. Ill Habits, They are to be avoided, My Soul! For these will carry thee wrong, though thy guide be right. And this will wheel thy Heart, as the other do thy Mind wrong. But the Soul goes woefully away, that is misled by both. An ill custom, is a Second Nature. And that Gen. 6. 12. was depraved enough at first to do ill (it needs not a Second.) An Inveterate disease it is, which to keep is death; and to leave, impossible. O my Soul! Sin is thy blackness, and vices thy Spots; but by continuance become not accidental, but Natural; and what Laver will wash of an Aethiopian blackness? Jer. 3. 23. or Fuller, take out a Leopard's Spots? Why cannot some Speak, but Swear? Why do not some talk, but Lie? Why cannot some live more without drink, than breath? And others, no more want their lust, than sleep? But because their Tongues have got the custom to Speak; and these Bodies the habit, to do evil? Live not then Rom. 6. 6. Joh. 8. 21. in Sin, as thou wouldst not die in it. Naturalise it not, if thou wilt not die for it. Reiterate not the acts of it, if Heb. 3. 11. 12. thou wouldst not naturalise it, What thou canst, Commit not the first acts, and thou shalt not reiterate it. If thou hast been overtaken with the first, run Gal. 6. 1. away from a Second, lest a Third overrun thee, and leave thee in the way of death. Yea, at the very Door. For my Soul! Hardness of heart, is the Threshold of Hell. And many strokes of guilt will Obduratio animi, limen inferni anvil it to hardness. And then as much Sense in that, as will be in thy Conscience. And then, as much blushing Jer. 5. 3. Zach. 7. 12. 1 Tim. 4. 2 Jer. 8. 12. & 6. 15. Jer. 3. 3. Prov. 7. 21 Jer. 9 12. in brass, as will be in thy countenance. Entrance tears of the veil of shame; but continuance whore's the forehead; And so my Soul. it is with all Sin as that One. Entrance conceives Continuance; This begets Custom; And That, Impudence; And It, Vengeance. Say then my Soul! Say and do with Humble and Holy Job, Once have I Spoken, but I will not answer, Job. 40. 4. 5. Yea twice, but I will proceed no further. No: Thrice may carry thee so far from God, that either thou carest 2 Tim. 3. 3. Prov. 1. 24. 31. Apoc. 22. 11. not, or canst not Return, and so must on and Proceed. Proceed for want of a Timely pause, till thou come to a fatal Period. Beware then of Bad Customs. And so do by 3. Lewd Companies. Indeed the way not to be struck with those, is to fence against these. For they will both instill the one, and induce the other. That, as they are Schools of Prov. 4. 14 error; and This, as they be forges of wickedness. Those within, these without, both lead to Lewdness. According Hos. 7. 6. 7. to the dials next us, our Watches go; and wrong, if they be set to wickedness. When David therefore would have his go right, he bids these be gone; Away from me ye wicked, for Psal. 6. 8. I will Keep the Commandments of my God. That is, His Conscience cannot Prov. 1. 10 go right, if their Company be not away. How should we go right, and be with Mat. 26. 69. them that are wrong? Saint Peter (though fully resolved and warned against it) thus fell into his fearful error. The way of Christ lay not through the High-Priests hall; nor will Devotion kindle but cool, at such a fire. A Spark amongst live-coales holds its heat; amongst dead, it dies; My Soul! If thou canst not decline evil livers, delight not in them, they will damp and Prov. 13. 20. Prov. 6. 27. Col. 3. 12. 1 Cor. 5. 10. Ephes. 5. 11. Mat. 8. 28. Ephes. 2. 1. Mazentius. dead thy Spark. Civility with all is good, Familiarity, dangerous. Thou mayst live amongst God's rebels, thou must not love them. If thou dost, thou wilt in time be like them. Dead (as they are) to all good; (As the living Bodies chained by the Tyrant, to the Dead:) And Buried (as they are) in all ill; (As sound Bodies living with the Pestilent catch their death.) And (without the Preservative of God's great mercy and grace) damned with them: for both (As those that are found with Rioters) incur the same Doom: how Luc. 6. 25. Num. 16. 24. Apoc. 18. 4 dost thou fear their Condemnation, and love their Company? How canst thou laugh with them in this World with whom thou wouldst not howl in that other? Why dost thou dread a Plaguy Body, and sit with a Pestilent Psal. 1. 4. Cathedra Pestilentiae. 2 Cor. 11. 3. 2 Tim. 4. 3. Prov. 4. 15. Act. 2. 40. Soul? Surely the Soul is better than thy Body, and her Plague, worse, and that infection greater. Read, Lord have mercy on them, writ on a Sinners Door, When thou dost see in their lives, a Cross to all God's Commandments. And my Soul, say, Lord have mercy on thee, for daring so much in Spiritual dangers, and Lord have mercy on thee, that thou do not further dare so much. Eat profane Companies: And as not go the way with these; So do not give way to, 4. Vain Scruples. My Soul! Two things God desires, Thy Joy in his Service, and His Comfort in thy Life; The Devil a friend to neither seeks to rob thee of both; And thy Scruples are his Thiefs. If they overtake and overcome thee, they will bind thee from the One, and beat thee out of the other; Taking both thy heart from all Duty, and all joy from thy heart! Believe it, they will give thy Spirit no Freedom, and thy Conscience no rest. For when thou shouldst be doing good, thou wilt be disputing it; when at God's work, questioning thy Warrant; when acting and waiting on his Service, entertaining arguments about it. Thus, when others are well on their journey, thou art quarrelling thy Pass; and dost, either with Balaams' ass, stand, Judg. 22. 27. Exod. 14 and not move at all; or with Pharaohs Chariots drive on heavily. And no wonder; for the Wheels are of. The mind becomes dark, the heart dull, the Spirit dead, the Conscience dared: nothing but weakness and wavering, and trembling, and chillness, and confusion in the powers of action, and so either none at all, or a stupid, trepid, troubled motion. These be the first fruits of thy Scruples (fetters and Snares.) And what then the Second, but Heart-gaules and Gripes? They will beat thee, till they leave not one sound part of comfort in thee: Scourge thee with thoughts, Saw thee with doubts, Rack thee with fears, Torture thee with perplexities; till thou hast neither joy of Duty, nor Life. Leaving thee in a labyrinth of woe, doleful, dismal; full of nothing but Damps of joy, Dumps of Spirit, and Distresses of Conscience. And here My Soul! Take view and heed, of the Devils boundless craft, 1 Pet. 5. 8. and rage. When he cannot make thee quick to ill, he will make thee dead to goodness. If not dissolute, irresolute; If not Debauched for Hell, Distracted Heaven-ward. If lose of life, than Conscience itself is a Scruple: if strict, than every Scruple, is a Conscience. First, he would have thee have no conscience; and if not, It to be all Scruple. With the profane, even Careful Piety goes for Holy lunacy; and Motions of holy Spirit, for fits of Ghostly Frenzy. But to the Religious he persuades, what he can, what they do, and are; all to be profane. So when he cannot make our hearts hard as flint, to bad purposes, he makes them weak as water, to better. And this is the Malice of the Devil. When he cannot have us in Hell, to have it in us. To Torture us with our Scruples, when he cannot with his Torments. Now, to have us without the Comfort of Heaven, because not ever without the joys of it. He would have all like himself, if they will not go to it, carry Hell with them. But, Dear Soul, do thou defeat his 2 Cor. 2. 12 Devices! A Scrupulous Conscience is as unsafe as sad. Thy Scruples, as they are thy Clogs, and Rods, so they will be his Skrewes, if they continue so. Skrewes to wind thy thoughts up through doubts and fears, to the utmost pin of Despair, and either leave thee there, or let thee down again, to as ill (though a more merry Pin) of thy first estate in Presumption. They will hoist thee up from Atheism, till they have thee to Superstition, and then let thee fall to Atheism again. So niceness of life ends often in retchlessness of Conversation. When Satan cannot make our hearts tough enough, he makes them tender too much; and from that excess brings them again, and so makes them to be tough. My Soul! If well, and with wisdom, thou canst not be enough; but if vain, and ill, Conscience may be too much tender. And abundance of doubts and scruples will make, and prove it so Vain; that's the Devil's Design. But how then wilt thou Defeat him? Sure, never without the Aids of God; and therefore thou must pray his help. And often, not without the help of Man, and therefore thou must take his Aid. If the Clock of Conscience stand, or go not even; it may be, because the Wheels are foul, dust disorders the wheels. My Soul! what are thy Scruples but those piles of dust (scarce visible to the Eye, yet hurtful to the Clock) and who then must direct thee, Job 33. 29 Isay 50. 9 but some skifull Master in the Art of Souls? some upright Judge in the Cases of Conscience. If thou then canst not (without danger to hurt it) let him clean thy Watch, and clear thy Dust. Or go to some of Experience, Gal. 6. 1. Heb. 5. 14. if thou wantest one of that Skill: But not to one Subject to like niceties, for their Advice will but confirm and multiply thy Scruples. And thyself mayst concur with thy Prayers, and their Counsels. In the Name of God go on in thy good way, and against Common Errors and frailties, Encourage thyself with Christ's merits, and Gods mercies. Act. 15. 11. Psa. 42. 14. 1 Kings 15. 5. Job. 42. 7. Phil. 3. 15. Let known good be done, and ill shunned from an upright heart; and if any thing fail, it will be pardoned, and (if necessary) shall be known. Kill Goliath with his own Sword, Scruples by Scruples, make Satan's Scrues Gods Engines: Screw up thyself to a better, and greater care of Godliness, by the force of thy Scruples. What they pretend, make them be Movers and solicitors for God's Service; And with one Scruple kill all: Have them in jealousy for naught; Bawds of Satan, though in Virgin's attire, and entertain none but one, to Scruple all Scruples. Make not , (nay, make Conscience) of this; it's the way to clear all out of Conscience. Harder for the Soul, where the Body doth assist; and the humour of it is (as in Melancholic Tempers) to raise jealousies and fears: (For that is to empty a Po●le when a Spring feeds it:) yet even so, it may, and must be done; and because with greater difficulty, with better acceptance. Look to thyself then, O my Soul! and cherish not, but banish Scruples. And so thou must, 5. Ghostly Negligences. Temptation and Corruptions are the Parents of man's Sin and Bane, (Father and Mother of all mischief.) And Idleness is the Mother of both. It is Chrys. 1 Tim. 5. 13. Pulvinar Satanae. the Sewer that takes in all Temptation, and the Pool that holds in all Corruption. The Devil's Pillow where he lies, and Sin's Bed were she conceives, and brings forth all Wickedness. O my Soul, lay not him a Pillow, that comes for thy Death, and make not her a Bed that stays for thy Destruction! Believe it, where thou dost place the Bed of ease, he will set up the chair of Psal. 1. 1. S. Hierome. Pestilence. The Devout Saint did; Ever finding something to do, that the Devil might never find him at leisure for his Service. If he do, even David himself, he will put him on desperate and damnable employment. It's said, Better be idle then do nothing. But 2 Sam. 11. 2 surely, better be doing any thing (if not naught) then be Idle. Thou canst not Nihil agendo malè agere discis. Praestat nihil quàm malè agere. be idle, and do no ill. It puts thee into the School of vice, and the Devil will be sure to teach thee. Better indeed do nothing then naught; for that's worse than nothing, the worst of any thing: But as impossible for Waters to stand, and not to stink; so it is, not to do Luk 12. 43 naught, if nothing. To be found then at the last day doing well, be seen in this ever doing something. If not always Act. 9 39 at Spiritual work, at some Civil, and innocent employment. Though thou needst not work (as most) for thy Psa. 69. 