ORDERS AND RULES Appointed by the Last Will and Testament Of S it THOMAS HOLT, Knight and Baronet, To be Observed in the Electing, and after the Election, of the Ten Poor Persons Inhabiting in his ALMSHOUSE at Aston Juxta Birmingham in the County of WARWICK. With the Assent and Assistance of D ame ANNE HOLT, The Relict of the said S it THOMAS HOLT, And of S it ROBERT HOLT Baronet, his Grandson, and his Heirs Males. PSAL. 112.9. He hath dispersed, he hath given to the Poor, his Righteousness endureth for ever. London, Printed in the Year, 1656. THE ORDERS AND RULES Appointed to be Observed in the Electing, and after the Election of the Ten Poor Persons inhabiting in this Almshouse at ASTON. FIRST THe Number of the Persons that are to be Relieved there, shall be Ten, viz. Five Men, and five Women. SECONDLY, The Places from which they shall be chosen, are out of the two Hides, within the Parish of Aston, viz. Aston Hyde, and Nechells or Duddeston Hyde. In the Election, The Inhabitants of the Lordship of Aston shall be admitted in the first place, of Nechels in the second, of Duddeston in the third, of Witton in the fourth, of Saltley in the fifth, of Erdington in the sixth, of Little Bromwich in the seventh, of Bordsley in the eighth, of Derritend in the ninth, and last, all lying within the Parish of Aston. THIRDLY, The Conditions of the Persons shall be such, They shall be all single Persons, and shall continue single, They shall be Pious, Sober, well reported of, or such as shall promise and endeavour so to be. They shall be such as are become Old, Decrepit, Lame, Blind, Impotent, or likely to be a burden to the Parish of Aston. And no Witch Wizzard, Sorcerer, or one that is acquainted with any Familiar Spirit, No Blasphemer of God's Name, or Common Swearer, no Fornicator, No Felon, No Common Drunkard shall be chosen or admitted. FOURTHLY, After Election, these shall all duly and orderly repair to the Church every Morning and Evening, to hear Divine Service and Sermons, aswell on Working-days, as on the Lord's Day, and Holy-days, whensoever Holy Exercises shall be performed there. And in their Repair to the Church, as also in their return from it, they shall go all in Decent and Comely manner, that is to say, First, Two Men, Secondly, Two Men, Thirdly, One Man, and one Woman, Fourthly, two Women, Fifthly, two Women together. In the same Manner and Form, to wit, Two and Two, shall accompany every Corpse to be buried in the Church or Churchyard of Aston (except the Person deceased be thought to have died of the Plague, or some such contagious disease. They shall every day, Morning and Evening meet together at some convenient Hour, in some one Room of the Almshouse, Then and there to confess their sins to God, to pray for a blessing upon themselves and others, and to give thanks for God's mercies, and more particularly for the liberal Maintenance allowed them in that Place. If no one of the Alms People can read, the Parish Clerk, or some other shall be procured to perform Prayers for them. FIFTHLY, They shall be Helping, Aiding, and Assisting one to another in time of Sickness, and in all Needs and Necessities. They shall avoid all those Enormities aforesaid which made them uncapable of Election, viz. Witchcraft, or Sorcery, Blaspheming of God's Name, or common Swearing, Fornication, Felony, and common Drunkenness. None of them shall Marry, None of them shall Beg after they be chosen into the Place. SIXTHLY, The causes for which any of them shall be expelled, shall be the same for which at first they should not be admitted, viz. For Witchcraft, or Sorcery, for Blaspheming, or incorrigible Swearing, for Fornication, for Felony, for common Drunkenness. Or, If any of them shall Marry or Beg: Lesser punishments to be inflicted upon them, For every neglect of going to Church, For every disorderly going, For every times absence from Private Prayers, Morning, or Evening: for every Oath or notorious Lie: For every the least distemper by Drink. When they are in health, and able to perform these Duties aforesaid, they shall be lovingly admonished for the first time. For the second time, they shall lose four pence out of their week's allowance. For the third and fourth time, and so forwards, if they shall double and triple their fault, the Penalty shall likewise be doubled and trebled upon them, by the discretion of those that are designed for that purpose, according as the quality of the Fault, and the disposition of the Party Delinquent shall require. And in case no amendment appear, upon so Moderate a course held, but the Parties offending show themselves desperately incorrigible, then shall they be expelled out of the Society. All the Penalties which shall be inflicted or imposed upon any of the said Ten Poor Alms people, for neglecting any of the duties aforesaid, or for committing any of the faults aforesaid, shall (by that Person which hath, or by those Persons which have power to punish them for the same) be given or distributed to the rest of the ten poor Alms-people, which shall be no Delinquents, if they shall deserve it, or else, shall be bestowed upon, or to some other Charitable Use, or Uses, as the said Person, or Persons, who shall impose the said Penalties upon them, shall in his, or their discretion appoint or think fitting. The Morning Prayer. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing Praises unto thy Name, O most High. To show forth thy loving kindness in the Morning, and thy faithfulness, every Night. Our voice shalt thou therefore hear in the Morning, O Lord, in the Morning will we direct our Prayers unto Thee and will look up. ALmighty and most merciful Lord God, who Createdst all things by thy Great Power, and who sustainest all Creatures by thy Gracious providence: without whom we have nothing, and from whom we have all things which we do enjoy, or the Hopes whereof we can joy in, because thou givest unto All liberally, and upbraidest none. We acknowledge Lord, that Thou mightest most justly upbraid us, for our unworthiness of the least, and our unthankfulness for the greatest of thy Mercies: and that for both, Thou mightest lay upon us the forest & heaviest of thy judgements. Even by the offence of One, judgement came upon All to Condemnation: and yet besides that, we have added Rebellion unto Sin, and aggravated out Guiltiness by our long continued Wickedness: so that our Sins are become exceeding sinful. We have sinned, O Lord, against the light of Reason, as we are Men, oft doing that, which even Nature teacheth us, that it is a shame to do: and against the Light of Religion, as we are Christians, holding the Truth in unrighteousness, and sinning wilfully, even after we had received the Knowledge of the Truth. We have not only loved Evil more than Good, but have too long been unto every good Work Reprobate, or too apt to say, or think of every commanded Duty, What a weariness it is? Even to Will well, hath not been present with us, and how then to perform that which is good, O Lord, we know not: being only wise to do evil, and doing that with both hands earnestly. Thus have we provoked Thee to anger most bitterly, therefore mayst thou justly leave our blood upon us; for who may stand in thy sight when thou art angry? though we know not the Power of thy Wrath, Thou mayst justly make us feel it. But remember, O Lord, thy tender Mercies, and thy Loving kindnesses, for they have been ever of Did: and hath the Lord forgotten to be Gracious? hath He in anger shut up his tender Mercies? For thy Names sake, O Lord, pardon our iniquities though they are great! Is any thing too hard for the Lord, and the Power of his Goodness? Oh let thy Mercy then so rejoice against judgement, that our Souls may ever rejoice in thy Mercy. Hast thou not said, O Lord, that where Sin aboundeth, Grace may much more abound? Magnify then Thine own abounding Grace, in being Gracious to us, of Sinners chief, as we know more in Ourselves, than we do or can know of Others: And if our own Hearts condemn us, Thou art greater than our hearts, and knowest all things; Yea thou hast set our iniquities before thee, and our secret sins in the light of Thy Countenance. But remember thy words unto thy Servants, wherein thou hast made us to hope, that Thou wilt forgive our Iniquity, and remember our Sin no more! And hath the Lord said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall He not make it good? Remember Him also, and His precious Merits, in whom thou sayest thou art well pleased, that for this End was he born, and for this cause came He into the World, that He might bear our Griefs, and carry our Sorrows, that He might make his Soul an offering for Sin: and did not thy Wisdom provide satisfaction to thy justice therein: didst not Thou lay help upon One that was Mighty, and able to save them to the uttermost, that come unto God by Him? Yea, was not he made unto us, Wisdom, and Righteousness, and Sanctification, as well as Redemption? Oh then, as thou madest Him to be Sin for us, who knew no Sin, so let us be made the Righteousness of God in Him. And as thou sparedst not thine own Son, but deliverest Him up for us all, how shalt thou not with Him also freely give us all things? How shall not our God also supply all our Needs according to his Riches? We were cast upon thee from the Womb, and have ever since lived only on thy Goodness, and thy good things, as the Earth is full of thy Riches. Now therefore when we are Old, and Gray-headed, O God forsake us not; but as thou art good, and dost good, so be not thou thyself weary in well-doing: remember thou hast said, the goodness of God endureth continually. And do Good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: our Heart's desire and Prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved: But be more peculiarly gracious unto this Nation, this Land of our Nativity: And for his sake, whom thou gavest to be a healing of the Nations, heal our breaches: let all those that rule over Men be just, ruling in the fear of God. And be so with thine own immediate servants that do thy work in thy House, that it may prosper in their hands. And show, Lord, that thou art a God of the Valleys, as well as of the Mountains: that though the Lord be high, yet He hath respect unto the Lowly, and Lowest in Condition. Right the Wronged, comfort the Sadded, supply the Impoverished, support the Weakened, heal the Diseased: Thus, Lord, be thou All to All, that thou mayest be faithfully owned, and thankful acknowledged to be All in All. And being thou, Lord, condemnest all unthankfulness, placing the unthankful amongst the most unholy: We give thee thanks for the Founder of this Place, the nourisher of our persons, Sir Thomas Holt Knt. and Baronet. Blessed be the Lord God who did put such a thing as this into his noble Heart, and did turn it as a river of water to refresh us. Blessed be the Lord who remembered