33 Momentum a quo pendet aeteruitas. Living, thou hast as much to do as any for thy Life. Eternity (my Soul) that's thy Life; And thy life, that's the time to work for Eternity. Thou camest, and continuest in the world to do that work. How then darest thou ravel away that precious thread? Trifle away that Time? O that God should set so great a price upon it, and Man so mean! Man? Yes my Soul! But not every man: Man in hell doth not. O! If they had as many worlds as Shrieks, (ten thousand thousand Worlds of Worlds) how willingly would they give them all, for a little Time! Time on earth, to Repent, and escape the Damnation of hell: The depth of whose woe, is wailing and wring their hands, and hearts, for God lost eternally, because time irrecoverably Luc. 13. 28. gone, which well laid out in life, might have saved that loss. And O man on earth wilt thou not be wise till in Hell? My Soul! Be not thou Psal. 90. 12. Psal. 34. 5. the man. Number thy days and apply thy heart unto wisdom. Pray God thou mayst. Thou wilt not set it on folly; if thou number them, Thou wilt find them few, and none to be Spared. Thou wilt find many Spent (Yea and misspent) of those few. Thou wilt find Eternity to depend on those poor Remaines; Thou wilt find, as Ro. 2. 7, 8. 2 Tim. 2. 26. Act. 26. 18 Psal. 89. 29. those are passed well or ill, a happy, or a miserable, Eternity, Thou wilt find, that all ill-spent are the Devils (none of thy) days. And canst thou look that the Days of Heaven should be thine, when thine on earth are the Devils? The Totall is, Time is as precious as Bliss. He neither values God nor himself, that accounts not of his time. He that will not lose Eternity, must number his days. And so wilt thou, if wise, my Soul. Redeem what Eph. 5. 16. 2 Pet. 4. 3. is lost, by a better thrift with what is left. Now lay out no more on vanity, all for Eternity. Isa. 35. 2, 3 Doth not thy Clock of Conscience tell this? Though Wheels good, Dial go right, all kept clean, yet if not kept going, not daily wound up, but oft hung by, and forgotten, will it Rom. 12. 14. strike just? so sloth distimes the Conscience. It is good, and goes well, when, as God's Law sets it, it keeps due time for good, and none for ill; (doth this Gnomon ejus Decalogus. Heb. 13. 18 never, that in season:) As the point of that; there are not twelve, but ten hours in this Clock. And when it keeps Conformity with Luk. 1. 6. them, it points and strikes right; but without care to see, and have it go 2 Pet. 1. 10 right, it will not keep it. And that must be the more, because no clock so soon out of Tune, if the care be not much. My Soul then, if thou wouldst not have Conscience ill, be not thou idle. Let the clock in thy Ears mind thee of the Clock in thy Breast; as the Devout Man did, who was wont to say, O Lord God another Granat. De. peccat. hour of my life is now past, and what account can I give thee of it? So said he, (so say thou) so oft as thou hearest the Clock. And so, my Soul, thou seest the stops, and stumbling-blocks in God's service; eat them, and thou wilt better walk on in his ways. Wherefore lift up the hands that hang Heb. 12. 12. down, and the feeble knees, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way. And Take he●d, lest there be in you an evil Heb. 3. 12. heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. The sum of this soliloquy. That God be duly and daily served, what hinders must be carefully shunned. There be five great Impediments to true Piety, and the constant service of God. 1. Ill-Principles are great Impediments, viz. That I am good, and in good state towards God. 1. Because others are worse. 2. Because particularly good. 3. Because my Heart is honest, though not my life. 4. Because I am Godly by fits. 5. Because of right Religion, and Belief. 6. Because Ministerially absolved, if not Penitent. 7. Because it is for Cloister'd and Churchmen only, to be what others need not, strictly Religious. 2. Bad Habits are great Bars to Religion, because they turn and confirm the Soul against it. 3. Lewd Companies. Inconsistent with good Courses. Pests of Souls, and to be shunned as Plagues. 4. Vain Scruples, great Prejudices to Pious Action, and Consolation. Acts of Satan's endless Artifice and malice to be avoided, much, and how. 5. Ghostly Negligences, Mothers of Sin; Nurses of Temptation; Satan's Advantages, & Agents; Undervalues of precious Time; Sellers-away of Eternity, which no Treasure else can redeem, and itself (if gone on earth) past redemption in Hell, where Worlds would be given for a little Time. Friday-Soliloquie. Helps to Heaven and Happiness. OR, A soliloquy, Acquainting the Soul with such Holy Reliefs and Aides, as will much facilitate and further Her Course and Progress in the ways of Piety: in Two Parts. First Part. Holy Meditations and Motions, Great helps to Piety. MY Soul! As those Avoidances 1. Division. observed, thou canst hardly be bad; so some Releifs being had, thou wilt be more easily good. And, by the Grace of God, thou mayst receive all those releifs. Thy own Thoughts and Endeavours may contribute all. If thou wilt employ thy Mind and Parts to think and do, what may advance thee most. The Aides are not small which may be brought in by both. And first Improve thy Mind, for that may do much, by Meditations, great Promoters of Piety. A Power that can daily mount to Heaven, whither the Body, till the last day, cannot come. And how that, but by Holy Motions? And what are they, but such as either go to, or come from Heaven. When we Muse of it, they go; When moved from it, they come. What are our Motions to it, but Heavenly Meditations? And how so? But when some good thing of God or Christ, is and keeps in mind. Four are made famous for that. Death, and Judgement; Heaven, and Hell. For, My Soul, Remember thy end, and thou shalt never do amiss. And Death is thy first; Judgement Eccles. 7. 36. Quatour Novissima. thy next; Heaven or Hell thy last end. These four, are thy last. Nor will sin be in heart, whilst they are in mind. Nor any thing more move to Duty then to have these in memory. Muse then often of those, O my Soul. And of that first, which comes first; and how soon, who knows? 1. Death. O Death! How bitter is thy Remembrance! Ecclus. 41. 1. Yes to a Sinner, but most wholesome against Sin. My Soul! Die thou must. And when thou shalt, what will be thy Comfort? To have wallowed in worldly wealth? Swum in sensual Solaces? Arrived at earthly Honours? Alas! No, This will be thy Corrosive. Then all these gauds are gone. The flowers of thy Paradise all fade, and nothing remains but the snake under them, guilt and woe. Luk. 16. 26 manet turpitudo. Psal. 17. 14 Saladini funus. Alex. Philosophus. Job 14. 17 & 24. 20. Joh. 11. 43 Woe to thee then, if that was thy Heaven, Death casts thee out of it. If thy Hell, to want these, it throws thee into it: Then, a Sheet is all thy Goods; a Grave all thy Land; a Coffin all thy House; Worms thy Companions; Corruption all thy Kindred; Stench thy Perfumes; and thy Robes, rags of Rottenness. No, the only Comfort then, is to have lived well; to have Isay 38. 3. shunned ill, and so want the sting of the 1 Cor. 15. 56. 2 Pet. 3. 14. Luk. 2. 29. Psal. 119. 103. S. Ambros. Job. 19 26. Breast; To have done good, and so have the Peace of the Bosom. So to have lived, as not to be ashamed to die. So to die, as to be assured for ever to live. O my Soul! that wouldst give Worlds to have a little such Comfort at that hour, neglect not the provisions of Luk. 19 42. that Peace in thy day. Believe it, to entertain Death with a Smile, and Damnation without dread, is the sole effect and fruit of a life well led in Gods fear according to good Conscience. Phil. 1. 23. Heb. 11. 35. And canst thou think of this, and not so live? That knowest (as surely as thou liv'st) thou shalt Die, and yet Eccl. 8. 8. no more, where, or when, or how, then Eccl. 9 12. if thou didst never live? That knowest, the time is passed of doing good, if not done before thou die; and thy Salvation gone, if that time be passed? O dear soul, Joh. 9 4. Eccl. 9 10. look to the Body, that Death doth not surprise both: look thou to thy God, let it not look after the World, that, when its Death comes, thy Life may begin, and it not fear the Prison 2 Cor. 5. 5. of the grave, because it shall come out to a joyful day of Judgement. And Joh. 5. 58. of that, my Soul, have a serious Meditation, of 2. Judgement. Sin will not be in thy hand, if that be in thy Eye. It is the Bridle of vanity, and Curb of lust. Rejoice O Eccl. 11. 9 young man in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thy eyes: but know, that for all these things God will bring thee unto Judgement. Seest thou not, my Soul, how this is Solomon's Bridle? To curb, and keep in the most Head strong Age (youth) in his fullest Career (the Heart) on his quickest spur (the eye) Thou shalt come to Judgement? Away Act. 17. 30, 31. then with Sin to present execution. For how will guilt stand before it, and it be without guilt? or thou without both? Canst thou Cancel it, my Soul? Calcine Jer. 17. 1. Rom. 2. 15. thyself sooner; and Conscience, which is the very Quintessence of thyself? couldst thou annihilate it, thou canst not Providence; the everlasting Monuments and Records of all thy Sins. Apoc. 20. 12. Thou must come to Trial for all. For all these things? Spare no Sin then, away with all. All is booked for the Bar. To an act, word, thought, all Enrolled, though never so secret, all is Eccl. 12. 14. Rom. 2. 16 1 Cor. 4. 5 seen, writ, kept; and for all these things God will bring thee to judgement. God will? Away then, and away again with all Sin. Thou mayst shift, thou mayst shuffle for thyself with man (bribe him, blear him, move, make the Judge) but God (the Alwise, and All-just God) thou canst not delude nor deprave. My Soul! Methinks 2 Cor. I 11. thou shouldst not hear Solomon speak but Thunder and quake to Sin. Dan. 5. 6. In the midst of all thy frolikes (like Belshazzars Handwriting) this should make thee quake. O Innocence! How precious wilt thou appear at that day! O the bliss Luc. 6. 23. & 21. 18. Mal. 3. 16. Mat. 25. 35. of that breast, where thou art found! When all thy guilts are canceled, and thy good deeds chronicled, and all shall be read before men and Angels to thy endless Glory, at those great Assizaes'. O blessed Soul, that hast the Acquittance of thy ill deeds, and Assurance Act. 3. 19 Ephes. 4. 30. of thy good, now Sealed, and allowed then at that Dreadful day! But Gild! Where wilt thou hid Apoc. 6. 16. Apoc. 20. 13. 2 Cor. 5. 10. thy head? Rocks are no shelters, they cleave; Nor Hills, they move; Nor Hell, it opens before him. Appear thou must, endure thou canst not. O the Dreadful Sound, that gives the Summons! And Sights that usher in His Judgement, and thy sad Appearance! 1 Thes. 4. 16. 1 Cor. 15. 52. 2 Pet. 3. 10 2 Thes. 1. 7 Mat. 25. 31 When his Trump shall blow, Earth burn, Heaven fouled, Angels wait on him, and Devils wait for thee, Hell gape, Paradise shut upon thee: And (which is the woe of woes) besides all these Dreads that are without thee, the worst Devil and fire shall be within, Conscience crying out upon thee, and condemning thee. My Soul! If man's bar fright Apo. 6. 16. from Capital Crimes, shall not Gods from Sinful courses? It should, it must, 2 Pet. 3. 11 Eccl. 12. 13 Joh. 12. 48 it will, make thee look to his Law, and thy life. For, if the end of all is that we must be Judged, the Sum of all is to see that we be not condemned. Let us hear the Sum of the whole matter, fear God and keep his Commandments, for this is the whole Duty of man. For God will bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. For My Soul! As thy works are now, thou wilt be found then, Acquitted Psal. 50. 16. Mat. 25. 34. Rom. 2. 6, 7, 8. Col. 1. 12. or Condemned. Proclaimed Heir of Heaven or Hell. Blessed or Accursed for ever. A Mate for Angels or Devils. In Light or Fire. And though it exexceed all, entertain thy thoughts a little Ma●. 25. 41 what it is to be in 3. Heaven. Surely my Soul! If thy thoughts be 2 Pet. 3. 14 in it, thy Endeavours will be after it. And all thy works on earth, but studies for it. What thou seekest here (Honour, Eccl. 1. 13, 14. Isay 55. 2. Amos 5. 6. Prov. 1. 28. 32. Pleasure, Wealth, or whatever good) and josest thyself in the seeking, is to be found all, and only in Heaven. There's Honour, To be a Grandee in God's Court a Mat. 5. 19 . To Sat on Christ's Throne b Apoc. 3. 21. : There's Glory to shine as the Sun c Mat. 13. 43. . A Brother to all Saints, a Peer to all Angels d Mat. 22. 30. , a Spouse of the Son of God e Apoc. 19 9 Eph. 2. 6. 2 Cor. 11. 4. f 1 Cor. 13 4. ᵍ 2 Cor. 4. 15. ʰ Heb. 12. 28. . Honour and no envy; Glory and no vanity: State, and no change: O my Soul! What Robe to Immortality i 1 Cor. 15. 53. ? What Crown to Eternity k 1 Cor. 9 25. ? What Glory to Heaven l 2 Thes. 1. 10. . There's Treasure m Luk. 18. 22. Heb. 10. 34. , Substance indeed, and Supersufficient n Slay 64. 4. . All good o Mat 24. 47. , and Superexcellent p 2 Cor. 4. 17. 2 Pet. 1. 17. , and Enduring ever. To which Gold is dirt; Gems pebbles; Tissues rags; Lands, Bogs; Palaces, piles of mud; Indies, beggary's; Goods which Scorn fire, and thief, and moth, and rust q Luk. 11. 33. , and those Millions of Misfortunes, and humane Casualties. There's Pleasure. At the Spring, Pure r Psal. 16. 12. ; In the River, abundant s Psa. 36. 8 , Nay in the Ocean infinite t Mat. 25. 21. . Not as that on earth, momentany u Job 20. 5 , mixed (as of man's) nay soul (as of w Pro. 14. 13. beasts x 2 Pet. 2. 12, 13. ) but Eternal, Incomprehensible, clear in the Sovereign Beatifical good, The joy of the Lord. All, only, rightly, and ever joy. There's Company. y 1 Pet. 1. 8. The worst Saints, Angels a Heb. 12. 22. ; The best, the Trinities, God's b 1 Thes. 4 7. Society, The Fathers, Sons, Holy Ghosts, in mutual, c 1 Cor. 1. 9 Phil. 2. 1. 1 Joh. 1. 3. Individual, ineffable d Joh. 17. 22. , indivisible e Joh. 16. 20. concord, and the Contentments of most intimate affections and unity f Apoc. 15 3. Apoc. 5. 8. & 14. 2. & 18. 22. . There's Melody. The Songs of Saints to the Harps of Angels. A Choir of both, chanting Everlasting Anthems, with all heavenly harmony, to their Makers, and thy Redeemers glory g Apoc. 5. 9 13. 2 Cor. r 2. 4 1 Cor. 2. 9 . O My Soul! If tongue cannot tell, what St. Paul heard, when but rapt into this Paradise; how should mortal mind conceive the delights of Beatifical Vision? Dear Soul! Made, and Redeemed for those delights! Why dost thou deign Earth any? Any but such as are Akin, or not Strange, to these? Phil. 4. 4. Why seems any Duty difficult, that Heb. 12. 2. Jam. 1. 2. 12. Rom. 8. 14 brings to them? Canst thou do? Canst thou Suffer too much for them? Is it possible to be too much Saint, or Martyr, to get them? If thou give Skin, flesh, blood, head, heart, life; to the Knife, Fire, Sword, Axe, Gibbet, Heb. 11. 34 35, 36, 37. Saw, Rack, Cauldron or what ever torture; comes it not cheap? If for a lustful eye, or hand, or foot of offence Rom. 8. 13 Mat. 5. 29. Heb. 11. 25 then, or denial of any Pleasure, is it then, Dear? My Soul! The Saints and Martyrs Pro hac emendâ Bartholomoeus propriam pellem dedit. Aug. Longo tempore tolerare. Aug. Gal. 5. 24. 2 Tim. 2. 12. Heb. 12. 3. 2 Cor. 4. 17 1 Cor. 10. 13 Heb. 2. 18. 1 Pet. 4. 14. Heb. 1. 14. 1 Cor. 15. 10. thought themselves good Merchants, that bought them at these rates. Nay, if thou shouldest daily Suffer torments on earth, yea for a long time endure the torments of Hell, the price would not be great for the purchase of Heaven. My Soul! he that said so to his was a Saint. Be content then to Cross a lust, or Carry a Cross for Heaven: For this thy Christ endured his Great Cross; wilt not thou thy little one? That hast his Shoulders to help thee to bear it too, his Grace, his Spirit, his Angels for thy help? My Soul, let not the Difficulties conceived in a Course of Religion discourage thee from, or in the way: It is Man's Calumny, and the Devil's Policy. To him that loves God (as thou shouldst) that hath his Grace (as thou mayst) and his Favour (as thou mightest:) all his Commands are easy, and 1 Joh. 4. 3. Mat. 11. 29. 30. his Yoke but light. For to him is given the staff of Peace a Psal. 119 165. Phil. 4. 7. , and stay of Hope b Ro 15. 13 , and strength of Comfort c Heb. 6. 18. Heb. 3. 6. , which (besides the outward) are great helps to the carrying of that Yoke. And (blind thoughts and affections set aside) the Sinner toils more than the Saint d Ec. 2. 23. Joh. 6. 27. 1 Cor. 15. 58. Apoc. 14. 13. Aeterua quies aeterno labore meritò paratur. , and drudges more for Hell, than he works for Heaven. And did the Saint droil more; Heaven makes all nothing. For what are Moment's of pain and labour to Eternity of Joy and Rest, which were worth the while, if attained with eternal work and labour? It's a Slander then cast on the ways of God. Yes my Soul, and a Stratagem too. A Fly from Belzebub * Deus muscae. Prov. 26. 13. Rom. 12. 11, 12. Heb. 6. 10. 11. Heb. 12. 3. buzzing this into thy Ears, that he may keep Heaven better out of thy Eyes. And hold thy foot (when he hath thus slacked thy heart) from going, or from coming thither. My Soul, against all such fainting, take Saint Paul's Cordial, Whilst we not at the things which are seen, but not 2 Cor. 4. 16. 18. seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. And so there be Pains, as well as Joys: Think of that, O my Soul! For to foresee, is the way to avoid those pains; and to Muse on it, the means to escape 4. Hell. Thou art not in love with Pain My Heb. 12. 11 Soul! Who is? All eat it. Why not then that most, which is greatest? Why in Earth, more than Hell? Is Mat. 25. 30. Mat. 18. 34. Mar. 5. 43, 44. Apoc. 6. 16 17. & Apoc. 14. 10. Mat. 16. 25, 26. Mat. 25. 31. 41. Mat. 8. 12. Apoc. 14. 10, 11. any Gaol like that Dungeon? Any Keepers to Fiends? Any Burning like that Fire? Any Biting like that worm? Any shame of face, to the Confusion before men and Angels? Can any loss on earth, equal the loss of Heaven? Or Exile from friends, a Banishment from God and Angels? To dwell in utter darkness (no light) Amidst Infinite Tortures (and no ease) to all Eternity (no end?) Tortures which make the Wheel a Sport; the Furnace, a Bower; and the Rack a very Recreation? My Soul! Are these but Godly frauds to fright tender hearts from wickedness? If thou be'st a Christian thou dost not believe so; nay if 2 Pet. 3. 3. Plato, Plut, etc. but a Heathen, thou wilt not. Endless and Extreme pains for evil deeds after this life, even they believe. The very Devils do, though their torture Jam. 2. 19 Mat. 8. 29. Rom. 2. 15, 16. to do it. Conscience (which is in all men) is an Apostle of this to all Nations. The joyful deaths of innocent men, and Dreads of Guilty ones in death Preach it all the world over. For what are these but summons to the great Bar, where according to their works all shall receive the Sentence of Judgement. O my Soul ponder this. Is it grievous to endure extreme pain for an hour? Is it nothing to suffer Extremity for ever? So long as Omnipotency can preserve; so much as Omniscience can devise, what infinite Justice doth require (Soul and body) to suffer for ever and ever? O My Soul! Can thy Mind measure, nay, but sadly consider the length of Eternity! How millions of Ages are not a Span to that time; not all since the World, an Inch of a Span: And yet all the Tortures that Earth ever had, or wits of men and Angels could imagine to have, are but ease to those pains, which are to endure to that Eternal length; thou wouldst as soon burn as lust, and take up a Serpent as Sin. My Soul! To save Ecclus. 21. 2. thyself, be serious and consider it. The greatest Temptation will not take, if thou do but remember it. Thou wilt refuse the Apple for the worm in it; The Sweets of Sin for the fire after it. The hardest Duty will down if thou think of it. Thy Dear friend O my Soul! That gave his blood to save thee from that death, His Counsel is, thus to avoid it: If thine eye offend Mar. 9 43. thee, pluck it out, etc. It's better for thee having one eye, to go to Heaven, then having both to be cast into hell, where the worm doth not die, and the fire is not quenched. Better a little pain for a Time, than all to Eternity. My Soul! These four are Cordial 2. Division. Isay 17. Verbum Incarnatum, est verbum ad hominis naturam usque abbreviatum. Bern. Phil. 3. 14. Considerations to carry thee to all Duty, from all ill; But the Royal one remains. Thy Christ to be thy study, and thy jesus to be thy Book; The Word Abbreviate; Bible in Body; Scripture in flesh. Consider him, and all good is done, for he did it; all ill is gone, for he fled it. All his Actions are thy lessons, but my Soul! His Birth, Life, and Death, are the Chapters, I would have thee Read. For the whole World of wickedness, is conquered by those three. Pride, Avarice, and Luxury, 1 Joh. 2. 16 the three parts of that world. 1. His Birth, is the Death of pride; Luk. 2. 7. His stable, the Grave. For if that was there, why is this any where? Or wherefore this? For , His clouts Purpurae mea panni Salvaetoris. Bern. are best purple. For wealth, It's his straw. For Retinue, Beasts are his. For State, his Palace is an Inn. His bed a Manger. His Throne a Cratch. His Canopy, none but Webs which Spiders spin him. Is it for strength? then the Ox is better. For Beauty? He lies in Soil and dust. For wit? It falls down at his feet. Lo! whom a Star, and Angels, Mat. 2. 11. Mat. 2. 2. Luc. 2. 8, 9 2 Cor. 8. 9 and Sages proclaim Lord & King of Heaven and Earth, he is born thus poor that thou shouldst not be proud. 2. His life is like his Birth, to kill thy Covetousness; He had no Lands to Lord, but to walk in. No Mounts to climb, but to kneel on. Mount Olivet Luc. 22. 39 Mat. 14. 13. 19 was his Closet, and the Desert his House. His Table, the Grass; no Covering but Heaven. His Provisions, not the purchase of Monies, but Miracles; By them, and Loans he lives. If he ride, if he rest, if he feast with his Friends. Beast, Bed, Room, all are borrowed. Birds and Beasts were provided Mat. 21. 3. Luk. 22. 11 better, they had their Nests and Holes. He not where to lay his Head. Mat. 8. 20. Mat. 27. 60. Mat. 3. 16, 17. Mat. 17. 5. Joh. 12. 29 Mat. 25. 14. 15. Luk. 16. 2. Nor House, nor Tomb, Dead, or Living. Not He! He whom Heaven owned by Voice and Sign for the Beloved Son of God; the Lord of all would have nothing, that thou shouldst not gape for much, and Grasp at all. Thou that by his favour dost borrow all of Gods, and must account for all not laid out for him. And can his Passion revive, and lust live? No, for 3. His Death is the Crucifixion of lust a 1 Pet. 4. 1. & 2. 24. Rom. 6. 16. Gal. 2. 20. . It crucified him as the cause b Rom. 4. 25. 1 Pet. 2. 22 ; and thou must crucify it c Gal. 5. 24 (that's the Consequent.) And as they him, thou it, that's the Pattern d 2 Cor. 13. 4. . And as he it, so thou, that's the Power e Rom. 6. 11. . Come lustful thoughts? Clap his thorns to thy Head. Rise wanton Lusts? Thrust his Spear to thy heart. Tempt fleshly Deeds? Strike his nails into thy hands, and into thy feet, at such Motions. If to Drunkenness, put his Sponge to thy mouth; If to Gluttony, bring his Gall to thy Palate. In short, whatever the flesh lusts for, for his Death's sake deny it; At Bed or Board let it no where Obtain, let his Cross crucify it, Golgotha bury it. Let it not live, the Lord of Life suffered Death for it. And for thee, that thou shouldst not let it Live, That thou die not for 1 Pet. 2. 14 Rom. 8. 13 ever for it. Alas my Soul! If thy lust struck him (who had none of his own) Dead; how shouldst thou who hast all, 2 Cor. 5. 21 Isa. 53. 45. and of thy own, Live? How not be D●om'd, and damned, to eternal Death? Gal. 5. 21. My Soul! If thou sadly think of God in those four and of Christ in these three, these will be like wisdoms Seven Prov. 9 1. Pillars, to build up thy heart to all Godliness, And though such thoughts be the Epicures Dreads, and Atheists follies, Believe thou God, who loves not thy grief, and wisheth thee no better wisdom. And despise not the Inspirations of the Almighty, which are Gods Aids to advance that blessed work. My Soul! Make much of them if they be Gods. For 2. Holy Motions are great helps to Piety. Indeed when Holy Motions and Meditations meet (as most what they do) as they make a blessed mixture and union of Holy Spirits (Gods and man's) So they give a great strength by the juncture and concurrence of two such Holy Hands in one and the same Soul (man's and Gods.) And the work will go on, that's undertaken by such two. 1 Joh. 4. 1. Ezek. 13. 3 Jer. 31. 33. Ezek. 11. 