us in our low estate: who as thou workest in all both to will and to do, of thy good pleasure, didst work in him to Will so Charitably, and to Do so bountifully. And bless we pray thee all his surviving and succeeding Relations: those especially, whose Piety hath so employed his Charity, and improved his good Intentions into great Actions for our good: As thy Mercy is from everlasting to everlasting, and thy Righteousness unto children's Children: so Lord, whilst the name of the Wicked doth rot, let His name live in Them, and let their Names stand written in the Book of life for ever after him. And now we praise thy Name, O Lord, for the refreshment and ensafement of us the night past, and for the enlargement of thy goodness towards us so far of this present day: Remember still thine own good word, that the Lord will command his loving kindness in the day time: as thou art graciously pleased to add another day unto our lives, so add other mercies unto our days, especially putting such Grace into our hearts, that we may seek first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness, that so all other things may be added unto us: And then put thy fear in our hearts that we may never departed from from thee, but rather be so in the fear of the Lord all the day long, that by it we may departed from all evil. And that we may not fall from thee by any impatience under thy just Hand, by any unbelief in thy Mercy, or by any temptation from the enemy of our souls, to any evil, or from any Duty, uphold us Lord with thy free Spirit. And being we know not what to pray for as we ought, let the same Holy Spirit help our infirmities in praying for all, as thy dear Son our Saviour, in whom thou art a God that hearest Prayer, hath himself taught us to pray, saying, Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy Name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on 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 all evil, for Thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, for ever and ever, Amen. The Evening Prayer. Give ear unto our Prayers, O God, and hid not thyself from our Supplications. Hear thou in Heaven thy Dwelling Place, and when Thou hearest, forgive. Let our Prayers be set before thee as Incense, and the lifting up of our hands as the Evening Sacrifice. MOst Holy, and most Dreadful Lord God: with whom is terrible Majesty, so that even the purest of the Heavenly Angels tremble before it, and cover their faces, as even them thou hast charged with folly. With what Countenances, with what confidences, can we then sinful and impure Creatures, lift up so much as our eyes unto Heaven; having so much and so long sinned against Heaven, and in thy sight: to provoke the eyes of thy Glory. Rather therefore, standing a far off, may we smite upon our breasts, and the joints of our Loins being loosed, and our Knees also smiting one against another, may we here trembling and sorrowing say, God be merciful unto us sinners; who have not been only alienated, but even enemies in our minds by wicked works, as it were to augment yet more the fierce Anger of the Lord against us. And yet seeing it hath pleased Thee, O Father, by thine own Son to reconcile all things unto thyself, we have holdness and access with confidence by the faith of Him, unto thy Throne of Grace. Hoping and believing that in & by Him, we shall obtain mercy, and find Grace to help in time of need. And such, O Lord, is all our time; even as to temporal things, when could we truly say, that we had need of nothing? but as to Spiritual things, when could we not truly say, that we have need of every thing, being by nature All of us, wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. And yet, O Lord, there is hope in Israel concerning this thing: even such have looked unto thee, and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed: the poor man cried, and the Lord heard him. And thou art the Father of Lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning: And jesus Christ is the same yesterday, & to day, and for ever more. Why then should we be cast down, poor souls, or why should we be disquieted within us: We hope still in God, that we shall yet praise Him, for the help of His Countenance; Though thou art the High and Lofty One, that inhabitest Eternity, yet hast thou regard of poor Mortals; yea, thou hast promised, saying, to this man will I look, even to him that is Poor, and of a contrite spirit, that trembleth at thy Word, to revive the spirit of the Humble, and to revive the hearts of the Contrite ones: to remember the Congregation of thy poor for ever. But alas, O Lord, we find and feel too much security and impenitency in our hard hearts, opposing, weakening, or depraving our Believing; because thou gavest Christ to give repentance unto Israel, aswell as remission of sins: And we have too long made our hearts as an Adamant stone, lest we should hear thy Law, and so be humbled and penitent. But thou, Lord, smotest the rock itself, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed, and ran in dry places like a River: touch our hearts, & we shall relent to tears; move our eyes, and we shall then look up unto him whom we have pierced, and so mourn and be in bitterness for our sins, for which he so suffered: So let us be before thee here, that when we come unto Thee hereafter, thou mayst wipe away all tears from our eyes: that there may then be no more sorrow, nor crying, nor