19 But My Soul, It is as necessary, as worthy thy knowledge to discern, which be, and which be not the Motions of the Holy Spirit. For, if another to it, Delusion leads thee; and if it guide thou wilt follow it. The Trial of Spirits is; That is not Gods which is not Holy, nor the Motions His, which are not Heavenly. For God's Law is the way, when his Spirit is the Guide. Which did dictate, and therefore will never drive Isa. 8. 20. Joh. 16. 13, 14, 15. Gal. 1. 8. 2 Joh. 10. 2 Cor. 3. 6 from that way. As being ever the same, and never contrary to itself. Even God's Spirit in his Word makes this Trial. And when the Spirit is found Right, make much of the Motions. They are Rom. 8. 14 1 Cor. 11. 1. from an High, my Soul! Thou must not bring and bow them to thy Mind, but it to them. When God is leader, thou must not go before, but keep the place of a follower. And follow after, in God's name, for it Leads ro Heaven. It is no worse, nor less. A Messenger from it, a Guide to it. All good and regular Motion, is from the first, and Best Mover. It is an Angel, sent from Heaven; for Mal. 2. 1. ● Angelus nuncius. what's that more, than a Heavenly Messenger? Take heed then, Dear Soul! Thou do not entertain bad, and neglect good motions (That's to observe a Devil before an Angel.) Give not Audience to the Devil's Messenger before God's Ambassador. That is to be tied in too strict a league with Hell; too lose, with Heaven! Believe it, there is as much difference betwixt a good and a bad Motion, as a Cherub and a Fiend; and betwixt their Isa. 8. 19 entertainments, as an Angels, and a Devils. And in their ends too. For the one weighs to the Centre below, the other lifts up, to the Circumference above. A Seraphim, to fire the heart, and carry it up in the flame. That is a Hellish Firebrand; this, the Heavenly Isa. 6. 6. coal. Thou art in some error, and the light of this, is to lead thee right. At a stand, and cool in good, and the heat of this, is to wa●me thee, and lead thee on. Under a fall of grace, dead under the ashes of prevailing frailty; 1 Thes. 5. 19 And this is to quicken thy spark, and stir it up. O my Soul! then Kindle not the Hellish, Quench not the Heavenly coal. Quench not the Spirit. Cast not water and Earth upon it: Drown not the Motions in Sensual and secular pleasures and affairs. Thy heart is the hearth where it is to burn; but if good acceptance and endeavours Ephes. 4. 30. 2 Tim. 1. 6 do not blow and stir it up, it will go out. They make the bellows for this Holy fire. O my Soul! Have dread of this. The Messenger oft refused, will come Act. 13. 46. Luc. 13. 35. Cant. 5. 23 6, 7. Rom. 1. 28 2 Thes. 2. 3 1 Sam. 16. 14. Luc. 12. 3. 1 Tim. 4. 1. Luc. 11. 26. Apoc. 3. 10. no more; The Guide not followed, will be gone; The coal not kindled, will not warm. And woe to thee, if the good Spirit leave thee, for then the Ill one will lead thee. In stead of good Angels, ill thoughts will haunt thee. And thou knowest, whither they go, whom he doth lead. When God knock● at thy heart, let him not stay at the door, when his Enemy at the first Motion, is let in; Do not that for shame: If so, know that to keep out God's Spirit, is to shut door on thy Bliss; and do not that for fear No My Soul! In Prosperity or Adversity; At thy Devotions or other occasions; In Church or Closet; By Day or night; Well, or Sick; If thy mind be moved to some known good, or against some evil; God knocks, do thou open; His Angel is at door, take him in; His Spirit would enter, bid him welcome. Welcome blessed Spirit that Luc. 13. 36. Mat. 21. 19 comes to carry me to Heaven: Welcome Holy Comforter, that comest to keep me from Hell. O come, and never go from me, Holy Spirit of God. My Soul, thou hast seen what Heavenly Helpers, Holy Meditations and Motions be. Hear the God of all help, and he will assure thee so. If others Amos. 6. 3. put off the evil day, it's wisdom for thee to have it before thee; If others Act. 24. 25 put by good motions, it will be thy happiness to entertain them, believe him, who says both. O that they were wise, that they understood Deut. 32. 29. this, that they would consider their latter end. Wherefore Holy Brethren, Partakers Heb. 3. 1. of the Heavenly calling consider the Apostle and High Priest of our Profession, Christ Jesus. For consider him that endured such Heb. 12. 3. contradiction of Sinners, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. And, Behold, I stand at the door and knock, Apoc. 3. 20. if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come to him, and Sup with him, and he with me. The Sum of this Part is, Good Meditations are great Nurses Psal. 119. 15. Psal. 1. 2. Gen. 24. 63. of God's fear. Serious thoughts, of Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell, are Meditations good against all Sins in the World. Sober Considerations of Christ's Birth, Life, Death, are destructive to Pride, Avarice, and Lust; which Three make all, Holy Motions of God, great Aids to the Practice of Godliness. How they may be known to be Gods. What good offices they have and do from him, to us, as His Messengers and guides for our best good. Why, and how to be entertained as suc●; and how foul and fearful it is, to neglect good, and embrace Ill Motions. Saturday-Soliloquie. Remedies of Humane Frailty. OR, A soliloquy showing the Soul, What Provisions of Grace and Mercy God hath made, to support her weakness in the way of Piety. MY Soul! For all thy Cares 1. Part. and Helps, thou wilt fail in Eph. 5. 17. 1 Pet. 5. 8. thy Perpetual Service, so long as Flesh and Devil cease not their Perpetual Motion. God Ez. 18. 23. Gal. 3. 11. Col. 2. 12. Rom. 6. 19 Jam. 2. 26. Psal. 41. 4. therefore, in tenderness of mercy, hath provided for thee Remedies of Grace. Repentance, that thou do not die: Faith, to make thee, and it live: And New Obedience to keep all alive. Sin, my Soul! is ill humour to Heaven, a disorder of Holy Spirit, and just temper in thee. For this Disease Repentance is God's Remedy * Tert. de. paenit. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Naz. And very sufficient to heal thee. For it will Bleed a Act. 2. 37 thee in Contrition; Vomit thee in Confession b Ezek. 18. 31. Orig. ; Purge thee by Conversion c 1 Cor. 5. 9 ; Sweat thee with Gild d Act. 9 10 ; Bath thee in Tears e Joel 2. 12. ; Diet thee from occasions of ill f 2 Cor. 7. 11. ; Cauterize the corrupt part with Threats g Jona. 3. 4, 5. ; and foment the weak with Promises h Joel. 2. 13 ; And Exercise all in Alms i Dan. 4. 27. , Fasts k Joel 2. 12 , and Prayers l Luk. 18. 13. . And, of the healing virtues of all these, Penitent Souls have had Blessed Experiments. For that Bleeding cured the Barbarous Jews m Act. 2. 38. . Vomiting, David n 2 Sam. 12. 13. . Purging, Ephraim o Hos. 14. 8 . The Sweat did the Jailer good p Act. 16. 29. . The Bath helped Magdalen q Luk. 7. 38. . The Cautery, Saul r Act. 9 16. . Fomenting s Hos. 6. 1, 2. , Israel. The Exercise did Zacheus t Luk. 19 8. , Ahab u 1 King. 21. 19 , even the Publican w Luk. 18. 13. , Ease. O my Soul! Admire and Adore that Great and Good Physician that Isa. 57 18. Prescribes thee so fair, and yet so Sovereign Jer. 8. 6. Peccata commssa plang●re, plangenda non committere. a Medicine. To Grieve thou hast done ill, and desire thou mayst do better. To be sorry for what was amiss, and not do again what will make thee Sorry. When I have wandered, to return: When I have been fooled, to Jer. 3. 22. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Mat. 3. 2. Joh. 12. 40 Isa. 1. 16. Paenitens ferè innocens est. Eccl. 7. 29. Hos. 14. 4. Isa. 1. 18. Luk. 15. 17 Ezek. 18. 30, 31. Luk. 15. 22 24. 2 Cor. 7. 10 Luk. 4. 18. Act. 11. 18. grow wise: When I am sick, to be well: When I am foul, to wash: When I cannot be a Saint (as good as Adam was) fully Innocent, to be as well as Enoch may be, truly Penitent. Was ever Prescript so fair? And, yet my Soul! this Heals Sin, (Gild and Stain) Returns thee both to God and thy self Recovers both Fall, and Wit. Restores both Tainted Blood and Spirit. Reduces to a Paradise both of Joy and Innocence. Saves thee from Death, sets thee in Health, Disposeth thee to long, even everlasting life. Can any Medicine be more Sovereign? Take it then my Soul, if thou lovest thyself. And how, and when thy Physician gives it. Not half, (for he appoints the whole.) Nor this hereafter, for he wills it Now, To Grieve for Sin, and do no more, Joel 2. 12. is to see, not to lose thy Sickness. And to amend what is not first grieved, to recover before thou art Sick. To be Compunct, and not Confess, is to bleed inwardly. To Confess, but not be Contrite, to Vomit wantonly. To Confess, and Pro. 28. 13 not Amend, to cast, and lick up the Vomit. To be Frighted for Sin, and not 2 Pet. 2. 22 bettered, is to Sweat, and take cold Joh. 5. 14. after it. To weep for it, and commit it, 2 Pet. 2. 22 is, with the Sow, to wash, and wallow. To Abstain occasions, and not acts, is to fast it into a better Stomach. To be Threatened into Despair, is, instead of Gen. 4. 13. Sin, to burn thyself. And to be fed with Promises unto Presumption, is not to Cherish thyself, but thy Sickness. 2 Cor. 7. 1 To Renounce evil, and entertain occasions, is to send it away, and call it again. To Pray to God, and yet provoke Isa. 1. 12. 14. 1 Cor. 13. 3 him, is to make a play of our Prayers. To give Alms, and do ill, is to give Sin not a Divorce, but a Licence. To fast from meat, and fall to Sin, is to whet the knife, not to kill it, but feast Isa. 58. 4. Luk. 18. 12 it. To pray, give, fast, and then take liberty to swear, and Sin, and Err again, is not to make Health, but a Disease of the Exercise. My Soul! This is to take the Medicine by halves, and so thou shalt never Recover thyself, whole. And if thou Delay it, that's the way never to recover. That takes strength from the Medicine, and gives it to the Disease; for, so, it grows Inveterate, and the Cure more Difficult, if not Desperate. Mat. 13. 15 More hard to be; A Sow is washed white, not a Blackamoor. A young Profligate, sooner than an old Obdurate Jer. 13. 23. Mat. 26. 73. Act. 8. 18. 2 Cor. 4. 4 Psal. 7. 12. Jer. 4. 22. Sinner. Simon Peter quickly, Simon Magus never. It's more hard to do; Sin hath more efficacy, the Devil more Interest, God more Anger; Nature is vanquished, Her Powers depraved, Her faculties infirmed, decayed, deprived of virtue for it. It's more hard to Suffer. Sin is incorporate, the Humours irradicate, Habituate and Naturalised; As soon pluck up an old tree, as Sin, by the roots. As easily tear out thy heart as thy lust, and vomit bowels as customs, Mat. 5. 29. and quit Limbs as such vices. O My Soul! If Delay of Physic hath killed thousands of Bodies, it hath ten thousands of Spirits. Defer not then thy help, Delay not thy time. And especially, by the love thou hast to Heaven, Defer it not till Death. For what Inducias usque ad mane. apud Greg. if that be Sudden, and give thee no Time? Or Distracted, and take away Wit? Or cursed, and keep away Grace? And if it allow thee Space, and Sense, and Succour, where will be thy Comfort? Backward? there's nothing to be seen but the sad Survey of a life full of Guilts, and stains. Forward? There's the Horrid Prospect of Hell and all Hideous Tortures of Damned Ghosts, the due Deserts of those Guilts. Thou hast no power to undo ill, no Time to do better. What then? Wilt thou repent here, and Amend in the World to come? For half thy work look for all thy wages? No, Thou dost not half, if no more repent. Wilt thou then look upward? Will a Miserere mei Deus! serve God, or a Peccavi satisfy? All the three volumes of thy Sins, (Thoughts, Words and Deeds) all the Scrolls of thy Guilts be canceled and blown away with a breath of three Words or Syllables? Will a Groan expiate a Lifeful of Quantam lacrymarum vim expendemus, ut cum Baptismi fonte exaequari possit? Naz. guilt? A Tear (a Drop) wash a Heart full of filthiness? The Irkings of a Moment undo the ills of all thy ages? Cast thou expect this from Him that is Just, when thy whole life hath been but an Abuse of his Grace; and Mercy? Canst thou promise it thyself, and look Inward? That this is the fear of God, not Death; not out of Self-love, but Gods? Not for hate of Pain, but Sin? Not by a Force on Conscience, but Free? And if not thyself; dost thou look Outward, who shall assure thee? Some Comforter may pronounce Mercy to thee, as favourable Judgement, hath been given of many, that have lived ill, and yet died penitently. O my Soul●! In this case it's better to give then receive a favourable Judgement. It's my Charity, not thy Felicity, that it doth suppose thee happy, whom it knows not miserable; 1 Cor. 13. 5, 7. but if it do not find thee, doth not leave thee happy. What thou art, the Judge of Hearts knows; what thou shouldst be, the Judge of Charity hopes. Because, when he sees not evidence to the contrary, he believes the best of thee, with thy Great Judg. O my Soul then, leave not all to the last hour; when thou art Isa. 38. 9 Psa. 126. 5 Luk. 23. 43. Mat. 20. 9 Ezek. 18. 21, 22. to reap, be not to sow thy Comfort. Hast thou Precedent, Parable, Promise of Hope? The Converted Thief? The Eleaventh Hours Call? * In Liturgiâ sic vertitur. At what time soever? O be not such a Spidered Spirit, to suck Poison out of sacred Flowers. Let not Antidotes of mercy be made Cordials for Presumption. If thou dost out of God's Word draw ill Spirit, thou robbest it of its Holy Sense, and wilt find no Promise of pardon. Nor Hope in any Parable, or Precedent for such a Thief. My Soul! then, Look at the Thief on the Cross, as a 2 Pet Child at the Font; Baptised from Sin, Confirmed by Christ, so Dying, and Saved. What's that to thee, who, as Copronymus Eccl. Hist. in his Baptism, ever since thine, hast done nothing but defile thy Font? A Renegado in thy life to the 2 Pet. 2. 20 Heb. 6. 4. Profession of thy Baptism? Look at the Thief on the Cross, as a Martyr at the Stake; A Believer, a Saint, a Confessor. All on holy flame Luk. 23. 40, 41, 42. for Christ. The New Disciple that hanged for Him, when none of the Old stood to him. Senseless of pain, to spend his Breath, and serve him. As ready to Die for him, as with him, and spend his Blood, as Breath, to honour him. Look at the Thief on the Cross, as a Jonah in the Sea. A Miracle of Grace, Jonah 2. 10. A Prod●gie of Providence. Wilt thou therefore cast thyself into the Sea in hope to be saved? God's Mercy is an Ocean; yet if thou so leap into it, thou Mic. 7. 19 Eccl. 8. 11, 12. Ro. 2. 4. 5 1 Tim. 1. 19 mayst be drowned. Thou that hast left the ship of good life (the ordinary way) how canst thou look to be preserved by singular Privilege? A Monster of life, to be saved in Death by a Miracle of mercy? Look at the Thief on the Cross, as a Saint in Heaven. Make him not encourage thee to rob God of his honour, and thyself of thy happiness, lest thou make him to be a Thief in Paradise too. Canonize not thyself Saint by his Example, lest thou stigmatize him Sinner for the Precedent, and prove thyself a Reprobate by the Presumption. Think not then when thou hast lived 2. Part. Mat. 20. 9 Ita patres aliqui. It● alii. ill in the world, and art Crucified to leave it, by the staff of a good hope to leap into Paradise, though before an utter stranger to Christ, with whom thou hast not the bliss to be Crucified. There is no Parity of reason to argue, from his singular, thy same condition. Nor from the Parable of the Eleaventh hour to thy Call at the last: For, what if those Hours be the Ages of the world? then from Christ's first coming to his second is the Eleventh. And what if the Ages of Man? Mind my Soul, who Mat. 20. 7. was called? He that was not before Hired: But how oft hast thou had offers and refused? Think then of the five Mat. 25. 12 Mat. 22. 7. Virgins, as well as the five Labourers. And of the King's Supper, as of the Lords Penny. And for thy daily Recusancy, Luk. 14. 28 look more to be excluded, then admitted Heaven. And to what? To work till the time of wages? My Soul, death is the time to take the Penny. The night, in which no man can, and Joh. 9 4. when it should end, hast thou not begun thy work? And Whither? but into the Vineyard of the Church? out of the Marketplace of the world? and thou dost nothing but stand idle, or do ill, in the Vineyard, ever since by Baptism taken in? And Who calls but the Lord? And if thou dost all thy life time refuse his work, will he at death call thee to his Wages? The Eleventh hour of the day than may be as well the Morn or Noon, as Night of thy life. No hope then, if when called betimes, 'tis late ere thou wilt come. Nor is that so Promising, At what Ezek, 18. 21. Aug. time soever. It is that the Penitent shall have Pardon; but where, that though Sinner shall be Penitent? It is, If he be, it's not, that if he shall. And must be from the bottom of the heart, not from Ita versio Liturgica. a frighted Fancy, or quavering lip. My Soul! it is a great way from the Top of the Heart to the Bottom: Jer. 17. 9 Psal. 64. 6. And is a turning from wickedness, not against it. That reacheth to the life from the Heart, but that the Deathbed cannot do. And though it be, when, it is not howsoever: yea, and for all that, there are bounds to that when. A set Place for Jezebel, a Day for Jerusalem, Apoc. 2. 21. Luk. 19 42 Gen. 6. 3. a time for the world. Too late thou mayst repent, too soon thou canst not. If the Glass be run, the Sun Heb. 12. 17. Amos 8. 9 Eccl. 8. 12. Eccl. 9 10. Luk. 13. 25, Pro. 1. 28. set, (though Noon natural) woe to thee, it is too late. The Door of mercy, though it stand long open, will at last be shut. Wisdom itself shuts the Door. All these then plead little for thee. Nay doth not every one much against thee? For, my Soul! if of two Thiefs one was damned, is it not an Even lay whether thou be saved? whether thou shalt die Repenting, or Blaspheming; the Right-hand, or the Lefthand Thief? Is it not so by the Precedent? If some be called at the Eleaventh hour, but all before from the first to that; Is it not ten to one odds, if ever thou be called, if thou neglect the work of thy Salvation till the Eleaventh? Is it not so by the Parable? If when (and not till when) I repent▪ I shall live; Is it not a hundred to one, nay, a hundred thousand to one odds, if I defer it, I shall die? Is not this the strait gate, which for want of mind. Mat. 7. 13. or time, or grace, few find, because they seek it with Sin, which they are loath Isa. 55. 6. to lose, till life and Soul, and all be lost? S. Jerome says, my Soul! There E centum millibus vix benè moritur malè qui vivit. Hier. dies well, that lives ill, not one of a Hundred thousand. And to prove his sum. From Adam to Christ, that have so lived and died, we read but of one, but one of many Thousands of Millions. Without delay therefore, joel 2. 12. now also turn even to him with all thy Heart, with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning, and Rend thy Heart and not thy Garment, and turn to the Lord. The Lord says it, who delights not in thy death, poor Sinner, whosoever Ez. 33. 11. thou art. And therefore would have thee, by a true and timely Repentance Act. 3. 19 to recover thy health and life. For from soul-sickness, that's God's Recovery. 2 Tim. 2. 25. Recovery. My Soul! That may be a wholesome, but a wearisome course to blow up thy Jer. 4. 3. Hos. 10. 12. Heart, and Harrow thy whole man with daily, and continual duty; will make thee apt to faints, and perhaps some ground will pass untouched, and some clod unbroke; & when all is done, Psal. 19 12 there will be failings, and need to repent 1 Joh. 3. 20 thy very repenting; To Comfort and Confirm thee therefore against this, provision is made by the mercy of God. And Faith is the Cordial. And for Materials and virtues (if 1 Tim. 1. 5 Job 28. 25 28. true) a most Rare one; Gold, and Pearl, and Coral, are not Comparable to it. Manus Christi is not, Sanguis Christi makes it. Nay, Blood and Spirit; Godhead and Manhood, Virtues and Merits; what He did do, say, Suffer, all Christ, and all Christ's, is it. 1 Cor. 1. 30. Mat. 11. 28 1 Joh. 2. 1. Phil. 2. 9 Joh. 6. 50. Gal. 3. 27. Joh. 8. 36. 2 Cor. 8. 9 Phil. 4. 13. Isa 61. 1. 1 Thes. 1. 10. Christ, the Only Cordial to a Sinful Soul. None to Him, None but Christ. And Jesus. None to that. The Name above all names. Bread to the starved, Cloth to the Naked, Freedom to the fettered, Wealth to the beggared, Strength to the Faint, Light to the dark, Life to the dead, Deliverance to the damned; all's in Jesus. My Soul! Christ is a Name of Medicine * Anointed. Heb. 1. 9 Jesus of Health Saviour. Mat. 1. 21. Mal. 4. 1. 1. Tim. 1. 15. Heb. 9 11, 12. . There's His Oil, but here thy Salvation. Gladness that thou hast a Christ, but thy happiness in Jesus. Healing is in his wings, Saving his Work, Health in his Name, Redemption his Office: Against Sin, Hell, Gild, Wrath, Devil, Death, Wound, Faintings, Swoon, no Remedies to Jesus. And Faith makes the application *. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrys. Joh. 3. 14, 15. Joh. 6. 37. Joh. 1. 12. Rom. 7. 4. 2 Cor. 11. 12 Eph. 3. 17. Joh. 6. 47. Heb. 3. 18. Rom. 13. 14 Gal. 2. 20. Joh. 14. 16 The eye by which I see Him. The foot, on which I come to Him. The hand, by which I take Him. The Ring, by which I Mary Him. The House, in which I dwell with Him. The Board, at which I feed on Him. The Bed, on which I rest in Him. The Vest in which I wear Him. The Soul, by which I live in Him. The Body by which he lives in me. What doth thus unite to the All-saving Comforter, must needs be Cordial. And thence are in it those Spirits of Comfort. Hope against the Heb. 11. 1. Rom. 5. 1. Rom. 15. 13. faints of fear. Peace, against the troubles of Gild, and Joy against the Drooping of Spirit. My Soul! If with hard toil and abstinence, like Jonathan, thy eyes begin to fail, and thy strength to faint, Joy is Honey to clear them, 1 Sam. 14. 29. 2 Cor. 4. 16 and revive thee. If with Israel in this Wilderness of want and woe, thou art ready to Sink and perish, Peace is Manna to feed and Sustain thee. If Apoc. 2. 15. with David thy Bones are dried with heaviness of heart, this Joy is Marrow to moisten them, and Strengthen Psal. 63. 5. Isa. 66. 14. thee. But, if not True, thy Faith is none of this. And my Soul since all thy Comfort depends on this, look to it, for All have not Faith, and few what is true. Counterfeit of Faith, are not true Cordials to Conscience. And there 2 Thes. 3. 2 1 Tim. 1. 5 be many Counterfeit. 1. A Vain Delusion. When what thou believest, is thy Fancy, not God's Word. Or a Revelation (as thou thinkest) Isa. 8. 20. Ephes. 1. 8. New, but contrary to the Old. For if Faith be not Wedded to the Word * Luth. 2 Thes. 2. 11. , the Comfort it bears is Bastard. Delusion all, 2. A Blind Resignation is deceit too. Indeed to give up the Mind in absolute Rom. 4. 18, 19 Mal. 2. 7. belief to what he says, be it above or against thy reason or sense, is right; And to see Superfluities to Salvation (though Revealed Truths) with the Church's eyes not ill. But Necessaries, Isa. 53. 11. Rom. 1. 17 thou must see with thy own. And know what thou dost believe, and not live by another's faith, If not have thy joy in another's heart. 3. An Idle Speculation, it is not neither. It undertakes a great Work, and employs at it, a great Workman. That Augean-stable to cleanse, the Heart; Act. 15. 19 1 Cor. 7. 19 Gal. 5. 6. and Labour for the strength of Paradise, to Keep God's Commandments, this it undertakes. And which abhors no toil which wit can imagine possible, Cant. 8. 7. Love, that it employs. It is but an idle Comfort, that's brought by a Loitering Faith. And 4. A Great Confidence doth not ever Mr. Banes in Eph. c 7 Helps, 93. Bifield in 2 Pet. Rom. 14. 1 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. make it good; for Assurance of Salvation may be without True Faith; and it true without that assurance. That's the effect of a strong one, not the essence of all. Every man is not strong. Some points of wind may serve to make the way, Every ship hath not Saile-full. And if the ballast be not weighed and fraught, with an humble and good Conscience, may as soon everturne 1 Tim. 1. 19 as arrive the ship. If tender, it Sinks it in despair; if tough, Splits it on Presumption; No comfort for many, but as a gulf and rock to the Mariner, if full persuasion be, or there is no faith. And A Good Opinion is less; Though others Apoc. 3. 17 18. concurrent with my own, of myself. What would I not be, could I be what I would? I am not in Happy condition, because I think it; but must first be so, and then I may believe it. If Groundless, if Wordless, A good belief is an ill faith: Because thou wouldst seek to have a better, didst Mat. 25. 