any more pain for us, as for the Impenitent and Unholy, the smoke of whose Torment ascendeth up for ever, where there is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. In the mean time, O Lord, because none can understand his errors (as who knoweth how oft he offendeth?) O cleanse thou us from our secret sins; but especially keep back us thy servants from presumptuous sins, let not them have dominion over us. Yea, wash us throughly from all iniquities, with the blood of jesus Christ, which cleanseth from all sins. For if our Transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pute away in them already, how should we then live for ever, if our sins lie down with us in the Dust: and how justly mightest thou cut us off here now with pining sickness, and from day even to night make an end of us? or make us to possess only months of vanity, and wearisome nights to be appointed to us. But as thou hast said, that by Christ all that believe are justified from all things: even so, most Gracious Lord, be it unto us thy servants according to thy word: enabling us to look up unto jesus, who is the Author and Finisher of our Faith: yea, Lord, we believe, help thou our unbelief. And seal we pray Thee, our pardons here: and thy justifying of our persons, by thy sanctifying of our Natures: for hast Thou but one blessing, O our Father? wilt thou forgive only, and not give also? O give unto us those Sanctifying, those saving Graces of thy Spirit, whereby thou makest thine meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in Light. That we may be first partakers of the Divine Nature, having escaped the corruption that is in this world, and then partakers of the Divine Glory, in that which is to come: Perform O Lord, thine own promise, according to thy own Method in promising, that, the Lord will give Grace and Glory: guide us with thy Counsel, and afterwards receive us unto Glory. And now, Lord, as we prase Thee for thy multiplied mercy all this day past, so we pray thee for thy continued mercy all this night coming: when the shadows of the Evening are stretched out, keep us, O Lord, under the shadow of thy wings, until all calamities are overpast: for thou, Lord, only canst make us dwell in safety. We stand in jeopardy every hour, but most exposed unto dangers, and with least helps in the night: oh than let the Angels of the Lord encamp round about us, and preserve us: So show that they are all Ministering Spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of Salvation. But because as unto much longer life, our Bones are dried, our hope is lost, and we are already almost cut off for some of our parts, Lord make us so wise as to consider our latter ends; that as death is the end of all, and after death judgement, so whilst living we may lay it unto heart: till death worketh in us, so to live in thy fear, that we may die in thy love, and in that thy loving kindness which is better than life, Thou mayst say, O Lord, to any, or all of us, ye fools, this night your Souls shall be required of you: work in us therefore (as thou also hast wrought all our works in us) to remember thee on our beds, and to meditate on Thee in the night watches, because thou knowest our down-sitting, and our uprising, and understandest our thoughts afar off: when therefore we awake, let us be still with Thee. And as with long life, thou hast in some measure satisfied us, so now show us thy Salvation; Givens, O Lord, such a prospect of the Heavenly Canaan, as may make us more willing to leave this wilderness; more desirous to be dissolved and to be with Christ, in whose presence is the fullness of joy, and at whose Right Hand there are pleasures for evermore. To sweeten our reposes, say unto our souls, I am your Salvation: say, Lord, your God hath not appointed you to wrath, but to obtain Salvation, by your Lord jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him: so shall we ever be with the Lord. In whose Name, and with whose words we ask all, saying, 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 all evil, For Thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, for ever and ever, Amen. For the Sick. WIthout the Law you cannot know sin, sin being the Transgression of the Law, and without knowledge of sin, you cannot have either Contrition for sin, or reformation from sin, or any manner or measure of repentance unto life. First, therefore let us hear the voice of the Law: God spoke all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the Land of Egypt, out of the house of Bondage. I. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. II. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven Image, or any likeness of any thing, that is in Heaven above, or that is in the Earth beneath, or that is in the Water under the Earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the Fathers upon the Children unto the third and fourth Generation of them that hate me: and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my Commandments. III. Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his Name in vain. iv Remember the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, Thou, nor thy Son, nor thy Daughter, thy Manservant, nor thy Maidservant, nor thy Cattles, nor thy Stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made Heaven and Earth, the Sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seveth day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day, and hallowed it. V Honour thy Father and thy Mother: that thy days may be long upon the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. VI Thou shalt not kill. VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery. VIII. Thou shalt not steal. IX. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy Neighbour. X. Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbour's House, thou shalt not covet thy Neighbour's Wife, nor his Manservant, nor his Maidservant, nor his Ox, nor his Ass, nor any thing that is thy Neighbours. Now what man is he that liveth and sinneth not? Yea, who knoweth how oft he offendeth against this Law? And so this truly is, as it is called a fiery Law, both as given with fire at first, and as to its effect signified thereby, the consuming of Transgressor's at the last. Only by Christ jesus cometh life, and by Faith in him, all our help and hope of life. John 3.16. God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son: that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. Now therefore let us hear a summary of necessary Belief. I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth: and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, which was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried, he descended into hell, the third day he risen again from the dead, he ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty: from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. Job 19.25, 26, 27. I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin, worms destroy this body yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another, though my Reins be consumed within me. Psal. 116.15. Precious in the sight of the Lord, is the death of his Saints. 1 Sam. 2.6. The Lord killeth, and maketh alive, he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. The Prayer for the Sick. O LORD our GOD, with whom is the Fountain of Life, and to whom belong the issues of Death. We confess ourselves to be by nature sinful, and by sin abominable, and therefore unworthy to speak unto Thee, or to bespeak a mercy from Thee, even for ourselves. Yet in obedience to thine own command, that Supplications, and Prayers, and Intercessions be made for all, we here desire to intercede unto Thee in the behalf of this our Languishing and Pained ( * or Sister Brother) we know, O Lord, that it was for sin only that thou at first threatnedst great plagues & of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long Continuance. And we acknowledge our demerits by sin, even of all thy threatened judgements: but we know too, that thine own Son, our Saviour himself, took our infirmities, and bore our sicknesses, and that thou hast said, concerning my servants, command ye Me: and that many a time, turnedst thou thine anger away from them, and didst not stir up all thy Wrath, For that thou remember'st they were but flesh. For thy Wellbeloved Son's sake therefore, let us beg of thee for this thy Servant, that thou wouldst remove Thy heavy hand from him * or Her , and extend thy pity to * or Her him: for thou knowest * or She his Frame; Remember that * or Her he is but dust,: and therefore plead not against him with thy great power. Can it, O Lord, magnify thy Might to break a Bubble, or crush a Moth? or to kill a Worm? oh then magnify thy mercy rather! remembering thine own promise also, that thou wilt not contend for ever, neither be always wroth, because otherwise the Spirit would fail before thee, and the Souls which thou haft made. And therefore unto * or Her his days amongst us on earth, that (He) * or She may be the better fitted for Thee and Heaven. That by this nearness unto death, * or She he may the better learn to live, and by that addition to his life, * or She he may the better learn to die. or She Or if in thy secret wisdom, thou hast determined this to be * or Her his last visitation, send down thy holy Spirit to strengthen, guide, and comfort † or Her him before, and in the hour of death, to strengthen † her his Faith, that † her he may without any detracting, or distempering fears or doubts, believe and rest upon thy Love, to guide † or sher his affections, that † or she he may without any worldly sorrows, or snares, freely resign * Herself himself unto thy Fatherly disposing: and to comfort * his soul in the anguish of † or Her his body, with a gracious tender of the joys of Heaven both unto Body and Soul; That so the enemy, who daily waits for every advantage (for we are not ignorant of his devices) may not gain by this † or Her his weakness. Say Lord to † or Her him therefore, now thy sins are forgiven thee; that so † or Her he may with all assurance of thy love, † or She throw * Herself himself into thine Arms of mercy, and into thy hands commend * or Her his spirit. Thus Lord, hear our Prayers for him, and hear * or Her his groan for * himself, and hear our us all; The Lord hath said, that whatsoever we ask the Father in his Name, He will do it: In his only Name therefore, and with his own words, we thus farther ask all, saying, 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 all evil For Thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, for ever and ever. Amen. The All-sufficient Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the all-satisfying Love of God the Father, and the all sanctifying fellowship of God the Holy Ghost, be with this our † or Sister (Brother) and with us all, now and evermore. Amen.