3. thou not presume it to be so good. Apoc. 3. 17 18. But 6. A Bad Dispensation (that's worst 2 Pet. 1. 10. Phil. 2. 12. Ro. 11. 20. Rom. 5. 1, 2 of all) To grow bold to Sin, because Sure of Heaven. As Faith is never without hope, a Spur to good: So nor without fear, the Bridle of ill. Noah Heb. 11. 7. was saved by Faith, but built an ark for fear. If thou plunge thyself into Heb. 4. 1. Seas of Sin, thou mayst perish for all thy Faith. If perfect, it hath two eyes; one for Promises, another for Precepts, Jonah 3. 5. Act. 24. 14 (Divine Word and Witness both:) An ill life can no more stand with good Faith, than a great Sickness be with good health. Act. 15. 9 None of those then, it is. No, A Trusting in God for Salvation by Christ, Act. 15. 11. according to his Word, that's the Substantial Sovereign, Cordiall-Healing-Saving Faith. That there is none but by Christ, is Mar. 5. 7. Luk. 4. 41. Act. 16. 17 Apoc. 13. 10. the Devils; That none by Christ, but as he conditions, and wills, the Saints. My Soul, though thy Repentance be right, and Faith sound, and both set thee well, all will be but the worse, if thou dost not keep so: For this Mercy hath made Remedy. And New obedience is the Preservative. In. Adam, my Soul, the Covenant 3. Part. was, Do, or Die a Gal. 3. 12 ; All, or None b Deut. 27 26. ; Exactly, or Nothing c Gal. 3. 10 Jam. 2. 10. & 3. 2. : but in Christ, who doth consider d Heb. 4. 15 & 2. 18. , and secure thy frailties, with his Meritorious and Gracious Reliefs, the Tenure runs e Heb. 8. 6. & 9 14, 15 , Endeavour to do all f Act. 24. 16. , be upright in thy Endeavour g 1 Tim. 1. 5. Heb. 13. 18. 21. . Hate great Sin, love none. Fly the worst, follow not any h Rom. 16 18. 2 Joh. 9 11 . Detest Enormities i Eph. 5. 3. 1 Cor. 6. 9 & 2 Cor. 7. 1. Rom. 6. 12 , Delight not in Infirmities. This would not pass for Obedience of old, and therefore it's called New k Heb. 8. 13 . And thy Health is happily maintained and preserved by it. It preserves thy Repentance, and proves it sound l Mat. 3. 8. 2 Cor. 7. 11 : It preserves thy Faith, and makes it saving m Jam. 2. 14. : It preserves thy self in both, and keeps thee living n Ephes. 2. 1. 2. . S. John Baptist, S. James, S. Paul his Preservative. It preserves thee from Apostasy, that thou fall not wide from God o Psal. 87. 38. Luc. 8. 13. 15. : and from Despair p Job. 8. 13. & 27. 8. , that thou fall not short of Him; for sincerity is the Mother of Constancy q Jer. 32. 40. Act. 24. 14, 15. , and the Nurse of Hope r Isa. 33. 14 . Gilt wears off, Gold endures; the Guilty fears Judgement, the Honest heart hopes s 1 Joh. 3. 21. . S. Luke's, and S. John's Preservative. It preserves thee, under the Cross t Job 13. 15. , the Burden of thy flesh u Heb. 12. 11. ; and against Temptation w Gen. 39 10. Luk. 8. 13. , (the trouble of thy Spirit) the natural womb of Patience, and Stepmother to the Devil's issue. Gild gauls the back, Innocence gives strength to bear a Cross. Shallow Dan. 6. 22 1 Pet. 4. 16 2 Thes 2. 10 Psal. 1. 4. Gen. 39 10 Job 27. 6. Trees are blown up with bitter Blasts; well-rooted stand against all Winds; yea by them better rooted, and more strong to stand, Holy Jobes and Holy joseph's Preservative. It Preserves against High Censure Rom. 2. 13 2 Cor. 2. 7. Luk. 18. 11. Mat. 26. 25. Job. 42. 7. 2 Chro. 28 10. 2 Chro. 30 18, 19 1 Joh. 3. 20, 21. Luc. 8. 15. Psal. 66. 16. Prov. 4. 4. Luc. 2. 51. Prov. 2. 1. 2. of others Infirmities (a great Block) and too deep a Sense of thy own (a sore Rub) in the way to Heaven. Hypocrisy Judgeth others, Integrity it Self. It Keeps the Heart against Main Offences, and God imputes not meaner trespasses. The Sister of Charity, and Daughter of Mercy; Obeds and Hezekiahs' Preservative. It Preserv's Prayer in favour, and the Word in fruitfulness (The Key, and Door of heaven.) That, clean; T●is, open. It gains that Audience of God's Ear, and gives this Entrance into man's heart. Gets prayer good respect; and Provides the word Due entertainment; Prayers Advocate, and the Words Treasurer. King david's, and King 1 Pet. 2. 1. 2 Luc. 2. 19 Solomon's Preservative. It Preserves against Sin (the Gate of Hell) and against the World (the Mat. 7. 13. Ephes. 2. 2. Psal. 23. 6. Job 31. 27 Ibi pecca, ubi Deus non videt. Bern. Psal. 119. 168. Gen. 29. 10. Rom. 8. 35. Gen. 17. 1. Dan. 6. 5 10, 11. Hinge of Sin) The Hollow-heart will not, in open; the upright, not in Secret. He looks at man's eye, this at Gods. And therefore dare Sin no where, because he sees God every where. The Body will neither be Courted, nor frighted to ill. The Heart which hath Singleness for God, looks at the World as the Devil's Wanton; and neither Lures, nor shackles, Bracelets nor Manacles, Golden nor Iron-chaines, Gains nor Losses, Pleasures nor Tortures, Honours nor Disgraces, can tempt it to be naught. Holy abraham's and Holy daniel's Preservative. My Soul canst thou perish and have such a Preservative? No, if it be of Gods making. But for His Sugar, take not Satan's Mercury. 1. To be True to thy Side, and Trusty to thy way with all thy heart and Soul; that's nothing, if it be not right. Nay to own Act. 26. 10 truth and goodness; wheresoever thou seest; and like, and love it, with thy mind and heart, that's to be true to 2 King. 9 32. God, whosoever is on, or against the Side. If not thou art more for thy Side then God. 2. To desire from thy 2 King. 10 30, 31. heart to be what thou shouldst, but yet not contribute more to it, then Prov. 21. 25. mere desire, that's Somewhat of it in Conception, but nothing in Birth. Though for Christ's sake thy Doing well, be abated to Endeavour, it comes Act. 24. 26. Phil. 2. 13. Isa. 26. 8. not to so little as Desire. If not effectual (which is all one with it) what goes no further in thy account may come to much, but with God comes to Nothing. 3. Nor will hearty Endeavour, NUm. 23 10. and Deed too, pass for it, if only to Some good and against Some ill; or Gen. 20. 3. Mar. 6. 20. Psal. 119. 6. for much, but not all. True Obedience will not give Dispensation from any Law. Loyal Integrity dare never ask or take leave, and Licence at any Place 1 Sam. 26. 8, 9 to rebel. My Soul feed not Corrupted Nature with such Sweets as these. Though Job. 20. 12. Ezek. 13. 19 they seem Sugars, they are mere Mercuries. Made not for thy health, but bane; not Medicines, but Poisons of thy Life; not Preservative to it, but Destructive; the ways to Hell and Death. As thou dreadest them, then look well to thyself. Mistake not Poison for thy Preservative. A Sound Heart (in tru●h not error) is that which Maintains thy Life. And now my Soul, See at once all wht is required for thy Health. How to Try, How to Take, How to Value all. One, by another, is their best way of Trial. Forward, Repentance without Faith, is Desperate Sorrow. Faith 2 Cor. 7. 10. 2 Cor. 2. 7 Jam. 2. 14. 2 Pet. 1. 5. Rom. 18. 23. without Obedience, Blood Presumption. Backward, Obedience without Faith, Blind and unjustified Service. Faith without Repentance, Weak and unwarranted Belief. To Repent and not Believe, is to 1 Tim. 1. 5 Heb. 6. 1. Judas 20. Luk. 14. 20 Heb. 3. 6. 2 Cor. 7. 1. Mat. 3. 8, 9 lay a foundation, and not build. To Believe and not Obey, is to build without a Roof. To obey, and not Believe, is to clap the roof on the Groundwork. To Believe, and not Repent, is to build without foundation. Repentance alone is Recovery without strength. Faith alone, strength without use. Obedience alone, Darkness with strength. Turn then and take them as you will, this is the just Trial. That's Right Repentance, that hath Faith and Obedience after it a Act. 20. 21. & 26. 20. That's Sound Obedience, that hath Faith and Repentance before it b Rom. 16. 26. Heb. 6. 1. That's True Faith, that hath Repentance before, and Obedience after it. My Soul then, thou for thy health Mar. 1. 15. 1 Tim. 1. 5 must have all, if thou wilt have it true, sound and right. And wouldst thou know, how thou art to take all? Sure, till thou art in Heaven with perfect cure, thou must use, on 1 Cor. 13. 9 Phil. 3. 13. earth, continual Remedy. Repent every day, Believe every hour, Obey every Moment. There is no day wherein thou dost not Sin; no night therefore in whichthou Mat. 6. 12. 2 Cor. 7. 1. must not Repent. If foul, thou must wash; If guilty, ask pardon; If sick, seek cure daily. Thou dost never Sin, but need a Saviour: Never well, but hast need of Ro. 6. 23. Neh. 13. 22. favour: Of Blood to cleanse the guilts of thy ill: Of a Robe to cover the blemishes of thy good. What Blood but Phil. 3. 9 from his Side? What Robe but on his Rom. 3. 25 Ephes. 1. 7. Back? Where else, my Soul! canst thou heal thy wounds, or hid thy scars, but under the Righteousness of his Innocent life, Purpled in his most precious Apoc. 7. 14 Jer. 33. 16. Isa. 53. 11. Blood? If thou then art not without Sin a day, thou canst not be without Christ an Hour; lest for want of a Saviour thou be lost in the very minute Rom. 6. 23 Heb. 4. 16. Phil. 3. 9 of Sinne. In his Blood than thou must wash; take Sanctuary in his Merits, shrowded thyself under his Robe, seek mercy for his sake, that is, Believe every hour; And Obey him every moment. For sure, my Soul, of whom thou hast continual need, thou must offend him never. Find a Minute when thou wouldst not be in Hell without him, and take that time to offend him. Eternal deliverance deserves continual gratitude. Unto him that hath loved Apoc. 1. 5. us, and washed us from our sins in his own Blood, and (of vassals and slaves of Satan) hath made us Kings and Priests unto God and his Father. To him be Glory, and Dominion (and therefore from us Duty and Obedience) for ever and ever. Amen. 3. So then, My Soul! Take them. And Canst thou value them enough? Never too much. Thy Body's Health is worth all the World; but thy own worth more than Ten Thousands of Worlds Ten Millions of Bodies. It's worth as much as Salvation, as Eternity comes to, beyond all value. As much as thy Christ, thy Saviour, thy God is worth: above Myriad of Salvation. For Repentance Recovers thy Sickness * God's salve for every sore. Latimer. Tit. 1. 13. Col. 1. 11. Joh. 3. 15. Act. 16. 31 Faith sets thee Sound, Obedience keeps thee strong; all give a state of good and perfect health; and so save from death. And my Soul! value faith above all. So God doth, and therefore ascribes thy health to it alone, to show it the Chief: And so it is. Repentance is but a Preparative to it; Obedience a Preservative of it: Faith is the Royal Grace, Repentance the Latimer Ser. 7. before K. Ed, Usher that goes before, Obedience that bears up the Train after it. The Queen Mother of this, the Mistress to that, Regent to both. O My Soul! The Cordial is above all, because Christ is all in all. The Quintessence of Heavenly virtue, Col. 3. 11. the Elixir of all Grace, the very Sp●rit of Goodness and the perfection of all Col. 2. 9 Eph. 1. 23. Col. 1. 15. Perfections both in Heaven, and Earth. Bear no Heart in thy Body, than not this in thy heart. O let that precious Vial never want this Holy Essence. Count worldly good grease to this Oil. All Delights death to this Glad Psal. 4. 6. Phil. 3. 8. Col. 1. 27. Apoc. 2. 10 Apoc. 3. 11 nesse. All Honours shames to this Glory. Keep thy Christ as thy Crown, thy Life, (as the Crown of Life) thy Immortal Crown, and Keep thy Faith as Him, for thou hast and holdest Him in it. Keep Him as thy Saviour and it as thy Salvation. Him as thine Heb. 10 19 1 Pet. 1. 3, 4 Eph. 2. 18. Jam. 3. 2. Inheritance, and this as thine Interest. Him as the only Sanctuary of a troubled Spirit, and this as the only Access to Him. If Defects be in thy Repentance, Errors in thy Obedience (as there may, there will be in both) fly by Faith unto thy Sanctuary. Hid thyself in his wounds; Hold by the Horns of the Altar; Creep under his wings; Die within his Arms; go, run from the Pursuer of blood, to this Heb. 3. 18. 19 City of Refuge; Enter in by thy Faith. And, My Soul! Keep the vial clean, that the Elixir go not out. Wash it with Repentance, and Dry it with Obedience, that it be so kept; let them do that Duty to it, that doth so much good and help for them. And then, My Soul! thou shalt be healthy and strong, and happy in them all. Of old all was not enough for thy health; but Christ hath Mediated thy Covenant thus New. And to do this Heb. 8. 6. Duty, God for his sake will give thee Ability. Ability of Grace to do him acceptable Service. Take his Word for it, he Promiseth, he will. And his Command with it, for he Says thou must. A New heart will I give you, and a Ezek. 36. 26. new Spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my judgements to do them. Therefore saith the Lord God, Repent Ezek. 18. 31, 32. and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; So iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away all your transgressions whereby ye have transgressed, and make you a new heart, and a new Spirit: For will ye die O House of Israel? For, I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: Wherefore turn yourselves and live. The Sum of this soliloquy. God hath appointed Remedies against our failings in His Service. 2. Repentance, is the Sinners first Remedy. And a most fair, and Sovereign Remedy. Experiments of it. Taking it by Halves, or Deferring it too long, makes it not to be Saving. To Delay it to future is dangerous; till death, Desperate, 2. Faith is a Sinners Cordial, Most precious, because Christ is chief, yea only Ingredient of it, and taken by it. Excellent Spirits begot by the Cordial of true faith. Six counterfeits of faith, not truly cordial. 3. Obedience in the New Covenant, the Souls Preservative in ●ealth. Why it is called New? and how it is Preservative of it? Some take Poison, instead of this Preservative. The Proofs of these three Remedies, and Prescripts how and when to take them, and preciousness of all, and of Faith in Chief. Helps to Heaven and Happiness. OR, A soliloquy acquainting the Soul with such Reliefs and Aids as will facilitate and further her Course and Progress in the ways of Godliness. The second Part. Holy Actions and Cautions, great Assistants to Piety. MY Soul! If good Meditations 3. Division. and Motions live in thee, the mind may do much. But when all that is done, there must be more. And thy Ear, Eye, Heart, Hand, Mouth, every one must do his Part: Hear, Read, Resolve, Practice, Pray, (all must be in Action) And Conscience must keep a particular watch too, and have some things in Holy Caution. This will complete all. And the Good is not mean which may be done by The Eare. For, my Soul! by this Door God's Act. 14. 2● & 16. 14. Joh. 3. 5. 1 Pet. 2. 2. Joh. 10. 27 Joh. 13. 17 Psal. 109. 105. Jer. 23. 29. 2 Cor. 4. 45. Luk. 24 42. 2 Tim. 4. 2 & 3. 16. Luk. 11. 28. Heb. 5. 11. Isa. 28. 10. Heb. 6. 1, 2 Heb. 4. 12. Word is received in. Baptism first sets thee, Preaching keeps thee on thy feet. For what are they but to know and do? And in God's Word is both light, and heat; and both are Communicated by good Preaching. And observe that, my Soul! to avoid common Error, The work of it is both on mind and heart, to inform and inflame; Till thou dost as well do good as know it, the Preacher hath not done his, nor thou thy work. He may tell thee that in an hour, which he can scarce teach thee to do in a life. The Principles of Christianity are easy, but the Practice is hard. And Efficacy, as well as Instruction, is the work of the Word. Even the Preached Word; So it be duly Preached. For that, my Soul! thou shalt do well to eye, as another prevailing but most pestilent error. The Pulpit doth not make the Word; nor Speaking from it, Preaching. But a Reverend handling of Holy Scripture according to the Truth of God's Sense, and to the aims of God's Spirit a, that's 2 Tim. 1. 19 the true Preaching of the Word. Tit. 1. 9 2 Tim. 2. 15. Neh. 8. 8. 2 Chr●. 18. 21. 1 Tim. 4. 1 Joh. 4. 1. 2 Pet. 2. 1. 10, 11. Mar. 4. 24. Apoc. 2. 11. Act. 17. 11 Jam. 1. 21. Act. 10. 33 Mat. 13. 22 Heb. 4. 2. Error, and Ill, are from the Devil, though out of a Pulpit. And if thou take heed how thou hearest this, and have care to hearken to that, with an humble, honest Heart prepossessed with neither Error, nor Lust; thou canst not choose but be of better life, because well taught by God's Word. Nor wilt thou be worse, for giving thyself to Read it; For therefore it is Writing, as well as Word, to have it in thy Eye. But, my Soul, avoid extremities. Theirs who forbidden it as a Mote in the Mat. 22. 29. People's Eye; And theirs, who abuse it as Dust under their Foot. What is Sacred, must not be too Common; and Dear. 29. 9 2 Pet. 3. 16 Heb. 5. 12. Joh. 5. 39 1 Joh. 5. 13 Gal. 3. 2. what is Secret, must not be Enquired. Mysteries are Labyrinths which every Foot may not (must not) Tread: Necessaries, every mind ought, and may know. If thou wouldst not lose thyself then, walk not in the Woods, but Plains: If thou wilt not drown thy 2 Pet. 1. 10 Heb. 5. 14. Pontifex ●nter Deum & homines ●ons cst. ●ern. self, Foard the shallows, not the Deeps. And if thou canst not give thyself, take direction how, and where to go and walk: And so thou mayst advance much in all Holy ways. The Pavement to Heaven is made there by God's Phil. 2. 16. 2 Tim. 3. 15. Act. 18. 26. Act. 16. 17. Hand; and thy Foot will not go more wrong, because thy Eye sees the pavement. Nay, of that thou art more sure, when thou dost Read then Hear: Man's Breath comes in with God's Word into 1 Joh. 4. 1. the Ear, but God's Pure Word and Spirit into the Eye. Into the Eye? yes, and to the Heart too, from it; and to the Life, from that. For, my Soul, as many Saints have been made better, so some have been made Saints by the mere Reading of the Word. And the Desk, as well as the Pulpit, hath begot Converts; And sure it is a good Nurse, if a happy Mother of Spiritual life. Tolle, lege, made Saint Augustine Saint. Mat. 19 2● Athanas. And a Text read, turned Saint Antony Angel. My Soul, I would not have thee make a Chapter keep thee from a Sermon; nor a Sermon make thee slight a Chapter: Use both right, and thou wilt be much bettered by both. And if with Eyes on Heaven, and Knees on Earth * C. Boromaeus. sic, etc. , and Heart on Book, thou dost (at due times) turn the Sacred Volumes, thy Reading will be right. Yea, though leaves not inspiredly Sacred. For when thyself readest Scriptures, the flowers of Grace, thou art the Bee that gettest the Honey by thy own Hand: but in Good and Godly Books, another hath Gathered, and thou hast but, to Eat the Hony. Yea, what is far sweeter, and wholesomer to Holy and Heavenly Taste, O my Soul! be given to read Gods, and Godly Comparate vobis Biblia animae pharmaca. Chrys. Books: Good Air breeds good Spirit; and God's Air, Holy Breath. Where Flowers of Grace, and Plants of Paradise grow, (as on Holy Grounds) the Air is good. Nor is it ill to smell a Posy made of no worse Flowers. God's Bible is a Garden; a good Book a Posy. Take pleasure then, and take Psal. 1. 2. profit in both. And so thou wilt, if thou dost digest what thou dost see and hear. For, my Soul, they bring meat into thy Mouth; but that doth Prepare, 1 Pet. 2. 2. and Distribute it to thy Nourishment. They Convey God's Word to the Doors Rom. 6. 17. Col. 3. 16. of thy House, but thou must not let it lie there, but lodge it in thy Heart, and make it Commander of thy life. And to entertain and observe it so, is the work, which, without serious, and strong Resolutions will never be done, the proper act of The Heart. It must resolve upon action, for which thou seest reason, and determine a Practice, when it knows God's Will Act. 10. 30. and Word. The Counsels of the mind do nothing without the Decrees of the wil And Ear, and Eye can do no more in the Word of God, but furnish the mind with good Counsels. Execution must come from the Heart, the Great Governor of the little world of Man. To it therefore is given the power to make such Decrees. And, my Soul, there is nothing which thou canst not do by virtue of that power. It's wonderful what hath been done by a Roman Resolution: Miraculous, if any thing were impossible to a Christian; not only to Scaevola. Dan. 3. 28 burn the Hand, and not shrink; but to set the Body on flames, and Smile at it. And much more to quench the fire of burning lusts. Resolutions are Cords, if then weak, Temptation, if Num. 30. 13. Judg. 15. 13 strong as Samson, breaks them like Tow. But if well twist and made, will bind, and hold any, though never so strong. It did David to a Regular life, Psal. 119 116. to God's Law, because so steadfastly purposed. Joshua from strange Gods. The Jos. 24. 15 Dan. 3. 28 Three Children from the Image-worship. There is no good, or ill, which thou mayst not do or shun, if thou resolve for, or against it. Have not some suffered their Bodies to be Cut, their Limbs to be sawn, their Throats to be parched with thirst, and their Stomaches Gnawn with hunger, when no means else were left for saving of their Lives? And might not the Intemperate do as much for Sobriety and Abstinence? and the Incontinent against his lusts, if they did see, and resolve this as necessary to save their Souls? Vows (my Soul) may be snares, Eccles. 5. 2 if not considerately made; but Holy Purposes are innocent Bonds, into which thou mayst more commonly enter; And bind thyself to better behaviour with them as well as vows; & in Psal. 76. 11 Deut. 12. 11. some cases with both. And surely God hath given thee that power of will, and thy will that power, that thou shouldst (as a man made for God) move by it to Godliness; and if dull, quicken thyself, and strengthen it more fastly and firmly to move. But when so set, it must go. Thou sal. 66. 12 sal. 116. 6. must determine and do. Put to Practise what thou hast in Purpose, and what thy heart doth resolve, that must be done by thy Hand. My Soul, Experiments confirm Precepts much: and want of good Attempts, makes brave Exploits be thought impossible and left, when else they might be done. Of the Christian it is most true: what glorious Conquests might be got over our lusts were they not thought Invincible? To what heights of Holy Perfection might Flesh and Blood attain, were it not believed impossible? And why? Practice begets experience, and that a mighty strength. Thus doth he come to draw the strongest So the Martyr puts his finger into the Candle, & after, his Body in the Fire. Acts. Mon. 1 John 2. 12, 13. bow, that began with a weaker; and carry an Ox at last, that hath it of a Calf on his shoulders. Thou hast as many Precedents for this, as there be Great Saints; which from an Infancy of goodness have grown by degrees to be foe Great. Even the Giants of grace, were once no taller than Dwarves in goodness. Say not then My Soul, there's a Lion in the way: Thy Fancy is the Lyon. Enter, go Pro. 22. 13 on in the ways of God, thou shalt find the Lion slain, and honey in the Judg. 14. 1 Belly of the Lyon. Even, what was bitter, will be sweet, what was hard will be easy; what was terrible will be amiable, what was strange familiar, to Phil. 3. 7, 8. him that being well-resolved, betakes himself to a good and righteous way. But my Soul, thou canst not stir, unless God strengthen; pray then his Ability, that thou mayst go on, and let the hand have help from The Mouth. To speak (as it doth to Man for the Body, so) to God for thee, for help. If Psal. 36. 9 Mat. 21. 22 1 Joh. 4. 21 Ezek. 31. 39 it speak from the Heart, much may be done by the Mouth. For as God is the Fountain of Grace, Prayer is the Bucket of the Well. If then thou wouldst have it, thou must down, or rather (since the Well is above) up Joh. 14. 5. 1 Cor. 12. 3 Ezek. 36. 27. Rom. 8. 4. 11. 14. Ezek. 16. 37. Luk. 11. 13. with the Bucket. My Soul, thou canst no more do right without God's Spirit, than the Body live without thine: If that Holy Spirit lead thee, thou wilt not go wrong. I will put my Spirit into you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my Judgements and do them. Lo, there's the Power to do right: And shall not your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those that ask it? (That's the way to come by that power.) And, if thou Isa. 61. 3. Dan. 9 9 Isa. 38. 3. Dan. 9 3. Psal. 6. 8. dost, for thy better speed and haste, mix thy Prayers with ashes and tears; and weep and fast for their better fervency, thou wilt sooner get to the end of that way. And if thou wilt for thy better progress, provide thyself with more strength and store, be sure to be one at an Eucharist, if it come fairly John 6. 57 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Damasc. Viaticum. Joh. 6. 58. Jam. 5. 16. Luk. 18. 1. to thy hand. For, my Soul, nothing doth more nourish Holy Spirit than an Eucharist. The bread of life from Heaven, that thou faint not in the way. And then Prayers must prevail, when we wax not weary, and grow faint. My Soul, thou hast been taught many helps to do well, but by two things wilt be Cautioned to do yet better. If thou look to thy Christian Credit, and Innocence, well. To keep that, without just blot; this, without greater guilt. Lessons that are not commonly taught; and therefore to be more Singularly learned. Impair not thy Credit, Increase not thy guilt. Watch against both with strict Conscience. Such Holy Cautions help to Heaven much. My Soul, there is a Reputation 4. Division. Phil. 4. 8. 3 Joh. 12. Christian; and if thou value the worldly before life, the Heavenly should be dearer. It is, when thou givest no just Scandal, and appearest, without due blame and blemish in the Eye of the world. I say, scandal that's just, for if the Offence be causeless in thee, it's taken, not given. And I say, appearing without blemish, for thou must look as that it be not, that it do not appear. Abstain from all appearance of Evil. 1 Thes. 5. 22. Thy Conversation must have neither ill Heart, nor Face: Nor ill Prospect for 1 Cor. 10. 32. Heaven, nor Aspect to Earth; Give no offence to any. That is, hurt not an Honest Eye with a Glass of foul behaviour; Heb. 12. 13 stumble not an upright foot, with a visible block of offence. Providing for honest 2 Cor. 6. 3 2 Cor. 8. 21 Rom. 12. 17. Mat. 18. 16 things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but in the sight of men; And of the Good above all. For better a Millstone tied about thy Neck, and thou thrown into the bottom of the Sea, then offend one of those little ones. What ever they Seem, thy Sin is great. O than My Soul, shall they be scandalised, Phil. 1. 27. Phil. 4. 8. Ephes. 4. 1. Col. 1. 10. Rom. 15. 2 rather than great ones, bad ones be offended? This will hang about thy neck a guilt heavier than a Millstone. Have Sense then (as of thy earthly) of thy Christian Honour, my Soul; Say, do, nothing unworthy that Nobleness, thy Goodness. Have care (as of thyself) of another's Satisfaction; and wound no more thy Credit, than thy Conscience * Qui conscientiam negligit crudelis est in seipsum; qui famam negligit crudelis in proximum. Aug. . Let not thy Brother's heart, more than thy own, take thy wound. Ill looks wound good hearts; and if they infect, kill like the Basilisk. A good name is a precious ointment; but an ill, a Deadly Perfume. And if thy Eccles. 7. 1 Carriage want a good Countenance, that's a dead fly, and makes it ill. Away then with an Atheists heart, and look. Away with unchaste deeds and shows. Away with Profane thoughts, and Signs. Away with an Epicures Spirit and Habit: Away with a liars Soul, and Suspicion. What is ill, or looks ill, do all away. For, Believe it, The way for thee to go to heaven, is not to lay a stumbling-block in thy Rom. 14. 13. Psal. 2. 15. Heb. 3. 12. 13. 2 Thes. 3. 15. Gal. 6. 1. 2 Sam. 9 12. Brother's way. Build him a Bridge by thy good Example; and, by thy Counsel, lead, and help him over; but, do not block up and Barricado his passage, and by an ill Spectacle of Life (like Amasiahs' bloody corpse) stop his better course. Thou canst not bring others on their way, and thyself be out for heaven. No, but Company coming Jam. 5. 19 20. Dan. 12. 3. after thee, thou wilt be let sooner and higher in. Most do not mind this; but do thou, my Soul! And Keep clear of others Guilts; Be sure to mind that. The reason is as great as thine, and their Salvation. My Soul! Is not thy own Proper guilt great enough, that thou must pile on heaps of other men's to make the Psal. 38. 8. fire greater? David's Sins went over his head, and were a burden too heavy for him to bear. My Soul! Dost thou not shrink at this? He that had so good shoulders, so great a strength to Act. 13. 22 1 King. 11 38. bear, So little a load to carry; yet was his too heavy for him? And is thine so light, to take others on? Art thou confounded to consider the vast sum of thy Single Trespasses (though but Dan. 9 8. a daniel's debt) and will not the Scores of other men's Sins, bring on the overwhelming Confusion? Art thou Principal to Innumerable ills, and wilt thou Psal. 40. 12. be Accessary to Millions? My Soul! We must bear one another's burdens: Gal. 6. 2. But their Miseries, not their Sins. By charity not Copartnership. A fellowship and feeling doth well in woes, but woefully Heb. 13. 3. Ephel. 5. 7. 2 Cor. 6. 14 Act. 2. 40. in Sin. Atlas was feigned to bear up Heaven; but none, Hell. And couldst thou make shift for thy Self to be saved, wouldst thou have others by thy Default, to perish? Have the Curses of Hell with the joys of Heaven? My Soul! So many Rom. 14. 15 Ezek. 33. 6 as Sin by thee, are damned for thee: And canst thou number how many? Number then all that by thy Acts have been made Sinners, and by God's Grace not made Penitents. Thus when thou art dead, thy Errors may live, and thy guilts for many ages lie. unburied like Cursed Parents, propagating ill 2 King. 13 2. Issues Successively to Souls, throughout many Generations. And though thy Natural Sins die with thee, the Adopted 2 King. 17 22. 2 King. 14 24. 1 Tim. 5. 22. may live for ever. My Soul, then, do what the Apostle says, Be not partaker of other men's Sins; But more, than he means. He would have no hands laid on unworthy Persons; do thou keep thine from unworthy actions. By any Deed of thine to Bane another's Soul, is of all most Apoc. 18. 4 unworthy; or by another's to bane thine. And there are many ways to do both. Nine are numbered. And very naught all. When thou canst, not to hinder it; for so thou art Assistant to it, and thy Hand doth it help: When thou shouldest, not to Reprove it, for so thou art Advocate for it, and thy Tongue gives it Licence. To Counsel Sin, for that's to conceive it in another, to give it womb and be its Mother. To Command it; for that's to beget it, to give it Seed, and be as Natural Father. To Consent to it; for that's to own and 2 Joh. 11. maintain it, and be Adopting Father to it, if not Natural. To Commend it; for that's to give it dug and Suck, and to be Nurse to it at least, if not a Mother. To Entertain the Actor of it, for that's to give it shoulders and Support it; or Refuge, and to be Patron and Protector; and so Brother, if not Parent to it: To Keep Silence, and be Mute at it; for that's, to give it hand, and heart, and to be a friend, if not a Brother to it. To partake of it, for that's to give it arm and face, and to be both Sworn Brother and friend, and loving Benefactor of it. In the Instance of one Sin, see all this, O My Soul! Let Blood be it, and behold, how another may shed it and thou be guilty of the Blood. Joab 2 Sam. 18. 9 2 Sam. 16. 21. killed Absalon; but Ahitophel Murdered him; Because his Counsel brought him to his death. The Ammonite slew 2 Sam. 12. 9 Uriah; but David killed him; because he fell by his Command. The Jews Act. 7. 59 Act. 22. 20 stoned Stephen, Saul did not touch him, yet had hand in his death, because with his Consent. Sons of Belial stoned Naboth, 1 King. 21 13. 19 yet Ahab slew him, because, as he gave Countenance to the doing it with his Seal, so he had Complacence in the deed, and so commended what was done. All Benjamin did not ravish the Jud. 19 22 & 20. 5. 13, 14. Levites Concubine to death, but gave shield and shelter, to them that did, and so the Bloody Rape became theirs, by Patronage. The Jews in Christ's time did not s●ay the Prophets which were killed many hundred years before, yet by Participation with their Fathers, Mat. 23. 31. Luc. 11. 48, 49. Pro. 31. 9 became Heirs of their Murders. And if King Solomon open not his mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed for destruction, They may be the Children, but he shall be the Father of it. Scrangers cut of Jacob, Esau Sat still and looked but on, and he destroyed, because he did not save. Though Ob. 1. 12. 1 Sam. 2. 22. 29. 33, 34. Levit. 19 17. Elies Sons fell by the Philistims, His hand gave them the fatal blow, because he did not sufficiently reprehend that which was their ruin, their Sins. O My Soul! Be for the Communion of Saints, not Sinners. Nor in blood, nor any guilt do thou Communicate in another's Sin. Advise from it, Forbidden it, Dissent, Dispraise, Disrespect, Disclaim, Proclaim against it, Resist it, Rebuke it. Thou hast guilts enough of thy own to multiply, thou needest not add any others to it. My Soul, then, giving others Scandal, and partaking others guilt, are thy Enemies, against which Conscience must be Charged to keep a strict watch: And is thy great friend if it do. For surely not to hinder others from Heaven is to further thyself; not to be Laden with much guilt, gives an easier Passage to heaven. And to be free of such blocks and fetters, makes the course of Piety more easy. More easy, though to crazed and corrupted Nature hard, and not to be compassed without our best thoughts and endeavours, even all that Mind, or Man can do, though ear, and eye, and heart, and hand, and mouth, and Conscience, improve all their arts and faculties to the full, and with united forces, set on the good and great Employment of God's Service, and our Godliness. But so it will be. For my Soul wisdom assures thee Prov. 2. 1. 2, 3, 4, 5. If thou wilt receive my Words, and hid my Commandments within thee, So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thy heart to understanding: If thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding: If thou seekest her as Silver, and Searchest for her, as for hid treasures. Then shalt thou understand the Fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. The Sum of this Part is. 1. Some Acts are great Assistances to Pious Life which by God's blessing we may do. 2. Hearing Gods Word, Reading, Resolving, Attempting Practice and Praying, are those Acts. 3. Holy Cautions help much, as well as Actions. 4. It will advance much to Heaven, to look carefully to a Christian Credit, and Innocence on earth. 5. To have great Caution to avoid just Scandal and keep clear of other men's guilt, is the way to maintain that good Credit and Innocence. Animadversions touching the Daily use of what is directed throughout the whole Manual. IF all set, seem a great Days work of Devotion (though two hours will make the longest day) it is put into thy power to lessen it. Th● Author's Aim, is, to be a Spiritual Helper, not a Taskmaster. That Office he leaves to thee with Discretion, and Conscience, to execute. And thou wilt discharge it better, if when thy thoughts are set to contrive, and lay out the Spirits work, flesh and blood be not called in to the Counsel. As Bodies so Souls are not all of equal strength and speed; and as Days differ in several Climates (yea in the same, often vary their length:) so days of Devotion are not of a like length for all Spirits and Occasions. Hezeki●h was not so long on his Knees as Solemon a 2 King. 19 5. 2 Chro. 6. 13. , nor Ezra the Priest so long at his Prayers as the Levites b Ezra. 9 5 Neh. 9 4. . The Apostles did lengthen, and shorten theirs c Act. 1. 24 & 4. 24. . And our Lord kept not a punctual measure for His d Mat. 26. 42. 44. John 17. . A Man may pray much in little with the Publican e Luk. 18. 13. ; and little, in much, like a Pharisee f Mat. 23. 14. & Mat. 6. 1 ; and much, and not little, as the Centurion g Act. 10. 2. 4. . The heart is all in all. If that go along, thou mayst do well to travail all the Book over; if not, better to cut off some Stages. There are that measure Sermons by Glasses, and Orisons by Beads; but as the wise judge those by brains (not lungs) so the Devout weigh these by their thoughts (not finger's) Behold that pattern of all piety and perfection, Luk. 6. 12. Christ himself; He prayed whole nights (to teach us, we may pray long, and well) yet taught us Mat. 6. 9 a short form of Prayer, to show that (generally) it is not better for being long. The life of Devotion lies in the Spirit, not Breath, and Prayers, must be measured by the Heart, not the Hourglass. FINIS.